From this time the evangelical cause was in the ascendency in the kingdom. The bishops left Copenhagen with broken hearts. They trembled not only for the papacy, but also for their property and their persons. The bishop of Roeskilde, alarmed with or without reason, sought the protection of the king, who gave him a safe-conduct. The prince, who was determined himself to promote the cause of the Gospel in proportion as God should make it prosper, summoned Chrysostom, Sadolin, and other ministers besides; and from this time six preachers proclaimed the Gospel daily in the churches of St. Nicholas, Our Lady, and the Holy Ghost, and held discussion in the cathedral itself.[312] The king maintained the privileges of the bishops. But the Reformation was strong enough in itself to dispense with the aid of the prince. In vain did Roman Catholicism, at this last moment, lift its dying voice; in vain did Eliæ publish an apology for the mass; Tausen replied to him; Eliæ promised a refutation, but gave none. The bishop of Roeskilde then resorted to other means: he instigated the partisans of the clergy to hoot at the evangelical ministers, to pursue them with jeering and to drive them away. The other prelates did the same. Instead of endeavoring to bring back the people by their kindliness and their pious discourses, they stirred them up against the Gospel, and thus lost what little respect they had enjoyed. [Sidenote: Progress Of The Gospel.] Nothing could stay the progress of reform. The Danes read the Scriptures in their own tongue. Day by day new heralds of the Gospel proclaimed to them the way of salvation. The pure light of the Word of God was shining in these lands of the north. Their inhabitants were learning to regulate their actions by that word, and they were astonished to see in what deep darkness they had lived up to this time.[313] The Reformation rose like the tide, and covered the country with its waters. Monks quitted their monasteries, and these buildings were converted into hospitals or were dedicated to other useful purposes. Unfortunately the townsmen, provoked by the conduct of the bishops, indulged in rude displays of their hostility to monachism. The convent of Friars Minor, at Nestved, was demolished, and a pillory set up on its ruins in token of reprobation. The hateful yoke under which the clergy and the monks had kept the people misled men into unbecoming acts of vengeance. The passions which in the case of the learned broke forth at times in writings full of bitterness, displayed themselves on the part of the people in acts of violence.[314] The sixteenth century could not calmly discuss religious questions; this was one of its weak points; and perhaps other centuries, proud of their tolerance, were too much like it. A large body of working-men assembled at Copenhagen on the third day of the Christmas festival, 1531, and entering the church of Our Lady during the