tor, and the other upon dismissing him. His opponents at last gained a majority for his leaving within two months. The greater part of the senate and the better class of the people were on his side, but the governor and some others of rank so excited the common people that the vote against him was obtained.

It was a day of trouble to the minister. The first friend who came to console him was John Calvin, who was on the way to Geneva,* and who turned aside to use his good offices for his brother. He pleaded with the people, and thence went to Berne to engage their help in behalf of the preacher and the endangered church. All efforts seemed in vain, until a mysterious Providence secured a reconciliation of the parties.. The plague began to rage in the town. The courage of Farel rose with the dangers of his situation. He acted the part of a pastor who had never been disowned by any of the people. He visited the sick every day, relieved the poor, and sought to win his enemies by kindness. They could not but respect him for all this, and the bitterest opposers began to be the warmest friends. A day of humiliation and prayer was appointed. Every one partook of the sacrament. The preachers warned the people and urged them to unity and peace. The example of their devoted but injured pastor softened their hearts, and they wished to retain him among them. Some weeks after this he was re-elected for life, and by degrees every trace of the disturbance was gone, and complete harmony was established.

*“Having heard at Soleure that there was some trouble in this church, I have been constrained, in brotherly love, to go out of my way to see whether I could do anything to remedy it."

Calvin to the Lords of Geneva, dated Neufchatel, September 7, 1541.

Calvin spent some time with his friends, and we must now see how this exile came to be on the way to Geneva.

The faction, which had expelled him and Farel, enjoyed their triumph by trying to undo almost all that had been gained. The old manners were restored, and carried to such an extreme as to create disgust. From liberty the people passed to licentiousness. Every social tie was broken; order gave way to discord, tumult and deeds of violence. The reading of the Bible was totally forbidden to the women, and very much restricted among all others. The teachers were removed from the schools that Farel had established; the preachers were set aside for mere hirelings, and the fanatics seemed to rule the day. But a re-action followed. The people saw that masquerades, balls, blasphemies and indecencies must be checked. They began to wish for the return of the banished ministers. Many prayed for it. The subject of calling back Calvin was openly discussed; the senate held meetings; and, at last, on the first of May, 1541, the act of banishment was revoked. To show their sincerity, the people intimated that the amusements and dissipations, which the reformers had once tried to put down, should be abated.

But it was not so easy to persuade those whom they had expelled to return to Geneva. Farel was now settled, and Neufchatel refused to give him up. Calvin did not wish to go unless his vigorous friend could join him in the difficult work, and, besides, Strasburg was not willing to part with him, for he was now a pastor in that city. From all sides went letters urging Calvin to accept the call, but Farel and Viret had the chief influence in securing the end. With great reluctance he went. The troubles at Neufchatel detained him, as we have seen, on the way, and prevented Farel from attending him.

There was reason for Calvin to expect a hearty reception.

James Bernard* had written and told him how the weeping people had prayed, and how, the next day, the great council met and said, with one voice,-"Calvin, that righteous and learned man, it is he whom we would have as the minister of the Lord;" and with much warmth Bernard continued,-“Come, therefore, thou worthy father in Christ; thou art ours; God has given thee to us; all sigh for thee; thou wilt see how pleasant thine arrival will be to all." On the thirteenth of September, 1541, this promise was fulfilled. A herald met him; the gates were crowded, the city full of joy, and the senate soon entreated him never to leave Geneva.

We left the Chevalier Esch at Metz, and we cannot learn what became of him, except that persecution drove him to Strasburg. The agents of Beda had waged a merciless wart upon the believers in that free and imperial city; but they had not entirely suppressed the desire which many of the people felt for the gospel. At length the times seemed to favour new efforts. Some of the Dominicans began to preach sounder doctrines and a purer life. In 1542 Casper de Huy was elected to fill the highest office of the city, that of sheriff, (echevin,) or mayor. He and his brother permitted the Protestants to meet in their

*Bernard had been induced to vote for the expulsion of Calvin and Farel from Geneva, but he was penitent for it, and was ever afterward the friend and helper of Calvin.

†There were other sources of trouble. "At Metz, when everything was opposed to pure religion, when the senate was sworn to its destruction, and when the priesthood had joined them with all their fury, then has arisen the plague of the Anabaptists to create a fresh scandal. Two were cast headlong into the Moselle, a third was punished by banishment with the brand of infamy. I fear that this pestilential doctrine is widely spread among the simple sort in that city."-Calvin to Farel, 1538.

private houses for worship, and also on their estates, where multitudes assembled to hear it. Nothing seemed wanting to the organization of a regular church but an efficient minister. One had been invited, but he lacked the courage to brave all the dangers of the post and even death itself. Proposals were made to Farel, who saw that quiet and prosperity were restored at Neufchatel, and he might leave it for a time. The new field had charms for one so bold and zealous, whose element was to reform, to hazard everything for the gospel, and to do the work of a pioneer. Several of his friends disapproved of the step, but he was urged to go by Calvin, who thought no one so well qualified as this experienced and dauntless missionary.

Early in December, 1542, Farel went to Metz, and he was urged to preach on the next Sabbath. In the church-yard of the Dominicans a pulpit had been raised, and he mounted it to preach his first sermon in that city. The number of hearers was very great. During his sermon two of the monks came and ordered him to be silent. He gave no heed to their command. They called their friends and began to ring all the bells, but his voice of thunder rose above all the din. The next day more than three thousand persons came to hear him. That he should preach and baptize without any Romish ceremonies excited great attention among the people and high wrath among the friars. The pulpit was ordered to be pulled down, and various threats were made. The sheriff, de Huy, and his friends saw that in so large an assembly a little flame might become a vast fire, and they persuaded Farel to postpone his preaching until there was more assurance of the public safety.

The news of his arrival had reached the ears of the council, and Farel was summoned before that body.

"By whose orders are you here?" they asked.

"By the order of Jesus Christ, and at the request of some of his members."

"Name those who invited you," said they, glancing at one another, as if certain of them were held under suspicion. He refused to give any names. He then addressed them and withdrew, leaving them to consider what they should do with him. Soon after a man of his size and appearance was seen riding out of the gates. It was reported that Farel had been sent away by his friends, who were alarmed for his safety. He was, however, concealed among the Protestants.*

The fearful plague fell upon the city. Many who felt that they must be abandoned by men and die in loneliness, without pastor or priest, found a plain, bold man urging his way to their couches. There he told them of Christ's death, free pardon and holy heaven; there he carried such consolation for the dying as they never had heard before, and even into houses that would otherwise have been shut against him he found a welcome. Full scope was thus given to his fearless activity, and many recognized Farel, the preacher who had declared the good tidings in the church-yard. In the meantime he sent word to the neighbouring cantons, which had united in the Protestant league of Smalcalde, to send deputies to Metz, and receive into their union the Protestants of that city. The senators would not allow the deputies to enter the gates, and they imposed a fine upon any one who should visit Farel. They secured a mandate from the emperor forbidding him to preach, and declaring that all the citizens should remain Roman Catholics until the next

*Calvin, from the time that he went to Metz, felt great anxiety about his safety. In his letters he writes of waiting anxiously "until we know that he has escaped in safety from the jaws of death," and "praying the Lord to restore him to us as soon as possible."