Werner Phister and his Son's Wife

The passing of the years brought no end to the persecution, nor could anything that was offered by way of excuse do any good. This was plainly evident, for the year 1640 had scarcely come when the Wadischwyl district began again to resound with persecution, so that the servants of the authorities there attacked the house of an old and pious minister of the church named Werner Phister, with dreadful raging and storming, like howling wolves and bears, beat the doors and windows and everything attached to it to pieces, and arrested him and his wife, and also his son's wife, and brought them to Zurich, where they were imprisoned in the place Othenbach.

In the meantime the old man's wife escaped through some accident; but the pious old minister himself, and also his son's wife, since they would in no way fall away from their faith, or go to the common church, had to forfeit their lives, so that they were left to die miserably through want, poverty and hardships. But after this they will hunger and thirst no more, nor will suffering or death attack them; when the Lord, according to His promise, will reward and crown them with the eternal and blessed life. Tract, Jer. Mang., folio 14, B, compared with Tract, M. Meyli., dated 1651, folio 6, number 2.

NOTE. Earlier, for the year 1637, we mentioned in the margin a brother named Peter Brubach, who was then imprisoned with two others of our fellow believers, and was finally released. This same man was now, in the year 1640, cruelly persecuted, so that on the 6th of May his house was torn down, his male and female servants were sent away, the children were driven out of the house, and his house, homestead, woodland and fields, movable and immovable goods, indeed, everything was taken; part of it was put into Othenbach, and the other part sold, which brought 9,000 rix dollars, which the authorities seized. Not long afterwards the three little sons of this man were imprisoned in Othenbach, where they miserably wasted away, and so on. Tract, Jer. Mang.; edition 1645.