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This was a source of great provocation to a number of enthusiasts, who afterwards went over to the Anabaptists, and especially to Nicholas Hottinger, a shoemaker by trade, a man not without culture, possessed of some property, versed in the Scriptures and of a decided character, which, in connection with his natural eloquence, gave him great influence over his associates.

Here, a short time before, the blood of the men of Stammheim and Burkhard Ruetiman had been shed by an unrighteous sentence, out of mere religious hatred and in violation of pledges; from thence, the same year, Nicolas Hottinger, of whom we have already spoken, had been delivered up to Luzern, to fall by the sword, in spite of all the intercessions of the Zurich government.

He had often rebuked the possessor of the crucifix for not casting away the object of idolatry; he had even done it in presence of members of the Council, so that the man at last declared he was tired of the business, and though he would never do such a thing himself, Hottinger had the privilege of doing it, as soon as he had made over to him his right to the image.

This was effected, and on a clear day Hottinger came with his companions. They threw down the crucifix, and even digged out the pedestal. The wood, they declared should go to the poor.