Foxe - The Book of Martyrs

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
but the power of perseverance; and wish for no change in our condition, but that which places
a crown of martyrdom upon our heads."
Scoblant was first brought to his trial; when, persisting in the profession of his faith, he
received sentence of death. On his return to prison, he earnestly requested the jailer not to
permit any friar to come near him; saying, "They can do me no good, but may greatly disturb
me. I hope my salvation is already sealed in heaven, and that the blood of Christ, in which I
firmly put my trust, hath washed me from my iniquities. I am not going to throw off this
mantle of clay, to be clad in robes of eternal glory, by whose celestial brightness I shall be
freed from all errors. I hope I may be the last martyr to papal tyranny, and the blood already
spilt found sufficient to quench the thirst of popish cruelty; that the Church of Christ may
have rest here, as his servants will hereafter." On the day of execution, he to0ok a pathetic
leave of his fellow prisoners. At the stake he fervently said the Lord's Prayer, and sung the
Fortieth Psalm; then commending his soul to God, he was burnt alive.
Hues, soon after died in prison; upon which occasion Coomans wrote thus to his friends:
"I am now deprived of my friends and companions; Scoblant is martyred, and Hues dead, by
the visitation of the Lord; yet I am not alone, I have with me the God of Abraham, of Isaac,
and of Jacob; He is my comfort, and shall be my reward. Pray unto God to strengthen me to
the end, as I expect every hour to be freed from this tenement of clay."
On his trial he freely confessed himself of the reformed religion, answered with a manly
fortitude to every charge against him, and proved the Scriptural part of his answers from the
Gospel. The judge told him the only alternatives were recantation or death; and concluded by
saying, "Will you die for the faith you profess?" To which Coomans replied, "I am not only
willing to die, but to suffer the most excruciating torments for it; after which my soul shall
receive its confirmation from God Himself, in the midst of eternal glory." Being condemned,
he went cheerfully to the place of execution, and died with the most manly fortitude, and
Christian resignation.
William of Nassau fell a sacrifice to treachery, being assassinated in the fifty-first year of
his age, by Beltazar Gerard, a native of Ranche Compte, in the province of Burgundy. This
murderer, in hopes of a reward here and hereafter, for killing an enemy to the king of Spain
and an enemy to the Catholic religion, undertook to destroy the prince of Orange. Having
procured firearms, he watched him as he passed through the great hall of his palace to dinner,
and demanded a passport. The princess of Orange, observing that the assassin spoke with a
hollow and confused voice, asked who he was, saying that she did not like his countenance.
The prince answered that it was one that demanded a passport, which he should presently
have.
Nothing further passed before dinner, but on the return of the prince and princess through
the same hall, after dinner was over, the assassin, standing concealed as much as possible by
one of the pillars, fired at the prince, the balls entering at the left side, and passing through
the right, wounding in their passage the stomach and vital parts. On receiving the wounds, the
prince only said, "Lord, have mercy upon my soul, and upon these poor people," and then
expired immediately.
160