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DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

GIFT OF
WILLISTON WALKER

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Women of the Reformed
Church

BY
REV. JAMES I. GOOD, D.D.
Professor of Dogmatics and Reformed Church History in the Ursinus
School of Theology

Author of " Ongin of the Reformed Church in Germany," " History
of the Reformed Church in Germany," "History of the
1& formed Church in the United States," Etc.

FIRST EDITION

Published by
THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL BOARD OF THE REFORMED CHURCH
IN THE UNITED STATES
1901

PREFACE.

The chapters of this book first appeared in the
Reformed Church Magazine (1893-1895). They
then received favorable comment. Since that
Magazine ceased publication, there have been so
many inquiries for them that it is evident they met
a felt want in the Church, and the Sunday-school
Board of the Reformed Church in the United
States has undertaken their publication in this
volume. The author has added several, chapters to
those that appeared in the Magazine. It is hoped
that the lives of these Reformed saints will stimu
late the ladies of our Church to greater interest in
our splendid Church history, and to greater activity
as in missions and the practical work of the
Church, in which they already excel.
The Author,
James I. Good.
Reading, November 11, 1901.

PART I.
Women of the Reformation.
Chapter I.— SWITZERLAND. i.
ANNA REINHARD, ZWINGLl's WIFE.
HE wives of the Reformers are an interest
ing study. They receive greatness from
their husbands, and impart gentleness and
beauty in return. What would Luther have been
without his Kathe? And Zwingli's wife is a help
meet to him. The women of the Reformed Church
have been an important element in her history. Just
as Deborah and Esther, with the Marys of the New
Testament, aided in making up Bible history, so the
women of the Reformed Church have helped to
make her history great.
We propose to give sketches of their lives in this
volume. The first, and in some respects the most
interesting of them, was the wife of the founder of
our Church, Ulric Zwingli. Her name was Anna
Reinhard. She had not been a nun like Catharine
von Bora, Luther's wife. She was a pious widow
when he married her. And there is an element of

6 Women of the Reformed Church.
romance about their courtship which Luther's life
does not have.
Not far from Zwingli's parsonage in Zurich was a
house called the Hcefli. In it lived the widow of
John Meyer, of Knonau. She was born about 1487,
although the date of her birth is uncertain. Of her
youth we know nothing, except that she was beauti
ful. Her hand was sought by a young companion,
John Meyer von Knonau. But it happened that his
father had chosen another bride for his son. The
Knonau were among the oldest and most promi
nent noble families in Zurich, and John's father was
proud of his family and position. He desired his
son to occupy the same position in the aristocracy as
he. So he sent him to the court of the bishop of
Constance, his cousin, to be properly educated. And
he chose as a bride for his son a lady of Thurgau,
who belonged to a noble Austrian family. But his
son was of a different mind. With true Swiss in
dependence he preferred a Swiss girl to a foreign
noblewoman. He had not forgotten the beautiful
Anna Reinhard, the daughter of the landlord of the
Roessli, and they were secretly married in 1504 at a
village chapel in the canton of Zurich. When the
father heard of this, he became terribly angry. He

Anna Reinhard, Zwingli's Wife. 7
forbade his son the house and disinherited him, leav
ing his fortune to his second wife, rather than to his
son's family. Anna's husband was now cast on his
own resources. He was elected to the city council
in 151 1 against his father's efforts, and then became
ensign in the Swiss army, going with them to Italy
in the wars against France. But after several cam
paigns he returned in broken health and died in
1 5 17, leaving Anna a widow with three children, a
son and two daughters.
Now it is her little boy Gerold around whom the
romance of Zwingli's marriage seems to gather. He
must have been a very beautiful and attractive boy,
for his grandfather happened to be with some of the
city councillors in a room that overlooked the fish-
market one day, watching the people going to and
fro. A maid came along with a little three-year-old
boy and left him sitting at the stall while she paid
for her fish. The old man noticed that the boy was
attracting the attention of the passers-by by his
beauty and pretty manners. He asked his compan
ions, whose child the boy was, and was surprised to
be told that it was the son of his son. He ordered
the child to be brought to him and took him in his
arms. The child, unabashed, played with his beard

8 Women of the Reformed Church.
and looked him in the face so prettily, that the old
man gave way to tears. He said to the' boy, "Your
father made me angry, but I will not let it injure
you, but will take you as my child, instead of your
father." And he ordered the boy to be taken to his
own home, where the grandfather and grandmother
cared for him with great tenderness. When he was
nine years old his grandfather died, and his grand
mother cared for him.
Now this beautiful boy, who so aptly healed over
the breach in his father's family, was destined to do
a similar act for Zwingli. It was this boy who un
consciously brought his mother and Zwingli togeth
er, until they were finally married. Zwingli came to
Zurich after the death of his grandfather, when
Anna was struggling to support and train her fam
ily, although she was cramped by her small means.
She was from the beginning one of Zwingli's most
attentive listeners, whenever he preached. As her
home was in his parish, he came in contact with her
as her pastor. He soon saw her needs and also her
Christian graces. But it was Gerold who especially
attracted his attention. Zwingli's quick eye soon
saw the talents of this precocious boy. He gave him
private lessons in Greek and Latin and when Gerold

Anna Reinhard, Ztvingli's Wife. 9
needed higher education, he sent him at the early
age of eleven to Basle, then the literary centre of
Switzerland. Thus Zwingli became a foster-father
to the orphan. The boy was so bright that his
teacher as Basle wrote back to Zwingli, "If you have
any more such boys, send them to me. I will be a
father to them, and they shall be my sons." When
the boy went (1523) to the baths at Baden, instead
of giving him the customary present, Zwingli gave
him what was better. He wrote him a book, entitled
"Directions for the Education of a Young Noble
man," and dedicated it to him.* Most earnestly he
urged him to good morals and a Christian life. This
beautiful and timely appeal saved the boy. He start
ed out in a new life, and never after brought dis
grace, but only honor on his family or friends. He
became the brightest and most promising of the
youth at Zurich — a member of the city council when.
only eighteen, and president of the city council at
the early age of twenty-one. Although only a
young man, he thus very rapidly rose to the highest

*A fine translation of this, the first Reformed work on
education, has been made by Prof. A. Reichenbach, of
Ursinus College, entitled "The Christian Education of
Youth."

10 Women of the Reformed Church.
positions in the city. Now it was Zwingli's fatherly
care over Gerold, his favorite, that prepared the way
for his marriage with Gerold's mother. Gerold was,
as her biographer says, the means of bringing his
foster-father and his anxious mother together.
But there were grave difficulties in the way of the
marriage, for it was not customary then for priests
or ministers to marry. A priest had married in
1523 in Zurich, and it had caused a great commo
tion. Zwingli married Anna in 1522.* His mar
riage caused a great sensation, more in his birth
place in the Toggenburg than in Zurich. The Ro
manists and the Anabaptists charged him with mar
rying Anna for her beauty and her money. He re
plied that as for her money, she was not worth more
than 400 guilders.
After marrying Zwingli, she ceased to wear jew
elry. Zwingli addresses her as his dearest house
wife, and such she was, a useful helpmeet in his
work. She was a model minister's wife, the foster-
mother of the poor, the visitor of the sick. She was
*Schaff says that a letter from Myconius to Zwingli
would seem to show that Zwingli was married as early
as 1522, but kept it secret for two years for fear of the
opposition to it by the people. Myconius wrote to him
in 1522 saying, "Farewell to your wife."

ZWINGLI READING TO HIS WIFE THE PROOF-SHEETS OF HIS NEW SWISS BIBLE

Anna Reinhard, Zwingli's Wife. 1 1
called "the apostolic Dorcas." Her care for hei
husband was greater even than for the parish. She
brightened his cares and sympathized with him in
his sorrows. When her husband, with the other
ministers of Zurich, began translating the Bible
(1525) and published it (1529) complete several
years before Luther's complete Bible appeared
(1534) it was his' custom to read to her its proof-
sheets every evening before retiring. She after
wards spoke of the eager interest she felt in the
story of the gospel as it was thus translated into her
own Swiss tongue by her husband. When it was
published he presented her with a copy of it. The
Bible thus became her favorite book. She tried to
introduce it into the families of the congregation so
that it might become the property of each household.
When she found that her husband by early rising
and excessive labors was becoming too deeply ab
sorbed in his work, she would, as he says in a letter
to Vadian, pull his sleeve and whisper in his ear,
"Take a little more rest, my dear." In her inter
course with others she revealed the Christian's
spirit. The more religious the conversation, the
more she took part in it. No greater joy could
come to her than to receive some new light on some

12 Women of the Reformed Church.
holy truth. She loved to hear Zwingli in his homi-
letical works sometimes throwing new light on the
character of Christ. She thus lived in a religious
atmosphere. Toward her husband she always show
ed great reverence. Only one letter written by
Zwingli to her has come down to us. It was written
from Berne in 1528, just after a child had been born
in his absence. It is a beautiful Christian epistle,
thanking the Lord for the birth of a son, and pray
ing that both parents might be able to educate him
aright, urging her not to be anxious about his
safety, and sending salutations to friends. He also
wrote to her afterward from Strasburg when on his
way to Marburg, when he praised the wife of Zell
the Reformer, at Strasburg, of whom he said, "She
combines the graces of both Mary and Martha."
Anna welcomed his friends and entertained his
guests, of whom there was always a large number.
For Protestant refugees were many in those days,
and Zwingli's house was always open to them. When
Zwingli was engaged or away, she was the centre of
the circle. The leading citizens and ministers like
Leo Juda, Pellican and others, gave her great credit
and praise. And the upper chancellor of Silesia,
Arator, who visited Zwingli in 1526, was so pleased

Anna Reinhard, Zwingli's Wife. 13
with the Christian arrangement of Zwingli's home,
that he declared he would never forget it, and called
Anna "an angel-wife." But her married life had
not only pleasure and honor in it, but also care and
anxiety. t The danger in which her husband continu
ally lived, gave her great care. He was repeatedly
warned not to go out in the street alone at night, lest
he be killed or carried off into a Catholic canton and
suffer like Huss. He was also warned to be careful
where he ate or drank, for fear he might be poison
ed. Anna, when she noticed any danger at his side,
would call for help. Frequently when her husband,
especially in winter time, had to go through the
streets after dark, she would call a citizen to accom
pany him. Or when he was kept in the corporation
meeting late in the evening, she would try to arrange -
to have some friend accompany him home. She was
always at his side or thoughtful of him when danger
seemed near. Thus many attempts on his person,
although near fulfillment, were frustrated. On Au
gust 28, 1525, their house was stoned by two citizens
at night, the stones sending pieces of wood through
the house. Anna and the family raised a great out
cry. But Zwingli seized his sword and quieted
them, calling out that if any one outside had any

14 Women of the Reformed Church.
business they should come the next morning at day
light. These anxieties were only prophecies of the still
greater sorrow that was to come to her. She, with
her husband, saw the black storm gathering over
-them, and which burst on the awful eleventh of Oc
tober, 1 53 1. For on the ninth the news came that
the army of the Catholic cantons was approaching.
Hastily a little army was gathered at Zurich against
them. Zwingli was ordered to go along with them
as chaplain. On the Charity Square just in front of
the parsonage a part of the soldiers formed so as to
depart. His wife came forth to bid him good-bye.
Unable to repress her feelings she burst into tears,
her children joining with her in weeping, clinging in
the meanwhile to their father's garments so as to
detain him, if possible, from danger. "The hour is
come," he says to her, "that separates us. Let it be
so. The Lord wills." He then gave her a parting
embrace. Her fears almost robbed her of her
speech, but she said, "We shall see each other again
if the Lord will. His will be done. And what will
you bring back when you come ?" Zwingli's prompt
reply was, "Blessing after dark night." These
were his last words to her, and they remained as a

ZWINGLI'S MONUMENT AT CAPPEL

Anna Reinhard, Zwingli's Wife. 15
sacred comfort to her in all her after life. For she be
lieved that blessing would come after the dark night
of, earth, as she saw him in the light of the new day
in heaven. Zwingli then pressed his children to his
heart and tore himself away. As he rode with the
soldiers around the corner of the street, he looked
back and she waved him a last good-bye. And now
in her sorrow to whom should she go but to her
Savior, to whom her husband had led her after he
came to Zurich. She hurried into the house, and
with the children threw herself down in the lonely
chamber and prayed in the words of the Savior:
"Father, not my will, but Thine be done." Comfort
ed she arose and awaited the result of the battle.
When the first news of the defeat, and of her hus
band's and her son's deaths came, her friends con
cealed from her the very sad particulars connected
with it. They, however, hastened to comfort her.
Prominent citizens and ministers visited her, sym
pathizing with her. Prominent ministers from oth
er cities, as Capito and Bucer of Strasburg, and Kel
ler of Augsburg, wrote beautiful letters of Christian
sympathy. But the greatest comforter of all to her
was young Henry Bullinger, her husband's suc
cessor. He now took her husband's place and cared

1 6 Women of the Reformed Church.
for her as a son. He said to her : "You shall not
want, dear mother. I will remain your friend, your
teacher and adviser." Nor did he stop with words,
but fulfilled them by deeds. Zwingli had left his
family no means, for all he could spare he gave to
the poor. So Bullinger took her under his own
roof, at his own table, and united the two families
into one. He also acted as a father to Zwingli's
children, supervising their education and sending
young Ulric to Basle at his own expense.
Of the later years of Anna we know almost noth
ing. It is said she rarely went out of the house after
Zwingli's death, except when she went to church.
She now lived for her children and for her Lord. In
her later life she was very sick, and her disease
continued for some years; but she bore her suffer
ings patiently.
Of her death on December 6, 1538, Bullinger
says: "I desire no more happy end of life. She
passed away softly, like a mild light, and went home
to her Lord, worshipping, and commending us all
to God." Her death was like her life-^sweet, quiet,
beautiful. ,
The most prominent scene in her life,. and also the
most impressive, is at the time of her husband's

Anna Reinhard, Zwingli's Wife. 17
death on the battle-field at Cappel. Bullinger says
that at the news of that awful defeat there arose in
Zurich a loud and horrible cry of lamentation, and
tears, bewailing and groaning. But her weeping
was greater, her sorrow was deeper. The greater
her husband, the greater her grief. She had had
sorrows before, but this eclipsed them all. For his
death was not her only sorrow then. With her hus
band there died on the" battle-field her bright, beau
tiful son, Gerold. Nor was this all her sorrow.
With her beloved husbaiid and son there lay dead on
that battle-field her brother and her brother-in-law,
while a son-in-law was wounded unto death. The
sadness of death compassed her about in all direc
tions. And then came the news that her husband's
body was quartered and burned, and its ashes dese
crated. Was there ever sorrow like hers? Yes,
there was One, of whom the prophet speaks: "Be
hold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my
sorrow." To that Savior from sorrow she went in
her sorrow, and He comforted her soul and raised
up helpers to her. In one of her biographies there is
a picture of her, weeping and in prayer, while a
heavenly hand is reached down, wiping away hei
tears and beneath it is the text : "God will wipe away

i8 Women of the Reformed Church.
all tears from their eyes." In view of her great and
many sorrows she might well be called the Mater
Dolorosa, the weeping mother of the Reformation.
Under her crosses she wept as Mary did at the cross.
And just as John, the beloved disciple, took Mary to
his home, so young Henry Bullinger gave Anna a
home and became a beloved son to her.
The oldest daughter of Anna Zwingli, named Re-
gula, inherited the beauty of her mother and pos
sessed the piety of both her parents. She grew up
in the family of Bullinger with young Rudolph
Gualther, who afterwards became her husband and
also the successor of her father and of Bullinger as
the antistes or head of the Zurich church. During
the Marian persecution in England, many of its re
fugees came to Switzerland and were entertained by
her at her home, among them Grindal, later Arch
bishop of Canterbury, and others, who later became
bishops' of England. After her death her husband
thus wrote of his loss, "What the pious Abraham
lost in his beloved Sarah, and Jacob in his lovely
Rachel, that have I also now to mourn. An example
of purest love — of the most inviolable conjugal fi
delity and domestic virtue, she knew how to drive
away sadness and every tormenting care from my

REGULA ZWINGLI AND HER CHILD

Anna Reinhard, Zwingli's Wife. 19
soul." Her son, Rudolph, whose picture we show
with hers, also later wrote a poem describing her
fidelity, piety and other graces. '

II.
calvin's wife, idelette d'bures.
HE wife of Calvin is an almost unknown, but
very interesting character, and worthy of a
more prominent place among the women of
the Reformed Church. Calvin did not think of mar
rying till he was thirty years of age, when he came
to Strasburg, 1539. Then it was that he had more
leisure to consider this important matter. His
friends, too, urged him to marry. Well-meaning
friends had anxiously concerned themselves about it
long before he did, for he was over thirty years of
age when he began to seriously consider it. An
irate housekeeper drove him to seek for a wife. For
she was so ill-tempered that one day she spoke to
Calvin's brother, Antoine, with such impertinence
that he left the house, saying he never would enter
it again as long as she was there. Whereat she re
plied, "Then I am going, too," and she left Calvin,
without any one to care for him. So as he wished
to be freed from the petty worries of life, that he
might give himself more fully to the work of the
Lord, he began to search for a suitable person for a
wife ; or rather, he let his friends search for him, as
21

22 Women of the Reformed Church.
he thought they knew better than, he did. But he re
served for himself the final decision in the matter.
He seems to have had several ladies recommended
to him. "I was offered," he wrote to Farel, his
closest friend, "a lady who was rich, young and of
noble birth, and whose dower surpassed all that I
could desire. Two things, however, urged me to re
fuse. She could not speak French, and it seemed
to me she must" be rather proud of her birth and ed
ucation." The main difficulty Calvin experienced was in the
moral qualities of the person he sought. He looked
beyond mere beauty of face or form, seeking beauty
of soul. He says "he wished a wife who would be
gentle, pure, modest, economical, patient,- and to
whom the care of her husband would be the chief
matter;" probably owing to his poor health he felt
especial need of the last named requisite. He evi
dently had a lofty ideal of the wife he wanted. In
deed, it has been said that his marriage was not so
much of the heart as of the head, and made not
through falling in love as much as being a business
matter. He has, therefore, been charged with being
a cold, though kind husband. This would in some
sense seem natural to one like Calvin, who was so

Calvin's Wife, Idelette D'Bures. -23
eminently intellectual. And yet D'Aubigne says,
"This seems to me doubtful ; when once married, he
had a genuine affection for his wife. There was, we
believe, a lofty intellect and a sublime genius, but
also that love of kindred, those affections of the
heart that complete the man."
These high ideals of Calvin only reveal how high
must have been the character of Idelette De Bures
(Van Buren) to be able to fulfil them. When Cal
vin had sought for a wife, until he was almost ready
to give up, Bucer called his attention to Idelette, for
Bucer had known her for her piety, her watchful
tenderness and power of self-sacrifice as a wife,
widow and mother. She had fled from Liege for
the sake of her Protestant faith, and had married
John Storder, who had been an Anabaptist, but both
had been converted to the Reformed faith through
Calvin's efforts. Calvin, therefore, had become ac
quainted with her before her husband's deatn. She,
it seems, had been living so retired that he did not
think of her at first. He, however, had noticed her
deep-seated faith, devoted affection and Christian
courage, that had led her to give up all for her faith.
So Calvin proposed to her and was accepted.
The marriage took place August 1, 1540. It was

24 Women of the Reformed Church.
quite a large public wedding, some of the Swiss
towns, as Neuchatel, being represented by deputies.
Calvin's friends from France also took part in the
wedding. Calvin was very happy after the wedding.
He called Idelette "the excellent companion of his
life, the ever faithful assistant of his ministry." He
believed what the Bible says, "that whoso findeth a
wife, findeth a good thing and obtaineth favor of the
Lord." D'Aubigne calls attention to the fact that
the reason why we know so much less about her
than we do of Luther's wife, is because Calvin wrote
less about her. And he did this purposely. For
what Calvin prized most in his heart was her mod
esty. He, therefore, had such a sense of propriety
that he did not obtrude her in his letters or his work
any more than he would have thought of seeing her
gadding about in the street. With him, too, every
thing was swayed by the thought of the work of
Christ, and all his private and domestic affairs were
eclipsed by this. For these reasons he wrote less
about her than Luther, and therefore, unfortunately
for us, we know less about her. But this very silence
is in itself a beautiful tribute to her character.
Hardly had Calvin been married than he had to
leave her. He was summoned to go to the confer-

Calvin's Wife, Idelette D'Bures. 25
ences at Hagenau and Worms on account of political
affairs. He left his wife at Strasburg in the care
of his brother Antoine, and of a family named
Richebourg, whose sons had been his pupils. Hardly
had he gone, before the awful plague broke out in
Strasburg. But duty to the Protestant cause, which
was imperiled at these conferences, was stronger
than duty to his family, and he could not come
home. Meanwhile the plague raged violently. Young
Louis De Richebourg and Claude Ferey, an intimate
friend of Calvin's, soon died of it. Antoine, his
brother, fled from Strasburg. Calvin in agony
watched the mail for the news, fearing the worst for
his wife. He wrote to a friend in Strasburg, "Day
and night I see my wife before my eyes, who is in
the midst of these dangers without help and advice,
because her husband is away. I make great efforts
to resist my grievous anxiety. I have recourse to
prayer and holy meditation." His prayers were
heard, Idelette's life was spared, and she was per
mitted to welcome him back to Strasburg. When
Calvin was recalled to Geneva he left her at Stras
burg. The council of Geneva sent three horses and
a carriage to bring her and her household. They
allotted a house with a garden attached to Calvin

26 Women of the Reformed Church.
and his wife. There she revealed the same beauti
ful characteristics of a faithful wife. She was de
voted to her husband. As he was naturally sickly
and weak, she watched by his bedside in sickness,
and cheered him in moments of weakness and de
pression. She thus greatly soothed him in the midst
of the tremendous burdens of his labors. Doubt
less we owe much of the abundance and clearness of
his thoughts to her kind ministry in the home. Of
ten she watched by his bedside at night, holding1 up
his weary head, for he was a terrible sufferer- of
headache. In his sad hours, when adverse news
came, she strengthened and comforted him. When
the rebellious raged through the streets, crying out
against the ministers of Geneva, she retired to her
chamber, fell on her knees and prayed. Like a good
pastor's wife she visited the sick. She was often
seen comforting the sorrowing. Her house was an
asylum for the numerous refugees who came crowd
ing to Geneva. che cared for them with such beau
tiful hospitality that by some she was blamed for be
ing more careful of strangers than of the natives of
Geneva. She delighted in the company of his
friends, especially of Farel, Beza, and others. She
would accompany her husband on his walks, which

Calvin's Wife, Idelette D'Bures. 27
he took .only too rarely, to Cologny and Bellerive.
Viret's wife was to her as a sister, and in May, 1545,
when her husband went to Zurich, to stir up the
German cantons to intercede for the Waldenses, she
visited Viret's wife at Lausanne. But she had great
sorrows, which brought much sickness. One by one
her children were taken away from her by death in
infancy. In July, 1542, she became very sick, and
Calvin was greatly alarmed. He wrote to Viret, "I
am in great anxiety." The next month her new-born
babe died. Great was Calvin's grief. Writing to
Viret, he says, "Salute all the brethren — salute also
thy wife, to whom mine sends her thanks for the
sweet and holy consolation which she received from
her. She would write to acknowledge these with her
own hand, but she had not strength to dictate a few
words. In that He hath taken away our son, He
hath stricken us sorely, but He is our Father. He
knoweth what is meet for His children." Thus
wrote Calvin, and yet he has been reproached as one
whose heart was in his head, and as having no ten
der, deep feelings. Two years after this another
child died, an infant daughter. And the next year
another baby died. But like Rachel of old, Idelette
mourned, and yet, unlike Rachel, she did not refuse

28 Women of the Reformed Church.
to be comforted, for her consolation was that they
were with Christ, which is far better.. This sorrow
was made all the greater because the Catholics
claimed that their deaths were a judgment on them
for being heretics. Calvin and his wife bore these
reproaches with meekness, Calvin replying to them
that though he had no natural children living, he
had myriads of spiritual sons throughout the Chris
tian world.
Her married life lasted only nine years. She nev
er had been strong. In 1549 it was evident that she
was becoming seriously ill. For three years she had
suffered from fever, which with her sorrows had
completely broken her do\vn. Calvin now wrote to
Viret, "I fear a fatal termination. The Lord will
perhaps show us a more favorable countenance." His
fears proved only too true. Although his wife had
the best of physicians, Textor, who was a refugee
and warm personal friend of Calvin's, yet all the
physician's efforts failed to stay the disease. She
gradually grew worse, and by April first her condi
tion became so serious that all hope of cure was giv
en up. Beza and others of Calvin's friends, as soon
as they heard this, hastened to Calvin to comfort
him. As she neared death, only one thing seemed to

Calvin's Wife, Idelette D'Bures. 29
trouble her — her children of her former marriage to
Storder. Calvin, seeing she was troubled, divining
the reason, promised to treat them just as if they
were his own children. At/ which she said, "I have
already commended them to the Lord, but I know
well that thou wilt not abandon those whom I have
confided to the Lord." This last worldly care having
been cast off her mind, she calmly waited for death.
Although suffering very much, her face revealed the
sweetness of the peace that reigned within. Her
pastor Bbrgonius, who visited her on the evening
of April 6, speaks of her simplicity of faith and ele
vation of hope as truly edifying. "O glorious resur
rection," she exclaimed while he was speaking, and
again, "O God of Abraham and of all our fathers,
the faithful in all generations have trusted in Thee,
and none have ever been confounded. I, too, trust in
Thee from time to time." At six o'clock she said,
as her friends had moved her to another bed and she
was feeling very weak, "Pray, my friends; pray for
me." Calvin drew closer to her ; she still recognized
him; he spoke to her of the grace of Christ and of
that strength which was made perfect in weakness.
He reminded her — though his voice faltered in do
ing so — of the blessed eternity of joy upon which
she was about to enter. And then he prayed with

30 Women of the Reformed Church.
her, commending her to Him in whom both believed.
About 9 o'clock (April 5, 1549) she ceased to
breathe, but so peacefully did she pass away that
for some moments the watchers by her bedside were
uncertain whether she slept or was dead.
Calvin, writing of her to Farel and Viret, says of
her : "I have lost her who would never have quitted
me either in exile, or misery, or death. She was a
precious help to me, and never occupied with self.
The best of partners has been taken from me." And
seven years later, when writing to Valeville, the
French pastor at ' Frankf ord, who had lost his wife,
he says, "I know from my own experience how pain
ful and burning are the wounds which the death of
an excellent wife causes. How hard it has been to
become master of my sorrows." Calvin, , although
duties pressed on him more than ever, never forgot
Idelette — never for a moment thought of filling her
place by marrying again. And when he pronounced
.her name, his tone and meaning revealed how dear
she was to him. If her husband, who knew her best,
could thus revere and honor her, it becomes us to
honor her memory as one of the truest and most
devoted of the wives of the reformers — a fit
companion to Catharine Von Bora, Luther's wife,
and Anna Reinhard, Zwingli's wife.

--^?^>^' .

m

^ H

!¦""<¦

ANNA BULLINGER

III.
ANNA BULLINGER.
BWO women of the Reformed Church of the
Reformation have been almost forgotten,
and yet stand out as pre-eminently worthy
of notice, for they were the Marthas of their day.
Just as Martha was busy preparing a proper recep
tion of Christ in her home, so these women, as they
could not receive Christ personally into their homes
like Martha, busied themselves greatly in receiv
ing Christ's followers, and in receiving them, re
ceived Him. They were the wife of Zell, the, first
reformer of Strasburg, who received Bucer, Calvin,
Farel and many more into her home, and Anna Bul
linger. Their homes became in reality hotels, where
the Protestant refugees found safety and a most
kindly reception.
Anna Bulliriger's maiden name was Adlisch-
weiler. The date of her birth we do not know, but
it was probably 1504. Her father died in battle
when she was only eight years old. Her mother,
thinking in her Romish blindness to do God a ser
vice, afterwards took her daughter and gave her to
the Church by placing her in the cloister at Oeden-
31

32 Women of the Reformed Church.
bach, at Zurich, where she became a nun. And as
the mother herself was sick with dropsy and desired
to be near her daughter, she boarded there, too. But
while they were thus quietly living in the cloister,
strange things were happening outside of it in
Zurich. The Reformation had come. Zwingli's
preaching had won the town, and the Gospel was
preached in the churches, until there was but one
place in the town where it was not heard, and that
was the nunnery at Oedenbach. Finally the city
council of Zurich, unwilling that of all the inhabi
tants of the town the nuns there should be the only
ones shut out from hearing a Gospel sermon, or
dered Zwingli in 1522 to go and preach in the nun
nery. This call he obeyed with great joy,
and he preached a remarkable and impressive
sermon on "The Clearness and Certainty of
the Word of God." This sermon had a
double effect. Some of the nuns were won by
it to the Gospel, but others became very bit
ter against it. As a very bitter strife now broke out
in the nunnery between the adherents and opponents
of Zwingli, the city council at last felt itself com
pelled to forbid the Dominicans, who before had
been the spiritual guides of the cloister, to enter it,

Anna Bullinger. 33
*
and ordered Zwingli and Leo Juda to take the spir
itual care of the inmates. Against this the monks
and some of the sisters protested, but in vain. The
council then gave orders, allowing any of the nuns,
who so desired, to leave and to take their property
and clothing with them. Many of them took ad
vantage of this, and some who left married. Those
who desired to remain, were permitted to do so, but
were not allowed to wear nun's garb. Soon Anna
was the only nun remaining in the nunnery, except
one aged sister. And she would not have remained
(for she had been won by Zwingli's preaching),
but for the sake of her sick mother.
Now it happened that Leo Juda, who was chap
lain of the nunnery, took with him one day young
Henry Bullinger, who was on a visit to him. Bul-
linger's heart was touched by the tender influence
of love, and he wrote her a marriage proposal. His
letter, to her is still extant as the first love letter of
the Reformers. This letter is a long one,* cov
ering fourteen and a half printed pages, and for
candor and Christian love it might well be a model
to all who desire to make marriage proposals (ex-

*See "Heinrich Bullinger und seine Gattin," by Chris-
tofifel, page. 21.

34 Women of the Reformed Church.
cept that it is too long) . In it he describes his phys
ical condition and his means, and eloquently sums
it up by saying, "But why are many words neces
sary ! The sum of it all is, that the greatest, surest
treasure that you will find in me, is fear of God,
piety, fidelity and love, which with joy I will show
you, and labor, earnestness and industry, which will
not be wanting in temporal things. Concerning
high nobility and many thousand gulden, I can say
nothing to you. But I know that what is necessary
to us, will not be wanting. For Paul says, 'We
brought nothing into the world, and we will take
nothing out. Therefore, if we have clothing and
food it is enough.'"
Ten days after she received his proposal, Bul
linger received her reply, which was in the affirma
tive. But as her mother was opposed to the mar
riage, and moreover was quite sick, Anna desired
the marriage to be postponed, so that she could stay
at the nunnery with her mother. Meanwhile Bul
linger utilized the time by preparing her by care
ful teaching for her future position as his wife. He,
therefore wrote a small book entitled, "Concerning
Female Training, and How a Daughter Should
Guide Her Conduct and Life." Her mother having

Anna Bullinger. 35
died, they were married in 1529. During the pre
vious year Bullinger had been licensed by the Zurich
Synod as a minister, and had accepted the pastorate
at Bremgarten, where his father had been pastor.
Two daughters were born to them there, and great
was their joy. But it was soon turned into sorrow.
For the defeat of Zurich at Cappel, on October 11,
I53I> (ni the battle where Zwingli fell) made it
dangerous for them, especially for Bullinger, as
1 the Romish armies had little mercy for Protestant
ministers. So on the night of November 20 Bul
linger fled from Bremgarten, together with his aged
father and brother. They had hardly left the town,
when the Catholic soldiers entered it and plundered
Bullinger's house, and quartered thirty soldiers on
Anna, who with the two little children had been left
behind. She saw she could not provide for them,
so she determined to flee, too. Now she had as her
servant a woman, who because of her faithfulness
has become a historical character. Her name was
Brigette. She had served the family for many
years, not for money, but for love, for her yearly
wages were four gulden (about two dollars) and
a pair of shoes,, and yet for this she served the
family for thirty-five years. Anna, leaving the care

36 Women of the Reformed Chutch.
of the house to this faithful servant, fled with hei
two children, one a year and a half old, the other
only .six months old. When she came to the gate
of the town, she found it closed and the guard was
unwilling to open it. But nerved by a mother's
superhuman strength, she wrested the key from
him by force, and opened it, and fled. Great was the
joy of her husband, who was at Zurich, when she
arrived safely with her little children, and glad
were they to find a refuge at Zurich.
But they were still not perfectly safe, for after the
defeat of Cappel and the death of Zwingli, there had
come a reaction in Zurich, which had become so
strong that Leo Juda, Zwingli's closest friend, was
afraid to go out, and his wife trembled for his life.
The church at Zurich was looking for a successor
to Zwingli. Bullinger's friends, Leo Juda and My
conius prevailed on Bullinger to preach in the ca
thedral. And so able and eloquent was his sermon
that the people said he was a Zwingli risen from
the dead. The city of Zurich, finding he had calls
to Basle, Bern and Appenzell, hastened to elect him,
although he was only twenty-seven years old. Great
was" the honor shown him, but also great was the
responsibility. His new position brought much

Anna Bullinger. 37
honor to his wife but also many new cares. Not
merely did her family grow almost yearly by the
birth of a child until they numbered eleven, but as
the wife of the head of the church, she had to receive
and entertain many strangers in her house. Thus
Bullinger's father and mother lived with them till
they died. Bullinger also with great kindness took
into his home the wife and children of his prede
cessor, Zwingli, and cared for them as he cared for
his own family. He also received into his house
young Rudolph Gualther and educated him. It was
a kindness worthily bestowed, for Gualther after
wards became his successor as antistes. For Bul
linger was fond' of young men, and when he found
one of bright mind and spiritual inclinations; he at
his own cost reared and educated him. Thus in
addition to Gualther he took Henry Lavater and
Josiah Simler and others, and in 1531 two Polish
boys with their tutor into his family. Thus Anna
Bullinger's family became very large and her cares
many. And the wonder is that on the small salary
of 700 pounds she was able to do it.* Hence great
*It is true Bullinger had the interest of 700, which he
inherited, and ,of his wife's estate of 2600 — 3300 in all.
This at 6 per cent, interest would bring in 198, say 200,
more. This would make his income only 900 pounds in
all.

38 Women of the Reformed Church.
economy was necessary to feed and clothe so many
in the family. Very characteristic was the letter
Bullinger wrote to his oldest son at Strasburg,
December 20, 1553, "Your mother makes big eyes
when you already speak of needing another pair of
shoes for the winter. It is hardly fifteen weeks since
you left us, when you took three pairs with you, the
red, the gray and black. At this rate you will need
six pairs a year. I have more than enough with
two." But Bullinger afterwards gives his son the
advice, "Do not let your shoes go to pieces, but get
them mended in time." And three months after he
praises his son for his economy. On his small salary
Bullinger could not have provided for all in his
house had Anna not guided the household with her
economy. Anna could not have borne all the cares
had not Bullinger's mother aided her. And Brigette,
too, greatly helped her, as Brigette had become more
of a household companion than a servant, for Bul
linger in writing to his son Henry in 1556, at Stras
burg, says, "Your five sisters greet you, and especi- •
ally Brigette, who sends to 'you a present of three
groschen." Brigette might well be called the model
servant of the Reformation. Little did she think
that she would be spoken of 350 years after her ten-

Anna Bullinger. 39
der ministry in Bullinger's home; but her faithful
ness is worthy of it, and her life shows how one in a
lowly position, only a servant girl, can gain a great
reward by simple faithfulness, serving riot for
money but for love.
Thus Bullinger assisted by his wife* was able to do
much with little money. Nor were these things all
the cares that came to Anna. Her house was not
only a home to the homeless, but became virtually
a sort of hotel, for to it came the refugees of every
land. Zurich was an asylum to the persecuted Re
formed of other lands. This was due to the great
friendliness of Bullinger to the refugees. First in
1542 came the Italian Reformed, driven out by the
persecutions of the inquisition, Peter Martyr, Ber
nard Ochino, Celio Curione, all scholarly, eloquent
men. Curione writes a letter of thanks, in which he
calls Bullinger a bishop according to the description
of a bishop given by the apostle Paul, and says,
"Your friendliness and your Christian care for us
during our stay with you obliges me to give you
my inmost thanks. Greet for us very heartily your
wife, who showed herself so full of kindly service
and love." Then came the refugees from Locarno,
on the southern borders of Switzerland. Beccaria

40 ' Women of the Reformed Church.
had there founded a Reformed church, and it had
grown to two hundred members. Their prosperity
incited their Catholic neighbors against them, and
it was decided November 24, 1555, that all who
would not return to the Romish faith must leave.
So March 3, 1556, they fled over the snowy Alps,
and one hundred and sixteen in number arrived at
Zurich May 12. There they were gladly received
by the people, and especially by Bullinger. He and
his wife set the example and led the way. Great
was her care and anxiety for those refugees, who
had left; all for the Gospel's sake. And when the
fires of persecution broke out in England in 1550
under bloody Mary, Bullinger arid the Zurich
church gladly received them. Even before that, as
early as 1536, Cranmer, the archbishop of Canter
bury, had sent three young men to be educated at
Zurich, one of whom Bullinger took into his own
house, and the next year he took another. When
they left, they, kept up correspondence with him,
and one of them, Partridge, again and again ex
pressed his thankfulness to Bullinger and to his
wife, who had become a, mother to him. In 1546
Hooper, later bishop and martyr of the Church of
England, came to Zurich, and was received by Bui-

Anna Bullinger. 41
linger in his own home, where he had a daughter
baptized by Bullinger. After his return to Eng
land, he wrote to BulHnger, expressing his great
thankfulness to him and his wife for their hospi
tality. When the Marian persecution broke out in
England, Bullinger's table was often filled with
refugees, and his wife often had great care and
anxiety to know what to do with them, or how to
provide for them. Zurich founded a school for
them to educate twelve English students as minis
ters, of whom five afterwards became bishops. All
of them afterwards expressed the greatest thankful
ness to Bullinger and his wife for the kindness they
had received at their house. They also sent presents
to Zurich, as a return for kindnesses shown. There
are still at Zurich three large polished silver goblets,
"which three of these returned bishops, Jewel, Horn
and Parkhurst, presented to the church of Zurich.
And there is also a , goblet of fine workmanship,
which Queen Elizabeth presented to, Bullinger as a
token of her thanks. Nor were these all the refu
gees entertained by Bullinger and his family. When
the wars in Germany went against the Protestants,
some of them found refuge at Zurich, as Musculus
and Cellarius. Musculus, in a letter from Bern,

42 Women of the Reformed Church.
afterwards thanks Bullinger for his hospitality, and
also Bullinger's wife for the comfort of her letter
to his wife.
Thus Bullinger's" wife was a ministering angel to
the refugees. Many were her cares and responsi
bilities, to which all these bear witness. In addition
to these refugees there came many prominent for
eign visitors, as Calvin and Farel from Geneva, also
Bucer and Capito from Strasburg, among theolo
gians, Portalis, the ambassador of the king of Na
varre, the noble families of Wurtemburg and
Schaumburg, who were refugees. All these were
for a time entertained by Bullinger's family, or in
social relations with it. And not only to foreigners
was Bullinger's home a refuge for foreigners, but
also to the poor at home. Thus Fabricius, the re
former of Chur, tells of a distant relative, who
found herself poor and helpless at Zurich, and was
taken by Bullinger to his own home and kept there
for a time as a member of it. A continual stream of
beautiful gifts flowed through the hand of Anna
Bullinger to the huts of the poor and stilled many
a grief. She provided the needy sick with food,
drink, clothing, money, in fact everything necessary.
She joined with the leading ladies of Zurich, the

Anna Bullinger. 43
wives of ministers, as of Leo Juda, Pellican, Peter
Martyr and others, in these labors of love. Is it
any wonder, in view of all these things, that she
was known at Zurich by the name, so descriptive of
her character, of "mother." And in foreign lands,
by English, Italians, Dutch and Germans, she was
known and addressed by the title of "Zurich-mo
ther." A good Samaritan was she till her end in
1564. Then her husband sickened of the plague,
so that all thought he must die. During his sick
ness Anna, forgetful of self, nursed him so that he
got well. But it was at the cost of her own life.
For as he recovered, she sickened and died. Great
was the sorrow in Zurich for her. And her mem
ory remains for the Reformed as a beautiful inspi
ration for deeds of love and charity. "Blessed are
the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea,
saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors,
and their works do follow them."

Chapter II.— GERMANY. i.
•CATHARINE ZELL.
MONG the Reformed women of the Refor
mation none deserves greater credit than
the subject of this sketch. She had her
faults, it is true, — who has not, — but her faults were
rather the excess of her virtues than anything else,
for she was intense in her character. And she ex
celled all in being a mother to all refugees, and with
her warm heart welcoming them to her house,
which became a veritable "hotel" to them all her
life. Catharine Schutz (for such was her maiden
name) was born in 1497 in Strasburg. She came
from a prominent artisan family, and fortunately
received from her parents an excellent education,
which she was careful to use afterwards to aid her
beloved faith. During her girlhood and school-days
many changes were taking place at Strasburg.
Gradually the doctrines of the Reformation were
leavening the people. About 15 18 Matthew Zell
was called to 5e the preacher' at the great cathedral
there, and he soon began preaching the Gospel.
45

46 Women of the Reformed Church.
This caused a great excitement. The Romish arch
bishop, under whose care the cathedral was, refused
to allow him to enter the pulpit any more. So as
the pulpit was locked against him, his friends made
for him a wooden pulpit, which they would carry
into the church whenever he was to preach, and
from it he preached to crowds which filled that vast
church. As a result the city became largely Pro
testant under his preaching. Among his hearers
was his future wife, Catharine Schutz, who readily
accepted his doctrines with all the earnestness of hei
warm-hearted nature. She was married to Zell De
cember 3, 1525. Martin Bucer, who was a later
reformer at Strasburg than Zell (who was the first
reformer, of that city), married them. And at the
close of the marriage ceremony they celebrated the
Lord's Supper in the great cathedral after the Re
formed manner. That immense building was filled
mainly with men, who thus showed by their presence
their approval of the marriage of a priest like Zell.
She proved to be a pious, busy, discreet wife, in
the fullest sympathy with her husband. For this
unity of feeling between them she often thanked
God, and spoke of her husband and of herself fre
quently as "being of one mind and one soul." She

Catharine Zell. 47
says : "What bound us together was not silver and
gold. Both of us possessed a higher thing, 'Christ
was the mark before our eyes.' " As she was well
educated, her progress in the Bible gave her a deep
knowledge of religion. Endowed with rare courage
and great natural eloquence, she understood how to
defend her views by word, and even by pen if nec
essary. Her great aim was to spread abroad the
Gospel. Sometimes it seemed as if she outdid her
husband in this, so that he seemed to be placed in the
background, and Bucer could shruggingly say that
he was ruled by his wife. Yet Bucer himself bears
witness that, she was "as God-fearing and coura
geous as a hero." She herself says she wanted to be
only the helpmeet of her husband, and a "little piece
of the rib of the sainted Matthew Zell."
Her correspondence became quite large, and in it
she excelled. Soon after her marriage she came
into correspondence with Luther. She exchanged
letters with Zwingli, and later with Bullinger, as
well as Luther. She also filled her life full of good
deeds, as caring for the sick and needy. And in this
respect she excelled in caring for the refugees who
fled to Strasburg because of persecution for their
faith. She says : "I have already in. the beginning of

48 Women of the Reformed Church.
my marriage received many excellent and learned
people in their flight, and comforted them as God
has said : 'Support and strengthen the weak knees.' "
When fifteen excellent men had to flee from Baden
for conscience's sake, among them an old and learn
ed man named Doctor Mantel, Zell took him into his
house and gave him a home. After this kindly re
ception Mantel again fell into the hands of the
Catholics, and lay for four years in prison, during
which time his memories of Catharine Zell's kind
ness were a benediction to him. In 1524, 150 citizens
in one night were driven out of the little village of
Kenzingen in Breisgau, and came to Strasburg.
Zell received eighty of them into his house, and Mrs.
Zell kindly cared for them, feeding fifty or sixty for
four weeks. She was continually busy in caring for
such refugees, either herself, or by getting others to
do it. Zell delighted in these labors of love of his
wife. Many, very many were the refugees who re
ceived a warm welcome in their house. Among
them Heilandt, of Calw, in Wurtemberg, who
stayed there until he found a position at Strasburg.
When in 1543 a number of poor scholars happened
to gather together there, she was unwearied in
getting supper lor them. She took up collec-

Catharine Zell. 49
tions for them and aided in housing them in
the Williams cloister. Thus she entertained
many of the greatest reformers who came as
refugees. When Bucer, the greatest reformer
of Strasburg, came fleeing from Weissenburg,
he found a home and a refuge in Mrs. Zell's
house. And again, when Calvin came fleeing
from France, having had all his money stolen on the
way, it was Mrs. Zell who gave him a warm wel
come at her fireside. A peculiarly brilliant period of
her life was the year 1529, when the conference be
tween Luther and Zwingli at Marburg brought so
many distinguished reformers to Strasburg. Like
busy Martha of old, who entertained her Saviour
with the best at Bethany, she exerted herself to en
tertain these noble followers of Christ. She said:
"I have been for fourteen days maid and cook while
the dear men Ecolampadius and Zwingli were here."
Her husband was inclined rather to quietness and
peace, although he was not wanting in courage for
the truth, as his boldness in being the first preacher
of Protestantism in Strasburg shows. Still, while
he was inclined to quietness in the controversies that
raged around him among the Protestants, she was
inclined to be controversial, and wielded her pen

50 Women of the Reformed Church.
for the truth and for peace wherever she felt it was
needed. She even wrote to Luther, asking him to
treat the Swiss with a little more mildness in the
controversy about the Lord's Supper. Luther re
plied to her quite politely and more mildly. After
the Wittenberg Concord of 1536 had brought peace
between Luther and the Swiss, Zell took a journey
to Wittenberg, accompanied by his wife, of which
trip she speaks in glowing terms. But while she
was staunch for the truth, she was very liberal in
her sympathies even toward the Schwenkfelders and
Anabaptists. When Schwenkfeld, a Silesian noble
man, came as a refugee to Strasburg in 1528, he was
received with kindness into her house. And when
the younger ministers of Strasburg attacked him for
his theological errors, she defended him in a public
letter. They in reply reproached "Mrs. Doctor
Catharine," as they called her, "with mental vagaries
and obstinacy," and advised her, "rather to spin at
the distaff and wait on the sick" than to engage in
theological conflicts, which belonged rather to the
clergy. Even after Schwenkfeld had been com
pelled to leave Strasburg, she remained in corres
pondence with him.
She was the author of a number of works. As

Catharine Zell. 51
early as 1524 she defended Zell's conversion to
Protestantism, and later his marriage to her. In that
year, too, she published a work of comfort, "to her
persecuted sisters of the congregation at Kenzing
en," whose husbands had been driven away by the
Austrians and had fled to Strasburg. In 1534 she
wrote an introduction to a hymnbook. Her great
labors aged her. However, she was still vigorous
when the Lord called away her husband by death,
January 9, 1548. On the last night of his life he
called her to him and told her to give his last mes
sage to his assistant pastors, and ask them "to leave
the Anabaptists and Schwenkfelders in peace, and
to preach Christ rather than persecute them." It
happened that the day of Zell's funeral was the day
when the citizens renewed their oath to the city and
elected their magistrates, and so three thousand
men followed her husband to his grave. After
Bucer had preached the funeral sermon and most of
the people had gone home, she made an address to
the intimate friends, in which she spoke of the pious
labors of her husband and gave them his last words
of love, urging them to peace, and to leave the Ana
baptists and Schwenkfelders alone. The magis
trates, out of respect to her husband, allowed her to

52 Women of the Reformed Church.
remain living in the large parsonage of the cathe
dral, which she, as "mother of the Reformers" (as
she was called), had consecrated by making it so
often a spiritual asylum for refugees.
Then came sad days for her, when the Emperor
tried to introduce the Interim (1547) with its Rom
ish rites. She wrote a book, in which she bewailed
this condition of affairs, and implored Strasburg to
remain true to Christ and give up the Pope. With
the death of Zell and the departure of Bucer for
England, matters changed very much in Strasburg.
Lutheranism was introduced. She had received
into her home her husband's successor, Rabus, who
became the most popular preacher of the city. He,
although he- had been trained in Zell's family, now
began to attcfck the low Reformed views and
customs, and to urge the introduction of high
Lutheran methods. Mrs. Zell was not the woman
to keep silent when her husband's acts and views
were thus attacked, and she wrote against him. She
therefore becomes the great woman defender of the
Reformed views in the Reformation. Rabus an
swered her in 1557 from Ulm, where he was sta
tioned. She replied in a letter to the whole citizen
ship of Strasburg. Her language was quite severe

Catharine Zell. 53
and her defence eloquent. She continued to be the
refuge of the persecuted of all denominations. Thus
in 1549, when Bucer and Fagius left Strasburg for
London, as they bade her good-bye, they left in her
hand two gold pieces, with the request that they be
used for the refugees, if found necessary. This
was a beautiful tribute from these great reformers
to her kindness to the refugees. In her reply to
them, she says she felt like doing to them what Jo
seph did to his brethren — return the money. She
then, however, stated that a case had come to her
notice of a persecuted minister with five children,
and also another, of a minister's -wife, before whose
eyes the husband had been beheaded, both of them
very needy. To these she had given one of the gold
pieces, and the other she returned to them, think
ing that they might need it themselves, as they
would probably need much when they came to Eng
land. Thus she continued her labors of love till she
died. The date of her death is not exactly known.
She Was living March 3, 1562, for then she sent an
apology to Lewis Lavater, of Zurich, for not an
swering his letter, because she said "she was often
half dead with her long sickness, and could not hold

54 Women of the Reformed Church.
the pen." How soon after that she died is not
known. Such was the life and testimony of one of the
foremost women of the Reformed Church in Refor
mation days. She is worthy of more notice than the
silence of the past has given to her. Indeed, she
may be said to deserve the title of the "Woman Re
former of the Reformed Church" better than any
other woman, except perhaps, Margaret Blaarer.
For the wives of the other leading reformers, as
Anna Zwingli and Anna Bullinger, lived quiet lives
or busied themselves mainly with their household
duties. Idelette Calvin is almost unknown, because
she is hidden behind her great husband. But Cath
arine Zell stands out prominently, both by her life
and writings. She seems to have been the equal of
her husband in ability, and had even greater energy.
While she excelled in the management of her home
and made it a delightful refuge for all suffering
refugees, yet with her pen she defended her opinions
also. Her defence of the Reformed against the
Lutherans endears her to all women of the Re
formed Church. She was a female theologian in the
best sense of that word, a true Reformed, a warm
hearted woman, and a pious Christian.

N

ii.
margaret blaarer.
|0T only were the wives of the reformers a
1 great aid to the Reformation, but their sis-
IBgigBl ters also. We have an illustration of this
in Margaret Blaarer the sister of Ambrose Blaarer,
the great reformer of Constance and Wurtemberg.
In this city Huss had been burned at the stake pro
phesying that the Reformation would rise from his
ashes. In 1527 that city rose, Phcenixlike, from his
ashes to throw off the yoke of Rome; as many as
twenty-three ministers preaching the gospel in the
churches, out of which the Catholic images and
altars had been cast. The Catholic priests and bish
ops fled from the city. In this Reformation the
the Blaarer family became very prominent. Am
brose, the reformer, had been a monk, but left the
monastery disgusted with its vices. His brother
Thomas became burgomaster of the town and Mar
garet became the female reformer of the Swiss Re
formation. Many, however, were the difficulties that arose to
impede the Reformation there. Drought, plague
and earthquake came one after the other. During
55

56 Women, of the Reformed Church.
all these trials Margaret was the excellent helper of
her brother Ambrose. She was a scholar in those
days, when few women were educated. She read
the old authors in the original tongues, had corres
pondence with many learned men in Latin and was
highly honored as a poetess by Erasmus and Bul
linger. Bucer, the reformer of Strasburg, having
attended the conference at Berne in 1528, returned
with Blaarer to Germany by way of Constance. He
there learned to know Ambrose's sister, and after
wards kept up correspondence with her, no less than
seventy-nine letters of Bucer to her being shown in
the Zurich library. He addressed her _as "sister"
and "mother," although he was three years older
than she. But then she was a mother in Israel be
cause of her good works. But it was her piety that
shone above all her gifts. For though so honored
by men, and so well acquainted with the sciences of
the day, she clothed herself, says a writer, "in the
greater ornament of modesty, that she had not only
found the pearl of great price, but was a pearl her
self (Margaret means pearl) through the splendor
of her piety and her example of good works." And
not only this but also an ornament to her city.
In doing good she was untiring. Many were the

Margaret Blaarer. 57
poor children she taught to read. Many were the
widows and orphans she visited in their sorrow.
While her brother Ambrose swung the spiritual
sword, the Word of God, and her other brother
Thomas swung the worldly sword as a leader of
the Reformation in the city council, her work was
the quiet, still labor of a love that reached all. The
first woman's society to care for the sick was organ
ized by her. She thus became the founder of
the first woman's society in the Protestant Church.
When the plague broke ont in 1541 she labored most
assiduously and self-denyingly among the sick at the
risk of her own life. Her brother Ambrose thus wrote
to Bullinger November 5, 1541, "Margaret, the best
of sisters, behaves like an archdeaconess of our
church in that she puts her life and all in danger.
'Daily she visits the houses where the patients of the
pest are cared for. She has just taken a little girl
whom she has supported for ten years, into her
home. Pray, I beseech you, to the Lord, that He
does not permit her who is our only comfort to be
torn away from us."
Ambrose's wish was answered. She did not die
of the plague, but she did not live long after; for
she died of a fever, November 15, 1541, at the age

58 Women of the Reformed Church.
of 47 years. After her death, Ambrose received
many letters full of sympathy and mourning from
all the leading reformers as Bucer and Bullinger.
Ambrose wrote a beautiful hymn on her death, full
of Christian hope; for he was one of the earliest
hymn-writers of the Reformed, as for 150 years
after the Reformation they sang mainly psalms.
She was a genuine sister of mercy, not one shut
up in a convent, but one who entered the far wider
sphere of everyday life, busy in acts of mercy wher
ever opportunity was found. If her brother has
been called the Apostle of Wurtemberg, she might
well be called the Angel of Mercy of Constance.
Well was it for her that she died when she did.
It was a mercy of God that she did not live a few
years longer, fpr then she would have seen the Re
formed driven out of Constance and her brother
Ambrose compelled to flee to Switzerland for safety.
When that storm burst on Constance, she was safe
above all .storms in the bosom of her Lord in heaven.

T

Chapter III.— FRANCE.

QUEEN MARGARET OF NAVARRE.
HE first princess to become Reformed was
Queen Margaret of Navarre. Before any
other lady of royal blood became Re
formed, she did. The Reformed doctrines already
at their beginning reached up to a throne and as
in Paul's time there were saints found in Caesar's
household. Margaret was a remarkable combina
tion of qualities. She was one of the most beautiful
princesses of her day, and learned as well. The
statesmen of her time considered her the best head
in Europe. But above all her beauty and ability
shone her piety. Her beauty of soul was greater
than her beauty of body. To her the Reformed of
France owed everything, for had it not been for her
influence and protection, they would have been
crushed out at the very beginning.
She was born April n, 1492, at Angouleme.
While she was yet a girl, there was a Frenchman
preaching the Gospel before the time of the Refor
mation. His name was Lefevre, and he preached it
as early as 15 12 (four years before Zwingli and
59

60 Women of the Reformed Church.
five years before Luther). He taught that Christ
saves, and not the Church, for the Church must her
self be purified. His preaching and the letters of
Bishop Briconnet won Margaret, when young, to
the Evangelical faith, although she still remained a
member of the Romish Church, as the Protestants
had not yet formally separated from that Church.
She had one brother, who became Francis I., King
of France. He cared nothing for the Reformed
faith (for his sympathies were with the Romish
party), but he cared much for his sister. When an
enemy complained to him that Margaret was inclin
ing to Protestantism, he replied, "If what you say is
true, I love her too well to allow her to be troubled
on that account." Often he said in the presence of
her enemies, "My sister Margaret is the only wo
man I ever knew who had every virtue and every
grace without any admixture of vice." Thus in
the corrupt court of Louisa of Savoy she preached
Christ with wonderful sweetness, and influenced
many of the nobility to become Reformed. Her in
fluence over her brother she utilized to spread and to
protect Protestantism. She hoped that he would '
put himself at the head of the Protestants, as Em
peror Charles V. of Spain had done at the head of

Queen Margaret of Navarre. 61
the Romanists. She tried in every way to introduce
Protestant influences at court. A German noble
man, the Count of Hohenloe, who was a great friend
of hers, became a Protestant. As he was a high dig
nitary in the Romish Church, he had great influ
ence; and as he spoke French as readily as German,
he hoped to win France for the Reformation. Queen
Margaret was the door through which he hoped it
might enter France. So he composed a book en
titled "The Book of the Cross," which he hoped
would influence her. When her brother, Francis, re
turned from Spain, Margaret hoped to influence him,
so that he would gather around her the friends of the
Gospel, and so wrote to Hohenloe. She hoped that
Francis would invite Hohenloe to Paris, that he
might gain an opportunity to preach the Gospel.
But Francis, on his return, to her great surprise
and sorrow, forbade Protestant books, and was
careful never to invite Hohenloe. All that Mar
garet could do to console herself was to write some
of her beautiful religious poems, as :
O Thou my Priest, my Advocate, my King,
On whom depends my life, my everything;
O Lord, who first didst drain the bitter cup of woe,
And knowest its poison (if man e'er did know),

62 Women of the Reformed Church.
These thorns how sharp, these wounds how deep-
Saviour, Friend, King, oh, plead my cause, I pray;
Speak, help, and save me, lest I fall away.
In "1533 she published a volume of religious poems
entitled "The Mirror of the Sinful Soul" — a com
mentary on the words "Create in me a clean heart,
O Lord." In it she dwells on the great sacrifice of
Christ for sin and never mentions the Catholic doc
trines of the intercession of saints, human merit or
purgatory. This omission gave great offence to
the Catholics. She is therefore the first great fe
male poetess of the Reformed. The Reformed re
joiced in this defence of their principles by no less
a person than the Queen; but the Catholics were so
incensed that some of their students acted an alle
gorical play in which she was held up to ridicule.
Her religious poems reveal great beauty and ability,
all sanctified by her great piety.
When she found she could no longer use her in
fluence to introduce Protestantism, she used it to
protect it, especially after the persecutions of the
Reformed had begun. During the persecutions,
whenever she was in Paris, her brother, out of re
spect to her, would not allow any Protestants to be
put to death. The Romanists plotted against her,

Queen Margaret of Navarre. 63
but her learning, piety and benevolence, as well as
her genius and beauty,, providentially prevented
them from hurting her. Again and again she pro
tected the Reformed, and often saved their lives.
Thus a young man of rare qualities, one of her
friends at the university, was, during her absence
from Paris, arrested, dragged through the streets of
the city, followed by a howling mob, and thrust into
prison. The cell into which he was placed, was a
damp and loathesome place. There was no floov
where he could sit down, and only one place (the
cell being partly filled with water) where he could
stand or crouch with his back against the damp
stone wall. Here he was kept without light, air or
attention, except when given food, for three days,
until he was utterly exhausted. At last the cell door
was opened, and he found himself released. He
knew in his heart that Margaret had done this. But
when, with his torn and filthy garments, he went,
staggering from weakness and lack of food, through
the streets of Paris, not even his old friends would
speak to him or answer his appeal for food. Alas,
his persecution had closed their hearts against him.
He determined tp go to the palace and appeal to his
deliverer. Standing like a beggar at the gate, which

64 Women of the Reformed Church.
he had so often entered with honor, he wrote a note
to her, stating his sad condition. She immediately
ordered him into her presence. When he reached
her elegant drawing room, he found her, in all her
resplendent beauty and magnificence, surrounded
by ambassadors and cardinals. As soon as he en
tered, she advanced to meet him, introduced him to
all her company, and then sent him to an apartment,
where everything was done for his comfort. So
noble and fearless she showed herself in the face of
persecution. It seems that as soon as she had re
turned to the city during his imprisonment, she had
gone to her brother and with tears begged for his
release, as he was an innocent man; and Francis
granted it, for he never could refuse her. The Ro
manists only hated her the more for this act, and
caricatured her in a play as a witch riding on a
broomstick, an insult which her brother was very
prompt to resent, and it was stopped.
Marot, her valet de chambre and the best poet of
his age, was arrested. He spent his time writing
poems in prison, and soon Margaret had him free,
too. It would have been a great loss to the French
Reformed Church, if she had not accomplished this,
for he was the author of the French translation of

Queen Margaret of Navarre. 65
the Psalms, which were sung in that Church for the
last three centuries.
Berquin, one of the most learned of the French
nobles, her special friend, was also arrested (1523)
for his evangelical ideas, but released through her
influence: Two years after, Berquin was again
arrested and severely examined by the Sorbonne.
When they urged him to recant just a little and ob
serve some Romish rite, so as to save his life, he re
plied, "I will not yield a single point." He expected
to be burned at the 'stake, but lo! again Margaret
gained liberty for him in 1526. But in 1529 Ber
quin, who aimed to rescue France from the pope,
was again arrested and imprisoned. Margaret again
used all her efforts to have him released, but all in
vain, and to her great sorrow Berquin was put to
death, April 22, 1529, as a martyr for the Reformed
faith. When the reformers, like Lefevre and Roussel,
had fled from France and gathered at Strasburg,
she undertook to bring them all back. She went to
her brother, who was generally ready to grant her
everything. He allowed them to return, and the re
formers hastened back to thank her for her influ
ence. She continued influencing her brother, until

66 Women of the Reformed Church.
in 1534, wonderful to relate, he allowed Roussel to
preach in the leading church of Paris, the Notre
Dame church, but the people would not permit it.
She was also helpful in getting her brother to in
vite Melanchthon to come to France.
In 1527 occurred her second marriage which was
with the King Henry of Navarre. Splendid was the
wedding, but she found that her married life was
not all bliss, and her pious mind went upward to a
better marriage as she wrote:
Would that the day were come, O Lord,
So much desired by me,
When by the cords of heavenly love
I shall be drawn to Thee,
United in eternal life
The husband Thou and I the wife.
That wedding day, O Lord,
My heart so longs to see,
That neither fame nor wealth nor rank
Can give to me;
To me the world no more
Can yield delight;
Unless Thou, Lord, be with me here,
Lo! all is dark as night.

Queen Margaret of Navarre. 67
The kingdom of her husband had never been en
tered by the doctrines of the Reformation. She at
once began spreading them by her example and in
fluence. Her husband as a Romanist was not
pleased with this, but said nothing to oppose her,
except on one occasion. Margaret usually had pri
vate Evangelical service in her apartments, when Le
fevre or Roussel would preach, and one day she ob
served the communion. There was an underground
hall in her palace called the "Mint," beneath the ter
race of the castle. Here her servants privately
placed a table, covered it with a white cloth, and
placed on it a plate of bread and cups of wine. Mar
garet went there and joined with the Protestants in
their communion service. But though it was done
secretly, the news of it got abroad and came to the
ears of the king, who was very much annoyed at
what he called "the fastings in the cellar." One day
as he returned from hunting, he asked where she
was. And when told that she was in her apartments,
listening to a preacher, he went to them. The min
ister and the others being warned, succeeded in es
caping, and Margaret, trembling and anxious, was
there alone to receive him. The king flushed with
anger, struck her in the face, saying, "Madame,

68 Women of the Reformed Church.
you know too much." This was too great an insult
to be passed over lightly. She reported it to her
brother. That any one should lay violent hands on
his beautiful and idolized sister, was too much foi
Francis, and he at once set out for Navarre, threat
ening war. The news of his coming filled the king
of Navar'-'* with fear. He begged his wife to for
give him, and he became so penitent that he not only
promised to allow Reformed worship, but even
promised to investigate the Reformed doctrines.
This incident led to the conversion of the king him
self, and so the Reformed faith was introduced into
Navarre, and that land became an asylum for the
Reformed fleeing from France.
Margaret invited to her palace at Nerac, the lead
ing Huguenots, when driven out of France.* At
her table they would discuss passages of Scripture,
with the Queen as a delighted listener, who often
took part in the discussions. A beautiful illustra
tion is told of the last day of Lefevre's life, that while
the rest of the company were enjoying their meal,
Lefevre appeared very sad. With difficulty she suc
ceeded in getting from him the cause. He said that
he must die soon, and face his Maker; and though he
had1 lived a pure life, yet, while many who had fol-

Queen Margaret of Navarre. 69
lowed the Evangelical teachings had boldly come
out for. Protestantism and even died for it; he, by
flight from persecution, had never taken his stand
by publicly leaving the Romish church. The Queen
comforted him and he appeared satisfied. He then
appointed her his executrix. And when she asked
what she would have to do, he replied, "The task of
distributing my effects to the poor." She replied,
"I accept the trust and it is more acceptable to me
than if my brother had left me the whole kingdom
of France." Lefevre then laid down to sleep, and
in sleeping passed away.
Just before she died, it is said, she conformed to
Catholic usages, but her correspondence at that time
was so evangelical as to exasperate the Catholics.
She died December 21, 1548, rejoicing in hope.
In dying she called on Jesus, and not the Virgin, to
save her. "God," she said, "I am assured, will carry
forward the work He has permitted me to com
mence, and my place will be more than filled by my
daughter, who has the energy and moral courage,
in which, I fear, I have been deficient." Her dying
hope was grandly fulfilled in her daughter, Jeanne
d'Albret, who bravely fought the battles for the Re
formed, and in her grandson, Henry, who became

70 Women of the Reformed Church.
king of France and gave to the Reformed the Edict
of Nantes, which gave them liberty to worship in
France.

. :
4 ,

II.
QUEEN JEANNE D'ALBRET OF NAVARRE.
PROTESTANT Joan of Arc was this noble
lady. She was the daughter of Queen
Margaret of Navarre. But she was
greater than her mother in moral courage. Her
mother merely began the Reformation, but Jeanne
was its greatest military female defender. She was
born at the palace at Fontainbleau, January 7, 1528.
She was an open, frank, fearless girl — the very soul
of truth. She was reared in France, away from her
father and mother (who lived in Navarre,) because
the king of France wanted to retain control over her.
She was surrounded by Romish influences, in fact
was not given the chance to be a Protestant while
she was a girl. But the king of France soon found
that she had a will of her own. Before she was
three months old, the king of Spain had asked for
her hand for his son ; and when she was about four
teen years old, the king of France determined to
marry her, a mere girl, to a German prince, the duke
of Cleve, in a political marriage. The king was very
much surprised when he found that Jeanne abso
lutely refused to marry the duke. The king had her
father and mother help him, but all their influences, 7i

72 Women of the Reformed Church.
and even threats (as, that she would be whipped to
death), were of no avail with her. The king was
inexorable, she must marry. So she did what she
could. She drew up two protests against the mar
riage, stating that she was forced into it against her
will. These were witnessed and filed, and became
of use afterwards, as we shall see. Still . she was
forced (1546) to the wedding ceremony. But so
unwilling was she that they had to carry her to the
altar — an unwilling bride. The duke then went to
war and she was' permitted to go home with her
mother; and then for the first time she came into
contact with the Reformed faith. As the duke of
Cleve soon after turned against the king of France,
her marriage with him was annulled by the pope on
account of the protests she had filed..
When she became twenty years old, her beauty
again attracted suitors. She is described as fair,
with a generous, open countenance and violet eyes.
Among her suitors was the Bourbon prince, An
toine, duke of Vendome. Him she accepted for her
husband. When her father died, the king of France
wanted to appropriate to himself her little mountain
kingdom of Navarre; but now for the first time
Jeanne revealed her watchfulness and ability as a

Queen Jeanne D'Albret of Navarre. 73
stateswoman. She raised troops and prepared for
war. Fortunately, just as she was in danger of be-'
ing destroyed, the king of France died, and her land
was delivered from danger. Then she made an open
profession of the Reformed faith before her people
and the world at Pau, her capital, December 5, 1560.
Still France and the Romanists were not idle. Cath
arine de Medici, her bitter enemy, one of the most
deceitful of women — the Jezebel of her age — plotted
against her. She concocted a plan to separate
Jeanne's husband from her, win him back to the
Romish faith, and thus gain the kingdom of Na
varre to France. As Antoine was then regent of
France^ and had to be in France, away from Jeanne,
a large part of his time, there was danger that this
foul plan would be carried out. Alas for Jeanne!
her husband was caught in the toils of the enemy
and soon went back to the Catholic faith. And
when afterwards Jeanne visited Paris, he treated her
with contempt and tried to force her to go to mass.
But she would not be forced against her conscience.
When Catharine de Medici now aided her husband
in trying to make her give up her Reformed faith,
she nobly replied to her (although she was broken
hearted at the time by the infidelity of her husband),

74 Women of the Reformed Church.
"Madam, if I at this moment held my son and all the
kingdoms of the world in my grasp,. I would hurl
them into the bottom of the sea, rather than peril the
salvation of my soul." Her enemies even went so
far as to plot against her life; one of them even
urging that she be thrown over the wall into the
river Seine. Seeing her danger, she asked to be
permitted to leave France. Permission was given
her, but it was given treacherously, for plans were
laid to murder her on the way home. As she parted
from her son, the parting was heart-rending. She
trembled to leave him behind with the Romanists
and the French, and yet they would not permit him
to go with her. In leaving him she made him prom
ise never to go to mass, which he, bursting into
tears, agreed to.
To regain authority over her own land of Na
varre she with great boldness and matchless adroit
ness led her little company of 200 through a land
full of enemies, all the while receiving recruits from
the people as she passed. She did not know all the
dangers that threatened her. But the Reformed duke
of Conde garrisoned Vendome, where she was to
spend the night, and thus prevented her enemies
from murdering her. The next day Montluc, who

Queen Jeanne D'Albret of Navarre. 75
was sent in pursuit of her, followed her so closely
that her flight was a race for her life. She sent
ahead swift couriers to summon her soldiers to her
aid. Her enemies were almost on her — so close that
the blast of their trumpets could be heard by her
retinue — when, lo, eight hundred of her brave sol
diers from Navarre swooped down on her party,
and took them under their protection and saved her.
It was the first of her many hair-breadth escapes,
but it was not the last. It, however, roused all the
womanhood that was in hev'. She now realized her
danger and, their treachery. With sublime courage,
marvellous military skill and dexterous celerity she
dealt a blow at her enemies before they were ready
to meet her armies. Her husband threatened her
for introducing Protestantism into her land, but it
mattered not to her. A little while after he was
called to meet his death. The face of his wronged
wife seemed to come up before him as he was filled
with remorse. It is said that he again professed the
Reformed faith before he died, and vowed that if
he were permitted to live, he would introduce it
everywhere in France. As owing to his death she
now had greater power, Jeanne issued her order
abolishing the Romish religion in Navarre, because

76 Women of the Reformed Church.
she found that her Romish subjects were always
plotting against her. -When the Pope in return
issued a bull against her, she with rare diplomacy
compelled him to recall it by making even her arch
enemy, Catharine de Medici, her intercessor with
the Pope. And when the Pope talked of disinherit
ing her family by declaring her marriage with An
toine void, because she had been married before to
the duke of Cleve, she then with marvellous diplo
macy compelled Catharine again to prevent the Pope
from doing it, as that would not only disinherit her
son and keep him from the throne of France, but
would put on the throne the prince of Conde, whom
Catharine hated worse than she did Jeanne's son.
Marvellous was her skill in making even her ene
mies do her work. In it all a kind providence
seemed to continually watch over her. For when
the king of Spain started a rebellion in her land,
that he might draw her to it and then capture her,
lo ! the king's own wife warned Jeanne of this plot,
and she was saved, for she seemed to have a
charmed life.
Finally King Charles IX. of France and the king
of Spain together plotted to massacre all the Re
formed, but especially Jeanne and the prince of

Queen Jeanne D'Albret of Navarre. 77
Conde. Without a moment's delay she gathered the
forces of her little mountain land. This prevented
the massacre, or at least postponed it for eight years,
till the awful day of St. Bartholomew. She now
had one great desire, and that was to see her son,
then thirteen years of age. Her great purpose was
to get him out of France and under her control.
She was afraid he might become a Catholic, or
worse than that, in the immoral French court. When
she again visited France, she succeeded in gaining
permission for her boy to accompany her as far as
Vendome. Swiftly she planned his escape. But
one mistake and all would have been fatal. She
secretly sent a messenger to her own court, telling
them to have an armed force to meet her. Six hours
after this courier left, at midnight, she and her son
stole away and galloped at the highest speed for
Pau, her capital, and arrived there safely, though it
was a hot flight. She now had her son under her
control, and carefully did she have him trained
under her eye. He soon revealed remarkable abil
ities, especially in the art of war. He was being
prepared by providence for his part in the next great
war between the Huguenots and Catholics. Into
this conflict Jeanne threw all her fortunes. Al-

78 Women of the Reformed Church.
though her mountain kingdom of Navarre (situated
southwest of France and between France and
Spain) was not involved in this war, for it was a
combat between the two religions in France; yet she
foresaw that the defeat of the Reformed in France
meant the downfall of her kingdom, too, because it
was Reformed.
So just as Gustavus Adolphus left Sweden to save
Protestantism in Germany, she went to the salvation
of the Huguenots of France. Her courage rose to
a sublime height, and she threw the fortunes of her
self and her son into this war for the Reformed.
She was afraid to tell this decision of her heart to
her own counsellors at Navarre, for fear they would
prevent her from carrying it out. So she stole away
secretly from her own land and arrived at Rochelle,
where the Huguenots of France had gathered for
their defence. Her arrival astounded that city. The
Reformed were beside themselves with joy at this
new and unexpected reinforcement. The mayor of
the city presented her with the keys to the city. She
was greeted with thunders of applause as she first
entered the council of the Huguenots. There the
prince of Conde, their idol and leader, arose and re
signed his command of the Huguenot army into the

Queen Jeanne D'Albret of Navarre. 79
hands of Jeanne's son, Henry. The audience re
sponded enthusiastically to this. Then it was that
she arose, and with beauty and dignity declined the
offer. "No, gentlemen," she said, "I and my chil
dren are here to promote the success of this great
cause or to share in its disaster. The cause of God
is dearer to me than the aggrandizement of my son."
After her address she compelled her son to decline
the honor of commander-in-chief amid such ap
plause as showed they would accept Henry as their
leader, although he was only sixteen years old at the
time. When the Huguenots found that she would
not allow her son to lead their forces, they placed her
at the head of the civil government, as the governess
of Rochelle. Many were her cares, yet in
the midst of them all she had the New Tes
tament translated into the Basque language
for a part of her subjects and published
at her own expense. She had charge of all
the correspondence with foreign princes, and it was
her pleadings that secured Queen Elizabeth of Eng
land for an ally to the Huguenots. Queen Eliza
beth is rated as a greater woman in history than
Jeanne, but in character she does not begin to touch
her. She was profane, where Jeanne was pure. She

80 Women of the Reformed Church.
was selfish and whimsical, where Jeanne was frank
and unselfish. Elizabeth lived for herself, Jeanne
for the Reformed. But Elizabeth helped her to
save the Huguenots by aiding Rochelle with her
fleet. Terrible was that war, but Jeanne rose above
all its misfortunes and cares. The king of Spain
and the king of France now determined that while
Jeanne was away from her kingdom at Rochelle,
they would seize her kingdom, but she had it de
fended and saved. Then came the death of the
prince of Conde, March 13, 1569, the idolized mili
tary leader of the Huguenots. This so paralyzed
the Huguenot army that not even Coligny could
rally their courage. Despairing, Coligny sent for
her to come to camp, and told her she was the only
one who had influence enough to inspire the army
again with enthusiasm and courage, so as to march
on to victory. She came before the army with its
flags draped in mourning for Conde, and their hearts
hid in gloom. By her side rode the son of the dead
Conde, while on the other side rode her son, Henry.
Then she made her great address, saying, "Soldiers,
you weep. But does the memory of Conde de
mand nothing but profitless tears ? No, let us vinite
and summon back our courage to defend a cause

JEANNE D'ALBRET ADDRESSING THE HUGUENOT ARMY

Queen Jeanne D'Albret of Navarre. 81
which can never perish and to avenge him who was
its firm support. Does despair overwhelm you—
despair, that shameful feeling of weak natures?
When I, the queen, hope still, is it for you to fear?
Because Conde is dead, is all therefore lost? Does
our cause cease to be just and holy? No; God, who
had already rescued you from perils innumerable,
has raised up brothers-in-arms worthy to succeed
Conde. To these leaders I add my own son. Make
proof of his valor. The blood of Bourbon and Va-
lois flows in his veins. He burns with ardor to
avenge the death of the prince. Behold also Gra
de's son, the worthy inheritor of his father's virtues.
He succeeded to his name and to his glory. Sol
diers, I offer to you everything in my power to be
stow — my dominions, my treasures, my life, and
that which is dearer to me than all, my children. I
make here a solemn oath before you all — and you
know me too well to doubt my word — I swear to
defend to my last sigh the holy cause which now
unites us, which is that of honor and truth." When
she ceased, there was a breathless silence for a mo
ment, and then everywhere wild shouts went up
along the lines, and as if seized by a sudden impulse,

82 Women of the Reformed^ Church.
the army hailed the young prince Henry as their
leader. Thus she stood there before her army, a greater
than Joan of Arc, inspiring her army not by the
sword, but by the subtle power of her matchless
character. This was the grandest scene of many in
her life. With wonderful tact she, with Coligny,
conducted the war. But her beloved Coligny was
defeated and badly wounded at Moncontour. She
at once set off to see him, though great dangers
threatened her way. She found him in bed with
his jaw so badly shattered that he could not speak.
But though he could not speak, he could weep tears
of thankfulness for her coming. Forgetting that
defeat, she at once planned for victory. Everywhere
the white plume of her son was waving to victory,
until the Huguenot army encamped under the very
walls of Paris and forced the Catholics to make
peace. Then she returned, covered with victories,
amid the applause of the people, to her kingdom of
Navarre. But, alas ! now the Romanists determined to con
quer by diplomacy and deceit, where they could
not conquer by war. They laid the plans for what
ultimately culminated in the awful massacre of St.

Queen Jeanne D'Albret. of Navarre. 83
Bartholomew. Jeanne, with her wonderful insight,
foresaw that there was deception, but she could not
tell exactly into what danger it would lead. But
Coligny was confidingly led into the trap. Its first
step was to get young Henry of Navarre to marry
the daughter of the king of France. Jeanne ob
jected. She did not want her son to marry a Cath
olic, for fear of their influence. But all her coun
cillors, with Coligny at their head, forced her to
consent to the marriage. The Romanists were so
anxious to bring it about, that they even agreed that
the marriage should be according to the Reformed
form. Finally Jeanne, forced by all around to give
her consent, went to Paris to make the necessary
contracts, and to see that the rights of her land and
of her religion were preserved. She opposed the
French on many points, but they agreed to all, and
she finally signed the articles of marriage. But still
she was not satisfied. She felt there was deception
somewhere. St. Bartholomew's massacre "seemed
to cast its shadow before" upon her. She did not
know what was coming; she only felt it would be
an injury to the Reformed. Her anxieties proved
too much for her. She was taken sick before the
wedding, on June 4, 1572. The Huguenots were

84 Women of the Reformed Church.
dismayed by her sickness. If she died, who would
look after them, for she had been so long their pa
tron saint? But her faith was triumphant at her
death, as she said, "I have never feared death. I
do not dare to murmur at the will of God, but I
grieve deeply to leave my children exposed to so
many dangers. Still I trust it all to Him." She died,
June 9, 1572, in her Reformed faith, with her Bible
at her side, relying on its promises and receiving its
crown. One of her last acts was to enjoin her son
to remain true to the Reformed religion.
Thus died the Deborah of the Reformed Church
of France.s Just as Landgravine Amalie Elizabeth,
of Hesse Cassel, was the Deborah of the Reformed
of Germany, so was she to France. She had un
furled her banners in the name of the Lord and of
her Reformed faith. She has taken a front rank
among the military leaders of those Reformation
times. When her generals were killed, captured or
wounded, she rallied her troops, inspired them with
courage and guided them to victory. In all her wars
she never had been conquered. And yet she did not
do it for herself, but for her Reformed faith. She
has came down to us as one of the most beautiful
brilliant and strongest female characters of history.

Queen Jeanne D'Albret of Navarre. 85
But she died not a moment too soon. She had seen
great sorrows, but a greater one was to come after
her death, the awful massacre of St. Bartholomew,
which would have broken her heart, even if it should
not have taken her life. Perhaps, had she lived, she,
with her wonderful divination of character, might
have discovered it in time to prevent it, or with her
wonderful fertility of resources might have been
enabled to combat it. At least it is an open question
of history whether it would have happened had she
lived. But she was gone. She died while her cause
was yet glorious before defeat and massacre came.
So died the woman who combined the Deborah of
the Bible and the Joan of Arc in history in one char
acter. She could sing with Deborah, "So let all
thine enemies perish, but let them that love thee be
as the sun when he goeth forth in his might."

III.
CHARLOTTE D'MORNAY.
HARLOTTE ARBALESTE, who later be
came the wife of the celebrated Philip De
Mornay, the famous French statesman,
was born February, 1549. Although her mother re
mained a Catholic till her death, her father became
a Protestant in the later years of his life. Many-
years before, while traveling through Germany, he
came into contact with Protestantism, and at Stras*-
burg heard a theological discussion between the Re
formed and the Romanists which opened his eyes to
some of the abuses of the latter. But he remained
ignorant of Evangelical truth for many years,
until being charged by the Romanists with being a
heretic, he determined to examine into the Hugue
not heresy and finally accepted it. His last words
in' dying, 1570, were, "Lord, thou gavest me a soul
fifty-eight years ago; thou gavest it me white and
clean. I render it to thee impure and polluted.
Wash it in the blood of Jesus Christ, thy son."
Charlotte was married September 28, 1567, to
the Seigneur de Feuqueres, a brave and zealous Hu
guenot, who died of a fever about two years later.
87

88 Women of the Reformed Church.
His death left her in financial straits, but the Lord
raised up friends, and later she went to Paris to re
ceive her share in her father's inheritance. It thus
happened that she was in Paris at the awful mas
sacre of St. Bartholomew and was saved only by a
providence. She says that at first she was not
alarmed; but when she saw companies of soldiers,
each wearing a white cross on his hat going about
the street, she felt there was danger. But as there
was so much danger in the streets she remained in her
apartments. She then sent her maidservant and
little daughter to a Catholic friend, who sent word
back that Charlotte would also be welcome if she
would cpme. She had hardly left her apartments
when the soldiers burst in and were greatly angered
that she could not be found. The number of re
fugees in this friend's house increased to forty, but
they remained until the third day, Tuesday evening.
Then suspicion was aroused, the house being order
ed to be searched. Warning of this having come, all
escaped except Charlotte and another. She with her
maid, was put in an empty loft, while her child was
sent in safety to her Catholic grandmother. Then
she was hidden in the houses of several friends for
three lays more, and finally taken to a corn-mer-

Charlotte D'Momay. 89
chant's. Her mother then tried to get her to go to
mass, if only to simply save her life: But she abso
lutely refused. Her Reformed faith was dearer to
her than her own life.
At length, after being there five days she deter
mined to leave Paris by all hazards. Her chamber
there was immediately above that of a Catholic lady
and she did not dare walk in her room for fear of
being discovered. She did not dare light a candle
lest the suspicions of the neighbors should be excited.
When anything was brought her, it was only a mor
sel, secretly. So on Wednesday, the eleventh day of
the massacre, she succeeded in getting into a boat
on the Seine to go to Sens. At Tournelles a guard
demanded her passport. As she had none he charged
her with being a Huguenot. In despair almost,
she asked to be taken to a gentleman there, with
whom her grandmother who was a Catholic had' had
business. Two soldiers brought her to the gate.
Her friends assured the soldiers that she was^ a good
Catholic, and she was taken back to the boat and
permitted to go on her journey. But she was still
in the greatest danger, yet the Lord delivered her
safely. For at the moment she was arrested at the
boat, the house of the corn-merchant where she had

9o Women of the Reformed Church.
been was searched and she would have been killed
had she been found there.
She traveled to Villegrand where for fifteen days
she found an asylum in the country with a vine
dresser, She then went to Sedan where she found
safety for the duke of Bouillon, its ruler, was a
member of the Reformed faith. There she remained
and while there she met her second husband, Philip
DeMornay, one of the most devoted Huguenots,
who like herself had almost miraculously escaped
St. Bartholomew's massacre. He was distinguished
as a Christian, a statesmari, a soldier, and an author.
They were married January 3, 1576. He was sent
as an ambassador to England and Holland and she
traveled with him. They returned to Paris in July,
1582, and went from there to Montauban in south
ern France, where she lived.
While there, a peculiar case of church discipline
occurred in the Reformed church. The consistory
of that congregation were quite rigid about sim
plicity of dress, holding it to be unbecoming for
Christian woman * to wear curls, and they
prohibited it under pain of exclusion from the
Lord's Supper. They quoted 1 Timothy 2:10-11,
"In like manner also that women adorn themselves

Charlotte D'Momay. 91
in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and so
briety; not with braided hair of gold or pearls, but
(which becometh women professing godliness) with
good works" ; and also 1 Peter 3, "Whose adorning,
let it not be that outward adorning, of plaiting of the
hair and of wearing of gold or of putting on of ap
parel, but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in
that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of
a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God
is of great price." Charlotte and her daughters not
obeying this injunction of the consistory, were
prohibited from coming to the Lord's Supper by the
consistory. DeMornay, her husband, severely repri
manded the consistory, but it was all in vain. She
replied to the consistory saying that the Reformed
church nowhere else acted in this manner, and that
1 Timothy 2:9, as Calvin showed in his commentary,
referred more to the reformation of manners than to
dress. She finally appealed from the consistory to
the General Synod of the Reformed Church of
France. We are not informed how the matter was
finally adjusted there, but part of her family began
attending the Lord's Supper in a neighboring Re
formed congregation, and she in 1589 removed to
Saumur. There, when her husband, being relieved

92 Women of the Reformed Church.
of active service by the king, returned, he found her
building at her own expense a church for the Re
formed congregation. This was dedicated a few-
days after his return.
Her heart seemed bound up in the life of her only
son Philip, to whom, when he was in Holland, she
wrote a most beautiful motherly letter. "My son,
God is my witness that even before your birth, He
inspired me with a hope that you would serve Him ;
and this to you ought to be some pledge of His grace
and an admonition to perform your duty. Your
father and I have also taken care to instruct you in
every branch of useful learning, to the end that you
may not only live, but also shine in His church.
You are young, my son, and divers imaginations
present themselves to youth, but always remember
the saying of the Psalmist, 'How shall a young man
direct his way? Certainly by conducting himself
according to thy word, O Lord.' Nor will there be
wanting persons who will desire to turn you aside
therefrom to the left hand or the right. But say also
with the Psalmist, T will associate only with those
that keep thy laws. Thy laws, O God, shall be the
men of my counsel.'" Beautiful words, and nobly
he fulfilled them, for he grew up a beautiful Chris-

Charlotte D'Momay. 93
tian character in answer to such prayers and ad
monitions. His death, in battle, in 1605, while fighting for
the Dutch, almost broke her heart. She never re
covered from the shock, and survived him only a
few months. On Sunday, May 7th, 1606, she at
tended morning service at the church and expected
to go in the afternoon to catechising, but she became
ill. She endured great suffering until the following
Sunday, when her husband broke the news to her,
that she must die. She received the news with joy.
She bore her dying testimony, saying, "I am going
to God, persuaded that nothing can separate me
from His love. I know that my Redeemer liveth.
He has triumphed." One of her physicians, a
Catholic, exhorted her to take courage. She re
plied, "My courage is from above." She then spoke
to him of the superior consolation that the Protest
ant religion offered over the Catholic, and urged
him to look to Christ and him crucified. The next
day her pastor recalled to her Christ's words, "Fa
ther, into thy hand I commend my spirit." She
added the additional words of the 31st Psalm, "For
thou hast redeemed me, O eternal God of truth."
She expired with the word "Jesus" on her lips, May

94 Women of the Reformed Church.
15, 1606. Her husband bore a beautiful tribute to
her memory when he said of her, "She assisted me
to live well, and by her pious death, she has taught
me how to die well."

IV.
PHILLIPINE DE LUNS.
MARTYR woman was this Reformed saint,
for the female sex furnished its quota of
martyrs for our faith. She was born at
Gascogne, France. Of her youth we know nothing.
At an early age she was married to a noble gentle
man named Von Graberon. She went with him to
Paris, so as to join the Reformed church there, of
which he was an elder. Often the Huguenots would
assemble themselves in her house, and the neighbors
would hear them singing psalms, as they were not
allowed to have a church in the city. But soon her
husband died, and in 1557 she was left a widow at
the early age of 23. Soon after her husband's death,
September 4, 1557, she met with four hundred
French Reformed in a hall in the street
of St. Jacques behind the university. There they
celebrated the Lord's Supper, and the minister
preached on the words of institution in First Co
rinthians, eleventh chapter. But at midnight, as
they wanted to go home, they heard terrible noises
outside. The mob evidently wanted to burst in the
doors; for the fanatical people believed that these
Huguenots had been the cause of the defeat of the
95

96 Women of the Reformed Church.
French army at St. Quentin, and they had gathered
large quantities of stones to throw at them as they
came out of the Reformed service.
While the enemy were making outcries without
the house, the Reformed within became greatly
frightened. The elders urged them to become quiet,
and then asked them whether they would choose to
stay there until the light of the morning would make
it safer for them to go home, or whether they de
sired to fight their way that night through the armed
crowd outside, and thus escape. Many men reached
for their daggers and determined to force their way
out, and thus many escaped. But many others,
among them Phillipine, had to remain behind. And
when the day dawned, they were arrested. As they
were led forth, the crowd fell upon them and abused
them fearfully. With clothing torn into shreds and
full "of the mud thrown on them, they were led to
prison. In this terrible prison Phillipine remained
a whole year. Often she was heard singing the
twenty-fifth and the forty-second psalms. Priests
often came to her to try to bring her back to the
Catholic faith, but she always came out victor in
their attacks. Once one of them asked her: "Do
you believe that the wafer at the communion is the

Phillipine De Luns. 97
true body of our Lord?" She replied: "How could
He, who filled, heaven and earth, be contained in a
1 piece of bread, which mice could eat and cobwebs
„,pollute?" Her testimony for Evangelical truth
was so firm that' they put her into- closer con
finement. Heretofore she had been permitted to see
her sister, but after this she was sentenced to soli
tary confinement.
From this time the course of the law was hastened
for the Romanists found there was no hope of con
verting her back to Rome. And besides, the judge
wanted to convict her, so as to get a share in her
estates. Meanwhile Calvin from Geneva was urg
ing the Protestant princes of Germany to use their
influence with the French, so that these prisoners
might be spared. But their intercession came too
.late. She was brought before her judges for trial.
Her ordeal was quite severe, but her answers were
based on the Bible. She was asked : "Do you believe
in the mass ?" She replied : "About this sacrament
I will believe only what is found in the Old and New
Testaments. I have hot yet found there that the
mass is from God." "Will you receive the wafer?"
"No; I will receive only what Christ has sealed."
"How long is it since you confessed to the

98 Women of the Reformed .Church.
priest?" "I do not remember, but I do know that I
have daily made confession to my Lord. Other con
fession is not commanded by Christ, for He alone
has the power to forgive sin." "What do you be
lieve about prayer to the Virgin and to the saints ?"
"I know no other prayer than that which our Lord
taught to His disciples. To Him we must go, and
to no other. The saints in paradise are happy, that
I know, but pray to them I will not." "Do you ob
serve fasting on Friday and Sunday?" "No; be
cause it is not commanded in the Bible." They
then tried to argue with her about it by saying "that
the Church required fasting, and even if non-fasting
were not sinful in itself, it would become sinful be
cause the Church forbade it." Very ably she re
plied : "I do not believe in any other commandment
than that Christ gave. And nowhere in the New
Testament do I find that power is given to the pope
to rule the Church." But they argued; "the spir
itual and worldly powers are ordained of God, and
should be obeyed." She answered: "The Church
has no other authority in it than that of Christ."
"Who taught you this?" "The Old and New Tes
taments." Like her Saviour at His temptations, she
answered them out of the Word of God.

Phillipine De Luns. 99
On September 27, 1558, she was sentenced to
death. An old man, Clivet, and a young man, Gra-
velle, both elders of the Reformed Church, who had
been arrested at the same time that she had, were
sentenced to die with her. All three were tortured
severely, and after torture they were thrown into the
chapel of the courthouse. There they waited for
their deliverance from this imprisonment of earth
to the freedom of heaven. As usual, the priest
came to try to convert them back to Catholicism
before they died, but the priest's efforts were all
useless. They laid aside their garments of sorrow
and put on their best clothing, because they said
they were going not to a funeral, but to a wedding,
and they wanted to be ready to meet their bride
groom, the Lord Jesus Christ. They were then
placed on wagons and taken to the place of execu
tion. Clivet, who had been a schoolmaster in the
country districts, and whose picture had once been
burned by the Romanists, bore his Christian testi
mony boldly to the bystanders as the wagon rode
along. A priest said to Phillipine that she should
confess to him. She replied;. "I continually confess
in my heart to my Lord and am certain of the for
giveness of sin." Some of the councillors bade her

ioo Women of the Reformed Church.
take a wooden cross in her hand, saying as an argu
ment that Christ had bade men to carry the cross.
She, however, refused in the least to do any hom
age to Rome, but replied that Christ indeed bade us
bear the cross, but He did not refer to a wooden
cross outside of ourselves, but to a cross within us
in our souls. Gravelle was asked by a priest in what
manner he was to die. He replied : "That I will die,
I well know; but how it matters not, for I well
know that God will stand by me in every pang."
Because he so nobly bore testimony for Christ, his
enemies urged that his tongue be cut out. He,
therefore, quickly offered, it to the executioner, so
willing was he to suffer for, his Lord. "I pray you,
pray for me," were his last words.
Then came Phillipine's turn. As she was asked to
offer her tongue to be cut off, she offered it joyfully.
She said : "I care not if my body suffer, why should
I care for my tongue." At the Place Maubert they
were all burned at the stake. The two men were
burned alive. Phillipine, after they had burned her
face and feet with torches, was strangled, and then
her body was burned, too.
"The blood of the martrys is the seed of the
Church." Not without fruit was the death of Phil-

Phillipine De Luns. 101
lipine. Just as Stephen's death prepared for Paul's
conversion, so the brave testimony of these martyrs
spread Protestaritism. For in the following year
the French, or Gallic Confession of Faith was drawn
up, and this was publicly recognized by the French
court in 1561. O, if our Reformed forefathers and
foremothers could suffer so much for our faith, how
we should love our faith; and like them, be willing
to deny ourselves, iri order that it might be spread
abroad to save the world for Christ!

V.
CHARLOTTE D'BOURBON, PRINCESS OF ORANGE.
HARLOTTE was the daughter of the
Prince Louis, Duke of Bourbon; but her
mother, Jacqueline, was a believer in the

Reformed doctrines, and she secretly taught them to
her children. Charlotte's father, finding this out,
determined to thwart his wife's influence by sending
three of his daughters to convents. For the duke
had met with such reverses of fortune that he would
have found it hard to provide suitable marriage
dowers for his five daughters, so he thought the
best way to avoid their marriage, and also to keep
them Romanists, was to send them to convents. Be
sides, at that time it was considered quite honorable
for ladies of high rank to enter convents, and they
lost nothing in social rank by i.t. The duke was
highly commended by his Romanist friends for his
self-denying act in giving so many of his children
to the Church.
But man proposes" and God disposes. It could
little be expected that a nun would become a Re-
fprmed princess, but so it happened in her case. Her
mother was heart-broken over this act of her hus
band, and she wept and prayed much, especially for
103

104 Women of the Reformed Church.
Charlotte, who was then only thirteen years old.
Charlotte instinctively shrank from the life set be
fore her, and begged to be allowed to stay with her
mother. Her mother shrewdly prepared a solemn
protest against entering the convent, which Char
lotte secretly signed, and then Charlotte was com
pelled to go to the nunnery of Jouarre in Normandy.
All her mother could do now was to pray. But the
prayer of the righteous man availeth much, and the
prayer of a righteous woman often avails more than
that of a righteous man ; so her prayers were answer
ed, although she did not live to see the answer. For
she died August, 1561, and Charlotte's release did
not take place till ten years later. Meanwhile Char
lotte in the nunnery made the best of her lot. Still
she did not forget the last instructions of her moth
er, from whom she had been so cruejly torn. And
when her mother tried, and the papists would not
even allow her to go and look at her mother's dead
face, her dissatisfaction increased. Now, while she
was quietly spending her time in the nunnery, a ter
rible struggle was taking place in France between
the Huguenots and the Romanists. Although she
was away from it, yet she watched it with great in
terest; for, although a nun, she sympathized with

Charlotte D'Bourbon, Princess of Orange. 105

1

the Huguenots. But so secret was her sympathy for
them, that she was supposed to be a good Catholic.
And having influence as a princess of the royal line
of the Bourbons, her friends succeeded in gaining
for her the high position of abbess. This gave her
the opportunity of teaching, but in a very guarded
way, the new doctrine of the reformation, and many
of the nuns imbibed her views. At length she came
under suspicion, and was charged with perverting
the nuns under her. She found herself in the great
est danger. The Romanists were about to begin
proceedings against her. But just then (1572)
providentially Normandy was invaded by the Hu
guenots, and her convent was thrown open by them.
She saw the opportunity that providence gave her,
and at once quitted convent life forever. To justify
herself, she published the fact that she had been
forced into the nunnery against her will, and re
vealed the protest she had signed many years before.
This lessened the attacks of the Romanists on her,
while it at the same time gained for her the confi
dence of the Huguenots, who saw that she had not
been acting with duplicity. She at once fled to her
oldest sister,, the Duchess of Bouillon, who was
warmly attached to the Reformed faith. She then

106 Women of the Reformed Church.
fled from France, because of her danger, and went
to Heidelberg, where she was welcomed by Elector
Frederick III. of the Palatinate as a daughter. For
Frederick, who had ordered the composition of our
Heidelberg Catechism, was a great protector of the
Reformed, and threw open his territory to them as
an asylum.
When her father heard of her flight from the con
vent, he was beside himself with rage. As it was
not known where she was, the French court took up
her case and ordered that a search be made for
her, and that she should be severely punished. Then
it was that the Elector Frederick, a truer father to
her than her own father, wrote to her father, March
15, 1572, notifying him that his daughter had found
an asylum with him, and that he had received her,
because she had followed the dictates of her con
science. Her father was now angrier with her than
ever. He was indignant that she had left the con
vent. Had she remained a Catholic, he might have
forgiven her. But that she should have become a
Protestant, the very thing he had tried for so many
years to prevent, was too much for him to bear. He
even went so far in his anger as to impugn Freder
ick's motives by writing to him, "Can it be honorable

Charlotte D'Bourbon, Princess of Orange. 107
for you to receive into your house children who have
run away from their father? Is it not more worthy
for you to advise them to return?" But Elector
Frederick did not flinch in his devotion to Protes
tantism and answered her father in a dignified way,
stating his willingness to return Charlotte, provided
she would be granted free exercise of her Reformed
religion in France. He also wrote in the same strain
to the king of France. The king declared that he
was willing to let her worship according to her Re
formed faith, and even appointed messengers to go
to Heidelberg to bring her to France, but her father
was inflexible against her. "If she means to persist
in the Protestant religion," he said, "I would rather
she would remain in Germany, than return to
France to scandalize everybody, and be the misfor
tune of my old age." The king's messengers came
to Heidelberg, but she declined to go to France, as
her father would not consent to her religion. So
she remained at Heidelberg with the Palatinate
court. Three pleasant years she spent there under the
kindly care of the Elector Frederick. Then Prince
William of Orange sued for her hand in marriage.
It was a very suitable match, for he was the ruler of

108 Women of the Reformed Church.
the Netherlands, and she was a princess of the royal
line of France. But there were grave difficulties in
the way, for when does the course of true love run
smooth ? It was necessary, for the sake of political
peace, to get the king of France and her father to
give their consent before" the marriage could take
place. , The king, in his answer, refused to commit
himself either way, and the Dutch court went on the
principle that silence gives consent, especially as he
said he would raise no objections. The French par
liament finally gave their consent. But would her
father give his consent ? However, although he had
been most irreconcilable before, he now saw in it a
brilliant marriage for his daughter to the leading
statesman of Europe, and not only gave his consent,
but gave her an ample dowry. Other difficulties
arose, but the marriage nevertheless took place, June
12, 1575. It was a very happy marriage, for both
were members of the Reformed Church and interest
ed in the same aims, charities and hopes. She prov
ed herself, as William's brother, Count John of
Nassau, said, "A wife distinguished by her virtue,
piety and intelligence."
But new cares and anxieties came to her with this
marriage. For her husband was engaged in a dead-

Charlotte D'Bourbon, Princess of Orange. 109
ly war with Spain. That country had done every
thing to defeat him and threw odium on his mar
riage, because he had separated from his former
wife, who had been unfaithful. William, therefore,
was compelled to defend himself and his marriage,
which he did by showing the king of Spain to be one
of the blackest souls that ever ruled a nation. This
reply William scattered all over Europe. In June,
1580, the king of Spain finally, finding that he could
not conquer William by fair means, determined to
employ foul, and he offered a large reward of 25,000
crowns to any one who would bring him, alive or
dead, to the king. Charlotte was greatly alarmed by
all this. She was in constant fear for the life of her
husband. Again and again did she warn him to be
careful, and not let strangers approach him. But he
had become so careless of himself during the previ
ous wars that he would not heed her warnings. The
next year what she feared happened. Two Span
iards, one of them a master of a bank at Antwerp
and the other his servant, plotted to take William's
life. The master was to share the reward, but the
servant was to do the deed. Before the servant
Jaurequay went to perform the fatal act on Sunday,
March 18, 1582, he was absolved from all his sins by

no Women of the Reformed Church.
a Romish priest, who gave him the sacrament and
also a charm to protect his life. The priest, fearing
that his courage might fail him before he struck the
fatal blow, accompanied him to the castle and gave
him blessing on his diabolical work when they sep
arated. Prince William had "been to the Reformed
church that morning, and was at dinner when the
assassin tried to enter the dining room, but was re
pulsed by the prince's servants. But after dinner
William was showing Count Laval some tapestry,
which had on it pictures of the Spanish cruelties.
Then Jaurequay again tried to force his way, but the
servants prevented him. William, however, inno
cently and unsuspectingly reproved the servants, and
ordered him to be allowed to come, as he thought
the man was some citizen who wanted to see him.
The assassin, seeing his opportunity, stepped for
ward, and, putting his pistol over Count Laval's
shoulder, fired. The prince was wounded in' the
head, the bullet knocking out several teeth, passing
through the lower part of the head, and out into the
right cheek. It just grazed the juglar vein, passing
so close to it as to cauterize it. For a moment
William did not seem to realize what had happened,
but it seemed to him as if the house had fallen. But

Charlotte D'Bourbon, Princess of Orange, in
immediately the prince, recovering himself, begged
that the assassin be spared. However, the man was
dead already. Charlotte, when she heard the report
of the gun, rushed to her husband, and, seeing him
covered with blood, fainted. When she recovered,
she nursed him with the greatest care. It was
found, however, that he was in no great danger, as
the wound rapidly healed. The Reformed people of
Holland were deeply grateful to providence for spar
ing their prince and leader. On May 2 they held a
solemn thanksgiving service at Antwerp for his re
covery, at which both William and Charlotte were
present. But the excitement and care proved too much for
her. Almost immediately after that thanksgiving
service she collapsed. She became sick with pleurisy
and died in a few days. She was buried in that beau
tiful cathedral of Notre Dame at Antwerp. The
cathedral, in which she was buried, contains many
magnificent masterpieces of paintings, as Rubens'
"Descent From the Cross" and his "Elevation of the
Cross," but none of these masterpieces come up to
her beauty of character, for her life was a living pic
ture of sacrifice for, and consecration to, Christ. The
spire of that cathedral is wondrously beautiful, be-

112 Women of the Reformed Church.
ing of marble, yet so delicately carved that its drap
ery makes it look, says one writer, as if the Brussels
lace (for which Antwerp was so famous) had been
turned into marble and laid on it as a tracery of
white. Her character, like it, pure as marble and
'delicate with all the graces of spirituality, soars
heavenward like that spire, and remains a loving
witness to the power of the Reformed faith. She
became the ancestress of kings, her daughter marry
ing the son of the Elector Frederick III. of the Pal
atinate, who had so kindly shielded and befriended
her, and Queen Victoria of England is thus a direct
descendant of hers. Thus a nun became a Reform
ed, and a princess became the mother of kings, but
she is now a saint in the court of the King of kings.

VI.
LOUISA DE COLIGNY, PRINCESS OF ORANGE.

MONG the children of Admiral Coligny of
Fra'nce was Louisa. Her father gave her
a fine education, but he and her mother
( whose motto was, "As for me and my house, I will
serve the Lord") gave her what was better, the. Re
formed faith. During her' girlhood her father was
engaged in the Huguenot wars, fighting and suffer
ing for the Reformed faith, yet his letters to her
were exceedingly beautiful and sublimely Christian.
Among his officers was one who, although young,
possessed so much wisdom that he was admitted to
the councils of the Huguenots, Charles De Teligny.
He soon became a suitor for Louisa's hand, and won
it. Her father gave her this advice: "You have
other suitors, rich and titled, but I advise you to
choose Teligny as your husband." They were mar
ried at Rochelle in 1571. Then came a season of
peace after the wars, but it did not last long. For
when Henry of Navarre was to wed Margaret of
France, Coligny went to Paris to attend the wed
ding, attended by Teligny and Louisa. Teligny was
warned against going there by anonymous letters,
"3

114 Women of the Reformed Church.
but, like Coligny, was, alas ! too confident. At mid
night, August 24, 1572, the church bell opposite the
Louvre rang out the signal for the awful massacre,
and 25,000 Huguenots in Paris alone were killed or
wounded. Among the victims of this awful massacre
were both Louisa's father and husband. Her father
was brutally killed in his room. Her husband man
aged to escape out on the roof with Coligny's minis
ter. Teligny was so popular that one of the guards,
sent to kill him, had not the heart to do it. But the
Duke of Anjou's soldiers then came up and put him
to death.
In some way or other Louisa managed to escape,
how it is not known, but she must have escaped alone
and on foot. She made her way as rapidly as pos
sible to her father's castle in Chatillon in Burgundy,
so as to warn her step-mother and brothers to flee.
It seems that her escape was so rapid that she arriv
ed there before the news of the massacre. The sad
news she brought was like a thunderbolt to them.
But they had no time to mourn, only to flee, and
hardly time for that. They deemed it safest to scat
ter in the flight. Her tyro oldest brothers at once
fled and succeeded in escaping safely, as did her
step-mother. Louisa, with her cousin, fled to Gen-

Louisa De Coligny, Princess of Orange. 115
eva. But her youngest brother, a boy of uncom
mon promise and the pet of his father, was in some
way captured and taken back to Paris. Thus Louisa,
at the early age of nineteen, was an orphan, a widow,
an exile and in poverty, for her father's property
was. all confiscated.
She remained at Geneva and Bern for a while,
but finally found her way to that asylum for the Hu
guenots at Heidelberg, where she was most cordi
ally received by Elector Frederick III. of the Pala
tinate. The French offered her her property if she
renounced her Reformed faith, but like Moses, she
preferred poverty to all the riches of France. At
Heidelberg she met Charlotte De Bourbon, who was
also an exile and had found a refuge at Heidelberg.
They were one in suffering and sympathy. Some
time after, the Duke of Anjou, who was the leader
of the band that put her father and her husband to
death, passed through Heidelberg on his way to take
the throne of Poland. Elector Frederick was con
ducting hini through the picture gallery of kings,
queens and princes in the castle, when the Elector
pointed to Coligny's portrait and asked the Duke if
he knew whose it was. "Yes," he replied, "the Ad
miral." Frederick could no longer control himself,

116 Women of the Reformed Churchy
but said, "It is he, the best of men, the wisest and
greatest captain of Europe, whose children I have
under my protection, lest the dogs of France should
tear them to pieces, as they have done their father."
The Duke became very much confused under these
words, as well he might be. But the Elector con
tinued, "Of all the lords of France whom I have
known, that is the one I have found most zealous for
the glory of the French name, and I am not afraid
to affirm that the King and all France have suffered
in him a loss that can never be repaired." The Duke
tried to apologize for the assassination of Coligny by
suggesting that the Huguenots were forming a con
spiracy at the time. But the Elector cut him short by
saying, "We know all about that, sir."
When Charlotte De Bourbon, the wife of the
Prince of Orange, died, that Prince in 1583 proposed
marriage with Louisa. She had been a widow for
eleven years, and besides was poor. But that Prince
was glad to accept her without a marriage dower, as
she was the daughter of Coligny. So they were mar
ried at Antwerp, April 12, 1583, and immediately af
terward took up their residence at Delft The peo
ple of Holland, although inclined at first to look on
the marriage with France with suspicion, soon learn-

Louisa De Coligny, Princess of Orange. 117
ed to love her. Her personal charms and her polish
ed manners made for her hosts of friends. Motley
says, "She was a small, well-formed woman, with
delicate features, exquisite complexion and very
beautiful dark eyes, which seemed in after years to
be dim with unshed tears, with remarkable powers
of mind and angelic sweetness of disposition." Miss
Benger says, "She possessed more firmness of char
acter and mental vigor than Charlotte De Bourbon."
The Dutch people had reverenced Charlotte, and
they now loved Louisa. On February 28, 1584, she
had a son born to her, Prince Frederick Henry, who
afterwards became illustrious as the Prince of
Orange and the leader of the Netherlands. The re
joicing of the Dutch was very great at the birth of
this boy, for the Prince's children; with one excep
tion, had been girls, so that if anything had happen
ed to the older son, Prince Maurice, there would
have been great danger to the state. But the birth of
Louisa's son averted this.
But Louisa had her troubles and' fears, as well as
her joys. She was afraid her husband would be as
sassinated. This had been attempted in 1582, and
had failed. The reward that the King of Spain had
offered for his life, was still offered. Her fears

118 Women of the Reformed Church.
proved only too true. For the man who was to per
form the deed, was already in the palace. He was «
Frenchman, though of a part of France which was
under Spanish control. In the hope of the rich re
ward, and out of love for his Romish faith, he had
meditated on the deed for six years. He came to
Delft, May, 1584, and so ingratiated himself into the
Prince's service that he became one of his confidential
servants. But Louisa's suspicions became aroused,
for woman's eye can see sharper through character
than man's, and she asked her husband, "Who is
that sinister-looking man, and what does he want?"
"He wants a passport, and I will give it to him," the
Prince replied. Soon after the Prince left the dining
hall and met Gerard in the hallway, at the foot ot
the stairs. Gerard held the passport in his hand, as
though waiting for the Prince to sign it, but his
other hand held a pistol. The moment William
turned his eyes away from him, he sent three bullets
crashing through his body. The Prince staggered
under the mortal wounds and cried out in French,
"O my God, have mercy on my soul and upon this
poor people." One of the Prince's ushers caught
him in his arms and set him on the stairs. Louisa
and William's sister, the Countess of Schwarzen-

Louisa De Coligny, Princess of Orange. 1 19
burg, were at his side immediately. His sister,
thinking him dying, asked him if he commended his
soul to Christ. He answered, "Yes." That was his
last word, for he died as his attendants then laid him
on the bed. The assassination occurred July 10,
1584. Poor Louisa was overcome with grief. At the
early age of thirty-two she was twice widowed. The
tragic death of this husband recalled to her most
painfully the death of her former husband and her
father by assassination. She lived over again the
terrible massacre of St. Bartholomew. It was a
terrible ordeal, yet she trusted God and bore her
sorrow with a beautiful resignation. "She had,"
said Maurier, "the advantage to be sprung from the
greatest man in Europe, and to have had two hus
bands of very eminent virtues, the last of whom left
behind him an immortal reputation. But she like
wise had the misfortune to lose them all three by
hasty and violent deaths, her life having been noth
ing but a continuous series of afflictions, able to
'make any sink under them. But a soul like hers had
resigned itself entirely to the will of God." Thus
William was assassinated a little over two years af
ter the first attempt at assassination, and Louisa was

120 Women of the Reformed Church.
made a widow after being married only a year and
three months, being left with a babe only four and a
half months old. She was left poor and without the (
necessities of life. "I hardly know," she wrote to
her husband's brother,, Count John of Nassau, "how
the children and I are to maintain ourselves accord
ing to the honor of the house." The Dutch pro
vinces, however, kindly granted her a yearly allow
ance of $4,000. Thus she was lifted from her pre
vious penniless condition and given a competence
throughout life. She had many cares, for the educa
tion of the six daughters of William's previous wife,
the oldest of whom was only eight years old, was
committed to her. This duty she faithfully fulfilled,
so that it was said she so stamped her own character
on them that they resembled her more than their
own mother.
Meanwhile great political changes had taken pla.ce
in France. King Henry of Navarre had become
King of France, and the Reformed had the right of
existence according to the edict of Nantes. So
Louisa was privileged to be able to go back to her
native land in 1549. On a Sunday of that year, she
happened to meet the Duchess of Montpensier, who
at the massacre of St. Bartholomew had distributed

Louisa De Coligny, Princess of Orange. 121
badges among the Catholics for exterminating, the
Huguenots. When she came into the room, Louisa
left it abruptly, because she could not stay in the
presence of such a woman.
But Louisa's path was not all clear joy. The reli
gious controversies broke out in the Netherlands
between the Calvinists and the Arminians. Her
own pastor became involved in them. For when
she removed to The Hague, the capital of Holland,
in 1 59 1, she, had founded a French Reformed church
there and had as her pastor the celebrated Utenbo-
gard. He was one of the leaders of the Arminian
party, and so Louisa's sympathies were with them
in the controversy; at least she desired religious tol
eration. When the Dutch, government ordered all
the Arminians or Remonstrants to leave the land,
she interceded for them, especially for Barneveld, in
the interests of peace and of religious freedom. The
result was that she became unpopular among the
Dutch people and no longer felt at home among
them. So after a stay in Holland of thirty-seven
years, she decided to leave Holland and go to her
native land of France. And so unpopular had she
become on account of the religious controversy, that
when she left, the populace hissed her on the streets

122 Women of the Reformed Church.
as she rode away. But her son, Frederick Henry,
whom she left behind her in Holland, afterwards be
came the ruler of Holland, and reintroduced reli
gious freedom and allowed the Arminians to come
back. So she ultimately gained the victory for her
principles of freedom. But before this took place,
she had passed to her reward. She lived only a short
time after she went back to France. At Fontain-
bleau she became sick. When it was known that she
was sick unto death, the Catholics tried their best to
win her back to their faith. Cardinal Richelieu, the
most crafty of them all, was sent to. do this. When
he entered her chamber, he found on the one side of
it the Reformed pastor of Fontainbleau, Courcelles,
and on the other side a devout Protestant lady.
Richelieu said, "Madam, take care of your soul. You
have two evil spirits beside you." And then he pro
fessed deep anxiety for her soul and urged her to
save it by returning to the Romish Church. But the
wily cardinal, who knew so well how to mould his
tory, found more than his match at the bedside of
this Reformed princess. She declared herself un
shaken in the principles of the Reformed faith, and
in her hope of heaven and salvation through Christ's
merits, and she therefore now asked to be spared

Louisa De Coligny, Princess of Orange. 123
such intrusions as his, which brought her neither se
curity nor peace. Richelieu departed defeated, and
the Reformed pastor, Courcelles, comforted her till
she died, rejoicing in hope, October 9, 1620. Her
body was embalmed and taken to Delft, where it was
laid in a magnificent tomb with her husband.
Through her son, Frederick Henry, she became the
ancestress of Electress Louisa Henrietta of Bran
denburg and of King William of England. "There
never was," says Brandt, "one of a more noble soul
or a truer lover of justice than this princess."

Chapter IV.— ITALY.
DUCHESS RENEE OF ESTE.

VEN into Italy, the land of the Pope, the Re
formation also spread. One of its protec
tors there was the Duchess Renee of Este.
She was not Italian by birth, but French, having
been born at Blois, October 15, 15 10. Her parents
had earnestly prayed for a son that he might be heir
to the French throne, which excluded females from
becoming heirs. When, therefore, a girl was born,
they were greatly disappointed and looked upon her
as an innocent intruder, — a sort of female Ichabod,
sho%ing that the glory had departed from her fath
er's house. She was, therefore, slighted, and some
have described her as ugly, and even as a hunch
back, which, however, is probably not true. But
for all that she was beautiful in character. "Beauty
is that beauty does." And she was of some value,
for she was a king's daughter and her hand there
fore, was eagerly sought for. She came nearly mar
rying the young prince, who later became Emperor
Charles V. of Germany. Then came the Duke of
Bouillon, the richest nian in France, and also Car
dinal Woolsey, who asked her hand for King Henry
125

126 Women of the Reformed Church.
VIII. of England, toy succeed Catharine of Arragon.
Renee had grown up a double orphan, her mothei
dying when she was only three years old, and her
father when she was five. Still she was well trained,
under the care of Queen Margaretof Navarre, and by
Madame Soubise, her governess. Her studies were
like those of Margaret of Navarre, and one of her
companions was Margaret of Angouleme, who be
came devoted to the Reformed, as was Madame Sou
bise. Under such influences she early inclined to the
new religion, as the Reformed was then called.
The summer of 1528, when she was 18 years of
age, saw her married to Hercules, Duke of Este,
whose home was at Ferrara, in northern Italy. *Her
mother-in-law was the famous, or rather infamous,
Lucretia Borgia, noted for her brilliant talents and
awful wickedness. It was a political marriage, but
Renee went to Italy to be a faithful wife. Her hus
band's court was a literary centre and he invited
many men of letters to Ferrara, and published their
works. The court artist was Titian, and the elder
Tasso was her secretary. Ariosto and Rabelais
made the court brilliant by their genius and wit.
Renee brought to this court the most brilliant gifts
of mind, together with elegance of manners so com-

Duchess Renee of Este. 127
mon to the French. She inherited all the virtues of
her father, joined to the goodness of her mother. Al
though in Italy, she still remained true to her Re
formed religion, and for it she was harshly treated
by her husband. As early as 1528 there had been a
Reformed minister at Ferrara, but we do not know
whether it was through her influence or not. As
her father-in-law, Duke Alphonse was a devoted
Catholic, she could surround herself with Re
formed influences only in indirect ways. She se
lected as tutors of her children several persons who
were Reformed. Her husband's chief physician,
Manzolli, was Reformed. His works, which satir
ized the vicious life of the clergy, were forbidden by
the Pope and his body afterward disinterred and
burned for heresy. Some of the professors at the
university at Ferrara were Reformed. Clement
Marot, the hymn-writer of the Reformed, and
Charles D'Espeville, whose real name was John Cal
vin, graced her court for a time. Calvin lectured on
religious subjects, it is said, in the chapel of the pal
ace, made beautiful by Titian's pictures; and the
number of Reformed increased from day to day.
For a number of years, -she had been permitted
large liberty in her religious efforts, but now the

128 Women of the Reformed Church.
suspicion of the Romish clergy was aroused. A
king's daughter had liberty which a peasant's child
had not, but the time came when the terrible inquisi
tion began to move. Calvin, after a stay of a few
months, was compelled to leave. Her husband per
mitted the arrest of Calvin while he was the guest of
Renee. She, however, arranged for an assault on
the men who were taking him to Bologna for trial,
and he escaped over the Alps. Ochino, too, the gen
eral of the Capuchin order, who could "make stones
weep," as the Emperor Charles V. said, was con
demned to death for heresy, but she enabled him to
escape to Geneva. Her husband permitted the in
quisition to fill his prisons with prisoners, but he
could not prevent his wife from visiting them in
their distress. At last, all the Reformed were driv
en away. She greatly mourned, in a letter to Mar
garet of Navarre, her utter isolation in Italy. Still,
by correspondence she was able to keep in touch
with her Reformed friends. Her 'correspondence
with Calvin was considerable. The Pope visited her
in 1543 and gave her a costly diamond and jewels,
but it did not bribe her to Romanism. The inquisi
tion, however, surrounded her with spies and gradu
ally the little Reformed congregation at Ferrara

Duchess Renee of Este. 129
dwindled, until in 1550 the light of the Reformed
faith was extinguished there.
, Having destroyed her friends, the papists now
turned to destroy her. About 1552 a Jesuit was
forced on her as chaplain, but the Jesuit found Renee
a better debater than himself, and reported that she
was obstinately fixed in her opinions. Being un
successful in converting her to Rome, he demanded
of the Duke that he exclude her from all society. So
in 1555 she was carried by night to the castle and
placed in solitary confinement. No books or visitors
were allowed her, and her younger children were
placed in a convent. She was allowed to converse
only with the Jesuits. Threatened, abandoned by all
near to her, the prey to fears, she weakened and re
ceived the mass and the Jesuits boasted of her con
version to Rome. Calvin all the while kept in touch
with her by correspondence, trying to guide her
mind aright, and to strengthen her under the perse
cutions. In 1559 her husband died, bequeathing her
a fortune as long as she remained a Catholic. But
Renee's faith was not dead, although her sufferings
for it were enough to have destroyed many another's
faith. She again spoke out boldly for her Reformed
religion. Her son, forced by the Pope, gave her the

130 Women of, the Reformed Church.
alternative of becoming a Catholic or of leaving
Italy. She unhesitatingly chose the latter. And
amid great mourning on the part of the people of
Ferrara she left Italy.
But when she returned to France, how changed
France had become during her absence of thirty
years. Her early companions were almost all gone.
She determined, therefore, to make the Huguenots
her friends, and throw over them the shield of her
protection. She interceded for them with her arch
enemy, Catharine De Medici,, corresponded with
Elizabeth, queen of England, pleading for them, and
encouraged Jeanne D'Albret. Renee's earnestness
for the Reformed made it unsafe for her to stay in
Paris, so she retired to her ancestral castle at Mon-
targis, which she made an asylum for the persecuted
Huguenots, so that they called it "Hotel Dieu" or
the "Hotel of the Lord." • She sheltered hundreds in
it, and it is said that three hundred at one time sat
down to her table.
The people of the town of Montargis were bigoted
Catholics, and in their hatred of things Reformed
they raised a riot against the castle, but were de
feated by soldiers sent by the Duke of Conde from
Orleans. Finally the Duke of Guise, her son-in-law,

RENE OF ESTE DEFYING MALICORNE

Duchess Renee of Este. 131
but the leader of the Catholic party, determined to
destroy that "nest of heretics" at Montargis, and
ordered her to leave the castle, as the king required
that fort. He sent Malicorne, who threatened that
if she would not deliver up the castle, he would bat
ter it to pieces and put her Reformed ministers to
death. Her royal blood boiled at this. "This de
crepit, prematurely-old woman," says a writer,
"cowed the general with six companies of soldiers
at his back." "Malicorne," she said, "consider well
what you do, for no man in the kingdom has a right
to command me but the king, and if 'you advance I
will put myself foremost in the breach, and see
whether you will have the audacity to kill a king's
daughter, whose death heaven and earth would
avenge on you and your seed, even to the children of
the cradle." Malicorne retired after such bravery on
her part. Doubtless she would have been driven out
of her castle, but fortunately for her, soon after the
Duke of Guise was assassinated. Her great interest
in the Reformed Church is shown by the fact that
she appeared at the consistory meetings and took
part in the proceedings. Calvin wrote to her, re
monstrating with her for this, and kindly reminded
her that Paul forbids women to exercise ecclesiastl-

132 Women of the Reformed Church.
cal authority (I Cor. 14:34-35 and I Tim. 2:11-14).
She replied that the Queen of Navarre, and Admiral
Coligny's wife, and the mother-in-law of the Prince
of Conde had done the same thing, but that she
would not do so again. In her activity with the
consistory she but foretold by her action the present
activity of women in the Church. When Calvin died
she greatly mourned his death. So great was his
regard for her that he wrote to her from his dying
bed. Shex ever cherished his memory with great
veneration. She lived to see the awful massacre of
St. Bartholomew in 1572, Some writers think that
she was in Paris at the time, but it is not likely, or
she would have doubtless been killed. Her greatest
sorrow was, that her daughter, the Duchess of
Guise, who, since the assassination of her husband,
had all the tiger nature of her grandmother, Lu-
cretia Borgia, rise up within her, was one of the
foremost in bringing about the slaughter of the Hu
guenots. No doubt Renee, with her usual kindness,
protected and saved many of the Huguenots in that
massacre. She died at Montargis, greatly mourned by the
Huguenots, June 12, 1575, aged about 65. Her
tomb is there, with the arms of Ferrara and her

Duchess Renee of Este. 133
cipher surmounted by a crown. But she has receiv
ed a greater crown, even a heavenly, with the
benediction of her Lprd, who could say of her life
and kindnesses "Well done." On one side of the
inscription are the lilies of France, and on the other
the ermine, its spotless white the symbol of the pur
ity of her character, a symbol, too, of the robe she
now wears, "washed and made white in the blood of
the Lamb."

o

II.
OLYMPIA MORATA.
NE of the most beautiful characters of the
Reformation was Olympia Morata, the
scholar and the Christian. Her name was
classic, Olympia, but her spirit revealed all the old
classic genius of Greece, baptized by the sweetness
of Christianity. She was by birth an Italian, one of
the fruits of that Italian reformation, which, alas!
was crushed in its bud by the inquisition. Her fath
er was tutor of the two sons of the Count of Este in
northern Italy, and she was born at Ferrara, 1526.
Her father, Morato, early trained her in the classic
languages, which were then rousing such a furor in
Europe. She made such progress in them, that with
in a few months she was able to speak Latin and
Greek easily. When she became twelve years of age,
her fame as a classic scholar was' already noised
abroad. At the early age of fourteen she composed
a defense of Cicero in answer to his calumniators.
She was considered a miracle— the most learned-
woman in Europe. She became so polished and
learned that when Duchess Renee of Este sought a
companion for her daughter in her studies, she
chose Olympia. Thus Olympia's lot was cast in
135

136 Women of the Reformed Church.
most pleasant circumstances — a female genius living
with princes. She soon became the idol of the court
that was filled with scholars. She delivered lectures
at Ferrara on the classic authors in the private acad
emy of the Duchess.
While she was thus living in the palace, the doc
trines of the Reformation began to show themselves
in Ferrara. Two Germans, named Sinapius, who
taught Greek and medicine there, had brought them
from Germany. The coming of Calvin and his brief
stay there strengthened the evangelical influences.
But it was the conversion of her father to Protes
tantism that most influenced her. From being a hu
manist, he became a Protestant. For while she was
in the court, he had been banished from Ferrara, and
settled at Vercelli. There he happened to receive
under his roof a Protestant missionary named Celio,
who had been an old acquaintance. Celio returned
his kindness by leading him to something higher
than the classics (which had been his idol),— to
Christ. The conversion of Morato was followed by
the conversion of others of his household. Mean
while Olympia, at the court of the Duke of Este, was
still idolizing the classics. She says of herself 1 "1
had no taste for divine things. The reading of the

Olympia Morata. 137
Old and New Testaments inspired me only with re
pugnance." But in the midst of her joys and honors,
lo! her father was taken sick in 1548. She at once
left the court and went to nurse him. He calmly
.waited for death, bearing a beautiful testimony for
Christ. This death of her father was the beginning
of her life of many sorrows. Soon after his death,
her companion, the princess to whom she had been a
companion, Anne of Este, was married, and she had
now no friend at court to defend her against the sus
picion of being a Protestant. She was compelled to
leave the court, and although the favorite of its so
cial circle, she went to care for her invalid mother,
three sisters, and a brother yet a child. Thus she
sacrificed honor and position for the gospel, choos
ing, like Moses, rather to suffer with the people of
God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
Among the strangers who had come to the uni
versity of Ferrara to study was a German, named
Andrew Grunthler. Through Sinapius he had heard
of Olympia. He learned to admire, then to love her.
He sued for her hand, and was accepted and they
were married in 1549. The prayers of the little Re
formed church of Ferrara went up for this young
couple, that God's blessing might rest upon them.

138 Women of the Reformed Church.
She wrote a hymn on the occasion, which reads like
an ode of Pindar, only it had a Christian instead of
a pagan theme running through it. It reads thus :
"O Almighty God, King of kings, Creator of man
and woman, Thou who gavest to the first man a
companion that the race of mortals might not perish;
Thou who hast willed that the soul brought out from
humanity should be the mystic bride of Thine own
Son, and that that divine Son should give His life
for her, oh, shed peace and blessing upon these two
now united before Thee. Thy law is the nuptial
couch and the hymen of eternal love."
But the dangers were gathering around the little
Reformed church of Ferrara. The Pope would not
allow a Protestant church in Italy. Grunthler, there
fore, prepared to leave and return to Germany, to
seek a place in some university. He left behind him
his wife, as he feared that the journey over the Alps
in the cold winter would be too severe for her. He
returned several months afterward, and then took
her with him away from Ferrara. They started in
June, (1550), accompanied by her brother, Emilio,
aged eight years. They traveled through the Tyrol,
passing the imperial army, and finally arrived safely
at Augsburg. There the Fugger brothers were the

Olympia Morata. 139
rich merchants, who led the trade and art of the city.
They had heard of Olympia's fame. They gave her
a splendid welcome, and she and her husband had a
charming sojourn there. They then went to Wurz-
burg, where her brother had an accident, in which
he was saved from death by a seeming miracle.
While playing with his companion, he fell suddenly
from an elevated gallery headlong on the rocks be
low. They thought him killed, but, strange to say,
he was not at all injured. She said she saw in it
how God gives His angels charge over those who are
His saints. Then, with her husband, she went
(1551) to Schweinfurth, whose senate called him as
physician to the Spanish soldiers. So Olympia, the
great classic scholar, was compelled to let her talents
blush unseen in a poor country village. Her stay,
however, was made pleasant by the education of her
brother arid by the kindness of the Protestants of the
town, especially the pastor. Here she translated into
Greek many of the Psalms and attended to the edu
cation of her brother.
But, alas! the place that they expected to be the
refuge for them,' proved to be the place of greatest
danger. The tide of war swept to this town. Mar
grave Albert of Brandenburg happened to choose

140 Women of the Reformed Church.
Schweinfurth as the place in which to defend him
self against the Emperor. The neighboring princes
of the empire combined to destroy him. Thus the
inhabitants of the town were compelled to suffer
most terribly for a quarrel to which they were
strangers. . The siege began April, 1553, and lasted
fourteen months. It was a terrible experience. The
walls and houses were continually battered by the
enemy's artillery. The citizens feared to go outside
of their dwellings, yet met death sometimes in their
houses. Bands of the enemy would at times over
run the town, and forcing themselves into the
houses, would compel the owners to give them their
money. These scenes became more terrible every
day. Famine added its horrors to war, and pesti
lence followed famine, until it cut off one-half of the
population. In the midst of all these horrors her
courage did not forsake her. She wrote: "Under
the weight of so many evils we have found consola
tion only in prayer and meditation upon the hofy
Word." Her husband caught the fever, and, alas!
all his medicines with which to allay it were exhaust
ed. It seemed as if nothing short of a miracle could
save him. Olympia went to One who was better
than medicine — the hearer and answerer of prayer.

Olympia Morata. 141
Her prayers were answered, and, lo! her husband
was saved. This gave her courage. The Lord, wh6
had cared for, and spared, her husband, would cer
tainly care for them in the siege.
But the terrors of the war became worse and worse.
The enemy outside were angered by the bravery
of the defenders. A rain of fire seemed to descend
on the town at night. The houses afforded no safety
for the inmates. They were compelled to seek re
fuge in the bowels of the earth. Olympia, with her
husband and brother, spent several weeks in the
depth of an obscure cave, afraid to go out. Finally
the Margrave, seeing defeat before him, suddenly
evacuated the town in the middle of the night. The
enemy came in, but the citizens found that they
brought no relief, only worse oppressions. For they
pillaged the town and set it on fire. Fearful were
the scenes in the town. The people pressed to the
gates to escape, only to be driven back and con
demned to perish. Some made their own funeral
preparations in their homes. Some fell on their
knees, trying to soften the hard, cruel hearts of the
enemy, but in vain. Others ran toward the church
as the asylum of safety, only to perish in the build
ing, as it fell in the conflagration. Olympia and her

142 Women of the Reformed Church.
family were drawn into the crowd that was surging -
toward the church, where they would have perished,
when a soldier bade them flee or they would be
buried under the ashes of the town. They followed
< this mysterious guide sent from heaven to save them,
and he led them by a circuitous route beyond the
walls. As they looked back, they saw the flames
mounting up to heaven and the houses crackling un
der the heat. They hurried on and began to think
themselves safe, when they were attacked by a band
of soldiers, plundered of all they had, and her/ hus
band was taken away a prisoner. In her great dis
tress she cried unto the Lord, "Help me, help me,
for the love of Thy name." Exceedingly sad was
her condition when she escaped from this danger.
She had lost her shoes, her hair was dishevelled, and
her clothes in tatters, with hardly a garment to cover
her. During that awful night she traveled more than
ten miles. She arrived at the village of Hamelburg,
comparing herself to the "queen of beggars," for she
entered it with a borrowed dress, pale, emaciated
and sick with the fever. The citizens of Hamelburg
did not dare keep them long, for fear of the enemy.
So, although she was so ill that she was hardly able
to walk, she was compelled to leave. As they fol-

Olympia Morata. 143
lowed the banks of the river, the gravel and stones
cut her bare feet, until she cried out in agony, "I can
go no farther. I am dying. Lord, if Thou wilt,
save me; command Thine angels to bear me on
their wings." At the next town she came tp, the lieu
tenant had been ordered to put all the refugees to
death. But as the bishop happened to be absent, he
gave them a little respite, till he returned, mean
while keeping them in suspense between life and
death. He finally let them go.
Then the favor of heaven began again to shine on
them. An unknown nobleman, touched with their
sufferings, gave them fifteen gulden of gold. With
it they were able to work their way to Erbach in the
Palatinate, whose count was so pious that a minister
in the neighboring town declared that he learned
more in a few days than in six years at Wittenberg
University. When at last she found a safe asylum,
Olympia broke down completely. She was crushed.
At one blow she had lost her husband's fortune, and
also the books, which had been brought at great ex
pense from Italy, all of which fell a prey to the
flames at Schweinfurth. The fever which had been
in her, now burst forth at its height. . She was, how
ever, very tenderly cared for by one of the noble

144 Women of the Reformed Church.
families of the Palatinate, the Count of Erbach. The
Countess gave to her the care of a sister, and when
she again became convalescent, she was greatly
pleased to find that her brother was now opening his
heart to the Reformed faith. She found a religious
atmosphere in that noble family, as the Count had
family worship in his home, and daily visited his
people, exhorting them to piety. The Count used
his influence to have her husband, who had arrived
there safely, too, appointed as a professor at Heidel
berg. He succeeded in having him appointed by the
Elector of the Palatinate, and they left Erbach for
Heidelberg. On the way a pleasant little incident occurred. One
evening they came to an inn, where the schoolmaster
and his pupils had come to give a concert. His pupils
did not do very well — in fact, broke down. Olympia
at once rose with her charming grace, and went to
them, encouraging them and helping them. The
schoolmaster was greatly surprised that she should
know the pieces of the children. He talked with the
visitors long afterward. And when he found out
that it was Professor Grunthler and his famous wife
Olympia, he ran to his house to bring some pieces
set to music by Grunthler, which he often sang in his

Olympia Morata. _ 145
family. He was greatly pleased to meet their
author. Two days later they arrived at Heidelberg, Au
gust, 1 554, and found there a very agreeable home, as
Heidelberg was not only beautiful for situation, but
it had become a great seat of learning. There, too,
they found old friends in Sinapius, her former teach
er of Greek, and Curione, who gave them' a cordial
welcome. She and her husband were, however, very
poor indeed, and had to borrow twenty florins of
gold to meet the expenses of the first month. While
her husband lectured on medicine, she was compelled
to attend to household duties. Leodius has spread a
report that Olympia was called to Heidelberg as pro
fessor and became a female lecturer there. There is
no question but she would have graced such a posi
tion with her genius. But she makes no reference
to lecturing in any of her letters, neither do the acta
of the university speak of any connection of her with
the university. Her name is only once mentioned in
its acts, and then her poems are referred to.
• She kept up a large correspondence. The destruc
tion of the little Reformed church of Ferrara by the
Pope caused her great sorrow. Some of its members
were put into chains, some sent into exile, and others

146 Women of the Reformed Church.
found safety in flight. The temporary apostasy of
her dear friend, Duchess Renee, caused her pain.
Her companion, Anna of Este, had become the head
of the house of Guise in France, who so terribly per
secuted the Reformed there. She wrote thu's to
Anna, pleading for them : "Since the Lord has hon
ored you with so great a blessing as knowledge of
the truth, you cannot be ignorant of the innocence of
these men who are every day dragged to the scaf
fold, and who are exposed to cruel torments for the
cause of Christ. It is your duty to intercede for
them. If you remain silent, and allow them to suf
fer and die without defence, you are becoming the
accomplice of their persecutors. I know that in
pleading their cause you may provoke the anger of
the king and the fury of your enemies. I answer, it
is better to be exposed to the hatred of men than that
of God. "If God is for us, who can be against us?"
The result of her plea was, that for years after, the
only one in the French court who dared to lift up her
voice against the persecutions was Anna of Este.
Olympia was also busy with the education of her .
brother Emilio. She taught him the classics. But
it was especially the Bible that she delighted to open
to him. That was her consolation in those days of

Olympia Morata. 147
poverty and weakness. She had, however, little time
for the study of literature, as her time was taken up
with household duties. She was, however, not per
mitted to live long in this delightful home. Her suf
ferings during the siege at Schweinfurth and /her
flight had so weakened her that she did not seem able
to rally. The danger increased when the plague broke
out in June, 1555, at Heidelberg. By July she had
become so weak that her life was despaired of. She
felt that she would not get well. Writing to Cur
ione, she says : "As for me, I grow weaker day by
day. The fever never leaves me for an hour."
Her death was radiant with hope. It was a mount
of transfiguration. She felt not the pangs of death,
but its joy and bliss. To her the Lord had taken
away the sting from death and left only the honey.
She saw heaven before she got there. A few hours
before her death she awoke from a sleep and smiled
most beautifully. When asked the cause of so sweet
a smile, she said, "I, in a dream, saw a place illumin
ed by the purest, most beautiful, brilliant light." Her
husband answered, "Courage, my well beloved; you
will soon dwell in the midst of that pure light." She
smiled and nodded assent. Soon after her sight fail
ed. "I can see no longer," she said to her husband,
"but all that surrounds me seems decked withbeauti-

148 Women of the Reformed Church.
ful flowers." These were her last words. She im
mediately fell into a sleep and passed away. She died
October 25, 1555, at the early age of 29 years. But
though she died so young, she had gained the fame,.
and passed through the sorrows, of a long lifetime.
Great was the sorrow of Protestants everywhere —
in France, Switzerland and Germany — at her death.
The plague continued its terrible ravages. Her hus
band, dazed with grief at the loss of his wife, now
went everywhere, recklessly exposing himself as a
physician to the awful plague. He did not caretolive,
since she did not. He seemed to be courting death.
And death came to him within a month after her
death. Emilio also fell a victim. All three of this
interesting family are buried in the historic St. Pe
ter's church at Heidelberg, where to-day the traveler
can read this inscription : "In the name of the eter
nal God and to the memory of Olympia Fulvia Mor
ata, the beloved wife of Andreas Grunthler. Her
remarkable attainments in several languages, the
marvelous purity of her ljfe and her piety elevate
her above her sex. The witness of her life was even
surpassed by that of her death. Peaceful, happy and
holy she died in the year of our Lord MDLV., aged
xxix. years, in a strange land. Here she lies with
her husband and her brother Emilio."

N

PART II
Women of the Seventeenth Century
Chapter i.— GERMANY.
i.
ELECTRESS ELIZABETH OF THE PALATINATE.
OT so well known as the famous Queen Bess
of England, but far more beautiful was her
namesake and relative, Princess Elizabeth,
the daughter of King James I. of England, yet her
lot became as sad as she was beautiful. The sad fate
of her family, the Stuarts, seemed to hang over her.
She became the unfortunate Queen of Bohemia, the
"paschal lamb" of the Thirty Years' War.
She was born August 19, 1596, at the palace at
Falkland, Scotland. Her early life was made happy
by an idolized brother, Henry, who instilled into her
young mind an antipathy to Rome, which was only
intensified as she afterwards suffered so much from
Romish powers. She was sent to school at Combe
Abbey. When there she was hurried away when the
gunpowder plot (1605) was discovered, because the
conspirators hoped to capture her and force her to be
come queen. When the danger was over, she wrote to
her brother a little note which concluded with this ex-
149

150 Women of the Reformed Church.
pression: "If God be for us, who can be against
us ?" At that time a lad of nine years sent her from
the continent a note of congratulation on her safety.
He was the little Count Frederick of the Palatinate,
who afterwards became her husband. He declared
in this note that he believed that that wicked con
spiracy proceeded from the direct agency of Anti-
Christ. Later she wrote to her guardian a poem in
which she seems to have caught the devotional spirit
of Lady Jane Grey. When she was sixteen years
old, Frederick sued for her hand. It was deemed
wise to unite two such prominent and Reformed
powers as England and the Palatinate in marriage.
So on October 16, 1612, Prince Frederick embarked
for England to receive his bride. The Protestants
in England were very glad for the marriage of their
beautiful princess to Frederick ; although the Catho
lics opposed it, and Elizabeth's mother never lost an
opportunity to remihd her that she was marrying
beneath her station by calling the Palatinate Prince
Frederick "Goody Palsgrave." Elizabeth promptly
replied, "I would rather espouse a Protestant count
than a Catholic emperor." „It happened that just as
Frederick arrived in England, Prince Henry, the
heir to the throne and the idol of the people, died. So<

Electress Elisabeth of the Palatinate. 151
most' fortunately Frederick came to England to take
her brother's place with Elizabeth. And the nation
seemed to transfer its interest from the dead prince
to Frederick.
They were married on Valentine's Day, 1613, with
great pomp. Dressed in a gorgeous robe of white
and silver, studded with diamonds, a crown of gold
on her head, her long hair woven with pearls and
diamonds, her train carried by thirteen young ladies
dressed in white, she was married to the prince. The
Archbishop of Canterbury married them, and a ser
mon was preached by the Bishop of Bath and Welis
on the wedding at Cana. After the wedding Fred
erick visited Cambridge and Oxford, where he was
received with great honor, and then prepared to take
his bride back to his own land. Their journey
through Holland and up the Rhine seemed a tri
umphal entry. Reception followed reception. At
Amsterdam from her barge to the carriage she pass
ed over a bridge richly carpeted, while on the front
of the exchange was a beautiful arch, on which she
was represented as Thetis, the goddess mother ot
Achilles. Every day there were military displays,
so that her bridal journey seemed a victorious march.
At Dusseldorf her husband had. provided a yacht on

152 Women of the Reformed Church.
which she was to sail up the beautiful Rhine to Hei
delberg. When she arrived at the Palatinate, she
was received by the towns of Oppenheim and Fran-
kenthal with great rejoicing and honor. She arrived
at Heidelberg on a beautiful day in June. Almost
all the Protestant nobility of Germany was there to
welcome her; and as they came with large retinues
of followers, Heidelberg was full of gaiety and
splendor. The Princess arrived before the city, hav
ing 374 in her company, among them English nobles,
as the Earl of Arundel and Lord Lenox. As she
proceeded to the castle in a carriage with eight
horses, the streets were strewn with green-sward and
the roofs crowned with boughs of May. Along the
walls were hung festoons of flowers. The next day
the court preacher, Scultetus, preached a sermon,
and for twelve days the festivities continued. They
were closed June 18, 161 3, by a sermon by Scultetus
on the subject of thanksgiving, based on the 119th
Psalm. Nearly 300,000 pounds were spent, and 5,-
500 persons dined every day at the castle.
And now began her happiest days. Her "honey
moon" lasted five years. This beautiful castle, which
provoked the wonder of the English visitors, had
been enlarged by the English building and the thick

Elec tress. Elisabeth of the Palatinate. 153
tower at the west end, built by Frederick for his Eng
lish bride. He also laid out the rough wild moun
tain back of the castle into a most beautiful garden —
a blooming paradise where she might rest and enjoy
herself. Here in summer, oranges and limes spread
their fragrance. Here was an English orchard, there
a mulberry grove. Beautiful beds of many tinted
flowers varied the view. From the edge of the pre
cipices fell an artificial waterfall, while silvery
streams of water would flow when bidden through
the garden, and as they flowed, musical symphonies,
supposed to be breathed by naiads, fell on her ears.
There were grottoes from which issued streams of
melody. The beauties of the garden were so great
that King Louis XIV. of France became jealous lest
it would eclipse the splendor of his gardens at Ver
sailles. Here passed the happiest years of her life.
Her happiness seemed to culminate when in 1619
she became a queen, for her husband was elected
king of Bohemia. Her mother could no longer sneer
at her for marrying only a prince, for she was now a
queen. She gained the coveted rank, but alas,
heavy hangs the head that wears a crown. But
she was ready for it, for she writes to her husband,
when he accepted the throne, "I shall not repine,

154 Women of the Reformed Church.
whatever consequences may ensue, not even though
I should be forced to part with my last jewel."
The time had now come when Queen Elizabeth
was to set out for Prague, to ascend the throne of
Bohemia. Her departure. from Heidelberg was om
inous of her future sorrows. The day before she left
was Sunday. She attended service on that day, and
her chaplain, by a curious coincidence, preached on
the text : "Go to now, ye that say to-day or to-morrow
we will go into such a city and buy' and sell, and get
gain, whereas ye know not what shall be on the mor
row," etc. Strange to say, "the year" in that text was
fulfilled, for she remained just a year as queen in Bo
hemia before unexpected disasters came upon her.
When she arrived at the Bohemian border with her
husband, she was received with great honor. Her
journey reminded her of her triumphal bridal jour
ney up the Rhine a few years before. Her beauty
and rank seemed to dazzle the Bohemians. At Wald-
sach the women and children gathered around her,
touching the hem of her garment, or prostrating
themselves before her as if she were some new di
vinity. Her journey was completed and crowned by
a magnificent triumphal procession into Prague, Oc
tober 21, 1620. "Never," says her biographei,

Electress Elisabeth of the Palatinate. 155
"since the days of St. Elizabeth has any princess in
spired sentiments of such impassioned affection in
the people of Prague. The horses of her carriage
were adorned with housings of gold and silver, and
she sat under a canopy of gold and silver not more
splendid than becoming to her fair complexion." Her
husband was crowned November 3, and three days
later she was also crowned in great state. Amid
music she approached the chancel of the Hussite
church, and knelt to receive the crown (of Bohemia.
The Administrator of Bohemia, who crowned her,
preached a long sermon, which he closed with the
wish that "the piety of the new queen might be re
warded with the longevity of Sarah, that in all- her
undertakings she might be prosperous as the beauti
ful Rebecca, that she should prevail over her enemies
like the intrepid Judith, and be meek and magnani
mous like Queen Esther, and that finally she might
be persevering like the Queen of Sheba in the search
of truth and wisdom, and above all, be crowned with
spiritual gifts like the blessed Salome, who had been
chosen and solemnly approved by the Savior of the
world." He then solemnly crowned her as the walls
resounded with the shouts, "Long live Queen Eliza
beth."

156 Women of the Reformed Church.
But, like her husband, she soon found that heavy
lies the head that wears a crown. She found it diffi
cult to retain the adoration of the Bohemians. Her
ignorance of the Bohemian language separated her
from them as if by a Chinese wall. The customs of
her court were so different from theirs. They were
simple, rude country people, while her court had the
levity of French manners. So social customs soon
clashed. As an illustration of this, the story is told
that soon after her arrival, the wives of some of the
citizens of Prague .presented her with a testimonial
which consisted of some specimens of their baking,
as cakes and bread. These they brought crammed
rudely together in a bag. The queen returned to
ttienrher thanks, but alas! her courtiers treated the
kind givers with scant courtesy. A page mocked at
the gift by seizing one of the loaves of bread and
twisting it into fantastic shapes, and putting it on
his head like a wreath. The rest followed his ex
ample, and the poor Bohemians went away with
their feelings hurt. Her religious views also alienat
ed some of them. Like the Reformed, she disliked
crosses and crucifixes. Now the Bohemians had a
great crucifix on the bridge over the Moldau, which
they looked up to as a patron saint. She was charged

Electress Elisabeth of the Palatinate. 157
with avoiding that bridge, so as not to pass the cru
cifix. These troubles were but the preparation for dark
er days to follow. Her husband was called away to
the army, which was to protect Prague. He soon
saw the dangers that hovered over them, and wrote
, to her that if she felt afraid, she should leave Prague,
but she nobly refused to leave him behind. Though
heartsick and anxious, she had to preserve the mask
of outward joy and pleasantry to her court and the
people. Finally her husband's army was defeated on
Sunday, November 8, 1621, just outside of the city
of Prague. She was attending church service, when
the battle began, and the minister had just read,
"Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's,"
etc., when the thunder of the cannon shook the
church, and the minister left the pulpit and with the
congregation rushed to the city walls to view the
battle. Frederick hastily put her in a carriage and
sent her to the citadel for safety. And now began
her woes, that like wave upon wave went over her.
The next morning at nine o'clock he brought her
carriage, that she might escape. As she entered it,
never again to return to Prague, one of her admir
ers, young Count Thurm, offered to defend the cit-

158 Women of the Reformed Church.
adel for a few days, in order that she might make
good her escape. But she nobly forbade this, saying,
"Never shall the son of our best friend hazard his
life to spare my fears. Rather let me perish than be
remembered as a curse to this city."
Over terrible roads Elizabeth and her husband fled
to Breslau. Sometimes the road became impassable
and she had to get out and ride on horseback in the
cold, wintry weather. A terrible snow-storm came
up. Finally they arrived safely at Breslau, but the
reception by the inhabitants was as chilly as the
weather. It was evident she could not stay there,
but where should she go for safety? She wrote to
her father, King James of England, begging him for
help, saying that if he forsook her, they would all be
ruined; but he would not help her, although the
Puritans of England were strongly in favor of aid
ing her. Where could she go ? She finally found a
brief resting place at the fort of Custrin, where the
Elector of Brandenburg, her brother-in-law, allow
ed her to stay, but refused her any money. There
she bore a son. She then, forgotten by her father
and cast out by her brother-in-law, traveled west
ward toward Holland. How different her journey
now from her bridal trip a few years before. Then

Electress Elisabeth of the Palatinate. 159
all was gladness, now all is sadness. The Dutch gov
ernment, however, received her as a queen, and kind
ly allowed her a pension. Here at last she and her
husband found an asylum during the awful years of
the Thirty Years' War.
Here one trial after another seemed to come upon
her. The Dutch populace called her and her hus
band "royal beggars." In 1628 she lost her oldest
son, a brilliant boy, the heir to the throne, who went
with his father to Haarlem to see the Dutch fleet re
turn after its capture of the silver fleet of the Span
iards. The young man was drowned before his fath
er's eyes, crying out, "Father, save me." There
came a ray of joy to her when Gustavus Adolphus
gained his victories. But this was taken away by the
absence of her husband, who went to meet Gustavus.
And the next year Gustavus, who had been a sort of
guardian angel, was killed. A few days after, came
the news of her husband's death. Her previous ca
lamities were trivial compared with this. She showed,
as a writer says, "marvellous grief." Yet she con
fessed in a letter to the Dutch States that "her first
great resource was heaven." Spanheim, her biog
rapher, says: "Her letters are admirable for the

160 Women of the' Reformed Church.
strength of judgment, and for their dignified resig
nation and touching piety."
She seemed to be left alone, without husband or
country, with none but her children. And these gave
her increasing anxiety. One son was defeated and
another captured by the emperor. Then came the
death of Duke Bernard .of Weimar, who had been a
guardian to her after her husband's death. Then
came the bitter woe of a son and a daughter going
over to Romanism. Her brother, King Charles I. of
England, was beheaded. And yet her life was not
entirely hopeless. She found at the Hague
the society of cultured people. The Reformed min
isters- showed her much kindness. She lived quietly
for many years at a country villa at Rheten. Here
she pursued her favorite sport of the chase. Here
she educated her children. Her house was called
"the mansion of the muses and graces," because of
her fair daughters. For there the great philosopher
Descartes taught her daughter Elizabeth. But alas !
her troubles were not yet past. The close of the
Thirty Years' War gave back the Palatinate to her
family, but only added to her discomforts. For as
her son, the Elector Charles Lewis, did not care for
her as he should, she suffered with increasing want.

Electress Elisabeth of the Palatinate. 161
At length, bereaved pf every object that endeared
Holland to her, she accepted an invitation in 1661
to return to England. How different her return
from her departure many years before. No shouts
go up from assembled crowds, nor does any homage
. come from the nobles. She who had once been a
power in the negotiations of nations and a queen of
beauty in society, was forgotten. After living a
short time quietly, she died February 13, 1662. "She
was a princess of talents and virtues not often
equalled, rarely surpassed." Her beauty and her
tact made her a power in history. Brave men, as
Gustavus Adolphus and Lord Craven, like the
knights of the middle ages, were led by her beauty
to take up her cause. Thus Duke Christian of
Brunswick snatched a glove from her hand, kissed
it, stuck it into his hat as a plume, and then drawing
his sword, took a solemn oath never to lay down
arms till she was again on the throne of Bohemia.
He placed as his motto on his flag: "For God and
for her."

II.
ELECTRESS LOUISA JULIANA OF THE PALATINATE.
SiOME women are statesmen, if we may be
permitted to use that expression instead of
stateswomen. Louisa Juliana was one of

them. She inherited it from her father, who was
one of the greatest statesmen the world ever pro
duced, William, Prince of Orange. She was the
oldest daughter of his second wife, Charlotte De
Bourbon, being born at Dort in Holland, in 1576.
She had a loving mother till she was six years old.
Young as she was, she was deeply sensible of her
mother's death and grieved greatly. At the time of
the assassination of her father she was about eight
years old. Young as she was, she wrote a letter to
her uncle, Count John of Nassau, saying, "We have
suffered so great a loss, my sister and I, that we
know not to whom to confide our grief, unless to
you, whom we supplicate most humbly to be to us
all a father and a kind uncle, in order that we may
be brought up in the faith in which our father had
us educated." Evidently hers was an old head on
young shoulders.
She was reared by her aunt, the Countess of
163

164 Women of the Reformed Church.
Schwarzenberg, and gained all the polish of a fin
ished French education, so that she had the serious
ness of the Dutch blended with the vivacity of the
French. The fame of her accomplishments and at
tractions brought to her feet many suitors. Her ac
cepted suitor was one of the leading princes of
Germany, Elector Frederick IV. of the Palatinate.
She was married to him at Dillenberg June 13, 1593,
"and went with him to his capital at Heidelberg,
where she was received with great festivities. She
introduced some of the polish of the French cus
toms into the somewhat ruder Palatinate court. The
nobility had been given to, the rougher amusements,
as hunting, fishing, hawking and sometimes to
drunkenness. She tried to banish intemperate and
profane habits from the court and to establish habits
of sobriety and decorum. She also endeavored to.
produce a higher religious tone in the court by es-
¦ tablishing the practice of the daily reading of the
Scriptures. She was careful to imbue the minds of
her children with religious impressions. Her hor
ror of the papacy was very great. We have seen it
in the little letter her son Frederick V. wrote as a
boy to Elizabeth in England about the Gunpowder
Plot, calling the Catholics Antichrist. The intensity

I
Electress Louisa Juliana of the Palatinate. 165
of her Reformed convictions was so great that she
instilled into her son's mind an aversion not only to
f. Romanism but also to Lutheranism especially in its
latftudinarianism about worship, which in her esti
mation were not far removed from the errors of
i '". Rome. She was careful for his polite training, by
having him sent to the court of the Count of Bouil-
. . ,' ion at Sedan where he was kept from the rough
drinking customs of the German nobles and learned
the polished manners of the French. Her husband
|' dying when her son was only fourteen years of age,
his cousin, Duke John of Zweibrucken, acted as re
gent during the boy's minority. But she was his ad
viser, and by their united care the land prospered
and gained in influence. She greatly rejoiced at the
marriage of her son Frederick to the daughter of the
English crown. When the Elector returned from
England with his bride, his family at Heidelberg, in
receiving him was headed by Louisa Juliana with a
train of twelve princesses and noble ladies in the
vestibule of the castle. But her mother-heart for
got the conventionalities of society and broke
through all etiquette as she threw her arms around
her daughter-in-law's neck as she burst into tears
of joy.

166 Women of the Reformed Church.
Frederick now assumed the government of his
land, and his mother retired to her little estate at
Kaiserlautern. Here she took a warm interest in
the people under her care and they improved In
piety, refinement of manners, and general prosperity.
Here she lived in seclusion and peace until the out
break of the Thirty Years' War. When her son,
Frederick V., was offered the throne of Bohemia,
she, with her natural sagacity in political affairs,
strongly urged him against accepting it. She fore
saw all the later calamities that came to the land —
loss of his land of the Palatinate, and the persecu
tions of the Reformed. In eloquent words she pic-
turned to him his lack of allies and the danger if he
accepted. Well would it have been for him if he had
heeded his mother's advice. But no, against her will,
urged on by his wife, he accepted the Bohemian
crown. When he left Heidelberg for Prague Juli
ana uttered the fateful prophecy, "And now the Pa
latinate removes to Bohemia," and went to bed, sick
with anxiety, after she had parted with him in tears
and sighs.
When the Bohemian war terminated so disas
trously against him a year later, she lost her little
county of Kaiserlautern and fled to Heidelberg,

Electress Louisa Juliana of the Palatinate. 167
from which she escaped with difficulty; but found
a resting place with her daughter who had married
the Elector of Brandenburg. She lived during the
war, partly in Berlin, his capital, but most of the
time at Konigsberg, in far east of Polish Prussia,
farthest removed from the dangers of the war.
There she greatly aided in founding a Reformed
congregation, for the whole land of Prussia was
Lutheran. But she had Reformed service in her
castle chapel, out of which grew a permanent Re
formed congregation there. While she was there,
her daughter-in-law Elizabeth, came fleeing from
Bohemia and bore a son at Custrin, named Maurice.
This boy the grandmother took to her home at
Konigsberg and reared. Says Miss Benger, the bio
grapher of Elizabeth, "It is a trait of generosity that
Juliana never became estranged from Elizabeth,
however opposed they may have been in their opin
ions. There was in each of these princesses no com
mon share of firmness and dignity, and of the
younger might be personified Hope, the older was
no less characterized by Resignation."
When Gustavus Adolphus came from the north to
deliver Germany from the power of the Catholic
armies, a very serious breach occurred that threat-

168 Women of the Reformed Church.
ened to -allow room for the destruction of the Pro
testants of Germany, by alienating them from Gus
tavus. He, at the very beginning of his campaign,
came into collision with the Elector' of Branden
burg because of the fortress of Spandau, which the
Elector claimed and Gustavus refused to give up.
Gustavus at once marched his victorious army
against one who ¦, ought to have been his ally and
threatened' to bombard the gates of Berlin. The
Elector then saw his danger and tried to gain peace,
but in vain. Several embassies were sent to Gusta
vus, but he seemed determined to humiliate the Elec
tor by attacking his capital. Then Gustavus was
surprised to receive a delegation of ladies. How
often the ladies can do what the gentlemen can not,
especially when it comes to subjects requiring deli
cate tact. These ladies were the Electress Louisa
Juliana and her daughter, the Electress of Branden
burg, who had repaired to his camp. By the wis
dom and beauty of Juliana's address Gustavus was
disarmed. He found in her a stateswoman greater
than his own statesmanship. Yielding to her inter
cessions he gave up his hostile purpose, and became
a friend to the Elector, and thus became united to
the Protestants of Germany. She rejoiced at the

LOUISA JULIANA AND HER DAUGHTER INTERCEDING WITH GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS

Electress Louisa Juliana of the Palatinate. 169
victories of Gustavus in Germany, but after his
death had to mourn the death of her unfortunate
son, Elector Frederick V.
She remained at Konigsberg until her death on
March 5, 1644. At her death she was greatly com
forted by the consolations of the Reformed faith.
She was greatly strengthened by the prayers of the
Reformed ministers who visited her. To her daugh
ter-in-law Elizabeth, who had suffered so much by
the war, she sent a message, thus: "Assure her,"
she said, "that I have always loved and honored her
from the heart, and that these affections I will carry
with me to the grave. Inform her children that it
was among the last prayers on my lips, that God
would bless them, that it would greatly have de
lighted me to have seen them restored to their es
tates. But God having ordered it otherwise, I as
sure them that He will never forsake them." She
ordered her court preacher, Agricola, to preach at
her funeral on 1 Peter 1 :i8, saying, "My reason for
this choice is that therein is contained all my con
solation which rests only on the precious blood of
Christ." So died one of the greatest princesses of
the Reformed Church — a female William of Orange
in her piety, ability and statesmanship, yet uniting

170 Women of the Reformed Church.
with these virtues the quieter graces of the female
sex.

LANDGRAVINE AMALIE OF HESSE

III.
LANDGRAVINE AMALIE ELIZABETH OF HESSE CASSEL.
0~"™~ NE of the greatest leaders of the Thirty
— Years' War was this noble princess. Her
biographer calls her the greatest noblewo

man of her country. She was the granddaughter of
Prince William of Orange, from whom she inherited
"his wisdom and his eagle eye." She was born Janu
ary 29, 1602, at Hanau in Germany, and was married
at the age of eighteen to Landgrave William V. of
Hesse Cassel. Her husband having espoused the
side of the Swedes in the Thirty Years' War, was
finally compelled by the Austrians to leave his land
and seek an asylum in East Friesland. At this most
unfortunate moment he died September 21, 1637.
It looked now as if the Hesse Cassel would be lost
entirely, and with her the rights of the Protestants
and of the Reformed. For with the exception of
Saxe- Weimar, hers was the only land in Germany
still in rebellion against the emperor, the rest having
accepted the peace of Prague (1635). But she re
fused to accept that peace, because her Reformed
faith was not guaranteed in it. She was the last one
in Germany fighting for the Reformed faith. If she
171

172 Women of the Reformed Church.
were crushed, what would become of the Reformed
Church? It was a terrible crisis for the Reformed.
Once before, in 1566, the German emperor had tried
to crush out the Heidelberg Catechism, but the elo
quence of Elector Frederick III. of the Palatinate
saved it. Now it remains for a woman to be the
second savior . of the Reformed of Germany. For
man's extremity proved to be woman's opportunity.
There arose a Reformed Joan of Arc to lead the
Reformed back to victory. She did not do it, how-.
ever, by appearing on the battle-field, as did Joan
of Arc, but by the shrewdness of her diplomacy.
She has also been compared to the warrior woman
of the Old Testament, and called the Reformed
Deborah. Fearful were the odds against her. A large part
of her land was in the hands of the enemy. She and
her family were exiles, and a debt of 590,000 thalers
was on her land. When her husband died, he left
his son, a mere boy, as his successor. But the em
peror declared that her husband's will was void, and
ordered her greatest enemy, the Landgrave of Hesse
Darmstadt, to take possession of her land and rule iti
This usurpation thoroughly roused her. With the
courage of a lioness she proceeded to battle for her

Landgravine > Amalie Elisabeth. 173
son's rights. As regent she began the war again.
Her husband had fortunately left to her 15,000 ex
cellent experienced soldiers. She also had as her
commander Melander, one of the greatest generals
of the war, whom the emperor had tried by high
bribes to draw from her service (for the emperor
knew his value), but in vain. She made an armistice
with the emperor, during which negotiations for
peace were to take place. He was so anxious to
make peace, that he asked the Elector of Mayence,
who acted as mediator, to' get her to name her con
ditions. She replied that she would not make peace
until Hesse Cassel had gotten back all the territory
illegally. taken from her, and till the Reformed (who
had been ignored by the peace of Prague, 1635)
had been given their rights. She thus held the bal
ance of power, and her favor was courted by the
emperor on the one side and by the French and
Swedes on the other. With wise statesmanship she
knew how to utilize her unique position. The em
peror wanted her to give up the French and Swedes
as allies, but she feared lest if she did, he would
punish her afterwards. So she finally made a treaty
with the French and the Swedes, instead of the em
peror, after the armistice had lasted two years, the
French giving her 150,000 gulden as a subsidy.

174 Women of the Reformed Church.
She then moved forward her army, 42,000 strong,
into Westphalia, supported on the one side by the
French and on the other by the Swedes. It gained
a number of victories over the emperor's forces,
among others recapturing Marburg, February 23,
1646, and regaining Upper Hesse. Her position
was now so strong and her influence so great, that
when negotiations for the Westphalian peace began,
she entered into them on an equality with the
Swedes and French, although she was the ruler of
only a small German state. One of the emperor's
friends declared that it was a shame that such a
small state should dictate to the empire. Victorious
in war she gained even greater victories in the peace
negotiations that closed the war. She compelled
Hesse Darmstadt to give up the land it had taken
from Cassel. The emperor granted her her Re
formed religion, and more than that, granted its
toleration in all Germany, too. For the first time in
the history of Germany, the Reformed were men
tioned by name in this peace of Westphalia as the
equals of the Lutherans and the Catholics. This
was due to her persistence in keeping up the war,
although she was aided in the negotiations by the
influence of the Elector of Brandenburg, who was

Landgravine Amalie Elisabeth. 175
the great protector of the Reformed. The Bavarian
General Gronsfeld said of her: "Amalie has gained
immortal fame. She has gained toleration for her
Reformed religion, which had been cast out by the
empire. She holds the balance of power in her
hands." At the close of the war she laid down the regency
of her land and gave its rule to her son, Landgrave
William VI. The excessive cares of the war had
weakened her health. For in the midst of all her
political duties she still watched over her family
with the greatest care (she had been the mother of
fourteen children). She was careful to have them
trained in the Reformed faith, the superintendent
of Cassel, Neuberger being the tutor of the son
who succeeded her. She desired to spend the rest of
her life in quietness. But her health continued fail
ing. She went on a visit, 1651, to Heidelberg, to
her daughter, who had married the Elector of the
Palatinate. There she was greeted as the Deborah
of the Reformed Church. But while there, her
rheumatism, which showed itself in her foot, in
creased; so with her daughter and other nobles she
received the communion from the Reformed court
preacher Pilger, and declared herself satisfied to

176 Women of the Reformed Church.
follow whither God would lead. With great pres
ence of mind she prepared herself for the end; When
the operation was performed, she bore it with great
patience. She never took her eye off of the wound,
and told her physician he should cut more', if nec
essary, as she was ready to bear all. She gradually
grew a little better, and was able to return to Cassel,
July 12, by being carried in a chair by soldiers. On
August 3 she had them carry her to church, that she
might once more join with God's people in the woi-
ship of the sanctuary. She afterwards became
worse, but declared in the midst of her great suf
ferings that she was ready to die. Just before she
died, she reached her hand to both of her court
preachers and said, "Good night." Then she fell
asleep, August 8, 1651. She greatly loved her Re
formed Church, which was the constant recipient of
her bounty, and for which she was willing to sacri
fice her all. She died greatly idolized by her
people. On her coins is the motto:
"Against might and craft
God is my rock."

IV.
COUNTESS URSULA OF HADAMER.
HE Reformed princesses of the Thirty
Years' War are exceedingly interesting
characters. Among them and occupy
ing a front rank, is the subject of this article.
The Romish Church has a beautiful legend of
the Countess Ursula, who with 10,000 virgins
made a pilgrimage to Rome, and on her return
was attacked by the Huns. The bones of this prin
cess and her followers are still shown in one of the
churches of Cologne, and the Romish Church ven
erates her as one of her saints. The Reformed have
also a St. Ursula, and can match the legend by a
story of fact, which reveals an equally faithful saint,
who would not give up her faith. Her territory was
a small province in western Germany, the country
of Nassau-Hadamer. Her husband was a brave
noble, but fond of display, and especially fond of
showing his keenness in debate. It happened that
the Austrian government brought a charge against
the Counts of Nassau for having aided King Fred
erick of Bohemia against Emperor Ferdinand of
Germany. These Counts sent her husband to Vienna
177

178 Women of the Reformed Church.
to defend their cause and also to intercede for their
land, which the Emperor's forces were so severely
ravaging. The Count left his wife behind to rule in
his stead. This she could do very well, for she was
a woman of rare ability, as well as of nobility of
character. While her husband was absent (he was away
about a year) , alarming reports came to his land that
the Jesuits were trying to convert him to Romanism.
For the Emperor had utilized the Count's visit to
Vienna to bring him in contact with his confessor,
Lenormain. The Emperor honored him with an in
vitation to dine with him, and placed the confessor
opposite the Count at the table. Of course very
soon a debate sprung up between them, in which the
Count prided himself in showing off his ability. But
he was no match for the wily confessor. The Ro
manists so influenced him that he finally, after seven
clays of consideration, joined the Romish Church.
After this had happened, he did not tell it to his
wife. But one of his attendants wrote a letter to
his pastor, acquainting him with the facts. The pas
tor called together the Reformed pastors of the
country, and made known to them the contents of
the letter. All were astounded. In that day it was

Countess Ursula of Hadamer. 179
the law of Germany, "like prince, like people." If a
prince went over to the Romish faith, he could force
that faith on his subjects. Of course, therefore, the
Reformed ministers were justly alarmed at the pros
pect of the introduction of the Romish faith into
their land. They discussed the situation, but felt
that the Count's wife should be notified of his con
version, because she could protect them, and besides
"was such an example of piety and a zealous promo-
tor of the honor of God." But no ,one was willing
to undertake to impart the sad news to her, partly
for fear of the Count, and partly for fear of the re
sults on her, as she was not very well.
Finally, Niesener, the pastor of Rennerod, offered
to go. He went to her and broke the news as deli
cately and gradually as possible. But when he an
nounced to her, that her husband was a convert to
Romanism, she fainted away. When she came to
consciousness again and was able to talk, he urged
her, not to follow the example of her husband. She
at once spoke out the noble determination, "I would
rather be divorced from my husband and go out of
this land a beggar, than leave my faith." She also
thanked Niesener especially for his faithfulness in
coming to tell her the truth, and promised to protect

180 Women of the Reformed Church.
him, and if .he were driven out of the country, to find
a place for him in her brother's land of Lippe. Her
husband, before he left Vienna to return home,
wrote to her, telling her that he was now a Roman
ist. He finally returned in December, 1629, bring
ing with him two Jesuit priests to introduce Roman
ism. He placed his land under the ecclesiastical
control of the Elector of Treves, who was to aid him.
With bitter tears his wife received him, but all her
entreaties failed to gain him back to her Reformed
faith. He soon gathered the ministers together and
announced to them his change of religion, and urged
them to follow him. None of them had the courage
to reply, except Niesener, who declared that they
would follow God rather than man, and said, "I re
member the words of Christ in Matthew 6:25, 'If
the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is
that darkness.'" The Count replied, that if they
would not become Romanists, they must all leave
the land within four weeks. He also invited the
ministers to his table, one after the other, so as to
bring them into a discussion with the Jesuits there,
who might be able to drive them into a corner in ar
gument or to convert them to Rome, if possible.
The ministers unwillingly obeyed and came, but

Countess Ursula of Hadamer: 181
were generally silent, rather than make matters
worse by an unfair discussion.
The Count also ordered the ministers to intro
duce the Gregorian calendar. This calendar, al
though introduced since in all Protestant lands, was
at that time considered a sign of compromise with
Rome. The ministers were, therefore, to observe
Easter and Whitsunday according to it. But some
of the Reformed refused to obey this, and this made
confusion in the observance of Easter, because there
was a difference of ten days between the old and
new calendar. The Count dismissed the Reformed
ministers, when he found they would not become
Romanists. A cry of distress went up from the Re
formed people, as they saw their pastors depart. The
sufferings of these pastors was great. They were
driven out in winter time, without a home or money
or friends. One of them, the pastor at Salbach,
wandered with his wife and four children for a year
hither and thither, before finding a parish. On Janu
ary 31, 1630, the Count gathered the people of the
town of Hadamer together, and ordered them to fol
low him into the Catholic Church. He was followed
by an address by the Jesuit Brack, who painted in
rosy colors the beauties of Catholicism. On Febru-

1 82 Women of the Reformed Church.
ary 5 the Jesuits held their first service in the Re
formed church at Hadamer. Evierywhere the Jesuits
took the Reformed churches and used them for Ro
mish worship. . The Count also commanded the in
habitants to attend Romish worship, under pain of
imprisonment, yes, of death.
The result of all this was, that by the end of 1630
not a Reformed minister was to be found in the land
with two exceptions. One of them, Artopeus, the
blind chaplain of the Countess (he was now 88 years
old), who was allowed to preach -only in her room,
but to hold no public Reformed service. But while
the Romish priests seemed to have everything their
own way, yet their lives were not safe. For the Hol
landers with their soldiers would come suddenly into
the land, and they would have to flee. To avoid this,
they were ordered to dress in the clothes of private,
citizens and not to live at the parsonages, but in pri
vate houses. But the Dutch soldiers soon found out
where they were. On one occasion they captured
some of them and took them away as prisoners.
When- the Count remonstrated with the Dutch about
this, the Dutch replied that they intended to keep
them as hostages for some Reformed ministers who
were kept in prison. Niesener was the only other

Countess Ursula of Hadamer. 183
Reformed minister besides Artopeus who was per
mitted to remain in the land. And this was only be
cause of the -protection of the Countess. He was,
however, banished to a village near the Catholic bor
der, and forbidden to go out of his house. He and
his family would have starved, had not some of the
Reformed brought them food. One day he was
warned to escape, because - the Spanish soldiers
would come and kidnap him and murder him that
night. He, however, refused to leave, as he had
given his word to the Count, and felt he ought not
to break it. That night his. house was surrounded,
he was taken captive and hurried away. They did
this because they said he was in league with the
Dutch, and was a spy. They put him in chains and
dragged him away, while his house was ransacked
and his little ones driven out into the street. He
was taken to Cologne, where he was imprisoned for
a year before he was declared innocent. He was
then set free and became pastor, as the Countess had
promised, in the land of Lippe, at Horn.
Meanwhile the Countess, like her country, was
suffering, bearing the woes of her Reformed people.
Often she interceded for them, but in vain. Her
own children, whom she loved with all the tender-

184 Women of the Reformed Church.
ness of a Christian mother, were taken away from
her and taught to despise their mother's Protestant
faith. Her chaplain was finally forbidden to hold
services for her any more, although she greatly de
sired his services. Yet, though left alone, she was
not alone, for she strengthened herself daily by read
ing the Bible and by communion with God in prayer.
Finally, in 1638, she was laid on her dying bed. She
greatly longed for a Reformed minister to comfort
her in her dying hour, but none was permitted to
come to her. On the other hand, her husband allow
ed the Jesuit priests to visit her. They began to
argue with her against her faith, although she. was
weak unto death. They tried every method to get
her to come over to Rome. But she nobly answered
them out of her Bible and from her Heidelberg-
Catechism. The Jesuits finally withdrew and report
ed to the Count the obstinacy of his wife. But though
they were unsuccessful, they yet bore testimony
to the beauty of her Christian character. One of
them said, "It is truly to be regretted that this silver
should be tarnished even to its last life's breath by
the filth of unbelief." And another bore testimony
to her character by saying, "that such a heretic as
she outweighed many a dozen of Catholics in God's

Countess Ursula of Hadamer. 185
sight." "Countess Ursula," said another, "reveals
in everything the most perfect model of Christian
piety. She gave herself diligently to prayer with
her servants or alone for three hours daily, and on
Sunday she spent almost the whole day in that way.
In a word, she was a splendid example of all the
virtues, a benefactor of the poor and widows and
orphans." The poor were fed at her table, and even
the plague did not keep her back from faithfully vis-
itirig the sick. She was an angel of mercy, going
about doing good. Thus died one of the saints of
the Reformed Church, bearing faithfully her trials,
yet shining with brightest hope. She is described as
of slender, tall form, and of uncommon beauty.
From her black eyes beamed gentleness and kind
ness, joined to dignity and majesty. True goodness
of spirit, strength of character and fullness of en
ergy were hers. Thus she remained true and faith
ful to the end, and came off conqueror and more
than conqueror through Him that loved her. The
Reformed Church does not canonize her saints, but
she should ever keep in grateful remembrance this
saint of the 17'th century.

I

V.
COUNTESS GERTRUDE OF BENTHEIM.
N the northwestern corner of Germany, on
the borders of Holland, lay the county of
Bentheim. It was a thoroughly Reformed
district, and ruied, in the latter part of the 17th cen
tury, by a Reformed prince, Count Ernest William.
His wife was Gertrude, a lady of Holland, to whom
he was married, August 22, 1661. The Count's
brother, the Count of Steinfurt, became her bitter
enemy because of her marriage, for he hoped that
his brother, Ernest William, wouldl die without
heirs, and the county would fall to him. So he tried
to discredit her marriage and prevent her children
from becoming heirs, because she had not been of
noble birth before her marriage. To protect herself
(she put herself under the protection of the neighbor
ing Bishop of Munster, a strong Romish prince. She
little thought that a Romish prince would always
seek for some return for his trouble. The Bishop
brought it about that the Emperor of Germany, on
Jan. 22, 1666, granted her a diploma elevating her to
the rank of nobility. Thus her marriage was recog
nized and her children would succeed to the throne
187

188 Women of the Reformed Church.
of Bentheim. The Bishop, however, waited for
some return for this act. He decided to try and
proselyte the Count to Rome. The Count was of a
weak nature, fit only to be a football in the hands of
others. The Bishop succeeded in getting the Count
to appoint a Catholic as his chancellor. This caused
a sensation in Bentheim, and already the conversion
of the Count was talked of. His wife saw the in
creasing influence of the Bishop with fear.
Finally the Bishop capped the climax by an act of
violence. The Count's envious brother died and was
buried at the beginning of August, 1668. The Count
went to the funeral at Steinfurt, which was located
only 18 miles from Munster, and stayed there five
days. The Bishop saw his opportunity and secretly
garrisoned the roads between Steinfurt and Ben
theim, so as to capture the Count on his return
home. And yet the Bishop did not pretend to take
him by force, but simply to force on him an invita
tion to visit Munster, as he had often urged him to
do so before. When the Count came to the place
where the Bishop's forces were, the Bishop met him
and urged him to take a seat in his episcopal car
riage. The Count begged to be excused, as he said
he ought to go home because he was in mourning

Countess Gertrude of Bentheim. 189
for his brother and because of the baptism of a babe
in his family. But the Bishop was inexorable. By
gentle force he compelled the Count to go with him
to Ahausen that day. On the following morning
the ride was taken in company with the Jesuit Cor-
ler to Coesfeld and to Munster. The Count was
separated from his attendants, and as his servants
left him, they admonished him not to give up his
Reformed faith, at which he simply folded his hands
and gave a deep sigh. He was placed in a house
next to the chapel in the castle. The work of prose
lyting him was pushed forward with great zeal. The -
Jesuit Corler tried hard to force him to Rome. The
Bishop so stormed at him from dinner till evening,
August 10, that the Count finally consented, and on
the next day went over to the Romish faith. The
Emperor, in recognition of this act, made him his
councillor and chamberlain.
The news of his conversion soon came to Ben
theim and caused great anxiety to all, but especially
to the Countess, as she knew not what it would
bring forth. Fearful of future exigencies, she, with
great shrewdness, sent her four oldest sons to Hol
land, and placed them under the care of the States
General of the Netherlands. The youngest, which

190 Women of the Reformed Church.
was a newly-born babe, she quickly had baptized in
the Reformed faith. She then very anxiously await
ed results. The Reformed Church, too, felt the con
version of the Count keenly. A special meeting of
the Classis of Bentheim was called. It resolved to
make known to the neighboring Reformed bodies
the apostasy of the Count and to pray the Synod of
Cleve to get for them the protection of the Elector
of Brandenburg. This appeal of the Classis was, on
October 24, 1668, addressed to the court preacher of
the Elector, John Hundius. The Classis also at this
meeting chose for its seal a ship on which the Lord
was with His disciples, surrounded by the storm. It
had the inscription : "Lord, save us ; we perish."
In the meanwhile the Count was kept away from
Bentheim, and a party of Munster soldiers was sent
to Bentheim, having the authority of the Count to
gain possession of the castle there and garrison it.
But the Countess, suspecting that her husband had
been forced to this by the Bishop, refused to sur
render the castle and declared, with just wrath", that
she would riot open to any one until she had talked
with her husband face to face about it, and was real
ly sure he wanted it opened. Then the Bishop came
with an army of four thousand men to Bentheim to

Countess Gertrude of Bentheim. 191
compel her to surrender. He brought the poor im
prisoned Count with him, but kept him at his head
quarters and compelled him to wage war against his
own wife. All this must have made the Count's
heart bleed, but what do Jesuits care for bleeding
hearts', so long as they gain their ends. The Coun
tess would have defended the castle to the death,
but for the treachery of one of her men. The court
master, Wolf; whether corrupted by the Jesuits or
anxious for his life, gave the enemy the key. So
the gates were opened. But even when the Munster
troops rushed into the castle, the Countess rushed
from her apartments to defend the castle gates. It
was, however, too late. The castle had fallen and
the Bishop came with her imprisoned husband into
the castle court.
It was very evident on the next day that a change
had taken place in the government. The day was a
Sabbath, and the Bishop of Munster did not recog
nize the Westphalian Peace, which granted religious
liberty. For when the Reformed court preacher
went to preach in the castle chapel, he was prevented
from doing so by»the Jesuits, and the Jesuit, Corler,
read mass there instead. The Bishop left fifty sol
diers as a garrison in the castle. He hoped to have

192 Women of the Reformed Church.
as little trouble in converting the Countess as he had
had in proselyting her husband. But she proved a
stronger fortress than Bentheim itself, for she could
not be moved, as the Lord was her rock. They used
all kinds of arguments and persuasions. Then they
began to threaten her, but everything failed. After
the Count had been with his wife a few days, they
tried a new plan, namely, of separating her from her
husband until she would become Catholic. So her
husband was ordered to go to Munster, and leave
his wife in the hands of the garrison at Bentheim.
The most prominent Reformed officials of her land
were dismissed. The condition of the Reformed
ministers in Bentheim became worse and worse. Her
court preacher, Sartorius, was transported by sol
diers out of the land. Part of the Reformed Church
endowments were given to the Jesuits. Pastor
Spiekman, of Neuenhaus, was imprisoned, and Pas
tor Frank, at Schuttorf, was put out of his parson
age. The Upper Church Council was filled with Ro
mish councillors, who now took charge of the
church. All this, however, was not enough. The Roman
ists felt they did not dare leave the Countess any
longer at Bentheim. , So this poor, much persecuted,

Countess Gertrude of Bentheim. 193
but courageous woman was taken by armed men
with burning torches from her chamber, after hav
ing been given hardly time to dress, and with her
young babe, under military escort, was sent to
Munster. She hoped that at Munster she would be
able again to meet her husband, and in this hope she
patiently bore the ride. When she arrived there, she
was placed in the house of the mayor as a prisoner.
The Bishop now gave her the command that she
could not see her husband until she had caused her
children, whom she had sent to Holland,, to be
brought back, for he wanted to gain control of them,
so as to convert them to Rome. She, however, re
mained steadfast and refused. Then new trials were
put upon her to force her to call her children to
Munster. Most of her remaining servants were
taken away from her, and then they threatened that
if she would not order her children to come to
Munster, they would take away from her her new
born babe ; yes, they even went so far as to threaten
to put her to death. But all these threats were in
vain. In God's strength she bore them all. As per
secution could not prevail on her, they now had re
course to another plan. The chancellor of the Bish
op prepared a request to the States-General of

194 Women of the Reformed Church.
Holland, which said that the Countess had become
reconciled to the Count and an agreement had been
reached between them about the children, and that
she asked that the Dutch government would send
the children to Munster. This lie was placed before
her to sign. She, however, cast it aside with noble
scorn, and as she spoke of the wickedness of such
methods, she received from the councillor the Jesu
itic answer : "Right or wrong, it must be signed."
The end justifies the means. The conversion of the
children to Catholicism would cover all the previous
sins of deception. They then forced her to sign, and
a noble was sent to Holland with this letter to the
Dutch government. But fortunately the States-
General of the Netherlands knew how she was being
treated and refused. Then the Jesuits tried to plot,
so that the children might be kidnapped.
But while all this was going on at Munster, sud
denly one day the Countess disappeared. As the
family of the mayor, with whom she was staying,
left Munster to go to a wedding, she seized the op
portunity for flight. For after she had signed the
paper, they had become a little more lenient with her
imprisonment. After she had ordered her chamber-
lady to be silent about her flight, and simply to say

Countess Gertrude of Bentheim. 195
she was ill, one evening she clothed herself in the
garment of a servant girl, and as the twilight was
falling, she left Munster with her child and her
nurse. At a distance from Munster she turned
aside into an inn to stay over night. There she met
a farmer from Bentheim, who had brought mer-
chants' goods to Munster and was about returning.
She asked him, without telling him who she was, to
take her and her child and nurse and allow them to
drive with him till morning. The farmer took her
first to the village of Ohne, in Bentheim, and then
over the border into Holland. There she revealed
herself to him and gave him a written promise to
pay him. Then she fled to Deventer, and finally to
the Hague. The farmer who had aided her to es
cape was fined 500 gulden. Whether he paid this
or got free from it by joining the Romish Church,
is not clear, probably the latter. The flight of the
Countess was not discovered till the third day. The
chamber-lady of the Countess was arrested and
watched by soldiers, but could give no information
about the flight.
The States-General of Holland gave her protec
tion. The Reformed states of Germany, Branden
burg and Hesse Cassel took up her case, but in vain.

196 Women of the Reformed Church.
For the Bishop of Munster, by a decree, June 8,
1678, pronounced the Count divorced from her, and
hardly was this done than the Count was married
to a Romish princess. She entered a protest against
this decree for the sake of her children, and present
ed it to the Dutch government, and then went to bed
sick, August 5, 1678. But the wrath of the Bishop
followed her. For he had the Emperor issue a de
cree, April 17, 1678, depriving her and her children
of all rights of nobility, and thus depriving them of
succession to the throne of Bentheim. She was so
completely broken down by the persecutions and
the disappointments that she died the next March
29, 1679, committing her children to the care of
States-General of the Netherlands. She was a
martyr to the Reformed faith.
The Reformed in Bentheim were persecuted.
Their consistory was deposed and Catholics put in.
their places. Many ministers had their salaries less
ened. Others, because they had given advice to the
Countess to send away her children, or because they
corresponded with her, were banished or imprison
ed. The whole county groaned under the quarter-
ings, marches and levyings of the Bishop of Muns
ter.

Countess Gertrude of Bentheim. 197
But such trickery as the Romanists used never
prospers. God never blesses it, and Providence
frustrated their plans. The Count, when he mar
ried Gertrude, had made a compact that only the
male descendants should ascend the throne, and the
females only when the males had died off. The
child of the second marriage of the Count was a
girl, so at the Count's death the land fell to his Ro
mish cousin. There began a long controversy be
tween the sons of Gertrude and the ruling princes of
Bentheim, which lasted many years. This was not
settled until in 1803, when, through the mediation
of Prussia, England and Holland (as the Catholic
line had died out), the throne reverted to the des
cendants of Gertrude, so that one of her descend
ants now rules the county of Bentheim. Thus clos
ed one of the most pathetic stories in German Re
formed history.

VI.
DUCHESS CATHARINE CHARLOTTE OF PALATINATE-
NEUBURG.
g> HE was a princess of one of the lesser
^"^ Palatinate families, and was born at
Zweibrucken (southwest of Heidelberg),

January ii, 1615. She early showed herself
a lover of God's Word. When sixteen years
of age .she was married to the Duke of Pala-
tinate-Neuburg, who had gone over to Romanism
and who showed all the intemperate zeal of a prose
lyte. Yet she remained true to her Reformed faith
all her life, although she often suffered for it. She
took with her to her new home at Dusseldorf, her
Reformed chaplain, Hundius. He held service for
her there three times a week in her private chapel,
and every day he read and expounded a portion of
the Word of God to her, so that in five years he had
gone over the whole Bible with her. When the Re
formed pastors of Zweibrucken suffered so greatly
on account of the persecutions of the Thirty Years'
War, she gathered together many things to aid them.
But her most remarkable act was her deliverance
of Rev. John Lunenschloss, the pastor of the Re-
199

200 Women of the Reformed Church.
formed church at Soligen, near Dusseldorf. Her
husband, as an ardent Catholic, tried in every way
to oppress his Protestant subjects. But in spite of
his oppressions, the brave Lunenschloss held his
congregation together. In 1626 the Catholics broke
into their church and held mass there, and finally
crowded out Lunenschloss and his Reformed people
altogether. When they could no longer worship in
their church, they held service in the city hall. But
even there the rage of the Romanists followed them,
for they entered the hall and broke up the pulpit and
the benches in it, until the leader, in his fury, broke
his axe in his hand. But still, in spite of all. this,
the brave pastor still ministered to his flock. The
Catholics failing in every other way, finally had
Lunenschloss arrested and forbidden to preach. Still,
he contrived to gather his congregation together at
various places for worship. In 1629, the Dutch
captured the town and restored to the Reformed
their church. When they retired, the Catholics an
noyed them by burning straw outside the church,
and finally took it again. In 1644, the Reformed, as
they could not hold services in the church, held them
on the church steps. There, for half a year, they
worshiped, Lunenschloss preaching sometimes in

Duchess Catharine Charlotte. 201
the cold, even in snow and rain. May the Lord give
us like faithfulness to our Church and its services.
On June 11, 1645, the Reformed broke into the
side door of the church, and held service. On the
following Sunday, however, the councillors of the
Duke of Palatinate-Neuburg, appeared and forbade
them to hold services there. That night the sol
diers came to the house of the faithful Lunenschloss,
broke into it, and tore him away from his weeping
family, while he tried to strengthen them with the
first question of the Heidelberg Catechism, that
"without the will of our Heavenly Father not one
hair can fall from your head." The Lord honored
such faith. The soldiers took him to the market
place of the town, with the intention of shooting
him. But just as they were about to do it, orders
came from Dusseldorf, that they should not shoot
him, but bring him to Dusseldorf for trial.
As they traveled toward Dusseldorf and came to
Hilden, a carriage passed them on the road. As it
drove past, a noble lady looked out of the window
and inquired what was the matter. When told that
the soldiers were taking a Reformed minister to
Dusseldorf for trial, lo ! she stopped the procession,
and ordered them to let the prisoner come with her

202 Women of the Reformed Church.
into her carriage. She was none other than the
Duchess Catharine Charlotte, who was traveling
home to Dusseldorf. Very gladly did she receive
this minister into her carriage, for it gave her an
opportunity to converse with him about the things of
God and about the Reformed faith so dear to them
both. Behold now the interposition of God, — the
minister, who a few hours before expected to be
killed in the market place, and who had been
dragged as a mere criminal along the road, now en
ters Dusseldorf, not as a prisoner, but as the com
panion of the princess. Thus God honors and pro
tects his children, so that "not a hair falls."
When Lunenschloss was brought before the Duke
he asked the minister why he had disobeyed his com
mands. He made the noble reply, "Your Highness,
it is my duty to obey God. He has made me a
watchman over my congregation and I must give an
account to Him of every soul committed to my
charge. Therefore, woe to me if I leave her through
fear of man. On the contrary I am ready to sacri
fice my life for the sake of my congregation and of
my God." The Duke was surprised at his stead
fastness and earnestness. He offered him gifts and
honors, if he would renounce his Reformed faith and

Duchess Catharine Charlotte. 203
go over to Romanism, but Lunenschloss declared
that nothing would ever make him give up his faith.
The Duke, instead of punishing him, was so im
pressed by him that he offered to do some favor for
him, if he had any to ask. Whereat, Lunenschloss
modestly asked that his descendants might be ad
mitted to the guild of stone-cutters at Solingen (for
the Reformed were shut out from all such positions
through the Romish regulations). The Duke
granted his request and also permitted him to re
turn to Solingen to minister to his people. He con
tinued pastor there until 165 1, when he died.
The Duchess, who befriended him was a beautiful
character. Her kindness to the poor was well
known. She dispensed favors to Reformed and Ro
manists alike. She had poor orphans taught trades
at her own expense, and she visited the widows and
dried their tears by her sympathy and prayers. The
Romanists, with her husband, tried to proselyte her
to Rome, but all in vain. She was too strongly
grounded in the Reformed faith. Against them she
drew up her own confession of her Reformed faith.
And in that faith she died in 1651, having lived in
the Catholic court for twenty years. Her pastor,
Hundius, was very faithful to her and she highly
valued his ministrations. When she came to die, he

204 Women of the Reformed Church.
read to her the thirty-eighth Psalm, in which were
the words, "Lord, leave me not." The Lord did not
leave her, but strengthened her in her last hour,
while her husband (who even in her dying mo
ments fondly hoped to win her to Rome), prayed,
"Lord, remember not her unbelief." She prayed,
"My Lord, give me more grace than I am worthy
of." She was one of the martyr-spirits, for all those
years she suffered for her faith, yet she was found
faithful when death came. Hundius preached her
funeral sermon on John 3:16, and said, "that this
princess had so loved the Lord and His Word, that
it tempered all her trials." She loved it so much that
she never missed a sermon, save when hindered by
sickness. And' when she saw any one in the church
without a Bible and paying no attention to the ex
position of the text, she was greatly dissatisfied. In
her last moments, though surrounded by her hus
band and the Jesuits, she urged her servants to re
main true to the Reformed faith. She was a great
favorite in the land, and the Presbyterium of the
Dusseldorf Reformed congregation paid a beautiful
tribute tocher memory. She, with the Countess Ur
sula of Hadamer, and Countess Gertrude of Bent
heim, were beautiful sufferers for the Reformed
faith from Romish husbands during the Thirty
Years' War.

VII.
PRINCESS ELIZABETH OF THE PALATINATE.
HE most intellectual princess the Re
formed Church ever possessed was
Princess Elizabeth of the Palatinate.

She was the brightest light of the Palatinate
house after the days of Elector Frederick III.,
who ordered the composition of our catechism. She
was a pupil of Descartes and the correspondent of
Leibnitz,, the celebrated philosophers, and on inti
mate terms with other learned men of her day. She
combined with her native ability the broad principles
of the house of Brandenburg (in which her abbey
was located), namely of religious toleration; for her
home became the asylum of all refugees. And yet
to all her learning she added piety, which beautified
and sanctified it. She was the disciple of both the
philosophy of Descartes and of the religious faith of
the Pietists.
She was the eldest daughter of Elector Frederick
V- and Electress Elizabeth of the Palatinate, and
was born December 26, 1618, at Heidelberg. Eliza
beth suffered the sad fate of her father's family.
When her father left . Heidelberg to go to Bohemia
205

206 Women of the Reformed Church.
to take the throne, she was left behind in the care of
her grandmother, Electress Juliana. And when the
coming of the Spaniards compelled her grandmother
to leave the Palatinate and flee, she was taken along
with her to Konigsberg, where she found an asy
lum. She remained with Juliana till she was nearly
ten years old. It was the sublime faith and religious
earnestness of her grandmother that early helped to
lay the foundations for the serious thoughtfulness of
Elizabeth. Then she was sent to the Hague in Hol
land, where her father's family were living quietly
in exile in the little village of Rheten. And yet her
sad reverses continued. Her dearest brother, next
older than herself, and her playmate, was drowned.
Then came her father's death, and with that her hope
of worldly position faded away. And her mother
seems to have failed to recognize her ability for a
long while, so that there was a coldness toward her.
But she bore all these things philosophically, and
her adversities turned out to be blessings in dis
guise. For her family, when driven to Holland, had
settled in one of the most learned lands of Europe.
Holland was at that time the home of painters, poets
and thinkers. She was the classic land of the Re
formed theology of the seventeenth century. To

Princess Elisabeth of the Palatinate. 207
this land of learning there came one of the greatest
thinkers of modern times, Rene Descartes, who was
ultimately to revolutionize men's methods of
thought. Elizabeth had already made great pro
gress in her studies before she met Descartes. She
made no pretension to beauty, but had an expressive
eye and a pleasing countenance. She had developed
so quickly and brightly, that Ladislaus, the king of
Poland, had sought her hand when she was only
fifteen years of age. But the suit came to naught,
because she refused to barter away her Reformed
faith and go over to the Romanists.
After that she was wedded to philosophy, and
gave up the thought of marriage. Descartes was
introduced to Elizabeth and the Palatinate family by
the Count Dohna, an adept in the Cartesian philo
sophy, and became her teacher. He was soon de
lighted and surprised to find in her a scholar so cap
able of exploring with him erudite questions and of
comprehending sublime truths. This appointment
of Descartes as her tutor proved very helpful to him.
For in this noble family he first found the support
ers necessary to help him on to fame. He, there
fore, in order to be near them, lived at Eyndegeest,
about a mile and a half from Rheten, for two years.

208 Women of the Reformed Church.
And when he went to North Holland afterwards, he
continued his correspondence, especially with Eliza
beth, and would ofteri visit the Hague, so as to meet.
his favorite pupil. This little court of the Palatinate
family, although in exile, thus became famous for
its beauty and learning, so that it was called "the
home of the muses and graces." Among them all,
Elizabeth had the greatest talent for learning.
- Bromley says that "of the three illustrious sisters of
that family, Louisa was the greatest artist, Sophia
the most perfect lady in Europe, but Elizabeth was
the most learned." She made such progress in
philosophy, that she became famous as "the Star of
the North." In order to appreciate the greatness of
this, it is to be remembered that up to that time
women had taken little part in learning. For it was
supposed that it was above the sphere or power of
woman to excel in philosophy. So her learning as
tonished the world. It happened, too, just at that
time, that another woman appeared as a great think
er, Anna Schurman. And yet, although Schurman
was talented with both the chisel and the pencil,
Madame de Guebriant confessed that she was in
ferior to the Palatinate princess, Elizabeth. Eliza
beth continued her correspondence with Descartes,

Princess Elisabeth of the Palatinate. 209
and in their letters they discussed the deepest ques
tions of philosophy and theology, such as the union
of soul and body, God's omnipotence and omnisci
ence, and man's free agency and virtue. Descartes
dedicated his leading philosophical work, "The
Principles of Philosophy," to her. She wduld of
ten in her letters express doubts as to his positions
and offer criticisms, while he on his part was not
backward in reminding her when she seemed to him
to be wrong in her ideas, yet the correspondence
was mutually agreeable and helpful. Thus when in
1645 her younger brother went over to the Romish
faith and she was by it thrown on a bed of sickness,
Descartes criticised her for her want of liberality to
ward the Catholics.
In 1647 she left Holland for Brandenburg, where
at the court of her uncle, the Elector of Branden
burg, she seems to have found quite a congenial
home. She soon gained fame among scholars there,
through a disputation that she had with the celebrat
ed Thomas Kresbesch, which revealed her ability
and gained for her great applause. She, too, suc-
;eeded in disseminating Descartes' books to some
extent in eastern Germany, where as yet he was
comparatively unknown. She thus perhaps scatter-

210 Women of the Reformed Church.
ed seed that harvested itself afterward in the new
university of Duisburg, whose first professors were
followers of Descartes. It was while she was stay
ing there that she learned with great sorrow of the
death of her teacher Descartes in 1650. True to him
in her friendship, she, however, had never allowed
his philosophy of doubt to undermine her faith, but
she rather sought to utilize what was good in it to
strengthen her faith in religion and in God. Had
the rationalists of the next century used Descartes'
principles thus, they would never have landed in the
maelstrom of thought that threatened to shipwreck
them. After the Thirty Years' War was over, she went
to the old family home at Heidelberg, which she had
left when four years old. Here her philosophical
tastes and literary talents brought her into intimacy
with the professors of the university, especially with
Professor John Henry Hottinger. He compared her
to Olympia Morata, who had come to Heidelberg
university in the preceding century, and who was a
great scholar and correspondent of Melanchthon.
Through a relative she was also made acquainted
with the celebrated theologian, John Crocius, whose
broader theological views suited her taste. But her

Princess Elisabeth of the Palatinate. 211
stay at Heidelberg became uncomfortable for her,
for her brother's parsimony made it unpleasant. And
when her brother put away his wife, Princess Char
lotte of Hesse Cassel, and married the Raugrafin
Louisa of Degenfeld, she sympathized with Char
lotte and aided her to escape; and so felt the dis
grace of her brother, that she left Heidelberg (1662)
and went to Cassel, where she lived with -her sister-
in-law. In 1667 she was very fortunate in receiving
the appointment from the Elector of Brandenburg
as abbess of Herford. This had been an old Romish
abbey, which had become Lutheran in the Reforma
tion. During the Thirty Years' War the Elector had
begun appointing Reformed princesses as abbesses,
and so now appointed her. This appointment re
lieved her from being a pensioner on any of her rela
tives, and also gave her standing in the German em
pire. For it made her a political member of that
empire. She was authorized to send a deputy to its
diets, and required to furnish one horseman and six
foot soldiers for the imperial army. She also had to
preside over a court of justice, and exercised author
ity over about seven thousand inhabitants. Her ter
ritory was small and her income therefore limited,

212 Women of the Reformed Church.
but she exercised great economy and banished all
luxury from her little castle. Her chief diversion
was knitting, and on Saturdays she sat as judge.
Here her patience and justice were admirable, being
tempered with mercy, and she often adding religious
instruction. Here this cultivated princess lived, sur
rounded by rude, ignorant country-folk, and yet she
enjoyed it, for she was able to relieve distress and
better their condition. She gathered around herself
in the castle a company of like-minded souls. The
highly-gifted Anna Shurman eagerly accepted an
invitation to visit Elizabeth, so like her in intel
lectual and religious tastes. Both had been disciples
of Descartes, but Anna was the more enthusiastic
and visionary; Elizabeth the more profound and
fonder of abstractions. She also threw open her
land to all who desired refuge. It was this liberal
spirit that brought her providentially into contact
with the pietism of Labadie and also led to her as
sociation with William Penn. Labadie and his con
gregation from Holland having left the State Church
were looked down upon as separatists; for at that
time the idea of a free Church, independent of the
State, was not dreamt of, and many of the separat
ists had been fanatics. So when they came to settle

Princess Elisabeth of the Palatinate. 213
in her land (1670), its inhabitants, the magistrates
and the Lutheran ministers rose against their com
ing and appealed to her. As she did not grant their
wishes, they appealed to the Elector of Branden
burg, asking that these strangers should be ordered
out of the land. But the Elector at first permitted
them to stay, as he saw Elizabeth wished by it to
spread the Reformed faith, although he urged Eliz
abeth to be watchful • over them. She graciously
protected them against their enemies, and gave to
the world ari illustration of the beautiful principle
of religious toleration. She was in turn affected by
their earnestness and zeal, for it is evident, that as
she became older, she was deepening in spirituality.
She had to endure a good deal of ridicule for thus
protecting the Labadists, even from some of her own
noble relatives. Thus her sister, the beautiful
Duchess Sophia of Hanover, visited her and tried
to laugh at the religious earnestness of the followers
of Labadie. But although she remained friendly to
them, she was not able to give them an asylum for
more than two years, for the. other governments
compelled her to send. them away. But in it all she
showed her love of religious liberty.
Her treatment of the followers of Labadie called

214 Women of the Reformed Church.
the attention of William Penn to her. He, too, was
about to lay out a colony in the western world,
called Pennsylvania, for which her little land of
Herford set the example of religious liberty.
Penn's visit to her at Herford, 1677, is quite inter
esting. He stayed there three days. On the first
day at 7 a. m. he called on the princess, and was sur
prised to be received with such warm expressions of
welcome. He said the conduct of persons' in such
an exalted station confirmed his hopes that the day
of the Lord was approaching. He therefore took
courage and began preaching. And they had a re
ligious service which lasted from 7 to 11 o'clock.
In the afternoon Penn and his companion returned
to her castle, and found the princess had invited her
intimate friend, the Countess of Horn, and several
others to the service. He held services there till 7
p. m., and all, both preachers and hearers, were
deeply affected. The next day being the day when
the princess received audiences and petitions, they
did not get to see her till 9 a. m., but then all the
inferior servants were also present. In the after
noon he fulfilled his promise made to her in the
morning and narrated the story of his conversion to
to the Quaker faith, together with the persecutions

Princess Elisabeth of the Palatinate. 215
which he had suffered for it. His story was inter
rupted by supper. He then took supper with her,
and afterwards again continued before them the
story of his conversion. This lasted till 11 o'clock,
p. m., when they returned to their lodgings. On the
next day, the last of their stay, not only the resi
dents of the castle, but also the inhabitants of the
town, were present. The service began with much
prayer. Penn says of this meeting: "Yea, the
quickening power and life of Jesus wrought and
reached them; and virtue from Him, in whom dwell-
eth the Godhead bodily, went forth and distilled
upon us His heavenly life, sweeter than the pure
frankincense, yea, than the sweet-smelling myrrh
which cometh from a far country. And as it began,
so it was carried on, and so it ended." After the
meeting was over, the princess gave him good-bye,
and was so overcome by her feelings, that she could
hardly give expression to her words. And as she
bade him farewell, she most earnestly begged him
to come again.
Penn then proceeded up the Rhine in his travels
until he came to the Palatinate. There he tried to
see the Elector of the Palatinate, the brother to
Elizabeth. The Elector, too, had taken his stand for

216 Women of the Reformed Church.
1 religious freedom, and had given an asylum to those
of other faiths. When the Quaker Ames was com
pelled to flee from Neugier, the elector gave him an
asylum. Indeed, Elizabeth had first learned to know
about the Quakers from Ames, when at her broth
er's court in 1659. But Penn failed to meet the
Elector. After his return from England he again
visited Princess Elizabeth at her home at Her
ford. He was again gladly received, and held
meetings as before. But he now found there
the Count of Dohna, one of the prominent
nobles of the Brandenburg house. Dohna
and he had soon got into a debate about the
nature of Christianity and of conversion. They
finally, however, agreed that self-denial was neces
sary. Penn then gave an account of his withdrawal
from the world, when he became a Quaker. Dohna
then attacked the peculiar custom of the Quakers in
never lifting their hats, no, not even to kings. Penn
tried to show him that such an act was "a weed of
degeneracy, a mere fleshly honor," that it often cov
ered insincerity, and that the hat should be lifted to
no one but to God alone, when taken off in God's
house; But Penn, notwithstanding the debate, held

' Princess Elisabeth of the Palatinate. 2T7
his services before the princess, and when he left,
they invoked blessings on each other. After his de
parture-she still continued to correspond with him.
Her letters reveal her beautiful piety. She said :
"My house and my heart are always open to those
who love God." This correspondence between Penn
and her was only broken by her death in 1680. Penn
was greatly affected by it. He had a true regard for
her. And two years after her death, when he pub
lished his second edition of his book, "No Cross, No
Crown" (which he had written when imprisoned in
the Tower of London), he perpetuated her memory
by inserting her name there among the ancient and
modern benefactors of mankind. He thus closes his
eulogy on her : "She lived her single life till about
60 years of age, and then departed at her own house
at Herwarden (Herford) as much lamented as she
had lived — beloved by her people, to whose real
worth I do with religious gratitude dedicate this
memorial." This eulogy was written in the same
year in which he sailed for America to administer
his affairs here: so that it is evident that his first
meeting with her was coincident with his first inter
est in America, and his last remarks about her were
coincident with his going there. His relations to

218 Women of the Reformed Church. '
her were coincident with his relations to America,
and prepared him to show special interest as he did
later in our German Reformed forefathers who came
to Pennsylvania in the eighteenth century. He felt
he was returning a debt of gratitude to her by allow
ing her Church to be founded here. Our German
Reformed Church here may thus be said to be a
lasting memorial to Princess Elizabeth.
Penn visited her, hoping to make her a convert
to the Quaker religion, but she ever remained an
adherent to the Reformed faith of her childhood, al
though the inhabitants of her land were Lutherans.
Her pietism offset the dangerous tendency of Des
cartes' philosophy toward rationalism. During her
later years she still continued in correspondence
with the leading thinkers of her age, such as Male-
branche and Leibnitz. She seems to have exerted a
remarkable influence in the progress of human
thought. We have seen how Descartes' association
with her and her family aided him to gain his influ
ence in the world. Now again it was she who in
troduced Leibnitz to Malebranche's book in which
he ventilates his views of correspondences, and tries
to prove that his philosophy was in harmony with
Christianity. Leibnitz carried this one step farther

Princess Elisabeth of the Palatinate. 219
in his views of pre-existent harmony. She was al
ways busy in aiding literature and science. She en
riched the library of her abbey with many books.
Her last days, however, were saddened as she saw
her family was dying out, and there was danger of a
Romish prince becoming ruler of the Palatinate. She
died at Herford, February 11, 1680, aged sixty-two
years. She was buried in the choir of the cathedral
church at Herford, where the following epitaph is
over her: "She bore a mind so truly royal, that
amid all the reverses of fortune it remained uncon-
quered. By her constancy and greatness of soul, by
her singular prudence in the conduct of life, by her
uncommon attainments in knowledge, by learning
far above her sex, by the respect of kings and the
friendship of the illustrious, by the correspondence
and admiring tributes of the learned, by the united
regard and applause of the whole Christian world,
but chiefly by her own admirable virtue, she attached
undying honor to her name."

^¦¦'->,

m

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*m\w,

'Mr ' hJMl

ELECTRESS LOUISA HENRIETTA OF BRANDENBURG

VIII.
ELECTRESS LOUISA HENRIETTA OF BRANDENBURG.
Tj^ SAINT of the Reformed Church was Elec-
*•• tress Louisa Henrietta of Brandenburg.
What Miriam was among the Israelites,

she was to the Reformed, the- first sweet singer
among the women of .Israel. She was the author oi
the famous German hymn, "Jesus meine Zuversicht"
(Jesus, my Redeemer, lives). She was a Dutch
princess of the famous line of Oringe, that ruled the
Netherlands. She was born Noyember 27, 1627, at
the Hague in Holland, and was descended from the
great families of William of Orange and Coligny.
Her father, Count Frederick Henry of Orange-
Nassau, had been governor of the Netherlands from
1625 to 1647. Her mother was a beautiful German
princess, Countess Amalia of Solms. She was thus
of noble blood, but made nobler by grace. Both of
her parents were of the Reformed faith. Her moth
er, although French customs had become fashion
able, yet did not think it beneath her to train her
daughter in the mysteries of housekeeping. She
also educated her with great care, and Louisa grew
221

222 Women of the Reformed Church.
up tall, fair-haired and graceful. Her religious
training she received from Rivet, a Reformed theo
logian. She loved to read the Bible and it became
her constant companion. Many passages, especially
from Isaiah, remained in her memory as the result
of her early education.
When she was about eighteen years of age, the
young Elector of Brandenburg, whose capital was
at Berlin, was in western Germany busily watch
ing the negotiations that closed the Thirty Years'
War. And he also began negotiations of love, as well
as of peace. As he had been reared partly in Hol
land, he knew her when a little girl, and had heard
of her beauty as a young lady. This brave young
prince therefore proposed to this beautiful princess,
and was accepted. Of course there were difficulties
in the way, for when did the course of true love run
smooth? The Thirty Years' War had so impover
ished his land, that he had to borrow 3000 thalers
of his mother in order to be married. And Louisa,
too, was restrained somewhat by her father's failing
health. But the wedding nevertheless came off De
cember 7, 1646, with great splendor, as was becom
ing princes of such high rank. The bride wore a
costly dress of, silver brocade, rich with Brabant lace.

Electress Louisa Henrietta. 223
A crown of brilliants and pearls adorned her head.
The long train of her dress was carried by six ladies
of noble birth. The Elector was not less elegantly
dressed. He wore a vest and pants of white satin.
The front of his vest was so full of diamonds that
one could hardly discover the color of the cloth.
There were many valuable presents made to them by
relatives and foreign courts. A medal was struck
which represented the young couple with joined
hands. But the bride did not go with her husband to
Germany, on account of the ill health of her father.
She remained faithfully with him until he died, three
months after her wedding. After his death she ac
companied her husband to Cleve in western Ger
many. Here her first child was born. The peace of
Westphalia having closed the Thirty Years' War,
the Elector in the autumn of 1648 started for his
capital in eastern Germany. On the journey their
child died at Wesel, to the great sorrow of the par
ents. The journey across Germany to Berlin lasted
six months, and was a very sad one. It was sad to
her because of the loss of her child. But it was made
all the sadder because of the terrible devastation
of the country through which they passed, caused by

224 Women of the Reformed Church.
the awful Thirty Years' War. The roads were in a
frightful condition, the fields were desolate, the peo
ple were poor and many of them starving. Their
sufferings, added to her sorrows, made the journey
very sad. But her sorrows only drove her closer to
her Lord. They led her so near to Him, that they
gave her the inspiration to write her immortal
hymn, "Jesus, meine Zuversicht." Sad hearts sing
sweetest songs. While on her journey, she rested
for a month at Tangermunde, and there, probably,
she composed that hymn : ^
Jesus, my Redeemer, lives,
Christ, my trust, is dead no more!
In the strength this knowledge gives,
Shall not all my fears be o'er;
Calm, though death's long night be fraught
Still with many an anxious thought?
The hymn is evidently based on the forty-sixth
Psalm: "God is our refuge (Zuversicht). and
strength," and also on Job 19 125, 27 : "I know that
my Redeemer liveth," and on I Corinthians 15. It
was the expression of her confidence in God, which
was- the key to her life. It has been questioned
whether she knew enough German to write such a
hymn.. But it is now well accepted that even though

Electress Louisa Henrietta. 225
another hand may have polished it of its Holland-
isms, yet the composition and the expression is hers.
Runge, who published it for her, ascribes it to. her.
It has become one of the great Easter hymns of the
German Church (for Gellert's great Easter hymn
was hot written till many years after), and is often
sung at death-beds and funerals. It continues thus :
Jesus, my Redeemer, lives,
And His life I soon shall see;
Bright the hope this promise gives;
Where He is,' I too shall be.
Shall I fear Him? Can the head
Rise and leave the members dead?1'
Close to Him my soul is bound,
In the bonds of hope enclasped;
Faith's strong hand this hold hath found,
And the Rock hath firmly grasped.
Death shall ne'er my soul remove
From her refuge in Thy love.
I shall see Him with these eyes,
Him whom I shall surely know,
Not another shall I rise;
With His love my heart shall glow;
Only there shall disappear
Weakness in and round me here.

226 Women of the Reformed Church.
Ye who suffer, sigh and moan,
Fresh and glorious there shall reign;
Earthly here the seed is sown,
Heavenly it shall rise again;
Natural here the death we die,
Spiritual our life on high.
Body, be thou of good cheer, *
In thy Savior's care rejoice;
Give not place to gloom and fear,
Dead, thou yet shalt know His voice,
When the final trump is heard,
And the deaf, cold grave is stirred.
Laugh to scorn then death and hell,
Fear no more the gloomy grave;
Caught into the air to dwell
With the Lord who comes to save,
We shall trample on our foes,
Mortal weakness, fear and woe's.
Only see ye that your heart •
Rise betimes from earthly lust;
Would ye there with Him have part,
Here obey your Lord and trust.
Fix your hearts above the skies,
Whither ye yourselves would rise.
How grandly she rises over her sorrows in this
hymn, and how sweetly she comforts others. This

Electress Louisa Henrietta. 227
hymn has become historical. It became a favorite
one in the royal family of Prussia. One of her suc
cessors, Queen Louisa, the good angel of Prussia at
the beginning of this century and during the wars
of Napoleon, was once standing before a picture of
Electress Louisa Henrietta in the gallery at Char-
lottenburg, and she said: "The charming hymn has
received citizenship in our Church and in all our
families." And then, after being silent for a while,
she sat herself down at the piano and sang it.
On the terrible night of March 18 and 19, 1848,
when the German throne trembled in the throes of
the Revolution, in the midst of the firing of guns and
the thunder of artillery, over the wild tumult of the
insurrection, the bells in the church tower at Pots
dam played "Jesus, meine'Zuversicht." It was a voice
of comfort to many anxious hearts., And a few
days later it again sounded forth from the castle, as
187 coffins of the fallen were escorted to their graves
by 20,000 citizens. In the war of 1870 this hymn
was a source of great comfort in the German army.
The music books of many bands contained only two
sacred tunes. One was "Nun danket alle Gott"
(Now thank we all our God), and this hymn.
When Frederick William IV. of Prussia gave a

228 Women of the Reformed Church.
bell at the 200th anniversary of the founding of the
orphanage at Oranienburg by the Electress Louisa
Henrietta, he named the bell "Jesus, meine Zuver
sicht." And it had as its inscription the first two
lines of the hymn. At the consecration of the bell
the first verse of her hymn was sung.
Many other illustrations of the power and influ
ence of this hymn might be given, to show how dear
and sacred it has become to the German heart. When
Ziegenbalg, the first of the German missionaries to
go to the East Indies, lay dying, he called his friends
to him, and in that distant land, as they stood around
his bed, he asked them to sing "Jesus, meine Zuver
sicht." As they sang it, it gave him a look beyond
the grave into heaven, and he said, "There is a light
before my eyes as if the sun shone into my face."
His spirit rose to heaven on the wings of that hymn.
It is one of the great funeral hymns of the Ger
man language.
We will now look at her life more in detail. No
wonder she could write such a hymn. Her pious life
gave the inspiration for it. We left her at Tanger-
munde on her way to Berlin. After a month's rest
she continued her journey with her husband until
they arrived at Berlin, April 10, 1650. Here she
was received with great joy by the people. But

Electress Louisa Henrietta. 229
Berlin, through the ravages of the Thirty Years'
War, was a comparatively poor city of a few thou
sand inhabitants. Nevertheless her husband deter
mined to make her comfortable. So he fitted up
apartments in the palace on the side toward the river
in Holland style ; and also beautified the park before
the palace with trees and flowers, even placing there,
for her sake, some onion plants, so popular in Hol
land. But she was not fond of the pomp of court life.
Her tastes were simple, and her heart full of love to
Christ. She preferred a quieter home, where she
could meditate on her God. It happened, that while
out hunting with her husband, she expressed her
self as delighted -with the location of an old hunting
castle north of Berlin. Her kind husband, ever
ready to satisfy her slightest wish, presented it to
her, together with the neighboring district. He be
gan building a castle there, which was finished in
1652. She then made this her home, and when she
moved there, she gave it the name of Oranienburg
(Orange-castle), naming it after her family, the
family of Orange-Nassau. Here, separated from
the world, she could live a quiet and religious life.
This is the place which is associated especially with

230 Women of , the Reformed Church.
her life and works. She labored to make the district
around the castle as productive as possible. She im
ported skilled gardeners from Holland, and founded
quite a Dutch colony there. Among other things
she introduced the cultivation of the potato from
Holland, (this proved to be a great boon to the
Germans, who had become so poor through the de
vastations of the Thirty Years' War), and soon the
cultivation of the potato became universal. She was
always doing good. She did not allow a single day
to pass without doing some act of kindness to her
people. The primary schools, which had been swept
away by the war, she refounded. As a result she
became a great favorite among the people. Many
of the girls were named after her. As late as half
a century ago, her name was a favorite one, and hei
portrait was still to be found on the walls of many
farmers' houses. The following story of her kind
ness is told : On one occasion a servant stole some
thing while she was at church. How did she pun
ish' him for his crime? She returned good for evil.
When she learned of the theft, she gave him a good
ly number of ducats and told him to get away as
quickly as possible before her husband found it out.
When her husband came and heard of the theft, he

Electress Louisa Henrietta. 231
was very angry and said he would have hung the
thief. To this she responded, "Even if all my gold
and jewels were stolen, yet, if I had my way, not a
drop of blood would be shed for it."
In this rural palace she lived in religious quiet
ness. She was very diligent in her devotions. Much
of her time was taken up in singing, reading of the
Scriptures, and other religious exercises. She was
always at church service. And it is said she made it
a rule, never to look into a mirror before going to
church, lest pride and fashion would disturb' her
thoughts. Her court preacEer, Stosch, held many
religious services in her palace. He was always wel
come, and when he arrived he did1 not have to ob
serve the usual rules of court etiquette and have
himself announced, but could at once go to her
apartments, as she was always glad to see him. Of
ten she conversed with him on religious topics for
three hours at a time. He bore a high testimony to
her religious character. He said, "I have spent
many hundred hours with her in private audience,
talking to her about spiritual things." Indeed hei
room was more like a temple than a palace, for noth
ing that was not religious was allowed there. She
always had morning and evening prayers.

232 Women of the Reformed Church.
Her health, however, was not good since the death
of her first child. This was aggravated by anxiety
for the future of her house. She feared lest if she
had no heir, the house of Brandenburg would be
come Catholic, and terrible wars would result. This
so preyed on her mind, that she finally went to her
husband and suggested a divorce, an act which re
veals her wdnderfully self-denying character, for
she was willing to sacrifice herself for the good of
her land. But her noble husband refused, and a
few 'years later God, in answer to her prayers, as to
Hannah's, gave her a son. This son was born on a
Tuesday, and ever after every Tuesday became a
sacred day, for she spent it in fasting, prayer and.
thanksgiving, in commemoration of the event. In
1665 she opened an orphanage at Oranienburg, as a
thank-offering for the gift of a son.
During the wars that followed, she was her hus
band's firm support and adviser. In spite of the
rough roads and the dangers of the war, she went
with him on his journeys. Thus during the Swed
ish war, when he had to go to Konigsberg, she
bravely went along, although the roads were in such
a frightful condition that they could travel only
eight miles in two days. The Swedes then forced

Electress Louisa Henrietta. 233
the Elector to join them in war against Poland. The
Poles, therefore, came and ravaged Brandenburg so
fearfully, that no less than 31 towns were burned
and 30,000 inhabitants murdered. These terrible
events preyed on her mind, so that she could not
sleep, and she suffered much from terrible dreams.
During the war she cared for the spiritual condition
of the soldiers, and ordered that a New Testament
and Psalms be given to every soldier. When war
with Sweden came again, she followed her husband
into Pomerania, going with him even to the upper
end of Jutland. She then went on a visit to western
Germany, where she contracted a cold which pro
duced a severe cough. She then went to her native
land of Holland and felt better, but, although the
weather was cold, she never gave up attending
church. As she came out of church on March 14,
she said to her lady in waiting, that she feared she
might never live to get back to Berlin.
Finally after Easter she started for Berlin, be
cause she wanted to see her husband and his children
once more before she died. The journey was a long
and rough one. She became weaker on the way.
When she arrived at Hamm in Westphalia, she
thought she would die, but prayed God most ear-

234 Women of the Reformed Church.
nestly to spare her life that she might see her hus
band again at Berlin, and then she would say, "Now,
Lord, lettest thou thy handmaiden depart in peace."
Her prayer was granted. Her husband came to
meet her as far as Halberstadt. The rest of the
journey she had to make in a sedan chair. She was,
however, greatly comforted all through the journey
by the presence of Spanheim, one of the most re
nowned Reformed theologians of that time. He
said of her, "Her patience is an example for us. Job
and. Jonah murmured; David cried out, 'How long,
O Lord, how long,' but she never complained be
cause of her weakness. She only complained that
she gave so much trouble to others." One day he
preached to her on the words, "God with us." She
beautifully applied them to her own case. " 'God
with us,' what a comfort in the sorrows of solitude,
in dangerous waters, in the house of sorrow." At
last she arrived at Berlin. Prayers were offered up
in all the churches of the land for her recovery. But
in spite of all the prayers for her dear life, her weak
ness became greater and greater. The Elector of
ten watched beside her and comforted her by repeat
ing Scripture texts. Not long before her death her
chaplain asked her if she felt that God was gracious.

Electress Louisa Henrietta. 235
She answered, "Yes." That testimony- was her last
word, for she died soon after, on June 28, 1667. The
whole land mourned her departure. Stosch preach
ed her funeral sermon on Job 13:15, "Though He
slay me, yet will I trust Him." She was greatly
missed by the nation, but by none so much as by her
husband, the Elector. For she had inherited the
wisdom of a statesman from her ancestors, Coligny
and William of Orange, and often had given him the
best of advice in his political movements. After her
death he was often found standing before her pic
ture and crying out, "O Louisa, Louisa, if you were
only with me with your counsels." Few princesses
were so loved as she. Her memory still remains
green among the German people. Nearly two hun
dred years after her death, the town of Oranienburg
erected a monument to her. It is a life-size statue,
standing on a granite pedestal nine feet high. Her
head is adorned with a diamond. In her right hand
' is a roll — the manuscript of the founding of the or
phanage there. Her earthly beauty and her heaven
ly piety made her one of the saints of the Reformed
Church. Like Abel, she being dead, yet speaketh,
for she has gained an earthly immortality through
her hymn, as well as a heavenly immortality with
her Savior.

Chapter II.— WOMEN OF OTHER LANDS.
i.
COUNTESS SUSAN RAKOCZY OF HUNGARY.
HE circle of Reformed princesses extended
even to Hungary. The Hungarian Re
formed Church was a martyr church and

to-day is a strong denomination, containing over two
million of adherents. The men and women who laid
the foundations of that church in the 16th and 17th
centuries were staunch Reformed, brave men "and
women, who feared not persecutions and loved their
faith with all the intensity peculiar to the Magyar
blood.* Susan Lorantfy was born in 1600 at Saros-Patak,
in Upper Hungary. Her father was descended from
a noble Reformed family, and was possessed of large
means. While he rejoiced at the birth of a daugh
ter, he yet mourned that she was not a son, as he
feared his line would die out and great complica
tions arise through the Catholics. He confided his

* We are indebted for a sketch of this noble princess to a
suggestion made by Rev. Prof. Balogh, of the Reformed
Theological Seminary, of Debreczin, Hungary. At his re
quest a sketch of her life was prepared by Rev. Stephen
Verness, of Hungary, from which we gather our chapter
on her life. 237

238 Women of the Reformed Church.
fears to the Reformed minister, who comforted him
by saying that the best thing to do was to be sub
missive to God, accepting each gift from Him with
great thankfulness. She had no joyous childhood,
for her mother was not in good health and in giving
birth to the next child, a daughter also, she died.
Susan seldom saw her father, as he was busy with
his widely-scattered worldly affairs and often ab
sent from the home. There came over her a sad
ness, even a gloominess of disposition. Often she
sat at the window, permitting her eyes to rove over
room and garden, but nowhere finding the face of
her dear mother, for whom she so greatly longed.
These recollections made her mother seem to her as
a guardian angel. Her only comfort was to cast her
grief and loneliness on God in prayer or to divert
herself from them by diligence in household arts, as
spinning and sewing.
Her father then was married again to the bright
and well-educated Catharine Andrassy, who cared
for his children as if they were her own. Susan's
training was mainly in the Word of God under the
direction of the professors of the university at
Saros-Patak. Thus the days of her childhood passed
away until at the age of fifteen she lost also her father

Countess Susan Rakocsy of Hungary. 239
by death, and soon after her step-mother, too, who
left a little daughter, Catharine, behind her : so that,/
young girl that she was, she had to be a mother to
both her sister and her step-sister. These responsi
bilities deepened her nature and strengthened her
faith. Much of her time was spent in study or in
caring for the sick. The Reformed chaplain recom
mended to her support poor students at the College
at Saros-Patak, to whom she gave generous support.
Then Prince George Rakoczy sued for her hand
and they were married, April 18, 1616, and two
years later his brother, Sigismund, married her sis
ter, Maria. As the Rakoczy family was also strong
ly attached to the Reformed faith her home was very
happy. But in 1619 trials began to come. Gabriel
Bethlen, a noble of Transylvania, entered the
Thirty Years' War and brought his army in the
summer to Hungary. He reckoned on the help of
young Rakoczy and was not disappointed, for
George joined his forces. • Susan, though she dread
ed his absence, gave him the brave words, "Go, and
God be with you. Go, and fight for your God, re
ligion and Fatherland." The unfortunate war soon
compelled him to return and peace followed. She
then devoted herself to the training of her four

240 Women of the Reformed Church.
children, who attended the college for their educa
tion. This college was her greatest care,, for she re
cognized that education was necessary to lay per
manent foundations for piety. How beautiful it is,
for woman to be the patroness of learning. She saw
to it that the best teachers were found for this insti
tution and to this end she called Amos Comenius,
the famous teacher, who undertook the thorough or
ganization of the college. He remained there four
years, at a yearly salary of 6,000 -gulden (2,400 dol
lars), and laid the foundations of the future for that
university. She and her husband were regular at
tendants at the Reformed service. He was a great
student of the Bible, which he read through a num
ber of times. When any great discussions took place
on religious subjects by the pastors of Saros-Patak
he was always present and often took part himself.
Before he ever went on a journey, he always had
a church service, and when he returned he quickly
sought the house of prayer to thank God for his
safe return.
In 1630, as Gabriel Bethlen had died and left no
male heir, George Rakoczy was elected by Trans-
lyvania as his successor. This compelled his removal
to its capital, Gyulafehervar. Here, again, Susan be-

Countess Susan Rakocsy of Hungary. 241
came the patroness of the college. She often ex
pressed her views to the ministers who visited her,
and was led to publish a theological work on "Moses
and the Prophets." This caused much unpleasant
ness. That a woman should appear publicly in a
theological work caused no little sensation. The
Catholics sharply criticized it. And her husband
was so angered that the Jesuit who did so barely es
caped his wrath. Their sons, in the meantime, were
educated and confirmed in the Reformed church
at, the capital, at which time they produced their
personal confessions of faith, which so stirred all
that tears of joy were shed.
Countess Susan once had an unpleasant experi
ence as the result of her benefactions. It had been
her custom, not only to support many students at the
university of Saros-Patak, but also to annually give
money to students of talent that they might prose
cute their studies in foreign lands. But the young
men who went to England became adherents of the
Presbyterial form of church government. And they
tried on their return to introduce it into their own
Reformed church in Hungary, which had superin
tendents called bishops. The Countess, although
princes generally favored bishops, herself favored

242 Women of the Reformed Church.
the Presbyterial order. This, however, brought her
into conflict with prominent ministers of her own
church, who favored the other system. Some of the
adherents of the Presbyterial idea were driven away
and, she herself had the humiliation of being held
back from the Lord's Supper by the church which
she had so royally supported. But she forgave all
and called together conferences, which finally healed
the strife. About the same time the Catholics began
persecuting the Reformed and taking away their
churches. Count Rakoczy took up arms for them
and came home victorious, having gained religious
liberty for the Reformed of Hungary, after having
humiliated the Emperor by peace and freedom. Her
husband died some time after the war, and her son
George came to the throne. Susan then returned
from Gyulafehervar, the capital of Transylvania, to
her old home at Saros-Patak, where she spent her
last years in caring for the church and the univer
sity. Here her second son and his wife died, while
her other son only brought, political trouble on her
land, and finally also died. Alone she was left, with
only God to help and comfort. Death came to her,
April 18, 1661, as she awaited it with joy and quiet
ness. She is a fine illustration of what women of

^Countess Susan Rakoczy of Hungary. 243
wealth can do for the Lord by their influence and
means. She will ever live in Hungarian history as
the patroness of the Church and the university, and
we are glad to tell her fame and her goodness to oth
er nations and churches who knew not of her.

HUGUENOT WOMEN OF THE TOWER OF CONSTANCE

rfi

H.
THE WOMEN OF THE TOWER OF CONSTANCE IN
FRANCE.
| HE Huguenot Church has been famous for
its martyrs, but among them none are
more noble than the women. We have
given a brief sketch of one of them in the previous
century, Philippine of Luns. There is one place that
is especially associated with the female martyrs of
the French Reformed Church. It is the tower of
Constance at Aigues-Mortes in southern France, not
far from the Mediterranean. There, it is true, they
did not die, but they suffered worse, — theirs was a
living death as they Were imprisoned for life. The
tower consisted of two large circular apartments,
one above the other. The lower one received light
only from the other, through a round hole about six
feet in diameter. The upper is pierced by a similar
aperture in the center of a vaulted ceiling, beneath
the terrace that covers the tower. By these aper
tures alone can smoke escape, or the fresh air enter,
and with the air cold, rain and wind.
When the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in
1585 made it unlawful for the Reformed to worship
245

246 Women of the Reformed Church.
in France, the galleys on the Mediterranean became
the prison' for the ministers and the men, and this
tower, for the women. It was well-named the Tow
er of Constance or of constancy, for they remained
firm and constant to their Reformed faith in spite
of their sufferings. Their only crime had been that
they had attended a Reformed service in the woods
or in caves, or had sent their children there. And
yet for this they were virtually entombed alive. In
it they were continually solicited to give up their
faith. Priests and laymen, foreigners and, French
men urged them to kiss the crucifix so as to become
free. But no, they would not. Twenty-five women
were confined there, according to the list given by
Marie Durand in 1754. One of them, Marie Ber-
and, was blind, but in spite of her blindness she was
seized, by order of the king, torn from her home and
conveyed to the tower where she died, aged 80 years.
Another, Marie Rey, had been separated from her
children because she had taken part in a Reforriied
service. She was detained a prisoner since 1737. A
third, Marie Neviliard, was separated from her chil
dren because she had been married by a Reformed
minister, which was illegal, according to the law.
The following story is told of a fourth. At the end

The Women of the Tower1 of Constance. 247
of March, 1735, in the plain of Bruzac, a Protestant
service was being held for the celebration of the
Lord's Supper. Suddenly the congregation was*
broken into by soldiers and all who were not able
to escape were arrested, among them a young couple,
Francis Fiale and his wife, Isabeau Menet. He
was condemned to the galleys either at Marseilles or
Toulon, where he died in 1743. His wife was cast
into the tower of Constance, where she gave birth to
a child, which was taken away from her to be reared
a Catholic. Her letters tell the sad story of the suit
ferings of the long captivity, of the sorrow of sep
aration from her child, and of the death of her hus
band. Though sad, they are full of hope and piety.
Nowhere do they breathe any trace of anger against
her persecutors.
But the most interesting and best-known of the
captives was Marie Durand. She entered the prison
a young girl of 15; she left it an old wopian, aged
53, white with gray hairs. Her story was that as
the French officers had not been able to catch her
brother, one of the most zealous of the French Re
formed, ministers, who secretly, held services, they
took her aged father in his place, and imprisoned
him until he died. Arid then the French command-

248 Women of the Reformed Church.
ant determined to try it on his daughter, only fifteen
years of age. She was to be imprisoned for her
brother's activity. As she was superior in educa
tion to most of the women in the tower (who be
longed to the artisan class), she soon gained the con
fidence of the sad colony and became their interpre
ter and correspondent. She corresponded, especial
ly in the later years, when the surveillance was less
strict, with Paul Rabaut, the famous French preach
er of the Desert, and others. We once heard Rev.
Mr. Bersier, of Paris, tell the story that he had a
glove-psalter, — that is a hymn-book such as the
French ladies could hide in their gloves. "This
glove-psalter," he said, "I can never touch without
emotion, for it belonged to a girl who was arrested
at the age of fifteen for having gone to worship in-
the mountains, and who was shut up in the famous
tower of Constance, where she remained forty years :
and where one winter's night she had her foot half-
eaten by a rat. There, on those pages, you can
clearly see the traces of her tears, chiefly on some
of the Psalms, such as the 42d, where David says
he will once more go to the tabernacle of the Lord
and sing his praises in the great congregation."
In 1764 the register of Aigues-Mortes announced

The Women of the Tower of Constance. 249
to them that the Jesuits had been driven out of
France and that religious liberty was granted in
France, but that they would be retained in
prison until their death, because most of them
were aged and infirm, and as it was not pos
sible to return their confiscated property. At
this they were plunged in the greatest conster
nation, so that they all became sick. In their
agony they charged Marie Durant to write to Paul
Rabaut, who appealed to the various members of the
nobility to aid them. It was the prince of Beauveau
who was mainly instrumental in gaining their free
dom. While near the tower on business he deter
mined to visit it. He says they were conducted up
an obscure and .winding stairs to a large round
room deprived of air or of the light of day. There
they found fourteen women languishing in misery.
As he looked at them he could not control his feel
ings. They fell at his feet, overpowered with weep
ing, so that they could not at first speak, and when
speech came, they all together recounted their com
mon sufferings. He was interested by the story of
Gabrielle Guinges, who had given two sons to die in
the French wars, yet was permitted to languish in
prison. He was touched by the miserable appear-

250 Women of the Reformed Church.
ance of Jeanne Auguiere and Isabeau Maumejan,
who were eighty years of age, and of Isabeau Anne
Gaussaint, of Somniieres, who was ninety years, and
who had been imprisoned for 36 years.
Overcome by a noble instinct of compassion, he
himself broke the chains of their sufferings and gave
them their liberty. For this he was threatened with
the loss of his office. He replied in fiery words,
"The king is my master to deprive me of my place,
but not to prohibit me from fulfilling my duties to
my conscience and my honor." The prisoners quitted
their sad abode. But where could they go? Their
property had been confiscated. Their friends were
dead. Marie Durand was able to return to her for
mer home, now in ruins. The consistory of Amster
dam hearing of her sufferings and poverty gave her
a life-pension of 200 livres. But the flpwer of their
life was gone, given for their faith. Yet "the blood
of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." Not -far
from the tower there is now a modest Reformed
chapel, where every Sunday the Reformed meet to
the number of 150. This church (or temple, as they
call Protestant churches in France), was dedicated
February 22, 1863.
Let this tower of Constance be an inspiration to

The Women of the Tower of Constance. 251
the women of our Church today, that they may be
constant in their faith. There is no persecution now
and yet there is what is worse, a worldliness that si
lently saps all piety. O, if the women of the tower of
Constance could remain true to their faith in spite of
such persecutions for so many years, what an in
spiration it ought to be to the ladies of our Church
today to be true to their Reformed churches. May
the faithfulness of these martyrs prove an inspira
tion to nobleness and firmness of character in all
who read this book.

w

PART III.
Women of the Eighteenth and Nine
teenth Centuries.
Chapter I.— WOMEN OF SWITZERLAND.
i.
ANNA LAVATER.
HY have I heard so little of the noble Anna
Lavater ?" once wrote a friend of her hus
band. "I find so much that is grand and
noble in this excellent woman, which I can find only
among the truly godly." Let us hear more about
this noble life.
Anna Schinz, for such was her maiden name, was
born July 8, 1742, at Zurich. She had a deeply reli
gious mother, and she early revealed a very pious
disposition. Once a companion, whom she had been
forbidden to associate With, tempted her to go away
with her. She did so ; but when she came back, her
flushed countenance betrayed a guilty conscience.
"My child," said the mother, "I see you have done
something wrong." She confessed the fault with
tears. Then her wise mother said: "Anna, we will
not talk together; come, let us pray." And she led
her to a room, where they were alone with God, and
there they prayed. Happy is the child that has such
253

254 Women of the Reformed Church.
a pious rnother to take her to the throne of grace.
She also showed great kindness of heart. A female
laborer, well-known to the family, had become so
disabled that she came into great want. Little Anna
delighted to minister to her. Whenever she would
have something nice to eat, she would lay aside a
part of it and take it to this poor invalid. Often,
rather than spend an hour in the evening in the com
pany of her companions, she would go to this aged
friend. And as she did not want to go empty-hand
ed, if she had nothing else, she would take her own
evening meal to her friend.
She was also very fond of nature and also of her
Bible. In the palace garden she used to have a fav
orite place under the shadow of a tree beside a
waterfall, where there was a wide view; for in
Thurgau (whither her father removed soon after
her birth) there is fine scenery. There she loved to
take out her New Testament and read and pray. One
day a younger brother surprised her by building a
little house there, so that she could sit in it when the
weather was unpleasant. In it he placed a table
made by himself, and on it lay her Bible. This pray
er-place became a blessing and an inspiration to her
life. Many years after, when old and gray, a lady

Anna Lavater. 255
friend brought her a flower plucked from it. The
little flower brought tears to her eyes, as she re
membered what that sacred place had done for her.
Thus, with love to God, nature and her fellow-men,
she grew up, and by it was prepared for her life-
work before her.
On May 6, 1766, Rev. Casper Lavater sued for
her hand. A few years before, in a letter to a
friend, he describes the kind of person who was his
ideal of a wife: "She must have a good heart, for
of the most importance is her moral character. She
must, therefore, be mild, quiet and modest. She
need not be beautiful, if she is only pleasant, health
ful, neat and gentle. She must understand well do
mestic management, although it is not necessary for
her to be learned — a pedant I detest. She must be
teachable, compliant and determined to assist and
not to hinder me in my official duties. She must
aid me in my labors in visiting the sick." We pre
sume he found these qualifications in Anna Schinz,
whom he married June 3, 1766. She thus became
the wife of the most brilliant of the young ministers
of Zurich, and one of the most famous men of his
time. Her married life was very happy, although
clouded at times by the death of children.

256 Women of the Reformed Church.
In April, 1769, her husband was made assistant
pastor of the Orphans Home church at Zurich. This
position imposed on him the duty, in addition to his
other pastoral labors, of caring for the orphan chil
dren and for the convicts in the prison. In these
spheres he found in his wife a zealous help-meet. It
happened, too, that the next two years were years
of famine. Great was the suffering of the hungry
people, as they surged through the streets in crowds.
Her house became a place for the distribution of
alms to the poor. Here she again revealed her great
¦ kindness of heart. She always kept a kettle of warm
soup on the fire to be given to the poor. One day
the door-bell rang, and she saw through the window
a poor man, hardly able to stand. She hurried to
him, but he had already fallen to the ground, be
fore she came to him. She helped him to a chair
and gave him warm soup. But seeing his great
weakness, she hastened into the house for a glass of
wine, when suddenly he died from the weakness
caused by the starvation. On another occasion she
started out on a walk with her husband. They had
gone but a very short distance, when they found a
poor woman sitting on the ground, trying to quiet
her little babe. When asked what was the matter,

Anna Lavater. 257
she replied, with tears in her eyes, that she had only
one request to make, and that was that God would
soon release herself and her child from their hunger,
by letting them die. For she had had nothing to
eat, and so could not give her child anything. Of
course Mr. and Mrs. Lavafer's walk was at an end.
They took the woman and the child home with
them, and after giving her food, had her name enter
ed on the poor list, so that she received money week
ly out of the charity fund.
It was the usual practice of Mr. Lavater to read
every morning several chapters in the Bible, and to
select from them one particular passage for frequent
and special meditation during the day. One morn
ing, after reading the fifth and sixth chapters of St.
Matthew, he exclairned, "What a treasure of moral
ity ! How difficult to make choice of any portion of
it!" After a few minutes' consideration, he threw
himself on his knees and prayed for divine guidance.
When he joined his wife at dinner she asked him
what passage of Scripture he had chosen for the day.
"Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that
would borrow of thee turn not thou away," was the
reply. "And how is this to be understood?"

258 Women' of the Reformed Church.
, " 'Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that
would borrow of thee turn thou not away,' are the
words of Him," rejoined Mr. Lavater, "to whom all
and everything belongs that I possess. I am the
steward, not the proprietor. The proprietor desires
me to give to him that asks me, and not to refuse,
him who would borrow of me, or, in other words, if
I have two coats, I must give to him who has none ;
and if I have food, I must share with him who is an
hungered and in want. This I must do without be
ing asked; how much more, then, should I do so
when asked?"
"This," continues Mr. Lavater in his diary, "ap
peared to me so evidently and undoubtedly to be the
meaning of the verses in question, that I spoke with
more than usual warmth. My wife made no further
reply than that she would take these things to heart.
"I had scarcely left the dining-room a few min
utes when an aged widow desired to speak with me,
and she was shown into my study. 'Forgive me,
dear sir,' she said ; 'excuse the liberty I am about to
take. L am truly ashamed, but my rent is due to
morrow, and I am short of six dollars. I have been
confined to my bed by sickness, and. my poor child
is nearly starving. Every penny that I could save I

Anna Lavater. 259
have laid aside to meet this demand, but six dollars
are yet wanting and tomorrow is term-day.'
"Here she opened a parcel which she held in her
hand, and said: 'This is a book with a silver clasp,
which my late husband gave me the day we were
married. It is all I can spare of the few articles I
possess, and how it grieves me to part with it! I
am aware that it is not enough, nor do I see how I
could ever repay you; but, dear sir, if you can, do
assist me!'
" T am very sorry, my good woman, that I cannot
help you,' I said; and, putting my hand into my
pocket, I accidently felt my purse, which contained
about two dollars. These, I said to myself, can not
extricate her from her difficulty — she requires six:
besides, if even they could, I have need of this money
for some other purpose. Turning, then, to the
widow, I said : 'Have you no friend, no relation who
could give you this trifle?'
" 'No, not a soul ! I am asaamed to go from house
to house. I would rather work day and night. My
excuse for being here is that people speak so much
of your goodness. If, however, you can not^ assist
me, you will at least forgive my intrusion, and God,

260 Women of the Reformed Church.
who has never yet forsaken me, will not surely turn
away from me in my sixty-sixth year.'
"At this moment the door of my apartment open
ed, and my wife entered, I was ashamed and vexed,
and gladly would I have sent her away, for consci
ence whispered, 'Give to him that asketh thee, and
from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou
away.' She came up to me and said with much
sweetness, 'This is a good old woman; she has cer
tainly been ill of late ; assist her if you can.'
"Shame and compassion struggled in my dark
ened soul. 'I have but two dollars,' I said in a whis
per, 'and she requires six. I will give her a trifle and
let her go.'
"Laying her hand on my arm, and smilingly look
ing into my face, my wife said aloud what consci
ence whispered before, 'Give to him that asketh thee,
and from him that would borrow of thee turn not
thou away.'
"I blushed and replied with some little vexation,
'Would you give your ring for that purpose ?'
" 'With pleasure,' answered my wife, pulling off
her ring.
"The good old woman was either too simple or too
modest to notice what was going on, and was pre-

Anna Lavater. 261
paring to retire, when my wife called to her to wait
in the hall. When we were left alone I asked my
wife, 'Are you in earnest about the ring?'
" 'Certainly, how can you doubt it ?' she said. 'Do
you think I would trifle with charity? Remember
what you said to me but half an hour ago ! O, my
dear, let us not make a show of the gospel ! You are
in general so kind, so sympathizing; how is it that
you find it so difficult to assist this poor woman?
Why did you not, without hesitation, give her what
you had in your pocket ? And did you not know that
there were yet six dollars in your desk, and that
your quarter's salary will be paid to us in less than
eight days?
"She then added, with much feeling, 'Take no
thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye
shall drink ; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put
on. Behold the fowls of the air : they sow not neither
do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heav
enly Father feedeth them.'
"I kissed my wife, while tears ran down my
cheeks. 'Thanks, a thousand thanks for this humili
ation ! I turned to the desk, took from it the six dol
lars, and opened the door to call in the poor widow.
All darkened around me at the thought that I had

262 Women of the Reformed Church.
been so forgetful of the omniscience of God as to
say to her, T cannot help you.' O, thou false tongue
— thou false heart ! If the Lord should mark iniqui
ties, O. Lord, who shall stand?
" 'Here is what you need,' Ksaid, addressing .the
widow. "At first she seemed not to understand what I
meant, and thought I was offering her a small con
tribution, for which she thanked me, and pressed my
hand; but, when she perceived that I had given her
the whole sum, she could scarcely find words to ex
press her feelings. She cried, 'Dear sir, I can not re
pay you ; all I possess is this book, and it is old.'
" 'Keep your book,' I said, 'and the money, too,
and thank God, and not me, for verily I deserve no
thanks after having so long resisted your entreaties.
Go in peace, and forgive an erring brother.'
"I returned to my wife with downcast looks, but
she smiled, and said, 'Do not take it so much to
heart, my dear; you yielded at my first suggestion.
But promise me that so long as I wear a gold ring
on my finger— and you know that I possess several
besides — you will never allow yourself to say to any
poor person, 'I cannot help you.' She then kissed me,
and left the apartment."

Anna Lavater. 263
We will mention but one remarkable occurrence
that took place in that year, and which proves, at
least, how fully Mr. Lavater and his wife, even when
they were widely separated from each other, were
united to each other by the bond of devoted Chris
tian love. During the month of August Mr. La
vater visited his friend Dr. Holtze, who lived in the
charming town of Richterswyl, on Lake Zurich.
Shortly after his arrival he wrote to his wife that he
was enjoying perfect health. On the following day,
however, when Mrs. Lavater was sitting alone in her
Tiusband's room, she suddenly became so overpow
ered by anxiety for him that she could scarcely
move. Recovering herself, she went to her father-
in-law and told him of her state of mind.
The affectionate father consoled her with friendly
and cheering words, urging her that, since she had
good news from her husband only the day before,
she must attach no importance to her gloomy feel
ings. As long as her venerable father was urging
her to cast aside her fears, she felt somewhat cheer
ful, but when she returned to Mr. Lavater's room
again, the same anxiety took possession of her mind,
and she fell upon her knees, weeping and praying.
At this very hour Mr. Lavater's life was in a very

264 Women of the Reformed Church.
perilous situation. He had left Richterswyl, and
was on his way to visit a friend who lived on the
other side of Lake Zurich, at Oberried. When he
went into the little boat, which was to convey him
to the place, the wind and water were very calm.
Gradually a fresh wind arose, which impelled the
boat very rapidly, and just as they reached the most
dangerous point of the lake, the wind increased to a
storm. The storm grew to a hurricane, and the
waves rolled higher and higher, every moment
threatening to overturn the boat. The boatmen, who
had had much experience, and were generally fear
less, exclaimed, with despairing voices, "We shall go
down ! Down with the sails ! Hold, for God's sake !
Back with the sail! Away! Away! She strikes!
We are lost! We are gone!"
The mast of the little boat was entirely shattered
by the storm. The boatmen then exclaimed, "We
can do nothing more !" Mr. Lavater was upon his
knees praying, thinking of death, of his wife and
children. From his innermost soul he prayed God
to have compassion on him and his associates in dan
ger, and deliver them from this fearful storm. At
the same hour his wife was in his room at home,
wrestling and praying for his deliverance. God

Anna Lavater. 265
heard and answered their prayers. One can imag
ine Mrs. Lavater's feelings on meeting her husband
after the fearful presentiment she had of his death,
and the tears of joy she shed at having him once
more restored to her and the children. She united
with him, from the depths of her soul, in praising
God for so wonderfully delivering him. So was the
grief of an hour, through the mercy of God, turned
into thankfulness and joy.
Her husband became to her a constant source of
anxiety and care. He had never been strong, hav
ing a predisposition to consumption. After a few
years of severe labor at the Orphans Home church,
his health broke down, and he went to Germany to
the baths. During his absence she had to bear all
the cares of the family herself, even to nursing and
burying a little son during his absence. He return
ed, and in 1778 was elected to one of the most promi
nent positions in the canton, namely, pastor of the
St. Peter's church, at Zurich. As this parish had
more than 5000 souls, it meant more work for him
arid also for her. Finally came the most trying of all
experiences to her as a faithful wife. The ominous
French Revolution broke out. And when the French
proceeded to occupy Switzerland, her husband was

266 Women of the Reformed Church.
one of the few who openly attacked them. When
the Helvetic Directory oppressed the Swiss, he open
ly lifted up his voice in their defence. He wrote
against them his "Word of a Free Swiss to a Great
Nation." And he preached against them in his pul
pit, April 7, 1799.
For this his life was in the greatest danger. So
when he and his wife had gone to the baths for his
health (for he was again suffering from rheuma
tism) on May 16, at six A. M. there was a rap at his
door. According to his custom, he exclaimed, "Come
in !" Although the sufferer was lying in bed, three
men came in and communicated to him the fact that
they had been commissioned by the Directory of the
Helvetic Republic to take possession of all his pa
pers. Mr. Lavater quietly answered, "Now, in God's
name, take what you find, and discharge your duty !"
Thereupon one of the three men, the Prefect Tobler,
showed him. the written order requiring his trans
portation immediately to Basle. Mr. Lavater like
wise received this message calmly, with undisturbed
mien, and replied quietly, "I have nothing to say to
this either. I will put up with whatever you do.
However, bear in mind my diseased condition." Mrs.
Lavater, who could not endure the scene quietly any

Anna Lavater. 267
longer, then said, "What, would you take my sick
husband away from tiie very place where he has
come to get a little strength? No, I don't believe
you can. I can not let him go away. You can watch
him here all you please, for he will not attempt to
escape from you. To take him away, in his present
state, would be — I, at least, can not submit to it."
Mr. Lavater then found it necessary, first of all,
to calm his wife, for he saw that she was greatly ex
cited. He then said to her, "Let God's will be done !
You see that I must go through with this. Let it
be. Be quiet, for that is the best course. You are
too frail to endure the journey, and would be of no
service to me. Return at once from Baden to Zu
rich. Be assured that God will give me friends
wherever I go. He will do everything for the benefit
of my health. I shall want nothing. God will be as
near to me in Basle as in Baden or in Zurich. Take
courage, and submit to circumstances. It is God's
will, as you very well see. Though you are certain
of my innocence, you can be equally assured that
God will not forsake me, and will not prevent my in
nocence from being proved to the world. Certainly,
I should have learned very little, if I had not learned
to trust God fearlessly and in a child-like way under

268 Women of the Reformed Church.
such circumstances. Good-bye, we shall soon meet
again." After having said this, Mr. Lavater turned to the
Prefect again, and said to him, "I urge upon you to
think if I am really ready for the undertaking, and
whether it is really prudent to visit upon an innocent
and sick man, and upon a public teacher, in this
time of trouble, such measures of violence as you
propose to inflict upon me. And as far as I am con
cerned, I am perfectly ready to obey your orders.
But I assure you, further, that I have spent half of
last night in excruciating pain, and that I have only
expected relief by means of the waters of this place."
The Prefect answered, "I believe it is true that
you preached on the 13th of May. However, can you
say that it is physically impossible for you to leave
the bed?"
Mr. Lavater replied, "I can not say that such is
the fact, for I came from Zurich to Baden the day
before yesterday, though with great difficulty; but
since I have reached here, my pain has increased."
The three men retired from the room for a mo
ment to consult together as to what was best to be
done. They soon returned, and then the Prefect
said, "I can not allow you to remain here; I must
carry out my orders."

Anna Lavater. 269
"Now, in God's name," replied Mr. Lavater, "let
His will be done !"
The officers at once secured the sick man's papers,
and transported him to Basle. The three deputies
were not even kind-hearted enough to leave him and
his wife alone for a moment, and her earnest entreat
ies to be permitted to accompany her husband were
inexorably rejected. They were treated as if they
were both heinous offenders. Mrs. Lavater, however,
was enabled to contribute an important service to
her husband and to the good cause which he loved.
In a wardrobe in the room there was a large port
folio containing loose writing and important letters
of friends. Among them all there was not a syllable
which a pure heart could misinterpret as dangerous
to the State. Still, in case any of them were to fall
into the hands of his enemies, they might be per
verted into testimony against him.
Mrs. Lavater thought of this, and as she passed
toward a corner of the room, she stood for a moment
at the door of the wardrobe, and, unperceived by
any one, even her husband, she locked the door, and
handed the key to a servant-girl who was standing
near by. In this way the very existence of a closet
was not observed, for it was made in the wall, and it

270 Women of the Reformed Church.
would not have been very easy to detect it without a
knob or a key to show its whereabouts. As already
intimated, the thoughtfulness of Mrs. Lavater prov
ed, in the end, very well-timed, for it was afterward
found that among the papers were some of the very
greatest importance to Mr. Lavater.
But the hardest trial of all to her life was the
wounding and death of her husband. On the 26th
of September,. 1799, the French captured Zurich, and
her husband, while standing in front of his house,
was shot by a French soldier, whom he had befriend
ed a few moments before. Suffering severe pain, he
was brought into the house, to suffer often intensest
agony for more than a year, until he died, January
2, 1801. During all that time she was his constant
companion, his faithful nurse and strong support —
a model minister's wife. He died blessing her for
what she had done for him.
Thus their happy married life of thirty-five years
was broken up, and she entered on the sad years of
widowhood and old age. She now centered her life
in the care of her children and grandchildren. , On
Easter, 181 1, she was seized with a severe fever and
remained weak for a year. Her face became so pale
and thin that she could scarcely look at herself in the

, Anna Lavater. 271
glass. But she said : "O how rejoiced I am that I
have a merciful Savior, to whom I can unite in heart
and soul and be at rest." Finally after some years
of ill health, March 28, 181 5, she called her grand
children to her and embraced them, saying : "So may
our Lord Jesus embrace you in His arms, as I do
now in my dying arms." She still lived till Septem
ber 24, when her spirit fled from its clay tent to its
Lord. Her character is beautifully described in the
following tribute: "She was so beloved by every
one, because she forgot herself in her love for God
and man. Hence her fidelity to her mission, her si
lent patience in sorrow, her purity, beneficence and
wonderful charity."

II.
ANNA SCHLATTER AND META HEUSSER-SCHWEITZER.
<*¥"* vVO Swiss ¦ saints are these two Christian
* women, worthy of perpetual remembrance
in the Reformed Church. The first lived in

the canton of St. Gall, the second in the canton of
Zurich, but they were close friends, and may, there
fore, be sketched together.
Anna Schlatter was born at St. Gall, November 5,
1773, the next to the youngest sister among twelve
children. She was the daughter of a prominent man
ufacturer and citizen, named Bernet. Her lot had fal
len in hard times, for in her girlhood her family had
to struggle financially, and in her maturity she had to
contend against the prevailing Rationalism. Yet she
stood as a witness for the truth — a modern Reform
ed Miriam, singing her poetic songs when the
Church was threatened, not by the hosts of Egypt,
as in Miriam's time, but by unbelief. Fortunately
for her, her family was a pious one. One of her an
cestors had been the reformer of St. Gall — Watt or
Vadianus. She was, therefore, reared under spirit
ual influences. On Sunday she was trained to go
regularly to church, and, according to the custom
273

274 Women of the Reformed Church.
of the times, she was not allowed to take a walk till
after afternoon service. There came a famine to the
land, and many of the people suffered much from
hunger. Her father's business declined, and he was
compelled to. give it up when she was three years of
age. Suddenly he died, April 26, 1800, when she
was seven years old. After her father's death she
clung closer than ever to her mother, but it was not
long. A year later her mother, in the midst of her
children at the table, after she had said grace, sud
denly had a stroke and died. Left an orphan, she
was cared for. by the orphans' God. And although
those were days of unbelief, yet God led her to Him
self. A sermon by Haseli, read when she was thir
teen years old, deeply convicted her of her sins, and
led her to come to God in deepest penitence. She was
confirmed at the age of .fifteen. But the catechetical
instruction of the city pastor, Stahelin, seemed cold
to her earnest heart. She longed for a warmer,
higher religious experience and life. Fortunately
for her, she became associated with Lavater's fam
ily, and this led her ultimately to full assurance of
salvation. In 1792 she learned to know Nette, Le-
vater's daughter, who afterwards became the wife of
Antistes Gessner, of Zurich. Through her she learn-

Anna Schlatter — Meta Heusser-Schweitser. 275
ed to know Lavater. She read his books, from which
she derived much comfort and light. And when La
vater visited St. Gall in 1793, she visited him and put
to him the great questions of her soul. He pointed
her to God, and she was satisfied. She thus inclined
toward the Pietism, rather than the rationalism, of
her day.
In that year Hector Schlatter, a prominent citizen
of St. Gall, proposed marriage. Many and deep
were her conflicts. She loved him, but he was a ra
tionalist " like his uncle Zollikofer, the great pulpit-
orator of Leipsic. Did not the Bible forbid an un
equal yoking together of believers with unbelievers ?
She went to God in prayer. And on her knees she
1 prayed to God to put some hindrance in the way of
their marriage, if it was going to influence her away
from Him. , Lavater, too, gave his advice that she
marry him. And Mr. Schlatter promised never to
interfere with her religious views. So hoping to
lead him to a saving knowledge of Jesus, she mar
ried him February 18, 1794, Antistes Scherrer
preaching the marriage sermon on Psalm 103 : 17, 18.
After their marriage she remained true to her
Church, although touched somewhat by worldliness.
But in 1804 there came a change. She names Febru-

276 Women of the Reformed Church.
ary 22 of that year as the day of her completed assur
ance. On that day she says, "I gave myself entirely
without any exception, with all that I am and have,
living and dying, to Him. And the peace of God
higher than all knowledge filled my soul. I was a
new creature. Everything appeared to me in a dif
ferent light. Prayer was my delight, the reading of
the Bible my highest pleasure, and the Gospel was
to me a treasure, whose key I never before had had."
She now labored and prayed more earnestly than
ever for the conversion of her husband. He never
read the Bible, and although he prayed, yet it was
about earthly things. To spiritual truths his soul
was dark.. She continued in prayer for him, but it
was not until the death of his father that he soften
ed and said to his wife, "How thankful I am that
among Christ's disciples there was a doubting
Thomas." His wife, quick to discern her opportun
ity, said to him, "Yes, but Jesus said to Thomas,
'Blessed are they who not having seen yet believe.' "
With joy she now noticed that he read his Bible.
And the more he read the more he saw that his own
morality could not save him, until finally she had the
great joy of seeing him an humble follower of Christ.
Thus by her piety she sanctified the unbelieving hus-

Anna i Schlatter — Meta Heusser-Schweitser. 277
band, and by her prayers brought him to Christ.
What an encouragement this to wives praying for
unsaved husbands.
Many, however, were her cares and anxieties as
mother. Thirteen children came to bless her home.
But she had a great mother-heart to take them all in.
Nevertheless they brought many cares. In all she
was as careful a housekeeper as a loving mother.
No article of clothing, no bed clothes, not even a
stocking failed to pass her close inspection. She was
seamstress, washerwoman and everything else in her
home. Many sorrows came to her in these cares.
Three children died in early childhood, two of them
within a quarter of an hour of each other. Yet, in
spite of all these cares and troubles, she found time
to write the most beautiful poems. And while ex
celling as a housekeeper in industry, economy and
executive ability, she also excelled as a writer of re
ligious hymns and letters. Her religious prose is
classic in its style. But it was especially as "moth
er" that her piety appears in her writings. She had
great love for children, and her great desire was to
train them all for God. Her mother-words are won
derful. Exquisitely beautiful are her words of ad
vice to her son at his confirmation in 1810, entitled,

278 Women of the Reformed Church.
'Words of a warm mother-heart laid on a tender
child's, heart." And very touching are her words to
her daughter at confirmation in 1815. And to one
of her sons, who was on a journey, she wrote, "Some
mother-words for a traveler's pocket." Surely no
son could go astray with such a letter in his pocket.
No wonder that with such a mother (for not all sons
have such a mother) one of her sons, Casper, became
a minister. The first of her writings to be published was her
letter to her oldest son on his confirmation day, 1810.
It was published without her knowledge by a friend,
Engelman, at Stuttgard, in 181 7. Her writings
were so beautiful and loving, so chaste and artless,
that they gave her fame. Knapp published eleven of
her hymns in 1837. Her poems were published in
1835, and the next year another edition was requir
ed. One hundred and thirty-two of her hymns and.
poems have been printed, some of them masterpieces.
But great as is her fame as a poetess, as her son-
in-law, Zahn, says very beautifully, her greater fame
is her "mother fame." We regret that not more of
her beautiful poems and hymns have found their
way into English. Her confirmation hymn, written
in her letter to her son on confirmation day, 1810, is

Anna Schlatter — Meta Heusser-Schweitser. 279
worthy of a place in our hymnology. Thus, by her
writings, Anna Schlatter became the centre of an
awakening in the beginning of the century, and ex
erted an influence far beyond her family and her
land. She had a large correspondence with leading
theological thinkers of her time, as Lavater at Zu
rich, Yung Stilling at Heidelberg, Menken at Bre
men, the Quaker Grellet as New York, and others,
and even with evangelical Catholics, as Sailor, Boos,
Gossner, and others. Noble people corresponded
with her or visited her. In 1821 she made one dis
tant trip to Barmen, Germany, where she was de
lighted with the religious life of the Reformed Wup-
perthal. She also developed great activity, espe
cially in the circulation of the Bible among the Cath
olics. She started the cause of missions in her can
ton and gave her son, Casper, as one of the teachers
of the newly-founded mission house at Basle. Af
ter a visit of pastor Steinkopf, of London, to St.
Gall, she became so enthusiastic on the subject of
missions that she organized a woman's missionary
society at her house. Thus a Reformed poetess is
the founder of the first Women's Missionary Society
in Europe, just as a Reformed lady, Mrs. Doremus,
was the founder of ladies' missionary societies in

280 Women of the Reformed Church.
America. She also raised a good deal of money
among her friends for missions.
Her last years were years of great suffering, as
she had to lie in bed with dropsy. But God's grace
was sufficient for her. She became so happy at the
thought of death that she did not want to hear her
friends suggest to her the possibility of a recovery.
She died February 25, 1826. Her last words were,
"God is mine and I am His."
Sweet as were the poet songs of Anna Schlatter,
still sweeter were the strains of her Reformed sister,
Meta Heusser-Schweitzer. "The most beautiful reli
gious poetess of the German language," once said Dr.
Schaff to me. She was about a quarter of a century
younger than Anna Schlatter, and was born April 6,
1797. The place of her birth, Hirzel, in canton Zu
rich, continued to be the scene of her life till her
death. It is a beautiful hilltop overlooking the Zu
rich lake on the north, and to the east and south, the
snow-capped Alps. In this quiet mountain parish
her father was pastor for many years, till he died in
1824. Here she grew up in absolute quietness and
retirement, never going away from 'it till she was
about sixteen years of age. Her first trip was made
to St. Gall, where she came into contact with the

Anna Schlatter — Meta Heusser-Schweitser. 281
family of Anna Schlatter, and formed a very close
attachment with her daughter, with whom she kept
up correspondence until death. In 1821 she married
Dr. Heusser, the physician of her home, Hirzel.
"Her's was woman's usual lot,
Cares and trials wanting not."
She had seven children and cares enough to make
life very prosaic, but her natural poetic genius leap
ed over all barriers and burst forth in sweetest song.
Her greatest cares made her sing the sweetest. "As
a bird sings among the branches, so she sang." She
was a most artless, natural poetess. From others'
poems she caught little inspiration, although
Goethe's and Schiller's works came as a blessing to
her home. Sitting at her spinning-wheel she learn
ed many of Schiller's ballads. But she caught her
inspiration rather from the beautiful Alpine world1
around her. As Koch in his History of German
Hymns says, "She had few means of instruction ex
cept the Book of Books and the book of nature. Both
of these she had studied diligently, and the deep in
sight she obtained from both is shown in her poems."
Even before she had read Klopstock, who was the
inspirer of so many German poets, she felt the im-

282 Women of the Reformed Church.
pulse to write, which she could not suppress. She
wrote her poems as the outbursts of her heart, little
dreaming of their publication. But her friends, es
pecially Knapp, of Stuttgard, thought otherwise, and
wanted them put in print. For a long time she re
fused to make public these "spirit children" as she
called them. Finally, Knapp, in 1834, secured per
mission to print a few over the signature of "A Hid
den One," in his Christoterpe. These gave her fame.
In 1857 he succeeded in getting her to allow him to
publish the first volufne of her poems, followed ten
years later by a second volume. In a short time she
was known wherever the German language was
spoken. Her husband died in 1859, an(J she spent
the remaining years of her life at her beautiful
eagle's eyrie at Hirzel with two of her daughters.
She died January 2, 1876. "O come, Lord, Jesus,"
she said. And as her sister, Anna, asked her, "You
are glad to enter heaven, are you not?" she replied,
"O, yes," and she passed beyond the clouds and
above the Alps to Christ's throne of glory. One of
the most pleasant visits the writer has made in Eu
rope was to Hirzel to see Meta Heusser's grave, and
meet her daughter. "This is the room," the daugh
ter said to me, "where Dr. Schaff loved to spend his

Anna Schlatter — Meta Heusser-Schweitser. 283
time and where my mother died," — a room overlook
ing the beautiful lake of Zurich. Dr. Schaff was a
warm friend of the poetess, and when in Europe al
ways visited there.
Some of her poems were 'translated into English
and published in a little booklet called Alpine Lyrics.
Fortunately her poetry is so simple as to be easily
rendered into English. We give one of her poems
to show their peculiar beauty. It reveals how
nature, and especially the Alps, inspired her poetry :
The everlasting hills; how calm they rise,
Bold witnesses to an almighty God.
We gaze with longing heart and eager eyes,
And feel as if short pathway may suffice
From those pure regions to the heavenly land.
At early dawn when the first rays of light,
Play like a rose wreath in the peaks of snow,
And late, when half the valley seems in night,
Yet still, around each pale majestic height,
The sun's last smile has left a crimson glow.
Then the heart longs, it calls for wings to fly
Above all lower scenes of earth to soar,
Where yonder golden clouds arrested lie,
Where granite cliffs and glaciers gleam on high,
As with reflected light from heaven's door.

284 Women of the Reformed Church.
Whence the strange spell, by thoughtful souls confessed,
Even in shadow of the mountains found?
"Pis the deep voice within our human breast,
Which bids us seek a refuge and a rest
Above, beyond, what meets us here around.
Ever to men of God the hills were dear,
Since on the slopes of Ararat, the dove
Plucked the wet olive, pledge of hope and cheer,
Or Israel stood entranced in silent fear,
While God on Sinai thundered from above.
And once on Tabor was a vision given,
Sublime as that which Israel feared to view.
When the transfigured Lord of earth and heaven,
Mortality's dim curtain lifted, riven,
Revealed His glory to His chosen few.
On mountain heights of Galilee he prayed
While others slept, and all beneath was still;
From Olivet's recesses of awful shade
Thrice was that agonized petition made,
"O that this cup might pass, if such thy, will!"
And on Mount Zion, in the better land,
Past every danger of the pilgrim way,
At our Redeemer's feet we hope to stand
And learn the meanings of His guiding hand
Through all the changes of our earthly day.

Anna Schlatter — Meta Heusser Schweitser. 285
Then hail, calm sentinels of heaven, again
Proclaim your message, as in ages past!
Tell us that pilgrims shall not toil in vain,
That Zion's mount we surely shall attain,
Where all home longings find a home at last.
A. Knapp, one of the finest literary critics of Ger
man poetry, says of her: "An admirable writer,
whose tender spirituallays far surpass those of for
mer German poetesses. She knows alike how to
breathe the flute tones of faith or to sound the trum
pet call among the children of God." Rev. Dr.
Schaff says: "Her poems combine true poetic
genius with deep piety and experience in the school
of affliction, which impart to them an air of holy
sadness and home-longings after heaven and thus
render them peculiarly consoling to sad hearts."

Chapter II.— WOMEN OF AMERICA.

MRS. THOMAS C. DOREMUS.
NE American lady may be added, in closing
a this record of the Reformed women. She
did not live in the days of martyrdom
and suffering, but in the times of the larger de
velopment of the Christian activities. It was
the mission of the women of past centuries to
sustain the church; of the women of today, to ex
tend the church in its influence. In this widening
sphere of the new opportunity for woman offered in
the last century Mrs. Thomas C. Doremus, of New
York City, has left a most remarkable and noble
record. She was born in New York City, but her parents
removed in her childhood to Elizabeth, N. J. In
182 1 she was married to Mr. Thomas C. Doremus,

who cordially sympathized with all her Christian
activities, and by his princely liberality as long as
he was able, aided her in sustaining them. She
united with the Dutch Reformed church of New
York about 1822, and though a devoted adherent of
287

288 Women of the Reformed Church.
the Reformed faith, yet her sympathy knew no
sect; her catholic spirit knew no dividing lines.
Her interest in foreign missions she dated back to
her girlhood in 1812, when her mother would take
her to meetings where Mrs. Isabella Graham and
others would pray for the conversion of the world.
The ladies of the various congregations were then
accustomed to prepare outfits for missionaries and
often she went to Boston where they usually em
barked, and fitted up their rude cabins with the com
forts for the voyage and added tempting delicacies.
And when the missionaries returned, often broken
down in health she would place her most delicate
dainties on the table, saying, "It is because they do
not get this that I want them to enjoy it now." On
one occasion a returned missionary happened to la
ment to her that in the outfit for a voyage to India
only cotton sheets had been provided for a delicate
husband. Mrs. Doremus immediately applied to
several friends for linen sheets. When she was
asked to take them to the missionary, she replied,
"Send them yourself in your own name, as she will
appreciate deeply this expression of your personal
interest." The next day the missionary said to Mrs.
Doremus, "My dear friend, do you know the most

Mrs. Thomas C. Doremus. 289
wonderful thing happened after I mentioned to you
my disappointment about the cotton sheets. Ring
after ring came to our door and every one was to
bring linen sheets." Years afterwards, when an oc
casion called for a repetition of this incident, Mrs.
Doremus said, "I never told my friend that I had
asked for them."
Far away in a southern parsonage a minister's
wife happened to meet a returned missionary from
Persia, brought together through the forethought of
Mrs. Doremus. When this missionary arrived in
England, she was welcomed by Mrs. Ranyard, the
head of the Bible Woman's Mission, who in their
brief interview would often say, "You will know this
or that when you see Mrs. Doremus," "How shall I
know her," "Who is she," this lady would say to her
self. She then crossed the ocean and arrived at New
York and was waiting with one missionary friend
while another looked up quarters for them. She knew
no one, expected no one, was a lonely, bereaved
stranger — all her surroundings comfortless and
.dreary — when a lady entered, looked here and there
as if seeking some one, and at length asked if she
could be directed where to find a lady whom she
named, who was a returned missionary. She then

290 Women of the Reformed Church.
went up to this strange missionary, introduced her
self as Mrs. Doremus, and invited her and her com
panion to her house. This being declined she asked
them to name an hour when she could call for them.
At the appointed hour she came with a. carriage to
take them on a drive, but bringing a copy of the
memoir, just published, of the missionary's husband,
a touching surprise to this young widow on her re
turn to America. Thus it was that she refreshed
the missionaries.
She took a deep interest in the establishment of a
mission in the Hawaiian Islands. Hearing that there
was danger of closing the schools, she tried to raise
funds to keep them open. Her husband bought for
her at that time an elegant shawl of the latest fash
ion. She, however, begged him to give her its cost
instead. With this money she purchased materials
for the delicate fancy work and embroidery, in which
she excelled, and prepared a box for sale in the
Sandwich Islands which brought five hundred
dollars. In 1828, when the sympathies of this country went
out so strongly for Greece, Mrs. Doremus, hearing
of the needs of the Greek ladies, organized the ladies
into a band of relief. As a result Dr. Jonas King

Mrs. Thomas C. Doremus. 291
was sent to Athens with large supplies. This opened
the way for him to become missionary for many
years at that port. In 1832, when Rev. Dr. Abeel,
of the Dutch Reformed Church, returned to this
country, he tried to organize a woman's missionary
society. He had made a similar appeal to the wo
men of Great Britain, describing to them the fearful
degradation of the women in the Orient. Mrs.
Doremus entered into this work with great earnest
ness. A meeting for the purpose of organizing a
Woman's Missionary Society was called at the house
of Mrs. Divie Bethune. Rev. Dr. Anderson, one of
the secretaries of the American Board, was present
but asked the ladies to defer the organization as he
feared it would interfere with the work of their
Board. Mrs. Bethune answered him, "What, are the
American Board afraid that the ladies will get ahead
of them?" Owing to Dr. Anderson's objection, there
at ' once appeared a division among them. Some
were in favor of going on, others out of respect for
Dr. Anderson wanted to wait. Then it was that
Dr. Abeel made his impassioned plea, as tears rolled
down .his face : "What is to become of the souls of
those who are ignorant of the offers of mercy and of
the Bible?" So the organization of the society was

292 Women of the Reformed Church.
postponed. But in i860 the Woman's Foreign Mis
sionary Society was organized. For fifteen years
Mrs. Doremus' house was its headquarters and con
tained all the machinery necessary to do the work.
And she was a mother to all the missionaries sent
but by their society, helping them at their departure
and welcoming them on their return. She was con
stantly thoughtful of their comfort though far away.
She would gather items of interest, or sketches of
lectures and send them to them in the field to lighten
their loneliness or toil. No great public event trans
pired that she did not send copies of the newspapers
to all the stations. And she was always looking out
for inspiring books which she would send to them by
mail. But she was not only intensely interested in for
eign missions, but in home missions as well, espe
cially in city mission work. About 1835 she began
a Sabbath service in the city prison of New York,
and by personal work rescued many a wandering
soul. Her family often heard her say, that many
whom she has since seen in their carriages, she had
restored to their families. Out of this prison work
of hers grew her interest in the Women's Prison
Association, of which she was president for fourteen

Mrs. Thomas C. Doremus. 293
years. She was for thirty-six years a manager of
the City and Tract Mission Society, and for twenty-
eight years a manager of the City Bible Society.
She was one of the founders of the House and
School of Industry and for ten years its president;
and for twenty-three years connected with the Nur
sery and Child's Hospital.
In 1855 she took special interest in the Woman's
Hospital, the first institution of the kind in the
world. After Dr. Sims, who originated the idea, had
been repeatedly disappointed, he came to Mrs. Do
remus with his project. Although she had her hands
full of other work she could not resist this plea. To
none of her benevolent institutions did she devote as
much work as to this, often going to Albany to se
cure charter or State appropriations, and collecting
large sums for it. She early began Sabbath religious
services in the institution, and was often disap
pointed at the last moment in getting a minister. She
would then start out early Sunday morning in search
of one, sometimes getting to church breathless, say
ing, "I have secured a minister." After the hospital
service she would distribute tracts and leaflets to the
patients with words of cheer. During the Civil War
she was very busy in distributing supplies to all the

294 Women of the Reformed Church.
hospitals in and around New York City. One very
warm day a large detachment of wounded officers
came unexpectedly while she' was at work in the city
hospital in the park. She saw their distress for
handkerchiefs and immediately purchased and
hemmed with her own hands dozens for their supply.
She was deeply interested in the Presbyterian Home
for Aged Women, and also in the infant school of
her own church. With all these varied activities she
did not forget her own home which always had the
first claim upon her time and strength. One won
ders how she ever was able to be busy in so many di
rections. She must have been a woman of remark
able tact and energy.
She was active to the very last. On January 22d,
1877, she had a fall against the furniture of her
house which was a premonition of her death. Yet
the Saturday before her injury she distributed the
annual prizes at the Home and School of Industry
to the poor children. On the last Sabbath she spent
on earth, she sent through her daughter the gifts to
the patients of the Woman's Hospital, and on her
return listened with eagerness to her account of their
reception by the inmates. She died January 29,
1877, greatly mourned by all and greatly missed by
the societies she had aided.

Mrs. Thomas C. Doremus. 295
There were two secrets to her wonderful life, per
sonal consecration and untiring activity. Thus
when the Woman's Missionary Society met at her
house and she was asked if this or that could be
clone, her reply was, "All I have is the Lord's." For
her to live was Christ. A friend once met her at the
Moody meetings in the Hippodrome and greeted her
with, "Are you here alone?" Her reply was, "No,
I am never alone." That was the secret of her life —
the continual presence of her Lord with her. Her
activity was as great as her consecration. Her fa
vorite text was, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do,
do it with thy might" As her health was generally
delicate and she suffered for many years from pul
monary troubles, she often said, "I do today, for fear
tomorrow will never come." Rev. Dr. E. P. Rogers,
her pastor at the South Dutch church, said in his
funeral address as he bent over her form lying be
fore the pulpit, "For the first time she rests from her
labors. He beautifully said in that address : "Well,
here is her epitaph, written 1800 years ago by St.
Paul, 'Well reported of for good works, she hath
hath brought up children, she hath lodged strangers,
she hath washed the saints' feet, she hath relieved
the afflicted, she hath diligently followed every good
work.'"

INDEX. Page
Part I. Women of the Reformation.
Chapter I. Switzerland.
Anna Reinhard, Zwingli's Wife  5
Calvin's Wife, Idelette D'Bures  21
Anna Bullinger  31
Chapter II. Germany.
Catharine Zell  45
Margaret Blaarer  55
Chapter III. France.
Queen Margaret of Navarre  59
Queen Jeanne D'Albret of Navarre  71
Charlotte D'Mornay  87
Phillipine De Luns  95
Charlotte D'Bourbon, Princess of Orange  103
Louisa De Coligny, Princess of Orange  113
Chapter IV. Italy.
Duchess Renee of Este  125
Olympia Morata  135
Part II. Women of the Seventeenth Century.
Chapter I. Germany.
Electress Elizabeth of the Palatinate  149
Electress Louisa Juliana of the Palatinate  163
Landgravine Amalie Elizabeth of Hesse Cassel  171
Countess Ursula of Hadamer  177
Countess Gertrude of Bentheim  Opposite page 187

Duchess Cathrine Charlotte of Palatinate-Neuberg. . .
Opposite page 199
Princess Elizabeth of the Palatinate. . .Opposite page 205
Electress Louisa Henrietta of Brandenburg 
Opposite page 221
Chapter II. Women of Other Lands.
Countess Susan Rakoczy of Hungary. .Opposite page 237
The Women of the Tower of Constance 
Opposite page 245
Chapter II. Women of Switzerland.
Anna Lavater  Opposite page 253
Anna Schaltter and Meta Heusser Schweitzer 
Opposite page 273
Chapter IV. Women of America.
Mrs. Thomas C. Doremus  Opposite page 285

ILLUSTRATIONS.
Heidelberg in 1620  Frontispiece
Zwingli Reading His Translation of the Bible to His wife
Opposite page 11
Zwingli's Monument at Cappel  Opposite page 15
Zwingli's Daughter  Opposite page 19
Queen Margaret Entertaining Reformed Refugees 
Opposite page 68
Queen Jeanne D'Albret Addressing the Army 
Opposite page 80
Duchess Renee Defying Malicorne  Opposite page 131
Electress Louisa Juliana Interceding with Gustavus Adol-
phus  Opposite page 168
Landgravine Amalie Elizabeth  .Opposite page 171
Electress Louisa Henrietta of Brandenburg 
Opposite page 221
The Women of the Tower of Constance.. , .Opposite page 245

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