Page:Historical and biographical sketches.djvu/175

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DER BLUTIGE SCHAU-PLATZ.
171

there, had given the most trouble and least return. “We went down again to Müller's room, and there he showed me the History of the Persecution of the Anabaptists, a large and thick folio volume, which he himself had translated from the Holland into the German language, and had afterwards had it printed there in Ephrata, saying it was the largest book that had been printed in Pennsylvania, as also that he had labored for three years upon the translation, and was at the same time so burthened with work that he did not sleep more than four hours during the night. He believed that the Anabaptists had not suffered any persecutions in Sweden. I however gave him to understand that King Gustavus Adolphus had in his time had great difficulty in curing their infectious reformatory sickness, which would otherwise have gone very far, although he did this without persecution. The edition of Müller's book was one thousand two hundred copies, of which seven hundred have been circulated and five hundred are still on hand. He said that they could be sold within ten years. I think he meant twenty. The price is twenty-two shillings. I asked him how they could be sold at so low a price. Why not? said he; for we do not propose to get rich.” There is still another event in the history of this publication recorded in the chronicles of the cloister. “This book had finally in the revolutionary war a singular fate. There being great need of all war material and also paper, and it having been discovered that in Ephrata was a large quantity of printed paper, an arrest was soon laid upon it. Many objections were raised, and among others it was alleged that since the English army was so near, this circumstance might have a bad effect. They were determined, however, to give up nothing, and that all must be taken by force. So two wagons and six soldiers came and carried off the martyr books.