rength of memory. His voice was sweet, distinct,
and full. Firm and intrepid, he stood before the council; collected in
himself, and not only despising, but seeming even desirous of death.

His speech did not, however, excite pity; and he was delivered over to the
civil power for martyrdom. When surrounded by blazing fagots, he cried
out, "O Lord God, have mercy upon me!" and a little afterwards, "Thou
knowest how I have loved thy truth." With cheerful countenance he met his
fate; and, observing the executioner about to set fire to the wood behind
his back, he cried out, "Bring thy torch hither: perform thy office before
my face. Had I feared death, I might have avoided it." As the wood began
to blaze, he sang a hymn, which the violence of the flames did not
interrupt.

Jerome was, unquestionably, an excellent man. His Christianity must have
been sincere, thus to have supported him; and the uniform tenor of his
virtuous life corroborated the truth of that opinion. His temper was mild
and affable, and the relations of life he supported with great piety and
benevolence. He was a light set upon a hill; and though for a few moments
it was obscured and darkened, yet it again burst forth, and continued to
shine with splendor and advantage.

John Huss.

A famous divine and martyr, born in Bohemia, 1376, and educated at Prague,
where he took his degrees, and entered into the ministry. The writings of
Wickliffe converted him from the superstitions of Rome, and, with eloquent
zeal, he began to preach against the power and influence of the pope. His
efforts proved successful; the Papal authority began to be slighted in
Bohemia; but the archbishop of Prague issued two mandates against the
heresies of Wickliffe, and the labors of Huss and his followers; and this
exertion of power was soon seconded by a bull from Rome, for the
suppression of all tenets offensive to the holy see. Huss exclaimed
against these proceedings, and, though summoned to Rome to answer for his
conduct, he, supported by the favor of Wenceslaus, king of Bohemia,
disregarded the pope's authority, and was excommunicated; and, soon after,
his friends and adherents were included in the same interdict. After
causing, by his opposition to the Papal decrees, various tumults in Prague
and Bohemia, Huss was prevailed upon to appear at the council of
Constance, to give an account of his doctrines. The emperor Sigismund
granted him his protection, and insured sec