Herewith, my dear child Betgen, I, for this time take a perpetual adieu of you; commending you to God the heavenly Father, who is the Father of all orphans, and of all those that fear and love him. And never neglect or forget diligently to ask God Almighty, and you shall receive of him, more than you ask, if it is according to his will.
Adieu, my child, if we should see each other no more. I pray the almighty God and King of kings, that he will govern you by his holy Spirit, so that I may meet you in the clouds of heaven, where parting shall be no more, this I pray God by his unfathomable grace and love, with bended knees and a weeping heart and uplifted hands.
O Lord, hear my prayer, and let it be done, that through the fruit of my loins thy holy, most worthy and adorable name may be praised now and forever. Amen.
My child Betgen, if I die, I would like to have your mother give you, for a perpetual memorial, a Testament, a Dirrick Philips Book of Fundamentals, a hymn book, and a copy of the book by Jacob de Keersgieter, which read diligently, for there are many excellent admonitions contained in them.
By me, your father, who wishes you every thing good. A. D. 1589.
Joost de Tollenaer.
MAEYKEN PICKELEN, A. D. 1590.
That the way which leads to eternal life is strait and narrow, is shown by the holy Scriptures, and moreover, also many devout children of God have actually found this to be so; among whom was also a simple, godfearing woman, by the name of Maeyken Pickelen, who would no longer live according to the commandments and ordinances of men, but much rather sought to obey God, and to follow her Leader, Lord, and Bridegroom, with the oil of love in her vessel, and a burning lamp in her hand. Hence she could also not remain without temptation, but experienced that the kingdom of God must be taken by force; for in the year 1590 she was imprisoned for her faith and the practice of the evangelical truth, and on this account, after much vexation, torment, and suffering, she finally had to lose her life, and thus obtained the martyr’s crown, which the young man (of whom Esdras speaks, 2 Esdras 2:43) shall set upon her head, whereby she shall be permitted to enter into the eternal, everlasting joy, with all God’s chosen children.
LEONHARD BOLTZINGER, A. D. 1591.
In the year 1591, on a Friday, the 8th of March, Leonhard Boltzinger, a brother, was executed for the Christian faith, not far from Plunaven, in Bavaria, after he had been imprisoned twenty-three weeks; for he had been apprehended there the day before St. Michael’s, in the year 1590, and from there been taken into the town of Brauna, and put into a dark dungeon. They also tortured him greatly, in order to make him apostatize from his faith. Once he was drawn up by ropes, and the other time very miserably stretched on the rack: but he would not depart from the truth. Ultimately he was taken back from Brauna to Ulba, the place of his apprehension, where they on the aforesaid Friday led him out to the place of execution. He greatly rejoiced when he saw that he was so near his end, though they strenuously urged him to recant; but he replied: “I stand in the right faith, and therefore, though I had ten heads for one, I should rather have them cut off one after another, before I should renounce my faith.