Under the rule of the Popish Mary, they suffered perhaps no more than under that of the Protestant Elizabeth. During the reign of the latter a congregation of Baptists was discovered in London, whereupon several were banished, twenty-seven imprisoned, and two burnt at Smithfield.[4] DOCTOR FEATLEY, one of their bitter enemies, wrote of them, in 1633: "This sect, among others, hath so far presumed upon the patience of the State, that it hath held weekly conventicles, rebaptizing hundreds of men and women together in the twilight, in rivulets and in some arms of the Thames, and elsewhere, dipping them all over head and ears. It hath printed divers pamphlets in defense of their heresy; yea, and challenged some of our preachers to disputation." _Eng. Bapt. Jubilee Memor., Benedict's Hist. Bapt., p. 304._ BAILEY wrote, in 1639, that: "Under the shadow of independency they have lifted up their heads, and increased their numbers above all sects in the land. They have _forty-six churches_ in and about London. They are a people very fond of religious liberty, and very unwilling to be brought under bondage of the judgment of others." _Benedict's History, p. 304._ The first book published in the English language on the subject of baptism was translated from the Dutch, and bears date 1618. From this time they multiplied rapidly through all parts of the kingdom. The first regularly organized church among them, known as such in England, dates from 1607, and was formed in London by a Mr. Smyth, previously a clergyman of the Established Church. In 1689, the Particular Baptists, so called, held a convention in London, in which more than one hundred congregations were represented, and which issued a confession of faith, still in use and highly esteemed. The last Baptist martyr in England was Edward Wightman, of Burton upon Trent, condemned by the Bishop of Coventry, and burnt at Litchfield, April 11, 1612.[5] AMERICAN BAPTISTS The history of American Baptists runs back a little more than two and a quarter centuries. In this country, as elsewhere, they were cradled amidst persecution, and nurtured by the hatred of their foes. This has been their fortune in every age, and in every land.