will never be forgotten.

"When we were in Florence,--beautiful Florence!--the tragedy of
Savonarola rose before us like a spectre in the history of the past.
Savonarola tried to reform the conduct of the clergy and to maintain
the purity of the Church, but failed. He made the republic of Florence
a model Christian commonwealth. Debauchery was suppressed, gambling
was prohibited, the licentious factions of the times were there
publicly destroyed. He arraigned Rome for her sins. The Roman party
turned against him and accused him of heresy, the punishment of which
was death. He declared his innocence, and desired to test it with his
accusers by walking through a field of living fire. He believed God
would protect him from the flames, like the worthies of old. His
enemies were unwilling to go with him into the fiery ordeal. He was
condemned and executed. The martyr of Florence in after years became
one of its saints.

"At Constance a like tragedy haunted us. Constance has been called
'the city of Huss.'

"Among the mighty ones who wended their way to the city of the lake,
to attend the great Council, was a pale, thin man, in mean attire. He
had been invited to the Council by the Emperor Sigismund, who promised
to protect his person and his life. He was a Bohemian reformer; a
follower of Wycliffe. He was graciously received, but was soon after
thrown into prison on the charge of heresy.

"They led him in chains before the Council, which assembled in an old
hall, which is still shown. The emperor sat upon the throne as
president.

"He confessed to having read and disseminated the writings of
Wycliffe.

[Illustration: JOHN HUSS.]

"He was required to denounce the English reformer as one of the souls
of the lost.

"'If he be lost, then I could wish my soul were with his,' he said
firmly.

"This was pronounced to be heresy.

"The emperor declared that he was not obliged to keep his word to
heretics, and that his promise to protect the life of the Bohemian was
no longer binding.

"He was condemned to death. He was stripped of his priestly robes, and
the cup of the sacrament was taken from his hands with a curse.

"'I trust I shall drink of it this day in the kingdom of heaven,' he
said.

"'We devote thy soul to the devils in hell,' was the answer of the
prelates.

"He was led away, guarded by eight hundred horsemen, to a meadow
without the gates. Here he was burned alive, and triumphed in soul
amid the