The Superscription of the Letter to the Government of Berne

To the very honorable and highly esteemed lords, our good friends, the lords burgomasters and pensionaries of the city of Berne. Very honorable and highly esteemed lords: A very considerable number of our citizens, who with regard to their religion are called Mennonites or Anabaptists, have shown us that their fellow believers, living in the cantons of Zurich and Berne, have to suffer a very severe persecution because of their religion, so that many of them have been thrown into prison, without being granted leave to depart from the country with their families and their goods.

It is for this reason, then, that the citizens mentioned above, whose hearts are moved for their fellow brothers in their distress, have out of Christian as well as human zeal asked us for letters of recommendation, so that by means of them they may have favorable access to your noble lordships, to prostrate themselves before your excellencies with respect and proper humility, and to stir up compassion and pity in you for those who are persecuted, that you will give and grant them the liberty and the reasonable permission to leave the dominions of your lordships with all that belongs to them.

They are a class of people who, under our government and that of our predecessors, have lived for many years in succession, and still live, in this city in all quietness and peaceableness, as has also been the case in various other cities of this state; willingly contributing to the support of the Republic as much as is laid upon them; and discharging besides the duties of good citizens and subjects, who have on no occasion been found lacking in showing an unusual love toward the confessors of the Reformed church.

Quite recently, while our brothers the Vaudois were so cruelly dispersed, they contributed in this city, simply upon our recommendation, even to the sum of about seven thousand pounds, Dutch money, to be used for the support of those same Vaudois.

It is therefore for this reason, very honorable and highly esteemed lords, that we, considering these reasons, could not refuse to grant the effect of our Christian love to these our worthy citizens, interceding for them with your lordships on behalf of their fellow brothers; asking your lordships, if you cannot be moved to let these poor people live under your government here, even as we do, that you would at least be pleased to deal gently with them, and to grant them, after the pattern and example of those of Schaffhausen, and also of the Duke of Neuburg, a Roman Catholic prince, the liberty and the proper time to remove with their families and their goods; in which we do not doubt that your lordships will do a true and genuine work of mercy. We on our part assure you that we shall not neglect, when opportunity offers, to return such an obligation in everything in which your lordships shall think our intercession proper; being truly, very honorable and highly esteemed lords, very ready to serve your lordships, the lords burgomasters and rulers of the City of Amsterdam.

The 11th of February, 1660.

By order of said my lords.

Subscribed: N. NICOLAI.

NOTE. It would be enough for the intelligent if only the first letter mentioned were given, since the one that follows contains almost the same words and circumstances; but since some thought that this work would not be complete if anything were lacking of what was also written to Zurich, we shall place that letter here in full.