Father of the Waldenses
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PETER
WALDO, from whom the Waldenses took
their
name, was born in the 12th century, grew up to
man-
hood in darkness.
One night he was supping with some opulent citizen
of Lyons, and taking part, as was usual, in some amuse-
ments afterwards. In the midst of the sport, one of the
company profanely used the name of the
Almighty with
an oath, and instantly fell dead
on the floor. In a moment
the reality of the unseen world burst upon Waldo's
soul.
The impression was deepened by a very different event.
One Lord's Day, as he was walking
through the streets
of the city, his ear was caught by the tones of a pilgrim
minstrel, who was reciting in song the story of the peaceful
death of St. Alexis. He
listened spellbound, invited the
minstrel to his home, and drank in his conversation as the
long-parched soil receives the warm summer showers.
From that hour he became a new
man, prepared to sur-
render everything that stood in the way of his new aspira-
tions. Early things lost their significance: henceforth
the salvation of souls became his
one absorbing desire.
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