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settled at Orbe, where the zealous, blind, and lovely old man gained many friends, and in a few months they wept when they laid him in the grave.1

The Lords of Berne had not dreamed that they were causing such a result as this. A violent man, named Peter Konzen, a Bernese minister residing at Geneva, had a prominent hand in the mischief, for he had misrepresented all parties. In a few weeks Farel and Calvin appeared before the Senate of Berne. The Bernese wished to undo what had been done under excitement. After many discussions and several messages to the Genevese senate, they resolved to send back the ministers, along with Viret, whose milder method might restore order. Two senators went with them; but the ministers lately exiled met with a cold refusal near the gates of Geneva. One of them thus describes it: 'We were about a mile from the city when a messenger, in great haste, met us, and stated that we were forbidden to enter. The (Bernese) messengers held us back, or we should otherwise have tranquilly pursued our journey. But this saved our lives, for we afterwards learned that an ambush had been formed outside the city, and that close to the very gates, twenty gladiators, known banditti, were lying in wait for us.'

The Bernese ambassadors and Viret went on and

1 There was a strong suspicion that Courault had been poisoned. Calvin, in a letter to Farel (Oct. 24, 1538), says, 'I am so bowed down by the death of Courault that I can set no limit to my anguish. None of my usual employments is sufficient to keep my mind from perpetually reverting to the subject. . . . My mind is chiefly burdened with that iniquitous deed, which, if my suspicions are well grounded, I must, whether I will or not, bring to light.' He laments that where there are so few good ministers, the Church should be thus deprived of one of its best.'

entered the city. They appeared before the Genevan senate. They asked that the exiles might be admitted, their apology heard, and their sentence expunged. They pleaded the very eminent services of Farel, to whom his opposers were greatly indebted for their present liberty. They said that Calvin and Farel would now baptize at the fonts, use the unleavened bread, and allow the festivals to be prudently observed. Viret put forth all his eloquence, and the senators and citizens were moved. But it was all in vain. New charges were founded upon mere trifles and quibbles, and the senate, in a stormy assembly, renewed the decree of banishment.

Bound in heart as brothers, Farel and Calvin took their way toward the cities on the Rhine, where a Protestant could find refuge when no other place would receive him. 'Wet with the rain, and almost dead with weariness,' they entered Basle.1 Bucer sent word to Calvin to come to Strasburg; but as Farel was not invited, he chose to remain with this Boanerges, whom he loved with all tenderness. The gentle sunbeam was wedded to the lightning, by the power of that grace which unites the most diverse natures. It is a proof that Farel was not all fury and self-will, when he drew so closely to him such gentle men as Lefevre, Ecolampadius, Viret, and Calvin.

We have at length reached Basle, but well soaked with the rain, and completely spent and worn out. Nor was our journey free from perils; for, in truth, one of us was almost carried away by the swollen currents. But we have experienced more tender usage from the impetuous river than from our fellow-men; for since, contrary to all right and reason, they had decided that we should travel on foot, that also has been complied with, through the mercy of the Lord, in preserving us.'-CALVIN's Letters, No. xx., May 1538.

CHAPTER XIX.

PEACE TO THE STORMS.

(1538-1549.)

HERE lived in Basle one of the best of men, named Symon Grynæus, a schoolfellow of Melancthon, who said that he had a mildness of temper that was never put out, and an almost excessive bashfulness.' Beza compared him 'to the splendour of the sun, that overpowers the light of the stars.' The Papists of Spires knew his worth, for they thought it policy to attack him with such violence in 1527, that he barely escaped. He was invited to Basle, to take the place of Erasmus as a professor. When Calvin was there in 1534, he met this good man, and was captivated by his gentleness. They became most affectionate friends, and often shut themselves up in their room for study. To his house Calvin went as a very damp and chilly exile from Geneva; and there he found a cheerful fire, a sympathetic heart, and a home where he remained for many months.

In the house of Oporinus, the printer, Farel was lodged, waiting for Providence to open some new door to him. Toussaint wished him and Calvin to return to Lausanne, and there labour. But in a few weeks there

came a very unexpected call. Two councillors and two ministers of Neufchatel came to see him. They said their people had heard of Farel's sufferings, and their old attachment to him had revived in such strength, that they must have him among them. They could not forget how he had preached on the stone in Serrière, in their streets, and in the cathedral on the hill. They had first heard from his lips the word of God, and his weighty voice seemed yet ringing in their ears. They had prayed fervently for God to send them a chief minister, and all wanted Farel. Besides, Viret and Fabri were urgent in pressing the call upon him, and so, too, were the neighbouring churches.

At first he hesitated, for the desire to be with Calvin and to engage in study was strong. Then the church at Neufchatel was sadly in want of discipline. He might have the late experience at Geneva all over again, and be exiled in less than a year. But duty began to impress his mind; conscience lifted her voice; his soul caught the old fire; and he was himself again-bold, fearless, ready to sacrifice himself, intensely anxious to preach, and possessing an ambition for God's glory without bounds.' His mind was made up, and at once he set out for his parish.

Soon after his arrival mournful tidings followed him. His sister had followed him to Basle, and there she saw her son die of the plague. Calvin wrote thus, in a letter to Farel, the faithful preacher at Neufchatel, my beloved brother,-Your nephew, last Sabbath-day, fell sick here of the plague. His companion and the goldsmith, who bore witness to the gospel at Lyons, immediately sent to me. As I had taken something to cure my headache, I could not visit him myself. . . . Grynæus visited

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him frequently. I did so as soon as my health allowed it. When our T. (Du Tailly) saw that I did not fear the danger, he insisted on sharing it with me. We spent a long time with him yesterday. When the signs of approaching death were evident, I imparted spiritual, rather than bodily, comfort. His mind seemed to wander; but he still had sufficient consciousness to call me back to his chamber, and to entreat me earnestly to pray for him. He had heard me speak much of the usefulness of prayer. Early this morning, about four o'clock, he departed to the Lord.'1

The ablest

There were many difficulties at Neufchatel. ministers had been sent by the Bernese lords into other cantons, and some of the old priests were in the churches,

1 In this same letter there is an unobtrusive proof of the straits of poverty through which Farel and his relatives had to pass. 'Concerning the wearing apparel and other moveables of your nephew, thus you have it: The son-in-law of the old woman (the nephew's nurse) affirms that all his clothes-which, however, were not manywere left to him, but with no appearance of truth, since he could not have done so except in the intervals of delirium. He has a sword and a shirt with Wolf. I know for certain that he had no money when he fell ill. His landlord, Wolf, thinks that the story about the legacy of the clothes is a pure fable.'

There were some debts incurred by the sickness and burial of this nephew, and the generous Farel seems not to have been able to easily pay them. He could not pay Oporin for his seven weeks' board when he left Basle. Calvin was to settle the matter; and after receiving some money on Farel's account, he wrote to him: 'I yet owe you one gold crown and a half, which I will pay as soon as possible. Here, unless I would be a burden to the brethren, I must live at my own expense. My outlay on account of your nephew I have received, except about ten shillings, which Claude (probably a deacon of the French church of Strasburg) was about to send me. I mention that, lest you may think that I had received nothing.'CALVIN'S Letters, No. xvi., October 1558.

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