A Letter from Ydse Gaukes, Skipper

Grace and peace from God our heavenly Father, this I wish to all my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, and especially to you, my brother according to the flesh, and your beloved wife, and my sister according to the Spirit. I wish you the true, repentant faith that works by love.

Furthermore, dear friends, there were twelve of us brothers and sisters arrested; there was also a new convert. We men were confined together eight days; then the women were examined, and they renounced the faith, especially your mother and her daughter. After that I was brought before the lords, when they asked me my name, and how long ago I had been baptized. I said: "About four years." And I said: "How do you know that it was done?" Then they said: "We cannot be satisfied, but you must swear us an oath." "No," I said, "I must not swear." They said: "We may." I said: "We may not:" They said: "Where is it written?" I said: "Matthew 5." They said that I had read it wrongly. Then one of them said to me

"What a lamb you are." After that he said: "What a devil you are." Then they asked how many children my wife had. I said: "One of about nine weeks." Then they asked: "How many did you have?" I said: "Six." "And there is none of them baptized?" they said. "That is true, my lords," I replied. Then they asked me about the man who had baptized me. I told them that he was dead. And who had led me astray in this way? I said

"My former life;" and that God had revealed it to me. They then wrote that we had despised God's Spirit. And they read it all out of a letter, as it seemed to me. I said to them: "It seems to me that you know it well." "We do," they said. It seemed to me that they wrote more than I had confessed. Then I said that they should not write more than I had confessed. "We do not," they said. And they had it read to me again. And I was satisfied with it. Then they asked me about my father and mother and sister, and how many brothers I had. I said: "Two." And they asked me closely about their names. I said: "Pieter is the younger, and Symon." "Where does he live?" they said. Then I told them: "He is of your belief." "He is not," they said. I said it was true. And I made much excuse for them both, and said that they were not so bad. I then begged them not to touch the innocent. Now they said: "Then the woman lied; we must have her brought up." I said: "My lords, I did not say that I do not have more." They said: "Have you more then?" I said: "One." Then they questioned me closely about whether I did not have more. I replied

"No." Then they wanted to know his name. I told it to them. Then they asked me whether he was baptized. I told them that they should ask him himself. Then they said: "You do not know how to speak before the court; how will you speak before God? We shall make you tell it." I said: "The body is at your disposal."

Then they let me go down, and brought up the men, one after the other, and they all freely confessed the faith. And we were put together again; then we rejoiced that we were allowed to be together again; this continued several days. Then Anthonis was tortured, but remained valiant. After that they fetched me, and asked whether I would name those whom I knew. I said: "No." Then they said: "We shall make you tell it; but if you ask for grace, we shall grant it to you, as we did to the girl in the Norenburger street." That was Mariken Backers, who, like Peter, said that she did not know the man; this I did not want to do. Master Pouwels was standing there, and they said: "Do you know this man?" "I saw him yesterday," I said. Then the commissary said: "Take him, Master Pouwels." Then I went to the rope. The executioner pleaded with me a great deal; "You are still a young man," he said. I then took off my outer garments, and my shirt was pulled off by the sleeves and tied around the middle of my body, and I had to stand there naked until the captain and the inspector came; and my hands were tied behind my back.

They then drew me up, about a foot from the ground, and left me hanging in this way. I suffered great pain; I had intended not to open my mouth, but I cried out three times, and then kept silent. This is only child's play, they said, and letting me down again they placed me in a chair, and neither asked nor said anything to me. I had an iron bolt with two rings on my feet, and they tied three cannon balls to the rings. When they drew me up again, a Spaniard with a gold chain wanted to strike me in the face, but he could not. While I hung there, I worked hard and drew one foot through the ring; then the whole weight was on one leg. They would have tied it again, but I forced it through. Then they all laughed, and I had great pain.

Then they placed me in a chair, and I named several persons whom I thought they knew, for they could name others to me. About Claes Opreyder I have no certainty; for one says this, and another that. I hope by the grace of the Lord to give my life for it; I say, by the grace of the Lord. My mind is still unchanged; I pray the Lord night and day to give me strength. Do you also pray the Lord heartily for me; for the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man avails much. James 5, verse 16. [n1040-1]

Afterwards I had great conflict from my wife, because she frequently sent monks to me; but God helped me. After that I was brought upstairs before the bishop and the pastor, and they talked much with me, that I must believe more than was written in the Gospel. "For," they said, "how do you know that I am a man?" I said: "How should I not know that?" "Where is it written," they said, "and in what chapter?" And they also asked how I knew that she was my wife; and other such sophistries, but little from the Scriptures.

Then I went back to my castle, in which I had to be confined. My mother also visited me once; I greatly pitied the woman. I said that God would comfort her. Then they said it was the last day of grace. On the same day the bishop made an exhortation to the apostates. Then came the superior of the Franciscans and said: "I run down here for your sake, it was the last day of grace, but God's grace is always open." After the exhortation was over, they took me upstairs, where my wife stood crying bitterly; but I said: "We must not forsake God." "You are not to forsake God," said the bishop, and she wept much. But turning my heart to God, I thought the suffering after this life would be too long. Katelijntgen was also greatly tortured, and drawn out and hung up with two irons on her legs. Then came the executioner, and said that though the woman had been drawn limb from limb, she would not have said one word; this was a joy for me to hear. Trijntgen, too, was subjected to many assaults, by comfort and promises, and by threats that she would be severely tortured. They compared her to a dog, which, they said, was better than she. The Lord helped her. But (as a warning) she was not careful in speaking; for when the pastor spoke of the Old Testament, she would not listen to it, which was speaking foolishly on her part; but she wanted to hold to the New Testament. This Gijsbert told me, and he says that he is innocent with regard to us, for there were read to him at least a hundred [names] from different places; and through him I obtained these [writing] materials. And, dear brother, see to my poor little orphans. I wish all the God-fearing the fear of the Lord. Written in great fear and distress. I commend you to the Lord; take good heed to yourself.

Written by me, your dear brother, from prison, the twentieth day of our imprisonment.

YDSE GAUKES.