Extract from the Second Letter from Obersultzem, the 23rd Day of May, 1671

The persecution of our friends continues as rigorous as before, so that we are surprised that they do not make more haste in leaving the country. Now and then one or two come straggling down, but most of them still stay above Strasburg, in Alsace. Some go into the woods and chop wood; others go to the mountains and work in the vineyards, hoping, as it appears to me, that before long quiet will be restored, and that they might then be able to return more easily to the homes they left behind. But I fear that it will not pass over so soon, and that they will find themselves greatly deceived in their hope.

The magistrates at Berne had six of the prisoners, among whom was a man with nine children, fastened to a chain and sold for the sea, to be used as galley slaves between Milan and Malta; but what they intend to do with the other prisoners cannot really be learned. One of the prisoners, an old man of about eighty years, died in prison. May the Lord comfort them in their sorrow, and strengthen them in their weakness, so that they may patiently bear the cross, and strive faithfully to the end for the truth of the Gospel, and so be able at last to obtain the promised salvation and crown of life. Amen.