Then he knelt down and said, “Lord Jesus Christ, pardon all my enemies for Thy great mercy; Thou knowest that they have falsely accused me, that they have produced false witnesses, and that they have produced false articles against me; pardon them for Thy mercy.” This prayer was received with shouts of laughter. Then they stripped him of his priestly dress, and put on him a crown which declared him to be an Heresiarch. This was followed by a proclamation committing his soul to the devil, to which he answered, “And I commit it to my blessed Lord Jesus Christ.” He had now quite recovered his composure; and, on his way to the stake, he smiled when he saw the place where his books were being burnt; and he smiled again when the paper crown fell off his head and he saw the three demons which had been painted on it. When they put a heavy chain round his neck to fasten him to the stake, he exclaimed, “The Lord Jesus my Redeemer was bound with a heavier chain for me.” Even after the faggots had been piled round him, the officials came to him, asking him to recant. He answered by repudiating the false charges that had been made against him, and declared that he had only preached the truth of the gospel and the holy Doctors. Then, as they lit the fire round him, he cried out, “Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me;” but, as he added the words, “Who wast born of the Virgin Mary,” a flame struck him on the mouth, and he died praying. N.B.--For the two stories which are most generally quoted about Hus, I can find no sufficient authority. The beautiful tradition of his comment on the woman who brought the faggot to burn him, seems to belong to a much later date; while the earliest authority, which I have discovered, for the prophecy about the goose and the swan, is Martin Luther himself. But both the stories are eminently characteristic; and they deserve to live as legend, if not as authentic history. IX. FROM THE DEATH OF HUS TO THE FIRST CORONATION OF SIGISMUND. (July 6, 1415-July 28, 1420.)