careful to remove from before their eyes and their feet whatsoever may become to them an occasion of falling. Devay had added to his book some prayers in Hungarian intended for children, for which he had laid under contribution Luther’s smaller catechism. This volume was the first printed in the language of the country. It passed through many editions. But Devay did not neglect active evangelization. The scene of his labors was especially the demesnes of Nadasdy, and the comitats of Eisenburg, Westprim and Raab, near the frontiers of Austria, between the right bank of the Danube and Lake Balaton (the Plattensee). This apostle used to be met in his journeys along the roads on the shores of Lake Balaton and on the banks of the nine rivers which flow into it. He preached the Gospel in rural dwellings, in castles, and in the open air. He called all those who heard him to come to Christ, and declared that the Saviour did not cast away any one who so came. If he met with any who while they believed were still uneasy and disturbed, he did not hesitate to reassure them by announcing to them the election of grace. He told them that if they had come to God it was because he had chosen them, and that the Good Shepherd keeps in his fold to the end the sheep which he has brought there. [Sidenote: Conspiracy Of The Prelates.] While Devay was laboring to the south of the Danube, Upper Hungary was not neglected. Stephen Szantai, an eminent man and an earnest Christian, was at this time preaching there energetically. He was full of faith and a good dialectician, filled with devotion and enthusiasm in the cause of the Lord. The prelates who had formerly imprisoned Devay took in hand to do the same with Szantai. A clerical conspiracy was formed. The bishops George Frater, Statilius and Frangipani, supported by the heads of some of the monastic orders, besought Ferdinand to have the evangelist seized and put to death. Statilius, bishop of Stuhlweissenburg, near the vast forest of Bakonye, enjoyed the reputation of a master in the art of persecution. A little while before, he had ordered the arrest of an evangelical minister, had caused him to be beaten with rods, and, when the men charged with this service had presented the victim half-dead, the infamous prelate had thrown him to the dogs to despatch him. Frangipani, formerly a military man, had indeed laid down the sword and put on the frock; but he had retained a soldier’s manners, and held it a maxim that business and men must be disposed of swiftly, and without delicate considerations. He governed his servants with pride and harshness, and, as it is said, gave his commands with a rod. This was the man who took upon himself to obtain from the king the death of Szantai. He had no doubt that the king would let himself be guided like his servants. But certain very remarkable changes had been wrought in Ferdinand’s mind. The Confession of Augsburg had given him a less unfavorable impression of Luther’s doctrine.