Page:Glimpses of Bohemia by MacDonald (1882).pdf/26

The immediate occasion of the edict was a striking incident. In the heights of the Carpathians, in Moravia, two Jesuit missionaries promulgated a forged edict by Maria Theresa, which promised religious liberty, their object being to ascertain how many heretics still existed. They outwitted themselves, however, for sixty towns and villages started like one man, and proclaimed themselves Protestants. Neither soldiers, gallows, nor prison could stop such a movement. Some of the peasants sought a personal audience with Joseph, and placed a petition in his hands. The true edict was published shortly after.