This of course was considered treason and foul wickedness.
So on all hands the Brownists were persecuted. They were fined and
imprisoned, some were even hanged. But all this persecution was in
vain, and the number of Separatists instead of decreasing increased
as years went on.
Now at Scrooby, a tiny village in Nottinghamshire, England, and
in other villages round, both in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire,
there were a number of Separatists. Every Sunday these people would
walk long distances to some appointed place, very likely to Scrooby,
or to Babworth, where there was a grave and reverent preacher, to
hold their meetings.
But they were never left long in peace. They were hunted and persecuted
on every side, till at length they decided to go to Holland where
they heard there was freedom of religion for all men.
To many of them this was a desperate adventure. In those days few
men traveled. For the most part people lived and died without once
leaving their native villages. To go into a new country, to learn
a new language, to get their living they know not how, seemed to
some a misery almost worse than death. Still they determined to
go, such was their eagerness to serve God aright.
The going was not easy. They were harassed and hindered in every
fashion. Again and again evil men cheated them, and robbed them
of almost all they possessed, leaving them starving and penniless
upon the sea shore.
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