tions. And at the side of his pious grandmother he listened to the
few precious Bible stories which she had gleaned from amid the legends and
traditions of the church. With eager interest he heard of the grand deeds
of patriarchs and prophets, of the shepherds who watched their flocks on
the hills of Palestine where angels talked with them, of the Babe of
Bethlehem and the Man of Calvary.

Like John Luther, Zwingle's father desired an education for his son, and
the boy was early sent from his native valley. His mind rapidly developed,
and it soon became a question where to find teachers competent to instruct
him. At the age of thirteen he went to Bern, which then possessed the most
distinguished school in Switzerland. Here, however, a danger arose which
threatened to blight the promise of his life. Determined efforts were put
forth by the friars to allure him into a monastery. The Dominican and
Franciscan monks were in rivalry for popular favor. This they endeavored
to secure by the showy adornments of their churches, the pomp of their
ceremonials, and the attractions of famous relics and miracle-working
images.

The Dominicans of Bern saw that if they could win this talented young
scholar, they would secure both gain and honor. His extreme youth, his
natural ability as a speaker and writer, and his genius for music and
poetry, would be more effective than all their pomp and display, in
attracting the people to their services and increasing the revenues of
their order. By deceit and flattery they endeavored to induce Zwingle to
enter their convent. Luther, while a student at school, had buried himself
in a convent cell, and he would have been lost to the world had not God's
providence released him. Zwingle was not permitted to encounter the same
peril. Providentially his father received information of the designs of
the friars. He had no intention of allowing his son to follow the idle and
worthless life of the monks. He saw that his future usefulness was at
stake, and directed him to return home without delay.

The command was obeyed; but the youth could not be long content in his
native valley, and he soon resumed his studies, repairing, after a time,
to Basel. It was here that Zwingle first heard the gospel of God's free
grace. Wittembach, a teacher of the ancient languages, had, while studying
Greek and Hebrew, been led to the Holy Scriptures, and thus rays of divine
light were shed into the minds of the students u