is not yet fully attained. The number of people who professed Protestantism at this time is very striking, but one has some idea how it came about when one remembers that during the whole dark night of persecution from 1620 to 1781, many secretly continued to read the Bible, and assembled at night in woods, or in stables and cellars for conference and prayer. A revival among such secret worshippers, early in the seventeenth century, led to the emigration of some Moravians to Saxony, where they founded the settlement of Herrnhut, from which has sprung the active and devoted Church usually spoken of as “The Moravian Brethren,” which has since encircled the world with its missions.
The Romish party laboured hard to counteract the Edict, and on Joseph’s death in 1791 succeeded in obtaining from his successor, Leopold, another Edict, which declared the Roman Catholic religion, the only “dominating” religion of the Empire, warned Protestants that they had only obtained the “grace of being tolerated,” that such grace was revocable by the Emperor at pleasure, and that it was thoroughly inexpedient to look upon the Edict of Toleration as a law which should last for ever, or should form a part of the Constitution of the State. The priests also exercised the most perverse ingenuity in interpreting the law to the disadvantage of the Protestants—e.g., persons wishing to join a Protestant Church were ordered to receive instruction for six weeks. The priests laid it down that six weeks was a period of 1008 hours, and that only those hours should be reckoned which were spent at the priests’ house. Thus they spun out the examination for years. It cannot be wondered at, that with these restrictions the Reformed Church made little progress under this species of “toleration.” If the concessions of Joseph had been allowed their full effect on the national life, Protestantism would have gained ground more rapidly, but progress was much retarded by the wars of Napoleon, in the course of which Bohemia suffered terribly. Undoubtedly the gallant struggle of the Poles, and later, the brave attempt of the Hungarians to preserve their nationality, had an inspiriting effect upon the Bohemians. Their circumstances were not such as to give the same provocation for an
