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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/19097-8.txt b/19097-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c0452b6 --- /dev/null +++ b/19097-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3996 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Young Carpenters of Freiberg, by +Anonymous, Translated by J. Latchmore + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Young Carpenters of Freiberg + A Tale of the Thirty Years' War + + +Author: Anonymous + + + +Release Date: August 21, 2006 [eBook #19097] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG CARPENTERS OF FREIBERG*** + + +E-text prepared by Al Haines + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 19097-h.htm or 19097-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/9/0/9/19097/19097-h/19097-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/9/0/9/19097/19097-h.zip) + + + + + +THE YOUNG CARPENTERS OF FREIBERG. + +A Tale of the Thirty Years' War. + +Translated from the German by + +J. Latchmore, Jun. + + + + + + + +[Frontispiece: 'She seized the robber unexpectedly by the legs, and +tipped him head first into the mighty chest.'] + + + +Edinburgh: +William Oliphant & Co. +1880. + + + + +CONTENTS. + +CHAP. + + I. THE MILLER'S WIFE OF ERBISDORF + II. THE FAMILY AT HOME + III. PRIVATE RIGHTS MUST GIVE PLACE TO PUBLIC NECESSITIES + IV. THE ENEMY BEFORE THE TOWN + V. THE SOWER OF TARES + VI. THE SECOND ASSAULT + VII. CONRAD UNDER THE WINDOW-SEAT + VIII. ORDINARY INCIDENTS OF A SIEGE + IX. DIVERSE HUMAN HEARTS + X. WAR OFTEN OPPOSES THE TEACHINGS OF CHRISTIANITY + XI. HISTORICAL + XII. TREACHERY AND DELIVERANCE + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + +'She seized the robber unexpectedly by the legs, and tipped him head +first into the mighty chest.' . . . . . . _Frontispiece_ + +Conrad recognized an old comrade, John Hillner. + +Promise me that I shall have an honourable burial; and let the lads +say, "A good journey to thee, old comrade!" + +Nothing but the moustache on the pale face indicated the warlike +calling of the man who now addressed Conrad. + + + + +THE YOUNG CARPENTERS OF FREIBERG. + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE MILLER'S WIFE OF ERBISDORF. + +The ancient and free mountain city of Freiberg lies only about +five-and-twenty miles south-west of Dresden, yet has a far more severe +climate than the Saxon capital--a fact that may be understood if we +remember that the road which leads from Dresden to Freiberg is up hill +almost all the way. The Saxon Erzgebirge must not be pictured as a +chain of separate mountains, with peaks rising one behind the other and +closing in the horizon. Hills and valleys lie mingled, assuming such +long, wave-like forms that in some parts of the district it is +difficult to fancy oneself in a mountain-land at all. Immediately +around Freiberg the landscape takes the form of a wide table-land, +which has an upward slope only on the south-west of the city, so that +from a short distance but little is seen of the town save the tops of +its towers and a confused glimpse of house-roofs. In former days it +was the residence of the Duke of Saxony, and before the Thirty Years' +War contained 32,000 inhabitants, a number which has now dwindled to +19,000. Its ancient fortifications, which of late years have been +rapidly giving place to modern improvements, consisted of a double line +of walls, guarded by towers, pierced by strongly-fortified gates, and +surrounded by a deep and wide moat. The ramparts were built of +quarried stone, which, though much harder than sandstone, was far more +difficult to bind together with mortar. In view of this fact, we may +well be surprised that a place so weakly fortified was able for two +long months to withstand the vehement siege operations of the whole +Swedish army--an army so brave and so highly trained in the art of war, +that it had subdued many far stronger fortresses. Yet so it was: how +the thing came about, and what an important part young Conrad, the +carpenter's apprentice, played in these great events, will be found +narrated in the following pages. + + * * * * * * + +On the 1st of November in the year 1642, a carpenter's apprentice, +Conrad Schmidt by name, passed out at the Erbis Gate of Freiberg, +pushing before him a covered hand-truck. This contained a piece of +carpenter's work that always tells its own sad story--a little child's +coffin. As the truck with its sorrowful burden jolted along over the +rough pavement, the sentry stepped forward from the gate, and asked +inquisitively, 'What have you there, youngster, and where are you off +to?' + +'Only a child's coffin for the mill at Erbisdorf.' + +'What! has the plague been gleaning among the little brood down there?' + +'The plague!' repeated Conrad, bringing his truck to a stand. 'Well, +yes, something like it. Now-a-days the soldiers are the worst plague, +and it was one of them that put an end to the miller's little son.' + +'What do you mean by that, boy?' + +'Why, Master Prieme,' replied the youth, 'are you the only man in +Freiberg who has not heard the cruel story?' + +'How should I know anything about it?' answered the citizen. 'I only +came home from Dresden late last night, and I had to mount guard early +this morning. What has happened to the miller's son?' + +'The day before yesterday, in the afternoon,' said the lad, 'a soldier +came to the mill at Erbisdorf and demanded quarters for himself and a +woman that he said was his wife. With the soldiers it is always a word +and a blow, so the miller yielded, and by way of putting his guest into +a good humour, took him straight down to the cellar and gave him a +draught of strong beer. Meantime the miller's wife stayed with the +woman, who, as soon as the coast was clear, declared herself to be a +soldier in disguise, and threatened her hostess with instant death +unless she fetched out all her jewels and valuables on the spot. The +poor woman accordingly had to open her great linen chest, in the bottom +of which her little store of silver was hidden, and in this the ruffian +began to rummage. Just when he had almost emptied it, and was stooping +to reach the last articles from the bottom, a happy thought came into +the brave woman's mind. She seized the robber unexpectedly by the legs +and tipped him head first into the mighty chest; then she slammed down +the lid and had the hasp fastened in a second.' + +''Pon my word,' laughed the sentry, 'that was a smart stroke of +business. How the two-legged mouse must have kicked about inside his +trap! And how did things go on after that, my lad?' + +'The miller's little son stood by, and his mother, as the quickest way +out of the difficulty, told him to run down to the cellar and whisper +to his father to come and bind the robber. On his way the poor little +fellow met the other villain, who had got rid of his host by some +excuse, and was now coming up-stairs to help his comrade. Well, the +sight of the boy running towards him made him suspicious, so he stopped +him and took him back with him into the mill. When the soldier reached +the room where he had left his comrade, he found that the miller's wife +had bolted the door, and refused to open it; so he threatened to kill +her child, and when the frightened woman persisted in keeping him out, +he was as good, or at least as bad, as his word. Then the murderer +tried to force his way into the house through the mill-wheel, but the +miller's wife set the wheel going, and the fellow'-- + +'Just so--was flattened like a pancake,' said the sentry. 'She is +something like a brave woman!' + +'And when they opened the chest they found 'that the robber inside was +suffocated,' said Conrad, taking up the handle of his truck again. + +'Well, he received the due reward of his deeds,' said Master Prieme +gravely. 'But to which side did the two men belong? They must have +been either Swedes or Imperialists.' + +'They were just soldiers,' said the youth, 'and when you've said that, +you've said all. Whether they were Saxons, or Swedes, or Imperialists, +it all comes to the same thing. They change about from one master to +another, but they are all alike in tormenting the unhappy people.' + +'That's all the fault of this dreadful war,' muttered Prieme. 'It has +been going on now for over twenty-four years. The soldiers are getting +so used to killing people, that they do it even when there are no +enemies for them to kill.' + +Conrad hurried on his way. He had not yet reached the village of +Erbisdorf, when his quick eye caught the glitter of a troop of cavalry +coming in the distance. In those days an unarmed person was always +afraid to meet soldiers. Conrad, however, fortunately for him, knew +what he was to do if he met any troopers on the road. He opened his +truck, took out the little coffin, and put it into a shallow dry ditch +by the roadside; then wheeling the truck hastily to the edge of the +road, got into it, and pulled the lid over himself as he lay. He had +not long to wait before the trampling of many horse-hoofs warned him +that the troopers were approaching. The men did not take much notice +of his truck, but some of the horses were frightened at it. Several of +them shied, and their riders urged them on at a rapid trot. The last +man alone could not get his horse to pass it. The animal reared and +threatened to fall backwards on its rider, who appeared to be in a +towering passion. He rode back a short distance, and used all the arts +of his horsemanship to reduce his refractory steed to obedience. The +man did not spare either oaths, spurring, or blows of his heavy whip, +until the horse, still shying but obedient at last, went trembling past +the truck. Then the rider turned the animal back once more, and did +not rest until he had made it leap over the object of its terror. As +it did so, one of its hind hoofs touched the lid of the truck and threw +it back. The soldier turned in mid-career, saw the form of the +apprentice, drew a pistol from his holster like lightning, and fired at +him where he lay. At the report and flash the youth started up, and +the bullet passed close by his hand, grazing the skin, and lodged in +the side of the truck. Fortunately for him, the report of the pistol +had such a startling effect on the already frightened horse, that the +rider could no longer restrain it, and rode off at full speed after his +comrades, leaving the apprentice to pursue his way to Erbisdorf in +peace. On reaching the village, he directed his steps towards the +mill, where he was received by a slender, pale little woman, not at all +like the miller's wife he expected to see, for he had pictured the +heroine of his story as a tall, strong woman, with a loud voice and +great muscular arms. He soon found out his mistake, however, for at +sight of the sorrowful burden he had brought, she cried out, 'What! +must I lay my little Georgie to rest in such a thing as that? Why, my +husband need not have sent to Freiberg for it. We could have made a +prettier resting-place ourselves for my little son, and'-- + +'Please have patience,' interrupted the apprentice, 'and do not despise +our work before you have examined it. But first, would you be so good +as to give me a bit of sopped bread to tie on my hand; it begins to +burn and smart pretty badly. Just look, Mistress Miller, there's a +Swedish dragoon's bullet in the side of the truck; if you would lend me +a chisel or a pair of pincers, I could get it out, and take it home in +my pocket.' + +While the woman was gone to fetch what he had asked for, Conrad carried +the little coffin into the house. + +'I know one thing,' he said to the miller's wife when she returned, +'our senior journeyman must be a very smart man; I should think he can +almost hear the grass grow. If he had not been, my last hour would +have come today. "Conrad Schmidt," he said to me before I +started,--"Conrad Schmidt, in these days we must mind what we are +about. You will perhaps meet some soldiers on the way to Erbisdorf, +and if you do, I will tell you how to escape." If he had not told me +what to do, they would have killed me to a certainty. But where is the +poor little boy?' + +The miller's wife stepped across to a corner of the room and drew back +a large linen cloth from a bed, disclosing the body of a fine boy +between eight and nine years old. He lay with closed eyes and little +hands peacefully folded on his breast, so quiet that any one might have +thought it was only sleep. + +'We found him with his little hands folded just like that,' said the +miller's wife, bursting into tears. 'His soul has gone to heaven, I am +sure.' + +'Ah! you can see he did not suffer much,' said Conrad softly, 'and that +is something to be thankful for. Whether the two soldiers were +Imperialists or Swedes, they might have tied the little fellow to a +barn-door and practised at him with their pistols, or tortured him in +fifty cruel ways, as they have often done to others. My mistress +always says it is a happy thing for those who rest peacefully in their +quiet graves. But what have you done with the bodies of the two wicked +men?' + +At this question a sudden change came over the miller's wife. A bright +colour rose to her pale face, her eyes sparkled, and her hands clenched +themselves tightly, as her trembling lips gave utterance to the words, +'They lie out there, behind the barn, waiting till the executioner +comes to bury them.' + +In the meantime the room had filled with country people, who had +strolled into the mill on hearing that the child's coffin had arrived. + +'H'm!' said the young carpenter; 'are you quite sure the dragoons I met +will not come here and find that the two murderers were comrades of +theirs? If they did, your brave deed might cost you dear.' + +A smile was the woman's only reply, but a peasant answered for her: +'Dragoons, did you say, youngster? What countrymen were they?' + +'Well,' replied Conrad, 'you can't always tell a bird by its feathers, +especially if you don't happen to be a bird fancier. Whether they were +Saxons, Imperialists, or Swedes, I do not know. The soldier that tried +to kill me spoke good German, and he wore a blue doublet with bright +yellow facings.' + +'God help us!' cried the peasant. 'They are the Swedes, sure enough; I +have known the blue doublets ever since 1639, the year they did so much +harm to Erbisdorf, when General Bannier made his attack on Freiberg.' + +'But come,' said Conrad, trying to rally his own courage, 'there's +plenty of blue cloth and yellow facings in the world besides what is on +Swedish uniforms; and as I told you before, that dragoon could swear in +downright good German.' + +'The Swedes! the Swedes!' was now heard from outside the house. 'The +schoolmaster saw them from the top of the church tower.' + +'The Swedes are coming!' was the general exclamation as every face +turned pale. 'May heaven have mercy on us!' With this cry the +frightened people rushed out of the room, leaving the terrified young +apprentice and the miller's wife alone together. The latter did not +appear to be much disturbed. She quietly counted out to the lad the +price of the little coffin, and then turned away to lay her son's body +in it. Conrad Schmidt hardly knew what he had better do. First of all +he hid the money he had just received in one of his shoes, and then +began to consider whether he should leave his hand-truck at the mill or +take it back with him to Freiberg. His uncertainty did not last long. +What the horse is to a horseman, that his truck is to a carpenter's +apprentice. Neither the one nor the other will willingly part from his +faithful companion except in great emergencies. Full of inward fears, +but without showing any outward signs of panic, the youth set forth on +his homeward way, a distance of six or eight miles. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE FAMILY AT HOME. + +Conrad reached the town without any further adventure, and found it in +a state of high excitement. The drawbridges before the gates were up, +and the city walls and towers swarmed with armed men. 'The Swedes have +been seen,' was the general outcry, and the mere sound of the words had +been enough to throw the whole place into a ferment. To the number of +about six hundred, the Swedes had appeared and opened a parley with the +town, demanding supplies, and when--as was only to be expected--their +demands were refused, they had drawn off and retired to the +neighbourhood of Wilsdruf. As soon as ever Conrad reached home, which +he did at last, pushing his truck before him and hobbling along in a +very lame fashion over the rough pavement, he took off the shoe he had +turned into a money-box. + +'I thought so,' he cried. 'I was sure those hard gulden would raise +blisters. But I say, mistress, that's a great deal better than coming +home without any money at all. I can tell you I have had a narrow +escape. Just look here; this scratch on my left hand was done by a +Swedish bullet aimed at my heart. I have lots of news to tell you +about my journey.' + +And then all the people of the house gathered eagerly round to listen +while he told his adventures. Many an accomplished story-teller has +had less attentive listeners than those who hung on the lips of this +humble carpenter's apprentice, transformed into a sort of hero by a +sudden and unexpected accident. Out of doors it was already growing +dark, as the cold November wind swept past the house, driving a few +flakes of snow before it. But in the comfortable livingroom that +adjoined the workshop, the little company sat cozily enough round the +warm stove, listening eagerly to the lad who had seen the dreadful +Swedes, and, wonder of wonders! lived to tell the tale. + +'As I lay hidden there in the truck,' said Conrad in conclusion, 'and +heard the soldiers coming like the noise of a great hail-storm, I +almost gave myself up for lost; and when the cover was dashed back, +like a starling falling out of a spout, I thought my last hour was +come.' + +'That would not have been so very bad,' said the younger journeyman, +'if one only had to suffer death and nothing worse. But these Swedes +torture people as the very headsman himself would be ashamed to do. My +father died by the dreadful "Swedish Drink," and then they took my +eldest brother, and--ah! it's too horrible to talk about.' + +'They hang people up by the feet,' said a miner who was present, 'and +light fires under them to make them tell where their treasures are +hidden. They make their way into the very bowels of the earth, so that +the miners themselves are not safe from them. When wicked General +Bannier was here three years ago, we hid ourselves from the Swedes, +with our wives and children, in the mines. To hinder them from +following us, we lighted fires at the bottom of the shafts, and put all +kinds of pungent things in them, that sent up a thick, stifling smoke +through every cranny and crevice. What followed? While I was sitting +by the fire putting on more fuel,--I had sent my wife and children +farther into the mine to be out of the reek,--something suddenly came +plunging down through the smoke-cloud, and I was astounded to see my +dog, this very Turk here, drop upon me with his four legs all tied +together and fastened to a cord. His tongue was hanging out, and only +a faint quiver or two told me he was not quite dead. What did the +cruel Swedes do that for? They wanted to try whether the smoke was so +bad that human beings would die coming through it, and they let my dog +down first to see.' + +'Well, and what happened after that, neighbour Roller?' asked the +carpenter's young widow, as the speaker paused. + +'You must excuse me for a minute or two, neighbours,' replied Roller. +'You know we miners are often rather short of breath.' While he was +silent all sat waiting. + +'That Turk did not die,' he went on at last, 'you can all see for +yourselves, for here he is, and in very good company too. The animal +happily came down just far enough for me to cut him loose from the +cord. By way of encouraging his tormentors to come down after him, I +threw my mining leather, my shoes, and even my miner's coat, on to the +fire, and they sent up such a pother of smoke that the Swedes gave it +up as a bad job, for that time at all events. I am only a poor miner, +but I never repented giving up my mining leather, my shoes, and my +coat, to save that dog's life.' + +'Come to me, Conrad, my son,' said a gentle woman's voice. 'Give me +your hand, and let me feel sure that I have you still, and that you +have really and truly escaped from the dreadful Swedes.' + +The apprentice drew near to the speaker, who occupied the place of +honour in the armchair, and the upper part of whose face was hidden by +a large green shade. As he gave his right hand to his blind mother, a +little girl, who sat on a stool at the woman's feet, gently took the +left hand that the Swedish bullet had wounded. + +'Does it hurt, poor Conrad?' asked the child earnestly. + +'No, little Dollie,' replied the youth. 'The scratch on my hand isn't +nearly so bad as the blisters the hard gulden have made on my feet.' + +'Ah!' cried Dollie, with a shudder; 'but how it would have hurt you if +the Swedes had caught you!' + +'Dollie is quite right,' said the mistress of the house. 'My late +husband used to say the Swedes came from the same place where the Turks +and the Tartars live, and that that was why they were so cruel.' + +The elder journeyman, a young man who had been sitting by with his head +resting on his hand, apparently uninterested in what was passing, at +this point broke into the conversation rather suddenly. 'Have the +Imperialists been one bit less cruel than the Swedes? Have they not +tortured people too?' + +'It is perfectly true,' said the miner. 'The Swedes and the +Imperialists are both tarred with the same brush. For plundering, +murdering, and burning, there is not a pin to choose between them.' + +'And that,' said the elder journeyman, 'is just because this long, long +war has given us a new sort of men--men in whom desperate greediness +takes the place of a heart, and whose conscience has been replaced by +an empty purse, to fill which is their one object in life. Their +general is their god, and they follow him or desert him just according +as he leads them to victory and plunder, or to defeat. They march from +country to country, selling their services to whichever side they think +will give them the richest booty. Swedes! I can assure you, there is +not a Swede left in the Swedish army, or, at all events, very few. The +men the great Gustavus Adolphus brought over the Baltic Sea are gone +long ago, and those who have taken their places will sell both soul and +body any day to the highest bidder.' + +'Yes,' interrupted the apprentice, 'that's just what I say. The Swedes +are no more Swedes than I am; else how could I have understood the +oaths of the Swedish dragoon that fired at me to-day? He swore in good +round German, and it was one of the most wonderful oaths I ever heard. +He said'-- + +The journeyman sprang up hastily, and put his hand before the lad's +mouth. 'Silence!' he cried earnestly. 'Do not repeat the oath you +heard to any one. When a man has once heard a wicked thing, it sticks +in his memory for years. It is the good things we find so hard to +remember. But to return to the Swedes. Their anger against us is not +altogether without excuse. After our Elector had actually begged for +an alliance with them, to protect him against the Emperor's +tyranny,--after Gustavus Adolphus had fought for us Saxons, bled for +us, won battles for us,--the Elector deserted his new ally as suddenly +as he had joined him, just because fortune frowned on him in one or two +battles. He did more than desert him; he threw himself again into the +arms of the Emperor, whom he had good reason to know for his worst +enemy. For this ingratitude'-- + +'Come, come, young fellow!' cried the miner, frowning. 'I shall have +to serve you as you did the boy just now. What! You take on yourself +to blame our illustrious Elector and his court! Pray, do you get +better lessons in statesmanship over the glue-pot and vice than what +our Elector and his princely council can teach you? You are forgetting +that you live in the faithful mountain city of Freiberg--a city that is +proud of being loyal to its prince without any grumbling or asking why +and wherefore. "Fear God! honour the king! do right and fear no man!" +That's what the Bible says.' + +'I will be prudent and hold my peace,' said the young journeyman +quietly. 'Yet even over the glue-pot and vice thoughts come to a man +that cannot easily be got rid of.' + +There followed a pause in the conversation, which lasted until Dollie, +the miner's little daughter, turned to the apprentice with the +question, 'Were the Swedes so very ugly? Had they got horns on their +heads, or only one eye each, like the giants in the "Seven-leagued +Boots," who used to eat little boys and girls? And oh, perhaps they +had dreadful, great mouths, with rows of sharp teeth in them!' + +In spite of their terrors, none of those present could restrain their +laughter at the child's artless fears. + +'I only had one look at the Swede as he leaped his horse over me,' said +Conrad; 'and he looked just like anybody else, only that he had black +hair and a fierce red moustache, just like'--and he broke off abruptly, +and stared at the elder journeyman, then went on: 'Yes, such a long +moustache that he could have tied it in a knot behind his head.' + +'What!' stammered the journeyman, turning pale; 'black hair and a red +moustache?' + +'Yes,' replied Conrad; 'it looked so uncommonly odd, that it was the +only thing I noticed about him.' + +The journeyman sat silent for the rest of the evening. When the +company had dispersed, he turned to the lad and said: 'My boy, now tell +me the oath you heard the--the Swede use.' + +Conrad looked at his companion in astonishment, and saw signs of some +deep emotion on his face. 'But,' he objected, 'only a little while ago +you said I was not to let any one hear the oath, and now'-- + +'You are quite right,' replied the journeyman. 'Hold fast by what I +told you. But if you write down the words on this piece of paper for +me it will hurt no one. I have a good reason for wanting to see them. +Can you write?' + +'I should just think I could,' said Conrad, half offended by the +question. He wrote the words down, and noticed that as soon as the +journeyman had read them he became even paler than before, and muttered +something between his set teeth. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +PRIVATE RIGHTS MUST GIVE PLACE TO PUBLIC NECESSITIES. + +On the 9th of November 1642, the forest of Freiberg presented a scene +of the busiest activity. Several hundred men were at work, and many a +great pine and fir tree bowed its lofty head beneath the stroke of axe +and saw, to fall at last crashing to earth. The wood-cutters from the +mines vied with those from the city--joiners, carpenters, wheelwrights, +and coopers--in thinning the dense masses of beautiful forest trees as +rapidly as possible. Burghers and others, aided by the gaunt-looking +mining people, with earth-stained clothes and red night-caps on their +heads, were loading the long heavy trunks upon drays that stood in +readiness, and driving them off with all speed towards the town. The +wind blew sharp and cool, yet no one complained of the cold; on the +contrary, the large drops that tell of honest toil stood out on many a +swarthy brow. The household of Mistress Blüthgen, the carpenter's +young widow, whose acquaintance we made in the last chapter, were all +among the workers. + +'All this looks as if the Swedes were before the gates of Freiberg +now,' said Rudorf, the younger journeyman; 'whereas the fact is, there +isn't a sign to be seen of them anywhere. There does not seem to me to +be any such tremendous hurry, that we can't even stop to have our +dinners.' + +'"Make hay while the sun shines,"' said Hillner, the elder journeyman. +'I can tell you Burgomaster Richzenhayn could not have done a wiser and +better thing than to have plenty of wood brought in. It is as needful +for the town as bread--indeed it is almost more needful. If it is not +all wanted for palisadoes, _chevaux-de-frise_, covered ways, and +galleries, we can always find a use for it in the stoves, and comfort +ourselves with the warmth it will give us.' + +'Hallo, you boy!' cried Rudorf, suddenly turning to Conrad the +apprentice; 'look yonder how your step-father is enjoying his bread and +bacon. Only see, too, what a fat bottle of beer he has got standing by +him! Step across to him and ask him to give you a share of his good +things, and to lend us his bottle for a minute or two.' + +Conrad, who was busy sharpening a saw, looked up and answered with a +sigh: 'I am glad enough to be out of his sight. If I went to him I +should only get a sound thrashing instead of bread and bacon.' + +The two journeymen were both watching Conrad's step-father, the town +servant Jüchziger. As the lad spoke they saw the man leave his table, +the stump of a fallen tree, and go across to a little girl who was busy +picking up the scattered chips that lay about, and storing them in her +long basket. + +'You little thief!' he shouted angrily, 'I'll teach you to come here +stealing wood.' He boxed the child's ears soundly, tore her basket off +her back, emptied it, and crushed it under his foot.' + +The little one began to cry, not so much on account of the blows she +had received, as over her spoiled basket. + +'What a burning shame!' said Conrad. 'It's our Dollie. Poor child, +just look how she trembles!' + +Without saying a word, Hillner, the senior journeyman, left his work. +With his saw in his left hand, and his right fist tightly clenched, he +strode up to the town servant, his angry face showing pretty plainly +what was coming. As soon as he reached the offender, his hand +unclenched to grasp Jüchziger by the collar. 'How dare you touch the +child and destroy her basket?' he said, as he shook the astonished man +roughly. 'Will you pay for that basket on the spot, hey?' + +It must not be forgotten that a town servant often thinks himself a far +greater man than even a town councillor. The bold and unexpected +attack at first took Jüchziger by surprise, but when he had had time to +take a good look at his assailant, and to see by his blue apron and +general appearance that he was only a journeyman carpenter, all his +rage came back at a bound, and he in his turn began to play the part of +the offended person. He poured out a torrent of abuse on the +journeyman, at the same time trying to collar the young man and pay him +out in kind. By way of making up for the journeyman's superior +strength, Jüchziger brought his official position into play, and called +on the bystanders to come to his assistance. This step, however, only +made matters worse for him. The deed he had been seen to do, the +weeping child, the ruined basket, and the young carpenter's indignant +story, all helped to rouse the popular anger against the offending town +servant. + +'What harm had the child done to you?' cried one. 'Are the sticks to +lie here and rot, or be a welcome booty for the Swedes? Pray, how much +could a child like that carry away? Does not the whole forest belong +to us Freibergers, and shall not our own children pick up a basketful +of sticks while we are slaving here without pay? Give the fellow a +sound drubbing! Down with him, if he does not pay for the basket +straight away!' + +At these words fifty strong arms were raised threateningly, and +Jüchziger saw that if he meant to save his skin it would be prudent to +fetch out his purse and pay for the basket without loss of time. + +'And a groschen[1] for each of the cuffs he gave her,' shouted a voice +from the crowd, and stingy Jüchziger had to obey this order too, which +he did with a very bad grace. Dollie's tears dried up with wonderful +quickness when she saw the shining silver really lying on her little +palm, and she skipped merrily away to the town without either basket or +wood. + +While Hillner and Rudorf went quietly back to their work, Jüchziger +kept a watchful eye on the former. As the tiger glares at his victim, +but awaits impatiently the moment when he may safely spring upon it, so +did the town servant promise himself to take a terrible revenge on the +journeyman. As soon as the day's work was over, and the workers had +reached the Peter Gate on their return home, he would have Hillner +arrested by the guard and marched straight off to prison. + +An unexpected incident hindered, for the time at all events, the +execution of this promising scheme. The activity of the citizens in +preparing to give the enemy a warm reception had by no means been +confined to their day's work in the forest. Such buildings without the +walls as had escaped in General Bannier's attack were now doomed to +destruction. Thus it came about that the returning wood-cutters found +a large number of people outside the Peter Gate, fetching the furniture +out of their houses, and moving all their goods and chattels into the +town as quickly as possible. + +Two houses adjoining one another--one a handsome building and the other +of humbler appearance--had already been stripped of windows, doors, +roofing, and rafters, and busy hands were now at work tearing down the +walls. + +When Jüchziger so unmercifully destroyed Dollie's basket, he did not +suspect that at that very moment the same fate was overtaking his +wife's inheritance. For a moment the sight he now saw almost paralyzed +him; then recovering his presence of mind, he hastened towards the +scene of destruction, forgetful of all his plans for revenge. + +But his angry protestations were of no avail; even his prayers were all +in vain, which seemed to him very hard. The labourers went quietly and +steadily on with their work, as though it were a thing that had to be +done; and when Jüchziger laid his hand on one and another of them, with +the idea of hindering them by force, he soon found himself repulsed in +no very gentle fashion. While he stood in front of his little house +wringing his hands, the very picture of misery and irresolution, a +well-dressed man, of respectable appearance though he was covered with +dust and bits, came out of the door of the larger mansion. + +'Oh, my dear neighbour Löwe!' cried Jüchziger, 'advise me, stand by me, +help me to send this rabble about their business! I only married the +old blind woman because she owned this house, and now that there's no +getting out of the bargain they are tearing my nest to pieces before my +very eyes. Come, my dear neighbour, let us hasten at once to the +burgomaster. You are a man of influence in the city, and your request +added to mine will, even now, soon put a stop to this shocking +business.' + +'Our trouble would be all in vain,' replied Lowe quietly. 'These +buildings are being pulled down by order of the burgomaster himself and +of the town council; and quite right too, although I suffer a serious +loss by it. "Private rights must always give place to public +necessities." I was the first man to lay hands on my own house, and +that makes it less hard for me to bear.' + +In his heart Jüchziger cursed the good man for a fool, and turned away +from him in a rage. 'If only Richzenhayn were not the acting +burgomaster,' he said to himself. 'If Herr Jonas Schönleben were only +at the head of affairs, he would be certain to listen to me. The +cowardly blockheads! There is not a single Swedish plume to be seen +round the whole horizon, and yet they must needs begin pulling down +houses. But I will have ample compensation, or the whole town shall +smart for it.' + +'My poor, poor mother,' thought Conrad sorrowfully, as he watched the +destruction of her little property. 'Father will make her pay dearly +for all this that he is muttering and grumbling about there. Oh, +whatever will become of her?' + +Jüchziger lived with his wife in the town, and the elder men gave +Conrad leave to run on ahead, that he might have time to tell his +mother about the destruction of her house, and prepare her for the +outburst of passion she might expect when her husband reached home. + +The citizens of Freiberg were preparing at all points for the expected +siege. All the corn, hay, and straw stored at their farms in readiness +for the coming winter was brought into the city, and every care was +taken betimes that there should be no danger of famine; for experience +teaches that more strongholds have been conquered by hunger than by +hard fighting. The fear that the Swedes inspired in the city increased +when it became known that Leipzig and Pleissenburg had fallen into +their hands on November 28, and that Silberstadt was their next +destination. It was a fortunate circumstance that armies in those days +could not move so quickly as they can now. Thanks to this fact, +Freiberg had time to make all due preparation for the enemy's +reception. John George II., 'the father of his people,' was not remiss +in caring for the mountain city. He sent Lieutenant-Colonel George +Hermann von Schweinitz, a brave and experienced commander, with three +companies of infantry and one of dragoons, to conduct the defence. +These troops mustered only two hundred and ninety men all told; yet +this little band, aided by the citizens, gloriously held at bay for two +long months an entire Swedish army of eight brigades, with a hundred +and nine pieces of artillery. + +Hillner, the journeyman carpenter, was still a free man; for Jüchziger +had determined to find some other way of satisfying his thirst for +vengeance, and had therefore laid aside his schemes till a more +convenient season. In spite of the dark and doubtful future, busy life +reigned in the workshop of the carpenter's widow, as it re-echoed once +again to the din of tools wielded by the two journeymen and the +apprentice. One day--it was the 4th of December in the memorable year +1642--the hollow roll of drums was heard coming down the street, and +the senior journeyman, laying his plane on the bench, crossed the +workshop to look out at the window facing the street. Having done so, +he at once left the workroom and went out to the street door, followed +by his two comrades, to watch the entrance of the regular soldiers, who +were just marching into the town. + +There were, as has already been said, only two hundred and ninety men, +yet the mere sight of them awakened joyful and reassuring feelings in +the breasts of all who saw them. The roll of the drums in itself had +an inspiriting effect. As the townspeople gazed at the long, level +lines, and heard the heavy, regular tramp beneath which the very +pavement seemed to shake; as they saw each bronzed face with its look +of stedfastness and assured courage, the open iron helmet on the head, +the breastplate covered by a military coat reaching to the knees and +allowing the body free play from the hips, the halberd grasped in the +strong right hand, and the shield in the left, bearing the Saxon +coat-of-arms,--as these various points were noted and remarked on, each +moment brought fresh courage to hearts that had been almost ready to +despond. In all ages there have been jealousies and strife between the +military and the respectable burgher class, and Freiberg was no +exception to this rule. But to-day the soldiers were welcomed with +loud and joyful shouts, which they, fully conscious of their own value, +acknowledged by friendly nods as they passed along the streets. + +Conrad Schmidt, standing beside the miner's little daughter Dollie, +watched the warlike procession with the curious eyes of youth. From +time to time he stole a glance at the senior journeyman, observing his +movements with surprise and some amusement. The young man had taken +off his blue apron, and held it rolled up in his left hand, while his +right grasped the carpenter's square, exactly as the soldiers held +their halberds. His whole bearing was changed; he had become +positively warlike; his eyes flashed, and his feet rose and fell in +measured time, as though he could hardly restrain himself from marching +off at the sound of the drum. Conrad laughed and shook his head +merrily, but kept back a speech he had been on the point of making when +he saw the change in his old friend. + +'I was right after all,' he said to himself. 'If he were just to let +his beard grow, he would be exactly like'-- His sentence was left +unfinished, for at this moment he heard his mistress' voice reproving +them for neglecting their duty, and they all hastened back into the +workshop. + +The commandant made it his first business to inspect the condition of +the fortifications, strengthening them wherever that was possible, and +obstructing the approaches in every way that could offer impediments to +an enemy's successful advance. The approach of the foe was plainly +indicated by the number of country people who now poured steadily into +the town, seeking shelter behind the city walls for their household +goods, their wives, children, and cattle. Long trains of waggons and +droves of animals, accompanied by men, and beasts of burden bearing +heavy loads, were making their way towards the gates of Freiberg; and +the city authorities thought themselves bound in honour not to repulse +these suppliants for shelter, but rather to make their town what every +such town ought to be in time of war, a true city of refuge for all +needy ones. Moreover, many strong arms would be wanted to defend the +widespreading ramparts; and the former siege by General Bannier had +proved how well the country people could fight in defence of their +liberties. + +'Hallo! ho there!' shouted a powerful voice one afternoon late in +December, beneath the window of Mistress Blüthgen, the carpenter's +widow, and the brawny hand of a burly countryman knocked so vigorously +on the window itself that the glass shivered under the blow. 'Can't +you make room in your house for a small family? I have always been a +regular customer of yours, and many is the gulden I have spent with +you.' + +At this abrupt demand, journeymen and apprentice hastened to the +window. Six asses, each laden with a heavy sack of flour, stood before +the door of the house lazily turning their long ears backward and +forward, as though they felt quite sure of finding comfortable quarters +there. Farther down the street was a heavily-loaded waggon with two +powerful brown horses. In the waggon, almost buried among beds and +other household gear, sat a woman with a baby in her arms. Four cows, +in charge of a servant-maid, were lowing behind the waggon, and a dozen +sheep stood bleating round them. Mistress Blüthgen did not take many +seconds to settle with her would-be lodger, whose calling in life was +shown by the floury state of his clothes. + +'That is the miller from Erbisdorf,' said Conrad, and at a sign from +his mistress hastened to open the yard gates, that the fugitives might +put their various possessions under cover. Willing hands were soon at +work unloading and stowing away the goods, and before long the miller, +leaving his wife established in her new home, set off with his waggon +to return to Erbisdorf and fetch the rest of his possessions. + +'Praise be to God!' cried Mistress Blüthgen joyfully. 'We shall not +starve now, even if the Swedes do come. God grant they may neither +take the town, nor set it on fire over our heads with their shells.' + +'We must all do our best to prevent it,' said Hillner boldly. 'God +gave us strong arms and brave hearts for that very purpose.' + + + +[1] A small German coin. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE ENEMY BEFORE THE TOWN. + +The tower of St. Peter's Church rises high into the air above all the +other buildings of Freiberg. In those early days church-towers were +too often used for purposes with which religion had but little to do. +Grim cannon sometimes stood there, not to fire harmless salutes on days +of public rejoicing, but more often to be loaded with deadly missiles +and fired at an enemy. Thus it happened that one of these instruments +of death had been planted in the highest chamber of the St. Peter's +Tower at Freiberg. Round this cannon, on December 27, 1642, stood +Burgomaster Jonas Schönleben and several others, among whom were +Hillner the journeyman, and the town servant Jüchziger. Winter had +come in all its might, and the cold, particularly up here in the windy +tower, was very severe, while snow lay deep over all the surrounding +landscape. The eyes of those present were intently gazing beyond the +town, to where, on the hill above the Hospital Church, many cavalry +soldiers could be seen moving about and beginning to take up their +positions. There had been a good deal of doubt expressed in the town +as to whether the Swedish commander really meant to undertake a siege +up there among the mountains at such an inclement season, with snow +lying thickly on the frozen ground. The appearance of these horsemen +and their business-like movements seemed to set such doubts at rest +once for all. + +'Respected Herr Burgomaster,' began Jüchziger, 'in my humble opinion +those soldiers are not Swedes at all, but Imperialists who have reached +us from Bohemia before the enemy had time to come up. I should think +Marshal Piccolomini has sent them to frighten the Swedes into leaving +the city alone.' + +'What we ardently wish we soon believe,' and Jüchziger's speech found +favour with the Burgomaster no less than with his other hearers. +Hillner alone said respectfully but firmly, 'Herr Burgomaster, they are +Swedes beyond the possibility of doubt. I know them well; they are +Diedemann's dragoons.' + +'And how may you happen to know that, young man?' asked Schönleben +gloomily. + +'Because--well, in fact, because I once served among the Swedes +myself,' replied Hillner. + +'What!' cried Schönleben in astonishment; 'you a Swede, and here in +Freiberg!' + +'I crave your pardon, Herr Burgomaster,' returned Hillner. 'By this +time very few in the Swedish army are really Swedes at all; they are +men gathered in from all nations--not a few of them from Saxony itself. +Many a citizen and countryman too has been driven by starvation to take +up the hard life of a soldier just to get the means of keeping body and +soul together. Others have been dragged by force into the Swedish +ranks, as I was. I only served one year, the year in which General +Bannier laid siege to Freiberg. I was wounded in the course of that +siege, taken prisoner, and brought into the city, and being recognised +for a Saxon born and bred, I was allowed to return to my trade. I am +just about to become a master carpenter, and have already applied to be +enrolled among the citizens.' + +'Your name?' + +'John Hillner of Struppen, near Pirna. Might I entreat your worship's +gracious influence on my behalf?' + +'I am not yet acting-Burgomaster,' replied Schönleben rather shortly. +'You must make your application to my brother in office, Burgomaster +Richzenhayn.' + +'But your worship will be in office in two or three days,' persisted +Hillner, in a tone of entreaty. 'And when you are so, let me beg you +kindly to remember my request.' + +'I'll take good care to see all about that,' muttered Jüchziger to +himself. 'And thank you, Master Shavings, for giving me a handle to +catch hold of you by.' + +Hillner's practised eye had not deceived him. The cavalry, between +seven and eight hundred in number, proved to belong to the enemy, and +sharply attacking the Saxon dragoons sent out to observe them, +compelled them to retire within the fortifications. Upon this the +commandant at once made all necessary preparations for defending the +town. Two companies of infantry, under Captain von Arnim, had charge +of the Peter Gate; Major Müffel, with his own men and some others, +mounted guard at the Erbis and Donat Gates; Captain Badehorn, with the +City Guard, garrisoned the Electoral Castle and the Kreuz Gate, +together with the works and space that lay between. The remaining +citizens were told off to defend the posterns and walls, in which task +they were assisted by companies of country-people and journeymen of the +various city guilds armed in all haste. Some of these auxiliaries also +waited, drawn up in their ranks before the town hall, ready to march at +a moment's notice to any specially threatened point. To the brave and +faithful miners were assigned the most dangerous duties of all, such as +extinguishing the fires caused by shells, repairing the defences +wherever the enemy might destroy them, counter-working such mines as +should be directed against the town, and making sorties to destroy the +enemy's trenches and siege-works. When all the inhabitants capable of +bearing arms had been thus told off to their several duties, the old +men, women, and children were requested to observe the appointed hours +for prayer, and ask help from the Almighty in the city's time of need. + +Marshal Torstenson appeared before Freiberg on December 29. He at once +took possession of the Hospital Church and a mansion near it, both of +these buildings lying at some little distance outside the Peter Gate; +here he planted a battery of artillery, the guns of which were levelled +at the St. Peter's Tower. Before commencing hostilities, however, the +Swedish marshal sent a trumpeter to the town to inquire whether the +commandant intended to defend the place, what was his name, and whether +he knew him, Torstenson. The intrepid commandant returned for answer +that his name was George Hermann von Schweinitz, and that he hoped the +marshal would spend no more time in asking questions, but set at once +to work, when he trusted to find him a right valiant soldier. + +On the same day an extraordinary surprise befell Conrad Schmidt. He +was setting things straight in the workshop, which now stood silent and +deserted, when he heard heavy footsteps approaching, and behold, in +marched an armed man whom he seemed to know and yet not to know. The +visitor wore a broad cocked hat with a little bunch of feathers at the +side, and a short tunic of green cloth, the collar and edges of which +were thickly laced with gold brocade wherever the broad sword-belt girt +round his body permitted them to be seen. From left shoulder to right +hip hung the bandolier or cartridge-belt, which was adorned with many +golden tufts, and partly hid the lion of the Freiberg city arms +embroidered on his breast. Tight breeches of green cloth reached to +the ankles, where they were met by high shoes slashed on the inner +side, and fitting much more neatly to the foot than do the shoes worn +in the present day. A long gun with a large old-fashioned German lock, +and a curved sabre, completed the equipment of the soldier, in whom +Conrad recognised first a member of the city guard known as the +'Defensioners,' and then his old comrade, John Hillner. + +[Illustration: Conrad recognised an old comrade, John Hillner.] + +'Do I look better now,' asked the newly-fledged soldier, 'than in my +blue apron and coloured jerkin, in the days when I handled the plane +and square?' + +'Whoever could have guessed,' cried Conrad, heedless of the question, +'that you would be made a Defensioner! But are you a citizen, and do +you know your drill? The Defensioners never admit a man unless he is a +citizen and knows his exercises.' + +'I know my drill all right enough,' replied John, 'and I daresay I +shall get my certificate of citizenship. Your own eyes can tell you +whether I am a Defensioner or not.' + +'And you have got a beard coming too,' said Conrad, laughing. 'It's +only a little one yet, but anybody can see that it is a beard. Hallo! +Why, I declare you look uncommonly like that Swede who shot'-- + +Hillner's face darkened suddenly, as he interrupted Conrad with the +abrupt question, 'Is the mistress in the house?' + +'Here she comes,' said Conrad, pointing to the living-room door, +through which the young widow was just entering the workshop. What +wonders a uniform can work! Mistress Blüthgen coloured with pleasure +when she saw her foreman in his new dress, asked how he was in very +friendly tones, and sent the apprentice to fetch some refreshments for +him. + +On his way to the cellar Conrad said to himself: 'So at last he has let +his beard grow, and he always used to shave it all off and hide every +scrap of the hair. Bah! I knew long enough ago that it was as red as +the beard of that ugly Swede who tried to shoot me. It's an uncommonly +odd thing; coal-black hair and a red beard!' + +When the lad reached the living-room again, he found the entire +household, including the miller and his wife, with little Dollie and +her father, gathered round the gaily dressed young guardsman. + +'How do matters look as to the Swedes?' asked the miller. + +'The marshal has sent a messenger to ask our commandant a question or +two, and has had his answer.' + +'And what were the questions and answers?' + +The roar of cannon followed close on the words, and the women and +children huddled together in alarm. + +'You may give a pretty good guess by that what they were,' replied +Hillner. 'That's Marshal Torstenson's way of telling us how he likes +his answer.' + +The thunder of the guns was heard again. While all were gazing in the +direction whence the reports seemed to come, they saw a flash issue +from the side of St. Peter's Tower, followed in a few seconds by a loud +report. + +'There you have question and answer again,' said Hillner. This +exchange of shots had not gone on for very long, however, before the +fire of the Swedes destroyed the topmost parapet of the tower. The gun +planted there was silenced, and had to be moved down to a lower +chamber. By way of covering this movement, the garrison opened a heavy +fire with cannon and double arquebuses on the Swedes, who had ventured +rather nearer to the town than was quite prudent. + +'Now I must be off,' said John suddenly. 'The game has begun, and I +must go and take my share in it. May God keep you all! Good-bye!' + +As he hastened away the assembled household watched his retreating +figure with very various feelings. + +The next day, December 31, in spite of the snow and the heavy fire of +the garrison, the Swedes opened their entrenchments before the Peter +Gate, and planted three mortars there, which threw great stones, +shells, and hundred-and-fifty pound shot into the town. + +Thus closed the old year 1642, and the new year was not destined to +open upon brighter or more joyful prospects. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE SOWER OF TARES. + +The 1st of January, 1643, had hardly dawned, when the town servant +Jüchziger presented himself before the new acting-Burgomaster, Herr +Jonas Schönleben. + +'Respected Herr Burgomaster,' he began humbly, 'permit the most +unworthy of all your servants to be first in wishing you a happy new +year, and congratulating you on the honour you have now attained. The +new year promises to be a very hard one, and your new office will be +harder still. I thank God that in these difficult times we are so +happy as to have your worship for our Burgomaster.' + +'I am obliged to you, Jüchziger,' replied Schönleben feelingly. 'I am +obliged to you for all your kind wishes. Yes, these are indeed hard +times in which I undertake the management of public business. The care +of more than sixty thousand souls is laid on me at a time when even a +Solomon would have had need of all his wisdom. This thought has been +much in my mind, and last night I followed the wise king's example,--I +commended myself earnestly to God, praying Him to teach me the right, +and then to give me strength and courage to do it.' + +'To maintain the right with strength and courage against all comers, +against friends as well as foes,' said Jüchziger. 'For, alas! how many +are there who would be only too glad to interfere with your worship's +rights as Burgomaster, and put all your wise intentions aside to carry +out their own selfish schemes,--men who would be only too glad, in a +word, to leave you the mere name of acting-Burgomaster, and nothing +more. I am quite sure it is your worship's kindly heart that has made +you give ear to them until misfortune is hanging over the town, and the +citizens and the rest are all bemoaning themselves, while your +worship's false friends raise their heads like snakes, as they are, to +sting you the moment your worship's back is turned.' + +Schönleben stood silent, gazing thoughtfully on the ground. + +'Did either your worship or any of our other worthy magistrates give +orders for every armed journeyman to receive a gulden a week and two +pounds of bread a day?' continued Jüchziger in an injured tone; 'or +that on this very New Year's Day, eight hundred Freiberg citizens +should tear up the pavement in the streets of their own city to protect +the houses from the Swedish cannon? Do you know, respected Herr +Burgomaster, that that young Swedish turncoat who was so impudent to +you in the St. Peter's Tower, and demanded to be made a citizen, has +been admitted by the commandant into the City Guard, contrary to all +custom and right? Who will guarantee that the pretended Saxon is not +really a spy, plotting to betray the city into the hands of the Swedes +the first chance he gets?' + +'Is this really so?' asked Schönleben with displeasure. + +'If you doubt my word, your worship can easily see for yourself,' +replied Jüchziger. 'The fellow struts about the streets every day in +his Defensioner's uniform, until he nearly runs himself off his legs.' + +'Tell Badehorn, the captain of the City Guard, to meet me here in an +hour's time,' said Schönleben angrily; 'and bid him be ready to explain +why he has admitted a stranger among his men in this irregular way.' + +'The soldier,' continued Jüchziger, 'risks nothing in war but just his +life. The citizen risks a great deal more, for he has a wife and +children, hearth and home. When a town is taken, the soldiers are +either made prisoners of war or allowed to march out unhurt; it is into +the citizen's house that the enemy comes, to ill-use his wife, +children, and servants. These Swedes now are pressing the siege of our +town so hard that we cannot possibly hold out for long. They say that +even if Torstenson offers us fair terms, the commandant means to refuse +them without even asking your worship anything about it, and so to give +the town up to be stormed and pillaged. Now I, in my humble way, +should have thought your worship's voice ought to count for something +in this matter. Your worship knows what is for the good of the town a +great deal better than a soldier of fortune that has only been here a +few weeks.' + +The Burgomaster made no reply. His thoughtful air, however, as he +stood absently drumming on the window-pane, showed that the +mischief-maker had not spoken in vain. By way of striking while the +iron was hot, Jüchziger continued: 'As I was on my way to your +worship's house this morning, I saw the Herr Burgomaster Richzenhayn +going to call on the commandant, no doubt meaning to offer him a new +year's greeting. Are you going to do the same, most noble sir, or +don't you think a Burgomaster of the free city of Freiberg--which, with +refugees, now counts over sixty thousand souls--is at least as good a +man as the commander of two hundred and ninety soldiers?' + +Schönleben clasped his hands behind his back, and paced slowly and +thoughtfully up and down his room. + +If any reader mentally charges the author with exaggeration here, he +does him an injustice. The writer has had many opportunities of +knowing officials, both of high and low degree, who were, quite +unconsciously to themselves, tools in the hands of their servants, the +latter being permitted a freedom of speech that would never have been +tolerated in equals. Such servants have always had the knack of making +themselves indispensable, while preserving an outward appearance of the +deepest humility; and thus it has often come to pass that a lord has +been made to discharge a shaft aimed by his humble vassal. + +When Jüchziger's crafty eye saw that the arrow he had thus been +pointing was, so to speak, ready to be loosed from the bow, he adroitly +changed the subject of conversation to something that lay much nearer +his heart. + +'You are aware, respected Herr Burgomaster,' he began again in a +wheedling tone, 'that when I entered on my office I married the widow +of Schmidt, my predecessor. I did it partly out of compassion for the +poor woman, and partly to save the town the expense of keeping her and +her son, who is now a boy of fourteen years old. My wife, a woman five +years older than myself, all at once went stone blind, so that now I am +forced to have a servant to wait on her. I had the good fortune to +apprentice the boy to Mistress Blüthgen, the carpenter's widow, but his +mother has petted and pampered him until he is a good-for-nothing, lazy +young rascal. And now that the workshops are closed and the craftsmen +and journeymen all take their turn at military duty, the boy's mistress +threatens to send him home and put me to the expense of keeping +him,--me that scarcely knows which way to turn for bread to feed my +wife and her servant! The worst of it is that all my wife's little +property, a small house outside the Peter Gate, has been levelled with +the ground by order of Burgomaster Richzenhayn, and I have never had a +single kreuzer[1] for my loss. The house was worth three hundred and +fifty gulden.[2] Gracious Herr Burgomaster, take me and my small +family under your powerful protection, help me to get proper +compensation for my house, and I shall be your grateful servant all the +days of my life.' + +'My dear Jüchziger,' interposed Schönleben, 'be assured I will do all I +can. The times are so bad that the town will want all its strength, +and all its money, to defend itself against the Swedes, and we shall +have to leave our private interests in the background for a while; but +I will see that you suffer no actual want through this misfortune.' + +Jüchziger concealed the disappointment he felt on hearing these words, +thanked the Burgomaster for his kind intentions, and took his leave. + +'Do not forget to send Badehorn here!' Schönleben called after him as +he went out. In a comparatively short time he made his appearance +again. + +'Captain Badehorn presents his respectful compliments to the Herr +Burgomaster, and begs to inform his worship that he cannot have the +honour of waiting on him at the time mentioned.' Here Jüchziger +discreetly paused. + +'And why not?' asked Schönleben, starting up. 'Are the ties of +obedience that bind citizen to magistrate broken already?' + +'He cannot come,' continued Jüchziger, 'because the orders of +Commandant von Schweinitz forbid it. They are every instant expecting +an attack to be made by the Swedes, and the commandant has ordered +every man to remain at his post.' + +'Ah, of course! That is quite a different thing,' said Schönleben, as +his angry brow grew smooth again. 'Badehorn could not act otherwise, +and it becomes my duty to go and see him if I want my question +answered.' + +When Burgomaster Schönleben left his house somewhat later in the day, +the death-like stillness that reigned throughout the usually busy city +weighed on his spirit. Not a clock was striking, not a bell rang out +its joyful peal in welcome to the new year. Only at long intervals did +he see a human being pass along the street, and then it was in fear and +haste. On the other hand, as he went on his way, he saw at various +points large bodies of men standing silent in their ranks, waiting the +call of duty and the word of command. Here were the vigorous +journeymen of the different trades, and the stalwart country-people; +there the trusty miners, some with nondescript weapons, others armed +with pick-axes, mattocks, and long guns, or provided with ladders and +great buckets of water, in readiness for an alarm of fire. In the +streets adjoining the Erbis and Kreuz Gates, bustling activity was the +order of the day. Hundreds of tireless workers were tearing up the +paving of the roadways, while women and children carried away the +stones, and piled them against the houses. Not a creature complained +of the cold, though it was by no means small. + +As Schönleben drew near to the city wall and the Kreuz Gate, one +helmeted head after another came into view, rising above the +battlements, and there was a certain comfortable sense of security in +the knowledge that they were the heads of the armed citizens mounting +guard. Men standing still feel the cold severely, and accordingly huge +fires had been built in some of the sheltered corners, round which the +armed burghers stood chatting, each with his firelock ready to hand. + +On inquiring for Captain Badehorn, Schönleben was told that the captain +had been summoned by the commandant, and that the lieutenant of the +City Guard, Peter Schmohl, had command of the Defensioners in the +absence of his superior officer. Schönleben tried to make out the +Swedish deserter among the Defensioners present, but was obliged to +return home without having done so. Hardly had he turned his back on +the fortifications, when the Swedish cannon opened fire on the Peter +Gate and the neighbouring defensive works. After firing a score of +shots, however, Torstenson sent to the commandant, demanding the +surrender of the town. He had, he said, paraded his army and fired a +salute in his honour; should any further resistance be offered, he +would the next day attack the town more vigorously, and destroy it. +The commandant sent a polite but firm refusal, and on the following day +Torstenson fulfilled the first part of his threat by opening a terrible +fire against the town. In six hours his artillery discharged over +thirteen hundred shots, by which the Peter Gate, the adjoining tower, +and a portion of the city wall were all severely injured, while many +shells, and a perfect hailstorm of large stones, passed over the +ramparts into the town itself. Then the enemy drew near with flying +colours, bringing ladders, for the purpose of scaling the ramparts. By +way of rendering their task easier, they exploded their first mines, +which, however, did not accomplish all that was expected from them. + +Meantime the besieged, on their part, were by no means idle. To +prevent the storming of the breach at the Peter Gate, two cannon were +planted in Peter Street, the gaps in the ramparts were hastily +repaired, the bastions and inner defences of the gate itself were +strengthened, while large quantities of hand-grenades and other +ammunition were laid in readiness. Thus prepared, the citizens +confidently awaited the threatened attack, which, however, did not take +place, partly, it was supposed, because of a violent snow-storm that +came on, and partly through the failure of the mines. Scarcely had the +Swedish troops withdrawn in the evening, when the besieged made a +sortie, in which the miners cleared the moat of the rubbish that +encumbered it, and picked up a considerable number of cannon-balls, +which they carried into the town as valuable booty. + +The Swedes maintained their fire throughout the whole of that evening, +and far into the night, to prevent the Freibergers from rebuilding +their fortifications; in the course of this firing a miner and a +forester were killed in the city, and several others among the +defenders severely wounded. On the next day, January 3d, the firing +was renewed with heavy siege-guns in addition to the lighter pieces, +and a second mine was sprung, making a breach seventy feet wide in the +city wall. As soon as this result had been achieved, the Swedes, to +the number of two hundred, delivered their first assault against the +Peter Gate. The fighting, however, only lasted about a quarter of an +hour, and ended in the complete repulse of the besiegers. + +During the lull that followed, Jüchziger arrived at the house of +Burgomaster Schönleben, to announce that Colonel von Schweinitz wished +to speak with him, and requested his worship to come to him at once for +that purpose. + +Jüchziger's tone and look were carefully calculated to provoke the +Burgomaster's pride, and Schönleben made a sign for the messenger to +withdraw. 'Am I his slave?' he broke out angrily, as soon as the man +was out of hearing. 'Have I not every bit as good a right to send for +him as he has to send for me? I will soon let him know which of us has +the best right to command here!' + +But when the first heat of his anger had spent itself, quieter thoughts +began to prevail. + +Schönleben was at heart far too noble and conscientious a man to +sacrifice the welfare of a great city, entrusted to his keeping, to a +sense of his own offended dignity. 'One must not be too particular,' +he said to himself, 'about an affront from a rough old soldier; after +all, he may wish to speak about some matter of importance. At all +events, I will just go and hear what he has to say.' + +With thoughts like these working in his mind, Schönleben betook himself +to the commandant, who laughed boisterously as he shook hands with his +visitor, and began at once with: 'Torstenson has already sent a third +time to demand the surrender of the city, as if he thought he had +knocked us into a cocked hat by that assault we repulsed so easily. He +has been kind enough, too, to remind me that Breisach, Regensburg, +Gross-Glogau, and Leipzig have all been besieged and taken by the +Swedes, and to add that it is quite out of the question for a badly +fortified place like Freiberg to withstand his power. We are not to +count on any assistance, and if I reject his present kind offers he +will take the place by storm, and will not spare even the babe at its +mother's breast.' + +'And what answer do you propose to send to all this, Herr Colonel?' +asked Schönleben. 'I suppose you sent for me to see what my opinion +might be?' + +'Not a bit of it, my dear Schönleben, I assure you,' replied von +Schweinitz, laughing. 'The Swede has received his answer some time +since, and there was not the smallest need to trouble you in any way +about the matter. The enemy has received from me, take my word for it, +the only possible answer a soldier could send to such a demand, and I +now want to consult with you about pushing matters a little farther.' + +'But,' said Schönleben in an offended tone, 'I should have thought that +as acting-Burgomaster I ought at least to have had a word to say where +the weal or woe of the thousands of families under my care was at +stake. Pray, what is to happen when you and your soldiers are all +killed, the citizens and other combatants worn out with their excessive +duties in this bitter weather, the walls destroyed, the gates taken by +storm, and the Swede bursts in at last to put his threats into +execution?' + +'What!' cried Schweinitz, astounded by this sudden outburst. 'Is it +the Burgomaster of the loyal city of Freiberg I hear speaking such +words as these?' + +'Undoubtedly it is,' replied Schönleben; 'and when Leipzig chose of her +own free will to open her gates to the Swedish forces, she was not +branded as disloyal. I am not speaking now of surrender, but of my +absolute right to have at least one word in all that concerns Freiberg.' + +'Listen to me, Herr Schönleben,' said Schweinitz roughly, 'and hear my +fixed determination. Our illustrious prince and lord, John George of +Saxony, has entrusted to me, George Hermann von Schweinitz, the defence +of this city of Freiberg, with orders to hold it to the last man. That +being so, I stand in no need of advice from you, either now or at any +other time. As commandant, I am here to give orders, and you are here +to obey them. Whoever talks to me of surrender shall be considered a +traitor to his country, and treated accordingly. Basta!'[3] And +Schweinitz emphasized the close of his speech by a thundering blow of +his fist on the table before him, and turned his back on the +Burgomaster in high dudgeon. Schönleben himself, as he took his +departure and returned home, was quite as angry a man as the indignant +warrior. + +'God is my witness,' said the Burgomaster to himself, when, somewhat +later, he was thinking the matter over more quietly, 'that neither +cowardice nor disloyalty to my prince made me speak as I did. But when +I think that the town may yet share the awful fate that befell +Magdeburg, then indeed I set the well-being of my thousands of +fellow-citizens far above my own reputation for valour. Alas! who can +give my fearful heart any assurance about these things?' + + + +[1] A small German copper coin. + +[2] A gulden is now worth about two shillings English. + +[3] Enough. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE SECOND ASSAULT. + +On the following day Burgomaster Schönleben took his way to the +council-chamber, which now, indeed, fully deserved its name. Both +before and after the commencement of the siege, the magistrates had +enough to do in devising necessary plans, even had not their time been +fully occupied in carrying their plans into execution. Among other +duties, they had to arrange for the accommodation of the wounded, the +burial of the dead, and the bodily needs both of those who were +defending the city and their families; while not neglecting, on the +other hand, to guard against a wasteful use of the provisions, to +preserve the strictest order in the city, and to arrange for many other +things beside. + +Schönleben did not give his fellow councillors the slightest hint about +his quarrel with the commandant, but took care quietly to make out +their several opinions, and he did not find one man among them who, +either from fear of the Swedes or from personal inclination, was +disposed to support his views. + +After quitting the council-chamber, he could not help noticing, as he +passed along the ranks of the auxiliary troops in front of the town +hall, what an eager and even restless desire was manifest among them to +be led against the enemy. He betook himself to the cathedral, where +the church-superintendent, Dr. Paul Glaser himself, was conducting the +daily service, and heard this aged servant of the Lord encourage his +great audience to a brave resistance against the foe, and patient +endurance of such trouble as the siege might bring. 'Call to mind, my +brethren,' the good man was saying, 'what was done by the children of +Israel when the wicked King Antiochus and his soldiers troubled them, +and each one had to take refuge in the caverns and rocky clefts of the +mountains. My hearers, Antiochus and his fierce soldiery did not +torture the Jews of old one whit more unmercifully than these Swedes +have tortured our Saxon brothers and sisters. And it is vain for you +to think that you, at least, will escape torture and death by resigning +yourselves into their hands; for their hearts are like the nether +mill-stone, and they find an evil pleasure in hearkening to the groans +of those who perish under their torments. Therefore defend yourselves, +as did the Jews in the days of the Maccabees! And let not strong men +alone bear their share in the work, but do you aged men, you women and +children, aid with all your feeble might. Think of the brave women of +the ancient days! And while you think of them, do not forget that in +our very midst there dwells to-day a brave woman who has had to defend +hearth and home against a murderous foe; not less truly a woman because +this hard task was assigned to her, or because she was found, in the +hour of need, capable of discharging it. While we pray to God that +such terrible work may never fall to our lot, we cannot but honour this +our brave, and now, alas! our bereaved sister.' + +As it happened, the miller's wife from Erbisdorf was herself present +among the worshippers, without the clergyman's knowledge. As the +glances of those around turned naturally towards her where she sat, she +endured their friendly scrutiny with blushing cheeks and downcast eyes. + +The preacher's words had produced a deep effect in the mind of the +worthy Burgomaster. 'If a Christian minister,' said he to himself, +'sees it his duty on this special occasion to encourage the weak, that +they may make a valorous deface, surely I, who rule over strong men, +should be the last to think of surrendering into an enemy's hands the +city entrusted to my care.' + +The thunder of the Swedish cannon, as it echoed and re-echoed through +the lofty carved-work of the cathedral roof, made the Burgomaster too +ill at ease to stay longer in the church. On reaching the open air, he +found that the enemy had never yet poured in so heavy a fire as that of +to-day. 'By it every building was shaken,' says the chronicle, 'and +there was as great alarm in the town as if heaven and earth had been +rolled together.' + +This time the enemy did not content himself with merely letting his +heavy guns play against the walls and gates, especially the Peter Gate, +but used his mortars to pour large quantities of stones, balls, and +shells directly into the town itself. + +The sights and sounds that saluted Schönleben almost put his +newly-formed resolutions to flight. He hastened back to the +market-place. + +'The enemy is pressing hard on the Meissen and Erbis Gates,' shouted a +breathless messenger, sent in haste to summon assistance from the town +hall, and immediately detachments of the auxiliaries drawn up there +started at the double to strengthen the threatened points. As they +went they uttered loud shouts of joy, and clashed their weapons till +the market-place rang again. + +The crash of bursting shells could now be distinctly heard above the +thunder of the artillery, but happily most of these deadly missiles +fell in the more open spaces and did but little harm. The miners were +acquitting themselves of their dangerous duties courageously and well +under the able leadership of their brave captain, George Frederick von +Schomberg, and the master miner, Andreas Baumann. Whenever a column of +smoke rose, or shells fell on a house, or the fearful cry of 'fire' was +heard, their aid was speedily at hand. Beneath a continuous shower of +stones and bullets they climbed upon roofs, handed buckets of water, +and extinguished flames, heeding neither fire, choking vapour, nor +falling rafters. Like boys playing at ball, they sprang on the +smouldering shells the moment they touched the ground, and +extinguishing the fusee, rendered them harmless before they had time to +do their fatal work of death and destruction. + +As Schönleben turned the corner by the butchers' stalls, some ponderous +iron object fell with a heavy thud just in front of him, sank into the +earth, and disappeared. At the same moment, two young people came out +of a neighbouring house and ran across the street to the newly-made +hole; they were Conrad Schmidt and Dollie. Close at their heels +followed a man in a dusty coat, the miller of Erbisdorf. + +'Out of the way directly!' he shouted to the thoughtless youngsters. +'Do you both want to be killed? This is no child's plaything.' So +saying, he carefully poured into the hole a large bucketful of water he +had brought with him, and then set about digging out the expected shell. + +'Well, upon my word!' he cried, in a tone of such astonishment that the +Burgomaster paused in curiosity. 'How long have they used bombs with +iron rings to catch hold of them by? Why, as sure as I'm here, it is +nothing in the world but a lumbering old iron hundred-weight, that the +Swedes must have stolen out of some good Saxon's shop to batter our +heads in Freiberg with.' While the worthy miller was still expressing +his astonishment over this new kind of missile, Dollie's father, the +miner Roller, appeared coming down the street, grasping some heavy +object with both hands. When he recognised the Burgomaster, he let his +burden drop on the ground, and proceeded respectfully to remove his hat. + +'What have you got there?' cried the miller, who was near enough to +hear Roller's salutation of the magistrate. 'A blacksmith's anvil?' + +'The end of one, at all events,' replied Roller. Then, turning to +Schönleben, he added, 'Only half a yard more, respected Herr +Burgomaster, and my poor head would have been shattered by this same +anvil. But it tells a welcome story too; for if the Swedes have to use +things like these to feed their cannon with, they must be running +pretty short of ammunition.' + +'That seems to contradict you,' said Schönleben pleasantly, indicating +the tremendous noise of the cannonade that filled the air on all sides. + +'Ah, but it's beginning to slacken now, respected Herr Burgomaster,' +shouted the miller joyfully the next minute. 'Don't you hear that the +siege-guns have ceased firing?' + +Roller looked thoughtfully up at St. Peter's Tower, from which a +blood-red flag now floated in the air. In a moment, from all the +hitherto silent towers and steeples, the bells clashed out an alarm. + +'That is the signal of an attempt to storm,' said the Burgomaster; then +concealing his own agitation as best he might, he hastened from the +spot. + +'A storm!' said Dollie wonderingly to Conrad. 'But there are no +clouds, and no wind; how could there be a storm?' At this point the +questioner was sent into the house by the miller, who followed her +himself as soon as he had put the iron weight and the anvil away in a +place of safety. Roller, although not on duty, hastened off to join +his comrades at their work, and Conrad betook himself with all speed to +the home where he knew his poor mother was left alone in her blindness. + +The minister had just brought his service to a close, and was leaving +the church; but on hearing the clang of the alarm-bells, he turned back +into the sacred building with the women and children, who poured into +it to beseech divine help in this new and pressing danger. Just as +Schönleben was passing by the church door, such a frightful and furious +shout arose at the Peter Gate as almost to curdle the Burgomaster's +blood in his veins. This terrible shout was uttered by the Swedes, +who, two brigades strong, with flying colours and rolling drums, were +now advancing with their storming-ladders towards the moat before the +Peter Gate. The determined energy with which the advance was made was +as great as the noise of the battle-cry. The besieged watched the +enemy's approach with stedfast and unshaken courage. They tightened +their belts, and each man prepared his weapons to give the foe a warm +reception. + +'Always bellowing, you Swedish oxen!' shouted a soldier jestingly. 'Do +you expect to frighten us with your noise, or do you think the walls of +Freiberg are going to fall down like those of Jericho?' + +A well-aimed cross fire was now poured into the ranks of the besiegers, +as, in dense masses, they filled the moat and struggled to mount the +breach. A murderous fight then began, in which neither side would +yield an inch. Although successive volleys of balls decimated the +Swedish ranks, their losses did not in the least deter them from +pursuing their object with the most supreme indifference to death. +Fresh men continually took the place of those that fell, and the forces +of the besieged being thus either divided or broken, the Erbis and +Meissen Gates were both assaulted at once. The storming-ladders of the +Swedes, a hundred times hurled back into the moat, were as often +replanted against the walls; and although every man who had as yet +succeeded in setting foot on the ramparts had paid for his success with +his life, others were continually ready to follow the same example. + +While the enemy kept up their furious battle-cry, the besieged, on +their side, did not fail to encourage one another with joyful shouts. +There were even some rash spirits, who, deserting the sheltering +breastworks, sprang into the breach, and saluted the dense ranks of the +enemy with 'morning-stars'[1] and heavy broadswords. During this +attack, which lasted a full hour, the Swedish fire was steadily +maintained against gates, walls, and towers, occasionally even against +the breach itself, where it inflicted some loss on besiegers as well as +besieged. The former, under the command of Generals Wrangel and +Mortainne, were led by these officers in person to storm the breach. +Field-Marshal Torstenson, a martyr to gout, could only sit at the +window of his quarters in the hospital, directing the attack, and +chafing inwardly at its continued want of success. While the battle +still raged round the Peter, Meissen, and Erbis Gates, and the Swedes +fancied the Freibergers a prey to anxiety and fear, the undismayed +miners made a sortie through the Donat Gate, destroyed the Swedish +siege-works that lay in that quarter, slew a number of the enemy, and +returned into the city, bringing with them several prisoners. + +The general fight was still raging; the shout of battle, the thunder of +the guns, the confused din of the storming-parties, and the showers of +great stones and shot still filled the air, as the Burgomaster, +agitated by growing anxiety, and unable to find rest anywhere, turned +his uneasy steps towards the Peter Gate, the most threatened point of +all. It must be remembered that to a brave man like Schönleben it was +a far harder task to stand by, a mere spectator of this important +battle, than it would have been to take an active share in its turmoil +and danger. To him the assault on the gates, which had perhaps lasted +an hour, appeared to have been going on for ever, while those who were +actually engaged in the strife would have sworn it had been an affair +of a few minutes at the most. + +In no small danger of his life, the Burgomaster forced his way, through +a storm of bullets and falling masonry, into the strong tower that +protected the Peter Gate. Having at last succeeded in ascending the +narrow stone stairs and reaching the vaulted guard-room, he was able to +make out indistinctly, through the smoke and dust that filled the room, +the forms of a number of men who were keeping up an incessant and +almost deafening fire on the enemy through the narrow loop-holes with +which the thick walls were pierced. + +'They fly!' shouted one of these marksmen in a stentorian voice. +'Hurrah! Now to give them something to help them on their way.' So +saying, he lighted one hand-grenade after another, and hurled them with +all his force through the loop-hole. 'Now, here with the double +arquebuses! Dippolt, have you loaded them all?' As he spoke, he +seized one of the pieces that stood in readiness, and fired it after +the flying Swedes. + +The face was so blackened with gunpowder and smoke as to be almost +unrecognisable, but Schönleben knew the voice at once for that of the +brave Commandant von Schweinitz, who thus both by word and action +encouraged his men to do their utmost against the enemy. + +Hastily turning round, and catching sight as he did so of the +Burgomaster's face, the soldier frankly stepped up to the new-comer and +shook him kindly by the hand, saying in a hearty tone: + +'So you are here, Burgomaster! There,' and he pushed the visitor +good-humouredly towards a loop-hole; 'have a look at the vagabonds +showing us their heels. They'll not carry more than a third of their +storming-ladders back with them. So, now you have come, you can help +us make merry, Schönleben. I feel so pleased I scarcely know how to +contain myself.' + +A great shout of joy rose from the ranks of the besieged at sight of +the flying Swedes. + +'Right, my children!' cried their commander. 'Shout "Victory" to your +heart's content. Schönleben, I am proud of commanding your +Freibergers. They have behaved like veteran and brave soldiers. I +must give the palm to your City Guard, who have held the most dangerous +post, the one at the breach by the Kreuz Gate, with such calm +determination that the Swedes never once set foot on the ramparts. +Victory, victory!' he shouted, as the jubilant cry rose again from the +ranks below. + +Then Schönleben spoke out honestly and heartily. 'Colonel von +Schweinitz,' he said, 'I trust you will pardon the speech I made to you +not long since; it might well annoy you. Henceforth I say with you, +"Welcome death rather than surrender to the Swedes!"' + +'Why, what is all this about?' said Schweinitz heartily; 'I was every +bit as much to blame as you were. I'm a rough soldier that doesn't +stop to pick his words. You mustn't take too much notice of my +speaking out a bit hastily now and then.' + +While the two worthy men were making up their quarrel, Schönleben +noticed that the skirt of the other's coat was smeared with blood. + +'You are wounded,' cried the Burgomaster in alarm. + +'I had not noticed it,' answered Schweinitz carelessly, looking down at +the splash of blood on his coat. 'Possibly a chip of masonry or some +ball that has glanced aside may have grazed my hip. The Swedes have +paid for it dearly enough, anyhow.' + +With a brightened and almost joyful heart Schönleben took leave of the +commandant. As the former left the tower and gate, he saw the besieged +clambering down into the city moat to make prisoners the wounded Swedes +who lay there, and to bring in the firelocks, pikes, and +scaling-ladders the enemy had left behind. At the same time, men were +set busily to work to repair and rebuild the walls and other defensive +works that had suffered injury. The bells were silent, and the +glorious words of the Te Deum--'We praise Thee, O God! we acknowledge +Thee to be the Lord'--could be plainly heard as they sounded solemnly +forth from the various churches,--words in which the Burgomaster joined +with a most devout and thankful heart. + + + +[1] The mediaeval 'morning-star' was a heavy war-club thickly studded +with short iron spikes. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +CONRAD UNDER THE WINDOW-SEAT. + +It was early in the afternoon, yet the long winter night already lay +dark over the city of Freiberg. At intervals the gloom was lighted up +for a few minutes by the lurid glare of some burning house set on fire +by a hostile shell, and as quickly extinguished by the prompt +watchfulness and energy of the fire-brigade, whose members had to +struggle against a strong wind that by fanning the flames made them +doubly dangerous. The streets were almost deserted. Only now and then +might some wayfarer be dimly descried stealing along, keeping close in +to the houses so as to gain some slight protection from the falling +stones and cannon-balls. Among these wayfarers was Conrad Schmidt, +hastening from his mistress' house to his mother's distant dwelling. +When he had reached his destination, and made sure that his dreaded +stepfather was away, he entered the living-room. To his great surprise +it was dark and cheerless, and his blind mother sat alone in the midst +of it shivering with cold. By way of warming herself, she had taken +the sleek tabby cat into her lap and folded her chilled hands over +pussy's warm fur. The whole scene sent a pang through the boy's warm +and loving heart. + +'But, my dearest mother!' he cried, 'has not Hannah got back yet from +her parents'? Let me go and call her.' + +The woman shook her head sorrowfully. 'Hannah is never coming back,' +she said. 'Your stepfather has turned her off because she was no use +now and ate so much.' + +The boy clasped his hands. 'No use now!' he repeated. 'Now! when he +is away himself all day and most of the night too,--when the lives even +of people who have their eyesight are in danger,--when the blind need +help more than ever! Oh, my poor, dear mother!' + +'If it were not for the leaving you and dear old pussy here that +Jüchziger has many a time threatened to kill,' sobbed the blind woman, +'I would rather die--die by some Swedish bullet! Why should I wish to +live? When your father comes home he beats me if he finds the room +cold, and do what I will I can't make the fire burn in the stove. The +tinder will not light, though I have often struck the flint and steel +together till I made my poor hands quite sore. No one lives in the +house but ourselves, so I cannot get my lamp lighted, and if I take it +across the street to a neighbour's, the wind blows it out again before +I get back.' + +Conrad set energetically to work, and very soon a brisk fire was +crackling in the great stove that stood at one end of the room, gaily +ornamented with its long rows of coloured Dutch tiles. He placed his +mother carefully in a warm corner, sat down beside her, and then began: +'Rudorf the journeyman is in bed at our house with a broken leg. It's +not at all dangerous, and he gets his gulden of pay and his allowance +of bread regularly every week. I only wish I was a journeyman, then I +could go and fight and earn some money for you. And Hillner the +Defensioner has got on first-rate; the officers all like him, and the +governor himself talks to him ever so often. Our mistress loves to see +him come into the house, and I'm sure she will marry him as soon as the +siege is over, and he is made a citizen and a master carpenter. But +then we can't even begin to guess when the siege will be over, for +these Swedes keep attacking the town worse than ever. You would think +they might have been satisfied with knocking ever so many of our houses +to pieces, but now, what with their new batteries, and their new +trenches, and nobody knows how many fascines'-- + +'Alas, alas!' interrupted Mistress Jüchziger. 'What does a poor blind +woman like me know about such dreadful things? Have you a morsel of +bread in your pocket, my dear boy? Pussy and I have had nothing to eat +since early this morning.' + +'My poor mother,' cried her warm-hearted son, 'and has it come to +this--that in our own Freiberg, where not even a beggar is allowed to +starve, the good and honoured wife of the town servant himself cannot +get enough to eat?' + +'Your father locks everything up as if I was a thief,' said the woman, +'and he has been out ever since mid-day, so we couldn't get anything.' + +'Here, dear mother,' cried Conrad, 'take this. I always take good care +now-a-days to have a crust of bread in my pocket. I only wish I could +give you something nice to eat with it, but that's all I have.' + +The woman broke off a morsel for the expectant cat before beginning to +satisfy her own hunger. 'Puss is only a dumb creature,' she said by +way of excuse, 'but she is as faithful as many Christians, and a good +deal kinder than your stepfather.' + +'Yes, mother,' replied Conrad, 'so she is. All he wanted was your +little house, and now that's gone he is just showing us what he really +is.' + +'It was for your sake I promised to be his wife,' said the woman, 'that +there might be somebody to look after you when I am gone.' + +'I know, I know!' said Conrad. 'And how very kind and sweet-spoken he +always used to be to me while he was courting you!' + +'He is coming!' said the woman in sudden terror. 'I can hear his step. +Quick, hide yourself!' + +There was let into the wall of the room, just below the window, a seat, +from which, in order to conceal household articles laid there, a low +curtain had been hung, thus making a sort of rude cupboard. Conrad +crept behind this curtain with all speed, just as his mother succeeded +in hiding her crust of bread in her pocket. Immediately afterwards +Jüchziger entered the room without a word of greeting to his wife. He +threw his hat on the seat beneath which his stepson was crouching, and +said angrily: 'It's a dog's life now-a-days. On one's legs day and +night, always in danger, and never a kreuzer[1] by way of reward. All +for the fatherland, forsooth, say the patriots! I am my own +fatherland, and I keep my patriotism in my purse. Ever since the fat +citizens and journeymen took to cutting about the streets with their +pop-guns, they are all grown such big men that if one of them happens +to set eyes on you, you must jump out of his way like a bewitched frog. +Wife! Wife, I say! Here's a batzen.[2] Run across to Seiler's and +fetch me a herring. I begin to feel horribly hungry.' + +The blind woman stood for some seconds like one astounded by such an +unusual order. Conrad was on the point of creeping out from his +hiding-place at all hazards, to go himself and fetch what was wanted. +He was only restrained by the thought that if he did, he would be very +likely to bring on his mother something a great deal worse than just +having to go across the street for a herring. + +'Well, what's the matter now?' shouted Jüchziger, bringing his fist +down with a thundering crash on the table. 'Are you going, or am I to +start you?' + +The blind woman had hardly groped her way out at the door, before +Jüchziger went on: + +'Can't some Swedish bullet or falling stone rid me of this blind witch? +Nothing turns out as I want it to. Here are Schweinitz and Schönleben +the best of friends again, and all the trouble I've been at with them +just so much labour lost. And then there's that brazen-faced +journeyman I haven't paid off yet for his impudence in the forest; it +seems as though I am not to get a hold on him. And never a kreuzer +have I seen the colour of, to pay me for my house they pulled down. +All right! It may turn out that what Freiberg won't pay for, the +Swedes will. I have to look after the prisoners, so I shall stand a +first-rate chance to kill two birds with one stone,--do the business of +the conceited Defensioner, and help myself to my money at the same +time. What, you ugly beast, are you there?' + +This closing remark was addressed to the cat, which Jüchziger now spied +sitting by the curtain, behind which Conrad was playing the part of an +unwilling listener. His stepfather picked up the heavy boot-jack, and +hurled it at the cat; it missed her, but struck Conrad so sharply on +the shin, that though the thick curtain broke the full force of the +blow, the lad could hardly suppress a cry of pain. When, a little +later, he saw his stepfather go into the inner room to hang up his +great-coat, the boy ventured out, and, creeping on tip-toe across the +living-room, managed to escape unobserved into the street. Just +outside the door he met his mother returning, carrying the herring in +her left hand, while with the right she groped her way along by the +houses. + +'Oh, mother,' he said, in a low, earnest voice, 'don't stay a minute +longer! My mistress' house has lots of visitors in it, but I'm sure +they would find a corner for you somewhere. And you and puss wouldn't +be nearly so hungry if you lived with us as you are here.' + +'It cannot be, my son,' replied the blind woman. 'A true wife does not +leave her husband. If I were to do so, the other women would point the +finger of scorn at me and call me names; and quite right, too. If I +can do nothing else, I will at least take my good name with me down to +the grave, and God grant it may be soon.' So saying, she hastened into +the house, lest she should anger her husband by keeping him waiting. + +Conrad took his way homeward with a heart overflowing with respect for +his mother. On his way he met Dollie, carefully carrying in her hand a +bundle wrapped in a cloth. + +'Wherever are you off to so late as this, Dollie?' he asked in +astonishment. 'Are you not afraid to go along the dark streets with +all the shot and shell flying about?' + +'Oh, I've got used to them a long time ago!' said the little one very +composedly. 'I always think it doesn't seem nice when the town is +quiet now.' + +Conrad had to confess that she was right, for people certainly do +become accustomed to everything, even to the greatest danger. + +'I am taking father some warm soup, because he is on duty to-night,' +Dollie went on; 'then he won't feel the dark night so cold.' + +'But why does not your mother take it?' asked Conrad. + +'Oh, she isn't at home,' answered Dollie. 'She had to go with a great +many more women to fetch water from the Münzbach,[3] and carry it right +into the upper town. The Swedes have done something to the water-pipes +there, and there is no more water. Only think! if a fire were to +begin, and they couldn't put it out! And for fear the water should +freeze in the buckets, the women have to carry it in the little +brewers' coppers, and keep the fires burning under it too!' + +'I will go with you,' said Conrad; and the little maiden, though +professing to be so brave, seemed by no means sorry to have a companion. + +At last the two succeeded in reaching the neighbourhood of the Peter +Gate, where a detachment of miners were acting as auxiliaries to the +regular troops. Here, as at the other threatened points, soldiers, +citizens, and journeymen were all actively engaged. Such parts of the +fortifications as had been either injured or destroyed by the enemy's +artillery-fire and mines, were now being hastily repaired. The Peter +Gate and the barbican in front of it showed unmistakeable signs of the +enemy's efforts to force an entrance into the town,--heaps of stones, +and yawning holes and pits, alternated with covered galleries, +_chevaux-de-frise_, uprooted palisadoes, and other works which the +Freibergers were in hot haste trying to strengthen. The steady +industry of so many hundred busy hands in the cold and darkness of that +winter night must have struck an onlooker with surprise; but probably +his surprise would have been even more excited by the unusual silence +in which such heavy work was being done. That they might not attract +the enemy's attention and so draw down an attack, the besieged were +using the miners' dark lanterns, which open only on one side, instead +of such torches or other lights as would generally be employed. From +the top of the city wall and gate, these lanterns now shone down like +the glimmering fires of innumerable glowworms, while, through the dusky +twilight, lit up by their flickering rays, the soft white snowflakes +fell steadily and quietly. The dim light and the falling snow combined +to transform the brave defenders into so many ghost-like shapes. One +such weird figure could be descried, leaning silent and motionless +against the parapet at the top of the tower, his heavy double arquebuse +by his side. No part of the man stirred save the restless eyes, and +they wandered incessantly to and fro, striving to make out the +movements of the enemy. The miners, busy constructing a new moat just +within the battered Peter Gate, looked, as they glided about, more like +mountain-gnomes than human beings. If one of these same human gnomes, +with weather-beaten, swarthy face and wrinkled forehead framed in its +snowy hood, had suddenly stepped out into the circle of light cast by +one of the dark lanterns, people would have been strongly tempted to +declare they had seen a ghost. + +Up there on the Hospital Mountain, where the enemy's headquarters lay, +great watch-fires were blazing through the thick, snow-laden air. Now +and then the glare of a mortar shone suddenly out, followed after a few +seconds by the thundering explosion. Then a fiery curve traced itself +against the sky, the end of which advanced hissing towards the city, +and at last burst somewhere among the houses. Such was the picture +that presented itself to the eyes of the two children when they reached +the Peter Gate on that dark winter's night. + + + +[1] A small German coin worth about a farthing English. + +[2] A small German coin equal to four kreuzers. + +[3] The river that flows through Freiberg. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +ORDINARY INCIDENTS OF A SIEGE. + +'Dear Wahle,' said Dollie to a miner, who, with the assistance of +several others, was carrying a great palisade past the spot where the +children stood, 'please have you seen anything of my father? I've +brought him a can of warm soup.' + +'Warm soup!' said the man jocosely; 'why, the enemy cook enough of that +for us, only they warm us in rather a different way. Well, child, your +father is down in the moat with a lot of other men, bringing in wood +that the enemy had piled up ready to burn us out. When they found +their cannon could not knock a hole through at the Peter Gate here, +they thought they would have a try what fire could do.' + +'It looks,' said another, 'very much as if the enemy read their Bibles. +Wasn't that what Abimelech did when he couldn't get round the people of +Sichem any other way?' + +'Ah, but when he tried it again at another place,' laughed Wahle, 'a +woman dropped a stone on his head from the top of the tower, and that +finished him.' + +'May the same fate soon overtake Torstenson!' said a third. + +'Oh, he'll never venture up here,' said Wahle. 'Don't you know the +gout has him in tight grips? why, he can't even stir out of his +arm-chair. His people have to play cat's paw for him, and burn their +fingers just when he bids them.' + +'I just wish,' said the other, 'that Torstenson might go into such a +rage at not taking the town, that the gout might rise into his body. +Then he would die, and a good thing for us!' + +'Come, come!' said Wahle more seriously; 'we ought not to wish even our +enemies such evil as that.' + +The words were hardly uttered when a dozen musket-shots rang out from +without the wall that surrounded the moat. Several balls whistled over +the heads of the two children, and the miner who had just been rebuked +fell with a cry of, 'Oh, I am killed!' + +His comrades laid down the palisade they were carrying, picked up the +wounded man, and bore him into the nearest covered way, where they laid +him for the time in a sheltered corner. The two children, more +frightened at the sight of the man's fall than at their own danger, +were quite at a loss which way to go next. In another moment, however, +Dollie forgot all her trouble as she caught sight of her father coming +towards her, his arquebuse in his hand. + +'You here, little one!' he cried, and hastily drew the children with +him into the gallery, behind the protecting walls of which the +combatants found shelter from the enemy's fire. 'A queer kind of +supper,' he said, as he hastily gulped down the contents of the can. +'One hardly has time even to say, "Grant, O Lord, what I partake!" And +yet I ought to be thankful, too, that I am here to drink my soup at +all. How many miners, citizens, peasants, soldiers, and even young +children, has this siege cost us already! St. Peter's churchyard is +getting too small to hold them all.' + +'Yes, father,' said Dollie. 'And poor Hofmann the woodcutter will +never be able to eat any more soup. He fell down quite close by us as +if a thunderbolt had hit him.' + +'Hofmann!' said Roller hastily; 'your god-father, child, and my old +friend? But,' he went on, 'who is that lying in yon dark corner?' + +He rose and went across in that direction. As he did so, he caught the +sound of a groan, and a feeble voice murmured: 'Ah, merciful Father, do +not let the arch-enemy prevail against me, or what will become of my +three boys, all of them stampers at the Prince's Shaft. If I must die, +do Thou take under Thy care my wife and my four poor girls. They are +at the coppersmith's house in the Erbis Street.' + +'What is it?' said Roller, turning his dark lantern so that its light +fell for a moment on the dying man's pale face. + +Hofmann lifted his failing eyes towards the approaching figure, and +said in a broken voice, and with long pauses between: 'Comrade, there +is a cold Swedish bullet rankling in my vitals. Promise me, old +friend, that I shall have an honourable burial; not in this shabby +miner's dress, but in my new uniform. And when they lay me in my last +resting-place, let the lads say: "A good journey to thee, old comrade!"' + +[Illustration: 'Promise me that I shall have an honourable burial; and +let the lads say, "A good journey to thee, old comrade!"'] + +'A good journey to thee, old comrade,' responded Roller heartily, as +Hofmann, putting his hand to his side, stopped abruptly. + +Conrad and Dollie both followed Roller's example, as he folded his +hands on his breast and began to repeat the simple words of the 'Our +Father' over the dying man. The hollow roar of the Swedish siege-guns +outside, and the constant dull thud of the cannon-balls striking the +great earthwork that covered the gallery, formed a strange contrast to +the solemn little service within, beside one whose spirit was taking +its flight. + +'You have come at a most unfortunate time, children,' said Roller, when +all was over. 'You had better stay here till things are quieter +outside, for the stones and bullets strike just anybody at random, and +make no difference between big and little. I will tell you when it is +safe for you to go; stay here till I come back.' + +As Roller turned to go, he felt his leg suddenly clasped in Dollie's +little arms. 'Oh, do stay here with us, dear father!' sobbed the +child. 'Something might happen to you like what happened to poor +Hofmann there. And then mother and I couldn't live any longer--indeed +we couldn't; we should be quite sure to die.' + +But Roller gently loosened the little maiden's hold, saying kindly as +he did so; 'Dollie must be quiet and good, and God will take care of +father. We do not know whether we are safer in here or out under the +clear sky; but the great God, our heavenly Father, can take care of us +wherever we are. Whether I am at work in the deep mine, or in front of +the Swedish guns, or sitting quietly at home with you and dear mother, +death might come to me if it was God's will, and it will never come +until it is His will. Dollie must try to remember this, and think that +her dear father is doing his duty.' + +When he was gone, Dollie said sadly: 'The hateful war! Why ever do the +stupid soldiers make it? I am sure they would all rather sit by their +stoves at home, or else stop in bed, than come to Freiberg and make us +all so unhappy.' + +Conrad thought for a minute or two, and then said: 'Yes, war is a very +funny thing; the people who begin it never have any of the trouble. +And then it soon gets so big they don't know what to do, because they +can't stop it. My mistress says this war was begun because of +religion, and they've been fighting for twenty-three years, longer than +I can remember. I daresay they want to drive religion out of the world +altogether, for I don't think anybody can ever expect to make people +good by firing off cannons at them. Our schoolmaster says it's like +cutting a man's head off to cure him of the toothache. But oh, Dollie, +I sometimes feel so sad you can't think. You have a good father to +love you and take care of you, and be very sorry when anything hurts +you; but nothing in the world would make my stepfather happier than for +some one to go and tell him I was dead. I always have to hide like a +wicked thief when he comes, and I'm sure it is a great deal worse for +poor mother than it is for me. Nobody but God knows how father uses +her, and I daren't go and protect her.' + +'Listen!' said Dollie anxiously. 'Hofmann is coming to life again down +there in the corner. I can hear him breathing.' + +Both children listened. + +'That noise isn't Hofmann,' said Conrad. 'It comes out of the ground.' +He laid himself down and listened again, with his ear close to the +earth. 'I think it's the Swedes digging some more mines,' he said at +last. + +'What are they?' said Dollie. 'Like father's?' + +'Oh dear, no!' replied the boy, proud to show off what he knew. 'Long +passages they dig through the ground till they get underneath the city +wall, or else one of the gates. Then the Swedes put a great box full +of gunpowder in the end of the passage, and set light to it, and +then--bang! they blow everything all up into the air together.' + +'Oh, do come away directly,' said Dollie in a fright, 'or else we shall +all be blown up.' + +'Have you forgotten what your father told us?' asked the boy. + +'Oh, no indeed!' said Dollie; 'but whatever shall we do? Oh, if father +or mother would only come!' + +Conrad ventured to one of the loop-holes to look out; it was but +little, however, that he could discern in the thick darkness outside. +Here and there he saw the gleam of a light or the flash of a weapon; at +times some dark mass seemed to move before his eyes, or his ears were +saluted by a mysterious sound, then all was silent again. Suddenly, on +the side that lay open towards the town, two men entered the covered +gallery, which was just at that moment untenanted by soldiers. + +'As I tell you, Schönleben,' said a deep bass voice, 'the lad is dearer +to me than almost any other in the City Guard. Cool, steady, and +brave, experienced too as an old soldier, I have chosen him for these +reasons to report to me from time to time how things go at the Castle +and the Kreuz Gate. But I thank you all the same for your information, +though what the prisoners say, especially about an old comrade, is not +always to be trusted. Still, I will have the lad closely watched, and +if there's the least sign of anything amiss, put him where he can do no +further mischief.' + +The commandant, for it was he, followed by the Burgomaster, stepped to +the loop-hole from which Conrad had hastily withdrawn. + +'This is our weak point,' continued Schweinitz--'the point at which the +enemy would like to strike; but they shall find it a hard nut to crack +yet, though gate and tower are little better than ruins. Ah! my +friend, give me the devotion and bravery of the Freibergers before any +number of bastions, if I am to hold the foe at bay. As things stand, +our hopes of a speedy raising of the siege grow side by side with the +progress of the Swedes. I would willingly have more certain news. I +say, Schönleben, couldn't you find me some trustworthy messenger that I +could send to the imperial marshal?' + +The entrance of a man into the gallery cut short the answer. + +'Well, Hillner, what is it?' asked Schweinitz. + +'Your excellency,' replied the Defensioner, saluting, 'it is thought +advisable, in order to strike with greater effect at the enemy's works +before the Peter Gate, to open new loop-holes in the lower part of the +Wetter Tower, those in the upper storey having been rendered useless by +the enemy's fire.' + +'Good!' said Schweinitz; and then, turning away from the messenger, he +spoke aside with the Burgomaster. + +Meantime Conrad sidled up to his former fellow-workman. 'Do stop with +us now you have come,' he said, catching hold of the Defensioner's +coat. 'The Swedes are digging another mine; just listen at them +hammering. I guess we and this old wooden box shall all go flying up +into the air together pretty soon.' + +As Hillner laid his ear to the ground to listen, Roller entered with +several pieces of wood under his arm. + +'Now you two can go,' he said to Dollie and Conrad; 'it's quieter now. +And here are a few sticks I've brought in out of the moat; take them +home; when I come I'll bring some more.' + +'Roller,' called the Burgomaster, 'you are exactly the man I wanted. +Come to me as soon as you go off duty, we have something to say to you.' + +'Very good, respected Herr Burgomaster,' replied Roller, and then +accompanied his little daughter out of the gallery to see her safely +started on her homeward way. 'Why, where is Conrad Schmidt loitering?' +he asked in surprise. + +The boy was standing by his friend the Defensioner, who now sprang up +from the ground and hastened to his commanding officer. 'Your +excellency!' he cried, 'down in that corner the Swedes can be +distinctly heard tunnelling through the earth. They are almost under +the gallery now.' + +'Quick, then, to countermine them!' said Schweinitz, and immediately +left the gallery to give the necessary orders. Then began a severe +subterranean battle. Both sides made desperate exertions in the +attempt to get the upper hand, and for very plain reasons the +Freibergers did their utmost to steal a march on the enemy. Although +the ground was frozen so hard that it had first to be thawed by the use +of fire, two hours had not passed away before the untiring energy of +the miners had driven a heading of tolerable length, the foremost man +in which stood Roller. + +'We too may yet find that this is our last day,' said Roller composedly +to the man working behind him. 'Every man's day is coming, whether he +likes it or not. And besides, if the Swedes can give up their lives +for mere money, cannot we do as much for fatherland, and wife and +child? Therefore to work with a will! So long as we can hear the +Swedes tunnelling, there is no need to light the match.' + +'Now the sounds have ceased,' he muttered to himself after a short +interval. 'It will soon be all over with us.' And he picked and +shovelled away with redoubled energy, lest his comrades should abate +their efforts on noticing that the Swedes had ceased work. + +'The earth gets loose and spongy,' he said a little later. 'We must be +approaching the Swedish mine. Now then for water, and hot water first +of all, so as to get through the earth the quicker!' + +Some of the miners went above ground and passed a long trough through +the heading. This they sloped and kept constantly filled with water, +which rushed gurgling down at the lower end, for the purpose of +drowning the Swedish mine. Among those busy bringing the water in +firemen's buckets and other utensils, was the miller of Erbisdorf, who +had harnessed a team of his donkeys into a large sledge, loaded with +steaming hot water. + +'Slow and steady wins the race,' was his greeting to Roller, as he +pointed to his long-eared friends. 'Our wives are brewing away yonder +as though they had their coppers full of good wort instead of water out +of the Münzbach. Well, the Swedish tipplers are quite welcome to have +it all in their mine.' + +As Roller and the miller were just in the act of lifting the heavy cask +from the sledge to the trough, a dull report was heard under the earth. +The ground quivered, then opened, and a red stream of fire gushed +forth, accompanied by clouds of smoke and stones. The Swedes had +observed the presence of an unusual number of people at this point, and +had exploded an already prepared mine. There was one loud, involuntary +cry from those injured by the explosion, then all was still. + +The dead might try to make their way out of the grave itself with as +good hope of success as there was for the imprisoned Freibergers to +force a passage through the mass of _débris_ that covered them; indeed, +they could never have done it had not many stout arms and willing +hearts aided in their desperate toil. + +'Thirteen men and four beasts of burden!' sorrowfully exclaimed Roller, +who had himself escaped destruction as though by a miracle. 'And my +brave old comrade, the miller of Erbisdorf, gone at last. We two were +carrying the very same cask of water, yet here am I, while he is gone. +Ah, it is indeed true, "The one shall be taken and the other left."' + +'I say, neighbour Roller!' cried a muffled voice that seemed to come +from the depths of the earth, 'help me on to my legs again, for mercy's +sake. Here are clods, and stones, and bits of wood jamming me in on +all sides; and here's a donkey's head, and I declare he's trying to +prick his ears!' + +With Roller's help the worthy miller was soon landed once more on +_terra firma_. He found himself severely shaken and bruised, but not +otherwise injured, and begged his comrade to see him safe home. +Although his body was in pain, his spirit was by no means cast down. +When he learned that besides killing three men and severely wounding +five others, the exploded mine had cost the lives of two of his +donkeys, he remarked: 'Ah, ha! Then they too have died for their +fatherland, and will sleep in the temple of fame. I can tell you one +thing, though; if the flour does choke us millers up a bit, I'd ten +times rather have to do with that than with your Freiberg earth. +There's something so big and massive about everything belonging to war, +you very soon get enough of it. What will my Anna Maria say when she +sees her husband brought home like a flattened pancake?' + +As soon as Roller had seen his friend safely housed, and had made +himself presentable, he hastened back to the Peter Gate, which seemed, +as he approached it, to be all in flames. The wood and twigs the +Swedes had piled against the defensive works before the bastion, had +been set on fire. The rising flames cast a dreadful glare around, +destroyed several of the works in question, and set fire to parts of +the tower above the gate, which, falling into the covered gallery in +rear of the bastion, threatened to set that too in a blaze. The +besieged were able to avert this last calamity by the steady use of +water, though the enemy pressed them hard all the time with +artillery-fire and hand-grenades. + +'The Swedes have set all the elements to work against us,' said Roller +to himself. 'They have cut off our water supply, made war on us under +the earth, tried to blow us up into the air, and now they turn against +us the might of fire. And side by side with these great powers of +nature stalks the pale phantom of death.' + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +DIVERSE HUMAN HEARTS. + +'The miner Roller waits without, respected Herr Burgomaster!' announced +Jüchziger, the town servant. + +'Bid him come in,' said Schönleben. 'Yes, colonel,' he continued, +turning to Schweinitz, who was with him; 'I assure you, if confidence +may be put in any human being, you may trust this man. He is brave, +faithful, and yet shrewd. He will come back as surely as a dove +returns to its young. You may send him without hesitation.' + +'Would you like to earn three ducats, my good fellow?' Schweinitz asked +Roller as the latter entered the room. + +'How, your excellency?' inquired the miner. + +'You are to take despatches from us to Marshal Piccolomini in Bohemia, +lay our condition before him in full, and get him to hasten to our +assistance. The service is not without some danger, for you will have +to make your way twice through the enemy's lines, and die rather than +betray your secret.' + +'So I should suppose,' replied Roller dryly. + +'Well, what do you say? are you willing to do it, or not?' inquired +Schönleben and Schweinitz together. + +'This is no question of a reward,' said Roller. 'You command, and I +obey.' + +'You are a fine fellow,' said Schönleben heartily; 'and I will myself +give you a couple of ducats extra if you do your business +satisfactorily.' + +'I crave your pardon, respected Herr Burgomaster!' replied Roller, 'I +do not sell my life for silver or gold, for if so I should take sides +with friend or foe, according to which would give me the highest pay. +But it seems to me that we all make up, as it were, one body in what we +have to do, to defend town, wife and child, from the enemy. Very well, +then; you are the head, and I am one of the least members, that has to +do just what the head bids it. That is what I believe, and I try to +fight bravely and do my duty because I believe it.' + +Schweinitz shook the brave miner heartily by the hand, saying: 'With +men like you I can hold the mountain-city for a long time indeed, but +we must not neglect means that may help rid us of the enemy. Come with +me, my good fellow, while I make out your papers.' + +The same day several children, with Roller's Dollie among them, were +crouching round the air-holes of the cellar under the town hall. 'Oh, +we do so want to see the Swedish prisoners!' said the child to Conrad, +who happened to be passing on the way to his mother's house. 'One of +them has such a dreadful great beard,' Dollie continued; 'I am sure he +must be General Wrangel's bagpiper. Only think, if he had his pipes +here, he could play to us! Just peep in there; sometimes one of them +comes to the window and looks up at us.' + +Conrad complied with the child's wish, kneeling down beside her. +Suddenly a heavy hand was laid on his shoulder, and a voice he always +dreaded to hear said, this time, however, in very friendly tones: +'Hallo, Conrad, and what may you be doing here?' + +It was into the face of his stepfather that the startled boy stared as +he rose hastily to his feet. + +'Come along, my son,' said Jüchziger very blandly. 'I have something +to tell you.' So saying, he drew the boy aside into the passageway of +the town hall. 'Listen to me,' he went on good-humouredly; 'I want you +to do something for your mother.' + +'For my mother!' said Conrad cheerfully. 'Oh yes; I shall be so glad +to do it!' + +'And for you and me at the same time,' said Jüchziger. 'I just want +you to go out to our house beyond the Peter Gate.' + +'But it's pulled down,' objected Conrad. + +'Yes, of course, I know that; but the cellar is there still, and in one +corner of that cellar your mother buried a little box with all sorts of +precious things in it. I want you to go and dig it up, and bring it to +me.' + +'But the Swedes are all round out there. They will be sure to kill me, +and take the box; they are most tremendous thieves.' + +'You needn't trouble yourself about that. I take care of the Swedish +prisoners, and one of them has given me a safe-conduct' (he pronounced +this word very carefully),--'a safe-conduct that I shall give to you. +You are only to get it out if you meet a Swede, and then they'll not +only not hurt a hair of your head, but be very kind indeed to you. But +you must be sure and not let another soul see the safe-conduct, or else +it will all be of no use.' + +'Why did mother never say anything about the box?' asked Conrad. + +'H'm!' said Jüchziger; 'she--well--she--in fact, she didn't quite trust +me, I'm sorry to say, and wanted to keep all the things in it for you. +But now she sees how wrong that was, and she has confessed all about it +to me. I don't want the box for myself; all I want is to see it out of +danger.' + +'But how can I get out?' asked Conrad again. 'Nobody may leave the +town.' + +'In about an hour's time there is to be a sortie from the Donat Gate, +and you can manage to creep out with the men. Roller the miner is +going out with them as well; he and Wahle are going all the way to +General Piccolomini in Bohemia, but on no account show the safe-conduct +to him.' + +'I should like just to run home to mother,' said Conrad, 'to tell her +about the box, and say good-bye to her.' + +'Now would you really be so unkind to a poor, frightened, blind woman +as that?' said his stepfather. 'Why, there's Roller; he has not even +told his wife, though he is going all the way to Bohemia, and you want +to make your mother unhappy because you're going a few yards outside +the city wall.' + +'It is quite true, stepfather,' said Conrad with a sigh. 'So give me +my safe-conduct, and tell me how I am to get into the town again.' + +'You can easily do that. You will only have to creep up the bed of the +Münzbach. No one will take any notice of a slight youth like you.' + +Conrad then received from his stepfather a folded and sealed paper, on +which was written in large letters the word 'Safe-Conduct.' + +Underneath were several more words, but as they were all in Swedish the +boy could make nothing out of them. When he had taken leave of +Jüchziger, the latter muttered to himself: 'Either the Swedes will put +an end to him, or else he will do my errand and never be a bit the +wiser himself. It will be a good day's work for me whichever way it +goes.' + +According to his stepfather's orders, Conrad hid the safe-conduct in +his breast. He did not understand exactly what the thing was, but this +mystery only made him think all the more highly of it, and filled his +mind with a sort of confidence that his dangerous errand rendered +highly useful. When he found himself really outside the gate, and +heard the tumult of battle all around him, his heart beat thick and +fast. The men who made the sortie threw themselves at once on the +enemy's advanced works, shot or cut down such Swedes as were in them, +set fire to the wooden barricades and some detached houses that the +Swedes had used against the town, and destroyed everything belonging to +the enemy on which they could lay their hands. As soon as the foe +showed signs of bringing up men in force, the Freibergers fell back +fighting, and carried off their booty into the town. + +Then Conrad found himself in a desperate fix. From the ramparts of the +town a steady fire was being poured on the advancing Swedes, who +returned it with interest, so that the lad, finding himself between two +fires, did not know which way to turn, and at last, in his +bewilderment, started to run straight across country. Suddenly, +without any warning, he went head over heels into a cutting about six +feet deep that crossed his line of march, and proved to be neither more +nor less than one of the trenches by which the Swedish sharp-shooters +got so close up to the town. + +As soon as Conrad had somewhat recovered from his sudden plunge, he +began to look about him with much astonishment. The pathway in which +he stood was so narrow he could easily touch both its sides at once by +simply stretching out his arms. As he started to hurry along it, he +stumbled on the dead bodies of several soldiers, some of which looked +so dreadful that he turned about and ran as hard as he could go in the +opposite direction. As he rounded a sharp corner, he ran into an +enemy, who seemed as much surprised as himself at the unexpected +meeting, and uttered a sudden cry of alarm. This enemy, however, was +armed, and heaved up his 'morning-star'[1] for a tremendous blow. + +Conrad, in his terror, sprang back several steps, and drawing his paper +from his breast, called out: 'Stop! I've got a safe-conduct.' + +At these words the man let his weapon sink, and stood staring at the +boy, who was again cautiously approaching him holding out the paper. + +'Why, bless me!' said the man at last, 'isn't this Conrad Schmidt from +the Erbis Street?' + +'What! is it you, Master Prieme?' said Conrad joyfully. + +'What are--at least, how came you here?' asked Prieme. + +'I came out with the sortie,' said Conrad. + +'So did I,' grumbled Prieme. 'In the heat of battle I struck too hard +at a Swede, just on the edge of this abominable ditch, and then my foot +slipped and down I came into it myself, and the detestable thing's so +deep there is no getting out again. Perhaps, with your help, I can +manage to climb out.' + +The attempt was made and proved a failure, while the continuous firing +above their heads hinted that it would be much safer to keep out of the +upper world for a time. + +'So it seems I only came out of the town to tumble into this ditch,' +grumbled Prieme again. 'If the Swedes put in an appearance, things +will pretty soon begin to look ugly for me.' + +'Just you keep close to me,' said Conrad patronizingly. 'I've got a +safe-conduct.' + +'Where is it?' asked Prieme, looking at him in astonishment. 'I can't +see one.' + +'Here it is all right,' said Conrad producing it. 'Can you read?' + +'What stupid rubbish!' muttered Prieme. 'Now, how can a scrap of paper +like that be a safe-conduct? Why, a safe-conduct is a sort of thing +that even the most savage enemy is forced to respect. Why, who told +you such a pack of nonsense as that?' + +Either because his tumble had muddled his brains, or for some other +reason best known to himself, Conrad straightway cast all his +stepfather's cautions to the winds, and told neighbour Prieme the whole +story of the safe-conduct and why he was there. + +'This seems to me rather serious,' said the worthy citizen, speaking +half to himself. 'To be sure your stepfather is, in a manner of +speaking, a bit of a magistrate; but then we all know how people we +should never have expected--why, there was the Burgomaster of Bautzen +was loaded into a cannon and fired off for trying to betray his native +city to the enemy. At all events, Jüchziger can have no right to +correspond with the Swedes without the commandant's knowledge. So give +me that thing over here directly.' + +Conrad protested against the abrupt demand, and, suddenly calling to +mind his stepfather's forgotten orders, made a frantic attempt to hide +the safe-conduct in his breast again. Master Prieme's strong arm would +soon have gained the day, however, and deprived the boy of his paper, +had not the arrival of a troop of the enemy put a sudend [Transcriber's +note: sudden?] stop to their altercation. + +Master Prieme, taken with a weapon in his hand, was made a prisoner of +war; and Conrad Schmidt, loudly calling attention to his safe-conduct, +was at once marched off to the enemy's headquarters. + +Here he had a first-rate opportunity to make nearer acquaintance with +the dreaded Swedes. He was led about from one point to another. He +saw the batteries, mortars, and siege-guns that were destroying his +native town; he saw whole regiments of Swedes; but to his immense +consolation he did not see any of those men who tortured people and +slaughtered little children. In front of Marshal Torstenson's quarters +a huge cask of wine was being unloaded, a task in which several +peasants were forced to render unwilling aid. When their work was +done, however, they got off with nothing worse than a few cuffs. He +saw, indeed, plenty of great beards and many dark-looking faces of very +scowling aspect, for the Swedes were encamped before Freiberg in no +rose-garden; but after all he could not make out any very great +difference between the Swedish and Saxon fighting-men. + +'I can see one thing very plainly,' said Conrad to himself, 'soldiers +are all as much alike as one egg is like another. One wears a grey +coat, another a red one, and another a green one, and that's about all +the difference between them.' + +He was suddenly interrupted in the midst of his reflections by the +approach of a trooper, who came towards him with some appearance of +curiosity, and with a single glance of his piercing eyes threw the +boy's whole soul into a state of panic fear. + +'God be with me!' murmured Conrad. 'That's the fierce Swede with the +red beard again. I am sure he is taking out a pistol now to make sure +of getting a good aim at me this time!' + +Happily, his fears were not of long duration, for a sudden call in good +German of, 'Hillner, the major wants you,' relieved him of the Swede's +presence. 'Hillner!' whispered Conrad to himself. 'I wonder whether +everybody with black hair and a red beard is called Hillner.' + +The lad was now summoned to appear before Field-Marshal Torstenson. +This was worse than his worst expectations; for was not this man the +cause of all the trouble, the scourge that with its thousand lashes was +tormenting the Saxon land? Conrad stepped trembling into the hall of +the Bergwald Hospital, where he found a group of superior officers +gathered round their general, who sat by a window with Conrad's +safe-conduct in his hand. This, then, was the man whose hand played +with the lives and property of so many thousand people. From just +inside the door where he had to stand, Conrad stared with beating heart +at the dreadful man who had conquered great armies, plundered and +wasted whole countries, taken strongholds by storm, and was now +conquered himself. For a shaft was quivering in his flesh that he +could by no means draw out; his foot was, so to speak, stung by a +glowing needle that could never be cooled, and that no medicine could +heal. In the olden times men were laid on the torture-bench that they +might be forced to confess their evil deeds; and God Himself sometimes +uses pain to bring a sinner to repentance, when he has turned a deaf +ear to all the voices of conscience and religion. + +Torstenson, a man scarcely forty years of age, was seated in an +arm-chair. He had no remedies to oppose to the grinding foe in his +foot but patience and a bandage of coarse hemp. But such is mankind +that this great general, who had at his disposal the lives of thousands +of his fellow-creatures, could not control his own desires; for near +him stood a table on which among other things was a bottle of wine and +a large goblet partly filled, to which he betook himself from time to +time. The contents of the 'safe-conduct' did not seem to afford him +much consolation, for he threw it angrily on the table. + +'That is my last weapon,' he said to one of the officers. 'The town +must and shall be mine, this week, this very day, and without the help +of a scoundrel, too!' + +'Your excellency!' said the attendant physician warningly, as he saw +the general's gaze turn again towards the goblet. + +'Ah, doctor,' said the marshal peevishly; 'take my word for it, it was +not the wine, but those six months in the damp dungeon at Ingolstadt +that gave me the gout. Bring that youth forward.' + +Conrad trembled as he was led before the general, though that officer +looked, to his boyish eyes, more like a woman than a stalwart +fighting-man. His tall body was enveloped in a great, shaggy fur coat +right down to the feet, and a white nightcap covered his head. Nothing +but the moustache on the pale face indicated the warlike calling of the +man who now addressed Conrad. + +[Illustration: Nothing but the mustache on the pale face indicated the +warlike calling of the man who now addressed Conrad.] + +'How many people have come to live in your town on account of the +siege?' + +'Oh, they might be somewhere in the sixties,' replied Conrad, carefully +conformable to truth. + +'Are you starving in Freiberg?' + +'My mother and her cat sometimes, nobody else. And then that is all my +stepfather's fault, because he will keep the bread cupboard locked up.' + +'Do the citizens and soldiers hold together still? Are they not +getting down-hearted?' + +'Oh, well, at first there were a few squabbles. The Herr Burgomaster +had a tiff with the Herr Commandant, but now they are just like +brothers; all their quarrels are over, and they are in first-rate +spirits.' + +'Can you tell me how many men there are left in Freiberg capable of +bearing arms?' + +'Why, gracious sir,' said Conrad, 'it isn't only the men! Everybody +that's got arms and legs does a bit of fighting. And there are nearly +sixty thousand of us. Why, only yesterday evening the miller's donkeys +helped to spoil your mine.' + +The smile which at this sally passed across Torstenson's pale and +suffering face gave Conrad a sudden courage; he knelt before the +general, and began in a pleading tone, that grew bolder as he warmed +with his subject: 'Gracious Field-Marshal, I pray of you, for Christ's +sake, to leave off firing at our dear old town. Why should we be the +people you are so angry with, and why did you choose us out? The whole +wide world lies open before you, and I am sure there are many strong +cities in Germany you could easily take if you would just attack them. +Do you expect to seize many lumps or bars of silver in Freiberg? They +are all gone long ago in this never-ending war, and there's nothing +left but rubbish and stones. And I can tell you another thing, noble +sir, and that is that you will never conquer the town--no, not if you +and all your soldiers were to stand on your heads!' + +'Silence, boy!' cried an officer angrily. + +'Let the lad chatter,' said Torstenson. 'His talk helps to pass away +the time. And pray,' he continued, turning to Conrad, 'who is to blame +for your trouble but yourselves? Have I not many times offered the +town pardon on favourable terms?' + +'Yes,' returned Conrad, hesitating; 'but--with permission--people know +what your excellency's pardon is like. Inside the town there, they say +they would rather die than accept your excellency's pardon.' + +Perhaps it was a fresh twinge of the gout that distorted Torstenson's +face. He made a hasty sign to the boy to withdraw, which he was +nothing loth to do, although assisted on his way by a cuff or two from +the indignant attendants. + +The bad temper of great men seldom passes away without producing some +effect on those who surround them. The tortures Torstenson suffered +found an outlet in giving orders for a general assault on the works of +the city, especially on the Peter Gate. The firing of the double and +single arquebuses began again, the mortars joined in with their short, +sharp roar, and soon the earth shook and the air vibrated with the +frightful din. + +Conrad had taken refuge in a corner of the hospital wall. When, +towards evening, there came a lull in the firing, he could hear, from +the breach by the Peter Gate, the jubilant tones of a hymn that touched +him to the heart. 'Jesus, my Redeemer, lives,' sounded through the +wintry air, chanted by the deep voices of earnest men, and Conrad, in +his corner, joined in softly. And the Swedes, too, awed by the holy +sounds, stood like statues, facing the singers; the sword rested in its +sheath, the bullet in the arquebuse, and the shell in the mortar. In +years that were gone, the Swedes themselves used to sing like that as +they marched to battle, and now they stood and joined in spirit in the +service that Dr. Bartholomew Sperling was holding with the defenders of +the threatened breach. But when the prayer was ended, the furies of +war raised their blood-red banners again, in mournful contrast to the +scene that had just taken place, and the dreadful game that is played +with human lives for the stakes began once more. + +The whole night through did the firing continue. Early on February 4, +1643, at about six in the morning, the Swedes exploded two mines, one +of which laid open the barbican, while the other hurled pieces of +woodwork far over the roofs of the houses, shattering the gallery +within the barbican, and destroying those who were defending it. In +the confusion that arose, the Swedes, a reserve of whom had been held +in readiness, immediately seized the barbican, mounted from it to the +gate-tower, which was now commanded by their artillery, and placed +sharp-shooters in it, who at once opened a galling fire with double +arquebuses, hand-grenades, and stones on the occupants of the nearest +posts held by the defenders. By way of covering themselves from this +fire, the besieged at once constructed a new battery on the upper +cistern in the Peter Street. From this they were soon able to open +fire upon the new Swedish breastwork on the tower at the Peter Gate, +the result being the enemy's speedy and enforced retirement into one of +the lower and less exposed rooms of the gate-tower. Yet the Swedes had +this time undoubtedly gained an important advantage, and the position +of the city was becoming every hour more critical. But, in spite of +all, neither courage nor resolution had as yet begun to fail. + + + +[1] See note on page 87. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +WAR OFTEN OPPOSES THE TEACHINGS OF CHRISTIANITY. + +Conrad was detained for three days in the Swedish camp. It was on an +overcast, rainy evening that he at length received permission to +return. He hastened to reach the Münzbach, which flows into the town +in two streams between the Erbis and Donat Gates. In the year 1297, an +enemy had made treacherous use of this river to enter and plunder the +town; and the points of its entrance and exit had from that time been +guarded against surprise by strong towers, beneath the arched +foundations of which the river now flowed. It was towards the tower of +exit that Conrad made the best of his way. + +The sentries either did not see the boy approaching through the gloom, +or did not consider him dangerous, for he succeeded in creeping +unhindered beneath the vaulted archway that spanned the river. All +soon grew quite dark around him as he waded on, and he found himself +obliged to make his hands do the work of eyes. He had not proceeded +far in this fashion, when he suddenly found further progress barred by +a strong iron grating reaching down into the bed of the river and up to +the stonework above his head. How was he to pass this unexpected +obstacle? He cautiously rapped and felt the bars one by one, until, to +his great delight, he found that the last bar could be quite easily +pushed aside, thus leaving an opening through which the slender lad +found but little difficulty in forcing his body. As he came to each of +the two similar gratings that barred his way farther up the tunnel, he +found the same course practicable. He continued to follow the +subterranean bed of the stream for some distance farther, until it +emerged into the open air again in a tanner's yard, and Conrad could +leave the wet path he had followed so long. He did not let the grass +grow under his feet, and very soon was listening cautiously at his +mother's door. Hearing no sound, he stepped on tiptoe into the room. +No one was to be seen, though a lamp was burning on the table. He +crept across to the door of the bedroom, and thought he heard sounds of +breathing. As he opened the door, a feeble ray of light streamed +through the crevice, and he saw his mother lying in bed, with the +faithful cat sitting beside her as her only companion. Puss, +recognising the boy, began to purr and wave her tail, but the blind +woman seemed to be stupefied by the burning heat of fever. + +'Mother! mother!' cried Conrad, at first softly, then louder; at last +he ventured to pull the sleeve of her night-dress. + +The blind woman sat up suddenly. 'What is it?' she cried. 'Who is +calling me?' + +'It is I, mother,' said Conrad, with chattering teeth; for by this time +the cold seemed to have spread from his wet feet all over his body. + +'And have you come for me at last, my darling child?' said his mother, +in tones of rapture. 'How often have I prayed that God would send you +to take me home to the mansions of the blest! I come, my son; I come!' + +'Why, how funny you talk, mother!' said Conrad. 'I only wanted to ask +you for a pair of clean stockings, because mine have got so wet wading +along the Münzbach. I have only just come in from the Swedish camp, +and I've brought you the box you buried in our old cellar.' + +'Swedish camp!--box!--cellar!' repeated the bewildered woman, as though +she were still in a dream. 'Have you not been dead these three days? +And is not this your spirit, that a poor blind woman cannot even see?' + +'Why, mother, whatever are you thinking about?' cried Conrad, laughing +in spite of his cold feet. 'Here, catch hold of me, feel me; I'm flesh +and blood. Did not father tell you he had sent me off to the Swedes to +get this box? They didn't do me one bit of harm; they didn't even +starve me. But they would not let me go and dig in our cellar; they +said that was not work for stupid boys. So they did all the digging, +and brought me the box all right; and, considering what a lot of +thieves they are, I think that was almost a miracle. I say, mother, +whatever did you put in the box? It's all nailed up so tight I +couldn't open it.' + +He placed a case about fifteen inches long, by six inches broad and +high, in his mother's hands. The blind woman felt it all over in +wonder. + +'I don't know anything about any box,' she said. 'And I'm sure I never +had anything to bury.' + +'Perhaps Master Prieme was right after all, then,' said Conrad. + +'Who is this talking in here?' cried Jüchziger, coming suddenly into +the room. 'Ha! is it you, you young good-for-nothing? Where have you +sprung from? Quick now, confess, or I'll warm you soundly.' + +'Well, I'm sure I'm cold enough, father,' said Conrad, with a feeble +attempt at a joke; 'and it was on your business, too, that I got so +cold. Is that all the thanks I am to have for bringing you the box all +safe and sound?' + +'What! is that true? You're a very fine fellow. Give it me here, +quick!' cried Jüchziger in a tone full of joy. + +'But,' said his wife, 'I never buried a box with treasure in it. What +can we have to do with this?' + +'Oh, I had a dream the other night,' answered Jüchziger, 'as life-like +a dream as if I had really been standing in the cellar of our old +house. And see here, my dream has come true, and no mistake about it. +A little mountain-troll dressed, in grey stood before me in my dream, +and said, "Let your son, Conrad Schmidt, dig here in this corner of the +cellar. He is a Sunday's bairn and will have good luck."' + +'But I didn't dig for it,' said Conrad. 'The Swedes did it for me.' + +'It all comes to the same thing,' said Jüchziger, 'so long as we have +the box. Do you know, my son, what there is inside it?' + +'How should I? See how it's all nailed and screwed up!' + +'Have you brought back the safe-conduct?' + +'Oh yes; I forgot that. One of the Swedish officers tied the paper +over my heart and under my left arm. I was not to let a soul see it, +he said, except the one from whom I first had it, and that was you, you +know, father. But I'm sure it's a different letter, and it's +uncommonly heavy.' + +'Give it me here this instant,' said Jüchziger, scarcely trying to +conceal his joy. 'It will be nothing but right if the Swedes have sent +their poor prisoners a ducat or two that they may get me to buy them a +few things. But mind you, don't say a word about it to a living soul; +for if you do, the money will all be taken from them, and I shall be +punished for my kindness into the bargain.' + +Conrad handed the paper over to his step-father, who put it straight +into his pocket without stopping to examine it. 'You need not go back +to your mistress now,' he said, when the packet was safely stowed away. +'Much better stay here and attend to your sick mother. The good woman +is in sore need of all the care and help you can give her.' + +Conrad was not too bewildered by all his adventures to suspect some +hidden meaning in his step-father's very sudden kindness. As he +thought about the story of the box and the safe-conduct, it seemed to +him to grow more and more suspicious, and he longed for some friend +with whom he could talk the whole thing over. + +He could not relieve his mind to his sick mother, that was clear, for +she was far more helpless than himself. Master Prieme was a prisoner +of war; Roller was gone. Who was there left that he could trust, but +his comrade the Defensioner? Yet how could he get at Hillner, with his +step-father watching him as a cat watches a mouse, scarcely permitting +him even to cross the threshold of the house. + +Meantime, the enemy had hauled a cannon up into the tower over the +Peter Gate, which was soon scattering death among the defenders. The +besieged also suffered severe loss from the fire of two heavy guns +planted close beside the town moat, near the Peter Gate, and covering +the next tower, that which guarded the Kreuz Gate. The Freibergers, on +their part, were by no means backward in doing their utmost to harass +the Swedes. Behind each defensive work as it was shot down, a new one +arose. Trenches, palisadoes, covered ways, counter-mines, and +batteries were all used as means of defence; the houses adjoining +threatened spots were turned into strongholds, and pierced for +sharp-shooters, who shot every Swede that showed himself within range. +The commandant was at all points where fighting was going on, ordering +and encouraging his men both by word and example. + +On the second morning after the night of Conrad's return, Schweinitz +approached the Defensioner Hillner where he stood at a loop-hole in the +tower at the Kreuz Gate. Hillner respectfully made way for his +superior officer, who wished to look out. + +'Just see that impudent rascal!' cried the commandant, after a few +moments' survey. 'He is riding his horse right up to the city moat in +sheer bravado. Quick, Defensioner, and show the fellow that there are +men in here. Put a bullet through his head.' + +Alert and willing, Hillner at once placed the muzzle of his piece in +the loop-hole. Just as he had covered the Swede, however, he lowered +his weapon and turned pale. + +'What's the matter?' cried Schweinitz. 'Why do you tremble? Are you +hurt? Here, then, give me your weapon. I will chastise the insolent +scoundrel myself.' As he spoke, Schweinitz grasped at the arquebuse, +on which Hillner's hand closed like a vice. + +'So please your excellency and my gracious commandant,' said the +Defensioner in a tone of entreaty, 'do whatever you please with my +life, but I cannot shoot the man out yonder; neither can I give you my +weapon for you to do it.' + +'What!' shouted Schweinitz. 'I, your general, command it. That +weapon, instantly, or--you know the penalty that attaches to +insubordination. Loose it, I tell you!' + +'I know well,' replied the young man, 'what penalty belongs to +insubordination; but ought I not to obey God rather than man?' + +'No, a thousand times!' cried Schweinitz, his face aflame with rage. +'In war, God's command counts for nothing, and the general's for +everything. What will happen next, if a soldier is to stand and argue +instead of obeying the orders of his superior officer? The soldier is +a mere machine at the absolute will and disposal of his officer, and +must do whatever that officer commands--must kill father, son, or +brother whenever he receives orders to do so. This is what war +demands, and the morality of your catechisms has no place in it. War +puts its trust in the strong arm, the sword, and the fire-lock alone. +Speak, fellow! why would you not shoot that Swede?' + +'Many of the enemy have already met their death by my hand during the +past few weeks,' replied Hillner quietly; 'and only against one have I +refused to raise my weapon, for that one was--my father;--an unnatural +father, it is true, who deceived my poor mother, and shamefully +deserted her, and made me fight against my fatherland,--but yet, in +spite of all, my father. His blood flows in my veins; but for him I +should never have existed. So I say again, let me die rather than kill +him.' + +'We can easily manage that,' said Schweinitz angrily. 'All such talk +as this in war-time is so much rubbish. Bah! While I stand here +debating with a traitor, the villain yonder has prudently taken himself +out of range.' Defensioner, you will give me your weapons, both +firelock and sabre. You are my prisoner. Ha! Schönleben doubtless +had sound reasons for warning me against you.' + +His step-father's absence and his mother's quiet slumber having given +Conrad the opportunity he wanted, he was on the way to his mistress' +house to find his friend Hillner, when he saw the Defensioner coming +along the street, closely surrounded by the guard, and followed by a +crowd of curious people. The boy stared in astonishment at hearing the +ugly word 'traitor' applied to his old comrade, and did not fully +recover himself until he caught sight of his step-father marching with +a joyful face close beside the prisoner, on the way to lock him up in +one of the strongest cells at the town hall. + +When the news of Hillner's arrest reached Mistress Blüthgen's house, +where it produced great excitement, the miller, who had not yet fully +recovered, remarked dryly to the women: + +'Seems to me as though our Defensioner must have acted rather like one +of my donkeys. He could have obeyed the commandant's order, aimed his +weapon, and fired over the Swede's head. He had it all in his own +hands.' + +'No,' said his wife, showing, what was very unlike her, the deepest +emotion, 'Hillner was right not to lift his hand against his father, +even in pretence. What marksman in the whole wide world can say where +his bullet shall go, when it is once out of his gun and flying towards +a mark that some mischievous sprite may shift at any moment. And to +kill his father! Fie! I would rather see Hillner hanged, an innocent +man, than do such a deed.' + +These words of the miller's brave wife made deep and lasting impression +on Conrad, who stood by and heard them. Though Jüchziger was a cruel +stepfather, a hard struggle had been going on in the boy's mind as to +whether it was his duty to bring a terrible suspicion on that father by +telling all he knew. He now determined to let his secret remain locked +up in his own heart. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +HISTORICAL. + +While the scene narrated in our last chapter was being enacted, another +and more joyous one was taking place at the Donat Gate. Three men, two +of them miners, suddenly appeared running towards the gate, and making +eager signs to the sentries in the barbican with the view of obtaining +speedy admission. This being at once granted, the little party turned +out to consist of the two miners, Roller and Wahle, sent some days +before on a special mission, together with Master Prieme, who had +fortunately succeeded in making his escape. Roller and his comrade +brought letters and advices from Marshal Piccolomini; these, addressed +to the commandant and the town authorities, and written at Brix on +February 5th, promised that within six, or at longest eight days, the +imperial army should be seen on the mountain beyond the city, advancing +to free Freiberg, by the blessing of God, from the presence of the foe. +The marshal further announced that as he approached he would set fire +to a house or two in the village of Leichtenberg on the Mulda, so that +by midnight his advance should be known in the city; and that +immediately on reaching the mountain, where the enemy would doubtless +discover his presence, he would fire six guns morning and evening, and +three more as he actually began his march down towards the city. Thus +the garrison would have timely notice of the arrival of help. + +Piccolomini's despatch to Schönleben ran as follows:-- + +'To our trusty, best, and right well-beloved Burgomaster, Herr Jonas +Schönleben,--Be it known that I have kept the messengers by me, that +their bodily eyes might see my army set forward on its march, and that +thus they might take assured news thereof into the good city of +Freiberg. And inasmuch as I shall in few days arrive before Freiberg +with such army (whereof the enemy neither have knowledge nor can +conceive aught aright), and so, with the help of Almighty God, shall +relieve the city, I hereby beseech the said noble Burgomaster to do his +utmost, with aid of all and sundry those brave and honourable burghers +by whom he is at this present sustained, to maintain and defend the +said post until my arrival; and to that end to encourage and hearten +all men, as hitherto hath been so notably done by him, that they may +not make surcease for so few days of that stedfast toil and bravery +which they have heretofore shown. May God have all in his keeping!' + +The receipt of these cheering messages revived the spirits of the +besieged--a service the more necessary because the enemy, getting word +that a hostile army was on the march, made strenuous efforts to gain +possession of the town. The fortifications, many of which were now +little more than heaps of rubbish, were still obstinately defended by +the unconquerable bravery of the besieged. Pieces of both the outer +and inner walls, twenty and thirty ells in length, had been destroyed +by mines and artillery-fire, and their downfall had in many places +choked up the moat. Some of the barbicans before the gates were in the +enemy's possession, and even the Peter Gate itself. The towers that +guarded the town resembled ancient ruins; and the defensive works were +now chiefly represented by wooden galleries, palisadoes, piles of +gabions, and the walls of half-destroyed houses, behind which, however, +the besieged found shelter, from which they still kept up a vigorous +fire. The underground war, too, was still hotly maintained; and when, +as often happened, the hostile sappers heard the sounds of each other's +voices, emulation still excited them to struggle as if for life and +death. + +On February 14th the Swedes attempted to storm two of the defenders' +positions, and advanced to the assault with loud shouts and in +considerable force. A few bold soldiers, indeed, succeeded in making +good their entrance into one of the towers; but the besieged, in +expectation of this attack, had filled the inside of the tower with +wood and other combustibles. Fire was set to these materials, and to +the gallery adjoining the tower, and thus the enemy was compelled to +withdraw. Meantime, behind the burning ruin, the citizens constructed +a new defensive work, and both here and in the breach offered so brave +a resistance, that the foe, after repeated attempts, was once more +baffled and compelled to fall back. + +In the evening of the same day Roller appeared at home with his head +bound up. + +'It is nothing!' he assured his alarmed family. 'A Swedish bullet +glanced aside and grazed my temple; that is all. But you, my dear +people--ah! you may lift up your heads to look whether your day of +deliverance is coming; you may gaze towards the Liechtenberg, and try +to make out the beacon fire our deliverers were to kindle. Not six or +even eight, but _nine_ whole days have gone by, and no helpers have +made their appearance! "Put not your trust in man," was as true a word +as was ever spoken!' + +This was the first time Roller had ever given way to repining before +the women. The next day, February 15th, the Friebergers, wishful to +gain time, resolved on asking Marshal Torstenson for an armistice, +hoping to use that opportunity of smuggling two or three persons +unobserved out of the city, and so sending word to Dresden of +Freiberg's desperate straits. + +On pretence of discussing the proposed armistice, three Swedish +colonels appeared by consent of the besieged on the top of the tower at +the Peter Gate. They made good use of their eyes to learn all that +could be learned about the condition of the defence, and found it still +such as to inspire them with all due respect. When this result had +been satisfactorily achieved, the armistice was formally refused, the +battle being at once renewed; and at two o'clock in the afternoon of +the same day, the city was once more summoned to surrender. The prompt +refusal of this demand provoked renewed efforts on the part of the +besiegers to gain possession of the hard-pressed city. + +Matters stood at this desperate pass, when, on the evening of the same +day, the shout of 'Fire!' sounded through the streets of Freiberg. It +was no alarm, but a genuine cry of joy. + +'Fire! fire!' exclaimed Mistress Blüthgen, as with a beaming face she +came rushing into the living-room, where the disabled miller and his +wife, Roller, with bandaged head, surrounded by his family, and the +remaining members of the household were all assembled. 'Fire over the +Liechtenberg at last!' she cried again, throwing her arms, as she +spoke, round the neck of the miller's wife. + +'Fire over the Liechtenberg!' rang along the narrow street outside. +All who could, now climbed out on to the roof of the house to see the +long-desired sight for themselves. If, at the beginning of the siege, +a magnificent rainbow had been hailed as an omen of good, the +Freibergers now gazed at the red glow on the distant horizon as at a +beacon-light that surely could not deceive them. + +'It seems to me,' said Roller, pushing back the bandage that covered +his ear, 'it seems to me as though I heard firing as well.' + +The dull roar of cannon, several times repeated, was now plainly heard +from the far-off height. + +'It is they! it is our deliverers!' cried all, as their joy broke out +afresh. + +Confidence and hope work wonders. They nerved the courage of these +distressed Freibergers, until the most faint-hearted among them rose +into a hero. Let the Swedes renew their assault on the next day as +fiercely as they pleased; let them summon the town three times over to +surrender, and make all their preparations for a final attack; nothing +could now take away the joyful assurance of immediate relief. On the +previous day, a mine had torn down a large piece of the main city wall, +twenty yards in length, near the Peter Gate, and so shattered the great +flanking tower at that point that its downfall seemed every moment +imminent. In spite of a heavy fire, the Freibergers made good use of +the night in preparing trenches, thickly studded with palisadoes, close +behind the main wall, in throwing up great piles of branches and trunks +of trees in the new breach, and doubling the number of men at the +points chiefly threatened. Having made these preparations, they +confidently awaited the onset of the enemy, whose numerous forces were +now steadily drawing nearer and nearer to the city. + +Who would not have trembled for Freiberg at sight of that veteran army, +trained in long and stormy years of battle, and led by a renowned +general, bent on destroying the city and putting all its +inhabitants--men and women, old and young--to the sword? Ambition and +shame alike stimulated the Swedish general, as he thought how this +insignificant country town had so long thwarted all his best efforts. +His men, on the other hand, were inspired by thirst for plunder and a +burning desire to avenge all the toils and troubles they had endured +amid the severities of that bitter winter. + +On the side of the Swedes were many thousand veteran men-at-arms, a +commander well known to fame, over a hundred pieces of artillery, and +free access to the whole country around, furnishing constant fresh +supplies both of men and the necessaries of war. On the side of the +Saxons was a little band of three hundred soldiers, a leader of whom +renown as yet had scarcely heard, an untrained crowd of peaceful +citizens and country-people, and last, though not least, the +true-hearted miners. These, with the help of a few cannon and a +limited supply of ammunition, were holding shattered heaps of ruins +against an unwearied foe. But the Freibergers threw into the scale on +their side, loyalty to their prince, love for fatherland, for hearth, +and home, and liberty; and thus the balance weighed in their favour. + +With thoughts like these present in many minds, passed away the +daylight hours of that memorable 16th of February, and the night +appointed for the general assault came down at last. Eight captains, +each with a hundred and twenty men, a company of seventy or eighty +picked men with hand-grenades, and as many more with axes, were told +off to make the first attack, their advance being supported by four +thousand men of the main storming party. In the evening, Torstenson +had, by a great effort, ridden quite round the town, marking out the +points to be specially attacked, assigning his troops their respective +places, and ordering several new batteries to be placed in position. +As Wallenstein once before Stralsund, so now Torstenson before +Freiberg, swore to take the city, even though it were under the special +protection of Heaven itself. + +The besieged were aware, both through their prisoners and by other +means of information, that the most desperate of all their struggles +awaited them to-night, and they did not attempt to conceal from +themselves the terrible peril in which they stood. They spent a social +hour at home with wife and children, took what might well prove a final +farewell, and then each man went forth to his dangerous post with the +stedfast determination to die rather than yield. And among those ranks +of silent, resolute men in the deadly breach, was seen the reverend +figure of good Master Spelling, in his preacher's robe, the book of the +Holy Gospels in his hand. + +'My beloved brethren in Christ!' he cried; 'if we live we live unto the +Lord, and if we die we die unto the Lord; whether we live, therefore, +or die, we are the Lord's. Yea, the Lord is our strength and our +shield; and though we wander through the valley of the shadow of death, +we will fear no evil, for His right hand hath holden us up that we +should not fall. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to +all that call upon Him in truth. He will hear their cry and will save +them. "Call upon me," saith He, "in the day of trouble; I will deliver +thee, and thou shalt glorify me." Put your trust in the Lord, not in +the Imperialists, and not in your own might. Think who it was that +broke the power of Sennacherib before Jerusalem, when a hundred and +eighty thousand of Israel's foes perished in a single night! The Lord +our God! And His power is not lessened since that day, neither is His +glory dimmed. Three men once sang in the midst of the burning fiery +furnace. Cannot we, too, lift our feeble voices to God where we stand +in the deadly breach? Let "Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!" be our shout of +victory when the foe comes on against us; and let us, ere we part, +chant together the jubilant words, "Jesus lives; I shall live also. O +Death! where is thy sting?"' + +So they sang, and their voices sounded far out into the night; they +knelt, and their pastor invoked God's blessing on them for the +approaching battle,--for victory, if so it might be, or for a happy and +joyous entrance into the better land. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +TREACHERY AND DELIVERANCE. + +With the exception of babes and very young children, no one in Freiberg +slept that night. All were wakeful and astir. Men stood armed for +battle in their places on the city walls; women and children prayed in +the churches; mothers watched with anxious hearts over slumbering +little ones, not knowing when the dreaded Swedes might burst in to +slaughter all alike. + +'Stay with me, my son,' Mistress Jüchziger begged of Conrad. 'Do not +let your poor blind mother be left to meet the Swedes alone. At least, +let us die together.' + +Conrad obeyed like a dutiful son, though staying in the house to-night +was a task most irksome to his adventurous spirit, which urged him +forth into the busy turmoil where the brave citizens were making ready +to fight for all they held dear. + +Jüchziger, too, seemed a stranger to peace and quietness of spirit, +though for a very different reason. He was seen first in one place and +then in another, in different parts of the city. At last he hastened +through the streets towards his own house, but took special care to +avoid the churches and the praying people. After entering the +living-room of his home, he moved restlessly about the apartment, +alternately taking up and laying down various trifling objects. At +last, towards ten at night, he started forth with the Swedish +treasure-box under his arm, and did not return. + +'Whatever can there be in that box!' said Conrad after a time to his +mother, who, though still an invalid, could not rest for anxiety, and +had exchanged her bed for an easy-chair by the stove. 'It is nailed +and screwed up still, as tight as ever, unless I am mistaken.' + +Before the mother could reply, the door was suddenly opened from +without, and Master Prieme, fully armed, entered the room. + +'Where is Jüchziger?' he said instantly. 'He is to come at once to the +Burgomaster.' + +'He went out a little while ago,' replied Conrad, 'and did not leave +word where he was going.' + +'What! you here, boy!' cried Prieme, in evident surprise. 'Ha! And +how did you get out of the Swedes' hands and into the town again? How +about that safe-conduct and that precious buried box? The whole thing +looked very suspicious, very suspicious indeed.' + +Conrad found himself in a great difficulty. Should he make a clean +breast of it, and perhaps get his step-father into dreadful trouble? +He at first hesitated, and then stammered-- + +'Well--the--the Swedes--let me go in three days.' + +'And the box? What about that?' + +'Oh--well,' stammered Conrad, incapable of telling a lie, 'the box? I +got that too.' + +'Dug it out of the cellar?' + +'No; not that. The Swedes dug it up, and gave it me; and then'-- + +'That's false!' cried Prieme. 'Sooner get blood out of a post than a +box worth keeping out of the clutches of a Swede. What was in it?' + +'I'm sure I don't know. It was nailed up so tight; and my step-father +wouldn't let me even peep into it. I don't think it has ever been +opened.' + +'Just like Jüchziger! a regular downright skinflint! And how did you +get into the town again? Who let you in across the moat and through +the gate?' + +Conrad was by this time nearer crying than laughing. He looked +imploringly at his questioner, remained silent, and then, when further +pressed, stammered out-- + +'Along the Münzbach--under the water-tower.' + +'That's sheer nonsense!' cried Prieme again. 'Three gratings of the +toughest hammered iron are firmly fixed across the way. Don't lie to +me, boy, or I'll break every bone in your body.' + +'But I did, indeed I did,' persisted Conrad. 'In all the gratings one +bar was eaten away by rust or something, so that I could easily push +them on one side and creep through.' + +Prieme turned pale. 'Merciful heaven!' he cried; 'this means +treachery. Quick to give the alarm! Perhaps we may even yet save the +city.' + +'Oh, please do be reasonable, Master Prieme!' pleaded Conrad, seizing +the man by the arm as he was hastening away. 'It has been exactly like +that for several days now, and no harm has come of it. Pray don't give +an alarm, or the end of it will be you'll get my step-father into a +mess, and then what is to become of me?' + +'Such talk is all no use,' answered Prieme, 'no use at all; not even if +Jüchziger were your real father, which he isn't.' + +'But only think what all the people in the town would say if I got my +step-father into trouble. Didn't everybody except the governor praise +Hillner when he wouldn't shoot at his father?' + +'That's a totally different thing,' said Prieme impatiently; 'then it +was only one Swede, and it didn't much matter whether he lived or died. +But, boy, if many thousand innocent people are about to perish through +one man's knavish trick, ought we not to bring the traitor to justice, +ay, though he be father, brother, or son? Look at that dear, good +woman, your blind mother! Do you want the Swedes to get in and +slaughter her? Are you going to let sixty thousand brave men and women +perish, and all our toils and struggles be in vain, just to save one +villain from the punishment he deserves?' + +'Oh, dear me, whatever shall I do? No, indeed, neighbour Prieme,' said +Conrad, in great distress. 'But I'm sure I don't know anything at all +about my step-father, except that he'-- + +'Jüchziger is to come instantly to the Burgomaster,' cried a well-known +voice, as the door of the living-room opened, and Roller's bandaged +head appeared. + +'Yes,' said Prieme in a tone of vexation; 'but the bird has flown, and +even now I am busy with his brood. Good woman, cannot you give us some +information about your husband?' + +'Nothing more,' said Mistress Jüchziger, 'than this, that about an hour +ago, while Conrad was gone out of the room, my husband was burning +something over the lamp. At first I thought it was only tinder, but +there was a sudden noise at the room door, and I fancied I heard my +husband hastily crumple up a piece of paper, and throw it either under +the window-seat or the cupboard. No one entered as my husband seemed +to expect; it was only the cat scratching to be let in.' + +'You here!' cried Roller to his dog, which had followed him in, and +which now went open-mouthed at the cat, she in her turn retiring under +the cupboard, a safe refuge into which the dog could not follow her. +'You here!' said Roller again. 'Get out, Turk!' + +Turk had planted himself in front of the cupboard, and was now +scratching vigorously with his fore-paws at the unhappy cat's +hiding-place. As he did so, he threw out a ball of paper rolled +closely together, which the sharp-sighted Prieme instantly picked up +and unfolded. It was a fragment of a written sheet, partly burned, and +in several places quite illegible. + +In a state of the highest excitement, Prieme brought the paper into the +lamp-light, and with trembling lips read as follows:-- + +'To rouse the prisoners singly and without being observed . . . in +conjunction with forty of our bravest soldiers under Captain . . . into +the city . . . as soon as the petard sent herewith has done its work +and the tower is destroyed, the corps held in readiness will make an +attack on that point, which you will powerfully support with the men +placed under your guidance. At the same time the storm on all the +other positions . . . The fifty ducats required to make up the sum +named shall'-- + +A loud report sounding at this moment through the air, and overpowering +the noise of the artillery, cut short the further reading of the paper. + +'There goes the water-tower!' groaned Prieme. 'The Swedish petard you +brought in as such a precious treasure, boy, has indeed done its work. +Can't you hear the shouts of the enemy's storming-party? But,' he went +on with a sudden outburst of enthusiasm, 'do not let them think they +will get into the town, for all that! I would drive them out headlong +with the help of only women and children, though we had no weapons but +stones and fire-brands.' So saying, he rushed forth into the night. + +Mistress Jüchziger wrung her hands, and her son seemed almost stunned +by all these untoward events. But prudent Roller said quietly, + +'Would God have let this rascally trick be found out when it was too +late? Let us at least do all we can; and first, to examine the town +hall, find out about the prisoners, and see whether Jüchziger is there.' + +'Mother, do let me go too,' pleaded Conrad; 'just to learn the truth, +and bring you word back.' + +He hastened away with Roller to the cellars under the town hall. They +found the garrison was gone, every man being now needed to confront the +enemy at the fortifications. As the two groped their way through the +dark rooms, Conrad's foot struck against something that gave forth a +metallic clink. It was the bunch of keys that Jüchziger had thrown +away after liberating the Swedish prisoners. Just as they made this +alarming discovery, they heard a loud knocking at one of the inner +doors. + +'The Swedish prisoners have fled!' shouted Hillner's voice. 'Look out +for treachery!' + +'Roller,' said Conrad, 'let Hillner out. He is quite innocent. Why, +it was my step-father and no one else that made the Burgomaster and the +governor suspect him. If any one can help to put a stop to this +business, I am sure it is my old comrade. See, here are the keys all +ready.' + +'I will promise you faithfully,' said Hillner from within, 'to place +myself under arrest again the instant the danger is over.' + +'In the name of God, then, and may He guide us aright!' said Roller, +opening the door. 'And now, to put all on the hazard of one bold +stroke.' + +The three friends immediately set off at a rapid pace for the lower +town. Whatever persons they met on the way, whether men or women, were +pressed into the service, and the little company armed itself as best +it might in the hurry of the moment. The women, for the most part, +could hit on nothing better than to fill their aprons as they went with +stones from the street pavements. The men, with Conrad among them, +threw the light of their torches from both sides at once under the +vaulted arches that spanned the Münzbach, and were longer or shorter +according as their position required. As soon as it was ascertained +that the way was clear at one point, the little party went on instantly +to the next. Roller and Conrad soon made out, to their great relief, +that the water-tower was still standing. They were by this time +approaching it, and just as they reached the last tunnel, the one +through which the Münzbach leaves the city, at the point where it flows +away under the street below the water-tower, a youth announced that he +had descried the forms of several men creeping through the darkness of +the archway. + +Whilst two of their number went off at once to alarm the garrison of +the water-tower and the men on the neighbouring fortifications, the +rest of the courageous little band took post around the vaulted +entrance of the tunnel, in readiness to give the enemy a warm +reception. This arrangement was not completed without some noise; and, +as a consequence, a head appeared from beneath the archway to see what +was going on outside. It was the head of the treacherous town servant; +and Roller promptly dealt it so severe a blow with a stout cudgel, that +its owner instantly drew back with a yell of pain. Some minutes of +ominous silence then passed, in which the enemy were doubtless busy +taking counsel as to what should be done next. Then they suddenly +burst forth with loud shouts and wild uproar. Though one and another +of their number dropped beneath the shower of stones with which they +were greeted, they did not even pause, but pressed furiously forward +against their antagonists. + +'Light the petard!' shouted a terrible voice from beneath the archway, +at the sound of which Hillner's arm seemed involuntarily to lose its +power. Immediately afterwards a Swede made his appearance, whose +murderous eyes and bushy red beard were plainly visible in the +torchlight. + +'Father!' cried Hillner sadly; and his strong right arm fell +mechanically at his side, while the left was extended imploringly, as +though to shield him from his father's uplifted sword. + +A frightful oath was the answer, the one that Conrad heard on the +Erbisdorf road, and, by his comrade's wish, wrote down on paper; and +the oath was at once followed up by a desperate cut. The young man's +wounded hand fell helpless; and a second blow his father levelled at +him must undoubtedly have been at once fatal, had not a well-aimed +stone struck the Swede in the face at the critical moment and made him +stagger back. Before he could recover himself, a musket-ball struck +him in the chest, and he fell to rise no more. This fortunate shot, +with a volley of others that now greeted the Swedes, was fired by a +party of men approaching at a rapid pace under the leadership of Master +Prieme. + +'We wanted to snatch a laurel from your wreath,' was his hasty greeting +to Hillner, who, after his father's fall, was once more, with his +uninjured hand, doing vigorous work against the enemy. + +The foe, attacked in rear by the garrison of the water-tower, were +gradually compelled to give way before the superior force of the +Freibergers, and were at length driven back beneath the arched vault of +the Münzbach, a retreat into which the Saxon bullets followed them, +rapidly thinning their ranks. + +'Yield, you dogs!' shouted Prieme, fearful, and not without good +reason, that they might even now explode the petard. + +Thereupon arose a short, sharp contest among the entrapped Swedes, in +which the smaller and more courageous section wished to fire the petard +already sunk in the foundations of the water-tower, and bury all in the +ruins; while the other party did their utmost to prevent this design +from being put into execution. The less bold majority gained the day, +and announced their intention to yield themselves up as prisoners of +war. Jüchziger had received his reward. His body, with a severe wound +on the head, was found lying trampled down by the feet of the Swedish +soldiers into the waters of the Münzbach; and the dangerous petard was +discovered sunk into a hole prepared with much toil and secrecy by +Jüchziger in the strong arch on which the tower stood. + +The fight was hardly over when the commandant appeared, come to see +what was going on. + +'I trust,' said Hillner respectfully, 'that your excellency will pardon +my being here, instead of under arrest where I was placed. I shall now +hasten to give myself up again. But that I am at least no traitor to +my fatherland, this wounded hand may surely bear witness.' + +'My dear Defensioner,' replied Schweinitz heartily, 'the enemy may +commence their grand assault at any moment. There is no time now to +examine into your affair. For the present you are liberated on parole. +Be of good courage, and get your wound attended to the very first +thing.' + +With these words, the commandant, finding his presence no longer +necessary, hastened away. + +The firing on both sides continued till midnight. Then the Freibergers +heard loud sounds of confusion and disturbance and much shouting in the +Swedish camp; but the dreaded general assault was still unaccountably +delayed. + +Between two and three o'clock on the morning of February 17th, there +arrived at the city moat an Imperialist soldier, who had been taken +prisoner by the Swedes before Leipzig, and had now made his escape. On +being admitted into the town, he announced that the enemy were making +hasty preparations for departure, that the military stores were already +loaded, and that he himself had been employed with others in removing +the charges from the Swedish mines. This joyful and unexpected news +passed rapidly from mouth to mouth, and put the whole city in a +ferment. Hope turned to glad certainty, when, at break of day, the +enemy's army, with its artillery and baggage-waggons, was seen marching +away from the city, and taking the road towards Klein-Waltersdorf; +although four or five hundred Swedish dragoons still held the Hospital +Church, whence they fired on the town and on all who issued from it. +The Freibergers, instead of abandoning themselves to the transports of +an excessive joy, re-occupied the Peter Gate without delay, and made a +sortie in which they set fire to the enemy's batteries and advanced +works. + +By about seven in the morning, when the Swedes had finally evacuated +the Hospital Church itself, Imperialists began to arrive before the +city, in small numbers at first, which, however, rapidly increased. +Their officers were astounded at sight of the ramparts and +fortifications, which in many places were almost level with the earth. +Their colonel asked as a particular favour that he might be permitted +to ride his horse into the city over the principal breach by the Peter +Gate. This was readily granted by the commandant, and as easily +accomplished by the gallant officer. Meantime the prudent Freibergers +had not in the least relaxed their diligence in filling up the enemy's +trenches and destroying their batteries, while repairing their own +barbicans and moat, building the former up with gabions, and +strengthening the latter with a stout wooden parapet. + +On the 18th of February, Field-Marshal Piccolomini himself entered +Freiberg, and highly commended the courageous and unexampled defence +that had been made by a town so slightly fortified. The Emperor and +the Elector did not fail to distribute weighty gold chains of office, +patents of nobility, badges of honour, and similar acknowledgments to +the commandant, the Burgomaster, and the city; and Freiberg's fame was +heard far and wide through Europe. Its inhabitants attributed the +glory of their successful defence to God alone; and just as on the 17th +of February 1643, there went up from all the churches of Freiberg, and +from every lip, the devout and thankful song, 'Lord our God, to Thee +our praises,' so has it been on each anniversary since, as each year +has brought round afresh the mountain city's day of joy and +thanksgiving. + +It has never been fully known whether the approach of the Imperial +army, or the failure of the treachery they had planned, or the brave +and desperate resistance of the besieged citizens, caused the Swedes at +last to abandon their idea of a general assault. But one thing is +certain, that the brave Defensioner Hillner was fully cleared of blame +by both Commandant von Schweinitz and Burgomaster Schönleben. Nor was +it long before he was made a free citizen and a master-craftsman, and +that without any cost to himself. + +'My son,' said Schweinitz to the newly made master-carpenter, 'you may +take my word for it, that in war a soldier must have a heart like a +flint, and often say things very different from what he feels. You did +quite right not to fire at your own father, and had I been in your +place, I should very likely have done the same myself. Now that the +enemy is safe out of the way, I may tell you so freely. God grant the +foe may never return.' + +Nor was it long before his young widowed mistress gave her hand in +marriage to her _quondam_ journeyman, and never had the smallest cause +to repent the gift. She kept one secret, and one only, from her +husband; she never told him that the hand he had asked and won was the +hand that had, at exactly the right moment, thrown the stone which was +the means of saving his life. The miller's family, after their return +to Erbisdorf, kept up their friendship for the city home where they had +received so hospitable a welcome. Conrad Schmidt, under Hillner's +watchful care, grew up into a famous carpenter. When in later years +he, too, became a master-craftsman, he rebuilt his mother's house +outside the Peter Gate, making it more beautiful than it had ever been +before. To this new home he brought his old playmate Dollie as his +wife, and she lovingly and carefully tended her husband's blind mother +so long as Mistress Jüchziger needed her ministrations. Roller and +Prieme, and all those who have played their parts so bravely in our +story, lived for many a year as well-to-do citizens; and in the long +winter evenings they delighted to tell one another rousing stories of +the events that happened during that memorable siege. + + +Freiberg has never been besieged again; yet what the artillery and +mines of the warlike foe failed to accomplish, has been brought about +long since by the genial beams of golden peace. + +Freiberg's strong gates and barbicans, her towers, walls, and moats, +have, for the most part, passed away. Where once the cannon thundered, +roses and jessamines now fill lovely gardens with their rich perfume; +where the blood of Saxon burgher and Swedish trooper was once shed in +savage strife, the air now rings with the laughter of happy children; +and no trace is ever seen of those who fought so bravely for their +beloved city more than two hundred years ago. Yet their memory will +never die; it lives on through the ages, and strong and pure, like +Freiberg's native silver, shall endure the story of their faithfulness +to prince and fatherland. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG CARPENTERS OF FREIBERG*** + + +******* This file should be named 19097-8.txt or 19097-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/9/0/9/19097 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Latchmore</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: The Young Carpenters of Freiberg</p> +<p> A Tale of the Thirty Years' War</p> +<p>Author: Anonymous</p> +<p>Release Date: August 21, 2006 [eBook #19097]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG CARPENTERS OF FREIBERG***</p> +<br><br><center><h3>E-text prepared by Al Haines</h3></center><br><br> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<A NAME="img-front"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-front.jpg" ALT="'She seized the robber unexpectedly by the legs, and and tipped him head first into the mighty chest.'" BORDER="2" WIDTH="357" HEIGHT="549"> +<H3> +[Frontispiece: 'She seized the robber unexpectedly by the legs, <BR> +and tipped him head first into the mighty chest.'] +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +THE YOUNG CARPENTERS <BR> +OF FREIBERG. +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A TALE OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Translated from the German by +<BR> +J. LATCHMORE, JUN. +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +EDINBURGH: +<BR> +WILLIAM OLIPHANT & CO. +<BR> +1880. +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +CONTENTS. +</H2> + +<BR> + +<CENTER> + +<TABLE WIDTH="90%"> +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">CHAP.</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> </TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap01">THE MILLER'S WIFE OF ERBISDORF</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap02">THE FAMILY AT HOME</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap03">PRIVATE RIGHTS MUST GIVE PLACE TO PUBLIC NECESSITIES</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap04">THE ENEMY BEFORE THE TOWN</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap05">THE SOWER OF TARES</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap06">THE SECOND ASSAULT</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap07">CONRAD UNDER THE WINDOW-SEAT</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap08">ORDINARY INCIDENTS OF A SIEGE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap09">DIVERSE HUMAN HEARTS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap10">WAR OFTEN OPPOSES THE TEACHINGS OF CHRISTIANITY</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap11">HISTORICAL</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap12">TREACHERY AND DELIVERANCE</A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +ILLUSTRATIONS +</H2> + +<BR> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-front"> +'She seized the robber unexpectedly by the legs, and tipped him <BR> +head first into the mighty chest.' . . . . . . <I>Frontispiece</I> +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-054"> +Conrad recognized an old comrade, John Hillner. +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-111"> +Promise me that I shall have an honourable burial; and let <BR> +the lads say, "A good journey to thee, old comrade!" +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-141"> +Nothing but the moustache on the pale face indicated the <BR> +warlike calling of the man who now addressed Conrad. +</A> +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +THE YOUNG CARPENTERS <BR> +OF FREIBERG. +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE MILLER'S WIFE OF ERBISDORF. +</H3> + +<P> +The ancient and free mountain city of Freiberg lies only about +five-and-twenty miles south-west of Dresden, yet has a far more severe +climate than the Saxon capital—a fact that may be understood if we +remember that the road which leads from Dresden to Freiberg is up hill +almost all the way. The Saxon Erzgebirge must not be pictured as a +chain of separate mountains, with peaks rising one behind the other and +closing in the horizon. Hills and valleys lie mingled, assuming such +long, wave-like forms that in some parts of the district it is +difficult to fancy oneself in a mountain-land at all. Immediately +around Freiberg the landscape takes the form of a wide table-land, +which has an upward slope only on the south-west of the city, so that +from a short distance but little is seen of the town save the tops of +its towers and a confused glimpse of house-roofs. In former days it +was the residence of the Duke of Saxony, and before the Thirty Years' +War contained 32,000 inhabitants, a number which has now dwindled to +19,000. Its ancient fortifications, which of late years have been +rapidly giving place to modern improvements, consisted of a double line +of walls, guarded by towers, pierced by strongly-fortified gates, and +surrounded by a deep and wide moat. The ramparts were built of +quarried stone, which, though much harder than sandstone, was far more +difficult to bind together with mortar. In view of this fact, we may +well be surprised that a place so weakly fortified was able for two +long months to withstand the vehement siege operations of the whole +Swedish army—an army so brave and so highly trained in the art of war, +that it had subdued many far stronger fortresses. Yet so it was: how +the thing came about, and what an important part young Conrad, the +carpenter's apprentice, played in these great events, will be found +narrated in the following pages. +</P> + +<BR> +<HR WIDTH="60%" ALIGN="center"> +<BR> + +<P> +On the 1st of November in the year 1642, a carpenter's apprentice, +Conrad Schmidt by name, passed out at the Erbis Gate of Freiberg, +pushing before him a covered hand-truck. This contained a piece of +carpenter's work that always tells its own sad story—a little child's +coffin. As the truck with its sorrowful burden jolted along over the +rough pavement, the sentry stepped forward from the gate, and asked +inquisitively, 'What have you there, youngster, and where are you off +to?' +</P> + +<P> +'Only a child's coffin for the mill at Erbisdorf.' +</P> + +<P> +'What! has the plague been gleaning among the little brood down there?' +</P> + +<P> +'The plague!' repeated Conrad, bringing his truck to a stand. 'Well, +yes, something like it. Now-a-days the soldiers are the worst plague, +and it was one of them that put an end to the miller's little son.' +</P> + +<P> +'What do you mean by that, boy?' +</P> + +<P> +'Why, Master Prieme,' replied the youth, 'are you the only man in +Freiberg who has not heard the cruel story?' +</P> + +<P> +'How should I know anything about it?' answered the citizen. 'I only +came home from Dresden late last night, and I had to mount guard early +this morning. What has happened to the miller's son?' +</P> + +<P> +'The day before yesterday, in the afternoon,' said the lad, 'a soldier +came to the mill at Erbisdorf and demanded quarters for himself and a +woman that he said was his wife. With the soldiers it is always a word +and a blow, so the miller yielded, and by way of putting his guest into +a good humour, took him straight down to the cellar and gave him a +draught of strong beer. Meantime the miller's wife stayed with the +woman, who, as soon as the coast was clear, declared herself to be a +soldier in disguise, and threatened her hostess with instant death +unless she fetched out all her jewels and valuables on the spot. The +poor woman accordingly had to open her great linen chest, in the bottom +of which her little store of silver was hidden, and in this the ruffian +began to rummage. Just when he had almost emptied it, and was stooping +to reach the last articles from the bottom, a happy thought came into +the brave woman's mind. She seized the robber unexpectedly by the legs +and tipped him head first into the mighty chest; then she slammed down +the lid and had the hasp fastened in a second.' +</P> + +<P> +''Pon my word,' laughed the sentry, 'that was a smart stroke of +business. How the two-legged mouse must have kicked about inside his +trap! And how did things go on after that, my lad?' +</P> + +<P> +'The miller's little son stood by, and his mother, as the quickest way +out of the difficulty, told him to run down to the cellar and whisper +to his father to come and bind the robber. On his way the poor little +fellow met the other villain, who had got rid of his host by some +excuse, and was now coming up-stairs to help his comrade. Well, the +sight of the boy running towards him made him suspicious, so he stopped +him and took him back with him into the mill. When the soldier reached +the room where he had left his comrade, he found that the miller's wife +had bolted the door, and refused to open it; so he threatened to kill +her child, and when the frightened woman persisted in keeping him out, +he was as good, or at least as bad, as his word. Then the murderer +tried to force his way into the house through the mill-wheel, but the +miller's wife set the wheel going, and the fellow'— +</P> + +<P> +'Just so—was flattened like a pancake,' said the sentry. 'She is +something like a brave woman!' +</P> + +<P> +'And when they opened the chest they found 'that the robber inside was +suffocated,' said Conrad, taking up the handle of his truck again. +</P> + +<P> +'Well, he received the due reward of his deeds,' said Master Prieme +gravely. 'But to which side did the two men belong? They must have +been either Swedes or Imperialists.' +</P> + +<P> +'They were just soldiers,' said the youth, 'and when you've said that, +you've said all. Whether they were Saxons, or Swedes, or Imperialists, +it all comes to the same thing. They change about from one master to +another, but they are all alike in tormenting the unhappy people.' +</P> + +<P> +'That's all the fault of this dreadful war,' muttered Prieme. 'It has +been going on now for over twenty-four years. The soldiers are getting +so used to killing people, that they do it even when there are no +enemies for them to kill.' +</P> + +<P> +Conrad hurried on his way. He had not yet reached the village of +Erbisdorf, when his quick eye caught the glitter of a troop of cavalry +coming in the distance. In those days an unarmed person was always +afraid to meet soldiers. Conrad, however, fortunately for him, knew +what he was to do if he met any troopers on the road. He opened his +truck, took out the little coffin, and put it into a shallow dry ditch +by the roadside; then wheeling the truck hastily to the edge of the +road, got into it, and pulled the lid over himself as he lay. He had +not long to wait before the trampling of many horse-hoofs warned him +that the troopers were approaching. The men did not take much notice +of his truck, but some of the horses were frightened at it. Several of +them shied, and their riders urged them on at a rapid trot. The last +man alone could not get his horse to pass it. The animal reared and +threatened to fall backwards on its rider, who appeared to be in a +towering passion. He rode back a short distance, and used all the arts +of his horsemanship to reduce his refractory steed to obedience. The +man did not spare either oaths, spurring, or blows of his heavy whip, +until the horse, still shying but obedient at last, went trembling past +the truck. Then the rider turned the animal back once more, and did +not rest until he had made it leap over the object of its terror. As +it did so, one of its hind hoofs touched the lid of the truck and threw +it back. The soldier turned in mid-career, saw the form of the +apprentice, drew a pistol from his holster like lightning, and fired at +him where he lay. At the report and flash the youth started up, and +the bullet passed close by his hand, grazing the skin, and lodged in +the side of the truck. Fortunately for him, the report of the pistol +had such a startling effect on the already frightened horse, that the +rider could no longer restrain it, and rode off at full speed after his +comrades, leaving the apprentice to pursue his way to Erbisdorf in +peace. On reaching the village, he directed his steps towards the +mill, where he was received by a slender, pale little woman, not at all +like the miller's wife he expected to see, for he had pictured the +heroine of his story as a tall, strong woman, with a loud voice and +great muscular arms. He soon found out his mistake, however, for at +sight of the sorrowful burden he had brought, she cried out, 'What! +must I lay my little Georgie to rest in such a thing as that? Why, my +husband need not have sent to Freiberg for it. We could have made a +prettier resting-place ourselves for my little son, and'— +</P> + +<P> +'Please have patience,' interrupted the apprentice, 'and do not despise +our work before you have examined it. But first, would you be so good +as to give me a bit of sopped bread to tie on my hand; it begins to +burn and smart pretty badly. Just look, Mistress Miller, there's a +Swedish dragoon's bullet in the side of the truck; if you would lend me +a chisel or a pair of pincers, I could get it out, and take it home in +my pocket.' +</P> + +<P> +While the woman was gone to fetch what he had asked for, Conrad carried +the little coffin into the house. +</P> + +<P> +'I know one thing,' he said to the miller's wife when she returned, +'our senior journeyman must be a very smart man; I should think he can +almost hear the grass grow. If he had not been, my last hour would +have come today. "Conrad Schmidt," he said to me before I +started,—"Conrad Schmidt, in these days we must mind what we are +about. You will perhaps meet some soldiers on the way to Erbisdorf, +and if you do, I will tell you how to escape." If he had not told me +what to do, they would have killed me to a certainty. But where is the +poor little boy?' +</P> + +<P> +The miller's wife stepped across to a corner of the room and drew back +a large linen cloth from a bed, disclosing the body of a fine boy +between eight and nine years old. He lay with closed eyes and little +hands peacefully folded on his breast, so quiet that any one might have +thought it was only sleep. +</P> + +<P> +'We found him with his little hands folded just like that,' said the +miller's wife, bursting into tears. 'His soul has gone to heaven, I am +sure.' +</P> + +<P> +'Ah! you can see he did not suffer much,' said Conrad softly, 'and that +is something to be thankful for. Whether the two soldiers were +Imperialists or Swedes, they might have tied the little fellow to a +barn-door and practised at him with their pistols, or tortured him in +fifty cruel ways, as they have often done to others. My mistress +always says it is a happy thing for those who rest peacefully in their +quiet graves. But what have you done with the bodies of the two wicked +men?' +</P> + +<P> +At this question a sudden change came over the miller's wife. A bright +colour rose to her pale face, her eyes sparkled, and her hands clenched +themselves tightly, as her trembling lips gave utterance to the words, +'They lie out there, behind the barn, waiting till the executioner +comes to bury them.' +</P> + +<P> +In the meantime the room had filled with country people, who had +strolled into the mill on hearing that the child's coffin had arrived. +</P> + +<P> +'H'm!' said the young carpenter; 'are you quite sure the dragoons I met +will not come here and find that the two murderers were comrades of +theirs? If they did, your brave deed might cost you dear.' +</P> + +<P> +A smile was the woman's only reply, but a peasant answered for her: +'Dragoons, did you say, youngster? What countrymen were they?' +</P> + +<P> +'Well,' replied Conrad, 'you can't always tell a bird by its feathers, +especially if you don't happen to be a bird fancier. Whether they were +Saxons, Imperialists, or Swedes, I do not know. The soldier that tried +to kill me spoke good German, and he wore a blue doublet with bright +yellow facings.' +</P> + +<P> +'God help us!' cried the peasant. 'They are the Swedes, sure enough; I +have known the blue doublets ever since 1639, the year they did so much +harm to Erbisdorf, when General Bannier made his attack on Freiberg.' +</P> + +<P> +'But come,' said Conrad, trying to rally his own courage, 'there's +plenty of blue cloth and yellow facings in the world besides what is on +Swedish uniforms; and as I told you before, that dragoon could swear in +downright good German.' +</P> + +<P> +'The Swedes! the Swedes!' was now heard from outside the house. 'The +schoolmaster saw them from the top of the church tower.' +</P> + +<P> +'The Swedes are coming!' was the general exclamation as every face +turned pale. 'May heaven have mercy on us!' With this cry the +frightened people rushed out of the room, leaving the terrified young +apprentice and the miller's wife alone together. The latter did not +appear to be much disturbed. She quietly counted out to the lad the +price of the little coffin, and then turned away to lay her son's body +in it. Conrad Schmidt hardly knew what he had better do. First of all +he hid the money he had just received in one of his shoes, and then +began to consider whether he should leave his hand-truck at the mill or +take it back with him to Freiberg. His uncertainty did not last long. +What the horse is to a horseman, that his truck is to a carpenter's +apprentice. Neither the one nor the other will willingly part from his +faithful companion except in great emergencies. Full of inward fears, +but without showing any outward signs of panic, the youth set forth on +his homeward way, a distance of six or eight miles. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE FAMILY AT HOME. +</H3> + +<P> +Conrad reached the town without any further adventure, and found it in +a state of high excitement. The drawbridges before the gates were up, +and the city walls and towers swarmed with armed men. 'The Swedes have +been seen,' was the general outcry, and the mere sound of the words had +been enough to throw the whole place into a ferment. To the number of +about six hundred, the Swedes had appeared and opened a parley with the +town, demanding supplies, and when—as was only to be expected—their +demands were refused, they had drawn off and retired to the +neighbourhood of Wilsdruf. As soon as ever Conrad reached home, which +he did at last, pushing his truck before him and hobbling along in a +very lame fashion over the rough pavement, he took off the shoe he had +turned into a money-box. +</P> + +<P> +'I thought so,' he cried. 'I was sure those hard gulden would raise +blisters. But I say, mistress, that's a great deal better than coming +home without any money at all. I can tell you I have had a narrow +escape. Just look here; this scratch on my left hand was done by a +Swedish bullet aimed at my heart. I have lots of news to tell you +about my journey.' +</P> + +<P> +And then all the people of the house gathered eagerly round to listen +while he told his adventures. Many an accomplished story-teller has +had less attentive listeners than those who hung on the lips of this +humble carpenter's apprentice, transformed into a sort of hero by a +sudden and unexpected accident. Out of doors it was already growing +dark, as the cold November wind swept past the house, driving a few +flakes of snow before it. But in the comfortable livingroom that +adjoined the workshop, the little company sat cozily enough round the +warm stove, listening eagerly to the lad who had seen the dreadful +Swedes, and, wonder of wonders! lived to tell the tale. +</P> + +<P> +'As I lay hidden there in the truck,' said Conrad in conclusion, 'and +heard the soldiers coming like the noise of a great hail-storm, I +almost gave myself up for lost; and when the cover was dashed back, +like a starling falling out of a spout, I thought my last hour was +come.' +</P> + +<P> +'That would not have been so very bad,' said the younger journeyman, +'if one only had to suffer death and nothing worse. But these Swedes +torture people as the very headsman himself would be ashamed to do. My +father died by the dreadful "Swedish Drink," and then they took my +eldest brother, and—ah! it's too horrible to talk about.' +</P> + +<P> +'They hang people up by the feet,' said a miner who was present, 'and +light fires under them to make them tell where their treasures are +hidden. They make their way into the very bowels of the earth, so that +the miners themselves are not safe from them. When wicked General +Bannier was here three years ago, we hid ourselves from the Swedes, +with our wives and children, in the mines. To hinder them from +following us, we lighted fires at the bottom of the shafts, and put all +kinds of pungent things in them, that sent up a thick, stifling smoke +through every cranny and crevice. What followed? While I was sitting +by the fire putting on more fuel,—I had sent my wife and children +farther into the mine to be out of the reek,—something suddenly came +plunging down through the smoke-cloud, and I was astounded to see my +dog, this very Turk here, drop upon me with his four legs all tied +together and fastened to a cord. His tongue was hanging out, and only +a faint quiver or two told me he was not quite dead. What did the +cruel Swedes do that for? They wanted to try whether the smoke was so +bad that human beings would die coming through it, and they let my dog +down first to see.' +</P> + +<P> +'Well, and what happened after that, neighbour Roller?' asked the +carpenter's young widow, as the speaker paused. +</P> + +<P> +'You must excuse me for a minute or two, neighbours,' replied Roller. +'You know we miners are often rather short of breath.' While he was +silent all sat waiting. +</P> + +<P> +'That Turk did not die,' he went on at last, 'you can all see for +yourselves, for here he is, and in very good company too. The animal +happily came down just far enough for me to cut him loose from the +cord. By way of encouraging his tormentors to come down after him, I +threw my mining leather, my shoes, and even my miner's coat, on to the +fire, and they sent up such a pother of smoke that the Swedes gave it +up as a bad job, for that time at all events. I am only a poor miner, +but I never repented giving up my mining leather, my shoes, and my +coat, to save that dog's life.' +</P> + +<P> +'Come to me, Conrad, my son,' said a gentle woman's voice. 'Give me +your hand, and let me feel sure that I have you still, and that you +have really and truly escaped from the dreadful Swedes.' +</P> + +<P> +The apprentice drew near to the speaker, who occupied the place of +honour in the armchair, and the upper part of whose face was hidden by +a large green shade. As he gave his right hand to his blind mother, a +little girl, who sat on a stool at the woman's feet, gently took the +left hand that the Swedish bullet had wounded. +</P> + +<P> +'Does it hurt, poor Conrad?' asked the child earnestly. +</P> + +<P> +'No, little Dollie,' replied the youth. 'The scratch on my hand isn't +nearly so bad as the blisters the hard gulden have made on my feet.' +</P> + +<P> +'Ah!' cried Dollie, with a shudder; 'but how it would have hurt you if +the Swedes had caught you!' +</P> + +<P> +'Dollie is quite right,' said the mistress of the house. 'My late +husband used to say the Swedes came from the same place where the Turks +and the Tartars live, and that that was why they were so cruel.' +</P> + +<P> +The elder journeyman, a young man who had been sitting by with his head +resting on his hand, apparently uninterested in what was passing, at +this point broke into the conversation rather suddenly. 'Have the +Imperialists been one bit less cruel than the Swedes? Have they not +tortured people too?' +</P> + +<P> +'It is perfectly true,' said the miner. 'The Swedes and the +Imperialists are both tarred with the same brush. For plundering, +murdering, and burning, there is not a pin to choose between them.' +</P> + +<P> +'And that,' said the elder journeyman, 'is just because this long, long +war has given us a new sort of men—men in whom desperate greediness +takes the place of a heart, and whose conscience has been replaced by +an empty purse, to fill which is their one object in life. Their +general is their god, and they follow him or desert him just according +as he leads them to victory and plunder, or to defeat. They march from +country to country, selling their services to whichever side they think +will give them the richest booty. Swedes! I can assure you, there is +not a Swede left in the Swedish army, or, at all events, very few. The +men the great Gustavus Adolphus brought over the Baltic Sea are gone +long ago, and those who have taken their places will sell both soul and +body any day to the highest bidder.' +</P> + +<P> +'Yes,' interrupted the apprentice, 'that's just what I say. The Swedes +are no more Swedes than I am; else how could I have understood the +oaths of the Swedish dragoon that fired at me to-day? He swore in good +round German, and it was one of the most wonderful oaths I ever heard. +He said'— +</P> + +<P> +The journeyman sprang up hastily, and put his hand before the lad's +mouth. 'Silence!' he cried earnestly. 'Do not repeat the oath you +heard to any one. When a man has once heard a wicked thing, it sticks +in his memory for years. It is the good things we find so hard to +remember. But to return to the Swedes. Their anger against us is not +altogether without excuse. After our Elector had actually begged for +an alliance with them, to protect him against the Emperor's +tyranny,—after Gustavus Adolphus had fought for us Saxons, bled for +us, won battles for us,—the Elector deserted his new ally as suddenly +as he had joined him, just because fortune frowned on him in one or two +battles. He did more than desert him; he threw himself again into the +arms of the Emperor, whom he had good reason to know for his worst +enemy. For this ingratitude'— +</P> + +<P> +'Come, come, young fellow!' cried the miner, frowning. 'I shall have +to serve you as you did the boy just now. What! You take on yourself +to blame our illustrious Elector and his court! Pray, do you get +better lessons in statesmanship over the glue-pot and vice than what +our Elector and his princely council can teach you? You are forgetting +that you live in the faithful mountain city of Freiberg—a city that is +proud of being loyal to its prince without any grumbling or asking why +and wherefore. "Fear God! honour the king! do right and fear no man!" +That's what the Bible says.' +</P> + +<P> +'I will be prudent and hold my peace,' said the young journeyman +quietly. 'Yet even over the glue-pot and vice thoughts come to a man +that cannot easily be got rid of.' +</P> + +<P> +There followed a pause in the conversation, which lasted until Dollie, +the miner's little daughter, turned to the apprentice with the +question, 'Were the Swedes so very ugly? Had they got horns on their +heads, or only one eye each, like the giants in the "Seven-leagued +Boots," who used to eat little boys and girls? And oh, perhaps they +had dreadful, great mouths, with rows of sharp teeth in them!' +</P> + +<P> +In spite of their terrors, none of those present could restrain their +laughter at the child's artless fears. +</P> + +<P> +'I only had one look at the Swede as he leaped his horse over me,' said +Conrad; 'and he looked just like anybody else, only that he had black +hair and a fierce red moustache, just like'—and he broke off abruptly, +and stared at the elder journeyman, then went on: 'Yes, such a long +moustache that he could have tied it in a knot behind his head.' +</P> + +<P> +'What!' stammered the journeyman, turning pale; 'black hair and a red +moustache?' +</P> + +<P> +'Yes,' replied Conrad; 'it looked so uncommonly odd, that it was the +only thing I noticed about him.' +</P> + +<P> +The journeyman sat silent for the rest of the evening. When the +company had dispersed, he turned to the lad and said: 'My boy, now tell +me the oath you heard the—the Swede use.' +</P> + +<P> +Conrad looked at his companion in astonishment, and saw signs of some +deep emotion on his face. 'But,' he objected, 'only a little while ago +you said I was not to let any one hear the oath, and now'— +</P> + +<P> +'You are quite right,' replied the journeyman. 'Hold fast by what I +told you. But if you write down the words on this piece of paper for +me it will hurt no one. I have a good reason for wanting to see them. +Can you write?' +</P> + +<P> +'I should just think I could,' said Conrad, half offended by the +question. He wrote the words down, and noticed that as soon as the +journeyman had read them he became even paler than before, and muttered +something between his set teeth. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PRIVATE RIGHTS MUST GIVE PLACE TO PUBLIC NECESSITIES. +</H3> + + +<P> +On the 9th of November 1642, the forest of Freiberg presented a scene +of the busiest activity. Several hundred men were at work, and many a +great pine and fir tree bowed its lofty head beneath the stroke of axe +and saw, to fall at last crashing to earth. The wood-cutters from the +mines vied with those from the city—joiners, carpenters, wheelwrights, +and coopers—in thinning the dense masses of beautiful forest trees as +rapidly as possible. Burghers and others, aided by the gaunt-looking +mining people, with earth-stained clothes and red night-caps on their +heads, were loading the long heavy trunks upon drays that stood in +readiness, and driving them off with all speed towards the town. The +wind blew sharp and cool, yet no one complained of the cold; on the +contrary, the large drops that tell of honest toil stood out on many a +swarthy brow. The household of Mistress Blüthgen, the carpenter's +young widow, whose acquaintance we made in the last chapter, were all +among the workers. +</P> + +<P> +'All this looks as if the Swedes were before the gates of Freiberg +now,' said Rudorf, the younger journeyman; 'whereas the fact is, there +isn't a sign to be seen of them anywhere. There does not seem to me to +be any such tremendous hurry, that we can't even stop to have our +dinners.' +</P> + +<P> +'"Make hay while the sun shines,"' said Hillner, the elder journeyman. +'I can tell you Burgomaster Richzenhayn could not have done a wiser and +better thing than to have plenty of wood brought in. It is as needful +for the town as bread—indeed it is almost more needful. If it is not +all wanted for palisadoes, <I>chevaux-de-frise</I>, covered ways, and +galleries, we can always find a use for it in the stoves, and comfort +ourselves with the warmth it will give us.' +</P> + +<P> +'Hallo, you boy!' cried Rudorf, suddenly turning to Conrad the +apprentice; 'look yonder how your step-father is enjoying his bread and +bacon. Only see, too, what a fat bottle of beer he has got standing by +him! Step across to him and ask him to give you a share of his good +things, and to lend us his bottle for a minute or two.' +</P> + +<P> +Conrad, who was busy sharpening a saw, looked up and answered with a +sigh: 'I am glad enough to be out of his sight. If I went to him I +should only get a sound thrashing instead of bread and bacon.' +</P> + +<P> +The two journeymen were both watching Conrad's step-father, the town +servant Jüchziger. As the lad spoke they saw the man leave his table, +the stump of a fallen tree, and go across to a little girl who was busy +picking up the scattered chips that lay about, and storing them in her +long basket. +</P> + +<P> +'You little thief!' he shouted angrily, 'I'll teach you to come here +stealing wood.' He boxed the child's ears soundly, tore her basket off +her back, emptied it, and crushed it under his foot.' +</P> + +<P> +The little one began to cry, not so much on account of the blows she +had received, as over her spoiled basket. +</P> + +<P> +'What a burning shame!' said Conrad. 'It's our Dollie. Poor child, +just look how she trembles!' +</P> + +<P> +Without saying a word, Hillner, the senior journeyman, left his work. +With his saw in his left hand, and his right fist tightly clenched, he +strode up to the town servant, his angry face showing pretty plainly +what was coming. As soon as he reached the offender, his hand +unclenched to grasp Jüchziger by the collar. 'How dare you touch the +child and destroy her basket?' he said, as he shook the astonished man +roughly. 'Will you pay for that basket on the spot, hey?' +</P> + +<P> +It must not be forgotten that a town servant often thinks himself a far +greater man than even a town councillor. The bold and unexpected +attack at first took Jüchziger by surprise, but when he had had time to +take a good look at his assailant, and to see by his blue apron and +general appearance that he was only a journeyman carpenter, all his +rage came back at a bound, and he in his turn began to play the part of +the offended person. He poured out a torrent of abuse on the +journeyman, at the same time trying to collar the young man and pay him +out in kind. By way of making up for the journeyman's superior +strength, Jüchziger brought his official position into play, and called +on the bystanders to come to his assistance. This step, however, only +made matters worse for him. The deed he had been seen to do, the +weeping child, the ruined basket, and the young carpenter's indignant +story, all helped to rouse the popular anger against the offending town +servant. +</P> + +<P> +'What harm had the child done to you?' cried one. 'Are the sticks to +lie here and rot, or be a welcome booty for the Swedes? Pray, how much +could a child like that carry away? Does not the whole forest belong +to us Freibergers, and shall not our own children pick up a basketful +of sticks while we are slaving here without pay? Give the fellow a +sound drubbing! Down with him, if he does not pay for the basket +straight away!' +</P> + +<P> +At these words fifty strong arms were raised threateningly, and +Jüchziger saw that if he meant to save his skin it would be prudent to +fetch out his purse and pay for the basket without loss of time. +</P> + +<P> +'And a groschen[1] for each of the cuffs he gave her,' shouted a voice +from the crowd, and stingy Jüchziger had to obey this order too, which +he did with a very bad grace. Dollie's tears dried up with wonderful +quickness when she saw the shining silver really lying on her little +palm, and she skipped merrily away to the town without either basket or +wood. +</P> + +<P> +While Hillner and Rudorf went quietly back to their work, Jüchziger +kept a watchful eye on the former. As the tiger glares at his victim, +but awaits impatiently the moment when he may safely spring upon it, so +did the town servant promise himself to take a terrible revenge on the +journeyman. As soon as the day's work was over, and the workers had +reached the Peter Gate on their return home, he would have Hillner +arrested by the guard and marched straight off to prison. +</P> + +<P> +An unexpected incident hindered, for the time at all events, the +execution of this promising scheme. The activity of the citizens in +preparing to give the enemy a warm reception had by no means been +confined to their day's work in the forest. Such buildings without the +walls as had escaped in General Bannier's attack were now doomed to +destruction. Thus it came about that the returning wood-cutters found +a large number of people outside the Peter Gate, fetching the furniture +out of their houses, and moving all their goods and chattels into the +town as quickly as possible. +</P> + +<P> +Two houses adjoining one another—one a handsome building and the other +of humbler appearance—had already been stripped of windows, doors, +roofing, and rafters, and busy hands were now at work tearing down the +walls. +</P> + +<P> +When Jüchziger so unmercifully destroyed Dollie's basket, he did not +suspect that at that very moment the same fate was overtaking his +wife's inheritance. For a moment the sight he now saw almost paralyzed +him; then recovering his presence of mind, he hastened towards the +scene of destruction, forgetful of all his plans for revenge. +</P> + +<P> +But his angry protestations were of no avail; even his prayers were all +in vain, which seemed to him very hard. The labourers went quietly and +steadily on with their work, as though it were a thing that had to be +done; and when Jüchziger laid his hand on one and another of them, with +the idea of hindering them by force, he soon found himself repulsed in +no very gentle fashion. While he stood in front of his little house +wringing his hands, the very picture of misery and irresolution, a +well-dressed man, of respectable appearance though he was covered with +dust and bits, came out of the door of the larger mansion. +</P> + +<P> +'Oh, my dear neighbour Löwe!' cried Jüchziger, 'advise me, stand by me, +help me to send this rabble about their business! I only married the +old blind woman because she owned this house, and now that there's no +getting out of the bargain they are tearing my nest to pieces before my +very eyes. Come, my dear neighbour, let us hasten at once to the +burgomaster. You are a man of influence in the city, and your request +added to mine will, even now, soon put a stop to this shocking +business.' +</P> + +<P> +'Our trouble would be all in vain,' replied Lowe quietly. 'These +buildings are being pulled down by order of the burgomaster himself and +of the town council; and quite right too, although I suffer a serious +loss by it. "Private rights must always give place to public +necessities." I was the first man to lay hands on my own house, and +that makes it less hard for me to bear.' +</P> + +<P> +In his heart Jüchziger cursed the good man for a fool, and turned away +from him in a rage. 'If only Richzenhayn were not the acting +burgomaster,' he said to himself. 'If Herr Jonas Schönleben were only +at the head of affairs, he would be certain to listen to me. The +cowardly blockheads! There is not a single Swedish plume to be seen +round the whole horizon, and yet they must needs begin pulling down +houses. But I will have ample compensation, or the whole town shall +smart for it.' +</P> + +<P> +'My poor, poor mother,' thought Conrad sorrowfully, as he watched the +destruction of her little property. 'Father will make her pay dearly +for all this that he is muttering and grumbling about there. Oh, +whatever will become of her?' +</P> + +<P> +Jüchziger lived with his wife in the town, and the elder men gave +Conrad leave to run on ahead, that he might have time to tell his +mother about the destruction of her house, and prepare her for the +outburst of passion she might expect when her husband reached home. +</P> + +<P> +The citizens of Freiberg were preparing at all points for the expected +siege. All the corn, hay, and straw stored at their farms in readiness +for the coming winter was brought into the city, and every care was +taken betimes that there should be no danger of famine; for experience +teaches that more strongholds have been conquered by hunger than by +hard fighting. The fear that the Swedes inspired in the city increased +when it became known that Leipzig and Pleissenburg had fallen into +their hands on November 28, and that Silberstadt was their next +destination. It was a fortunate circumstance that armies in those days +could not move so quickly as they can now. Thanks to this fact, +Freiberg had time to make all due preparation for the enemy's +reception. John George II., 'the father of his people,' was not remiss +in caring for the mountain city. He sent Lieutenant-Colonel George +Hermann von Schweinitz, a brave and experienced commander, with three +companies of infantry and one of dragoons, to conduct the defence. +These troops mustered only two hundred and ninety men all told; yet +this little band, aided by the citizens, gloriously held at bay for two +long months an entire Swedish army of eight brigades, with a hundred +and nine pieces of artillery. +</P> + +<P> +Hillner, the journeyman carpenter, was still a free man; for Jüchziger +had determined to find some other way of satisfying his thirst for +vengeance, and had therefore laid aside his schemes till a more +convenient season. In spite of the dark and doubtful future, busy life +reigned in the workshop of the carpenter's widow, as it re-echoed once +again to the din of tools wielded by the two journeymen and the +apprentice. One day—it was the 4th of December in the memorable year +1642—the hollow roll of drums was heard coming down the street, and +the senior journeyman, laying his plane on the bench, crossed the +workshop to look out at the window facing the street. Having done so, +he at once left the workroom and went out to the street door, followed +by his two comrades, to watch the entrance of the regular soldiers, who +were just marching into the town. +</P> + +<P> +There were, as has already been said, only two hundred and ninety men, +yet the mere sight of them awakened joyful and reassuring feelings in +the breasts of all who saw them. The roll of the drums in itself had +an inspiriting effect. As the townspeople gazed at the long, level +lines, and heard the heavy, regular tramp beneath which the very +pavement seemed to shake; as they saw each bronzed face with its look +of stedfastness and assured courage, the open iron helmet on the head, +the breastplate covered by a military coat reaching to the knees and +allowing the body free play from the hips, the halberd grasped in the +strong right hand, and the shield in the left, bearing the Saxon +coat-of-arms,—as these various points were noted and remarked on, each +moment brought fresh courage to hearts that had been almost ready to +despond. In all ages there have been jealousies and strife between the +military and the respectable burgher class, and Freiberg was no +exception to this rule. But to-day the soldiers were welcomed with +loud and joyful shouts, which they, fully conscious of their own value, +acknowledged by friendly nods as they passed along the streets. +</P> + +<P> +Conrad Schmidt, standing beside the miner's little daughter Dollie, +watched the warlike procession with the curious eyes of youth. From +time to time he stole a glance at the senior journeyman, observing his +movements with surprise and some amusement. The young man had taken +off his blue apron, and held it rolled up in his left hand, while his +right grasped the carpenter's square, exactly as the soldiers held +their halberds. His whole bearing was changed; he had become +positively warlike; his eyes flashed, and his feet rose and fell in +measured time, as though he could hardly restrain himself from marching +off at the sound of the drum. Conrad laughed and shook his head +merrily, but kept back a speech he had been on the point of making when +he saw the change in his old friend. +</P> + +<P> +'I was right after all,' he said to himself. 'If he were just to let +his beard grow, he would be exactly like'— His sentence was left +unfinished, for at this moment he heard his mistress' voice reproving +them for neglecting their duty, and they all hastened back into the +workshop. +</P> + +<P> +The commandant made it his first business to inspect the condition of +the fortifications, strengthening them wherever that was possible, and +obstructing the approaches in every way that could offer impediments to +an enemy's successful advance. The approach of the foe was plainly +indicated by the number of country people who now poured steadily into +the town, seeking shelter behind the city walls for their household +goods, their wives, children, and cattle. Long trains of waggons and +droves of animals, accompanied by men, and beasts of burden bearing +heavy loads, were making their way towards the gates of Freiberg; and +the city authorities thought themselves bound in honour not to repulse +these suppliants for shelter, but rather to make their town what every +such town ought to be in time of war, a true city of refuge for all +needy ones. Moreover, many strong arms would be wanted to defend the +widespreading ramparts; and the former siege by General Bannier had +proved how well the country people could fight in defence of their +liberties. +</P> + +<P> +'Hallo! ho there!' shouted a powerful voice one afternoon late in +December, beneath the window of Mistress Blüthgen, the carpenter's +widow, and the brawny hand of a burly countryman knocked so vigorously +on the window itself that the glass shivered under the blow. 'Can't +you make room in your house for a small family? I have always been a +regular customer of yours, and many is the gulden I have spent with +you.' +</P> + +<P> +At this abrupt demand, journeymen and apprentice hastened to the +window. Six asses, each laden with a heavy sack of flour, stood before +the door of the house lazily turning their long ears backward and +forward, as though they felt quite sure of finding comfortable quarters +there. Farther down the street was a heavily-loaded waggon with two +powerful brown horses. In the waggon, almost buried among beds and +other household gear, sat a woman with a baby in her arms. Four cows, +in charge of a servant-maid, were lowing behind the waggon, and a dozen +sheep stood bleating round them. Mistress Blüthgen did not take many +seconds to settle with her would-be lodger, whose calling in life was +shown by the floury state of his clothes. +</P> + +<P> +'That is the miller from Erbisdorf,' said Conrad, and at a sign from +his mistress hastened to open the yard gates, that the fugitives might +put their various possessions under cover. Willing hands were soon at +work unloading and stowing away the goods, and before long the miller, +leaving his wife established in her new home, set off with his waggon +to return to Erbisdorf and fetch the rest of his possessions. +</P> + +<P> +'Praise be to God!' cried Mistress Blüthgen joyfully. 'We shall not +starve now, even if the Swedes do come. God grant they may neither +take the town, nor set it on fire over our heads with their shells.' +</P> + +<P> +'We must all do our best to prevent it,' said Hillner boldly. 'God +gave us strong arms and brave hearts for that very purpose.' +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +[1] A small German coin. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE ENEMY BEFORE THE TOWN. +</H3> + + +<P> +The tower of St. Peter's Church rises high into the air above all the +other buildings of Freiberg. In those early days church-towers were +too often used for purposes with which religion had but little to do. +Grim cannon sometimes stood there, not to fire harmless salutes on days +of public rejoicing, but more often to be loaded with deadly missiles +and fired at an enemy. Thus it happened that one of these instruments +of death had been planted in the highest chamber of the St. Peter's +Tower at Freiberg. Round this cannon, on December 27, 1642, stood +Burgomaster Jonas Schönleben and several others, among whom were +Hillner the journeyman, and the town servant Jüchziger. Winter had +come in all its might, and the cold, particularly up here in the windy +tower, was very severe, while snow lay deep over all the surrounding +landscape. The eyes of those present were intently gazing beyond the +town, to where, on the hill above the Hospital Church, many cavalry +soldiers could be seen moving about and beginning to take up their +positions. There had been a good deal of doubt expressed in the town +as to whether the Swedish commander really meant to undertake a siege +up there among the mountains at such an inclement season, with snow +lying thickly on the frozen ground. The appearance of these horsemen +and their business-like movements seemed to set such doubts at rest +once for all. +</P> + +<P> +'Respected Herr Burgomaster,' began Jüchziger, 'in my humble opinion +those soldiers are not Swedes at all, but Imperialists who have reached +us from Bohemia before the enemy had time to come up. I should think +Marshal Piccolomini has sent them to frighten the Swedes into leaving +the city alone.' +</P> + +<P> +'What we ardently wish we soon believe,' and Jüchziger's speech found +favour with the Burgomaster no less than with his other hearers. +Hillner alone said respectfully but firmly, 'Herr Burgomaster, they are +Swedes beyond the possibility of doubt. I know them well; they are +Diedemann's dragoons.' +</P> + +<P> +'And how may you happen to know that, young man?' asked Schönleben +gloomily. +</P> + +<P> +'Because—well, in fact, because I once served among the Swedes +myself,' replied Hillner. +</P> + +<P> +'What!' cried Schönleben in astonishment; 'you a Swede, and here in +Freiberg!' +</P> + +<P> +'I crave your pardon, Herr Burgomaster,' returned Hillner. 'By this +time very few in the Swedish army are really Swedes at all; they are +men gathered in from all nations—not a few of them from Saxony itself. +Many a citizen and countryman too has been driven by starvation to take +up the hard life of a soldier just to get the means of keeping body and +soul together. Others have been dragged by force into the Swedish +ranks, as I was. I only served one year, the year in which General +Bannier laid siege to Freiberg. I was wounded in the course of that +siege, taken prisoner, and brought into the city, and being recognised +for a Saxon born and bred, I was allowed to return to my trade. I am +just about to become a master carpenter, and have already applied to be +enrolled among the citizens.' +</P> + +<P> +'Your name?' +</P> + +<P> +'John Hillner of Struppen, near Pirna. Might I entreat your worship's +gracious influence on my behalf?' +</P> + +<P> +'I am not yet acting-Burgomaster,' replied Schönleben rather shortly. +'You must make your application to my brother in office, Burgomaster +Richzenhayn.' +</P> + +<P> +'But your worship will be in office in two or three days,' persisted +Hillner, in a tone of entreaty. 'And when you are so, let me beg you +kindly to remember my request.' +</P> + +<P> +'I'll take good care to see all about that,' muttered Jüchziger to +himself. 'And thank you, Master Shavings, for giving me a handle to +catch hold of you by.' +</P> + +<P> +Hillner's practised eye had not deceived him. The cavalry, between +seven and eight hundred in number, proved to belong to the enemy, and +sharply attacking the Saxon dragoons sent out to observe them, +compelled them to retire within the fortifications. Upon this the +commandant at once made all necessary preparations for defending the +town. Two companies of infantry, under Captain von Arnim, had charge +of the Peter Gate; Major Müffel, with his own men and some others, +mounted guard at the Erbis and Donat Gates; Captain Badehorn, with the +City Guard, garrisoned the Electoral Castle and the Kreuz Gate, +together with the works and space that lay between. The remaining +citizens were told off to defend the posterns and walls, in which task +they were assisted by companies of country-people and journeymen of the +various city guilds armed in all haste. Some of these auxiliaries also +waited, drawn up in their ranks before the town hall, ready to march at +a moment's notice to any specially threatened point. To the brave and +faithful miners were assigned the most dangerous duties of all, such as +extinguishing the fires caused by shells, repairing the defences +wherever the enemy might destroy them, counter-working such mines as +should be directed against the town, and making sorties to destroy the +enemy's trenches and siege-works. When all the inhabitants capable of +bearing arms had been thus told off to their several duties, the old +men, women, and children were requested to observe the appointed hours +for prayer, and ask help from the Almighty in the city's time of need. +</P> + +<P> +Marshal Torstenson appeared before Freiberg on December 29. He at once +took possession of the Hospital Church and a mansion near it, both of +these buildings lying at some little distance outside the Peter Gate; +here he planted a battery of artillery, the guns of which were levelled +at the St. Peter's Tower. Before commencing hostilities, however, the +Swedish marshal sent a trumpeter to the town to inquire whether the +commandant intended to defend the place, what was his name, and whether +he knew him, Torstenson. The intrepid commandant returned for answer +that his name was George Hermann von Schweinitz, and that he hoped the +marshal would spend no more time in asking questions, but set at once +to work, when he trusted to find him a right valiant soldier. +</P> + +<P> +On the same day an extraordinary surprise befell Conrad Schmidt. He +was setting things straight in the workshop, which now stood silent and +deserted, when he heard heavy footsteps approaching, and behold, in +marched an armed man whom he seemed to know and yet not to know. The +visitor wore a broad cocked hat with a little bunch of feathers at the +side, and a short tunic of green cloth, the collar and edges of which +were thickly laced with gold brocade wherever the broad sword-belt girt +round his body permitted them to be seen. From left shoulder to right +hip hung the bandolier or cartridge-belt, which was adorned with many +golden tufts, and partly hid the lion of the Freiberg city arms +embroidered on his breast. Tight breeches of green cloth reached to +the ankles, where they were met by high shoes slashed on the inner +side, and fitting much more neatly to the foot than do the shoes worn +in the present day. A long gun with a large old-fashioned German lock, +and a curved sabre, completed the equipment of the soldier, in whom +Conrad recognised first a member of the city guard known as the +'Defensioners,' and then his old comrade, John Hillner. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-054"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-054.jpg" ALT="Conrad recognised an old comrade, John Hillner." BORDER="2" WIDTH="362" HEIGHT="542"> +<H3> +[Illustration: Conrad recognised an old comrade, John Hillner.] +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +'Do I look better now,' asked the newly-fledged soldier, 'than in my +blue apron and coloured jerkin, in the days when I handled the plane +and square?' +</P> + +<P> +'Whoever could have guessed,' cried Conrad, heedless of the question, +'that you would be made a Defensioner! But are you a citizen, and do +you know your drill? The Defensioners never admit a man unless he is a +citizen and knows his exercises.' +</P> + +<P> +'I know my drill all right enough,' replied John, 'and I daresay I +shall get my certificate of citizenship. Your own eyes can tell you +whether I am a Defensioner or not.' +</P> + +<P> +'And you have got a beard coming too,' said Conrad, laughing. 'It's +only a little one yet, but anybody can see that it is a beard. Hallo! +Why, I declare you look uncommonly like that Swede who shot'— +</P> + +<P> +Hillner's face darkened suddenly, as he interrupted Conrad with the +abrupt question, 'Is the mistress in the house?' +</P> + +<P> +'Here she comes,' said Conrad, pointing to the living-room door, +through which the young widow was just entering the workshop. What +wonders a uniform can work! Mistress Blüthgen coloured with pleasure +when she saw her foreman in his new dress, asked how he was in very +friendly tones, and sent the apprentice to fetch some refreshments for +him. +</P> + +<P> +On his way to the cellar Conrad said to himself: 'So at last he has let +his beard grow, and he always used to shave it all off and hide every +scrap of the hair. Bah! I knew long enough ago that it was as red as +the beard of that ugly Swede who tried to shoot me. It's an uncommonly +odd thing; coal-black hair and a red beard!' +</P> + +<P> +When the lad reached the living-room again, he found the entire +household, including the miller and his wife, with little Dollie and +her father, gathered round the gaily dressed young guardsman. +</P> + +<P> +'How do matters look as to the Swedes?' asked the miller. +</P> + +<P> +'The marshal has sent a messenger to ask our commandant a question or +two, and has had his answer.' +</P> + +<P> +'And what were the questions and answers?' +</P> + +<P> +The roar of cannon followed close on the words, and the women and +children huddled together in alarm. +</P> + +<P> +'You may give a pretty good guess by that what they were,' replied +Hillner. 'That's Marshal Torstenson's way of telling us how he likes +his answer.' +</P> + +<P> +The thunder of the guns was heard again. While all were gazing in the +direction whence the reports seemed to come, they saw a flash issue +from the side of St. Peter's Tower, followed in a few seconds by a loud +report. +</P> + +<P> +'There you have question and answer again,' said Hillner. This +exchange of shots had not gone on for very long, however, before the +fire of the Swedes destroyed the topmost parapet of the tower. The gun +planted there was silenced, and had to be moved down to a lower +chamber. By way of covering this movement, the garrison opened a heavy +fire with cannon and double arquebuses on the Swedes, who had ventured +rather nearer to the town than was quite prudent. +</P> + +<P> +'Now I must be off,' said John suddenly. 'The game has begun, and I +must go and take my share in it. May God keep you all! Good-bye!' +</P> + +<P> +As he hastened away the assembled household watched his retreating +figure with very various feelings. +</P> + +<P> +The next day, December 31, in spite of the snow and the heavy fire of +the garrison, the Swedes opened their entrenchments before the Peter +Gate, and planted three mortars there, which threw great stones, +shells, and hundred-and-fifty pound shot into the town. +</P> + +<P> +Thus closed the old year 1642, and the new year was not destined to +open upon brighter or more joyful prospects. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE SOWER OF TARES. +</H3> + + +<P> +The 1st of January, 1643, had hardly dawned, when the town servant +Jüchziger presented himself before the new acting-Burgomaster, Herr +Jonas Schönleben. +</P> + +<P> +'Respected Herr Burgomaster,' he began humbly, 'permit the most +unworthy of all your servants to be first in wishing you a happy new +year, and congratulating you on the honour you have now attained. The +new year promises to be a very hard one, and your new office will be +harder still. I thank God that in these difficult times we are so +happy as to have your worship for our Burgomaster.' +</P> + +<P> +'I am obliged to you, Jüchziger,' replied Schönleben feelingly. 'I am +obliged to you for all your kind wishes. Yes, these are indeed hard +times in which I undertake the management of public business. The care +of more than sixty thousand souls is laid on me at a time when even a +Solomon would have had need of all his wisdom. This thought has been +much in my mind, and last night I followed the wise king's example,—I +commended myself earnestly to God, praying Him to teach me the right, +and then to give me strength and courage to do it.' +</P> + +<P> +'To maintain the right with strength and courage against all comers, +against friends as well as foes,' said Jüchziger. 'For, alas! how many +are there who would be only too glad to interfere with your worship's +rights as Burgomaster, and put all your wise intentions aside to carry +out their own selfish schemes,—men who would be only too glad, in a +word, to leave you the mere name of acting-Burgomaster, and nothing +more. I am quite sure it is your worship's kindly heart that has made +you give ear to them until misfortune is hanging over the town, and the +citizens and the rest are all bemoaning themselves, while your +worship's false friends raise their heads like snakes, as they are, to +sting you the moment your worship's back is turned.' +</P> + +<P> +Schönleben stood silent, gazing thoughtfully on the ground. +</P> + +<P> +'Did either your worship or any of our other worthy magistrates give +orders for every armed journeyman to receive a gulden a week and two +pounds of bread a day?' continued Jüchziger in an injured tone; 'or +that on this very New Year's Day, eight hundred Freiberg citizens +should tear up the pavement in the streets of their own city to protect +the houses from the Swedish cannon? Do you know, respected Herr +Burgomaster, that that young Swedish turncoat who was so impudent to +you in the St. Peter's Tower, and demanded to be made a citizen, has +been admitted by the commandant into the City Guard, contrary to all +custom and right? Who will guarantee that the pretended Saxon is not +really a spy, plotting to betray the city into the hands of the Swedes +the first chance he gets?' +</P> + +<P> +'Is this really so?' asked Schönleben with displeasure. +</P> + +<P> +'If you doubt my word, your worship can easily see for yourself,' +replied Jüchziger. 'The fellow struts about the streets every day in +his Defensioner's uniform, until he nearly runs himself off his legs.' +</P> + +<P> +'Tell Badehorn, the captain of the City Guard, to meet me here in an +hour's time,' said Schönleben angrily; 'and bid him be ready to explain +why he has admitted a stranger among his men in this irregular way.' +</P> + +<P> +'The soldier,' continued Jüchziger, 'risks nothing in war but just his +life. The citizen risks a great deal more, for he has a wife and +children, hearth and home. When a town is taken, the soldiers are +either made prisoners of war or allowed to march out unhurt; it is into +the citizen's house that the enemy comes, to ill-use his wife, +children, and servants. These Swedes now are pressing the siege of our +town so hard that we cannot possibly hold out for long. They say that +even if Torstenson offers us fair terms, the commandant means to refuse +them without even asking your worship anything about it, and so to give +the town up to be stormed and pillaged. Now I, in my humble way, +should have thought your worship's voice ought to count for something +in this matter. Your worship knows what is for the good of the town a +great deal better than a soldier of fortune that has only been here a +few weeks.' +</P> + +<P> +The Burgomaster made no reply. His thoughtful air, however, as he +stood absently drumming on the window-pane, showed that the +mischief-maker had not spoken in vain. By way of striking while the +iron was hot, Jüchziger continued: 'As I was on my way to your +worship's house this morning, I saw the Herr Burgomaster Richzenhayn +going to call on the commandant, no doubt meaning to offer him a new +year's greeting. Are you going to do the same, most noble sir, or +don't you think a Burgomaster of the free city of Freiberg—which, with +refugees, now counts over sixty thousand souls—is at least as good a +man as the commander of two hundred and ninety soldiers?' +</P> + +<P> +Schönleben clasped his hands behind his back, and paced slowly and +thoughtfully up and down his room. +</P> + +<P> +If any reader mentally charges the author with exaggeration here, he +does him an injustice. The writer has had many opportunities of +knowing officials, both of high and low degree, who were, quite +unconsciously to themselves, tools in the hands of their servants, the +latter being permitted a freedom of speech that would never have been +tolerated in equals. Such servants have always had the knack of making +themselves indispensable, while preserving an outward appearance of the +deepest humility; and thus it has often come to pass that a lord has +been made to discharge a shaft aimed by his humble vassal. +</P> + +<P> +When Jüchziger's crafty eye saw that the arrow he had thus been +pointing was, so to speak, ready to be loosed from the bow, he adroitly +changed the subject of conversation to something that lay much nearer +his heart. +</P> + +<P> +'You are aware, respected Herr Burgomaster,' he began again in a +wheedling tone, 'that when I entered on my office I married the widow +of Schmidt, my predecessor. I did it partly out of compassion for the +poor woman, and partly to save the town the expense of keeping her and +her son, who is now a boy of fourteen years old. My wife, a woman five +years older than myself, all at once went stone blind, so that now I am +forced to have a servant to wait on her. I had the good fortune to +apprentice the boy to Mistress Blüthgen, the carpenter's widow, but his +mother has petted and pampered him until he is a good-for-nothing, lazy +young rascal. And now that the workshops are closed and the craftsmen +and journeymen all take their turn at military duty, the boy's mistress +threatens to send him home and put me to the expense of keeping +him,—me that scarcely knows which way to turn for bread to feed my +wife and her servant! The worst of it is that all my wife's little +property, a small house outside the Peter Gate, has been levelled with +the ground by order of Burgomaster Richzenhayn, and I have never had a +single kreuzer[1] for my loss. The house was worth three hundred and +fifty gulden.[2] Gracious Herr Burgomaster, take me and my small +family under your powerful protection, help me to get proper +compensation for my house, and I shall be your grateful servant all the +days of my life.' +</P> + +<P> +'My dear Jüchziger,' interposed Schönleben, 'be assured I will do all I +can. The times are so bad that the town will want all its strength, +and all its money, to defend itself against the Swedes, and we shall +have to leave our private interests in the background for a while; but +I will see that you suffer no actual want through this misfortune.' +</P> + +<P> +Jüchziger concealed the disappointment he felt on hearing these words, +thanked the Burgomaster for his kind intentions, and took his leave. +</P> + +<P> +'Do not forget to send Badehorn here!' Schönleben called after him as +he went out. In a comparatively short time he made his appearance +again. +</P> + +<P> +'Captain Badehorn presents his respectful compliments to the Herr +Burgomaster, and begs to inform his worship that he cannot have the +honour of waiting on him at the time mentioned.' Here Jüchziger +discreetly paused. +</P> + +<P> +'And why not?' asked Schönleben, starting up. 'Are the ties of +obedience that bind citizen to magistrate broken already?' +</P> + +<P> +'He cannot come,' continued Jüchziger, 'because the orders of +Commandant von Schweinitz forbid it. They are every instant expecting +an attack to be made by the Swedes, and the commandant has ordered +every man to remain at his post.' +</P> + +<P> +'Ah, of course! That is quite a different thing,' said Schönleben, as +his angry brow grew smooth again. 'Badehorn could not act otherwise, +and it becomes my duty to go and see him if I want my question +answered.' +</P> + +<P> +When Burgomaster Schönleben left his house somewhat later in the day, +the death-like stillness that reigned throughout the usually busy city +weighed on his spirit. Not a clock was striking, not a bell rang out +its joyful peal in welcome to the new year. Only at long intervals did +he see a human being pass along the street, and then it was in fear and +haste. On the other hand, as he went on his way, he saw at various +points large bodies of men standing silent in their ranks, waiting the +call of duty and the word of command. Here were the vigorous +journeymen of the different trades, and the stalwart country-people; +there the trusty miners, some with nondescript weapons, others armed +with pick-axes, mattocks, and long guns, or provided with ladders and +great buckets of water, in readiness for an alarm of fire. In the +streets adjoining the Erbis and Kreuz Gates, bustling activity was the +order of the day. Hundreds of tireless workers were tearing up the +paving of the roadways, while women and children carried away the +stones, and piled them against the houses. Not a creature complained +of the cold, though it was by no means small. +</P> + +<P> +As Schönleben drew near to the city wall and the Kreuz Gate, one +helmeted head after another came into view, rising above the +battlements, and there was a certain comfortable sense of security in +the knowledge that they were the heads of the armed citizens mounting +guard. Men standing still feel the cold severely, and accordingly huge +fires had been built in some of the sheltered corners, round which the +armed burghers stood chatting, each with his firelock ready to hand. +</P> + +<P> +On inquiring for Captain Badehorn, Schönleben was told that the captain +had been summoned by the commandant, and that the lieutenant of the +City Guard, Peter Schmohl, had command of the Defensioners in the +absence of his superior officer. Schönleben tried to make out the +Swedish deserter among the Defensioners present, but was obliged to +return home without having done so. Hardly had he turned his back on +the fortifications, when the Swedish cannon opened fire on the Peter +Gate and the neighbouring defensive works. After firing a score of +shots, however, Torstenson sent to the commandant, demanding the +surrender of the town. He had, he said, paraded his army and fired a +salute in his honour; should any further resistance be offered, he +would the next day attack the town more vigorously, and destroy it. +The commandant sent a polite but firm refusal, and on the following day +Torstenson fulfilled the first part of his threat by opening a terrible +fire against the town. In six hours his artillery discharged over +thirteen hundred shots, by which the Peter Gate, the adjoining tower, +and a portion of the city wall were all severely injured, while many +shells, and a perfect hailstorm of large stones, passed over the +ramparts into the town itself. Then the enemy drew near with flying +colours, bringing ladders, for the purpose of scaling the ramparts. By +way of rendering their task easier, they exploded their first mines, +which, however, did not accomplish all that was expected from them. +</P> + +<P> +Meantime the besieged, on their part, were by no means idle. To +prevent the storming of the breach at the Peter Gate, two cannon were +planted in Peter Street, the gaps in the ramparts were hastily +repaired, the bastions and inner defences of the gate itself were +strengthened, while large quantities of hand-grenades and other +ammunition were laid in readiness. Thus prepared, the citizens +confidently awaited the threatened attack, which, however, did not take +place, partly, it was supposed, because of a violent snow-storm that +came on, and partly through the failure of the mines. Scarcely had the +Swedish troops withdrawn in the evening, when the besieged made a +sortie, in which the miners cleared the moat of the rubbish that +encumbered it, and picked up a considerable number of cannon-balls, +which they carried into the town as valuable booty. +</P> + +<P> +The Swedes maintained their fire throughout the whole of that evening, +and far into the night, to prevent the Freibergers from rebuilding +their fortifications; in the course of this firing a miner and a +forester were killed in the city, and several others among the +defenders severely wounded. On the next day, January 3d, the firing +was renewed with heavy siege-guns in addition to the lighter pieces, +and a second mine was sprung, making a breach seventy feet wide in the +city wall. As soon as this result had been achieved, the Swedes, to +the number of two hundred, delivered their first assault against the +Peter Gate. The fighting, however, only lasted about a quarter of an +hour, and ended in the complete repulse of the besiegers. +</P> + +<P> +During the lull that followed, Jüchziger arrived at the house of +Burgomaster Schönleben, to announce that Colonel von Schweinitz wished +to speak with him, and requested his worship to come to him at once for +that purpose. +</P> + +<P> +Jüchziger's tone and look were carefully calculated to provoke the +Burgomaster's pride, and Schönleben made a sign for the messenger to +withdraw. 'Am I his slave?' he broke out angrily, as soon as the man +was out of hearing. 'Have I not every bit as good a right to send for +him as he has to send for me? I will soon let him know which of us has +the best right to command here!' +</P> + +<P> +But when the first heat of his anger had spent itself, quieter thoughts +began to prevail. +</P> + +<P> +Schönleben was at heart far too noble and conscientious a man to +sacrifice the welfare of a great city, entrusted to his keeping, to a +sense of his own offended dignity. 'One must not be too particular,' +he said to himself, 'about an affront from a rough old soldier; after +all, he may wish to speak about some matter of importance. At all +events, I will just go and hear what he has to say.' +</P> + +<P> +With thoughts like these working in his mind, Schönleben betook himself +to the commandant, who laughed boisterously as he shook hands with his +visitor, and began at once with: 'Torstenson has already sent a third +time to demand the surrender of the city, as if he thought he had +knocked us into a cocked hat by that assault we repulsed so easily. He +has been kind enough, too, to remind me that Breisach, Regensburg, +Gross-Glogau, and Leipzig have all been besieged and taken by the +Swedes, and to add that it is quite out of the question for a badly +fortified place like Freiberg to withstand his power. We are not to +count on any assistance, and if I reject his present kind offers he +will take the place by storm, and will not spare even the babe at its +mother's breast.' +</P> + +<P> +'And what answer do you propose to send to all this, Herr Colonel?' +asked Schönleben. 'I suppose you sent for me to see what my opinion +might be?' +</P> + +<P> +'Not a bit of it, my dear Schönleben, I assure you,' replied von +Schweinitz, laughing. 'The Swede has received his answer some time +since, and there was not the smallest need to trouble you in any way +about the matter. The enemy has received from me, take my word for it, +the only possible answer a soldier could send to such a demand, and I +now want to consult with you about pushing matters a little farther.' +</P> + +<P> +'But,' said Schönleben in an offended tone, 'I should have thought that +as acting-Burgomaster I ought at least to have had a word to say where +the weal or woe of the thousands of families under my care was at +stake. Pray, what is to happen when you and your soldiers are all +killed, the citizens and other combatants worn out with their excessive +duties in this bitter weather, the walls destroyed, the gates taken by +storm, and the Swede bursts in at last to put his threats into +execution?' +</P> + +<P> +'What!' cried Schweinitz, astounded by this sudden outburst. 'Is it +the Burgomaster of the loyal city of Freiberg I hear speaking such +words as these?' +</P> + +<P> +'Undoubtedly it is,' replied Schönleben; 'and when Leipzig chose of her +own free will to open her gates to the Swedish forces, she was not +branded as disloyal. I am not speaking now of surrender, but of my +absolute right to have at least one word in all that concerns Freiberg.' +</P> + +<P> +'Listen to me, Herr Schönleben,' said Schweinitz roughly, 'and hear my +fixed determination. Our illustrious prince and lord, John George of +Saxony, has entrusted to me, George Hermann von Schweinitz, the defence +of this city of Freiberg, with orders to hold it to the last man. That +being so, I stand in no need of advice from you, either now or at any +other time. As commandant, I am here to give orders, and you are here +to obey them. Whoever talks to me of surrender shall be considered a +traitor to his country, and treated accordingly. Basta!'[3] And +Schweinitz emphasized the close of his speech by a thundering blow of +his fist on the table before him, and turned his back on the +Burgomaster in high dudgeon. Schönleben himself, as he took his +departure and returned home, was quite as angry a man as the indignant +warrior. +</P> + +<P> +'God is my witness,' said the Burgomaster to himself, when, somewhat +later, he was thinking the matter over more quietly, 'that neither +cowardice nor disloyalty to my prince made me speak as I did. But when +I think that the town may yet share the awful fate that befell +Magdeburg, then indeed I set the well-being of my thousands of +fellow-citizens far above my own reputation for valour. Alas! who can +give my fearful heart any assurance about these things?' +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +[1] A small German copper coin. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +[2] A gulden is now worth about two shillings English. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +[3] Enough. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE SECOND ASSAULT. +</H3> + + +<P> +On the following day Burgomaster Schönleben took his way to the +council-chamber, which now, indeed, fully deserved its name. Both +before and after the commencement of the siege, the magistrates had +enough to do in devising necessary plans, even had not their time been +fully occupied in carrying their plans into execution. Among other +duties, they had to arrange for the accommodation of the wounded, the +burial of the dead, and the bodily needs both of those who were +defending the city and their families; while not neglecting, on the +other hand, to guard against a wasteful use of the provisions, to +preserve the strictest order in the city, and to arrange for many other +things beside. +</P> + +<P> +Schönleben did not give his fellow councillors the slightest hint about +his quarrel with the commandant, but took care quietly to make out +their several opinions, and he did not find one man among them who, +either from fear of the Swedes or from personal inclination, was +disposed to support his views. +</P> + +<P> +After quitting the council-chamber, he could not help noticing, as he +passed along the ranks of the auxiliary troops in front of the town +hall, what an eager and even restless desire was manifest among them to +be led against the enemy. He betook himself to the cathedral, where +the church-superintendent, Dr. Paul Glaser himself, was conducting the +daily service, and heard this aged servant of the Lord encourage his +great audience to a brave resistance against the foe, and patient +endurance of such trouble as the siege might bring. 'Call to mind, my +brethren,' the good man was saying, 'what was done by the children of +Israel when the wicked King Antiochus and his soldiers troubled them, +and each one had to take refuge in the caverns and rocky clefts of the +mountains. My hearers, Antiochus and his fierce soldiery did not +torture the Jews of old one whit more unmercifully than these Swedes +have tortured our Saxon brothers and sisters. And it is vain for you +to think that you, at least, will escape torture and death by resigning +yourselves into their hands; for their hearts are like the nether +mill-stone, and they find an evil pleasure in hearkening to the groans +of those who perish under their torments. Therefore defend yourselves, +as did the Jews in the days of the Maccabees! And let not strong men +alone bear their share in the work, but do you aged men, you women and +children, aid with all your feeble might. Think of the brave women of +the ancient days! And while you think of them, do not forget that in +our very midst there dwells to-day a brave woman who has had to defend +hearth and home against a murderous foe; not less truly a woman because +this hard task was assigned to her, or because she was found, in the +hour of need, capable of discharging it. While we pray to God that +such terrible work may never fall to our lot, we cannot but honour this +our brave, and now, alas! our bereaved sister.' +</P> + +<P> +As it happened, the miller's wife from Erbisdorf was herself present +among the worshippers, without the clergyman's knowledge. As the +glances of those around turned naturally towards her where she sat, she +endured their friendly scrutiny with blushing cheeks and downcast eyes. +</P> + +<P> +The preacher's words had produced a deep effect in the mind of the +worthy Burgomaster. 'If a Christian minister,' said he to himself, +'sees it his duty on this special occasion to encourage the weak, that +they may make a valorous deface, surely I, who rule over strong men, +should be the last to think of surrendering into an enemy's hands the +city entrusted to my care.' +</P> + +<P> +The thunder of the Swedish cannon, as it echoed and re-echoed through +the lofty carved-work of the cathedral roof, made the Burgomaster too +ill at ease to stay longer in the church. On reaching the open air, he +found that the enemy had never yet poured in so heavy a fire as that of +to-day. 'By it every building was shaken,' says the chronicle, 'and +there was as great alarm in the town as if heaven and earth had been +rolled together.' +</P> + +<P> +This time the enemy did not content himself with merely letting his +heavy guns play against the walls and gates, especially the Peter Gate, +but used his mortars to pour large quantities of stones, balls, and +shells directly into the town itself. +</P> + +<P> +The sights and sounds that saluted Schönleben almost put his +newly-formed resolutions to flight. He hastened back to the +market-place. +</P> + +<P> +'The enemy is pressing hard on the Meissen and Erbis Gates,' shouted a +breathless messenger, sent in haste to summon assistance from the town +hall, and immediately detachments of the auxiliaries drawn up there +started at the double to strengthen the threatened points. As they +went they uttered loud shouts of joy, and clashed their weapons till +the market-place rang again. +</P> + +<P> +The crash of bursting shells could now be distinctly heard above the +thunder of the artillery, but happily most of these deadly missiles +fell in the more open spaces and did but little harm. The miners were +acquitting themselves of their dangerous duties courageously and well +under the able leadership of their brave captain, George Frederick von +Schomberg, and the master miner, Andreas Baumann. Whenever a column of +smoke rose, or shells fell on a house, or the fearful cry of 'fire' was +heard, their aid was speedily at hand. Beneath a continuous shower of +stones and bullets they climbed upon roofs, handed buckets of water, +and extinguished flames, heeding neither fire, choking vapour, nor +falling rafters. Like boys playing at ball, they sprang on the +smouldering shells the moment they touched the ground, and +extinguishing the fusee, rendered them harmless before they had time to +do their fatal work of death and destruction. +</P> + +<P> +As Schönleben turned the corner by the butchers' stalls, some ponderous +iron object fell with a heavy thud just in front of him, sank into the +earth, and disappeared. At the same moment, two young people came out +of a neighbouring house and ran across the street to the newly-made +hole; they were Conrad Schmidt and Dollie. Close at their heels +followed a man in a dusty coat, the miller of Erbisdorf. +</P> + +<P> +'Out of the way directly!' he shouted to the thoughtless youngsters. +'Do you both want to be killed? This is no child's plaything.' So +saying, he carefully poured into the hole a large bucketful of water he +had brought with him, and then set about digging out the expected shell. +</P> + +<P> +'Well, upon my word!' he cried, in a tone of such astonishment that the +Burgomaster paused in curiosity. 'How long have they used bombs with +iron rings to catch hold of them by? Why, as sure as I'm here, it is +nothing in the world but a lumbering old iron hundred-weight, that the +Swedes must have stolen out of some good Saxon's shop to batter our +heads in Freiberg with.' While the worthy miller was still expressing +his astonishment over this new kind of missile, Dollie's father, the +miner Roller, appeared coming down the street, grasping some heavy +object with both hands. When he recognised the Burgomaster, he let his +burden drop on the ground, and proceeded respectfully to remove his hat. +</P> + +<P> +'What have you got there?' cried the miller, who was near enough to +hear Roller's salutation of the magistrate. 'A blacksmith's anvil?' +</P> + +<P> +'The end of one, at all events,' replied Roller. Then, turning to +Schönleben, he added, 'Only half a yard more, respected Herr +Burgomaster, and my poor head would have been shattered by this same +anvil. But it tells a welcome story too; for if the Swedes have to use +things like these to feed their cannon with, they must be running +pretty short of ammunition.' +</P> + +<P> +'That seems to contradict you,' said Schönleben pleasantly, indicating +the tremendous noise of the cannonade that filled the air on all sides. +</P> + +<P> +'Ah, but it's beginning to slacken now, respected Herr Burgomaster,' +shouted the miller joyfully the next minute. 'Don't you hear that the +siege-guns have ceased firing?' +</P> + +<P> +Roller looked thoughtfully up at St. Peter's Tower, from which a +blood-red flag now floated in the air. In a moment, from all the +hitherto silent towers and steeples, the bells clashed out an alarm. +</P> + +<P> +'That is the signal of an attempt to storm,' said the Burgomaster; then +concealing his own agitation as best he might, he hastened from the +spot. +</P> + +<P> +'A storm!' said Dollie wonderingly to Conrad. 'But there are no +clouds, and no wind; how could there be a storm?' At this point the +questioner was sent into the house by the miller, who followed her +himself as soon as he had put the iron weight and the anvil away in a +place of safety. Roller, although not on duty, hastened off to join +his comrades at their work, and Conrad betook himself with all speed to +the home where he knew his poor mother was left alone in her blindness. +</P> + +<P> +The minister had just brought his service to a close, and was leaving +the church; but on hearing the clang of the alarm-bells, he turned back +into the sacred building with the women and children, who poured into +it to beseech divine help in this new and pressing danger. Just as +Schönleben was passing by the church door, such a frightful and furious +shout arose at the Peter Gate as almost to curdle the Burgomaster's +blood in his veins. This terrible shout was uttered by the Swedes, +who, two brigades strong, with flying colours and rolling drums, were +now advancing with their storming-ladders towards the moat before the +Peter Gate. The determined energy with which the advance was made was +as great as the noise of the battle-cry. The besieged watched the +enemy's approach with stedfast and unshaken courage. They tightened +their belts, and each man prepared his weapons to give the foe a warm +reception. +</P> + +<P> +'Always bellowing, you Swedish oxen!' shouted a soldier jestingly. 'Do +you expect to frighten us with your noise, or do you think the walls of +Freiberg are going to fall down like those of Jericho?' +</P> + +<P> +A well-aimed cross fire was now poured into the ranks of the besiegers, +as, in dense masses, they filled the moat and struggled to mount the +breach. A murderous fight then began, in which neither side would +yield an inch. Although successive volleys of balls decimated the +Swedish ranks, their losses did not in the least deter them from +pursuing their object with the most supreme indifference to death. +Fresh men continually took the place of those that fell, and the forces +of the besieged being thus either divided or broken, the Erbis and +Meissen Gates were both assaulted at once. The storming-ladders of the +Swedes, a hundred times hurled back into the moat, were as often +replanted against the walls; and although every man who had as yet +succeeded in setting foot on the ramparts had paid for his success with +his life, others were continually ready to follow the same example. +</P> + +<P> +While the enemy kept up their furious battle-cry, the besieged, on +their side, did not fail to encourage one another with joyful shouts. +There were even some rash spirits, who, deserting the sheltering +breastworks, sprang into the breach, and saluted the dense ranks of the +enemy with 'morning-stars'[1] and heavy broadswords. During this +attack, which lasted a full hour, the Swedish fire was steadily +maintained against gates, walls, and towers, occasionally even against +the breach itself, where it inflicted some loss on besiegers as well as +besieged. The former, under the command of Generals Wrangel and +Mortainne, were led by these officers in person to storm the breach. +Field-Marshal Torstenson, a martyr to gout, could only sit at the +window of his quarters in the hospital, directing the attack, and +chafing inwardly at its continued want of success. While the battle +still raged round the Peter, Meissen, and Erbis Gates, and the Swedes +fancied the Freibergers a prey to anxiety and fear, the undismayed +miners made a sortie through the Donat Gate, destroyed the Swedish +siege-works that lay in that quarter, slew a number of the enemy, and +returned into the city, bringing with them several prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +The general fight was still raging; the shout of battle, the thunder of +the guns, the confused din of the storming-parties, and the showers of +great stones and shot still filled the air, as the Burgomaster, +agitated by growing anxiety, and unable to find rest anywhere, turned +his uneasy steps towards the Peter Gate, the most threatened point of +all. It must be remembered that to a brave man like Schönleben it was +a far harder task to stand by, a mere spectator of this important +battle, than it would have been to take an active share in its turmoil +and danger. To him the assault on the gates, which had perhaps lasted +an hour, appeared to have been going on for ever, while those who were +actually engaged in the strife would have sworn it had been an affair +of a few minutes at the most. +</P> + +<P> +In no small danger of his life, the Burgomaster forced his way, through +a storm of bullets and falling masonry, into the strong tower that +protected the Peter Gate. Having at last succeeded in ascending the +narrow stone stairs and reaching the vaulted guard-room, he was able to +make out indistinctly, through the smoke and dust that filled the room, +the forms of a number of men who were keeping up an incessant and +almost deafening fire on the enemy through the narrow loop-holes with +which the thick walls were pierced. +</P> + +<P> +'They fly!' shouted one of these marksmen in a stentorian voice. +'Hurrah! Now to give them something to help them on their way.' So +saying, he lighted one hand-grenade after another, and hurled them with +all his force through the loop-hole. 'Now, here with the double +arquebuses! Dippolt, have you loaded them all?' As he spoke, he +seized one of the pieces that stood in readiness, and fired it after +the flying Swedes. +</P> + +<P> +The face was so blackened with gunpowder and smoke as to be almost +unrecognisable, but Schönleben knew the voice at once for that of the +brave Commandant von Schweinitz, who thus both by word and action +encouraged his men to do their utmost against the enemy. +</P> + +<P> +Hastily turning round, and catching sight as he did so of the +Burgomaster's face, the soldier frankly stepped up to the new-comer and +shook him kindly by the hand, saying in a hearty tone: +</P> + +<P> +'So you are here, Burgomaster! There,' and he pushed the visitor +good-humouredly towards a loop-hole; 'have a look at the vagabonds +showing us their heels. They'll not carry more than a third of their +storming-ladders back with them. So, now you have come, you can help +us make merry, Schönleben. I feel so pleased I scarcely know how to +contain myself.' +</P> + +<P> +A great shout of joy rose from the ranks of the besieged at sight of +the flying Swedes. +</P> + +<P> +'Right, my children!' cried their commander. 'Shout "Victory" to your +heart's content. Schönleben, I am proud of commanding your +Freibergers. They have behaved like veteran and brave soldiers. I +must give the palm to your City Guard, who have held the most dangerous +post, the one at the breach by the Kreuz Gate, with such calm +determination that the Swedes never once set foot on the ramparts. +Victory, victory!' he shouted, as the jubilant cry rose again from the +ranks below. +</P> + +<P> +Then Schönleben spoke out honestly and heartily. 'Colonel von +Schweinitz,' he said, 'I trust you will pardon the speech I made to you +not long since; it might well annoy you. Henceforth I say with you, +"Welcome death rather than surrender to the Swedes!"' +</P> + +<P> +'Why, what is all this about?' said Schweinitz heartily; 'I was every +bit as much to blame as you were. I'm a rough soldier that doesn't +stop to pick his words. You mustn't take too much notice of my +speaking out a bit hastily now and then.' +</P> + +<P> +While the two worthy men were making up their quarrel, Schönleben +noticed that the skirt of the other's coat was smeared with blood. +</P> + +<P> +'You are wounded,' cried the Burgomaster in alarm. +</P> + +<P> +'I had not noticed it,' answered Schweinitz carelessly, looking down at +the splash of blood on his coat. 'Possibly a chip of masonry or some +ball that has glanced aside may have grazed my hip. The Swedes have +paid for it dearly enough, anyhow.' +</P> + +<P> +With a brightened and almost joyful heart Schönleben took leave of the +commandant. As the former left the tower and gate, he saw the besieged +clambering down into the city moat to make prisoners the wounded Swedes +who lay there, and to bring in the firelocks, pikes, and +scaling-ladders the enemy had left behind. At the same time, men were +set busily to work to repair and rebuild the walls and other defensive +works that had suffered injury. The bells were silent, and the +glorious words of the Te Deum—'We praise Thee, O God! we acknowledge +Thee to be the Lord'—could be plainly heard as they sounded solemnly +forth from the various churches,—words in which the Burgomaster joined +with a most devout and thankful heart. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +[1] The mediaeval 'morning-star' was a heavy war-club thickly studded +with short iron spikes. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CONRAD UNDER THE WINDOW-SEAT. +</H3> + + +<P> +It was early in the afternoon, yet the long winter night already lay +dark over the city of Freiberg. At intervals the gloom was lighted up +for a few minutes by the lurid glare of some burning house set on fire +by a hostile shell, and as quickly extinguished by the prompt +watchfulness and energy of the fire-brigade, whose members had to +struggle against a strong wind that by fanning the flames made them +doubly dangerous. The streets were almost deserted. Only now and then +might some wayfarer be dimly descried stealing along, keeping close in +to the houses so as to gain some slight protection from the falling +stones and cannon-balls. Among these wayfarers was Conrad Schmidt, +hastening from his mistress' house to his mother's distant dwelling. +When he had reached his destination, and made sure that his dreaded +stepfather was away, he entered the living-room. To his great surprise +it was dark and cheerless, and his blind mother sat alone in the midst +of it shivering with cold. By way of warming herself, she had taken +the sleek tabby cat into her lap and folded her chilled hands over +pussy's warm fur. The whole scene sent a pang through the boy's warm +and loving heart. +</P> + +<P> +'But, my dearest mother!' he cried, 'has not Hannah got back yet from +her parents'? Let me go and call her.' +</P> + +<P> +The woman shook her head sorrowfully. 'Hannah is never coming back,' +she said. 'Your stepfather has turned her off because she was no use +now and ate so much.' +</P> + +<P> +The boy clasped his hands. 'No use now!' he repeated. 'Now! when he +is away himself all day and most of the night too,—when the lives even +of people who have their eyesight are in danger,—when the blind need +help more than ever! Oh, my poor, dear mother!' +</P> + +<P> +'If it were not for the leaving you and dear old pussy here that +Jüchziger has many a time threatened to kill,' sobbed the blind woman, +'I would rather die—die by some Swedish bullet! Why should I wish to +live? When your father comes home he beats me if he finds the room +cold, and do what I will I can't make the fire burn in the stove. The +tinder will not light, though I have often struck the flint and steel +together till I made my poor hands quite sore. No one lives in the +house but ourselves, so I cannot get my lamp lighted, and if I take it +across the street to a neighbour's, the wind blows it out again before +I get back.' +</P> + +<P> +Conrad set energetically to work, and very soon a brisk fire was +crackling in the great stove that stood at one end of the room, gaily +ornamented with its long rows of coloured Dutch tiles. He placed his +mother carefully in a warm corner, sat down beside her, and then began: +'Rudorf the journeyman is in bed at our house with a broken leg. It's +not at all dangerous, and he gets his gulden of pay and his allowance +of bread regularly every week. I only wish I was a journeyman, then I +could go and fight and earn some money for you. And Hillner the +Defensioner has got on first-rate; the officers all like him, and the +governor himself talks to him ever so often. Our mistress loves to see +him come into the house, and I'm sure she will marry him as soon as the +siege is over, and he is made a citizen and a master carpenter. But +then we can't even begin to guess when the siege will be over, for +these Swedes keep attacking the town worse than ever. You would think +they might have been satisfied with knocking ever so many of our houses +to pieces, but now, what with their new batteries, and their new +trenches, and nobody knows how many fascines'— +</P> + +<P> +'Alas, alas!' interrupted Mistress Jüchziger. 'What does a poor blind +woman like me know about such dreadful things? Have you a morsel of +bread in your pocket, my dear boy? Pussy and I have had nothing to eat +since early this morning.' +</P> + +<P> +'My poor mother,' cried her warm-hearted son, 'and has it come to +this—that in our own Freiberg, where not even a beggar is allowed to +starve, the good and honoured wife of the town servant himself cannot +get enough to eat?' +</P> + +<P> +'Your father locks everything up as if I was a thief,' said the woman, +'and he has been out ever since mid-day, so we couldn't get anything.' +</P> + +<P> +'Here, dear mother,' cried Conrad, 'take this. I always take good care +now-a-days to have a crust of bread in my pocket. I only wish I could +give you something nice to eat with it, but that's all I have.' +</P> + +<P> +The woman broke off a morsel for the expectant cat before beginning to +satisfy her own hunger. 'Puss is only a dumb creature,' she said by +way of excuse, 'but she is as faithful as many Christians, and a good +deal kinder than your stepfather.' +</P> + +<P> +'Yes, mother,' replied Conrad, 'so she is. All he wanted was your +little house, and now that's gone he is just showing us what he really +is.' +</P> + +<P> +'It was for your sake I promised to be his wife,' said the woman, 'that +there might be somebody to look after you when I am gone.' +</P> + +<P> +'I know, I know!' said Conrad. 'And how very kind and sweet-spoken he +always used to be to me while he was courting you!' +</P> + +<P> +'He is coming!' said the woman in sudden terror. 'I can hear his step. +Quick, hide yourself!' +</P> + +<P> +There was let into the wall of the room, just below the window, a seat, +from which, in order to conceal household articles laid there, a low +curtain had been hung, thus making a sort of rude cupboard. Conrad +crept behind this curtain with all speed, just as his mother succeeded +in hiding her crust of bread in her pocket. Immediately afterwards +Jüchziger entered the room without a word of greeting to his wife. He +threw his hat on the seat beneath which his stepson was crouching, and +said angrily: 'It's a dog's life now-a-days. On one's legs day and +night, always in danger, and never a kreuzer[1] by way of reward. All +for the fatherland, forsooth, say the patriots! I am my own +fatherland, and I keep my patriotism in my purse. Ever since the fat +citizens and journeymen took to cutting about the streets with their +pop-guns, they are all grown such big men that if one of them happens +to set eyes on you, you must jump out of his way like a bewitched frog. +Wife! Wife, I say! Here's a batzen.[2] Run across to Seiler's and +fetch me a herring. I begin to feel horribly hungry.' +</P> + +<P> +The blind woman stood for some seconds like one astounded by such an +unusual order. Conrad was on the point of creeping out from his +hiding-place at all hazards, to go himself and fetch what was wanted. +He was only restrained by the thought that if he did, he would be very +likely to bring on his mother something a great deal worse than just +having to go across the street for a herring. +</P> + +<P> +'Well, what's the matter now?' shouted Jüchziger, bringing his fist +down with a thundering crash on the table. 'Are you going, or am I to +start you?' +</P> + +<P> +The blind woman had hardly groped her way out at the door, before +Jüchziger went on: +</P> + +<P> +'Can't some Swedish bullet or falling stone rid me of this blind witch? +Nothing turns out as I want it to. Here are Schweinitz and Schönleben +the best of friends again, and all the trouble I've been at with them +just so much labour lost. And then there's that brazen-faced +journeyman I haven't paid off yet for his impudence in the forest; it +seems as though I am not to get a hold on him. And never a kreuzer +have I seen the colour of, to pay me for my house they pulled down. +All right! It may turn out that what Freiberg won't pay for, the +Swedes will. I have to look after the prisoners, so I shall stand a +first-rate chance to kill two birds with one stone,—do the business of +the conceited Defensioner, and help myself to my money at the same +time. What, you ugly beast, are you there?' +</P> + +<P> +This closing remark was addressed to the cat, which Jüchziger now spied +sitting by the curtain, behind which Conrad was playing the part of an +unwilling listener. His stepfather picked up the heavy boot-jack, and +hurled it at the cat; it missed her, but struck Conrad so sharply on +the shin, that though the thick curtain broke the full force of the +blow, the lad could hardly suppress a cry of pain. When, a little +later, he saw his stepfather go into the inner room to hang up his +great-coat, the boy ventured out, and, creeping on tip-toe across the +living-room, managed to escape unobserved into the street. Just +outside the door he met his mother returning, carrying the herring in +her left hand, while with the right she groped her way along by the +houses. +</P> + +<P> +'Oh, mother,' he said, in a low, earnest voice, 'don't stay a minute +longer! My mistress' house has lots of visitors in it, but I'm sure +they would find a corner for you somewhere. And you and puss wouldn't +be nearly so hungry if you lived with us as you are here.' +</P> + +<P> +'It cannot be, my son,' replied the blind woman. 'A true wife does not +leave her husband. If I were to do so, the other women would point the +finger of scorn at me and call me names; and quite right, too. If I +can do nothing else, I will at least take my good name with me down to +the grave, and God grant it may be soon.' So saying, she hastened into +the house, lest she should anger her husband by keeping him waiting. +</P> + +<P> +Conrad took his way homeward with a heart overflowing with respect for +his mother. On his way he met Dollie, carefully carrying in her hand a +bundle wrapped in a cloth. +</P> + +<P> +'Wherever are you off to so late as this, Dollie?' he asked in +astonishment. 'Are you not afraid to go along the dark streets with +all the shot and shell flying about?' +</P> + +<P> +'Oh, I've got used to them a long time ago!' said the little one very +composedly. 'I always think it doesn't seem nice when the town is +quiet now.' +</P> + +<P> +Conrad had to confess that she was right, for people certainly do +become accustomed to everything, even to the greatest danger. +</P> + +<P> +'I am taking father some warm soup, because he is on duty to-night,' +Dollie went on; 'then he won't feel the dark night so cold.' +</P> + +<P> +'But why does not your mother take it?' asked Conrad. +</P> + +<P> +'Oh, she isn't at home,' answered Dollie. 'She had to go with a great +many more women to fetch water from the Münzbach,[3] and carry it right +into the upper town. The Swedes have done something to the water-pipes +there, and there is no more water. Only think! if a fire were to +begin, and they couldn't put it out! And for fear the water should +freeze in the buckets, the women have to carry it in the little +brewers' coppers, and keep the fires burning under it too!' +</P> + +<P> +'I will go with you,' said Conrad; and the little maiden, though +professing to be so brave, seemed by no means sorry to have a companion. +</P> + +<P> +At last the two succeeded in reaching the neighbourhood of the Peter +Gate, where a detachment of miners were acting as auxiliaries to the +regular troops. Here, as at the other threatened points, soldiers, +citizens, and journeymen were all actively engaged. Such parts of the +fortifications as had been either injured or destroyed by the enemy's +artillery-fire and mines, were now being hastily repaired. The Peter +Gate and the barbican in front of it showed unmistakeable signs of the +enemy's efforts to force an entrance into the town,—heaps of stones, +and yawning holes and pits, alternated with covered galleries, +<I>chevaux-de-frise</I>, uprooted palisadoes, and other works which the +Freibergers were in hot haste trying to strengthen. The steady +industry of so many hundred busy hands in the cold and darkness of that +winter night must have struck an onlooker with surprise; but probably +his surprise would have been even more excited by the unusual silence +in which such heavy work was being done. That they might not attract +the enemy's attention and so draw down an attack, the besieged were +using the miners' dark lanterns, which open only on one side, instead +of such torches or other lights as would generally be employed. From +the top of the city wall and gate, these lanterns now shone down like +the glimmering fires of innumerable glowworms, while, through the dusky +twilight, lit up by their flickering rays, the soft white snowflakes +fell steadily and quietly. The dim light and the falling snow combined +to transform the brave defenders into so many ghost-like shapes. One +such weird figure could be descried, leaning silent and motionless +against the parapet at the top of the tower, his heavy double arquebuse +by his side. No part of the man stirred save the restless eyes, and +they wandered incessantly to and fro, striving to make out the +movements of the enemy. The miners, busy constructing a new moat just +within the battered Peter Gate, looked, as they glided about, more like +mountain-gnomes than human beings. If one of these same human gnomes, +with weather-beaten, swarthy face and wrinkled forehead framed in its +snowy hood, had suddenly stepped out into the circle of light cast by +one of the dark lanterns, people would have been strongly tempted to +declare they had seen a ghost. +</P> + +<P> +Up there on the Hospital Mountain, where the enemy's headquarters lay, +great watch-fires were blazing through the thick, snow-laden air. Now +and then the glare of a mortar shone suddenly out, followed after a few +seconds by the thundering explosion. Then a fiery curve traced itself +against the sky, the end of which advanced hissing towards the city, +and at last burst somewhere among the houses. Such was the picture +that presented itself to the eyes of the two children when they reached +the Peter Gate on that dark winter's night. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +[1] A small German coin worth about a farthing English. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +[2] A small German coin equal to four kreuzers. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +[3] The river that flows through Freiberg. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ORDINARY INCIDENTS OF A SIEGE. +</H3> + + +<P> +'Dear Wahle,' said Dollie to a miner, who, with the assistance of +several others, was carrying a great palisade past the spot where the +children stood, 'please have you seen anything of my father? I've +brought him a can of warm soup.' +</P> + +<P> +'Warm soup!' said the man jocosely; 'why, the enemy cook enough of that +for us, only they warm us in rather a different way. Well, child, your +father is down in the moat with a lot of other men, bringing in wood +that the enemy had piled up ready to burn us out. When they found +their cannon could not knock a hole through at the Peter Gate here, +they thought they would have a try what fire could do.' +</P> + +<P> +'It looks,' said another, 'very much as if the enemy read their Bibles. +Wasn't that what Abimelech did when he couldn't get round the people of +Sichem any other way?' +</P> + +<P> +'Ah, but when he tried it again at another place,' laughed Wahle, 'a +woman dropped a stone on his head from the top of the tower, and that +finished him.' +</P> + +<P> +'May the same fate soon overtake Torstenson!' said a third. +</P> + +<P> +'Oh, he'll never venture up here,' said Wahle. 'Don't you know the +gout has him in tight grips? why, he can't even stir out of his +arm-chair. His people have to play cat's paw for him, and burn their +fingers just when he bids them.' +</P> + +<P> +'I just wish,' said the other, 'that Torstenson might go into such a +rage at not taking the town, that the gout might rise into his body. +Then he would die, and a good thing for us!' +</P> + +<P> +'Come, come!' said Wahle more seriously; 'we ought not to wish even our +enemies such evil as that.' +</P> + +<P> +The words were hardly uttered when a dozen musket-shots rang out from +without the wall that surrounded the moat. Several balls whistled over +the heads of the two children, and the miner who had just been rebuked +fell with a cry of, 'Oh, I am killed!' +</P> + +<P> +His comrades laid down the palisade they were carrying, picked up the +wounded man, and bore him into the nearest covered way, where they laid +him for the time in a sheltered corner. The two children, more +frightened at the sight of the man's fall than at their own danger, +were quite at a loss which way to go next. In another moment, however, +Dollie forgot all her trouble as she caught sight of her father coming +towards her, his arquebuse in his hand. +</P> + +<P> +'You here, little one!' he cried, and hastily drew the children with +him into the gallery, behind the protecting walls of which the +combatants found shelter from the enemy's fire. 'A queer kind of +supper,' he said, as he hastily gulped down the contents of the can. +'One hardly has time even to say, "Grant, O Lord, what I partake!" And +yet I ought to be thankful, too, that I am here to drink my soup at +all. How many miners, citizens, peasants, soldiers, and even young +children, has this siege cost us already! St. Peter's churchyard is +getting too small to hold them all.' +</P> + +<P> +'Yes, father,' said Dollie. 'And poor Hofmann the woodcutter will +never be able to eat any more soup. He fell down quite close by us as +if a thunderbolt had hit him.' +</P> + +<P> +'Hofmann!' said Roller hastily; 'your god-father, child, and my old +friend? But,' he went on, 'who is that lying in yon dark corner?' +</P> + +<P> +He rose and went across in that direction. As he did so, he caught the +sound of a groan, and a feeble voice murmured: 'Ah, merciful Father, do +not let the arch-enemy prevail against me, or what will become of my +three boys, all of them stampers at the Prince's Shaft. If I must die, +do Thou take under Thy care my wife and my four poor girls. They are +at the coppersmith's house in the Erbis Street.' +</P> + +<P> +'What is it?' said Roller, turning his dark lantern so that its light +fell for a moment on the dying man's pale face. +</P> + +<P> +Hofmann lifted his failing eyes towards the approaching figure, and +said in a broken voice, and with long pauses between: 'Comrade, there +is a cold Swedish bullet rankling in my vitals. Promise me, old +friend, that I shall have an honourable burial; not in this shabby +miner's dress, but in my new uniform. And when they lay me in my last +resting-place, let the lads say: "A good journey to thee, old comrade!"' +</P> + +<A NAME="img-111"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-111.jpg" ALT="'Promise me that I shall have an honourable burial; and let the lads say, "A good journey to thee, old comrade!"'" BORDER="2" WIDTH="352" HEIGHT="551"> +<H3> +[Illustration: 'Promise me that I shall have an honourable burial; <BR> +and let the lads say, "A good journey to thee, old comrade!"'] +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +'A good journey to thee, old comrade,' responded Roller heartily, as +Hofmann, putting his hand to his side, stopped abruptly. +</P> + +<P> +Conrad and Dollie both followed Roller's example, as he folded his +hands on his breast and began to repeat the simple words of the 'Our +Father' over the dying man. The hollow roar of the Swedish siege-guns +outside, and the constant dull thud of the cannon-balls striking the +great earthwork that covered the gallery, formed a strange contrast to +the solemn little service within, beside one whose spirit was taking +its flight. +</P> + +<P> +'You have come at a most unfortunate time, children,' said Roller, when +all was over. 'You had better stay here till things are quieter +outside, for the stones and bullets strike just anybody at random, and +make no difference between big and little. I will tell you when it is +safe for you to go; stay here till I come back.' +</P> + +<P> +As Roller turned to go, he felt his leg suddenly clasped in Dollie's +little arms. 'Oh, do stay here with us, dear father!' sobbed the +child. 'Something might happen to you like what happened to poor +Hofmann there. And then mother and I couldn't live any longer—indeed +we couldn't; we should be quite sure to die.' +</P> + +<P> +But Roller gently loosened the little maiden's hold, saying kindly as +he did so; 'Dollie must be quiet and good, and God will take care of +father. We do not know whether we are safer in here or out under the +clear sky; but the great God, our heavenly Father, can take care of us +wherever we are. Whether I am at work in the deep mine, or in front of +the Swedish guns, or sitting quietly at home with you and dear mother, +death might come to me if it was God's will, and it will never come +until it is His will. Dollie must try to remember this, and think that +her dear father is doing his duty.' +</P> + +<P> +When he was gone, Dollie said sadly: 'The hateful war! Why ever do the +stupid soldiers make it? I am sure they would all rather sit by their +stoves at home, or else stop in bed, than come to Freiberg and make us +all so unhappy.' +</P> + +<P> +Conrad thought for a minute or two, and then said: 'Yes, war is a very +funny thing; the people who begin it never have any of the trouble. +And then it soon gets so big they don't know what to do, because they +can't stop it. My mistress says this war was begun because of +religion, and they've been fighting for twenty-three years, longer than +I can remember. I daresay they want to drive religion out of the world +altogether, for I don't think anybody can ever expect to make people +good by firing off cannons at them. Our schoolmaster says it's like +cutting a man's head off to cure him of the toothache. But oh, Dollie, +I sometimes feel so sad you can't think. You have a good father to +love you and take care of you, and be very sorry when anything hurts +you; but nothing in the world would make my stepfather happier than for +some one to go and tell him I was dead. I always have to hide like a +wicked thief when he comes, and I'm sure it is a great deal worse for +poor mother than it is for me. Nobody but God knows how father uses +her, and I daren't go and protect her.' +</P> + +<P> +'Listen!' said Dollie anxiously. 'Hofmann is coming to life again down +there in the corner. I can hear him breathing.' +</P> + +<P> +Both children listened. +</P> + +<P> +'That noise isn't Hofmann,' said Conrad. 'It comes out of the ground.' +He laid himself down and listened again, with his ear close to the +earth. 'I think it's the Swedes digging some more mines,' he said at +last. +</P> + +<P> +'What are they?' said Dollie. 'Like father's?' +</P> + +<P> +'Oh dear, no!' replied the boy, proud to show off what he knew. 'Long +passages they dig through the ground till they get underneath the city +wall, or else one of the gates. Then the Swedes put a great box full +of gunpowder in the end of the passage, and set light to it, and +then—bang! they blow everything all up into the air together.' +</P> + +<P> +'Oh, do come away directly,' said Dollie in a fright, 'or else we shall +all be blown up.' +</P> + +<P> +'Have you forgotten what your father told us?' asked the boy. +</P> + +<P> +'Oh, no indeed!' said Dollie; 'but whatever shall we do? Oh, if father +or mother would only come!' +</P> + +<P> +Conrad ventured to one of the loop-holes to look out; it was but +little, however, that he could discern in the thick darkness outside. +Here and there he saw the gleam of a light or the flash of a weapon; at +times some dark mass seemed to move before his eyes, or his ears were +saluted by a mysterious sound, then all was silent again. Suddenly, on +the side that lay open towards the town, two men entered the covered +gallery, which was just at that moment untenanted by soldiers. +</P> + +<P> +'As I tell you, Schönleben,' said a deep bass voice, 'the lad is dearer +to me than almost any other in the City Guard. Cool, steady, and +brave, experienced too as an old soldier, I have chosen him for these +reasons to report to me from time to time how things go at the Castle +and the Kreuz Gate. But I thank you all the same for your information, +though what the prisoners say, especially about an old comrade, is not +always to be trusted. Still, I will have the lad closely watched, and +if there's the least sign of anything amiss, put him where he can do no +further mischief.' +</P> + +<P> +The commandant, for it was he, followed by the Burgomaster, stepped to +the loop-hole from which Conrad had hastily withdrawn. +</P> + +<P> +'This is our weak point,' continued Schweinitz—'the point at which the +enemy would like to strike; but they shall find it a hard nut to crack +yet, though gate and tower are little better than ruins. Ah! my +friend, give me the devotion and bravery of the Freibergers before any +number of bastions, if I am to hold the foe at bay. As things stand, +our hopes of a speedy raising of the siege grow side by side with the +progress of the Swedes. I would willingly have more certain news. I +say, Schönleben, couldn't you find me some trustworthy messenger that I +could send to the imperial marshal?' +</P> + +<P> +The entrance of a man into the gallery cut short the answer. +</P> + +<P> +'Well, Hillner, what is it?' asked Schweinitz. +</P> + +<P> +'Your excellency,' replied the Defensioner, saluting, 'it is thought +advisable, in order to strike with greater effect at the enemy's works +before the Peter Gate, to open new loop-holes in the lower part of the +Wetter Tower, those in the upper storey having been rendered useless by +the enemy's fire.' +</P> + +<P> +'Good!' said Schweinitz; and then, turning away from the messenger, he +spoke aside with the Burgomaster. +</P> + +<P> +Meantime Conrad sidled up to his former fellow-workman. 'Do stop with +us now you have come,' he said, catching hold of the Defensioner's +coat. 'The Swedes are digging another mine; just listen at them +hammering. I guess we and this old wooden box shall all go flying up +into the air together pretty soon.' +</P> + +<P> +As Hillner laid his ear to the ground to listen, Roller entered with +several pieces of wood under his arm. +</P> + +<P> +'Now you two can go,' he said to Dollie and Conrad; 'it's quieter now. +And here are a few sticks I've brought in out of the moat; take them +home; when I come I'll bring some more.' +</P> + +<P> +'Roller,' called the Burgomaster, 'you are exactly the man I wanted. +Come to me as soon as you go off duty, we have something to say to you.' +</P> + +<P> +'Very good, respected Herr Burgomaster,' replied Roller, and then +accompanied his little daughter out of the gallery to see her safely +started on her homeward way. 'Why, where is Conrad Schmidt loitering?' +he asked in surprise. +</P> + +<P> +The boy was standing by his friend the Defensioner, who now sprang up +from the ground and hastened to his commanding officer. 'Your +excellency!' he cried, 'down in that corner the Swedes can be +distinctly heard tunnelling through the earth. They are almost under +the gallery now.' +</P> + +<P> +'Quick, then, to countermine them!' said Schweinitz, and immediately +left the gallery to give the necessary orders. Then began a severe +subterranean battle. Both sides made desperate exertions in the +attempt to get the upper hand, and for very plain reasons the +Freibergers did their utmost to steal a march on the enemy. Although +the ground was frozen so hard that it had first to be thawed by the use +of fire, two hours had not passed away before the untiring energy of +the miners had driven a heading of tolerable length, the foremost man +in which stood Roller. +</P> + +<P> +'We too may yet find that this is our last day,' said Roller composedly +to the man working behind him. 'Every man's day is coming, whether he +likes it or not. And besides, if the Swedes can give up their lives +for mere money, cannot we do as much for fatherland, and wife and +child? Therefore to work with a will! So long as we can hear the +Swedes tunnelling, there is no need to light the match.' +</P> + +<P> +'Now the sounds have ceased,' he muttered to himself after a short +interval. 'It will soon be all over with us.' And he picked and +shovelled away with redoubled energy, lest his comrades should abate +their efforts on noticing that the Swedes had ceased work. +</P> + +<P> +'The earth gets loose and spongy,' he said a little later. 'We must be +approaching the Swedish mine. Now then for water, and hot water first +of all, so as to get through the earth the quicker!' +</P> + +<P> +Some of the miners went above ground and passed a long trough through +the heading. This they sloped and kept constantly filled with water, +which rushed gurgling down at the lower end, for the purpose of +drowning the Swedish mine. Among those busy bringing the water in +firemen's buckets and other utensils, was the miller of Erbisdorf, who +had harnessed a team of his donkeys into a large sledge, loaded with +steaming hot water. +</P> + +<P> +'Slow and steady wins the race,' was his greeting to Roller, as he +pointed to his long-eared friends. 'Our wives are brewing away yonder +as though they had their coppers full of good wort instead of water out +of the Münzbach. Well, the Swedish tipplers are quite welcome to have +it all in their mine.' +</P> + +<P> +As Roller and the miller were just in the act of lifting the heavy cask +from the sledge to the trough, a dull report was heard under the earth. +The ground quivered, then opened, and a red stream of fire gushed +forth, accompanied by clouds of smoke and stones. The Swedes had +observed the presence of an unusual number of people at this point, and +had exploded an already prepared mine. There was one loud, involuntary +cry from those injured by the explosion, then all was still. +</P> + +<P> +The dead might try to make their way out of the grave itself with as +good hope of success as there was for the imprisoned Freibergers to +force a passage through the mass of <I>débris</I> that covered them; indeed, +they could never have done it had not many stout arms and willing +hearts aided in their desperate toil. +</P> + +<P> +'Thirteen men and four beasts of burden!' sorrowfully exclaimed Roller, +who had himself escaped destruction as though by a miracle. 'And my +brave old comrade, the miller of Erbisdorf, gone at last. We two were +carrying the very same cask of water, yet here am I, while he is gone. +Ah, it is indeed true, "The one shall be taken and the other left."' +</P> + +<P> +'I say, neighbour Roller!' cried a muffled voice that seemed to come +from the depths of the earth, 'help me on to my legs again, for mercy's +sake. Here are clods, and stones, and bits of wood jamming me in on +all sides; and here's a donkey's head, and I declare he's trying to +prick his ears!' +</P> + +<P> +With Roller's help the worthy miller was soon landed once more on +<I>terra firma</I>. He found himself severely shaken and bruised, but not +otherwise injured, and begged his comrade to see him safe home. +Although his body was in pain, his spirit was by no means cast down. +When he learned that besides killing three men and severely wounding +five others, the exploded mine had cost the lives of two of his +donkeys, he remarked: 'Ah, ha! Then they too have died for their +fatherland, and will sleep in the temple of fame. I can tell you one +thing, though; if the flour does choke us millers up a bit, I'd ten +times rather have to do with that than with your Freiberg earth. +There's something so big and massive about everything belonging to war, +you very soon get enough of it. What will my Anna Maria say when she +sees her husband brought home like a flattened pancake?' +</P> + +<P> +As soon as Roller had seen his friend safely housed, and had made +himself presentable, he hastened back to the Peter Gate, which seemed, +as he approached it, to be all in flames. The wood and twigs the +Swedes had piled against the defensive works before the bastion, had +been set on fire. The rising flames cast a dreadful glare around, +destroyed several of the works in question, and set fire to parts of +the tower above the gate, which, falling into the covered gallery in +rear of the bastion, threatened to set that too in a blaze. The +besieged were able to avert this last calamity by the steady use of +water, though the enemy pressed them hard all the time with +artillery-fire and hand-grenades. +</P> + +<P> +'The Swedes have set all the elements to work against us,' said Roller +to himself. 'They have cut off our water supply, made war on us under +the earth, tried to blow us up into the air, and now they turn against +us the might of fire. And side by side with these great powers of +nature stalks the pale phantom of death.' +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +DIVERSE HUMAN HEARTS. +</H3> + + +<P> +'The miner Roller waits without, respected Herr Burgomaster!' announced +Jüchziger, the town servant. +</P> + +<P> +'Bid him come in,' said Schönleben. 'Yes, colonel,' he continued, +turning to Schweinitz, who was with him; 'I assure you, if confidence +may be put in any human being, you may trust this man. He is brave, +faithful, and yet shrewd. He will come back as surely as a dove +returns to its young. You may send him without hesitation.' +</P> + +<P> +'Would you like to earn three ducats, my good fellow?' Schweinitz asked +Roller as the latter entered the room. +</P> + +<P> +'How, your excellency?' inquired the miner. +</P> + +<P> +'You are to take despatches from us to Marshal Piccolomini in Bohemia, +lay our condition before him in full, and get him to hasten to our +assistance. The service is not without some danger, for you will have +to make your way twice through the enemy's lines, and die rather than +betray your secret.' +</P> + +<P> +'So I should suppose,' replied Roller dryly. +</P> + +<P> +'Well, what do you say? are you willing to do it, or not?' inquired +Schönleben and Schweinitz together. +</P> + +<P> +'This is no question of a reward,' said Roller. 'You command, and I +obey.' +</P> + +<P> +'You are a fine fellow,' said Schönleben heartily; 'and I will myself +give you a couple of ducats extra if you do your business +satisfactorily.' +</P> + +<P> +'I crave your pardon, respected Herr Burgomaster!' replied Roller, 'I +do not sell my life for silver or gold, for if so I should take sides +with friend or foe, according to which would give me the highest pay. +But it seems to me that we all make up, as it were, one body in what we +have to do, to defend town, wife and child, from the enemy. Very well, +then; you are the head, and I am one of the least members, that has to +do just what the head bids it. That is what I believe, and I try to +fight bravely and do my duty because I believe it.' +</P> + +<P> +Schweinitz shook the brave miner heartily by the hand, saying: 'With +men like you I can hold the mountain-city for a long time indeed, but +we must not neglect means that may help rid us of the enemy. Come with +me, my good fellow, while I make out your papers.' +</P> + +<P> +The same day several children, with Roller's Dollie among them, were +crouching round the air-holes of the cellar under the town hall. 'Oh, +we do so want to see the Swedish prisoners!' said the child to Conrad, +who happened to be passing on the way to his mother's house. 'One of +them has such a dreadful great beard,' Dollie continued; 'I am sure he +must be General Wrangel's bagpiper. Only think, if he had his pipes +here, he could play to us! Just peep in there; sometimes one of them +comes to the window and looks up at us.' +</P> + +<P> +Conrad complied with the child's wish, kneeling down beside her. +Suddenly a heavy hand was laid on his shoulder, and a voice he always +dreaded to hear said, this time, however, in very friendly tones: +'Hallo, Conrad, and what may you be doing here?' +</P> + +<P> +It was into the face of his stepfather that the startled boy stared as +he rose hastily to his feet. +</P> + +<P> +'Come along, my son,' said Jüchziger very blandly. 'I have something +to tell you.' So saying, he drew the boy aside into the passageway of +the town hall. 'Listen to me,' he went on good-humouredly; 'I want you +to do something for your mother.' +</P> + +<P> +'For my mother!' said Conrad cheerfully. 'Oh yes; I shall be so glad +to do it!' +</P> + +<P> +'And for you and me at the same time,' said Jüchziger. 'I just want +you to go out to our house beyond the Peter Gate.' +</P> + +<P> +'But it's pulled down,' objected Conrad. +</P> + +<P> +'Yes, of course, I know that; but the cellar is there still, and in one +corner of that cellar your mother buried a little box with all sorts of +precious things in it. I want you to go and dig it up, and bring it to +me.' +</P> + +<P> +'But the Swedes are all round out there. They will be sure to kill me, +and take the box; they are most tremendous thieves.' +</P> + +<P> +'You needn't trouble yourself about that. I take care of the Swedish +prisoners, and one of them has given me a safe-conduct' (he pronounced +this word very carefully),—'a safe-conduct that I shall give to you. +You are only to get it out if you meet a Swede, and then they'll not +only not hurt a hair of your head, but be very kind indeed to you. But +you must be sure and not let another soul see the safe-conduct, or else +it will all be of no use.' +</P> + +<P> +'Why did mother never say anything about the box?' asked Conrad. +</P> + +<P> +'H'm!' said Jüchziger; 'she—well—she—in fact, she didn't quite trust +me, I'm sorry to say, and wanted to keep all the things in it for you. +But now she sees how wrong that was, and she has confessed all about it +to me. I don't want the box for myself; all I want is to see it out of +danger.' +</P> + +<P> +'But how can I get out?' asked Conrad again. 'Nobody may leave the +town.' +</P> + +<P> +'In about an hour's time there is to be a sortie from the Donat Gate, +and you can manage to creep out with the men. Roller the miner is +going out with them as well; he and Wahle are going all the way to +General Piccolomini in Bohemia, but on no account show the safe-conduct +to him.' +</P> + +<P> +'I should like just to run home to mother,' said Conrad, 'to tell her +about the box, and say good-bye to her.' +</P> + +<P> +'Now would you really be so unkind to a poor, frightened, blind woman +as that?' said his stepfather. 'Why, there's Roller; he has not even +told his wife, though he is going all the way to Bohemia, and you want +to make your mother unhappy because you're going a few yards outside +the city wall.' +</P> + +<P> +'It is quite true, stepfather,' said Conrad with a sigh. 'So give me +my safe-conduct, and tell me how I am to get into the town again.' +</P> + +<P> +'You can easily do that. You will only have to creep up the bed of the +Münzbach. No one will take any notice of a slight youth like you.' +</P> + +<P> +Conrad then received from his stepfather a folded and sealed paper, on +which was written in large letters the word 'Safe-Conduct.' +</P> + +<P> +Underneath were several more words, but as they were all in Swedish the +boy could make nothing out of them. When he had taken leave of +Jüchziger, the latter muttered to himself: 'Either the Swedes will put +an end to him, or else he will do my errand and never be a bit the +wiser himself. It will be a good day's work for me whichever way it +goes.' +</P> + +<P> +According to his stepfather's orders, Conrad hid the safe-conduct in +his breast. He did not understand exactly what the thing was, but this +mystery only made him think all the more highly of it, and filled his +mind with a sort of confidence that his dangerous errand rendered +highly useful. When he found himself really outside the gate, and +heard the tumult of battle all around him, his heart beat thick and +fast. The men who made the sortie threw themselves at once on the +enemy's advanced works, shot or cut down such Swedes as were in them, +set fire to the wooden barricades and some detached houses that the +Swedes had used against the town, and destroyed everything belonging to +the enemy on which they could lay their hands. As soon as the foe +showed signs of bringing up men in force, the Freibergers fell back +fighting, and carried off their booty into the town. +</P> + +<P> +Then Conrad found himself in a desperate fix. From the ramparts of the +town a steady fire was being poured on the advancing Swedes, who +returned it with interest, so that the lad, finding himself between two +fires, did not know which way to turn, and at last, in his +bewilderment, started to run straight across country. Suddenly, +without any warning, he went head over heels into a cutting about six +feet deep that crossed his line of march, and proved to be neither more +nor less than one of the trenches by which the Swedish sharp-shooters +got so close up to the town. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as Conrad had somewhat recovered from his sudden plunge, he +began to look about him with much astonishment. The pathway in which +he stood was so narrow he could easily touch both its sides at once by +simply stretching out his arms. As he started to hurry along it, he +stumbled on the dead bodies of several soldiers, some of which looked +so dreadful that he turned about and ran as hard as he could go in the +opposite direction. As he rounded a sharp corner, he ran into an +enemy, who seemed as much surprised as himself at the unexpected +meeting, and uttered a sudden cry of alarm. This enemy, however, was +armed, and heaved up his 'morning-star'[1] for a tremendous blow. +</P> + +<P> +Conrad, in his terror, sprang back several steps, and drawing his paper +from his breast, called out: 'Stop! I've got a safe-conduct.' +</P> + +<P> +At these words the man let his weapon sink, and stood staring at the +boy, who was again cautiously approaching him holding out the paper. +</P> + +<P> +'Why, bless me!' said the man at last, 'isn't this Conrad Schmidt from +the Erbis Street?' +</P> + +<P> +'What! is it you, Master Prieme?' said Conrad joyfully. +</P> + +<P> +'What are—at least, how came you here?' asked Prieme. +</P> + +<P> +'I came out with the sortie,' said Conrad. +</P> + +<P> +'So did I,' grumbled Prieme. 'In the heat of battle I struck too hard +at a Swede, just on the edge of this abominable ditch, and then my foot +slipped and down I came into it myself, and the detestable thing's so +deep there is no getting out again. Perhaps, with your help, I can +manage to climb out.' +</P> + +<P> +The attempt was made and proved a failure, while the continuous firing +above their heads hinted that it would be much safer to keep out of the +upper world for a time. +</P> + +<P> +'So it seems I only came out of the town to tumble into this ditch,' +grumbled Prieme again. 'If the Swedes put in an appearance, things +will pretty soon begin to look ugly for me.' +</P> + +<P> +'Just you keep close to me,' said Conrad patronizingly. 'I've got a +safe-conduct.' +</P> + +<P> +'Where is it?' asked Prieme, looking at him in astonishment. 'I can't +see one.' +</P> + +<P> +'Here it is all right,' said Conrad producing it. 'Can you read?' +</P> + +<P> +'What stupid rubbish!' muttered Prieme. 'Now, how can a scrap of paper +like that be a safe-conduct? Why, a safe-conduct is a sort of thing +that even the most savage enemy is forced to respect. Why, who told +you such a pack of nonsense as that?' +</P> + +<P> +Either because his tumble had muddled his brains, or for some other +reason best known to himself, Conrad straightway cast all his +stepfather's cautions to the winds, and told neighbour Prieme the whole +story of the safe-conduct and why he was there. +</P> + +<P> +'This seems to me rather serious,' said the worthy citizen, speaking +half to himself. 'To be sure your stepfather is, in a manner of +speaking, a bit of a magistrate; but then we all know how people we +should never have expected—why, there was the Burgomaster of Bautzen +was loaded into a cannon and fired off for trying to betray his native +city to the enemy. At all events, Jüchziger can have no right to +correspond with the Swedes without the commandant's knowledge. So give +me that thing over here directly.' +</P> + +<P> +Conrad protested against the abrupt demand, and, suddenly calling to +mind his stepfather's forgotten orders, made a frantic attempt to hide +the safe-conduct in his breast again. Master Prieme's strong arm would +soon have gained the day, however, and deprived the boy of his paper, +had not the arrival of a troop of the enemy put a sudend [Transcriber's +note: sudden?] stop to their altercation. +</P> + +<P> +Master Prieme, taken with a weapon in his hand, was made a prisoner of +war; and Conrad Schmidt, loudly calling attention to his safe-conduct, +was at once marched off to the enemy's headquarters. +</P> + +<P> +Here he had a first-rate opportunity to make nearer acquaintance with +the dreaded Swedes. He was led about from one point to another. He +saw the batteries, mortars, and siege-guns that were destroying his +native town; he saw whole regiments of Swedes; but to his immense +consolation he did not see any of those men who tortured people and +slaughtered little children. In front of Marshal Torstenson's quarters +a huge cask of wine was being unloaded, a task in which several +peasants were forced to render unwilling aid. When their work was +done, however, they got off with nothing worse than a few cuffs. He +saw, indeed, plenty of great beards and many dark-looking faces of very +scowling aspect, for the Swedes were encamped before Freiberg in no +rose-garden; but after all he could not make out any very great +difference between the Swedish and Saxon fighting-men. +</P> + +<P> +'I can see one thing very plainly,' said Conrad to himself, 'soldiers +are all as much alike as one egg is like another. One wears a grey +coat, another a red one, and another a green one, and that's about all +the difference between them.' +</P> + +<P> +He was suddenly interrupted in the midst of his reflections by the +approach of a trooper, who came towards him with some appearance of +curiosity, and with a single glance of his piercing eyes threw the +boy's whole soul into a state of panic fear. +</P> + +<P> +'God be with me!' murmured Conrad. 'That's the fierce Swede with the +red beard again. I am sure he is taking out a pistol now to make sure +of getting a good aim at me this time!' +</P> + +<P> +Happily, his fears were not of long duration, for a sudden call in good +German of, 'Hillner, the major wants you,' relieved him of the Swede's +presence. 'Hillner!' whispered Conrad to himself. 'I wonder whether +everybody with black hair and a red beard is called Hillner.' +</P> + +<P> +The lad was now summoned to appear before Field-Marshal Torstenson. +This was worse than his worst expectations; for was not this man the +cause of all the trouble, the scourge that with its thousand lashes was +tormenting the Saxon land? Conrad stepped trembling into the hall of +the Bergwald Hospital, where he found a group of superior officers +gathered round their general, who sat by a window with Conrad's +safe-conduct in his hand. This, then, was the man whose hand played +with the lives and property of so many thousand people. From just +inside the door where he had to stand, Conrad stared with beating heart +at the dreadful man who had conquered great armies, plundered and +wasted whole countries, taken strongholds by storm, and was now +conquered himself. For a shaft was quivering in his flesh that he +could by no means draw out; his foot was, so to speak, stung by a +glowing needle that could never be cooled, and that no medicine could +heal. In the olden times men were laid on the torture-bench that they +might be forced to confess their evil deeds; and God Himself sometimes +uses pain to bring a sinner to repentance, when he has turned a deaf +ear to all the voices of conscience and religion. +</P> + +<P> +Torstenson, a man scarcely forty years of age, was seated in an +arm-chair. He had no remedies to oppose to the grinding foe in his +foot but patience and a bandage of coarse hemp. But such is mankind +that this great general, who had at his disposal the lives of thousands +of his fellow-creatures, could not control his own desires; for near +him stood a table on which among other things was a bottle of wine and +a large goblet partly filled, to which he betook himself from time to +time. The contents of the 'safe-conduct' did not seem to afford him +much consolation, for he threw it angrily on the table. +</P> + +<P> +'That is my last weapon,' he said to one of the officers. 'The town +must and shall be mine, this week, this very day, and without the help +of a scoundrel, too!' +</P> + +<P> +'Your excellency!' said the attendant physician warningly, as he saw +the general's gaze turn again towards the goblet. +</P> + +<P> +'Ah, doctor,' said the marshal peevishly; 'take my word for it, it was +not the wine, but those six months in the damp dungeon at Ingolstadt +that gave me the gout. Bring that youth forward.' +</P> + +<P> +Conrad trembled as he was led before the general, though that officer +looked, to his boyish eyes, more like a woman than a stalwart +fighting-man. His tall body was enveloped in a great, shaggy fur coat +right down to the feet, and a white nightcap covered his head. Nothing +but the moustache on the pale face indicated the warlike calling of the +man who now addressed Conrad. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-141"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-141.jpg" ALT="Nothing but the mustache on the pale face indicated the warlike calling of the man who now addressed Conrad." BORDER="2" WIDTH="355" HEIGHT="552"> +<H3> +[Illustration: Nothing but the mustache on the pale face indicated <BR> +the warlike calling of the man who now addressed Conrad.] +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +'How many people have come to live in your town on account of the +siege?' +</P> + +<P> +'Oh, they might be somewhere in the sixties,' replied Conrad, carefully +conformable to truth. +</P> + +<P> +'Are you starving in Freiberg?' +</P> + +<P> +'My mother and her cat sometimes, nobody else. And then that is all my +stepfather's fault, because he will keep the bread cupboard locked up.' +</P> + +<P> +'Do the citizens and soldiers hold together still? Are they not +getting down-hearted?' +</P> + +<P> +'Oh, well, at first there were a few squabbles. The Herr Burgomaster +had a tiff with the Herr Commandant, but now they are just like +brothers; all their quarrels are over, and they are in first-rate +spirits.' +</P> + +<P> +'Can you tell me how many men there are left in Freiberg capable of +bearing arms?' +</P> + +<P> +'Why, gracious sir,' said Conrad, 'it isn't only the men! Everybody +that's got arms and legs does a bit of fighting. And there are nearly +sixty thousand of us. Why, only yesterday evening the miller's donkeys +helped to spoil your mine.' +</P> + +<P> +The smile which at this sally passed across Torstenson's pale and +suffering face gave Conrad a sudden courage; he knelt before the +general, and began in a pleading tone, that grew bolder as he warmed +with his subject: 'Gracious Field-Marshal, I pray of you, for Christ's +sake, to leave off firing at our dear old town. Why should we be the +people you are so angry with, and why did you choose us out? The whole +wide world lies open before you, and I am sure there are many strong +cities in Germany you could easily take if you would just attack them. +Do you expect to seize many lumps or bars of silver in Freiberg? They +are all gone long ago in this never-ending war, and there's nothing +left but rubbish and stones. And I can tell you another thing, noble +sir, and that is that you will never conquer the town—no, not if you +and all your soldiers were to stand on your heads!' +</P> + +<P> +'Silence, boy!' cried an officer angrily. +</P> + +<P> +'Let the lad chatter,' said Torstenson. 'His talk helps to pass away +the time. And pray,' he continued, turning to Conrad, 'who is to blame +for your trouble but yourselves? Have I not many times offered the +town pardon on favourable terms?' +</P> + +<P> +'Yes,' returned Conrad, hesitating; 'but—with permission—people know +what your excellency's pardon is like. Inside the town there, they say +they would rather die than accept your excellency's pardon.' +</P> + +<P> +Perhaps it was a fresh twinge of the gout that distorted Torstenson's +face. He made a hasty sign to the boy to withdraw, which he was +nothing loth to do, although assisted on his way by a cuff or two from +the indignant attendants. +</P> + +<P> +The bad temper of great men seldom passes away without producing some +effect on those who surround them. The tortures Torstenson suffered +found an outlet in giving orders for a general assault on the works of +the city, especially on the Peter Gate. The firing of the double and +single arquebuses began again, the mortars joined in with their short, +sharp roar, and soon the earth shook and the air vibrated with the +frightful din. +</P> + +<P> +Conrad had taken refuge in a corner of the hospital wall. When, +towards evening, there came a lull in the firing, he could hear, from +the breach by the Peter Gate, the jubilant tones of a hymn that touched +him to the heart. 'Jesus, my Redeemer, lives,' sounded through the +wintry air, chanted by the deep voices of earnest men, and Conrad, in +his corner, joined in softly. And the Swedes, too, awed by the holy +sounds, stood like statues, facing the singers; the sword rested in its +sheath, the bullet in the arquebuse, and the shell in the mortar. In +years that were gone, the Swedes themselves used to sing like that as +they marched to battle, and now they stood and joined in spirit in the +service that Dr. Bartholomew Sperling was holding with the defenders of +the threatened breach. But when the prayer was ended, the furies of +war raised their blood-red banners again, in mournful contrast to the +scene that had just taken place, and the dreadful game that is played +with human lives for the stakes began once more. +</P> + +<P> +The whole night through did the firing continue. Early on February 4, +1643, at about six in the morning, the Swedes exploded two mines, one +of which laid open the barbican, while the other hurled pieces of +woodwork far over the roofs of the houses, shattering the gallery +within the barbican, and destroying those who were defending it. In +the confusion that arose, the Swedes, a reserve of whom had been held +in readiness, immediately seized the barbican, mounted from it to the +gate-tower, which was now commanded by their artillery, and placed +sharp-shooters in it, who at once opened a galling fire with double +arquebuses, hand-grenades, and stones on the occupants of the nearest +posts held by the defenders. By way of covering themselves from this +fire, the besieged at once constructed a new battery on the upper +cistern in the Peter Street. From this they were soon able to open +fire upon the new Swedish breastwork on the tower at the Peter Gate, +the result being the enemy's speedy and enforced retirement into one of +the lower and less exposed rooms of the gate-tower. Yet the Swedes had +this time undoubtedly gained an important advantage, and the position +of the city was becoming every hour more critical. But, in spite of +all, neither courage nor resolution had as yet begun to fail. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +[1] See note on page 87. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +WAR OFTEN OPPOSES THE TEACHINGS OF CHRISTIANITY. +</H3> + + +<P> +Conrad was detained for three days in the Swedish camp. It was on an +overcast, rainy evening that he at length received permission to +return. He hastened to reach the Münzbach, which flows into the town +in two streams between the Erbis and Donat Gates. In the year 1297, an +enemy had made treacherous use of this river to enter and plunder the +town; and the points of its entrance and exit had from that time been +guarded against surprise by strong towers, beneath the arched +foundations of which the river now flowed. It was towards the tower of +exit that Conrad made the best of his way. +</P> + +<P> +The sentries either did not see the boy approaching through the gloom, +or did not consider him dangerous, for he succeeded in creeping +unhindered beneath the vaulted archway that spanned the river. All +soon grew quite dark around him as he waded on, and he found himself +obliged to make his hands do the work of eyes. He had not proceeded +far in this fashion, when he suddenly found further progress barred by +a strong iron grating reaching down into the bed of the river and up to +the stonework above his head. How was he to pass this unexpected +obstacle? He cautiously rapped and felt the bars one by one, until, to +his great delight, he found that the last bar could be quite easily +pushed aside, thus leaving an opening through which the slender lad +found but little difficulty in forcing his body. As he came to each of +the two similar gratings that barred his way farther up the tunnel, he +found the same course practicable. He continued to follow the +subterranean bed of the stream for some distance farther, until it +emerged into the open air again in a tanner's yard, and Conrad could +leave the wet path he had followed so long. He did not let the grass +grow under his feet, and very soon was listening cautiously at his +mother's door. Hearing no sound, he stepped on tiptoe into the room. +No one was to be seen, though a lamp was burning on the table. He +crept across to the door of the bedroom, and thought he heard sounds of +breathing. As he opened the door, a feeble ray of light streamed +through the crevice, and he saw his mother lying in bed, with the +faithful cat sitting beside her as her only companion. Puss, +recognising the boy, began to purr and wave her tail, but the blind +woman seemed to be stupefied by the burning heat of fever. +</P> + +<P> +'Mother! mother!' cried Conrad, at first softly, then louder; at last +he ventured to pull the sleeve of her night-dress. +</P> + +<P> +The blind woman sat up suddenly. 'What is it?' she cried. 'Who is +calling me?' +</P> + +<P> +'It is I, mother,' said Conrad, with chattering teeth; for by this time +the cold seemed to have spread from his wet feet all over his body. +</P> + +<P> +'And have you come for me at last, my darling child?' said his mother, +in tones of rapture. 'How often have I prayed that God would send you +to take me home to the mansions of the blest! I come, my son; I come!' +</P> + +<P> +'Why, how funny you talk, mother!' said Conrad. 'I only wanted to ask +you for a pair of clean stockings, because mine have got so wet wading +along the Münzbach. I have only just come in from the Swedish camp, +and I've brought you the box you buried in our old cellar.' +</P> + +<P> +'Swedish camp!—box!—cellar!' repeated the bewildered woman, as though +she were still in a dream. 'Have you not been dead these three days? +And is not this your spirit, that a poor blind woman cannot even see?' +</P> + +<P> +'Why, mother, whatever are you thinking about?' cried Conrad, laughing +in spite of his cold feet. 'Here, catch hold of me, feel me; I'm flesh +and blood. Did not father tell you he had sent me off to the Swedes to +get this box? They didn't do me one bit of harm; they didn't even +starve me. But they would not let me go and dig in our cellar; they +said that was not work for stupid boys. So they did all the digging, +and brought me the box all right; and, considering what a lot of +thieves they are, I think that was almost a miracle. I say, mother, +whatever did you put in the box? It's all nailed up so tight I +couldn't open it.' +</P> + +<P> +He placed a case about fifteen inches long, by six inches broad and +high, in his mother's hands. The blind woman felt it all over in +wonder. +</P> + +<P> +'I don't know anything about any box,' she said. 'And I'm sure I never +had anything to bury.' +</P> + +<P> +'Perhaps Master Prieme was right after all, then,' said Conrad. +</P> + +<P> +'Who is this talking in here?' cried Jüchziger, coming suddenly into +the room. 'Ha! is it you, you young good-for-nothing? Where have you +sprung from? Quick now, confess, or I'll warm you soundly.' +</P> + +<P> +'Well, I'm sure I'm cold enough, father,' said Conrad, with a feeble +attempt at a joke; 'and it was on your business, too, that I got so +cold. Is that all the thanks I am to have for bringing you the box all +safe and sound?' +</P> + +<P> +'What! is that true? You're a very fine fellow. Give it me here, +quick!' cried Jüchziger in a tone full of joy. +</P> + +<P> +'But,' said his wife, 'I never buried a box with treasure in it. What +can we have to do with this?' +</P> + +<P> +'Oh, I had a dream the other night,' answered Jüchziger, 'as life-like +a dream as if I had really been standing in the cellar of our old +house. And see here, my dream has come true, and no mistake about it. +A little mountain-troll dressed, in grey stood before me in my dream, +and said, "Let your son, Conrad Schmidt, dig here in this corner of the +cellar. He is a Sunday's bairn and will have good luck."' +</P> + +<P> +'But I didn't dig for it,' said Conrad. 'The Swedes did it for me.' +</P> + +<P> +'It all comes to the same thing,' said Jüchziger, 'so long as we have +the box. Do you know, my son, what there is inside it?' +</P> + +<P> +'How should I? See how it's all nailed and screwed up!' +</P> + +<P> +'Have you brought back the safe-conduct?' +</P> + +<P> +'Oh yes; I forgot that. One of the Swedish officers tied the paper +over my heart and under my left arm. I was not to let a soul see it, +he said, except the one from whom I first had it, and that was you, you +know, father. But I'm sure it's a different letter, and it's +uncommonly heavy.' +</P> + +<P> +'Give it me here this instant,' said Jüchziger, scarcely trying to +conceal his joy. 'It will be nothing but right if the Swedes have sent +their poor prisoners a ducat or two that they may get me to buy them a +few things. But mind you, don't say a word about it to a living soul; +for if you do, the money will all be taken from them, and I shall be +punished for my kindness into the bargain.' +</P> + +<P> +Conrad handed the paper over to his step-father, who put it straight +into his pocket without stopping to examine it. 'You need not go back +to your mistress now,' he said, when the packet was safely stowed away. +'Much better stay here and attend to your sick mother. The good woman +is in sore need of all the care and help you can give her.' +</P> + +<P> +Conrad was not too bewildered by all his adventures to suspect some +hidden meaning in his step-father's very sudden kindness. As he +thought about the story of the box and the safe-conduct, it seemed to +him to grow more and more suspicious, and he longed for some friend +with whom he could talk the whole thing over. +</P> + +<P> +He could not relieve his mind to his sick mother, that was clear, for +she was far more helpless than himself. Master Prieme was a prisoner +of war; Roller was gone. Who was there left that he could trust, but +his comrade the Defensioner? Yet how could he get at Hillner, with his +step-father watching him as a cat watches a mouse, scarcely permitting +him even to cross the threshold of the house. +</P> + +<P> +Meantime, the enemy had hauled a cannon up into the tower over the +Peter Gate, which was soon scattering death among the defenders. The +besieged also suffered severe loss from the fire of two heavy guns +planted close beside the town moat, near the Peter Gate, and covering +the next tower, that which guarded the Kreuz Gate. The Freibergers, on +their part, were by no means backward in doing their utmost to harass +the Swedes. Behind each defensive work as it was shot down, a new one +arose. Trenches, palisadoes, covered ways, counter-mines, and +batteries were all used as means of defence; the houses adjoining +threatened spots were turned into strongholds, and pierced for +sharp-shooters, who shot every Swede that showed himself within range. +The commandant was at all points where fighting was going on, ordering +and encouraging his men both by word and example. +</P> + +<P> +On the second morning after the night of Conrad's return, Schweinitz +approached the Defensioner Hillner where he stood at a loop-hole in the +tower at the Kreuz Gate. Hillner respectfully made way for his +superior officer, who wished to look out. +</P> + +<P> +'Just see that impudent rascal!' cried the commandant, after a few +moments' survey. 'He is riding his horse right up to the city moat in +sheer bravado. Quick, Defensioner, and show the fellow that there are +men in here. Put a bullet through his head.' +</P> + +<P> +Alert and willing, Hillner at once placed the muzzle of his piece in +the loop-hole. Just as he had covered the Swede, however, he lowered +his weapon and turned pale. +</P> + +<P> +'What's the matter?' cried Schweinitz. 'Why do you tremble? Are you +hurt? Here, then, give me your weapon. I will chastise the insolent +scoundrel myself.' As he spoke, Schweinitz grasped at the arquebuse, +on which Hillner's hand closed like a vice. +</P> + +<P> +'So please your excellency and my gracious commandant,' said the +Defensioner in a tone of entreaty, 'do whatever you please with my +life, but I cannot shoot the man out yonder; neither can I give you my +weapon for you to do it.' +</P> + +<P> +'What!' shouted Schweinitz. 'I, your general, command it. That +weapon, instantly, or—you know the penalty that attaches to +insubordination. Loose it, I tell you!' +</P> + +<P> +'I know well,' replied the young man, 'what penalty belongs to +insubordination; but ought I not to obey God rather than man?' +</P> + +<P> +'No, a thousand times!' cried Schweinitz, his face aflame with rage. +'In war, God's command counts for nothing, and the general's for +everything. What will happen next, if a soldier is to stand and argue +instead of obeying the orders of his superior officer? The soldier is +a mere machine at the absolute will and disposal of his officer, and +must do whatever that officer commands—must kill father, son, or +brother whenever he receives orders to do so. This is what war +demands, and the morality of your catechisms has no place in it. War +puts its trust in the strong arm, the sword, and the fire-lock alone. +Speak, fellow! why would you not shoot that Swede?' +</P> + +<P> +'Many of the enemy have already met their death by my hand during the +past few weeks,' replied Hillner quietly; 'and only against one have I +refused to raise my weapon, for that one was—my father;—an unnatural +father, it is true, who deceived my poor mother, and shamefully +deserted her, and made me fight against my fatherland,—but yet, in +spite of all, my father. His blood flows in my veins; but for him I +should never have existed. So I say again, let me die rather than kill +him.' +</P> + +<P> +'We can easily manage that,' said Schweinitz angrily. 'All such talk +as this in war-time is so much rubbish. Bah! While I stand here +debating with a traitor, the villain yonder has prudently taken himself +out of range.' Defensioner, you will give me your weapons, both +firelock and sabre. You are my prisoner. Ha! Schönleben doubtless +had sound reasons for warning me against you.' +</P> + +<P> +His step-father's absence and his mother's quiet slumber having given +Conrad the opportunity he wanted, he was on the way to his mistress' +house to find his friend Hillner, when he saw the Defensioner coming +along the street, closely surrounded by the guard, and followed by a +crowd of curious people. The boy stared in astonishment at hearing the +ugly word 'traitor' applied to his old comrade, and did not fully +recover himself until he caught sight of his step-father marching with +a joyful face close beside the prisoner, on the way to lock him up in +one of the strongest cells at the town hall. +</P> + +<P> +When the news of Hillner's arrest reached Mistress Blüthgen's house, +where it produced great excitement, the miller, who had not yet fully +recovered, remarked dryly to the women: +</P> + +<P> +'Seems to me as though our Defensioner must have acted rather like one +of my donkeys. He could have obeyed the commandant's order, aimed his +weapon, and fired over the Swede's head. He had it all in his own +hands.' +</P> + +<P> +'No,' said his wife, showing, what was very unlike her, the deepest +emotion, 'Hillner was right not to lift his hand against his father, +even in pretence. What marksman in the whole wide world can say where +his bullet shall go, when it is once out of his gun and flying towards +a mark that some mischievous sprite may shift at any moment. And to +kill his father! Fie! I would rather see Hillner hanged, an innocent +man, than do such a deed.' +</P> + +<P> +These words of the miller's brave wife made deep and lasting impression +on Conrad, who stood by and heard them. Though Jüchziger was a cruel +stepfather, a hard struggle had been going on in the boy's mind as to +whether it was his duty to bring a terrible suspicion on that father by +telling all he knew. He now determined to let his secret remain locked +up in his own heart. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +HISTORICAL. +</H3> + + +<P> +While the scene narrated in our last chapter was being enacted, another +and more joyous one was taking place at the Donat Gate. Three men, two +of them miners, suddenly appeared running towards the gate, and making +eager signs to the sentries in the barbican with the view of obtaining +speedy admission. This being at once granted, the little party turned +out to consist of the two miners, Roller and Wahle, sent some days +before on a special mission, together with Master Prieme, who had +fortunately succeeded in making his escape. Roller and his comrade +brought letters and advices from Marshal Piccolomini; these, addressed +to the commandant and the town authorities, and written at Brix on +February 5th, promised that within six, or at longest eight days, the +imperial army should be seen on the mountain beyond the city, advancing +to free Freiberg, by the blessing of God, from the presence of the foe. +The marshal further announced that as he approached he would set fire +to a house or two in the village of Leichtenberg on the Mulda, so that +by midnight his advance should be known in the city; and that +immediately on reaching the mountain, where the enemy would doubtless +discover his presence, he would fire six guns morning and evening, and +three more as he actually began his march down towards the city. Thus +the garrison would have timely notice of the arrival of help. +</P> + +<P> +Piccolomini's despatch to Schönleben ran as follows:— +</P> + +<P> +'To our trusty, best, and right well-beloved Burgomaster, Herr Jonas +Schönleben,—Be it known that I have kept the messengers by me, that +their bodily eyes might see my army set forward on its march, and that +thus they might take assured news thereof into the good city of +Freiberg. And inasmuch as I shall in few days arrive before Freiberg +with such army (whereof the enemy neither have knowledge nor can +conceive aught aright), and so, with the help of Almighty God, shall +relieve the city, I hereby beseech the said noble Burgomaster to do his +utmost, with aid of all and sundry those brave and honourable burghers +by whom he is at this present sustained, to maintain and defend the +said post until my arrival; and to that end to encourage and hearten +all men, as hitherto hath been so notably done by him, that they may +not make surcease for so few days of that stedfast toil and bravery +which they have heretofore shown. May God have all in his keeping!' +</P> + +<P> +The receipt of these cheering messages revived the spirits of the +besieged—a service the more necessary because the enemy, getting word +that a hostile army was on the march, made strenuous efforts to gain +possession of the town. The fortifications, many of which were now +little more than heaps of rubbish, were still obstinately defended by +the unconquerable bravery of the besieged. Pieces of both the outer +and inner walls, twenty and thirty ells in length, had been destroyed +by mines and artillery-fire, and their downfall had in many places +choked up the moat. Some of the barbicans before the gates were in the +enemy's possession, and even the Peter Gate itself. The towers that +guarded the town resembled ancient ruins; and the defensive works were +now chiefly represented by wooden galleries, palisadoes, piles of +gabions, and the walls of half-destroyed houses, behind which, however, +the besieged found shelter, from which they still kept up a vigorous +fire. The underground war, too, was still hotly maintained; and when, +as often happened, the hostile sappers heard the sounds of each other's +voices, emulation still excited them to struggle as if for life and +death. +</P> + +<P> +On February 14th the Swedes attempted to storm two of the defenders' +positions, and advanced to the assault with loud shouts and in +considerable force. A few bold soldiers, indeed, succeeded in making +good their entrance into one of the towers; but the besieged, in +expectation of this attack, had filled the inside of the tower with +wood and other combustibles. Fire was set to these materials, and to +the gallery adjoining the tower, and thus the enemy was compelled to +withdraw. Meantime, behind the burning ruin, the citizens constructed +a new defensive work, and both here and in the breach offered so brave +a resistance, that the foe, after repeated attempts, was once more +baffled and compelled to fall back. +</P> + +<P> +In the evening of the same day Roller appeared at home with his head +bound up. +</P> + +<P> +'It is nothing!' he assured his alarmed family. 'A Swedish bullet +glanced aside and grazed my temple; that is all. But you, my dear +people—ah! you may lift up your heads to look whether your day of +deliverance is coming; you may gaze towards the Liechtenberg, and try +to make out the beacon fire our deliverers were to kindle. Not six or +even eight, but <I>nine</I> whole days have gone by, and no helpers have +made their appearance! "Put not your trust in man," was as true a word +as was ever spoken!' +</P> + +<P> +This was the first time Roller had ever given way to repining before +the women. The next day, February 15th, the Friebergers, wishful to +gain time, resolved on asking Marshal Torstenson for an armistice, +hoping to use that opportunity of smuggling two or three persons +unobserved out of the city, and so sending word to Dresden of +Freiberg's desperate straits. +</P> + +<P> +On pretence of discussing the proposed armistice, three Swedish +colonels appeared by consent of the besieged on the top of the tower at +the Peter Gate. They made good use of their eyes to learn all that +could be learned about the condition of the defence, and found it still +such as to inspire them with all due respect. When this result had +been satisfactorily achieved, the armistice was formally refused, the +battle being at once renewed; and at two o'clock in the afternoon of +the same day, the city was once more summoned to surrender. The prompt +refusal of this demand provoked renewed efforts on the part of the +besiegers to gain possession of the hard-pressed city. +</P> + +<P> +Matters stood at this desperate pass, when, on the evening of the same +day, the shout of 'Fire!' sounded through the streets of Freiberg. It +was no alarm, but a genuine cry of joy. +</P> + +<P> +'Fire! fire!' exclaimed Mistress Blüthgen, as with a beaming face she +came rushing into the living-room, where the disabled miller and his +wife, Roller, with bandaged head, surrounded by his family, and the +remaining members of the household were all assembled. 'Fire over the +Liechtenberg at last!' she cried again, throwing her arms, as she +spoke, round the neck of the miller's wife. +</P> + +<P> +'Fire over the Liechtenberg!' rang along the narrow street outside. +All who could, now climbed out on to the roof of the house to see the +long-desired sight for themselves. If, at the beginning of the siege, +a magnificent rainbow had been hailed as an omen of good, the +Freibergers now gazed at the red glow on the distant horizon as at a +beacon-light that surely could not deceive them. +</P> + +<P> +'It seems to me,' said Roller, pushing back the bandage that covered +his ear, 'it seems to me as though I heard firing as well.' +</P> + +<P> +The dull roar of cannon, several times repeated, was now plainly heard +from the far-off height. +</P> + +<P> +'It is they! it is our deliverers!' cried all, as their joy broke out +afresh. +</P> + +<P> +Confidence and hope work wonders. They nerved the courage of these +distressed Freibergers, until the most faint-hearted among them rose +into a hero. Let the Swedes renew their assault on the next day as +fiercely as they pleased; let them summon the town three times over to +surrender, and make all their preparations for a final attack; nothing +could now take away the joyful assurance of immediate relief. On the +previous day, a mine had torn down a large piece of the main city wall, +twenty yards in length, near the Peter Gate, and so shattered the great +flanking tower at that point that its downfall seemed every moment +imminent. In spite of a heavy fire, the Freibergers made good use of +the night in preparing trenches, thickly studded with palisadoes, close +behind the main wall, in throwing up great piles of branches and trunks +of trees in the new breach, and doubling the number of men at the +points chiefly threatened. Having made these preparations, they +confidently awaited the onset of the enemy, whose numerous forces were +now steadily drawing nearer and nearer to the city. +</P> + +<P> +Who would not have trembled for Freiberg at sight of that veteran army, +trained in long and stormy years of battle, and led by a renowned +general, bent on destroying the city and putting all its +inhabitants—men and women, old and young—to the sword? Ambition and +shame alike stimulated the Swedish general, as he thought how this +insignificant country town had so long thwarted all his best efforts. +His men, on the other hand, were inspired by thirst for plunder and a +burning desire to avenge all the toils and troubles they had endured +amid the severities of that bitter winter. +</P> + +<P> +On the side of the Swedes were many thousand veteran men-at-arms, a +commander well known to fame, over a hundred pieces of artillery, and +free access to the whole country around, furnishing constant fresh +supplies both of men and the necessaries of war. On the side of the +Saxons was a little band of three hundred soldiers, a leader of whom +renown as yet had scarcely heard, an untrained crowd of peaceful +citizens and country-people, and last, though not least, the +true-hearted miners. These, with the help of a few cannon and a +limited supply of ammunition, were holding shattered heaps of ruins +against an unwearied foe. But the Freibergers threw into the scale on +their side, loyalty to their prince, love for fatherland, for hearth, +and home, and liberty; and thus the balance weighed in their favour. +</P> + +<P> +With thoughts like these present in many minds, passed away the +daylight hours of that memorable 16th of February, and the night +appointed for the general assault came down at last. Eight captains, +each with a hundred and twenty men, a company of seventy or eighty +picked men with hand-grenades, and as many more with axes, were told +off to make the first attack, their advance being supported by four +thousand men of the main storming party. In the evening, Torstenson +had, by a great effort, ridden quite round the town, marking out the +points to be specially attacked, assigning his troops their respective +places, and ordering several new batteries to be placed in position. +As Wallenstein once before Stralsund, so now Torstenson before +Freiberg, swore to take the city, even though it were under the special +protection of Heaven itself. +</P> + +<P> +The besieged were aware, both through their prisoners and by other +means of information, that the most desperate of all their struggles +awaited them to-night, and they did not attempt to conceal from +themselves the terrible peril in which they stood. They spent a social +hour at home with wife and children, took what might well prove a final +farewell, and then each man went forth to his dangerous post with the +stedfast determination to die rather than yield. And among those ranks +of silent, resolute men in the deadly breach, was seen the reverend +figure of good Master Spelling, in his preacher's robe, the book of the +Holy Gospels in his hand. +</P> + +<P> +'My beloved brethren in Christ!' he cried; 'if we live we live unto the +Lord, and if we die we die unto the Lord; whether we live, therefore, +or die, we are the Lord's. Yea, the Lord is our strength and our +shield; and though we wander through the valley of the shadow of death, +we will fear no evil, for His right hand hath holden us up that we +should not fall. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to +all that call upon Him in truth. He will hear their cry and will save +them. "Call upon me," saith He, "in the day of trouble; I will deliver +thee, and thou shalt glorify me." Put your trust in the Lord, not in +the Imperialists, and not in your own might. Think who it was that +broke the power of Sennacherib before Jerusalem, when a hundred and +eighty thousand of Israel's foes perished in a single night! The Lord +our God! And His power is not lessened since that day, neither is His +glory dimmed. Three men once sang in the midst of the burning fiery +furnace. Cannot we, too, lift our feeble voices to God where we stand +in the deadly breach? Let "Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!" be our shout of +victory when the foe comes on against us; and let us, ere we part, +chant together the jubilant words, "Jesus lives; I shall live also. O +Death! where is thy sting?"' +</P> + +<P> +So they sang, and their voices sounded far out into the night; they +knelt, and their pastor invoked God's blessing on them for the +approaching battle,—for victory, if so it might be, or for a happy and +joyous entrance into the better land. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +TREACHERY AND DELIVERANCE. +</H3> + + +<P> +With the exception of babes and very young children, no one in Freiberg +slept that night. All were wakeful and astir. Men stood armed for +battle in their places on the city walls; women and children prayed in +the churches; mothers watched with anxious hearts over slumbering +little ones, not knowing when the dreaded Swedes might burst in to +slaughter all alike. +</P> + +<P> +'Stay with me, my son,' Mistress Jüchziger begged of Conrad. 'Do not +let your poor blind mother be left to meet the Swedes alone. At least, +let us die together.' +</P> + +<P> +Conrad obeyed like a dutiful son, though staying in the house to-night +was a task most irksome to his adventurous spirit, which urged him +forth into the busy turmoil where the brave citizens were making ready +to fight for all they held dear. +</P> + +<P> +Jüchziger, too, seemed a stranger to peace and quietness of spirit, +though for a very different reason. He was seen first in one place and +then in another, in different parts of the city. At last he hastened +through the streets towards his own house, but took special care to +avoid the churches and the praying people. After entering the +living-room of his home, he moved restlessly about the apartment, +alternately taking up and laying down various trifling objects. At +last, towards ten at night, he started forth with the Swedish +treasure-box under his arm, and did not return. +</P> + +<P> +'Whatever can there be in that box!' said Conrad after a time to his +mother, who, though still an invalid, could not rest for anxiety, and +had exchanged her bed for an easy-chair by the stove. 'It is nailed +and screwed up still, as tight as ever, unless I am mistaken.' +</P> + +<P> +Before the mother could reply, the door was suddenly opened from +without, and Master Prieme, fully armed, entered the room. +</P> + +<P> +'Where is Jüchziger?' he said instantly. 'He is to come at once to the +Burgomaster.' +</P> + +<P> +'He went out a little while ago,' replied Conrad, 'and did not leave +word where he was going.' +</P> + +<P> +'What! you here, boy!' cried Prieme, in evident surprise. 'Ha! And +how did you get out of the Swedes' hands and into the town again? How +about that safe-conduct and that precious buried box? The whole thing +looked very suspicious, very suspicious indeed.' +</P> + +<P> +Conrad found himself in a great difficulty. Should he make a clean +breast of it, and perhaps get his step-father into dreadful trouble? +He at first hesitated, and then stammered— +</P> + +<P> +'Well—the—the Swedes—let me go in three days.' +</P> + +<P> +'And the box? What about that?' +</P> + +<P> +'Oh—well,' stammered Conrad, incapable of telling a lie, 'the box? I +got that too.' +</P> + +<P> +'Dug it out of the cellar?' +</P> + +<P> +'No; not that. The Swedes dug it up, and gave it me; and then'— +</P> + +<P> +'That's false!' cried Prieme. 'Sooner get blood out of a post than a +box worth keeping out of the clutches of a Swede. What was in it?' +</P> + +<P> +'I'm sure I don't know. It was nailed up so tight; and my step-father +wouldn't let me even peep into it. I don't think it has ever been +opened.' +</P> + +<P> +'Just like Jüchziger! a regular downright skinflint! And how did you +get into the town again? Who let you in across the moat and through +the gate?' +</P> + +<P> +Conrad was by this time nearer crying than laughing. He looked +imploringly at his questioner, remained silent, and then, when further +pressed, stammered out— +</P> + +<P> +'Along the Münzbach—under the water-tower.' +</P> + +<P> +'That's sheer nonsense!' cried Prieme again. 'Three gratings of the +toughest hammered iron are firmly fixed across the way. Don't lie to +me, boy, or I'll break every bone in your body.' +</P> + +<P> +'But I did, indeed I did,' persisted Conrad. 'In all the gratings one +bar was eaten away by rust or something, so that I could easily push +them on one side and creep through.' +</P> + +<P> +Prieme turned pale. 'Merciful heaven!' he cried; 'this means +treachery. Quick to give the alarm! Perhaps we may even yet save the +city.' +</P> + +<P> +'Oh, please do be reasonable, Master Prieme!' pleaded Conrad, seizing +the man by the arm as he was hastening away. 'It has been exactly like +that for several days now, and no harm has come of it. Pray don't give +an alarm, or the end of it will be you'll get my step-father into a +mess, and then what is to become of me?' +</P> + +<P> +'Such talk is all no use,' answered Prieme, 'no use at all; not even if +Jüchziger were your real father, which he isn't.' +</P> + +<P> +'But only think what all the people in the town would say if I got my +step-father into trouble. Didn't everybody except the governor praise +Hillner when he wouldn't shoot at his father?' +</P> + +<P> +'That's a totally different thing,' said Prieme impatiently; 'then it +was only one Swede, and it didn't much matter whether he lived or died. +But, boy, if many thousand innocent people are about to perish through +one man's knavish trick, ought we not to bring the traitor to justice, +ay, though he be father, brother, or son? Look at that dear, good +woman, your blind mother! Do you want the Swedes to get in and +slaughter her? Are you going to let sixty thousand brave men and women +perish, and all our toils and struggles be in vain, just to save one +villain from the punishment he deserves?' +</P> + +<P> +'Oh, dear me, whatever shall I do? No, indeed, neighbour Prieme,' said +Conrad, in great distress. 'But I'm sure I don't know anything at all +about my step-father, except that he'— +</P> + +<P> +'Jüchziger is to come instantly to the Burgomaster,' cried a well-known +voice, as the door of the living-room opened, and Roller's bandaged +head appeared. +</P> + +<P> +'Yes,' said Prieme in a tone of vexation; 'but the bird has flown, and +even now I am busy with his brood. Good woman, cannot you give us some +information about your husband?' +</P> + +<P> +'Nothing more,' said Mistress Jüchziger, 'than this, that about an hour +ago, while Conrad was gone out of the room, my husband was burning +something over the lamp. At first I thought it was only tinder, but +there was a sudden noise at the room door, and I fancied I heard my +husband hastily crumple up a piece of paper, and throw it either under +the window-seat or the cupboard. No one entered as my husband seemed +to expect; it was only the cat scratching to be let in.' +</P> + +<P> +'You here!' cried Roller to his dog, which had followed him in, and +which now went open-mouthed at the cat, she in her turn retiring under +the cupboard, a safe refuge into which the dog could not follow her. +'You here!' said Roller again. 'Get out, Turk!' +</P> + +<P> +Turk had planted himself in front of the cupboard, and was now +scratching vigorously with his fore-paws at the unhappy cat's +hiding-place. As he did so, he threw out a ball of paper rolled +closely together, which the sharp-sighted Prieme instantly picked up +and unfolded. It was a fragment of a written sheet, partly burned, and +in several places quite illegible. +</P> + +<P> +In a state of the highest excitement, Prieme brought the paper into the +lamp-light, and with trembling lips read as follows:— +</P> + +<P> +'To rouse the prisoners singly and without being observed … in +conjunction with forty of our bravest soldiers under Captain … into +the city … as soon as the petard sent herewith has done its work +and the tower is destroyed, the corps held in readiness will make an +attack on that point, which you will powerfully support with the men +placed under your guidance. At the same time the storm on all the +other positions … The fifty ducats required to make up the sum +named shall'— +</P> + +<P> +A loud report sounding at this moment through the air, and overpowering +the noise of the artillery, cut short the further reading of the paper. +</P> + +<P> +'There goes the water-tower!' groaned Prieme. 'The Swedish petard you +brought in as such a precious treasure, boy, has indeed done its work. +Can't you hear the shouts of the enemy's storming-party? But,' he went +on with a sudden outburst of enthusiasm, 'do not let them think they +will get into the town, for all that! I would drive them out headlong +with the help of only women and children, though we had no weapons but +stones and fire-brands.' So saying, he rushed forth into the night. +</P> + +<P> +Mistress Jüchziger wrung her hands, and her son seemed almost stunned +by all these untoward events. But prudent Roller said quietly, +</P> + +<P> +'Would God have let this rascally trick be found out when it was too +late? Let us at least do all we can; and first, to examine the town +hall, find out about the prisoners, and see whether Jüchziger is there.' +</P> + +<P> +'Mother, do let me go too,' pleaded Conrad; 'just to learn the truth, +and bring you word back.' +</P> + +<P> +He hastened away with Roller to the cellars under the town hall. They +found the garrison was gone, every man being now needed to confront the +enemy at the fortifications. As the two groped their way through the +dark rooms, Conrad's foot struck against something that gave forth a +metallic clink. It was the bunch of keys that Jüchziger had thrown +away after liberating the Swedish prisoners. Just as they made this +alarming discovery, they heard a loud knocking at one of the inner +doors. +</P> + +<P> +'The Swedish prisoners have fled!' shouted Hillner's voice. 'Look out +for treachery!' +</P> + +<P> +'Roller,' said Conrad, 'let Hillner out. He is quite innocent. Why, +it was my step-father and no one else that made the Burgomaster and the +governor suspect him. If any one can help to put a stop to this +business, I am sure it is my old comrade. See, here are the keys all +ready.' +</P> + +<P> +'I will promise you faithfully,' said Hillner from within, 'to place +myself under arrest again the instant the danger is over.' +</P> + +<P> +'In the name of God, then, and may He guide us aright!' said Roller, +opening the door. 'And now, to put all on the hazard of one bold +stroke.' +</P> + +<P> +The three friends immediately set off at a rapid pace for the lower +town. Whatever persons they met on the way, whether men or women, were +pressed into the service, and the little company armed itself as best +it might in the hurry of the moment. The women, for the most part, +could hit on nothing better than to fill their aprons as they went with +stones from the street pavements. The men, with Conrad among them, +threw the light of their torches from both sides at once under the +vaulted arches that spanned the Münzbach, and were longer or shorter +according as their position required. As soon as it was ascertained +that the way was clear at one point, the little party went on instantly +to the next. Roller and Conrad soon made out, to their great relief, +that the water-tower was still standing. They were by this time +approaching it, and just as they reached the last tunnel, the one +through which the Münzbach leaves the city, at the point where it flows +away under the street below the water-tower, a youth announced that he +had descried the forms of several men creeping through the darkness of +the archway. +</P> + +<P> +Whilst two of their number went off at once to alarm the garrison of +the water-tower and the men on the neighbouring fortifications, the +rest of the courageous little band took post around the vaulted +entrance of the tunnel, in readiness to give the enemy a warm +reception. This arrangement was not completed without some noise; and, +as a consequence, a head appeared from beneath the archway to see what +was going on outside. It was the head of the treacherous town servant; +and Roller promptly dealt it so severe a blow with a stout cudgel, that +its owner instantly drew back with a yell of pain. Some minutes of +ominous silence then passed, in which the enemy were doubtless busy +taking counsel as to what should be done next. Then they suddenly +burst forth with loud shouts and wild uproar. Though one and another +of their number dropped beneath the shower of stones with which they +were greeted, they did not even pause, but pressed furiously forward +against their antagonists. +</P> + +<P> +'Light the petard!' shouted a terrible voice from beneath the archway, +at the sound of which Hillner's arm seemed involuntarily to lose its +power. Immediately afterwards a Swede made his appearance, whose +murderous eyes and bushy red beard were plainly visible in the +torchlight. +</P> + +<P> +'Father!' cried Hillner sadly; and his strong right arm fell +mechanically at his side, while the left was extended imploringly, as +though to shield him from his father's uplifted sword. +</P> + +<P> +A frightful oath was the answer, the one that Conrad heard on the +Erbisdorf road, and, by his comrade's wish, wrote down on paper; and +the oath was at once followed up by a desperate cut. The young man's +wounded hand fell helpless; and a second blow his father levelled at +him must undoubtedly have been at once fatal, had not a well-aimed +stone struck the Swede in the face at the critical moment and made him +stagger back. Before he could recover himself, a musket-ball struck +him in the chest, and he fell to rise no more. This fortunate shot, +with a volley of others that now greeted the Swedes, was fired by a +party of men approaching at a rapid pace under the leadership of Master +Prieme. +</P> + +<P> +'We wanted to snatch a laurel from your wreath,' was his hasty greeting +to Hillner, who, after his father's fall, was once more, with his +uninjured hand, doing vigorous work against the enemy. +</P> + +<P> +The foe, attacked in rear by the garrison of the water-tower, were +gradually compelled to give way before the superior force of the +Freibergers, and were at length driven back beneath the arched vault of +the Münzbach, a retreat into which the Saxon bullets followed them, +rapidly thinning their ranks. +</P> + +<P> +'Yield, you dogs!' shouted Prieme, fearful, and not without good +reason, that they might even now explode the petard. +</P> + +<P> +Thereupon arose a short, sharp contest among the entrapped Swedes, in +which the smaller and more courageous section wished to fire the petard +already sunk in the foundations of the water-tower, and bury all in the +ruins; while the other party did their utmost to prevent this design +from being put into execution. The less bold majority gained the day, +and announced their intention to yield themselves up as prisoners of +war. Jüchziger had received his reward. His body, with a severe wound +on the head, was found lying trampled down by the feet of the Swedish +soldiers into the waters of the Münzbach; and the dangerous petard was +discovered sunk into a hole prepared with much toil and secrecy by +Jüchziger in the strong arch on which the tower stood. +</P> + +<P> +The fight was hardly over when the commandant appeared, come to see +what was going on. +</P> + +<P> +'I trust,' said Hillner respectfully, 'that your excellency will pardon +my being here, instead of under arrest where I was placed. I shall now +hasten to give myself up again. But that I am at least no traitor to +my fatherland, this wounded hand may surely bear witness.' +</P> + +<P> +'My dear Defensioner,' replied Schweinitz heartily, 'the enemy may +commence their grand assault at any moment. There is no time now to +examine into your affair. For the present you are liberated on parole. +Be of good courage, and get your wound attended to the very first +thing.' +</P> + +<P> +With these words, the commandant, finding his presence no longer +necessary, hastened away. +</P> + +<P> +The firing on both sides continued till midnight. Then the Freibergers +heard loud sounds of confusion and disturbance and much shouting in the +Swedish camp; but the dreaded general assault was still unaccountably +delayed. +</P> + +<P> +Between two and three o'clock on the morning of February 17th, there +arrived at the city moat an Imperialist soldier, who had been taken +prisoner by the Swedes before Leipzig, and had now made his escape. On +being admitted into the town, he announced that the enemy were making +hasty preparations for departure, that the military stores were already +loaded, and that he himself had been employed with others in removing +the charges from the Swedish mines. This joyful and unexpected news +passed rapidly from mouth to mouth, and put the whole city in a +ferment. Hope turned to glad certainty, when, at break of day, the +enemy's army, with its artillery and baggage-waggons, was seen marching +away from the city, and taking the road towards Klein-Waltersdorf; +although four or five hundred Swedish dragoons still held the Hospital +Church, whence they fired on the town and on all who issued from it. +The Freibergers, instead of abandoning themselves to the transports of +an excessive joy, re-occupied the Peter Gate without delay, and made a +sortie in which they set fire to the enemy's batteries and advanced +works. +</P> + +<P> +By about seven in the morning, when the Swedes had finally evacuated +the Hospital Church itself, Imperialists began to arrive before the +city, in small numbers at first, which, however, rapidly increased. +Their officers were astounded at sight of the ramparts and +fortifications, which in many places were almost level with the earth. +Their colonel asked as a particular favour that he might be permitted +to ride his horse into the city over the principal breach by the Peter +Gate. This was readily granted by the commandant, and as easily +accomplished by the gallant officer. Meantime the prudent Freibergers +had not in the least relaxed their diligence in filling up the enemy's +trenches and destroying their batteries, while repairing their own +barbicans and moat, building the former up with gabions, and +strengthening the latter with a stout wooden parapet. +</P> + +<P> +On the 18th of February, Field-Marshal Piccolomini himself entered +Freiberg, and highly commended the courageous and unexampled defence +that had been made by a town so slightly fortified. The Emperor and +the Elector did not fail to distribute weighty gold chains of office, +patents of nobility, badges of honour, and similar acknowledgments to +the commandant, the Burgomaster, and the city; and Freiberg's fame was +heard far and wide through Europe. Its inhabitants attributed the +glory of their successful defence to God alone; and just as on the 17th +of February 1643, there went up from all the churches of Freiberg, and +from every lip, the devout and thankful song, 'Lord our God, to Thee +our praises,' so has it been on each anniversary since, as each year +has brought round afresh the mountain city's day of joy and +thanksgiving. +</P> + +<P> +It has never been fully known whether the approach of the Imperial +army, or the failure of the treachery they had planned, or the brave +and desperate resistance of the besieged citizens, caused the Swedes at +last to abandon their idea of a general assault. But one thing is +certain, that the brave Defensioner Hillner was fully cleared of blame +by both Commandant von Schweinitz and Burgomaster Schönleben. Nor was +it long before he was made a free citizen and a master-craftsman, and +that without any cost to himself. +</P> + +<P> +'My son,' said Schweinitz to the newly made master-carpenter, 'you may +take my word for it, that in war a soldier must have a heart like a +flint, and often say things very different from what he feels. You did +quite right not to fire at your own father, and had I been in your +place, I should very likely have done the same myself. Now that the +enemy is safe out of the way, I may tell you so freely. God grant the +foe may never return.' +</P> + +<P> +Nor was it long before his young widowed mistress gave her hand in +marriage to her <I>quondam</I> journeyman, and never had the smallest cause +to repent the gift. She kept one secret, and one only, from her +husband; she never told him that the hand he had asked and won was the +hand that had, at exactly the right moment, thrown the stone which was +the means of saving his life. The miller's family, after their return +to Erbisdorf, kept up their friendship for the city home where they had +received so hospitable a welcome. Conrad Schmidt, under Hillner's +watchful care, grew up into a famous carpenter. When in later years +he, too, became a master-craftsman, he rebuilt his mother's house +outside the Peter Gate, making it more beautiful than it had ever been +before. To this new home he brought his old playmate Dollie as his +wife, and she lovingly and carefully tended her husband's blind mother +so long as Mistress Jüchziger needed her ministrations. Roller and +Prieme, and all those who have played their parts so bravely in our +story, lived for many a year as well-to-do citizens; and in the long +winter evenings they delighted to tell one another rousing stories of +the events that happened during that memorable siege. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Freiberg has never been besieged again; yet what the artillery and +mines of the warlike foe failed to accomplish, has been brought about +long since by the genial beams of golden peace. +</P> + +<P> +Freiberg's strong gates and barbicans, her towers, walls, and moats, +have, for the most part, passed away. Where once the cannon thundered, +roses and jessamines now fill lovely gardens with their rich perfume; +where the blood of Saxon burgher and Swedish trooper was once shed in +savage strife, the air now rings with the laughter of happy children; +and no trace is ever seen of those who fought so bravely for their +beloved city more than two hundred years ago. Yet their memory will +never die; it lives on through the ages, and strong and pure, like +Freiberg's native silver, shall endure the story of their faithfulness +to prince and fatherland. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + +<hr class="full" noshade> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG CARPENTERS OF FREIBERG***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 19097-h.txt or 19097-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/9/0/9/19097">http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/0/9/19097</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Latchmore + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Young Carpenters of Freiberg + A Tale of the Thirty Years' War + + +Author: Anonymous + + + +Release Date: August 21, 2006 [eBook #19097] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG CARPENTERS OF FREIBERG*** + + +E-text prepared by Al Haines + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 19097-h.htm or 19097-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/9/0/9/19097/19097-h/19097-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/9/0/9/19097/19097-h.zip) + + + + + +THE YOUNG CARPENTERS OF FREIBERG. + +A Tale of the Thirty Years' War. + +Translated from the German by + +J. Latchmore, Jun. + + + + + + + +[Frontispiece: 'She seized the robber unexpectedly by the legs, and +tipped him head first into the mighty chest.'] + + + +Edinburgh: +William Oliphant & Co. +1880. + + + + +CONTENTS. + +CHAP. + + I. THE MILLER'S WIFE OF ERBISDORF + II. THE FAMILY AT HOME + III. PRIVATE RIGHTS MUST GIVE PLACE TO PUBLIC NECESSITIES + IV. THE ENEMY BEFORE THE TOWN + V. THE SOWER OF TARES + VI. THE SECOND ASSAULT + VII. CONRAD UNDER THE WINDOW-SEAT + VIII. ORDINARY INCIDENTS OF A SIEGE + IX. DIVERSE HUMAN HEARTS + X. WAR OFTEN OPPOSES THE TEACHINGS OF CHRISTIANITY + XI. HISTORICAL + XII. TREACHERY AND DELIVERANCE + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + +'She seized the robber unexpectedly by the legs, and tipped him head +first into the mighty chest.' . . . . . . _Frontispiece_ + +Conrad recognized an old comrade, John Hillner. + +Promise me that I shall have an honourable burial; and let the lads +say, "A good journey to thee, old comrade!" + +Nothing but the moustache on the pale face indicated the warlike +calling of the man who now addressed Conrad. + + + + +THE YOUNG CARPENTERS OF FREIBERG. + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE MILLER'S WIFE OF ERBISDORF. + +The ancient and free mountain city of Freiberg lies only about +five-and-twenty miles south-west of Dresden, yet has a far more severe +climate than the Saxon capital--a fact that may be understood if we +remember that the road which leads from Dresden to Freiberg is up hill +almost all the way. The Saxon Erzgebirge must not be pictured as a +chain of separate mountains, with peaks rising one behind the other and +closing in the horizon. Hills and valleys lie mingled, assuming such +long, wave-like forms that in some parts of the district it is +difficult to fancy oneself in a mountain-land at all. Immediately +around Freiberg the landscape takes the form of a wide table-land, +which has an upward slope only on the south-west of the city, so that +from a short distance but little is seen of the town save the tops of +its towers and a confused glimpse of house-roofs. In former days it +was the residence of the Duke of Saxony, and before the Thirty Years' +War contained 32,000 inhabitants, a number which has now dwindled to +19,000. Its ancient fortifications, which of late years have been +rapidly giving place to modern improvements, consisted of a double line +of walls, guarded by towers, pierced by strongly-fortified gates, and +surrounded by a deep and wide moat. The ramparts were built of +quarried stone, which, though much harder than sandstone, was far more +difficult to bind together with mortar. In view of this fact, we may +well be surprised that a place so weakly fortified was able for two +long months to withstand the vehement siege operations of the whole +Swedish army--an army so brave and so highly trained in the art of war, +that it had subdued many far stronger fortresses. Yet so it was: how +the thing came about, and what an important part young Conrad, the +carpenter's apprentice, played in these great events, will be found +narrated in the following pages. + + * * * * * * + +On the 1st of November in the year 1642, a carpenter's apprentice, +Conrad Schmidt by name, passed out at the Erbis Gate of Freiberg, +pushing before him a covered hand-truck. This contained a piece of +carpenter's work that always tells its own sad story--a little child's +coffin. As the truck with its sorrowful burden jolted along over the +rough pavement, the sentry stepped forward from the gate, and asked +inquisitively, 'What have you there, youngster, and where are you off +to?' + +'Only a child's coffin for the mill at Erbisdorf.' + +'What! has the plague been gleaning among the little brood down there?' + +'The plague!' repeated Conrad, bringing his truck to a stand. 'Well, +yes, something like it. Now-a-days the soldiers are the worst plague, +and it was one of them that put an end to the miller's little son.' + +'What do you mean by that, boy?' + +'Why, Master Prieme,' replied the youth, 'are you the only man in +Freiberg who has not heard the cruel story?' + +'How should I know anything about it?' answered the citizen. 'I only +came home from Dresden late last night, and I had to mount guard early +this morning. What has happened to the miller's son?' + +'The day before yesterday, in the afternoon,' said the lad, 'a soldier +came to the mill at Erbisdorf and demanded quarters for himself and a +woman that he said was his wife. With the soldiers it is always a word +and a blow, so the miller yielded, and by way of putting his guest into +a good humour, took him straight down to the cellar and gave him a +draught of strong beer. Meantime the miller's wife stayed with the +woman, who, as soon as the coast was clear, declared herself to be a +soldier in disguise, and threatened her hostess with instant death +unless she fetched out all her jewels and valuables on the spot. The +poor woman accordingly had to open her great linen chest, in the bottom +of which her little store of silver was hidden, and in this the ruffian +began to rummage. Just when he had almost emptied it, and was stooping +to reach the last articles from the bottom, a happy thought came into +the brave woman's mind. She seized the robber unexpectedly by the legs +and tipped him head first into the mighty chest; then she slammed down +the lid and had the hasp fastened in a second.' + +''Pon my word,' laughed the sentry, 'that was a smart stroke of +business. How the two-legged mouse must have kicked about inside his +trap! And how did things go on after that, my lad?' + +'The miller's little son stood by, and his mother, as the quickest way +out of the difficulty, told him to run down to the cellar and whisper +to his father to come and bind the robber. On his way the poor little +fellow met the other villain, who had got rid of his host by some +excuse, and was now coming up-stairs to help his comrade. Well, the +sight of the boy running towards him made him suspicious, so he stopped +him and took him back with him into the mill. When the soldier reached +the room where he had left his comrade, he found that the miller's wife +had bolted the door, and refused to open it; so he threatened to kill +her child, and when the frightened woman persisted in keeping him out, +he was as good, or at least as bad, as his word. Then the murderer +tried to force his way into the house through the mill-wheel, but the +miller's wife set the wheel going, and the fellow'-- + +'Just so--was flattened like a pancake,' said the sentry. 'She is +something like a brave woman!' + +'And when they opened the chest they found 'that the robber inside was +suffocated,' said Conrad, taking up the handle of his truck again. + +'Well, he received the due reward of his deeds,' said Master Prieme +gravely. 'But to which side did the two men belong? They must have +been either Swedes or Imperialists.' + +'They were just soldiers,' said the youth, 'and when you've said that, +you've said all. Whether they were Saxons, or Swedes, or Imperialists, +it all comes to the same thing. They change about from one master to +another, but they are all alike in tormenting the unhappy people.' + +'That's all the fault of this dreadful war,' muttered Prieme. 'It has +been going on now for over twenty-four years. The soldiers are getting +so used to killing people, that they do it even when there are no +enemies for them to kill.' + +Conrad hurried on his way. He had not yet reached the village of +Erbisdorf, when his quick eye caught the glitter of a troop of cavalry +coming in the distance. In those days an unarmed person was always +afraid to meet soldiers. Conrad, however, fortunately for him, knew +what he was to do if he met any troopers on the road. He opened his +truck, took out the little coffin, and put it into a shallow dry ditch +by the roadside; then wheeling the truck hastily to the edge of the +road, got into it, and pulled the lid over himself as he lay. He had +not long to wait before the trampling of many horse-hoofs warned him +that the troopers were approaching. The men did not take much notice +of his truck, but some of the horses were frightened at it. Several of +them shied, and their riders urged them on at a rapid trot. The last +man alone could not get his horse to pass it. The animal reared and +threatened to fall backwards on its rider, who appeared to be in a +towering passion. He rode back a short distance, and used all the arts +of his horsemanship to reduce his refractory steed to obedience. The +man did not spare either oaths, spurring, or blows of his heavy whip, +until the horse, still shying but obedient at last, went trembling past +the truck. Then the rider turned the animal back once more, and did +not rest until he had made it leap over the object of its terror. As +it did so, one of its hind hoofs touched the lid of the truck and threw +it back. The soldier turned in mid-career, saw the form of the +apprentice, drew a pistol from his holster like lightning, and fired at +him where he lay. At the report and flash the youth started up, and +the bullet passed close by his hand, grazing the skin, and lodged in +the side of the truck. Fortunately for him, the report of the pistol +had such a startling effect on the already frightened horse, that the +rider could no longer restrain it, and rode off at full speed after his +comrades, leaving the apprentice to pursue his way to Erbisdorf in +peace. On reaching the village, he directed his steps towards the +mill, where he was received by a slender, pale little woman, not at all +like the miller's wife he expected to see, for he had pictured the +heroine of his story as a tall, strong woman, with a loud voice and +great muscular arms. He soon found out his mistake, however, for at +sight of the sorrowful burden he had brought, she cried out, 'What! +must I lay my little Georgie to rest in such a thing as that? Why, my +husband need not have sent to Freiberg for it. We could have made a +prettier resting-place ourselves for my little son, and'-- + +'Please have patience,' interrupted the apprentice, 'and do not despise +our work before you have examined it. But first, would you be so good +as to give me a bit of sopped bread to tie on my hand; it begins to +burn and smart pretty badly. Just look, Mistress Miller, there's a +Swedish dragoon's bullet in the side of the truck; if you would lend me +a chisel or a pair of pincers, I could get it out, and take it home in +my pocket.' + +While the woman was gone to fetch what he had asked for, Conrad carried +the little coffin into the house. + +'I know one thing,' he said to the miller's wife when she returned, +'our senior journeyman must be a very smart man; I should think he can +almost hear the grass grow. If he had not been, my last hour would +have come today. "Conrad Schmidt," he said to me before I +started,--"Conrad Schmidt, in these days we must mind what we are +about. You will perhaps meet some soldiers on the way to Erbisdorf, +and if you do, I will tell you how to escape." If he had not told me +what to do, they would have killed me to a certainty. But where is the +poor little boy?' + +The miller's wife stepped across to a corner of the room and drew back +a large linen cloth from a bed, disclosing the body of a fine boy +between eight and nine years old. He lay with closed eyes and little +hands peacefully folded on his breast, so quiet that any one might have +thought it was only sleep. + +'We found him with his little hands folded just like that,' said the +miller's wife, bursting into tears. 'His soul has gone to heaven, I am +sure.' + +'Ah! you can see he did not suffer much,' said Conrad softly, 'and that +is something to be thankful for. Whether the two soldiers were +Imperialists or Swedes, they might have tied the little fellow to a +barn-door and practised at him with their pistols, or tortured him in +fifty cruel ways, as they have often done to others. My mistress +always says it is a happy thing for those who rest peacefully in their +quiet graves. But what have you done with the bodies of the two wicked +men?' + +At this question a sudden change came over the miller's wife. A bright +colour rose to her pale face, her eyes sparkled, and her hands clenched +themselves tightly, as her trembling lips gave utterance to the words, +'They lie out there, behind the barn, waiting till the executioner +comes to bury them.' + +In the meantime the room had filled with country people, who had +strolled into the mill on hearing that the child's coffin had arrived. + +'H'm!' said the young carpenter; 'are you quite sure the dragoons I met +will not come here and find that the two murderers were comrades of +theirs? If they did, your brave deed might cost you dear.' + +A smile was the woman's only reply, but a peasant answered for her: +'Dragoons, did you say, youngster? What countrymen were they?' + +'Well,' replied Conrad, 'you can't always tell a bird by its feathers, +especially if you don't happen to be a bird fancier. Whether they were +Saxons, Imperialists, or Swedes, I do not know. The soldier that tried +to kill me spoke good German, and he wore a blue doublet with bright +yellow facings.' + +'God help us!' cried the peasant. 'They are the Swedes, sure enough; I +have known the blue doublets ever since 1639, the year they did so much +harm to Erbisdorf, when General Bannier made his attack on Freiberg.' + +'But come,' said Conrad, trying to rally his own courage, 'there's +plenty of blue cloth and yellow facings in the world besides what is on +Swedish uniforms; and as I told you before, that dragoon could swear in +downright good German.' + +'The Swedes! the Swedes!' was now heard from outside the house. 'The +schoolmaster saw them from the top of the church tower.' + +'The Swedes are coming!' was the general exclamation as every face +turned pale. 'May heaven have mercy on us!' With this cry the +frightened people rushed out of the room, leaving the terrified young +apprentice and the miller's wife alone together. The latter did not +appear to be much disturbed. She quietly counted out to the lad the +price of the little coffin, and then turned away to lay her son's body +in it. Conrad Schmidt hardly knew what he had better do. First of all +he hid the money he had just received in one of his shoes, and then +began to consider whether he should leave his hand-truck at the mill or +take it back with him to Freiberg. His uncertainty did not last long. +What the horse is to a horseman, that his truck is to a carpenter's +apprentice. Neither the one nor the other will willingly part from his +faithful companion except in great emergencies. Full of inward fears, +but without showing any outward signs of panic, the youth set forth on +his homeward way, a distance of six or eight miles. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE FAMILY AT HOME. + +Conrad reached the town without any further adventure, and found it in +a state of high excitement. The drawbridges before the gates were up, +and the city walls and towers swarmed with armed men. 'The Swedes have +been seen,' was the general outcry, and the mere sound of the words had +been enough to throw the whole place into a ferment. To the number of +about six hundred, the Swedes had appeared and opened a parley with the +town, demanding supplies, and when--as was only to be expected--their +demands were refused, they had drawn off and retired to the +neighbourhood of Wilsdruf. As soon as ever Conrad reached home, which +he did at last, pushing his truck before him and hobbling along in a +very lame fashion over the rough pavement, he took off the shoe he had +turned into a money-box. + +'I thought so,' he cried. 'I was sure those hard gulden would raise +blisters. But I say, mistress, that's a great deal better than coming +home without any money at all. I can tell you I have had a narrow +escape. Just look here; this scratch on my left hand was done by a +Swedish bullet aimed at my heart. I have lots of news to tell you +about my journey.' + +And then all the people of the house gathered eagerly round to listen +while he told his adventures. Many an accomplished story-teller has +had less attentive listeners than those who hung on the lips of this +humble carpenter's apprentice, transformed into a sort of hero by a +sudden and unexpected accident. Out of doors it was already growing +dark, as the cold November wind swept past the house, driving a few +flakes of snow before it. But in the comfortable livingroom that +adjoined the workshop, the little company sat cozily enough round the +warm stove, listening eagerly to the lad who had seen the dreadful +Swedes, and, wonder of wonders! lived to tell the tale. + +'As I lay hidden there in the truck,' said Conrad in conclusion, 'and +heard the soldiers coming like the noise of a great hail-storm, I +almost gave myself up for lost; and when the cover was dashed back, +like a starling falling out of a spout, I thought my last hour was +come.' + +'That would not have been so very bad,' said the younger journeyman, +'if one only had to suffer death and nothing worse. But these Swedes +torture people as the very headsman himself would be ashamed to do. My +father died by the dreadful "Swedish Drink," and then they took my +eldest brother, and--ah! it's too horrible to talk about.' + +'They hang people up by the feet,' said a miner who was present, 'and +light fires under them to make them tell where their treasures are +hidden. They make their way into the very bowels of the earth, so that +the miners themselves are not safe from them. When wicked General +Bannier was here three years ago, we hid ourselves from the Swedes, +with our wives and children, in the mines. To hinder them from +following us, we lighted fires at the bottom of the shafts, and put all +kinds of pungent things in them, that sent up a thick, stifling smoke +through every cranny and crevice. What followed? While I was sitting +by the fire putting on more fuel,--I had sent my wife and children +farther into the mine to be out of the reek,--something suddenly came +plunging down through the smoke-cloud, and I was astounded to see my +dog, this very Turk here, drop upon me with his four legs all tied +together and fastened to a cord. His tongue was hanging out, and only +a faint quiver or two told me he was not quite dead. What did the +cruel Swedes do that for? They wanted to try whether the smoke was so +bad that human beings would die coming through it, and they let my dog +down first to see.' + +'Well, and what happened after that, neighbour Roller?' asked the +carpenter's young widow, as the speaker paused. + +'You must excuse me for a minute or two, neighbours,' replied Roller. +'You know we miners are often rather short of breath.' While he was +silent all sat waiting. + +'That Turk did not die,' he went on at last, 'you can all see for +yourselves, for here he is, and in very good company too. The animal +happily came down just far enough for me to cut him loose from the +cord. By way of encouraging his tormentors to come down after him, I +threw my mining leather, my shoes, and even my miner's coat, on to the +fire, and they sent up such a pother of smoke that the Swedes gave it +up as a bad job, for that time at all events. I am only a poor miner, +but I never repented giving up my mining leather, my shoes, and my +coat, to save that dog's life.' + +'Come to me, Conrad, my son,' said a gentle woman's voice. 'Give me +your hand, and let me feel sure that I have you still, and that you +have really and truly escaped from the dreadful Swedes.' + +The apprentice drew near to the speaker, who occupied the place of +honour in the armchair, and the upper part of whose face was hidden by +a large green shade. As he gave his right hand to his blind mother, a +little girl, who sat on a stool at the woman's feet, gently took the +left hand that the Swedish bullet had wounded. + +'Does it hurt, poor Conrad?' asked the child earnestly. + +'No, little Dollie,' replied the youth. 'The scratch on my hand isn't +nearly so bad as the blisters the hard gulden have made on my feet.' + +'Ah!' cried Dollie, with a shudder; 'but how it would have hurt you if +the Swedes had caught you!' + +'Dollie is quite right,' said the mistress of the house. 'My late +husband used to say the Swedes came from the same place where the Turks +and the Tartars live, and that that was why they were so cruel.' + +The elder journeyman, a young man who had been sitting by with his head +resting on his hand, apparently uninterested in what was passing, at +this point broke into the conversation rather suddenly. 'Have the +Imperialists been one bit less cruel than the Swedes? Have they not +tortured people too?' + +'It is perfectly true,' said the miner. 'The Swedes and the +Imperialists are both tarred with the same brush. For plundering, +murdering, and burning, there is not a pin to choose between them.' + +'And that,' said the elder journeyman, 'is just because this long, long +war has given us a new sort of men--men in whom desperate greediness +takes the place of a heart, and whose conscience has been replaced by +an empty purse, to fill which is their one object in life. Their +general is their god, and they follow him or desert him just according +as he leads them to victory and plunder, or to defeat. They march from +country to country, selling their services to whichever side they think +will give them the richest booty. Swedes! I can assure you, there is +not a Swede left in the Swedish army, or, at all events, very few. The +men the great Gustavus Adolphus brought over the Baltic Sea are gone +long ago, and those who have taken their places will sell both soul and +body any day to the highest bidder.' + +'Yes,' interrupted the apprentice, 'that's just what I say. The Swedes +are no more Swedes than I am; else how could I have understood the +oaths of the Swedish dragoon that fired at me to-day? He swore in good +round German, and it was one of the most wonderful oaths I ever heard. +He said'-- + +The journeyman sprang up hastily, and put his hand before the lad's +mouth. 'Silence!' he cried earnestly. 'Do not repeat the oath you +heard to any one. When a man has once heard a wicked thing, it sticks +in his memory for years. It is the good things we find so hard to +remember. But to return to the Swedes. Their anger against us is not +altogether without excuse. After our Elector had actually begged for +an alliance with them, to protect him against the Emperor's +tyranny,--after Gustavus Adolphus had fought for us Saxons, bled for +us, won battles for us,--the Elector deserted his new ally as suddenly +as he had joined him, just because fortune frowned on him in one or two +battles. He did more than desert him; he threw himself again into the +arms of the Emperor, whom he had good reason to know for his worst +enemy. For this ingratitude'-- + +'Come, come, young fellow!' cried the miner, frowning. 'I shall have +to serve you as you did the boy just now. What! You take on yourself +to blame our illustrious Elector and his court! Pray, do you get +better lessons in statesmanship over the glue-pot and vice than what +our Elector and his princely council can teach you? You are forgetting +that you live in the faithful mountain city of Freiberg--a city that is +proud of being loyal to its prince without any grumbling or asking why +and wherefore. "Fear God! honour the king! do right and fear no man!" +That's what the Bible says.' + +'I will be prudent and hold my peace,' said the young journeyman +quietly. 'Yet even over the glue-pot and vice thoughts come to a man +that cannot easily be got rid of.' + +There followed a pause in the conversation, which lasted until Dollie, +the miner's little daughter, turned to the apprentice with the +question, 'Were the Swedes so very ugly? Had they got horns on their +heads, or only one eye each, like the giants in the "Seven-leagued +Boots," who used to eat little boys and girls? And oh, perhaps they +had dreadful, great mouths, with rows of sharp teeth in them!' + +In spite of their terrors, none of those present could restrain their +laughter at the child's artless fears. + +'I only had one look at the Swede as he leaped his horse over me,' said +Conrad; 'and he looked just like anybody else, only that he had black +hair and a fierce red moustache, just like'--and he broke off abruptly, +and stared at the elder journeyman, then went on: 'Yes, such a long +moustache that he could have tied it in a knot behind his head.' + +'What!' stammered the journeyman, turning pale; 'black hair and a red +moustache?' + +'Yes,' replied Conrad; 'it looked so uncommonly odd, that it was the +only thing I noticed about him.' + +The journeyman sat silent for the rest of the evening. When the +company had dispersed, he turned to the lad and said: 'My boy, now tell +me the oath you heard the--the Swede use.' + +Conrad looked at his companion in astonishment, and saw signs of some +deep emotion on his face. 'But,' he objected, 'only a little while ago +you said I was not to let any one hear the oath, and now'-- + +'You are quite right,' replied the journeyman. 'Hold fast by what I +told you. But if you write down the words on this piece of paper for +me it will hurt no one. I have a good reason for wanting to see them. +Can you write?' + +'I should just think I could,' said Conrad, half offended by the +question. He wrote the words down, and noticed that as soon as the +journeyman had read them he became even paler than before, and muttered +something between his set teeth. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +PRIVATE RIGHTS MUST GIVE PLACE TO PUBLIC NECESSITIES. + +On the 9th of November 1642, the forest of Freiberg presented a scene +of the busiest activity. Several hundred men were at work, and many a +great pine and fir tree bowed its lofty head beneath the stroke of axe +and saw, to fall at last crashing to earth. The wood-cutters from the +mines vied with those from the city--joiners, carpenters, wheelwrights, +and coopers--in thinning the dense masses of beautiful forest trees as +rapidly as possible. Burghers and others, aided by the gaunt-looking +mining people, with earth-stained clothes and red night-caps on their +heads, were loading the long heavy trunks upon drays that stood in +readiness, and driving them off with all speed towards the town. The +wind blew sharp and cool, yet no one complained of the cold; on the +contrary, the large drops that tell of honest toil stood out on many a +swarthy brow. The household of Mistress Bluethgen, the carpenter's +young widow, whose acquaintance we made in the last chapter, were all +among the workers. + +'All this looks as if the Swedes were before the gates of Freiberg +now,' said Rudorf, the younger journeyman; 'whereas the fact is, there +isn't a sign to be seen of them anywhere. There does not seem to me to +be any such tremendous hurry, that we can't even stop to have our +dinners.' + +'"Make hay while the sun shines,"' said Hillner, the elder journeyman. +'I can tell you Burgomaster Richzenhayn could not have done a wiser and +better thing than to have plenty of wood brought in. It is as needful +for the town as bread--indeed it is almost more needful. If it is not +all wanted for palisadoes, _chevaux-de-frise_, covered ways, and +galleries, we can always find a use for it in the stoves, and comfort +ourselves with the warmth it will give us.' + +'Hallo, you boy!' cried Rudorf, suddenly turning to Conrad the +apprentice; 'look yonder how your step-father is enjoying his bread and +bacon. Only see, too, what a fat bottle of beer he has got standing by +him! Step across to him and ask him to give you a share of his good +things, and to lend us his bottle for a minute or two.' + +Conrad, who was busy sharpening a saw, looked up and answered with a +sigh: 'I am glad enough to be out of his sight. If I went to him I +should only get a sound thrashing instead of bread and bacon.' + +The two journeymen were both watching Conrad's step-father, the town +servant Juechziger. As the lad spoke they saw the man leave his table, +the stump of a fallen tree, and go across to a little girl who was busy +picking up the scattered chips that lay about, and storing them in her +long basket. + +'You little thief!' he shouted angrily, 'I'll teach you to come here +stealing wood.' He boxed the child's ears soundly, tore her basket off +her back, emptied it, and crushed it under his foot.' + +The little one began to cry, not so much on account of the blows she +had received, as over her spoiled basket. + +'What a burning shame!' said Conrad. 'It's our Dollie. Poor child, +just look how she trembles!' + +Without saying a word, Hillner, the senior journeyman, left his work. +With his saw in his left hand, and his right fist tightly clenched, he +strode up to the town servant, his angry face showing pretty plainly +what was coming. As soon as he reached the offender, his hand +unclenched to grasp Juechziger by the collar. 'How dare you touch the +child and destroy her basket?' he said, as he shook the astonished man +roughly. 'Will you pay for that basket on the spot, hey?' + +It must not be forgotten that a town servant often thinks himself a far +greater man than even a town councillor. The bold and unexpected +attack at first took Juechziger by surprise, but when he had had time to +take a good look at his assailant, and to see by his blue apron and +general appearance that he was only a journeyman carpenter, all his +rage came back at a bound, and he in his turn began to play the part of +the offended person. He poured out a torrent of abuse on the +journeyman, at the same time trying to collar the young man and pay him +out in kind. By way of making up for the journeyman's superior +strength, Juechziger brought his official position into play, and called +on the bystanders to come to his assistance. This step, however, only +made matters worse for him. The deed he had been seen to do, the +weeping child, the ruined basket, and the young carpenter's indignant +story, all helped to rouse the popular anger against the offending town +servant. + +'What harm had the child done to you?' cried one. 'Are the sticks to +lie here and rot, or be a welcome booty for the Swedes? Pray, how much +could a child like that carry away? Does not the whole forest belong +to us Freibergers, and shall not our own children pick up a basketful +of sticks while we are slaving here without pay? Give the fellow a +sound drubbing! Down with him, if he does not pay for the basket +straight away!' + +At these words fifty strong arms were raised threateningly, and +Juechziger saw that if he meant to save his skin it would be prudent to +fetch out his purse and pay for the basket without loss of time. + +'And a groschen[1] for each of the cuffs he gave her,' shouted a voice +from the crowd, and stingy Juechziger had to obey this order too, which +he did with a very bad grace. Dollie's tears dried up with wonderful +quickness when she saw the shining silver really lying on her little +palm, and she skipped merrily away to the town without either basket or +wood. + +While Hillner and Rudorf went quietly back to their work, Juechziger +kept a watchful eye on the former. As the tiger glares at his victim, +but awaits impatiently the moment when he may safely spring upon it, so +did the town servant promise himself to take a terrible revenge on the +journeyman. As soon as the day's work was over, and the workers had +reached the Peter Gate on their return home, he would have Hillner +arrested by the guard and marched straight off to prison. + +An unexpected incident hindered, for the time at all events, the +execution of this promising scheme. The activity of the citizens in +preparing to give the enemy a warm reception had by no means been +confined to their day's work in the forest. Such buildings without the +walls as had escaped in General Bannier's attack were now doomed to +destruction. Thus it came about that the returning wood-cutters found +a large number of people outside the Peter Gate, fetching the furniture +out of their houses, and moving all their goods and chattels into the +town as quickly as possible. + +Two houses adjoining one another--one a handsome building and the other +of humbler appearance--had already been stripped of windows, doors, +roofing, and rafters, and busy hands were now at work tearing down the +walls. + +When Juechziger so unmercifully destroyed Dollie's basket, he did not +suspect that at that very moment the same fate was overtaking his +wife's inheritance. For a moment the sight he now saw almost paralyzed +him; then recovering his presence of mind, he hastened towards the +scene of destruction, forgetful of all his plans for revenge. + +But his angry protestations were of no avail; even his prayers were all +in vain, which seemed to him very hard. The labourers went quietly and +steadily on with their work, as though it were a thing that had to be +done; and when Juechziger laid his hand on one and another of them, with +the idea of hindering them by force, he soon found himself repulsed in +no very gentle fashion. While he stood in front of his little house +wringing his hands, the very picture of misery and irresolution, a +well-dressed man, of respectable appearance though he was covered with +dust and bits, came out of the door of the larger mansion. + +'Oh, my dear neighbour Loewe!' cried Juechziger, 'advise me, stand by me, +help me to send this rabble about their business! I only married the +old blind woman because she owned this house, and now that there's no +getting out of the bargain they are tearing my nest to pieces before my +very eyes. Come, my dear neighbour, let us hasten at once to the +burgomaster. You are a man of influence in the city, and your request +added to mine will, even now, soon put a stop to this shocking +business.' + +'Our trouble would be all in vain,' replied Lowe quietly. 'These +buildings are being pulled down by order of the burgomaster himself and +of the town council; and quite right too, although I suffer a serious +loss by it. "Private rights must always give place to public +necessities." I was the first man to lay hands on my own house, and +that makes it less hard for me to bear.' + +In his heart Juechziger cursed the good man for a fool, and turned away +from him in a rage. 'If only Richzenhayn were not the acting +burgomaster,' he said to himself. 'If Herr Jonas Schoenleben were only +at the head of affairs, he would be certain to listen to me. The +cowardly blockheads! There is not a single Swedish plume to be seen +round the whole horizon, and yet they must needs begin pulling down +houses. But I will have ample compensation, or the whole town shall +smart for it.' + +'My poor, poor mother,' thought Conrad sorrowfully, as he watched the +destruction of her little property. 'Father will make her pay dearly +for all this that he is muttering and grumbling about there. Oh, +whatever will become of her?' + +Juechziger lived with his wife in the town, and the elder men gave +Conrad leave to run on ahead, that he might have time to tell his +mother about the destruction of her house, and prepare her for the +outburst of passion she might expect when her husband reached home. + +The citizens of Freiberg were preparing at all points for the expected +siege. All the corn, hay, and straw stored at their farms in readiness +for the coming winter was brought into the city, and every care was +taken betimes that there should be no danger of famine; for experience +teaches that more strongholds have been conquered by hunger than by +hard fighting. The fear that the Swedes inspired in the city increased +when it became known that Leipzig and Pleissenburg had fallen into +their hands on November 28, and that Silberstadt was their next +destination. It was a fortunate circumstance that armies in those days +could not move so quickly as they can now. Thanks to this fact, +Freiberg had time to make all due preparation for the enemy's +reception. John George II., 'the father of his people,' was not remiss +in caring for the mountain city. He sent Lieutenant-Colonel George +Hermann von Schweinitz, a brave and experienced commander, with three +companies of infantry and one of dragoons, to conduct the defence. +These troops mustered only two hundred and ninety men all told; yet +this little band, aided by the citizens, gloriously held at bay for two +long months an entire Swedish army of eight brigades, with a hundred +and nine pieces of artillery. + +Hillner, the journeyman carpenter, was still a free man; for Juechziger +had determined to find some other way of satisfying his thirst for +vengeance, and had therefore laid aside his schemes till a more +convenient season. In spite of the dark and doubtful future, busy life +reigned in the workshop of the carpenter's widow, as it re-echoed once +again to the din of tools wielded by the two journeymen and the +apprentice. One day--it was the 4th of December in the memorable year +1642--the hollow roll of drums was heard coming down the street, and +the senior journeyman, laying his plane on the bench, crossed the +workshop to look out at the window facing the street. Having done so, +he at once left the workroom and went out to the street door, followed +by his two comrades, to watch the entrance of the regular soldiers, who +were just marching into the town. + +There were, as has already been said, only two hundred and ninety men, +yet the mere sight of them awakened joyful and reassuring feelings in +the breasts of all who saw them. The roll of the drums in itself had +an inspiriting effect. As the townspeople gazed at the long, level +lines, and heard the heavy, regular tramp beneath which the very +pavement seemed to shake; as they saw each bronzed face with its look +of stedfastness and assured courage, the open iron helmet on the head, +the breastplate covered by a military coat reaching to the knees and +allowing the body free play from the hips, the halberd grasped in the +strong right hand, and the shield in the left, bearing the Saxon +coat-of-arms,--as these various points were noted and remarked on, each +moment brought fresh courage to hearts that had been almost ready to +despond. In all ages there have been jealousies and strife between the +military and the respectable burgher class, and Freiberg was no +exception to this rule. But to-day the soldiers were welcomed with +loud and joyful shouts, which they, fully conscious of their own value, +acknowledged by friendly nods as they passed along the streets. + +Conrad Schmidt, standing beside the miner's little daughter Dollie, +watched the warlike procession with the curious eyes of youth. From +time to time he stole a glance at the senior journeyman, observing his +movements with surprise and some amusement. The young man had taken +off his blue apron, and held it rolled up in his left hand, while his +right grasped the carpenter's square, exactly as the soldiers held +their halberds. His whole bearing was changed; he had become +positively warlike; his eyes flashed, and his feet rose and fell in +measured time, as though he could hardly restrain himself from marching +off at the sound of the drum. Conrad laughed and shook his head +merrily, but kept back a speech he had been on the point of making when +he saw the change in his old friend. + +'I was right after all,' he said to himself. 'If he were just to let +his beard grow, he would be exactly like'-- His sentence was left +unfinished, for at this moment he heard his mistress' voice reproving +them for neglecting their duty, and they all hastened back into the +workshop. + +The commandant made it his first business to inspect the condition of +the fortifications, strengthening them wherever that was possible, and +obstructing the approaches in every way that could offer impediments to +an enemy's successful advance. The approach of the foe was plainly +indicated by the number of country people who now poured steadily into +the town, seeking shelter behind the city walls for their household +goods, their wives, children, and cattle. Long trains of waggons and +droves of animals, accompanied by men, and beasts of burden bearing +heavy loads, were making their way towards the gates of Freiberg; and +the city authorities thought themselves bound in honour not to repulse +these suppliants for shelter, but rather to make their town what every +such town ought to be in time of war, a true city of refuge for all +needy ones. Moreover, many strong arms would be wanted to defend the +widespreading ramparts; and the former siege by General Bannier had +proved how well the country people could fight in defence of their +liberties. + +'Hallo! ho there!' shouted a powerful voice one afternoon late in +December, beneath the window of Mistress Bluethgen, the carpenter's +widow, and the brawny hand of a burly countryman knocked so vigorously +on the window itself that the glass shivered under the blow. 'Can't +you make room in your house for a small family? I have always been a +regular customer of yours, and many is the gulden I have spent with +you.' + +At this abrupt demand, journeymen and apprentice hastened to the +window. Six asses, each laden with a heavy sack of flour, stood before +the door of the house lazily turning their long ears backward and +forward, as though they felt quite sure of finding comfortable quarters +there. Farther down the street was a heavily-loaded waggon with two +powerful brown horses. In the waggon, almost buried among beds and +other household gear, sat a woman with a baby in her arms. Four cows, +in charge of a servant-maid, were lowing behind the waggon, and a dozen +sheep stood bleating round them. Mistress Bluethgen did not take many +seconds to settle with her would-be lodger, whose calling in life was +shown by the floury state of his clothes. + +'That is the miller from Erbisdorf,' said Conrad, and at a sign from +his mistress hastened to open the yard gates, that the fugitives might +put their various possessions under cover. Willing hands were soon at +work unloading and stowing away the goods, and before long the miller, +leaving his wife established in her new home, set off with his waggon +to return to Erbisdorf and fetch the rest of his possessions. + +'Praise be to God!' cried Mistress Bluethgen joyfully. 'We shall not +starve now, even if the Swedes do come. God grant they may neither +take the town, nor set it on fire over our heads with their shells.' + +'We must all do our best to prevent it,' said Hillner boldly. 'God +gave us strong arms and brave hearts for that very purpose.' + + + +[1] A small German coin. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE ENEMY BEFORE THE TOWN. + +The tower of St. Peter's Church rises high into the air above all the +other buildings of Freiberg. In those early days church-towers were +too often used for purposes with which religion had but little to do. +Grim cannon sometimes stood there, not to fire harmless salutes on days +of public rejoicing, but more often to be loaded with deadly missiles +and fired at an enemy. Thus it happened that one of these instruments +of death had been planted in the highest chamber of the St. Peter's +Tower at Freiberg. Round this cannon, on December 27, 1642, stood +Burgomaster Jonas Schoenleben and several others, among whom were +Hillner the journeyman, and the town servant Juechziger. Winter had +come in all its might, and the cold, particularly up here in the windy +tower, was very severe, while snow lay deep over all the surrounding +landscape. The eyes of those present were intently gazing beyond the +town, to where, on the hill above the Hospital Church, many cavalry +soldiers could be seen moving about and beginning to take up their +positions. There had been a good deal of doubt expressed in the town +as to whether the Swedish commander really meant to undertake a siege +up there among the mountains at such an inclement season, with snow +lying thickly on the frozen ground. The appearance of these horsemen +and their business-like movements seemed to set such doubts at rest +once for all. + +'Respected Herr Burgomaster,' began Juechziger, 'in my humble opinion +those soldiers are not Swedes at all, but Imperialists who have reached +us from Bohemia before the enemy had time to come up. I should think +Marshal Piccolomini has sent them to frighten the Swedes into leaving +the city alone.' + +'What we ardently wish we soon believe,' and Juechziger's speech found +favour with the Burgomaster no less than with his other hearers. +Hillner alone said respectfully but firmly, 'Herr Burgomaster, they are +Swedes beyond the possibility of doubt. I know them well; they are +Diedemann's dragoons.' + +'And how may you happen to know that, young man?' asked Schoenleben +gloomily. + +'Because--well, in fact, because I once served among the Swedes +myself,' replied Hillner. + +'What!' cried Schoenleben in astonishment; 'you a Swede, and here in +Freiberg!' + +'I crave your pardon, Herr Burgomaster,' returned Hillner. 'By this +time very few in the Swedish army are really Swedes at all; they are +men gathered in from all nations--not a few of them from Saxony itself. +Many a citizen and countryman too has been driven by starvation to take +up the hard life of a soldier just to get the means of keeping body and +soul together. Others have been dragged by force into the Swedish +ranks, as I was. I only served one year, the year in which General +Bannier laid siege to Freiberg. I was wounded in the course of that +siege, taken prisoner, and brought into the city, and being recognised +for a Saxon born and bred, I was allowed to return to my trade. I am +just about to become a master carpenter, and have already applied to be +enrolled among the citizens.' + +'Your name?' + +'John Hillner of Struppen, near Pirna. Might I entreat your worship's +gracious influence on my behalf?' + +'I am not yet acting-Burgomaster,' replied Schoenleben rather shortly. +'You must make your application to my brother in office, Burgomaster +Richzenhayn.' + +'But your worship will be in office in two or three days,' persisted +Hillner, in a tone of entreaty. 'And when you are so, let me beg you +kindly to remember my request.' + +'I'll take good care to see all about that,' muttered Juechziger to +himself. 'And thank you, Master Shavings, for giving me a handle to +catch hold of you by.' + +Hillner's practised eye had not deceived him. The cavalry, between +seven and eight hundred in number, proved to belong to the enemy, and +sharply attacking the Saxon dragoons sent out to observe them, +compelled them to retire within the fortifications. Upon this the +commandant at once made all necessary preparations for defending the +town. Two companies of infantry, under Captain von Arnim, had charge +of the Peter Gate; Major Mueffel, with his own men and some others, +mounted guard at the Erbis and Donat Gates; Captain Badehorn, with the +City Guard, garrisoned the Electoral Castle and the Kreuz Gate, +together with the works and space that lay between. The remaining +citizens were told off to defend the posterns and walls, in which task +they were assisted by companies of country-people and journeymen of the +various city guilds armed in all haste. Some of these auxiliaries also +waited, drawn up in their ranks before the town hall, ready to march at +a moment's notice to any specially threatened point. To the brave and +faithful miners were assigned the most dangerous duties of all, such as +extinguishing the fires caused by shells, repairing the defences +wherever the enemy might destroy them, counter-working such mines as +should be directed against the town, and making sorties to destroy the +enemy's trenches and siege-works. When all the inhabitants capable of +bearing arms had been thus told off to their several duties, the old +men, women, and children were requested to observe the appointed hours +for prayer, and ask help from the Almighty in the city's time of need. + +Marshal Torstenson appeared before Freiberg on December 29. He at once +took possession of the Hospital Church and a mansion near it, both of +these buildings lying at some little distance outside the Peter Gate; +here he planted a battery of artillery, the guns of which were levelled +at the St. Peter's Tower. Before commencing hostilities, however, the +Swedish marshal sent a trumpeter to the town to inquire whether the +commandant intended to defend the place, what was his name, and whether +he knew him, Torstenson. The intrepid commandant returned for answer +that his name was George Hermann von Schweinitz, and that he hoped the +marshal would spend no more time in asking questions, but set at once +to work, when he trusted to find him a right valiant soldier. + +On the same day an extraordinary surprise befell Conrad Schmidt. He +was setting things straight in the workshop, which now stood silent and +deserted, when he heard heavy footsteps approaching, and behold, in +marched an armed man whom he seemed to know and yet not to know. The +visitor wore a broad cocked hat with a little bunch of feathers at the +side, and a short tunic of green cloth, the collar and edges of which +were thickly laced with gold brocade wherever the broad sword-belt girt +round his body permitted them to be seen. From left shoulder to right +hip hung the bandolier or cartridge-belt, which was adorned with many +golden tufts, and partly hid the lion of the Freiberg city arms +embroidered on his breast. Tight breeches of green cloth reached to +the ankles, where they were met by high shoes slashed on the inner +side, and fitting much more neatly to the foot than do the shoes worn +in the present day. A long gun with a large old-fashioned German lock, +and a curved sabre, completed the equipment of the soldier, in whom +Conrad recognised first a member of the city guard known as the +'Defensioners,' and then his old comrade, John Hillner. + +[Illustration: Conrad recognised an old comrade, John Hillner.] + +'Do I look better now,' asked the newly-fledged soldier, 'than in my +blue apron and coloured jerkin, in the days when I handled the plane +and square?' + +'Whoever could have guessed,' cried Conrad, heedless of the question, +'that you would be made a Defensioner! But are you a citizen, and do +you know your drill? The Defensioners never admit a man unless he is a +citizen and knows his exercises.' + +'I know my drill all right enough,' replied John, 'and I daresay I +shall get my certificate of citizenship. Your own eyes can tell you +whether I am a Defensioner or not.' + +'And you have got a beard coming too,' said Conrad, laughing. 'It's +only a little one yet, but anybody can see that it is a beard. Hallo! +Why, I declare you look uncommonly like that Swede who shot'-- + +Hillner's face darkened suddenly, as he interrupted Conrad with the +abrupt question, 'Is the mistress in the house?' + +'Here she comes,' said Conrad, pointing to the living-room door, +through which the young widow was just entering the workshop. What +wonders a uniform can work! Mistress Bluethgen coloured with pleasure +when she saw her foreman in his new dress, asked how he was in very +friendly tones, and sent the apprentice to fetch some refreshments for +him. + +On his way to the cellar Conrad said to himself: 'So at last he has let +his beard grow, and he always used to shave it all off and hide every +scrap of the hair. Bah! I knew long enough ago that it was as red as +the beard of that ugly Swede who tried to shoot me. It's an uncommonly +odd thing; coal-black hair and a red beard!' + +When the lad reached the living-room again, he found the entire +household, including the miller and his wife, with little Dollie and +her father, gathered round the gaily dressed young guardsman. + +'How do matters look as to the Swedes?' asked the miller. + +'The marshal has sent a messenger to ask our commandant a question or +two, and has had his answer.' + +'And what were the questions and answers?' + +The roar of cannon followed close on the words, and the women and +children huddled together in alarm. + +'You may give a pretty good guess by that what they were,' replied +Hillner. 'That's Marshal Torstenson's way of telling us how he likes +his answer.' + +The thunder of the guns was heard again. While all were gazing in the +direction whence the reports seemed to come, they saw a flash issue +from the side of St. Peter's Tower, followed in a few seconds by a loud +report. + +'There you have question and answer again,' said Hillner. This +exchange of shots had not gone on for very long, however, before the +fire of the Swedes destroyed the topmost parapet of the tower. The gun +planted there was silenced, and had to be moved down to a lower +chamber. By way of covering this movement, the garrison opened a heavy +fire with cannon and double arquebuses on the Swedes, who had ventured +rather nearer to the town than was quite prudent. + +'Now I must be off,' said John suddenly. 'The game has begun, and I +must go and take my share in it. May God keep you all! Good-bye!' + +As he hastened away the assembled household watched his retreating +figure with very various feelings. + +The next day, December 31, in spite of the snow and the heavy fire of +the garrison, the Swedes opened their entrenchments before the Peter +Gate, and planted three mortars there, which threw great stones, +shells, and hundred-and-fifty pound shot into the town. + +Thus closed the old year 1642, and the new year was not destined to +open upon brighter or more joyful prospects. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE SOWER OF TARES. + +The 1st of January, 1643, had hardly dawned, when the town servant +Juechziger presented himself before the new acting-Burgomaster, Herr +Jonas Schoenleben. + +'Respected Herr Burgomaster,' he began humbly, 'permit the most +unworthy of all your servants to be first in wishing you a happy new +year, and congratulating you on the honour you have now attained. The +new year promises to be a very hard one, and your new office will be +harder still. I thank God that in these difficult times we are so +happy as to have your worship for our Burgomaster.' + +'I am obliged to you, Juechziger,' replied Schoenleben feelingly. 'I am +obliged to you for all your kind wishes. Yes, these are indeed hard +times in which I undertake the management of public business. The care +of more than sixty thousand souls is laid on me at a time when even a +Solomon would have had need of all his wisdom. This thought has been +much in my mind, and last night I followed the wise king's example,--I +commended myself earnestly to God, praying Him to teach me the right, +and then to give me strength and courage to do it.' + +'To maintain the right with strength and courage against all comers, +against friends as well as foes,' said Juechziger. 'For, alas! how many +are there who would be only too glad to interfere with your worship's +rights as Burgomaster, and put all your wise intentions aside to carry +out their own selfish schemes,--men who would be only too glad, in a +word, to leave you the mere name of acting-Burgomaster, and nothing +more. I am quite sure it is your worship's kindly heart that has made +you give ear to them until misfortune is hanging over the town, and the +citizens and the rest are all bemoaning themselves, while your +worship's false friends raise their heads like snakes, as they are, to +sting you the moment your worship's back is turned.' + +Schoenleben stood silent, gazing thoughtfully on the ground. + +'Did either your worship or any of our other worthy magistrates give +orders for every armed journeyman to receive a gulden a week and two +pounds of bread a day?' continued Juechziger in an injured tone; 'or +that on this very New Year's Day, eight hundred Freiberg citizens +should tear up the pavement in the streets of their own city to protect +the houses from the Swedish cannon? Do you know, respected Herr +Burgomaster, that that young Swedish turncoat who was so impudent to +you in the St. Peter's Tower, and demanded to be made a citizen, has +been admitted by the commandant into the City Guard, contrary to all +custom and right? Who will guarantee that the pretended Saxon is not +really a spy, plotting to betray the city into the hands of the Swedes +the first chance he gets?' + +'Is this really so?' asked Schoenleben with displeasure. + +'If you doubt my word, your worship can easily see for yourself,' +replied Juechziger. 'The fellow struts about the streets every day in +his Defensioner's uniform, until he nearly runs himself off his legs.' + +'Tell Badehorn, the captain of the City Guard, to meet me here in an +hour's time,' said Schoenleben angrily; 'and bid him be ready to explain +why he has admitted a stranger among his men in this irregular way.' + +'The soldier,' continued Juechziger, 'risks nothing in war but just his +life. The citizen risks a great deal more, for he has a wife and +children, hearth and home. When a town is taken, the soldiers are +either made prisoners of war or allowed to march out unhurt; it is into +the citizen's house that the enemy comes, to ill-use his wife, +children, and servants. These Swedes now are pressing the siege of our +town so hard that we cannot possibly hold out for long. They say that +even if Torstenson offers us fair terms, the commandant means to refuse +them without even asking your worship anything about it, and so to give +the town up to be stormed and pillaged. Now I, in my humble way, +should have thought your worship's voice ought to count for something +in this matter. Your worship knows what is for the good of the town a +great deal better than a soldier of fortune that has only been here a +few weeks.' + +The Burgomaster made no reply. His thoughtful air, however, as he +stood absently drumming on the window-pane, showed that the +mischief-maker had not spoken in vain. By way of striking while the +iron was hot, Juechziger continued: 'As I was on my way to your +worship's house this morning, I saw the Herr Burgomaster Richzenhayn +going to call on the commandant, no doubt meaning to offer him a new +year's greeting. Are you going to do the same, most noble sir, or +don't you think a Burgomaster of the free city of Freiberg--which, with +refugees, now counts over sixty thousand souls--is at least as good a +man as the commander of two hundred and ninety soldiers?' + +Schoenleben clasped his hands behind his back, and paced slowly and +thoughtfully up and down his room. + +If any reader mentally charges the author with exaggeration here, he +does him an injustice. The writer has had many opportunities of +knowing officials, both of high and low degree, who were, quite +unconsciously to themselves, tools in the hands of their servants, the +latter being permitted a freedom of speech that would never have been +tolerated in equals. Such servants have always had the knack of making +themselves indispensable, while preserving an outward appearance of the +deepest humility; and thus it has often come to pass that a lord has +been made to discharge a shaft aimed by his humble vassal. + +When Juechziger's crafty eye saw that the arrow he had thus been +pointing was, so to speak, ready to be loosed from the bow, he adroitly +changed the subject of conversation to something that lay much nearer +his heart. + +'You are aware, respected Herr Burgomaster,' he began again in a +wheedling tone, 'that when I entered on my office I married the widow +of Schmidt, my predecessor. I did it partly out of compassion for the +poor woman, and partly to save the town the expense of keeping her and +her son, who is now a boy of fourteen years old. My wife, a woman five +years older than myself, all at once went stone blind, so that now I am +forced to have a servant to wait on her. I had the good fortune to +apprentice the boy to Mistress Bluethgen, the carpenter's widow, but his +mother has petted and pampered him until he is a good-for-nothing, lazy +young rascal. And now that the workshops are closed and the craftsmen +and journeymen all take their turn at military duty, the boy's mistress +threatens to send him home and put me to the expense of keeping +him,--me that scarcely knows which way to turn for bread to feed my +wife and her servant! The worst of it is that all my wife's little +property, a small house outside the Peter Gate, has been levelled with +the ground by order of Burgomaster Richzenhayn, and I have never had a +single kreuzer[1] for my loss. The house was worth three hundred and +fifty gulden.[2] Gracious Herr Burgomaster, take me and my small +family under your powerful protection, help me to get proper +compensation for my house, and I shall be your grateful servant all the +days of my life.' + +'My dear Juechziger,' interposed Schoenleben, 'be assured I will do all I +can. The times are so bad that the town will want all its strength, +and all its money, to defend itself against the Swedes, and we shall +have to leave our private interests in the background for a while; but +I will see that you suffer no actual want through this misfortune.' + +Juechziger concealed the disappointment he felt on hearing these words, +thanked the Burgomaster for his kind intentions, and took his leave. + +'Do not forget to send Badehorn here!' Schoenleben called after him as +he went out. In a comparatively short time he made his appearance +again. + +'Captain Badehorn presents his respectful compliments to the Herr +Burgomaster, and begs to inform his worship that he cannot have the +honour of waiting on him at the time mentioned.' Here Juechziger +discreetly paused. + +'And why not?' asked Schoenleben, starting up. 'Are the ties of +obedience that bind citizen to magistrate broken already?' + +'He cannot come,' continued Juechziger, 'because the orders of +Commandant von Schweinitz forbid it. They are every instant expecting +an attack to be made by the Swedes, and the commandant has ordered +every man to remain at his post.' + +'Ah, of course! That is quite a different thing,' said Schoenleben, as +his angry brow grew smooth again. 'Badehorn could not act otherwise, +and it becomes my duty to go and see him if I want my question +answered.' + +When Burgomaster Schoenleben left his house somewhat later in the day, +the death-like stillness that reigned throughout the usually busy city +weighed on his spirit. Not a clock was striking, not a bell rang out +its joyful peal in welcome to the new year. Only at long intervals did +he see a human being pass along the street, and then it was in fear and +haste. On the other hand, as he went on his way, he saw at various +points large bodies of men standing silent in their ranks, waiting the +call of duty and the word of command. Here were the vigorous +journeymen of the different trades, and the stalwart country-people; +there the trusty miners, some with nondescript weapons, others armed +with pick-axes, mattocks, and long guns, or provided with ladders and +great buckets of water, in readiness for an alarm of fire. In the +streets adjoining the Erbis and Kreuz Gates, bustling activity was the +order of the day. Hundreds of tireless workers were tearing up the +paving of the roadways, while women and children carried away the +stones, and piled them against the houses. Not a creature complained +of the cold, though it was by no means small. + +As Schoenleben drew near to the city wall and the Kreuz Gate, one +helmeted head after another came into view, rising above the +battlements, and there was a certain comfortable sense of security in +the knowledge that they were the heads of the armed citizens mounting +guard. Men standing still feel the cold severely, and accordingly huge +fires had been built in some of the sheltered corners, round which the +armed burghers stood chatting, each with his firelock ready to hand. + +On inquiring for Captain Badehorn, Schoenleben was told that the captain +had been summoned by the commandant, and that the lieutenant of the +City Guard, Peter Schmohl, had command of the Defensioners in the +absence of his superior officer. Schoenleben tried to make out the +Swedish deserter among the Defensioners present, but was obliged to +return home without having done so. Hardly had he turned his back on +the fortifications, when the Swedish cannon opened fire on the Peter +Gate and the neighbouring defensive works. After firing a score of +shots, however, Torstenson sent to the commandant, demanding the +surrender of the town. He had, he said, paraded his army and fired a +salute in his honour; should any further resistance be offered, he +would the next day attack the town more vigorously, and destroy it. +The commandant sent a polite but firm refusal, and on the following day +Torstenson fulfilled the first part of his threat by opening a terrible +fire against the town. In six hours his artillery discharged over +thirteen hundred shots, by which the Peter Gate, the adjoining tower, +and a portion of the city wall were all severely injured, while many +shells, and a perfect hailstorm of large stones, passed over the +ramparts into the town itself. Then the enemy drew near with flying +colours, bringing ladders, for the purpose of scaling the ramparts. By +way of rendering their task easier, they exploded their first mines, +which, however, did not accomplish all that was expected from them. + +Meantime the besieged, on their part, were by no means idle. To +prevent the storming of the breach at the Peter Gate, two cannon were +planted in Peter Street, the gaps in the ramparts were hastily +repaired, the bastions and inner defences of the gate itself were +strengthened, while large quantities of hand-grenades and other +ammunition were laid in readiness. Thus prepared, the citizens +confidently awaited the threatened attack, which, however, did not take +place, partly, it was supposed, because of a violent snow-storm that +came on, and partly through the failure of the mines. Scarcely had the +Swedish troops withdrawn in the evening, when the besieged made a +sortie, in which the miners cleared the moat of the rubbish that +encumbered it, and picked up a considerable number of cannon-balls, +which they carried into the town as valuable booty. + +The Swedes maintained their fire throughout the whole of that evening, +and far into the night, to prevent the Freibergers from rebuilding +their fortifications; in the course of this firing a miner and a +forester were killed in the city, and several others among the +defenders severely wounded. On the next day, January 3d, the firing +was renewed with heavy siege-guns in addition to the lighter pieces, +and a second mine was sprung, making a breach seventy feet wide in the +city wall. As soon as this result had been achieved, the Swedes, to +the number of two hundred, delivered their first assault against the +Peter Gate. The fighting, however, only lasted about a quarter of an +hour, and ended in the complete repulse of the besiegers. + +During the lull that followed, Juechziger arrived at the house of +Burgomaster Schoenleben, to announce that Colonel von Schweinitz wished +to speak with him, and requested his worship to come to him at once for +that purpose. + +Juechziger's tone and look were carefully calculated to provoke the +Burgomaster's pride, and Schoenleben made a sign for the messenger to +withdraw. 'Am I his slave?' he broke out angrily, as soon as the man +was out of hearing. 'Have I not every bit as good a right to send for +him as he has to send for me? I will soon let him know which of us has +the best right to command here!' + +But when the first heat of his anger had spent itself, quieter thoughts +began to prevail. + +Schoenleben was at heart far too noble and conscientious a man to +sacrifice the welfare of a great city, entrusted to his keeping, to a +sense of his own offended dignity. 'One must not be too particular,' +he said to himself, 'about an affront from a rough old soldier; after +all, he may wish to speak about some matter of importance. At all +events, I will just go and hear what he has to say.' + +With thoughts like these working in his mind, Schoenleben betook himself +to the commandant, who laughed boisterously as he shook hands with his +visitor, and began at once with: 'Torstenson has already sent a third +time to demand the surrender of the city, as if he thought he had +knocked us into a cocked hat by that assault we repulsed so easily. He +has been kind enough, too, to remind me that Breisach, Regensburg, +Gross-Glogau, and Leipzig have all been besieged and taken by the +Swedes, and to add that it is quite out of the question for a badly +fortified place like Freiberg to withstand his power. We are not to +count on any assistance, and if I reject his present kind offers he +will take the place by storm, and will not spare even the babe at its +mother's breast.' + +'And what answer do you propose to send to all this, Herr Colonel?' +asked Schoenleben. 'I suppose you sent for me to see what my opinion +might be?' + +'Not a bit of it, my dear Schoenleben, I assure you,' replied von +Schweinitz, laughing. 'The Swede has received his answer some time +since, and there was not the smallest need to trouble you in any way +about the matter. The enemy has received from me, take my word for it, +the only possible answer a soldier could send to such a demand, and I +now want to consult with you about pushing matters a little farther.' + +'But,' said Schoenleben in an offended tone, 'I should have thought that +as acting-Burgomaster I ought at least to have had a word to say where +the weal or woe of the thousands of families under my care was at +stake. Pray, what is to happen when you and your soldiers are all +killed, the citizens and other combatants worn out with their excessive +duties in this bitter weather, the walls destroyed, the gates taken by +storm, and the Swede bursts in at last to put his threats into +execution?' + +'What!' cried Schweinitz, astounded by this sudden outburst. 'Is it +the Burgomaster of the loyal city of Freiberg I hear speaking such +words as these?' + +'Undoubtedly it is,' replied Schoenleben; 'and when Leipzig chose of her +own free will to open her gates to the Swedish forces, she was not +branded as disloyal. I am not speaking now of surrender, but of my +absolute right to have at least one word in all that concerns Freiberg.' + +'Listen to me, Herr Schoenleben,' said Schweinitz roughly, 'and hear my +fixed determination. Our illustrious prince and lord, John George of +Saxony, has entrusted to me, George Hermann von Schweinitz, the defence +of this city of Freiberg, with orders to hold it to the last man. That +being so, I stand in no need of advice from you, either now or at any +other time. As commandant, I am here to give orders, and you are here +to obey them. Whoever talks to me of surrender shall be considered a +traitor to his country, and treated accordingly. Basta!'[3] And +Schweinitz emphasized the close of his speech by a thundering blow of +his fist on the table before him, and turned his back on the +Burgomaster in high dudgeon. Schoenleben himself, as he took his +departure and returned home, was quite as angry a man as the indignant +warrior. + +'God is my witness,' said the Burgomaster to himself, when, somewhat +later, he was thinking the matter over more quietly, 'that neither +cowardice nor disloyalty to my prince made me speak as I did. But when +I think that the town may yet share the awful fate that befell +Magdeburg, then indeed I set the well-being of my thousands of +fellow-citizens far above my own reputation for valour. Alas! who can +give my fearful heart any assurance about these things?' + + + +[1] A small German copper coin. + +[2] A gulden is now worth about two shillings English. + +[3] Enough. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE SECOND ASSAULT. + +On the following day Burgomaster Schoenleben took his way to the +council-chamber, which now, indeed, fully deserved its name. Both +before and after the commencement of the siege, the magistrates had +enough to do in devising necessary plans, even had not their time been +fully occupied in carrying their plans into execution. Among other +duties, they had to arrange for the accommodation of the wounded, the +burial of the dead, and the bodily needs both of those who were +defending the city and their families; while not neglecting, on the +other hand, to guard against a wasteful use of the provisions, to +preserve the strictest order in the city, and to arrange for many other +things beside. + +Schoenleben did not give his fellow councillors the slightest hint about +his quarrel with the commandant, but took care quietly to make out +their several opinions, and he did not find one man among them who, +either from fear of the Swedes or from personal inclination, was +disposed to support his views. + +After quitting the council-chamber, he could not help noticing, as he +passed along the ranks of the auxiliary troops in front of the town +hall, what an eager and even restless desire was manifest among them to +be led against the enemy. He betook himself to the cathedral, where +the church-superintendent, Dr. Paul Glaser himself, was conducting the +daily service, and heard this aged servant of the Lord encourage his +great audience to a brave resistance against the foe, and patient +endurance of such trouble as the siege might bring. 'Call to mind, my +brethren,' the good man was saying, 'what was done by the children of +Israel when the wicked King Antiochus and his soldiers troubled them, +and each one had to take refuge in the caverns and rocky clefts of the +mountains. My hearers, Antiochus and his fierce soldiery did not +torture the Jews of old one whit more unmercifully than these Swedes +have tortured our Saxon brothers and sisters. And it is vain for you +to think that you, at least, will escape torture and death by resigning +yourselves into their hands; for their hearts are like the nether +mill-stone, and they find an evil pleasure in hearkening to the groans +of those who perish under their torments. Therefore defend yourselves, +as did the Jews in the days of the Maccabees! And let not strong men +alone bear their share in the work, but do you aged men, you women and +children, aid with all your feeble might. Think of the brave women of +the ancient days! And while you think of them, do not forget that in +our very midst there dwells to-day a brave woman who has had to defend +hearth and home against a murderous foe; not less truly a woman because +this hard task was assigned to her, or because she was found, in the +hour of need, capable of discharging it. While we pray to God that +such terrible work may never fall to our lot, we cannot but honour this +our brave, and now, alas! our bereaved sister.' + +As it happened, the miller's wife from Erbisdorf was herself present +among the worshippers, without the clergyman's knowledge. As the +glances of those around turned naturally towards her where she sat, she +endured their friendly scrutiny with blushing cheeks and downcast eyes. + +The preacher's words had produced a deep effect in the mind of the +worthy Burgomaster. 'If a Christian minister,' said he to himself, +'sees it his duty on this special occasion to encourage the weak, that +they may make a valorous deface, surely I, who rule over strong men, +should be the last to think of surrendering into an enemy's hands the +city entrusted to my care.' + +The thunder of the Swedish cannon, as it echoed and re-echoed through +the lofty carved-work of the cathedral roof, made the Burgomaster too +ill at ease to stay longer in the church. On reaching the open air, he +found that the enemy had never yet poured in so heavy a fire as that of +to-day. 'By it every building was shaken,' says the chronicle, 'and +there was as great alarm in the town as if heaven and earth had been +rolled together.' + +This time the enemy did not content himself with merely letting his +heavy guns play against the walls and gates, especially the Peter Gate, +but used his mortars to pour large quantities of stones, balls, and +shells directly into the town itself. + +The sights and sounds that saluted Schoenleben almost put his +newly-formed resolutions to flight. He hastened back to the +market-place. + +'The enemy is pressing hard on the Meissen and Erbis Gates,' shouted a +breathless messenger, sent in haste to summon assistance from the town +hall, and immediately detachments of the auxiliaries drawn up there +started at the double to strengthen the threatened points. As they +went they uttered loud shouts of joy, and clashed their weapons till +the market-place rang again. + +The crash of bursting shells could now be distinctly heard above the +thunder of the artillery, but happily most of these deadly missiles +fell in the more open spaces and did but little harm. The miners were +acquitting themselves of their dangerous duties courageously and well +under the able leadership of their brave captain, George Frederick von +Schomberg, and the master miner, Andreas Baumann. Whenever a column of +smoke rose, or shells fell on a house, or the fearful cry of 'fire' was +heard, their aid was speedily at hand. Beneath a continuous shower of +stones and bullets they climbed upon roofs, handed buckets of water, +and extinguished flames, heeding neither fire, choking vapour, nor +falling rafters. Like boys playing at ball, they sprang on the +smouldering shells the moment they touched the ground, and +extinguishing the fusee, rendered them harmless before they had time to +do their fatal work of death and destruction. + +As Schoenleben turned the corner by the butchers' stalls, some ponderous +iron object fell with a heavy thud just in front of him, sank into the +earth, and disappeared. At the same moment, two young people came out +of a neighbouring house and ran across the street to the newly-made +hole; they were Conrad Schmidt and Dollie. Close at their heels +followed a man in a dusty coat, the miller of Erbisdorf. + +'Out of the way directly!' he shouted to the thoughtless youngsters. +'Do you both want to be killed? This is no child's plaything.' So +saying, he carefully poured into the hole a large bucketful of water he +had brought with him, and then set about digging out the expected shell. + +'Well, upon my word!' he cried, in a tone of such astonishment that the +Burgomaster paused in curiosity. 'How long have they used bombs with +iron rings to catch hold of them by? Why, as sure as I'm here, it is +nothing in the world but a lumbering old iron hundred-weight, that the +Swedes must have stolen out of some good Saxon's shop to batter our +heads in Freiberg with.' While the worthy miller was still expressing +his astonishment over this new kind of missile, Dollie's father, the +miner Roller, appeared coming down the street, grasping some heavy +object with both hands. When he recognised the Burgomaster, he let his +burden drop on the ground, and proceeded respectfully to remove his hat. + +'What have you got there?' cried the miller, who was near enough to +hear Roller's salutation of the magistrate. 'A blacksmith's anvil?' + +'The end of one, at all events,' replied Roller. Then, turning to +Schoenleben, he added, 'Only half a yard more, respected Herr +Burgomaster, and my poor head would have been shattered by this same +anvil. But it tells a welcome story too; for if the Swedes have to use +things like these to feed their cannon with, they must be running +pretty short of ammunition.' + +'That seems to contradict you,' said Schoenleben pleasantly, indicating +the tremendous noise of the cannonade that filled the air on all sides. + +'Ah, but it's beginning to slacken now, respected Herr Burgomaster,' +shouted the miller joyfully the next minute. 'Don't you hear that the +siege-guns have ceased firing?' + +Roller looked thoughtfully up at St. Peter's Tower, from which a +blood-red flag now floated in the air. In a moment, from all the +hitherto silent towers and steeples, the bells clashed out an alarm. + +'That is the signal of an attempt to storm,' said the Burgomaster; then +concealing his own agitation as best he might, he hastened from the +spot. + +'A storm!' said Dollie wonderingly to Conrad. 'But there are no +clouds, and no wind; how could there be a storm?' At this point the +questioner was sent into the house by the miller, who followed her +himself as soon as he had put the iron weight and the anvil away in a +place of safety. Roller, although not on duty, hastened off to join +his comrades at their work, and Conrad betook himself with all speed to +the home where he knew his poor mother was left alone in her blindness. + +The minister had just brought his service to a close, and was leaving +the church; but on hearing the clang of the alarm-bells, he turned back +into the sacred building with the women and children, who poured into +it to beseech divine help in this new and pressing danger. Just as +Schoenleben was passing by the church door, such a frightful and furious +shout arose at the Peter Gate as almost to curdle the Burgomaster's +blood in his veins. This terrible shout was uttered by the Swedes, +who, two brigades strong, with flying colours and rolling drums, were +now advancing with their storming-ladders towards the moat before the +Peter Gate. The determined energy with which the advance was made was +as great as the noise of the battle-cry. The besieged watched the +enemy's approach with stedfast and unshaken courage. They tightened +their belts, and each man prepared his weapons to give the foe a warm +reception. + +'Always bellowing, you Swedish oxen!' shouted a soldier jestingly. 'Do +you expect to frighten us with your noise, or do you think the walls of +Freiberg are going to fall down like those of Jericho?' + +A well-aimed cross fire was now poured into the ranks of the besiegers, +as, in dense masses, they filled the moat and struggled to mount the +breach. A murderous fight then began, in which neither side would +yield an inch. Although successive volleys of balls decimated the +Swedish ranks, their losses did not in the least deter them from +pursuing their object with the most supreme indifference to death. +Fresh men continually took the place of those that fell, and the forces +of the besieged being thus either divided or broken, the Erbis and +Meissen Gates were both assaulted at once. The storming-ladders of the +Swedes, a hundred times hurled back into the moat, were as often +replanted against the walls; and although every man who had as yet +succeeded in setting foot on the ramparts had paid for his success with +his life, others were continually ready to follow the same example. + +While the enemy kept up their furious battle-cry, the besieged, on +their side, did not fail to encourage one another with joyful shouts. +There were even some rash spirits, who, deserting the sheltering +breastworks, sprang into the breach, and saluted the dense ranks of the +enemy with 'morning-stars'[1] and heavy broadswords. During this +attack, which lasted a full hour, the Swedish fire was steadily +maintained against gates, walls, and towers, occasionally even against +the breach itself, where it inflicted some loss on besiegers as well as +besieged. The former, under the command of Generals Wrangel and +Mortainne, were led by these officers in person to storm the breach. +Field-Marshal Torstenson, a martyr to gout, could only sit at the +window of his quarters in the hospital, directing the attack, and +chafing inwardly at its continued want of success. While the battle +still raged round the Peter, Meissen, and Erbis Gates, and the Swedes +fancied the Freibergers a prey to anxiety and fear, the undismayed +miners made a sortie through the Donat Gate, destroyed the Swedish +siege-works that lay in that quarter, slew a number of the enemy, and +returned into the city, bringing with them several prisoners. + +The general fight was still raging; the shout of battle, the thunder of +the guns, the confused din of the storming-parties, and the showers of +great stones and shot still filled the air, as the Burgomaster, +agitated by growing anxiety, and unable to find rest anywhere, turned +his uneasy steps towards the Peter Gate, the most threatened point of +all. It must be remembered that to a brave man like Schoenleben it was +a far harder task to stand by, a mere spectator of this important +battle, than it would have been to take an active share in its turmoil +and danger. To him the assault on the gates, which had perhaps lasted +an hour, appeared to have been going on for ever, while those who were +actually engaged in the strife would have sworn it had been an affair +of a few minutes at the most. + +In no small danger of his life, the Burgomaster forced his way, through +a storm of bullets and falling masonry, into the strong tower that +protected the Peter Gate. Having at last succeeded in ascending the +narrow stone stairs and reaching the vaulted guard-room, he was able to +make out indistinctly, through the smoke and dust that filled the room, +the forms of a number of men who were keeping up an incessant and +almost deafening fire on the enemy through the narrow loop-holes with +which the thick walls were pierced. + +'They fly!' shouted one of these marksmen in a stentorian voice. +'Hurrah! Now to give them something to help them on their way.' So +saying, he lighted one hand-grenade after another, and hurled them with +all his force through the loop-hole. 'Now, here with the double +arquebuses! Dippolt, have you loaded them all?' As he spoke, he +seized one of the pieces that stood in readiness, and fired it after +the flying Swedes. + +The face was so blackened with gunpowder and smoke as to be almost +unrecognisable, but Schoenleben knew the voice at once for that of the +brave Commandant von Schweinitz, who thus both by word and action +encouraged his men to do their utmost against the enemy. + +Hastily turning round, and catching sight as he did so of the +Burgomaster's face, the soldier frankly stepped up to the new-comer and +shook him kindly by the hand, saying in a hearty tone: + +'So you are here, Burgomaster! There,' and he pushed the visitor +good-humouredly towards a loop-hole; 'have a look at the vagabonds +showing us their heels. They'll not carry more than a third of their +storming-ladders back with them. So, now you have come, you can help +us make merry, Schoenleben. I feel so pleased I scarcely know how to +contain myself.' + +A great shout of joy rose from the ranks of the besieged at sight of +the flying Swedes. + +'Right, my children!' cried their commander. 'Shout "Victory" to your +heart's content. Schoenleben, I am proud of commanding your +Freibergers. They have behaved like veteran and brave soldiers. I +must give the palm to your City Guard, who have held the most dangerous +post, the one at the breach by the Kreuz Gate, with such calm +determination that the Swedes never once set foot on the ramparts. +Victory, victory!' he shouted, as the jubilant cry rose again from the +ranks below. + +Then Schoenleben spoke out honestly and heartily. 'Colonel von +Schweinitz,' he said, 'I trust you will pardon the speech I made to you +not long since; it might well annoy you. Henceforth I say with you, +"Welcome death rather than surrender to the Swedes!"' + +'Why, what is all this about?' said Schweinitz heartily; 'I was every +bit as much to blame as you were. I'm a rough soldier that doesn't +stop to pick his words. You mustn't take too much notice of my +speaking out a bit hastily now and then.' + +While the two worthy men were making up their quarrel, Schoenleben +noticed that the skirt of the other's coat was smeared with blood. + +'You are wounded,' cried the Burgomaster in alarm. + +'I had not noticed it,' answered Schweinitz carelessly, looking down at +the splash of blood on his coat. 'Possibly a chip of masonry or some +ball that has glanced aside may have grazed my hip. The Swedes have +paid for it dearly enough, anyhow.' + +With a brightened and almost joyful heart Schoenleben took leave of the +commandant. As the former left the tower and gate, he saw the besieged +clambering down into the city moat to make prisoners the wounded Swedes +who lay there, and to bring in the firelocks, pikes, and +scaling-ladders the enemy had left behind. At the same time, men were +set busily to work to repair and rebuild the walls and other defensive +works that had suffered injury. The bells were silent, and the +glorious words of the Te Deum--'We praise Thee, O God! we acknowledge +Thee to be the Lord'--could be plainly heard as they sounded solemnly +forth from the various churches,--words in which the Burgomaster joined +with a most devout and thankful heart. + + + +[1] The mediaeval 'morning-star' was a heavy war-club thickly studded +with short iron spikes. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +CONRAD UNDER THE WINDOW-SEAT. + +It was early in the afternoon, yet the long winter night already lay +dark over the city of Freiberg. At intervals the gloom was lighted up +for a few minutes by the lurid glare of some burning house set on fire +by a hostile shell, and as quickly extinguished by the prompt +watchfulness and energy of the fire-brigade, whose members had to +struggle against a strong wind that by fanning the flames made them +doubly dangerous. The streets were almost deserted. Only now and then +might some wayfarer be dimly descried stealing along, keeping close in +to the houses so as to gain some slight protection from the falling +stones and cannon-balls. Among these wayfarers was Conrad Schmidt, +hastening from his mistress' house to his mother's distant dwelling. +When he had reached his destination, and made sure that his dreaded +stepfather was away, he entered the living-room. To his great surprise +it was dark and cheerless, and his blind mother sat alone in the midst +of it shivering with cold. By way of warming herself, she had taken +the sleek tabby cat into her lap and folded her chilled hands over +pussy's warm fur. The whole scene sent a pang through the boy's warm +and loving heart. + +'But, my dearest mother!' he cried, 'has not Hannah got back yet from +her parents'? Let me go and call her.' + +The woman shook her head sorrowfully. 'Hannah is never coming back,' +she said. 'Your stepfather has turned her off because she was no use +now and ate so much.' + +The boy clasped his hands. 'No use now!' he repeated. 'Now! when he +is away himself all day and most of the night too,--when the lives even +of people who have their eyesight are in danger,--when the blind need +help more than ever! Oh, my poor, dear mother!' + +'If it were not for the leaving you and dear old pussy here that +Juechziger has many a time threatened to kill,' sobbed the blind woman, +'I would rather die--die by some Swedish bullet! Why should I wish to +live? When your father comes home he beats me if he finds the room +cold, and do what I will I can't make the fire burn in the stove. The +tinder will not light, though I have often struck the flint and steel +together till I made my poor hands quite sore. No one lives in the +house but ourselves, so I cannot get my lamp lighted, and if I take it +across the street to a neighbour's, the wind blows it out again before +I get back.' + +Conrad set energetically to work, and very soon a brisk fire was +crackling in the great stove that stood at one end of the room, gaily +ornamented with its long rows of coloured Dutch tiles. He placed his +mother carefully in a warm corner, sat down beside her, and then began: +'Rudorf the journeyman is in bed at our house with a broken leg. It's +not at all dangerous, and he gets his gulden of pay and his allowance +of bread regularly every week. I only wish I was a journeyman, then I +could go and fight and earn some money for you. And Hillner the +Defensioner has got on first-rate; the officers all like him, and the +governor himself talks to him ever so often. Our mistress loves to see +him come into the house, and I'm sure she will marry him as soon as the +siege is over, and he is made a citizen and a master carpenter. But +then we can't even begin to guess when the siege will be over, for +these Swedes keep attacking the town worse than ever. You would think +they might have been satisfied with knocking ever so many of our houses +to pieces, but now, what with their new batteries, and their new +trenches, and nobody knows how many fascines'-- + +'Alas, alas!' interrupted Mistress Juechziger. 'What does a poor blind +woman like me know about such dreadful things? Have you a morsel of +bread in your pocket, my dear boy? Pussy and I have had nothing to eat +since early this morning.' + +'My poor mother,' cried her warm-hearted son, 'and has it come to +this--that in our own Freiberg, where not even a beggar is allowed to +starve, the good and honoured wife of the town servant himself cannot +get enough to eat?' + +'Your father locks everything up as if I was a thief,' said the woman, +'and he has been out ever since mid-day, so we couldn't get anything.' + +'Here, dear mother,' cried Conrad, 'take this. I always take good care +now-a-days to have a crust of bread in my pocket. I only wish I could +give you something nice to eat with it, but that's all I have.' + +The woman broke off a morsel for the expectant cat before beginning to +satisfy her own hunger. 'Puss is only a dumb creature,' she said by +way of excuse, 'but she is as faithful as many Christians, and a good +deal kinder than your stepfather.' + +'Yes, mother,' replied Conrad, 'so she is. All he wanted was your +little house, and now that's gone he is just showing us what he really +is.' + +'It was for your sake I promised to be his wife,' said the woman, 'that +there might be somebody to look after you when I am gone.' + +'I know, I know!' said Conrad. 'And how very kind and sweet-spoken he +always used to be to me while he was courting you!' + +'He is coming!' said the woman in sudden terror. 'I can hear his step. +Quick, hide yourself!' + +There was let into the wall of the room, just below the window, a seat, +from which, in order to conceal household articles laid there, a low +curtain had been hung, thus making a sort of rude cupboard. Conrad +crept behind this curtain with all speed, just as his mother succeeded +in hiding her crust of bread in her pocket. Immediately afterwards +Juechziger entered the room without a word of greeting to his wife. He +threw his hat on the seat beneath which his stepson was crouching, and +said angrily: 'It's a dog's life now-a-days. On one's legs day and +night, always in danger, and never a kreuzer[1] by way of reward. All +for the fatherland, forsooth, say the patriots! I am my own +fatherland, and I keep my patriotism in my purse. Ever since the fat +citizens and journeymen took to cutting about the streets with their +pop-guns, they are all grown such big men that if one of them happens +to set eyes on you, you must jump out of his way like a bewitched frog. +Wife! Wife, I say! Here's a batzen.[2] Run across to Seiler's and +fetch me a herring. I begin to feel horribly hungry.' + +The blind woman stood for some seconds like one astounded by such an +unusual order. Conrad was on the point of creeping out from his +hiding-place at all hazards, to go himself and fetch what was wanted. +He was only restrained by the thought that if he did, he would be very +likely to bring on his mother something a great deal worse than just +having to go across the street for a herring. + +'Well, what's the matter now?' shouted Juechziger, bringing his fist +down with a thundering crash on the table. 'Are you going, or am I to +start you?' + +The blind woman had hardly groped her way out at the door, before +Juechziger went on: + +'Can't some Swedish bullet or falling stone rid me of this blind witch? +Nothing turns out as I want it to. Here are Schweinitz and Schoenleben +the best of friends again, and all the trouble I've been at with them +just so much labour lost. And then there's that brazen-faced +journeyman I haven't paid off yet for his impudence in the forest; it +seems as though I am not to get a hold on him. And never a kreuzer +have I seen the colour of, to pay me for my house they pulled down. +All right! It may turn out that what Freiberg won't pay for, the +Swedes will. I have to look after the prisoners, so I shall stand a +first-rate chance to kill two birds with one stone,--do the business of +the conceited Defensioner, and help myself to my money at the same +time. What, you ugly beast, are you there?' + +This closing remark was addressed to the cat, which Juechziger now spied +sitting by the curtain, behind which Conrad was playing the part of an +unwilling listener. His stepfather picked up the heavy boot-jack, and +hurled it at the cat; it missed her, but struck Conrad so sharply on +the shin, that though the thick curtain broke the full force of the +blow, the lad could hardly suppress a cry of pain. When, a little +later, he saw his stepfather go into the inner room to hang up his +great-coat, the boy ventured out, and, creeping on tip-toe across the +living-room, managed to escape unobserved into the street. Just +outside the door he met his mother returning, carrying the herring in +her left hand, while with the right she groped her way along by the +houses. + +'Oh, mother,' he said, in a low, earnest voice, 'don't stay a minute +longer! My mistress' house has lots of visitors in it, but I'm sure +they would find a corner for you somewhere. And you and puss wouldn't +be nearly so hungry if you lived with us as you are here.' + +'It cannot be, my son,' replied the blind woman. 'A true wife does not +leave her husband. If I were to do so, the other women would point the +finger of scorn at me and call me names; and quite right, too. If I +can do nothing else, I will at least take my good name with me down to +the grave, and God grant it may be soon.' So saying, she hastened into +the house, lest she should anger her husband by keeping him waiting. + +Conrad took his way homeward with a heart overflowing with respect for +his mother. On his way he met Dollie, carefully carrying in her hand a +bundle wrapped in a cloth. + +'Wherever are you off to so late as this, Dollie?' he asked in +astonishment. 'Are you not afraid to go along the dark streets with +all the shot and shell flying about?' + +'Oh, I've got used to them a long time ago!' said the little one very +composedly. 'I always think it doesn't seem nice when the town is +quiet now.' + +Conrad had to confess that she was right, for people certainly do +become accustomed to everything, even to the greatest danger. + +'I am taking father some warm soup, because he is on duty to-night,' +Dollie went on; 'then he won't feel the dark night so cold.' + +'But why does not your mother take it?' asked Conrad. + +'Oh, she isn't at home,' answered Dollie. 'She had to go with a great +many more women to fetch water from the Muenzbach,[3] and carry it right +into the upper town. The Swedes have done something to the water-pipes +there, and there is no more water. Only think! if a fire were to +begin, and they couldn't put it out! And for fear the water should +freeze in the buckets, the women have to carry it in the little +brewers' coppers, and keep the fires burning under it too!' + +'I will go with you,' said Conrad; and the little maiden, though +professing to be so brave, seemed by no means sorry to have a companion. + +At last the two succeeded in reaching the neighbourhood of the Peter +Gate, where a detachment of miners were acting as auxiliaries to the +regular troops. Here, as at the other threatened points, soldiers, +citizens, and journeymen were all actively engaged. Such parts of the +fortifications as had been either injured or destroyed by the enemy's +artillery-fire and mines, were now being hastily repaired. The Peter +Gate and the barbican in front of it showed unmistakeable signs of the +enemy's efforts to force an entrance into the town,--heaps of stones, +and yawning holes and pits, alternated with covered galleries, +_chevaux-de-frise_, uprooted palisadoes, and other works which the +Freibergers were in hot haste trying to strengthen. The steady +industry of so many hundred busy hands in the cold and darkness of that +winter night must have struck an onlooker with surprise; but probably +his surprise would have been even more excited by the unusual silence +in which such heavy work was being done. That they might not attract +the enemy's attention and so draw down an attack, the besieged were +using the miners' dark lanterns, which open only on one side, instead +of such torches or other lights as would generally be employed. From +the top of the city wall and gate, these lanterns now shone down like +the glimmering fires of innumerable glowworms, while, through the dusky +twilight, lit up by their flickering rays, the soft white snowflakes +fell steadily and quietly. The dim light and the falling snow combined +to transform the brave defenders into so many ghost-like shapes. One +such weird figure could be descried, leaning silent and motionless +against the parapet at the top of the tower, his heavy double arquebuse +by his side. No part of the man stirred save the restless eyes, and +they wandered incessantly to and fro, striving to make out the +movements of the enemy. The miners, busy constructing a new moat just +within the battered Peter Gate, looked, as they glided about, more like +mountain-gnomes than human beings. If one of these same human gnomes, +with weather-beaten, swarthy face and wrinkled forehead framed in its +snowy hood, had suddenly stepped out into the circle of light cast by +one of the dark lanterns, people would have been strongly tempted to +declare they had seen a ghost. + +Up there on the Hospital Mountain, where the enemy's headquarters lay, +great watch-fires were blazing through the thick, snow-laden air. Now +and then the glare of a mortar shone suddenly out, followed after a few +seconds by the thundering explosion. Then a fiery curve traced itself +against the sky, the end of which advanced hissing towards the city, +and at last burst somewhere among the houses. Such was the picture +that presented itself to the eyes of the two children when they reached +the Peter Gate on that dark winter's night. + + + +[1] A small German coin worth about a farthing English. + +[2] A small German coin equal to four kreuzers. + +[3] The river that flows through Freiberg. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +ORDINARY INCIDENTS OF A SIEGE. + +'Dear Wahle,' said Dollie to a miner, who, with the assistance of +several others, was carrying a great palisade past the spot where the +children stood, 'please have you seen anything of my father? I've +brought him a can of warm soup.' + +'Warm soup!' said the man jocosely; 'why, the enemy cook enough of that +for us, only they warm us in rather a different way. Well, child, your +father is down in the moat with a lot of other men, bringing in wood +that the enemy had piled up ready to burn us out. When they found +their cannon could not knock a hole through at the Peter Gate here, +they thought they would have a try what fire could do.' + +'It looks,' said another, 'very much as if the enemy read their Bibles. +Wasn't that what Abimelech did when he couldn't get round the people of +Sichem any other way?' + +'Ah, but when he tried it again at another place,' laughed Wahle, 'a +woman dropped a stone on his head from the top of the tower, and that +finished him.' + +'May the same fate soon overtake Torstenson!' said a third. + +'Oh, he'll never venture up here,' said Wahle. 'Don't you know the +gout has him in tight grips? why, he can't even stir out of his +arm-chair. His people have to play cat's paw for him, and burn their +fingers just when he bids them.' + +'I just wish,' said the other, 'that Torstenson might go into such a +rage at not taking the town, that the gout might rise into his body. +Then he would die, and a good thing for us!' + +'Come, come!' said Wahle more seriously; 'we ought not to wish even our +enemies such evil as that.' + +The words were hardly uttered when a dozen musket-shots rang out from +without the wall that surrounded the moat. Several balls whistled over +the heads of the two children, and the miner who had just been rebuked +fell with a cry of, 'Oh, I am killed!' + +His comrades laid down the palisade they were carrying, picked up the +wounded man, and bore him into the nearest covered way, where they laid +him for the time in a sheltered corner. The two children, more +frightened at the sight of the man's fall than at their own danger, +were quite at a loss which way to go next. In another moment, however, +Dollie forgot all her trouble as she caught sight of her father coming +towards her, his arquebuse in his hand. + +'You here, little one!' he cried, and hastily drew the children with +him into the gallery, behind the protecting walls of which the +combatants found shelter from the enemy's fire. 'A queer kind of +supper,' he said, as he hastily gulped down the contents of the can. +'One hardly has time even to say, "Grant, O Lord, what I partake!" And +yet I ought to be thankful, too, that I am here to drink my soup at +all. How many miners, citizens, peasants, soldiers, and even young +children, has this siege cost us already! St. Peter's churchyard is +getting too small to hold them all.' + +'Yes, father,' said Dollie. 'And poor Hofmann the woodcutter will +never be able to eat any more soup. He fell down quite close by us as +if a thunderbolt had hit him.' + +'Hofmann!' said Roller hastily; 'your god-father, child, and my old +friend? But,' he went on, 'who is that lying in yon dark corner?' + +He rose and went across in that direction. As he did so, he caught the +sound of a groan, and a feeble voice murmured: 'Ah, merciful Father, do +not let the arch-enemy prevail against me, or what will become of my +three boys, all of them stampers at the Prince's Shaft. If I must die, +do Thou take under Thy care my wife and my four poor girls. They are +at the coppersmith's house in the Erbis Street.' + +'What is it?' said Roller, turning his dark lantern so that its light +fell for a moment on the dying man's pale face. + +Hofmann lifted his failing eyes towards the approaching figure, and +said in a broken voice, and with long pauses between: 'Comrade, there +is a cold Swedish bullet rankling in my vitals. Promise me, old +friend, that I shall have an honourable burial; not in this shabby +miner's dress, but in my new uniform. And when they lay me in my last +resting-place, let the lads say: "A good journey to thee, old comrade!"' + +[Illustration: 'Promise me that I shall have an honourable burial; and +let the lads say, "A good journey to thee, old comrade!"'] + +'A good journey to thee, old comrade,' responded Roller heartily, as +Hofmann, putting his hand to his side, stopped abruptly. + +Conrad and Dollie both followed Roller's example, as he folded his +hands on his breast and began to repeat the simple words of the 'Our +Father' over the dying man. The hollow roar of the Swedish siege-guns +outside, and the constant dull thud of the cannon-balls striking the +great earthwork that covered the gallery, formed a strange contrast to +the solemn little service within, beside one whose spirit was taking +its flight. + +'You have come at a most unfortunate time, children,' said Roller, when +all was over. 'You had better stay here till things are quieter +outside, for the stones and bullets strike just anybody at random, and +make no difference between big and little. I will tell you when it is +safe for you to go; stay here till I come back.' + +As Roller turned to go, he felt his leg suddenly clasped in Dollie's +little arms. 'Oh, do stay here with us, dear father!' sobbed the +child. 'Something might happen to you like what happened to poor +Hofmann there. And then mother and I couldn't live any longer--indeed +we couldn't; we should be quite sure to die.' + +But Roller gently loosened the little maiden's hold, saying kindly as +he did so; 'Dollie must be quiet and good, and God will take care of +father. We do not know whether we are safer in here or out under the +clear sky; but the great God, our heavenly Father, can take care of us +wherever we are. Whether I am at work in the deep mine, or in front of +the Swedish guns, or sitting quietly at home with you and dear mother, +death might come to me if it was God's will, and it will never come +until it is His will. Dollie must try to remember this, and think that +her dear father is doing his duty.' + +When he was gone, Dollie said sadly: 'The hateful war! Why ever do the +stupid soldiers make it? I am sure they would all rather sit by their +stoves at home, or else stop in bed, than come to Freiberg and make us +all so unhappy.' + +Conrad thought for a minute or two, and then said: 'Yes, war is a very +funny thing; the people who begin it never have any of the trouble. +And then it soon gets so big they don't know what to do, because they +can't stop it. My mistress says this war was begun because of +religion, and they've been fighting for twenty-three years, longer than +I can remember. I daresay they want to drive religion out of the world +altogether, for I don't think anybody can ever expect to make people +good by firing off cannons at them. Our schoolmaster says it's like +cutting a man's head off to cure him of the toothache. But oh, Dollie, +I sometimes feel so sad you can't think. You have a good father to +love you and take care of you, and be very sorry when anything hurts +you; but nothing in the world would make my stepfather happier than for +some one to go and tell him I was dead. I always have to hide like a +wicked thief when he comes, and I'm sure it is a great deal worse for +poor mother than it is for me. Nobody but God knows how father uses +her, and I daren't go and protect her.' + +'Listen!' said Dollie anxiously. 'Hofmann is coming to life again down +there in the corner. I can hear him breathing.' + +Both children listened. + +'That noise isn't Hofmann,' said Conrad. 'It comes out of the ground.' +He laid himself down and listened again, with his ear close to the +earth. 'I think it's the Swedes digging some more mines,' he said at +last. + +'What are they?' said Dollie. 'Like father's?' + +'Oh dear, no!' replied the boy, proud to show off what he knew. 'Long +passages they dig through the ground till they get underneath the city +wall, or else one of the gates. Then the Swedes put a great box full +of gunpowder in the end of the passage, and set light to it, and +then--bang! they blow everything all up into the air together.' + +'Oh, do come away directly,' said Dollie in a fright, 'or else we shall +all be blown up.' + +'Have you forgotten what your father told us?' asked the boy. + +'Oh, no indeed!' said Dollie; 'but whatever shall we do? Oh, if father +or mother would only come!' + +Conrad ventured to one of the loop-holes to look out; it was but +little, however, that he could discern in the thick darkness outside. +Here and there he saw the gleam of a light or the flash of a weapon; at +times some dark mass seemed to move before his eyes, or his ears were +saluted by a mysterious sound, then all was silent again. Suddenly, on +the side that lay open towards the town, two men entered the covered +gallery, which was just at that moment untenanted by soldiers. + +'As I tell you, Schoenleben,' said a deep bass voice, 'the lad is dearer +to me than almost any other in the City Guard. Cool, steady, and +brave, experienced too as an old soldier, I have chosen him for these +reasons to report to me from time to time how things go at the Castle +and the Kreuz Gate. But I thank you all the same for your information, +though what the prisoners say, especially about an old comrade, is not +always to be trusted. Still, I will have the lad closely watched, and +if there's the least sign of anything amiss, put him where he can do no +further mischief.' + +The commandant, for it was he, followed by the Burgomaster, stepped to +the loop-hole from which Conrad had hastily withdrawn. + +'This is our weak point,' continued Schweinitz--'the point at which the +enemy would like to strike; but they shall find it a hard nut to crack +yet, though gate and tower are little better than ruins. Ah! my +friend, give me the devotion and bravery of the Freibergers before any +number of bastions, if I am to hold the foe at bay. As things stand, +our hopes of a speedy raising of the siege grow side by side with the +progress of the Swedes. I would willingly have more certain news. I +say, Schoenleben, couldn't you find me some trustworthy messenger that I +could send to the imperial marshal?' + +The entrance of a man into the gallery cut short the answer. + +'Well, Hillner, what is it?' asked Schweinitz. + +'Your excellency,' replied the Defensioner, saluting, 'it is thought +advisable, in order to strike with greater effect at the enemy's works +before the Peter Gate, to open new loop-holes in the lower part of the +Wetter Tower, those in the upper storey having been rendered useless by +the enemy's fire.' + +'Good!' said Schweinitz; and then, turning away from the messenger, he +spoke aside with the Burgomaster. + +Meantime Conrad sidled up to his former fellow-workman. 'Do stop with +us now you have come,' he said, catching hold of the Defensioner's +coat. 'The Swedes are digging another mine; just listen at them +hammering. I guess we and this old wooden box shall all go flying up +into the air together pretty soon.' + +As Hillner laid his ear to the ground to listen, Roller entered with +several pieces of wood under his arm. + +'Now you two can go,' he said to Dollie and Conrad; 'it's quieter now. +And here are a few sticks I've brought in out of the moat; take them +home; when I come I'll bring some more.' + +'Roller,' called the Burgomaster, 'you are exactly the man I wanted. +Come to me as soon as you go off duty, we have something to say to you.' + +'Very good, respected Herr Burgomaster,' replied Roller, and then +accompanied his little daughter out of the gallery to see her safely +started on her homeward way. 'Why, where is Conrad Schmidt loitering?' +he asked in surprise. + +The boy was standing by his friend the Defensioner, who now sprang up +from the ground and hastened to his commanding officer. 'Your +excellency!' he cried, 'down in that corner the Swedes can be +distinctly heard tunnelling through the earth. They are almost under +the gallery now.' + +'Quick, then, to countermine them!' said Schweinitz, and immediately +left the gallery to give the necessary orders. Then began a severe +subterranean battle. Both sides made desperate exertions in the +attempt to get the upper hand, and for very plain reasons the +Freibergers did their utmost to steal a march on the enemy. Although +the ground was frozen so hard that it had first to be thawed by the use +of fire, two hours had not passed away before the untiring energy of +the miners had driven a heading of tolerable length, the foremost man +in which stood Roller. + +'We too may yet find that this is our last day,' said Roller composedly +to the man working behind him. 'Every man's day is coming, whether he +likes it or not. And besides, if the Swedes can give up their lives +for mere money, cannot we do as much for fatherland, and wife and +child? Therefore to work with a will! So long as we can hear the +Swedes tunnelling, there is no need to light the match.' + +'Now the sounds have ceased,' he muttered to himself after a short +interval. 'It will soon be all over with us.' And he picked and +shovelled away with redoubled energy, lest his comrades should abate +their efforts on noticing that the Swedes had ceased work. + +'The earth gets loose and spongy,' he said a little later. 'We must be +approaching the Swedish mine. Now then for water, and hot water first +of all, so as to get through the earth the quicker!' + +Some of the miners went above ground and passed a long trough through +the heading. This they sloped and kept constantly filled with water, +which rushed gurgling down at the lower end, for the purpose of +drowning the Swedish mine. Among those busy bringing the water in +firemen's buckets and other utensils, was the miller of Erbisdorf, who +had harnessed a team of his donkeys into a large sledge, loaded with +steaming hot water. + +'Slow and steady wins the race,' was his greeting to Roller, as he +pointed to his long-eared friends. 'Our wives are brewing away yonder +as though they had their coppers full of good wort instead of water out +of the Muenzbach. Well, the Swedish tipplers are quite welcome to have +it all in their mine.' + +As Roller and the miller were just in the act of lifting the heavy cask +from the sledge to the trough, a dull report was heard under the earth. +The ground quivered, then opened, and a red stream of fire gushed +forth, accompanied by clouds of smoke and stones. The Swedes had +observed the presence of an unusual number of people at this point, and +had exploded an already prepared mine. There was one loud, involuntary +cry from those injured by the explosion, then all was still. + +The dead might try to make their way out of the grave itself with as +good hope of success as there was for the imprisoned Freibergers to +force a passage through the mass of _debris_ that covered them; indeed, +they could never have done it had not many stout arms and willing +hearts aided in their desperate toil. + +'Thirteen men and four beasts of burden!' sorrowfully exclaimed Roller, +who had himself escaped destruction as though by a miracle. 'And my +brave old comrade, the miller of Erbisdorf, gone at last. We two were +carrying the very same cask of water, yet here am I, while he is gone. +Ah, it is indeed true, "The one shall be taken and the other left."' + +'I say, neighbour Roller!' cried a muffled voice that seemed to come +from the depths of the earth, 'help me on to my legs again, for mercy's +sake. Here are clods, and stones, and bits of wood jamming me in on +all sides; and here's a donkey's head, and I declare he's trying to +prick his ears!' + +With Roller's help the worthy miller was soon landed once more on +_terra firma_. He found himself severely shaken and bruised, but not +otherwise injured, and begged his comrade to see him safe home. +Although his body was in pain, his spirit was by no means cast down. +When he learned that besides killing three men and severely wounding +five others, the exploded mine had cost the lives of two of his +donkeys, he remarked: 'Ah, ha! Then they too have died for their +fatherland, and will sleep in the temple of fame. I can tell you one +thing, though; if the flour does choke us millers up a bit, I'd ten +times rather have to do with that than with your Freiberg earth. +There's something so big and massive about everything belonging to war, +you very soon get enough of it. What will my Anna Maria say when she +sees her husband brought home like a flattened pancake?' + +As soon as Roller had seen his friend safely housed, and had made +himself presentable, he hastened back to the Peter Gate, which seemed, +as he approached it, to be all in flames. The wood and twigs the +Swedes had piled against the defensive works before the bastion, had +been set on fire. The rising flames cast a dreadful glare around, +destroyed several of the works in question, and set fire to parts of +the tower above the gate, which, falling into the covered gallery in +rear of the bastion, threatened to set that too in a blaze. The +besieged were able to avert this last calamity by the steady use of +water, though the enemy pressed them hard all the time with +artillery-fire and hand-grenades. + +'The Swedes have set all the elements to work against us,' said Roller +to himself. 'They have cut off our water supply, made war on us under +the earth, tried to blow us up into the air, and now they turn against +us the might of fire. And side by side with these great powers of +nature stalks the pale phantom of death.' + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +DIVERSE HUMAN HEARTS. + +'The miner Roller waits without, respected Herr Burgomaster!' announced +Juechziger, the town servant. + +'Bid him come in,' said Schoenleben. 'Yes, colonel,' he continued, +turning to Schweinitz, who was with him; 'I assure you, if confidence +may be put in any human being, you may trust this man. He is brave, +faithful, and yet shrewd. He will come back as surely as a dove +returns to its young. You may send him without hesitation.' + +'Would you like to earn three ducats, my good fellow?' Schweinitz asked +Roller as the latter entered the room. + +'How, your excellency?' inquired the miner. + +'You are to take despatches from us to Marshal Piccolomini in Bohemia, +lay our condition before him in full, and get him to hasten to our +assistance. The service is not without some danger, for you will have +to make your way twice through the enemy's lines, and die rather than +betray your secret.' + +'So I should suppose,' replied Roller dryly. + +'Well, what do you say? are you willing to do it, or not?' inquired +Schoenleben and Schweinitz together. + +'This is no question of a reward,' said Roller. 'You command, and I +obey.' + +'You are a fine fellow,' said Schoenleben heartily; 'and I will myself +give you a couple of ducats extra if you do your business +satisfactorily.' + +'I crave your pardon, respected Herr Burgomaster!' replied Roller, 'I +do not sell my life for silver or gold, for if so I should take sides +with friend or foe, according to which would give me the highest pay. +But it seems to me that we all make up, as it were, one body in what we +have to do, to defend town, wife and child, from the enemy. Very well, +then; you are the head, and I am one of the least members, that has to +do just what the head bids it. That is what I believe, and I try to +fight bravely and do my duty because I believe it.' + +Schweinitz shook the brave miner heartily by the hand, saying: 'With +men like you I can hold the mountain-city for a long time indeed, but +we must not neglect means that may help rid us of the enemy. Come with +me, my good fellow, while I make out your papers.' + +The same day several children, with Roller's Dollie among them, were +crouching round the air-holes of the cellar under the town hall. 'Oh, +we do so want to see the Swedish prisoners!' said the child to Conrad, +who happened to be passing on the way to his mother's house. 'One of +them has such a dreadful great beard,' Dollie continued; 'I am sure he +must be General Wrangel's bagpiper. Only think, if he had his pipes +here, he could play to us! Just peep in there; sometimes one of them +comes to the window and looks up at us.' + +Conrad complied with the child's wish, kneeling down beside her. +Suddenly a heavy hand was laid on his shoulder, and a voice he always +dreaded to hear said, this time, however, in very friendly tones: +'Hallo, Conrad, and what may you be doing here?' + +It was into the face of his stepfather that the startled boy stared as +he rose hastily to his feet. + +'Come along, my son,' said Juechziger very blandly. 'I have something +to tell you.' So saying, he drew the boy aside into the passageway of +the town hall. 'Listen to me,' he went on good-humouredly; 'I want you +to do something for your mother.' + +'For my mother!' said Conrad cheerfully. 'Oh yes; I shall be so glad +to do it!' + +'And for you and me at the same time,' said Juechziger. 'I just want +you to go out to our house beyond the Peter Gate.' + +'But it's pulled down,' objected Conrad. + +'Yes, of course, I know that; but the cellar is there still, and in one +corner of that cellar your mother buried a little box with all sorts of +precious things in it. I want you to go and dig it up, and bring it to +me.' + +'But the Swedes are all round out there. They will be sure to kill me, +and take the box; they are most tremendous thieves.' + +'You needn't trouble yourself about that. I take care of the Swedish +prisoners, and one of them has given me a safe-conduct' (he pronounced +this word very carefully),--'a safe-conduct that I shall give to you. +You are only to get it out if you meet a Swede, and then they'll not +only not hurt a hair of your head, but be very kind indeed to you. But +you must be sure and not let another soul see the safe-conduct, or else +it will all be of no use.' + +'Why did mother never say anything about the box?' asked Conrad. + +'H'm!' said Juechziger; 'she--well--she--in fact, she didn't quite trust +me, I'm sorry to say, and wanted to keep all the things in it for you. +But now she sees how wrong that was, and she has confessed all about it +to me. I don't want the box for myself; all I want is to see it out of +danger.' + +'But how can I get out?' asked Conrad again. 'Nobody may leave the +town.' + +'In about an hour's time there is to be a sortie from the Donat Gate, +and you can manage to creep out with the men. Roller the miner is +going out with them as well; he and Wahle are going all the way to +General Piccolomini in Bohemia, but on no account show the safe-conduct +to him.' + +'I should like just to run home to mother,' said Conrad, 'to tell her +about the box, and say good-bye to her.' + +'Now would you really be so unkind to a poor, frightened, blind woman +as that?' said his stepfather. 'Why, there's Roller; he has not even +told his wife, though he is going all the way to Bohemia, and you want +to make your mother unhappy because you're going a few yards outside +the city wall.' + +'It is quite true, stepfather,' said Conrad with a sigh. 'So give me +my safe-conduct, and tell me how I am to get into the town again.' + +'You can easily do that. You will only have to creep up the bed of the +Muenzbach. No one will take any notice of a slight youth like you.' + +Conrad then received from his stepfather a folded and sealed paper, on +which was written in large letters the word 'Safe-Conduct.' + +Underneath were several more words, but as they were all in Swedish the +boy could make nothing out of them. When he had taken leave of +Juechziger, the latter muttered to himself: 'Either the Swedes will put +an end to him, or else he will do my errand and never be a bit the +wiser himself. It will be a good day's work for me whichever way it +goes.' + +According to his stepfather's orders, Conrad hid the safe-conduct in +his breast. He did not understand exactly what the thing was, but this +mystery only made him think all the more highly of it, and filled his +mind with a sort of confidence that his dangerous errand rendered +highly useful. When he found himself really outside the gate, and +heard the tumult of battle all around him, his heart beat thick and +fast. The men who made the sortie threw themselves at once on the +enemy's advanced works, shot or cut down such Swedes as were in them, +set fire to the wooden barricades and some detached houses that the +Swedes had used against the town, and destroyed everything belonging to +the enemy on which they could lay their hands. As soon as the foe +showed signs of bringing up men in force, the Freibergers fell back +fighting, and carried off their booty into the town. + +Then Conrad found himself in a desperate fix. From the ramparts of the +town a steady fire was being poured on the advancing Swedes, who +returned it with interest, so that the lad, finding himself between two +fires, did not know which way to turn, and at last, in his +bewilderment, started to run straight across country. Suddenly, +without any warning, he went head over heels into a cutting about six +feet deep that crossed his line of march, and proved to be neither more +nor less than one of the trenches by which the Swedish sharp-shooters +got so close up to the town. + +As soon as Conrad had somewhat recovered from his sudden plunge, he +began to look about him with much astonishment. The pathway in which +he stood was so narrow he could easily touch both its sides at once by +simply stretching out his arms. As he started to hurry along it, he +stumbled on the dead bodies of several soldiers, some of which looked +so dreadful that he turned about and ran as hard as he could go in the +opposite direction. As he rounded a sharp corner, he ran into an +enemy, who seemed as much surprised as himself at the unexpected +meeting, and uttered a sudden cry of alarm. This enemy, however, was +armed, and heaved up his 'morning-star'[1] for a tremendous blow. + +Conrad, in his terror, sprang back several steps, and drawing his paper +from his breast, called out: 'Stop! I've got a safe-conduct.' + +At these words the man let his weapon sink, and stood staring at the +boy, who was again cautiously approaching him holding out the paper. + +'Why, bless me!' said the man at last, 'isn't this Conrad Schmidt from +the Erbis Street?' + +'What! is it you, Master Prieme?' said Conrad joyfully. + +'What are--at least, how came you here?' asked Prieme. + +'I came out with the sortie,' said Conrad. + +'So did I,' grumbled Prieme. 'In the heat of battle I struck too hard +at a Swede, just on the edge of this abominable ditch, and then my foot +slipped and down I came into it myself, and the detestable thing's so +deep there is no getting out again. Perhaps, with your help, I can +manage to climb out.' + +The attempt was made and proved a failure, while the continuous firing +above their heads hinted that it would be much safer to keep out of the +upper world for a time. + +'So it seems I only came out of the town to tumble into this ditch,' +grumbled Prieme again. 'If the Swedes put in an appearance, things +will pretty soon begin to look ugly for me.' + +'Just you keep close to me,' said Conrad patronizingly. 'I've got a +safe-conduct.' + +'Where is it?' asked Prieme, looking at him in astonishment. 'I can't +see one.' + +'Here it is all right,' said Conrad producing it. 'Can you read?' + +'What stupid rubbish!' muttered Prieme. 'Now, how can a scrap of paper +like that be a safe-conduct? Why, a safe-conduct is a sort of thing +that even the most savage enemy is forced to respect. Why, who told +you such a pack of nonsense as that?' + +Either because his tumble had muddled his brains, or for some other +reason best known to himself, Conrad straightway cast all his +stepfather's cautions to the winds, and told neighbour Prieme the whole +story of the safe-conduct and why he was there. + +'This seems to me rather serious,' said the worthy citizen, speaking +half to himself. 'To be sure your stepfather is, in a manner of +speaking, a bit of a magistrate; but then we all know how people we +should never have expected--why, there was the Burgomaster of Bautzen +was loaded into a cannon and fired off for trying to betray his native +city to the enemy. At all events, Juechziger can have no right to +correspond with the Swedes without the commandant's knowledge. So give +me that thing over here directly.' + +Conrad protested against the abrupt demand, and, suddenly calling to +mind his stepfather's forgotten orders, made a frantic attempt to hide +the safe-conduct in his breast again. Master Prieme's strong arm would +soon have gained the day, however, and deprived the boy of his paper, +had not the arrival of a troop of the enemy put a sudend [Transcriber's +note: sudden?] stop to their altercation. + +Master Prieme, taken with a weapon in his hand, was made a prisoner of +war; and Conrad Schmidt, loudly calling attention to his safe-conduct, +was at once marched off to the enemy's headquarters. + +Here he had a first-rate opportunity to make nearer acquaintance with +the dreaded Swedes. He was led about from one point to another. He +saw the batteries, mortars, and siege-guns that were destroying his +native town; he saw whole regiments of Swedes; but to his immense +consolation he did not see any of those men who tortured people and +slaughtered little children. In front of Marshal Torstenson's quarters +a huge cask of wine was being unloaded, a task in which several +peasants were forced to render unwilling aid. When their work was +done, however, they got off with nothing worse than a few cuffs. He +saw, indeed, plenty of great beards and many dark-looking faces of very +scowling aspect, for the Swedes were encamped before Freiberg in no +rose-garden; but after all he could not make out any very great +difference between the Swedish and Saxon fighting-men. + +'I can see one thing very plainly,' said Conrad to himself, 'soldiers +are all as much alike as one egg is like another. One wears a grey +coat, another a red one, and another a green one, and that's about all +the difference between them.' + +He was suddenly interrupted in the midst of his reflections by the +approach of a trooper, who came towards him with some appearance of +curiosity, and with a single glance of his piercing eyes threw the +boy's whole soul into a state of panic fear. + +'God be with me!' murmured Conrad. 'That's the fierce Swede with the +red beard again. I am sure he is taking out a pistol now to make sure +of getting a good aim at me this time!' + +Happily, his fears were not of long duration, for a sudden call in good +German of, 'Hillner, the major wants you,' relieved him of the Swede's +presence. 'Hillner!' whispered Conrad to himself. 'I wonder whether +everybody with black hair and a red beard is called Hillner.' + +The lad was now summoned to appear before Field-Marshal Torstenson. +This was worse than his worst expectations; for was not this man the +cause of all the trouble, the scourge that with its thousand lashes was +tormenting the Saxon land? Conrad stepped trembling into the hall of +the Bergwald Hospital, where he found a group of superior officers +gathered round their general, who sat by a window with Conrad's +safe-conduct in his hand. This, then, was the man whose hand played +with the lives and property of so many thousand people. From just +inside the door where he had to stand, Conrad stared with beating heart +at the dreadful man who had conquered great armies, plundered and +wasted whole countries, taken strongholds by storm, and was now +conquered himself. For a shaft was quivering in his flesh that he +could by no means draw out; his foot was, so to speak, stung by a +glowing needle that could never be cooled, and that no medicine could +heal. In the olden times men were laid on the torture-bench that they +might be forced to confess their evil deeds; and God Himself sometimes +uses pain to bring a sinner to repentance, when he has turned a deaf +ear to all the voices of conscience and religion. + +Torstenson, a man scarcely forty years of age, was seated in an +arm-chair. He had no remedies to oppose to the grinding foe in his +foot but patience and a bandage of coarse hemp. But such is mankind +that this great general, who had at his disposal the lives of thousands +of his fellow-creatures, could not control his own desires; for near +him stood a table on which among other things was a bottle of wine and +a large goblet partly filled, to which he betook himself from time to +time. The contents of the 'safe-conduct' did not seem to afford him +much consolation, for he threw it angrily on the table. + +'That is my last weapon,' he said to one of the officers. 'The town +must and shall be mine, this week, this very day, and without the help +of a scoundrel, too!' + +'Your excellency!' said the attendant physician warningly, as he saw +the general's gaze turn again towards the goblet. + +'Ah, doctor,' said the marshal peevishly; 'take my word for it, it was +not the wine, but those six months in the damp dungeon at Ingolstadt +that gave me the gout. Bring that youth forward.' + +Conrad trembled as he was led before the general, though that officer +looked, to his boyish eyes, more like a woman than a stalwart +fighting-man. His tall body was enveloped in a great, shaggy fur coat +right down to the feet, and a white nightcap covered his head. Nothing +but the moustache on the pale face indicated the warlike calling of the +man who now addressed Conrad. + +[Illustration: Nothing but the mustache on the pale face indicated the +warlike calling of the man who now addressed Conrad.] + +'How many people have come to live in your town on account of the +siege?' + +'Oh, they might be somewhere in the sixties,' replied Conrad, carefully +conformable to truth. + +'Are you starving in Freiberg?' + +'My mother and her cat sometimes, nobody else. And then that is all my +stepfather's fault, because he will keep the bread cupboard locked up.' + +'Do the citizens and soldiers hold together still? Are they not +getting down-hearted?' + +'Oh, well, at first there were a few squabbles. The Herr Burgomaster +had a tiff with the Herr Commandant, but now they are just like +brothers; all their quarrels are over, and they are in first-rate +spirits.' + +'Can you tell me how many men there are left in Freiberg capable of +bearing arms?' + +'Why, gracious sir,' said Conrad, 'it isn't only the men! Everybody +that's got arms and legs does a bit of fighting. And there are nearly +sixty thousand of us. Why, only yesterday evening the miller's donkeys +helped to spoil your mine.' + +The smile which at this sally passed across Torstenson's pale and +suffering face gave Conrad a sudden courage; he knelt before the +general, and began in a pleading tone, that grew bolder as he warmed +with his subject: 'Gracious Field-Marshal, I pray of you, for Christ's +sake, to leave off firing at our dear old town. Why should we be the +people you are so angry with, and why did you choose us out? The whole +wide world lies open before you, and I am sure there are many strong +cities in Germany you could easily take if you would just attack them. +Do you expect to seize many lumps or bars of silver in Freiberg? They +are all gone long ago in this never-ending war, and there's nothing +left but rubbish and stones. And I can tell you another thing, noble +sir, and that is that you will never conquer the town--no, not if you +and all your soldiers were to stand on your heads!' + +'Silence, boy!' cried an officer angrily. + +'Let the lad chatter,' said Torstenson. 'His talk helps to pass away +the time. And pray,' he continued, turning to Conrad, 'who is to blame +for your trouble but yourselves? Have I not many times offered the +town pardon on favourable terms?' + +'Yes,' returned Conrad, hesitating; 'but--with permission--people know +what your excellency's pardon is like. Inside the town there, they say +they would rather die than accept your excellency's pardon.' + +Perhaps it was a fresh twinge of the gout that distorted Torstenson's +face. He made a hasty sign to the boy to withdraw, which he was +nothing loth to do, although assisted on his way by a cuff or two from +the indignant attendants. + +The bad temper of great men seldom passes away without producing some +effect on those who surround them. The tortures Torstenson suffered +found an outlet in giving orders for a general assault on the works of +the city, especially on the Peter Gate. The firing of the double and +single arquebuses began again, the mortars joined in with their short, +sharp roar, and soon the earth shook and the air vibrated with the +frightful din. + +Conrad had taken refuge in a corner of the hospital wall. When, +towards evening, there came a lull in the firing, he could hear, from +the breach by the Peter Gate, the jubilant tones of a hymn that touched +him to the heart. 'Jesus, my Redeemer, lives,' sounded through the +wintry air, chanted by the deep voices of earnest men, and Conrad, in +his corner, joined in softly. And the Swedes, too, awed by the holy +sounds, stood like statues, facing the singers; the sword rested in its +sheath, the bullet in the arquebuse, and the shell in the mortar. In +years that were gone, the Swedes themselves used to sing like that as +they marched to battle, and now they stood and joined in spirit in the +service that Dr. Bartholomew Sperling was holding with the defenders of +the threatened breach. But when the prayer was ended, the furies of +war raised their blood-red banners again, in mournful contrast to the +scene that had just taken place, and the dreadful game that is played +with human lives for the stakes began once more. + +The whole night through did the firing continue. Early on February 4, +1643, at about six in the morning, the Swedes exploded two mines, one +of which laid open the barbican, while the other hurled pieces of +woodwork far over the roofs of the houses, shattering the gallery +within the barbican, and destroying those who were defending it. In +the confusion that arose, the Swedes, a reserve of whom had been held +in readiness, immediately seized the barbican, mounted from it to the +gate-tower, which was now commanded by their artillery, and placed +sharp-shooters in it, who at once opened a galling fire with double +arquebuses, hand-grenades, and stones on the occupants of the nearest +posts held by the defenders. By way of covering themselves from this +fire, the besieged at once constructed a new battery on the upper +cistern in the Peter Street. From this they were soon able to open +fire upon the new Swedish breastwork on the tower at the Peter Gate, +the result being the enemy's speedy and enforced retirement into one of +the lower and less exposed rooms of the gate-tower. Yet the Swedes had +this time undoubtedly gained an important advantage, and the position +of the city was becoming every hour more critical. But, in spite of +all, neither courage nor resolution had as yet begun to fail. + + + +[1] See note on page 87. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +WAR OFTEN OPPOSES THE TEACHINGS OF CHRISTIANITY. + +Conrad was detained for three days in the Swedish camp. It was on an +overcast, rainy evening that he at length received permission to +return. He hastened to reach the Muenzbach, which flows into the town +in two streams between the Erbis and Donat Gates. In the year 1297, an +enemy had made treacherous use of this river to enter and plunder the +town; and the points of its entrance and exit had from that time been +guarded against surprise by strong towers, beneath the arched +foundations of which the river now flowed. It was towards the tower of +exit that Conrad made the best of his way. + +The sentries either did not see the boy approaching through the gloom, +or did not consider him dangerous, for he succeeded in creeping +unhindered beneath the vaulted archway that spanned the river. All +soon grew quite dark around him as he waded on, and he found himself +obliged to make his hands do the work of eyes. He had not proceeded +far in this fashion, when he suddenly found further progress barred by +a strong iron grating reaching down into the bed of the river and up to +the stonework above his head. How was he to pass this unexpected +obstacle? He cautiously rapped and felt the bars one by one, until, to +his great delight, he found that the last bar could be quite easily +pushed aside, thus leaving an opening through which the slender lad +found but little difficulty in forcing his body. As he came to each of +the two similar gratings that barred his way farther up the tunnel, he +found the same course practicable. He continued to follow the +subterranean bed of the stream for some distance farther, until it +emerged into the open air again in a tanner's yard, and Conrad could +leave the wet path he had followed so long. He did not let the grass +grow under his feet, and very soon was listening cautiously at his +mother's door. Hearing no sound, he stepped on tiptoe into the room. +No one was to be seen, though a lamp was burning on the table. He +crept across to the door of the bedroom, and thought he heard sounds of +breathing. As he opened the door, a feeble ray of light streamed +through the crevice, and he saw his mother lying in bed, with the +faithful cat sitting beside her as her only companion. Puss, +recognising the boy, began to purr and wave her tail, but the blind +woman seemed to be stupefied by the burning heat of fever. + +'Mother! mother!' cried Conrad, at first softly, then louder; at last +he ventured to pull the sleeve of her night-dress. + +The blind woman sat up suddenly. 'What is it?' she cried. 'Who is +calling me?' + +'It is I, mother,' said Conrad, with chattering teeth; for by this time +the cold seemed to have spread from his wet feet all over his body. + +'And have you come for me at last, my darling child?' said his mother, +in tones of rapture. 'How often have I prayed that God would send you +to take me home to the mansions of the blest! I come, my son; I come!' + +'Why, how funny you talk, mother!' said Conrad. 'I only wanted to ask +you for a pair of clean stockings, because mine have got so wet wading +along the Muenzbach. I have only just come in from the Swedish camp, +and I've brought you the box you buried in our old cellar.' + +'Swedish camp!--box!--cellar!' repeated the bewildered woman, as though +she were still in a dream. 'Have you not been dead these three days? +And is not this your spirit, that a poor blind woman cannot even see?' + +'Why, mother, whatever are you thinking about?' cried Conrad, laughing +in spite of his cold feet. 'Here, catch hold of me, feel me; I'm flesh +and blood. Did not father tell you he had sent me off to the Swedes to +get this box? They didn't do me one bit of harm; they didn't even +starve me. But they would not let me go and dig in our cellar; they +said that was not work for stupid boys. So they did all the digging, +and brought me the box all right; and, considering what a lot of +thieves they are, I think that was almost a miracle. I say, mother, +whatever did you put in the box? It's all nailed up so tight I +couldn't open it.' + +He placed a case about fifteen inches long, by six inches broad and +high, in his mother's hands. The blind woman felt it all over in +wonder. + +'I don't know anything about any box,' she said. 'And I'm sure I never +had anything to bury.' + +'Perhaps Master Prieme was right after all, then,' said Conrad. + +'Who is this talking in here?' cried Juechziger, coming suddenly into +the room. 'Ha! is it you, you young good-for-nothing? Where have you +sprung from? Quick now, confess, or I'll warm you soundly.' + +'Well, I'm sure I'm cold enough, father,' said Conrad, with a feeble +attempt at a joke; 'and it was on your business, too, that I got so +cold. Is that all the thanks I am to have for bringing you the box all +safe and sound?' + +'What! is that true? You're a very fine fellow. Give it me here, +quick!' cried Juechziger in a tone full of joy. + +'But,' said his wife, 'I never buried a box with treasure in it. What +can we have to do with this?' + +'Oh, I had a dream the other night,' answered Juechziger, 'as life-like +a dream as if I had really been standing in the cellar of our old +house. And see here, my dream has come true, and no mistake about it. +A little mountain-troll dressed, in grey stood before me in my dream, +and said, "Let your son, Conrad Schmidt, dig here in this corner of the +cellar. He is a Sunday's bairn and will have good luck."' + +'But I didn't dig for it,' said Conrad. 'The Swedes did it for me.' + +'It all comes to the same thing,' said Juechziger, 'so long as we have +the box. Do you know, my son, what there is inside it?' + +'How should I? See how it's all nailed and screwed up!' + +'Have you brought back the safe-conduct?' + +'Oh yes; I forgot that. One of the Swedish officers tied the paper +over my heart and under my left arm. I was not to let a soul see it, +he said, except the one from whom I first had it, and that was you, you +know, father. But I'm sure it's a different letter, and it's +uncommonly heavy.' + +'Give it me here this instant,' said Juechziger, scarcely trying to +conceal his joy. 'It will be nothing but right if the Swedes have sent +their poor prisoners a ducat or two that they may get me to buy them a +few things. But mind you, don't say a word about it to a living soul; +for if you do, the money will all be taken from them, and I shall be +punished for my kindness into the bargain.' + +Conrad handed the paper over to his step-father, who put it straight +into his pocket without stopping to examine it. 'You need not go back +to your mistress now,' he said, when the packet was safely stowed away. +'Much better stay here and attend to your sick mother. The good woman +is in sore need of all the care and help you can give her.' + +Conrad was not too bewildered by all his adventures to suspect some +hidden meaning in his step-father's very sudden kindness. As he +thought about the story of the box and the safe-conduct, it seemed to +him to grow more and more suspicious, and he longed for some friend +with whom he could talk the whole thing over. + +He could not relieve his mind to his sick mother, that was clear, for +she was far more helpless than himself. Master Prieme was a prisoner +of war; Roller was gone. Who was there left that he could trust, but +his comrade the Defensioner? Yet how could he get at Hillner, with his +step-father watching him as a cat watches a mouse, scarcely permitting +him even to cross the threshold of the house. + +Meantime, the enemy had hauled a cannon up into the tower over the +Peter Gate, which was soon scattering death among the defenders. The +besieged also suffered severe loss from the fire of two heavy guns +planted close beside the town moat, near the Peter Gate, and covering +the next tower, that which guarded the Kreuz Gate. The Freibergers, on +their part, were by no means backward in doing their utmost to harass +the Swedes. Behind each defensive work as it was shot down, a new one +arose. Trenches, palisadoes, covered ways, counter-mines, and +batteries were all used as means of defence; the houses adjoining +threatened spots were turned into strongholds, and pierced for +sharp-shooters, who shot every Swede that showed himself within range. +The commandant was at all points where fighting was going on, ordering +and encouraging his men both by word and example. + +On the second morning after the night of Conrad's return, Schweinitz +approached the Defensioner Hillner where he stood at a loop-hole in the +tower at the Kreuz Gate. Hillner respectfully made way for his +superior officer, who wished to look out. + +'Just see that impudent rascal!' cried the commandant, after a few +moments' survey. 'He is riding his horse right up to the city moat in +sheer bravado. Quick, Defensioner, and show the fellow that there are +men in here. Put a bullet through his head.' + +Alert and willing, Hillner at once placed the muzzle of his piece in +the loop-hole. Just as he had covered the Swede, however, he lowered +his weapon and turned pale. + +'What's the matter?' cried Schweinitz. 'Why do you tremble? Are you +hurt? Here, then, give me your weapon. I will chastise the insolent +scoundrel myself.' As he spoke, Schweinitz grasped at the arquebuse, +on which Hillner's hand closed like a vice. + +'So please your excellency and my gracious commandant,' said the +Defensioner in a tone of entreaty, 'do whatever you please with my +life, but I cannot shoot the man out yonder; neither can I give you my +weapon for you to do it.' + +'What!' shouted Schweinitz. 'I, your general, command it. That +weapon, instantly, or--you know the penalty that attaches to +insubordination. Loose it, I tell you!' + +'I know well,' replied the young man, 'what penalty belongs to +insubordination; but ought I not to obey God rather than man?' + +'No, a thousand times!' cried Schweinitz, his face aflame with rage. +'In war, God's command counts for nothing, and the general's for +everything. What will happen next, if a soldier is to stand and argue +instead of obeying the orders of his superior officer? The soldier is +a mere machine at the absolute will and disposal of his officer, and +must do whatever that officer commands--must kill father, son, or +brother whenever he receives orders to do so. This is what war +demands, and the morality of your catechisms has no place in it. War +puts its trust in the strong arm, the sword, and the fire-lock alone. +Speak, fellow! why would you not shoot that Swede?' + +'Many of the enemy have already met their death by my hand during the +past few weeks,' replied Hillner quietly; 'and only against one have I +refused to raise my weapon, for that one was--my father;--an unnatural +father, it is true, who deceived my poor mother, and shamefully +deserted her, and made me fight against my fatherland,--but yet, in +spite of all, my father. His blood flows in my veins; but for him I +should never have existed. So I say again, let me die rather than kill +him.' + +'We can easily manage that,' said Schweinitz angrily. 'All such talk +as this in war-time is so much rubbish. Bah! While I stand here +debating with a traitor, the villain yonder has prudently taken himself +out of range.' Defensioner, you will give me your weapons, both +firelock and sabre. You are my prisoner. Ha! Schoenleben doubtless +had sound reasons for warning me against you.' + +His step-father's absence and his mother's quiet slumber having given +Conrad the opportunity he wanted, he was on the way to his mistress' +house to find his friend Hillner, when he saw the Defensioner coming +along the street, closely surrounded by the guard, and followed by a +crowd of curious people. The boy stared in astonishment at hearing the +ugly word 'traitor' applied to his old comrade, and did not fully +recover himself until he caught sight of his step-father marching with +a joyful face close beside the prisoner, on the way to lock him up in +one of the strongest cells at the town hall. + +When the news of Hillner's arrest reached Mistress Bluethgen's house, +where it produced great excitement, the miller, who had not yet fully +recovered, remarked dryly to the women: + +'Seems to me as though our Defensioner must have acted rather like one +of my donkeys. He could have obeyed the commandant's order, aimed his +weapon, and fired over the Swede's head. He had it all in his own +hands.' + +'No,' said his wife, showing, what was very unlike her, the deepest +emotion, 'Hillner was right not to lift his hand against his father, +even in pretence. What marksman in the whole wide world can say where +his bullet shall go, when it is once out of his gun and flying towards +a mark that some mischievous sprite may shift at any moment. And to +kill his father! Fie! I would rather see Hillner hanged, an innocent +man, than do such a deed.' + +These words of the miller's brave wife made deep and lasting impression +on Conrad, who stood by and heard them. Though Juechziger was a cruel +stepfather, a hard struggle had been going on in the boy's mind as to +whether it was his duty to bring a terrible suspicion on that father by +telling all he knew. He now determined to let his secret remain locked +up in his own heart. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +HISTORICAL. + +While the scene narrated in our last chapter was being enacted, another +and more joyous one was taking place at the Donat Gate. Three men, two +of them miners, suddenly appeared running towards the gate, and making +eager signs to the sentries in the barbican with the view of obtaining +speedy admission. This being at once granted, the little party turned +out to consist of the two miners, Roller and Wahle, sent some days +before on a special mission, together with Master Prieme, who had +fortunately succeeded in making his escape. Roller and his comrade +brought letters and advices from Marshal Piccolomini; these, addressed +to the commandant and the town authorities, and written at Brix on +February 5th, promised that within six, or at longest eight days, the +imperial army should be seen on the mountain beyond the city, advancing +to free Freiberg, by the blessing of God, from the presence of the foe. +The marshal further announced that as he approached he would set fire +to a house or two in the village of Leichtenberg on the Mulda, so that +by midnight his advance should be known in the city; and that +immediately on reaching the mountain, where the enemy would doubtless +discover his presence, he would fire six guns morning and evening, and +three more as he actually began his march down towards the city. Thus +the garrison would have timely notice of the arrival of help. + +Piccolomini's despatch to Schoenleben ran as follows:-- + +'To our trusty, best, and right well-beloved Burgomaster, Herr Jonas +Schoenleben,--Be it known that I have kept the messengers by me, that +their bodily eyes might see my army set forward on its march, and that +thus they might take assured news thereof into the good city of +Freiberg. And inasmuch as I shall in few days arrive before Freiberg +with such army (whereof the enemy neither have knowledge nor can +conceive aught aright), and so, with the help of Almighty God, shall +relieve the city, I hereby beseech the said noble Burgomaster to do his +utmost, with aid of all and sundry those brave and honourable burghers +by whom he is at this present sustained, to maintain and defend the +said post until my arrival; and to that end to encourage and hearten +all men, as hitherto hath been so notably done by him, that they may +not make surcease for so few days of that stedfast toil and bravery +which they have heretofore shown. May God have all in his keeping!' + +The receipt of these cheering messages revived the spirits of the +besieged--a service the more necessary because the enemy, getting word +that a hostile army was on the march, made strenuous efforts to gain +possession of the town. The fortifications, many of which were now +little more than heaps of rubbish, were still obstinately defended by +the unconquerable bravery of the besieged. Pieces of both the outer +and inner walls, twenty and thirty ells in length, had been destroyed +by mines and artillery-fire, and their downfall had in many places +choked up the moat. Some of the barbicans before the gates were in the +enemy's possession, and even the Peter Gate itself. The towers that +guarded the town resembled ancient ruins; and the defensive works were +now chiefly represented by wooden galleries, palisadoes, piles of +gabions, and the walls of half-destroyed houses, behind which, however, +the besieged found shelter, from which they still kept up a vigorous +fire. The underground war, too, was still hotly maintained; and when, +as often happened, the hostile sappers heard the sounds of each other's +voices, emulation still excited them to struggle as if for life and +death. + +On February 14th the Swedes attempted to storm two of the defenders' +positions, and advanced to the assault with loud shouts and in +considerable force. A few bold soldiers, indeed, succeeded in making +good their entrance into one of the towers; but the besieged, in +expectation of this attack, had filled the inside of the tower with +wood and other combustibles. Fire was set to these materials, and to +the gallery adjoining the tower, and thus the enemy was compelled to +withdraw. Meantime, behind the burning ruin, the citizens constructed +a new defensive work, and both here and in the breach offered so brave +a resistance, that the foe, after repeated attempts, was once more +baffled and compelled to fall back. + +In the evening of the same day Roller appeared at home with his head +bound up. + +'It is nothing!' he assured his alarmed family. 'A Swedish bullet +glanced aside and grazed my temple; that is all. But you, my dear +people--ah! you may lift up your heads to look whether your day of +deliverance is coming; you may gaze towards the Liechtenberg, and try +to make out the beacon fire our deliverers were to kindle. Not six or +even eight, but _nine_ whole days have gone by, and no helpers have +made their appearance! "Put not your trust in man," was as true a word +as was ever spoken!' + +This was the first time Roller had ever given way to repining before +the women. The next day, February 15th, the Friebergers, wishful to +gain time, resolved on asking Marshal Torstenson for an armistice, +hoping to use that opportunity of smuggling two or three persons +unobserved out of the city, and so sending word to Dresden of +Freiberg's desperate straits. + +On pretence of discussing the proposed armistice, three Swedish +colonels appeared by consent of the besieged on the top of the tower at +the Peter Gate. They made good use of their eyes to learn all that +could be learned about the condition of the defence, and found it still +such as to inspire them with all due respect. When this result had +been satisfactorily achieved, the armistice was formally refused, the +battle being at once renewed; and at two o'clock in the afternoon of +the same day, the city was once more summoned to surrender. The prompt +refusal of this demand provoked renewed efforts on the part of the +besiegers to gain possession of the hard-pressed city. + +Matters stood at this desperate pass, when, on the evening of the same +day, the shout of 'Fire!' sounded through the streets of Freiberg. It +was no alarm, but a genuine cry of joy. + +'Fire! fire!' exclaimed Mistress Bluethgen, as with a beaming face she +came rushing into the living-room, where the disabled miller and his +wife, Roller, with bandaged head, surrounded by his family, and the +remaining members of the household were all assembled. 'Fire over the +Liechtenberg at last!' she cried again, throwing her arms, as she +spoke, round the neck of the miller's wife. + +'Fire over the Liechtenberg!' rang along the narrow street outside. +All who could, now climbed out on to the roof of the house to see the +long-desired sight for themselves. If, at the beginning of the siege, +a magnificent rainbow had been hailed as an omen of good, the +Freibergers now gazed at the red glow on the distant horizon as at a +beacon-light that surely could not deceive them. + +'It seems to me,' said Roller, pushing back the bandage that covered +his ear, 'it seems to me as though I heard firing as well.' + +The dull roar of cannon, several times repeated, was now plainly heard +from the far-off height. + +'It is they! it is our deliverers!' cried all, as their joy broke out +afresh. + +Confidence and hope work wonders. They nerved the courage of these +distressed Freibergers, until the most faint-hearted among them rose +into a hero. Let the Swedes renew their assault on the next day as +fiercely as they pleased; let them summon the town three times over to +surrender, and make all their preparations for a final attack; nothing +could now take away the joyful assurance of immediate relief. On the +previous day, a mine had torn down a large piece of the main city wall, +twenty yards in length, near the Peter Gate, and so shattered the great +flanking tower at that point that its downfall seemed every moment +imminent. In spite of a heavy fire, the Freibergers made good use of +the night in preparing trenches, thickly studded with palisadoes, close +behind the main wall, in throwing up great piles of branches and trunks +of trees in the new breach, and doubling the number of men at the +points chiefly threatened. Having made these preparations, they +confidently awaited the onset of the enemy, whose numerous forces were +now steadily drawing nearer and nearer to the city. + +Who would not have trembled for Freiberg at sight of that veteran army, +trained in long and stormy years of battle, and led by a renowned +general, bent on destroying the city and putting all its +inhabitants--men and women, old and young--to the sword? Ambition and +shame alike stimulated the Swedish general, as he thought how this +insignificant country town had so long thwarted all his best efforts. +His men, on the other hand, were inspired by thirst for plunder and a +burning desire to avenge all the toils and troubles they had endured +amid the severities of that bitter winter. + +On the side of the Swedes were many thousand veteran men-at-arms, a +commander well known to fame, over a hundred pieces of artillery, and +free access to the whole country around, furnishing constant fresh +supplies both of men and the necessaries of war. On the side of the +Saxons was a little band of three hundred soldiers, a leader of whom +renown as yet had scarcely heard, an untrained crowd of peaceful +citizens and country-people, and last, though not least, the +true-hearted miners. These, with the help of a few cannon and a +limited supply of ammunition, were holding shattered heaps of ruins +against an unwearied foe. But the Freibergers threw into the scale on +their side, loyalty to their prince, love for fatherland, for hearth, +and home, and liberty; and thus the balance weighed in their favour. + +With thoughts like these present in many minds, passed away the +daylight hours of that memorable 16th of February, and the night +appointed for the general assault came down at last. Eight captains, +each with a hundred and twenty men, a company of seventy or eighty +picked men with hand-grenades, and as many more with axes, were told +off to make the first attack, their advance being supported by four +thousand men of the main storming party. In the evening, Torstenson +had, by a great effort, ridden quite round the town, marking out the +points to be specially attacked, assigning his troops their respective +places, and ordering several new batteries to be placed in position. +As Wallenstein once before Stralsund, so now Torstenson before +Freiberg, swore to take the city, even though it were under the special +protection of Heaven itself. + +The besieged were aware, both through their prisoners and by other +means of information, that the most desperate of all their struggles +awaited them to-night, and they did not attempt to conceal from +themselves the terrible peril in which they stood. They spent a social +hour at home with wife and children, took what might well prove a final +farewell, and then each man went forth to his dangerous post with the +stedfast determination to die rather than yield. And among those ranks +of silent, resolute men in the deadly breach, was seen the reverend +figure of good Master Spelling, in his preacher's robe, the book of the +Holy Gospels in his hand. + +'My beloved brethren in Christ!' he cried; 'if we live we live unto the +Lord, and if we die we die unto the Lord; whether we live, therefore, +or die, we are the Lord's. Yea, the Lord is our strength and our +shield; and though we wander through the valley of the shadow of death, +we will fear no evil, for His right hand hath holden us up that we +should not fall. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to +all that call upon Him in truth. He will hear their cry and will save +them. "Call upon me," saith He, "in the day of trouble; I will deliver +thee, and thou shalt glorify me." Put your trust in the Lord, not in +the Imperialists, and not in your own might. Think who it was that +broke the power of Sennacherib before Jerusalem, when a hundred and +eighty thousand of Israel's foes perished in a single night! The Lord +our God! And His power is not lessened since that day, neither is His +glory dimmed. Three men once sang in the midst of the burning fiery +furnace. Cannot we, too, lift our feeble voices to God where we stand +in the deadly breach? Let "Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!" be our shout of +victory when the foe comes on against us; and let us, ere we part, +chant together the jubilant words, "Jesus lives; I shall live also. O +Death! where is thy sting?"' + +So they sang, and their voices sounded far out into the night; they +knelt, and their pastor invoked God's blessing on them for the +approaching battle,--for victory, if so it might be, or for a happy and +joyous entrance into the better land. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +TREACHERY AND DELIVERANCE. + +With the exception of babes and very young children, no one in Freiberg +slept that night. All were wakeful and astir. Men stood armed for +battle in their places on the city walls; women and children prayed in +the churches; mothers watched with anxious hearts over slumbering +little ones, not knowing when the dreaded Swedes might burst in to +slaughter all alike. + +'Stay with me, my son,' Mistress Juechziger begged of Conrad. 'Do not +let your poor blind mother be left to meet the Swedes alone. At least, +let us die together.' + +Conrad obeyed like a dutiful son, though staying in the house to-night +was a task most irksome to his adventurous spirit, which urged him +forth into the busy turmoil where the brave citizens were making ready +to fight for all they held dear. + +Juechziger, too, seemed a stranger to peace and quietness of spirit, +though for a very different reason. He was seen first in one place and +then in another, in different parts of the city. At last he hastened +through the streets towards his own house, but took special care to +avoid the churches and the praying people. After entering the +living-room of his home, he moved restlessly about the apartment, +alternately taking up and laying down various trifling objects. At +last, towards ten at night, he started forth with the Swedish +treasure-box under his arm, and did not return. + +'Whatever can there be in that box!' said Conrad after a time to his +mother, who, though still an invalid, could not rest for anxiety, and +had exchanged her bed for an easy-chair by the stove. 'It is nailed +and screwed up still, as tight as ever, unless I am mistaken.' + +Before the mother could reply, the door was suddenly opened from +without, and Master Prieme, fully armed, entered the room. + +'Where is Juechziger?' he said instantly. 'He is to come at once to the +Burgomaster.' + +'He went out a little while ago,' replied Conrad, 'and did not leave +word where he was going.' + +'What! you here, boy!' cried Prieme, in evident surprise. 'Ha! And +how did you get out of the Swedes' hands and into the town again? How +about that safe-conduct and that precious buried box? The whole thing +looked very suspicious, very suspicious indeed.' + +Conrad found himself in a great difficulty. Should he make a clean +breast of it, and perhaps get his step-father into dreadful trouble? +He at first hesitated, and then stammered-- + +'Well--the--the Swedes--let me go in three days.' + +'And the box? What about that?' + +'Oh--well,' stammered Conrad, incapable of telling a lie, 'the box? I +got that too.' + +'Dug it out of the cellar?' + +'No; not that. The Swedes dug it up, and gave it me; and then'-- + +'That's false!' cried Prieme. 'Sooner get blood out of a post than a +box worth keeping out of the clutches of a Swede. What was in it?' + +'I'm sure I don't know. It was nailed up so tight; and my step-father +wouldn't let me even peep into it. I don't think it has ever been +opened.' + +'Just like Juechziger! a regular downright skinflint! And how did you +get into the town again? Who let you in across the moat and through +the gate?' + +Conrad was by this time nearer crying than laughing. He looked +imploringly at his questioner, remained silent, and then, when further +pressed, stammered out-- + +'Along the Muenzbach--under the water-tower.' + +'That's sheer nonsense!' cried Prieme again. 'Three gratings of the +toughest hammered iron are firmly fixed across the way. Don't lie to +me, boy, or I'll break every bone in your body.' + +'But I did, indeed I did,' persisted Conrad. 'In all the gratings one +bar was eaten away by rust or something, so that I could easily push +them on one side and creep through.' + +Prieme turned pale. 'Merciful heaven!' he cried; 'this means +treachery. Quick to give the alarm! Perhaps we may even yet save the +city.' + +'Oh, please do be reasonable, Master Prieme!' pleaded Conrad, seizing +the man by the arm as he was hastening away. 'It has been exactly like +that for several days now, and no harm has come of it. Pray don't give +an alarm, or the end of it will be you'll get my step-father into a +mess, and then what is to become of me?' + +'Such talk is all no use,' answered Prieme, 'no use at all; not even if +Juechziger were your real father, which he isn't.' + +'But only think what all the people in the town would say if I got my +step-father into trouble. Didn't everybody except the governor praise +Hillner when he wouldn't shoot at his father?' + +'That's a totally different thing,' said Prieme impatiently; 'then it +was only one Swede, and it didn't much matter whether he lived or died. +But, boy, if many thousand innocent people are about to perish through +one man's knavish trick, ought we not to bring the traitor to justice, +ay, though he be father, brother, or son? Look at that dear, good +woman, your blind mother! Do you want the Swedes to get in and +slaughter her? Are you going to let sixty thousand brave men and women +perish, and all our toils and struggles be in vain, just to save one +villain from the punishment he deserves?' + +'Oh, dear me, whatever shall I do? No, indeed, neighbour Prieme,' said +Conrad, in great distress. 'But I'm sure I don't know anything at all +about my step-father, except that he'-- + +'Juechziger is to come instantly to the Burgomaster,' cried a well-known +voice, as the door of the living-room opened, and Roller's bandaged +head appeared. + +'Yes,' said Prieme in a tone of vexation; 'but the bird has flown, and +even now I am busy with his brood. Good woman, cannot you give us some +information about your husband?' + +'Nothing more,' said Mistress Juechziger, 'than this, that about an hour +ago, while Conrad was gone out of the room, my husband was burning +something over the lamp. At first I thought it was only tinder, but +there was a sudden noise at the room door, and I fancied I heard my +husband hastily crumple up a piece of paper, and throw it either under +the window-seat or the cupboard. No one entered as my husband seemed +to expect; it was only the cat scratching to be let in.' + +'You here!' cried Roller to his dog, which had followed him in, and +which now went open-mouthed at the cat, she in her turn retiring under +the cupboard, a safe refuge into which the dog could not follow her. +'You here!' said Roller again. 'Get out, Turk!' + +Turk had planted himself in front of the cupboard, and was now +scratching vigorously with his fore-paws at the unhappy cat's +hiding-place. As he did so, he threw out a ball of paper rolled +closely together, which the sharp-sighted Prieme instantly picked up +and unfolded. It was a fragment of a written sheet, partly burned, and +in several places quite illegible. + +In a state of the highest excitement, Prieme brought the paper into the +lamp-light, and with trembling lips read as follows:-- + +'To rouse the prisoners singly and without being observed . . . in +conjunction with forty of our bravest soldiers under Captain . . . into +the city . . . as soon as the petard sent herewith has done its work +and the tower is destroyed, the corps held in readiness will make an +attack on that point, which you will powerfully support with the men +placed under your guidance. At the same time the storm on all the +other positions . . . The fifty ducats required to make up the sum +named shall'-- + +A loud report sounding at this moment through the air, and overpowering +the noise of the artillery, cut short the further reading of the paper. + +'There goes the water-tower!' groaned Prieme. 'The Swedish petard you +brought in as such a precious treasure, boy, has indeed done its work. +Can't you hear the shouts of the enemy's storming-party? But,' he went +on with a sudden outburst of enthusiasm, 'do not let them think they +will get into the town, for all that! I would drive them out headlong +with the help of only women and children, though we had no weapons but +stones and fire-brands.' So saying, he rushed forth into the night. + +Mistress Juechziger wrung her hands, and her son seemed almost stunned +by all these untoward events. But prudent Roller said quietly, + +'Would God have let this rascally trick be found out when it was too +late? Let us at least do all we can; and first, to examine the town +hall, find out about the prisoners, and see whether Juechziger is there.' + +'Mother, do let me go too,' pleaded Conrad; 'just to learn the truth, +and bring you word back.' + +He hastened away with Roller to the cellars under the town hall. They +found the garrison was gone, every man being now needed to confront the +enemy at the fortifications. As the two groped their way through the +dark rooms, Conrad's foot struck against something that gave forth a +metallic clink. It was the bunch of keys that Juechziger had thrown +away after liberating the Swedish prisoners. Just as they made this +alarming discovery, they heard a loud knocking at one of the inner +doors. + +'The Swedish prisoners have fled!' shouted Hillner's voice. 'Look out +for treachery!' + +'Roller,' said Conrad, 'let Hillner out. He is quite innocent. Why, +it was my step-father and no one else that made the Burgomaster and the +governor suspect him. If any one can help to put a stop to this +business, I am sure it is my old comrade. See, here are the keys all +ready.' + +'I will promise you faithfully,' said Hillner from within, 'to place +myself under arrest again the instant the danger is over.' + +'In the name of God, then, and may He guide us aright!' said Roller, +opening the door. 'And now, to put all on the hazard of one bold +stroke.' + +The three friends immediately set off at a rapid pace for the lower +town. Whatever persons they met on the way, whether men or women, were +pressed into the service, and the little company armed itself as best +it might in the hurry of the moment. The women, for the most part, +could hit on nothing better than to fill their aprons as they went with +stones from the street pavements. The men, with Conrad among them, +threw the light of their torches from both sides at once under the +vaulted arches that spanned the Muenzbach, and were longer or shorter +according as their position required. As soon as it was ascertained +that the way was clear at one point, the little party went on instantly +to the next. Roller and Conrad soon made out, to their great relief, +that the water-tower was still standing. They were by this time +approaching it, and just as they reached the last tunnel, the one +through which the Muenzbach leaves the city, at the point where it flows +away under the street below the water-tower, a youth announced that he +had descried the forms of several men creeping through the darkness of +the archway. + +Whilst two of their number went off at once to alarm the garrison of +the water-tower and the men on the neighbouring fortifications, the +rest of the courageous little band took post around the vaulted +entrance of the tunnel, in readiness to give the enemy a warm +reception. This arrangement was not completed without some noise; and, +as a consequence, a head appeared from beneath the archway to see what +was going on outside. It was the head of the treacherous town servant; +and Roller promptly dealt it so severe a blow with a stout cudgel, that +its owner instantly drew back with a yell of pain. Some minutes of +ominous silence then passed, in which the enemy were doubtless busy +taking counsel as to what should be done next. Then they suddenly +burst forth with loud shouts and wild uproar. Though one and another +of their number dropped beneath the shower of stones with which they +were greeted, they did not even pause, but pressed furiously forward +against their antagonists. + +'Light the petard!' shouted a terrible voice from beneath the archway, +at the sound of which Hillner's arm seemed involuntarily to lose its +power. Immediately afterwards a Swede made his appearance, whose +murderous eyes and bushy red beard were plainly visible in the +torchlight. + +'Father!' cried Hillner sadly; and his strong right arm fell +mechanically at his side, while the left was extended imploringly, as +though to shield him from his father's uplifted sword. + +A frightful oath was the answer, the one that Conrad heard on the +Erbisdorf road, and, by his comrade's wish, wrote down on paper; and +the oath was at once followed up by a desperate cut. The young man's +wounded hand fell helpless; and a second blow his father levelled at +him must undoubtedly have been at once fatal, had not a well-aimed +stone struck the Swede in the face at the critical moment and made him +stagger back. Before he could recover himself, a musket-ball struck +him in the chest, and he fell to rise no more. This fortunate shot, +with a volley of others that now greeted the Swedes, was fired by a +party of men approaching at a rapid pace under the leadership of Master +Prieme. + +'We wanted to snatch a laurel from your wreath,' was his hasty greeting +to Hillner, who, after his father's fall, was once more, with his +uninjured hand, doing vigorous work against the enemy. + +The foe, attacked in rear by the garrison of the water-tower, were +gradually compelled to give way before the superior force of the +Freibergers, and were at length driven back beneath the arched vault of +the Muenzbach, a retreat into which the Saxon bullets followed them, +rapidly thinning their ranks. + +'Yield, you dogs!' shouted Prieme, fearful, and not without good +reason, that they might even now explode the petard. + +Thereupon arose a short, sharp contest among the entrapped Swedes, in +which the smaller and more courageous section wished to fire the petard +already sunk in the foundations of the water-tower, and bury all in the +ruins; while the other party did their utmost to prevent this design +from being put into execution. The less bold majority gained the day, +and announced their intention to yield themselves up as prisoners of +war. Juechziger had received his reward. His body, with a severe wound +on the head, was found lying trampled down by the feet of the Swedish +soldiers into the waters of the Muenzbach; and the dangerous petard was +discovered sunk into a hole prepared with much toil and secrecy by +Juechziger in the strong arch on which the tower stood. + +The fight was hardly over when the commandant appeared, come to see +what was going on. + +'I trust,' said Hillner respectfully, 'that your excellency will pardon +my being here, instead of under arrest where I was placed. I shall now +hasten to give myself up again. But that I am at least no traitor to +my fatherland, this wounded hand may surely bear witness.' + +'My dear Defensioner,' replied Schweinitz heartily, 'the enemy may +commence their grand assault at any moment. There is no time now to +examine into your affair. For the present you are liberated on parole. +Be of good courage, and get your wound attended to the very first +thing.' + +With these words, the commandant, finding his presence no longer +necessary, hastened away. + +The firing on both sides continued till midnight. Then the Freibergers +heard loud sounds of confusion and disturbance and much shouting in the +Swedish camp; but the dreaded general assault was still unaccountably +delayed. + +Between two and three o'clock on the morning of February 17th, there +arrived at the city moat an Imperialist soldier, who had been taken +prisoner by the Swedes before Leipzig, and had now made his escape. On +being admitted into the town, he announced that the enemy were making +hasty preparations for departure, that the military stores were already +loaded, and that he himself had been employed with others in removing +the charges from the Swedish mines. This joyful and unexpected news +passed rapidly from mouth to mouth, and put the whole city in a +ferment. Hope turned to glad certainty, when, at break of day, the +enemy's army, with its artillery and baggage-waggons, was seen marching +away from the city, and taking the road towards Klein-Waltersdorf; +although four or five hundred Swedish dragoons still held the Hospital +Church, whence they fired on the town and on all who issued from it. +The Freibergers, instead of abandoning themselves to the transports of +an excessive joy, re-occupied the Peter Gate without delay, and made a +sortie in which they set fire to the enemy's batteries and advanced +works. + +By about seven in the morning, when the Swedes had finally evacuated +the Hospital Church itself, Imperialists began to arrive before the +city, in small numbers at first, which, however, rapidly increased. +Their officers were astounded at sight of the ramparts and +fortifications, which in many places were almost level with the earth. +Their colonel asked as a particular favour that he might be permitted +to ride his horse into the city over the principal breach by the Peter +Gate. This was readily granted by the commandant, and as easily +accomplished by the gallant officer. Meantime the prudent Freibergers +had not in the least relaxed their diligence in filling up the enemy's +trenches and destroying their batteries, while repairing their own +barbicans and moat, building the former up with gabions, and +strengthening the latter with a stout wooden parapet. + +On the 18th of February, Field-Marshal Piccolomini himself entered +Freiberg, and highly commended the courageous and unexampled defence +that had been made by a town so slightly fortified. The Emperor and +the Elector did not fail to distribute weighty gold chains of office, +patents of nobility, badges of honour, and similar acknowledgments to +the commandant, the Burgomaster, and the city; and Freiberg's fame was +heard far and wide through Europe. Its inhabitants attributed the +glory of their successful defence to God alone; and just as on the 17th +of February 1643, there went up from all the churches of Freiberg, and +from every lip, the devout and thankful song, 'Lord our God, to Thee +our praises,' so has it been on each anniversary since, as each year +has brought round afresh the mountain city's day of joy and +thanksgiving. + +It has never been fully known whether the approach of the Imperial +army, or the failure of the treachery they had planned, or the brave +and desperate resistance of the besieged citizens, caused the Swedes at +last to abandon their idea of a general assault. But one thing is +certain, that the brave Defensioner Hillner was fully cleared of blame +by both Commandant von Schweinitz and Burgomaster Schoenleben. Nor was +it long before he was made a free citizen and a master-craftsman, and +that without any cost to himself. + +'My son,' said Schweinitz to the newly made master-carpenter, 'you may +take my word for it, that in war a soldier must have a heart like a +flint, and often say things very different from what he feels. You did +quite right not to fire at your own father, and had I been in your +place, I should very likely have done the same myself. Now that the +enemy is safe out of the way, I may tell you so freely. God grant the +foe may never return.' + +Nor was it long before his young widowed mistress gave her hand in +marriage to her _quondam_ journeyman, and never had the smallest cause +to repent the gift. She kept one secret, and one only, from her +husband; she never told him that the hand he had asked and won was the +hand that had, at exactly the right moment, thrown the stone which was +the means of saving his life. The miller's family, after their return +to Erbisdorf, kept up their friendship for the city home where they had +received so hospitable a welcome. Conrad Schmidt, under Hillner's +watchful care, grew up into a famous carpenter. When in later years +he, too, became a master-craftsman, he rebuilt his mother's house +outside the Peter Gate, making it more beautiful than it had ever been +before. To this new home he brought his old playmate Dollie as his +wife, and she lovingly and carefully tended her husband's blind mother +so long as Mistress Juechziger needed her ministrations. Roller and +Prieme, and all those who have played their parts so bravely in our +story, lived for many a year as well-to-do citizens; and in the long +winter evenings they delighted to tell one another rousing stories of +the events that happened during that memorable siege. + + +Freiberg has never been besieged again; yet what the artillery and +mines of the warlike foe failed to accomplish, has been brought about +long since by the genial beams of golden peace. + +Freiberg's strong gates and barbicans, her towers, walls, and moats, +have, for the most part, passed away. Where once the cannon thundered, +roses and jessamines now fill lovely gardens with their rich perfume; +where the blood of Saxon burgher and Swedish trooper was once shed in +savage strife, the air now rings with the laughter of happy children; +and no trace is ever seen of those who fought so bravely for their +beloved city more than two hundred years ago. Yet their memory will +never die; it lives on through the ages, and strong and pure, like +Freiberg's native silver, shall endure the story of their faithfulness +to prince and fatherland. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG CARPENTERS OF FREIBERG*** + + +******* This file should be named 19097.txt or 19097.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/9/0/9/19097 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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