Protestantism in Poland and Bohemia - James Aitken Wylie

Under a canopy of state sat Lichtenstein, the
Governor of Prague. "Vast numbers of spectators,"
says Comenius, "crowded the market-place, the
streets, and all the houses."
The martyrs were called to go forth and die one
after the other. When one had offered his life the
city officers returned and summoned the next. As if
called to a banquet they rose with alacrity, and with
faces on which shone a serene cheerfulness they
walked to the bloody stage. All of them submitted
with undaunted courage to the stroke of the
headsman. Rosacius, who was with them all the
while, noted down their words, and he tells us that
when one was called to go to the scaffold he would
address the rest as follows: "Most beloved friends,
farewell. God give you the comfort of his Spirit,
patience, and courage, that what before you
confessed with the heart, the mouth, and the hand,
you may now seal by your glorious death. Behold I
go before you, that I may see the glory of my Lord
Jesus Christ! You will follow, that we may together
behold the face of our Father. This hour ends our
sorrow, and begins our everlasting joy." To whom
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