PREFACE. THE following pages contain little more than a sketch of some of the most remarkable circumstances attending the persecution of the French and Italian Protestants at the close of the seventeenth century. Without entering minutely into the ecclesiastical history of that period, it has been our wish to give the young reader a general view of the subject, and to enlist his feelings in favour of the sufferers of those times, and of the holy cause they espoused, by detailed accounts of a few of the most striking instances of faith and constancy. If the blessing of Him who can alone render even the labours of an apostle availing, rest upon this humble work, it is hoped that the narratives here presented, may both interest and edify. Such a record of the past, may teach us to appreciate more justly our own privileges, while we behold the privations of others; and it will surely tend to elevate our views of the love and mercy of God in Christ Jesus, when we see how the weakness of man is made strength in the day of trial, through the might of Him who can cause the wrath of man to praise him. Reader, you may not be called on to endure a great fight of afflictions, and win the crown of martyrdom, like those of whom we speak; but unless you have the spirit of a martyr, you cannot be a true christian. May the memorials now before you, lead you to enquire, “Am I also ready to resign whatever the service of my God and Saviour demands at my hand ?" and may the consideration of the subject be blessed alike to the reader and the writer. If, as many believe, a day of peculiar trial to the members of the church of Christ, by whatever name distinguished, is at hand, such an examination of the foundation of our hope is especially needful. Whether it be that "perse |