pathetic. “Thereupon on the next day,” says the account, “which was the sixth of October, this pious and God-fearing heroine of Jesus Christ, as also her other fellow believers, who in like manner had been condemned, were with their tongues screwed fast, like innocent sheep brought forward, and after each was tied to a stake in the market place, were robbed of life and body by a dreadful and horrible fire, and in a short time were burned to ashes . . . The oldest son of this aforementioned martyr, called Adrian Wens, about fifteen years old, upon the day on which his dear mother was sacrificed, could not stay away from the place of execution, so he took his youngest brother, called Hans Matthias Wens, about three years old, on his arm, and stood on a bench not far from the burning-stake to witness his mother's death. But when she was brought to the stake he fainted, fell down, and lay unconscious until his mother and the others were burned. Afterward when the people had gone away and he came to himself, he went to the place where his mother was burnt, and hunted in the ashes until he found the screw with which her tongue had been screwed fast, and he kept it for a memento. There are now, 1659, still many descendants of this pious martyr living well known to us, who, after her name are called Maeyken Wens.”
The before-mentioned Heinrich Funk and Dielman Kolb were appointed a committee by the Mennonites to make the arrangements with the community at Ephrata, and to supervise the translation. Their certificate is appended, saying: “It was desired by very many in Pennsylvania that there should be a German translation and edition of the martyr book of the Defenceless Christians or Tauffs-gesinneten, before printed in the Dutch language, and the Brotherhood in Ephrata, at Conestoga, offered and promised not only that they would translate the book,
