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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bartholomew Sastrow, by 
+Bartholomew Sastrow and Albert D. Vandam
+
+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: Bartholomew Sastrow
+       Being the Memoirs of a German Burgomaster
+
+Author: Bartholomew Sastrow
+        Albert D. Vandam
+
+Release Date: October 29, 2010 [EBook #33891]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BARTHOLOMEW SASTROW ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the Web Archive
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+Page scan source:
+http://www.archive.org/details/bartholomewsastr00sastiala
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Charles the Fifth.]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                              BARTHOLOMEW
+                                SASTROW
+
+
+                          BEING THE MEMOIRS OF
+                          A GERMAN BURGOMASTER
+
+
+
+            Translated by Albert D. Vandam. Introduction by
+                       Herbert A. L. Fisher, M.A.
+
+
+
+                         _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_.
+
+
+
+                                 LONDON
+                      ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE & CO LTD
+                                  1905
+
+
+
+
+                                Contents
+
+
+                                 PART I
+
+Introduction
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+
+Abominable Murder of My Grandfather--My Parents and their Family--Fatal
+Misadventure of my Father--Troubles at Stralsund--Appeal of the
+Evangelical Preachers
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+
+My Student's Days at Greifswald--Victor Bole and his tragical End--A
+Servant possessed by the Devil--My Brother Johannes' Preceptors and
+Mine--My Father's never-ending Law Suits
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+Showing the Ingratitude, Foolishness and Wickedness of the People, and
+how, when once infected with a bad Spirit, it returns with Difficulty
+to Common-Sense--Smiterlow, Lorbeer, and the Duke of Mecklenberg--Fall
+of the Seditious Regime of the Forty-eight
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IV
+
+Dr. Martin Luther writes to my Father--My Studies at Rostock and at
+Greifswald--Something about my hard Life at Spires--I am admitted as a
+Public Notary--Dr. Hose
+
+
+                               CHAPTER V
+
+Stay at Pforzheim--Margrave Ernest--My extreme Penury at Worms,
+followed by Great Plenty at a Receiver's of the Order of St. John's--I
+do not lengthen this Summary, seeing that but for my Respect for the
+Truth, I would willingly pass over many Episodes in Silence
+
+
+                               CHAPTER VI
+
+Travels in Italy--What happened to me in Rome--I take Steps to recover
+my Brother's Property--I become aware of some strange Particulars--I
+suddenly leave Rome
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VII
+
+From Rome to Stralsund, by Viterbo, Florence, Mantua, Trent, Innspruck,
+Ratisbon and Nuremberg--Various Adventures
+
+
+
+                                PART II
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+
+I am appointed Pomeranian Secretary--Something about my diurnal and
+nocturnal Journeys with the Chancellor--Missions in the Camps--Dangers
+in the Wake of the Army
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+
+A Twelve Months' Stay at Augsburg during the Diet--Something about the
+Emperor and Princes--Sebastian Vogelsberg--Concerning the Interim
+Journey to Cologne
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+How I held for two Years the Office of _Solicitator_ at the Imperial
+Chamber at Spires--Visit to Herr Sebastian Münster--Journey to
+Flanders--Character of King Philip--I leave the Prince's Service
+
+
+
+                                PART III
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+
+Arrival at Greifswald--Betrothal and Marriage--An Old Custom--I am in
+Peril--Martin Weyer, Bishop
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+
+Severe Difficulties after my Marriage--My Labours and Success as a
+Law-writer and Notary, and subsequently as a Procurator--An Account of
+some of the Cases in which I was engaged
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+The Greifswald Council appoints me the City's Secretary--Delicate
+Mission to Stralsund--Burgomaster Christopher Lorbeer and his
+Sons--Journey to Bergen--I settle at Stralsund
+
+
+
+
+                             Illustrations
+
+Charles the Fifth                                   _frontispiece_
+
+Martin Luther
+
+Stettin, Wittenberg, Spires
+
+The Diet of Augsburg
+
+An Execution at the time of the Reformation
+
+Ferdinand the First
+
+Melanchthon
+
+View of Stralsund
+
+
+
+
+                              INTRODUCTION
+
+
+If we wish to understand the pedestrian side of German life in the
+sixteenth century, I know of no better document than the autobiography
+of Bartholomew Sastrow. This hard-headed, plain-spoken Pomeranian
+notary cannot indeed be classed among the great and companionable
+writers of memoirs. Here are no genial portraits, no sweet-tempered and
+mellow confidings of the heart such as comfortable men and women are
+wont to distil in a comfortable age. The times were fierce, and passion
+ran high and deep. One might as well expect to extract amiability from
+the rough granite of an Icelandic saga. There is no delicacy, no charm,
+no elevation of tone in these memoirs. Everything is seen through plain
+glass, but seen distinctly in hard and fine outlines, and reported with
+an objectivity which would be consistently scientific, were it not for
+some quick touches of caustic humour, and the stored hatreds of an
+active, unpopular and struggling life. Nobody very readily sympathizes
+with bitter or with prosperous men, and when this old gentleman took up
+his pen to write, he had become both prosperous and bitter. He had
+always been a hard hitter, and at the age of seventy-five set himself
+down to compose a fighting apologia. If the ethics are those of Mr.
+Tulliver, senior, we must not be surprised. Is not the blood-feud one
+of the oldest of Teutonic institutions?
+
+I frankly confess that I do not find Mr. Bartholomew Sastrow very
+congenial company, though I am ready to acknowledge that he had some
+conspicuous merits. Many good men have been naughty boys at school, and
+it is possible that even distinguished philanthropists have tippled
+brandy while Orbilius was nodding. If so, an episode detailed in these
+memoirs may be passed over by the lenient reader, all the more readily
+since the Sastrovian oats do not appear to have been very wildly or
+copiously sown. It is clear that the young man fought poverty with
+pluck and tenacity. He certainly had a full measure of Teutonic
+industry, and it argues no little character in a man past thirty years
+of age to attend the lectures of university professors in order to
+repair the defects of an early education. I also suspect that any
+litigant who retained Sastrow's services would have been more than
+satisfied with this swift and able transactor of business, who appears
+to have had all the combativeness of Bishop Burnet, with none of his
+indiscretion. He was just the kind of man who always rows his full
+weight and more than his weight in a boat. But, save for his vigorous
+hates, he was a prosaic fellow, given to self-gratulation, who never
+knew romance, and married his housemaid at the age of seventy-eight.
+
+A modern German writer is much melted by Sastrow's Protestantism, and
+apparently finds it quite a touching spectacle. Sastrow was of course a
+Lutheran, and believed in devils as fervently as his great master. He
+also conceived it to be part of the general scheme of things that the
+Sastrows and their kinsmen, the Smiterlows, should wax fat and prosper,
+while all the plagues of Egypt and all the afflictions of Job should
+visit those fiends incarnate, the Horns, the Brusers and the Lorbeers.
+For some reason, which to me is inscrutable, but which was as plain as
+sunlight to Sastrow, a superhuman apparition goes out of its way to
+help a young Pomeranian scribe, who upon his own showing is anything
+but a saint, while the innocent maidservant of a miser is blown up with
+six other persons no less blameless than herself, to enforce the
+desirability of being free with one's money. This, however, is the
+usual way in which an egoist digests the popular religion.
+
+Bartholomew Sastrow was born at Greifswald, a prosperous Hanseatic
+town, in 1520. The year of his birth is famous in the history of German
+Protestantism, for it witnessed the publication of Luther's three great
+Reformation tracts--the _Appeal to the Christian Nobility of the German
+Nation_, the _Babylonish Captivity_, and the _Freedom of a Christian
+Man_. It seemed in that year as if the whole of Germany might be
+brought to make common cause against the Pope. The clergy, the
+nobility, the towns, the peasants all had their separate cause of
+quarrel with the old régime, and to each of these classes in turn
+Luther addressed his powerful appeal. For a moment puritan and humanist
+were at one, and the printing presses of Germany turned out a stream of
+literature against the abuses of the papal system. The movement spread
+so swiftly, especially in the north, that it seemed a single
+spontaneous popular outburst. But the harmony was soon broken. The
+rifts in the political and social organization of Germany were too deep
+to be spanned by any appeal to merely moral considerations. The Emperor
+Charles V, himself half-Spanish, set his face against a movement which
+was directly antagonistic to the Imperial tradition. The peasants
+revolted, committed excesses, and were ruthlessly crushed, and the
+violence of anabaptists and ignorant men threw discredit on the
+Lutheran cause. Then, too, dogmatic differences began to reveal
+themselves within the circle of the reformers themselves. There were
+disputes as to the exact significance and philosophic explanation of
+the Lord's Supper. A conference was held at Marburg, in 1529, under the
+auspices of Philip of Hesse, with a view to adjusting the differences
+between the divines of Saxony and Switzerland, but Luther and Zwingli
+failed to arrive at a compromise. The Lutheran and the Reformed
+Churches now definitely separated, and the divisions of the Protestants
+were the opportunity of the Catholic Church. The emperor tried in vain
+to reconcile Germany to the old faith. Rival theologians met, disputed,
+formulated creeds in the presence of temporal princes and their armed
+retainers. In 1530 the Diet of Augsburg forbade Protestant teaching and
+ordered the restoration of church property. Then a Protestant league
+was signed at Smalkald by John of Saxony, by Hesse, Brunswick-Luneberg,
+Anhalt, and several towns, and the emperor was defied. This was in
+1531. It was the beginning of the religious wars of Germany, the
+beginning of that tremendous duel which lasted till the peace of
+Westphalia in 1648, the duel between the League of Smalkald and Charles
+V, between Gustavus Adolphus and Wallenstein, between the Protestant
+North and the Catholic South.
+
+In the initial stage of this combat the great military event was
+the rout of the Smalkaldic allies at Muhlberg, in April, 1547,
+where Charles captured John Frederic of Saxony, transferred his
+dominions--save only a few scattered territories in Thuringia--to his
+ally, Maurice, and reduced all north Germany save the city of
+Magdeburg. It seemed for a moment as if this battle might decide the
+contest. Charles summoned a Diet at Augsburg in 1548, and carried all
+his proposals without opposition. He strengthened his political
+position by the reconstitution of the Imperial Chamber, by the
+organization of the Netherlands into a circle of the empire, and by the
+formation of a new military treasury. He obtained the consent of the
+Diet to a religious compromise called the Interim which, while
+insisting on the seven sacraments in the Catholic sense, vaguely agreed
+to the Lutheran doctrine of justification by faith, and declared that
+the two questions of the Communion in both kinds and the celibacy of
+clergy were to be left till the summoning of a free Christian council.
+The strict Lutheran party--and Pomerania was a stronghold of strict
+Lutheranism--regarded the Interim as a base betrayal of Protestant
+interests. Their pamphleteers called it the _Interitum_, or the
+death-blow, and the conversion of a prince like Joachim of Brandenburg
+to such a scheme was regarded as an ominous sign for the future.
+
+In reality, however, the success of the emperor rested upon the most
+brittle foundations. That he was chilly, reserved, un-German, and
+therefore unpopular was something, but not nearly all. The princes of
+Germany had conquered practical independence in the thirteenth century,
+and were jealous of their prerogatives. The Hanseatic towns formed a
+republican confederacy in the north, corresponding to the Swiss
+confederacy in the south. There was no adequate central machinery, and
+the Jesuit order was only just preparing to enter upon its career of
+German victories. The Spanish troops made themselves detestable,
+outraging women--a dire offence in a nation so domestic as Germany--and
+there was standing feud between the famous Castilian infantry and the
+German lansquenets. The popes did not like the emperor's favourite
+remedy of a council, and busily thwarted his ecclesiastical schemes.
+Henry II of France was on the watch for German allies against a
+powerful rival. The allies were ready. A great spiritual movement can
+never be stifled by the issue of one battle. For good or evil, men had
+taken sides; interests intellectual, moral, and material had already
+been invested either in the one cause or the other; there had been
+brutal iconoclasm; there had been ardent preaching, so simple and
+moving that ignorant women understood and wept; there had been close
+and stubborn dogmatic controversy; there had been the shedding of
+blood, and the upheavals in towns, and the building of a new church
+system, and the growth of a new religious literature. Almost a whole
+generation had now been consumed in this controversy, a controversy
+which touched all lives, and cemented or divided families. The children
+were reading Luther's Bible, and singing Luther's hymns, and learning
+Luther's short catechism. Could it be expected that such a river should
+suddenly lose itself in the sand? Nevertheless there is something
+surprising in the quick revolution of the story. In 1550 Maurice of
+Saxony intrigues with the Protestants, and in the following year
+definitely goes over to their side. In 1552 the emperor has to flee for
+his life, and the Peace of Passau seals the victory of the Protestant
+cause.
+
+One of the first provinces to be conquered for Lutheranism was the
+duchy of Pomerania. John Bugenhagen, himself a Pomeranian and the
+historian of Pomerania, was the chief apostle of this northern region,
+and those who visit the Baltic churches will often see his sable
+portrait hanging side by side with Huss and Luther on the whitewashed
+walls. Sastrow gives us an excellent picture of the various forces
+which co-operated with the teaching of Bugenhagen to effect the change.
+In Eastern Pomerania there was the violent propaganda of Dr. Amandus,
+who wanted a clean sweep of images, princes, and established powers.
+There was the democratic movement in Stralsund, led by the turbulent
+Rolof Moller, who, accusing the council of malversation, revolutionized
+the constitution of his city. There was the mob of workmen who were
+only too glad of an excuse to plunder the priests and break the altars.
+But side by side with greed and violence there was the moral revolt
+against "the fables, the absurdities, and the impious lies" of the
+pulpit, and against the vices of priest and monk. The recollection of
+the early days of Puritan enthusiasm, when the fathers of the
+Protestant movement preached the gospel to large crowds in the open
+air, as, for instance, under "St. George's churchyard elm" at
+Stralsund, remained graven on many a lowly calendar. Even the texts of
+these sermons were remembered as epochs in spiritual life. Sastrow
+records how, ceding to the request of a great number of burgesses, Mr.
+Ketelhot (being detained in the port of Stralsund by contrary winds),
+preached upon Matthew xi. 28: "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are
+heavy laden, and I will give you rest"; and then upon John xvi. 23:
+"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in
+My name, He will give it you"; and, finally: "Go ye therefore and teach
+all nations." The general pride in civic monuments proved to be
+stronger than the iconoclastic mood. Certainly the high altar
+in the Nicolai Kirche at Stralsund--probably the most elaborate
+specimen of late fifteenth-century wood carving which still survives in
+Germany--would have received a short shrift from Cromwell's Ironsides.
+
+It was Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow, of Stralsund, who brought
+Protestantism into the Sastrow family. He had seen Luther in 1523, had
+heard him preach at Wittenberg, and became a convert to the "true
+gospel." Smiterlow's daughter Anna married Nicholas Sastrow, a
+prosperous brewer and cornfactor of Greifswald, and Nicholas deserted
+the mass for the sermon. Their eldest son, John, was sent to study at
+Wittenberg, where he made the acquaintance of Luther and Melanchthon.
+He became something, of a scholar, wrote in praise of the English
+divine, Robert Barns, and was crowned poet laureate by Charles V in
+1544. The second son was Bartholomew, author of these memoirs. Three
+years after his arrival the family life at Greifswald was rudely
+disturbed. Bartholomew's father had the misfortune to commit
+manslaughter (uncharitable people called it murder), and Greifswald was
+made too hot to hold the peccant cornfactor. The father of our
+chronicler lived in banishment for several years, while his wife
+brought up the children at Greifswald, and carried on the family
+business. It happened that Bartholomew's great-uncle, Burgomaster
+Nicholas Smiterlow the second, of Stralsund, was at that time residing
+at Greifswald. He possessed the avuncular virtues, had his great-nephew
+taught Latin, and earned his eternal gratitude. In time the heirs of
+the slain man were appeased and 1,000 marks of blood-money enabled the
+elder Sastrow to return to his native city. He did not, however, remain
+long in Greifswald, but sold his house and settled in the neighbouring
+city of Stralsund, the home of his wife's relations. Bartholomew
+received his early education at Greifswald and Stralsund, but in 1538
+was sent to Rostock (a university had been founded in this town in
+1415), where he studied under two well-known pupils of Luther and
+Melanchthon, Burenius and Heinrich Welfius (Wulf). The teaching
+combined the chief elements of Humanism and of Protestant theology, the
+works of Cicero and Terence on the one hand, and the _De Anima_ of
+Melanchthon on the other.
+
+Meanwhile (1534-37) there were great disturbances in Stralsund. An
+ambitious demagogue of Lubeck, George Wullenweber, had involved the
+Hanseatic League in a Danish war. Smiterlow and Nicolas Sastrow thought
+that the war was wrong and foolish, and that it would endanger the
+interests of Stralsund. But a democracy, when once bitten by the war
+frenzy, is hard to curb, and regards moderation in the light of
+treason. Stralsund rose against its conservative council, forced
+Smiterlow to resign and compelled the elder Sastrow to remain a
+prisoner in his house for the period of a year. Father and son never
+forgot or forgave these years of plebeian uproar. For them the art of
+statesmanship was to avoid revolution and to keep the people under. "I
+recommend to my children submission to authority, no matter whether
+Pilate or Caiaphas governs." This was the last word of Bartholomew's
+political philosophy.
+
+In 1535-6 the forces of the Hanse were defeated both by land and sea,
+and the war party saw the error of its ways. Sastrow was released, and
+his uncle-in-law was restored to office to die two years later, in
+1539. But meanwhile things had gone ill with the Sastrow finances. Some
+skilful but dishonest ladies had purchased large consignments of cloth,
+not to speak of borrowing considerable sums of money from Nicholas
+Sastrow, and declined to pay their bill. During his imprisonment
+Nicholas had been unable to sell the stock of salt which he had laid in
+with a view to the Schonen herring season. A certain Mrs. Bruser, wife
+of a big draper, with a hardy conscience, had bought 1,725 florins'
+worth of the Sastrow cloth of the dishonest ladies. The Sastrows
+determined to get the money out of the Brusers. Bruser first avowed the
+debt, and then repudiated it, taking a mean advantage of the civic
+troubles of Stralsund and the decline of the Smiterlow-Sastrow
+interest. Thereupon began litigation which was not to cease for
+thirty-four years. The case was heard before the town court of
+Stralsund, then before the council of Stralsund, then before the
+_oberhof_ or appellate court of Lubeck, and finally before the Imperial
+court of Spires. Bartholomew accompanied his father on the Lubeck
+journey, obtained his first insight into legal chicanery, and was, no
+doubt, effectually inoculated with the anti-Bruser virus. In 1541 the
+elder Sastrow obtained permission to return to Greifswald, and
+Bartholomew attended for a year the lectures of the Greifswald
+professors. The family circumstances, however (there were by this time
+five daughters and three sons), were too straitened to support the
+youth in idleness. Accordingly, in June, 1542, the two eldest sons left
+their home, partly to seek their fortunes, but more especially to watch
+the great Bruser case, which was winding its slow and slippery course
+through the reticulations of the Imperial Court at Spires.
+
+There is no need to anticipate the lively narrative of Bartholomew's
+experiences in this home of litigation long-drawn-out. The reader will,
+however, note that he was lucky enough to come in for a Diet, and has
+an excellent story to tell of how the emperor was inadvertently
+horsewhipped by a Swabian carter. On May 19, 1544, Sastrow received the
+diploma of Imperial notary, and a month later he left Spires and
+entered the chancellerie of Margrave Ernest of Baden, at Pforzheim.
+This, however, was destined to prove but a brief interlude. In the
+summer of 1545 Sastrow is in the service of a receiver of the Order of
+St. John, Christopher von Löwenstein, who, after his Turkish wars, was
+living a frolicsome old age among his Frisian stallions, his huntsmen
+and his hounds. The picture of this frivolous old person, with his
+dwarf, his mistress, and his chaplain, is drawn with some spirit.
+Sastrow, who had so long felt the pinch of poverty, was now luxuriating
+in good fare and fine raiment. He has little to do, plenty to eat and
+drink, and his festivity was untempered by moral considerations. "Do
+not think to become a doctor in my house," said the genial host, and it
+must be confessed that the surroundings were not propitious to the
+study of the Institutes.
+
+The news of John Sastrow's death put an end to this jollity. The poet
+laureate had been crossed in love, and sought oblivion in Italy. The
+panegyrist of Barns entered the service of a cardinal, and died at
+Acquapendente, without explaining theological inconsistencies,
+pardonable perhaps in lovelorn poets. Bartholomew determined to recover
+the property of his deceased brother, and set out for Italy on April 8,
+1546. He walked to Venice over the Brenner, thence took ship to Ancona,
+and then travelled over the Apennines to Rome, by way of Loretto. The
+council was sitting at Trent, but theological gossip does not interest
+our traveller so much as the alto voices in the church choirs, and "the
+tomb of the infant Simeon, the innocent victim of the Jews." Nor is he
+qualified to play the rôle of intelligent tourist among the antiquities
+and art treasures of Italy. He was not a Benvenuto Cellini, still less
+a Nathaniel Hawthorne, bent on instructing the Philistine in the art of
+cultured enthusiasm. "A magnificent palace, a church all of marble,
+variously tinted and assorted with perfect art, twelve lions and
+lionesses, two tigers and an eagle that is all I remember of Florence."
+
+Many modern tourists may not remember as much without Sastrow's
+excuses. Italy was by this time by no means a safe place for a German.
+Paul III was recruiting mercenaries to help the emperor to fight the
+League of Smalkald, and the Spanish Inquisition was industriously
+raging in Rome. It was sufficient to be a German to be suspected of
+heresy, and for the heretic, the pyre and the gibbet were ready
+prepared. It would be difficult to conceive a moment less propitious
+for aesthetic enjoyment. "Not a week without a hanging," says Sastrow,
+who was apparently careful to attend these lugubrious ceremonies. The
+excellence of the Roman wine increased the risk of an indiscretion, and
+by July Sastrow had determined that it would be well to extricate
+himself from the perils of Rome.
+
+His reminiscences of the papal capital are vivid and curious. We seem
+to see the cardinal sweating in his shirt sleeves under the hot Italian
+sun, while his floor is being watered. Heavy-eyed oxen of the Campagna
+are dragging stone and marble through the streets to build the Farnese
+palace and splendid houses for the cardinals; the whole town is a
+tumult of building and unbuilding. Streets are destroyed to improve a
+view. If one of the effects of a celibate clergy is to promote
+immorality, another is to improve the cuisine of the taverns. Upon both
+topics Sastrow is eloquent, and there are too many confirmations from
+other quarters to permit us to doubt the substantial accuracy of his
+indictment.
+
+By August 29, 1546, Sastrow was back at Stralsund. Through the good
+offices of Dr. Knipstrow, the general superintendent, he secured a post
+in the ducal chancellerie at Wolgast. His acuteness and industry
+obtained the respect of the Pomeranian chancellor, James Citzewitz, and
+he was given the most important business to transact. On March 10,
+1547, he accompanied the ducal chancellors in the character of notary
+on a mission to the emperor. Ten years before the Dukes of Pomerania
+had joined the League of Smalkald, and they were now thoroughly alarmed
+at the Imperial victory at Muhlberg, and anxious to make their peace
+with Charles. The journey of the envoys is full of historical interest.
+Sastrow had to cross the field of Muhlberg and received ocular
+assurance of the horrors of the war and of the barbarities practised by
+the Spanish troops. He was a spectator of the humiliation of the
+Landgrave Philip of Hesse, at Halle, and to his narrative alone we owe
+the knowledge of the ironical laugh of the prince, and the angry threat
+of the emperor. From Halle the Pomeranian envoys followed Charles to
+Augsburg, having the good fortune to fall in with the drunken but
+scriptural Duke Frederick III of Liegnitz, of whose wild doings Sastrow
+can tell some surprising tales.
+
+It must have been an astonishing experience, this life at Augsburg,
+while the Diet was sitting. The gravest theological and political
+problems, problems affecting the destiny of the Empire, were being
+handled in an atmosphere of unabashed debauchery and barbarism. Every
+one, layman and clerk, let himself go. Joachim of Brandenburg consented
+to the Interim for a bribe, and the Cardinal Granvelle, like Talleyrand
+afterwards, was able to build up an enormous fortune out of "the sins
+of Germany." In the midst of the coarse revels of the town the horrid
+work of the executioner was everywhere manifest. And, meanwhile, the
+grim emperor dines silently in public, seeming to convey a sullen
+rebuke to the garrulous hospitality of his brother Ferdinand, and to
+the loose morals of the princes.
+
+The cause of the Pomeranian mission did not much prosper at Augsburg,
+and Sastrow and his friends pursued the emperor to Brussels, where they
+were at last able to effect the desired reconciliation. For the
+services rendered on this occasion Sastrow was made the Pomeranian
+solicitor at the court of Spires. The second Spires residence was
+clearly a period of honourable and not ungainful activity. Sastrow is
+busy with ducal cases; he makes another journey to the Netherlands in
+order to present Cardinal Granvelle with some golden flagons, and has
+occasion to admire the treasures of the great Flemish cities. The
+seagirt Stralsund, with its thin gusty streets, high gables, red Gothic
+gateways and tall austere whitewashed churches could not, of course,
+show the ample splendours of Brussels or Antwerp. Then, too, upon this
+Flemish voyage he saw King Philip and was impressed by the young man's
+stupid face and stiff Spanish formality. Such a contrast to his father
+Charles! Again he was sent on a mission to Basle, carrying information
+about Pomerania to Sebastian Munster, the "German Strabo," as he loved
+to hear himself called, that it might be incorporated in that learned
+scholar's universal cosmography. In 1550, however, Sastrow became aware
+that his position was being undermined by the councillors at Stettin.
+He accordingly gave up his ducal appointment, and determined to confine
+himself to private practice. He marries a wife (January 5, 1551),
+settles at Greifswald, and builds up a prosperous business, and from
+this date his memoirs are mostly concerned with the cases in which he
+was engaged.
+
+There is yet one more change of place and occupation to be noticed in
+this bustling life. In 1555 Sastrow was enticed to Stralsund by the
+offer of the post of secretary, and for the next eight-and-forty years,
+till his death in 1603, he lived in that town, battling in the full
+stream of municipal politics, councillor in 1562, burgomaster in 1578,
+and frequently chosen to represent the city on embassies and other
+ceremonial occasions. A _Rubricken Bock_, or collection of municipal
+diplomata testifies to another branch of his useful activities. Enemies
+were as plentiful as gooseberries, and he never wanted for litigation.
+His second marriage created a scandal, and furnished an occasion for
+the foeman to scoff. But the choleric old gentleman was fully capable
+of taking care of himself. "At Stralsund," he says, "I fell full into
+the infernal caldron, and I have roasted there for forty years." But he
+took good heed that the enemy should roast likewise, and at the age of
+seventy-five began to lay the fire. The first two parts of the memoirs
+were composed in 1595, the third at the end of 1597, doubtless on the
+basis of some previous diary. They were composed for the benefit of his
+children, that they might enjoy the roasting. We too now can look on
+while the flames crackle.
+
+                                             HERBERT A. L. FISHER.
+
+   New College,
+     Oxford.
+
+
+
+
+
+                                 PART I
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+
+Abominable Murder of My Grandfather--My Parents and their Family--Fatal
+Misadventure of My Father--Troubles at Stralsund--Appeal of the
+Evangelical Preachers
+
+
+My father was born in 1488, in the village of Rantzin, in the inn close
+to the cemetery, on the road to Anclam. Even before his marriage, my
+grandfather, Johannes Sastrow, exceeded by far in worldly goods,
+reputation, power and understanding, the Horns, a family established at
+Rantzin. Hence, those Horns, frantic with jealousy, constantly attacked
+him, not only with regard to his property, but also in the
+consideration he enjoyed among his fellow-men; they did not scruple to
+attempt his life. Not daring to act openly, they incited one of their
+labourers to go drinking to the inn, to pick a quarrel with its host,
+and to fall upon him. Their inheritance, in fact, was so small that
+they only needed one ploughmaster. What was the upshot? My grandfather,
+who was on his guard, got wind of the affair, and took the offensive.
+The emissary had such a cordial reception as to be compelled to beat a
+retreat "on all fours," and even this was not accomplished without
+difficulty.
+
+The enmity of the Horns obliged my grandfather to look to his security.
+About the year 1487, in virtue of a friendly agreement with the old
+overlord Johannes Osten von Quilow, he redeemed his vassalage
+(lastage), and acquired the citizenship of Greifswald, where he bought
+a dwelling at the angle of the Butchers' Street. Thither he gradually
+transferred his household goods. Johannes Sastrow, therefore, left the
+Ostens and became a citizen before my father's birth.
+
+The infamous attempt occurred in this way. In 1494, there was a
+christening not far from Rantzin, namely at Gribon, where there lived a
+Horn. In his capacity of a near relative my grandfather received an
+invitation, and as the distance was short, he took my father, who was
+then about seven, with him. The Horns took advantage of the
+opportunity; on the pretext of paying a visit to their cousin, they
+repaired to Gribon. They had come down in the world, and they no longer
+minded either the company or the fare of the peasantry; consequently,
+during the meal that followed they sat down at the same table with my
+grandfather. When they had drunk their fill towards nightfall, they all
+got up together to have a look at the stables. They fancied they were
+among themselves; as it happened one of our relatives was hiding in a
+corner, and heard them discuss matters. They intended to watch
+Sastrow's going, to gallop after him and intercept him on the road, and
+to kill him and his child. My grandfather, having been warned,
+immediately took the advice not to delay his departure for a moment.
+Taking his son by the hand, he started there and then. Alas, the
+atrocious murderers who were lying in wait for him in a clearing,
+trampled him under their horses' hoofs, inflicted ever so many wounds;
+then, their rage not being spent, they dragged him to a large stone on
+the road, and which may be seen unto this day, chopped off his right
+hand at the wrist, and left him for dead on the spot. The child had
+crept into some damp underwood, inaccessible to horses; the fast
+gathering darkness saved him from being pursued. The labourers on the
+Horn farm, driven by curiosity, had mounted their cattle; they picked
+up the victim, and pulled the child from his hiding place. One of them
+galloped to Rantzin, whence he returned with a cart on which they laid
+the wounded man, who scarcely gave a sign of life, and, in fact,
+breathed his last at the entrance to the village.
+
+The nearest relatives realized the inheritance of the orphan, sold the
+house, the proceeds of the whole amounting to 2,000 florins.[1] Lords
+who allow their vassals to amass similar sums are rare nowadays. The
+child was brought up carefully; he was taught to read, to write and to
+cipher, afterwards he was sent to Antwerp and to Amsterdam to get a
+knowledge of business. When he was old enough to manage his own
+affairs, he bought the angle of Long Street and of Huns' Street, on the
+right, towards St. Nicholas' Church, that is, two dwelling houses and
+two shops in Huns' Street.[2] One of these houses he made his
+residence; the other he converted into a brewery, and on the site of
+the shops he built the present front entrance. All this cost a great
+deal of trouble and money. He was an attractive young fellow with an
+assured bit of bread, so he had no difficulty in obtaining the hand of
+the daughter of the late Bartholomäi Smiterlow, and the niece of
+Nicholas Smiterlow, the burgomaster of Stralsund.[3] Young and pretty,
+rather short than tall, but with exquisitely shaped limbs, amiable,
+clever, unpretending, an excellent managers, and exceedingly careful in
+her conduct, my mother unto her last hour was an honest and God-fearing
+woman. My father's register shows that the marriage took place in 1514,
+the Sunday after St. Catherine's Day; the husband, as I often heard him
+say, was still short of five and twenty.
+
+At the fast just before Advent, in 1515, Providence granted the young
+couple a son who was named Johannes, after his paternal grandfather; he
+died in 1545, at Aquapendente, in Italy. In 1517, _in vigilia
+nativitatis Mariae_, my sister Anna was born; she died on August 16,
+1594, at the age of seventy-seven; she was the widow of Peter Frobose,
+burgomaster of Greifswald. On Tuesday, August 21, 1520, at six in the
+morning, I came into the world and was named Bartholomäi, after my
+maternal grandfather. I leave to my descendants the task of recording
+my demise, to which I am looking forward anxiously in my seventy-fifth
+winter.
+
+The year 1523 witnessed the birth of my sister Catherine, a charming,
+handsome creature, amiable, loyal and pious. When my brother Johannes
+returned from the University of Wittemberg, she asked him what was the
+Latin for "This is certainly a good-looking girl?" "Profecto formosa
+puella," was the answer. "And how do they say, 'Yes, not bad?'" was the
+next question. "Sic satis," replied Johannes.
+
+Some time after that, three students from Wittemberg, young fellows of
+good family, stopped for a short while in our town, and Christian
+Smiterlow asked his father, the burgomaster, to let them stay with him.
+The burgomaster, who had three grown-up daughters, invited my sister
+Catherine. Naturally, the young people talked to and chaffed each
+other, and the lads themselves made some remarks in Latin, which would,
+perhaps, have not sounded well in German to female ears. One of them
+happened to exclaim: "Profecto formosa puella!" "Sic satis!" retorted
+Catherine, and thereupon the students became afraid that she had
+understood the whole of their lively comments.
+
+In 1544 Catherine married Christopher Meyer, an only son, but an
+illiterate, dissipated, lazy and drunken oaf, who spent all his
+substance, and ruined a servant girl while my sister was in childbed.
+God punished him for his misdeeds by bringing abject misery and a
+loathsome disease upon him, but Catherine died at twenty-six, weary of
+life.
+
+My sister Magdalen was born in 1527; she died a single woman at
+twenty-two. These five children were born to my parents in Greifswald;
+the last three saw the light at Stralsund; namely, in 1529, Christian,
+who lived till he was sixty; in 1532, Barbara, who only reached
+eighteen; and in 1534, Gertrude.
+
+From their very earliest age my sisters were taught by my mother the
+household and other work appropriate to their sex. One day while
+Gertrude, who was then about five, was plying her distaff--the spinning
+wheel was not known then--my brother Johannes announced the news that
+the Emperor, the King of the Romans, the electors, the princes and
+counts, in short all the great nobles, were to foregather at a diet.
+"What for?" asked Gertrude. "To look to the proper government of the
+world," was the answer. "Good Lord," sighed the child, "why don't they
+forbid little girls to spin."
+
+The pest of 1549 took away my mother, Gertrude, Magdalen and Catherine.
+As her daughters were weeping bitterly my mother said: "Why do you
+weep? rather ask the Lord to shorten my sufferings." She died on July
+3. On the 16th it was Gertrude's turn. Magdalen was also dying; she
+left her bed to get her own shroud and that of Gertrude out of the
+linen press, and bade me be careful to fling only a little earth on her
+sister's grave, because she herself would soon be put into it; after
+which she returned to her bed and expired on July 18, the morning after
+Gertrude's burial. Magdalen was the tallest and most robust of my
+sisters, an accomplished manageress, hardworking, and her head screwed
+tightly on her shoulders. Catherine sent me all this news on September
+9, two days before her own death of the plague. She did not try to
+disguise her approaching end; on the contrary, she prayed fervently for
+it, and bade me be resigned to it. She had had two children by her
+worthless husband; I undertook the care of the boy, Christopher Meyer,
+and my sister Frobose at Greifswald mothered the girl, who was but
+scantily provided for. Christopher gave me much trouble; neither
+remonstrance nor punishment proved of any avail; when he grew up he
+would not settle down, and practically followed in the footsteps of his
+father, yielding to dissipation, and indulging in all kinds of vice.
+Nevertheless, I made him contract a good marriage which gave him a kind
+of position. He left two sons; the elder was placed by his guardians at
+Dantzig, with most respectable people, who, however, declined to keep
+him. The younger remained with me for two years, going to school
+meanwhile, and causing me greater trouble than was consistent with my
+advanced age. But I had hoped to do some good with him; alas! he was so
+bent upon following his father's example as to make me rejoice getting
+rid of the cub.
+
+My sister Barbara had been sent to Greifswald; when the plague abated,
+my father recalled her, for he was old, wretched and bowed down with
+care. Barbara was only fifteen, very pretty, amiable and hardworking.
+She married Bernard Classen, then a widower for the second time. My
+father did not like this son-in-law, against whom he had acted in the
+law courts for the other side; but Classen was not to be shaken off,
+and finally obtained my father's consent. The wedding took place on St.
+Martin's Day (November 11), 1549. On my return from Spires, I paid a
+visit to the young couple; my brother-in-law showed me the window of
+his study ornamented with my monogram and name, taking care to mention
+that he had paid a Stralsund mark to the glazier; I loosened my
+purse-strings and counted the sum to him, but the proceeding did not
+commend itself to me after the protestations of friendship my father
+had conveyed to me from Classen's part.[4]
+
+In 1521, at the Diet of Worms, where Doctor Martin Luther so
+courageously made his confession of faith, Duke Bagislaw X, the
+grandfather of the two dukes at present reigning, received from His
+Imperial Majesty Charles V the solemn investiture under the open sky
+and with the standards unfurled, to the great displeasure of the
+Elector of Brandenburg. The imperial councillors were instructed to
+bring the two competitors to an agreement at Nuremberg, or to refer the
+matter further to His Majesty in case of the failure of negotiations.
+
+In 1522 occurred the disturbances in connexion with Rolof Moller, a
+young man of about thirty, if that. His grandfather had been
+burgomaster, and in consequence he had detained in his possession a
+register of the revenues and privileges of the city. Having summoned a
+number of citizens to the monastery of St. John, he tried to prove by
+means of said register the enormous revenues of the city, and to accuse
+the council of malversation; after which he invaded the town hall, took
+the councillors to task, and treated them all like so many thieves,
+including one of his own relatives, Herr Schroeder, whom he reproached
+with being small in stature, but big in scoundrelism. Burgomaster Zabel
+Oseborn indignantly denied the accusation, and worked himself into such
+a state of excitement that he had to be conveyed home. In consequence
+of these slanders Moller constituted himself a following among the
+burghers; his numerous adherents chose forty-eight of their own (double
+the number of the members of the council), to exercise the chief power;
+the council saw its influence annulled, an act defining the limits of
+its competence and rules for its conduct was presented for signature to
+the councillors, and they were furthermore required to take the oath.
+Herr Nicholas Smiterlow alone resisted; hence, during the whole period
+of their domination, namely up to 1537, the Forty-Eight made him pay
+for his courage by unheard-of persecutions.
+
+The primary cause of this agitation, so disastrous to the city, was the
+absence of a permanent record-office. The burgomasters, or the
+secretary, took the secret papers home with them[5]; at the
+magistrate's death those documents passed to the children and
+grandchildren, then fell into the hands of strangers; and the natural
+result were indiscreet revelations hurtful to the public weal.
+
+Johannes Bugenhagen, the Pomeranian, and rector of the school of
+Treptow on the Rega, converted several monks of the monastery of
+Belbuck to the pure faith. They left the monastery. Among them should
+be mentioned Herr Christian Ketelhot, Herr Johannes Kurcke, and Herr
+George von Ukermünde, whom the Stralsund people chose as their
+preacher. But when, after three sermons at St. Nicholas', he saw the
+citizens resolved to keep him, in spite of the council who forbade him
+the pulpit, when he saw the papist clergy increase their threats, and
+the dukes expel Ketelhot and Kurcke from Treptow, he was siezed with
+fear and went away in secret.[6]
+
+Johannes Kurcke was about to set sail for Livonia, intending to engage
+in commerce there, when he was detained at Stralsund to preach, in the
+first place in the St. George's cemetery, then at the cloister of St.
+Catherine, and finally at St. Nicholas'. He died in 1527, and was
+buried at St. George's.
+
+Ketelhot had been prior of the monastery of Belbuck during sixteen
+weeks. At the instigation of the Abbot Johannes Boldewan, the same who
+had given him the prior's hood, he left for the living of Stolpe, and
+preached the Gospel there for some time. The slanders of the priests
+induced the prince to prohibit him. In vain did he claim the right to
+justify himself by word of mouth and in writing before the sovereign,
+the prelates, the lords and the cities. He failed to obtain a hearing
+or even a safe-conduct. As a consequence he went to Mecklenburg,
+intending to adopt a trade; but unable to find a suitable master, he
+came to Stralsund determined to take ship for Livonia. Contrary winds
+kept him for several weeks in port; this gave him the opportunity of
+hearing the fables, absurdities and impious lies delivered from the
+pulpit; he beheld the misconduct of the priests, their debauchery,
+drunkenness, gluttony, fornication, adultery and worse. Acceding to the
+wish of a great number of burghers, and the Church of St. George's
+being too small to hold the crowd, he preached on the Sunday before
+Ascension Day under the great lime tree of the cemetery. He first took
+for his text Matthew xi. 28: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are
+heavy laden, and I will give you rest"; then John xvi. 23: "Verily,
+verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name,
+He will give it you"; and finally: "Go ye therefore and teach all
+nations." In spite of the opposition of the council, which felt
+inclined to yield to the frantic protestation of the clergy, the
+burghers practically forced Ketelhot to come into the city, and made
+him preach at St. Nicholas'.
+
+In 1523, Duke Bogislaw, accompanied by four hundred horsemen, proceeded
+to Nuremberg to settle his disagreement with the Elector of
+Brandenburg. Among his suite were Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow and
+his son Christian. The lad, lively and strong for his age, made his
+horse curvet and prance, so that it threw him and crushed him with all
+its weight. Young Smiterlow was deformed all his life; but when it
+became evident that there was no remedy, his father sent him to the
+University of Wittemberg; but for the accident he would have placed him
+in business at Lubeck.
+
+On his way home Duke Bogislaw stopped at Wittemberg to see Luther, the
+turbulent monk. Before they had exchanged many words, the prince in a
+jocular tone said: "Master Doctor, you had better let me confess to
+you." Luther, however, replied very quickly: "No, no, gracious lord!
+Your Highness is too exalted a penitent, and I am too lowly to give him
+absolution." Luther was thinking of the august birth of his
+interlocutor, who, moreover, was exceedingly tall of stature, but the
+Duke took the reply as an allusion to the gravity of his backslidings,
+and dismissed Luther without inviting him to his table.
+
+During the absence of Duke Bogislaw, the images were destroyed at
+Stralsund as I am going to narrate. On Monday of Holy Week, 1523, Frau
+Schermer sent her servant to St. Nicholas' for a box containing relics
+which she wished to have repaired.[7] Some workmen, noticing that a
+sacred object was being taken away, began to knock down everything;
+their constantly increasing numbers ran riot in the churches and in the
+convents; the altars were overtoppled, and the images thrown to the
+four winds. With the exception of the custodian of St. John's, monks
+and priests fled from the city. Thereupon the council issued an order
+that everybody had to bring back his loot on the following Wednesday to
+the old market. The burghers only obeyed reluctantly; they only
+restored the wooden images, but the more valuable ones were not to be
+found. Two women were brought before the council; the woman Bandelwitz
+deliberately defied the burgomaster, looked him straight into the face
+and addressed him as follows: "What dost thou want with me, Johannes
+Heye? Why hast thou summoned me before thee? What crime have I
+committed?"
+
+"Thou shalt know very soon," replied the burgomaster, and had her put
+under lock and key. The same fate befell the other woman. In the market
+place the partisans of the old doctrines had taken to arms and were
+much excited, while the evangelists loudly expressed their indignation
+at this double incarceration. Bailiff (or sheriff) Schroeder made his
+appearance on horseback, and showed with a kind of affectation a
+communion cup he had confiscated, and swore to "do" for all the
+evangelicals. Leaping on to a fishmonger's bench, L. Vischer cried in a
+thundering voice: "Rally to me all those who wish to live and die for
+the Gospel."[8] The greater number rallied to his side. From the
+windows of the Town House the councillors had been watching the scene,
+and they began to fear for their personal safety when they should wish
+to go home. Rolof Moller went upstairs to make the situation clear to
+them; the two women were discharged after an imprisonment of less than
+an hour, and the Council asked the burghers to let the matter rest
+there, professing their goodwill towards them; but the crowd, slow to
+abate its anger, occupied the place up to four o'clock, after which the
+councillors could make their way without danger.
+
+When Duke Bogislaw returned, the Stralsund council endeavoured to
+persuade His Highness that the destruction of the images had taken
+place in spite of them. In his great anger the prince would not hear of
+any justification; he accused the people of Stralsund of having failed
+in their duty towards religion as well as against the sovereign who was
+the patron of the city's churches. He added that the devil would bring
+them to account for it. The duke died on September 29 of the same year
+at Stettin, leaving two sons, George and Barnim.[9]
+
+The disturbances, nevertheless, continued, for the burghers saw with
+displeasure that the council, following the example of Princes George
+and Barnim, persisted in popish practices, thereby delaying the
+progress of Evangelism. On the Monday of St. John, 1524, Rolof Moller,
+at the head of a big troop of men, made his appearance in the old
+market place and, mounted also on a fishmonger's stall, began
+addressing the people, who applauded him. The dissensions between the
+magistrates and the burghers became more accentuated every day, and
+plainly foretold the ruin of public business. Moller observed no
+measure in his attacks on the council. He was just about thirty,
+clever, and, with an attractive personality, he might count upon being
+sooner or later elected burgomaster. It was only a question of time.
+His presumption blinded him to the reality; intoxicated with popular
+favour, he allowed himself certain excesses against the council, took
+his flight before his wings had grown, and dragged a number of people
+down with him in his fall. The city itself did not recover from the
+effects of all this for close upon a century.
+
+Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow, a personage of great consideration, a
+clever spokesman, and of a firm and generous disposition, was a member
+of the council for seventeen years. Duke Bogislaw, who fully
+appreciated his work, took him to the conference at Nuremberg. The
+journey enabled the burgomaster to hear the gospel preached in its
+purity, and to become aware of the fatal error of papism. At Wittemberg
+he heard Luther preach. As a consequence, he was the first to proclaim
+the wholesome doctrine in open council, though the opposition of that
+body prevented him from supporting the propagators of the true faith
+when they kept within reasonable limits. He interposed between the
+council, the princes, and the exalted personages of the land, who were
+still wedded to papism, and Rolof Moller, the Forty-Eight, and their
+adherents who wished to carry things with too high a hand. Smiterlow
+told the council to show themselves less unbending with the burghers in
+all just and reasonable things. On the other hand, he exhorted the
+citizens to show more deference to the magistrates, giving the former
+the assurance that the preachers should not be molested, and that the
+gospel should not be hampered in its course. Unfortunately, his efforts
+failed on both sides.
+
+Then the crisis occurred. The ringleaders--among the most turbulent,
+Franz Wessel, L. Vischer, Bartholomäi Buchow, Hermann Meyer and
+Nicholas Rode lifted Rolof Moller from his fishmonger's bench--took him
+to the Town House, and made him take his seat in the burgomaster's
+chair.[10] The council was compelled to accept Rolof and Christopher
+Lorbeer as burgomasters, and eight of the citizens as councillors. In
+order to save their heads, the magistrates found themselves compelled
+to share with their sworn enemies both the small bench of the four
+burgomasters and the larger bench of twenty-four councillors. As for
+Smiterlow, his was the fate of those who interfere between two
+contending parties, the peacemakers invariably coming to grief like the
+iron between the anvil and the hammer. When Rolof Moller entered the
+burgomaster's pew Smiterlow left it, and inasmuch as his consummate
+experience foretold him of his danger he came to Greifswald with his
+two sons to ask my mother's hospitality.[11]
+
+The tolerance shown at this conjuncture by the young princes George and
+Barnim was due to two reasons. In the first place they expected to get
+the upper hand of the city without much trouble after it became worn
+out with domestic dissensions. Secondly, a band of zealots, with Dr.
+Johannes Amandus at their head, scoured the country, especially Eastern
+Pomerania, inciting the people to break the images, and preaching from
+the pulpit the sweeping away of all refuse, princes included. In the
+eyes of the papists, those people and the evangelicals were but one and
+the same set, and as their number happened to be imposing, the princes
+considered it prudent to lay low.
+
+The flight of the priests and monks gave the magistrates the
+opportunity of listening to the preaching of Christian Ketelhot and
+his colleagues. In a short while the council's eyes were opened to the
+true light, and in accord with the Forty-Eight and the burghers
+themselves, they assigned the churches to the evangelical preachers;
+the monastery, that is, the supreme direction of all the ministers and
+servitors of the church being confided to Ketelhot, who exercised it
+for twenty-three years, in fact, up to the day of his death. Canons and
+vicars had taken the precaution to collect all the specie, valuables
+and title deeds, amounting to considerable sums; they entrusted to
+certain councillors of Greifswald chests and lockers filled with
+chalices, rich chasubles and various holy vessels. They occasionally
+converted these into money and handed to the debtors certain annuities
+at half-price. Consequently, the hospitals, churches, and pious
+foundations lost both their capital and their income. A long time after
+these events the sons of my relative, Christian Schwartz, dispatched to
+me for restitution to the council of Stralsund, a sailor's locker which
+had stood for forty years under their father's bed. It contained velvet
+chasubles embroidered with silver and pearls, in addition to a couple
+of silver crucifixes. Though their rules forbade the monks of St. John
+to touch coined metal, the father custodian did not scruple to carry
+away with him all that the convent held in clinking coin and precious
+objects.
+
+Called to the ministry by a small group of citizens who had not given a
+thought to the question of his salary, Ketelhot had no other resource
+for his daily sustenance than the city "wine cellar" and _The King
+Arthur_.[12] He found hospitable board and good company, but the life
+was detrimental to his studies. A Jew with whom he flattered himself he
+was studying the _lingua sancta_ induced him to announce from the
+pulpit the _error a Judaeo conceptus_. As a consequence the council
+promptly appointed Johannes Knipstro as superintendent at Stralsund. He
+was the first that bore the title there, and Ketelhot neither suffered
+in consideration, rank, nor benefices. He remained all his life
+_primarius pastor_, and his effigy at St. Nicholas, facing the pulpit,
+is inscribed with the words: _Repurgator ecclesiae Sundensis_.
+Appointed in 1524, Knipstro, by his talent and solicitude, succeeded in
+leading Ketelhot back to the right path, for he broke for ever with the
+_error_. The two ministers lived in the most brotherly understanding.
+Ketelhot was no more jealous of the superintendent than Knipstro, took
+umbrage at the title of _primarius pastor_. They were not vainglorious,
+as were later on Runge and Kruse. Gradually the dukes admitted that the
+evangelicals, far from making common cause with the zealots of Eastern
+Pomerania, energetically opposed them. The Stralsund preachers were
+henceforth left in peace; they were more firmly established in their
+functions, and neither the council nor the citizens were any longer
+molested for having called them.
+
+I now beg to resume the story of my family from the year 1523. My
+parents started house-keeping in the midst of plenty; they had a mill
+and a brewery, sold their corn, butter, honey, wool and feathers, and
+were even blessed with the superfluous. Everything was so cheap that it
+seemed easy to make money. It seemed as if the golden age had returned.
+Nevertheless, prosperity had to make room for misfortune.
+
+In the course of that year (1523), in fact, George Hartmann, the
+son-in-law of Doctor Stroïentin,[13] bought of my father a quantity of
+butter. A violent discussion having occurred between them, Hartmann,
+who was on his way to Burgomaster Peter Kirchschwanz with a short sword
+belonging to the latter, went instead to his mother-in-law to pour his
+grievances into her ears. This haughty and purse-proud woman, full of
+contempt for very humble folk because she happened to have married a
+doctor and a ducal counsellor (I omit for charity's sake some details
+which I shall tell my children by word of mouth), that woman, I say,
+presented her son-in-law with a hatchet, saying: "There, go to market
+with this piece of money, and buy a bit of courage." Emboldened by a
+safe-conduct of the prince, which Doctor Stroïentin had got for him,
+Hartmann fell in with my father at the top of the Sporenmacher Strasse.
+He was going to the public weigh-house to have a case of honey weighed,
+and he had not as much as a pocket knife wherewith to repel an
+assailant armed with a sword and a hatchet. He rushed into a
+spurmaker's shop, getting hold of a large pitchfork, but the bystanders
+wrenched it out of his hands; moreover, they prevented him taking
+refuge in the gallery. Thereupon my father snatched up a long stick
+with an iron prod standing against the wall, and going back into the
+street, shouted:
+
+"Let the fellow who wants to take my life come out and show himself."
+At these words, Hartmann issued from an adjoining workshop. Not
+satisfied with his short sword and his hatchet, he had taken a hammer
+from the anvil and flung it at my father, who warded it with his stick,
+though only partly, for my father spat blood for several days. The
+hatchet went the same way, and just caught my father on the shoulder.
+The double exploit having imbued him with the idea that the game was
+won, the aggressor made a rush with his bare sword, but my father
+spitted him on his iron-prodded pole, and Hartmann dropped down dead.
+This is the true account of this deplorable accident. I am quite aware
+of the version invented by the ill-will of the others, which is to the
+effect that my father having found Hartmann altogether disarmed behind
+the stove in the spurmaker's room, straightway killed him on the spot.
+These are vain rumours, _nugae sunt, fabulae sunt_.
+
+My father sought asylum with the "black" monks, to whom he was known.
+They hid him at the top of the church in a recess near the vault. In a
+little while Doctor Stroïentin, at the head of his servants and of a
+numerous group of followers, came to search every nook and corner of
+the convent. Naturally, he went into the church, and the fugitive,
+fancying it was all over with him, was going to speak in order to prove
+his innocence; fortunately Providence closed his lips and shut his
+enemies' eyes. In the middle of the night the monks smuggled him over
+the wall. Keeping to the high road, he succeeded in reaching
+Neuenkirchen, where a peasant's cart, sent by his father-in-law, was
+waiting for him. He managed to squeeze himself into a sack of fodder by
+the side of a sack of barley. Doctor Stroïentin stopped the vehicle on
+the road. The driver told him he was going to Stralsund. "What have you
+got there?" asked the doctor, beating the sacks with him. "Barley and
+my fodder," was the answer. "Have not you noticed any one going in a
+great hurry either on horseback or on foot?" "Yes; I saw a man
+galloping as hard as he could in the direction of Horst. I may have
+been mistaken, but I fancy it was Sastrow, of Greifswald, and I was
+wondering why he should be scouring the highway at that hour of night."
+Stroïentin wanted to hear no more. He turned his horse's head as fast
+as it would go in the direction of Horst.
+
+My father reached Stralsund without further trouble; the council gave
+him a safe-conduct, which was only a broken reed in the way of a
+guarantee, for he had to deal with proud, rich and powerful enemies.
+Doctor Stroïentin, His Highness' counsellor, took particular advantage
+of the fact that Hartmann enjoyed the protection of Duke George. My
+father went from pillar to post in Denmark, at Lubeck, at Hamburg, and
+other spots; finally, he appeased his suzerain by paying him a
+considerable sum in cash; then, after long-drawn negotiations, his
+father-in-law succeeded in reconciling him with his adversaries. The
+expiatory fine was 1,000 marks, but Greifswald, where the family of the
+deceased resided, remained closed to him. Nor did the 1,000 marks prove
+any benefit to the son of Hartmann; the contrary has been the case.
+Misfortune pursued him without cessation in his health, his wealth, his
+wife and children.
+
+At the gates of Stralsund stood the monastery of St. Brigitta; monks
+and nuns inhabited different parts. A wall divided the gardens. It was,
+however, by no means high enough to prove an obstacle to a nimble
+climber. It is the monks that did the cooking, and the dishes came to
+the nuns in a kind of lift large enough for one person. How the vow of
+chastity was observed was proved on the day of the invasion of the
+convent, when the skeletons, head and bones of new-born children were
+found everywhere.
+
+At the period of the invasion of the churches and the monasteries,
+Franz Wessel, who at that time had discharged the functions of
+councillor for more than a twelvemonth, was charged with preventing at
+St. Catherine's the abstraction of precious objects. In order to cut
+short the idolatrous practices, he had a trench dug at the door of the
+garden of eighteen ells long, in which the images were buried. On the
+Holy Thursday, between four and six in the morning, the nuns whose
+retreat had been attacked were taken to St. Catherine's. Wessel
+received them courteously on the threshold of the cloister, took the
+abbess by the hand and intoned the popish hymn _Veni, sponsa
+salvatoris_, etc. The abbess begged of him to cease this joking, and
+rather to welcome her with some flagons of wine. Wessel objected that
+the hour was too early to begin drinking.
+
+I have narrated the circumstances which compelled Burgomaster Nicholas
+Smiterlow to take refuge at my mother's with his two sons, Nicholas and
+Bertrand. The first-named, a doughty young man, good-looking and of
+independent character, had with great credit to himself terminated his
+studies. I have rarely seen such beautiful handwriting as his.
+Impatient to see the world, he felt himself cramped in Pomerania, and
+when he heard that Emperor Charles had an army in Italy, he induced his
+father to give him an outfit and to allow him to join it. Provided with
+a well-lined purse, he joined the Imperial troops, took part in the
+storming and sacking of Rome, got a great deal of loot, but fell ill
+and died.
+
+Fate proved not more lenient to Doctor Zutfeld Wardenberg, also the son
+of a burgomaster. Berckmann and other writers have made him pass as a
+great prelate. Be this as it may; he certainly fancied himself a member
+of the Trinity which rules the universe. In his official functions he
+observed no law but his own sweet will. His own house contained a
+prison, and he behaved as if the council did not exist. In short, he
+wound up by setting the magistrates against him to such an extent that
+one night he judged it prudent to leave the city. His brother, Joachim,
+opened the gates to him without authority--a piece of daring which cost
+him ten weeks of imprisonment in the Blue Tower. At the sacking of
+Rome, Zutfeld Wardenberg tried to hide himself among the invalids of a
+hospital. He was soon discovered, killed, and everything taken away
+from him. In the church of St. Mary, at Stralsund, stands the handsome
+mausoleum he had prepared for himself, together with an epitaph setting
+forth his titles, but his body lies somewhere at Rome, no one knows
+where.
+
+Burgomaster Smiterlow was as frank in his speech as he was open of
+heart. When he conversed in the street his strong and clear voice could
+be heard a couple of yards off. All his speeches began with "Yes, in
+the name of Jesus." One day, after dinner, he went into his stables
+where, as a rule, he had three horses; he saw one of his stablemen
+strike one of the animals with a pitchfork, saying, in imitation of
+himself, "In the name of Jesus." Smiterlow snatched the implement away
+from him, then stuck it between his shoulders so that he dropped down,
+and quietly remarked: "Now and again I cause people to cry 'In the name
+of all the devils.'"
+
+According to the custom of the papists, my mother went at half-past
+twelve, especially during Lent, to recite a Pater Noster and an Ave
+Maria before each of the three altars of her ordinary church. She
+always took her little Bartholomäi with her. On one occasion I sat down
+on the steps of the first altar and began to relieve nature; when she
+passed on to the second, I followed her and continued the operation,
+which I finished on the third. When my mother perceived what had
+occurred she rushed home in hot haste and sent a servant with a broom
+to repair the mischief. Seeing how young she was when separated from
+her husband and left with four young children, it is not surprising
+that my mother had moments of sadness and discouragement. One day that
+she was cutting up some dry fish, a piece fell from the block. I picked
+it up. Without noticing my mother stooped at the same time, and as I
+was rising, the edge of the hatchet cut my forehead. The scar was never
+effaced. The Lord be praised, though, the accident had no further
+consequence.
+
+Hartmann's family having received satisfaction, my father appointed to
+meet his wife and his children at the manse of Neuenkirchen. It was in
+the autumn and the pears were ripe. After having shaken down and eaten
+as many as they could, the children began to pelt each other with them.
+A big pear dropped under the hoofs of a couple of horses tied to a
+large pear tree. When I stooped to get hold of it, one of the animals
+dealt me a severe kick at the temple. There was general consternation,
+and the wound being seemingly dangerous, we came back immediately to
+town, and I was taken to the doctor.
+
+The Dukes George and Barnim came to Stralsund with four hundred
+horsemen; they received homage and confirmed the privileges of the
+city. As for the claims of the priests, it was decided to refer them to
+the Imperial Chamber. Burgomasters, councillors, burghers, preachers
+(in all about threescore), were summoned to depose on oath before the
+Imperial Commissioners, sitting at Greifswald. The lawsuit cost the
+city a considerable sum; the clergy practically flung the money away,
+but the rector, Hippolytus Steinwer, began to perceive that the chances
+were turning against them, and one day he was found dead. It was
+believed he had strangled himself from vexation. That event put an end
+to the litigation. The priests returned one after another to Stralsund.
+
+Gradually the sobered citizens began to open their eyes to the serious
+prejudice which was being done to public and private interests by the
+agitation of Moller. On the other hand, the princes had learned to know
+Smiterlow during the journey to Nuremberg; they were also aware of the
+esteem in which he had been held by their father. All those feelings
+showed themselves on the occasion of the rendering of homage. Rolof
+Moller was obliged to leave the city, and Burgomaster Smiterlow
+re-entered it on August 1, 1526. Moller, after a stay of several years
+at Stettin, received permission to come back to Stralsund, Smiterlow
+giving his consent; but scarcely a fortnight after his return had gone
+by when he died, it was said, of grief; and the assumption was
+sufficiently plausible.
+
+Hence, Smiterlow spent the time of his exile at my mother's, at
+Greifswald, while his house at Stralsund sheltered my father. The wives
+of the two banished men went constantly and at all seasons from one
+town to another, through hail, snow, rain, frost and cold, and also to
+the great detriment of their purse and their health.
+
+I have often been told afterwards I was a restless, energetic child. I
+often went up to the tower of St. Nicholas's, and on one occasion I
+made the round of it outside. My mother, standing on the threshold of
+her house, facing the church, was a witness of the feat, and dared
+scarcely breathe until her son came down safe and skin-whole. It would
+appear that little Bartholomäi had his reward at her hands.
+
+While at Greifswald I had already been sent to school. Besides reading,
+I was taught declension, comparisons and conjugation, according to the
+grammar of Donat; after which we passed to Torrentinus. On Palm Sunday
+I was selected to intone the _Quantus_; the preceding years I had sung
+at first the short, then the long _Hic est_. What an honour for the
+child and for the parents! It was a real feast, for as a rule the
+sharpest boys are chosen those who, undeterred by the crowds of priests
+and laymen, bring out their clearest notes, especially for the
+_Quantus_. The continuation of this story will, however, soon show how,
+from being sanguine, my temperament became melancholy, and how my
+gaiety and recklessness vanished.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+
+My Student's Days at Greifswald--Victor Bole and his tragical End--A
+Servant possessed by the Devil--My Brother Johannes' Preceptors and
+Mine--My Father's never-ending Law Suits
+
+
+Having acquired the certainty that the Hartmanns would never consent to
+my father's return to Greifswald, my parents, like the conscientious
+married couple they were, desired to bear in common the domestic
+burdens. In the spring of 1528 my mother, after having let her dwelling
+at Greifswald, joined her husband at Stralsund, where he had the
+freeman's right and a tumble-down old house. My maternal grandfather,
+Christian Schwarz, at that time city treasurer, kept me with him in
+order to let me pursue my studies. I underwent the ceremonial of
+installation, a kind of burlesque function of initiation applied to
+novices. My tutor was George Normann, of the island of Rügen, who
+terminated his career in the service of the King of Sweden. I was the
+reverse of a studious boy and fonder of roving about with my relative
+in his journeys about Greifswald than of books. As a consequence my
+mental progress was in proportion to my efforts.
+
+There was at Greifswald a burgomaster named Victor Bole, belonging to a
+notable family of the island of Rügen. Before he attained his civic
+honours he was a good evangelical and a zealous friend of the
+preachers, but his apostasy was thorough. As much as he had supported
+the ministry before his election, as much did he oppose them
+afterwards. I remember seeing him at the meetings of the corporation
+seated in the front place in virtue of his dual quality of eldest
+member and burgomaster, more or less in liquor, browbeating and talking
+everybody down (in High-German always). As he had taken part in several
+expeditions, fighting was the invariable theme of his discourses. He
+generally summoned the musicians, cymbal players and pipers before him.
+"Dost thou know a war cry?" he asked of a piper. "Yes, certainly," was
+the reply, while shrill notes rent the air. But the burgomaster was
+beaming. "This, at any rate, is a useful kind of fellow; while that
+Knipstro of Stralsund stammers in the pulpit about _pap_, _pap_, _pap_,
+I am sure he could play a war cry. Then what's the good of him?"
+
+"Those who laugh last laugh loudest," says the proverb. That same year,
+1528, the King of the May was Bertrand Smiterlow. I walked in front of
+him carrying his crown. Bole did Smiterlow the honour to prance by his
+side, being very pleased to parade his servants and his horses, of the
+latter of which he had four in his stable. If the skies had shown a
+little bit more clement we should have been very happy. But though it
+was the 1st May, there was not a bud nor a blade of grass to be seen.
+On the contrary, the snow powdered our procession with large flakes,
+both on coming and on going. As a consequence everybody was in a hurry
+to get back again. Odd to relate, the seed did not seem to suffer.
+After they had presented the crown to the May King in the city,
+everybody galloped back to his own roof tree. When the burgomaster
+reached his house he was taken with such violent colic that he had
+scarcely time to hand his horse to his servant before he dropped down
+dead. His neck was entirely twisted round, and his face was black. As a
+matter of course, people ascribed it to a visitation of God for having
+made fun of those who preached His Word.
+
+In 1528 the States were called together at Stettin to ratify the pact
+of succession between the Elector of Brandenburg and the Dukes of
+Pomerania. The deputy of Greifswald, Burgomaster Gaspard Bunsaw, my
+mother's first cousin, took me with him as page, or rather as
+companion, and also to enable me to see something new. Our host had a
+magnificent garden; on the banks of a vast lake uprose a vast tower
+with an inside staircase, closed by a trap. One day that the company
+was amusing itself in watching the carps from that tower, I hauled
+myself up to the window out of curiosity, but I forgot the yawning trap
+door behind me, and was flung right to the bottom. It was a miracle
+that I did not break my neck, or, at any rate, my arms and my legs.
+Heaven preserved me by means of its angels, who frustrate the tricks of
+the Evil One.
+
+At the age of five, Nicholas, the eldest son of Bertrand Smiterlow, was
+already much taller and stronger than I; this incarnate fiend worried
+all the children of the neighbourhood, and instead of reprimanding him,
+his father took no notice of the complaints against him. This
+indulgence bore such excellent fruit that in order to prevent disputes
+and perhaps personal violence between young Nicholas' father and the
+neighbours, Christian Schwarz considered it advisable to take Nicholas
+to live with him, and so we shared the same bed. One morning as we were
+dressing on the big locker at the foot of the bed, the youngster,
+without saying a word and out of sheer mischief, hit me right in the
+chest and made me tumble backward, a downright dangerous fall. The
+grandfather gave a dinner-party to his children and other people. Late
+in the evening the servants came with links to take their masters home.
+While they were waiting for that purpose, Nicholas began to play them
+tricks, which they endured from fear of the grandfather. Rendered bold
+by impunity, Nicholas struck some of the servants on the lips, but one
+of these retorted by a box on the ears which sent Nicholas whining to
+his grandfather. After the banquet the lanterns were lighted, and
+everybody was preparing to get home quietly when Bertrand Smiterlow,
+drawing his knife, rushed at the offending servant, who was lighting
+his master on his way, and wounded him seriously in the shoulder. On
+account of all this Christian Schwarz preferred to send me back to
+Stralsund to leaving me to enjoy the risky society of Nicholas. The boy
+grew up and his faults with him, for they amused his father, who
+encouraged them while nobody dared to say a word in protest. Nicholas
+had reached the age of twenty-seven when travelling to Rostock, he
+stopped for the night at Roevershagen. Some travellers, knowing his
+quarrelsome character, preferred to take themselves and their
+conveyance to the inn opposite. One of these had a sporting dog, which,
+running about, found its way into the hostel where Smiterlow was
+staying. The latter tied up the animal, did not send it back, and next
+morning the rightful owner saw it being taken away on a leash.
+Naturally, the man claimed his dog. Smiterlow, instead of giving him a
+civil answer, takes aim at him; the other, more prompt, quickly fires a
+bullet into the thigh. Smiterlow, in his wounded condition, got as far
+as Rostock, had his wound attended to; nevertheless died a few days
+later in consequence. The merchant continued his route without
+troubling himself, and no one lodged a complaint. Bertrand Smiterlow
+contracted the itch in the back; father and son, therefore, had their
+just reward. Heaven preserve me from criticizing the descendants of
+Herr Smiterlow, to whom I am doubly related, but I trust that mine will
+bring up their children in a more severe discipline and in the respect
+of their fellow-men.
+
+In 1529 the English pest which had already been spoken of during the
+previous year, carried away many people at Stralsund. My mother had two
+attacks, from both of which she fortunately recovered. Being _enceinte_
+with my brother Christian, she ordered, like the good housewife she
+was, a general cleaning before her confinement. It so happened that we
+had a servant-girl who was possessed. Nobody had the faintest suspicion
+of this. When, at the moment of cleaning the kitchener and cooking
+utensils, she began noisily to fling about saucepans, frying-pans,
+etc., crying at the top of her voice, "I want to get out, I want to get
+out." Her mother, who lived in the Zinngiesser Strasse (Pewterers'
+Street), had to take her back. The poor girl was taken several times in
+a sleigh to St. Nicholas's, and they exorcised her after the sermon.
+Her case, as far as the answers tended to show, was as follows: The
+mother had brought new cheese at the market. In her absence, the
+daughter had opened the cupboard and made a large breach in the cheese;
+the mother, on her return, had expressed the wish that the devil might
+take the perpetrator of this thing, and from that moment dated the
+"possession." The girl had, nevertheless, been to Communion since; how,
+then, could the Evil One have kept his position? The priest,
+interrogated on that point, had answered: "The scoundrel, who has
+hidden himself under a bridge, lets the honest man pass over his head";
+in other words, during the sacramental act, the Evil One hid himself
+under the girl's tongue. The Evil One was excommunicated and exorcised
+by the faithful on their bended knees. The formula of exorcism was
+received with derision. When the priest summoned him to go, he
+exclaimed: "I am agreeable, but you do not expect me to go with empty
+hands. I want this, and that, and the other." If they refused him one
+thing he asked for something quite different; and inasmuch as one of
+the faithful had remained "covered" during prayers, the Evil One
+politely snatched up his hat, and if God had let him have his own way,
+hair and skin would have accompanied the headgear.
+
+At about the same period I witnessed an analogous fact. Frau Kron, an
+honest and pious matron, was possessed by a demon; the minister was
+preparing to drive it out at all costs when Frau Wolff entered. She was
+a young woman who surpassed her sisters in the art of beautifying her
+face, arranging her cap, and posing before the looking glass. When the
+evil spirit caught sight of her, he shouted. "Ah, you are here, are
+you? Just wait a bit till I arrange your cap before the mirror. Your
+ears shall tingle, I can tell you."
+
+To come back to our own servant. When the power of mischief noticed
+that the time for tormenting her had passed away, and that the Lord was
+granting the prayers of the faithful, the Evil One asked in a mocking
+tone a pane of the belfry's window, which request was no sooner
+accorded to him than the pane shivered into ever so many splinters. The
+girl, however, ceased to be possessed; she married in the village, and
+had several children.
+
+My brother Johannes had for his first tutor Herr Aepinus, before the
+latter had his doctor's degree,[14] and afterwards Hermannus Bonus,[15]
+who would have been pleased to settle at Stralsund with fifty florins
+per annum, but the council of that particular period did not contain
+one member who had had a university training. Like the princes the
+council inclined towards papism, and looked askance at men of letters;
+hence, it rejected Bonnus' overtures. The latter soon afterwards became
+the tutor of the young King of Denmark, for whose use he composed his
+_Praecepta Grammaticae_, which was much more easy than the Donat
+Grammar, and prevails to the present day under the title of the
+_Grammatica Bonni_. At his return from Denmark, Bonnus was appointed
+superintendent at Lubeck, where he is interred _honorifice_ behind the
+choir.
+
+When my brother left the school at Lubeck, my parents made many heavy
+sacrifices to keep him at Wittemberg for several years, where,
+notwithstanding some _delicta juventutis_, he studied with advantage.
+
+My tutor's name was Matthias Brassanus. At the outset of his career he
+had been a monk at the monastery of Camp, but at the suppression of the
+institution he had lived at Wittemberg at the cost of the prince, like
+Leonard Meisisch, the future court preacher and minister at Wolgast,
+and afterwards pastor at Altenkirchen--a downright Epicurean pig!
+Brassanus, on the other hand, was a small, polite, temperate,
+well-bred, evenly balanced man. After his stay at Wittemberg he became
+the preceptor of George and Johannes Smiterlow, and afterwards _rector
+scholae_. Their worships of Lubeck having prevailed upon the council of
+Stralsund to part with this able teacher, Brassanus devoted the whole
+of his life successfully directing the school of Lubeck.
+
+I profited as much by the lessons as my natural restlessness of
+character permitted. There was a great deal of aptitude, but the
+application failed. In the winter time I ran amusing myself on the
+floating ice with my fellow-scholars of my own age. Johannes
+Gottschalk, our ringleader, always got scot-free, thanks to his long
+legs, while the rest of the gang (and I was invariably with them) took
+many enforced footbaths in order to get safely to the banks. My father,
+in crossing the bridge had occasion more than once to witness the
+prowess of his son, who received many a sound drubbing when he came to
+dry himself before the stove, for my father was a choleric gentleman.
+In summer I was in the habit of bathing with my chums behind Lorbeer's
+grange, which at present is my property. Burgomaster Smiterlow, having
+noticed me from his garden, told of me, and one day, while I was still
+asleep, my father planted himself in front of my bed, flourishing a big
+stick. He spoke very loudly while placing himself into position, and I
+was obliged to open my eyes. The sight of the club told me that my hour
+had come; I burst into tears and pleaded for mercy. "Very well, my good
+sir," said my father; when he called me "my good sir" it was a bad
+sign. "Very well, my good sir, you have been bathing; now allow me to
+rub you down." Saying which, he got hold of his weapon, pulled my shirt
+over my head, and did frightful execution.
+
+My parents brought us up carefully. My father was somewhat hasty, and
+now and again his anger carried him beyond all bounds. I put him out of
+temper one day when he was in the stable and I at the door. He caught
+up a pitchfork and flung it at me. I had just time to get out of the
+way; the pitchfork stuck into a bath made of oak, and they had much
+trouble to get it out. In that way the Evil One was frustrated in all
+his designs against me by Providence. In a similar case, my mother, who
+was gentleness and tenderness itself, came running to the spot. "Strike
+harder," she said, "the wicked boy deserves all he gets." At the same
+time she slyly held back the arm of her husband, preventing the stick
+from coming down too heavily. Oh, my children, pray that the knowledge
+may be vouchsafed to you of bringing up your family in the way they
+should go. Correct them temperately, without compromising either their
+health or their intelligence, but at the same time do not imitate the
+apes who from excess of tenderness, smother their young.
+
+Rector Brassanus insisted upon his pupils being present when he
+preached. Some were clever enough to get away on the sly; they went to
+buy pepper cakes, and repaired afterwards to the dram shop. The trick
+was done before there was time to look round. When the sermon drew to
+its close, every one was in his place again, and we went back to school
+as if nothing had happened. One day, however, we drank so much brandy
+that I felt horribly sick and vomited violently, and found it
+impossible either to keep on my legs or to articulate a syllable. The
+strongest of my schoolfellows took me home. My parents were under the
+impression that I was seriously ill; had they suspected the real cause
+of my malady, their treatment would have been less tender. When, at
+last, I avowed the truth, the fear of punishment had long ago vanished.
+The adventure was productive of some good. It inspired me with a
+thorough disgust for brandy, so that I could not even bear the smell of
+it.
+
+My daily playmate was George Smiterlow, for we were neighbours, nearly
+relatives, and of about the same age, I being but a year older than he.
+One day he cut me with his knife between the index and the thumb, and I
+still bear the scar.
+
+As I was whittling a piece of wood, my sister Anna snatched it away
+from me, and in trying to get it back again, I drove the chisel into my
+right thigh up to the handle. Master Joachim Gelhaar, an excellent
+_chirurgus_, renowned far and wide, began by probing the wound, and by
+getting the bad blood out of it; after which he dressed it with a
+cabbage leaf which was constantly kept moist. I was just recovering the
+use of my leg again when I took it into my head to go to the wood with
+my schoolfellows, for it was always difficult for me to keep still. The
+fatigue thus incurred caused a relapse. Next morning I dragged myself
+as far as the surgeon, who suspected my excursion, and swore at seeing
+a month of his efforts wasted. I should have been in a nice predicament
+if he had complained to my father.
+
+In 1531, on the Monday before St. Bartholomew, they burned at
+Stralsund, Bischof, a tailor who had outraged his own daughter, aged
+twelve. The fellow was so strong that he jumped from the pyre when the
+fire had destroyed his bonds, but the executioner plunged his knife
+into him, and flung him back into the flames.
+
+The following happened in June, 1532. A young fellow, good-looking, and
+with most fascinating manner, but by no means well enough in worldly
+goods, courted a more or less well-preserved widow, notwithstanding her
+nine children of her first husband, which subsequently she increased by
+another nine of her second. Tempted by the amiability, the appearance,
+and the demeanour of the youngster, the dame consented to be his wife.
+The happy day was already fixed, the viands ordered, and the
+preparations completed, but the bridegroom was at a loss how to pay for
+his wedding clothes, the customary presents and other things. Hence,
+one fine evening he left the city, and in the early morn reached the
+village of Putten, where, espying a ladder on a peasant's cart, he puts
+it against the wall of the church, breaks one of its windows, gets
+inside, forces the reliquary, possessing himself of the chalices, other
+holy vessels, all the gold and silver work, not forgetting the wooden
+box containing the money. After which, taking the way whence he had
+come, he flung away the box and entered the city laden with the spoil.
+
+A local cowherd, driving his cattle to the field, happened to pick up
+the box. At the selfsame moment the sight of the ladder and of the
+broken window sets the whole of the place, rector, beadle, clerk, and
+peasantry, mad with excitement. The whole village is up in arms; the
+neighbouring roads are scoured in search of the perpetrator of the
+sacrilege. At twelve o'clock, the cowherd comes back with the box. He
+is arrested; the patrons of the church, who reside in the city, have
+him put to the torture. He confesses to the theft. There was,
+nevertheless, the absolute impossibility for him to have got rid of the
+stolen objects, inasmuch as he had been guarding his cattle during the
+five or six hours that had gone by between the robbery and his arrest;
+the slightest inquiry would have conclusively proved his innocence. In
+spite of this, the confession dragged from the poor wretch by
+unbearable pain, appears most conclusive. Condemned there and then, he
+is there and then put on the wheel. The real culprit watched the
+execution with the utmost composure.
+
+The proceeds of this first crime were, however, by no means sufficient
+to defray the cost of the wedding, and the bridegroom forced another
+church. He took a reliquary and a holy vessel, reduced them to
+fragments, and tried to sell them to some goldsmiths at Greifswald.
+This time he was unable to lead the pursuers off the scent. Having been
+arrested in the house of my wife's parents, he was racked alive, and
+his body left to the carrion birds.
+
+A similar tragedy took place between the Easter and Whitsun of 1544. I
+anticipate events, because the horror of them was pretty well equal,
+but there was a great difference in the procedure. In the one case,
+deplorable acts, at variance with all wisdom, and disgraceful to
+Christians; in the other place, a thoroughly laudable conduct,
+consistent with right and reason. On his return from Leipzig, whither
+he had gone to buy books, Johannes Altingk, the son of the late Werner
+Altingk, a notable citizen and bookseller of Stralsund, was killed on
+the road from Anelam to Greifswald. In consequence of active inquiries,
+two individuals on whom rested grave suspicions, were incarcerated at
+Wolgast. But the case was proceeded with more methodically than the one
+I have just narrated. The magistrates went with the instruments of
+torture to the prisoner, who seemed the least resolved. He made a
+complete avowal. His companion and he had put up for the night at an
+inn at Grosskistow; Johannes Altingk had taken his seat at their table
+and shared their meal. Then, before going to bed, he had paid for all
+three, showing at the same time a well filled purse. The scoundrels had
+at once made up their minds between them to kill him at a little
+distance from the inn on the foot-road, intersected here and there by
+deep ruts, and where consequently there was only room to pass in single
+file. "Next morning, then, when the young bookseller was marching along
+between his fellow-travellers, I struck him at the back of the head;"
+said the accused. "The blow knocked him off his feet; we soon made an
+end of him altogether, and flung his body to the bottom of the deep
+bog. With my part of the spoil I bought myself this hat and this pair
+of shoes."
+
+After this interrogatory, the judges, accompanied by the executioner
+and his paraphernalia, went to the second prisoner, who denied
+everything. It was in vain they pressed him and told him of his
+accomplice's avowal; he went on denying everything. When they were
+confronted, the one who had been first examined repeated all the
+particulars of the crime, beseeching the other to prevent a double
+martyrdom, inasmuch as the truth would be dragged from them by torture,
+and the punishment was unavoidable. No doubt the Stralsund authorities,
+those who had judged the above named perpetrator of the sacrilege,
+would have put the accused on the rack without the least compunction or
+ceremony, _de simplice et piano, sine strepitu judicii, quemadmodum
+Deus procedere solet_. At Wolgast, on the contrary, though the hangman
+had orders to hold himself in readiness, _ad actum propinquum_, the
+magistrates preferred to exercise some delay. The prince had the bog
+examined, but no body was found there. When taken to the spot, the
+prisoner who had confessed his guilt recognized the place of the
+murder, without being able, however, to point it out accurately. The
+landlord and his wife at Gross-Kistow, when examined carefully, denied
+having lodged any one at the period indicated.
+
+Finally, a messenger of the Brandenburg March brought the news that an
+assassin condemned to death confessed to having killed in Pomerania a
+young librarian, for which crime two individuals were under lock and
+key at Wolgast. When taxed with having almost caused the death of
+innocent people by false avowals, the self-confessed murderer replied
+that death seemed to him preferable to the "criminal question," as that
+kind of torture was called. Their acquittal was pronounced on their
+taking the oath to bring no further action.
+
+But this only shows the precautions to be taken before applying the
+instruments of torture to merely suspected men. On the other hand, it
+has been shown over and over again that some of the guilty hardened to
+that kind of thing will allow themselves to be torn to pieces sooner
+than avow.
+
+In that year (1531) Duke George died in the prime of his life. His
+second wife was the sister to Margrave Joachim; they got rid of her for
+about 40,000 florins, and she subsequently married a prince of Anhalt,
+but finally she eloped with a falconer.
+
+My mother having realized all her property at Greifswald, my parents
+really possessed a considerable fortune in sterling coin, and they
+called my father "the rich man of the Passen Strasse." It wanted,
+however, but a few years to shake his credit and to impair the
+happiness of his family. Without exaggeration, two women, named Lubbeke
+and Engeln were the principal causes of our reverses. Not content to
+buy on credit our cloth, which they resold to heaven knows who, they
+borrowed of my father, fifty, a hundred, and as much as a hundred and
+fifty crowns on the slightest pretext. The crown in those days was
+worth eight and twenty shillings of Lubeck. They promised to refund at
+eight and twenty and a half, and to settle for their purchases at the
+same rate; but if now and again they happened to make a payment on
+account of a hundred florins, they took care to buy at the same time
+goods for double the amount. My mother did not look kindly upon those
+two customers; she imagined that her money would be better invested at
+five per cent., and she spared neither warnings, prayers, nor tears to
+dissuade my father from trusting them. She even took Pastor Knipstrow
+and others into her confidence to that effect. Finally, the account
+came to a considerable amount, while the debtors were unable to pay as
+much as twenty florins. Then it transpired what had become of the
+cloth. The mother of one townsman, Jacob Leveling, had had 800 florins
+of it; the wife of another, Hermann Bruser, 1,725 florins. Hermann
+Bruser was a big cloth merchant who sold retail much cheaper than any
+of his fellow-tradesmen.
+
+My father having taken proceedings against his two customers as well as
+against the woman Bruser, the latter and her husband promised to pay
+the 1,725 florins. Nicholas Rode, who had married Bruser's sister, and
+the syndic of the city, Johannes Klocke, afterwards burgomaster,
+induced my father to accept that arrangement, and Bruser secured
+conditions after having signed an acknowledgment beginning as follows:
+"I, together with my legitimate wife, declare to be duly and lawfully
+indebted to etc., etc." The syndic had drawn up this act with his own
+hand. He had affixed his signature to it, and his seal, and Rode had in
+the latter two respects done the same. But the period of the first
+payment coinciding with the tumult against Nicholas Smiterlow, Bruser,
+one of the ringleaders, thought he could have the whip hand of my
+father as well as of the burgomaster. On his refusal to pay, the case
+came before the court once more; and then, while denying his debt, in
+spite of the formal terms of his declaration, Bruser denounced as
+usurious agreements obtained by litigation. Klocke and Rode assisted
+him with their advice and influence; the first-named, in his capacity
+of a lawyer, conducted the suit, and quoting the _leges et doctorum
+opiniones_, easily convinced his non-legally educated colleagues of the
+council. The Westphalian Cyriacus Erckhorst, the son-in-law of Rode,
+and a velvet merchant, plotted on his side. There were golden florins
+for the all-powerful burgomaster Lorbeer, and pieces of dress-material
+for Mrs. Burgomaster; so that, after long arguments on both sides,
+Bruser was allowed to swear that he was ignorant of the affair, which,
+moreover, was tainted with usury. My father could not conceive that
+this personage would have the audacity to deny his signature, and,
+supported in his supposition by Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow, he did
+not appeal against the judgment, and at the next sitting Bruser
+appeared at the bar of the inner court, took the oath, and offered to
+comply with the second part of the order; only, in consequence of the
+absence of his witness he claimed a delay of a twelvemonth and a day,
+which was accorded to him; after which my father appealed to the
+council of Stralsund and afterwards to that of Lubeck.
+
+In due time my father started for Lubeck, and took me with him. At
+Rostock, we lodged at the sign of _The Hop_, in the Market Place. My
+father had a considerable sum upon him to pay cash for his purchases of
+salt, salted cod-fish and soap, and as a measure of precaution, he
+carried that money in his small clothes, for Mecklenburg was infested
+by footpads and highwaymen. While undressing, he dropped his purse
+under the bed, an accident which he did not notice until next day about
+twelve o'clock, when we had reached Bukow. As the court was just about
+to open it fell to my lot to take the road back to Rostock _per pedes_.
+On that day I could get no further than Berkentin, but very early next
+morning I was at Rostock. Naturally, I rushed to the inn and to the
+room. Luckily the servants had not made the beds. I soon espied the
+little bag and was in time to take the coach to Wismar. My father,
+uneasy on my account, was already reproaching himself for having let me
+go.
+
+Their worships of Lubeck condemned Bruser to keep his written promise;
+he then appealed to the Imperial Chamber. The suit dragged along for
+several years; finally, the supreme decision was to the effect that it
+had been well judged, but improperly thrown into appeal in the first
+instance, and that in the second it had been faultily judged and
+properly sent for appeal. The defendant was condemned to pay the costs
+to be determined by the judge.
+
+And now I may be permitted to give an instance of the disloyalty of the
+procurators of the Imperial Chamber. Doctor Simeon Engelhardt, my
+father's procurator, did not hesitate to write to him that he had won
+his case, and asked for the bill of costs of the two previous
+instances, so that he might hand them to the taxing judge and apply for
+execution. He added that the trouble he had taken with the affair
+seemed to him to warrant special fees. My parents, elated with the
+news, promptly transmitted the bill of costs and their fees for the
+execution. Engelhardt produced the _cedula expensarum_; Bruser's
+procurator requested copy, not without pretending to raise objection.
+Engelhardt delivered the required copy, leaving to the judge the case
+of designating the winning party; in other words, the one who had the
+right to present the _designatio expensarum_. Well, that right was
+adjudged to Bruser, who drew up the _cedula_ after _ours_. Engelhardt
+was compelled to hold his tongue and my father had to pay 164 florins.
+
+That point having been settled, they passed to the second _membrum_ of
+the Stralsund judgment; namely, whether the conditions stipulated for
+by my father were tainted with usury? After such an expensive and
+protracted lawsuit, the court, considering that Bruser had failed in
+his attempt to bring proof, condemned him to fulfil his engagements.
+Against that sentence he appealed to Lubeck. Having been non-suited
+there, he wished to have recourse to the Imperial Chamber, but we
+signified opposition to the _exceptio devolutionis_. According to us,
+he had not complied with the privilege of Lubeck. Bruser's procurator
+maintained the contrary. The whole of the discussion bore entirely on
+the sense of the word "_wann_" inserted in the Lubeck _vidimus_. Was it
+a _conjunctio causalis, cum posteaquam_, or an _adverbium temporis,
+quando_? After long-drawn debates, the appeal was rejected, and Bruser
+had all the costs to pay.
+
+Then, to frustrate his adversary, he pleaded poverty on oath, although
+he gave to his daughter as many pearls and jewels as a burgomaster's
+girl could possibly pretend to. Foreseeing the upshot of the lawsuit,
+he had already disposed of one of his houses; after which he bestirred
+himself to safeguard his dwelling-house, his cellar and his various
+other property from being seized. Nicholas Rode, he who had signed the
+obligation, deposed to that effect, a document professedly anterior to
+my father's claim, an act constituting in his favour a general mortgage
+on all Bruser's property. As a matter of course, this led to a new
+lawsuit, which occupied respectively the courts of Stralsund and of
+Lubeck and the Imperial Chamber. The latter registered Rode's appeal at
+the moment the Protestant States denied its jurisdiction. A suspension
+of six years was the result, but after the reconstitution of the
+chamber and the closure of the debates, I did not succeed, in spite of
+two years' stay at Spires, in getting a judgment.
+
+Weary of being involved in law for thirty-four years, my father wound
+up by acquitting the heirs of Rode of all future liabilities in
+consideration of a sum of one thousand florins. As it happened the
+original debt was seventeen hundred and five and twenty florins; in
+addition to this, my father had refunded to Bruser one hundred and
+sixty-four florins expenses, his own costs exceeded a thousand florins
+and he had waited forty years for his money. The whole affair was
+nothing short of a downright calamity to our family; it interrupted my
+studies and caused the death of my brother Johannes. "_Dimidium plus
+toto_," says Hesiod, and the maxim is above all wise in connexion with
+a law-suit at the Imperial Chamber.
+
+Writing, as I do, for the edification of my children, I consider it
+useful to mention here the subsequent fate of our godless adversaries.
+The seventy-fifth Psalm says: "For in the hand of the Lord there is a
+cup, and the wine is red, and he poured out of the same, but the dregs
+thereof all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink
+them." Yes, the Almighty has comforted me, he has permitted me to see
+the scattering of my enemies. The two principal ones, Hermann Bruser
+and his fraudulent wife, fell into abject misery; they lived for many
+years on the bounty of parents and friends; finally the husband became
+valet of Joachim Burwitz who from the position of porter and general
+servant at the school when I was young had risen to be the secretary of
+the King of Sweden. The devil, however, twisted Bruser's neck at
+Stockholm. He was found in his master's wardrobe, his face all
+distorted. His daughter, dowered _in fraudem mei patris_, did, for all
+that, not escape very close acquaintance with poverty. She sold her
+houses and her land; and at her death her husband became an inmate of
+the asylum of the Holy Ghost, where he is to this day. Bruser's son, it
+is true, rose to be a secretary in Sweden, but far from prospering, he
+committed all kind of foolish acts everywhere. His first wife, the
+daughter of Burgomaster Gentzkow,[16] died of grief at Stralsund, where
+he had left her with her children at his departure for Sweden. He was
+found dead one morning in his room; his descendants are vegetating some
+in the city, some in the country.
+
+The author of the plot, the honest dispenser of advice, Johannes
+Klocke, managed to keep his wealth, but he was racked with gout and had
+to be carried in a chair to the Town Hall; he died after having
+suffered martyrdom for many years. The four sons of Nicholas Rode were
+reduced to beggary; the house Bruser sold in order to cheat my father
+actually belongs to my son-in-law. As for Burgomaster Christopher
+Lorbeer, so skilled in prolonging law-suits, does he not expiate, he
+and his, every day, the wrong in having lent himself to corruption.
+Erckhorst, the man who tempted him, was robbed while engaged in
+transporting from one town to another two large bundles of velvet,
+silk, jewellery and pearls, the whole being estimated at several
+thousands of florins. His second wife was the byword of the city for
+her levity of conduct; at every moment she was caught in her own
+dwelling-house and in the most untoward spots committing acts of
+criminal intercourse with her apprentices. What had been saved from the
+thieves was devoured by his wife's paramours. Absolutely at a loss to
+reinstate himself in his former position, Erckhorst made an end of his
+life by stabbing himself.
+
+My father's other debtor, the woman Leveling, was left a widow with an
+only son. Her property in houses and in land yielded, it was said, a
+golden florin and a fowl per day. That fortune, nevertheless, melted
+away, and Leveling, worried by her creditors, was obliged to quit
+her house with nothing but what she stood up in. Lest her son, a
+horrible ne'er-do-well of fifteen, should spend his nights in houses of
+ill-fame, she kept a mistress for him at home; after that she married
+him at such an early age as to astonish everybody, but he cared as much
+about the sanctity of marriage as a dog cares about Lent. During the
+ceremonies connected with rendering homage to Duke Philip, the duchess
+lodged at Leveling's and stood godmother to his new-born daughter,
+which honour had not the slightest effect in changing the scandalous
+life he led with a concubine. One night, in company with a certain
+Valentin Buss, he emptied the baskets in the pond of the master of the
+fishmongers. An arrant thief, he was fast travelling towards the
+gallows. Buss, who wound up by going to prison, would have been hanged
+but for Leveling, who in order to redeem himself parted to the council
+with his last piece of ground, namely, that in which his father's body
+rested in the church. One day at the termination of the sermon,
+Leveling, sword in hand, pursued my father, who had just time to reach
+his domicile and to shut the door in his face. On the other hand,
+Master Sonnenberg, who sheltered the old woman Leveling while she was
+negotiating with her creditors, was not content with egging on her son
+to all sorts of evil deeds, but had the effrontery to say to my father:
+"I'll tame you so well that you shall come and eat out of my hands."
+
+After having squandered his inheritance, Leveling died in the most
+abject poverty; his daughter Marie, the duchess' goddaughter, sells
+fish in the market. Such was the end of the wealthy popinjay. Mother
+and son followed the traditions of their family without having profited
+by the lessons of the past; one of the woman Leveling's relatives was,
+in fact, that Burgomaster Wulf Wulflam, reputed the richest man on that
+part of the coast,[17] whose wife was so fond of show and splendour
+that at her second marriage she sent for the prince's musicians from
+Stettin and walked from her house to the church on an English carpet.
+For her own wear she only used the finest Riga flax. So much vainglory
+was punished by the God of Justice, who expels from His kingdom the
+proud and haughty. The only thing she had finally left of all her
+magnificence was a silver bowl with which she went begging from door to
+door. "Charity," she cried, "for the poor rich woman." One day she
+asked from one of her former servants a shift and some linen for a
+collar to it. Moved with pity, the latter did not refuse. "Madame," she
+said, "this linen was made of the flax you used for your own wear. I
+have carefully picked it up, cleaned and spun it."[18]
+
+The arrangement made by the Levelings with their creditors gave to my
+father the passage of the Muhlen-Strasse. Inasmuch as the premises were
+tumbling to pieces, masons, carpenters, stonecutters and plasterers
+were soon set to work and began by expelling the rats, mice and
+doubtful human creatures that had taken up their quarters there. The
+best tenement adjoining the city wall with a beautiful look-out on the
+moats and the open country was occupied by the concubine of Zabel
+Lorbeer. She was one of the three Maries, and had presented him with
+either seven or eight bastards. My father, finding the door locked one
+morning, ordered the workmen to knock down the wall which fell on the
+bed where the scamp and the girl were sleeping; the only thing they
+could do was to get out of the way as quickly as possible. Lorbeer
+brought up his progeny according to the principles that guided him; and
+finally had his son beheaded to save him the disgrace of the gallows.
+
+A short digression is necessary in connexion with the three Maries.[19]
+They were sisters, exceedingly good-looking, but the poet's "_Et quidem
+servasset, si non formosa fuisset_," essentially applied to them. Many
+traps are laid for beauty, and they one after another fell into them.
+They lived on their charms, being particularly careful about their
+appearance and dress in order to attract admirers. Their attempts to
+obtain such notice were seconded by an unspeakable old crone, Anna
+Stranck, who had been a downright Messalina in her time, and of
+whom it was said that she could reckon on the whole of the city
+among her parentage, although she had neither husband nor children, but
+that she had had illicit intercourse with every male, young, old and
+middle-aged, fathers, sons and brothers. Anna Stranck invented for the
+use of the three Maries a kind of loose coif, the fashion of which our
+womenkind have religiously preserved; even those who have discarded it
+wearing a velvet hood based upon that model. They brought their hair,
+black or grey about two inches down on the forehead. Then came as many
+inches of gold lace or embroidery, so that the real cap, intended to
+keep the head warm did not in the least cover the brain. I am purposely
+quoting the name of Anna Stranck, for it is well to remind people to
+whom the headgear was due in the first instance; and may it please our
+dames to preserve it for ever in memory of the woman, mother,
+grandmother and great-grandmother of their husbands.
+
+I now resume my personal narrative. During the rebuilding of this new
+property, I was fetching and carrying all the while. One day my father
+sent me to our own house for the luncheon for himself and for the
+carpenters. The workmen were just knocking down a chimney; they were
+working higher than the chimney on a gangway made of boards which at
+each extremity overlapped the stays. A great number of large nails were
+strewn about the scaffolding. I climbed up, with my arms full of
+provisions, but scarcely did I set my foot on the gangway than the
+gangway toppled over and I was flung into space, the nails descending
+in a shower on my head. I just happened to fall by the side of the open
+chimney; half an ell more or less and I should have been through its
+aperture on the ground floor. As it was, the accident proved
+sufficiently serious. I had dislocated my right elbow and horribly
+bruised my arm. They took me home, whence my mother took me to Master
+Joachim Gelhaar. He was absent, and inasmuch as the case seemed urgent,
+they had recourse to the barber in the Old Market, who dressed the
+bruises without noticing that the bone was dislocated. Next morning
+Master Gelhaar came. A simple glance was sufficient for him; he grasped
+my arm, pulled and twisted it and put the bones back into their
+sockets. But the limb was bruised and swollen and twisted. I shall
+never forget the pain I suffered. In a little while, though, I was
+enabled to go about the house as usual with one arm in a sling, and the
+other available for our childish pastimes.
+
+The old beams and rafters of the premises under repair were stacked at
+our place. One day, while perched on one of the piles, I struck out
+with a hammer in my left hand; one of the beams rolled down and my leg
+was caught between it and the other wood. The pain made me cry out
+lustily, but it was impossible to disengage my leg. My mother was not
+strong enough for the task, and making sure that my leg was crushed,
+she shouted and fetched the navvies and the brewery workmen; they
+delivered me. When she was certain that no harm had come to me, my
+mother, still excited, treated me to a good drubbing. On New Year's
+Day, 1533, my father was elected dean of the Corporation of
+Drapers.[20]
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+Showing the Ingratitude, Foolishness and Wickedness of the People, and
+how, when once infected with a bad Spirit, it returns with Difficulty
+to Common-Sense--Smiterlow, Lorbeer and the Duke of Mecklenburg--Fall
+of the seditious Regime of the Forty-Eight
+
+
+The ecclesiastical affairs of Stralsund had assumed more or less
+regular conditions; the Gospel was preached in all the churches without
+opposition either on the part of the princes or of the council.
+Smiterlow had sanctioned the return of Rolof Moller. Nevertheless,
+peace was not maintained for long, Lubeck, Rostock, Stralsund and
+Wismar having revolted against their magistrates. In fact, at the death
+of King Frederick of Denmark, George Wullenweber,[21] burgomaster of
+Lubeck, having for his acolyte Marx Meyer, decided to declare war upon
+Duke Christian of Holstein.
+
+According to Wullenweber, the conquest of Denmark was a certainty; and
+inasmuch as the magistrates of Lubeck, belonging to the old families,
+looked with apprehension on the enterprise, they were deposed and sixty
+burghers added to their successors.
+
+Marx Meyer was a working blacksmith with a handsome face and figure.
+Being a skilful farrier he had accompanied the cavalry in several
+campaigns, and his conduct both with regard to his comrades and the
+enemy had been such as to gain for him the highest grades. He was
+created a Knight in England and amassed a considerable fortune. His
+rise in the world filled him, however, with inordinate pride and
+vanity. Nothing in the way of sumptuous garments and golden ornaments
+seemed good enough to emphasize his knightly dignity. He had a crowd of
+retainers and a stable full of horses, for like the majority of folk of
+low birth, he knew of no bounds in his prosperity. Odd to relate, he
+was courted by people of good condition; women both young, rich and
+well-born fell in love with this, and it would appear that he gave them
+no cause to regret their infatuation. I have read a letter written to
+him by one of the foremost ladies of quality of Hamburg: "My dear Marx,
+after having visited all the chapels, you might for once in a way come
+to the cathedral." May his death be accounted as an instance of
+everlasting justice.
+
+In June 1534 the councillors of the Wendish cities,[22] apprehending a
+disaster and being moreover exceedingly grieved at this struggle
+against the excellent Duke of Holstein, foregathered at Hamburg to
+consider the state of affairs. Wullenweber, however, presumptuous as
+was his wont, became more obstinate than ever and rejected with scorn
+most acceptable terms of peace. Hence, the Stralsund delegate,
+Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow, addressed the following prophetic words
+to him: "I have been present at many negotiations, but never have I
+seen matters treated like this, Signor George. You will knock your head
+against the wall and you shall fall on your beam end." After that
+apostrophe, Wullenweber, furious with anger, left the council-chamber,
+made straight for his inn, had his and Meyer's horses saddled and both
+took the way back to Lubeck, where immediately after his arrival
+Wullenweber summoned his undignified council and the aforementioned
+sixty burghers, who between them decree in the twinkling of an eye a
+levy of troops; dispatching meanwhile to the council of Stralsund a
+blatant sedition-monger, Johannes Holm, with verbal instructions and a
+missive couched substantially as follows: "Wullenweber is zealously
+working to bring principalities and kingdoms under the authority of the
+cities, but the opposition of Burgomaster Smiterlow has driven him from
+the diet. In spite of this, the struggle is bound to continue, so it
+lays with you to act."
+
+Nothing more than that was wanted to stir the whole of the citizens
+against Smiterlow. The Forty-Eight came to tender their condolence to
+Burgomaster Lorbeer who was secretly jealous of his colleague.
+Pretending to be greatly concerned, he exclaimed: "This is too much,
+impossible to defend him any longer." His hearers took it for granted
+that Smiterlow was left to their discretion, while, according to
+Lorbeer himself, the ambiguous words merely signified: "Smiterlow has
+so many enemies that I can no longer come to his aid."
+
+At Smiterlow's return, the fire so skilfully fed by Lorbeer broke into
+flame. People hailed each other with the cry, "Nicholas the Pacific is
+here." The delegate had to deliver an account of his mission to the
+burghers summoned to that effect at six in the morning, at the Town
+Hall, with the city-gates closed and the cannon taken out of the
+arsenal and placed in position in the Old Markets The crowd poured into
+the streets, and at the Town Hall itself people were crushing the life
+out of each other. When Nicholas Smiterlow came to his statement that
+he had opposed Wullenweber's warlike motions, there was a hurricane of
+cries, curses and insults; it sounded as if they had all gone stark mad
+at once. It was proposed to fling the speaker out of the window; an axe
+was flung at the Councillors' bench and in endeavouring to intercept
+the weapon the worshipful Master Kasskow was severely wounded. One
+individual placed himself straight in front of the burgomaster. "You
+scum of the earth," he yelled; "did you not unjustly fine me twenty
+florins? Now it is my turn." "What's your name?" asked Smiterlow.
+"That's right," he said on its being given; "it was a piece of
+injustice, he ought to have had the gallows. I was sheriff at the time
+and the council instructed me to fine you twenty florins. My register
+of fines can show you that I did not keep them for myself, but spent
+them for the good of the city." His interlocutor wished to hear no more
+and disappeared in the crowd.
+
+It should also be noted that the beggars who generally hung about the
+burgomaster's dwelling were all the while vociferating under the
+windows of the Town Hall. "Fling Nicholas the Pacific down to us," they
+shouted; "we'll cut him up and play ball with the pieces." One of the
+Forty-Eight having asked, "What do you think of it, my worthy
+burghers?" the rabble yelled, "Yes, yes," without the faintest idea of
+the nature of the question. Somebody thereupon observed, "Why are you
+shouting 'Yes'? Are you willing to hand over the public chest?"
+Thereupon there was an equally unanimous and stentorian "No."
+Unquestionably the devil had occasion on that day to laugh at the
+people in his sleeve.
+
+This martyring of the first burgomaster, an eminent, virtuous man, who
+had, moreover, attained a certain age, was prolonged till seven o'clock
+at night. Finally, he received the order not to leave his quarters.
+Similar injunctions were inflicted on my father in his capacity of
+nephew by marriage to the burgomaster, and to Joachim Rantzow for
+having exclaimed, "Gently, gently; at least give people a chance to
+explain themselves."
+
+The soldiers and sailors were enjoined at the sound of the drum to man
+the galleys, and a strict watch was kept. At night a strong squad
+encamped in front of Smiterlow's dwelling; the soldiers, among other
+pastimes, amused themselves with firing at the front door; the bullets
+passed out at the other side of the passage through a circular glazed
+aperture. There were many hours of anguish for the burgomaster, his
+wife and children, who expected at every moment to have their home
+invaded by the mob.
+
+On the Monday of St. John they elected two burgomasters, namely,
+Joachim Prütze, the erewhile town clerk, an honest and sensible man,
+and Johannes Klocke, the actual town clerk and syndicus. Seven burghers
+were elected councillors; with the exception of Secretary Johannes
+Senckestack, who had had no hand in the thing, they were all honest,
+uninteresting folk, as simple-minded as they were upright and virtuous.
+Johannes Tamme, for instance, a worthy and straightforward man, replied
+to the artizans and others who came to complain of the bad state of
+business: "Make your mind easy; it will change now that seven capable
+people form part of the council." Antique simplicity indeed. Nicholas
+Baremann boasted of earning ten marks each time he left his home. One
+day he went into the cellar to look at a barrel of salt-fish, he was
+accompanied by a servant who was not altogether right in his head. In
+those days men wore round their necks a very narrow collar of pleated
+tulle. While the master was bending over the fish, the servant with one
+blow of his hatchet clean cut his head off. Instead of taking flight he
+quietly went back to his work. When interrogated about the motive of
+his crime, he replied that his master presented his neck so gently as
+to make the operation merely child's play. In spite of his
+unquestionable mental state, the murderer was broken alive on the
+wheel.
+
+My father was practically imprisoned for fifteen months in his own
+house, whence resulted an enormous loss to his own business, for in
+view of the coming herring-fair at Falsterbo, in the province of
+Schonen,[23] his cellar and hall were packed with Luneburg salt; there
+was also a considerable quantity of dried cod, besides a big assortment
+of cloth, and amidst all this he was forbidden to cross the threshold
+of his house and no one was allowed to come and see him. My mother was,
+moreover, pregnant at the time, and as the date of her confinement drew
+near my father asked for leave to take up his quarters with a neighbour
+until it was over. His petition was refused, and at the critical moment
+he found himself compelled to get into the adjoining house by the roof.
+He was also prevented from personally inviting the godparents.
+
+George Wullenweber and his undisciplined followers opened the
+hostilities by sea and by land. In this bitter struggle the Duke of
+Holstein preserved the advantage, though he fought as one against two,
+but the Almighty was on his side. Humiliated by these reverses, with
+their prestige diminished and threatened with an ignominious fall, the
+fribbling authors of the war expected to save everything by
+substituting another chief for Wullenweber. After a week of
+negotiations the emissaries of Lubeck, Rostock, and Stralsund assembled
+at Wismar offered to Duke Albrecht of Mecklenburg the throne of
+Denmark. The act, drawn up in due form and signed and sealed by Lubeck,
+Rostock and Wismar was dispatched to Stralsund, the signature and seal
+of which was wanting to it. The fine phrases of the Lubeckian message
+got the better of the opposition of the council; the Forty-Eight broke
+open the casket containing the great seal, affixed it to the document
+and sent it back to Wismar.
+
+Every rule had been strictly observed; the Duke of Mecklenburg invited
+the representatives of the cities for the next day to a banquet, at
+which the act was to be handed to him. But during the morning itself
+the delegates of Stralsund, under the pretext of wishing to examine the
+parchment, asked to look at it, and Christopher Lorbeer, borrowing a
+pocket-knife of his colleague, Franz Wessel, cut the strings of the
+Stralsund seal, after which they made off as far as their carriage
+would let them. They were half-way to Rostock while the other
+ambassadors were still waiting for them with dinner. Undeterred by
+this, Albrecht, accompanied by his wife, her ladies, servants, horses
+and dogs, took the road to Copenhagen, like a legitimate sovereign.
+
+Lorbeer himself, his children, and the rest of his relations have
+sung in all manner of keys the resolute--others would say, the
+audacious--conduct he displayed on that occasion; nobody, whether
+townsman, rustic or alien was to remain ignorant of the feat; and to
+this day people keep repeating that Burgomaster Lorbeer, scorning all
+danger (_non enim sine periculo facinus magnum et memorabile_), made
+himself illustrious by this signal act, by this heroic exploit. If,
+however, we turn the leaf, what do we read? _Qui periculum amat peribit
+in eo_; real courage will never be confounded with reckless audacity.
+That the act was provided with the great seal of Stralsund is a fact
+known to the representatives of Lubeck, Rostock and Wismar, who
+handled the document on the strength of which, when ratified by the
+Forty-Eight, Duke Albrecht went and shut himself up in Copenhagen,
+where he sustained a siege, and practically obliged Stralsund to make
+the same sacrifices for him the other cities had made. Consequently,
+one has the right to ask: "Where was the advantage of detaching the
+seal?" If Lorbeer had utilized his energy in keeping in port vessels,
+soldiers and ammunition, then he would have rendered a signal service,
+and, besides, prevented the waste of much money. Do Lorbeer's admirers
+imagine that Duke Albrecht would not have avenged the outrage when once
+his throne was consolidated? The least he would have done was to close
+the Sound against us, and to hamper our commerce everywhere. Verily
+they are right, the citizens who keep on praising the mad trick of
+Lorbeer.
+
+Burgomaster Smiterlow bore his enforced retirement with admirable
+patience. Instead of meddling with public affairs, he assiduously read
+the Holy Scriptures, and spent most of his time in prayer. He finally
+knew by heart the Psalms of David. As a daily visitor to his home, I
+can say that no bitter word ever fell from his lips. He often repeated,
+"They are my fellow-citizens; the Lord will move their spirit. It is my
+duty to suffer for the love of my children."
+
+Our gracious prince, Duke Philip, sent to request the liberation of the
+burgomaster. The envoys were told that the answer would be sent to them
+to the hostel. The discussion was a very long one, after which they
+deputed the very host of the envoys, Hermann Meier, together with
+Nicholas Rode, the one as illiterate as the other, and both densely
+ignorant on every subject. Hermann Meier, who was a native of Parow,
+had amassed much property in cash, in land, and in houses. Being the
+owner of the two villages of Parow, he had practically for his vassals
+his uncles and his cousins, whom he ruled at his will. Nicholas Rode
+was a well-to-do merchant, but who had never associated with people of
+condition. Hermann Meier had undertaken to address the envoys, but he
+began to stumble at the first sentence, and finally, stricken dumb
+altogether, he left his colleague behind, rushed from the room, and
+went helter-skelter down the stairs. When he reached the yard, he fell
+altogether ill with excitement. Nevertheless, he plucked up his courage
+and went back--to apologize, as one would suppose. Not at all. Scorning
+all exordium, and without even giving the envoys their titles, he went
+straight to the point. "The council and the Forty-Eight," he said,
+"have decided in the name of the citizens that we should signify to you
+as follows: Inasmuch as they did not consult the prince to inflict the
+confinement, they shall not consult him to annul it." Verily, a speech
+worthy of the orator and of those who sent him, _similes habent labra
+lactucas_. I wonder what would happen if somebody took it into his head
+to-day to address a prince in that manner. Considering that all the
+magistrates of that period were of most mediocre capacity (I am using a
+mild term), two suppositions are admissible. It was either the
+intention of the Forty-Eight to make the young duke ridiculous by
+choosing such delegates, or the three or four intelligent members of
+the council declined this foolish mission.
+
+The embassy had, however, one result. My father was summoned to the
+Town Hall, where he was told that he could recover his freedom in
+consideration of a fine of a hundred marks. He wished to know what
+fault he had committed, and was told not to "argufy." "Hundred marks or
+the collar. You can take your choice." As a matter of course my father
+chose the former, although the only crime that could be imputed to him
+was his marriage with the niece of Burgomaster Smiterlow. The same mode
+of procedure was applied to the case of Joachim Rantzow, an honest and
+honoured citizen, who subsequently became a member of the council.
+
+Shortly after this Councillors Nicholas Rode and Nicholas Bolte came to
+enjoin Burgomaster Smiterlow, in conjunction with two of his relatives,
+to sign a document already engrossed and provided with the wax for
+three seals. According to them it was the only means to end his
+captivity and to avoid all further and even more serious dangers. In
+this piece of writing Burgomaster Smiterlow confessed to having been a
+traitor to the city, a perjurer, guilty of the most infamous conduct,
+and to have forfeited all his rights. The two councillors made it their
+special business to paint the situation in the most sombre colours.
+Terror-stricken and dissolved in tears, the burgomaster's wife implored
+her husband to accede to the request of these two fanatics until the
+Lord Himself could come to his aid. Unmanned by all this, Smiterlow
+asked my father to seal the act with him. "No," exclaimed the latter,
+"I shall not sign your dishonour." But his two sons-in-law, overcome by
+the tears of their mother-in-law, affixed their seals. Thereupon the
+burgomaster, escorted by the two councillors, his two sons-in-law and
+my father, repaired to the Town Hall. On their way, he went into the
+St. Nicholas' Church, knelt down in the stall near the great St.
+Christopher, and said a short prayer.
+
+The council of the Forty-Eight was holding its meeting in the summer
+council-room. Requested by Christopher Lorbeer to resume his usual
+seat, Smiterlow refused. "I cannot do so," he said, "after the document
+I have just signed." Nevertheless, they insisted until he took his
+seat. Then he addressed them, reminding them that he had travelled in
+the city's service a hundred and odd days (I have forgotten the exact
+number, for I was only sixteen years old). "If it can be proved that I
+have spent one florin unnecessarily, been guilty of one neglect or
+caused a single prejudice, I am ready to yield all I possess and my
+life besides. If, on the other hand, I can show my innocence, then can
+I count upon the same protection as that enjoyed by the other citizens;
+that is, frequent the churches, cross the bridges, appear in the market
+place, and attend to my business in all freedom and security." The
+reply being affirmative, he rose from his seat, wished the council a
+peaceful term of administration, and, followed by his nearest
+relatives, went back to his home.
+
+The situation remained the same until 1537. Strong in the consciousness
+of his own honesty, and leaving the Forty-Eight to govern at their
+own sweet will, Smiterlow remained perfectly tranquil in his
+retirement. He was an assiduous churchgoer, and when the weather was
+fine, took excursions into the country accompanied by his daughters,
+his sons-in-law, my parents and their family. His jovial disposition
+delighted them all.
+
+On the other hand, the Forty-Eight were constantly assailed by fear.
+The success of the war became more and more doubtful, in spite of the
+sacrifice of hundreds of lives, in spite of the pillaging of the Town
+Hall, in spite of the enormous sums wasted--thrown into the water, it
+would be more correct to say. They converted the bells of the city and
+of the villages into money; all these took the road to Lubeck, where,
+to our disgrace be it said, the mark of Stralsund can still be seen on
+a bronze pile-driver. Twice did the citizens, from the highest to the
+lowest, pay the tax of the hundredth halfpenny on the strength of their
+oath.
+
+When they saw their power tottering, the Forty-Eight imitated the
+unjust steward of St. Luke, and compelled the community to confirm,
+renew and extend the infamous declaration violently dragged from the
+council of 1522. The new act had apparently some good in it. It
+enjoined upon the magistrates judicious rules of conduct which,
+however, were not at all within their competence. In reality, the
+ancient council acknowledged to have incurred by its resistance a fine
+which was remitted to them by their magnanimous successors. It took the
+engagement to favour the cause of the Forty-Eight. No dissension,
+misunderstanding, accusation or recrimination, whether relating to the
+past or the present, would in future be tolerated. Any contravention to
+that effect entailed upon the councillors the loss of their dignities;
+upon other citizens, the loss of their civic rights; upon women and
+children, a fine of fifty florins, payable by the father or husband,
+and going to the fund for public buildings.
+
+That much was decided on the Friday after Candlemas, 1535.
+Nevertheless, the Forty-Eight kept trembling in their shoes. The very
+next year witnessed the promulgation of another decree, threatening
+with the utmost bodily penalty any and every one, young or old, rich or
+poor, magistrate or simple burgher who should decline the
+responsibility of the expedition to Denmark, or should influence others
+on the subject. This act was transcribed sequentially to that of 1535,
+with the formula: Given under our administration anno and day as above.
+Hence it was antedated. It was a clumsy trick, for a unique act does
+not admit of a codicil. But does the ass ever succeed in hiding its
+ears?
+
+In 1536, on the day of _Esto Mihi_, Duke Philip married, at the Castle
+of Torgau, Fräulein Marie, sister of the Duke of Saxony, Johannes
+Friedrich. The marriage rites were performed by Dr. Martin Luther, who
+after the ceremony said to the husband: "Gracious prince and lord,
+Should the event so much desired be somewhat tardy in coming, let not
+your Highness be discouraged. _Saxum_ means stone, and nothing can be
+drawn from a rock without time or patience. Your Highness shall be
+included in my prayers: _semen tuum non deficit_." The duchess, in
+fact, gave birth to her first child only about four years later.
+
+The punishment of the wicked and the triumph of the just marched
+abreast, _inclusio unius est exclusio alterius et e contra_. Amidst the
+torments of hell the damned watch the bliss of the happy ones whom they
+have persecuted on earth. I am bound to insist upon this antithesis
+while pursuing my narrative. I expect no thanks, for men are so
+thin-skinned as to cause them to quiver at the slightest touch; and
+that is the reason why all those who have written on Stralsund, such as
+Thomas Kantzow, Valentin Eichstedt,[24] and Johannes Berckmann passed
+their pens to their successors when they got as far as 1536. I have no
+desire to flatter or to find fault, but I intend to speak the real
+truth, however disagreeable it may turn out to be. My sole concern is
+to preserve the dignity of history. If people will take the trouble to
+read carefully the authors just named, and especially Berckmann,
+otherwise the Augustine monk, his impertinent libels will enable them
+to appreciate the usefulness of the present pages. The approval of
+honest folk is the only reward I care for; the rest is of no
+consequence.
+
+It is almost incredible that the Duke of Mecklenburg should have
+committed the blunder of yielding to the suggestions of Wullenweber,
+whom all good citizens virtually disavowed. Never was there a more
+unjust war. In disposing of a country which, on no assumption whatever,
+could possibly belong to them, the cities caused an incalculable
+prejudice to the Duke of Holstein, the Lord's anointed, the legitimate,
+well-beloved, and expected sovereign. He showed great firmness. The
+leader of a powerful army, and master of its communications by sea and
+by land, he was fully aware of his superiority to an adversary who,
+shut up in Copenhagen, only thought of pleasure, hunts and banquets. In
+spite of his just resentment, magnanimous Christian obtained a victory
+over himself, and while the surrender of the city was being negotiated,
+he sent provisions to the Duchess of Mecklenburg, at that time in
+childbed. This was tantamount to giving her charity. After the retreat
+of Duke Albrecht, Charles made a triumphal entry into Copenhagen, where
+he was crowned in 1537, and the presence at the pomp and ceremony of
+the coronation of the ambassadors of the cities was calculated to give
+him complete satisfaction. As for the Duke of Mecklenburg, he had
+learned to his cost the folly of disregarding the words of the Holy
+Spirit: "My son, fear thou the Lord and the king, and meddle not with
+them that are given to change: for their calamity shall rise suddenly;
+and who knoweth the ruin of them both?" (Proverbs xxiv. 21, 22).
+
+At Lubeck the pitiful collapse of the council brought about the
+reinstatement of the old magistracy. In a spirit of pacification they
+gave Wullenweber the captaincy of Bergendorf; but Wullenweber, while
+crossing the territory of the Abbey of Werden, was seized by order of
+Christopher, bishop of Bremen, who handed him over to his brother, Duke
+Heindrich of Brunswick. After a cruel captivity at Wolfenbüttel, and in
+consequence of indictments as numerous as they were grave (especially
+from Lubeck, represented by his secretary), he was sentenced to death
+in September, 1537, and his body quartered. At the taking of the
+fortress of Wardenburg, Duke Christian captured Marx Meyer, his brother
+Gerard Meyer, and a notorious Danish priest. These three were executed
+by the sword, quartered, and their bodies shown on the rack to the
+great satisfaction of the Danish people and the honest Lubeckenaars so
+long oppressed.
+
+Nicholas Nering, a citizen of those parts, had sold to Johannes Krossen
+a farm with all its live stock and belongings, but, according to him,
+he had reserved for himself the foal of a handsome mare, if it should
+happen to be a colt, and a colt it turned out to be. At the period of
+its weaning, in 1535, he claimed the young animal. Krossen contested
+the claim. Thereupon, according to the evidence of his step-son, Peter
+Klatteville, who was about fifteen, and whose evidence was recorded in
+the black register of the court, Nering, not to be outdone, mounted his
+black horse, the lad trotting barefooted by his side, and both went at
+five a.m. to Krossen's farm. Nering got the colt out of the stables
+while the youngster kept watch. Nering hid his spoil for three weeks at
+Schwartz's, at the new mill, and after having made Peter promise to
+keep the secret on the penalty of the most terrible punishment.
+
+Different is the version recorded in the new register, written on
+parchment and bound in white sow's skin. "In 1536, on the Monday after
+_Reminiscere_, Nicholas Nering, accused of pillage, has confessed
+before the court that riding along the Frankische landstrasse, after
+passing the gate, he noticed three colts; that moved by a wicked
+inspiration, he had gone up to them and thrown the leash over one of
+these, and fastened it to the pommel of his saddle, and in that way
+brought it to his own stables. After having heard the above confession,
+it was decided to take Nicholas Nering outside the city and hang him on
+the gallows."
+
+Nicholas Nering's bad reputation did not dispose the council in his
+favour; hence all his friends had employed him to restore the colt in
+order to prevent the matter going into the courts, but he had proved
+obstinate. While he was in his cell, he repeated that he was
+indifferent to death, but that he deplored the calamities which his
+execution would entail. It was an evident proof of his having concocted
+a scheme of vengeance with his confidants. This became obvious enough
+after his death, when his kindred left the city and began setting fire
+to mills, homesteads and villages of the neighbourhood, and recruiting
+accomplices by sheer weight of money. Two of these malefactors were
+taken at Bart, and put on the rack. At Stralsund they arrested ten
+individuals at once, among others, Christian Parow, the dean of the
+drapers, and Johannes Blumenow, the dean of the shoemakers. Young Peter
+Klatteville confessed to having set the New Mill on fire at the
+instigation of his mother, Nering's widow. Three were put on the rack;
+they declared having received of Parow ten marks for committing the
+crime, and the ministers who conducted them to the execution had much
+trouble to make them retract the accusation in the presence of the
+crowd. The following is the version in the _Annales_ of Berckmann, one
+of the ministers: "This is what I have personally seen. When Parow took
+his stroll in the market place, the raven of Barber Grellen ran to peck
+at his legs, so that Parow considered it the best part of valour to
+quit the place. I am bound to admit, though, that this bird was in the
+habit of annoying the peasants who happened to wear wide linen
+breeches. Parow, who was an old man, did not pay sufficient attention
+to his appearance as to have his breeches properly pulled up like those
+of his companions; hence, there is nothing to prove that Providence
+made use of the raven to declare which kind of death Parow deserved."
+
+Berckmann is simply nothing more nor less than Satan's slave when he
+tries to make Parow odious. It is true that this worthy man signed and
+sealed the avowal of his forfeit; the act happened to fall into my
+hands when I was secretary of the city. I destroyed it, in that way
+saving an honourable family from future affronts, without causing any
+damage to the public welfare. Besides, this concession was known to
+every one. It had in the opinion of those who gave themselves time to
+think the same value as that of Burgomaster Smiterlow branding himself
+as a traitor and an infamous creature. During the inquiry, everybody
+could see how incensed Parow was with the Nerings. If he did give them
+ten marks, it was because the money was extorted from him bit by bit by
+a certain Smit who perished on the rack. Nering's stepson Klatteville
+even declares that Parow came one day to his mother and had a long
+conversation with her. He does not know what Parow said to her,
+but he seemed heartbroken at the behaviour of the Nerings, for he
+wept like a child and went away weeping. In the draper's company
+no one ever objected to sitting next to him at table, except Olaff
+Lorbeer, a ridiculous personage, and the son of one of the principal
+faction-mongers. He always overwhelmed the good old man with his coarse
+allusions.
+
+Johannes Blumenow, condemned to death on Tuesday, was only led to the
+scaffold on the following Thursday. I saw the execution. The corpse
+remained on the wheel, wrapped up by means of a cord in the blue dress
+he wore every day. This was done in order to prevent the crows from
+going to work too quickly. This Blumenow, a lively, though grey-haired
+fellow, the dean of the shoemakers, was the wealthiest of the
+Forty-Eight. He was very ambitious for the burgomastership which, he
+flattered himself, he could discharge better than any body. At the last
+burgomaster's banquet, that of Nicholas Sonnenberg, Frau Blumenow said
+to the matron next to her: "I did not wish to come, but I ought to know
+what to do when our turn comes to give the banquet." I have seen
+Blumenow busy cleaning skins and during that time many a notable
+personage clad in furs bowed down before him with more respect than
+before any former burgomaster. Berckmann attributes no other wrong to
+him than that of having induced Nering to renounce his citizenship
+(that is honest enough); but, he insinuates they had made up their
+minds to ruin him because he had in his possession the famous act
+elaborated by the Forty-Eight. What a pity it is that Berckmann sets so
+little store by the truth. Who compelled him to commit so many foolish
+fabrications to paper? With a little trouble on his part he could have
+learnt that about forty years previously a priest had been assassinated
+in his dwelling. The murderer remained unknown until Blumenow, being
+put to the torture, confessed to being the author of the crime. He had
+counted upon a big sum of money, but the victim did not possess more
+than a few pence. That, my very dear Berckmann, was what brought
+Blumenow to the scaffold. The sedition mongers had taken their
+precautions so well in the act of 1535 and in its appendix that, but
+for the Nering lawsuits, the honest part of the community would have
+never had the joy of seeing their oppressors pay for their misdeeds.
+
+I have already recounted the pitiful end of Rolof Moller; the whole of
+his line was overtaken with similar punishment. His eldest son, George,
+who had been my schoolfellow at Rostock, was only a stripling when he
+caught a nameless disease through frequenting a certain class of women.
+He wanted to play the young country squire, did little work and spent
+much. His stepfather took him away from his studies, and sent him to
+England to learn the language of the country, and then to Antwerp, to
+get an insight into business. The young fellow, however, continued his
+spendthrift ways, and it became necessary to recall him. Rolof Moller's
+second son, for a mere trifle, stabbed in the open street his cousin
+with whom he had been drinking claret at an apothecary's. The name of
+Moller is fated to be extinguished in a short time.
+
+What shall I say about Burgomaster Lorbeer, the instigator of the three
+riots, and especially of the third against Smiterlow? Everybody is
+aware of the contempt into which he fell even during his lifetime, and
+of the horrible malady that carried him slowly to the grave. After his
+death his wife and daughters still believed themselves to be the
+masters, as in the days when visiting an estate of the city they were
+greeted with the formula of reception, "Be welcome, dear ladies, on thy
+lands," and when the passers-by hailed them with a "God preserve you,
+young and dear burgomasters." This deference had inflated their
+presumption to such an extent that they lost all respect for both the
+council and the law courts. They ended up by exhausting the Divine
+patience.
+
+The master-miller Nicholas Hildebrand was not the least influential
+among the Forty-Eight. A busybody, self-interested, he meddled with
+everything that could bring water to his milldam. Having had certain
+private reasons for retiring to Wolgast, he intrigued so barefacedly as
+to compel the duke to imprison him; and inasmuch as nobody dreamt of
+interceding for him, he spent the whole winter in a cell. At his
+discharge his legs were frost-bitten and he was eaten up with vermin.
+Another active and restless firebrand, the erewhile tailor Marschmann,
+who came to Wolgast to escape his creditors, kept Hildebrand company
+the whole of the winter. Knigge took to making false coin; but for
+Doctor Gentzkow, whose step-daughter he had married, the capital
+sentence passed on him would not have been commuted into banishment.
+Christian Herwig died in abject misery. They had given him the nickname
+of Count Christian, because in his prosperous days he strutted about in
+his best dress, one hand on his hip, and taking up the whole width of
+the street by himself. His wife became an inmate of the St. John's
+Asylum. One of his daughters, a downright slattern, had to beg her
+bread and was found dead one morning; the rest vegetated in the most
+sordid conditions. Nicholas Loewe, a quarrelsome creature who tried to
+look like a captain in his white dress set off with red velvet, in the
+end considered himself lucky at the St. John's Asylum to don the grey
+small clothes provided for him by charity. Long before his death he
+became stone blind. His daughter Anna was the talk of the town. I could
+easily extend this list, for, as far as I recollect, not one of those
+sedition-mongers escaped the punishment inflicted by the Almighty on
+rebels unto the third and fourth generations.
+
+Stralsund, there is no doubt, is likely to feel for a long while the
+pernicious effects of Rolof Moller; but just as history praises
+Cambyses, that arch-tyrant, _monstrum hominis el vera cloaca diaboli_
+for having ordered the death of the prevaricating judge and for having
+had his skin nailed on the judgment seat; so on one point, and on one
+only, are the sedition-mongers entitled to commendation. They replaced
+the banquets of the burgomaster and the councillors by presents of
+goldsmith's work or by a piece of silver. Nowadays the city receives
+from the burgomaster a piece of silver-gilt; a councillor merely gives
+a piece of silverwork. The guilds have also done away with the banquets
+of reception and election. Instead of foolishly wasting their money in
+gormandizing, the new dean or the new companion offers a present of
+silver which does duty at the fêtes and gatherings, so that nowadays
+the wooden and pewter goblets have made room for silver tankards. On
+Twelfth Night the council and the corporations make a display of their
+treasure, to show to the public that it is not only intact, but
+increased.
+
+After the tragedy of the Passion comes the glory of Easter Day.
+Nicholas Smiterlow had suffered civil death; and among certain
+individuals on the magistrates' bench the password had gone round to
+prevent his resurrection. When, however, the disastrous issue of the
+war but too plainly confirmed the prophecies of the old burgomaster,
+the ironical nickname of "pacific" became the chief claim to his glory.
+Councillors and burghers in plenary meeting assembled, dispatched two
+of the former to him with the request for him to repair to the Town
+Hall. Burgomaster Lorbeer tried to stop the mission by rubbing his arm
+and saying that the letter of avowal signed by Smiterlow was a most
+indispensable document on that occasion, inasmuch as it was a question
+of annulling it. His attempt to redress the balance of his own game by
+a delay of twenty-four hours was a failure. His objection was simply
+put aside, and the secretary went at once to Blumenow's for the said
+letter, together with the pact imposed by the Forty-Eight. When
+Smiterlow entered the council-room all the burghers cried, "Here is our
+beloved father, Nicholas the Pacific." He was conducted to his former
+seat, above Lorbeer's; they begged him to give them the help of his
+experience, and they promised that henceforth he should be exempt from
+all missions and embassies. Standing on the treasury chest, so as to
+afford a sight to everybody, the secretary tore the famous agreement
+into two, and detached Smiterlow's seal from it. But the burghers were
+not at all satisfied, and shouted to him to stick his penknife into and
+to lacerate the letter of avowal in a similar fashion. And thus ended
+the domination of the Forty-Eight.
+
+Faithful--perhaps too faithful--to his habit, the ex-Augustine monk
+Berckmann limns Smiterlow in the falsest colours. He fancies he is
+using irony when he exclaims, "Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow was a
+fine specimen of a man, conscious of his own worth, handsome, eloquent,
+prudent and wise, and enjoying much consideration from princes and
+nobles." It so happens that all this is simply so much bare truth, and
+added to all these merits, Smiterlow had the fear of God and a wide
+knowledge of the Scriptures. The _Annales_ of Master Gerhard Droege
+quote him as the oldest patron and protector of the Evangelical
+ministries; hence, everything that Berckmann writes in connexion with
+or about him is inexact. Here is an instance. Berckmann states that
+Smiterlow was confined to his bed twelve weeks, while in reality he was
+taken ill one Sunday and died the next Tuesday, in 1539. His son
+George, my junior by a twelvemonth, was burgomaster for twenty-two
+years. He had inherited all his father's virtues; he went through
+similar ordeals, and was vouchsafed the same comforts from on high, and
+I see no reason to modify my letter to Duke Ernest Ludwig. That prince,
+egged on by the caballers of his court, exclaimed at the news of
+Smiterlow's demise, "I had two enemies at Stralsund. Smiterlow is dead,
+and the devil will soon take Sastrow." I wrote to His Highness as
+follows:
+
+"Gracious prince and lord,--The defunct burgomaster was neither bad
+naturally nor of base condition. His loyalty towards your Highness and
+Stralsund never failed, as could be proved by his numerous services. If
+he could have changed a farthing into a florin to the advantage of the
+city he would unquestionably have done so. Neither he nor his ever
+cheated the treasury. Hard-working, just and incorruptible, his speech
+expressing the feelings of his heart he, was a slave to duty, and
+severe or lenient as circumstances and persons dictated. Not at all
+obstinate, he was particularly amenable to reason, for the public weal
+was his sole guide. He administered the law with the strictest
+impartiality. A foe to dissipation and excess, he led a useful and
+retired life; though frugal and saving, he never remained behind where
+honour demanded the spending of money. The greatest harmony prevailed
+between him, his wife, and his servants. Though he had not pursued the
+ordinary course of studies, he was endowed with supreme wisdom. He had
+a most wonderful memory, and an equally wonderful gift of elocution. As
+a loyal subject, I can but address to God one prayer. The King of the
+Persians, Darius, prayed for as many zopyres as a pomegranate contains
+pips; may your Highness be enabled to count as many Smiterlows in the
+city and in the fields, not to mention the court; and while including
+the latter I wish to cast no reflection on any one. What then are we to
+think of those who dare to slander the defunct and to blacken his
+character in your Highness' eyes, besides causing grief to his wife,
+his children and his friends?"
+
+Everybody on the other hand would freely admit that Rolof Moller was
+overbearing, presumptuous, crafty, greedy, ungrateful, relentless, and
+turbulent. Smiterlow and Moller were so utterly different in character
+as to be unable to breathe the same air. At the council, in church, nay
+in the city itself, the presence of one was sufficient to drive away
+the other. Great, therefore, was the surprise when George Smiterlow
+married Moller's niece. How would people, for whom the space of a large
+city seemed insufficient, agree under the same roof, at the same board,
+in the same bed? What strange _communicatio idiomatum_ was going to
+result from that marriage? Hence, I should openly disadvise the
+election of such a Smiterlow for the council, and least of all should I
+make him a burgomaster, for they have many more of their mother's than
+of the father's characteristics; _in hac lucta duarum diversarum
+naturarum_ the Mollers appear to have had the advantage.
+
+Nevertheless, this new generation is still sufficiently young to be
+susceptible of improvement. From the bottom of my heart I wish it may
+be so, for the sake both of its reputation and its welfare.
+
+I have written the foregoing pages somewhat oppressed by the thought of
+the ill-will I am drawing on my devoted head in praising Smiterlow at
+the expense of Rolof Moller. The descendants of the latter will never
+forgive me. But I derive consolation and strength from the appreciation
+of educated men. They know that the historian's duty is to go straight
+for his aim, and to proclaim the truth, whether for good or evil,
+whether it pleases or displeases, and let come what may. I recommend to
+my children submission to the authorities, no matter whether Pilatus or
+Caiaphas governs. For the good of their soul and the welfare of their
+body they ought never to make pacts with sedition-mongers.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IV
+
+Dr. Martin Luther writes to my Father--My Studies at Rostock and at
+Greifswald--Something about my hard Life at Spires--I am admitted as a
+Public Notary--Dr. Hose
+
+
+My parents recalled me in 1538, having discovered that at Greifswald I
+more often accompanied my grandfather in his strolls than sat over my
+books. I attended school during the stay of a twelvemonth at the
+paternal home.
+
+One instance will show into what kind of hands the chief power had
+fallen. In 1539, Duke Philip, travelling to Rügen with his wife, made
+his first entry into Stralsund, and Burgomaster Christopher Lorbeer,
+who fancied himself to be the incarnation of eloquence, made the
+following speech to him: "Philip, by the grace of God, Duke of Stettin,
+Pomerania, of the Cassubes and the Wends, Prince of Rügen, and Count of
+Gutzkow, the council is indeed very pleased to see you. Be welcome." In
+subsequent days I have often been chaffed about this speech; usher
+Michael Kussow, among others, never opened the door to me without
+crying out, the moment he caught sight of me, "And indeed Philip, by
+the grace of God ..."
+
+My brother Johannes had been admitted _magister_--the first of
+thirteen--at Wittemberg, and on leaving he brought with him a
+letter from Dr. Luther to my father, who, in consequence of the
+Bruser-Leveling lawsuit, had stayed away for many years from the
+Communion table. The letter was couched as follows: "To the honourable
+guildmaster, Nicholas Sastrow, my good friend: Grace and peace
+be with you. Your dear son, _magister_ Johannes, after having expressed
+to me his sorrow at your having kept away for many years from the
+Holy Communion table--which absence is calculated to create a bad
+example--has requested me to rescue you from that dangerous path. Not
+one hour of our lives in reality belongs to ourselves. His filial
+solicitude, therefore, induced me to send you these present lines. Let
+me exhort you as a Christian, as a brother, according to the precept of
+Christ, to change your resolution, and well to remember the much
+greater sufferings of the Son of God, who forgave His executioners.
+Bear in mind that at your last hour you will be bound to forgive, as a
+brigand who is tied to the gallows forgives. Wait for the decision of
+the court before whom your suit is pending, but do not forget that
+nothing prevents you from participating in the Holy Supper. If it were
+otherwise I myself and our princes would have to remain away from the
+Holy Board until our differences with the papists be settled. Leave the
+matter in the hands of the law, and say to yourself for the comfort of
+your conscience: 'It is the  judge's place to decide where lies the
+right; meanwhile, I forgive those who have wronged me and I will
+partake of the Holy Communion.' You consider yourself as having been
+wronged. You have had recourse to the courts; it is they who shall
+decide. Nothing can be more simple. Take in a friendly spirit this
+exhortation which was prompted to me at the instance of your son. May
+God watch over you, Amen. Wednesday after _Miser. Dni_. 1540. Martinus
+Luther."
+
+[Illustration: MARTIN LUTHER. _From a Drawing by_ Lucas Cranach.]
+
+I trust my descendants will transmit religiously from generation to
+generation the autograph of the saintly man to whom the whole world
+owes gratitude and affection. Together with this letter, and as a proof
+of the wise outlay of the paternal allowance, my brother brought home
+with him a number of his _poemata_ printed in a volume. My parents'
+means not admitting of his being maintained in a foreign land, he spent
+nearly four years at home, studying all the while. Besides the
+_Progymnasmata quaedam_, issued from the Lubeck press in 1538, he
+published in 1542 at Rostock an _Elegia de officio principis_ dedicated
+to Duke Magnus of Mecklenberg; and in the same year at Lubeck, a
+_Querela de Ecclesia_ and the _Epicidion Martyris Christi Doctoris
+Ruberti Barns_, which caused a good deal of trouble both to him and his
+printer.[25]
+
+At the advice of my brother, my parents sent me to study at Rostock
+with Arnoldus Burenius and Henricus Lingensis. My brother, who became
+intimately acquainted with the latter, wrote to him that I had already
+gone through the ceremony of initiation; but the students found out
+that since then I had gone back to school at Stralsund, and each day my
+entrance at the _lectorium_ caused a fearful tumult.[26] The
+_depositor_ having pulled me by my cloak, I hurled a large inkstand
+which I happened to have in my hand at him. The ink soaked his long
+grey mantle with black fastenings, a fashionable garment of the time.
+Verily, I got my reward, when, for the sake of peace, I submitted a
+second time to the ordeal. It literally rained blows. The _depositor_
+pressed my upper lip with his wooden razor and the wound was a long
+while healing, for no sooner did it close up than my food, and, above
+all, salted things inflamed it once more.
+
+The two _magistri_ directed in common the purses (scholarships or
+otherwise) of the Arnsburg, which was the most numerous, as it
+consisted of thirty students. We took our meals at Jacob Broecker's,
+and we paid sixteen florins per annum for our breakfast and two other
+meals, _plus_, in the summer afternoons, some curdled milk or other
+refreshments.
+
+At the end of two years my parents complained of the expense involved
+in my stay at Rostock; they were, moreover, displeased at my leaning
+towards theology. In fact, I felt neither old enough nor sufficiently
+advanced in learning to choose between the different faculties, but
+being unwilling to relinquish my studies I exposed my difficult
+position to my tutors, who at once decided to forego their fees, and
+also induced our host Broecker to feed me for eight florins per annum.
+
+Truly, I had to lay the table, attend at meals, to clear it, and in
+addition to this to look after young Broecker, who was about my size
+and who was afterwards confined at Ribbenitz, to dress and undress him,
+to clean his shoes and to arrange his books. On the other hand, there
+were certain services to be rendered to _magister_ H. Lingenfis. I had
+to brush his shoeleather, make his bed, keep his room heated, accompany
+him to church and to other places, and to carry his lantern in winter.
+It seemed very hard to me at first not to be served any longer, and not
+to sit down to meals with my college chums, but there was no help for
+it.
+
+Besides, we had fallen into good hands. Arnoldus Burenius read us twice
+Cicero's _Offices_, which he interpreted in a thoroughly artistic
+manner, and afterwards the orations _pro Milone_, _pro rege Deiotaro_,
+_pro Marco Marcello_, _pro Roscio Amerino_, _pro domo sua_, and the _de
+Aruspicum responsis_, the _Epistolae familiares_, the long and
+beautiful chapter _ad Quintum fratrem_, the _Rhetorica ad Herennium_,
+etc. His colleague expounded Terence, the _Dialectica Molleri_, even
+the _Sphaera Joannis de Sacrobusto_, the _Theoriae planetarum_, the
+_Computum ecclesiasticum Spangenbergii_, the _libellus de Anima
+Philippi_, and finally he presided over useful _exercitia styli et
+disputationum_.
+
+My bedroom fellows were Franz von Stetten and Johannes Vegesack, the
+nephew of the Bishop of Dorpat, who kept him on a grand footing, and
+allowed him the staff of servants of a grand seigneur rather than that
+of a youngster. Vegesack practised all kind of sword-play, but I have
+heard that after the death of the bishop, he became a schoolmaster in
+Livonia. My private tutor, Danquart, coached him in the _praecepta
+grammaticae_, gave him themes to treat in German, and corrected his
+exercises.
+
+The money we received from our parents had to be handed to our tutor
+Lingenfis; he gave it back to us as we needed it. We were bound to make
+notes of even our most trifling expenses. My tutors showed much
+interest in me, either out of consideration for my brother or because
+of my own unwearied application. I, on the other hand; served them
+zealously and faithfully, and was always at their bidding. The cross
+looks of my fellow-students, however, suggested the advisability of a
+change of residence; my brother counselled Greifswald.
+
+In 1540 Duke Philip came to Greifswald for the ceremony of receiving
+homage. The exiles came with him; some held the tail, others the
+harness of his horse. My father was specially invited by the prince to
+hold the stirrup. The duke took up his quarters at Hannemann's, his
+wife with the Stoïentins. Frau Stoïentin, her daughter, her grandson,
+and all the relatives, when doing obeisance to the princess, claimed
+the upholding of the decree of expulsion against my father. The duchess
+specially recommended two of her principal officers to transmit the
+request to her august spouse; but the latter's reply effectually
+prevented her from returning to the charge, and the gates of Greifswald
+were reopened to my father.
+
+I left Rostock in 1541. My stay at home was, nevertheless, very short.
+I soon transferred myself and my books to Greifswald, where I rented a
+room with Joachim Loewenhagen, the pastor that was to be of St.
+Nicholas' at Stralsund. Master Anthony Walter who shortly afterwards
+became rector of the Paedagogium of Stettin, instructed me in the
+_Dialectica Caesarii_. Master Kismann explained and interpreted Ovid's
+_Fasti_.
+
+On Christmas Day, 1541, a vessel hailing from Colberg, and laden with
+barrels for Falsterbo, anchored at Stralsund. The coopers were in a
+great state of excitement, declared an embargo, and would not even
+allow the cargo to be sold at Stralsund.[27] In vain did the council
+guarantee proceedings against the purchaser of that merchandise; they
+went on agitating, refused to buy the barrels themselves, and replied
+with blows to those who spoke common sense. One burgher died from the
+consequences of their ill-treatment. They finally destroyed the
+barrels. Five people were arrested. Johannes Vogt, their dean, fled to
+Garpenhagen, but he was brought back to Stralsund and placed under lock
+and key. There was but a narrow escape from the executioner's sword.
+The coopers were summoned to the Town Hall, where the prisoners made
+their appearance with the iron collar round their necks and their hands
+and feet fettered. The corporation was fined four marks per head. Its
+privileges were withdrawn; it had, moreover, to rebuild at its own
+expense part of the city walls.
+
+I have already mentioned that my brother _Magister Joannes_, had
+various _poemata_ published at Lubeck and Rostock. From the latter city
+he returned by stage coach to Stralsund in company of Heinrich
+Sonnenberg and a woman. By their side rode Johannes Lagebusch and a
+good-looking young man, Hermann Lepper, who had been to the mint at
+Gadebusch to exchange 100 old florins for new coin. That money was in
+the carriage. A gang of thieves, or rather highwaymen, got wind of the
+affair. In consequence of the mild laws of repression, these gentry
+swarmed throughout Mecklenburg, and the names of the noblest families
+figured among them, which fact gave substance to the poet who wrote:
+
+      Nobilis et nebulo parvo discrimine distant,
+      Sic nebulo magnus nobilis esse potest.
+
+Of course these lines do not apply to many honourable personages
+belonging to the nobility. But to return to my story.
+
+When the travellers had got beyond the village of Willershagen they
+left the coach, and, provided with their firearms proceeded on foot,
+for the country was by no means safe. Instead of prudently escorting
+the vehicle the two horsemen went on in front. The brigands came up
+with them and entered into conversation. Suddenly one of them snatched
+the loaded pistol Lagebusch was carrying at his saddle-bow--the fashion
+of carrying two had not come in--fired it at Lepper, who was galloping
+back to the carriage, killing him there and then, while Lagebusch set
+spurs to his horse in time to warn Sonnenberg, who hid himself in the
+brushwood. My brother, armed with a pole, and standing with his back
+against the carriage to prevent an attack from behind, offered a stout
+and not unsuccessful resistance. He managed to wound in the thigh an
+assailant who, carried away by his horse, bit the dust further up the
+road. But another miscreant, charging furiously, sliced away a piece of
+my brother's skull as big as a crown (the fragment of bone that adhered
+to the skin was the size of a ducat), and at the same time dealt him a
+deep gash at the throat. As a matter of course, my brother lost
+consciousness; nay, was left for dead while the bandits sacked the
+carriage, caught the horse of their wounded comrade, but seeing that he
+could not be transported, abandoned him and decamped with their spoil.
+They, however, did not take the carriage team. In a little while
+Sonnenberg emerged from his hiding-place, and, with the aid of the
+driver, hauled my brother into the carriage. The woman bandaged his
+head and kept it on her knees. Lepper's body was placed between the
+legs of the wounded young man, and in that condition they reached
+Ribbenitz, where the surgeon closed the gash in the neck by means of
+pins.
+
+The Rostock council promptly sent its officials to the spot. The
+brigand was conveyed to the city, but almost immediately after his
+being lodged in prison, he died without naming his accomplices. There
+was, moreover, no great difficulty in finding them out, but their
+friends succeeded in hushing up the whole affair; the authorities acted
+very mildly. The dead robber was nevertheless judged and beheaded. His
+head remained for many years exposed on a pike.
+
+Lagebusch brought the news to Stralsund, and the Council immediately
+offered my father a closed carriage with four horses. We started that
+same night, provided with mattresses, and reached Ribbenitz next
+morning after daybreak. My brother was very weak. While the horses were
+stabled and after the court had drawn up a detailed report, we gave
+Lepper an honourable and Christian burial. We began our homeward
+journey at dusk, going slowly all through the night, and got to
+Stralsund at midday. Master Joachim Gelhaar attended to my brother, but
+in spite of his acknowledged skill, he did not succeed in curing the
+wound of the neck; the improvement of one day was counteracted the
+next. In the end they discovered that the surgeon of Ribbenitz had
+closed the wound askew; the edges did not join, and one had been
+flattened by means of a large copper pin, the head of which had
+disappeared. Master Joachim repaired the mischief, not without causing
+great pain to his patient, who, however, promptly regained his health.
+
+After reading the _Epicedion Ruberti Barns_, the King of England sent
+ambassadors to threaten Lubeck, the book having been issued from
+Johannes Balhorn's presses. Although the author had no connexion with
+the city, the council nevertheless apologized for him on the ground of
+his youth. He had simply aimed at giving a _specimen doctrinae_, but to
+pacify the king, Balhorn was banished, and had to leave the city at
+sunrise. He was allowed to return a few months later.
+
+The costly Bruser lawsuit had deprived my parents of the means of
+sending us to study in foreign countries, so they bought two horses and
+dispatched me and my brother to Spires to watch the progress of the
+affair, and to do as best we could for ourselves. We started from
+Stralsund on June 14, 1542. Our parents accompanied us as far as
+Greifswald, where we stopped one day to bid good-bye to our grandmother
+and the rest of the family. I was in high spirits. Johannes was dull
+and depressed. "Dear son," said our mother, "why this sadness? Look at
+Bartholomäi, how gay he is." "My brother," replied Johannes, "has no
+care weighing on his mind; he has no thought for the future."
+
+We made for Stettin, then for Berlin and Wittemberg; in fact, "we rode
+straight on," as people say. At Wittemberg, Johannes ran against Dr.
+Martin Luther, standing before the bookshop near the cemetery. Dr.
+Luther shook hands with me. Philip Melanchthon and other learned
+personages gave us letters of introduction to the procurators and
+advocates of Spires.
+
+Half-way between Erfurt and Gotha there is a big inn where we halted
+for half a day to rest our horses and to mend our clothes. We settled
+our bill before going to bed. Next morning on reaching Gotha my brother
+found he had lost his purse; he had left it under his pillow. It was a
+great misfortune, for we were not overburdened with means, and the look
+of the inn left but little hope of getting our own back again.
+Immediately after my horse had had its feed, I retraced my steps,
+galloping all the way. When I reached the hotel I tied up my horse and
+in the twinkling of an eye ran up to the room with the servant at my
+heels. We both flung ourselves on the purse. I had the luck of laying
+hands on it first, but I fancied he was entitled to a tip. If either
+the girl or the young man had come near the bed after our going we
+should have never seen our money again.
+
+In spite of the gathering darkness, I was in the saddle again, for it
+would have been unwise to spend the night alone under such a roof. Half
+a mile (German) farther there was a nice village, and as night had set
+in altogether I made up my mind to stop there. The inn was full of
+peasants. It happened to be Sunday, and these worthy folk, who had
+noticed my riding by like possessed two hours before, said to each
+other: "Well, we were mistaken after all. It's His Highness'
+messenger." Thereupon the host told the servant to look to my horse;
+nothing would induce him to let me do it myself. He, moreover, insisted
+on my sitting down to the table immediately; they brought me boiled and
+roast meats and excellent wine. The peasants in their turn show me all
+kinds of attentions, and when I mention the settlement of my bill
+before going to bed, the host declares that he could not hear of such a
+thing, and moreover swears by all his household gods that he'll not let
+me go in the morning without a good basin of soup, and that if I were
+to stay for a week he would not accept a farthing, because he could
+never do enough for his gracious prince. They put me into a very white
+and very soft bed, where I slept long and soundly.
+
+While I was enjoying every comfort, my poor brother was bemoaning his
+imprudence of having sent me to look for the purse. I did not know the
+country, the hotel had a queer appearance. I had not returned, although
+it had been settled that the town gates should be opened to let me
+pass. My brother's anxiety may therefore be readily imagined. He
+dispatched an express messenger with a description of myself, and that
+of the horse; the messenger passed the inn at the very moment I was
+starting. He recognized me and informed me of my brother's anxiety.
+
+At Spires we put up at the _Arbour_, and when our horses were
+sufficiently rested my brother sold them to the landlord of the
+_Crown_. We could not afford, though, to stay at the inn, so we rented
+a small room with one bed, and with this we had to be content for more
+than five weeks. At meal times we went to eat three or four rolls under
+the city walls, after which we drank half a measure of wine at the
+tavern. The days when Bartholomäi Sastrow led the dance, and feasted at
+the big wine cellars like _König Arthur_ and the _Rathskeller_ were
+over.
+
+Philip Melanchthon had recommended us to his half-brother, Doctor
+Johannes Hochel, procurator, and to Doctor Jacob Schenck, advocate at
+the Imperial Chamber. Thanks to the latter, Johannes found bed and
+board, _mensa splendida et delicata_ at the provost's of the chapter, a
+great personage occupying the handsomest mansion of Spires, the
+habitual quarters of the Emperor. This provost entertained daily a
+number of guests, but he himself lived upon fowl broth and apothecary's
+stuff prescribed by his doctor. He was fond of listening to the
+discussions of his guests, some of whom sided with Luther and others
+with the pope. If, at the end of the debate, he now and again added a
+few words, it was simply to admit that he had never read "St. Paul,"
+but that, on the other hand, he had read in Terence: "_Bonorum
+extortor, legum contortor_." He was practically in the same boat with
+the Bishop of Wurzburg, who is reported to have said: "I thank heaven
+that I have never read 'St. Paul,' for I should have become a heretic
+just like Luther."
+
+On August 10, Dr. Hochel obtained a place for me at Dr. Frederick
+Reiffstock's, one of the oldest procurators of the Imperial Chamber, a
+most learned lawyer and excellent practitioner, who was altogether
+unlike the majority of the procurators at Spires. He had spent several
+years of his youth at Rome as auditor of the "Rote" (ecclesiastical
+jurisdiction). He was very conscientious and energetic. At the issue of
+the sittings, he immediately wrote to the party whose case had been
+called; then, the moment the minutes and other documents had been
+copied by his principal clerk, he sealed the whole, and deposited it in
+a large box on the table of his office. When this or that messenger
+came to announce his next departure the procurator examined the box to
+see whether there was anything to dispatch in that direction, and he
+marked on the outside wrapper the vail to be given according to the
+condition of the roads or their distance from the main ones. His
+practice was made up of princes, nobles, and eminent personages. One
+day he replied to Duke Albrecht of Mecklenburg who had sent him a case,
+that, unless new facts could be adduced, he advised the withdrawal of
+the suit. The fees were nevertheless very considerable. The duke handed
+the case to Dr. Leopold Dick, who allowed himself to be directed to the
+_juramentum calumniae_ and lost the whole affair.
+
+My master had four sons, all of whom took their doctor's degree. The
+three elder had returned, one from France, the two others from Leipzig;
+hence I had three horses to take care of, and three rooms to keep
+heated. Doctor Reiffstock was determined I should not be idle. One day
+he placed before me a bundle of documents as thick as my hand but very
+well written. He told me to copy them, and then to collate them
+carefully with his second clerk. I was under the impression that it was
+a most important affair; when it was finished the procurator told me
+that he simply wished to give me something to do.
+
+On December 14, 1542, an imposing deputation of the Protestant States
+repudiated as suspect the Imperial Chamber, and declared its decisions
+and enactments null and void until its complete reformation. The
+procurators immediately reduced their staff, and Dr. Reiffstock
+dismissed me, which grieved me very much. As I foresaw, my parents
+would think me guilty of some grave misconduct, but a letter from
+Johannes soon undeceived them.
+
+Though a writer's place could easily be had away from Spires, I would
+not leave my brother or the city before the termination of the lawsuit.
+We also hoped that the chamber would be reconstituted at the next diet.
+For all these reasons combined I entered into the service of my
+father's procurator, Simeon Engelhardt. I might as well have taken
+service in hell. Dr. Engelhard was an honest man, but he and his family
+belonged to the Schwenkfeld sect.[28] He had three daughters and a son
+between eight and nine whom I had to teach his declensions and
+conjugations. The matron of the establishment was a virago of the worst
+description, mean and bitter-spoken, who grudged her husband his food.
+Often and often did I see her snatch the glass from his lips. People
+may think she did it for the best, lest he should get drunk. Not in the
+least; she did that kind of thing at the family table; besides, his
+worst enemy could not have called him a wine-bibber. The pewter goblet
+of each child (there were two grown-up daughters) held about the
+contents of a pigeon's seed-box. The cup was filled once with wine,
+twice with Mayence beer (an abominable concoction), after which you
+were at liberty to swill as much water as you pleased. As for the two
+servants and the two scribes, the pittance was meagre indeed. A piece
+of meat not as big as an egg, floating in beef tea pellucid to a
+degree. This was followed by cabbages, turnips, lentils, herbs, oatmeal
+porridge, dried potatoes, etc., even on fish days. At the end of the
+meal a goblet (?) of wine. Whoever was thirsty after that--a by no
+means uncommon state of things--could go and pull the well-rope. Truly,
+it would be difficult to say how much water I swallowed in that house.
+
+Dr. Simeon Engelhardt had nearly as many lawsuits on hand as Dr.
+Reiffstock, about four hundred. Each document was copied four times.
+The first remained with the principal bundle of papers, the second was
+sent to the client, the third and fourth went to the registry of the
+court which kept one, wrote the word "Productum" on the other, and
+dispatched it immediately by the beadle to the procurator of the
+opposing party. There were two sittings per week, sometimes a third for
+fiscal cases.
+
+The copying of the protocol and of the acts imposed very hard work upon
+us. Being only two clerks, there was no time, on court days, for
+swallowing a piece of bread. On the other hand, the mistress of the
+house took no notice of anything like that. What her daughters or the
+servant girls could have done, namely, laying the table, bringing the
+cold or hot water for washing up, clearing the table and getting rid of
+the dish-water; all this came to Bartholomäi's share, whether he
+happened to be head over heels in other work or not, and the master of
+the house did not dare to utter a syllable. Amidst the biggest stress
+of business, when we did without our meals, the lady cried across the
+yard: "Bartholomäi, will you mind troubling yourself to come and throw
+the dish-water away?" And as if the satire was not obvious enough, she
+added: "Look at the lazy scamp. He has not attended to the water at
+all." I was forbidden to go out without asking, even to call upon my
+brother. Nor was this all. In the morning I saved the servant girls
+marketing; a basket slung on my arm like Gretchen, I bought the
+provisions for the household; cabbages, turnips, bread, and what not,
+and when I came back there was faultfinding without end for not having
+haggled enough. On washing day, which came round too often to please
+me, I pumped the water. When the pump was out of order it was I who
+went down the well to repair the mischief. And I was not a child, but a
+young man of twenty-three. I was paying for the good times of
+Stralsund. At each visit my brother was bewailing my fate and preaching
+patience. "In days to come, when you shall have a wife, children, and
+servants of your own, you will be able to tell them of your less happy
+days."
+
+When Mistress Engelhardt was in her "tantrums," she went about for a
+week without addressing a friendly word to her husband. At such periods
+her son Solomon would come into the office to tell me that his father
+was a dissipated brute who had not slept with his mother for a week,
+etc., etc. The youngest of the girls fell ill and died; her mother put
+the corpse into a sack in guise of a coffin. An old crone carried it to
+the cemetery on her back. One can only hope that she dug a grave and
+placed her burden into it, for no one accompanied the dead child; no
+one superintended the burial.
+
+Thanks to his capital practice, made up of the nobles and the cities
+paying him yearly retaining fees, thanks also to the avarice of this
+virago, Dr. Engelhardt easily put aside two thousand florins per annum.
+He lent money to the client-cities at interest. For two years running I
+made payments of two thousand florins each on a simple receipt.
+
+In 1543, on his return from Italy, the emperor hurried on his
+preparations for a war against the Duke of Juliers. Ulm and Augsburg
+cast some magnificent pieces of field artillery, with their carriages
+and wheels; and as it was considered easier to transport the carriages
+separately, a numberless troop of Swabian carters was engaged. His
+Imperial Majesty stayed at Spires, the artillery not being ready.
+Autumn overtook him, and as the roads of the Netherlands were very bad
+at that season, his Majesty, to his great vexation, had to defer the
+attack. One day, being on horseback, he hustled a waggoner whose team
+proceeded too slowly to his taste, and spoke, moreover, very harshly to
+him. The Swabian, who had no idea of the identity of his interlocutor,
+merely made a grimace and shrugged his shoulders. A smart rap with a
+riding crop from the emperor was the result. So far from submitting,
+however, the stubborn clown promptly belabours his assailant's head
+with his whip, uttering imprecations all the while: "May the thunder
+strike and blast you, you scum of a Spaniard," and so forth. Of course
+the emperor's suite laid hold of him, and he had to pay dearly for his
+mistake. Not so dearly, though, as he might have done if the colonels
+entrusted with inquiries and the drawing up of the indictment had not
+purposely dragged the thing along to let the emperor's anger spend
+itself. Charles had forgotten all about the affair. He probably thought
+that his orders had been carried out and that the Swabian culprit was
+comfortably swinging from this or that gibbet, when the said colonels
+and captains humbly submitted the reasons for his being pardoned. There
+was first of all the ignorance of the waggoner, secondly the often
+excessive roughness of the Spaniards towards these poor Swabians.
+Furthermore, there was the august leniency of all great potentates and
+the gratitude of which the army would feel bound to give proof, if it
+were exercised upon such an occasion as the present. The prince
+relented to the extent of deciding that the culprit should have his
+nose cut off in memory of the assault. The colonels and the captains
+expressed their respectful gratitude, and the condemned man learnt the
+commutation of his sentence with great joy. They cut off his nose flush
+with his face. He bore the operation with a good grace, and for the
+remainder of his life sang the praises of the emperor. For many years
+he could be seen urging his cattle along the roads between the Rhine
+and the Danube. I happened to come several times into contact with him
+at the inns. I asked him before other travellers about the nature of
+the accident that had cost him his nose, whether he had left it in the
+French country. "Nay, nay," he replied, and with great glee recounted
+his adventure, showering blessings on his Imperial Majesty.
+
+While the emperor was warring in Africa, Martin van Rosse[29] profited
+by the diversion to work his own will in the Netherlands. He had, for
+instance, imposed a ransom on Antwerp on the penalty of burning it to
+the ground. His Majesty, having learnt that he was conducting the
+expedition as a landsknecht, felt curious to get a glimpse of this
+personage. Martin van Rosse was warned too late; the emperor was
+already there. He pulled up his horse before the rebel. The latter,
+dropping on his knee, begged that the past might be forgotten, and
+swore to shed his last drop of blood for the emperor, who touched him
+lightly with his stick on the shoulder, and forgave him everything. "We
+forgive you, Martin," he said, "but do not begin again."
+
+On February 20, 1544, the Diet was opened at Spires. I have heard it
+said that the Elector Palatine Lewis always endeavoured to dissuade his
+Majesty from choosing that town, because his _mathematicus_ had
+predicted that he should die at Spires. In consequence of this,
+perhaps, he presented himself in person to the emperor at the very
+beginning of the session, and at the end of a few days took his leave
+to return to Heidelberg, where he died on March 16.
+
+In default of a church, the Elector of Saxony had religious service
+performed in a tavern where he had put up a seat for the ministers.
+Lutes, fifes, cornets, trumpets and violins, instead of an organ,
+constituted a most agreeable concert. The elector's horse was a most
+robust animal, and there was a stepping stone attached to his saddle.
+
+On the eve of Maundy Thursday at sunset twenty-four flagellants of both
+sexes marched by in their shirts, their faces covered with pieces of
+stuff into which were cut holes for their eyes and mouth, their backs
+sufficiently bare for the birch provided with steel-pointed hooks to
+touch the flesh. It was a hideous spectacle, the hooks tearing pieces
+of flesh away, and causing the blood to trickle down to the ground. The
+penitents advanced very slowly, one by one, in two single files,
+divided as it were by Spanish gentlemen of high degree, each carrying a
+thick wax candle. The whole street was lighted with them. When they
+reached the church of the barefooted Carmelites the procession fell on
+its knees and dragged itself from the porch to the crucifix in the
+choir in that way. Near the entrance the surgeons dressed the wounds;
+rumour had it that two corpses were carried away.
+
+The emperor washed the feet of twelve poor men; the King of the Romans
+did the same. Care had however been taken to ascertain that those
+people were in good health; nay, their feet had been washed beforehand.
+The two sovereigns with napkins round their waists merely dried the
+feet, after which they waited upon the poor at table. "Friends," they
+cordially said to them, "eat and drink."
+
+Like all gatherings of eminent personages, this diet entailed a rise in
+the prices of food, but especially of fish. A Rhine salmon cost sixteen
+crowns; for half of one the purveyor of the Duke of Mecklenburg paid
+eight crowns.
+
+A Spanish gentleman who had taken up his quarters with an amiable widow
+who was looking to his comfort, became imbued with the idea that she
+would not refuse him her favours; so one night he crept into her bed;
+but the widow having got hold of a knife plunged it into his body and
+killed him there and then. Of course, she did not know how to get rid
+of the body; but though certain of her own ruin, she did not stir from
+her home. Her anguish at the prospect of the consequences had reached
+its height when the emperor, informed of the real state of the case,
+sent to reassure her. The Spaniards came to take the body of their
+countryman, and to perform the last duties to it.
+
+On March 20, 1544, the emperor granted the privilege of a coat of arms
+to my brother Johannes, and conferred the title of poet laureate[30] on
+him, in recognition of a poem dedicated to him. Johannes Stigelius also
+offered the emperor a _scriptum poeticum_. His Majesty replied to him
+through the pen of his vice-chancellor, Seigneur Jean de Naves:
+"_Carmen placet Imperatori; Poeta petat, quid velit habebit; Si
+voluerit esse nobilis, erit; si poeta laureatus, erit id quoque; sed
+pecuniam non petat, pecuniam, non habebit._" It might serve as a
+warning to Stralsund not to lavish its money on the first comer who
+thinks fit to dedicate some poor rhymes to it.
+
+On May 19, 1544, I was made a notary by Imperial diploma. Prelate Otto
+Truchess, of Waldburg, bestowed upon my brother a gold chain for a
+_carmen gratulatorium_ on the occasion of his recent installation in
+the see of Augsburg.
+
+Doctor Christopher Hose, ex-procurator and advocate of Stralsund, who
+had been struck off on account of his evangelical faith, had built
+himself a handsome residence at Worms. He came to Spires during the
+Diet. A veteran practitioner, a straightforward and agreeable man, he
+was a favourite with his colleagues, and especially with the young
+ones. He was, however, highly esteemed by everybody, and nobody minded
+him exposing the astute moves of his adversaries. A learned doctor had
+invited him and several colleagues, Master Engelhardt among the number.
+When I got there with my lantern to escort my master home, the evening
+cup was being poured out, and whether I liked it or not, the host and
+Dr. Hose, who were acquainted with my family's circumstances, made me
+sit down at the lower end of the table and offered me cakes, pastry,
+etc. Thereupon Master Engelhardt got up brusquely and wanted to go.
+"Seeing that my servant is sitting down, I had better go. At any rate I
+shall not sit down again unless he remains standing to attend to me,"
+he said. Dr. Hose, however, went on with his little speech to me. "Look
+you here, Pomeranian," he remarked, "the words 'procurator at the
+Imperial Court' are simply synonymous with those of hardened rogue, and
+that is the gist of the matter." (The latter was a favourite
+interjection of his.) "At your age," he went on, "I was also with a
+procurator who run up costs very heavily with his clients without doing
+much for them. Now, just listen to this story. A Franconian gentleman
+entrusted a most important case to my master, gave him a considerable
+retaining fee, and promised him another big sum at the end of the year.
+When the case had been put upon the rolls, the procurator put the
+documents relating to it into a bag, showing the names of the parties
+to the suit in large letters; after which he suspended the bag in the
+usual way with many others in the registry room with which you are
+familiar. At the end of the year he claimed his fees, announcing at the
+same time the termination of the suit and his hurrying on of the
+judgment. The client added to the sum agreed upon a gratification and a
+present for us, the engrossing and copying clerks. Nevertheless, he
+fancied the affair was dragging along, and one fine day he came to
+Spires and rung at our door, and on its being opened my master a once
+recognized the visitor. You are aware that procurators generally have
+their own rooms facing the door, in order to see who came in and went
+out. Thereupon my master runs to the registry chamber, takes down the
+bag in question, and places it on the table. After which he has the
+Franconian shown in, receiving him very cordially, imbuing him at the
+same time with the idea that he never loses sight of his documents. He
+also tells him that he was constantly demanding the execution of the
+judgment, but that he will insist still more strongly, and will send an
+express to his noble client. The latter departed exceedingly satisfied,
+after having offered a rich gift to the procurator's lady. Well, as a
+fact, the lawsuit was not even in its first stage.
+
+"Take my word for it," he went on, "the procurators of the Imperial
+Chamber are past-masters of trickery, and that's the gist of the
+matter. If you have made up your mind to practise at Spires,
+Pomeranian, you must provide yourself with three bags: one for the
+money, one for the documents, and the third for patience. In the course
+of the suit you will see the purse get flatter, the documents grow
+bigger, and patience desert altogether; but you will comfort yourself
+with the thought that the emperor writes to you: 'We, Charles V, by the
+Grace of God Roman Emperor, Perpetual Aggrandizer of the Germanic
+Empire, King of Spain, the Two Sicilies, Jerusalem, Hungary, Dalmatia,
+etc., assure our dear and faithful Bartholomäi Sastrow, of our grace
+and goodwill.' Think of the pleasure and the honour of receiving that
+missive, while you are sitting in the inglenook amidst your family.
+Assuredly it is money well spent." That was the manner of Dr. Hose's
+discourse.
+
+The diet dissolved. King Ferdinand with his two sons, Maximilian and
+Ferdinand, reconducted the landgrave. At their return there was a
+terrible storm, accompanied by hailstones as big as hazel nuts. In
+Spires itself several hundred florins worth of windows were broken. The
+cavalry, hussars and royal trabans fled panic-stricken; it was nothing
+less than a general rout, and the gathering darkness increased the
+confusion. The runaways only reached Spires after the gates were
+closed, and lay down in the outer moats in order to save their lives.
+King Ferdinand appeared on the scene, absolutely alone. He called and
+knocked, shouted his name, and finally succeeded in finding some one
+who recognized him, when of course the gates were thrown open, and they
+sped towards him with many torches. The first question of the king was
+about his sons; nobody had seen them come up. Thereupon more confusion,
+shouting, questioning, and contemplated saddling of horses; but just in
+the nick of time the princes rode up, escorted by a small number of
+men. The trabans pleaded mortal danger in excuse for their neglect of
+duty, and their wounds in fact confirmed the plea, for the king, having
+made them strip, could see how the hailstones had literally riddled
+their bodies. All declared that their mounts no longer answered the
+bit.
+
+The reconstitution of the Imperial Chamber was adjourned. I should have
+regretted returning to the paternal roof before our lawsuit was in a
+fair way of being settled; on the other hand, life at Master
+Engelhardt's was intolerable in consequence of his accursed wife, who
+was a fiend incarnate. Her dreadful character inspired me from that day
+forward with an aversion for petticoat government, and I am likely to
+preserve it until I draw my last breath. My father's interest dictated
+resignation, for my stay at Spires in hurrying up affairs also saved
+expenses of procedure and of correspondence, the latter of which
+threatened to be heavy now and again, when a messenger had to be
+dispatched to Stralsund. I was sufficiently versed in the scribal art
+and in High-German to find employment elsewhere. I was offered a post
+at the chancellerie of the Margrave Ernest of Baden and Hochberg,
+Landgrave of Sansenberg, Overlord of Roetteln and Badenweiler, etc.,
+whose residence was at Pforzheim. It was only six miles (German)
+distant from Spires, and I accepted.
+
+I and my fellow-scribe had been constantly engaged in engrossing deeds.
+As a rule these were petitions addressed either to the emperor or to
+some prince in behalf of the Jews of Swabia or of the Palatinate, who
+paid largely. Our master left us free in that respect. He knew that we
+were not inclined to work for nothing. Eager to earn money we even
+encroached upon our hours of sleep in order to get all the possible
+benefit of the diet. We had, furthermore, the tips of clients in return
+for our promise not to neglect their affairs. The receipts were dropped
+into a solid iron box, secured to the window of the office. Dr.
+Engelhardt kept the key of it. We estimated the treasure at a hundred
+crowns, and looked forward with joy to its division. When I was about
+to leave, the procurator came into the office, opened the box in my
+presence, and emptied it. We gloated over the admirable collection of
+florins, crowns, and other specimens of beautiful German and Welch
+coinage. Master Engelhardt gave me a crown, another to my fellow-clerk,
+and pocketed the rest. Stupefied and dumbstricken we saw him walk away
+with the proceeds of our vigils and our labour. No! Dr. Hose did not
+libel Master Engelhardt.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER V
+
+Stay at Pforzheim--Margrave Ernest--My extreme Penury at Worms,
+followed by great Plenty at a Receiver's of the Order of St. John--I do
+not lengthen this Summary, seeing that but for my Respect for the
+Truth, I would willingly pass over many Episodes in Silence
+
+
+My brother accompanied me as far as Rheinhausen. From thence I got to
+Bruchsall, the residence of the Bishop of Spires, then to Heidelsheim,
+Brettheim, and at last to _patria Philippi_, Pforzheim. I entered upon
+my duties at the Chancellerie on June 24, 1544. My brother Johannes
+went with his master to the baths of Zell, where he met with an
+honourable, young, and good-looking girl from Esslingen. The young
+girl's guardian and her kinsfolk (licentiates, the syndic of Esslingen,
+and other notables) allowed the couple to plight their troth, subject
+to the consent of our parents. It was agreed that my brother should
+proceed to Italy to get his doctor's degree, that he should get married
+on his return, and take his wife with him to Pomerania. Johannes asked
+me to go to Esslingen to see the young girl and her family; her birth,
+character and dowry left nothing to desire. We wrote home each on his
+side; my parents opposed a categorical refusal. After that I never saw
+my brother really in good spirits. The young girl married a wealthy
+goldsmith of Strasburg. When my mother informed us that she and her
+husband gave their consent, it was, alas, too late. Poor Johannes,
+undermined by regret, was visibly wasting away.
+
+Pforzheim is not a large place, and it has only one church. The
+town lies in a hollow amidst smiling plains, watered by a clear,
+health-giving stream, swarming with delicate fish. It is a charming
+place in the summer. The neighbouring lofty mountains are covered with
+dense, almost impenetrable forests full of game. Though lying in a
+valley, the castle commands the town. There are among the population a
+great many learned, modest, pleasant and well brought-up men. All the
+necessities of life, both in good and bad health, are at hand:
+apothecaries, barbers, innkeepers, artisans, etc.; in addition to these
+there are the canticles and sermons of the Evangelical religion. The
+life at court was conducted on economical principles, but on a very
+decent footing, however, and without the slightest attempt at parsimony
+unworthy of a prince. Yet the difference between their usages and those
+of Pomerania was great. The meals consisted of meat, fish, vegetables,
+dried figs, oatmeal porridge, cabbages and a fair ration of bread, and
+in a pewter goblet some ordinary wine, unfortunately in insufficient
+quantity, especially in summer. The counsellors were, however, served a
+second time. There was always plenty of work; there was a secretary of
+seventy, and a chancellor not much his junior, and the most morose of
+all doctors of law.
+
+In 1545 Margrave Ernest concluded a pact of succession with his
+nephews; the negotiations were only waiting for an exchange of deeds. I
+was entrusted with the engrossing of one copy. The text was so long
+that it would scarcely hold on one skin of parchment; it was,
+therefore, necessary to write very close and small. I was rather
+frightened, for the chancellor was difficult to please; one might
+scrape and scratch till the erasure was invisible; he would light a
+candle in plain daylight, hold the deed before the flame, find out the
+flaw, and tear up the document while giving a strong reprimand.
+
+I had been working at that copy for forty-eight hours, when all of a
+sudden an omission of at least a line struck me all at once. I had
+never been in such an awkward position in my life. I might count on
+several days' imprisonment; the only thing that could save me was a
+stratagem. The castle was on the heights, the chancellerie at the foot
+of them in the town itself. When the bugle sounded for dinner I stopped
+behind till everybody was gone; then in the twinkling of an eye I got
+hold of a cat, dipped its tail into the ink, and let it loose on the
+skin of parchment; the deed was all smeared over, the marks of the
+animals feet as distinct as possible. I shut it up and went to my meal.
+When it was over I let my colleagues go first; as they opened the door
+the cat flew at them, and on the table they caught sight of its latest
+masterpiece. At that moment I entered, and they showed me the disaster,
+explaining at the same time how the cat "went" for them. Naturally I
+played at being in despair, equally naturally they all tried to comfort
+me, and thus I came with flying colours out of what threatened to be an
+ugly scrape.
+
+Whenever a condemned man was led to execution, Margrave Ernest made him
+come to him in order to reconcile himself with him. After having asked
+pardon of him for his compulsory sternness, he recommended him to show
+himself firm and bold, the blood of Jesus Christ having been shed not
+in order to save the righteous, but the unjust. Then he shook hands
+with him, and the wretched man was led away.
+
+The Margrave had his apartments right over the principal entrance of
+the castle, so as to see everybody that came in or went out. One day he
+caught sight of the head cook taking away such a magnificent carp that
+its tail showed from under his cloak. "Just listen," exclaimed His
+Highness; "the next time you rob me, either take a carp less big or a
+longer cloak." While they were putting wine in his Highness's cellar,
+two cooks who were going into the town passed by; one had a couple of
+capons stuffed away in his belt. The Margrave called them to lend a
+hand, and wishing to be quick they flung off their cloaks. The scamp
+was not thinking about the birds, which began to peck at his arms while
+he was pulling the rope; thereupon they called all the serving wenches
+out to enjoy the spectacle. There is no need to add that they were the
+laughingstock of them all.
+
+As there was to be a diet at Worms, I was anxious to have an interview
+with my brother. In order to save time I hired a trotter, which carried
+me in a day to Spires, and back the next morning to Pforzheim. The
+return journey, though, nearly cost me my life. I was leaving the hotel
+of Brettheim when I was hailed by a horseman coming out of another inn.
+"Whither are you going?" he asked. "To Pforzheim." "That's capital;
+that's my road; we'll ride together." A mile farther on a side path of
+which I knew enabled us to cut across the country, but at its other end
+they had put down four poles. Instead of turning back I urged my horse,
+which at first puts a forepaw betwixt the poles; it does not free
+itself in time, gets its hind leg in the wrong place, and finally falls
+on its left side. My companion shouts to me to catch hold of the
+animal's head to prevent its moving; then he jumps down himself,
+unbridles and unharnesses my mount, and after having told me to leave
+go its head, starts it with a smart stroke of his riding whip, while I
+am on the ground seated in my saddle, and with one spur caught in the
+belly-band. Had I been alone and without Divine help, I should have
+been dragged along and dashed to pieces. When all danger was over,
+the horseman told me that our roads parted on that spot. In vain
+did I remind him of his intention to go to Pforzheim; he wished me
+good-night, recommending me to the care of God and all His angels. I
+was anxious to offer him a finger's breadth of wine at the next inn; he
+declined my offer, on the pretext that its acceptance would cause too
+great a delay. I shall never cease to believe that my saviour was a
+holy angel.
+
+Johannes approved of my intention to leave Pforzheim for Worms, where
+the diet would most probably proceed with the reconstitution of the
+Imperial Chamber. Then would be the right moment to return to Spires.
+The Margrave when I left, sent me half a golden florin, besides a court
+dress.
+
+All at once there grew under my right nostril a pustule as big as a
+grain of barley; I punctured it frequently, and there came more blood
+from it than one could have imagined, but the kind of tumour did not
+disappear, not even when the surgeon whom I consulted cut it. It kept
+growing again, so, in order to destroy its root, as he said, he rubbed
+it with what I suppose was _aqua fortis_, for it caused me a horrible
+pain. I suffered most when going to Spires, owing to the cold and the
+wind; my nose swelled enormously.
+
+On April 17 my brother accompanied me to Hütten, a mile and a half
+distant from Spires. There we parted, weeping bitterly; we had a
+presentiment that we should never see each other again, or even write.
+Next morning Johannes started for Italy.
+
+His Imperial Majesty being detained in the Netherlands with gout, the
+king of the Romans opened the diet of Worms on March 24, 1545. Only a
+small number of princes came, so the emperor, when he arrived,
+prorogued the diet until the next year.
+
+The spiteful, impious and fiendish wife of Procurator Engelhardt had
+made my life at Spires a misery, but at Worms I suffered hunger and
+thirst and all the wretchedness of downright distress. I wish this to
+be remembered not only by my children, but by all those who happen to
+read me. I carried the whole of my belongings upon me, namely: the
+court dress given to me at Pforzheim, two shirts, a sword with a silver
+tip to its sheath, and the six florins the Margrave had sent me, the
+whole constituting but a scant provision. The absence of the Emperor
+interfered with my livelihood; there was little work to do for
+copyists, and under those unfavourable conditions I stayed for twelve
+weeks. A canon, brother to Johannes' employer, gave me shelter during
+the first fortnight, after which he left for Mayence. The envoy of the
+dukes of Pomerania, Maurice Domitz, captain of Ukermünde, who knew my
+family very well, put, it is true, his purse at my disposal, knowing as
+he did that he would be reimbursed at Stralsund; the syndic of Lubeck
+was also at Worms with Franz von Sitten, my Rostock chum; neither the
+one nor the other would have refused to do me a service; borrowing
+meant, however, imposing new sacrifices upon my parents, so I preferred
+to suffer privation.
+
+My nose caused me severe pain for a long while; when it gave me some
+respite, my mornings and afternoons were spent in walks, either with my
+countrymen from Mecklenburg, Pomerania or Lubeck, or with the friends I
+had made in Worms. Nobody had any idea of my being as poor as I was. At
+the dinner hour, when everybody repaired to the inn, I bought a
+pfenning's worth of bread, and the public fountain supplied the drink
+gratis; it was very rare that I took a little soup with a piece of meat
+as big as an egg in it, at the eating house. The owner of the
+establishment allowed me, in consideration of a kreutzer, to spend the
+night on a wooden seat; a bed would have cost half a batz (a batz was
+equal to about a penny of those days), and the wooden seat seemed
+preferable, inasmuch as I had sufficient "live stock" of my own,
+without picking up that of others. I sold the silver tip of my sword
+sheath, an iron tip as it seemed to me, to meet all my requirements. I
+subsequently disposed of one of my two shirts for what it would fetch;
+the six florins had melted away, and I wanted the wherewithal to buy
+dry bread. When my remaining shirt was dirty I went to wash it in the
+Rhine, and waited in the sun while it was drying; all this was so much
+money saved, no cost of laundry, soap, ironing or pleating.
+
+My small clothes fell on my heels; I myself could no longer repair
+them. The "snip" at Worms would have asked not less than a batz; at
+Spires, on the other hand, it would have been done for half the price.
+So I made up my mind to go to Spires. I only reached the outer
+fortifications after the closing of the gates. Dying with hunger,
+thirst and fatigue, I lay down in the moat where I almost perished with
+cold. Next morning, at the tailor's, after having undressed, I sat
+huddled up all the while he was mending my clothes. I went back to
+Worms at a "double quick," having done twelve miles to save half a
+batz.
+
+The constant want of nourishment had made me weak, and with my blood in
+a bad state, incapable of holding a pen if I had found any copying to
+do. My distress was at its worst when one of my kindest acquaintances
+the secretary of the Bishop of Strasburg, informed me that being in
+need of a writer, he was going to recommend me to his master, but the
+prelate said no because Pomeranians professed the Evangelical religion.
+Finally, through the good offices of the secretary of the Order of St.
+John, the chancellor succeeded in getting me a place at the receiver's
+of the said order. Great indeed, was the deliverance, and joy reigned
+in my heart instead of despondency. It was only later on that my eyes
+were opened to the dangers of my new condition.
+
+On July 9, 1545, then, Christopher von Loewenstein, receiver of the
+Order of St. John for Lower and Upper Germany (he had been present at
+the taking of Rhodes by the Turks), engaged my services as a scribe. He
+promised me a complete dress and boots, such as his other servants
+received, but he did not stipulate the amount of my salary; he gave me
+to understand, though, that I should have no reason to grumble.
+
+The function of receiver consisted in collecting the revenues of the
+various commanderies on account of the knights of Rhodes actually at
+Malta. At the demise of a commander, the receiver takes possession of
+the property of the defunct, and despatches it with the ordinary
+interest by means of bills of exchange to the Grand Master of the
+Order, who at that time was a Frankish gentleman, Don Jean de Homedes.
+The Grand Master confers for life the vacant benefice upon this or that
+knight who has distinguished himself before the enemy. The right of
+installing the new commander belongs to the receiver, who derives
+enormous profits from his office.
+
+My master had, moreover, seven commanderies of his own; he was,
+therefore, perfectly justified in having eight horses in his stable
+like a great noble. He gave me the money to take the coach to
+Oppenheim, whence I was to proceed by water to Mayence, where he
+himself was to make a stay of several days. Mayence, Frankfurt and
+Niederweisel were the three commanderies which most often required his
+personal attention.
+
+Niederweisel is an imperial town of the Wetterau, between Butzbach and
+Fribourg. Herr von Loewenstein spent the greater part of the year in a
+magnificent dwelling, replete with every imaginable comfort; spacious
+dwellings kept in excellent condition had been erected around a vast
+court; granges, stables, riding school, brewery and bakery, kitchens,
+atop of which were the refectory and the servants' quarters; at one
+end of the court the master himself occupied a handsome room and
+dressing-room, affording an uninterrupted view of the whole. A deep
+moat crossed by a drawbridge ran round the structure. And I, after
+having wanted the strictly necessary at Worms, found myself suddenly
+wading in plenty. The effect of the abrupt change of fortune may easily
+be imagined.
+
+Though short in height, my master had won his benefices by his bravery
+at the siege of Rhodes. In his riper age he remained the soldier he had
+been in his youth. Daily feasting, succulent cheer, washed down by
+copious libations--a numerous company always around him--his revenues
+enabled him to lead that kind of expensive existence. The commandery
+being on the high road, landsknecht and horseman, sure of liberal
+entertainment, regularly made a halt there; the neighbours themselves
+were not more sparing with their visits; in short, gaming, feasting and
+drinking took up all the time.
+
+The commander had practically a concubine under his own roof. He chose
+her with an eye to beauty, dressed and adorned her according to his
+means; when he wished a little more freedom, he married her to one of
+his equerries, gave her a home at Butzbach, and provided her against
+want. Butzbach being within a stone's throw of Niederweisel, he
+reserved to himself the option of seeing her when he liked. In my time,
+he lived with Marie Koenigstein, the daughter of the defunct town clerk
+of Mayence; she was, moreover, his god-daughter, and by her father's
+will his ward. Beauty, education, excellent manners, kindliness: all
+these and many other qualities were hers. Why had she not met with a
+more staid and sober guardian? She was about eighteen, when one fine
+day the commander came to Mayence in a closed carriage, sent for the
+young girl, told her to get in for a few moments and drove her as fast
+as the horses would carry them to Neiderweisel. So effectually did he
+hide her that for seven or eight weeks her brothers and relations did
+not know what had become of her. Finally, by dint of gifts, the
+commander succeeded in mollifying the brother, whom he sent to the
+Grand Master of the Order. As for Marie, she had everything she could
+wish for in the matter of silken gowns, gold-embroidered cuffs and
+sable furs.
+
+I was lucky enough to find favour with the commander. Every
+peasant-tenant of the seven commanderies held his homestead on a lease;
+and I had a crown for each renewal. I wore a dress like that of the
+equerries. Madame Marie looked to my shirts, handkerchiefs and
+night-caps and kept them in good condition. A nice well furnished room,
+close to the drawbridge did duty both as a bedchamber and study. I had
+my meals at the commander's board with his guests, Marie, the chaplain
+and the three equerries. Well fitting clothes, a sword with a silver
+sheath-tip, and a golden ring on my little finger contributed greatly
+to transform me into a young gallant; my pitiful figure of Worms was
+completely transformed; I improved physically and found favour in the
+eyes of the fair.
+
+As for my duties, they were not very heavy; the only commanderies that
+gave us trouble now and again were those of the Landgrave of Hesse;
+they grudgingly settled their dues in consequence of the antipathy of
+the landgrave, for my master, who did not worry himself much about
+religious matters, was neither a papist nor a Lutheran, only Knight of
+the Order. The intrigues of the court compelled Herr von Loewenstein,
+therefore, to summon the Hessian commanderies before the tribunals; and
+the results, as far as I was concerned, were frequent journeys to
+Cassel and to the chancellerie of Marburg.
+
+The commander had a rich collection of bits, bridles, saddles and
+saddle-cloths; he kept three equerries, though only one bore that
+title; the stable held seven or eight young stallions from Friesland
+that had been bought at the Frankfort fair. When the commander went out
+on horseback, a frequent occurrence, I accompanied him with the
+equerries; he made us change our mounts each time and entrusted us with
+horses costing between sixty and seventy, while he himself only rode an
+indifferent cob not worth half-a-score of florins. His horses were all
+of the same colour; when he grew tired of that colour he sold the
+cattle at half-price or gave them away, just to get rid of them. On one
+occasion he fancied a good ambling animal; he had happened to meet with
+a dappled grey, strong, clean-limbed and a capital pacer. It was valued
+at a hundred crowns; he, however, soon afterwards offered it to the
+Elector of Mayence who was very anxious for it and reserved it for his
+personal use.
+
+The commander kept a fool of about eighteen, but who had been downright
+mad from the day of his birth. On one occasion the fellow entered his
+master's room and told him that he had been embracing the cowherd's
+daughter in the shed. He spoke out plainly without the least disguise.
+"After dinner, we mean to begin again in the same spot," he added.
+"Beware of St. Valentine's evil," said the commander. "Yes, sir, at the
+stroke of twelve, at the grange; your Grace will be able to bear
+witness to it." The commander hurried up and arrived _opere operato_.
+He sent to Friburg for the operator and signified his sentence to the
+fool who kicked against it. The commander, however, promised him a pair
+of crimson boots. "True, will your Grace give me your hand on the
+promise?" said the idiot. The commander gave him his hand; thereupon
+the fool exclaimed: "Come, Master Johannes, make haste." The operator
+stretched him on a bench, where the other servants kept him motionless,
+for at the first cut of the razor he began to resist. Master Johannes
+proceeded quickly and surely.[31] ... The patient remained for nine
+days on his back on a narrow couch, bound hand and foot so that he
+could not move an inch. The commander had given instructions to treat
+him with every care.
+
+Master Johannes very soon deemed the fool sufficiently recovered to get
+rid of him, but at the commander's wish he kept him for some time
+longer in his room to the great annoyance of Master Johannes' young and
+good-looking wife; the latter had a strong objection to the fool's
+telling all sorts of tales about herself and her husband, on whose
+doings he spied night and day. He became a great nuisance, for in spite
+of his operation he grew fat and saucy, and at the death of the
+Commander, Landgrave Philippe sent for him to come to Cassel.
+
+The chaplain was a fine specimen of the young debauchee. Instead of
+preaching the pure doctrine of Luther he performed mass twice a week in
+the chapel of the commandery. To get to the chapel he had to go through
+the servants' refectory just at breakfast time. He simply sat down, got
+hold of a spoon and dipped it into the soup. "Master Johannes," said
+we, "you know it is forbidden to eat before the mass?" "Nonsense," he
+replied; "the Saviour gets through bolts and locks; the soup won't stop
+him."
+
+Herr von Loewenstein owned an old ape, a strong customer, who could get
+into formidable passions. The animal, which was kept on a chain, would
+only allow its master, the baker and myself, to come near it. Most
+dangerous was it when showing its teeth, as if laughing. When I sat
+down within its reach, I dared not get up without its leave; perched on
+my shoulder, it amused itself by scratching my head, and I had to wait
+till it got tired; then I shook hands with it and I was allowed to go.
+One day a landsknecht, a handsome, well built fellow, tempted by the
+prospect of a good meal, came into the commandery. He carried a
+javelin, and the ape, who unfortunately was free of his chain, jumped
+at him, and after having wrenched the weapon from him, bit him in
+several places that it was most pitiful to see; after which it crossed
+the moat, climbed to its master's window, opened it, and made its way
+into the room. With one glance the commander perceived that the animal
+was in a rage; he endeavoured to soothe it with kindly words. It so
+happened that a silver dagger was lying near the window sill; our ape
+ties it round its waist; thereupon the commander gently draws the
+weapon from its sheath, plunges it into the animal, and notwithstanding
+its bites, holds it pinned down until the breath is out of it. There is
+no denying that an ape is a terrible creature when it gets on in years
+and grows big.
+
+After the harvest our master wished to go partridge-hawking, for
+his hawks were well trained. As his dapple-grey was being brought
+round--the one that ambled so capitally--the unexpected visit of
+several strange horsemen interrupted the party; the commander gave me
+his hawk, telling me to go without him. Just as I am getting my right
+leg over the saddle the bird beat its wings, the horse frightened, gets
+out of hand of the groom, and I am caught in the stirrup; more
+concerned for the hawk than for my safety, I drop backward, the horse
+continues to plunge, drags me along, kicking me all the while, the
+commander and his frightened guests looking powerlessly on. Luckily my
+shoe and my left hose give way and stick to the stirrup, while I am
+left on the ground, with nothing more serious, though, than a couple of
+swollen limbs. Nevertheless, on that day I had a very narrow escape
+from death.
+
+The Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse constantly raising
+levies against the Duke of Brunswick, the commandery swarmed with
+colonels and captains.[32] They offered me the post of secretary; the
+arrangement was, in fact, concluded, but I did not wish to go except
+with the consent of the commander. He granted me my leave, though
+giving me to understand that I should not expect to return to his
+service after the war. And inasmuch as the war was to be a short one,
+the warning gave me food for reflection. The winter was coming on; I
+certainly had no wish for a repetition of my privations at Worms. I
+remained, for the following lines recurred to my memory:
+
+      _Si qua sede sedes, et erat tibi commoda sedes
+      Illâ sede sede, nec ab illâ sede recede_.
+
+Several companies of landsknechten were reviewed; and nothing could
+have been more diverting than to watch the inspector examine the
+weapons and the shape of the men, their dress and their gait. He made
+them march past him rather twice than once. How each man tried to hide
+his shortcomings, and how those who were "passed" as fit blew
+themselves, and swaggered and talked loud and boastfully like the
+hirelings they were. The war came to an end on October 21, with the
+capture of Duke Henry of Brunswick and his son, Charles Victor; his
+second son, Philippe, hastened to Rome to ask for help of the pope.
+
+At the autumn fair Herr von Loewenstein took up his quarters at
+Frankfurt with the whole of his household for six weeks. My old chum,
+Franz von Stiten, coming across me once more, I told him everything
+about my position, and when I had given him the address of the House of
+the Knights of St. John, he arranged to come and pay me a visit one
+morning before the commander was stirring. And, in fact, he came, and
+had a long conversation with Marie, to whom he gave particulars about
+my parents, birth, and family circumstances. The information still
+further disposed the damsel in my favour; in short, I am bound to
+confess that I lost all claim to the meritorious reputation of Joseph
+the chaste. Since then I have acknowledged my sin to the Almighty, and
+I have sufficiently expiated it during my journey to Rome to count upon
+my pardon; besides, amidst the privations, dangers and trials which I
+am about to relate, however just the punishment may have been, the
+Divine mercy has never failed me, sending me protection and deliverance
+as it did in its admirable ways.
+
+While my master drank and gamed with his guests (he was rarely alone,
+and in Frankfurt less than elsewhere) I read, in the quietude of my own
+room, the _Institutes_, which I nearly always carried about with me. In
+vain did Herr von Loewenstein tell me again and again not to expect to
+become a doctor of law while I was with him. I did not fear any
+opposition from that quarter.
+
+In February 1546 my master having been summoned to Spires, the habitual
+residence of the superior of the Order for Germany, only left Marie and
+myself behind at Mayence. A letter from my parents, telling me of the
+death of my brother in Rome, made me decide upon my journey to Rome.
+There was not the slightest trace left of the sufferings I had
+undergone at Worms; my health was excellent, I had a well-stocked
+wardrobe, and my purse was fairly lined. On the other hand, the loose
+morals of the Knights of St. John were calculated to take me to hell
+rather than to heaven; the money earned in such a service could not
+bring luck; it was better to spend it on the high roads, and to cut
+myself adrift from such a reprehensible mode of life. Undoubtedly the
+time had come. Besides, it was absolutely necessary to ascertain the
+circumstances of my brother's death; I knew the sum of money he had
+with him, and the idea of his having spent it in so short a time was
+inadmissible. I told my reasons, though not all, to Marie; we parted on
+the most amicable footing. In the letter she gave me for the commander,
+she informed him of the sum she had given me at my departure, leaving
+it to him to increase it. Herr von Loewenstein wished me happiness and
+luck, and advised me, if I valued my life, to abstain in Italy, but
+above all in Rome, from all theological controversy; finally, he added
+a double ducat to Marie's gift. From Spires I went a little out of my
+way to see my friends at Pforzheim; after having said goodbye to them I
+began my long journey, alone and on foot, under the holy safeguard of
+the Almighty.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER VI
+
+Travels in Italy--What happened to me in Rome--I take Steps to recover
+my Brother's Property--I become aware of some strange Particulars--I
+suddenly leave Rome
+
+
+I started from Mayence on April 8, 1546, and after crossing an unknown
+country by bad roads, I reached Kempten, an ancient imperial city at
+the foot of the Alps, and the see of an important abbey. The unpleasant
+parts of the journey hitherto had been solitude and fatigue, when at a
+quarter of an hour from Kempten there appeared two wolves of very good
+size. They were making for a plantation of oaks on the other side of
+the road, but when they got to the highway, at a stone's throw from
+where I was, they stopped "to take stock of me." Evidently they were
+going to make a mouthful of my poor, insignificant person. What was I
+to do? To beat a retreat was practically to invite their pursuit. To
+advance was to lessen at every step the distance dividing us. Trusting
+to God's good will, I kept marching on, and the wolves disappeared in
+the underwood. I hurried on, to escape the double risk of meeting the
+carnivora again or to find the city gates shut against me, for night
+was coming on apace. At the hostelry nobody seemed surprised at the
+meeting, for the neighbouring mountains swarmed with large packs of the
+animals. What they wondered at was the manner in which I got out of the
+danger. I offered thanks to the Lord.
+
+I lay two nights at Kempten, because I was told not to venture alone in
+those mountains, where wild beasts and murderers prevailed. Meanwhile
+three Hollanders, proceeding to Rome and to Naples, arrived at the inn;
+it was the very opportunity I wanted; other travellers going to Venice
+joined our little caravan. Every evening, or at least one out of every
+two, we plunged our feet into running water; it proved a sovereign
+remedy against fatigue, recommended by the Hollanders.
+
+The council was sitting at Trent. Before that town we made a halt in
+the middle of the day, in one of the burghs called markets, because
+they are too large for a village and too small for a town,
+notwithstanding their having a few stone houses. After having cooled
+our feet in the running stream we prepared for ourselves a meal of hot
+milk, eggs, and other eatables we had managed to find. The host and
+hostess who had been invited to the feast were most obliging; they
+foresaw a fat bill. Having had a good rest and plenty of food and
+drink, and having paid our reckoning, we bade them goodbye, and we
+already were at a considerable distance when a horseman came galloping
+after us, signalling us to stop by raising his hat. He brought me the
+satchel of brown damask that contained the whole of my fortune. I had
+left it behind lying on the table. The man absolutely refused to accept
+any reward. I wonder if I could find any instance of such
+disinterestedness in our country?
+
+At Easter I heard most delicious singing in the Trent churches. I have
+heard the musicians of Duke Ulrich of Würtenberg (and they were a
+subject of pride with him), of the Elector of Saxony, of the King of
+the Romans, not to mention those of the Emperor, but what a difference.
+Old men, with beards almost reaching to their waists, sang the upper
+notes with a purity and skill fit to compare with those of the most
+accomplished youngster. Trent boasts of the most elegant castle of
+Germany and Italy. I also saw there the tomb of the child Simeon, the
+innocent victim of the Jews.[33]
+
+A great personage had posted from Venice to the council; the rider, who
+was to take the carriage back, allowed me for a trifle to mount the
+second horse. It was agreed that I should wait for my companions at
+_The White Lion_ in Venice.
+
+At a short distance from Trent one gets into Lombardy. After a lone and
+difficult journey across the Alps, during which there is nothing to be
+seen but the sky and the mountains rearing their heads against the
+clouds, it was like entering into another world. The air was balmy, the
+country revelling in green; and if I had wanted a thousand florins'
+worth of cherries, I could have got them far more easily than in
+Pomerania in the middle of June. Lombardy is a beautiful land, of
+fertile and well cultivated plains. The trees are planted at thirty
+feet from each other, with an interval of sixty feet between each row;
+the vine extends its branches from one tree to another, and the grapes
+ripen between pears and apples. The corn grows between the trees; at
+the end of the fields there are reservoirs the water of which is
+distributed every morning by means of locks into the irrigation canals.
+The country resembles a vast prairie. The sun sheds his rays the whole
+day; no wonder that the earth is so fruitful. There are two crops of
+grain every year. From Trent to Venice there are also many important
+towns and castles.
+
+I reached Venice towards the end of April. The public promenade helped
+me to kill the time while waiting for the arrival of my companions; and
+as my dress attracted the notice of the children in the street, who
+pursued me with the cry: "_Tu sei Tedesco, percio Luterano!_" I had it
+altered to the Welch fashion.
+
+An aged priest, travelling with a servant to attend to his horse, had
+left the Low Countries with the mad intention of visiting the Holy
+Sepulchre; my companions practically catechized him on the subject of
+religion, and the poor man showed himself so little versed that I came
+to his aid by pretending to be a Roman Catholic. In acknowledgment of
+the service I had rendered him, he paid my reckoning at the inn, and
+wished to take me with him at his expense to Jerusalem. I cannot say if
+he saw his own household gods again, but he did not shake my resolution
+to proceed to Rome.
+
+Venice and its environs, especially Murano, where the most precious
+glass is manufactured, would be sufficient to claim one's interest and
+attention for a whole twelvemonth; but our resources required
+husbanding, and we proceeded to Chioggia to embark in a big ship
+sailing for Ancona. Contrary winds kept us in port a considerable time;
+to pass the time we played skittles outside the walls. We carried our
+daggers at our backs in Walloon fashion, which caused us to be summoned
+before the authorities. How did we dare to appear in public armed with
+daggers--a crime which was punished with hanging in Italy? In
+consideration of our presumed ignorance of the law, mercy would be
+shown to us this once, but we ought to take it as a warning. The
+magistrates inquired whence we came, and whence we hailed, etc., and
+their astonishment was intense when they learnt that my country was two
+hundred leagues away on the shores of the Baltic, and was called
+Pomerania. Then the interrogatory went on: "Do you profess the Catholic
+religion?" "Yes," I answered. "Do you admit the doctrine of our holy
+father, the pope?" "What is your opinion with regard to the Mother of
+God, the saints and the celebration of mass?" "In our country the
+Church teaches that at the moment St. John baptized Christ, God the
+Father spoke these words: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
+pleased; listen to him.' The doctrine of the Son of God and of the
+apostles is, therefore, the pure Catholic doctrine; and whosoever
+preaches it deserves belief. With regard to the blessed Virgin Mary,
+the saints and the mass, we entirely submit to the word of God."
+Finally, on our statement that we were going to Rome, the magistrates,
+inclining their heads with a smile, recommended us to God's keeping and
+to His holy angels.
+
+At the first favourable wind we took ship, provided with the quantity
+of provisions the pilot had told us. After having passed Ravenna and
+other beautiful cities of the Adriatic, we cast anchor at Ancona, a
+town driving a considerable trade, and provided with an excellent port
+in the shape of a half moon, affording shelter from the most violent
+tempests. Here our company was still further increased by a certain
+Petrus from the Low Countries, a handsome young fellow, tall and well
+set up, who for a long time had been soldiering in Welch countries. He
+made us go round by Our Lady of Loretto, a locality famed for the
+indulgences granted to its pilgrims. It would be difficult to conceive
+anything more wild than the country--a veritable brigands' haunt. The
+town has but one long street, at the end of which there is a small
+chapel, the tenement reputed to have been occupied by the Virgin Mary
+at Nazareth and transported thence by the angels. In a niche there is
+an image of the Virgin, alleged to be the work of St. Luke. For a
+certain consideration a priest will rub the rosaries against the image,
+and under those conditions the pilgrim obtains so many indulgences that
+he would not part with them for an empire. The quills of the porcupine
+constitute one of the principal articles for sale at Loretto. I saw a
+great many of those animals alive; they are about the size of a
+hedgehog. I ornamented my hat with a large leaden medal of the Virgin
+surmounted by three quills fastened with a silken thread, and each with
+a small flag at the end. I also saw at Loretto a live chamois, the only
+one I ever beheld, though chamois are not rare in that country, and
+above all in the Alps. The flesh of the chamois is preferred to that of
+the deer. I have tasted it; I have even worn several pair of small
+clothes of chamois leather; it is excellent, and you can wash it like
+linen, and the skin remains as soft as ever.
+
+Petrus was known everywhere, and principally in the mountains. Without
+ever having studied to that effect, he could pride himself upon being a
+good musician and being able to sing at sight. In every town he took us
+straight to a monastery, where the young monks hailed him by his name,
+feasted him, bringing him wine and refreshment; then they sang a piece
+of music, drank a cup of wine, and we took our leave. This Petrus was a
+precious travelling companion; added to his knowledge of the country,
+he had a most agreeable disposition, _et comes facundus in via pro
+vehiculo est_. He told us where he was born and how many years he had
+lived in Italy, far away from his parents, whom, however, he was most
+anxious to see again. I, in my turn, told him the business that called
+me to Rome; he offered to accompany me on the return journey. The
+voyage from Milan and across France was delightful, he said; he was
+familiar with the roads as far as the Low Countries. I was delighted
+with the proposal, which, as will be seen, was wellnigh fatal to me. In
+Rome, after having settled us in a hostelry, Petrus gave me his
+address, and we agreed to meet often.
+
+On May 26, 1546, I presented myself at the house of Doctor Gaspard
+Hoyer, who, at the first glance, knew my identity by my likeness to
+Magister Johannes. He changed my straw hat, ornamented with the holy
+relic which I had bought at Loretto, for a black biretta of Italian
+fashion, a headgear very much worn in those days at Rome. He had with
+him Gerard Schwartz, the younger brother of Master Arndt Schwartz, and
+in talking together we discovered that we had left Trent on the same
+day without having fallen in with each other, Schwartz having travelled
+by way of Ferrara. He was a very scholarly young man, and a near
+kinsman of Dr. Hoyer. I never saw him again; and one day, when I asked
+Master Arndt Schwartz, he told me that Gerard had come back to
+Stralsund mentally affected, and that subsequently he disappeared. I
+have got an idea that he had contracted an illness in Rome which he
+dared not avow to his relatives.
+
+Master Gaspard Hoyer had only learnt of the death of my brother
+thirteen days before my arrival, in a letter from my father. The news
+had grieved and surprised him, but there remained the fact that my
+parents in Pomerania had been informed more promptly of the misfortune
+than an inhabitant of Rome. I conceived many tragic suspicions, on the
+subject of which I could only trust to God. Dr. Hoyer proved his
+goodwill by accompanying me to the Cardinal Count de St. Flore,[34]
+whose servant my late brother had been; he presented me, exposed my
+wretched situation, and renewed the request he had preferred at the
+receipt of my father's letter. The cardinal was exquisitely
+sympathetic; he had promptly communicated with his steward at
+Acquapendente, and he expected the reply, together with my brother's
+belongings, at every moment. Nevertheless, Master Hoyer had to wait
+until July 1 without receiving another summons to call. He considered
+my presence necessary, and on our way he told me that he and the
+cardinal had offered my brother a canonry at Lubeck, and that in
+consequence of his refusal my brother had become strongly suspected of
+Lutheranism.
+
+We were taken at once to the cardinal, who handed me five-and-twenty
+golden crowns, three double ducats, two golden florins, two rose
+nobles, one florin of Hungary, three angelots (French money), a golden
+chain of twenty and a half crowns, three golden rings (the first being
+a seal, the second a keepsake, and the third set with a turquoise),
+worth seven and a half crowns, another half-crown in gold, and three
+Juliuses. I was told at the same time that my brother had spent thirty
+crowns in clothes, that during his illness he had bequeathed twenty
+crowns to the poor, and that his tombstone had cost another thirty.
+According to Roman custom, the servants had divided his wardrobe among
+themselves. The cardinal said also to me: "_Legit aliquoties libros
+mihi admodum suspectos, et quanquam admonui eum, ut non legeret, tamen
+deprehendi saepius legentem._"
+
+After this he asked me several questions of interest about Pomerania.
+Was it as hot there as in Rome? The cardinal, in fact, was sitting in
+his shirt sleeves, in a large room whose window panes were made of
+linen instead of glass; the floor was constantly sprinkled with water,
+which by a nice contrivance ran away. My reply caused the cardinal to
+exclaim: "_O utinam et Romae ejusmodi temperatum aërem haberemus._"
+After Master Hoyer had thanked him in both our names, we took our
+leave. "Did you hear what the cardinal said?" asked the doctor, when we
+were in the streets once more. "No doubt I did," was the answer. "Yes,"
+he remarked, "Master Johannes' stay at Acquapendente was a very short
+one; and yet, no German was ever less fond of Italian fruit, fresh
+figs, melons, etc., than he." People ought to know that those fruits
+are delicious, but harmful to those who are not used to them. Many a
+German on his first arrival yields to the temptation, and pays for the
+imprudent act with his life. Besides, Dr. Hoyer had not had the
+slightest anxiety with regard to my brother, whom only very recently he
+had met in the street. I left the money and the trinkets with Dr. Hoyer
+until my departure.
+
+Master Gaspard Hoyer was an honest, loyal and obliging little man; may
+the Lord watch over him. In order to make my money hold out, he took a
+good deal of trouble to find me a place with the superintendent of the
+hospitium of Santa-Brigitta, an aged Swedish priest, who took boarders
+from among the advocates, procurators and suitors of the Tribunal of
+the Rote. To cook, to wash up, to make the beds, to lay the table, and
+to clear it, to bring the wine from the cellar, and to serve it, these
+were my functions, for which I received half a crown per month.
+Apparently they were satisfied with my culinary talent; it is true, I
+had only to prepare the soup, called "minestra"; the other dishes came
+from the tavern. In Rome, where there are so many people who cannot
+publicly live with a woman, and where it swarms with suitors and
+pleaders who would find it difficult to keep up a house, there are
+excellent taverns, providing fish, flesh, game, poultry roast, boiled
+pasties, and delicate wines; in short, everything necessary to a
+princely banquet.
+
+One day, while at meat, my master announced the happy tidings of the
+death of Dr. Luther; the heresiarch had met with the end he deserved; a
+legion of devils had swooped down upon him, and a horrible din had put
+all those around him to flight. Luther himself had bellowed like a
+bull, and at the last moment he had uttered a terrible yell; his spirit
+went on haunting the house. The boarders vied with each other in
+falling foul of "that abominable Luther," that limb of Satan, doomed,
+like all the other demons, to everlasting fire. The only one who did
+not join in this charitable colloquy was a procurator of the Rote; he
+only opened his lips to murmur now and again: "_O Jesu, fili Dei,
+miserere mei_," to the tune of that famous Italian song, to which there
+seems no end, "_Fala lilalela_."
+
+My master, who performed mass at the chapel of the hospitium, hit upon
+the idea to take me as his acolyte; my ignorance of the various
+movements and my lukewarmness to learn, made him exclaim: "_Profecto tu
+es Lutheranus!_" "_Sum Christianus_," I replied, "my schooling in my
+native country, and my daily work at Spires by the receiver of the
+Order of St. John, left me no leisure to think of mass." I am bound to
+confess that as we went on, the suspicions of my new master did not
+fail to inspire me with fears for my safety. My master officiated at
+all the masses on saints' days, both in town and in the neighbourhood;
+there were as many as three on the same day; and as the journey from
+one church to the other was long, and we left at daybreak to return
+very late at night, our satchel contained a large flagon of wine and
+substantial food. Each altar was completely prepared for mass; our
+master halted before the altar nearest to the entrance, put on his
+chasuble and said a mass. The first one I heard; then we departed for
+another church, and there, while my master officiated, I sat down
+behind the altar, my satchel on my knee, and ate a comfortable morsel,
+and washed it down with a moderately full cup. At meal time the priest
+noted the deficiency, and asked me for an explanation; I frankly
+confessed my inability to prolong the fast, which after all I was not
+bound to observe, inasmuch as I did not say mass. The explanation was
+more or less graciously received.
+
+This visit to the various stations enabled me to see and to learn a
+great many in a short time, for my master, who knew the city
+thoroughly, was very pleased to show me its curiosities, and often went
+a long way round for my sake. Rome has close upon one hundred and fifty
+churches, seven of which count as principal ones. There are many
+abbeys, convents and asylums. I did not see all these buildings, and
+the majority of those I saw did not strike me as remarkable. At the
+door of each church a tablet tells the dates of the pilgrimages and the
+number of indulgences to be gained; the general list of the pilgrimages
+and of the indulgences is also sold separately. The annual number of
+stations or pilgrimages exceeds a hundred; hence, one can redeem all
+one's sins at least a dozen times; that is, eleven times more than is
+necessary, and one is furthermore gratified with a hundred thousand
+years of indulgences. O, good Jesus, why didst not thou remain in
+heaven, if our salvation is after all to depend upon holy popes and
+their magnificent indulgences, notwithstanding which they have to go
+and join the devils in hell.
+
+A special mention is due to the Asylum of the Holy Spirit, the pride of
+Rome, and which is considered by the wise as the most meritorious work
+of Christendom. Rome contains a mass of single folk of both sexes; the
+pope's _entourage_ consists of fifteen or sixteen cardinals, whose
+establishments are kept on a footing as good as that of the courts of
+our princes of Germany. Then there are about a hundred bishops having
+servants, and several thousand prelates, canons and priests with their
+servitors. I refrain from numbering the young monks, who keep their vow
+of chastity as a dog observes Lent. Nor should we forget the assessors,
+advocates, procurators, notaries and pleaders of a hundred different
+countries who crowd the law courts. All these are forbidden to have a
+wife. Nevertheless, thousands of them shelter under their roofs persons
+of the fair sex, supposed cooks, washerwomen and chambermaids. And now
+calculate the number of disorderly women.
+
+They, however, enjoy a wonderful liberty, and it is safer to wound or
+even to kill a man in Rome than to treat roughly an importunate harlot.
+At Vespers, great lords, pope, cardinals, bishops and prelates send for
+these "damsels of joy." They come to their homes in male disguise; the
+others know exactly where to find them.
+
+The courtesans sell their wares at a high price, for they stroll about
+attired in velvet, damasks, silks, and resplendent in gold. They cannot
+sell their favours cheaply, inasmuch as they pay a heavy tax, which,
+together with the proceeds of masses, constitutes the revenues of the
+priests with which Rome swarms. If one wishes to ascertain the revenues
+of an ecclesiastic, he asks: "How many harlots?" and the figures show
+whether he, the ecclesiastic, is more or less favoured. No wonder,
+then, that, privileged in that manner, magnificently dressed and kept
+in splendour, prostitutes come to Rome from all parts. It is worthy of
+notice that the young girls of Rome emulate the others with zest. (Dr.
+Hoyer's cook, a native of Nuremburg, must have been once a beautiful
+creature. Her master always called her madonna Margarita.) At thirty or
+thirty-five, when they find their admirers desert them, these persons
+become cooks, laundresses, serving wenches, without, however,
+disdaining a good windfall. The result was this: they smothered, they
+flung into the cloaca, they drowned in the Tiber more new-born than
+there were massacred at Bethlehem. Herod after all was an impious and
+barbaric tyrant, and resorted to this butchery in order to defend his
+crown. Yet by whom were the poor innocents in Rome deprived of baptism
+and life? By their mothers, by those to whom they owed their birth, by
+the saints of this world, the vicars of Christ.
+
+To cure the evil by means established by God Himself was not to be
+thought of, marriage having been declared incompatible with the
+sacerdotal office. Pope Sixtus IV, however, having set his heart upon
+stopping those horrible murders, restored from roof to cellar the
+Asylum of the Holy Spirit, tumbling to ruin, and enlarged it by several
+handsome structures; he established an important brotherhood there, at
+the head of which he inscribed his own name, an example followed by
+many cardinals. Each member of the fraternity has the privilege of
+choosing for himself a confessor; and power was given to said confessor
+to give plenary absolution once when the penitent was in a state of
+good health; when dying, an unlimited number of times, even for the
+cases usually reserved for the Apostolic See.
+
+The wards of the hospital are handsome and roomy, the beds and
+appurtenances leave nothing to desire. The sick of every country are
+treated with unremitting care; when they are cured they pay, if they
+are able and willing; but the very poor are sent away dressed in new
+clothes from head to foot, and provided with some money. The staff is
+composed of sick-nurses of both sexes, physicians and surgeons; the
+establishment has, moreover, an excellent dispensary abundantly stocked
+with everything, and recourse to which was often had from outside. The
+institution--apart from the hospital--brings up foundlings and orphans;
+the governors have the boys taught this or that trade, according to
+their aptitude or taste, nor are the girls allowed to remain idle.
+While still very young they begin to knit, to spin, to sew and to
+weave; in fact, under the direct supervision of the mistresses attached
+to the establishment, they are taught all the occupations of their sex.
+If one of the inmates wishes to get married, he or she must inform the
+administrators either directly or through an intermediary. Inquiries
+are made about the suitors, about their means of maintaining a family,
+etc. The girls get a modest marriage-portion, an outfit, household
+goods and utensils, and at Whitsuntide six or seven unions are
+celebrated at the institution on the same day.
+
+Truly, it is a great institution, which seems to defy all criticism. In
+spite of enormous expenses, the existence of the establishment is
+assured by its resources. Of course Sixtus IV. has contributed largely
+from his private purse, but those contributions were as nothing to the
+practically incredible sums collected by the courtesans throughout
+Christendom in aid of the hospital, Germany included, and even
+Pomerania, if I may trust to the recollections of my young days. One
+day, while taking a stroll with Dr. Hoyer, I ventured to ask him if he
+had no wish to come back to his native country, where he had friends,
+relatives, property and livings. He said he had not such a wish, in
+consequence of the difference of religion, adding: "May my countrymen
+amend their ways and become converted, like all those who have turned
+away from the true and primitive Catholic doctrine." "But," replied I,
+"it's we who have the true and primitive Catholic doctrine in its
+purity." Dr. Hoyer retorted: "It is written, 'Ye shall know them by
+their fruits.' Well, let them show me anywhere in Germany an
+institution to be compared to the hospital and the Asylum of the Holy
+Spirit." "I know this saying of Christ," I remarked, "and I turn it
+against the papists. Good fruits, indeed; a life of abomination, the
+murder of innocent creatures, a premium on debauch by picking up the
+new-born. The pope, the cardinals, bishops, prelates, canons, their
+servants, monks, assessors and other hangers-on of the priesthood,
+would not all these be better off in taking to themselves wives? for as
+much as the Almighty condemns fornication, as much does he recommend to
+the priest, as well as to the layman, the holy state of marriage, the
+antidote to the Roman horrors of a certain kind. Do not we read in the
+Epistles of Paul: 'Marriage is honourable among all things'? And if so,
+there would be no more murdering of innocents, mothers and fathers
+would themselves look after their offspring, the Asylum of the Holy
+Spirit would become useless, an immense saving would be effected, and
+everybody would have a clear conscience with regard to that kind of
+thing." Dr. Hoyer did not answer me, but what a wry face he pulled!
+
+Rome contains a great number of handsome mansions, for the popes, in
+order to perpetuate their memory, erect three-storied and four-fronted
+palaces; whole streets of houses are demolished if in any way they
+obstruct the view. The material employed is a magnificently hard stone;
+there is a popular saying to that effect: "In Rome, great blocks of
+marble, great personages, great scoundrels." Nor are the cardinals and
+bishops satisfied with modest buildings, least of all with humble huts;
+as a consequence, the stone masons always have their hands full.
+Buffaloes, a species of very strong oxen, convey the stones, which are
+hoisted up in the easiest possible manner, by means of curious engines.
+
+On Corpus Christi day there is a grand procession, in which the pope
+takes part. The streets through which he passes are bestrewn with
+green, the houses are ornamented with rich hangings, there is the
+firing of cannon, and clever pieces of fireworks are let off from the
+various palaces; naturally there is an immense crowd, and people could
+walk on each other's heads; the smallest window has a number of
+spectators. At the Castle of St. Angelo there was an admirable piece of
+fireworks in the shape of a sun; the whole structure seemed to be
+ablaze. At St. Peter's there was a discharge of heavy artillery, and
+the cannons of St. Angelo and of the cardinals replied to the salute.
+There was so much smoke and so much noise that one could neither hear
+nor see anything. At last both subsided, and then the pope appeared on
+the balcony, where they presented a book bound in gold to him, from
+which he read, but I could not catch a word he said. All at once the
+whole of the enormous throng, thousands of people, fall on their knees,
+I alone remain standing; those around me stare at me with stupefaction,
+thinking, no doubt, that I have taken leave of my senses. When the
+reading was over (it was a short one) the pope blessed the people, who
+cried: "_Vivat papa Paulus, vivat_."
+
+Close to the Church of Maria de Pace stands the huge statue of Pasquin,
+which every morning denounces, without ceremony and with impunity, as
+it were, the mistakes and crimes of the great ones of the land, the
+cardinals and the Pope Paul III were often taken to task; numberless
+were the allusions with reference to his acquisition of the cardinal's
+hat. A German, who had come to Rome for absolution, confessed, among
+other things, to having spoken ill of the pope. The confessor was
+greatly perplexed. It was difficult to account this as a sin to the
+penitent, when at any minute the latter might hear the pope insulted
+openly; on the other hand, to refrain from condemnation on the ground
+that the case was a common one at Rome was virtually discrediting the
+papacy in the estimation of the Germans. Clever man that he was, the
+confessor asked: "_Ubi maledixisti Pontifici, in patriâ vel hic
+Romae?_" "_In patriâ_." was the answer. "_O!_" exclaimed the priest,
+"_commisisti grande peccatum; Romae licet Pontifici maledicere, in
+patriâ vero non._"
+
+At that time the pope was recruiting, to the sound of the drum, troops
+to aid the emperor against the Lutherans. About 10,000 foot soldiers
+and 500 light horse, both exceedingly well-equipped, enlisted. They
+mustered at Bologna; the pope's grandson Octavius, Governor of St.
+Angelo,[35] received the command of the contingent. The Spanish
+Inquisition grew more and more energetic in order to arouse the
+religious ardour of the horse and foot soldiers. A Spaniard, convicted
+of Lutheranism, was paraded seated on a horse, covered to its hoofs
+with placards representing the devil; the gallows were erected close to
+the pyre in front of Sancta Maria super Minervam. The poor wretch was
+hanged and his body burnt; after which a chattering monk demonstrated
+at length the temporal and spiritual dangers of the Lutheran heresy.
+
+The cardinals gave a grand banquet in honour of Duke Philip of
+Brunswick. A well-born Spaniard slipped in among the servants of the
+prelate where the entertainment took place. That nation is greatly
+addicted to pilfering. Most people know the answer of Emperor Charles V
+to the Spaniards, who wished to induce him to suppress the habitual
+drunkenness of the Germans: "It would practically remove the
+opportunity of Spaniards to do a bit of robbery now and again," said
+Charles. Fancying that such an opportunity had come, the Spaniard got
+hold of some bread and a flagon of wine, hid himself under the table,
+the cloths of which reached to the floor. In the event of his being
+caught, he was ready with the plea of a practical joke, knowing that
+the host was himself very fond of them. Two of his servants were posted
+near the great mansion. The banquet was not over before midnight, and
+the stewards of his Eminence, worn out with fatigue, considered that
+the silver would not take wing when the doors were shut. They therefore
+left it where it was, merely shutting the doors behind them. Emerging
+from his hiding-place, the Spaniard introduces his confederates, and
+they all carry away as much as they can. The spoil is sold to the Jews,
+with the exception of the least cumbersome pieces, which the scoundrel
+intends to keep for making a show of his own; and then the three depart
+in the direction of Naples as fast as their horses will carry them.
+
+His Eminence's retainers having gone to bed late, were not up betimes,
+and their astonishment on entering the banquetting hall may easily be
+imagined. Their flesh crept. How were they going to avoid being sent to
+prison? Were they to preserve silence about the affair, or inform the
+cardinal? They decided upon the latter course. They were locked up, and
+couriers were dispatched in hot haste to warn the innkeepers; the
+express order of the pope was to bring back to Rome any person in whose
+possession the stolen objects were found.
+
+It so befell that, tired and hungry, the Spaniard stopped at a
+hostelry; they laid the table for him, but at the sight of the
+earthenware he waxed indignant. "What's the meaning of this?" he
+bellowed. "Am I a nothing at all?" Thereupon he orders his servant to
+bring out his own silver. The landlord, who had ample time, in the
+kitchen, to look at it, recognized it from its description, sent for
+reinforcements, and his three customers were taken back to Rome. When
+interrogated, the Spaniard denounced the Jews as receivers; his money
+was taken from him, the silver was found at the Jews' houses, and they
+were immediately put under lock and key.
+
+A great number of Jews dwell in Rome, practically confined to one long
+street, closed at both ends. Any one who should be imprudent enough to
+come out of that street during Passion week, commemorating, as it does,
+the martyrdom of Christ, would infallibly be murdered. When Easter is
+gone Jews are as secure as they were before; they go everywhere, and
+transact their business without being hampered or molested. The two
+receivers were the principal and the richest members of their tribe;
+thousands of crowns were offered for their ransom, but it was all in
+vain. The five criminals perished on the gallows, erected by the St.
+Angelo bridge, the Spaniard in the centre, a copper crown on his head,
+to single him out as king of the thieves.
+
+In fact, no week went by without a hanging. I was an eye-witness of the
+following. The hangman was about to push a condemned man from the
+ladder, when a friendly voice in the crowd cried: "_Messere Nicolao,
+confide in uno Dio!_" to which the thief replied: "_Messere, si._" At
+the same moment he was hurled into space.
+
+I have often seen the strappado given; among others, to priests guilty
+of having said more than one mass per day, a practice considered
+hurtful to the interest of their fellow-priests. A pulley is fixed to
+the coping of the roof; in the middle of the rope there is a stick
+which stops the rope running along the groove farther than that. The
+culprit, his hands tied behind his back, is attached to the one end of
+the rope, which is in the street. After that he is hoisted up and left
+to fall suddenly to within a yard of the ground. In that way the wrists
+pass over the head, and the shoulders are dislocated. After three
+hoistings he is unbound, taken into the house, where his limbs are set,
+an operation which the _lictores_ perform with the greatest ease in
+virtue of their great practice. There are, however, patients who remain
+maimed all their lives; on the other hand, I have known a priest, who,
+in consideration of a Julius, consented to suffer those three turns.
+
+I was beginning to think about my homeward journey, and felt greatly
+perplexed about it. The dog-days were drawing near, and Northern folk
+are unable to bear them in Italy. On the other hand, along the whole of
+my route war was raging, and the Welch soldiers are a hundred times
+greater devils than the Germans; though in Germany itself it would have
+been a difficult task to get through the lines of those formidable
+imperial cohorts, the savage bands of Bohemians, and, in fine, the
+Protestant army. Was I to prolong my stay in Rome? Wisdom said no. I
+remembered but too well Cardinal St. Flore remark about my brother,
+"_Frustra eum admonui, ut non legeres libros suspectos_." Moreover, my
+opinion on the Asylum of the Holy Spirit had scandalized Dr. Hoyer, and
+the provider of the St. Brigitta institute had exclaimed with an oath:
+"_Profecto tu es Lutheranus_." The Spanish Inquisition was acting with
+the utmost rigour; and inasmuch as the wine was excellent I was very
+nigh forgetting for a little while the prudent counsel of my former
+master, the commander of St. John. Consequently, after ripe reflection,
+full of trust in the Almighty, and also counting on the faithful
+company of Petrus, I told Dr. Hoyer of my impending departure. He
+considered it incumbent on him to point out the dangers of the journey,
+but perceiving that my mind was fully made up, he handed me my
+brother's property and gave me a letter for my father. I parted with
+the Swede _bonâ cum veniâ_, seeing that he gave me a crown for the six
+weeks I had served him.
+
+I had told my friend Petrus that until my going I should confide to Dr.
+Hoyer the valuables the cardinal had restored to me. From that
+particular moment he talked about leaving Rome, especially as the
+enlisting had begun, and the mercenaries were almost immediately after
+their registration dispatched to Bologna. We finally fixed our
+departure for July 5. God, once more, took me under His wing. I had
+become acquainted with a companion of my own age, named Nicholas, the
+son of a tailor at Lubeck. He told me that after many years stay at
+Rome he wished to see his own country again, but that he had not the
+necessary money for the journey. If I did not mind paying his expenses
+on the road, he would reimburse them at Lubeck, and consider himself my
+debtor ever afterwards. I was really glad at his request, for I
+considered him a man of honour and most loyal. He was, moreover,
+thoroughly master of Italian, which I knew very badly. I therefore
+thanked Providence who sent me a _comitem mente fideque parem_.
+
+On the eve of our departure I went to inform Petrus of the excellent
+news. He turned pale, grew low-spirited, and did not utter a syllable.
+I ascribed his coolness to something that had annoyed him, and told him
+that we should come for him very early in the morning. After a moment's
+hesitation he said "yes," and walked away. Next morning Nicholas and I,
+prepared and equipped for our journey, knocked at his door. Petrus
+lodged with poor people; he was a simple landsknecht, and, according to
+his landlady, he carried all his belongings on his back. The woman then
+told us that Petrus, after leaving us, had promptly enlisted and
+betaken himself off, from fear of his creditors and in spite of his
+promise to pay them all with the money he was shortly expecting. Let my
+children give praise to the Almighty who saved my life at the moment I
+was blindly going to trust it to the mercy of a vagrant mercenary. No
+doubt that, shortly after leaving the city, he would have killed me in
+some solitary spot, of which there is no lack in the neighbourhood of
+Rome. Not a soul would have troubled about what had become of me. The
+least he would have done to me was to rob me of everything I possessed
+before letting me go free, and, as I am ignorant of the language of the
+country, I cannot help shuddering at the thought of the fate that was
+in store for me.
+
+And here I record, for the benefit of my children, the prediction of
+that sainted Doctor Martin Luther. "War," he had said, "will make
+Germany expiate her sins. It shall be staved off while I live, but the
+moment I am gone it will break out." Now, he went to sleep in the Lord
+on February 18 of this year (1546) at Eisleben, his natal town; and the
+historians have stated that the preparations for war commenced in
+February at the moment he fell ill. I myself had superabundant proofs
+in April of both the emperor and the pope arming on all sides; and it
+was at the beginning of June that the Cardinal of Trent reached Rome,
+dispatched by his Imperial Majesty to hurry the departure of the 10,000
+Italian foot-soldiers and the 500 light horsemen.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VII
+
+From Rome to Stralsund, by Viterbo, Florence, Mantua, Trent, Innspruck,
+Ratisbon and Nuremberg--Various adventures
+
+
+On the morning of July 6, 1546, in my twenty-sixth year, I left Rome
+with my faithful companion Nicholas. My gold was sewn up in my neck
+collar, the chain in my small clothes. In the way of luggage I had a
+small satchel containing a shirt and the poems composed by my brother
+at Spires and in Rome; slung across my shoulders I wore a kind of strap
+to which I tied my cloak in the day. I had my sword by my side and a
+rosary dangling from the belt, like a soldier joining his regiment. We
+had agreed (it being a question of life and death) that I should
+pretend to be dumb; hence Nicholas did not stir from my side for a
+moment wherever I went. The landsknechten, who spoke to me on the road
+without receiving an answer, were informed by him of my pretended
+infirmity. "What a pity," they said; "and such a handsome fellow, too.
+Never mind," they added, "he'll none the less split those brigands of
+Lutherans lengthwise." "You may be sure of that," replied my comrade,
+and thanks to this stratagem we got across the lines of the Welch
+soldiery.
+
+On the morning after our leaving Rome, Duke Octavius went by, posting.
+He was accompanied by five people. When we got to Ronciglione, about
+two miles from Viterbo, we made up our minds to sup there, and go to
+bed afterwards, in order to arrive early in the city fresh and hearty,
+though not before daylight, inasmuch as we wanted to lay in a stock of
+things. Scarcely had we sat down to table when a turbulent crowd of
+soldiers invaded the inn; the host told us to remain quiet, for he was
+shaking in his shoes for himself. The bandits commenced by flinging him
+out of his own door; the larder was pillaged, and after having drunk to
+their heart's content, they staved in the barrels and swamped the
+cellars with the wine. It was an abominable bit of business and
+unquestionably the Welch, and Latin mercenaries are greater ruffians
+than the German landsknechten; at any rate, if we are to judge from
+what they did in a friendly country, and virtually under the very eyes
+of the pope. They invited us to accompany them to Viterbo, in spite of
+Nicholas pointing out to them that night was coming on apace, and that
+the gates would be shut. "We'll get in for all that," they said. We
+were bound to follow them. We got there about midnight, and they were
+challenged by the guard. "Who goes there?" he asked. "Soldiers of Duke
+Octavius," was the answer, and thereupon the gate was opened.
+
+I recommend the following to the meditation of my children; let them
+compare my adventure with that of Simon Grynaeus, related at length in
+the writings of Philip Melanchthon, Selneccerus, Camerarius, Manlius
+and other learned personages. In 1529 Grynaeus, then professor of
+mathematics at Heidelberg, came to see Melanchthon at the diet of
+Spires; he heard Faber, one of his old acquaintances, emit from the
+pulpit many errors in connexion with transubstantiation. Having gone up
+to him when they came out of church, they started a discussion, and
+Faber, on the pretext of wishing to resume it, invited him to come to
+his inn the next morning. Melanchthon and his friends dissuaded
+Grynaeus from going. The next day, at the dinner hour, a weakly-looking
+old man stopped Manlius at the entrance to the hall asking him where
+Grynaeus was to be found, the process-servers, according to him, being
+on the look out to arrest him. Thereupon the various learned men who
+had foregathered there immediately conducted Grynaeus out of the town,
+and waited on the banks until he had crossed the Rhine; they had come
+upon the law-officers three or four houses away from the inn; luckily
+the latter neither knew them nor Grynaeus. As for the old man, there
+was no further trace of him; they made sure it was an angel. I myself
+am inclined to think it was some pious Nicodemus who, having got wind
+of the wicked designs of Faber, made it his business to frustrate them
+without compromising himself. Now for my own adventure.
+
+We entered Viterbo in the middle of the night. Prudence dictated the
+avoidance of the mercenaries' lodgings, for a meeting with Petrus would
+have been fatal to us; as it happened, the soldiers swarmed everywhere.
+Wandering from house to house, and devoured with anxiety, we invoked
+the Lord, our last hope. And behold a man of forty and of excellent
+appearance accosted us. We had never seen him, and not a syllable had
+fallen from our lips. We were dressed in the Welch fashion; everybody,
+even in plain daylight, would have taken us for soldiers. Well, without
+the slightest preamble, he addressed us in our own language. "You are
+Germans," he said, "and in a Welch country; don't forget it. If the
+podesta lays hold of you, it means the strappado, and perhaps worse.
+You are making for Germany." (How did he know, except by reading our
+thoughts?) "Let me put you into the right road." Dumb with
+astonishment, we followed him in silence as far as the gates of the
+town; he exchanged a few words with the custodian, who, in his own
+gibberish, said to us: "For the love of you, friends, I'll disobey my
+orders, which expressly forbid me to open the gates before dawn. You'll
+find nothing in the faubourg, I warn you; the soldiers have pillaged
+and burnt everything, but you'll not die for being obliged to do one
+night without food and drink." Saying which he showed us out and
+promptly shut the gates upon us.
+
+Who had been our guide? I am still asking myself the question. As for
+us, reassured by the consciousness of the Divine presence; and in our
+hearts we gave praise for this miraculous deliverance. The faubourg,
+destroyed by fire, was simply a mass of ruins. We slept in the open air
+on the straw of a barn where the wheat is threshed out by oxen and
+horses. It was daylight when we opened our eyes, and the first thing we
+saw was a gallows. Towards midday we got as far as Montefiascone, a
+pretty town famed for its Muscat wine. Thanks be to God, we continued
+our journey without being again alarmed, and we did not catch sight of
+any mercenaries until we came to Bologna.
+
+We halted at Montefiascone until the evening and enjoyed the roast
+fowls and savoury dishes, but the oppressive heat interfered with our
+appetite, though the bottle was more frequently appealed to. A story is
+told a of traveller who was in the habit of getting his servant to
+taste the wine at every hostelry they stopped.[36] "_Est_," said the
+latter if the wine was bad, "_Est, Est_" if it was passable, "_Est,
+Est, Est_" if it was good. And his master either continued his route or
+dismounted according to the signal. At Montefiascone, however, the
+servant did not fail to cry: "_Est, Est, Est_," and his master drank so
+long as to contract an inflammation, of which he died. When the
+relatives inquired about the cause of his death, the servant replied:
+"_Est, est, est facit quod dominus meus hic jacet_," and in his grief he
+kept repeating: "_O Est, est, est, dominus meus mortuus est_."
+
+On July 9 we reached Acquapendente, where my brother died, I visited
+the church without being able to discover his burial place. To ask
+questions would have been tantamount to betraying ourselves,
+considering that the Germans were the butt of public hatred.
+
+Sienna, an important town with a celebrated university, is called
+_Siena Virgo_, though it lost its virginity long ago. From a
+neighbouring mountain one notices two small burghs; the one is called
+Cent, the other Nonagent. The pope being at Sienna, a monk undertook to
+show him _Centum nonaginta civitates_. When he got his Holiness to the
+top he showed him the two places in question.
+
+Lovely Florence is the pearl of Italy. At the entrance to each town
+they said to us, "Liga la spada" (Tie the hilt to the sheath). At
+Florence we had to give up our weapons. If we had only crossed the city
+a man would have accompanied us to restore them at the other gate, but
+on our declaring that we were going to stay until the evening our
+swords were taken from us, and the hilts provided with a wooden label,
+part of which they gave us to keep. Besides, some one came into the
+city with us, and, among other useful information, showed us a
+beautiful hostelry where they treated us remarkably well for our money.
+A magnificent palace, a church entirely constructed of variegated
+marble, adjusted with marvellous skill and art, a dozen lions and
+lionesses, two tigers and an eagle, that is all I remember. There were
+ever so many other curiosities to see, but our heads were full of
+Germany. When the heat of the day abated we pursued our journey; our
+arms were restored to us on our presenting part of the label.
+
+After having crossed Mount Scarperia, which fully deserves its name,
+seeing that it constitutes the most fatal passage of Italy to
+shoeleather and feet, we got to Bologna in the morning of July 13.
+Bologna is a big city belonging to the pope (_Bononia grassa, Padua la
+passa_), and endowed with a famous university. The town was teeming
+with mercenaries, so we were not particularly anxious to stop in it.
+
+At some distance from Bologna begins a canal dug by the hand of man.
+There the Lord caused us to meet with an inhabitant of Mantua who had
+just enlisted. We proposed to hire a boat as far as Ferrara together.
+"Whither are you going?" he asked. As we had the appearance of
+soldiers, and as he might conceive some surprise at seeing us turn our
+backs on headquarters, we hit upon the idea of telling him that our
+master was at the Council of Trent. "Oh," he remarked, "you are going
+farther, then?" We said neither "yes" nor "no." He knew a little Latin,
+like myself, and so I no longer kept up my part of a dumb man before
+him. He professed but small regard for the pope and papism. "How dare
+you," I exclaimed, "talk in that way in Italy, and on the very
+territory of the Church? And why, if these are your opinions, do you
+take service against the Evangelicals?" "What does it matter?" he
+replied; "I am not risking the loss of a cardinal's hat. I am a
+fighting man, and fight for those who pay me." When we got near to the
+Pô, he said: "Ferrara lies no doubt in your most direct road to
+Germany, but what could you see there of interest? It is only a big
+town of the old style. You had better come to Mantua, the country of
+Virgil, a handsome, pleasant, and strong city, with a superb castle.
+The rest you are likely to get in the boat will compensate for your
+coming out of your way. I'll go on shore just before Ferrara, and will
+get a boatman; the place is famed for its fat geese, which, at this
+season of the year, one eats smoking hot from the spit. I'll bring one
+back with me, together with bread and wine, and I shall only be gone a
+little while."
+
+Ferrara, with its famous university, its actual importance, and ancient
+origin, unquestionably aroused our curiosity. Nevertheless, the advice
+of our soldier-friend was not to be despised, because by going up the
+Pô, we advanced in spite of the heat. Our guide soon came back,
+bringing with him everything he had promised. The boatman whom he
+brought was simply in his shirt sleeves, and drank at one draught a
+whole measure of heavy wine we offered him; then, flinging the towing
+rope over his shoulder, he towed us to Mantua, Ostiglia being our
+halting place for the night. Having got to Mantua in the morning of
+July 15, we were enabled to wander through the town before dinner time.
+Our expectations were in no way disappointed. After having shown us the
+castle and the principal buildings, our amiable soldier-friend insisted
+upon entertaining us at the inn. "Are you provided with small change
+that is current everywhere?" he asked us. "The fact is," he went on,
+"that the landlords pursue a regular system of cheating. They refuse to
+take your small money, so that you are obliged to change a crown, and
+then at the next inn they decline to accept the coin given to you
+except under its value. Give me a crown, and I'll get you money for it
+which is current as far as Trent." He brought back good pieces of
+silver, not to the amount of one crown, but of two crowns, asking us to
+accept the value of the second as a present, "because," he said, "I
+consider you very honest and straightforward companions." When we were
+outside the walls, he gave us full particulars of the route we were to
+take, recommended us to the safeguard of all the angels, and gave us
+his blessing. "It is worth more in the sight of the Almighty and
+against the devil than the blessing of Pope Paul at Rome by his own
+sacred hands." This was indeed a happy meeting, and we had reason to be
+grateful to the Lord.
+
+Not far from Mantua, at a spot where the road branches off into four
+different directions, we came upon two travellers coming from Verona.
+If we had said one pater more or less with our good friend we should
+have missed them, which would have been a pity, for they turned out to
+be my former fellow-travellers from Kempten to Rome, who, having pushed
+as far as Naples, had returned by way of Venice; they were making for
+home by Milan and France. They wished me to go their way, and I was
+very willing; but as Nicholas was altogether of a different mind, it
+would have been wrong to vex the comrade God had so marvellously
+provided for me.
+
+When I told them all about Petrus, my interlocutors had no doubt about
+the danger I had incurred by my imprudent confidence. Italians are not
+of much account. Germans, after a long stay in that country, end up by
+not being worth anything at all; and the proverb to that effect is a
+true one: "_Tedesco Italianato è un diavolo incarnato._" I learnt later
+on, both from writing and from oral news, about the troubles between
+France and the Low Countries, and about the obstacles we should have
+encountered if we had selected the route of Milan. It gave me a new
+subject for being grateful to the Lord.
+
+We passed near enough to Verona to catch a glimpse of the buildings, to
+judge by which it must be a big town. At Trent, where both languages
+are spoken, and even more German than Italian, my pretended infirmity
+ceased, and it was Nicholas' turn to be mute, for the Lubeckian dialect
+is not understood until one gets to Brunswick.
+
+In Italy the scorpions slip in everywhere; into the rooms, under the
+beds, in the sheets. Hence they place before the windows scorpion oil,
+that is oil in which one of these reptiles has been drowned. When put
+on the sting the oil stops the effect of the poison. Personally, I
+never caught a glimpse of a scorpion during the whole of my stay in
+Italy.
+
+On July 18 we reached Botzen, a town of importance, famed for its rich
+mines. On the 19th we were at Brixen, a pleasant burgh, prettily
+situated. Its chapter enjoys great consideration. Dr. Gaspard Hoyer was
+its canon, and died there.
+
+The Augsburg troops under the orders of Sebastian Schaertlin[37] had
+carried the castle of Ehrenberg. King Ferdinand tried to enter the
+place with the aid of the miners of Botzen, but the pay ran short, and,
+greatly vexed, the savage horde, which, though by no means devout,
+after all preferred Luther to the pope, made its way home. Between
+Brixen and Sterzing we had the misfortune of falling in with them. At
+the sight of our Italian dress, and our soldier-like equipment, they
+shook their spears. "Kill the papists; down with the Welch scum," they
+cried. Nicholas, who was accustomed to enact the spokesman, uttered a
+few words in his own dialect; thereupon the imprecations grew louder.
+"They belong to the Low Countries; they are no better than the
+Italians." "Brothers," I shouted, "you make a mistake. We are faithful
+Germans, Lutherans and Evangelicals like yourselves. Hence, no
+violence."
+
+Thereupon we fell a-talking to each other. They complained bitterly of
+the king, and of his pretensions to carry on a war without a red cent.
+"Kicks instead of pay," they said. "We are much obliged. We are going
+back to our mines, where, at any rate, we can earn something." We
+parted quite cordially, and I once more recommended my faithful
+Nicholas to hold his tongue for the future, and to let me do the
+talking.
+
+Innspruck, the capital of the Tyrol, is a moderately big town with long
+streets, consisting largely of stables for some thousands of horses,
+for the kings, the Austrian archdukes and their suites frequently halt
+there. The objurgations of the miners of Botzen induced us to change
+our dress according to the German fashion.
+
+Our most direct route lay by Ulm, Cannstadt, Spires, Frankfurt, then by
+Hesse and Brunswick. There are, as it happens, two routes from
+Innspruck, the one for Bavaria, the other for Swabia. Having met at the
+city gates some people who professed to be going to Germany, we
+followed them without further inquiry. What then was our surprise at
+getting, not into Swabia, but into Bavaria, to Hall and to Ratisbon.
+Well, as we learnt later on, at that very moment the numerous troops
+the emperor was expecting from France and Spain were preparing to enter
+Swabia; the papal troops, whom the Imperial messages left little or no
+truce, arrived at Landshut, while all the Protestant forces, with the
+Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse at their head, occupied
+the country. But for the Lord constituting Himself our guide we should
+have run innumerable perils.
+
+We intended to go from Hall to Ratisbon on a raft, but on the overladen
+craft there was a horse stamping about in a most disquieting manner,
+causing the water to well up between the disjointed timber. We
+preferred to land and to tire our legs to swallowing more water than
+was necessary to our thirst. Half a league down the stream, the
+pole-men having got rid of the horse, drew near the shore once more to
+renew their offers of service. We remained faithful, however, to solid
+earth.
+
+When we got to the beautiful monastery of Ebersberg, our curiosity
+tempted us to get an idea of the results of a mendicant's life. As such
+we humbly and contritely addressed the chancellor, when we entered the
+abbot's presence. "We have come all the way from Rome; our resources
+are exhausted," we said. After having promised us to do what he can,
+the chancellor begins to inquire about the Italian army. "We left it at
+Bologna," we replied; "it was being reviewed. You'll see it very
+shortly." This had the effect of turning the saintly dwelling upside
+down. The monks crowded round the abbot and took to running hither and
+thither as if bereft of their senses, because for a monastery situated
+as this was, in the open country, Roman mercenaries or Schmalkalden
+soldiers were practically one and the same thing.
+
+And inasmuch as our humble persons were forgotten in all this
+confusion, I said to Nicholas: "Let us go to the inn and show these
+'frocked' individuals that we can do without their soup. A snap for
+that business, unless we have been too inexperienced at it." We ordered
+the best dishes and washed them down with generous wine. The echoes of
+our gay repast must have reached the monastery, and when we had paid
+our reckoning, we pursued our journey.
+
+We stopped four days in the big and beautiful city of Ratisbon. King
+Ferdinand, his wife, his daughters and the court ladies in gorgeous
+dresses, lodged in the principal square, the houses of which where
+elegantly decorated. We saw the carriage sent by the Duke of Mantua to
+his betrothed. It was entirely white, and perfectly built; the iron was
+replaced everywhere by silver, even for the smallest nail. The team
+consisted of four magnificent white mares, without the tiniest spot;
+the harness was of silver, and their crups were ornamented with three
+rings of the precious metal. Dressed in white silk, with boots and whip
+of the same colour, and silver spurs, the coachman slowly drove thrice
+round the square.
+
+It was very evident that both the emperor and the king were using all
+their energy. Night and day, at home and beyond the frontier, strict
+guard was kept. The army of Bohemia was encamped beyond the Danube,
+while the Germans occupied the head of the bridge on the side of the
+city. We were warned of the danger of venturing among the Bohemians;
+between these madmen and the German soldiers there was nearly every day
+a fresh dispute resulting in wounds which often proved fatal. On the
+other hand, the Protestant troops were on the move, and it was most
+difficult to cross their lines. We could, however, not remain in
+Ratisbon. So we plucked up our courage and started, decided not to lose
+our heads in case of arrest, but to ask to be taken before the superior
+officer, for, after all, we had no need to fear an interrogatory. What
+was the danger of saying whence we came and whither we were going? Our
+lot was, moreover, in the hands of Him who in Italy had confided us to
+the protection of his angels.[38] We trudged straight on to Nuremberg.
+The weather was fine, the roads good, and the inns well provisioned.
+
+Nuremberg is the _oculus Germaniae_. "Germany," according to the
+Italians, "has but one eye, Nuremberg." Nuremberg harbours the
+tradesmen, Augsburg the big merchants. We stayed three days in this
+interesting city, the study of whose civil and ecclesiastical
+institutions is by no means a waste of time. We there completed our
+German attire by doublets with short waists. It seemed to me
+unnecessary to hide the gold and jewels any longer in my clothes, for
+in spite of the eighty miles from our own native land, we already
+fancied ourselves in it.
+
+The lord of Plawe had taken up his quarters at our hostelry. He
+was a Bohemian of important station, an experienced soldier, and a
+cool-headed, prudent, and clever personage, enjoying much favour with
+the electors and the princes. He was known by all the dignitaries of
+France, Germany, and Italy. His history may prove interesting to my
+children. The lord of Plawe had no children, and to prevent the lapse
+of his fiefs to the suzerain lord, he prevailed upon his wife to
+pretend being pregnant, and arranged with a shepherd of the
+neighbourhood, a strong, robust fellow, whose wife was genuinely in
+that condition. The newborn being of the male sex, it was carried
+clandestinely to the castle, where they had great rejoicings, a
+magnificent christening with high-born godparents. Seven years later,
+however, the lady of Plawe really gave birth to a son; the two children
+were brought up like brothers. When he came of age the elder visited
+the courts, and received a cordial welcome everywhere. The father died,
+and the elder, feeling himself cramped at home, abandoned the property
+to the younger in consideration of a yearly allowance. The mother is
+taken ill in her turn, and before her death reveals to her own child
+the whole of the secret. The elder, whose allowance is stopped,
+institutes a claim, and is answered that he is the mere son of a
+shepherd. The affair is referred to King Ferdinand, the suzerain lord,
+the lords of Prawe bearing the title of Burgrave of Mesnia, and first
+chancellor of the kingdom of Bohemia. To prove his parentage he
+produced the many letters in which his father recommended him in
+special terms to the emperor, and to the princes as his lawful heir.
+Several important personages, the majority belonging to the
+Evangelicals took an interest in his case, and provided largely for his
+maintenance. The principal Welch and German universities all declared
+that he proved his affiliation. King Ferdinand, though, leant to the
+other side, no doubt _ratione papisticae religionis_.
+
+Under these difficult circumstances, this gentleman considered it
+better not to take service in the war between the emperor and the
+League of Schmalkalden, inasmuch as he would neither be unfaithful to
+his master nor to his conscience. The catastrophe which he dreaded
+nevertheless overtook him. About six months after the termination of
+the war, when, probably, he felt exceedingly pleased with himself on
+account of his clever abstention, he was laid by the heels by order of
+King Ferdinand, shipped on a raft, and taken to Hungary; and from that
+time he was no more heard of.
+
+On August 11 we only reached Nordhausen in the Harz mountains, just as
+they were closing the city gates, but sufficiently early, though, to
+notice ten corpses tied to as many posts. The guard, which had been
+reinforced, was inclined to leave us outside. They pointed to the men
+that had been executed. "If they are there, it is because they deserved
+it," we answered; "ours is a different case." When we got inside we
+could not find a shelter anywhere. I inquired for the dwelling of the
+burgomaster and found him at home.
+
+After the few customary inquiries about our names, our place of birth
+and our destination, the burgomaster questioned us about the beginning
+of the hostilities. We told him what we knew, and then exposed our
+embarrassing situation to him. "Never during this painful journey, not
+even in Italy, had we met with such inhuman conduct," we said. "We are
+not asking for charity. We are willing to pay for what we get; nobody
+shall have cause to complain of us. We ask you, therefore, to direct us
+to a respectable place of shelter."
+
+Our very sordid appearance did not prevent the burgomaster from
+considering us altogether inoffensive, and, like a man of sense, he
+explained apologetically, "Our citizens," he remarked, "are still under
+the influence of a strong alarm, for we know for certain that a band
+subsidized by the confederate of hell who reigns at Rome is scouring
+the Saxon country, poisoning wells and pastures and setting fire to
+everything else. The proof of it is in the ten executed men whom you
+must have noticed at your arrival. Their crime admits of no doubt."
+"Agreed," I replied, "but if our conscience were in the least
+reproaching us, do you think we should have the courage to present
+ourselves before the first magistrate of the town?"
+
+The burgomaster told one of his servants to take us with his
+compliments to a certain private individual, who happened to be a
+butcher with a stock of beautiful, luscious meat. On the hearth the
+beef was simmering in a large pot, no doubt to be retailed hot next
+morning. We asked him for some of that; then inquired about the liquor
+he could offer us. "I have got some excellent Nordhausen beer," he
+said. We, however, were used to wine. "Cannot you give us some wine?
+That's what we want with our meat." "If you care to pay for it. It's so
+much per measure." "Here's the money." "Do you want any fish?" "Yes;
+let us have a comfortable evening after this rough day. Come and sit
+yourself down with us and keep us company." He stared at us very hard,
+not knowing what to think. In spite of his knowing look, he behaved
+very well to us.
+
+When our hunger and thirst were appeased, the butcher asked us whether
+we would go to bed or remain where we were. "Bring us some clean straw,
+and that will be enough for us. We shall not have the trouble of
+dressing in the morning," we answered. Besides the straw he gave us
+pillows, downright excellent beds, and snowy sheets; hence, in wishing
+him good-night, we assured him that we were born to understand each
+other. Next morning, the one who was the first to rise found the door
+bolted; we were obliged to wait for our host. We settled the reckoning
+with him, and the servant who had prepared our couch got a tip.
+
+We stopped a day and a half at Luneburg, which we reached on August 15,
+and in view of our approaching meeting with our nearest and dearest, we
+paid attention to our dress. We crossed the burgh of Moelln, where
+Eulenspiegel lies buried, but at Lubeck a messenger who caught us up
+informed me that my uncle Andreas Schwartz was living at Moelln with
+his wife and children, and begged of me to retrace my steps. I spent a
+whole day with him, and when we had chatted to our heart's content he
+provided me with a horse and attendant as far as Lubeck.
+
+At the city gate I wanted to turn short; perhaps I was still feeling
+the effect of the stirrup cup. My horse gave way, and for a moment the
+rider and the animal lay motionless. They were under the impression
+that I had broken the left thigh bone; but I got up safe and well.
+
+At Lubeck my faithful travelling companion loyally repaid his debt. I
+took the coach, and at last, after a journey of eight weeks' (eighteen
+days of which had been spent in resting at various places, the distance
+from Rome to Stralsund being 250 German miles, and consequently five
+times as many Welch ones), I heard the "welcome" from my father,
+mother, brother and five sisters, all of whom were in excellent health.
+Together with Dr. Hoyer's letter, I handed over the objects restored by
+Cardinal St. Flore according to the inventory. My parents gave me two
+of the rings. As I was as sore as the most foundered horse, my mother
+had a bath prepared for me twice a week, and she herself rubbed my
+thigh with curd soap, so that my limbs soon recovered their usual
+suppleness.
+
+
+
+
+
+                                PART II
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+
+I am appointed Pomeranian Secretary--Something about my diurnal and
+nocturnal Journeys with the Chancellor--Missions in the Camps--Dangers
+in the Wake of the Army
+
+
+When I had recovered from the fatigue of my travels, I came to the
+conclusion that a life of monotony and frequent visits to the tavern
+were not at all to my taste. The day would come when I had a wife and
+children to maintain; I therefore wanted a means of livelihood. I voted
+for the scribal occupation, and had recourse to the influence of
+Superintendent-general Knipstrow to obtain a position at the
+chancellery of Wolgast. Our friend's efforts having been successful, I
+was summoned to Wollin, where the prince was going to hold a diet. The
+journey by coach enabled me to make ample acquaintance both with the
+councillors and with my colleagues. I entered upon my duties on
+November 14, 1546.
+
+The staff of the chancellery was composed of Jacob Citzewitz,
+chancellor; Erasmus Hausen, accountant-general; Joachim Rust,
+proto-notary; Johannes Gottschalk, Lawrence Dinnies, Christopher Labbun
+and Heinrich Altenkuke, secretaries. I need only mention for form's
+sake Valentine von Eichstedt, a student from Greifswald, whom the
+chancellor wished to initiate in the dispatch of current affairs.
+
+Valentine hung about the office, now and again copying a fragment of a
+letter. He was wretchedly dressed; his poor blue jacket scarcely
+reached to his waist, while, on the other hand, his hose fell over his
+boots. Rust and Gottschalk refused to have him at the clerks' table; he
+had his meals lower down with the servants. In spite of this,
+Valentine, at the retirement of Erasmus Hausen, was appointed to the
+audit office through the influence of the chancellor. In order to get
+him into the habit of pleading he was entrusted with the cases
+that were settled by mutual agreement; after which he was sent to
+Wittenberg to finish his studies, and in a very short period he became
+accountant-general. A few years later Citzewitz gave up his position of
+chancellor to him. The protégé paid his benefactor in the usual way of
+the world, and on that chapter I myself could say a great deal.
+
+The experience I had gained at the Imperial Chamber and in the
+chancelleries compelled Rust and Gottschalk to acknowledge that I could
+handle my pen, and inasmuch as the chancellor preferred my work to
+theirs, they seized every opportunity to do me harm. I had only to ask
+them for a few materials for this or that work to be sure to get it
+badly done and teeming with inaccuracies.
+
+The dissolution of the League of Schmalkalden[39] and the threatening
+attitude of the emperor imparted a feverish activity to the
+correspondence which was being exchanged between our princes, the
+Elector of Brandenburg and the Elector of Saxony. The latter spent the
+winter very sadly at Altenburg. Chancellor Jacob Citzewitz was the soul
+of these negotiations; his experience of imperial and provincial diets,
+his learning heightened by eloquence, the personal consideration he
+enjoyed, his imposing figure, his lofty mind, and his assiduous labours
+all these, in fact, singled him out to represent the princes both in
+the councils and on more solemn occasions. Being fully aware of the
+weightiness of his task, he wholly devoted himself to it; all the
+enactments of the princes were drawn up by his pen and defied
+criticism. When Citzewitz at the termination of a debate asked: "Who
+undertakes the inditing?" all the councillors cried in chorus: "That's
+Solomon's business," for that was the nickname they had bestowed upon
+him.
+
+Day and night, on horseback or on wheels, I scoured the highways in
+company of the chancellor. Starting from Berlin in the evening, we
+reached Stettin the next afternoon in sufficient time to present the
+report. Then there were the nights spent at work with the chancellor,
+who dictated to me the decisions to be submitted to the council on the
+morrow. I made a fair draft of them before the sitting, so that
+immediately after their having been read they could be sealed and
+dispatched. If my children should wish to compute the amount of labour
+I gave to the court and to Stralsund they will derive a salutary lesson
+from the reward these labours have brought me in my old days: _in fine
+laborum_, ingratitude.
+
+Owing to those constant journeys I did not spend four weeks in six
+months at Wolgast, and still less at the chancellery. I lodged with
+Master Ernest, the cook of his Serene Highness Duke Philip, and of his
+august father and grandfather. Ernest was an honest and God-fearing
+man.
+
+The year 1547 was an anxious one for the courts of Stettin and Wolgast,
+and the news that the Duke of Wurtemberg had tendered his submission
+accelerated the departure of a mission to the emperor. It was
+instructed to deny all participation of the princes in the League of
+Schmalkalden. The envoys of Duke Barnim were Dr. Falcke, in the
+capacity of chancellor, and Captain Jacob Putkammer; those of Duke
+Philip, Captain Moritz Damitz and Heinrich Normann. I was designated to
+accompany those four personages, and on March 10 we started by way of
+Silesia.
+
+At Zittau we were obliged to leave Damitz in the doctor's hands; after
+which we crossed the Forest of Bohemia and reached Lertmeritz; next to
+Prague, the principal and best fortified town of the kingdom. We spent
+several days there in order to get an idea of the condition of affairs.
+The dislike of the Bohemians to march against the Elector of Saxony was
+evident, but King Ferdinand brought heavy pressure to bear upon them,
+he called up many of his troops both from Silesia and from Hungary.
+These Hungarian horsemen, called Husards, happen to be pitiless
+brigands. The King had placed them under the command of Sebastian von
+der Weitmülen, who, at the beginning of the war, had been appointed
+regent of the kingdom. The headquarters were at Eger, where this
+soldiery cut the children's hands and feet off to put them into their
+hats instead of plumes.
+
+The councillors sent me to reconnoitre in the direction of Eger, at
+Schlackenwerth, and at Schlackenwald. My guide followed on foot. He was
+an intelligent lad, speaking both German and Bohemian. I ascertained
+that the Bohemians had cut down the trees in the wood, and as such made
+the route impassable for the horse and artillery, it was even
+impossible for the landsknechten to cross it with their standards
+flying.
+
+After that, the councillors sent me to the castle of Gaspard Pflug, to
+whom the States of the country had entrusted the command of the
+troops.[40] He was very reserved. "What are we to do?" he said, looking
+perplexed. "The Elector of Saxony is our ally, our co-religionist; we
+cannot leave him to his fate. On the other hand, Ferdinand is our king.
+Are we to jeopardize our liberties?" Gaspard Pflug, having taken refuge
+at Magdeburg after the capture of the elector, built himself opposite
+the cathedral an elegant dwelling, where he ended his days, the king
+having confiscated his property.
+
+While the elector encamped before Leipzig, the emperor overran the
+Algau and Swabia, imposing heavy fines and big garrisons to the towns
+forced to capitulate. The Spaniards committed every excess, and above
+all, in Wurtemberg.[41]
+
+On April 23 and 25 the sun assumed so sombre an aspect that everybody
+rushed to the threshold of his house; both experts and scientific men
+foretold strange events.
+
+[Illustration: Stettin. Wittenberg. Spires. _From old Prints_.]
+
+One day I was strolling alone outside Lertmeritz around the walls (for
+the time hung heavily on my hands), when an individual, his eyes
+blazing with anger, assailed me without warning, vilifying me and
+trying to fling me into the moat. He was evidently under the impression
+of having come upon a spy. I endeavoured to convince him to the
+contrary; the difficulty was to understand each other. Finally, with
+hands clasped together as if they were bound, I gave him to understand
+with a sign of the head that I was ready to enter the town with him.
+Thanks to heaven, he consented to this, although he did not cease his
+imprecations. Before I had fairly entered our hostelry two members of
+the council came to ask our deputies to forbid their people to leave
+the city and the promenading on the walls. "We know very well that we
+have nothing to fear from you," they said, "but our citizens are quick
+to take umbrage, and just now one of your folk narrowly escaped coming
+to grief."
+
+On April 16 the news came to Lertmeritz that two days previously the
+Elector of Saxony had been made a prisoner. Immediately leaving Bohemia
+we started in the direction of Torgau, but to get to the camp at
+Wittemberg the perils were endless, for the Spanish troops, whose lines
+we had to cross, shrank from no misdeeds.[42] Hence it was resolved
+that I should go to Wittenberg to get a safe-conduct--a decision
+against which I protested. "How am I to pass without the smallest bit
+of parchment?" "Never mind," exclaimed Damitz; "the Lord is the best
+safeguard." "In that case," I retorted, "are you not yourselves under
+the Divine protection?" My argument was, however, in vain; my life
+weighed less in the balance than that of my superiors.
+
+In my capacity of a member of the missions to Bohemia and to the camp
+of the elector, I wore a yellow gorget which was the insignia of the
+Protestants. I was obliged to hide it in my breast and to replace it
+with the one bought for me, the red gorget of the Imperialists. And
+thus I started. If they had caught me with the double insignia upon me,
+my account would soon have been settled. I should have been slung up on
+the nearest tree.
+
+I crossed Mühlberg, where the elector, wounded in the cheek, had been
+made a prisoner on the very spot where his passion for the chase caused
+so much damage to his unfortunate subjects. Wherever the eye turned
+there were signs of the recent battle; broken lances, shattered
+muskets, and torn-up harnesses littered the ground, and all along the
+road soldiers dying of their wounds and from want of sustenance. Around
+Wittenberg itself all the villages were deserted; the inhabitants had
+taken flight without leaving anything behind them. Here, the corpse of
+a peasant, a group of dogs fighting for the entrails; there, a
+landsknecht with just a breath of life left to him, but the body
+putrefying, his arms stretched out at their widest, and his legs far
+enough apart to put a bar between them.
+
+At the end of my journey and within sight of the Spanish troops I
+passed a Spaniard, who said to me: "My good and handsome horseman, your
+service with the emperor is but of recent date." I rode a few steps
+further; then, undoing my gorget, I rubbed it against my boot to make
+it appear less new. At last, I reached the camp, where I lost several
+days in fruitless endeavours.
+
+Every now and again there was firing from Wittenberg. Some Pomeranian
+horse-troopers with whom I had made acquaintance warned me not to keep
+to the high road if I should venture in that direction, but to go at
+random in order to avoid becoming a butt. A couple of steps in front of
+me a ball whizzed so closely past an individual's head that the shock
+or the fright felled him to the ground, where he was picked up for
+dead. From that moment I suspended my strolls.
+
+Dr. Seld, the vice-chancellor, whom I succeeded in seeing,[43] did not
+disguise the deep irritation of the emperor. I answered that neither
+Duke Philip nor his brother, Barnim, notwithstanding the former's
+marriage with the sister of the Elector of Saxony, had given the
+slightest assistance to the Protestants, either in money, men or deeds,
+and that it would not be difficult for his Majesty to convince himself
+of this. Nevertheless my negotiations made no progress.
+
+It was said in the camp that after the defeat of the elector, when
+Christopher Carlowitzi[44] the principal counsellor of Maurice, came to
+salute the emperor, whose docile instrument he was, the latter
+exclaimed: "Well, Carlowitz, what is going to happen?" "Everything is
+in your Majesty's hands," Carlowitz replied. "Yes, yes, something will
+happen," was the retort. And when the elector bent the knee before the
+emperor, saying, "Most clement emperor and lord," King Ferdinand
+interrupted with, "Ah, so he is your emperor now? But what about
+Ingoldstadt?[45] Wait a while. We shall soon settle your account." And
+when the death sentence was delivered, Ferdinand insisted upon its
+prompt execution. The Marquis de Saluces, on the other hand, repeated
+to the emperor, even before the arrival of the Elector of Brandenburg,
+that the best sheep in his flock was the Elector of Saxony, and that
+his execution would rouse the whole of Germany.
+
+As I found it impossible to get a safe-conduct, I returned to Torgau,
+and immediately after hearing my report, our embassy ordered its
+carriages and took the direct road to Stettin.
+
+Inasmuch as the Elector of Brandenburg loudly promised his good offices
+with the emperor, the princes dispatched me with a letter of thanks to
+him to the camp at Wittenberg. They also prompted the language I was to
+hold to the vice-chancellor and to the other Imperial counsellors.[46]
+To accelerate matters they prepared six relays of horses for me, with
+precise indications on paper as to their whereabouts, though I started
+from Wolgast on a pitiful cart-horse, equipped anyhow, for neither
+saddle, bridle nor stirrups were in condition. They thought that it did
+not matter, as I had to change animals at a short distance. So far so
+good. But neither at the first, second, third, fourth nor fifth stage
+was there a sign of a horse. The last stage was Brandenburg--the Old.
+Abraham Gatzkow, a gentleman of Lower Pomerania, had indeed provided a
+downright good and properly equipped saddle-horse for me, only on the
+day of my arrival he had mounted it for a ride to the camp, so that the
+same jade carried me to the end of my journey.
+
+On June 1 I alighted at the tent of the Elector of Brandenburg, and
+when presenting my dispatch, I begged of Chancellor Weinleben to spare
+me a long stay. Next morning when I called again, he exclaimed: "Oh,
+the affair takes more time than you think," which remark did not
+prevent my insisting upon an answer on June 3, inasmuch as the elector
+went several times a day to the emperor, and that therefore he had no
+lack of opportunity to broach the subject. Moreover, there was need for
+urgency; they had just thrown a bridge across the Elbe and the emperor
+had transferred his quarters to the other side of the river, a sure
+sign of his approaching departure. To all which arguments on my part,
+Chancellor Weinleben angrily replied: "The interests of princes are
+discussed with minds at rest. Just look at the presumption of a simple
+messenger. Wait till you are told to go and then go. Here, this is the
+elector's reply. Take it, go, and leave me in peace."
+
+I stopped at the first dense clump of trees in the wood, opened the
+letter, and immediately turned my horse's head. "What do you want now?"
+yelled the chancellor, when he caught sight of me. "Am I not to have
+any peace from you?" "My gracious masters," I replied, "have authorized
+me to open the letter of his Electoral Highness and to act in
+consequence. The letter I have just read proves once more the brotherly
+feelings of the elector, but as he is striking his tent, I think it
+necessary respectfully to remind him of his generous assurances. I
+shall wait for him at his leaving the emperor's presence, for I am
+bound to bring back to Wolgast something more than vague words." At
+this little speech the chancellor altered his tone. He ceased to
+address me familiarly as "thou," and, in fact, made somewhat
+exaggerated apologies, swearing by all his gods that in reality he had
+not the faintest idea of the affair, but that henceforth he was my
+staunch ally and that his master should not leave the emperor without
+ardently pleading the cause of our princes.
+
+When the elector went to the imperial tent I followed him at a
+distance, and the moment he got into the saddle again I galloped on his
+track, for I foresaw his departure for Berlin. I was just at the head
+of the bridge of boats, which was entirely unprovided with parapets or
+barriers, when I espied coming from the opposite side a heavy cart.
+Time was precious. I pursue my quarry, and my right stirrup catches in
+the wheel and my valiant mount, in spite of its prancing and rearing,
+cannot extricate itself, or even hold its own against four strong
+draught horses. There is no room to turn, and there seems not even a
+possibility of saving myself by sacrificing the animal; both it and I
+seem inevitably doomed to perish by drowning. As for any human help, I
+do not as much as expect it. Even if they could have assisted me, the
+Spaniards at the end of the bridge would have been particularly careful
+not to do so. Just fancy their delight at seeing a German making a
+plunge with his horse into the Elbe; the sight would have been too
+delightful willingly to forego it.
+
+When our distress is at its height, when neither our father nor our
+mother is able to save us, Providence stretches forth his protecting
+hand. It happened then, by this merciful grace; the rotten strap
+suddenly gave way, leaving the stirrup entangled in the wheel and
+freeing my leg. It was a startling confirmation of the Divine word that
+the righteous shall see good come out of evil; for had the equipment
+been brand-new, of the most solid leather and even embroidered with
+gold and pearls, that harness would have sent me into the stream as
+food for the fishes.
+
+At last I managed to join the elector. He sent me word that the
+opportunity for interceding with the emperor in behalf of the princes
+of Pomerania had not presented itself, but that the counsellors he left
+behind with the emperor would look to the affair and keep the dukes
+informed of everything. Why had I not gone to the bottom of the Elbe?
+
+In the camp itself the tale went round that the King of the Romans,
+Duke Maurice, and after them, the emperor had made a very careful
+inspection of the church of the Castle of Willemberg, having been led
+to believe (the emperor and the king especially) that lamps and wax
+tapers were constantly burning day and night on Luther's tomb, and that
+prayers were said there just as in the Romish churches before the
+relics of the saints.
+
+At Treuenbrietzen I made my report to Chancellor Citzewitz. As he was
+awaiting the arrival of the Pomeranian counsellors who were to
+accompany the emperor to Halle, he sent me to retain quarters and to
+give notice to the Brunswicker captain, Werner Hahn, to have twenty
+horsemen ready at Bitterfeld on June 12. On the morning of the 12th, in
+fact, the mission alighted at the general hostelry outside Bitterfeld.
+The captain of the husard-escort had, however, given the preference to
+an inn in the town. Seeing no sign of the Brunswickers, the counsellors
+put up their carriage, so that the captain at his return was under the
+impression that the mission was gone, and meeting with the horsemen,
+ordered them to face about, he being convinced that the deputies had
+taken another route.
+
+Evening was drawing near; my business was finished, the quarters had
+been retained, the supper ordered, and the beds ready. I had taken
+advantage of the opportunity to renew my wardrobe, and, with my new
+clothes on, I took a stroll outside the gates through which the mission
+had to pass. Espying from the top of a mound a troop of advancing
+horsemen, I went back in hot haste afraid of a reprimand. At the same
+moment two Spanish bandits, half-naked, for their rags scarcely covered
+them, ran after me across the fields, the one on foot, the other on a
+kind of wretched farmer's cob--apparently stolen--and with a pistol at
+the saddle bow. Casting a careful look round to assure themselves that
+there were no witnesses to their contemplated deed, one had already
+raised his pistol when the Brunswicker horsemen arrived on the spot.
+"_Sunt isti ex tuâ parte?_" he asked. "_Senior, si_," I quickly
+answered. "Ah, landsknecht, landsknecht," he said, replacing his
+weapon, and followed by his companion, making off as fast as he could.
+
+The adventures of that evening were, however, not at an end. I found
+the gates of the town shut, and a trumpeter galloping along the walls
+and blowing with all his might. I had not the faintest idea of what it
+all meant, when the captain of husards appeared upon the spot,
+recognizes, and hails me. "What are you doing here, and what has
+happened?" he asked. "Why are the gates shut, and why is the alarm
+being sounded?" While confessing my total ignorance, I began to ask
+about the ambassadors; thereupon great surprise of the captain at their
+being waited for. The matter seemed all the more strange to him in that
+he on the road fell in with some Spanish horsemen, who told him that
+they had been sent to meet a mission. What if our counsellors should
+have been attacked by these people, decoyed into the wood, and
+plundered? Of course, I felt very anxious to inform the Brunswicker
+captain, so that he might send a reconnoitring party in the direction
+of Bitterfeld. Finally, the noise ceased in the town, and the gates
+were reopened. I immediately reported matters to W. Hahn, who in the
+early morning sent out his horsemen. An hour afterwards there appeared
+upon the scene Abraham Gatzkow, the same gentleman from Lower Pomerania
+who had been instructed to keep a fresh horse for me for the last stage
+from Brandenburg-the-Old to the camp at Wittenberg. The envoys had sent
+him on in front, impatient to know why the escort had failed to appear
+at the appointed spot, a mishap which prejudiced them against me.
+
+Odd to relate, neither Sleidan nor Beuter mentions the alarm to which I
+referred just now; hence, some further particulars will not be deemed
+superfluous. Nothing is more frequent in the army and less easy to
+prevent than the stealing of horses. If an animal takes your fancy,
+some scoundrel is ready to get it for you for a matter of six or eight
+crowns. If you keep it six or eight weeks elsewhere, so as to change
+its habits, and change its tail, its mane and other peculiarities, you
+may safely bring it back to the camp. A certain German gentleman
+proceeded in that way with the stallion of a Spaniard; he sent it away
+to his estates. When the affair had been forgotten the animal
+reappeared. It so happened that the German horsemen (eight squadrons at
+the lowest computation) encamped in the middle of a delightful plain,
+watered by the Saale, while the whole of the infantry of their nation
+was quartered in the town; a providential circumstance, for if the foot
+had come to the aid of the horse, there would have been nothing short
+of a massacre. The emperor, therefore, was well inspired in ordering at
+once the closing of all the gates.
+
+The Spaniards occupied the height around the castle. At dusk, when
+taking the horses to be watered, a Spanish lad recognizes the stallion,
+cries out that it belongs to his master and wants to lead it away. The
+young German groom resists, and is supported by three or four of his
+countrymen. The Spaniard rallies a dozen, and the German immediately
+finds himself at the head of a score. The two parties increase every
+minute, and the first shots are fired. Posted on the heights, the
+Spaniards have the advantage of the position, their balls going through
+the walls of the tents, kill several gentlemen who are seated at table;
+the Germans give as good as they get. A Spanish lord issues from the
+town with words of peace from the emperor; he has magnificent golden
+chains round his neck and is riding a superb animal. At the sight of
+him there is a general cry: "Fire on the dog of a Spaniard." He
+advances, nevertheless, on the bridge, but a projectile brings down his
+mount, which rolls into the Saale, and is drowned there with his
+master, the wearer of the beautiful collar. Nine days before this, at
+Wittenberg, a rotten strap had, with the help of God, saved my life.
+The gentleman covered with gold and dressed in velvet, on the other
+hand, miserably perished.
+
+The emperor, while all this was going on, sent the son of King
+Ferdinand, the Archduke Maximilian (afterwards emperor). He felt
+convinced that it would suffice to restore order, but the moment the
+archduke opened his lips the Germans repeated the cry: "Down with the
+Spaniard." The archduke was wounded in the right arm, which he wore
+during several weeks in a black sling. The emperor himself had to come
+forth. "Dear Germans," he said, "I know you to be without reproach. I
+therefore ask you to be calm. You shall be indemnified fully and in
+every respect, and on my Imperial word, to-morrow you shall see the
+Spaniards strung up on the highest gibbets." This promise had the
+effect of quieting the riot, and the gates were opened. The inquiry
+having shown that the loss of the Germans amounted to eighteen grooms
+or stablemen besides seven horses, and that of the opposing party to
+not less than seventy men, the emperor, though professing to be ready
+to make good the value of the horse and even to punish the Spaniards
+according to his promise, expressed the hope that the Germans would
+consider themselves sufficiently avenged, inasmuch as their adversaries
+had suffered four times more than they had.
+
+During the evening of June 19, the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg
+made their entry into Halle with the Landgrave Philip of Hesse in their
+midst. At six in the afternoon of the next day the landgrave "made
+honourable amends" in the great hall of the Imperial quarters in the
+presence of the electors, princes, foreign potentates, ambassadors,
+counts, colonels, captains, and in one word, of everybody who could
+find room inside or catch a glimpse of the scene through the windows.
+But while his chancellor, on his knees, close against him, humbly
+craved pardon, Philip, ever inclined to raillery, smiled with an air of
+bravado, and to such a degree as to make the emperor exclaim, while
+threatening him with his outstretched index: "Go on; I'll teach you to
+laugh." Alas, he kept his word.
+
+Our counsellors decided to leave me behind incognito at the Imperial
+camp with a gentleman of Lower Pomerania named George von Wedel, who
+having murdered his cousin and having been exiled by Duke Barnim, had
+entered the emperor's service with nine-and-twenty horse troopers. His
+goodwill towards our mission and my instances finally got him his
+pardon. That was how the horse on which I had left Wolgast was to carry
+me as far as Augsburg.
+
+Having started from Halle on June 20, the emperor stopped three days at
+Naumberg. On the 24th, very early in the morning, he was at the general
+headquarters at some distance beyond the wall. He wore a violet cap and
+a black cloak trimmed with velvet several inches wide. Suddenly there
+was a shower, and immediately the emperor sent for a hat and a grey
+felt cloak to the town; but meanwhile he turned the cloak he wore and
+kept his headdress under it. Poor man, who spent untold gold on the
+war, and who stood bareheaded in the rain rather than spoil his
+clothes.
+
+The Spanish escort of the landgrave preceded his Imperial Majesty by a
+day's march, and committed unheard-of excesses. Next morning the
+corpses were strewn where the emperor passed. Women and girls suffered
+the most terrible outrages; as for the men, after having suspended them
+by their genital parts, the barbarians tortured them to make them
+reveal the places where they had hidden their money, after which, with
+one stroke of their swords, flush with the abdomen, they detached the
+victim.
+
+The emperor slept at Coburg, in Franconia. The German horsemen took up
+their quarters in the adjacent villages. Every house was deserted, the
+dwellings of the nobility as well as the peasant's farms; nowhere was
+there a soul to be seen, for, having been sorely tried the previous day
+by the passage of the Spaniards, the population dreaded renewed scenes
+of horror. In one house we found a _membrum virile_; elsewhere,
+stretched on a bed a bloodstained body, exactly in the condition in
+which those abominable miscreants had put them one after the other. The
+servants of Von Wedel dug a grave by my orders for the corpse and the
+_membrum virile_.
+
+Our first encampment after that was a village amidst fertile plains. I
+unsaddled my horse in order to let it graze in peace until the morning.
+In the same spot there was a handsome gentleman's dwelling, in its open
+courtyard a wagon with four strong horses; on the wagon two barrels of
+exquisite wine. Capons, poultry and pheasants were running about in all
+directions. I leave people to imagine the massacre, and how, on our
+return to our tent, we quickly plucked, boiled and roasted the game. We
+were the absolute masters. There was nothing to fear; the granary was
+full to overflowing, and we replenished our sacks to the very edge. In
+short, horses, vehicle and wine, and everything else was carried away.
+The barrels were emptied on our way; the team was sold at Nuremberg for
+what it would bring, for we ourselves had had it very cheaply.
+
+The sight of our plenty attracted the notice of Duke Frederick von
+Liegnitz,[47] so we invited him to share it. Two joyous damsels in
+gorgeous silk attire were of the party and performed their duty well.
+The servants also shared in the feast which was prolonged till dawn.
+The nights, however, were very short.
+
+It was full daylight when, wishing to saddle my horse, I discovered it
+had been stolen. Immediately, according to 'the usages and customs of
+war, I chose the best nag at hand, currycombed, bridled and mounted it
+in the space of a few minutes.
+
+On July 1, towards midday, the emperor made his entry into Bamberg with
+a numerous suite. The Elector of Saxony occupied a house on the outside
+of the town on the right, just at the turn of the road, so that he
+could watch the city and the country. The captive was at the window
+just as his Imperial Majesty passed, mounted on a small Spanish horse.
+He made a profound bow; thereupon the emperor burst out laughing
+sarcastically, and stared at him as long as he could.
+
+The Spaniards took with them from Bamberg four hundred women, girls and
+female servants, and did not let them go until they reached Nuremberg.
+The fathers, husbands and brothers followed in their wake; the father
+looking for his daughter, the husband for his better half, the brother
+for his sister; at Nuremberg each found his own again. Oh, those
+Spaniards! What a nation, to dare do such things after the cessation of
+hostilities, in a friendly country and under the very eyes of the
+sovereign. The latter, however, displayed a relentless severity. Each
+evening they put up a gibbet as well as his tent, and the former did
+not remain long untenanted, but it was all in vain.
+
+I suddenly came across my horse in a meadow near the Nuremberg gates. I
+put my saddle on its back, and left the animal I had taken at Coburg.
+
+His Majesty journeyed by small stages in consequence of the excessive
+heat. The diet, in fact, was summoned only for September 1. This
+slowness gave me the leisure to ride with George von Wedel on the flank
+of the army, from its head to its tail. It was an interesting
+spectacle, this mass of men under arms and in battle order; here
+Germans, farther on Spaniards. In the evening we returned to our own.
+Far from keeping to the highway, the soldiers marched straight in front
+of them, making a roadway four times wider than the ordinary one,
+upsetting all obstacles, knocking down enclosures and filling in moats
+and ditches. One day the restive horse of George von Wedel insisted on
+getting into the ranks of the Spanish, who could not or would not get
+out of the way, and as the rider cried angrily: "Very well, let the
+French kill thee, then," a half-drunken soldier, mistaking the words,
+retorted: "_Senor mio, no soy Frances, mas soy un Espanol_." The
+Spaniards, in fact, think themselves much superior to the French.
+
+As we were getting near Nuremberg there was no longer any need for me
+to hide myself. I took up my quarters at the hotel selected by Duke
+Frederick von Liegnitz, at that period trying to interest the emperor
+in his paternal affairs. That prince was never sober, and at the
+refusal of his counsellors, he caroused with the suite of Margrave
+Johannes.
+
+One day the duke and six servitors of the margrave cut the right
+sleeves out of their doublets and their shirts. With bare arms, their
+hose undone so as to show their shirts, their heads uncovered, and list
+slippers on their feet, the seven persons marched in single file behind
+the town musicians, playing with all their might, and went after dinner
+to the Duke Henry of Brunswick's. Prince Frederick held in one hand a
+set of dice, and in the other a quantity of gold pieces; naturally the
+crowd ran with them, the foreigners foremost, Italians and Spaniards
+delighted to see "these sots of Germans" go by. The wine produced such
+a strong effect that Liegnitz, on entering the apartment of the duke,
+stumbled across the table, both hands foremost. There was only one dice
+left, and not a trace of the gold. He was unable to utter a syllable,
+and dropped on the floor. Four Brunswick gentlemen carried him to a bed
+on the story above. The emperor, it is said, was very angry at the
+Germans making such a show of themselves.
+
+It would be a mistake to conclude that Prince Frederick's education had
+been neglected, for only a few days beforehand, though he had also been
+drinking, I was quite surprised at the many stories of the Old
+Testament he narrated without quoting the sacred text; he even applied
+some of them very ingenuously to his own situation. Certainly there can
+be nothing surpassing a careful education, provided the Holy Spirit
+guides the young man when he becomes responsible for his own acts; that
+is what we ought to pray for to the Almighty.
+
+As for the consequences of drunkenness, that inexhaustible fount of
+many sins, the Duke von Liegnitz was a terrible example of them. One
+night when he could no longer find some one in the humour to "keep up
+with him," he came to my door, trying to beguile me out of my bed. I
+finally told him that to sit drinking at such an hour was beyond my
+strength, and that I humbly begged his Serene Highness to husband both
+our healths. He resigned himself, though reluctantly, to take "no" for
+an answer. I took good care not to open.
+
+After a fortnight's stay, the emperor left Nuremberg. Duke Frederick
+was so matutinal on the day of departure that on arriving about six
+o'clock at the Imperial residence, he was told the emperor had been
+gone for at least two hours. Not daring to follow the sovereign, he
+merely sent two counsellors to Augsburg.
+
+I had bought at Nuremberg a handsome rapier which I wore with a Spanish
+belt. One morning after breakfast, being alone, I fell asleep in my
+chair. When I awoke I found that a skilful thief had cleverly
+unfastened it and carried it away. I bought another weapon, and when I
+had settled my bill, saddled my horse and made for Augsburg, where I
+landed three days before the emperor.
+
+Prince Frederick went back to his own country with his suite; he never
+improved. Two students were returning to their homes; _en route_ they
+breakfast at Liegnitz, and feeling jovial and gay they started singing.
+The duke, who was in his cups, was annoyed at the noise, had them
+apprehended, conducted outside the town, and beheaded. Next morning,
+before recommencing his libations, he took a ride with some of his
+counsellors in the direction of the place of execution. At the sight of
+the blood he begins to ask questions, and is informed that the executed
+men are the two students he sentenced the previous day. "What had they
+done?" he asked in the greatest surprise.
+
+At the end of one of his orgies he ordered his counsellors to lock him
+up in prison on bread and water. If they disobeyed him they would
+answer with their heads. The dungeon already held several occupants.
+His Highness was taken to it, and the gaoler received the strictest
+instructions. When the fumes of his wine had vanished, the duke, in a
+livelier mood, conversed for a while with the other prisoners; then he
+shouted to the warder to let him out. "I am too strictly forbidden to
+do so," was the answer. He, nevertheless, went to inform the
+counsellors; the latter delayed for three days, during which time the
+prince left not a moment respite to the turnkeys. Finally, the
+counsellors came themselves; they heard his shouting and his
+supplications, but they remembered his threat to have their heads off,
+and they knew that on that subject he did not jest. He had to reassure
+them over and over again before he was allowed to go free.
+
+Three years later the same prince journeyed to Stettin for no other
+purpose than to have a drinking bout with some of the courtiers. At the
+news of his coming, Duke Barnim went away with everybody except the
+women. At his arrival the visitor found neither the duke nor any
+gentlemen of the least standing, and at the castle they sent him into
+the town to a house assigned to him as his quarters. An old man lay
+dying there, and they naturally expected that this would shorten
+Liegnitz's visit. The very opposite happened. The prince comfortably
+settled himself at the dying man's bedside, recited passages from the
+Scriptures to him until his last moment, and closed his eyes when the
+breath was out of him. The collector Valentin presenting himself, poor
+box in hand, the duke dropped a few crowns into it; after this, he sent
+for mourning cloth for two cloaks, one for himself, one for Valentin,
+with whom, he said, he wished to accompany the corpse to the cemetery.
+The duchess, however, would not hear of this. He was therefore
+quartered in the castle, just above the chancellerie, and opposite the
+women's quarters, so that they could converse from one window to
+another. I had been to the kitchen. As I was crossing the courtyard,
+the duke, passing his head out of the window and making a speaking
+trumpet of his hands, shouted with all his might to me: "Hi-there!" I
+knew him from Nuremberg, and was consequently familiar with the manner
+of treating him, so I answered: "Hello!" at which he was delighted.
+"What a nice fellow," he cried. "For heaven's sake, come up; we'll keep
+each other company, and try to enliven each other." I thanked him
+humbly and continued my way.
+
+Duke Barnim's absence being somewhat prolonged, his guest Liegnitz had
+eventually to think about going. The princely presents of the duchess
+made him comfortable for some time. Health, welfare, country, were all
+ruined by his roystering conduct. When drink had killed him, his wife,
+a Duchess of Mecklenburg, saw herself and her children reduced to the
+direst privation. She had to inform not only her equals, but the
+magistrates of Stralsund of her distress, and to declare herself unable
+to bring up her son according to his rank. She merely asked for slight
+help, scarcely more than alms. The council of Stralsund sent her a few
+crowns by one of the messengers she dispatched in all directions.
+
+[Illustration: The Diet of Augsburg. _From an old Engraving_.]
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+
+A Twelve Months' Stay at Augsburg during the Diet--Something about
+the Emperor and Princes--Sebastian Vogelsberg--Concerning the
+Interim--Journey to Cologne
+
+
+On July 27, 1547, I dismounted at an inn in the wine market at
+Augsburg. The host was a person of consideration, and endowed with good
+sense; he was a master of one of the corporations. The latter had
+administered the city's affairs for more than a century. During a
+similar number of years the corporations of Nuremberg had ceded their
+power in that respect to the patricians. The Augsburg corporations,
+being Evangelicals, had sided against the emperor; consequently His
+Imperial Majesty proposed to exclude them at the forthcoming Diet from
+the government, in favour of the aristocracy, which had remained
+faithful to the ancient faith.
+
+I took two rooms (each with an alcove, or sleeping closet, attached to
+it), of which the host had no need for his travelling patrons. The
+ambassadors settled in one; the other was set apart for their
+administration, which was composed of Jacob Citzewitz, chancellor; two
+secretaries of Duke Barnim, and myself. I sold my horse with its
+equipment, which was not worth much. I took what I could get for it;
+fodder was very dear, and the animal was no longer of the least use to
+me.
+
+The emperor and his army arrived at the end of July. The landgrave
+remained behind at Donauwerth, under the guard of a Spanish detachment,
+while the elector, brought to Augsburg, took up his quarters with the
+Welsers, two houses away from the Imperial residence, and on the other
+side of a kind of alley by the side of my inn. A passage made between
+these two houses by means of a bridge thrown over the alley provided
+communication between the apartments of his Imperial Majesty and those
+of the elector. The captive prince had his own kitchens. His
+chancellor, Von Monkwitz, was always near him; he was served by his own
+attendants, so that the Spaniards had no pretext to enter his room or
+his sleeping closet. The Duke of Alva and other gentlemen of the
+Imperial suite constantly kept him company; the time was spent in
+pleasant conversations and equally agreeable recreations. They had
+arranged a list for the jousts in the courtyard of the dwelling, which
+was as superb a mansion as any royal one. The elector went out on
+horseback to the beautiful sites and spots of the town, namely, the
+various gardens, cultivated with much art. He had been very fond from
+his youth of swordplay, and while he remained well and active he
+indulged in all kinds of martial exercise. They therefore left him to
+superintend the assaults at arms, but he did not stir without an escort
+of Spanish soldiers. He was left free to read what he pleased, except
+in the latter days, namely, after his refusal to accept the Interim.
+
+At Donauwerth, on the other hand, the landgrave had a guard even in his
+own apartment. If he looked out of the window two Spaniards craned
+their necks by his side. Drums and fifes told him of the guard coming
+on duty and of the guard that was being relieved. Armed sentries
+watched in the prisoner's room; they were relieved once during the
+night, and when those coming on duty entered the room, the others, when
+the shrill music had ceased, drew the curtains of the bed aside,
+saying: "We commit him to your care. Keep a good watch." The emperor's
+words to the landgrave, "I'll teach you to laugh," were not an empty
+threat.
+
+Before retiring to rest, his Imperial Majesty, to the terror of many,
+had a gibbet erected in front of the town hall; by the side of the
+gibbet, the strapado, and, facing it, a scaffold at about an ordinary
+man's height from the ground. This was intended to hold the rack, and
+the beheading, the strangulating, the quartering, and kindred
+operations were to be carried out on it.
+
+The emperor had sent to Spain for his secretary, a grandee, it will be
+seen directly, who stood high in his favour. As the said secretary
+sailed down the Elbe, coming from Torgau, a faithful subject of the
+captive elector hid himself in a wood on the bank of the stream. He was
+a skilful arquebusier, and when the craft was well within range, he
+fired a shot. They brought the emperor a corpse. The mortal remains of
+the secretary were taken to Spain in a handsome coffin; the murderer
+fled across Hungary in the direction of Turkey, but active pursuit
+resulted in his capture, and he was dispatched to Augsburg. He was
+driven in an open cart from St. Ulrich to the town hall, by way of the
+wine market. Hence, the elector had the extreme annoyance of seeing him
+pass under his windows. The condemned man had between his knees a pole,
+to which his right hand was tied as high as possible. In the midst of
+the drive, the sword severed the wrist from the arm; hemorrhage was
+prevented by dressing the wound, and the hand was nailed to a post put
+up in the street for the purpose. In front of the town hall the poor
+wretch was taken from the cart and was put on the rack.
+
+The landsknechten quartered at Augsburg had not received their pay for
+several months. It was to come out of the fines imposed upon the
+landgrave and the towns. The rumour ran that the fines had been paid,
+but that the Duke of Alva had lost the money gaming with the elector,
+so that the troops were still waiting.
+
+In the thick of all this, a number of soldiers made their way into the
+rooms of the ensigns, carrying off three standards, unfurling them, and
+marching in battle array to the wine market. Near the spot where the
+arquebusier had had his hand severed from his wrist, a proud Spaniard,
+impelled by the mad hope of securing the Imperial favour by rendering
+his name for ever glorious, flung himself into the advancing ranks and
+tried to get hold of a standard; behind it, however, marched three men
+with big swords, and one of these split the intruder in two just as he
+would have split a turnip. "_Qui amat periculum, peribit in eo_." Thus
+it is written.
+
+Roused to great excitement by the coming of the column, the Spanish
+soldiers promptly occupied the streets adjoining the market. The
+elector was transferred to the Imperial quarters, lest he should be
+carried off. The population were getting afraid of being pillaged in
+case the idea of paying themselves should present itself to the
+landsknechten. The tradesmen were more uneasy than the rest, for in
+expectation of the coming Diet their shops were crammed with precious
+wares, rich silk stuffs, golden and silvern objects, diamonds and
+pearls. There was an indescribable tumult to the accompaniment of cries
+and people foregathering in knots, though most of them barricaded
+themselves in their houses and armed themselves with pikes, muskets, or
+anything they could lay hands on. In short, as Sleidan expresses it,
+"the day bade fair to be spent in armed alarm."
+
+The emperor sent to ask the mercenaries what they wanted. "Money or
+blood," replied the arquebusiers, their weapons reposing on the left
+arm, the lighted match in their right hands, and dangerously near the
+vent-hole. His Imperial Majesty promised them their arrears within
+twenty-four hours, but before dispersing they claimed impunity for what
+they had done, which demand the emperor granted. Next day they received
+their pay and were disbanded at the same time.
+
+Now for the end of the adventure. Secret orders were given to accompany
+the ringleaders on their road, and at the first offensive remark on
+their part with regard to the emperor to call in armed assistance, and
+to bring them back to Augsburg. As a consequence, at the end of two or
+three days, some of the firebrands, having their wallets well-lined and
+sitting round frequently re-filled flagons at the inn, began to hold
+forth without more reserve than if they were on the territory of
+Prester John. The last thought in their minds was about informers being
+among them. "We'll give him soldiers for nothing--this Charles of
+Ghent![48] May the quartan fever get hold of him. We'll teach him how
+to behave. May the lightning blast him," and so forth. Not for long
+though. The words had scarcely left their lips than they were seized,
+taken to Augsburg, and hanged in front of the town hall, each with a
+little flag fluttering from the tab of their small clothes.
+
+[Illustration: An Execution at the Time of the Reformation. _From a
+Drawing by_ Lucas Cranach.]
+
+Two Spaniards, probably guilty of robbery, as was their custom, were
+strung up at the same gibbet. Towards night the hangman came with his
+cart, cut the ropes and took the bodies of the seditious men outside
+the town. After which there appeared a gang of Spaniards who, with more
+ceremony, detached their countrymen, and placed them in a bier covered
+with a kind of white linen. Then they spread the funeral cloth over
+them, and the procession started. Young scholars dressed in white
+cloaks marched at its head, intoning psalms; the rest, in handsome
+dresses and carrying lighted tapers, followed two by two. They
+proceeded in that manner to the church given up to the Spaniards for
+their worship, where the two bodies were buried. It is difficult to
+withhold solemn funerals from thieves when you yourself are an
+incorrigible thief.
+
+The Italian and Spanish troops were distributed in the towns of the
+Algau and Swabia. Memmingen and Kempten compounded their liability
+to quarter them respectively for thirty thousand and twenty thousand
+florins. Thereupon a certain Imperial commissioner hit upon the
+idea of presenting himself in various towns as having been instructed
+to quarter a couple of hundred Spaniards for the winter. The
+terror-stricken burghers implored him to spare them such a scourge, and
+considered themselves only too happy to present the commissioner with a
+little gratification of two, three, and four hundred crowns, paid on
+the nail. Thanks to that ingenious system, the commissioner managed to
+pocket some important sums. But the rumour of the thing having reached
+the emperor's ears, the cheat was arrested, sentenced to death, and
+executed in front of the town hall at Augsburg. The work of the hangman
+began by strangulation. The patient (?) was placed on a wooden seat
+against the rail of the scaffold, his forehead tightly bound in case of
+convulsions, his arms bound behind his back, and fastened to the
+balustrade. The hangman, after having flung a rather short rope round
+his neck, slipped a thick stick down his nape, and began to twist it
+round in the manner they press bales of wares. When the wretch was
+strangled, he was undressed except his shirt, laid out on a board, the
+hangman lifted the shirt, cut away the sexual parts, ripped open the
+body from bottom to top, removed the intestines, and threw them into a
+pail under the board, and finally cut the body into four quarters.
+
+George von Wedel stayed at my hotel. He invited the Duke of Brunswick
+and his steward to dinner, and chose me as the third guest. The repast
+consisted of six courses; the first was soup with a capon in it. I know
+that our landlady paid a crown for the bird, and that she charged Wedel
+a crown per head. I did not forget to mention to my host and my fellow
+guests that at Rome I had seen the hanging of the Spaniard, his
+servants, and the two Jews. The duke was delighted at my recollecting
+this, and he himself reminded us that the banquet had been given in his
+honour. His account of the story was, however, much longer than mine.
+
+While awaiting the arrival of the Pomeranian delegates, I borrowed
+two hundred crowns of the captive Elector of Saxony, for my functions
+at the Diet necessitated a decent appearance, considering that
+I was called upon to confer with grand personages, such as the
+Vice-Chancellor Seld, the Bishop of Arras and Dr. Johannes Marquardt,
+Imperial counsellor. Besides, everything was horribly dear at Augsburg;
+there was no possibility of getting along without money. Our
+ambassadors arrived on St. Matthew's Day (September 21). I immediately
+refunded the two hundred crowns.
+
+Since we left Wittenberg I had never missed an opportunity of speaking
+to the Imperial counsellors and advisers, sometimes to one, then to
+another. More than once, for instance, I happened to be riding by the
+side of the Bishop of Arras, _intimus consiliarius imperatoris_. I
+solicited his intervention for a safe-conduct for our princes, in order
+that they might come and plead their cause in person, or be represented
+by some high dignitaries. The kindly tone of his answers afforded me
+much hope, although he abstained from all positive promises.
+
+One evening between Nuremberg and Augsburg chance made me alight at the
+hostelry where Lazarus von Schwendi was putting up.[49] At that time he
+was a beardless young man. We supped together, and he declared quite
+spontaneously that, having been sent by the emperor to the Brandenburg
+march as far as the Pomeranian frontiers to get information about the
+attitude of the dukes during the late war, he had not been able to find
+the slightest charge against them. He further stated that he had
+written to that effect to the emperor, and he announced his intention
+of repeating it to him by word of mouth.
+
+In spite of this evidence, when I saw the Bishop of Arras, his father,
+Messire de Granvelle, the most trusty adviser of his Imperial Majesty,
+Dr. Seld and Dr. Marquardt at Augsburg, they seemed to vie with each
+other at looking askance at me, and at formulating a refusal in hard,
+haughty terms and entirely unexpected by me; such as: "_Bannus
+decernetur contra principes tuos_."[50]
+
+Our dukes sent their principal advisers. To do them justice, they
+spared neither time nor trouble, but it was all in vain, for the Bishop
+of Arras went as far as to growl at them: "To suppose the emperor
+capable of punishing innocent people as your princes pretend to be;
+that alone already constitutes the crime of treason against the
+sovereign, and deserves chastisement." His Imperial Majesty closed his
+ears to the truth; he was determined to act against the Dukes of
+Pomerania. At Wittenberg Dr. Seld had said to me: "We are going to
+examine the challenge of Ingoldstadt and will note for reference its
+instances of audacity, its offensive expressions, and its provocations.
+His Imperial Majesty means to show to the whole of the empire that he
+is neither deficient in German blood nor in power to chastize as he
+thinks fit no matter whom." This was an allusion to the following
+passage of the document defying him: "And we inform Charles that we
+consider him a traitor to his duty to God, a perjurer towards us, and
+the German nation, and deserving the Divine punishment, and also as too
+devoid of noble and German blood to carry out his threats."
+
+Our ambassadors paid daily visits to the important ecclesiastical
+personages. They went in couples, save Chancellor Citzewitz, who
+considered himself, not unjustly, capable of dispensing with
+assistance. He laboured, however, under the disadvantage of "repeating
+himself," and of wearying his listeners. The chancellor of the Elector
+of Cologne, to whom Citzewitz paid a visit one night, said the next day
+to two of our ambassadors: "What is your chancellor thinking of? He
+constantly repeats the same things. Does he credit me with so short a
+memory as to forget in three or four days the _status causae vestrorum
+principum_, or does he imagine that our affairs leave me sufficient
+leisure to listen to his never ending litanies. He reminds me of a hen
+about to lay. At first she flutters to the top of the open barn door,
+clucking, 'An egg, an egg.' Then she gets a little higher up to the
+hay-loft: 'An egg, an egg; I want to lay an egg.' From there she goes
+up to the rafters: 'Look out, friends, look out. I am going to lay an
+egg.' Finally, when she has cackled to her heart's content, she goes
+back to her nest and produces the tiniest imaginable egg. I prefer the
+goose who squats silently on the dung-heap and lays an egg as big as a
+child's head."
+
+The Archbishop of Cologne would not forgive our princes for having
+secularized the monastery of Neu-Camp, a branch of the parent
+institution of Alt-Camp, in the diocese of Cologne. Besides, the clergy
+of Pomerania had become suspect to him ever since its choice for the
+See of Cammin had fallen upon the pious, able and learned chancellor
+Bartholomew Schwabe. Hence, the terms in which the emperor forbade our
+princes to recognize the new dignitary as such were the reverse of
+courteous, and he moreover summoned the chapters to Augsburg to take
+the oath of fidelity and do homage, pending his own selection of a
+chief for them. The princes, the chapters, the landed gentry, and the
+towns, with the exception of Colberg, appealed; the Pomeranian mission
+was entrusted with the negotiations; the States also delegated Martin
+Weyer, canon of Cammin, who subsequently became a bishop.
+
+Nor was the Elector of Brandenburg in the emperor's good books. Where
+then could we find somebody successfully to intercede for us? All my
+supplications were in vain, for at courts and in large towns _causae
+perduntur quae paupertate reguntur_. Finally, Dr. Marquardt hinted
+discreetly that a well trained small horse would be very useful to him
+to proceed to the council, according to Imperial etiquette. I
+immediately wrote to Pomerania, whence they sent me a pretty animal,
+with instructions to buy an equipment to match. The present,
+supplemented by three "Portuguese,"[51] seemed to please the doctor
+mightily, and he accepted everything without much persuasion.
+
+The melting of double ducats and Rhenish florins gave us some excellent
+gold of crown standard, which served to make two cups, each weighing
+seven marks. Citzewitz took them several times to Messire de Granvelle
+without finding the opportunity of offering them to him. These were
+indeed untimely scruples. That present, or even one of double its
+value, would no more have been refused then than it was later on at
+Brussels. In fact, in return for his friendly offices with the emperor,
+Granvelle willingly submitted to be presented with gold, silver, and
+precious objects, so that at his departure there were several vans and
+numerous mules laden with them. When he was asked what were the
+contents of that long convoy, he answered: "_Peccata Germaniae_!"
+
+After many fruitless efforts our ambassadors found themselves reduced
+to inactivity, and compelled as a pastime to read two Latin pamphlets
+they received. The one dealt with the personality and acts of "_Carolus
+Quintus_"; the title of the other was, "_De horum temporum statu_,"
+with Pasquin and Marforio as interlocutors in Roman fashion.
+
+There were ten flag-companies of landsknechten quartered at Augsburg,
+besides the Spaniards and Germans accompanying the emperor, while the
+outskirts held Spanish and Italian fighting men. Six hundred horsemen
+from the Low Countries and more than twelve flag-companies of
+Spaniards, who had been quartered during the winter at Biberach, were
+posted on the shores of Lake Constance; seven hundred Neapolitan
+horsemen, who had wintered at Wissemburg, lay in the Nordgau. The days,
+therefore, were truly spent in "armed alarm," but there was also
+extraordinary splendour, pomp, and magnificence.
+
+Augsburg, in fact, had the honour of having within its walls his
+Imperial Majesty, his Royal Majesty, all the electors in person, with
+imposing suites; the Elector of Brandenburg with his wife; the Cardinal
+of Trent, Duke Heindrich of Brunswick and his two sons, Charles Victor
+and Philip; Margrave Albert; Duke Wolfgang, count palatine; Duke
+Augustus; Duke Albert of Bavaria; the Duke of Cleves; Herr Wolfgang,
+grand master of the Teutonic Order; the Bishop of Eichstedt; his Grace
+of Naumberg, Julius Pflug; Abbé Weingarten; Madame Marie, the sister of
+the emperor, who was accompanied by her niece, the Dowager of Lorraine;
+the wife of the margrave; the Duchess of Bavaria, and the envoys of the
+foreign potentates. The King of Denmark was represented by a learned
+and prudent man, who had given proof of his wisdom in many a mission,
+namely, Petrus Suavenius, the same who had accompanied Luther to Worms
+and had returned with him. The King of Poland was represented by
+Stanislas Lasky, a magnificent, experienced, learned, eloquent and
+elegant, amiable, great magnate, and most charming _in familiari
+colloquio_.
+
+[Illustration: Ferdinand the First. _From an old Print._]
+
+It is almost impossible to enumerate the crowd of vicars, counts and
+other personages of note, but I must not forget the Jew Michael, who
+aped the great lord, and showed himself off on horseback in gorgeous
+clothes, golden chains round his neck, and escorted by ten or a dozen
+servants, all Jews, but who might have fairly passed muster as horse
+troopers. Michael himself had an excellent appearance; he was said to
+be the son of one of the counts of Rheinfeld. The old hereditary
+Marshal von Pappenheim, who had grown very short-sighted, came up with
+him one day, and, not content with taking off his hat, made him a low
+bow, as to a superior. When he discovered his mistake, he vented his
+anger very loudly: "May the lightning blast you, you big scoundrel of a
+Jew," he bellowed. The presence of so many princesses, countesses and
+other noble dames, handsome, and attired in a way that baffles my
+powers of description, afforded daily opportunities for banquets, Welch
+and German dances. King Ferdinand was rarely without guests. He gave
+magnificent receptions, splendid ballets, and beautiful concerts by a
+numerous and well trained band of vocal and instrumental performers.
+Behind the king's chair there stood a chattering jester; his master had
+frequent "wit combats" with him. The king kept up the conversation at
+table, and his tongue was never still for a moment. One evening I saw
+at his reception, a Spanish gentleman, with a cloak reaching to his
+heels, dancing an "algarda" or "passionesa" (I do not know the meaning
+of either word) with a young damsel. They both jumped very high,
+advancing and retreating, without ceasing to face each other. It was
+most charming. After that another couple performed a Welch dance.
+
+The emperor, on the contrary, far from giving the smallest banquet,
+kept nobody near him; neither his sister, nor his brother, nor his
+nieces, nor the Duchess of Bavaria, nor the electors, nor any of the
+princes. After church, when he reached his apartments, he dismissed his
+courtiers, giving his hand to everybody. He had his meals by himself,
+without speaking a word to his attendants. One day, returning from
+church, he noticed the absence of Carlowitz. "_Ubi est noster
+Carlovitius?_" he asked of Duke Maurice. "Most gracious emperor,"
+replied the latter, "he feels somewhat feeble." Immediately the emperor
+turned to his physician. "Vesalius, gy zult naar Carlowitz gaan, die
+zal iets wat ziek zyn, ziet dat gy hem helpt." (Anglicé, "You had
+better go and see Carlowitz. He is not well; you may be able to do
+something for him.")
+
+I have often been present (at Spires, at Worms, at Augsburg, and at
+Brussels) at the emperor's dinner. He never invited his brother, the
+king. Young princes and counts served the repast. There were invariably
+four courses, consisting altogether of six dishes. After having placed
+the dishes on the table, these pages took the covers off. The emperor
+shook his head when he did not care for the particular dish; he bowed
+his head when it suited, and then drew it towards him. Enormous
+pasties, large pieces of game, and the most succulent dishes were
+carried away, while his Majesty ate a piece of roast, a slice of a
+calf's head, or something analogous. He had no one to carve for him; in
+fact, he made but a sparing use of the knife. He began by cutting his
+bread in pieces large enough for one mouthful, then attacked his dish.
+He stuck his knife anywhere, and often used his fingers while he held
+the plate under his chin with the other hand. He ate so naturally, and
+at the same time so cleanly, that it was a pleasure to watch him. When
+he felt thirsty, he only drank three draughts; he made a sign to the
+_doctores medicinae_ standing by the table; thereupon they went to the
+sideboard for two silver flagons, and filled a crystal goblet which
+held about a measure and a half. The emperor drained it to the last
+drop, practically at one draught, though he took breath two or three
+times. He did, however, not utter a syllable, albeit that the jesters
+behind him were amusing. Now and again there was a faint smile at some
+more than ordinarily clever passage between them. He paid not the
+slightest attention to the crowd that came to watch the monarch eat.
+The numerous singers and musicians he kept performed in church, and
+never in his apartment. The dinner lasted less than an hour, at the
+termination of which, tables, seats, and everything else were removed,
+there remaining nothing but the four walls hung with magnificent
+tapestry. After grace they handed the emperor the quills of feathers
+wherewith to clean his teeth. He washed his hands and took his seat in
+one of the window recesses. There, everybody could go up and speak to
+him, or hand a petition, and argue a question. The emperor decided
+there and then. The future emperor Maximilian was more assiduously by
+the side of the emperor than by that of his father.
+
+Duke Maurice soon made acquaintance with the Bavarian ladies, and at
+his own quarters melancholy found no place, for he lodged with a doctor
+of medicine who was the father of a girl named Jacqueline, a handsome
+creature if ever there was one. She and the duke bathed together and
+played cards every day with Margrave Albrecht.[52] One day, the latter,
+thinking he was going to have the best of the game, ventured several
+crowns. "Very well," answered the damsel; "equal stakes. Mine against
+yours." "Put down your money," retorted the margrave, "and the better
+player wins." All this in plain and good German, while Jacqueline gave
+him her most charming smile. Such was their daily mode of life. The
+town gossiped about it, but the devil himself was bursting with
+pleasure.
+
+Clerics or laymen, every one among those notable personages did as he
+pleased. I myself have seen young Margrave Albrecht, as well as other
+young princes, drinking and playing "truc" with certain bishops of
+their own age, but of inferior birth.[53] At such moments they made
+very light of titles. The margrave cried abruptly; "Your turn, priest.
+I'll wager your stroke isn't worth a jot." The bishop was often still
+more coarse, inviting his opponent to accompany him outside to perform
+a natural want. The young princes squatted down by the side of the
+noblest dames on the floor itself, for there were neither forms nor
+chairs; merely a magnificent carpet in the middle of the room,
+exceedingly comfortable to stretch one's self at full length upon. One
+may easily imagine the kissing and cuddling that was going on.[54]
+
+Both princes and princesses spent their incomes in banquets of
+unparalleled splendour. They arrived with their money caskets full to
+overflowing, but in a little while they were compelled to take many a
+humiliating step in order to obtain loans; the rates were ruinous, but
+anything, rather than leave Augsburg defeated and humbled in their love
+of display. Several sovereigns, among others the Duke of Bavaria, had
+received from their subjects thousands of dollars as "play money." They
+lost every penny of it.
+
+Our ambassadors lived very retired. They neither invited nor were
+invited; nevertheless, when a visitor came, they were bound to offer a
+collation, and to amuse their guests. One day they entertained Jacob
+Sturm of Strasburg.[55] During dinner the conversation turned on
+Cammin. Sturm gave us the history of that bishopric, of its foundation,
+of its expansion. Then he told us of the ancient prerogatives of the
+Dukes of Pomerania; of the negotiations set on foot seven years before
+at the diet of Ratisbon. In short, it was as lucid, as complete, and as
+accurate a summary of the subject as if he had just finished studying
+it. Our counsellors greatly admired his wonderful memory. Verily, he
+was a superior, experienced, eloquent, and prudent man, who had had his
+share in many memorable days from an Imperial as well as from a
+provincial view; for, in spite of his heresy, the emperor had at
+various times entrusted him with important missions. Without him,
+Sleidan could have never written his History. He avows it frankly, and
+renders homage to Sturm in many passages of his _Commentaries_. Nobody
+throughout the empire realized to the same degree as he the motto:
+"_Usus me genuit, mater me peperit memoria_." A person of note having
+asked him if the towns of the League of Schmalkalden were all at peace
+with the emperor, he answered: "_Constantia tantum desideratur_."[56]
+It would be impossible better to express both the isolation of
+Constance and the mistake to which the Protestants owed their reverses.
+Should my children have a desire to know what Sturm was like facially,
+they will only have to look at my portrait, which bears such a
+remarkable resemblance to him as to have baffled Apelles to improve
+upon it.[57] Our ambassadors also received the visits of Musculus and
+Lepusculus, but each came by himself. The moment for serious debate had
+struck, for the Interim was being gradually drawn up. The time for
+jesting had gone by; the only thing to do was to get at the root of
+matters.[58]
+
+I sometimes brought my countryman, friend, and co-temporary Valerius
+Krakow home with me. He was secretary to Carlowitz, and, excluded as
+they were from all negotiations, our counsellors were glad to learn
+from his lips what was being plotted. During the campaign he had not
+stirred from the side of Carlowitz, who, in reward for his services,
+had got him into the chancellerie of Prince Maurice. Another countryman
+of mine who came to see us was the traban Simon Plate, one of my old
+acquaintances, for we had pursued our studies together more or less
+usefully at Greifswald, under George Normann. The counsellors did not
+care for him, for he was of no earthly use to them. The trabans had
+some respectable, honest, well set-up and plucky fellows in their
+ranks, and enjoyed a certain amount of consideration. The emperor was
+particular about their dress; they wore black velvet doublets, cloaks
+with large bands of velvet, and the Spanish head-dress of the same
+material.
+
+Plate was never tired of praising his fellow-soldier sleeping next to
+him, and the ambassadors gave him leave to bring his friend. He wore a
+most beautiful golden chain. Plate had not exaggerated. Finally he even
+took umbrage at the favour shown to the new comer, so that one day he
+exclaimed: "No doubt he is very upright and honest. He has shown his
+courage, consequently he pleases the emperor. It is a pity, though,
+that he is not a gentleman by birth." The remark, I am bound to say,
+displeased our ambassadors greatly, and above all Chancellor Citzewitz;
+but let my children look to it. I have heard many Pomeranian nobles
+hold the same language. According to them, intelligence, sound judgment
+and ability were the exclusive appanage of birth.
+
+Plate showed himself in a better light on another occasion. Our
+counsellors had received several visits, and some flagons had been
+joyously emptied. When our guests were gone, Moritz Damis, captain of
+Ukermünde, a rollicking, lively creature, suddenly took a fancy to go
+to the court ball which was taking place that evening, not in the
+apartments of the emperor, but in those of his sister and niece, who
+likewise occupied the Fugger mansion in the wine market. His
+colleagues, who had not forgotten the emperor's threat to the
+landgrave, "I'll teach you to laugh," were afraid of a scandal, and
+pointed out that our princes were in disgrace; but Damitz got angry.
+"Our princes will give me money, but they cannot give me health," he
+exclaimed. "What am I doing here? Why should I deny myself the sight of
+such rejoicings? How am I to keep alive? I may as well make up my mind
+never to cast eyes on Pomerania again." Saying which, he rushed down
+the stairs; a counsellor tried to hold him back by his golden chain,
+the links of which, however, broke, and our captain ran to the ball.
+
+Simon Plate had remained perfectly cool, and they asked him to follow
+the madcap. There was no difficulty for Plate to get inside the
+ball-room, and the first person of note of whom he caught sight was the
+puissant and renowned warrior-chief, Johannes Walther von Hirnheim,[59]
+moodily walking to and fro at the lower end of the room. Damitz had
+noticed standing close by the dancers a handsome woman gorgeously
+dressed and glittering with jewels, and in less time than it takes to
+tell he had addressed her: "Charming creature," he said, "are you not
+going to dance?" "Oh no, sir," was the answer; "dancing is only fit for
+young people, and I am an old woman." "What, are you married?" asked
+the captain. "I could have sworn that you were only a girl, and if I
+were told to choose with the most beautiful woman here, my choice would
+fall upon you." "Ah, sir, you are merely jesting." "And what is your
+husband's name?" the captain went on unabashed. "Johannes Walther von
+Hirnheim." "Johannes Walther? Oh, I know him well." The husband,
+somewhat curious with regard to the captain's conversation, had drawn
+near, though still continuing to walk up and down in silence. Damitz,
+though, taking no notice of either him or Simon Plate, continued his
+interrogatory. "Have you any children?" "No; God has ordained it
+otherwise." "Ah, if I had such a wife, I know what I am. God would soon
+grant us children." This incursion of the captain into the physical
+domain induced Simon Plate to interfere, to turn the conversation, and
+to take Damitz back to his domicile.
+
+In December our ambassadors decided to send one of their body to
+Pomerania, and Heindrich Normann was selected for the journey. It was
+bitterly cold, and Normann endeavoured to provide against it. He put on
+a linen nightcap, over that a fur one, and a second of cloth, with a
+big muffler fastened behind and in front (just as the peasantry still
+wear it), and finally a thick hat, embroidered in silk. On his hands
+white thread gloves, chamois leather ones lined with fur; over these,
+and over the latter again thicker gloves of wolf's skin. His body was
+encased in a linen shirt, a knitted tightly-fitting garment in the
+Italian fashion; over that a vest of red English cloth, a doublet
+wadded with cotton, another lined jacket, a long coat of wool trimmed
+with wolf's skin, covering the whole; finally, on his feet, linen
+socks, Louvain gaiters reaching above the knee, cloth hose, stockings
+lined with sheep's skin, and high boots. When everybody had done giving
+special commissions, the servants hoisted him into the saddle, for he
+could have never got into it without their help. He went as far as
+Donauwerth; when he got there, his equipment decidedly seemed to him
+too uncomfortable. As, however, he had no desire to be frozen to death,
+he turned his horse's head and made for the good city of Augsburg.
+
+Inasmuch as the narrative of Sleidan is very incomplete, I am going to
+write the story of Sebastian Vogelsberg. Having been an eye-witness, I
+made it my business to note down his last speeches. Vogelsberg was tall
+and of imposing appearance, his width being in proportion to his
+height; in short, a handsome, well-proportioned man with a head as
+round as a ball, a beard reaching to his waist, and an open face. No
+painter could have found a better model for a manly man. He had a
+certain amount of education. According to some people, he had been a
+schoolmaster in Italy. Count Wilhelm von Fürstenberg, who entered the
+"paid" service of the belligerent monarchs as a colonel, took him as a
+semi-secretary, semi-accountant. Vogelsberg, having been promoted to an
+ensignship, rendered distinguished service in the field; Ambitious,
+glib of tongue, not to say eloquent and rarely at a loss what to do, he
+quickly attained the grade of captain, and high and mighty potentates
+soon preferred him to Fürstenberg. The latter felt most annoyed at
+this, belonging as he did to a class of men to whom merit is
+inseparable from birth. He constantly inveighed against Vogelsberg,
+who, in his turn, did not spare his rival. Pamphlets were printed on
+both sides. The count appears to have begun; he appealed to his peers,
+their honour seemed to him at stake. The Protestant States sided with
+Vogelsberg, their co-religionist, while the popish camp swore mortal
+hatred to him.
+
+Weary of fruitless polemics, and knowing full well that it would have
+been folly to take the law into his own hands, Vogelsberg decided upon
+bringing an action before the Imperial Chamber for damages for
+defamation of character. I was at the time clerk to his procurator, Dr.
+Engelhardt; consequently, I knew every particular of the affair. After
+protracted debates, the court finding for Vogelsberg, condemned Count
+Wilhelm to a fine of four hundred florins, a sentence which caused
+Wilhelm's brother, Frederick von Fürstenberg, and everybody who bore
+the title of count to consider themselves the injured parties.
+
+Three _causae proægoumenae_, to use the language of the dialecticians,
+may be plainly discerned in this drama; namely, religion, the soldierly
+qualities of Vogelsberg, and the hostility of the nobles and papists.
+We may add two _causae procatarcticae_: the first, mentioned by
+Sleidan, to the effect that a twelvemonth previously Vogelsberg had
+taken a regiment of landsknechten to the King of France; the second,
+which I saw with my own eyes at Wissenburg on the Rhine, that
+Vogelsberg had built himself in that Imperial town a beautiful mansion
+of hewn stone with the arms of France, three big _fleurs de lis_
+artistically sculptured over the door. The papists, feeling confident
+that in the probable event of a new war of religion, the valiant
+captain would give them a great deal of trouble, and thirsting as they
+did for his blood, like a deer in summer pants for cooling streams,
+they took time by the forelock. Their skill in exploiting with his
+Imperial Majesty the _causae irritatrices_ stood them in good stead.
+They were instrumental in getting two doctors of their following
+appointed as judges. The one was German, and the other Welch, but both
+promptly pronounced a sentence of death which was immediately carried
+out.
+
+On February 7, 1548, shortly after eight in the morning, an
+ensign-corps of soldiers from the outskirts of "Our Lady," and two
+other ensign-corps from the outskirts of "St. Jacob," took up their
+position in the square of the Town Hall. Sleidan says the scaffold was
+erected for the purpose of executing Vogelsberg. This is an error on
+Sleidan's part. The scaffold had been there for six months, and had
+served many times. An officer from the Welch, whom they call _magister
+de campo_ was detached from the troops with about thirty men to fetch
+the condemned man from the Peilach tower. The latter was brought back
+to the sound of drums and fifes.
+
+Vogelsberg wore a black velvet dress and a Welch hat embroidered with
+silk. At his entrance into the circle surrounding the scaffold he
+caught sight of Count Reinhard von Solms, whose nose was half-eaten
+away by disease, and Ritter Conrad von Boineburg. Without taking any
+notice of the count, a relentless papist, who detested him on account
+of Fürstenberg, he asked of the ritter: "Herr Conrad, is there any
+hope?" "Dear Bastian," replied Boineburg, "May God help you."
+"Certainly, He will help me," was Vogelsberg's rejoinder. And with his
+firmest step, his head erect, and his usual assurance, he climbed the
+steps to the scaffold.
+
+He looked for a long while at the crowd. All the windows were occupied
+by members of the nobility. At those of the Town Hall there were
+serried rows of electors, princes of the Church and of the empire,
+barons, counts, and knights. In a manly voice and as steady a tone as
+if he were at the head of his troops, Vogelsberg began to speak: "Your
+serenissime highnesses, highnesses, excellencies, noble, puissant,
+valiant seigneurs and friends. As I am this day ..." At that moment the
+_magister de campo_ (quarter-master-general) told the executioner to
+proceed with his duty, but the latter, addressing the condemned man,
+said: "Gracious sir, I shall not hurry you. Speak as long as you
+please." Thereupon Vogelsberg went on: "I am to lose my life by order
+of the emperor, our very merciful and gracious master, and I now will
+tell you the cause of my death-warrant. It is for having raised ten
+ensign-companies last summer for the coronation of the praiseworthy
+King of France. No felonious act can be imputed to me during the ten
+years I served the emperor. As I am innocent, I beseech of you to keep
+me in kind memory, and to pity my undeserved misfortunes. Watch over my
+kindred, so that they may not come to grief on account of all this, and
+may benefit by the fruit of my services, for the whole of my life was
+that of an honest man. I am being sacrificed to the implacable
+resentment of that infamous Lazarus Schwendi." The latter was at the
+window facing the scaffold, and suddenly disappeared, but Vogelsberg
+did not interrupt his speech. "He came to me to Wissemburg to tell me
+that he was in disgrace in consequence of the murder of a Spanish
+gentleman in the suite of his Imperial Majesty, and that the Spaniards
+were also looking for me. He proposed to me to fly to France together,
+and borrowed two hundred crowns of me. I even gave him a horse as a
+present for his advice. Well, the traitor took me straight to the
+Spaniards. While I was in prison I asked him, for my personal need, for
+some of the crowns I had lent him, but he turned a deaf ear to all my
+requests. I beg of you to be on your guard against that skunk of a
+thief who bears the name of Lazarus Schwendi. No one ought to have any
+dealings with him. He has even dared to denounce to his Imperial
+Majesty his Serenissimo Highness the Elector Palatine as having entered
+into a league with the King of France. It is an infamous slander. If I
+had another life to stake, I should stake it on that. I have been
+refused the last assistance of a minister, of a confessor--a refusal
+which has no precedent. I nevertheless die innocent and redeemed by the
+blood of Jesus Christ." After this he walked round the circle, though
+above it, asking everybody to forgive him as he forgave everybody. Then
+he seated himself. The executioner divided his long beard into two and
+knotted the two ends together on the skull. Having craved his pardon,
+and invited him to say a Pater and the Credo, he performed his office.
+The head rolled like a ball from the scaffold to the ground; the
+executioner caught it by the beard and placed it between the legs of
+the body, spreading a cloak over the whole, except the feet which
+showed from under it.
+
+After that the officer and his thirty arquebusiers went to fetch Jacob
+Mantel and Wolf Thomas, of Heilbron, who had been brought to Augsburg
+at the same time as Vogelsberg. Thomas was left at the foot of the
+scaffold. Mantel walked round the platform and said a few words, which
+many people could not hear. As his stiff leg made it difficult for him
+to kneel down, the executioner slipped a footstool under the paralyzed
+limb. He failed to sever the head at the first stroke, and had to
+finish the operation below; then he once more covered up the body.
+
+There only remained Wolf Thomas. To judge by his dress and bearing he
+was not an ordinary man. He stared fixedly at the feet of Vogelsberg,
+showing from under the cloak; then he took his eyes off, and told those
+around that he had been a loyal and faithful soldier for twenty-seven
+years, and that he died absolutely innocent, his sole crime consisted
+in having served the King of France during three months, as many an
+honest noble and squire had done before him without incurring the least
+punishment. He asked those around to forgive him as he forgave them,
+and to pray for him as he would intercede in their favour, he being
+firmly assured of a place near the Almighty. He asked those who
+promised to say a Pater and the _Credo_ for him to hold up their hands.
+After that he was beheaded.
+
+At the termination of the triple execution the executioner cried in a
+loud voice from the scaffold: "In the name of his Imperial Majesty it
+is expressly forbidden to any one to serve the King of France on the
+penalty of sharing the fate of these three men."
+
+The death of Vogelsberg caused universal regret. The unanimous opinion
+was that a soldier of such mettle was worth his weight in gold to a
+warlike monarch. Sleidan alleges erroneously that the two judges
+exculpated Lazarus von Schwendi. It was the emperor who caused to be
+printed and distributed everywhere a small proclamation of half a
+sheet, declaring Schwendi free from all blame, inasmuch as he strictly
+carried out the Imperial orders, and that the speech of Vogelsberg was
+obviously dictated by the desire to escape the most fully deserved
+punishment.
+
+The King of France, it was said, was so displeased at the cry of the
+executioner from the scaffold that by his orders the Marquis de
+Saluces, on his return from Germany, was arrested and beheaded. This
+was the nobleman who at Wittenberg had disadvised the execution of the
+Elector of Saxony.
+
+In April, Augsburg witnessed the arrival of Muleg-Hassan, King of
+Tunis. Thirteen years previously he had been driven forth by
+Barbarossa; subsequently he was re-established on his throne by the
+emperor, but his eldest son had ousted him and put his eyes out. A
+fugitive and wretched, he came to place himself under the protection of
+the emperor, and was soon joined in his exile by one of his sons. I
+often met these two on horseback, in company of Lasky, the Polish
+ambassador, who spoke their language.
+
+As the pope opposed, against all expectation, the holding at Trent of a
+Christian, free and impartial council, and experience having taught
+people besides that the learned men of both parties would never come to
+an agreement, the States of the empire proposed to his Imperial Majesty
+to confide to a restricted number of learned and God-fearing men the
+task of drawing up a document for the furtherance of the reign of God
+and the preservation of the public peace.
+
+In pursuance of this the emperor delegated personally the Bishop of
+Mayence, Dr. George Sigismund Seld, and Dr. Heindrich Hase.
+
+The King of the Romans selected Messire Gandenz von Madrutz. The
+Elector of Mayence chose his Bishop Suffragan; the Elector of Treves,
+Johannes von Leyen, canon of Treves and of Wurzburg; the Elector of
+Cologne, his provincial; the Elector Palatine, Ritter Wolf von
+Affenstein; the Elector of Saxony, Dr. Fachs; the Elector of
+Brandenburg, Eustacius von Schlieben.
+
+The princes selected the Bishop of Augsburg, Dr. Heinrichmann; the Duke
+of Bavaria, Dr. Eck.
+
+The prelates selected the Abbé von Weingarten; the counts, Count Hugo
+de Montfort; the towns: Strasburg, Jacob Sturm; Ulm, George Besserer.
+
+These personages met on Friday, February 11, 1548, but they failed to
+agree, which might have easily been foreseen. The ecclesiastical
+members of the Diet took advantage of the opportunity to have the book
+of the Interim composed respectively by the Bishop of Naumburg,
+Johannes Pflug; by the Bishop Suffragan of Mayence, appointed a little
+later on to the See of Meiseburg, and by the court preacher to the
+Elector of Brandenburg, Johannes Agricola, otherwise Eisleben, who
+coveted the bishopric of Cammin. The Imperial assent to this had to be
+obtained; they set to work in the following manner.
+
+The Elector of Brandenburg and his wife lived on a sumptuous footing at
+Augsburg. The elector was fond of display; the electress, the daughter
+of a king of Poland, was even more lavish than her spouse. The dearth
+of everything and the frequency and the profusion of the entertainments
+had already for a long time reduced the finances of his Serene Highness
+to a critical state. Seven years previously, at the gathering of
+Ratisbon, Dr. Conrad Holde had already lent the prince close upon six
+thousand crowns. Their repayment had been constantly, but
+unsuccessfully demanded. Finally, at Augsburg, in default of ready
+money, he received the written promise of repayment in four instalments
+at the dates of the Frankfurt fairs. It was duly signed and sealed.
+Nothing was wanting to its perfect legality; the most suspicious would
+have been satisfied. Nevertheless, the payments were not made when due,
+and the creditor instituted proceedings before the Imperial Chamber.
+The elector did not know which way to turn; there was not a purse open
+to him. He was absolutely at a loss how to get his wife and his
+numerous suite decently away from Augsburg when the Bishop of Salzburg
+made an end of his embarrassments by advancing him sixteen thousand
+Hungarian florins on the duly executed promise of their being repaid in
+a short time. But the principal condition of the loan was that the
+Elector of Brandenburg should present to his Imperial Majesty the work
+of the three above-named personages, and bind himself and his subjects
+to submit to its provisions.
+
+The Elector of Saxony instructed Christopher Carlowitz to send a copy
+of the "Interim" to Philip Melanchthon.[60] The latter's reply was
+singularly devoid of courage. It was supposed to be inspired by the
+theologians of Wittenberg and Leipzig, who in that way sounded the
+first notes of "Adiaphorism." Carlowitz promptly communicated this
+epistle everywhere. It aroused general surprise, as well as the most
+opposed feelings; grief and consternation among the adherents to the
+Augsburg confession, matchless jubilation among the Catholics. And the
+Lord alone knows how they bellowed it about in the four corners of
+Germany, how they availed themselves of it to proclaim their victory.
+
+[Illustration: Melanchthon. _From a Drawing by_ Lucas Cranach.]
+
+The ecclesiastical electors sent Melanchthon's letter, together with
+the book, to the pope, and what with backslidings and plotting the pear
+was very soon ripe. The publication of the "Interim" took place on May
+14, at four o'clock in the afternoon, in presence of the States
+assembled. The emperor had it printed in Latin and in German. In the
+first proofs handed to the emperor the passage from St. Paul,
+"_Justificati fide pacem habemus_," was altogether changed by the
+suppression of the word _fide_; the confessionists protested
+energetically, and confounded the would-be authors of the fraud.
+
+The stern tone of the act of promulgation stopped neither speeches nor
+scathing writings. Sterling refutations were published even outside
+Germany; the two best known are the Latin treatise of Calvin, which
+spread all over the empire--in Italy, in France, in Poland, etc.; and a
+piece of writing in German, which was more to the taste of everybody,
+and one of whose authors was Æpinus, superintendent of Hamburg.
+
+Seigneur de Granvelle and his son, the Bishop of Arras, strongly
+persuaded the Elector of Saxony to adhere to the "Interim," in order to
+regain his freedom, but the prince remained faithful to the Confession
+of Augsburg. Thereupon they took away his books; there was no meat on
+his table on fast days, and his chaplain, whom he had kept with him
+with the consent of the emperor, had to fly in disguise. The landgrave,
+on the other hand, who did not care to profess greater wisdom than the
+fathers of the Church, consented to recommend the book to his subjects,
+and begged to be pardoned for the sake of Christ and all His saints.
+
+At the closure of the Diet, I took, like his Imperial Majesty, the road
+to the Low Countries. The stay of the emperor at Ulm brought about the
+dismissal of the council, which was replaced by more devoted creatures.
+The six ministers were bidden to accept the "Interim." Four of them
+were not to be shaken, and they were led away captive in the suite of
+the emperor; the other two, in spite of their apostasy, had to leave
+wives and children, and scant consideration was shown to them. At
+Spires, the prior of the barefooted Carmelites was, like all the
+brothers of his monastery, a good evangelical, though all had preserved
+the dress of their order. During four years I had seen him going to and
+fro in the town, dressed in his monk's frock; each Sunday he went into
+the pulpit and the church was crowded to the very porch. Never did he
+breathe a word about the pope or about Luther, but he was a master of
+pure doctrine, and at the approach of the emperor he fled in a layman's
+dress. Worms and the whole of the country lost their preachers. Landau
+possessed a select group of learned and distinguished ministers,
+because the town offered many advantages; a delightful situation,
+excellent fare, and a splendid vineyard at the very gates of the town;
+but the ministers had to abandon the place to the popish priests,
+scamps without experience, without instruction, without piety, and
+without decency.
+
+I often had occasion afterwards to go to Landau, where the advocate of
+my father, Dr. Engelhardt, resided. One Sunday, at the termination of
+the mass, I heard a young and impudent good-for-nothing hold forth from
+the pulpit in the following strain: "The Lutherans are opposed to the
+worship of Mary and the saints. Now, my friends, be good enough to
+listen to this. The soul of a man who had just died got to the door of
+heaven, and Peter shut it in his face. Luckily, the Mother of God was
+taking a stroll outside with her sweet son. The deceased addresses her,
+and reminds her of the Paters and the Aves he has recited to her glory,
+the candles he has burned before her images. Thereupon Mary says to
+Jesus, 'It's the honest truth, my son.' The Lord, however, objected,
+and addressed the supplicant: 'Hast thou never read that I am the way
+and the door to everlasting life?' He asks. 'If thou art the door, I am
+the window,' replies Mary, taking the 'soul' by the hair and flinging
+it into heaven through the open casement. And now I ask you, is it not
+the same whether you enter Paradise by the door or by the window? And
+those abominable Lutherans dare to maintain that one must not invoke
+the Virgin Mary." That was the kind of scandalous irreligion exhibited
+in the places where formerly the healthy evangelical doctrine was
+preached.
+
+The landgrave's submission to the "Interim" only brought him into
+contempt. His wife, who had hastened to Spires to beseech the emperor,
+was allowed to remain day and night with the prisoner during his week's
+stay there. At the departure for Worms I saw the landgrave pass at
+eight in the morning, with his escort of Spaniards with long
+arquebuses. They hemmed him in in front, behind, and at the sides,
+while he himself was bestriding a broken-down nag with empty and open
+holsters, and the hilt of his sword securely tied to its sheath. A
+serried crowd of strangers and inhabitants, women and servants, old and
+young, were pressing around his escort, as if there had been an order
+given to that effect. They cried: "Here goes the wretched rebel, the
+felon, the scoundrel that he is." They said worse things which, from
+certain scruples, I abstain from repeating. It looked like the
+procession of a vulgar malefactor who was being taken to the scaffold.
+
+Pure chance made me an eye-witness of a diverting scene at Augsburg. I
+have already said that Duke Maurice had ingratiated himself very much
+with the Bavarian court ladies. One Sunday, in December, when the
+weather was fine, he was ready to go out in a sleigh. I happened to be
+at the door with several others, who also heard the following dialogue.
+Carlowitz came down the stairs of the chancellerie in hot haste,
+exclaiming: "Whither is your Highness going?" "To Munich," was the
+answer. "But your Highness has an audience to-morrow with the emperor."
+"I am going to Munich," repeated the duke. Thereupon Carlowitz: "If,
+thanks to me, the electoral dignity is practically yours, it is
+nevertheless true that your frivolity causes you to be despised of
+their Majesties and of all honourable people." Maurice merely laid the
+whip on his horses, which started off at a gallop, Carlowitz shouting
+at the top of his voice: "Very well, then; go to the devil, and may
+heaven blast you and your sledge." When the prince returned, Carlowitz
+announced his intention of going to Leipzig. "If I miss the New Year's
+fair," he said, "I shall lose several thousand crowns." The elector had
+only one means to make him stay, namely, to count out the sum to him.
+
+As the restoration of the Imperial Chamber necessitated my return to
+Spires to watch my father's lawsuit, I wrote to Pomerania to be
+dispensed from following the emperor. This is the answer from our
+princes.
+
+"Greetings to our loyal and well-beloved. Our counsellors have informed
+us of thy request, which we should willingly grant thee if it were not
+prejudicial to our interests and those of the country, and which thou
+hast up to the present administered. We therefore invite thee to
+exercise some patience, and to serve us with zeal and fidelity as
+heretofore; inclined as we are to recall thee after the Diet to give
+thee unquestionable proofs of our great satisfaction, as well as the
+means satisfactorily to bring to an end the paternal affairs. We rely
+on thy obedience, and bind ourselves to confirm all our promises as
+above. Given under our hand at Stettin-the-Old, Sunday after St. James,
+in the year 1548."
+
+I had lived uninterruptedly for a twelvemonth at Augsburg, save for one
+ride to Munich, a city well worth seeing. The Diet being about to
+dissolve, I bought a horse, an acquisition which that big dreamer of a
+Normann deferred from day to day. Of course, the inevitable happened.
+The moment the emperor had announced his forthcoming departure
+everybody wanted horses, and he who had ordered himself a handsome
+dress, sold it at half-price in order to get a roadster. Normann, who,
+in spite of my warnings, had waited till the eleventh hour, unable to
+find a suitable mount, took mine, which had been well fed and looked
+after in anticipation of the long journey. I by no means relished this
+unceremonious proceeding, but I could not help myself, and was
+compelled to put up with a seat on a big fourgon, in which I placed the
+golden cups intended for Granvelle. At Ulm, Martin Weyer decided that
+Normann should give me back my horse when we reached Spires, and that
+he should go the rest of the way by the Rhine. When we got to Spires,
+Normann was not to be found there, and we finally learnt that he had
+gone to the baths of Zell with the chimerical hope of getting rid of
+his pimples which disfigured him.
+
+I confided the two pieces of goldsmith's work to Dr. Louis Zigler, the
+procurator to our princes, then went by coach to Oppenheim, and by
+water to Mayence. On 10 September our ship reached Cologne, and next
+morning I went in search of a good horse to pursue my route in company
+of friends, when, whom should I meet in the street but Normann. As a
+consequence, I was obliged to change my inn, and to part with my
+company. Normann was in treaty for a horse, which he finally bought. In
+that way we were both provided for, but without a servant, each man
+taking care of his own horse; however, the ostlers were excellent, and
+there was no need to watch; one had only to command.
+
+We started for the Low Countries on September 12, the emperor going
+down the Rhine in a boat. Next day, at the branching off of the high
+road, we hesitated. On inquiring at the nearest inn we were told
+that one road led to Maestricht, and the other to Aix-la-Chapelle.
+The first-named was the shorter by six miles; on the other hand,
+Aix-la-Chapelle is the famous city founded by Charlemagne. It contains
+the royal throne, it is the city where the emperor is crowned after his
+election at Frankfurt. After we had discussed the "for" and "against"
+at some length, we hit upon the idea of giving our horses their heads,
+and leaving the bridles on their necks. By some subtle and mysterious
+intuition the animals chose, according to our secret desire, the road
+to Aix-la-Chapelle.
+
+The city itself is large and in ancient style. The country around is
+barren, the soil consisting of coal, stone and slate. Previous to the
+foundation of the city it was simply a wilderness. There are some
+excellent mineral springs; the bath, constructed in beautiful hewn
+stone, is square, and about fourteen feet long; three steps enable one
+to sit down with the water up to the throat, or to be immersed at a
+small depth. Except the baths of the landgravate of Baden, I know of no
+other arrangement equally comfortable. At the town hall, castle, and
+arsenal of Charlemagne there are hundreds of thousands of sharp iron
+arrows stowed away in closed chests. On entering the church one
+immediately notices an ivory and gold armchair, fastened with exceeding
+great art. At the lower end of the nave, to the west, a huge crown of
+at least twelve feet diameter is suspended. I do not know the nature of
+the material, but it is gilt and painted in colours. In the way of
+relics there are the hose of Joseph. They are only shown at stated
+times, but whoever has the privilege of seeing them has a great many of
+his sins remitted.
+
+On September 24 we reached Brussels in Brabant, and there I received
+the order to go back to my country, the functions of solicitor to the
+Imperial Chamber having been conferred upon me. Hence, on St. Denis'
+Day, I began this journey of more than a hundred miles, alone and
+across unknown countries, with abominable roads, above all in
+Westphalia. I was often obliged to stay the night at places which were
+more than suspect, and when only half-way my horse came to grief in
+consequence of Normann's former rough usage. I had to swop it, paying a
+sum of money besides, and was unfortunate enough to have come across a
+veritable crock which I was obliged to keep, there being no help for
+it. Finally, through good and evil I reached Wolgast on All Saints'
+Day.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+How I held for two Years the Office of _Solicitator_ at the Imperial
+Chamber at Spires--Visit to Herr Sebastian Münster--Journey to
+Flanders--Character of King Philip--I leave the Princes' Service
+
+
+As soon as my nomination was drawn up, I was dispatched with it to
+Chancellor Citzewitz, at his estate of Muttrin, near Dantzig. The
+principal personages of the land had come to consult him, and he kept
+me for more than ten days with him in excellent company, making me
+share their favourite recreation, and the thing that bored me most,
+namely, the chase, to which the country admirably lends itself. I
+returned with the chancellor to Stettin, where my warrant of
+appointment was duly signed and sealed.
+
+At Wolgast Duke Philip interrogated me at length in his own study, and
+with no one else present, on the condition of affairs at Augsburg and
+Brussels. He was much surprised at my boldness in having given him such
+a plain and straightforward account of the doings of the court. "If
+only one of your letters had been intercepted, they would have strung
+you up at the nearest tree," he said. This was no exaggeration on his
+part; and supposing such a catastrophe had happened, he would, in spite
+of everything, have remained a prince of the empire, while there would
+have been an end of me. Of course, my behaviour gave him the measure of
+my devotion to him. He promised me a good horse; besides this, the
+ducal kitchen provided all that was necessary for a farewell banquet,
+and, in fact, at supper some pages brought us two hares from the
+prince's larder. I received a hundred crowns for my loyal services, and
+an appointment of one hundred and forty per annum; the cost of copying
+and dispatch of messengers being charged to their Highnesses.
+
+I went to say good-bye to my parents at Stralsund. My mother had
+ordered for my sister chains and clasps which the goldsmith had as yet
+not delivered. I paid for them, and, moreover, left thirty crowns at
+home. "Use them, if there be any need. I'll manage to make both ends
+meet with what remains." Duke Philip had given me a strong and lively
+hunter. Behind the saddle I had a small saddle-bag, like the court
+messengers. My brother Christian accompanied me as far as Leipzig,
+where we wished to be for the fair.
+
+Our journey was an uneventful one, except that one day in Mesnia,
+having lost our way, we came at the end of a big forest upon a small
+tenement which was the residence of a poor gentleman. The fast
+gathering darkness compelled us to knock at the noble's dwelling, which
+was inhabited by a young widow of only a few weeks' standing with her
+mother-in-law. The bad-tempered old woman roughly refused us shelter.
+"Go wherever you like," she snarled. Her daughter-in-law, on the other
+hand, said; "We did not expect any one, and we do not keep an inn, but
+it is getting darker and darker, and you would have to go a long way
+before finding one. If you will be content with our humble
+accommodation, you may remain for the night." At these words the other
+one storms and raves. "May the devil take you and them. You have found
+some youngsters who are to your taste, and you have already forgotten
+my son." I tried to appease her. "We have never before been in this
+country," I said to her; "at daybreak we'll be able to find our way.
+You need not be afraid of our using unsuitable language or doing aught
+that is not right, and we'll be satisfied with whatever accommodation
+you can give us, as long as our horses have some fodder and some straw.
+For all this we'll willingly pay." The virago, however, turned a deaf
+ear to this. If we were not the lovers of her daughter-in-law why
+should we have come at this late hour in the neighbourhood where no
+stranger ever came? The young woman was very patient throughout. After
+having provided us with hay and straw for our horses, she took us to a
+lofty room of very modest appearance. There was no man or woman servant
+to be seen; our supper, though, was none the worse for it. After she
+had set all our provisions before us, our hostess sat down and told us
+the sad existence she was leading. The bed was moderately comfortable,
+and the sheets were clean. We paid more than was asked.
+
+At Leipzig I stopped two days to rest my horse. I gave my brother the
+wherewithal for his return journey, and continued my way alone. The
+country as far as Frankfurt was known to me. From Butzbach I went by
+Niederweisel and the Hundfruck, a route I had often pursued with my
+former master, the commander of St. John. It is more direct than by
+Friburg, but it swarms with highway robbers. As I was walking my horse
+up the slope of the forest I caught sight of two horsemen who were
+evidently bent on waiting for me, as they posted themselves, the one to
+the left and the other to the right of the road, and when I was between
+them they began interpellating me in a gruff voice. "From what
+country?" "From Pomerania." "What hast thou got in thy valise?"
+"Letters." "Whither art thou going?" "To Spires." "To whom dost thou
+belong?" "To the Dukes of Pomerania. Here is my safe-conduct."
+Thereupon one of them became more friendly. "And how is his Highness
+Duke Philip, that excellent prince? I knew him very well at
+Heidelberg." And on my recommendation for them to go their way and to
+let me go mine, they looked at me very hard for a few moments, but did
+not follow me. I sold my horse and equipment at Frankfurt, and went
+down the Main as far as Mayence, whence, going up the Rhine, I got to
+Oppenheim, and by the coach to Worms and Spires.
+
+I reached the latter town on January 21, 1549. I hired a room with a
+dressing closet at a clothshearer's, who was also a councillor. I also
+boarded with him, like many young doctors of law and other notable
+persons detained at Spires by their functions or by their wish to get
+practical experience.
+
+Dr. Simeon Engelhardt, who, by the express act of a formal decision of
+his Imperial Majesty, had not been reinstated in his office of
+procurator any more than his brother-in-law, the licentiate Bernard Mey
+and Johannes Helfmann had transferred his household goods to Landau. At
+his recommendation, Dr. Johannes Portius, for procurator, and I brought
+him so many clients that he would accept no fees from me. Engelhardt
+remained my advocate, notwithstanding the inconvenience of the distance
+between us. How often have I walked the four miles between Spires and
+Landau! By starting at the closing of the gates, I reached Landau for
+the hour fixed for their opening; the morning sufficed to transact my
+business with the doctor, and my return journey was accomplished in the
+afternoon. Nor did Engelhardt claim any fees, but I remember having
+taken to him a client who for a single act paid him twenty crowns
+without his asking. The correspondence, thanks to the Pomeranian
+couriers always at my disposal, was equally cheap.
+
+The Lloytz of Stettin chose me as their solicitor.[61] Martin Weyer, in
+the "Cammin" affair, did the same. There were others, and all, except
+Weyer, paid me handsomely. I was getting well known among the
+procurators, and I finally acted _pro principale vel adjuncto notario_.
+I earned, then, sufficient to live comfortably without having recourse
+to the paternal purse. I even could put aside the whole of my
+appointments, and something over. The chief benefit, however, lay in
+the acquisition of experience, the fruits of which have extended to the
+whole of my family, because my pen has always been the sole means of
+livelihood. If that business be well learnt and well carried out, it
+leaves no one to starve. Folks may mention the word scribe with as much
+contempt as they please; the fact remains that I have had many a choice
+morsel, and drunk delicious draughts through being a scribe.
+
+From Spires I wrote to Sebastian Münster that their Highnesses were
+particularly anxious not to hurry the printing of his excellent
+_Cosmographie_, because a special messenger was to bring him a
+description of Pomerania the moment it was finished, and that it would
+prove not the least valuable ornament of his work. He sent word that it
+was impossible for him to delay; his step-son was so deeply engaged in
+the undertaking that he would be ruined if he missed the next Lent fair
+at Frankfurt. I transmitted the reply to Pomerania; the same messenger
+brought back a big bundle of notes, unfortunately incomplete, as they
+pointed out to me. I promptly sent them to Sebastian Münster, promising
+to let him have the rest the moment I received them. He kindly sent me
+an autograph letter, which my children will find joined to that of Dr.
+Martin Luther.[62]
+
+It struck me that an interview with Sebastian Münster would enable me
+to inform our princes accurately. The Imperial Chamber had its
+vacation. It was an excellent opportunity to see Alsace, flowing with
+corn and wine, so many handsome towns, the seat of the Margrave of
+Baden, bishops and courts, and, above all, the city of Basle. Hence, I
+undertook the journey on foot, an affair of about sixty miles there and
+back. At Strasburg I lodged at my friend's, Daniel Capito, a poor home,
+but we took our meals at the tavern of the _Ammeister_.[63]
+
+In the church at Basle I saw the stone statue of Desiderius Erasmus, of
+Rotterdam. I invited Herr Lepusculus, the fugitive of Augsburg, to
+dinner, and we talked of many interesting things. I also became well
+acquainted with Sebastian Münster, who gave me a most hearty welcome. A
+huge room of his house contained a quantity of plates, either cast,
+engraved on wood or on copper. They had come from Germany, Italy or
+France; they were geographical, astronomical, or mathematical drawings,
+representing pieces of engineering work for the use of miners, and
+views of cities, countries, castles, or convents, that were to figure
+in his _Cosmographie_. He was most anxious for me to stay with him, so
+that he might show me the objects of interest connected with the town;
+unfortunately, my time was too short. After having taken leave of
+Münster and Lepusculus, I went back to Spires on foot.
+
+I was just in time for a message from Pomerania relative to the lawsuit
+between Duke Barnim and the town of Stolpe. The latter, on the pretext
+of an attempt against its privileges, had deputed Simon Wolder to
+attend upon the emperor. Wolder was a young jackanapes without
+education, but pushing and cunning, and by dint of intriguing he
+obtained the confirmation of the said privileges, and for himself the
+Imperial safeguard. The people of Stolpe had their triumph, and to
+judge by their swaggering one would have concluded they had no longer
+anything in common with their prince and lord. Duke Barnim, though,
+having entered the town amidst his soldiers, summoned the council and
+the burghers to the Town Hall, and when he got them there, he forbade
+those who had had a hand in the intriguing to stir, while the others
+should stand aside. The majority of those present changed their
+positions; the rest, and notably the Burgomaster Schwabe, a near
+relation to the Bishop of Cammin, were imprisoned at Stettin, at
+Greiffenberg, and at Treptow, while Simon Wolder fled to the emperor,
+who was fighting the white Moors (?) in Africa. He succeeded in
+obtaining from the emperor the categorical order for releasing the
+prisoners, on the express penalty of being put "under the ban"; but
+that injunction arrived too late. The friends of the prisoners humbly
+interceded for them, and each liberation was bought at a heavy fine and
+after a long detention. As for Wolder, far from resting on his oars, he
+pursued his intrigues at the Imperial court, ingratiating himself with
+the princes, the nobles, and the cities. He enjoyed great favour; he
+dressed magnificently. Where did the money for all this display come
+from? In short, at the restoration of the Imperial Chamber, an action
+was begun.
+
+The dukes of Pomerania had unquestionably cause for anxiety, for their
+relations with the emperor were already very strained, and the latter's
+victory made him very disinclined to exercise much consideration to the
+partisans of the Augsburg confession. Simon Wolder was jubilant; he
+looked upon the business as good as won; judges and assessors were
+papists, and their Highnesses under a cloud of Imperial disgrace. We
+devoted the most serious attention at Spires to the suit; procurator
+Ziegler and advocate Johannes Kalte amply did their duty; if need had
+been, I was there to spur them on. At Stettin, on the contrary, Martin
+Weyer and Dr. Schwallenberger, to whom the affair was entrusted, were
+mere sluggards whose conduct was disgraceful. We shall meet with
+Schwallenberger again.
+
+In May our counsellors wrote to me to take the two golden cups to
+Brussels to them. The rumour ran, in fact, that the emperor's son was
+coming from Spain in great pomp; and our envoys hoped to secure,
+through the influence of certain important personages, his intercession
+with the emperor. I started immediately, going down the Rhine as far as
+the Meuse, and pursuing my journey by land by way of s'Hertogenbosch
+(Bois le Due) and Louvain.
+
+When I had delivered my precious deposit, the wish to see something of
+Flanders impelled me to Ghent. It is a big city, formerly endowed with
+important privileges. For instance, the emperor could impose no taxes
+in Flanders or demand anything without the assent of the said city.
+Charles V has deprived it of its privileges. He has razed a convent and
+several houses to the ground, and on their site built a castle with
+huge, deep moats filled with water, besides other remarkable outworks,
+so that the city is at his mercy. In the centre of Ghent there rises a
+high steeple. I climbed to the top, and it is from there that the
+emperor and his brother Ferdinand chose the spot whereon to build their
+fortress; they traced there, _propriis manibus_, their symbolum in red
+chalk.
+
+The castle where Charles V saw the light is a decrepit, unsightly kind
+of tenement, surrounded by water, and accessible only by a drawbridge.
+At the head of the bridge, on the parapet, there are two bronze
+statues; one is kneeling, and behind it there is the second with
+uplifted sword. Tradition has it that they represent two men condemned
+to death, father and son, for whom no executioner could be found. They
+then promised the father a full pardon if he would behead his son. At
+his refusal the offer was made to the son, who accepted it with joy and
+gratitude, and severed his father's head from the trunk.
+
+In Antwerp I met with Herr Heinrich Buchow, the future counsellor of
+Stralsund. We had both heard much about the house of Gaspard Duitz,
+about a good mile distant from the city. People compared it to the
+castle of Trent, some even said that it was handsomer. We obtained a
+letter from the owner to his steward, who showed us everything, and
+really rumour had not been guilty of exaggeration. Though there were a
+great number of them, each room was differently decorated; each
+contained a bed and a table. The hangings were of the same colour as
+the bed-curtains, and the cloth on the table which was either of velvet
+or damask, black, red or violet, as the case might be. Musical
+instruments everywhere, but varying in every room. Here a kettledrum;
+there Polish viols, elsewhere lutes, harps, zithers, hautboys,
+bassoons, Swiss fifes, etc. The girl who showed us over the place quite
+correctly played the kettledrum, the viol and the lute. In front of the
+house a beautiful garden cultivated with art, and enhanced by many
+exotics. Further on a zoological collection. The ground floor has one
+hall of such magnificence that one day Madame Marie entertained her
+brother there. The emperor, having looked and appreciated everything,
+asked: "To whom, sister mine, belongs this house?" "To our treasurer."
+"Well," rejoined the emperor, "our treasurer evidently knows the
+science of profit-making."
+
+This Gaspard Duitz, an Italian by birth, a shrewd and even cunning
+merchant, had exercised commerce on a large scale at Antwerp, and
+failed twice if not three times. When he had thousands upon thousands
+of crowns in hand, he asked his creditors for five years' delay. Madame
+Marie, for instance, gave him such letters of respite. Of course,
+those rogueries made him very wealthy, and when Madame Marie was in
+need of money, her treasurer came to her aid. A house in Antwerp,
+which had cost him thousands of florins, not having realized his
+expectations--the drawbacks of a structure becoming only apparent after
+it is finished--he had it razed to the ground and rebuilt according to
+his taste.
+
+The Count Maximilian van Buren (the same who, in the Schmalkalden
+campaign, took the Dutch horsemen to the emperor), having heard of
+Duitz's famous country seat, "invited himself" to it. Master Gaspard
+treated his visitor magnificently, showed him everything, and when
+taking leave inquired if perchance the count had noticed some fault or
+shortcoming in the decorations or general disposition of the whole;
+for, if such were the case, he would alter it, even if he had to send
+for artists from Venice or Rome. "No," replied the count; "the only
+thing wanting is a high gallows at the entrance, with Gaspard Duitz
+securely swinging from it." That was the count's acknowledgment of his
+host's hospitality, and he might have added: "With a crown on his head,
+as an arch-thief."[64]
+
+From Antwerp I went to Malines. What an admirable country! Louvain,
+Brussels and Antwerp, three big and handsome cities, are at an equal
+distance from each other, and Malines, which one always has to cross to
+get to either, stands in the centre. Along the route there are
+magnificent castles and lordly dwellings. Malines is a pretty city,
+though the smallest of the four; the water is brought there _labore et
+industriâ hominum_, and enables one to reach Antwerp by boat. I saw the
+damage caused by the lightning of August 7, 1546, when it fell on a
+powder magazine, which was entirely destroyed, together with the outer
+wall; huge quarters were hurled on the roofs of houses. There was a
+great loss of life and property.
+
+At Malines I went to see Vogel Heine, who, in the days of Maximilian I,
+the great-great-grandfather of the present emperor, went in advance to
+prepare the night quarters. The emperor had left him sufficient to live
+upon; the woman who took care of him had her lodging and firing. Heine
+was so old and so decrepit as to be unable to stir from a room that was
+constantly heated. People gave the woman a small tip to see her charge,
+and in that way she made for herself a small income instead of wages.
+
+From Louvain I took the most direct and shortest road to Juliers and
+Cologne; at the latter place I put up at _The Angel_. The host had a
+raven that spoke, and even understood what was said to it. If, in the
+evening, there was a knock at the door, the bird asked: "Is anybody
+knocking?" "Yes," replied the new-comer. But as the travellers' room
+happened to be at the back of the house, overlooking the Rhine, nobody
+stirred, and the knocking was repeated, the bird, on its part,
+repeating the same question. "Can't you hear?" said the claimant for
+admission, out of patience, and knocking much louder, so that they
+could hear it from the travellers' room. Naturally, the servant came to
+open the door, and endeavoured to mollify the would-be guest's anger by
+saying that they had heard no knocking. Thereupon the other called him
+a liar, or at any rate treated him as such; thereupon the cage with the
+bird in it was pointed out as evidence, and everything was well. The
+bird, upon the whole, was most remarkable, and many great personages
+made the most tempting offers for it, which were always refused. Six or
+seven years later, when I visited Cologne again, I inquired what had
+become of the bird, and its owner told me that he was then at law with
+a gentleman who, coming in drunk, had drawn his sword and cut the
+bird's head off. The host assured me that he would sooner have lost
+three hundred crowns.
+
+After having gone up the Rhine as far as Mayence, I took the coach to
+Spires.
+
+In June 1549 King Philip, the emperor's son, came to Spires with a
+numerous suite. His father had appointed the cardinal of Trent, a
+Seigneur de Madrutz, as his marshal. The king was then about twenty-two
+years of age, my junior by seven. His far from intellectual face gave
+little hope of his equalling his father one day. The Elector of
+Heidelberg, the other counts palatine, the ecclesiastical electors, all
+of them in their state carriages, attended on him when he went to
+church. Well, I often saw his father under similar circumstances. When
+he came out of his apartments and mounted his horse in the courtyard,
+where princes and electors already in the saddle awaited him, he was
+the first to take his hat off. If it happened to rain, so much the
+worse. He remained bare-headed, and was not the less affable either in
+speech or gesture. He held out his hand to everybody, and did the same
+when he came back. When, at the foot of the staircase, he turned out,
+faced his escort, took off his hat, and bade them farewell in a
+gracious manner.
+
+King Philip, on the contrary, was most exacting with the electors and
+the princes, though many of them were old men. While the latter
+dismounted at the door of the church, Philip went in without troubling
+about them, making signs behind his back with his hands for them to
+march by his side, but they merely followed him. After the service they
+accompanied the king back to the palace. He jumped down, and went up
+the stairs without a look or a word of farewell. His marshal had,
+nevertheless, told him that there was a great difference between
+Spanish and German princes. As a proof of this, he quoted to him the
+paternal example, as typified by the consideration shown to the German
+nobles by the emperor, but Philip answered: "Between myself and my
+father, the difference is as great, for he is only the son of a king; I
+am the son of an emperor." After having officially made their
+appearance, the princes promptly left for their own States. Philip
+spent a few more days hunting and going about, his suite being reduced
+to fourteen or twelve horses, and then the Duke of Aarschot came for
+him, by order of the emperor, to take him with a magnificent escort to
+Brussels.
+
+Notwithstanding my constant reminders to them of the mortal danger of
+delay, the Stettin authorities were terribly slow in sending me the
+most indispensable documents for the serious lawsuit against the town
+of Stolpe. As some people, moreover, were attempting to discredit me
+with Duke Barnim, I wrote to Chancellor Falck, who answered me: "You do
+not deserve the slightest reproach. All the neglect is on this side;
+but, in truth, the whole of your letter is so much Arabic to me,
+because I have not the faintest idea of the lawsuit itself." That is
+how things are managed at courts.
+
+On the banks of the Rhine it is the custom to organize at twelfth night
+a complete court--king, marshal, steward, cup-bearer, etc. As a matter
+of course, the court fool is indispensable. The charges are drawn for
+by lot; each pays part of the expenses; alone the fool is exempt. In
+1550 there gathered round our table a young baron from the Low
+Countries, a bright young fellow, with considerable experience of the
+world, also several persons of consideration who were detained at
+Spires by their law business. It fell to my lot to be king, with the
+baron for my marshal. As for the fool, chance had picked out our host,
+the priest, and nature seemed really to have created him for the part.
+In my capacity of king I had a many-coloured hooded cloak of English
+linen made for him. When we had visitors, and, thanks to the gay baron,
+this happened frequently, our host put on his cloak and took our guests
+to task. We shook with laughter, but he himself fared very well by it,
+for his buffoonery brought him many silver and even gold pieces. He
+bought himself silver bells for his cap, and his cloak became spangled
+with gold and silver coins.
+
+This went on until "kingdom" time, which is celebrated one Sunday
+evening between twelfth night and Shrovetide. There are three or four
+kingdoms each Sunday, and the masked people of both sexes go from one
+gathering to another in fancy dress and accompanied by musicians. They
+have the right of three dances with those who give the entertainments.
+All this afforded capital opportunities for every kind of dissipation
+and debauch. One evening, for instance, it happened that a husband and
+his wife, after having danced together, divided for the second dance
+and came together for the third, without, however, recognizing each
+other. Side by side they went to another house, and having understood
+each other's desires by the pressure of their hands, they indulged
+their sudden fancy on their way in the penumbra of a clothworker's shop
+in the market place, and never did the hallowed joys of matrimony taste
+like the forbidden fruit of infidelity; at any rate, so each imagined.
+Being anxious to know who was his partner, the swain cut a snippet from
+her dress and, moreover, made her a present of a gold piece, then both
+joined the rest of the company. The husband was a chamois-leather
+dresser, and next morning some one came to buy a skin, and tendered a
+large coin. As he had no change himself, he took his wife's satchel and
+found the golden piece, which he recognized at once. When the customer
+was gone, the dame had to show the gown she wore on the previous
+evening, the husband confronted her with the abstracted piece of stuff.
+Denial was impossible, but the one happened to be as guilty as the
+other.
+
+We gave our fool ample opportunity to adorn his dress. At the carnival
+he made himself conspicuous by many pleasant quips and pranks; the
+marshal also did wonders, standing erect before his Majesty, and
+zealously attending upon him by bringing up the dishes, carving the
+viands, and cleaning the table with many genuflections and kissing of
+hands. The king paid very dearly for his three or four hours' reign.
+
+Our host was a careless, irresponsible creature, more fit for the life
+of camps or of courts than for the priesthood; a gambler, a rogue, a
+boaster, a drunkard, a brawler, and an adept at jesting and practical
+joking. He did not care whether his boarders were papists or
+evangelicals. He was one of the three who celebrated early mass at the
+cathedral. His young boarders, the graduates, were fond of cards, and
+clever gamblers. They thought that a seasoned gamester like their host
+must necessarily be a valuable adviser, so they spent their night round
+the board. About three in the morning their landlord cried: "Brothers,
+don't you move; I am going to say mass. But it will be short and sweet;
+just long enough to blow the dust off the altar, and I'll be back." And
+he was as good as his word.
+
+It was a custom to place, during the night of Good Friday, a crucifix
+in one of the lateral chapels, and the three priests who said early
+mass were deputed to watch over it. Long files of matrons prostrated
+themselves, face downward, and deposited their offerings. On one
+occasion, towards three in the morning, the reverend guardians who no
+longer expected contributors, divided the receipts and began to gamble.
+Thanks to his long practice, our host won every penny to the annoyance
+of his colleagues. A quarrel ensued at the foot of the cross, followed
+by blows; our man being the strongest, the victory and the money
+remained with him.
+
+In "Rogation Week" the clergy in their richest vestments, and carrying
+crosses, banners, and relics, perambulate the fields, followed by
+crowds of men and women. A young priest, thinking this a propitious
+time for an assignation, left the procession, and disappeared among the
+standing corn, whither a young damsel went after him. Two workmen,
+though, had noticed the manoeuvre; they watched for the opportune
+moment, surprised the couple, and only left the "black beetle" after
+having stripped him of his gown and surplice, both which "proofs
+positive" they brought to the dean of the chapter.
+
+I have not the least doubt that the King of Spain interceded in favour
+of our princes. Assiduous solicitations, but above all the goldsmiths'
+work and the gratifications so much prized at courts and in large
+cities, mollified the influential counsellers, the Seigneur de
+Granvelle, his son, the Bishop of Arras, and others. The emperor
+finally consented to an arrangement, one of the conditions of which was
+the payment of a fine of ninety thousand florins. The Imperial
+chancellerie demanded three thousand florins for engrossing the act of
+reconciliation, which I could have done as elegantly in one day. The
+Bishop of Arras, to whom reverted half the chancellery fees, abandoned
+them in our favour, but he lost nothing by his generosity. In sum, this
+little matter cost two hundred thousand florins.
+
+One of the conditions imposed upon our princes was the acceptance of
+the "Interim." The Pomeranian clergy unanimously rejected this work of
+Satan. The council of Stralsund summoned the ministers before it to
+forbid them pronouncing the word "Interim" from the pulpit, and, above
+all, to add any ill-sounding expression to it on the penalty of being
+deposed from their sacred office. As for the doctrines themselves, they
+were at liberty to weigh and to refute them by the Holy Scriptures. But
+superintendent Johannes Freder, an obstinate and narrow-minded man,
+replied that as a good shepherd he neither could nor would deliver his
+flock to the rage of devouring wolves, for to do this would be to
+imperil his own body and soul. He furthermore said that if he were
+dismissed God would provide, and that, moreover, men of education were
+not liked at Stralsund. The council adjourned the meeting, and two of
+its members intimated his dismissal to Freder.
+
+The next day the ministers presented a petition signed by all except
+Johannes Niemann. They claimed their liberty of conscience and their
+right to serve the cause of truth by denouncing from the pulpit the
+damnable abominations of the "Interim." "One must obey God rather than
+men," they said. The impetuous Alexis Grosse and Johannes Berckmann
+were conspicuous by their anger. They hurled the most offensive
+accusations against honest Niemann, and tried to carry things with such
+a high hand that the council, greatly irritated, decided there and then
+upon the dismissal of Grosse, after payment of the arrears due to him.
+The other preachers expected the same fate, but matters went no
+farther, so Niemann would have risked nothing by adding his signature
+to that of his colleagues. Besides, the Interim was assailed from every
+direction; the attacks were made in German, in Latin, in Italian, in
+French, and in Spanish. Every line was weighed and refuted in the name
+of the Holy Word. The pope, for very shame, did not know where to hide
+his face.
+
+Let my children bear in mind the high degree of fortune attained by the
+emperor. At the summit of that prosperity, when everything seemed to
+proceed according to his desires, he imagined that unhindered he could
+break his promise to undertake nothing against the Augsburg confession.
+For love of the pope, he contemplated ruining the unshakable stronghold
+of Luther. From that moment the emperor's star waned; all his
+enterprises failed. Instead of being razed to the ground, Luther's
+stronghold was, on the contrary, furnished with solid ramparts, and
+to-day it counts powerful defenders in Germany, such as the Duke of
+Prussia, the Margrave of Baden, the Margrave Ernest von Pforzheim, and
+others, while among other nations the number of champions inspired by
+the blood of the martyrs is constantly on the increase. That stronghold
+shall set its enemies at defiance for evermore.
+
+At Stettin they went on blackening my character so effectually that Dr.
+Schwallenberg succeeded in getting himself sent on a mission to repair
+the effects of my supposed neglect. On my side, I had made up my mind
+to resign the functions of solicitor, and to leave Spires in December.
+I wrote to that effect to Chancellor Citzewitz, giving him the motives
+for my decision.
+
+At his arrival Dr. Schwallenberg took up his quarters at a canon's of
+his acquaintance--an easy method of being boarded and lodged for
+nothing; he had retrenched in that way all along the route, though
+taking care to put down his expense in the usual manner. When I
+presented myself at his summons, he was at table; he did not ask me to
+sit down, adopted a haughty tone, and even wished me to serve him. I,
+however, protested energetically. "This is not part of my duty. If
+there was an attempt to impose it upon me, I should refuse it; in that
+respect I have finished my apprenticeship. On the other hand, the
+advocate and I are very anxious to have your views on the affairs of
+our princes which have entailed so much writing upon me, at present
+without any result. Will you please name your own time?" "I'll see the
+advocate by himself," replied Schwallenberg. And, in fact, he went to
+the lawyer, but instead of entering upon the discussion of the urgent
+questions, he insinuated that I was a fifth wheel on the coach. "Get
+him dismissed, and his emoluments will increase your modest fees," he
+remarked. The advocate was an honourable man. He replied that I was
+being slandered, and that he did not care about earning money by means
+of a cabal. Thereupon Dr. Schwallenberg went for a trip to Strasburg.
+
+At his return the arguments of the case were ready, but he refused to
+read them, alleging that they had to be submitted to the dukes. I
+dispatched a messenger, who also carried a missive from Schwallenberg.
+The latter then departed for the Diet of Ratisbon. In due time came the
+princes' answer, and feeling certain that it related to the lawsuit, I
+opened it and read as follows:
+
+"Very learned, dear and faithful! We are pleased to express to thee our
+particular satisfaction at thy diligence at re-establishing our
+affairs, so greatly compromised by our solicitor that without thy
+arrival on the spot they would have entirely lapsed. As for the
+arguments thou hast elaborated with the advocate, we have ordered them
+to be returned to thee the moment our counsellors shall have examined
+and according to need amended them. We also authorize thee to go to the
+Diet of Ratisbon at our cost, etc."
+
+It would be difficult to conceive blacker treachery. For at least a
+twelvemonth I had despatched messenger after messenger for
+instructions. In spite of that, all the delay had been imputed to me. A
+rogue presented as his work arguments not one word of which belonged to
+him; he had not even taken the trouble to read the documents. And while
+the princes tendered him their thanks, my disgrace was complete.
+
+I had no longer anything to expect from my fellow-men; the Almighty,
+however, chose that moment to make my innocence patent to every one,
+and to confound my enemies. Thus was Mordecai laden with honours after
+the ignominious fall of Haman. Yes, even before the arguments were sent
+back from Pomerania, the Chamber delivered the following judgment: "In
+the matter of the town of Stolpe and of Simon Wolder against his Grace
+Barnim, Duke of Pomerania, etc., we decide and declare that the said
+duke is acquitted of all the charges and obligations advanced against
+him by the plaintiffs." What hast thou to say against that, infamous
+libeller? Hide thy head with shame, vile hypocrite! The feelings with
+which I despatched a special messenger to the duke may easily be
+imagined. It may be equally taken for granted that I did not mince
+matters in pointing out the merits of Dr. Schwallenberg. And although
+his diabolical machinations had filled my heart with sadness, they
+turned to my profit and my salvation, so true it is that the Lord
+converts evil into good. I was, however, strengthened in my decision to
+abandon the office of solicitor, and, above all, the princes' service,
+and that notwithstanding Citzewitz's offer, both verbal and in writing,
+of a profitable position at the chancellerie of Wolgast. I had become
+disgusted with the life at courts. A new career was open to me in a
+town where, though the devil and his acolytes have not quite given up
+the game, there is nevertheless a means of enjoying one's self and to
+live and die according to God's precepts. My sister, who was married to
+Peter Frubose, burgomaster of Greifswald, proposed to me to marry her
+sister-in-law. As I expected to be at Greifswald on New Year's Day, I
+wrote to her to arrange the wedding before the carnival. A cabinet
+messenger, who was going home for good, sold me a young grey trotting
+horse, with its bridle and saddle.
+
+Everything being wound up and settled with the advocates and
+procurators, etc., and having taken regular leave of them, I bade
+farewell to Spires on December 3, 1550, so disgusted with the Imperial
+Chamber as to have made up my mind never to return to it during my
+life. I had remained in foreign parts for five years in the interests
+of my father's lawsuit, in addition to the two years I had spent in
+behalf of the dukes of Pomerania. These years were not altogether
+without result. In fact, both in the chancelleries of Margrave Ernest
+and of the Commander of St. John, as well as at the secretary's office
+of our dukes and at the diets, I furthered my own affairs and amassed
+more money than many a doctor. It had all been done by my talent as a
+law writer, an art which is neither taught in Bartolus nor in Baldus,
+but which requires much application, memory, readiness to oblige and
+constant practice. Truly, I had worked day and night, and, as this
+narrative shows, incurred many dangers. Many folk after me, dazzled by
+my success, tried in their turn to become law writers, but they very
+soon succumbed to the monotony of the business, to the incessant
+labour, to the protracted vigils, to hunger, thirst, cares and dangers.
+Barely one in a hundred succeeds.
+
+I reached Stettin on December 21, and, all things considered, there was
+nothing to grumble at in the welcome I received. The counsellors, among
+whom were Schwallenberg's confederates, heard my explanations at length
+as they said on behalf of the prince. I was warned that they had agreed
+upon baulking me of an audience. The next day they informed me that the
+duke was as pleased with the energy I had shown as with the tenour of
+my report, and that I was authorized to bring a plaint against
+Schwallenberg. As for the prince's promise of a gratification, he had
+not forgotten it, and he asked me to exercise patience for a few days.
+He evidently wished to consult with the court of Wolgast. I answered as
+follows:
+
+"Great is my joy to learn that my lord and master appreciates my
+devotion and acknowledges how undeserved was my disgrace. I should be
+grieved to have to attack Dr. Schwallenberger on the eve of my
+marriage. The evidence, however, is conclusive; the duke is more
+interested than I in the punishment of the rogue. What, after all, have
+I to gain by a lawsuit now that the prince, heaven be praised, thanks
+me by word of mouth and in writing? Nor is it possible for me to wait
+here for the promised recompense. I prefer to come back after the
+wedding."
+
+When they became aware of my determination to abandon the court for the
+city, all the counsellors intoned a "hallelujah." There was an
+instantaneous change of language and behaviour to me. They were lavish
+with offers of service, but the first sentence of Chancellor Citzewitz
+at our meeting was: "A plague upon the bird that will not wait for the
+stroke of fortune." Here ends the story of my life previous to my
+marriage.
+
+
+
+
+
+                                PART III
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+
+Arrival at Greifswald--Betrothal and Marriage--An old Custom--I am in
+Peril--Martin Weyer, Bishop
+
+
+I reached Greifswald on January 1, 1551, at nightfall. I was thirty
+years old. After I had written to Stralsund for my parents' consent,
+and had conferred with my Greifswald relatives and those of my future
+wife, the invitations for the betrothal were sent out on both sides. On
+January 5, in the chapel of the Grey Friars, at eight in the morning,
+Master Matthew Frubose made a solemn promise to give me his daughter,
+in the presence of the burgomasters, councillors, and a large number of
+notable burghers. Burgomaster Bunsow gave me a loan of two hundred
+florins.
+
+The worshipful council had been obliged to suppress the dances at
+weddings, because the manner in which the men whirled the matrons and
+damsels round and round had become indecent. Those who infringed the
+order, no matter what was their condition, were cited before the minor
+court. It so happened that a week after our betrothal my intended and I
+were invited to a wedding at one of the principal families. When the
+wedding banquet was over, my betrothed came back to me, and, being
+ignorant of the council's orders, I danced with her, but most quietly,
+and a very short time. Notwithstanding this, an officer of the court
+came the next morning and summoned me to appear. At the first blush I
+could scarcely credit such an instance of incivility. Moreover, it
+boded ill, and I could not help foreseeing struggles, animosities, and
+persecution in this manner of bidding me welcome by a satellite of the
+hangman after an absence of eight years. Does not the poet say, _Omina
+principiis semper inesse solent_? I was very indignant, and ran to the
+eldest of the burgomasters. He pointed out to me that urgent and severe
+proceedings were necessary against the coarse licence of the students
+and others, but my case being entirely different, he promised to stay
+all proceedings.
+
+I had not said a word about the dowry, and least of all had I inquired
+as to its amount; but my sister told me that my father-in-law gave his
+daughter two hundred florins. I made no answer. My chief concern was to
+get a wife. According to my brother's calculations, one hundred marks
+yearly would suffice to keep the house. Experience told me a different
+story.
+
+I went to Stralsund for my wedding clothes and other necessary things.
+My father gave me some sable furs he had had for many years. I bought
+the cloth for the coat as well as the rest of my marriage outfit. My
+father had put in pledge the things I intended offering to my bride. I
+was obliged to redeem them. Among several other objects there was a
+piece of velvet for collarettes for my betrothed and my sister. At
+Frankfurt-on-the-Main I had bought a dagger ornamented with silver.
+Those various purchases exhausted my stock of money.
+
+Although I had invited my numerous Stralsund relatives on both sides in
+good time, only Johannes Gottschalk, my old schoolfellow and colleague
+at the chancellerie of Wolgast, came to my wedding. He made me a
+present of a golden florin of Lubeck.
+
+My marriage took place at Greifswald on February 2, 1551. As I was one
+of the last to "mount the stone," it may be interesting to give an
+account of that old custom. At three in the afternoon, and just before
+the celebration of the marriage service, the bridegroom was conducted
+to the market place between two burgomasters, or, in default of these,
+between the two most prominent wedding guests. At one of the angles of
+the place there was a square block of stone, on which the bridegroom
+took up his position, the guests ranging themselves in good order about
+fifty paces away. The pipers gave him a morning greeting lasting about
+five or six minutes, after which he resumed his place in the wedding
+procession. The purpose of the ceremony, according to tradition, was to
+give everybody an opportunity of addressing some useful remark to the
+bridegroom at that critical moment. These remarks were often more
+forcible and outspoken than flattering, and were not always
+distinguished by their strict adherence to the truth.
+
+Johannes Bunsow, the son of the burgomaster, had been a suitor for my
+wife's hand; the preliminary arrangements to the marriage were as good
+as completed, and the invitations to the betrothal festivities were
+about to be sent out when everything was broken off, in consequence of
+the exacting demands of the proud wife of the burgomaster from the
+parents of the girl. The burgomaster's wife was considerably upset
+about all this. It so happened that on the wedding-day at the breakfast
+my wife was seated between the dames Bunsow and Gruwel. My father, who
+was her cavalier, sat opposite. All at once, the burgomaster's wife
+said to the bride, "Eat, my girl, eat, for this is the happiest day of
+thy life. I had made other plans for thy happiness, but thou didst not
+fall in with them. The culprit is either thy brother or his wife. Keep
+thy husband at a distance, for if thou givest him an inch he will take
+an ell; therefore, be 'stand-offish' with him in the beginning." At
+these words Dame Gruwel exclaimed: "Good heaven, what sad advice! Make
+thy mind easy, child; there are many happy days in store for thee."
+
+Eighteen months later, as we were standing talking in the street, Peter
+and Matthew Schwarte and I, Dame Bunsow who went by, spoke to us. With
+the admirable volubility that distinguishes the women of Greifswald,
+she had a word for all of us. "Dear cousins," she said to the
+Schwartes, "how do you do? how are your wives? and how are your
+children?" Then, turning to me, "And how are you, cousin? How is your
+wife? I need not ask you about the children. You are having a good year
+of it. In these hard days one may as well save the bread." "That's
+farthest from our thoughts," I answered, "but that's because my wife is
+not 'stand-offish' enough with me." She knew what I was driving at,
+turned crimson, and went away without saying another word.
+
+A week after my marriage, on the Sunday, I returned to Stettin, as had
+been agreed upon. It was a fatiguing, not to say dangerous journey,
+because of the inundations. From the moment of my marriage the devil
+seemed to have declared war against me. It was, I suppose, his revenge
+for my having disappointed him by leaving the court, where I might have
+proved of great service. On the other hand, his Master, our Lord and
+Saviour, took me under His protection. A very heavy snowfall had been
+succeeded by a sudden thaw, the effect of a warm and continuous rain.
+As a consequence, the overflowing of banks everywhere, the mill-stream
+near Ukermünde had swept away the roadway at several spots. On the very
+day of my departure, a van laden, among other things, with a case of
+sealed letters, registers, documents and parchments, had passed that
+way, coming from Wolgast. Our travellers, knowing that they were on the
+high road, went ahead. Suddenly the horses fell into a deep rut; the
+cart was overturned, and only by a mighty effort did beasts and men
+escape drowning. They had to spend the night at Ukermünde to dry the
+letters.
+
+I came to the spot of the accident in the afternoon. I was gaily
+trotting along, for I was following the highway and the fresh traces of
+the vehicle from Wolgast. My good fortune befriended me in the shape of
+a miller's lad who was standing by the water. He called out and showed
+me a little lower down, to the right, the way to a small burgh, having
+passed which I should find a long road and a bridge, the only available
+passage left. Though night was gathering fast, I ventured into the
+sodden road, beaten by big muddy waves. My horse was soon breast deep
+in the water, the force of the current threatening at every moment to
+sweep it off its legs. The poor beast was perfectly conscious of its
+danger, and reared whenever it felt the ground slipping away. Finally,
+the journey was accomplished without serious mishap, though it was
+completely dark when I got to the inn at Ukermünde, where the
+travellers from Wolgast and the host himself could scarcely believe
+their eyes.
+
+I felt confident of having faithfully served Duke Barnim; I was,
+therefore, justified in my expectation of a princely remuneration.
+Heaven forbid that I should impute unfairness to this excellent
+gentleman, but part of the counsellors connected by birth with the
+people of Stolpe, were dissatisfied with the issue of the lawsuit,
+while others, such as Martin Weyer, had disgraced themselves by
+assisting Schwallenberg in his intrigues. In short, they discussed me
+so well that the prince only allowed me five and twenty florins as a
+gratification, while Duke Philip, whose business had not given me a
+hundredth part of the worry, presented me with five and twenty crowns.
+The court at Wolgast had waited to see what Stettin should do. Later on
+it employed me in a great many cases yielding large fees and spreading
+my name throughout the country. From Wolgast they sent me for my
+wedding a wild boar and four deer; at Stettin, the marshal told me that
+they intended to do likewise, but no one had paid any further attention
+to the matter.
+
+On returning from Stettin night overtook me on the heath. It was
+infested with wolves, boars, and other dangerous animals; moreover,
+strange apparitions and terrible noises were often seen and heard
+there. I saw nothing; I heard nothing; and, besides, felt not in the
+least afraid.
+
+I have already mentioned that the discussion with regard to the
+bishopric of Cammin had been brought before the Imperial Diet.[65]
+Canon Martin Weyer, the delegate of the chapter, was on most friendly
+terms with the Bishop of Arras; they had studied together at Bologna.
+In the course of their discussions on the subject, they put themselves
+this question: If the deposition of the bishop is to be persisted in,
+where can we find a candidate agreeable to the emperor, and not too
+antipathetic to the dukes of Pomerania? Thereupon his Grace of Arras
+conceived the idea of proposing Weyer himself. At first, the latter
+opposed the project altogether, objecting that he was not of the popish
+religion. His interlocutor assured him, however, that there was a means
+of arranging with the legate to obtain a dispensation. Briefly, when
+restored to favour, the dukes of Pomerania asked the emperor to accept
+as Bishop of Cammin Martin Weyer, their faithful subject, servitor and
+counsellor, and besides, a saintly man, almost an angel. He soon laid
+bare the bottom of his heart, _honores enim mutant mores et magistratus
+virum docet_. At the manifest instigation of the legate and of the
+Bishop of Arras, the new prelate sent his secretary to Rome to render
+homage to the pope, who afterwards granted the bulls _in optimâ formâ_.
+
+I fancied the time had come for Martin Weyer largely to remunerate the
+services I had rendered him as his solicitor at the Imperial Chamber
+during two years, but to my written requests he answered with very bad
+grace when he answered at all. I must admit that having been for a
+twelvemonth or so Weyer's companion at Augsburg, and during the journey
+to the Low Countries, I did, perhaps, not treat him with sufficient
+ceremony according to his taste. I deemed it sufficient to address him
+as "Your Grace," without the "serenissime," and that vexed him.
+Besides, he failed to digest the defeat of Schwallenberg and his gang,
+not the least accessory to which he had been.
+
+I have seen at the chancellerie of Wolgast a missive from Weyer to Duke
+Philip couched in the following terms: "From the authentic copy
+herewith of the papal bulls, your Grace" (he did not add "serenissime")
+"will perceive that his Holiness, yielding to his inclination for my
+person even more than to your Grace's recommendation, has entrusted me
+with the spiritual government of Cammin." The affair ended in a
+convocation of one day at Cammin, where Weyer was assisted by Dr.
+Tauber, of Wittenberg, invested with the title of chancellor. It was
+positively stated that he had promised him fifteen hundred golden
+florins. I went to the convocation with the delegates of Greifswald to
+try to drag something from the new bishop, and finally, Canon von Wolde
+succeeded in getting thirty crowns for me. I had therefore an
+opportunity of witnessing a sitting of the diet.
+
+Two tables covered with black velvet cloths had been placed in the hall
+fifteen paces apart. At the one sat Duke Bogislaw, acting for himself
+and in the name of his brothers, at that time absent from the country.
+Standing before him were the Marshal Ulrich Schwerin, the Chancellor
+Citzewitz, and several counsellors and delegates of the States. The
+bishop occupied the other table, Tauber standing by his side; and in
+front the episcopal counsellors and the delegates of the chapter. Each
+party exposed at length the rights with which it was invested.
+Citzewitz having said, "The princes are lords of the chapter," Dr.
+Tauber replied, "Yes, _sed secundum quid_? His Grace," turning towards
+the bishop, "is in plenary possession of the right of administration of
+the chapter." Ulrich Schwerin, who was not well versed in letters,
+asked the meaning of _secundum quid_. "It's a term of contempt," said
+Citzewitz; "it's tantamount to saying that the dukes are princes like
+those on the playing cards." Schwerin's angry face was worth watching.
+"A plague upon the scoundrel for treating our princes like playing card
+personages." From that time Tauber was known throughout the land as the
+doctor _secundum quid_.
+
+After a most lengthy disputation, each party presented its formula for
+the convocation of the bishop to the diets and sittings. That of the
+princes was as follows:
+
+"To our venerable chief prelate, counsellor, dear and faithful Seignor
+Martin, Bishop of Cammin. Our greetings, dear, venerable and beloved!
+The welfare of our countries and of the common fatherland forbidding us
+from further delay in the convocation of a diet, we have decided to
+hold it on the ... in our city of Stettin, where we graciously request
+you to be present on the said day, to hear our intentions."
+
+As for the bishop, his formula was indited somewhat differently:
+
+"To the high and venerable in God, the Seignor Martin, Bishop of
+Cammin, our signal friend. Our friendly greeting, high and venerable in
+God, and signal friend. The welfare of our countries and of our common
+fatherland forbidding us from further delay in the convocation of a
+diet, we have decided to hold it on the ... in our city of Stettin,
+where we amicably request you to be present on the said day."
+
+I never knew the issue of the debate, and took no trouble to find out,
+as at the conclusion of the first sitting I embraced an opportunity of
+returning home by carriage. I am disposed to think that the chapter had
+better remain under the authority of the House of Pomerania. Princely
+titles are best suited to born princes; people of mediocre condition do
+not know how to bear them. They carry their heads too high, and their
+would-be magnificence exceeds all bounds.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+
+Severe Difficulties after my Marriage--My Labours and Success as a
+Law-Writer and Notary, and subsequently as a Procurator--An account of
+some of the Cases in which I was engaged
+
+
+I trust my children may be enabled to read the following attentively
+and remember the same as my justification. They will learn that I
+devoted every moment to my work, and avoided all useless expense, that
+I kept away from the tavern, went but rarely to weddings or banquets,
+and only entertained guests when not to do so would have been
+unbecoming, as, for instance, on occasions of family feasts or of civic
+repasts. It is--thanks to that retired life, scarcely diversified by
+the rare indulgence of a favourite dish washed down by a copious
+libation--that I have been enabled to amass a sufficient competence to
+make the devil and his acolytes burst with envy. Their jealousy goes as
+far as to accuse me of having arrived very poor at Stralsund, and to
+have ransomed the city, magnified my travelling expenses, and abused
+the custody of the seals. This third part of the story of my life will
+explain the origin of my fortune. Stralsund has never been instrumental
+in making my position, and I have never proved false to my oath.
+
+My monetary provision after my wedding consisted of Gottschalk's golden
+florin, hence, two florins of current coin; my savings and the
+gratifications were nothing more than a memory. I had nothing to expect
+from my father. We were in a bare and cold tenement we had rented; in
+default of a boiler my wife did the washing in an earthen jar. Without
+money and without a livelihood, I did not dare to ask my father-in-law
+for the promised two hundred florins, for he had warned me that it was
+my father's duty to begin paying up. I was obliged to listen to the
+humiliating words, "To get married without anything to live upon." My
+wife herself was getting fretful; a loaf of fine flour on our table set
+her grumbling as a luxury beyond our means. She said to her mother,
+"You did not advise me; you simply handed me over." A friend of her
+childhood, a burgomaster's daughter, had married a wealthy old man.
+Wallowing in luxury, the owner of two houses (I was his tenant), she
+overwhelmed us with jokes, and asked my wife what she intended to do
+with her swallow's tail, alluding to the sword I continued to wear.
+
+What a deplorable beginning! God's help has, nevertheless, enabled me
+to provide during the space of forty-six years for my wants and those
+of my family. It was not a small affair, considering that the
+maintenance and starting in life of my children cost more than nine
+thousand florins, and my household, one year with another, three
+hundred florins. I, moreover, own a well appointed house, and am
+enabled to live _ex fructibus pecuniae salvo capitali_, and for the
+last forty-six years could truthfully say: "I am better off to-day than
+yesterday." And I have accomplished all this with my pen. Thanks be to
+the Lord.
+
+The people of the city asked me to be their scribe. The richest grain
+merchant, a personage without merit save that of his money, dictated a
+long petition to me, intended for the sovereign. He was pleased with my
+editing and writing of it, and he asked me how much he owed me. As I
+did not care to accept any remuneration, he flung two schellings of
+Lubeck on the table, exclaiming, "Don't be an ass. Have you not got
+your paunch to fill?" From the lips of any one else this would have
+savoured of sarcasm, but that man meant no harm.
+
+The public and private courses of the _artistae, philosophi et
+jurisperiti_ of Greifswald could only be profitable to a scribe and
+notary; hence, I spent every available moment attending them. I hired a
+room in the priory building, and was there from morn till night, only
+going home to dine, and coming back immediately afterwards. My first
+clerk was the son of Master Peter Schwarz, but I could do nothing with
+him; then I took Martin Speckin, who by now is a rich young fellow. His
+Greifswald people brought him to me; part of his duty was to keep my
+room at the priory sufficiently heated, and to precede me with the
+lantern when I went out. He was a zealous servitor.
+
+Meanwhile, I incurred everybody's criticism, and my wife showed her
+displeasure pretty openly. People, she said, thought it disgraceful for
+me to return to school once more. My maternal grandmother asked me if
+as yet I had not learnt to keep a family. The remarks did not affect me
+in the least. I continued attending the lectures of Joachim Moritz, and
+day by day it appeared to me I got a better understanding of the
+practice of law. My interest in useful literature also increased day by
+day. _Crescit amor studii quantum ipsa scientia crescit_. Not less true
+did the other proverb begin to appear: _Crescit amor nummi quantum ipsa
+pecunia crescit_. I also followed the public courses of Balthazar Rau,
+to-day Dr. Rau of the _Libellus de anima_ of Philip Melanchthon. Nor
+was I ashamed to join his _discipuli privati_, to whom he expounded at
+his house the _Dialectica_ of the same author. I felt very satisfied
+with myself for doing all this, and on February 19, 1552, the Imperial
+Chamber inscribed my name on the roll of its notaries, on the
+presentation of Duke Philip.
+
+My eldest son saw the light on August 29 of the same year. The
+confinement was a most critical one, and through the midwife's
+blundering, he had a stiff neck for his life.[66] On September 1
+he was christened, and received the name of Johannes. His two
+godfathers were the burgomasters Gaspard Bunsow and Peter Gruwel,
+and his great-grandmother stood as his godmother. My eldest daughter,
+Catherine, was born on December 6, 1553, and christened the next
+day.[67]
+
+The wife of V. Prien, a daughter of the House of Maltzan, had taken
+possession of the fief of Schorsow, in virtue of the privilege accorded
+to noble damsels by the laws of Mecklenburg. When she died, and even
+before she was buried, the Maltzans of Mecklenburg violently invaded
+the fief. Joachim Maltzan, of Osten and of Nerung, who had helped his
+cousins by sending them reinforcements, was cited before the Imperial
+Chamber, in _poenam fractae pacis_. As he was most uneasy about the
+issue of the suit, Dr. B. vom Walde and Chancellor Citzewitz advised
+him to send me to Spires provided with counsel's opinion of Joachim
+Moritz. I complied with their wish, though the journey was exceedingly
+inconvenient to me. Joachim Maltzan provided me with two completely
+equipped horses, and the necessary funds; the chancellor and the doctor
+promised me a handsome gratification at my return. Instead of a
+servant, I took my brother Christian, and we started on the Sunday of
+Quasimodo (the Sunday after Easter). At Spires I fully instructed both
+procurator and advocate. The document drawn up by Moritz elicited their
+praise. They had no idea of the existence on the shores of the Baltic
+of a lawyer of that merit. They soon considered their client as being
+out of his difficulties, and, my mind at rest, I set out for my return
+journey to Pomerania.
+
+I got there at Whitsuntide. When sending back the horses to Maltzan, I
+added my report, which put an end to his anxiety, and at the same time
+forwarded an account of my expenses day by day, the price of each meal,
+etc., leaving him to decide the amount of my honorarium. Well, the
+moment he felt reassured, Maltzan did not show the least inclination to
+settle with me; on the contrary, he accused me of having been too
+lavish. "Look at the fellow, and then consider the copious meals he
+took. May all the evils of Job befall thee." That was his favourite
+objurgation. In vain did I call to my aid the two counsellors who, as
+it were, had forced my hand. Maltzan turned a deaf ear to all my
+requests. At the beginning he would have given hundreds to get over his
+difficulties, but now he sang out, "I have broken the rope, and I do
+not care."
+
+He was very rich, but very mean and coarse beyond description. One
+night at Wolgast, I saw him send his hose at bedtime to be repaired.
+When early next morning the tailor brought the garment back, he asked a
+florin for his work. Maltzan refused to give more than a schelling, and
+overwhelmed the poor wretch with curses. The latter had, however, to
+take what he could get. Maltzan, who could neither write nor read, was
+obliged to have a secretary, but in consequence of his avarice, he had
+to be content with mediocre individuals. Dr. Gentzkow found him one who
+was satisfied with earning his food and a small salary. After a couple
+of years, during which his master had dragged him about with him to
+Rostock and elsewhere, everybody knew him as Maltzan's servant. He knew
+all Maltzan's investments, as well as the dates of his revenues being
+due; it was he who stored away the money in linen bags. "Put a hundred
+crowns into each bag, and place them in a line," said Maltzan. "In that
+way, I can see at a glance where I am; ten bags make a thousand
+crowns." One fine morning the secretary stamped a blank sheet of paper
+with the seal of his employer, departed for Rostock, took on credit at
+the ordinary tradesman's as much velvet, satin and damask as he could
+conveniently carry away, filled in the blank sheet in his master's
+name, then returned and took from each bag only ten crowns in order to
+dissimulate his theft. After that he went collecting the outstanding
+debts, farmers' and tenants' rents, etc., and disappeared with a sum
+sufficient to remunerate a good secretary for a decade of years or
+more. Maltzan himself had the annoyance of having to make good the
+merchant's losses. He had never been married, and his property,
+amounting to a hundred thousand golden florins, fell to two cousins,
+who spent it in feasting, swilling, and riotous living. One died
+burdened with debt; the other is alive, but in a similar position.
+Ill-gotten goods do not last.
+
+The only means of bringing Maltzan to book seemed to me to inform the
+Spires procurator of everything, and to ask him to write to Maltzan
+that he was going to lose his case in default of some documents that
+had remained in my possession. Duke Philip immediately recommended me
+to hand them over on the penalty of being held responsible for all the
+damages that might accrue. I promptly replied that I would bring them
+into court, where I should have the honour of presenting my respects to
+Signor Maltzan, and to claim at the same time the salary due to me.
+This had the effect of making the generous gentleman swear like a devil
+incarnate, to the vast joy and diversion of the prince and the
+counsellors, who took great pleasure in pouring oil upon the flames.
+Maltzan was obliged to count out to me there and then a hundred crowns,
+which was much more than I had originally asked, and he received,
+besides, a severe reprimand. My energy in the matter was fully
+acknowledged, and they added: "If ever we should ask you a similar
+service, you may refuse to render it without the fear of displeasing
+us."
+
+The sacristan of Müggenwald committed homicide. The lord of the manor,
+who wished to get him out of the trouble, entrusted the case to me. A
+relative of the victim had retained Dr. Nicholas Gentzkow and Christian
+Smiterlow for the prosecution. I obtained a verdict for the accused.
+
+Dr. Johannes Knipstrow having announced from the pulpit, in the name
+and by order of the prince, that Master J. Runge was going to succeed
+him in the office of superintendent, the Greifswald council considered
+the nomination as an infringement of its rights. Its _syndicus_ at
+Stralsund, Dr. Gentzkow, formulated before me, a public notary convened
+for the purpose, both a verbal and written protest, of the latter of
+which I delivered a duly executed duplicate to the council of
+Greifswald, the legitimate charge for the same being three crowns.
+
+Bartholomew, of Greifswald, a most intelligent, but also an exceedingly
+depraved goldsmith, had established himself at Stralsund with his
+son-in-law, Nicholas Schladenteuffel. As their expenditure exceeded
+their income, Bartholomew made counterfeit coin, Lubeck, Rostock,
+Wismar and Stralsund currency. The schellings supposed to issue from
+the latter city's mint contained nothing but copper. By means of some
+tartaric composition he made them look so wonderfully like silver as to
+deceive everybody. In a very short time both the city and the country
+were inundated with this spurious coin, for Nicholas made large
+purchases of cattle for the slaughter-houses. Finally, in September
+1552, when the farmers and peasantry came to pay their rent, the
+suspicions of the ducal land-steward were aroused, and the fraud
+discovered. The witnesses' depositions pointing unanimously to a
+cattle-dealer of Stralsund, the prince wrote to the council, asking it
+if they struck money of that description. At that very time
+Schladenteuffel was going his business rounds. Warning was given, and
+one morning, when he came back to the city with some cattle, he was
+apprehended and taken to prison, where his wife and five accomplices
+promptly joined him. Among the latter there was one of the vicious
+sedition-mongers mentioned in the first part of my recollections,
+namely, Nicholas Knigge. He was, in reality, the leader of the gang; he
+furnished both the copper and the silver, and he found an outlet in
+Sweden for sham silver, spoons, goblets, jugs, etc. Dr. Gentzkow, whose
+daughter he had married, had his sentence changed to one of lifelong
+banishment. Bartholomew, although the people who came to arrest him
+were close upon his heels, managed to escape.
+
+In the Semmlow Strasse there lived a very rich merchant named C.
+Middleburgh. His sordid avarice kept him away from church. On the other
+hand, he carried on an extensive and harmful traffic. He exported
+Bogislaw schillings and other good coin; he also got hold of gold and
+silver pieces, and clipped those that appeared to him to be overweight.
+In spite of this, he did not benefit by his wealth. One day he took the
+Rostock coach, but instead of coming down at midday to dine with the
+other travellers, he had a sleep. When the company returned and while
+the ostler put in the horses, he asked the price of the meal. He was
+told it was two schellings. "Very well," he said; "I have earned two
+schellings by going to sleep." He was always ready to lend money on
+silver plate--of course at high interest. He lived and scraped money
+for many, many years. His widow continued his trafficking; she was,
+however, less cautious, and fell into the hands of scoundrels, who
+reduced her to beggary.
+
+To come back to Middelburg. On October 28, 1552, at two in the
+afternoon, he found himself in possession of a big cask containing
+twelve barrels of gunpowder of twenty-four pounds each; hence in all
+weighing two hundred and eighty-eight pounds. Close to the cask there
+sat a young servant weaving some kind of woollen lace, and, as it was
+very cold, she had a small stove filled with charcoal under her feet.
+At that moment there appeared upon the scene old Tacke and made a
+payment of a hundred Bogislaw schellings, which, having been carefully
+counted by Middelburg, were left on the table while he went to the
+stable for a moment. During his short absence, the servant stirs the
+incandescent charcoal, a spark of which falls on the floor and ignites
+the grains of powder; the house and the next to it are blown up; walls,
+beams, rafters come crashing down with a horrible noise. The city
+imagines that the end of the world has arrived. Of the young girl
+herself they found a foot here, an arm there, a leg elsewhere, and
+fragments of flesh pretty well everywhere. It was never known what had
+become of the hundred schellings that were lying on the table or of the
+furniture. One servant-girl was dug out from the ruins without a hurt;
+she was more fortunate than the brother-in-law of the burgomaster of
+Riga. They managed to drag him out by sawing some rafters beneath which
+he was buried, but he died of his wounds on the third day. Two
+children, though stark dead when picked up, still held a slice of bread
+and butter in their tiny hands. Three persons from the country, a
+mother and daughter and the latter's intended husband, who had stopped
+before the house to make some purchases for their new home, were killed
+outright on the spot. There were in all seven people killed. The
+neighbours brought an action against Middelburg which he had to settle.
+Even as far as the Passen-strasse my father had the window of his
+entrance hall broken; the stove in one of the upper rooms cracked and
+could never be used again; a hook used for hanging the salmon to be
+smoked, and belonging to Middelburg, was found in the gutter on our
+roof.
+
+The advice of some well-meaning people, and ever growing necessity
+caused me to make up my mind to practise as procurator at the Aulic
+Court of Wolgast, though Counsellor Joachim Moritz, who boarded with my
+uncle, tried to dissuade me. As a professor of law at Greifswald, a
+jurisconsult of the court, and an assessor of the tribunal, he had had
+some close experience of the idiocy, the ignorance, and the underhand
+methods of my future colleagues. "_Procuratorum officium vilissimum
+est_," he said to me. In fact, with the exception of Dr. Picht, the
+procurators were but little versed _in grammaticâ vel jure_. When their
+dean, who was a judge at Brandenburg, and a Mecklenburg counsellor,
+came up for his degree of _licenctiâ juris_ at Rostock, he referred to
+an insolvent litigant, "_Non est solvendus_," which provoked the
+repartee of the promoter: "_Recte dicit dominus licentiandus, quia non
+est ligatus_."
+
+One day at Rostock we happened to take our dinner at the same table
+with this procurator and the burgomaster of Brandenburg who, however,
+was fairly well versed in the _grammatica_. The conversation turned on
+a witch who was in prison at Brandenburg, and who professed to be
+pregnant by the devil. The burgomaster having put the question, "_Quod
+diabolus cum muliere rem habere et impregnare eam posset?_" Our
+licentiate replied without wincing: "_Imo possibile est, nam diabolus
+furat semen a viribus et perfert ad mulieribus_."
+
+Simon Telchow, another procurator, for a long while master auditor at
+Eldenow, and who was married to a damsel of noble birth, after having
+set up as a brewer at Greifswald, had "to shut up" shop and come back
+to his pen. Having contracted at court a taste for drink, he never went
+to bed without being "muddled." As a matter of course, he was not very
+matutinal. He, moreover, only practised _pro nudo procuratore_, and his
+clients had to provide themselves with an advocate. _In causis
+mandatorum_, when the _mandatarii_ eluded execution, Telchow asked for
+an _arctiorem mandatum_. Sworn procurators there were none in those
+days, and as the procedure in general was oral, any one endowed with
+the "gift of the gab" could present himself at the bar. Since then
+things have changed to the glory of the prince and the advantage of
+litigants.
+
+The experience I had gained at Spires was most useful to me in my new
+career. The judges, the chancellor, and the litigants themselves seemed
+to listen to me with pleasure; nay, this or that party who had not
+entrusted me with his cause, made me, nevertheless, accept his money,
+because he wished to retain my services, if the occasion required, or,
+at any rate, deprive his opponent of them. People came to fetch me from
+the country with chariot and horses to mediate between them. I was
+brought back in the same manner, and each time, besides the hard cash I
+received, I was laden with all kinds of provisions, hares, shoulders of
+mutton, haunches of venison or of wild boar, magnificent hams, quarters
+of bacon, butter, cheese, and eggs by the dozen, bundles upon bundles
+of flax. My reception at home may be easily imagined. There was no
+longer any risk of hearing the sad complaint, "Mother, you did not
+advise me; you simply handed me over."
+
+Peter Thun, of Schleminn, a violent-tempered man, and but too prompt to
+fire a shot or to draw the sword, was at constant loggerheads with his
+neighbour Ber. They were joint owners of a nice pond. Ber claimed the
+exclusive enjoyment of the half adjoining his estate, and which also
+happened to be the better stocked with fish. Thun, on the other hand,
+maintained that the whole of the pond was joint property. Ber having
+planted hemp along the common road, Thun sent his cattle to graze
+there, and went himself on horseback so that his mount might trample
+the plant down. Finally, a lot of peasants went under the personal
+command of Thun to Ber's windmill, and promptly sapped its foundations,
+so that it came down with a crash. Naturally, the law is set in motion.
+Thun is condemned to indemnify Ber _constrictibus_; then comes an
+appeal to the Imperial Chamber, which upholds the first verdict with
+_executoriales cum refusione expensarum_; the total amounting to about
+nine hundred florins.
+
+Puffed up with his success and purse-proud besides, Ber applauded each
+scurvy trick his people played his enemy. Thun, on the other hand, was
+not a man to be played with. One of Ber's servants (in fact, his
+illegitimate son, a young, brazen and robust fellow), finally assailed
+Thun. The latter stood his ground valiantly, but his affrighted wife
+seized his arm; the bastard's sword went right through him. Thun's only
+heir was his nephew, a minor, the succession was most involved, and its
+liquidation cost me a great deal of trouble and a number of fatiguing
+journeys. My honorarium was fixed at twenty florins per annum. I only
+took ten from the minor, because I never returned from Schleminn
+empty-handed. Later on, his guardians made it up to me in presents of
+money and in kind; they provided for my building operations splendid
+oaks, which made magnificent joists. In sum, this affair yielded a good
+three hundred crowns to me.
+
+H. Smeker, of Wüstenfeld, was a character who ruined himself in
+litigation and in building. He left this or that structure which was
+ready to be roofed in to be spoilt by the rain or the snow, after which
+he had it completely razed to the ground. A Mecklenburger named
+Negendanck was, it would appear, one of his important creditors. To get
+his claim settled he employed a means rather common in his country. One
+night he arrived at Wüstenfeld at the head of a troop of armed
+horsemen. Smeker was asleep in his room, and his wife, who had just
+been brought to bed, lay in an adjoining closet. Lievetzow, her
+brother, a handsome young fellow, had been accommodated with a room
+near the drawbridge. Negendanck, swearing and bellowing, orders the
+bridge to be lowered. Lievetzow, in his shirt, issues from his room and
+tries to appease him by informing him of the condition of his sister.
+Negendanck replies with a shot which kills the defenceless and
+scantily-dressed stripling on the spot. Then, taking the passage by
+storm, he gets as far as the invalid's room, lays his hand upon
+everything, shatters the silver chest, which he knew where to find,
+takes whatever he likes, and finally drags the body of her brother to
+the foot of the sister's bed. Smeker, who had been awakened by the
+noise, had taken flight in his nightgown. Knowing the moat to be
+fordable, he had crossed it with the water shoulders high, and after
+making for the stables, had taken refuge in a kind of bog inaccessible
+to the horsemen. Negendanck took all the horses and cattle away with
+him.
+
+Naturally, the Imperial Chamber was finally called upon to try the
+affair. A rule having been granted to prove his allegations, Smeker
+came to Greifswald to enlist my services. He was an old man with a grey
+head and short beard; a fluffy white gown with large pleats and black
+girdle reached to his feet. In short, the feathers pretty well
+indicated the nature of the bird. I had so often heard them call out at
+Spires, "Smoker _contra_ Negendanck," "the Duke Heindrich of
+Mecklenburg _contra_ Heindrich Smoker," as to make the name familiar to
+me. To my question if he was the identical Smoker, he replied in a
+surly tone, "My name is Smeker, not Smoker."
+
+He produced a host of witnesses, many of whom lived in outlying regions
+of Pomerania or Mecklenburg; their hearing involved constant
+travelling. Smeker would have never got out of the difficulty by
+himself, in consequence of his want of ready money. The moment he found
+himself in possession of some, he got hold of the horse of one of his
+peasantry as if to ride to the nearest village, and never drew rein
+until he got to Spires. If, during his journey, the money ran short, he
+borrowed from people who all knew him and were sure of being repaid by
+his son Mathias. Not only did he pay nothing to his procurator, Dr.
+Schwartzenberg, but the latter had to feed him, to advance the
+chancellery fees, and to look to his return journey. Mathias, on the
+other hand, was most open-handed. His secretary, who came to Greifswald
+in order to watch the proceedings, lavished claret wine and tarts on
+the commissaries, and even sent some to my wife. Each session was worth
+from between fifty to seventy crowns to me. That secretary appreciated
+my trouble like a true expert. Said inquiry brought me about two
+hundred and fifty crowns.
+
+On the occasion of a suit before the Imperial Chamber, and in which
+little Heindrich gained the day against big Heindrich--that was the
+designation of Smeker respectively of himself and his adversary--the
+Duke of Mecklenburg, the latter carried off all Smeker's sheep. Among
+the flock there was an old ram, accustomed to get a bit of bread at
+meal times from his master's hands. The animals either escaped, or
+perhaps the duke had them driven back to Wüstenfeld. At any rate, the
+ram appeared at the head of the flock, its appetite sharpened by the
+march, and, moreover, fond of bread, ran towards the table. No sooner
+did Smiterlow catch sight of it than he got up, doffed his hat, and
+bade it welcome. "What an agreeable surprise!" he exclaimed. "_Bene
+veneritis!_ The soup of princes is not to thy taste, it appears,
+inasmuch as thou comest back already." But Smeker caught at the chance
+of another lawsuit at Spires which brought me twenty crowns.
+
+His son and his son-in-law, who did their best to save the considerable
+paternal fortune, hit upon the idea to credit the suzerain, Duke
+Heindrich, with the intention of retiring the fiefs. Starting from that
+gratuitous supposition, they pointed out to the old man that the
+journeys to Spires became more and more difficult to him; that,
+moreover, he incurred the risk of being dispossessed, and that, in such
+a case, his son would have the greatest possible trouble to be
+reinstated. What, on the other hand, could be more simple than the
+averting of the blow by a pretended renunciation in favour of Mathias?
+He, the father, would take up his quarters for some time in a house
+close by, which he liked very much; he should always come and take his
+meals with his sons, or merely eat and drink there when he liked; they
+would give him a young, nice and bright peasant girl to take care of
+him, for in spite of his age he refused to dispense with female
+company. Heindrich Smeker, having been prevailed upon, signed an act
+duly engrossed on vellum, which the principal county gentlemen of
+Mecklenburg attested with their seals, and to which Duke Heindrich
+promptly affixed his ratification.
+
+When the old man's eyes opened to the deception it was too late. He was
+furious, and accused his son of having enacted the traitor to him,
+calling him all kind of names. Then he begged of me to bring the affair
+before the Imperial Chamber, but I had an excellent excuse for
+refusing, as I was only a notary. His robust constitution enabled him
+to make another journey to Spires--on a cart-horse as usual. Having
+been politely bowed out by Dr. Schwartzenberg, he simply wasted his
+breath with the other procurators--all of whom knew him. Finally,
+Schwartzenberg gave him the money to go home. Like a dutiful son,
+Mathias loyally kept his promise and showed his father every attention
+and consideration. He invited his father to his table or had his meals
+taken to him. He sent him beer and wine, and there was always a capital
+bed at his disposal when the fancy took him to lay at his former
+domicile. It was the sweetest existence imaginable, but the
+administration of his property was denied to him.
+
+The worshipful council of Rostock having been cited before the Imperial
+Chamber by the kindred of an individual named Von der Lühe, who had
+been beheaded for highway robbery, the commissaries entrusted with the
+case took me as their notary in the inquiry made at Rostock, and as
+delegate notary in the inquiry set on foot by the plaintiffs. The
+_attestationes_ and the _sententia definitiva_ conclusively proved my
+assiduity in the matter; hence my honorarium amounted to four hundred
+crowns, _plus_ a present in silver worth fifty crowns.
+
+The counsellor Anthony Drache, a most pious gentleman, had only one
+brother who was drowned and left no issue. Drache pretended to reduce
+the widow's share, in accordance with the feudal laws of Pomerania; but
+besides his fiefs or hereditary tenures of land, the deceased possessed
+considerable property, the dividing of which was to be effected
+according to the urban or local statutes. Duke Philip, of blessed
+memory, having carried the affair into court, the trustee of the widow
+confided the case to me. I worked it up very conscientiously, assisted
+as I was by my particular studies, by the courses I had followed of
+Joachim Moritz and other professors at Greifswald, and finally by my
+private consultations with Moritz, who was good enough to give me his
+directions _in specie_. I had a verdict on all counts, though Dr.
+Gentzkow was on the other side, which, moreover, could count on the
+sympathy of the judges and even of the prince. This success had the
+effect of spreading my name throughout the land, and it prompted Dr.
+Gentzkow to propose my appointment as secretary to the council of
+Stralsund. My client gave me twenty crowns, a quantity of butter and a
+flitch of bacon.
+
+Chancellor Citzewitz took me with him to Stettin, and afterwards to
+Stargardt to assist him in a personal lawsuit. There was no question of
+honorarium, for we were both of opinion that his kindness to me
+warranted such gratuitous service.
+
+In 1553 the Owstin family had a lengthy lawsuit with reference to a
+village which Citzewitz finally took away from them. In my capacity of
+notary to the Owstins, I received forty crowns for my work. When
+Valentin von Eichstadt, the new chancellor, married his daughter to an
+Owstin, he bore his predecessor a grudge for his success in the matter.
+Meanwhile, the grand marshal of the court of Wolgast, Ulrich Schwerin,
+became involved in litigation with Dr. B. vom Walde; the latter and
+Citzewitz took sides against Schwerin and Eichstadt, and each tried to
+harm the other as much as possible. Duke Ernest Louis intervened. The
+report of his displeasure was maliciously exaggerated. In a fit of
+despair Citzewitz stabbed himself to death.
+
+J. vom Kalen, at that time high bailiff of Rügen (although he could
+neither read nor write), had sentenced an individual for having caught
+a small fish in the stream flowing past his garden. The angler appealed
+against the sentence, probably at the instigation of expert people,
+wishing to do the bailiff a good turn. The latter had entrusted the
+affair to me, merely saying that when I got to Wolgast I should get to
+know what it was "all about"; but when I presented myself and obtained
+communication of the documents, I declined to move in the matter. I
+nevertheless considered myself entitled to the three crowns I had
+received as a deposit; besides, they were not claimed.
+
+The city of Pasewalk had to stand the brunt of a man named Fürstenberg,
+who, because matters did not always proceed according to his wishes,
+had renounced his citizenship. Not satisfied with that, he one night
+nailed to the post before the city gates a placard threatening to set
+fire to the place. He was almost as good as his word, for he set fire
+to several barns outside the walls. He was arrested at Lebus, and
+confined in the tower of the castle. The duke chose me to assist the
+two counsellors entrusted with the prosecution by the authorities of
+Pasewalk. The prisoner was put to the rack in our presence, judged the
+next day, and beheaded by the sword. To our great surprise the council
+allowed us to depart without offering the smallest present. On the
+other hand, the duke sent to my home two measures of rye, worth at that
+time about ten florins.
+
+Holste, the governor of the convent of Puddegla, an eccentric and even
+dangerous young man, came to Greifswald to entrust me with his law
+affairs. He promised to remunerate me largely, and as an earnest gave
+me ten crowns. Shortly afterwards he had a difference with the duke,
+who had him confined to his quarters, but I succeeded in settling the
+affair to the satisfaction of both. My client was short of money for
+the time being, but the convent of Puddegla is situated on the banks of
+a beautiful lake teeming with fish (as a rule monks are not in the
+habit of choosing the worst spots). There was an abundance of enormous
+cray-fish, of various kinds of perch, of breams an ell long, of fat
+eels, of carp as black as soot and having only one eye, the fat and
+flesh having closed the other; they were indeed fit for a king's table.
+Holste filled my conveyance with victuals of that description, and I
+was glad to cry quits with him for some time to come.
+
+It was well I felt so disposed, for in a short time he got another
+affair on his hands. At first he thought that the advice of his
+maternal uncle George vom Kalen, and three captains from Rügen would be
+sufficient to settle matters, and as a matter of course he invited them
+to his small property at Wusterhausen, where he filled them with food
+and drink night and day. It was all in vain; their brain refused to
+suggest a way out of the difficulty except that he should send for me,
+which recommendation he followed. I drew up a humble petition to the
+duke. As I intended to leave early the next morning, Holste gave me six
+crowns, for the liquor that was in him already rendered him more
+generous than usual and than there was any occasion, considering the
+state of his revenues.
+
+The gentlemen caroused till deep into the night, for long after I had
+retired I was awakened by George vom Kalen steadying himself by
+grasping my pillow. He came to propose to me to transact his law
+business for the future. As I was by no means anxious for that
+practice, I declined, though in most guarded terms. Notwithstanding
+this refusal, my interlocutor drew three crowns from his wallet, and
+slipped them into my purse, which he took from under my pillow. His two
+companions follow his example, and present me each with two crowns. In
+vain do I point out to them that I cannot accept what I have not
+earned, and I take the seven coins from my purse to hand them back.
+Thereupon George vom Kalen tells me plainly that if I persist in
+refusing this money, he will flay me alive as I am lying there. Knowing
+the people with whom I had to deal, I deemed it more prudent to listen
+no longer to my scruples. The company resumed their drinking, and by
+the time I was back at Greifswald with my thirteen crowns in my pocket,
+they were probably still snoring stretched under the table.
+
+A small farmer had got his step-daughter with child. When the truth
+leaked out, the girl's mother moved heaven and earth to shield her
+husband from the death penalty by flight. As for her daughter, her only
+child, to fling her upon the world in that condition was exposing her
+to disgrace, to starvation, and perhaps to everlasting punishment. At
+the request of some friends, I personally went to Wolgast and presented
+a petition to be handed immediately to the prince. After considerable
+waiting, I saw him come out of his apartment. "Why does this woman
+speak of her daughter and not of her husband?" he asked. "Because he
+has taken flight," I answered; "besides, considering the heinousness of
+the crime, she is afraid that to mention him will not avail much." "You
+lawyers," retorted his Highness, "you have a way of presenting things,
+of polishing and whitening the most atrocious and blackest horrors. It
+really requires some experience to determine whether your petitions are
+compatible either with law, equity, or religion. I am bound to remember
+that God has entrusted me with the punishment of gross and impious
+excesses. I shall not decide upon this case to-day, but think it over."
+These are the words of a just, but nevertheless merciful prince, and
+the petitioner had the proof of it.
+
+Michael Hovisch, the son of poor peasants, had been brought up from his
+earliest years in town, put to school, and then into a business
+establishment. He succeeded in gaining the confidence of his employers,
+who sent him to Sweden and Denmark. Gradually he began to operate on
+his own account. Modest in behaviour, neat, and even elegant in
+appearance, he could aspire to a good match. Meanwhile Captain Dechow
+took it into his head to claim him for gratuitous and enforced
+seignorial labour. An old ducal farm had to be rebuilt. In vain did
+Hovisch offer a considerable sum instead. Dechow resolved to constrain
+him by imprisonment. He was a relentless despot, who tried to make
+himself conspicuous by oppressing the peasantry and, wherever it could
+be done, also the urban populations. Hovisch was compelled to take
+flight. At the request of some personages whom I was anxious to oblige,
+and being moreover strongly interested in the young fellow himself, I
+personally presented to Duke Philip a petition in which the vexatious
+proceedings of the captain were set forth at length. I defy people to
+guess the prince's reply. Here it is: "That my subjects load thee with
+butter, eggs, cheese, poultry, geese, sheep and the rest, is all very
+well, nay, perfect in its way," he said. "Take my word for it, though,"
+he went on, "that I can manage to govern them rightly enough with the
+assistance of my captain without your meddling." I told Citzewitz
+plainly that if the oppressed were thus deprived of their right of
+humble petition there was "no saying" how things would end. "Dechow,"
+remarked Citzewitz, "is an arbitrary, hasty brute, but he has managed
+to ingratiate himself with the duke. Fortunately, his Highness has been
+warned. I'll recur to the subject when I get an opportunity; there must
+be a change." Dechow left Wolgast for Lubeck, where the people soon got
+tired of him. Michael Hovisch was never again heard of. It was the last
+time I took it into my head to present a petition, and especially to
+wait for its answer.
+
+To sum up, in the space of two years, the occupation of procurator,
+and, above all, of notary, brought me eleven hundred and four and
+twenty crowns in hard cash.
+
+_Magister_ J. Schoenefeld acted as notary in four cases before the
+court presided over by Dr. von Walde. Duke Philip was the plaintiff. As
+it happened, Schoenefeld was too old to proceed energetically; the
+going from "pillar to post" frightened him; besides, people had become
+more exacting. He therefore decided upon handing his documents over to
+me, and they contained several interesting items. The prince, for
+instance, summoned Lutke Maltzan to prove his right to the fiefs of
+Sarow, Gantzkendorf, and Carin. Maltzan declined, pleading prescription
+in virtue of thirty years' possession. The fiefs in question had
+belonged to Jacob Voss, nephew and ward of Berendt Maltzan, surnamed
+"the Bad." (Berckmann and other historians amply explain the reasons
+for the sobriquet.) The uncle having advanced two hundred or three
+hundred florins on the lands of his nephew, persuaded the latter to go
+to the war with a couple or so of horses. He made sure of never
+beholding him again. Jacob Voss, a model of honour and courage,
+distinguished himself in many a campaign, and the esteem in which he
+was held by all enabled him to borrow the necessary sum to redeem the
+paternal property. He gave notice to Berendt Maltzan of his intention
+to refund the money at the new year, and at the appointed time he
+arrived at his uncle's--a fortified domicile, most appropriate to his
+brigandage, rapine and exactions. For several days Maltzan loaded him
+with kindness, they drank together, played cards and diced; in short,
+honest Jacob Voss, instead of redeeming his lands, lost the borrowed
+money.
+
+His despair and his thirst for vengeance prompted him to extreme
+measures, and with a servant expressly engaged for the purpose, he
+several times set fire to his former possessions. Thereupon his uncle
+enjoined his tenants to proceed to his nephew's capture. One Sunday
+Voss and his companion having fallen asleep in the wood near
+Gantzkendorf, which they intended to burn down that night, were
+discovered by a little dog of some peasants gathering nuts; and not
+later than the Monday following Berendt Maltzan had the son of his
+sister "racked" alive. During the journey Jacob Voss apostrophized the
+tenants at labour by their names. "Johannes, Peter, Nicholas," he
+exclaimed, "can you understand this horrible and ignominious death for
+claiming my own property?"
+
+To come back to the suit of the prince against Maltzan. The judge sent
+the document to the faculty of law at Leipzig, which asked an
+honorarium of forty crowns. Its decision, the seal of which was broken
+in the presence of the parties as represented by their counsel and read
+there and then, concluded in favour of Maltzan, to the great vexation
+of the ducal advisers, Chancellor Citzewitz severely reprimanding Dr.
+von Walde for not having opened the reply in order to amend it. An
+appeal was entered at the Imperial Chamber, and the case only ended
+several years after my establishment at Stralsund. The parties paid me
+more than one thousand crowns.
+
+Towards 1542 a Dane said to Christopher von der Lanckin, of Rügen, that
+the willow bow-nets for the catching of fish in the Danish fashion
+would be more profitable to him than two big houses he had at
+Stralsund. In fact from the time two of those contrivances arrived,
+Christopher, who had been very hampered in money matters, settled his
+debts very quickly. Struck with the result, two notable burghers of
+Stralsund, namely councillor Conrad Oseborn and Olof Lorbeer, the son
+of the burgomaster, went into partnership with some of their kindred,
+and promptly exploited the invention. The new nets, though, in
+consequence of their size, obstructed the entrance to the streams; the
+fish no longer passed, and it meant ruin to the inhabitants of the
+interior. There were protests on all sides. Duke Philip wrote to
+Stralsund; the council replied ironically that fish not being taken by
+hand, everybody was free to ply for it as he liked. An inquiry was set
+on foot, the prince prohibited the big bow-nets, and had those
+belonging to Lorbeer seized. Thereupon the whole gang began to shout
+that the liberties of the city were in peril, a galley was fitted out
+to guard the nets, and finally, Stralsund resorted to law.
+
+If, in taking the succession of Schoenefeld, I had suspected my
+countrymen of being so unreasonable as they were in this instance, I
+should certainly have declined the brief, albeit that my presence
+counterbalanced the hostility of the inquiring magistrate. In his
+examination C. von der Lanckin stated loyally that from his point of
+view, the Danish bow-nets were excellent, inasmuch as they had enabled
+him to pay his debts, but that on his faith and honour of a gentleman
+the new contrivance would ruin the country. The deposition of the
+fishermen was very clear: "Whosoever will rid us of those nets will no
+longer need to go to church or to say Paters. We ask for nothing else
+from heaven from morn till night."
+
+In spite of everything, Stralsund persisted in its wrong. Finally, on
+the opinion of counsel and the verdict of September 28, 1554, the duke
+gained his cause, and the city was condemned in costs. On the spur of
+the moment the council wanted to lodge an appeal, but it thought the
+better of it. The suit had lasted twelve years, and had bred between
+the two parties a feeling of misunderstanding which only vanished with
+the death of the prince. As there had been two hundred and fifty
+witnesses, the six hundred crowns I received in fees was, I take it,
+not an excessive remuneration.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+The Greifswald Council appoints me the City's Secretary--Delicate
+Mission to Stralsund--Burgomaster Christopher Lorbeer and his
+Sons--Journey to Bergen--I settle at Stralsund
+
+
+The Greifswald magistrates, who had the opportunity of seeing me daily
+at work, gradually arrived at the conclusion that I could not be
+altogether devoid of merit, considering that highly placed personages
+and even the prince himself entrusted me with important affairs.
+Schoenefeld, being no longer up to the standard required, they offered
+me his charge on the condition of my completely relinquishing my
+practice as procurator. In consequence of this, on December 29, 1554, I
+was appointed secretary to the city of Greifswald.
+
+[Illustration: View of Stralsund. _From an old Print_.]
+
+The first burgomaster of Stralsund, Christopher Lorbeer, had two sons,
+who spent their time in the chase, in the taverns, and at the brilliant
+receptions of the nobility and of the opulent burgher class. They took
+it for granted that they might do anything they liked, and operated
+with dogs and nets on Greifswald territory. It so happened, though,
+that several young nobles and rich burghers of the latter town had
+excellent packs of hounds, and were, in consequence, often invited by
+the prince. As a matter of course, they objected to this poaching on
+the part of the Lorbeers. One day the two parties came face to face,
+and the attitude of the Greifswald people caused the others to face
+about and to abandon their nets. As a balm to their wounded pride, the
+Lorbeers, lying in ambush at the inn at Testenhagen, assailed pistol in
+hand a carter from Greifswald, maltreated him, and finally carried off
+his best horse. The Greifswald council wrote to Stralsund in the most
+measured terms, as ought to be done among neighbours. The reply was
+supercilious, and couched in most intemperate terms. I was, therefore,
+instructed to draw up an appeal to the duke. The moment was
+unquestionably exceedingly well chosen, considering the behaviour of
+Stralsund in the matter of the bow-nets. And although the reports of
+that lawsuit were as yet not published, I was familiar with them, and
+had no difficulty in conceiving the irritation of the prince against
+the Lorbeers. I nevertheless disadvised having recourse to his
+intervention; I deemed it more prudent to go to Stralsund and discuss
+the matter.
+
+The moment I had presented my credentials the Stralsund council met in
+solemn assembly. One of them received me most graciously, and
+introduced me. Burgomaster Lorbeer's polite anxiety to make room for me
+on the bench of the council showed to me his secret hope of seeing me
+betray the interests of my clients, and of metaphorically falling at
+his feet. After the usual civilities, I pointed out to the meeting the
+seriousness of the case, going fully into the facts in a firm and
+perhaps somewhat plain language, reminding them of the Imperial
+"orders" with regard to the preservation of the public peace. Nor did I
+scruple to represent, as a good neighbour ought to have done, the
+danger of obstinacy, above all with a prince who was already more or
+less displeased.
+
+I could read the exoneration for this bold speech on many a
+countenance, but Christopher Lorbeer and his staunch adherents, who
+were not accustomed to hear the truth to their faces, turned colour;
+their hitherto affable looks changed into scowls, and the burgomaster,
+beside himself with anger, rose and said: "Thou art too eager to break
+thy first lance. I beg to submit that this man be strictly watched."
+"And clapped into gaol if necessary," I retorted. Thereupon Lorbeer
+walked out, and I was dismissed without being reconducted as I had been
+introduced. In a little while, word was sent that the affair requiring
+further examination, the answer would be communicated later on. A
+couple of hours afterwards Dr. Gentzkow, the syndic, sent for me to
+come to the St. Nicholas' Church. "I am obliged to admit," he said,
+"that your language was justified in law as in fact, but Master
+Christopher has taken mortal offence at it, inasmuch as he is not
+accustomed to have people adopt this tone with him, or to hear himself
+and his sons taxed with disturbing the public peace. He can do you a
+great deal of good or a great deal of harm. His influence, both in the
+city and in the country, is immense. In short, if the council have
+rightly interpreted your message, the Greifswald folk desire to
+terminate this affair in a friendly manner; very well, let us appoint a
+day at Reinberg to arrange matters as good neighbours should. I am
+asking you for your best endeavours to bring this about."
+
+The Stralsund people made their preparations for the day in question by
+slaughtering a great many birds and game, by roasting and boiling the
+same, and by broaching casks upon casks of beer and wine. Besides the
+principal burghers of the city related to them by blood and in thorough
+sympathy, the Lorbeers invited their friends from the neighbourhood,
+and their young boon companions, who appeared armed with pistols,
+arquebuses and spikes, so that the gathering looked more like a call to
+arms than like a friendly meeting. Consequently, some of the
+councillors and citizens of Stralsund secretly warned the people of
+Greifswald to send no one to the spot, and my father was particularly
+cautioned not to let me go, for that I should surely be killed. The
+Greifswald magistrates remained coy, and did not reply a word to the
+invitation; then, at the very hour of the invasion of Reinberg by the
+Lorbeer band, they wrote that if the horse were returned to them in
+three days they would return the nets sequestrated in just reprisal. If
+this were not done, the prince would be requested to dispense justice.
+At the news of Greifswald's abstention from the quasi-festivities the
+Lorbeer camp broke into an avalanche of imprecations and threats. Wound
+up with drink, they swore that they would murder everybody.
+Nevertheless, before the three days had expired, a stable-man brought
+back the horse, receiving in return the nets; and so there was an end
+of that disagreement.
+
+There was a time when "milord" burgomaster Christopher Lorbeer did
+pretty well as he liked with everybody without meeting with any
+resistance, and as a matter of course, his wife and children followed
+suit. Odd to relate, my mission was coincident with the heyday of his
+fortune, and it was really owing to a few simple words from my lips
+that his star suddenly waned. He did not mind being treated as ungodly,
+and as a soul likely to incur eternal punishment, and when I say this I
+am speaking on the authority of his eldest son, but he objected to
+being accused of endangering the public peace, or, in other words, to
+forfeiting his honour; it is that which put him beside himself. His
+annoyance at having failed in his contemplated revenge against
+Greifswald and against me seriously undermined his health. A most
+painful illness confined him to his bed for six months, during which no
+one was allowed to see him. It seemed a terrible retribution which
+profoundly moved both the city and the country. The burgomaster's
+victims raised their voices, and the exactions by which he had hitherto
+kept up his grand style of living were at an end. When his wife
+attempted to revictual the establishment as of old, she met with
+refusals. A grain dealer to whom she had sent her pigs to fatten
+brought them back to her, pretending "hard times." She was beginning to
+"ride the high horse" with him, but he pointed to the room of the
+burgomaster, saying: "Don't forget that 'I command you' is lying
+there." After a protracted agony, which practically reduced him to the
+condition of a mere animal, Christopher Lorbeer died on October 16,
+1555, and was buried in the choir of the St. Nicholas' Church, by the
+side of my mother and my two sisters, and under the same flagstone
+where my father subsequently lay. The council, greatly affected by his
+death, let three weeks pass before naming a successor to the deceased;
+after which the syndic, N. Gentzkow, and the first secretary, Anthony
+Lickow, were solemnly and joyously elected to the dignity.
+
+Though as yet my emoluments were not fixed, the Greifswald council had
+already given me several proofs of its high confidence. At Stralsund,
+on the other hand, I was the constant butt of the violent enmity of the
+most notable citizens, who would have rent me to pieces if they had got
+hold of me. Stralsund being thus closed to me, no place was more
+suitable as a residence than Greifswald, where I was born and had many
+of my kindred. But the owner of the house I rented made me very
+uncomfortable with his mania for transforming the dwelling into a
+storehouse for the most lumbering material, such as wood, stone,
+mortar, sand, etc.; he also used the place for the weddings of his
+servants, without the least regard for my wife, whether she was sick or
+in childbed. All our objections were met with the same answer: "If you
+do not like it you had better move." Hence, I finally made the
+acquisition of a house in the Fischhandler Strasse (Fishmonger Street),
+belonging to Johannes Velschow, the father-in-law of Brand Hartmann.
+Its price was three hundred and fifty florins, payable in four
+quarterly instalments. Brand Hartmann was the son of that George
+Hartmann with whom my father had had such grave differences. He felt
+very wroth at seeing the house his father had built for his use pass
+into my possession, but the sale was effected in due legal form. I had
+given the deposit (God's pfenning) and put down the first hundred
+florins in the presence of several councillors and notable burghers.
+
+Masons and carpenters were set to work at once. The front door had to
+be widened, the heavy roof to be strengthened, the rooms, stables,
+cellar and yard to be overhauled. My father had had a great deal of
+building done in his days and gained much experience. He came to
+superintend matters. Now and again he somewhat bullied the workmen, and
+even dismissed them, replacing them by others. Looking back on all
+this, I cannot help wondering at my audacity, for my purse was
+practically empty, and the workmen had to be paid on Saturdays. With
+God's help my practice provided the necessary money every week. My
+profession took me away from home a great deal; hence, there was some
+delay in the building operations, but for every florin I lost in that
+way, I earned ten and more elsewhere.
+
+On September 25, 1555, Duke Philip, with a numerous suite stopped at
+Stralsund for the night and was entertained by the council. He was
+going to Bergen, in the island of Rügen, where he stayed until October
+11, and at his return he lay once more at Stralsund, equally at the
+expense of the city. The aim of the journey was to check the
+encroachments of the Jasmund nobility, which, not content with cutting
+down the forest of Stubenitz for its own benefit, conceded the same
+rights to others--for a consideration. The prince took me with him as
+secretary. The aristocracy having proposed a friendly settlement, there
+was much parleying, during which the duke was at a loss to kill time.
+He was lodged in the apartments of the prior at the monastery of
+Bergen, and which looked out upon the courtyard, and spent hours in
+watching from his windows the pages and valets and their constant
+bickerings, quarrels and fights. He could even hear their opinions of
+him. One day, when standing in his usual coign of vantage while four
+Polish violins performed several pieces of music in the room itself, he
+heard a valet below saying to his fellow, "The people of Stralsund have
+much better musicians than their prince. What he has got is simply
+ridiculous. Duke Bogislaw keeps four trumpeters and a kettledrum
+player; they, at any rate, produce some effect. But this prince up
+there, with his caterwauling things, is absurd." The duke sent Prior
+Gottschalck to ascertain who was talking in that strain, but
+Gottschalck, having noticed a relative of his in the group, made them a
+sign to be off, and went upstairs, saying that they had been too quick
+for him, and that he had failed to recognize any one. The prince
+promptly repeated to his familiars word for word what he had heard on
+the art of keeping up his rank, and long afterwards he was fond of
+reminding them of the incident.
+
+Another anecdote: A lot of boys were noisily playing in the courtyard,
+and one of the most turbulent was the illegitimate son of the bailiff
+(his real father having sent him to school, though he bore the name of
+his putative parent, Arndts, the tailor of Bergen). His Highness having
+given order to drive the yelling beggars away and to box their ears if
+necessary, the footmen executed his orders to the letter, right and
+left. The prince noticed, though, that they spared Arndts, and he
+shouted that he more than any of the others deserved correction, but
+the servant to whom the recommendation was addressed simply smiled and
+shrugged his shoulders. "Do you hear me?" cried the duke; "rub it into
+the little devil." "Oh, no," replied the flunkey. "Oh, yes, lay it on
+thickly." "Nay, nay; heaven preserve me from doing such a thing." "And
+why, what's to prevent you?" "What? to trounce the son of a bailiff! I
+should repent it afterwards." At these words the duke burst out
+laughing. He told the story to every one, even in the bailiff's
+presence. On one occasion the boy was sent for and placed by the side
+of his father. His eyes, his nose, his head and his legs were compared
+with those of his sire. The governor of Cammin, after having made the
+lad march up and down the room, said to the bailiff, "That's your son,
+right enough; he is shaped like you."
+
+The attempt at conciliation having failed, the parties met at the
+monastery in a large room provided with chairs, seats and two tables,
+one for his Highness, the other for the _pares curiae_. I took place at
+the latter in my capacity of _notarius judicii_. The chancellor, in his
+master's name, gave a summary of the facts, after which, the prince,
+rising from his seat, came to the second table, and there, facing me,
+he made a long speech, not at all badly composed. I only give its
+conclusion: "In your presence, Master Notary, I maintain having been
+animated by most friendly intentions towards my subjects, but they
+rejected all attempts at settling matters. In consequence of this, and
+as a guarantee of my rights, I command you to state everything that has
+happened, including the present declaration, and to draw up a duly
+attested act which you shall remit to me in consideration of your
+lawful remuneration." The matter did not go farther that day, but the
+duke instructed me to pursue the inquiry jointly with the Governor of
+Cammin, which took us several days.
+
+The "instrument" gave me a great deal of trouble, filling, as it did,
+seven of the largest skins of parchment, constituting fourteen sheets.
+It contained more matter than a quire of paper. There was no room to
+affix my signature and the _signum notariatus_ at the end of the deed,
+according to custom, so I made an impression in wax of my seal engraved
+on lead, and suspended it from the string holding the sheets together.
+His Highness, without asking, gave me a fee of thirty crowns.
+
+_Magister_ Joachim Moritz, _professor juris_ at Greifswald and ducal
+counsellor, had never been to Stralsund, and knew nobody there. At my
+return from Bergen he asked me to "put him up" at my father's, which I
+was very glad to do. Having risen early to see the city, he went
+shortly after seven into St. Nicholas' to hear the sermon. Zabel
+Lorbeer, who caught sight of him, mistook him for his former boon
+companion, George Steinkeller. The likeness between these two seems to
+have been so striking as to have deceived people generally. Many a
+gentleman upon beholding Moritz on the bench at Wolgast, said to his
+neighbour, "And where the devil did Steinkeller get his knowledge of
+the law from, to constitute him a judge?" Lorbeer, then, coming from
+behind, takes Moritz by the ears and shakes him for full a minute, the
+professor, altogether nonplussed, asking himself all the while who it
+could be giving him such an energetic welcome. He made sure it was me.
+Finally, he managed to turn round, and Lorbeer, perceiving his mistake,
+was most profuse with apologies. Moritz was fond of relating the
+adventure, especially in the hearing of the Stralsunders, and no one
+enjoyed the story more than the duke.
+
+The Stralsund council took the opportunity of my visit (which happened
+during the very week of Burgomaster Lorbeer's funeral), to offer me the
+position of secretary. My surprise may easily be imagined. I considered
+myself so compromised in the eyes of the Stralsunders that, without the
+company of the governor of Cammin and the commission I held of the
+prince, I should not have deemed myself safe in the city. Those
+overtures, though, caused me as much pleasure as they did to my
+kindred; nevertheless, I felt bound not to give a definite answer until
+I was relieved of my engagement at Greifswald, although I had not taken
+the oath. Being anxious to hasten my return, the Stralsund council sent
+me a messenger to Greifswald with a saddle-horse.
+
+I pointed out to my friends and to the magistrates at Greifswald that,
+although I had to a certain extent begun my functions, there had as yet
+been no positive agreement; not a syllable had been uttered, for
+instance, about salary. Why then should I decline the important
+Stralsund appointment? My uncle and godfather, Burgomaster Bertram
+Smiterlow, summoned the council to the chancellerie, and a fixed salary
+of eighty florins was allotted to me. Never had a secretary been so
+well paid. I asked to let the matter stand over till the next morning,
+so that I might consult with my family. My wife's relatives implored me
+to accept; my father-in-law, a centenarian, promised me, with tears in
+his eyes, a hundred florins if I stayed. At the instance of all these,
+I declared myself ready to receive the luck-penny (the earnest-money)
+commensurate with the dignity of the office and of the council, it
+being, furthermore, understood that I should be allowed to remain at
+the chancellerie and not be elected to the council. The _camerarii_
+counted me out eight crowns as earnest-money, and my predecessor,
+Johannes Schoenefeld, sent me word to engross my own act of
+appointment. More than one precedent justified me in expecting about a
+year's salary as earnest-money, but after some hesitation I took the
+eight crowns.
+
+My father-in-law was anxiously waiting for the result of the interview.
+I flung the money on the table. "Just look, father," I exclaimed, "did
+I not sell myself at my worth? You had better get your hundred florins
+ready." But he had apparently recovered from his first depression, and
+seemed not at all touched by my obvious sacrifice, for he said
+tetchily, "If it suits you to go, very well, go; but you'll not have
+one florin as far as I am concerned." I felt hurt, although I fully
+intended to refuse the hundred florins, lest my brother-in-law should
+look askance at me.
+
+I put the Stralsund horse up in Burgomaster Smiterlow's stable, my own
+not being ready. My first impulse was to send it back the same day.
+Then I began to reflect that it would be better to draw up my "act of
+appointment"; after that, the letter to the Stralsund council would not
+take long. In drawing up the act, I could, however, not help noticing
+that neither the period nor the place of payment was stated, and next
+morning I went to ask Schoenefeld about all this. He told me that I
+should receive two florins one day from this person, and half a florin
+the next from another, so that at the end of the year the eighty
+florins would be complete. I certainly did congratulate myself for
+having kept a back door open, for the misunderstanding was very
+serious, casual instalments and fixed appointments being by no means
+the same thing. After leaving Schoenefeld, I ran against Burgomaster
+Smiterlow and the _camerarii_ in the market-place, and told them that
+if Schoenefeld's version was true, I preferred returning the wretched
+earnest-money. "Your conduct will surprise them," they replied. "To
+summon the council at such a short notice is no more possible than to
+take back the earnest-money without its leave." I, on the other hand,
+maintained that it was yet time to arrange affairs. "Should I be
+deserving of the magistrates' confidence if I were so incapable of
+conducting my own affairs? I am going to the burgomaster at once to
+deposit the earnest-money on his daughter's table. She'll know right
+enough to whom to hand it. After which I shall get into the saddle and
+take the road to Stralsund." Thereupon the council was summoned.
+
+I went to tell my wife, her brother, and my sister whom he had married.
+My wife, not satisfied with shedding tears, declared categorically that
+she should not leave Greifswald. She would take a room somewhere and
+earn her living knitting. My sister and her husband were also much
+excited. "What shall you do with your nice house?" said my sister. "Why
+vex our parents? Stop here out of consideration for them; here where
+there are so many opportunities of being useful to them." An old aunt,
+a sensible, upright and honest matron whom my wife had called to her
+aid was the only one to express a contrary opinion. "Dear nephew," she
+said, "though I should be too pleased to keep you near me, for after
+God you are the prop of my old age, I'm bound to admit that there is no
+comparison between the post of Greifswald and that of Stralsund. If I
+placed an obstacle to your stroke of good fortune, my conscience would
+reproach me afterwards, so take my advice and carry out your plan. Do
+you remember how your wife mourned her mother? Does she still cry at
+the mention of her name? Well, she'll get just as used to living at
+Stralsund." My wife's tears flowed all the faster at these words.
+
+The messenger from Stralsund went to saddle my horse. Booted and
+spurred I joined him almost immediately, and had the animal brought
+round to Burgomaster Smiterlow's door where, somewhat impatiently, I
+awaited on the steps his return from the Town Hall. He told me that no
+secretary in the past had received the appointments allotted to me, and
+that no secretary in the future was likely to receive them, and yet I
+had still found better; hence the council felt most reluctant to hamper
+my career and sent their best wishes for my welfare. I immediately got
+into the saddle and left the town, avoiding our house, on the threshold
+of which I could see my wife standing surrounded by her kindred. It was
+on November 29, 1555. My residence at Greifswald dated from January 1,
+1551. During that period my earnings amounted to five thousand three
+hundred florins, exclusive of presents in kind, which often exceeded
+the strictly necessary. Here ends the third part of the story of my
+life.
+
+
+
+
+                                THE END
+
+
+
+
+                                 INDEX
+
+
+      Aarschot, 273
+
+      Acquapendente, xx. 5, 151, 171
+
+      Aepinus, Johannes, 39, 249
+
+      Affenstein, Ritter Wolf von, 246
+
+      Agricola, Johannes, 246
+
+      Aix-la-Chapelle, 19, 254, 255
+
+      Albrecht, Duke of Mecklenburg, 63, 64, 72, 80, 107, 231
+
+      Alexander III., 96
+
+      Algau, 192, 221
+
+      Alpinus, Johannes, 12
+
+      Alsace, 223
+
+      Alsen, Island of, 63
+
+      Altenkirchen, 40
+
+      Altenkuke, Heinrich, 187
+
+      Altingk, Johannes, 45, 46
+        Werner, 45
+
+      Alva, Duke of, 216, 218
+
+      Amandus, Dr. Johannes, xv., 20
+
+      Ammeister, 264
+
+      Amsterdam, 3
+
+      Anclam, 1
+
+      Ancona, xx. 146, 147
+
+      Anelam, 46
+
+      Anglus, Dr. Antonius, 95
+
+      Anhault, xii. 48
+
+      _Annales Pomeraniae_, 79, 82, 89
+
+      Antwerp, xxiii. 4, 85, 268, 270
+
+      _Appeal to the Christian Nobility_, xi.
+
+      Arndts, 331, 332
+
+      Arnsburg, 97
+
+      Arras, Bishop of, 222, 224, 249, 277, 291, 292
+
+      Ascagne, Count St. Florian, 150
+
+      Artopaeus, Herr Petrus, 263
+
+      Augsburg, xiii., xxii., 111, 176, 177, 195, 212, 215-230, 239,
+        244-249, 252, 253, 257, 263, 264, 292
+        Bishop of, 246
+
+      Augustus, Duke, 228
+
+
+
+      Babylonish captivity, The, xi.
+
+      Baden, 195, 255
+        Margrave of, xix. 263, 278
+
+      Badenweiler, 120
+
+      Balhorn, 103
+
+      Bamberg, 208, 209
+
+      Barbarossa, 245
+
+      Baremann, Nicholas, 69
+
+      Barns, xx.
+
+      Barnes, 95, 96, 103
+
+      Barth, 4
+
+      Basle, xxiii., 223, 263
+
+      Bavaria, Duke Albert of, 228, 233, 246
+        Duchess of, 229
+
+      Becker, Peter, 263
+
+      Belbuck, 11, 13
+
+      Benter, 196
+
+      Ber, 308
+
+      Berckmann, Johannes, 28, 54, 79, 82, 83, 85, 89, 278, 320
+
+      Bergen, 330, 333
+
+      Berkentin, 50
+
+      Berlin, 190, 199
+
+      Bensançon, 224
+
+      Besserer, George, 246
+
+      Beuter, 203
+
+      Biberach, 227
+
+      _Bilder aus der Deutschen Kulturgeschichte_, 228
+
+      Bischof, 43
+
+      Bitterfeld, 201, 202
+
+      Blumenow, Johannes, 82, 84, 85, 88
+
+      Bole, Victor, 34
+
+      Bogislaw X., Duke, 9, 11, 14, 16, 17, 18
+        Duke Barnim, 16, 17, 30, 190, 205, 213, 214, 216, 265, 273,
+          281, 290, 293, 331
+        Duke George, 16, 17, 28, 30, 48
+
+      Boineburg, Ritter Conrad von, 241
+
+      Bois le Duc, 267
+
+      Boldewan, Abbot, 11, 13
+
+      Bologna, 160, 165, 166, 171, 173, 179, 291
+
+      Bolte, Nicholas, 75
+
+      Bonus, Herrman, 39
+
+      Bonnus, 40
+
+      Botzen, 176, 177
+
+      Brabant, 255
+
+      Brandenburg, xxiii., 9, 196, 205, 226, 306
+        Culmbach, 231
+        Elector of, 189, 197, 228, 246, 247
+        Wachim of, xiii., xxiii.
+
+      Brandenburg-the-Old, 202
+
+      Brassanus, Matthias, 40, 42
+
+      Bremen, Christopher, Bishop of, 80
+
+      Brenner, xx.
+
+      Brettheim, 125
+
+      Brixen, 176, 177
+
+      Broecker, Jacob, 97
+
+      Bruchsall, 122
+
+      Brunswick, Duke Henry of, 137, 138, 210, 228
+        Duke Philip of, 161
+
+      Brunswick-Luneberg, xii.
+
+      Bruser, Hermann, 49, 51, 53, 54, 103
+
+      Bruser, Leveling, 94
+
+      Bruser, Mrs. xviii., xix.
+
+      Brussels, xxiii., 227, 230, 255, 267, 270, 273
+
+      Buchow, Bartholomäi, 19
+
+      Buchow, Heindrich, 268
+
+      Bugenhagen, Johannes, 11
+
+      Bukow, 51
+
+      Bunsaw, Gaspard, 35, 285, 298
+
+      Bunsow, Dame, 288
+
+      Bunsow, Johannes, 287, 288
+
+      Burgrave of Mesnia, 182
+
+      Burenius Arnoldus, xvii., 96
+
+      Burn, Count Maximilian, 269
+
+      Burnet, Bishop, x.
+
+      Burtenbach, Captain Schaerthin von, 176
+
+      Burwitz, Joachim, 54
+
+      Buss, Valentine, 56
+
+      Butzbach, 131, 132, 260
+
+
+
+      Calvin, 249, 265
+
+      Camerarius, 169
+
+      Cammin, 261, 291, 333, 334, 246
+        Bishop of, 226, 266, 293, 294
+
+      Cannstadt, 178
+
+      Capito Daniel, 263
+
+      Carin, 319
+
+      Carlowitz, Christopher, 195, 196, 230, 235, 248, 252
+
+      Carmelites, 250
+
+      Cassel, 132
+
+      Cassules, 93
+
+      Castle of St. Angelo, 159
+
+      Cellini, Benvenuto, xx.
+
+      Charlemagne, 254, 255
+
+      Charles V., xii., xiii., xxii., 9, 161, 177, 197, 220, 235, 267,
+        146, 97
+
+      Citzewitz, Jacob, 187, 188, 189, 200, 215, 225, 227, 236, 257,
+        262, 279, 281, 283, 293, 299, 314, 319, 321
+
+      Citzewitz, James, xxii.
+
+      Classen, Bernard, 7, 8
+
+      Clerike, Jacob, 299
+
+      Cleves, Anne of, 96
+
+      Cleves, Duchy of, 263,
+        Duke of, 113, 228
+
+      Coburg, 206, 209
+
+      Colburg, 99, 226
+
+      Cologne, 225, 270, 271
+        Elector of, 246
+
+      Compestella, 19
+
+      Constance, 234
+
+      Copenhagen, 39, 80
+
+      _Cosmographie_, Munster's, 262, 264
+
+
+
+      Damitz, Captain Moritz, 191, 193, 236, 237, 238
+
+      Danquart, 98
+
+      Dantzig, 7, 22, 257
+
+      _De Anima_, xvii.
+
+      Dechow, Captain, 318, 319
+
+      Denmark, King of, 228
+
+      Deux Fonts, Prince, 195
+
+      Devonne, 208
+
+      Dialectica Caesarii, 99
+
+      Dick, Dr. Leopold, 107
+
+      Düren, 113
+
+      Dinnies, Laurence, 187
+
+      Domitz, Maurice, 128
+
+      Donat, 31
+
+      Donauwerth, 216, 217
+
+      Dorpat, Bishop of, 98
+
+      Drache, Anthony, 313
+
+      Droege, Gerard, 19, 89
+
+      Duitz, Gaspard, 268, 269, 270
+
+
+
+      Eck, Dr., 17, 246
+
+      Eger, 191
+
+      Eichstedt, Valentin, 78, 314
+        Bishop of, 228
+
+      Einfriedlaw, 19
+
+      Eisleben, 166, 246
+
+      Elbe, 200, 217
+
+      Eldenow, 306
+
+      _Emek Habakha_, 143
+
+      Engelhardt, Dr. Simeon, 51, 108, 111, 117, 120, 121, 127, 250,
+        260, 261
+
+      Engeln, 48
+
+      _Epitome Annalium Pomerania_, 79
+
+      Erasmus, Desiderius, 264
+
+      Erckhorst, Cyriacus, 49, 55
+
+      Erfurt, 103
+
+      Ernest, Margrave, 120, 123, 125, 282
+
+      Esslingen, 122
+
+
+
+      Faber, 169
+
+      Fachs, Dr., 246
+
+      Falck, Chancellor, 273
+
+      Falcke, Dr., 190
+
+      Falsterbo, 70, 99
+
+      Farnese, Peter Aloys, 160
+
+      _Fasti_, Ovid's, 99
+
+      Ferrara, 173, 174
+
+      Ferdinand, King, 119, 177, 180, 182, 191, 196, 204
+
+      Florence, 172
+
+      Franconia, 206
+
+      Frankfurt, 130, 138, 178, 247, 254, 259, 262, 286
+
+      Frederick, III., Duke, xxii., 210, 211, 212
+
+      Frederick, King of Denmark, 61, 207
+
+      Freder, Johannes, 277
+
+      _Freedom of a Christian Man_, xi.
+
+      Frese, Widow, 15
+
+      Friesland, 133
+
+      Fribourg, 131, 208, 260
+
+      Friedrich, Johannes, 193, 197
+
+      Frobose, Peter, 5, 7, 281
+
+      Frock, Otto, 12
+
+      Froment, 16
+
+      Frubose, Matthew, 285
+
+      Furstenburg, Count Wilhelm, 239, 240
+        Frederick von, 240, 315
+
+
+
+      Gadebusch, 100
+
+      Gantzkendorf, 319, 320
+
+      Garpenhagen, 100
+
+      Gatzkow, Abraham, 198
+
+      Gelhaar, Joachim, 43, 59, 102
+
+      Geneva, 16, 265
+
+      Gentzkow, Dr. Nicholas, 86, 300, 302, 303, 313, 326, 329
+        Burgomaster Nicholas, 54
+
+      Ghent, 267
+        Charles of, 220
+
+      Goeslin, Margaret, 237
+
+      Gotha, 104
+
+      Gottschalk, Heinrich, 299
+        Johannes, 41, 187, 188, 287, 296
+        Prior, 331
+
+      _Grammatica Bonni_, 40
+
+      Granvelle, Cardinal, xxiii.
+        Nicholas, Perremot de, 224, 227, 249, 253, 277
+
+      Greiffenberg, 266
+
+      Greifswald, xi. xvii., xix., xxiv., 2, 5-7, 20-31, 33, 35, 39,
+        46, 48, 93, 98, 99, 110, 197, 235, 281, 282, 285, 287, 288,
+        297, 302, 306, 310, 313-317, 324-338
+
+      Grellen, Barber, 83
+
+      Gribou, 2
+
+      Grosse, Alexis, 278
+
+      Gruwel, Peter, 288, 298
+
+      Gruyère, Count Michael de, 207
+
+      Grynaeus, Simon, 168, 169
+
+      Guelderland, 113
+
+      Gutzkow, Count, 65, 93
+
+
+
+      Hahn, Werner, 201, 202
+
+      Halle, xxii., 201, 206
+
+      Hamburg, 3, 26, 65
+
+      Hannemann, 99
+
+      Hartmann, Brand, 329
+        George, 24, 25, 26, 29, 329
+
+      Hase, Dr. Heinrich, 195, 246
+
+      Hausen, Erasmus, 187, 188
+
+      Hawthorne, xx.
+
+      Heidelberg, 114, 169, 260
+        Elector of, 272
+
+      Heidelsheim, 122
+
+      Heimsdorff, 195
+
+      Heindrich, Duke, 80, 207
+
+      Heinrichmann, Dr., 246
+
+      Helfmann, Johannes, 261
+
+      Henry II. of France, xiv.
+
+      Henry VIII., 95
+
+      Hentzer, 264
+
+      Heine Vogel, 270
+
+      Hertogenbosch, 267
+
+      Herwig, Christian, 86
+
+      Hesiod, 53
+
+      Hesse, Philip of, xii.
+
+      Hildebrand, Nicholas, 86
+
+      Hirnheim, Johannes Walther von, 237
+
+      Hochberg, 120
+
+      Hochel, Dr. Johannes, 106
+
+      Holde, Dr. Conrad, 247
+
+      Holme, Johannes, 66
+
+      Holste, 315, 316
+
+      Holstein, Duke Christian, 62, 66, 79
+
+      Homedes, Jean de, 130
+
+      Horns, the family of, 1, 2
+
+      Hose, Dr. Christopher, 116, 117, 119
+
+      Hovisch, Michael, 318, 319
+
+      Hoyer, Dr. Gaspard, 149, 150, 155, 164, 165, 176, 186
+
+      Hundfruck, 260
+
+      Hutten, Ulrich, von, 24
+
+
+
+      Ingoldstadt, 224
+
+      Innspruck, 177
+
+      _Itinerarium Germanicae_, 264
+
+
+
+      Juliers, Duke of, 111, 270
+
+
+      Kalen, George von, 316
+
+      Kalen, J. von, 314
+
+      Kalte, Johannes, 267
+
+      Kantzow, Thomas, 78
+
+      Kasskow, Master, 68
+
+      Kempe, George, 12
+
+      Kempten, 141, 142, 221, 175
+
+      Ketelhot, Christian, xvi., 11, 12, 13, 20, 23
+
+      _King Arthur_, 21
+
+      Kirchschwarz, 24
+
+      Kismann, 99
+
+      Klatteville, Peter, 81, 82
+
+      Kloche, Johannes, 49, 69
+
+      Krugge, Nicholas, 86, 303
+
+      Knipstrow, Dr. xxii., 22, 23, 34,48, 187, 302
+
+      Koenigstein, 132
+
+      Krahow, Valerius, 235
+
+      Krossen, Johannes, 81
+
+      Krou, Frau, 38
+
+      Kruse, 23, 65
+
+      Kurcke, Johannes, 11
+
+      Kussow, Michael, 93
+
+
+
+      Labbun, Christopher, 187
+
+      Lagebusch, Johannes, 100, 101, 102
+
+      Lanckin, Christopher von der, 321, 322
+
+      Landau, 250, 261
+
+      Landshut, 178
+
+      Lasky, Stanislas, 228, 245
+
+      Leipzig, 17, 45, 107, 192, 248, 252, 258, 321
+
+      Lepper, Hermann, 100, 101, 102
+
+      Lepusculus, 235, 264, 265
+
+      Lertmeritz, 191, 192, 193
+
+      Leveling, 49, 55, 56
+        Marie, 56
+
+      Lezen, Johannes von, 246
+
+      Lickow, 329
+
+      Liegnitz, xxii.
+        Duke Frederick von, 207, 208, 212, 214
+
+      Lievetzow, 309
+
+      Lingensis, Heinrich, 96, 97, 98
+
+      Livonia, 13
+
+      Lloytz, The, of Stettin, 261
+
+      Loewe, Nicholas, 87
+
+      Loewenstein, Christopher von, 130, 133, 135, 138
+
+      Loewenhagen, Joachim, 99
+
+      Lorbeer, Christopher, 12, 19, 20, 41, 50, 55, 67, 71-74, 79, 85,
+        88, 93, 324, 326-328, 334
+        Olaff, 84, 321
+        Zabel, 57, 333, 334
+
+      Loretto, xx., 149
+
+      Lorraine, Dowager of, 228
+
+      Louvain, 267, 270
+
+      Lubeck, xvii., xix., 3, 4, 26, 39, 40, 48, 50-52, 61-63, 66, 71,
+        72, 77, 80, 95, 100, 103, 128, 165, 297, 303
+
+      Lubbeke, 48
+
+      Ludwig, Duke Ernest, 89
+
+      Lake, Constance, 227
+
+      Lühe Von der, 313
+
+      Luther, Martin, xi.-xvii., 9, 14, 17, 18, 78, 94, 96, 103, 135,
+        152, 166, 200, 228, 250, 278
+
+
+
+      Madrid, 224
+
+      Madrutz, Gandenz von, 246, 271
+
+      Maestricht, 254
+
+      Magdeburg, xiii., 192
+
+      Malines, 270
+
+      Manlius, 169
+
+      Mantel, Jacob, 244
+
+      Mantua, 173, 174, 175
+        Duke of, 180
+
+      Marburg, xii., 133
+
+      Marforio, 227
+
+      Marie, Fräulein, of Saxony, 78
+
+      Maries, The three, 57, 58
+
+      Marquardt, Johannes, 195, 222, 224, 226
+
+      Marschmann, 86
+
+      Mattzan, Berendt, 320, 321
+        Joachim, 2, 99, 300-302
+        Lutke, 319
+
+      Maurice, Duke, 195, 200, 231, 235
+
+      Mauritz, 177
+
+      Maximilian, Archduke, 119, 204, 231
+
+      Mayence, 128, 130, 132, 139, 141, 254, 260, 271
+        Bishop of, 246
+        Elector of, 246
+
+      Mecklenburg, 51, 71, 79, 95, 96, 100, 115, 299
+
+      Meisisch, Leonard, 40
+
+      Meiseburg, 246
+
+      Memmingen, 221
+
+      Melanchthon, Philip, xvi., xvii., 104, 106, 248, 298
+
+      Mesnia, 258
+
+      Mense, 267
+
+      Mey, Bernard, 261
+
+      Meyer, Christopher, 6, 7
+
+      Meyer, Gerard, 81
+
+      Meyer, Hermann, 12, 19
+
+      Meyer, Marx, 62-67, 81
+
+      Middleburgh, C. 304, 305
+
+      Milan, 149, 175, 176
+
+      Moller, Rolof, xv., 9, 10, 12, 16, 18, 19, 20, 31, 61, 85, 87, 91
+
+      Moller, George, 85
+
+      Monkwitz, Von, 216
+
+      Montefiascone, 171
+
+      Montfort, Count Hugo von, 246
+
+      Moritz, Joachim, 298, 299, 306, 313, 333, 334
+
+      Mount Scarperia, 173
+
+      Muggenwald, 302
+
+      Muhlberg, xxii., 188, 193, 194, 195
+
+      Muleg Hassan, King of Tunis, 245
+
+      Munich, 252
+
+      Munster, Sebastian, 262, 263, 264, 265
+
+      Musculus, 235
+
+      Muthrin, 257
+
+
+
+      Nares, 195
+
+      Naumberg, 206
+        Bishop of, 246
+
+      Naumberg, Duke of, 228
+
+      Naves, Seigneur Jean, 116
+
+      Negendanck, 309, 310
+
+      Nering, Nicholas, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85
+
+      Nerung, 299
+
+      New Camp, 225
+
+      Neuenkirchen, 25
+
+      Nicholas, 165, 175, 176, 177
+
+      Niederweisel, 130, 131, 132, 260
+
+      Niemann, Johannes, 277, 278
+
+      Nordgau, 227
+
+      Nordhauser, 183
+
+      Normann, George, 33, 235, 253, 254, 256
+        Heinrich, 191, 238
+
+      Nuremburg, 9, 14, 18, 155, 181, 209, 211, 223
+
+
+
+      Octavius, Duke, 160, 168
+
+      _Offices_, Cicero's, 97
+
+      Offing, 108
+
+      Oppenheim, 130, 254, 260
+
+      Ornans, 224
+
+      Oseborn, Zabel, 10, 321
+
+      Osnaburgh, 39
+
+      Osten, 2, 299
+
+      Ostiglia, 174
+
+      Ovid, 99
+
+
+
+      Palatine, Count, 195
+        Elector of, 246
+
+      Pappenheim, Marshal von, 229
+
+      Parow, Christian, 82, 83
+
+      Pasewalk, 315
+
+      Pasquin, 227
+
+      Paul III., Pope, 150, 175
+
+      Petrus, 147, 148, 165, 169, 175
+
+      Pflug, Gaspard, 191, 192
+        Johannes, 246
+        Julius, 192, 228
+
+      Pforzheim, xix., 120, 122, 126, 127, 140
+        Ernest von, 279
+
+      Philip, Duke, 78, 99, 190, 195, 260, 290, 298, 301, 318, 322, 330
+
+      Philip I., 17, 272
+
+      Philip V. of Spain, 233
+
+      Picht, Dr., 306
+
+      Place Moland, 16
+
+      Plate Simon, 235-238
+
+      Plawe, 181
+
+      Pô, 173, 174
+
+      Poland, King of, 228
+
+      Pomerania, xii., xv., 3, 17, 28, 122, 145, 146, 151, 189, 200,
+        226, 238, 260
+        Duke of, 224
+
+      _Pomeranus_, 11
+
+      Portius, Dr. Johannes, 261
+
+      _Praecepta Grammaticae_, 40
+
+      Prestor, John, 220
+
+      Prien, V., 299
+
+      Prussia, Duke of, 278
+
+      Pritze, Joachim, 69
+
+      Puddegla, 315
+
+      Putkammer, Dr., 190
+
+      Putten, 44
+
+
+
+      Quilow, Johannes Osten von, 2
+
+
+
+      Ranke, 196
+
+      Rantzau, Count Johannes, 63, 64
+
+      Rantzin, 1, 3
+
+      Rantzow, Joachim 69, 74
+
+      Ratisbon, 178, 180, 233, 247
+        Diet of, 280
+
+      Rau, Balthazar, 298
+
+      Ravenna, 147
+
+      Reiffstock, Dr. Frederick, 106, 107, 108, 109
+
+      Reinburg, 327
+
+      Rheinfeld, 228
+
+      Rheinhausen, 122
+
+      Rhodes, 130, 131
+
+      Ribbenitz, 97, 102
+
+      Richter, 232
+
+      Rhode, Nicholas, 19, 49, 51, 52, 55
+
+      Roetteln, 120
+
+      Roevershagen, 36
+
+      Rode, Nicholas, 73, 74
+
+      Rome, 28, 147, 175, 178, 222, 269
+
+      Rostock, xvii., 19, 36, 37, 50, 61, 71, 85, 95, 96, 97, 100, 128,
+        300, 301, 303, 313
+
+      Rosse, Martin van, 113
+
+      Rotterdam, 264
+
+      Rubricken, Bock, xxiv., 10
+
+      Rugen, 33, 34, 93, 321, 330
+        Prince of, 93
+
+      Runge, 23, 302
+
+      Rust, Joachim, 187, 188
+
+
+
+      Sachsen, 197
+
+      St. Angelo, Governor of, 160
+
+      St. Brigitta, 16, 27, 164
+
+      St. Flore, Cardinal, Count de, 150, 164, 186
+
+      St. Simon, Duke, 233
+
+      St. Alrich, 218
+
+      Saluces, Marquis de, 196, 245
+
+      Salzburg, 247
+
+      Sandow, 23
+
+      Sansenberg, 120
+
+      Sarow, 319
+
+      Sastrow, Amnistia, 299
+        Anna, 5
+        Barbara, 7, 8
+        Bartholomew, ix., x., xv., xvi., xix., xx.-xxiv., 103, 106,
+          110, 196, 197, 235
+        Catherine, 6, 8, 299
+        Christian, 7
+        Gertrude, 7
+        Jeremy, 4
+        John, xx., 1, 2, 7, 39, 53, 93, 108, 122, 128, 149, 134, 298
+        Magdalen, 7
+
+      Sastrow, Nicholas, xvi., xvii., xviii., 94, 116
+
+      Saxony, Duke of, 78
+        Elector of, 114, 189, 191, 196, 205, 208, 222, 245, 247, 249
+        John of, xii., xiii.
+        Maurice of, xiii., xv., 195
+
+      Schaerlini, 223
+
+      Schenck, Dr. Jacob, 106
+
+      Schermer, Frau, 14
+
+      Schladenteuffel, Nicholas, 303
+
+      Schlackenwerth, 191
+
+      Schlemm, 307, 308
+
+      Schlieben, Eustacius, 246
+
+      Schmalkalden, League of, 182, 188, 190, 197, 234, 269
+
+      Schwallenberg, 290, 292
+
+      Schoenfeld, Johannes, 319, 322, 324, 335, 336
+
+      Schorsow, 299
+
+      Schwede, Bailiff, 10, 15
+
+      Schwabe, Bartholomew, 226, 266
+
+      Schwallenberger, Dr., 267, 279, 280, 281, 283
+
+      Schwarte, Matthew, 288
+        Peter, 288
+
+      Schwartz, Arndt, 149
+        Christian, 21, 33, 36, 81
+
+      Schwartzenberg, 310, 312
+
+      Schwartz, Dr. Peter, 297
+
+      Schwendi, Lazarus von, 223
+
+      Schwendi, Lazarus, 242, 243, 245
+
+      Schwenkfeld, Gaspard von, 108
+
+      Schwerin, Marshal Ulrich, 293, 314
+
+      Seld, Dr. George Sigismund, 195, 222, 224, 246
+
+      Selneccerus, 169
+
+      Senckestack, Johannes, 69
+
+      Sickermann, Heindrich, 12
+
+      Siena, Virgo, 172
+
+      Sievershausen, 196, 232
+
+      Silesia, 108, 191, 207
+
+      Sitten, Nanz von, 128
+
+      Sixtus IV., Pope, 156, 157
+
+      Skramon, Admiral Peter, 64
+
+      Sleidan, 188, 196, 203, 219, 234, 239, 240, 241
+
+      Smalkald, xxi., xxii.
+
+      Smeker, H., 309, 310, 311, 312
+
+      Smiterlow, Anna, xvi.
+        Bartholamäi, 4
+        Bertrand, 28, 34, 36, 37, 334-337
+        Christian, 14, 258, 302
+
+      Smiterlow, George, 40, 43, 89,91
+        Johannes, 40
+        Nicholas, xvi., xviii., 4, 5, 10, 12, 14, 18, 20, 26, 29, 31,
+          35, 41, 49, 50, 61, 66-74, 79, 83, 87, 89, 91, 311
+
+      Solms, Count Reinhard, 241
+
+      Sonnenberg, Nicholas, 56, 84, 101
+        Heinrich, 100
+
+      Speckin, Martin, 297
+
+      Spires, xii., xix., xxiii., 9, 52, 103, 105, 106, 108, 111, 114,
+        116, 120, 125-129, 140, 178, 230, 250, 251, 254, 260, 262, 266,
+        271, 273, 279, 282, 301, 307, 310, 312
+
+      Stargurdt, 214
+
+      Stainbruck, 64
+
+      Steinkiller, 333
+
+      Steinwer, Canon Hippolytus, 12, 30
+
+      Sterzing, 177
+
+      Stettin, 16, 17, 35, 103, 190, 253, 257, 266, 267, 273, 279, 282,
+        289, 290, 314
+
+      Stiten, Franz von, 98, 138
+
+      Storentin, Frau, 99
+
+      Stochkolm, 54
+
+      Stolpe, 13, 265, 273, 281, 290
+
+      Stralsund, xv., xvi.-xix., xxiv., 3, 5, 7, 9, 11-28, 40, 43, 45,
+        50, 52, 54, 61, 66, 71, 72, 77, 82, 87, 96, 100, 102, 110, 190,
+        197, 214, 235, 268, 277, 286, 287, 295, 302, 303, 314, 322,
+        328, 330, 333-337
+
+      Stranck, Anna, 58, 59
+
+      Strasburg, 108, 123, 223, 233, 246, 263
+        Bishop of, 129
+
+      Stroïentin, Dr. Valentin, 24-26
+
+      Stubenitz, Forest of, 330
+
+      Sturm, Jacob, 233, 234, 235, 246
+
+      Suave, Peter, 11
+
+      Suavenius, Petrus, 228
+
+      Svendsburg, 64
+
+      Swabia, 108, 120, 178, 192, 221
+
+
+
+      Tauber, Dr., 292, 293
+
+      Telchow, Simon, 306, 307
+
+      Terence, xvii.
+
+      Testenhagen, 325
+
+      Thomas, Wolf, 244
+
+      Thun, Peter, 307, 308
+
+      Tollenstein, 65
+
+      Torgau, 193, 197, 217
+        Castle of, 78
+
+      Torrentius, 31
+
+      Trent, xx., 175, 176, 177, 245, 268, 271
+        Cardinal of, 228
+        Council of, 173
+
+      Trepstow, 11, 266
+
+      Treuenbrietzen, 200
+
+      Treves, Elector of, 19
+
+      Truchess, Prelate Otto, 116
+
+      Tulliver, sen., Mr., x.
+
+      Tunis, King of, 245
+
+
+
+      Ulm, 108, 111, 178, 246, 253
+
+      Ulrich, Duke, 143
+
+      Upsal, Archbishop of, 22
+
+      Ukermünde, Geo. von, 11, 12, 128, 236, 289, 290
+
+
+
+      Valentine, 188, 213
+
+      _Valley of Tears_, 143
+
+      Venice, 175, 269
+
+      Verona, 175, 176
+
+      Virgil, 174
+
+      Vischer, L., 15, 19
+
+      Viterbo, 168
+
+      Vogelsberg, Sebastian, 223, 239-245
+
+      Vogt, Johannes, 100
+
+      Voss, Jacob, 320
+
+
+
+      Walde, Dr. B. von, 299, 314, 321
+
+      Wallenstein, xii.
+
+      Walter, Anthony, 99
+
+      Wardenburg, Zutfeld, 12, 26
+
+      Wedel, George von, 205, 207, 210, 222
+
+      Weingarten, Abbé von, 228, 246
+
+      Weinleben, Chancellor, 198
+
+      Welch, 241
+
+      Welfius, Heinrich, xvii.
+
+      Welsers, 216
+
+      Wessels, Franz, 12, 19, 27
+
+      Westphalia, xiii., 256
+
+      Wetteran, 131
+
+      Wetzlar, 12
+
+      Weitmulen, Sebastian von, 191
+
+      Wezer, Martin, 226, 253, 261, 267, 290-293
+
+      Willemberg, Castle of, 200
+
+      Willershagen, 101
+
+      Wismar, 51, 61, 71, 72, 303
+
+      Wissemberg, 223, 227, 240, 242
+
+      Wittenberg, xvi., 6, 11, 14, 17, 18, 40, 95, 103, 188, 193, 194,
+        197, 202, 222, 224, 245, 248, 292
+
+      Wolde, Canon von, 293
+
+      Wolder, Simon, 266, 281
+
+      Wolfenbuttel, 65
+
+      Wolff, Frau, 39
+
+      Wolgang, 228
+
+      Wolgast, xxii., 17, 40, 47, 86, 187, 190, 199, 205, 256, 257,
+        289, 290, 292, 300, 306, 314, 317, 319, 333
+
+      Worms, 9, 116, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 131, 133, 139, 228, 230,
+        250, 251, 260
+
+      Wulflam, Wulf, 56
+
+      Wullenweber, George, xvii., 5, 61-66, 71, 79, 80, 190, 192
+
+      Wurzburg, Bishop of, 106, 246
+
+      Wustenfeld, 309, 311
+
+      Wustenhausen, 316
+
+
+
+      Zell, 122, 254
+
+      Ziegesar, 39
+
+      Ziegler, 267
+
+      Zigler, Dr. Louis, 254
+
+      Zittau, 191
+
+      Zober, 54
+
+      Zwingli, xii.
+
+
+
+                               FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 1: At the beginning of the sixteenth century the monetary
+unit in Pomerania was the golden florin, which within a fraction
+was equivalent to the Rhenish florin and represented eight francs,
+sixty-five centimes, regard being had to the fact that the value of
+silver compared to that of gold was a third more than to-day. The
+golden florin was divided into forty-eight schellings (not shillings),
+sixteen of which constituted a mark; the schelling again was divided
+into twelve pfenning. The schelling of Hamburg and of Lubeck were worth
+double that of Stralsund.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 2: House property was classified in three categories:
+dwelling houses (_Häuser_), shops (_Buden_), which were very light
+constructions set apart for trade or for accommodating strangers, and
+cellars (_Keller_), or places below the level of the ground floor. The
+scale of house-tax was for booths, stalls or shops half, for cellars a
+quarter of that due for dwelling-houses. A census of 1554 gives for
+Stralsund 559 houses, 1,133 booths or shops, and 535 cellars; of which
+numbers 30 dwelling houses, 39 booths and 38 cellars are not tenanted.
+To these figures must be added for the faubourgs or beyond the gates
+239 tenements of lesser importance.
+
+On the site of the house in Huns' Street stands or stood a few years
+ago the Hotel Jarmer. An inscription on its frontage recalls the birth
+of Jeremy Sastrow. According to a competent etymological authority, the
+name of the Hunnenstrasse in Greifswald has not the faintest connexion
+with the Huns, but is simply a Low German corruption of Hundestrasse,
+_Platea Canum_, like in Lubeck and in Barth. In the latter town the
+thoroughfare thus designated was the locale of the Prince's pack of
+hounds.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 3: Nicholas Smiterlow, who was councillor in 1507 and
+burgomaster in 1516, enacted an important part at Stralsund at a period
+when the political influence of that city spread far beyond its walls.
+Events pleaded loudly in favour of the resolute and prudent burgomaster
+against his adventurous adversary, George Wullenweber. In spite of his
+dislike to popular agitation, Smiterlow was "one of the first and best
+upholders of the Reformation," if we are to believe the evidence of a
+chronicler of the sixteenth century. He died in July, 1539. Hailing
+originally from Greifswald, he had got married at Stralsund in 1498.
+The Smiterlows, Schmiterlows, or Smiterloews interpreted their name in
+the sense of "Smiters of Lions." Their arms represented a man wielding
+a club and a lion by his side. It was said that during the Crusades
+their ancestor had laid low one of those animals with the blow of a
+club.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 4: It was the custom to give a present to a relative or to a
+friend as a contribution to the furnishing of his house.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 5: When Sastrow became secretary of Stralsund he took care to
+collect, under the title of "Rubrikenbuch" all the documents relating
+to the privileges and property of the city; a collection which proved
+useful to the magistrates in office and which is of interest to-day as
+a contribution to the local history.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 6: The ancient monastery of Belbuck, near Treptow on the
+Rega, became, under Abbot Boldewan, a nursery of learning. From thence
+came George von Ukermünde, who was the first to preach the reformed
+doctrine at Stralsund; the impassioned preacher Kurcke or Kureke;
+Ketelhot, born in 1492, died in 1546, whom the chronicler Berckmann
+calls the "Apostle of Stralsund and the founder of the holy doctrine";
+Peter Suave, the pioneer of the Reformation in Denmark and Holstein;
+and finally, Johannes Bugenhagen, famous under the name of _Pomeranus_,
+born in 1485, died in 1558, pastor at Wittemberg since 1523, the author
+of the first historical work on Pomerania, the translator of the Bible
+into Low-German, and the veritable organizer of Protestantism into
+those northern regions. Duke Bogislaw X, displeased with the spirit
+that prevailed at Belbuck, suppressed that institution in 1523; the
+dispersion of the monks only resulted in the prompter diffusion of the
+new doctrines.
+
+The chronology of the history of the Reformation at Stralsund remained
+uncertain up to 1859, in which year the archives of the Imperial
+Chamber, forgotten at Wetzlar, brought to light the documents in
+connexion with the lawsuit brought by Canon Hippolytus Steinwer against
+Stralsund, in order to despoil the city of certain revenues and
+privileges. The principal dates may be fixed as follows: 1522.--First
+conflict of the city with the Catholic clergy who refuse to be taxed;
+Zutfeld Wardenburg, administrator of the diocese, flies to Rome. 1523
+or end of 1522.--Arrival of the first reformed monks and preachers,
+George Kempe, Heindrich Sichermann, George von Ukermünde. 1524.--First
+preachings of Ketelhot (at Easter), and of Kurcke on St. Michael's Day.
+1525.--The Monday after Palm Sunday (April 10), the churches and
+convents are invaded; suppression of Catholic worship. 1525.--The
+Sunday after All Saints' (November 5), official recognition of the
+Reformation through the promulgation of the ecclesiastical and
+scholastic ordinances of Johannes Alpinus.
+
+With regard to political events the confusion was the same. Otho Frock,
+the recent historian of Pomerania, made it his business to apply the
+remedy, and the following are the results arrived at. 1524, from May to
+June.--Installation of the Forty-Eight; voluntary exile of Smiterlow.
+1525, January.--Frustrated attempt of Smiterlow to return to Stralsund
+with the support of the Hanseatic towns. 1525 (probably April
+15).--Riotous election of Rolof Moller and Christopher Lorbeer as
+burgomasters, of Franz Wessel, Hermann Meyer and six other partisans of
+the Reformation as councillors. 1525 (at St. John).--Entry into
+Stralsund of Dukes George and Barnim; the rendering of homage and
+confirmation of privileges. 1527 (July 24?).--Rolof Moller leaves
+Stralsund, and on August 1 or 5 Smiterlow returns. 1529.--Return and
+death of Rolof Moller.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 7: There are various versions of the origin of this famous
+tumult. According to some documents the servant's mistress was a widow
+named Frese, who lived in the old market.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 8: The fishmonger's bench or stall of Vischer reminds one of
+that of the reformer Froment, preaching on the Place Molard at Geneva,
+just as the departure of the nuns of St. Brigitta, at Stralsund,
+reminds one, though not quite so seriously, of the flitting from Geneva
+of the Sisters of Santa Clara.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 9: In the ducal House of Pomerania the law of succession
+admitted all the sons indistinctly to the throne. They reigned in
+common, but if an understanding was impossible, the county was divided
+between them. In 1478 the whole of Pomerania was united under the
+sceptre of Bogislaw X. At the death of this able prince, which took
+place in 1523, Dukes George and Barnim wielded power conjointly, in
+spite of their utterly opposed sentiments. George remained faithful to
+the old belief; Barnim, on the other hand, proceeded to the university
+of Wittemberg, and in 1519 had accompanied Luther to Leipzig when he
+was disputing with Eck. The honour accrued to Barnim in his capacity of
+rector, a dignity seldom conferred upon a student.
+
+George died in 1531, leaving an only son, Philippe. The division of
+Pomerania long desired by Barnim occurred the following year. Barnim's
+chance gave him Eastern Pomerania as far as the Swine, and with Stettin
+as a residence. To his nephew, Philip I, fell Western Pomerania, of
+which Wolgast became once more the capital. That agreement, concluded
+for ten years, was renewed in 1541, and its effects were prolonged
+until 1625, at which date there was a new reunion under Bogislaw XIV,
+of the Stettin branch, who died in 1637, the last of the House. The
+franchises of Stralsund, in fact, were so extensive as to reduce the
+authority of the princes to a mere nominal rule. The bond between them
+only consisted of a kind of perfunctory rendering of homage and the
+payment of a small tribute, the amount of which had been fixed once for
+all. The suzerain only entered the city after a notice of three months.
+In 1525, with the political and religious crisis at its height, the
+rendering of homage was preceded by protracted negotiations. No
+safe-conduct, though delivered by the prince, was valid at Stralsund
+unless it was countersigned by the council. The city exercised its
+jurisdiction not only within its walls, but in its exterior domains.
+Though exempt from military obligations as far as the reigning dukes
+were concerned, the city imposed compulsory service both by sea and by
+land on its citizens. It had the power to conclude treaties and was its
+sole arbiter with regard to peace or war. These privileges were
+preserved by Stralsund during the whole of the sixteenth century, in
+spite of the decline of the Hanseatic bond.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 10: Franz Wessel, born at Stralsund, September 30, 1487, died
+May 19, 1570, was the son of a brewer of the Lange Strasse. At a very
+early age--when scarcely more than twelve--he embraced a commercial
+career and made long stays in foreign countries, besides pilgrimages to
+Trèves, Aix-la-Chapelle, Einfriedlaw, and St. James of Compostella. In
+1516 he was back at Stralsund, and was one of the most energetic and
+first promoters of the Reformation. Councillor in 1524, burgomaster in
+1541, he played a scarcely less important political part. Wessel is the
+author of a curious piece of writing on divine worship at Stralsund at
+the period of papistry. The very year of his death, Gerard Droege,
+who had been brought up in his house, published his biography at
+Rostock.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 11: Christopher Lorbeer, who was councillor in 1507,
+burgomaster in 1524, and who died in 1555, belonged to a much
+respected family of Stralsund and enjoyed great consideration
+there.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 12: According to tradition King Arthur or Artus, chief of the
+Knights of the Round Table, lived in the sixth century. He and his
+companions had devoted themselves to the recovery of the Holy Grail.
+Arthur himself is supposed to have conquered Sweden and Norway. On the
+other hand, the historian Johannes Magnus, Archbishop of Upsal, who
+died in 1554, mentions a Swedish Arthur famed for his doughty deeds,
+and he adds: "Even in our days, there exist in certain towns along the
+Baltic, for instance at Dantzig and Stralsund, houses, _domus Arthi_,
+on which the term illustrious has been bestowed; it is there that the
+notables foregather for the relaxation of their minds, as if it were a
+kind of school of the highest courtesy and amenity." Hence in the
+trading cities of the north the magnificent structures set apart for
+public and private rejoicings, as well as for commercial transactions,
+were intimately bound up with the tradition of a legendary hero. If I
+am not mistaken, only one of those buildings still remains, namely, the
+_Artushof_ of Dantzig, which does duty as an exchange, and the ancient
+halls of which were the scene of the interview of the German Emperor
+and the Czar in September, 1881. The local chroniclers assert that the
+_Artushof_ of Stralsund was built with the ransom of Duke Eric of
+Saxony, taken prisoner by the city troops in 1316 The great fire of
+June 12, 1680, completely destroyed it. On its site stands the official
+residence of the military governor of the place.
+
+When near his end Ketelhot expressed his regret at having, at that
+period of his scant resources, too eagerly accepted the burgher's
+hospitality. Johannes Knipstro (Knypstro or Knipstrow), born May 1,
+1497, at Sandow in the March, was at first a Franciscan monk. He and
+Ketelhot are considered as the most active propagators of the
+Reformation at Stralsund. But for the earnings of his wife, it
+is said, he would have been compelled to beg his bread, his salary
+being too small to keep body and soul together. She was an erewhile
+nun, and provided for both with her needle. Knipstro became
+superintendent-general at Wolgast in 1535, and professor of theology at
+Greifswald. He died October 4, 1556.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 13: Doctor and ducal councillor Valentin Stroïentin was the
+friend of Ulrich von Hutten. Bugenhagen dedicated his _Pomerania_ to
+him. He died in 1539.]
+
+[Footnote 14: Johannes Aepinus (in German Hoeck or Hoch, high), was
+born in 1499 at Ziegesar in the Urich, and died in 1553 superintendent
+at Hamburg, where he had discharged the ministry since 1529. Aepinus
+laboured hard at ecclesiastical and scholastic reform. Many writings,
+especially against the Interim, came from his pen.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 15: Hermann Bonnus, born in 1504, near Osnaburgh; he
+preached the new doctrine at Greifswald, Stralsund and Copenhagen, and
+died on February 12, 1548, superintendent at Lubeck, a post which had
+been confided to him in 1531. Bonnus has written a chronicle of
+Lubeck.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 16: Nicholas Gentzkow, doctor of law, born December 6, 1502,
+the son of a shoemaker, according to the annalist Berckmann, and
+deceased February 24, 1576, was elected burgomaster of Stralsund in
+1555. He, nevertheless, remained syndic, that is, legal adviser to the
+city, just as, after his admission to the council, Sastrow continued
+his functions of protonotary, or first secretary. Sastrow, who had many
+disagreements with Gentzkow, as, in fact, with others, succeeded him in
+the dignity of burgomaster. Gentzkow left a diary of which Zober
+published extracts in 1870.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 17: Wulf Wulflam, the head of the patricians of Stralsund,
+and illustrious in virtue of his warlike exploits, treated on
+a footing of equality with the crowned heads of the fourteenth
+century.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 18: The same story is related of the Schwerin family at
+Lubeck.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 19: A jocular allusion to the three Maries of Bethany, viz.,
+the mother of James the Minor and sister of the Virgin; the mother of
+the Apostles James and John, and Mary of Magdala.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 20: The dean of the Drapers had precedence of the deans of
+all the other corporations; in all the ceremonies he came immediately
+after the council.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 21: George Wullenweber was born about 1492, probably at
+Hamburg. When the political and religious struggle broke out at Lubeck,
+he was settled there as a merchant, and he distinguished himself by
+being in the front rank clamouring for changes. At the end of February,
+1533, he was elected councillor and afterwards burgomaster. From that
+moment the whole of his attempts tended in the direction of the
+restoration of the commercial monopoly the Hanseatic cities had so long
+possessed on the shores of the Baltic. The aim was to close those ports
+to the Dutch merchant navy, and to cause the influence of Lubeck to
+prevail in the three Scandinavian kingdoms.
+
+In the spring of 1533, Lubeck made up its mind to come to close
+quarters with the Dutch, those detested rivals. A well-equipped fleet
+stood out to sea; the erewhile landsknecht, Marcus Meyer, who began by
+being a blacksmith at Hamburg, and had married the rich widow of a
+burgomaster, assumed the command of the mercenaries. The others had,
+however, been forewarned, and only some unimportant captures were made.
+Meyer, after having confiscated English merchandize found on board of
+the captured craft, made the mistake of landing on the English coast to
+revictual; he was arrested for piracy and taken to London. By a whim of
+Henry VIII, jealous of the power of the Netherlands and of Charles V,
+Marx Meyer, instead of being put to death, received a knighthood and
+immediately served as an intermediary between the king and Wullenweber
+in the more or less serious negotiations they started.
+
+This first campaign had cost much, and its issue was not very
+profitable. The Dutch fleet had got some good prizes, and pillaged on
+the Schonen (Swedish) coast some of the factories belonging to the
+Hanseatic combination. The complaints of the traders themselves became
+general. Was the war to be pursued? A diet foregathered at Hamburg in
+March, 1534, in order to come to an understanding. Wullenweber was
+received with universal recrimination; his haughty attitude drew from
+the Stralsund delegate the famous and prophetic reminder recorded by
+Sastrow a few pages further on. The proud burgomaster left the place at
+the end of a few days, angry and embittered at heart; in spite of this,
+an armistice of four years was signed:
+
+Naturally, Wullenweber felt it incumbent to retrieve this check. The
+elective throne of Denmark had become vacant through the death of
+Frederick I of Holstein: His son, Christian III, was unfavourably
+disposed towards the Hanseatic cities. Under those circumstances
+Wullenweber hit upon the idea of the candidature of Christian II, who
+had been deposed and afterwards confined to the castle of Sunderburg in
+the island of Alsen. A condottiere of high birth, Christopher of
+Oldenburg, accepted the chief command of the expedition. But the bold
+burgomaster, not satisfied with the restoration of Christian II.,
+offered to Duke Albrecht of Mecklenburg the crown of Sweden at that
+time borne by Gustavus Wasa. That monarch had committed the blunder of
+not showing himself sufficiently grateful for the aid lent to him by
+Lubeck in days gone by.
+
+The beginnings of the campaign were successful. Copenhagen opened even
+its doors to the Count of Oldenburg. Christian III, however, had
+secured an able captain in Count Johannes Rantzau, who, leaving the
+enemy to carry on his devastations in Sealand, boldly came to invest
+Lubeck, inflicted a bloody defeat on Marx Meyer and captured eight
+vessels of war. Wullenweber understood that it was time to make
+concessions; his partners retired from the councils, and on November
+18, 1534, the very curious convention with Rantzau was concluded at
+Stockeldorf by which the Lubeckers were left free to continue warring
+in Denmark in favour of Christian II, but bound themselves to cease
+hostilities in Holstein.
+
+The candidates for the Danish throne increased. Albrecht of Mecklenburg
+and even Count Christopher laid more and more stress upon their
+pretensions; Wullenweber, in order to conciliate the Emperor, put
+forward at the eleventh hour the name of a personage agreeable to the
+House of Hapsburg, namely, Count Palatine Frederick, the son-in-law of
+Christian II. The war went on with Christian III, whose cause Gustavus
+Wasa had espoused. Marx Meyer fell into the hands of the enemy; left
+prisoner on parole, he broke his pledge, made himself master of the
+very castle of Warburg that had been assigned to him as a residence,
+and his barbaric and cruel incursions terrified the country all round.
+The naval battle of Borholm on June 9, 1535, was not productive of a
+decisive result, a storm having dispersed the opposing fleets, but on
+June 11 Johannes Rantzau scored a victory on land in Denmark; and
+finally, on June 16, at Svendsburg, the Lubeck fleet fell without
+firing a shot into the hands of Admiral Peter Skramon. Added to all
+these catastrophes, Lubeck was threatened with being put outside the
+pale of the Empire; the game was evidently lost. Nevertheless peace
+with Christian III was only signed on February 14, 1536.
+
+Marx Meyer, after a splendid defence, surrendered Warburg, on the
+condition of his retiring with the honours of war; in spite of their
+promise, the Danes tried and executed him together with his brother on
+June 17, 1536. On July 28 of the same year Copenhagen capitulated,
+after having sustained a twelve months' investment, aggravated by
+famine. Christian III gave their liberty to Duke Albrecht of
+Mecklenburg and to Count Christopher, although he inflicted repeated
+humiliations on the latter. As for the Duke, the adventure left him
+crestfallen for a long while.
+
+At Lubeck the men of the old regime obtained power once more,
+Wullenweber having resigned towards the end of August, 1535. In the
+beginning of October, while crossing the territory of the Archbishop of
+Bremen, the brother of his enemy, Duke Heinrich the Younger, of
+Brunswick, he was arrested, taken to the castle of Rothenburg, and put
+on the rack as a traitor, an anabaptist and a malefactor. After which
+he was transferred to the castle of Stainbrück, between Brunswick and
+Hildesheim, and flung into a narrow dungeon, where to this day the
+following inscription records the event: "Here George Wullenweber
+suffered, 1536-1537." Finally, on September 24, a court of aldermen
+summoned at Tollenstein, near Wolfenbüttel, by Heindrich of Brunswick,
+sentenced the wretched man to suffer death by the sword, a sentence
+which was carried out immediately, the executioner quartering the body
+and putting it on the wheel. Such was the deplorable end of the man
+whose ambition had dreamt the political and commercial domination of
+his country in the north of Europe. According to a sailor's ditty of
+old, "The people of Lubeck are regretting every day the demise of
+Master George Wullenweber." The historian Waitz has devoted three
+volumes to the career of the famous burgomaster; the purely literary
+men and dramatic authors, Kruse and Gutzkow, have also seized upon this
+dramatic figure.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 22: Under the name of Wends, the Sclavs settled on the shores
+of the Baltic, engaged in maritime traffic, and became the founders of
+the Hanseatic League. In the sixteenth century the kernel of that
+confederation still consisted of the group of the six Wendish cities:
+"Lubeck the chief one, Hamburg, Luneburg, Rostock, Stralsund and
+Wismar."--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 23: The Hanseatic League had established its most important
+factories, and above all for the herring traffic, in Schonen; enormous
+fairs were being held there from the beginning of July to the end of
+November. The centre of all this commerce was Falsterbo, at the extreme
+southwest of Sweden.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 24: Valentin Eichstedt died in 1600 as Chancellor of Wolgast.
+He wrote the life of Duke Philip I, an _Epitome Annalium Pomerania_ and
+_Annales Pomeraniae_. Johannes Berckmann, a former monk of the order of
+St. Augustine, and preacher, an eye-witness of the scenes of the
+Reformation at Stralsund, is the author of a chronicle of that city
+which was published in 1833 by Mohnike and Gober. Sastrow has now and
+again borrowed from him for events anterior to his personal
+recollections; he nevertheless rarely misses an opportunity of
+attacking his fellow-worker in history. This may have been due to
+hatred of the popular party and perhaps to professional jealousy, apart
+from the fact of Berckmann being more favourable to his patron Christopher
+Lorbeer than to Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow. Born about the end of
+the fifteenth century, Berckmann died in 1560.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 25: Robert Barnes, chaplain to Henry VIII, and sent by the
+latter to Wittemberg in order to consult the theologians on the subject
+of Henry's divorce from Catherine of Arragon. At his return to London
+he showed so much zeal for the new faith that Henry sent him to the
+Tower. He recanted in order to recover his freedom; then overwhelmed
+with remorse fled to Wittemberg and stayed there several years with
+Bugenhagen under the name of Dr. Antonius Anglus. Henry VIII, after his
+rupture with the Pope, reinstated Barnes as his chaplain and entrusted
+him with the negotiations of his marriage with Anne of Cleves; but when
+the divorce took place, Barnes was brought before Parliament and was
+burned July 30, 1540. He wrote the lives of the Roman pontiffs from St.
+Peter to Alexander III.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 26: Arnold Büren, the son of a peasant, took his name from
+the hamlet of Büren, in Westphalia, in the neighbourhood of which he
+was born, in 1484. He spent fifteen years at Wittemberg with Luther and
+Melanchthon. The latter recommended him to the Duke of Mecklenburg,
+Henry the Pacific, as a tutor to his son Magnus, who was reported to be
+the most learned prince of his times. To Büren belongs the credit of
+having restored the prestige of the University of Rostock, seriously
+impaired by the pest and by the troubles of the Reformation. He died on
+September 16, 1566. His tomb is in St. Mary's, at Rostock; among the
+scutcheons adorning it are the Genevese key and eagle.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 27: The herring fishery and the brewing industry gave a great
+importance to the coopers' guild, which was moreover protected against
+foreign competition by ancient enactments.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 28: Gaspard von Schwenkfeld, born in 1490 at the castle of
+Offing, in Silesia, died at Ulm in 1561. Entered into holy orders, he
+reproached Luther with restoring the reign of literal interpretation
+and with neglecting the spirit. Banished from Silesia as a fanatic, he
+made his way to Southern Germany, and stayed at Strasburg, Augsburg,
+Spires and Ulm. For some time he seemed to incline towards the
+Anabaptists, but soon parted from them to found a particular sect. He
+taught that God reveals Himself in direct communication to every man,
+and that regeneration is accomplished by the spiritual life and not by
+outward means of grace. His profound conviction and great piety gained
+him many adherents, notably in Swabia and Silesia. A colony of his
+persecuted disciples settled in Philadelphia, U.S.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 29: At the head of the bands recruited by the Duke of Cleves
+and the King of Denmark, Martin van Rosse, or von Rossheim, acting in
+concert with the French troops, had ravaged Brabant. Not only did the
+Duke of Cleves retain Guelderland, on which Charles V pretended to
+have claims, but he continued his intrigues with France and Denmark. To
+put an end to these, Charles, in 1543, got together 35,000 men,
+Spaniards, Italians and Germans, and proceeded down the Rhine. The
+fortified place of Düren having been carried by assault, the Duke
+considered himself lucky to be able to conclude a peace which only cost
+him Guelderland, and Martin van Rosse took service once more with the
+Emperor.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 30: Sastrow has the whole of the grant of poet laureate,
+with the full description of the arms conferred. In reality it
+was not a patent of nobility in the proper significance of the
+term.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 31: Les especes enlevées, il renferma la bourse et le fou de
+s'écrier: "Monseigneur, appelez votre coquin de prêtre (il ne le
+calumnioit point) qu'on le taille à son tour. Votre Grace sait qu'il a
+engrossé une fille de Butzbach." On suspendit derrière le poêle les
+angelots cousus dans un sachet.]
+
+[Footnote 32: Duke Henry of Brunswick endeavoured to hold his own
+against the Protestant princes, but in 1545, abandoned by the
+mercenaries, he was compelled to surrender to the Landgrave Philip of
+Hesse.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 33: On the subject of the child Simeon, the following may be
+read with interest in the martyrology of the Israelites, entitled _Emek
+Habakha_, or _The Valley of Tears_ (published by Julian Sée, 1881): "At
+that period (1475), a scoundrel named Enzo, of Trent, in Italy, killed
+a child of two years old with the name of Simeon and flung it secretly
+into a pond, not far from the house of the Jew Samuel without any one
+having seen the deed. Immediately, as usual, the Jews were accused of
+it. At the order of the bishop their houses were entered into; the
+child, of course, was not found, and everybody went back to his home.
+The body was found afterwards. The bishop, after having had it examined
+on the spot itself, ordered the arrest of all the Jews, who were
+harassed and tortured to such a degree as to confess to a thing which
+had never entered their mind. Only one among them, a very old man,
+named Moses, refused to avow this signal falsehood and died under his
+torture. May the Lord reward him according to his piety."
+
+Two Christians, learned and versed in the law came from Padua to judge
+for themselves. The wrath of the inhabitants of Trent was kindled
+against them and they were nearly killed. The bishop condemned the
+Jews, heaped bitterness upon them, tortured them with red-hot pincers,
+finally burned them, and their guiltless souls ascended to heaven. He
+subsequently took possession of all their property as he had intended,
+and filled his cellars with spoil. The child was already reported as
+admitted among the saints, and was supposed to perform miracles. The
+bishop disseminated the announcement of it throughout all the
+provinces, crowds rushed to see, and they did not come empty-handed.
+All the people of that country began to show great hatred to the Jews
+in the spots where they resided, and ceased to speak peacefully to
+them. Meanwhile, the bishop having asked the pope to canonize the
+child, considering that it was among the saints, the pope sent one of
+his cardinals with the title of legate to examine the affair more
+closely, and the latter did not fail before long to discover that it
+was nothing but an imposture and fancy. He also wished to see the
+corpse; the corpse was embalmed. Thereupon the cardinal began to jeer;
+he declared in the presence of the people that it was nothing but sheer
+deception. The people, however, became furious against him; he was
+obliged to flee and to take refuge in a neighbouring town. When there
+he sent for all the documents relating to the avowals of the
+unfortunate Jews and the measures taken against them, had the servant
+of the scoundrel who killed the child arrested, and the latter declared
+that the crime had been committed by order of the bishop in order to
+ruin the Jews. The cardinal took the servant with him to Rome, gave an
+account of his mission to the pope, who refused to canonize the child
+as the bishop kept asking him. The child was only "beatified," but up
+to the present (1540) it has not been "canonized." Still, it was
+canonized in 1588, and its "day" is celebrated with great pomp at Trent
+on March 24.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 34: Ascagne, Count of St. Florian and Cardinal, was the son
+of Constance Farnese, daughter of Pope Paul III.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 35: Duke Octavius was the son of Peter-Aloys
+Farnése.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 36: This epicure was prelate of Augsburg, Johannes Fugger,
+who in reality travelled for the sole purpose of getting a knowledge of
+the different vintages. His servant had the following words cut on his
+tombstone: "_Est, Est, Est et propter nimium Est; dominus meus mortuus
+est._" The defunct left a legacy to empty so many bottles of wine on
+his grave once a year, a ceremony replaced nowadays by a distribution
+of bread to the poor. The wine of Montefiascone owes its name of _Est,
+Est, Est_ to this adventure.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 37: The famous Captain Schaertlin von Burtenbach had received
+the command of the Protestant forces, among which figured the
+contingents of Ulm and Augsburg: The successful night-surprise against
+the fortress of Ehrenberg-Klause marks the beginning of the war of
+Schmalkalden. From that moment Schaertlin, having become master of the
+passages of the Tyrol, could stop the reinforcements despatched from
+Italy to the emperor; he could descend into the plain and drive away
+the Council of Trent. The citizens of Augsburg, though, being anxious
+for the safety of their own town, pressed him to come back. "He obeyed,
+racked," says one of his own companions, "by the same despair that
+Hannibal felt when recalled from Italy by Carthage." The taking of the
+same fortress by Mauritz of Saxony in 1552 compelled Charles V to leave
+Innspruck in hot haste.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 38: Here follows a very unsavoury passage, showing the
+lamentable want of cleanliness even among the educated middle classes
+in the sixteenth century throughout Europe, for the particulars given
+by Sastrow did not apply to Germany only.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 39: It is not the final dissolution brought about by the
+defeat of Mühlberg. A passage from Sleidan explains the league of
+Schmalkalden at the end of 1546. "The embassies of the Protestants,
+which were not agreed, foregathered with the hope of being enabled to
+deliberate more efficiently. But inasmuch as the 'Allied of the
+Religion' gave no help, and the confederates of Luneburg and Pomerania
+did not assist in anything, inasmuch as the other States and towns of
+Saxony were most sparing with their subsidies, as there came nothing
+from France, and the army dwindled down day by day because the soldiers
+took their discharge on account of the season and other discomforts, it
+was proposed to adopt one of three measures: to give battle, to retire
+and put the soldiers into winter quarters, or to make peace. The
+discussion resulted in a hint to make peace. But because the emperor,
+who was aware of the state of things through his spies, proposed too
+onerous conditions, it was decided to take the whole of the army into
+Saxony. In consequence of all this, the war was by no means
+successfully conducted."--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 40: Gaspard Pflug, the chief of the Protestant party in
+Bohemia, must not be mistaken for Julius Pflug, Bishop of Naumburg, one
+of the three men who drew up "the Interim."--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 41: Sastrow gives only one specimen, but I cannot reproduce
+it.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 42: After the victory of Mühlberg, the imperial army went to
+lay siege to Wittenberg, which finally capitulated at the advice of
+Johannes Friedrich of Sachsen himself.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 43: The jurist, George Sigismund Seld, born in 1516, the son
+of a goldsmith at Augsburg, had become vice-chancellor at the death of
+Nares. His deputies were Johannes Marquardt of Baden, and Heinrich
+Hase, formerly counsellor to the Count Palatine and the Prince of
+Deux-Ponts. Seld died in 1565.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 44: Christopher von Carlowitz, born at Heimsdorff, near
+Dresden, on December 7, 1507, died on January 8, 1578. He was the able
+counsellor of the valiant but changeable Maurice of Saxony, who, as is
+well known, deserted the Protestant side for that of the emperor, and
+was rewarded with the electoral dignity of which his kinsman and
+neighbour Johannes-Friedrich was deprived. A few years later, Maurice,
+at the head of the vanquished of Mühlberg, recommenced the struggle
+against the emperor, and in 1552 imposed upon that monarch the peace of
+Passau. In July 1553 Maurice met with a glorious death on the
+battlefield of Sievershausen, where the Margrave of Brandenburg
+suffered a defeat.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 45: It was at Ingoldstadt that the challenge of the
+Protestant princes was presented to Charles V. by a young squire,
+accompanied by a trumpeter. The emperor simply sent word to the two
+messengers that he granted them a safe-conduct; as for those by whom
+they were sent, he should know how to deal with them. That is the
+modern version of Ranke. According to Sastrow there were two challenges
+and he gives them both. The first was brought to Landshut by a
+gentleman accompanied by a trumpeter. Charles refused to receive him.
+The second is that of Ingoldstadt, and is posterior by three weeks to
+the other. It was presented on September 2. "This missive," adds
+Sastrow, "has been the cause of all the great ills that have befallen
+Germany, and I verily believe that wishing to chastise the German
+nation for her sins, God allowed it to be written with infernal ink.
+Neither Sleidan nor Beuter mentions it; it seems to me that there was
+an attempt to garble or altogether to suppress it."--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 46: Sastrow had no easy task for his diplomatic beginnings:
+Charles V had gained the crushing victory of Mühlberg over the German
+Protestants on April 24, 1547; the League of Schmalkalden had ceased to
+exist; its chiefs, the Elector Johannes-Friedrich of Sachsen and the
+Landgrave of Hesse, Philip the Magnanimous, were both prisoners. Though
+they were members of that league since 1536, the Dukes of Pomerania
+had, it is true, observed a neutral attitude during the latter years;
+nevertheless, the emperor's resentment inspired them, not without
+reason, with great fear. Preparations for defence commenced everywhere;
+Greifswald and Stralsund strengthened and increased their
+fortifications. Finally, the dukes obtained their pardon, in
+consideration of humiliating excuses, the acceptance of the Interim,
+and the payment of a large contribution, towards which Stralsund
+contributed 10,000 florins.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 47: The Duke Frederick III von Liegnitz in Silesia, born in
+1520, had become reigning duke in 1547. His ill-regulated conduct
+caused him to be called "the Extravagant." Finally, the Emperor ordered
+him to be deposed. Frederick III, who died in 1570, spent the last six
+years of his life dependent upon private charity at the castle of
+Liegnitz. Heindrich XI, his son and successor, followed his example in
+every respect.
+
+Far distant from Silesia, in a mountainous region of Switzerland, there
+lived at that period another offshoot of an illustrious princely house,
+namely, Count Michael de Gruyère, who, the last of his race, was soon
+compelled to abandon to his creditors even the manor of his ancestors
+By a curious coincidence the two incorrigible spendthrifts met at the
+French court and became, it appears intimately acquainted, for the
+noble Silesian paid a visit to the French noble in 1551 at his seat at
+Devonne, near Geneva. It would be impossible to conceive a better
+matched couple. Michael, finding his guest to be suffering from fever
+caused by a fall from his horse at Lyons, took him to the Castle of
+Gruyère. True to his custom, Frederick soon asked for a loan, and
+obtained a big sum which the count himself had borrowed.
+
+When it came to repayment they fell out; there was a lawsuit at
+Friburg, and the Duke, ordered to refund, gave some jewels as security,
+which, after all, were not redeemed. A letter from the Countess de
+Gruyère says, in fact, that Count Michael, holding several precious
+stones of great beauty, having belonged to the Duke von Liegnitz, has
+pledged part of them with the lords of Lucerne and another part with
+various people of Friburg. An innkeeper of that town with whom
+the prince had lodged put a distraint on certain jewels and other
+objects. Frederick succeeded in leaving the country, as usual, without
+paying.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 48: Those who refused to Charles V the title of Emperor
+Called him Charles of Ghent.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 49: Lazarus von Schwendi was born in 1525. After a brilliant
+university career at Basle and Strasburg, he entered the service of
+Charles V, who employed him both in warfare and in diplomatic
+negotiations. It was he who was ordered to arrest, at Wissemburg,
+Sebastian Vogelsberg, who, in spite of the Emperor's prohibition,
+had taken service with France, and was relentlessly executed as an
+example to Schaerlin and other Protestant captains who had taken refuge
+at the court of the king. Schwendi became a member of the Imperial
+Council for German Affairs. He went through all the campaigns in
+Germany, the Low Countries and Hungary. In 1564 he was appointed
+general-in-chief against the Turks. He retired to Alsace, and died
+there in May, 1583, bequeathing to Strasburg ten thousand florins for
+poor students.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 50: Nicholas Perrenot de Granvelle, born at Ornans (Doubs) in
+1486, died at Augsburg in 1550. He was the most influential minister of
+Charles V. His son, Anthony, who was born at Besançon in 1517,
+inherited the paternal omnipotence. Appointed Bishop of Arras
+at twenty-three years of age, he died a cardinal at Madrid in
+1586.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 51: These "Portuguese" golden coins were pieces of mark and
+often served as presents.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 52: Margrave Albrecht of Brandenburg-Culmbach, nicknamed
+Alcibiades, was born in 1522 and died in 1555. These two princes were
+fated to oppose each other in 1553 at Sievershausen, where Maurice,
+though victorious, perished. He had been ordered to reduce Albrecht
+to order, as the latter continued to trouble the peace of the
+Empire.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 53: "Truc" was a kind of game of skill, not unlike billiards,
+but more like bagatelle. There is a reproduction from an ancient
+picture of a "truc" board in Richter's _Bilder aus der Deutschen
+Kulturgeschichte_, vol. ii. p. 385.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 54: At a grand ball at the court of Philip V of Spain,
+the Duke de Saint Simon saw nearly two centuries later the ladies
+seated on the carpet covering the floor of one of the reception
+rooms.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 55: Jacob Sturm, of Sturmeck, the great magistrate and
+reformer of Strasburg, "the ornament of the German nobility," and who
+undertook not less than ninety-one missions between 1525 and 1552. He
+was born at Strasburg in 1489, and died therein 1553.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 56: Of all the towns of Upper Germany Constance was the last
+to submit to the emperor. On August 6, 1548, it was suddenly placed
+without the ban of the Empire, and on the same day a contingent of
+Spaniards endeavoured to take it by force. Though surprised, the
+inhabitants took up arms. The enemy, already master of the advanced
+part of the town, made for the bridge over the Rhine, and it was feared
+that they would enter pell-mell with the retreating defenders. At that
+critical moment, a burgher who was hard pressed by two Spaniards,
+performed an act of heroism; he took hold of his adversaries, and
+recommending his soul to God, dragged them into the stream with him,
+giving his townsmen time to close the gates. Constance escaped for the
+nonce, but, after having vainly waited for help, it had to capitulate
+on the following October 14.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 57: Sastrow's portrait is wanting in the collection of
+portraits of the burgomasters of Stralsund. The passage above suggests
+Sastrow's likeness to Jacob Sturm.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 58: The "Interim" was the document drawn up by Charles V in
+1548, which, until the decision of a general Church Convocation, was to
+guide both Catholics and Protestants, which document was disliked by
+both.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 59: Johannes Walther von Hirnheim belonged to an old knightly
+family and had no children by his wife Margaret Goeslin.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 60: In 1548, after the promulgation of the "Interim,"
+Melanchthon and some other theologians proposed a _modus vivendi_ which
+was called the "Leipzig Interim." They accepted the jurisdiction of
+bishops, confirmation and last unction, fasts and feasts, even those of
+the _Corpus Domini_, and nearly the whole of the ancient Canon of the
+Mass. All this, according to them, was so much _adiophora_, in other
+words, things of no importance, to submit to which was perfectly
+permissible for the sake of the unity and peace of the Church. This
+concession, which was considered as a sign of weakness by many, caused
+an animated polemical strife.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 61: The Lloytz were the richest merchants of Stettin. They
+went bankrupt in 1572 for twenty "tuns" of gold, i.e. for 280,000
+pounds sterling. Half a century later the council of Stettin still
+attributed the bad state of business to that failure.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 62: The letter of the celebrated geographer is in Latin and
+reads as follows: "I received thy letter dated from Spires January 22,
+together with a large bundle of manuscripts and maps coming from
+Pomerania. The ducal chancellor Citzewitz when I saw him promised me
+those documents before Christmas without fail. We even waited for
+another month, and nothing having come, we proceeded with our work. The
+same thing happened with the Duchy of Cleves. In the one case as in the
+other, I decline all responsibility, for in both I gave the rulers of
+those countries ample notice. Herr Petrus Artopaeus asks me to send
+thee the map of Pomerania, which he dispatched to me from Augsburg two
+years ago. I comply with his wish; thou no doubt knowest what to do
+with it. At the Frankfurt fair I shall write to the Chancellor of
+Pomerania; I am too busy to do so at present: We are printing the last
+sheets of the _Cosmographiae_; the printer must be ready to offer this
+costly work for sale at the next fair, and it must be illustrated with
+a number of figures. Among the things sent from Pomerania, I have found
+the drawing of a big black fish with an explanation which I detach from
+it in order for thee to copy it clearly, for I have my doubts about the
+word '_Braunfisch_' (if I have read aright), and even stronger doubts
+with regard to the English and Spanish. I shall feel obliged by thy
+writing me those names more distinctly and to send them to me at the
+Easter vacation by one of the many merchants from Basle who pass
+through Spires on their return from the fair. Meanwhile, I wish thee
+good health! Basle, Wednesday after _Riminiscere_ (the second Sunday in
+Lent)." The printer of the _Cosmographie_ was H. Petri. Artopaeus
+points out the theologian Peter Becker as the author of the description
+of Pomerania largely consulted by Münster.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 63: A very ancient custom obliged the Ammeister, or first
+magistrate of Strasburg, regularly to take his two meals per day during
+his year of office at the expense of the city, at "The Lantern," unless
+he preferred the stewpans patronized by his own tribe. The table was
+open to every one willing to pay the fixed price. "_Ad istum prandium
+omnibus et incolis et peregrinis pro certo pretio accedere licet_,"
+says the _Itinerarium Germaniae_ of Hentzer, who visited Strasburg in
+1599. Seven years later a gentleman from the March mentions also in his
+journal the _Ammeisterstube_ (the _Ammeister's_ room), where the
+_Ammeister_ and two _Stadmeister_ take their daily meals. Everybody is
+free to go in and to be served by paying. Each tribe (set) has its
+particular stewpan. What becomes of the _Ammeister's_ usual haunt when
+the _Ammeister_ is a member of that particular tribe? Nevertheless, the
+establishment mostly patronized is that of the Grain Market, which is
+conveniently situated. Among other strictly observed formalities are
+the blessing and the grace, announced by the rapping with a wand, and
+the proceedings are always opened by a reminder of the submission due
+to the authorities. The custom no doubt had its origin in the
+provisions for public order which induced the magistrates of Geneva to
+close all the taverns in 1546. They were replaced by five so-called
+abbeys, each having at its head one of the four syndics or their
+lieutenant; but after a few weeks, this reform, the idea of which had
+been brought, perhaps, from Strasburg by Calvin had to be abandoned.
+The _Ammeister_ for 1570 being too feeble to eat twice a day at the
+expense of the city, the supper was suppressed. It would appear,
+however, that the magistrates "forgot themselves" at table, for the
+Council of Fifteen made an order in 1585 obliging the _Ammeister_ to be
+at the Town Hall at one o'clock. "The magistrates too often only
+appeared at the Senate and at the chancellerie between three and four
+o'clock," says a chronicler. Apparently the order did not remedy the
+evil, as in 1627 it was decided to do away with the ancient
+institution.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 64: An allusion to the thief whose execution Sastrow saw in
+Rome.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 65: The bishopric of Cammin had been secularized; the
+importance of the debate bore wholly upon the revenues.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 66: This son, who became a doctor of law and who died in 1593
+without issue, had a very hasty temper. On one occasion he drew his
+sword at a sitting of the Council whither his father had sent him to
+present a document. On another occasion he shook the hall by violently
+striking the magisterial bench with his fist, while his father kept
+saying: "Gently, Johannes, gently."--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 67: It is to his two daughters Catherine and Amnistia, and to
+his two sons-in-law Heinrich Gottschalk and Jacob Clerike, and to their
+children, that Sastrow has dedicated his _Memoirs_, his son being
+already dead.--Translator.]
+
+
+
+                               *   *   *
+
+    Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bartholomew Sastrow, by 
+Bartholomew Sastrow and Albert D. Vandam
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+<title>Bartholomew Sastrow Being the Memoirs of a German Burgomaster.</title>
+<meta name="Author" content="Bartholomew Sastrow">
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+<meta name="Date" content="1905">
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bartholomew Sastrow, by 
+Bartholomew Sastrow and Albert D. Vandam
+
+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: Bartholomew Sastrow
+       Being the Memoirs of a German Burgomaster
+
+Author: Bartholomew Sastrow
+        Albert D. Vandam
+
+Release Date: October 29, 2010 [EBook #33891]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BARTHOLOMEW SASTROW ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the Web Archive
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<p class="hang1">Transcriber's Note:<br>
+1. Page scan source:
+http://www.archive.org/details/bartholomewsastr00sastiala</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<p class="center"><a name="div3_charles">
+<img border="0" src="images/charles5.png" alt="Charles the Fifth."></a></p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h1>BARTHOLOMEW</h1>
+<h1>SASTROW</h1>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>BEING THE MEMOIRS OF<br>
+A GERMAN BURGOMASTER</h2>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h3>Translated by Albert D. Vandam. Introduction by<br>
+Herbert A. L. Fisher, M.A.</h3>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><i>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS</i>.</h2>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>LONDON<br>
+ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE &amp; CO LTD</h2>
+<h3>1905</h3>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>Contents</h2>
+<br>
+
+<h2><a name="div1_pt01" href="#div1Ref_pt01">PART I</a></h2>
+<br>
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div1_intro" href="#div1Ref_intro"><span class="sc">Introduction</span></a></p>
+
+<br>
+
+<h3><a name="div1_1.01" href="#div1Ref_1.01">CHAPTER I</a></h3>
+
+<p class="hang1">Abominable Murder of My Grandfather--My Parents and their Family--Fatal
+Misadventure of my Father--Troubles at Stralsund--Appeal of the
+Evangelical Preachers</p>
+<br>
+
+<h3><a name="div1_1.02" href="#div1Ref_1.02">CHAPTER II</a></h3>
+
+<p class="hang1">My Student's Days at Greifswald--Victor Bole and his tragical End--A
+Servant possessed by the Devil--My Brother Johannes' Preceptors and
+Mine--My Father's never-ending Law Suits</p>
+<br>
+
+<h3><a name="div1_1.03" href="#div1Ref_1.03">CHAPTER III</a></h3>
+
+<p class="hang1">Showing the Ingratitude, Foolishness and Wickedness of the People, and
+how, when once infected with a bad Spirit, it returns with Difficulty
+to Common-Sense--Smiterlow, Lorbeer, and the Duke of Mecklenberg--Fall
+of the Seditious Regime of the Forty-eight</p>
+<br>
+
+<h3><a name="div1_1.04" href="#div1Ref_1.04">CHAPTER IV</a></h3>
+
+<p class="hang1">Dr. Martin Luther writes to my Father--My Studies at Rostock and at
+Greifswald--Something about my hard Life at Spires--I am admitted as a
+Public Notary--Dr. Hose</p>
+<br>
+
+<h3><a name="div1_1.05" href="#div1Ref_1.05">CHAPTER V</a></h3>
+
+<p class="hang1">Stay at Pforzheim--Margrave Ernest--My extreme Penury at Worms,
+followed by Great Plenty at a Receiver's of the Order of St. John's--I
+do not lengthen this Summary, seeing that but for my Respect for the
+Truth, I would willingly pass over many Episodes in Silence</p>
+<br>
+
+<h3><a name="div1_1.06" href="#div1Ref_1.06">CHAPTER VI</a></h3>
+
+<p class="hang1">Travels in Italy--What happened to me in Rome--I take Steps to recover
+my Brother's Property--I become aware of some strange Particulars--I
+suddenly leave Rome</p>
+<br>
+
+<h3><a name="div1_1.07" href="#div1Ref_1.07">CHAPTER VII</a></h3>
+
+<p class="hang1">From Rome to Stralsund, by Viterbo, Florence, Mantua, Trent, Innspruck,
+Ratisbon and Nuremberg--Various Adventures</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+
+<h2><a name="div1_pt02" href="#div1Ref_pt02">PART II</a></h2>
+<br>
+
+<h3><a name="div1_2.01" href="#div1Ref_2.01">CHAPTER I</a></h3>
+
+<p class="hang1">I am appointed Pomeranian Secretary--Something about my diurnal and
+nocturnal Journeys with the Chancellor--Missions in the Camps--Dangers
+in the Wake of the Army</p>
+<br>
+
+<h3><a name="div1_2.02" href="#div1Ref_2.02">CHAPTER II</a></h3>
+
+<p class="hang1">A Twelve Months' Stay at Augsburg during the Diet--Something about the
+Emperor and Princes--Sebastian Vogelsberg--Concerning the Interim
+Journey to Cologne</p>
+<br>
+
+<h3><a name="div1_2.03" href="#div1Ref_2.03">CHAPTER III</a></h3>
+
+<p class="hang1">How I held for two Years the Office of <i>Solicitator</i> at the Imperial
+Chamber at Spires--Visit to Herr Sebastian Münster--Journey to
+Flanders--Character of King Philip--I leave the Prince's Service</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+
+<h2><a name="div1_pt03" href="#div1Ref_pt03">PART III</a></h2>
+<br>
+
+<h3><a name="div1_3.01" href="#div1Ref_3.01">CHAPTER I</a></h3>
+
+<p class="hang1">Arrival at Greifswald--Betrothal and Marriage--An Old Custom--I am in
+Peril--Martin Weyer, Bishop</p>
+<br>
+
+<h3><a name="div1_3.02" href="#div1Ref_3.02">CHAPTER II</a></h3>
+
+<p class="hang1">Severe Difficulties after my Marriage--My Labours and Success as a
+Law-writer and Notary, and subsequently as a Procurator--An Account of
+some of the Cases in which I was engaged</p>
+<br>
+
+<h3><a name="div1_3.03" href="#div1Ref_3.03">CHAPTER III</a></h3>
+
+<p class="hang1">The Greifswald Council appoints me the City's Secretary--Delicate
+Mission to Stralsund--Burgomaster Christopher Lorbeer and his
+Sons--Journey to Bergen--I settle at Stralsund</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>Illustrations</h2>
+<br>
+<p class="continue"><a href="#div3_charles"><span class="sc">Charles the Fifth </span></a><i>frontispiece</i></p>
+
+<p class="continue"><a href="#div3_luther"><span class="sc">Martin Luther</span></a></p>
+
+<p class="continue"><a href="#div3_stettin"><span class="sc">Stettin, Wittenberg, Spires</span></a></p>
+
+<p class="continue"><a href="#div3_diet"><span class="sc">The Diet of Augsburg</span></a></p>
+
+<p class="continue"><a href="#div3_execution"><span class="sc">An Execution at the time of the Reformation</span></a></p>
+
+<p class="continue"><a href="#div3_ferdinand"><span class="sc">Ferdinand the First</span></a></p>
+
+<p class="continue"><a href="#div3_melanchthon"><span class="sc">Melanchthon</span></a></p>
+
+<p class="continue"><a href="#div3_stralsund"><span class="sc">View of Stralsund</span></a></p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_intro" href="#div1_intro">INTRODUCTION</a></h2>
+<br>
+
+<p class="continue">If we wish to understand the pedestrian side of German life in the
+sixteenth century, I know of no better document than the autobiography
+of Bartholomew Sastrow. This hard-headed, plain-spoken Pomeranian
+notary cannot indeed be classed among the great and companionable
+writers of memoirs. Here are no genial portraits, no sweet-tempered and
+mellow confidings of the heart such as comfortable men and women are
+wont to distil in a comfortable age. The times were fierce, and passion
+ran high and deep. One might as well expect to extract amiability from
+the rough granite of an Icelandic saga. There is no delicacy, no charm,
+no elevation of tone in these memoirs. Everything is seen through plain
+glass, but seen distinctly in hard and fine outlines, and reported with
+an objectivity which would be consistently scientific, were it not for
+some quick touches of caustic humour, and the stored hatreds of an
+active, unpopular and struggling life. Nobody very readily sympathizes
+with bitter or with prosperous men, and when this old gentleman took up
+his pen to write, he had become both prosperous and bitter. He had
+always been a hard hitter, and at the age of seventy-five set himself
+down to compose a fighting apologia. If the ethics are those of Mr.
+Tulliver, senior, we must not be surprised. Is not the blood-feud one
+of the oldest of Teutonic institutions?</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I frankly confess that I do not find Mr. Bartholomew Sastrow very
+congenial company, though I am ready to acknowledge that he had some
+conspicuous merits. Many good men have been naughty boys at school, and
+it is possible that even distinguished philanthropists have tippled
+brandy while Orbilius was nodding. If so, an episode detailed in these
+memoirs may be passed over by the lenient reader, all the more readily
+since the Sastrovian oats do not appear to have been very wildly or
+copiously sown. It is clear that the young man fought poverty with
+pluck and tenacity. He certainly had a full measure of Teutonic
+industry, and it argues no little character in a man past thirty years
+of age to attend the lectures of university professors in order to
+repair the defects of an early education. I also suspect that any
+litigant who retained Sastrow's services would have been more than
+satisfied with this swift and able transactor of business, who appears
+to have had all the combativeness of Bishop Burnet, with none of his
+indiscretion. He was just the kind of man who always rows his full
+weight and more than his weight in a boat. But, save for his vigorous
+hates, he was a prosaic fellow, given to self-gratulation, who never
+knew romance, and married his housemaid at the age of seventy-eight.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">A modern German writer is much melted by Sastrow's Protestantism, and
+apparently finds it quite a touching spectacle. Sastrow was of course a
+Lutheran, and believed in devils as fervently as his great master. He
+also conceived it to be part of the general scheme of things that the
+Sastrows and their kinsmen, the Smiterlows, should wax fat and prosper,
+while all the plagues of Egypt and all the afflictions of Job should
+visit those fiends incarnate, the Horns, the Brusers and the Lorbeers.
+For some reason, which to me is inscrutable, but which was as plain as
+sunlight to Sastrow, a superhuman apparition goes out of its way to
+help a young Pomeranian scribe, who upon his own showing is anything
+but a saint, while the innocent maidservant of a miser is blown up with
+six other persons no less blameless than herself, to enforce the
+desirability of being free with one's money. This, however, is the
+usual way in which an egoist digests the popular religion.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Bartholomew Sastrow was born at Greifswald, a prosperous Hanseatic
+town, in 1520. The year of his birth is famous in the history of German
+Protestantism, for it witnessed the publication of Luther's three great
+Reformation tracts--the <i>Appeal to the Christian Nobility of the German
+Nation</i>, the <i>Babylonish Captivity</i>, and the <i>Freedom of a Christian
+Man</i>. It seemed in that year as if the whole of Germany might be
+brought to make common cause against the Pope. The clergy, the
+nobility, the towns, the peasants all had their separate cause of
+quarrel with the old régime, and to each of these classes in turn
+Luther addressed his powerful appeal. For a moment puritan and humanist
+were at one, and the printing presses of Germany turned out a stream of
+literature against the abuses of the papal system. The movement spread
+so swiftly, especially in the north, that it seemed a single
+spontaneous popular outburst. But the harmony was soon broken. The
+rifts in the political and social organization of Germany were too deep
+to be spanned by any appeal to merely moral considerations. The Emperor
+Charles V, himself half-Spanish, set his face against a movement which
+was directly antagonistic to the Imperial tradition. The peasants
+revolted, committed excesses, and were ruthlessly crushed, and the
+violence of anabaptists and ignorant men threw discredit on the
+Lutheran cause. Then, too, dogmatic differences began to reveal
+themselves within the circle of the reformers themselves. There were
+disputes as to the exact significance and philosophic explanation of
+the Lord's Supper. A conference was held at Marburg, in 1529, under the
+auspices of Philip of Hesse, with a view to adjusting the differences
+between the divines of Saxony and Switzerland, but Luther and Zwingli
+failed to arrive at a compromise. The Lutheran and the Reformed
+Churches now definitely separated, and the divisions of the Protestants
+were the opportunity of the Catholic Church. The emperor tried in vain
+to reconcile Germany to the old faith. Rival theologians met, disputed,
+formulated creeds in the presence of temporal princes and their armed
+retainers. In 1530 the Diet of Augsburg forbade Protestant teaching and
+ordered the restoration of church property. Then a Protestant league
+was signed at Smalkald by John of Saxony, by Hesse, Brunswick-Luneberg,
+Anhalt, and several towns, and the emperor was defied. This was in
+1531. It was the beginning of the religious wars of Germany, the
+beginning of that tremendous duel which lasted till the peace of
+Westphalia in 1648, the duel between the League of Smalkald and Charles
+V, between Gustavus Adolphus and Wallenstein, between the Protestant
+North and the Catholic South.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In the initial stage of this combat the great military event was
+the rout of the Smalkaldic allies at Muhlberg, in April, 1547,
+where Charles captured John Frederic of Saxony, transferred his
+dominions--save only a few scattered territories in Thuringia--to his
+ally, Maurice, and reduced all north Germany save the city of
+Magdeburg. It seemed for a moment as if this battle might decide the
+contest. Charles summoned a Diet at Augsburg in 1548, and carried all
+his proposals without opposition. He strengthened his political
+position by the reconstitution of the Imperial Chamber, by the
+organization of the Netherlands into a circle of the empire, and by the
+formation of a new military treasury. He obtained the consent of the
+Diet to a religious compromise called the Interim which, while
+insisting on the seven sacraments in the Catholic sense, vaguely agreed
+to the Lutheran doctrine of justification by faith, and declared that
+the two questions of the Communion in both kinds and the celibacy of
+clergy were to be left till the summoning of a free Christian council.
+The strict Lutheran party--and Pomerania was a stronghold of strict
+Lutheranism--regarded the Interim as a base betrayal of Protestant
+interests. Their pamphleteers called it the <i>Interitum</i>, or the
+death-blow, and the conversion of a prince like Joachim of Brandenburg
+to such a scheme was regarded as an ominous sign for the future.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In reality, however, the success of the emperor rested upon the most
+brittle foundations. That he was chilly, reserved, un-German, and
+therefore unpopular was something, but not nearly all. The princes of
+Germany had conquered practical independence in the thirteenth century,
+and were jealous of their prerogatives. The Hanseatic towns formed a
+republican confederacy in the north, corresponding to the Swiss
+confederacy in the south. There was no adequate central machinery, and
+the Jesuit order was only just preparing to enter upon its career of
+German victories. The Spanish troops made themselves detestable,
+outraging women--a dire offence in a nation so domestic as Germany--and
+there was standing feud between the famous Castilian infantry and the
+German lansquenets. The popes did not like the emperor's favourite
+remedy of a council, and busily thwarted his ecclesiastical schemes.
+Henry II of France was on the watch for German allies against a
+powerful rival. The allies were ready. A great spiritual movement can
+never be stifled by the issue of one battle. For good or evil, men had
+taken sides; interests intellectual, moral, and material had already
+been invested either in the one cause or the other; there had been
+brutal iconoclasm; there had been ardent preaching, so simple and
+moving that ignorant women understood and wept; there had been close
+and stubborn dogmatic controversy; there had been the shedding of
+blood, and the upheavals in towns, and the building of a new church
+system, and the growth of a new religious literature. Almost a whole
+generation had now been consumed in this controversy, a controversy
+which touched all lives, and cemented or divided families. The children
+were reading Luther's Bible, and singing Luther's hymns, and learning
+Luther's short catechism. Could it be expected that such a river should
+suddenly lose itself in the sand? Nevertheless there is something
+surprising in the quick revolution of the story. In 1550 Maurice of
+Saxony intrigues with the Protestants, and in the following year
+definitely goes over to their side. In 1552 the emperor has to flee for
+his life, and the Peace of Passau seals the victory of the Protestant
+cause.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">One of the first provinces to be conquered for Lutheranism was the
+duchy of Pomerania. John Bugenhagen, himself a Pomeranian and the
+historian of Pomerania, was the chief apostle of this northern region,
+and those who visit the Baltic churches will often see his sable
+portrait hanging side by side with Huss and Luther on the whitewashed
+walls. Sastrow gives us an excellent picture of the various forces
+which co-operated with the teaching of Bugenhagen to effect the change.
+In Eastern Pomerania there was the violent propaganda of Dr. Amandus,
+who wanted a clean sweep of images, princes, and established powers.
+There was the democratic movement in Stralsund, led by the turbulent
+Rolof Moller, who, accusing the council of malversation, revolutionized
+the constitution of his city. There was the mob of workmen who were
+only too glad of an excuse to plunder the priests and break the altars.
+But side by side with greed and violence there was the moral revolt
+against &quot;the fables, the absurdities, and the impious lies&quot; of the
+pulpit, and against the vices of priest and monk. The recollection of
+the early days of Puritan enthusiasm, when the fathers of the
+Protestant movement preached the gospel to large crowds in the open
+air, as, for instance, under &quot;St. George's churchyard elm&quot; at
+Stralsund, remained graven on many a lowly calendar. Even the texts of
+these sermons were remembered as epochs in spiritual life. Sastrow
+records how, ceding to the request of a great number of burgesses, Mr.
+Ketelhot (being detained in the port of Stralsund by contrary winds),
+preached upon Matthew xi. 28: &quot;Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are
+heavy laden, and I will give you rest&quot;; and then upon John xvi. 23:
+&quot;Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in
+My name, He will give it you&quot;; and, finally: &quot;Go ye therefore and teach
+all nations.&quot; The general pride in civic monuments proved to be
+stronger than the iconoclastic mood. Certainly the high altar
+in the Nicolai Kirche at Stralsund--probably the most elaborate
+specimen of late fifteenth-century wood carving which still survives in
+Germany--would have received a short shrift from Cromwell's Ironsides.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It was Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow, of Stralsund, who brought
+Protestantism into the Sastrow family. He had seen Luther in 1523, had
+heard him preach at Wittenberg, and became a convert to the &quot;true
+gospel.&quot; Smiterlow's daughter Anna married Nicholas Sastrow, a
+prosperous brewer and cornfactor of Greifswald, and Nicholas deserted
+the mass for the sermon. Their eldest son, John, was sent to study at
+Wittenberg, where he made the acquaintance of Luther and Melanchthon.
+He became something, of a scholar, wrote in praise of the English
+divine, Robert Barns, and was crowned poet laureate by Charles V in
+1544. The second son was Bartholomew, author of these memoirs. Three
+years after his arrival the family life at Greifswald was rudely
+disturbed. Bartholomew's father had the misfortune to commit
+manslaughter (uncharitable people called it murder), and Greifswald was
+made too hot to hold the peccant cornfactor. The father of our
+chronicler lived in banishment for several years, while his wife
+brought up the children at Greifswald, and carried on the family
+business. It happened that Bartholomew's great-uncle, Burgomaster
+Nicholas Smiterlow the second, of Stralsund, was at that time residing
+at Greifswald. He possessed the avuncular virtues, had his great-nephew
+taught Latin, and earned his eternal gratitude. In time the heirs of
+the slain man were appeased and 1,000 marks of blood-money enabled the
+elder Sastrow to return to his native city. He did not, however, remain
+long in Greifswald, but sold his house and settled in the neighbouring
+city of Stralsund, the home of his wife's relations. Bartholomew
+received his early education at Greifswald and Stralsund, but in 1538
+was sent to Rostock (a university had been founded in this town in
+1415), where he studied under two well-known pupils of Luther and
+Melanchthon, Burenius and Heinrich Welfius (Wulf). The teaching
+combined the chief elements of Humanism and of Protestant theology, the
+works of Cicero and Terence on the one hand, and the <i>De Anima</i> of
+Melanchthon on the other.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Meanwhile (1534-37) there were great disturbances in Stralsund. An
+ambitious demagogue of Lubeck, George Wullenweber, had involved the
+Hanseatic League in a Danish war. Smiterlow and Nicolas Sastrow thought
+that the war was wrong and foolish, and that it would endanger the
+interests of Stralsund. But a democracy, when once bitten by the war
+frenzy, is hard to curb, and regards moderation in the light of
+treason. Stralsund rose against its conservative council, forced
+Smiterlow to resign and compelled the elder Sastrow to remain a
+prisoner in his house for the period of a year. Father and son never
+forgot or forgave these years of plebeian uproar. For them the art of
+statesmanship was to avoid revolution and to keep the people under. &quot;I
+recommend to my children submission to authority, no matter whether
+Pilate or Caiaphas governs.&quot; This was the last word of Bartholomew's
+political philosophy.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In 1535-6 the forces of the Hanse were defeated both by land and sea,
+and the war party saw the error of its ways. Sastrow was released, and
+his uncle-in-law was restored to office to die two years later, in
+1539. But meanwhile things had gone ill with the Sastrow finances. Some
+skilful but dishonest ladies had purchased large consignments of cloth,
+not to speak of borrowing considerable sums of money from Nicholas
+Sastrow, and declined to pay their bill. During his imprisonment
+Nicholas had been unable to sell the stock of salt which he had laid in
+with a view to the Schonen herring season. A certain Mrs. Bruser, wife
+of a big draper, with a hardy conscience, had bought 1,725 florins'
+worth of the Sastrow cloth of the dishonest ladies. The Sastrows
+determined to get the money out of the Brusers. Bruser first avowed the
+debt, and then repudiated it, taking a mean advantage of the civic
+troubles of Stralsund and the decline of the Smiterlow-Sastrow
+interest. Thereupon began litigation which was not to cease for
+thirty-four years. The case was heard before the town court of
+Stralsund, then before the council of Stralsund, then before the
+<i>oberhof</i> or appellate court of Lubeck, and finally before the Imperial
+court of Spires. Bartholomew accompanied his father on the Lubeck
+journey, obtained his first insight into legal chicanery, and was, no
+doubt, effectually inoculated with the anti-Bruser virus. In 1541 the
+elder Sastrow obtained permission to return to Greifswald, and
+Bartholomew attended for a year the lectures of the Greifswald
+professors. The family circumstances, however (there were by this time
+five daughters and three sons), were too straitened to support the
+youth in idleness. Accordingly, in June, 1542, the two eldest sons left
+their home, partly to seek their fortunes, but more especially to watch
+the great Bruser case, which was winding its slow and slippery course
+through the reticulations of the Imperial Court at Spires.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">There is no need to anticipate the lively narrative of Bartholomew's
+experiences in this home of litigation long-drawn-out. The reader will,
+however, note that he was lucky enough to come in for a Diet, and has
+an excellent story to tell of how the emperor was inadvertently
+horsewhipped by a Swabian carter. On May 19, 1544, Sastrow received the
+diploma of Imperial notary, and a month later he left Spires and
+entered the chancellerie of Margrave Ernest of Baden, at Pforzheim.
+This, however, was destined to prove but a brief interlude. In the
+summer of 1545 Sastrow is in the service of a receiver of the Order of
+St. John, Christopher von Löwenstein, who, after his Turkish wars, was
+living a frolicsome old age among his Frisian stallions, his huntsmen
+and his hounds. The picture of this frivolous old person, with his
+dwarf, his mistress, and his chaplain, is drawn with some spirit.
+Sastrow, who had so long felt the pinch of poverty, was now luxuriating
+in good fare and fine raiment. He has little to do, plenty to eat and
+drink, and his festivity was untempered by moral considerations. &quot;Do
+not think to become a doctor in my house,&quot; said the genial host, and it
+must be confessed that the surroundings were not propitious to the
+study of the Institutes.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The news of John Sastrow's death put an end to this jollity. The poet
+laureate had been crossed in love, and sought oblivion in Italy. The
+panegyrist of Barns entered the service of a cardinal, and died at
+Acquapendente, without explaining theological inconsistencies,
+pardonable perhaps in lovelorn poets. Bartholomew determined to recover
+the property of his deceased brother, and set out for Italy on April 8,
+1546. He walked to Venice over the Brenner, thence took ship to Ancona,
+and then travelled over the Apennines to Rome, by way of Loretto. The
+council was sitting at Trent, but theological gossip does not interest
+our traveller so much as the alto voices in the church choirs, and &quot;the
+tomb of the infant Simeon, the innocent victim of the Jews.&quot; Nor is he
+qualified to play the rôle of intelligent tourist among the antiquities
+and art treasures of Italy. He was not a Benvenuto Cellini, still less
+a Nathaniel Hawthorne, bent on instructing the Philistine in the art of
+cultured enthusiasm. &quot;A magnificent palace, a church all of marble,
+variously tinted and assorted with perfect art, twelve lions and
+lionesses, two tigers and an eagle that is all I remember of Florence.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Many modern tourists may not remember as much without Sastrow's
+excuses. Italy was by this time by no means a safe place for a German.
+Paul III was recruiting mercenaries to help the emperor to fight the
+League of Smalkald, and the Spanish Inquisition was industriously
+raging in Rome. It was sufficient to be a German to be suspected of
+heresy, and for the heretic, the pyre and the gibbet were ready
+prepared. It would be difficult to conceive a moment less propitious
+for aesthetic enjoyment. &quot;Not a week without a hanging,&quot; says Sastrow,
+who was apparently careful to attend these lugubrious ceremonies. The
+excellence of the Roman wine increased the risk of an indiscretion, and
+by July Sastrow had determined that it would be well to extricate
+himself from the perils of Rome.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">His reminiscences of the papal capital are vivid and curious. We seem
+to see the cardinal sweating in his shirt sleeves under the hot Italian
+sun, while his floor is being watered. Heavy-eyed oxen of the Campagna
+are dragging stone and marble through the streets to build the Farnese
+palace and splendid houses for the cardinals; the whole town is a
+tumult of building and unbuilding. Streets are destroyed to improve a
+view. If one of the effects of a celibate clergy is to promote
+immorality, another is to improve the cuisine of the taverns. Upon both
+topics Sastrow is eloquent, and there are too many confirmations from
+other quarters to permit us to doubt the substantial accuracy of his
+indictment.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">By August 29, 1546, Sastrow was back at Stralsund. Through the good
+offices of Dr. Knipstrow, the general superintendent, he secured a post
+in the ducal chancellerie at Wolgast. His acuteness and industry
+obtained the respect of the Pomeranian chancellor, James Citzewitz, and
+he was given the most important business to transact. On March 10,
+1547, he accompanied the ducal chancellors in the character of notary
+on a mission to the emperor. Ten years before the Dukes of Pomerania
+had joined the League of Smalkald, and they were now thoroughly alarmed
+at the Imperial victory at Muhlberg, and anxious to make their peace
+with Charles. The journey of the envoys is full of historical interest.
+Sastrow had to cross the field of Muhlberg and received ocular
+assurance of the horrors of the war and of the barbarities practised by
+the Spanish troops. He was a spectator of the humiliation of the
+Landgrave Philip of Hesse, at Halle, and to his narrative alone we owe
+the knowledge of the ironical laugh of the prince, and the angry threat
+of the emperor. From Halle the Pomeranian envoys followed Charles to
+Augsburg, having the good fortune to fall in with the drunken but
+scriptural Duke Frederick III of Liegnitz, of whose wild doings Sastrow
+can tell some surprising tales.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It must have been an astonishing experience, this life at Augsburg,
+while the Diet was sitting. The gravest theological and political
+problems, problems affecting the destiny of the Empire, were being
+handled in an atmosphere of unabashed debauchery and barbarism. Every
+one, layman and clerk, let himself go. Joachim of Brandenburg consented
+to the Interim for a bribe, and the Cardinal Granvelle, like Talleyrand
+afterwards, was able to build up an enormous fortune out of &quot;the sins
+of Germany.&quot; In the midst of the coarse revels of the town the horrid
+work of the executioner was everywhere manifest. And, meanwhile, the
+grim emperor dines silently in public, seeming to convey a sullen
+rebuke to the garrulous hospitality of his brother Ferdinand, and to
+the loose morals of the princes.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The cause of the Pomeranian mission did not much prosper at Augsburg,
+and Sastrow and his friends pursued the emperor to Brussels, where they
+were at last able to effect the desired reconciliation. For the
+services rendered on this occasion Sastrow was made the Pomeranian
+solicitor at the court of Spires. The second Spires residence was
+clearly a period of honourable and not ungainful activity. Sastrow is
+busy with ducal cases; he makes another journey to the Netherlands in
+order to present Cardinal Granvelle with some golden flagons, and has
+occasion to admire the treasures of the great Flemish cities. The
+seagirt Stralsund, with its thin gusty streets, high gables, red Gothic
+gateways and tall austere whitewashed churches could not, of course,
+show the ample splendours of Brussels or Antwerp. Then, too, upon this
+Flemish voyage he saw King Philip and was impressed by the young man's
+stupid face and stiff Spanish formality. Such a contrast to his father
+Charles! Again he was sent on a mission to Basle, carrying information
+about Pomerania to Sebastian Munster, the &quot;German Strabo,&quot; as he loved
+to hear himself called, that it might be incorporated in that learned
+scholar's universal cosmography. In 1550, however, Sastrow became aware
+that his position was being undermined by the councillors at Stettin.
+He accordingly gave up his ducal appointment, and determined to confine
+himself to private practice. He marries a wife (January 5, 1551),
+settles at Greifswald, and builds up a prosperous business, and from
+this date his memoirs are mostly concerned with the cases in which he
+was engaged.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">There is yet one more change of place and occupation to be noticed in
+this bustling life. In 1555 Sastrow was enticed to Stralsund by the
+offer of the post of secretary, and for the next eight-and-forty years,
+till his death in 1603, he lived in that town, battling in the full
+stream of municipal politics, councillor in 1562, burgomaster in 1578,
+and frequently chosen to represent the city on embassies and other
+ceremonial occasions. A <i>Rubricken Bock</i>, or collection of municipal
+diplomata testifies to another branch of his useful activities. Enemies
+were as plentiful as gooseberries, and he never wanted for litigation.
+His second marriage created a scandal, and furnished an occasion for
+the foeman to scoff. But the choleric old gentleman was fully capable
+of taking care of himself. &quot;At Stralsund,&quot; he says, &quot;I fell full into
+the infernal caldron, and I have roasted there for forty years.&quot; But he
+took good heed that the enemy should roast likewise, and at the age of
+seventy-five began to lay the fire. The first two parts of the memoirs
+were composed in 1595, the third at the end of 1597, doubtless on the
+basis of some previous diary. They were composed for the benefit of his
+children, that they might enjoy the roasting. We too now can look on
+while the flames crackle.</p>
+
+<p class="right">HERBERT A. L. FISHER.</p>
+<div style="margin-right:80%">
+<p class="center"><span class="sc">New College</span>,<br>
+<span class="sc">Oxford</span>.</p>
+</div>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_pt01" href="#div1_pt01">PART I</a></h2>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_1.01" href="#div1_1.01">CHAPTER I</a></h2>
+<br>
+<p class="hang1">Abominable Murder of My Grandfather--My Parents and their Family--Fatal
+Misadventure of My Father--Troubles at Stralsund--Appeal of the
+Evangelical Preachers</p>
+<br>
+<p class="continue">My father was born in 1488, in the village of Rantzin, in the inn close
+to the cemetery, on the road to Anclam. Even before his marriage, my
+grandfather, Johannes Sastrow, exceeded by far in worldly goods,
+reputation, power and understanding, the Horns, a family established at
+Rantzin. Hence, those Horns, frantic with jealousy, constantly attacked
+him, not only with regard to his property, but also in the
+consideration he enjoyed among his fellow-men; they did not scruple to
+attempt his life. Not daring to act openly, they incited one of their
+labourers to go drinking to the inn, to pick a quarrel with its host,
+and to fall upon him. Their inheritance, in fact, was so small that
+they only needed one ploughmaster. What was the upshot? My grandfather,
+who was on his guard, got wind of the affair, and took the offensive.
+The emissary had such a cordial reception as to be compelled to beat a
+retreat &quot;on all fours,&quot; and even this was not accomplished without
+difficulty.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The enmity of the Horns obliged my grandfather to look to his security.
+About the year 1487, in virtue of a friendly agreement with the old
+overlord Johannes Osten von Quilow, he redeemed his vassalage
+(lastage), and acquired the citizenship of Greifswald, where he bought
+a dwelling at the angle of the Butchers' Street. Thither he gradually
+transferred his household goods. Johannes Sastrow, therefore, left the
+Ostens and became a citizen before my father's birth.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The infamous attempt occurred in this way. In 1494, there was a
+christening not far from Rantzin, namely at Gribon, where there lived a
+Horn. In his capacity of a near relative my grandfather received an
+invitation, and as the distance was short, he took my father, who was
+then about seven, with him. The Horns took advantage of the
+opportunity; on the pretext of paying a visit to their cousin, they
+repaired to Gribon. They had come down in the world, and they no longer
+minded either the company or the fare of the peasantry; consequently,
+during the meal that followed they sat down at the same table with my
+grandfather. When they had drunk their fill towards nightfall, they all
+got up together to have a look at the stables. They fancied they were
+among themselves; as it happened one of our relatives was hiding in a
+corner, and heard them discuss matters. They intended to watch
+Sastrow's going, to gallop after him and intercept him on the road, and
+to kill him and his child. My grandfather, having been warned,
+immediately took the advice not to delay his departure for a moment.
+Taking his son by the hand, he started there and then. Alas, the
+atrocious murderers who were lying in wait for him in a clearing,
+trampled him under their horses' hoofs, inflicted ever so many wounds;
+then, their rage not being spent, they dragged him to a large stone on
+the road, and which may be seen unto this day, chopped off his right
+hand at the wrist, and left him for dead on the spot. The child had
+crept into some damp underwood, inaccessible to horses; the fast
+gathering darkness saved him from being pursued. The labourers on the
+Horn farm, driven by curiosity, had mounted their cattle; they picked
+up the victim, and pulled the child from his hiding place. One of them
+galloped to Rantzin, whence he returned with a cart on which they laid
+the wounded man, who scarcely gave a sign of life, and, in fact,
+breathed his last at the entrance to the village.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The nearest relatives realized the inheritance of the orphan, sold the
+house, the proceeds of the whole amounting to 2,000 florins.<a name="div2_01" href="#div2Ref_01"><sup>[1]</sup></a> Lords
+who allow their vassals to amass similar sums are rare nowadays. The
+child was brought up carefully; he was taught to read, to write and to
+cipher, afterwards he was sent to Antwerp and to Amsterdam to get a
+knowledge of business. When he was old enough to manage his own
+affairs, he bought the angle of Long Street and of Huns' Street, on the
+right, towards St. Nicholas' Church, that is, two dwelling houses and
+two shops in Huns' Street.<a name="div2_02" href="#div2Ref_02"><sup>[2]</sup></a> One of these houses he made his
+residence; the other he converted into a brewery, and on the site of
+the shops he built the present front entrance. All this cost a great
+deal of trouble and money. He was an attractive young fellow with an
+assured bit of bread, so he had no difficulty in obtaining the hand of
+the daughter of the late Bartholomäi Smiterlow, and the niece of
+Nicholas Smiterlow, the burgomaster of Stralsund.<a name="div2_03" href="#div2Ref_03"><sup>[3]</sup></a> Young and pretty,
+rather short than tall, but with exquisitely shaped limbs, amiable,
+clever, unpretending, an excellent managers, and exceedingly careful in
+her conduct, my mother unto her last hour was an honest and God-fearing
+woman. My father's register shows that the marriage took place in 1514,
+the Sunday after St. Catherine's Day; the husband, as I often heard him
+say, was still short of five and twenty.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At the fast just before Advent, in 1515, Providence granted the young
+couple a son who was named Johannes, after his paternal grandfather; he
+died in 1545, at Aquapendente, in Italy. In 1517, <i>in vigilia
+nativitatis Mariae</i>, my sister Anna was born; she died on August 16,
+1594, at the age of seventy-seven; she was the widow of Peter Frobose,
+burgomaster of Greifswald. On Tuesday, August 21, 1520, at six in the
+morning, I came into the world and was named Bartholomäi, after my
+maternal grandfather. I leave to my descendants the task of recording
+my demise, to which I am looking forward anxiously in my seventy-fifth
+winter.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The year 1523 witnessed the birth of my sister Catherine, a charming,
+handsome creature, amiable, loyal and pious. When my brother Johannes
+returned from the University of Wittemberg, she asked him what was the
+Latin for &quot;This is certainly a good-looking girl?&quot; &quot;Profecto formosa
+puella,&quot; was the answer. &quot;And how do they say, 'Yes, not bad?'&quot; was the
+next question. &quot;Sic satis,&quot; replied Johannes.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Some time after that, three students from Wittemberg, young fellows of
+good family, stopped for a short while in our town, and Christian
+Smiterlow asked his father, the burgomaster, to let them stay with him.
+The burgomaster, who had three grown-up daughters, invited my sister
+Catherine. Naturally, the young people talked to and chaffed each
+other, and the lads themselves made some remarks in Latin, which would,
+perhaps, have not sounded well in German to female ears. One of them
+happened to exclaim: &quot;Profecto formosa puella!&quot; &quot;Sic satis!&quot; retorted
+Catherine, and thereupon the students became afraid that she had
+understood the whole of their lively comments.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In 1544 Catherine married Christopher Meyer, an only son, but an
+illiterate, dissipated, lazy and drunken oaf, who spent all his
+substance, and ruined a servant girl while my sister was in childbed.
+God punished him for his misdeeds by bringing abject misery and a
+loathsome disease upon him, but Catherine died at twenty-six, weary of
+life.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My sister Magdalen was born in 1527; she died a single woman at
+twenty-two. These five children were born to my parents in Greifswald;
+the last three saw the light at Stralsund; namely, in 1529, Christian,
+who lived till he was sixty; in 1532, Barbara, who only reached
+eighteen; and in 1534, Gertrude.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">From their very earliest age my sisters were taught by my mother the
+household and other work appropriate to their sex. One day while
+Gertrude, who was then about five, was plying her distaff--the spinning
+wheel was not known then--my brother Johannes announced the news that
+the Emperor, the King of the Romans, the electors, the princes and
+counts, in short all the great nobles, were to foregather at a diet.
+&quot;What for?&quot; asked Gertrude. &quot;To look to the proper government of the
+world,&quot; was the answer. &quot;Good Lord,&quot; sighed the child, &quot;why don't they
+forbid little girls to spin.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The pest of 1549 took away my mother, Gertrude, Magdalen and Catherine.
+As her daughters were weeping bitterly my mother said: &quot;Why do you
+weep? rather ask the Lord to shorten my sufferings.&quot; She died on July
+3. On the 16th it was Gertrude's turn. Magdalen was also dying; she
+left her bed to get her own shroud and that of Gertrude out of the
+linen press, and bade me be careful to fling only a little earth on her
+sister's grave, because she herself would soon be put into it; after
+which she returned to her bed and expired on July 18, the morning after
+Gertrude's burial. Magdalen was the tallest and most robust of my
+sisters, an accomplished manageress, hardworking, and her head screwed
+tightly on her shoulders. Catherine sent me all this news on September
+9, two days before her own death of the plague. She did not try to
+disguise her approaching end; on the contrary, she prayed fervently for
+it, and bade me be resigned to it. She had had two children by her
+worthless husband; I undertook the care of the boy, Christopher Meyer,
+and my sister Frobose at Greifswald mothered the girl, who was but
+scantily provided for. Christopher gave me much trouble; neither
+remonstrance nor punishment proved of any avail; when he grew up he
+would not settle down, and practically followed in the footsteps of his
+father, yielding to dissipation, and indulging in all kinds of vice.
+Nevertheless, I made him contract a good marriage which gave him a kind
+of position. He left two sons; the elder was placed by his guardians at
+Dantzig, with most respectable people, who, however, declined to keep
+him. The younger remained with me for two years, going to school
+meanwhile, and causing me greater trouble than was consistent with my
+advanced age. But I had hoped to do some good with him; alas! he was so
+bent upon following his father's example as to make me rejoice getting
+rid of the cub.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My sister Barbara had been sent to Greifswald; when the plague abated,
+my father recalled her, for he was old, wretched and bowed down with
+care. Barbara was only fifteen, very pretty, amiable and hardworking.
+She married Bernard Classen, then a widower for the second time. My
+father did not like this son-in-law, against whom he had acted in the
+law courts for the other side; but Classen was not to be shaken off,
+and finally obtained my father's consent. The wedding took place on St.
+Martin's Day (November 11), 1549. On my return from Spires, I paid a
+visit to the young couple; my brother-in-law showed me the window of
+his study ornamented with my monogram and name, taking care to mention
+that he had paid a Stralsund mark to the glazier; I loosened my
+purse-strings and counted the sum to him, but the proceeding did not
+commend itself to me after the protestations of friendship my father
+had conveyed to me from Classen's part.<a name="div2_04" href="#div2Ref_04"><sup>[4]</sup></a></p>
+
+<p class="normal">In 1521, at the Diet of Worms, where Doctor Martin Luther so
+courageously made his confession of faith, Duke Bagislaw X, the
+grandfather of the two dukes at present reigning, received from His
+Imperial Majesty Charles V the solemn investiture under the open sky
+and with the standards unfurled, to the great displeasure of the
+Elector of Brandenburg. The imperial councillors were instructed to
+bring the two competitors to an agreement at Nuremberg, or to refer the
+matter further to His Majesty in case of the failure of negotiations.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In 1522 occurred the disturbances in connexion with Rolof Moller, a
+young man of about thirty, if that. His grandfather had been
+burgomaster, and in consequence he had detained in his possession a
+register of the revenues and privileges of the city. Having summoned a
+number of citizens to the monastery of St. John, he tried to prove by
+means of said register the enormous revenues of the city, and to accuse
+the council of malversation; after which he invaded the town hall, took
+the councillors to task, and treated them all like so many thieves,
+including one of his own relatives, Herr Schroeder, whom he reproached
+with being small in stature, but big in scoundrelism. Burgomaster Zabel
+Oseborn indignantly denied the accusation, and worked himself into such
+a state of excitement that he had to be conveyed home. In consequence
+of these slanders Moller constituted himself a following among the
+burghers; his numerous adherents chose forty-eight of their own (double
+the number of the members of the council), to exercise the chief power;
+the council saw its influence annulled, an act defining the limits of
+its competence and rules for its conduct was presented for signature to
+the councillors, and they were furthermore required to take the oath.
+Herr Nicholas Smiterlow alone resisted; hence, during the whole period
+of their domination, namely up to 1537, the Forty-Eight made him pay
+for his courage by unheard-of persecutions.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The primary cause of this agitation, so disastrous to the city, was the
+absence of a permanent record-office. The burgomasters, or the
+secretary, took the secret papers home with them<a name="div2_05" href="#div2Ref_05"><sup>[5]</sup></a>; at the
+magistrate's death those documents passed to the children and
+grandchildren, then fell into the hands of strangers; and the natural
+result were indiscreet revelations hurtful to the public weal.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Johannes Bugenhagen, the Pomeranian, and rector of the school of
+Treptow on the Rega, converted several monks of the monastery of
+Belbuck to the pure faith. They left the monastery. Among them should
+be mentioned Herr Christian Ketelhot, Herr Johannes Kurcke, and Herr
+George von Ukermünde, whom the Stralsund people chose as their
+preacher. But when, after three sermons at St. Nicholas', he saw the
+citizens resolved to keep him, in spite of the council who forbade him
+the pulpit, when he saw the papist clergy increase their threats, and
+the dukes expel Ketelhot and Kurcke from Treptow, he was siezed with
+fear and went away in secret.<a name="div2_06" href="#div2Ref_06"><sup>[6]</sup></a></p>
+
+<p class="normal">Johannes Kurcke was about to set sail for Livonia, intending to engage
+in commerce there, when he was detained at Stralsund to preach, in the
+first place in the St. George's cemetery, then at the cloister of St.
+Catherine, and finally at St. Nicholas'. He died in 1527, and was
+buried at St. George's.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Ketelhot had been prior of the monastery of Belbuck during sixteen
+weeks. At the instigation of the Abbot Johannes Boldewan, the same who
+had given him the prior's hood, he left for the living of Stolpe, and
+preached the Gospel there for some time. The slanders of the priests
+induced the prince to prohibit him. In vain did he claim the right to
+justify himself by word of mouth and in writing before the sovereign,
+the prelates, the lords and the cities. He failed to obtain a hearing
+or even a safe-conduct. As a consequence he went to Mecklenburg,
+intending to adopt a trade; but unable to find a suitable master, he
+came to Stralsund determined to take ship for Livonia. Contrary winds
+kept him for several weeks in port; this gave him the opportunity of
+hearing the fables, absurdities and impious lies delivered from the
+pulpit; he beheld the misconduct of the priests, their debauchery,
+drunkenness, gluttony, fornication, adultery and worse. Acceding to the
+wish of a great number of burghers, and the Church of St. George's
+being too small to hold the crowd, he preached on the Sunday before
+Ascension Day under the great lime tree of the cemetery. He first took
+for his text Matthew xi. 28: &quot;Come unto me, all ye that labour and are
+heavy laden, and I will give you rest&quot;; then John xvi. 23: &quot;Verily,
+verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name,
+He will give it you&quot;; and finally: &quot;Go ye therefore and teach all
+nations.&quot; In spite of the opposition of the council, which felt
+inclined to yield to the frantic protestation of the clergy, the
+burghers practically forced Ketelhot to come into the city, and made
+him preach at St. Nicholas'.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In 1523, Duke Bogislaw, accompanied by four hundred horsemen, proceeded
+to Nuremberg to settle his disagreement with the Elector of
+Brandenburg. Among his suite were Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow and
+his son Christian. The lad, lively and strong for his age, made his
+horse curvet and prance, so that it threw him and crushed him with all
+its weight. Young Smiterlow was deformed all his life; but when it
+became evident that there was no remedy, his father sent him to the
+University of Wittemberg; but for the accident he would have placed him
+in business at Lubeck.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On his way home Duke Bogislaw stopped at Wittemberg to see Luther, the
+turbulent monk. Before they had exchanged many words, the prince in a
+jocular tone said: &quot;Master Doctor, you had better let me confess to
+you.&quot; Luther, however, replied very quickly: &quot;No, no, gracious lord!
+Your Highness is too exalted a penitent, and I am too lowly to give him
+absolution.&quot; Luther was thinking of the august birth of his
+interlocutor, who, moreover, was exceedingly tall of stature, but the
+Duke took the reply as an allusion to the gravity of his backslidings,
+and dismissed Luther without inviting him to his table.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">During the absence of Duke Bogislaw, the images were destroyed at
+Stralsund as I am going to narrate. On Monday of Holy Week, 1523, Frau
+Schermer sent her servant to St. Nicholas' for a box containing relics
+which she wished to have repaired.<a name="div2_07" href="#div2Ref_07"><sup>[7]</sup></a> Some workmen, noticing that a
+sacred object was being taken away, began to knock down everything;
+their constantly increasing numbers ran riot in the churches and in the
+convents; the altars were overtoppled, and the images thrown to the
+four winds. With the exception of the custodian of St. John's, monks
+and priests fled from the city. Thereupon the council issued an order
+that everybody had to bring back his loot on the following Wednesday to
+the old market. The burghers only obeyed reluctantly; they only
+restored the wooden images, but the more valuable ones were not to be
+found. Two women were brought before the council; the woman Bandelwitz
+deliberately defied the burgomaster, looked him straight into the face
+and addressed him as follows: &quot;What dost thou want with me, Johannes
+Heye? Why hast thou summoned me before thee? What crime have I
+committed?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Thou shalt know very soon,&quot; replied the burgomaster, and had her put
+under lock and key. The same fate befell the other woman. In the market
+place the partisans of the old doctrines had taken to arms and were
+much excited, while the evangelists loudly expressed their indignation
+at this double incarceration. Bailiff (or sheriff) Schroeder made his
+appearance on horseback, and showed with a kind of affectation a
+communion cup he had confiscated, and swore to &quot;do&quot; for all the
+evangelicals. Leaping on to a fishmonger's bench, L. Vischer cried in a
+thundering voice: &quot;Rally to me all those who wish to live and die for
+the Gospel.&quot;<a name="div2_08" href="#div2Ref_08"><sup>[8]</sup></a> The greater number rallied to his side. From the
+windows of the Town House the councillors had been watching the scene,
+and they began to fear for their personal safety when they should wish
+to go home. Rolof Moller went upstairs to make the situation clear to
+them; the two women were discharged after an imprisonment of less than
+an hour, and the Council asked the burghers to let the matter rest
+there, professing their goodwill towards them; but the crowd, slow to
+abate its anger, occupied the place up to four o'clock, after which the
+councillors could make their way without danger.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">When Duke Bogislaw returned, the Stralsund council endeavoured to
+persuade His Highness that the destruction of the images had taken
+place in spite of them. In his great anger the prince would not hear of
+any justification; he accused the people of Stralsund of having failed
+in their duty towards religion as well as against the sovereign who was
+the patron of the city's churches. He added that the devil would bring
+them to account for it. The duke died on September 29 of the same year
+at Stettin, leaving two sons, George and Barnim.<a name="div2_09" href="#div2Ref_09"><sup>[9]</sup></a></p>
+
+<p class="normal">The disturbances, nevertheless, continued, for the burghers saw with
+displeasure that the council, following the example of Princes George
+and Barnim, persisted in popish practices, thereby delaying the
+progress of Evangelism. On the Monday of St. John, 1524, Rolof Moller,
+at the head of a big troop of men, made his appearance in the old
+market place and, mounted also on a fishmonger's stall, began
+addressing the people, who applauded him. The dissensions between the
+magistrates and the burghers became more accentuated every day, and
+plainly foretold the ruin of public business. Moller observed no
+measure in his attacks on the council. He was just about thirty,
+clever, and, with an attractive personality, he might count upon being
+sooner or later elected burgomaster. It was only a question of time.
+His presumption blinded him to the reality; intoxicated with popular
+favour, he allowed himself certain excesses against the council, took
+his flight before his wings had grown, and dragged a number of people
+down with him in his fall. The city itself did not recover from the
+effects of all this for close upon a century.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow, a personage of great consideration, a
+clever spokesman, and of a firm and generous disposition, was a member
+of the council for seventeen years. Duke Bogislaw, who fully
+appreciated his work, took him to the conference at Nuremberg. The
+journey enabled the burgomaster to hear the gospel preached in its
+purity, and to become aware of the fatal error of papism. At Wittemberg
+he heard Luther preach. As a consequence, he was the first to proclaim
+the wholesome doctrine in open council, though the opposition of that
+body prevented him from supporting the propagators of the true faith
+when they kept within reasonable limits. He interposed between the
+council, the princes, and the exalted personages of the land, who were
+still wedded to papism, and Rolof Moller, the Forty-Eight, and their
+adherents who wished to carry things with too high a hand. Smiterlow
+told the council to show themselves less unbending with the burghers in
+all just and reasonable things. On the other hand, he exhorted the
+citizens to show more deference to the magistrates, giving the former
+the assurance that the preachers should not be molested, and that the
+gospel should not be hampered in its course. Unfortunately, his efforts
+failed on both sides.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Then the crisis occurred. The ringleaders--among the most turbulent,
+Franz Wessel, L. Vischer, Bartholomäi Buchow, Hermann Meyer and
+Nicholas Rode lifted Rolof Moller from his fishmonger's bench--took him
+to the Town House, and made him take his seat in the burgomaster's
+chair.<a name="div2_10" href="#div2Ref_10"><sup>[10]</sup></a> The council was compelled to accept Rolof and Christopher
+Lorbeer as burgomasters, and eight of the citizens as councillors. In
+order to save their heads, the magistrates found themselves compelled
+to share with their sworn enemies both the small bench of the four
+burgomasters and the larger bench of twenty-four councillors. As for
+Smiterlow, his was the fate of those who interfere between two
+contending parties, the peacemakers invariably coming to grief like the
+iron between the anvil and the hammer. When Rolof Moller entered the
+burgomaster's pew Smiterlow left it, and inasmuch as his consummate
+experience foretold him of his danger he came to Greifswald with his
+two sons to ask my mother's hospitality.<a name="div2_11" href="#div2Ref_11"><sup>[11]</sup></a></p>
+
+<p class="normal">The tolerance shown at this conjuncture by the young princes George and
+Barnim was due to two reasons. In the first place they expected to get
+the upper hand of the city without much trouble after it became worn
+out with domestic dissensions. Secondly, a band of zealots, with Dr.
+Johannes Amandus at their head, scoured the country, especially Eastern
+Pomerania, inciting the people to break the images, and preaching from
+the pulpit the sweeping away of all refuse, princes included. In the
+eyes of the papists, those people and the evangelicals were but one and
+the same set, and as their number happened to be imposing, the princes
+considered it prudent to lay low.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The flight of the priests and monks gave the magistrates the
+opportunity of listening to the preaching of Christian Ketelhot and
+his colleagues. In a short while the council's eyes were opened to the
+true light, and in accord with the Forty-Eight and the burghers
+themselves, they assigned the churches to the evangelical preachers;
+the monastery, that is, the supreme direction of all the ministers and
+servitors of the church being confided to Ketelhot, who exercised it
+for twenty-three years, in fact, up to the day of his death. Canons and
+vicars had taken the precaution to collect all the specie, valuables
+and title deeds, amounting to considerable sums; they entrusted to
+certain councillors of Greifswald chests and lockers filled with
+chalices, rich chasubles and various holy vessels. They occasionally
+converted these into money and handed to the debtors certain annuities
+at half-price. Consequently, the hospitals, churches, and pious
+foundations lost both their capital and their income. A long time after
+these events the sons of my relative, Christian Schwartz, dispatched to
+me for restitution to the council of Stralsund, a sailor's locker which
+had stood for forty years under their father's bed. It contained velvet
+chasubles embroidered with silver and pearls, in addition to a couple
+of silver crucifixes. Though their rules forbade the monks of St. John
+to touch coined metal, the father custodian did not scruple to carry
+away with him all that the convent held in clinking coin and precious
+objects.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Called to the ministry by a small group of citizens who had not given a
+thought to the question of his salary, Ketelhot had no other resource
+for his daily sustenance than the city &quot;wine cellar&quot; and <i>The King
+Arthur</i>.<a name="div2_12" href="#div2Ref_12"><sup>[12]</sup></a> He found hospitable board and good company, but the life
+was detrimental to his studies. A Jew with whom he flattered himself he
+was studying the <i>lingua sancta</i> induced him to announce from the
+pulpit the <i>error a Judaeo conceptus</i>. As a consequence the council
+promptly appointed Johannes Knipstro as superintendent at Stralsund. He
+was the first that bore the title there, and Ketelhot neither suffered
+in consideration, rank, nor benefices. He remained all his life
+<i>primarius pastor</i>, and his effigy at St. Nicholas, facing the pulpit,
+is inscribed with the words: <i>Repurgator ecclesiae Sundensis</i>.
+Appointed in 1524, Knipstro, by his talent and solicitude, succeeded in
+leading Ketelhot back to the right path, for he broke for ever with the
+<i>error</i>. The two ministers lived in the most brotherly understanding.
+Ketelhot was no more jealous of the superintendent than Knipstro, took
+umbrage at the title of <i>primarius pastor</i>. They were not vainglorious,
+as were later on Runge and Kruse. Gradually the dukes admitted that the
+evangelicals, far from making common cause with the zealots of Eastern
+Pomerania, energetically opposed them. The Stralsund preachers were
+henceforth left in peace; they were more firmly established in their
+functions, and neither the council nor the citizens were any longer
+molested for having called them.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I now beg to resume the story of my family from the year 1523. My
+parents started house-keeping in the midst of plenty; they had a mill
+and a brewery, sold their corn, butter, honey, wool and feathers, and
+were even blessed with the superfluous. Everything was so cheap that it
+seemed easy to make money. It seemed as if the golden age had returned.
+Nevertheless, prosperity had to make room for misfortune.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In the course of that year (1523), in fact, George Hartmann, the
+son-in-law of Doctor Stroïentin,<a name="div2_13" href="#div2Ref_13"><sup>[13]</sup></a> bought of my father a quantity of
+butter. A violent discussion having occurred between them, Hartmann,
+who was on his way to Burgomaster Peter Kirchschwanz with a short sword
+belonging to the latter, went instead to his mother-in-law to pour his
+grievances into her ears. This haughty and purse-proud woman, full of
+contempt for very humble folk because she happened to have married a
+doctor and a ducal counsellor (I omit for charity's sake some details
+which I shall tell my children by word of mouth), that woman, I say,
+presented her son-in-law with a hatchet, saying: &quot;There, go to market
+with this piece of money, and buy a bit of courage.&quot; Emboldened by a
+safe-conduct of the prince, which Doctor Stroïentin had got for him,
+Hartmann fell in with my father at the top of the Sporenmacher Strasse.
+He was going to the public weigh-house to have a case of honey weighed,
+and he had not as much as a pocket knife wherewith to repel an
+assailant armed with a sword and a hatchet. He rushed into a
+spurmaker's shop, getting hold of a large pitchfork, but the bystanders
+wrenched it out of his hands; moreover, they prevented him taking
+refuge in the gallery. Thereupon my father snatched up a long stick
+with an iron prod standing against the wall, and going back into the
+street, shouted:</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Let the fellow who wants to take my life come out and show himself.&quot;
+At these words, Hartmann issued from an adjoining workshop. Not
+satisfied with his short sword and his hatchet, he had taken a hammer
+from the anvil and flung it at my father, who warded it with his stick,
+though only partly, for my father spat blood for several days. The
+hatchet went the same way, and just caught my father on the shoulder.
+The double exploit having imbued him with the idea that the game was
+won, the aggressor made a rush with his bare sword, but my father
+spitted him on his iron-prodded pole, and Hartmann dropped down dead.
+This is the true account of this deplorable accident. I am quite aware
+of the version invented by the ill-will of the others, which is to the
+effect that my father having found Hartmann altogether disarmed behind
+the stove in the spurmaker's room, straightway killed him on the spot.
+These are vain rumours, <i>nugae sunt, fabulae sunt</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My father sought asylum with the &quot;black&quot; monks, to whom he was known.
+They hid him at the top of the church in a recess near the vault. In a
+little while Doctor Stroïentin, at the head of his servants and of a
+numerous group of followers, came to search every nook and corner of
+the convent. Naturally, he went into the church, and the fugitive,
+fancying it was all over with him, was going to speak in order to prove
+his innocence; fortunately Providence closed his lips and shut his
+enemies' eyes. In the middle of the night the monks smuggled him over
+the wall. Keeping to the high road, he succeeded in reaching
+Neuenkirchen, where a peasant's cart, sent by his father-in-law, was
+waiting for him. He managed to squeeze himself into a sack of fodder by
+the side of a sack of barley. Doctor Stroïentin stopped the vehicle on
+the road. The driver told him he was going to Stralsund. &quot;What have you
+got there?&quot; asked the doctor, beating the sacks with him. &quot;Barley and
+my fodder,&quot; was the answer. &quot;Have not you noticed any one going in a
+great hurry either on horseback or on foot?&quot; &quot;Yes; I saw a man
+galloping as hard as he could in the direction of Horst. I may have
+been mistaken, but I fancy it was Sastrow, of Greifswald, and I was
+wondering why he should be scouring the highway at that hour of night.&quot;
+Stroïentin wanted to hear no more. He turned his horse's head as fast
+as it would go in the direction of Horst.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My father reached Stralsund without further trouble; the council gave
+him a safe-conduct, which was only a broken reed in the way of a
+guarantee, for he had to deal with proud, rich and powerful enemies.
+Doctor Stroïentin, His Highness' counsellor, took particular advantage
+of the fact that Hartmann enjoyed the protection of Duke George. My
+father went from pillar to post in Denmark, at Lubeck, at Hamburg, and
+other spots; finally, he appeased his suzerain by paying him a
+considerable sum in cash; then, after long-drawn negotiations, his
+father-in-law succeeded in reconciling him with his adversaries. The
+expiatory fine was 1,000 marks, but Greifswald, where the family of the
+deceased resided, remained closed to him. Nor did the 1,000 marks prove
+any benefit to the son of Hartmann; the contrary has been the case.
+Misfortune pursued him without cessation in his health, his wealth, his
+wife and children.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At the gates of Stralsund stood the monastery of St. Brigitta; monks
+and nuns inhabited different parts. A wall divided the gardens. It was,
+however, by no means high enough to prove an obstacle to a nimble
+climber. It is the monks that did the cooking, and the dishes came to
+the nuns in a kind of lift large enough for one person. How the vow of
+chastity was observed was proved on the day of the invasion of the
+convent, when the skeletons, head and bones of new-born children were
+found everywhere.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At the period of the invasion of the churches and the monasteries,
+Franz Wessel, who at that time had discharged the functions of
+councillor for more than a twelvemonth, was charged with preventing at
+St. Catherine's the abstraction of precious objects. In order to cut
+short the idolatrous practices, he had a trench dug at the door of the
+garden of eighteen ells long, in which the images were buried. On the
+Holy Thursday, between four and six in the morning, the nuns whose
+retreat had been attacked were taken to St. Catherine's. Wessel
+received them courteously on the threshold of the cloister, took the
+abbess by the hand and intoned the popish hymn <i>Veni, sponsa
+salvatoris</i>, etc. The abbess begged of him to cease this joking, and
+rather to welcome her with some flagons of wine. Wessel objected that
+the hour was too early to begin drinking.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I have narrated the circumstances which compelled Burgomaster Nicholas
+Smiterlow to take refuge at my mother's with his two sons, Nicholas and
+Bertrand. The first-named, a doughty young man, good-looking and of
+independent character, had with great credit to himself terminated his
+studies. I have rarely seen such beautiful handwriting as his.
+Impatient to see the world, he felt himself cramped in Pomerania, and
+when he heard that Emperor Charles had an army in Italy, he induced his
+father to give him an outfit and to allow him to join it. Provided with
+a well-lined purse, he joined the Imperial troops, took part in the
+storming and sacking of Rome, got a great deal of loot, but fell ill
+and died.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Fate proved not more lenient to Doctor Zutfeld Wardenberg, also the son
+of a burgomaster. Berckmann and other writers have made him pass as a
+great prelate. Be this as it may; he certainly fancied himself a member
+of the Trinity which rules the universe. In his official functions he
+observed no law but his own sweet will. His own house contained a
+prison, and he behaved as if the council did not exist. In short, he
+wound up by setting the magistrates against him to such an extent that
+one night he judged it prudent to leave the city. His brother, Joachim,
+opened the gates to him without authority--a piece of daring which cost
+him ten weeks of imprisonment in the Blue Tower. At the sacking of
+Rome, Zutfeld Wardenberg tried to hide himself among the invalids of a
+hospital. He was soon discovered, killed, and everything taken away
+from him. In the church of St. Mary, at Stralsund, stands the handsome
+mausoleum he had prepared for himself, together with an epitaph setting
+forth his titles, but his body lies somewhere at Rome, no one knows
+where.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Burgomaster Smiterlow was as frank in his speech as he was open of
+heart. When he conversed in the street his strong and clear voice could
+be heard a couple of yards off. All his speeches began with &quot;Yes, in
+the name of Jesus.&quot; One day, after dinner, he went into his stables
+where, as a rule, he had three horses; he saw one of his stablemen
+strike one of the animals with a pitchfork, saying, in imitation of
+himself, &quot;In the name of Jesus.&quot; Smiterlow snatched the implement away
+from him, then stuck it between his shoulders so that he dropped down,
+and quietly remarked: &quot;Now and again I cause people to cry 'In the name
+of all the devils.'&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">According to the custom of the papists, my mother went at half-past
+twelve, especially during Lent, to recite a Pater Noster and an Ave
+Maria before each of the three altars of her ordinary church. She
+always took her little Bartholomäi with her. On one occasion I sat down
+on the steps of the first altar and began to relieve nature; when she
+passed on to the second, I followed her and continued the operation,
+which I finished on the third. When my mother perceived what had
+occurred she rushed home in hot haste and sent a servant with a broom
+to repair the mischief. Seeing how young she was when separated from
+her husband and left with four young children, it is not surprising
+that my mother had moments of sadness and discouragement. One day that
+she was cutting up some dry fish, a piece fell from the block. I picked
+it up. Without noticing my mother stooped at the same time, and as I
+was rising, the edge of the hatchet cut my forehead. The scar was never
+effaced. The Lord be praised, though, the accident had no further
+consequence.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Hartmann's family having received satisfaction, my father appointed to
+meet his wife and his children at the manse of Neuenkirchen. It was in
+the autumn and the pears were ripe. After having shaken down and eaten
+as many as they could, the children began to pelt each other with them.
+A big pear dropped under the hoofs of a couple of horses tied to a
+large pear tree. When I stooped to get hold of it, one of the animals
+dealt me a severe kick at the temple. There was general consternation,
+and the wound being seemingly dangerous, we came back immediately to
+town, and I was taken to the doctor.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The Dukes George and Barnim came to Stralsund with four hundred
+horsemen; they received homage and confirmed the privileges of the
+city. As for the claims of the priests, it was decided to refer them to
+the Imperial Chamber. Burgomasters, councillors, burghers, preachers
+(in all about threescore), were summoned to depose on oath before the
+Imperial Commissioners, sitting at Greifswald. The lawsuit cost the
+city a considerable sum; the clergy practically flung the money away,
+but the rector, Hippolytus Steinwer, began to perceive that the chances
+were turning against them, and one day he was found dead. It was
+believed he had strangled himself from vexation. That event put an end
+to the litigation. The priests returned one after another to Stralsund.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Gradually the sobered citizens began to open their eyes to the serious
+prejudice which was being done to public and private interests by the
+agitation of Moller. On the other hand, the princes had learned to know
+Smiterlow during the journey to Nuremberg; they were also aware of the
+esteem in which he had been held by their father. All those feelings
+showed themselves on the occasion of the rendering of homage. Rolof
+Moller was obliged to leave the city, and Burgomaster Smiterlow
+re-entered it on August 1, 1526. Moller, after a stay of several years
+at Stettin, received permission to come back to Stralsund, Smiterlow
+giving his consent; but scarcely a fortnight after his return had gone
+by when he died, it was said, of grief; and the assumption was
+sufficiently plausible.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Hence, Smiterlow spent the time of his exile at my mother's, at
+Greifswald, while his house at Stralsund sheltered my father. The wives
+of the two banished men went constantly and at all seasons from one
+town to another, through hail, snow, rain, frost and cold, and also to
+the great detriment of their purse and their health.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I have often been told afterwards I was a restless, energetic child. I
+often went up to the tower of St. Nicholas's, and on one occasion I
+made the round of it outside. My mother, standing on the threshold of
+her house, facing the church, was a witness of the feat, and dared
+scarcely breathe until her son came down safe and skin-whole. It would
+appear that little Bartholomäi had his reward at her hands.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">While at Greifswald I had already been sent to school. Besides reading,
+I was taught declension, comparisons and conjugation, according to the
+grammar of Donat; after which we passed to Torrentinus. On Palm Sunday
+I was selected to intone the <i>Quantus</i>; the preceding years I had sung
+at first the short, then the long <i>Hic est</i>. What an honour for the
+child and for the parents! It was a real feast, for as a rule the
+sharpest boys are chosen those who, undeterred by the crowds of priests
+and laymen, bring out their clearest notes, especially for the
+<i>Quantus</i>. The continuation of this story will, however, soon show how,
+from being sanguine, my temperament became melancholy, and how my
+gaiety and recklessness vanished.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_1.02" href="#div1_1.02">CHAPTER II</a></h2>
+
+<p class="hang1">My Student's Days at Greifswald--Victor Bole and his tragical End--A
+Servant possessed by the Devil--My Brother Johannes' Preceptors and
+Mine--My Father's never-ending Law Suits</p>
+<br>
+<p class="continue">Having acquired the certainty that the Hartmanns would never consent to
+my father's return to Greifswald, my parents, like the conscientious
+married couple they were, desired to bear in common the domestic
+burdens. In the spring of 1528 my mother, after having let her dwelling
+at Greifswald, joined her husband at Stralsund, where he had the
+freeman's right and a tumble-down old house. My maternal grandfather,
+Christian Schwarz, at that time city treasurer, kept me with him in
+order to let me pursue my studies. I underwent the ceremonial of
+installation, a kind of burlesque function of initiation applied to
+novices. My tutor was George Normann, of the island of Rügen, who
+terminated his career in the service of the King of Sweden. I was the
+reverse of a studious boy and fonder of roving about with my relative
+in his journeys about Greifswald than of books. As a consequence my
+mental progress was in proportion to my efforts.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">There was at Greifswald a burgomaster named Victor Bole, belonging to a
+notable family of the island of Rügen. Before he attained his civic
+honours he was a good evangelical and a zealous friend of the
+preachers, but his apostasy was thorough. As much as he had supported
+the ministry before his election, as much did he oppose them
+afterwards. I remember seeing him at the meetings of the corporation
+seated in the front place in virtue of his dual quality of eldest
+member and burgomaster, more or less in liquor, browbeating and talking
+everybody down (in High-German always). As he had taken part in several
+expeditions, fighting was the invariable theme of his discourses. He
+generally summoned the musicians, cymbal players and pipers before him.
+&quot;Dost thou know a war cry?&quot; he asked of a piper. &quot;Yes, certainly,&quot; was
+the reply, while shrill notes rent the air. But the burgomaster was
+beaming. &quot;This, at any rate, is a useful kind of fellow; while that
+Knipstro of Stralsund stammers in the pulpit about <i>pap</i>, <i>pap</i>, <i>pap</i>,
+I am sure he could play a war cry. Then what's the good of him?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Those who laugh last laugh loudest,&quot; says the proverb. That same year,
+1528, the King of the May was Bertrand Smiterlow. I walked in front of
+him carrying his crown. Bole did Smiterlow the honour to prance by his
+side, being very pleased to parade his servants and his horses, of the
+latter of which he had four in his stable. If the skies had shown a
+little bit more clement we should have been very happy. But though it
+was the 1st May, there was not a bud nor a blade of grass to be seen.
+On the contrary, the snow powdered our procession with large flakes,
+both on coming and on going. As a consequence everybody was in a hurry
+to get back again. Odd to relate, the seed did not seem to suffer.
+After they had presented the crown to the May King in the city,
+everybody galloped back to his own roof tree. When the burgomaster
+reached his house he was taken with such violent colic that he had
+scarcely time to hand his horse to his servant before he dropped down
+dead. His neck was entirely twisted round, and his face was black. As a
+matter of course, people ascribed it to a visitation of God for having
+made fun of those who preached His Word.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In 1528 the States were called together at Stettin to ratify the pact
+of succession between the Elector of Brandenburg and the Dukes of
+Pomerania. The deputy of Greifswald, Burgomaster Gaspard Bunsaw, my
+mother's first cousin, took me with him as page, or rather as
+companion, and also to enable me to see something new. Our host had a
+magnificent garden; on the banks of a vast lake uprose a vast tower
+with an inside staircase, closed by a trap. One day that the company
+was amusing itself in watching the carps from that tower, I hauled
+myself up to the window out of curiosity, but I forgot the yawning trap
+door behind me, and was flung right to the bottom. It was a miracle
+that I did not break my neck, or, at any rate, my arms and my legs.
+Heaven preserved me by means of its angels, who frustrate the tricks of
+the Evil One.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At the age of five, Nicholas, the eldest son of Bertrand Smiterlow, was
+already much taller and stronger than I; this incarnate fiend worried
+all the children of the neighbourhood, and instead of reprimanding him,
+his father took no notice of the complaints against him. This
+indulgence bore such excellent fruit that in order to prevent disputes
+and perhaps personal violence between young Nicholas' father and the
+neighbours, Christian Schwarz considered it advisable to take Nicholas
+to live with him, and so we shared the same bed. One morning as we were
+dressing on the big locker at the foot of the bed, the youngster,
+without saying a word and out of sheer mischief, hit me right in the
+chest and made me tumble backward, a downright dangerous fall. The
+grandfather gave a dinner-party to his children and other people. Late
+in the evening the servants came with links to take their masters home.
+While they were waiting for that purpose, Nicholas began to play them
+tricks, which they endured from fear of the grandfather. Rendered bold
+by impunity, Nicholas struck some of the servants on the lips, but one
+of these retorted by a box on the ears which sent Nicholas whining to
+his grandfather. After the banquet the lanterns were lighted, and
+everybody was preparing to get home quietly when Bertrand Smiterlow,
+drawing his knife, rushed at the offending servant, who was lighting
+his master on his way, and wounded him seriously in the shoulder. On
+account of all this Christian Schwarz preferred to send me back to
+Stralsund to leaving me to enjoy the risky society of Nicholas. The boy
+grew up and his faults with him, for they amused his father, who
+encouraged them while nobody dared to say a word in protest. Nicholas
+had reached the age of twenty-seven when travelling to Rostock, he
+stopped for the night at Roevershagen. Some travellers, knowing his
+quarrelsome character, preferred to take themselves and their
+conveyance to the inn opposite. One of these had a sporting dog, which,
+running about, found its way into the hostel where Smiterlow was
+staying. The latter tied up the animal, did not send it back, and next
+morning the rightful owner saw it being taken away on a leash.
+Naturally, the man claimed his dog. Smiterlow, instead of giving him a
+civil answer, takes aim at him; the other, more prompt, quickly fires a
+bullet into the thigh. Smiterlow, in his wounded condition, got as far
+as Rostock, had his wound attended to; nevertheless died a few days
+later in consequence. The merchant continued his route without
+troubling himself, and no one lodged a complaint. Bertrand Smiterlow
+contracted the itch in the back; father and son, therefore, had their
+just reward. Heaven preserve me from criticizing the descendants of
+Herr Smiterlow, to whom I am doubly related, but I trust that mine will
+bring up their children in a more severe discipline and in the respect
+of their fellow-men.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In 1529 the English pest which had already been spoken of during the
+previous year, carried away many people at Stralsund. My mother had two
+attacks, from both of which she fortunately recovered. Being <i>enceinte</i>
+with my brother Christian, she ordered, like the good housewife she
+was, a general cleaning before her confinement. It so happened that we
+had a servant-girl who was possessed. Nobody had the faintest suspicion
+of this. When, at the moment of cleaning the kitchener and cooking
+utensils, she began noisily to fling about saucepans, frying-pans,
+etc., crying at the top of her voice, &quot;I want to get out, I want to get
+out.&quot; Her mother, who lived in the Zinngiesser Strasse (Pewterers'
+Street), had to take her back. The poor girl was taken several times in
+a sleigh to St. Nicholas's, and they exorcised her after the sermon.
+Her case, as far as the answers tended to show, was as follows: The
+mother had brought new cheese at the market. In her absence, the
+daughter had opened the cupboard and made a large breach in the cheese;
+the mother, on her return, had expressed the wish that the devil might
+take the perpetrator of this thing, and from that moment dated the
+&quot;possession.&quot; The girl had, nevertheless, been to Communion since; how,
+then, could the Evil One have kept his position? The priest,
+interrogated on that point, had answered: &quot;The scoundrel, who has
+hidden himself under a bridge, lets the honest man pass over his head&quot;;
+in other words, during the sacramental act, the Evil One hid himself
+under the girl's tongue. The Evil One was excommunicated and exorcised
+by the faithful on their bended knees. The formula of exorcism was
+received with derision. When the priest summoned him to go, he
+exclaimed: &quot;I am agreeable, but you do not expect me to go with empty
+hands. I want this, and that, and the other.&quot; If they refused him one
+thing he asked for something quite different; and inasmuch as one of
+the faithful had remained &quot;covered&quot; during prayers, the Evil One
+politely snatched up his hat, and if God had let him have his own way,
+hair and skin would have accompanied the headgear.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At about the same period I witnessed an analogous fact. Frau Kron, an
+honest and pious matron, was possessed by a demon; the minister was
+preparing to drive it out at all costs when Frau Wolff entered. She was
+a young woman who surpassed her sisters in the art of beautifying her
+face, arranging her cap, and posing before the looking glass. When the
+evil spirit caught sight of her, he shouted. &quot;Ah, you are here, are
+you? Just wait a bit till I arrange your cap before the mirror. Your
+ears shall tingle, I can tell you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">To come back to our own servant. When the power of mischief noticed
+that the time for tormenting her had passed away, and that the Lord was
+granting the prayers of the faithful, the Evil One asked in a mocking
+tone a pane of the belfry's window, which request was no sooner
+accorded to him than the pane shivered into ever so many splinters. The
+girl, however, ceased to be possessed; she married in the village, and
+had several children.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My brother Johannes had for his first tutor Herr Aepinus, before the
+latter had his doctor's degree,<a name="div2_14" href="#div2Ref_14"><sup>[14]</sup></a> and afterwards Hermannus Bonus,<a name="div2_15" href="#div2Ref_15"><sup>[15]</sup></a>
+who would have been pleased to settle at Stralsund with fifty florins
+per annum, but the council of that particular period did not contain
+one member who had had a university training. Like the princes the
+council inclined towards papism, and looked askance at men of letters;
+hence, it rejected Bonnus' overtures. The latter soon afterwards became
+the tutor of the young King of Denmark, for whose use he composed his
+<i>Praecepta Grammaticae</i>, which was much more easy than the Donat
+Grammar, and prevails to the present day under the title of the
+<i>Grammatica Bonni</i>. At his return from Denmark, Bonnus was appointed
+superintendent at Lubeck, where he is interred <i>honorifice</i> behind the
+choir.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">When my brother left the school at Lubeck, my parents made many heavy
+sacrifices to keep him at Wittemberg for several years, where,
+notwithstanding some <i>delicta juventutis</i>, he studied with advantage.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My tutor's name was Matthias Brassanus. At the outset of his career he
+had been a monk at the monastery of Camp, but at the suppression of the
+institution he had lived at Wittemberg at the cost of the prince, like
+Leonard Meisisch, the future court preacher and minister at Wolgast,
+and afterwards pastor at Altenkirchen--a downright Epicurean pig!
+Brassanus, on the other hand, was a small, polite, temperate,
+well-bred, evenly balanced man. After his stay at Wittemberg he became
+the preceptor of George and Johannes Smiterlow, and afterwards <i>rector
+scholae</i>. Their worships of Lubeck having prevailed upon the council of
+Stralsund to part with this able teacher, Brassanus devoted the whole
+of his life successfully directing the school of Lubeck.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I profited as much by the lessons as my natural restlessness of
+character permitted. There was a great deal of aptitude, but the
+application failed. In the winter time I ran amusing myself on the
+floating ice with my fellow-scholars of my own age. Johannes
+Gottschalk, our ringleader, always got scot-free, thanks to his long
+legs, while the rest of the gang (and I was invariably with them) took
+many enforced footbaths in order to get safely to the banks. My father,
+in crossing the bridge had occasion more than once to witness the
+prowess of his son, who received many a sound drubbing when he came to
+dry himself before the stove, for my father was a choleric gentleman.
+In summer I was in the habit of bathing with my chums behind Lorbeer's
+grange, which at present is my property. Burgomaster Smiterlow, having
+noticed me from his garden, told of me, and one day, while I was still
+asleep, my father planted himself in front of my bed, flourishing a big
+stick. He spoke very loudly while placing himself into position, and I
+was obliged to open my eyes. The sight of the club told me that my hour
+had come; I burst into tears and pleaded for mercy. &quot;Very well, my good
+sir,&quot; said my father; when he called me &quot;my good sir&quot; it was a bad
+sign. &quot;Very well, my good sir, you have been bathing; now allow me to
+rub you down.&quot; Saying which, he got hold of his weapon, pulled my shirt
+over my head, and did frightful execution.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My parents brought us up carefully. My father was somewhat hasty, and
+now and again his anger carried him beyond all bounds. I put him out of
+temper one day when he was in the stable and I at the door. He caught
+up a pitchfork and flung it at me. I had just time to get out of the
+way; the pitchfork stuck into a bath made of oak, and they had much
+trouble to get it out. In that way the Evil One was frustrated in all
+his designs against me by Providence. In a similar case, my mother, who
+was gentleness and tenderness itself, came running to the spot. &quot;Strike
+harder,&quot; she said, &quot;the wicked boy deserves all he gets.&quot; At the same
+time she slyly held back the arm of her husband, preventing the stick
+from coming down too heavily. Oh, my children, pray that the knowledge
+may be vouchsafed to you of bringing up your family in the way they
+should go. Correct them temperately, without compromising either their
+health or their intelligence, but at the same time do not imitate the
+apes who from excess of tenderness, smother their young.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Rector Brassanus insisted upon his pupils being present when he
+preached. Some were clever enough to get away on the sly; they went to
+buy pepper cakes, and repaired afterwards to the dram shop. The trick
+was done before there was time to look round. When the sermon drew to
+its close, every one was in his place again, and we went back to school
+as if nothing had happened. One day, however, we drank so much brandy
+that I felt horribly sick and vomited violently, and found it
+impossible either to keep on my legs or to articulate a syllable. The
+strongest of my schoolfellows took me home. My parents were under the
+impression that I was seriously ill; had they suspected the real cause
+of my malady, their treatment would have been less tender. When, at
+last, I avowed the truth, the fear of punishment had long ago vanished.
+The adventure was productive of some good. It inspired me with a
+thorough disgust for brandy, so that I could not even bear the smell of
+it.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My daily playmate was George Smiterlow, for we were neighbours, nearly
+relatives, and of about the same age, I being but a year older than he.
+One day he cut me with his knife between the index and the thumb, and I
+still bear the scar.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">As I was whittling a piece of wood, my sister Anna snatched it away
+from me, and in trying to get it back again, I drove the chisel into my
+right thigh up to the handle. Master Joachim Gelhaar, an excellent
+<i>chirurgus</i>, renowned far and wide, began by probing the wound, and by
+getting the bad blood out of it; after which he dressed it with a
+cabbage leaf which was constantly kept moist. I was just recovering the
+use of my leg again when I took it into my head to go to the wood with
+my schoolfellows, for it was always difficult for me to keep still. The
+fatigue thus incurred caused a relapse. Next morning I dragged myself
+as far as the surgeon, who suspected my excursion, and swore at seeing
+a month of his efforts wasted. I should have been in a nice predicament
+if he had complained to my father.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In 1531, on the Monday before St. Bartholomew, they burned at
+Stralsund, Bischof, a tailor who had outraged his own daughter, aged
+twelve. The fellow was so strong that he jumped from the pyre when the
+fire had destroyed his bonds, but the executioner plunged his knife
+into him, and flung him back into the flames.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The following happened in June, 1532. A young fellow, good-looking, and
+with most fascinating manner, but by no means well enough in worldly
+goods, courted a more or less well-preserved widow, notwithstanding her
+nine children of her first husband, which subsequently she increased by
+another nine of her second. Tempted by the amiability, the appearance,
+and the demeanour of the youngster, the dame consented to be his wife.
+The happy day was already fixed, the viands ordered, and the
+preparations completed, but the bridegroom was at a loss how to pay for
+his wedding clothes, the customary presents and other things. Hence,
+one fine evening he left the city, and in the early morn reached the
+village of Putten, where, espying a ladder on a peasant's cart, he puts
+it against the wall of the church, breaks one of its windows, gets
+inside, forces the reliquary, possessing himself of the chalices, other
+holy vessels, all the gold and silver work, not forgetting the wooden
+box containing the money. After which, taking the way whence he had
+come, he flung away the box and entered the city laden with the spoil.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">A local cowherd, driving his cattle to the field, happened to pick up
+the box. At the selfsame moment the sight of the ladder and of the
+broken window sets the whole of the place, rector, beadle, clerk, and
+peasantry, mad with excitement. The whole village is up in arms; the
+neighbouring roads are scoured in search of the perpetrator of the
+sacrilege. At twelve o'clock, the cowherd comes back with the box. He
+is arrested; the patrons of the church, who reside in the city, have
+him put to the torture. He confesses to the theft. There was,
+nevertheless, the absolute impossibility for him to have got rid of the
+stolen objects, inasmuch as he had been guarding his cattle during the
+five or six hours that had gone by between the robbery and his arrest;
+the slightest inquiry would have conclusively proved his innocence. In
+spite of this, the confession dragged from the poor wretch by
+unbearable pain, appears most conclusive. Condemned there and then, he
+is there and then put on the wheel. The real culprit watched the
+execution with the utmost composure.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The proceeds of this first crime were, however, by no means sufficient
+to defray the cost of the wedding, and the bridegroom forced another
+church. He took a reliquary and a holy vessel, reduced them to
+fragments, and tried to sell them to some goldsmiths at Greifswald.
+This time he was unable to lead the pursuers off the scent. Having been
+arrested in the house of my wife's parents, he was racked alive, and
+his body left to the carrion birds.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">A similar tragedy took place between the Easter and Whitsun of 1544. I
+anticipate events, because the horror of them was pretty well equal,
+but there was a great difference in the procedure. In the one case,
+deplorable acts, at variance with all wisdom, and disgraceful to
+Christians; in the other place, a thoroughly laudable conduct,
+consistent with right and reason. On his return from Leipzig, whither
+he had gone to buy books, Johannes Altingk, the son of the late Werner
+Altingk, a notable citizen and bookseller of Stralsund, was killed on
+the road from Anelam to Greifswald. In consequence of active inquiries,
+two individuals on whom rested grave suspicions, were incarcerated at
+Wolgast. But the case was proceeded with more methodically than the one
+I have just narrated. The magistrates went with the instruments of
+torture to the prisoner, who seemed the least resolved. He made a
+complete avowal. His companion and he had put up for the night at an
+inn at Grosskistow; Johannes Altingk had taken his seat at their table
+and shared their meal. Then, before going to bed, he had paid for all
+three, showing at the same time a well filled purse. The scoundrels had
+at once made up their minds between them to kill him at a little
+distance from the inn on the foot-road, intersected here and there by
+deep ruts, and where consequently there was only room to pass in single
+file. &quot;Next morning, then, when the young bookseller was marching along
+between his fellow-travellers, I struck him at the back of the head;&quot;
+said the accused. &quot;The blow knocked him off his feet; we soon made an
+end of him altogether, and flung his body to the bottom of the deep
+bog. With my part of the spoil I bought myself this hat and this pair
+of shoes.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">After this interrogatory, the judges, accompanied by the executioner
+and his paraphernalia, went to the second prisoner, who denied
+everything. It was in vain they pressed him and told him of his
+accomplice's avowal; he went on denying everything. When they were
+confronted, the one who had been first examined repeated all the
+particulars of the crime, beseeching the other to prevent a double
+martyrdom, inasmuch as the truth would be dragged from them by torture,
+and the punishment was unavoidable. No doubt the Stralsund authorities,
+those who had judged the above named perpetrator of the sacrilege,
+would have put the accused on the rack without the least compunction or
+ceremony, <i>de simplice et piano, sine strepitu judicii, quemadmodum
+Deus procedere solet</i>. At Wolgast, on the contrary, though the hangman
+had orders to hold himself in readiness, <i>ad actum propinquum</i>, the
+magistrates preferred to exercise some delay. The prince had the bog
+examined, but no body was found there. When taken to the spot, the
+prisoner who had confessed his guilt recognized the place of the
+murder, without being able, however, to point it out accurately. The
+landlord and his wife at Gross-Kistow, when examined carefully, denied
+having lodged any one at the period indicated.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Finally, a messenger of the Brandenburg March brought the news that an
+assassin condemned to death confessed to having killed in Pomerania a
+young librarian, for which crime two individuals were under lock and
+key at Wolgast. When taxed with having almost caused the death of
+innocent people by false avowals, the self-confessed murderer replied
+that death seemed to him preferable to the &quot;criminal question,&quot; as that
+kind of torture was called. Their acquittal was pronounced on their
+taking the oath to bring no further action.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">But this only shows the precautions to be taken before applying the
+instruments of torture to merely suspected men. On the other hand, it
+has been shown over and over again that some of the guilty hardened to
+that kind of thing will allow themselves to be torn to pieces sooner
+than avow.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In that year (1531) Duke George died in the prime of his life. His
+second wife was the sister to Margrave Joachim; they got rid of her for
+about 40,000 florins, and she subsequently married a prince of Anhalt,
+but finally she eloped with a falconer.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My mother having realized all her property at Greifswald, my parents
+really possessed a considerable fortune in sterling coin, and they
+called my father &quot;the rich man of the Passen Strasse.&quot; It wanted,
+however, but a few years to shake his credit and to impair the
+happiness of his family. Without exaggeration, two women, named Lubbeke
+and Engeln were the principal causes of our reverses. Not content to
+buy on credit our cloth, which they resold to heaven knows who, they
+borrowed of my father, fifty, a hundred, and as much as a hundred and
+fifty crowns on the slightest pretext. The crown in those days was
+worth eight and twenty shillings of Lubeck. They promised to refund at
+eight and twenty and a half, and to settle for their purchases at the
+same rate; but if now and again they happened to make a payment on
+account of a hundred florins, they took care to buy at the same time
+goods for double the amount. My mother did not look kindly upon those
+two customers; she imagined that her money would be better invested at
+five per cent., and she spared neither warnings, prayers, nor tears to
+dissuade my father from trusting them. She even took Pastor Knipstrow
+and others into her confidence to that effect. Finally, the account
+came to a considerable amount, while the debtors were unable to pay as
+much as twenty florins. Then it transpired what had become of the
+cloth. The mother of one townsman, Jacob Leveling, had had 800 florins
+of it; the wife of another, Hermann Bruser, 1,725 florins. Hermann
+Bruser was a big cloth merchant who sold retail much cheaper than any
+of his fellow-tradesmen.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My father having taken proceedings against his two customers as well as
+against the woman Bruser, the latter and her husband promised to pay
+the 1,725 florins. Nicholas Rode, who had married Bruser's sister, and
+the syndic of the city, Johannes Klocke, afterwards burgomaster,
+induced my father to accept that arrangement, and Bruser secured
+conditions after having signed an acknowledgment beginning as follows:
+&quot;I, together with my legitimate wife, declare to be duly and lawfully
+indebted to etc., etc.&quot; The syndic had drawn up this act with his own
+hand. He had affixed his signature to it, and his seal, and Rode had in
+the latter two respects done the same. But the period of the first
+payment coinciding with the tumult against Nicholas Smiterlow, Bruser,
+one of the ringleaders, thought he could have the whip hand of my
+father as well as of the burgomaster. On his refusal to pay, the case
+came before the court once more; and then, while denying his debt, in
+spite of the formal terms of his declaration, Bruser denounced as
+usurious agreements obtained by litigation. Klocke and Rode assisted
+him with their advice and influence; the first-named, in his capacity
+of a lawyer, conducted the suit, and quoting the <i>leges et doctorum
+opiniones</i>, easily convinced his non-legally educated colleagues of the
+council. The Westphalian Cyriacus Erckhorst, the son-in-law of Rode,
+and a velvet merchant, plotted on his side. There were golden florins
+for the all-powerful burgomaster Lorbeer, and pieces of dress-material
+for Mrs. Burgomaster; so that, after long arguments on both sides,
+Bruser was allowed to swear that he was ignorant of the affair, which,
+moreover, was tainted with usury. My father could not conceive that
+this personage would have the audacity to deny his signature, and,
+supported in his supposition by Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow, he did
+not appeal against the judgment, and at the next sitting Bruser
+appeared at the bar of the inner court, took the oath, and offered to
+comply with the second part of the order; only, in consequence of the
+absence of his witness he claimed a delay of a twelvemonth and a day,
+which was accorded to him; after which my father appealed to the
+council of Stralsund and afterwards to that of Lubeck.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In due time my father started for Lubeck, and took me with him. At
+Rostock, we lodged at the sign of <i>The Hop</i>, in the Market Place. My
+father had a considerable sum upon him to pay cash for his purchases of
+salt, salted cod-fish and soap, and as a measure of precaution, he
+carried that money in his small clothes, for Mecklenburg was infested
+by footpads and highwaymen. While undressing, he dropped his purse
+under the bed, an accident which he did not notice until next day about
+twelve o'clock, when we had reached Bukow. As the court was just about
+to open it fell to my lot to take the road back to Rostock <i>per pedes</i>.
+On that day I could get no further than Berkentin, but very early next
+morning I was at Rostock. Naturally, I rushed to the inn and to the
+room. Luckily the servants had not made the beds. I soon espied the
+little bag and was in time to take the coach to Wismar. My father,
+uneasy on my account, was already reproaching himself for having let me
+go.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Their worships of Lubeck condemned Bruser to keep his written promise;
+he then appealed to the Imperial Chamber. The suit dragged along for
+several years; finally, the supreme decision was to the effect that it
+had been well judged, but improperly thrown into appeal in the first
+instance, and that in the second it had been faultily judged and
+properly sent for appeal. The defendant was condemned to pay the costs
+to be determined by the judge.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">And now I may be permitted to give an instance of the disloyalty of the
+procurators of the Imperial Chamber. Doctor Simeon Engelhardt, my
+father's procurator, did not hesitate to write to him that he had won
+his case, and asked for the bill of costs of the two previous
+instances, so that he might hand them to the taxing judge and apply for
+execution. He added that the trouble he had taken with the affair
+seemed to him to warrant special fees. My parents, elated with the
+news, promptly transmitted the bill of costs and their fees for the
+execution. Engelhardt produced the <i>cedula expensarum</i>; Bruser's
+procurator requested copy, not without pretending to raise objection.
+Engelhardt delivered the required copy, leaving to the judge the case
+of designating the winning party; in other words, the one who had the
+right to present the <i>designatio expensarum</i>. Well, that right was
+adjudged to Bruser, who drew up the <i>cedula</i> after <i>ours</i>. Engelhardt
+was compelled to hold his tongue and my father had to pay 164 florins.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">That point having been settled, they passed to the second <i>membrum</i> of
+the Stralsund judgment; namely, whether the conditions stipulated for
+by my father were tainted with usury? After such an expensive and
+protracted lawsuit, the court, considering that Bruser had failed in
+his attempt to bring proof, condemned him to fulfil his engagements.
+Against that sentence he appealed to Lubeck. Having been non-suited
+there, he wished to have recourse to the Imperial Chamber, but we
+signified opposition to the <i>exceptio devolutionis</i>. According to us,
+he had not complied with the privilege of Lubeck. Bruser's procurator
+maintained the contrary. The whole of the discussion bore entirely on
+the sense of the word &quot;<i>wann</i>&quot; inserted in the Lubeck <i>vidimus</i>. Was it
+a <i>conjunctio causalis, cum posteaquam</i>, or an <i>adverbium temporis,
+quando</i>? After long-drawn debates, the appeal was rejected, and Bruser
+had all the costs to pay.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Then, to frustrate his adversary, he pleaded poverty on oath, although
+he gave to his daughter as many pearls and jewels as a burgomaster's
+girl could possibly pretend to. Foreseeing the upshot of the lawsuit,
+he had already disposed of one of his houses; after which he bestirred
+himself to safeguard his dwelling-house, his cellar and his various
+other property from being seized. Nicholas Rode, he who had signed the
+obligation, deposed to that effect, a document professedly anterior to
+my father's claim, an act constituting in his favour a general mortgage
+on all Bruser's property. As a matter of course, this led to a new
+lawsuit, which occupied respectively the courts of Stralsund and of
+Lubeck and the Imperial Chamber. The latter registered Rode's appeal at
+the moment the Protestant States denied its jurisdiction. A suspension
+of six years was the result, but after the reconstitution of the
+chamber and the closure of the debates, I did not succeed, in spite of
+two years' stay at Spires, in getting a judgment.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Weary of being involved in law for thirty-four years, my father wound
+up by acquitting the heirs of Rode of all future liabilities in
+consideration of a sum of one thousand florins. As it happened the
+original debt was seventeen hundred and five and twenty florins; in
+addition to this, my father had refunded to Bruser one hundred and
+sixty-four florins expenses, his own costs exceeded a thousand florins
+and he had waited forty years for his money. The whole affair was
+nothing short of a downright calamity to our family; it interrupted my
+studies and caused the death of my brother Johannes. &quot;<i>Dimidium plus
+toto</i>,&quot; says Hesiod, and the maxim is above all wise in connexion with
+a law-suit at the Imperial Chamber.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Writing, as I do, for the edification of my children, I consider it
+useful to mention here the subsequent fate of our godless adversaries.
+The seventy-fifth Psalm says: &quot;For in the hand of the Lord there is a
+cup, and the wine is red, and he poured out of the same, but the dregs
+thereof all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink
+them.&quot; Yes, the Almighty has comforted me, he has permitted me to see
+the scattering of my enemies. The two principal ones, Hermann Bruser
+and his fraudulent wife, fell into abject misery; they lived for many
+years on the bounty of parents and friends; finally the husband became
+valet of Joachim Burwitz who from the position of porter and general
+servant at the school when I was young had risen to be the secretary of
+the King of Sweden. The devil, however, twisted Bruser's neck at
+Stockholm. He was found in his master's wardrobe, his face all
+distorted. His daughter, dowered <i>in fraudem mei patris</i>, did, for all
+that, not escape very close acquaintance with poverty. She sold her
+houses and her land; and at her death her husband became an inmate of
+the asylum of the Holy Ghost, where he is to this day. Bruser's son, it
+is true, rose to be a secretary in Sweden, but far from prospering, he
+committed all kind of foolish acts everywhere. His first wife, the
+daughter of Burgomaster Gentzkow,<a name="div2_16" href="#div2Ref_16"><sup>[16]</sup></a> died of grief at Stralsund, where
+he had left her with her children at his departure for Sweden. He was
+found dead one morning in his room; his descendants are vegetating some
+in the city, some in the country.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The author of the plot, the honest dispenser of advice, Johannes
+Klocke, managed to keep his wealth, but he was racked with gout and had
+to be carried in a chair to the Town Hall; he died after having
+suffered martyrdom for many years. The four sons of Nicholas Rode were
+reduced to beggary; the house Bruser sold in order to cheat my father
+actually belongs to my son-in-law. As for Burgomaster Christopher
+Lorbeer, so skilled in prolonging law-suits, does he not expiate, he
+and his, every day, the wrong in having lent himself to corruption.
+Erckhorst, the man who tempted him, was robbed while engaged in
+transporting from one town to another two large bundles of velvet,
+silk, jewellery and pearls, the whole being estimated at several
+thousands of florins. His second wife was the byword of the city for
+her levity of conduct; at every moment she was caught in her own
+dwelling-house and in the most untoward spots committing acts of
+criminal intercourse with her apprentices. What had been saved from the
+thieves was devoured by his wife's paramours. Absolutely at a loss to
+reinstate himself in his former position, Erckhorst made an end of his
+life by stabbing himself.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My father's other debtor, the woman Leveling, was left a widow with an
+only son. Her property in houses and in land yielded, it was said, a
+golden florin and a fowl per day. That fortune, nevertheless, melted
+away, and Leveling, worried by her creditors, was obliged to quit
+her house with nothing but what she stood up in. Lest her son, a
+horrible ne'er-do-well of fifteen, should spend his nights in houses of
+ill-fame, she kept a mistress for him at home; after that she married
+him at such an early age as to astonish everybody, but he cared as much
+about the sanctity of marriage as a dog cares about Lent. During the
+ceremonies connected with rendering homage to Duke Philip, the duchess
+lodged at Leveling's and stood godmother to his new-born daughter,
+which honour had not the slightest effect in changing the scandalous
+life he led with a concubine. One night, in company with a certain
+Valentin Buss, he emptied the baskets in the pond of the master of the
+fishmongers. An arrant thief, he was fast travelling towards the
+gallows. Buss, who wound up by going to prison, would have been hanged
+but for Leveling, who in order to redeem himself parted to the council
+with his last piece of ground, namely, that in which his father's body
+rested in the church. One day at the termination of the sermon,
+Leveling, sword in hand, pursued my father, who had just time to reach
+his domicile and to shut the door in his face. On the other hand,
+Master Sonnenberg, who sheltered the old woman Leveling while she was
+negotiating with her creditors, was not content with egging on her son
+to all sorts of evil deeds, but had the effrontery to say to my father:
+&quot;I'll tame you so well that you shall come and eat out of my hands.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">After having squandered his inheritance, Leveling died in the most
+abject poverty; his daughter Marie, the duchess' goddaughter, sells
+fish in the market. Such was the end of the wealthy popinjay. Mother
+and son followed the traditions of their family without having profited
+by the lessons of the past; one of the woman Leveling's relatives was,
+in fact, that Burgomaster Wulf Wulflam, reputed the richest man on that
+part of the coast,<a name="div2_17" href="#div2Ref_17"><sup>[17]</sup></a> whose wife was so fond of show and splendour
+that at her second marriage she sent for the prince's musicians from
+Stettin and walked from her house to the church on an English carpet.
+For her own wear she only used the finest Riga flax. So much vainglory
+was punished by the God of Justice, who expels from His kingdom the
+proud and haughty. The only thing she had finally left of all her
+magnificence was a silver bowl with which she went begging from door to
+door. &quot;Charity,&quot; she cried, &quot;for the poor rich woman.&quot; One day she
+asked from one of her former servants a shift and some linen for a
+collar to it. Moved with pity, the latter did not refuse. &quot;Madame,&quot; she
+said, &quot;this linen was made of the flax you used for your own wear. I
+have carefully picked it up, cleaned and spun it.&quot;<a name="div2_18" href="#div2Ref_18"><sup>[18]</sup></a></p>
+
+<p class="normal">The arrangement made by the Levelings with their creditors gave to my
+father the passage of the Muhlen-Strasse. Inasmuch as the premises were
+tumbling to pieces, masons, carpenters, stonecutters and plasterers
+were soon set to work and began by expelling the rats, mice and
+doubtful human creatures that had taken up their quarters there. The
+best tenement adjoining the city wall with a beautiful look-out on the
+moats and the open country was occupied by the concubine of Zabel
+Lorbeer. She was one of the three Maries, and had presented him with
+either seven or eight bastards. My father, finding the door locked one
+morning, ordered the workmen to knock down the wall which fell on the
+bed where the scamp and the girl were sleeping; the only thing they
+could do was to get out of the way as quickly as possible. Lorbeer
+brought up his progeny according to the principles that guided him; and
+finally had his son beheaded to save him the disgrace of the gallows.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">A short digression is necessary in connexion with the three Maries.<a name="div2_19" href="#div2Ref_19"><sup>[19]</sup></a>
+They were sisters, exceedingly good-looking, but the poet's &quot;<i>Et quidem
+servasset, si non formosa fuisset</i>,&quot; essentially applied to them. Many
+traps are laid for beauty, and they one after another fell into them.
+They lived on their charms, being particularly careful about their
+appearance and dress in order to attract admirers. Their attempts to
+obtain such notice were seconded by an unspeakable old crone, Anna
+Stranck, who had been a downright Messalina in her time, and of
+whom it was said that she could reckon on the whole of the city
+among her parentage, although she had neither husband nor children, but
+that she had had illicit intercourse with every male, young, old and
+middle-aged, fathers, sons and brothers. Anna Stranck invented for the
+use of the three Maries a kind of loose coif, the fashion of which our
+womenkind have religiously preserved; even those who have discarded it
+wearing a velvet hood based upon that model. They brought their hair,
+black or grey about two inches down on the forehead. Then came as many
+inches of gold lace or embroidery, so that the real cap, intended to
+keep the head warm did not in the least cover the brain. I am purposely
+quoting the name of Anna Stranck, for it is well to remind people to
+whom the headgear was due in the first instance; and may it please our
+dames to preserve it for ever in memory of the woman, mother,
+grandmother and great-grandmother of their husbands.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I now resume my personal narrative. During the rebuilding of this new
+property, I was fetching and carrying all the while. One day my father
+sent me to our own house for the luncheon for himself and for the
+carpenters. The workmen were just knocking down a chimney; they were
+working higher than the chimney on a gangway made of boards which at
+each extremity overlapped the stays. A great number of large nails were
+strewn about the scaffolding. I climbed up, with my arms full of
+provisions, but scarcely did I set my foot on the gangway than the
+gangway toppled over and I was flung into space, the nails descending
+in a shower on my head. I just happened to fall by the side of the open
+chimney; half an ell more or less and I should have been through its
+aperture on the ground floor. As it was, the accident proved
+sufficiently serious. I had dislocated my right elbow and horribly
+bruised my arm. They took me home, whence my mother took me to Master
+Joachim Gelhaar. He was absent, and inasmuch as the case seemed urgent,
+they had recourse to the barber in the Old Market, who dressed the
+bruises without noticing that the bone was dislocated. Next morning
+Master Gelhaar came. A simple glance was sufficient for him; he grasped
+my arm, pulled and twisted it and put the bones back into their
+sockets. But the limb was bruised and swollen and twisted. I shall
+never forget the pain I suffered. In a little while, though, I was
+enabled to go about the house as usual with one arm in a sling, and the
+other available for our childish pastimes.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The old beams and rafters of the premises under repair were stacked at
+our place. One day, while perched on one of the piles, I struck out
+with a hammer in my left hand; one of the beams rolled down and my leg
+was caught between it and the other wood. The pain made me cry out
+lustily, but it was impossible to disengage my leg. My mother was not
+strong enough for the task, and making sure that my leg was crushed,
+she shouted and fetched the navvies and the brewery workmen; they
+delivered me. When she was certain that no harm had come to me, my
+mother, still excited, treated me to a good drubbing. On New Year's
+Day, 1533, my father was elected dean of the Corporation of
+Drapers.<a name="div2_20" href="#div2Ref_20"><sup>[20]</sup></a></p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_1.03" href="#div1_1.03">CHAPTER III</a></h2>
+
+<p class="hang1">Showing the Ingratitude, Foolishness and Wickedness of the People, and
+how, when once infected with a bad Spirit, it returns with Difficulty
+to Common-Sense--Smiterlow, Lorbeer and the Duke of Mecklenburg--Fall
+of the seditious Regime of the Forty-Eight</p>
+<br>
+<p class="continue">The ecclesiastical affairs of Stralsund had assumed more or less
+regular conditions; the Gospel was preached in all the churches without
+opposition either on the part of the princes or of the council.
+Smiterlow had sanctioned the return of Rolof Moller. Nevertheless,
+peace was not maintained for long, Lubeck, Rostock, Stralsund and
+Wismar having revolted against their magistrates. In fact, at the death
+of King Frederick of Denmark, George Wullenweber,<a name="div2_21" href="#div2Ref_21"><sup>[21]</sup></a> burgomaster of
+Lubeck, having for his acolyte Marx Meyer, decided to declare war upon
+Duke Christian of Holstein.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">According to Wullenweber, the conquest of Denmark was a certainty; and
+inasmuch as the magistrates of Lubeck, belonging to the old families,
+looked with apprehension on the enterprise, they were deposed and sixty
+burghers added to their successors.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Marx Meyer was a working blacksmith with a handsome face and figure.
+Being a skilful farrier he had accompanied the cavalry in several
+campaigns, and his conduct both with regard to his comrades and the
+enemy had been such as to gain for him the highest grades. He was
+created a Knight in England and amassed a considerable fortune. His
+rise in the world filled him, however, with inordinate pride and
+vanity. Nothing in the way of sumptuous garments and golden ornaments
+seemed good enough to emphasize his knightly dignity. He had a crowd of
+retainers and a stable full of horses, for like the majority of folk of
+low birth, he knew of no bounds in his prosperity. Odd to relate, he
+was courted by people of good condition; women both young, rich and
+well-born fell in love with this, and it would appear that he gave them
+no cause to regret their infatuation. I have read a letter written to
+him by one of the foremost ladies of quality of Hamburg: &quot;My dear Marx,
+after having visited all the chapels, you might for once in a way come
+to the cathedral.&quot; May his death be accounted as an instance of
+everlasting justice.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In June 1534 the councillors of the Wendish cities,<a name="div2_22" href="#div2Ref_22"><sup>[22]</sup></a> apprehending a
+disaster and being moreover exceedingly grieved at this struggle
+against the excellent Duke of Holstein, foregathered at Hamburg to
+consider the state of affairs. Wullenweber, however, presumptuous as
+was his wont, became more obstinate than ever and rejected with scorn
+most acceptable terms of peace. Hence, the Stralsund delegate,
+Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow, addressed the following prophetic words
+to him: &quot;I have been present at many negotiations, but never have I
+seen matters treated like this, Signor George. You will knock your head
+against the wall and you shall fall on your beam end.&quot; After that
+apostrophe, Wullenweber, furious with anger, left the council-chamber,
+made straight for his inn, had his and Meyer's horses saddled and both
+took the way back to Lubeck, where immediately after his arrival
+Wullenweber summoned his undignified council and the aforementioned
+sixty burghers, who between them decree in the twinkling of an eye a
+levy of troops; dispatching meanwhile to the council of Stralsund a
+blatant sedition-monger, Johannes Holm, with verbal instructions and a
+missive couched substantially as follows: &quot;Wullenweber is zealously
+working to bring principalities and kingdoms under the authority of the
+cities, but the opposition of Burgomaster Smiterlow has driven him from
+the diet. In spite of this, the struggle is bound to continue, so it
+lays with you to act.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Nothing more than that was wanted to stir the whole of the citizens
+against Smiterlow. The Forty-Eight came to tender their condolence to
+Burgomaster Lorbeer who was secretly jealous of his colleague.
+Pretending to be greatly concerned, he exclaimed: &quot;This is too much,
+impossible to defend him any longer.&quot; His hearers took it for granted
+that Smiterlow was left to their discretion, while, according to
+Lorbeer himself, the ambiguous words merely signified: &quot;Smiterlow has
+so many enemies that I can no longer come to his aid.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At Smiterlow's return, the fire so skilfully fed by Lorbeer broke into
+flame. People hailed each other with the cry, &quot;Nicholas the Pacific is
+here.&quot; The delegate had to deliver an account of his mission to the
+burghers summoned to that effect at six in the morning, at the Town
+Hall, with the city-gates closed and the cannon taken out of the
+arsenal and placed in position in the Old Markets The crowd poured into
+the streets, and at the Town Hall itself people were crushing the life
+out of each other. When Nicholas Smiterlow came to his statement that
+he had opposed Wullenweber's warlike motions, there was a hurricane of
+cries, curses and insults; it sounded as if they had all gone stark mad
+at once. It was proposed to fling the speaker out of the window; an axe
+was flung at the Councillors' bench and in endeavouring to intercept
+the weapon the worshipful Master Kasskow was severely wounded. One
+individual placed himself straight in front of the burgomaster. &quot;You
+scum of the earth,&quot; he yelled; &quot;did you not unjustly fine me twenty
+florins? Now it is my turn.&quot; &quot;What's your name?&quot; asked Smiterlow.
+&quot;That's right,&quot; he said on its being given; &quot;it was a piece of
+injustice, he ought to have had the gallows. I was sheriff at the time
+and the council instructed me to fine you twenty florins. My register
+of fines can show you that I did not keep them for myself, but spent
+them for the good of the city.&quot; His interlocutor wished to hear no more
+and disappeared in the crowd.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It should also be noted that the beggars who generally hung about the
+burgomaster's dwelling were all the while vociferating under the
+windows of the Town Hall. &quot;Fling Nicholas the Pacific down to us,&quot; they
+shouted; &quot;we'll cut him up and play ball with the pieces.&quot; One of the
+Forty-Eight having asked, &quot;What do you think of it, my worthy
+burghers?&quot; the rabble yelled, &quot;Yes, yes,&quot; without the faintest idea of
+the nature of the question. Somebody thereupon observed, &quot;Why are you
+shouting 'Yes'? Are you willing to hand over the public chest?&quot;
+Thereupon there was an equally unanimous and stentorian &quot;No.&quot;
+Unquestionably the devil had occasion on that day to laugh at the
+people in his sleeve.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">This martyring of the first burgomaster, an eminent, virtuous man, who
+had, moreover, attained a certain age, was prolonged till seven o'clock
+at night. Finally, he received the order not to leave his quarters.
+Similar injunctions were inflicted on my father in his capacity of
+nephew by marriage to the burgomaster, and to Joachim Rantzow for
+having exclaimed, &quot;Gently, gently; at least give people a chance to
+explain themselves.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The soldiers and sailors were enjoined at the sound of the drum to man
+the galleys, and a strict watch was kept. At night a strong squad
+encamped in front of Smiterlow's dwelling; the soldiers, among other
+pastimes, amused themselves with firing at the front door; the bullets
+passed out at the other side of the passage through a circular glazed
+aperture. There were many hours of anguish for the burgomaster, his
+wife and children, who expected at every moment to have their home
+invaded by the mob.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On the Monday of St. John they elected two burgomasters, namely,
+Joachim Prütze, the erewhile town clerk, an honest and sensible man,
+and Johannes Klocke, the actual town clerk and syndicus. Seven burghers
+were elected councillors; with the exception of Secretary Johannes
+Senckestack, who had had no hand in the thing, they were all honest,
+uninteresting folk, as simple-minded as they were upright and virtuous.
+Johannes Tamme, for instance, a worthy and straightforward man, replied
+to the artizans and others who came to complain of the bad state of
+business: &quot;Make your mind easy; it will change now that seven capable
+people form part of the council.&quot; Antique simplicity indeed. Nicholas
+Baremann boasted of earning ten marks each time he left his home. One
+day he went into the cellar to look at a barrel of salt-fish, he was
+accompanied by a servant who was not altogether right in his head. In
+those days men wore round their necks a very narrow collar of pleated
+tulle. While the master was bending over the fish, the servant with one
+blow of his hatchet clean cut his head off. Instead of taking flight he
+quietly went back to his work. When interrogated about the motive of
+his crime, he replied that his master presented his neck so gently as
+to make the operation merely child's play. In spite of his
+unquestionable mental state, the murderer was broken alive on the
+wheel.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My father was practically imprisoned for fifteen months in his own
+house, whence resulted an enormous loss to his own business, for in
+view of the coming herring-fair at Falsterbo, in the province of
+Schonen,<a name="div2_23" href="#div2Ref_23"><sup>[23]</sup></a> his cellar and hall were packed with Luneburg salt; there
+was also a considerable quantity of dried cod, besides a big assortment
+of cloth, and amidst all this he was forbidden to cross the threshold
+of his house and no one was allowed to come and see him. My mother was,
+moreover, pregnant at the time, and as the date of her confinement drew
+near my father asked for leave to take up his quarters with a neighbour
+until it was over. His petition was refused, and at the critical moment
+he found himself compelled to get into the adjoining house by the roof.
+He was also prevented from personally inviting the godparents.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">George Wullenweber and his undisciplined followers opened the
+hostilities by sea and by land. In this bitter struggle the Duke of
+Holstein preserved the advantage, though he fought as one against two,
+but the Almighty was on his side. Humiliated by these reverses, with
+their prestige diminished and threatened with an ignominious fall, the
+fribbling authors of the war expected to save everything by
+substituting another chief for Wullenweber. After a week of
+negotiations the emissaries of Lubeck, Rostock, and Stralsund assembled
+at Wismar offered to Duke Albrecht of Mecklenburg the throne of
+Denmark. The act, drawn up in due form and signed and sealed by Lubeck,
+Rostock and Wismar was dispatched to Stralsund, the signature and seal
+of which was wanting to it. The fine phrases of the Lubeckian message
+got the better of the opposition of the council; the Forty-Eight broke
+open the casket containing the great seal, affixed it to the document
+and sent it back to Wismar.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Every rule had been strictly observed; the Duke of Mecklenburg invited
+the representatives of the cities for the next day to a banquet, at
+which the act was to be handed to him. But during the morning itself
+the delegates of Stralsund, under the pretext of wishing to examine the
+parchment, asked to look at it, and Christopher Lorbeer, borrowing a
+pocket-knife of his colleague, Franz Wessel, cut the strings of the
+Stralsund seal, after which they made off as far as their carriage
+would let them. They were half-way to Rostock while the other
+ambassadors were still waiting for them with dinner. Undeterred by
+this, Albrecht, accompanied by his wife, her ladies, servants, horses
+and dogs, took the road to Copenhagen, like a legitimate sovereign.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Lorbeer himself, his children, and the rest of his relations have
+sung in all manner of keys the resolute--others would say, the
+audacious--conduct he displayed on that occasion; nobody, whether
+townsman, rustic or alien was to remain ignorant of the feat; and to
+this day people keep repeating that Burgomaster Lorbeer, scorning all
+danger (<i>non enim sine periculo facinus magnum et memorabile</i>), made
+himself illustrious by this signal act, by this heroic exploit. If,
+however, we turn the leaf, what do we read? <i>Qui periculum amat peribit
+in eo</i>; real courage will never be confounded with reckless audacity.
+That the act was provided with the great seal of Stralsund is a fact
+known to the representatives of Lubeck, Rostock and Wismar, who
+handled the document on the strength of which, when ratified by the
+Forty-Eight, Duke Albrecht went and shut himself up in Copenhagen,
+where he sustained a siege, and practically obliged Stralsund to make
+the same sacrifices for him the other cities had made. Consequently,
+one has the right to ask: &quot;Where was the advantage of detaching the
+seal?&quot; If Lorbeer had utilized his energy in keeping in port vessels,
+soldiers and ammunition, then he would have rendered a signal service,
+and, besides, prevented the waste of much money. Do Lorbeer's admirers
+imagine that Duke Albrecht would not have avenged the outrage when once
+his throne was consolidated? The least he would have done was to close
+the Sound against us, and to hamper our commerce everywhere. Verily
+they are right, the citizens who keep on praising the mad trick of
+Lorbeer.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Burgomaster Smiterlow bore his enforced retirement with admirable
+patience. Instead of meddling with public affairs, he assiduously read
+the Holy Scriptures, and spent most of his time in prayer. He finally
+knew by heart the Psalms of David. As a daily visitor to his home, I
+can say that no bitter word ever fell from his lips. He often repeated,
+&quot;They are my fellow-citizens; the Lord will move their spirit. It is my
+duty to suffer for the love of my children.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Our gracious prince, Duke Philip, sent to request the liberation of the
+burgomaster. The envoys were told that the answer would be sent to them
+to the hostel. The discussion was a very long one, after which they
+deputed the very host of the envoys, Hermann Meier, together with
+Nicholas Rode, the one as illiterate as the other, and both densely
+ignorant on every subject. Hermann Meier, who was a native of Parow,
+had amassed much property in cash, in land, and in houses. Being the
+owner of the two villages of Parow, he had practically for his vassals
+his uncles and his cousins, whom he ruled at his will. Nicholas Rode
+was a well-to-do merchant, but who had never associated with people of
+condition. Hermann Meier had undertaken to address the envoys, but he
+began to stumble at the first sentence, and finally, stricken dumb
+altogether, he left his colleague behind, rushed from the room, and
+went helter-skelter down the stairs. When he reached the yard, he fell
+altogether ill with excitement. Nevertheless, he plucked up his courage
+and went back--to apologize, as one would suppose. Not at all. Scorning
+all exordium, and without even giving the envoys their titles, he went
+straight to the point. &quot;The council and the Forty-Eight,&quot; he said,
+&quot;have decided in the name of the citizens that we should signify to you
+as follows: Inasmuch as they did not consult the prince to inflict the
+confinement, they shall not consult him to annul it.&quot; Verily, a speech
+worthy of the orator and of those who sent him, <i>similes habent labra
+lactucas</i>. I wonder what would happen if somebody took it into his head
+to-day to address a prince in that manner. Considering that all the
+magistrates of that period were of most mediocre capacity (I am using a
+mild term), two suppositions are admissible. It was either the
+intention of the Forty-Eight to make the young duke ridiculous by
+choosing such delegates, or the three or four intelligent members of
+the council declined this foolish mission.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The embassy had, however, one result. My father was summoned to the
+Town Hall, where he was told that he could recover his freedom in
+consideration of a fine of a hundred marks. He wished to know what
+fault he had committed, and was told not to &quot;argufy.&quot; &quot;Hundred marks or
+the collar. You can take your choice.&quot; As a matter of course my father
+chose the former, although the only crime that could be imputed to him
+was his marriage with the niece of Burgomaster Smiterlow. The same mode
+of procedure was applied to the case of Joachim Rantzow, an honest and
+honoured citizen, who subsequently became a member of the council.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Shortly after this Councillors Nicholas Rode and Nicholas Bolte came to
+enjoin Burgomaster Smiterlow, in conjunction with two of his relatives,
+to sign a document already engrossed and provided with the wax for
+three seals. According to them it was the only means to end his
+captivity and to avoid all further and even more serious dangers. In
+this piece of writing Burgomaster Smiterlow confessed to having been a
+traitor to the city, a perjurer, guilty of the most infamous conduct,
+and to have forfeited all his rights. The two councillors made it their
+special business to paint the situation in the most sombre colours.
+Terror-stricken and dissolved in tears, the burgomaster's wife implored
+her husband to accede to the request of these two fanatics until the
+Lord Himself could come to his aid. Unmanned by all this, Smiterlow
+asked my father to seal the act with him. &quot;No,&quot; exclaimed the latter,
+&quot;I shall not sign your dishonour.&quot; But his two sons-in-law, overcome by
+the tears of their mother-in-law, affixed their seals. Thereupon the
+burgomaster, escorted by the two councillors, his two sons-in-law and
+my father, repaired to the Town Hall. On their way, he went into the
+St. Nicholas' Church, knelt down in the stall near the great St.
+Christopher, and said a short prayer.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The council of the Forty-Eight was holding its meeting in the summer
+council-room. Requested by Christopher Lorbeer to resume his usual
+seat, Smiterlow refused. &quot;I cannot do so,&quot; he said, &quot;after the document
+I have just signed.&quot; Nevertheless, they insisted until he took his
+seat. Then he addressed them, reminding them that he had travelled in
+the city's service a hundred and odd days (I have forgotten the exact
+number, for I was only sixteen years old). &quot;If it can be proved that I
+have spent one florin unnecessarily, been guilty of one neglect or
+caused a single prejudice, I am ready to yield all I possess and my
+life besides. If, on the other hand, I can show my innocence, then can
+I count upon the same protection as that enjoyed by the other citizens;
+that is, frequent the churches, cross the bridges, appear in the market
+place, and attend to my business in all freedom and security.&quot; The
+reply being affirmative, he rose from his seat, wished the council a
+peaceful term of administration, and, followed by his nearest
+relatives, went back to his home.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The situation remained the same until 1537. Strong in the consciousness
+of his own honesty, and leaving the Forty-Eight to govern at their
+own sweet will, Smiterlow remained perfectly tranquil in his
+retirement. He was an assiduous churchgoer, and when the weather was
+fine, took excursions into the country accompanied by his daughters,
+his sons-in-law, my parents and their family. His jovial disposition
+delighted them all.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On the other hand, the Forty-Eight were constantly assailed by fear.
+The success of the war became more and more doubtful, in spite of the
+sacrifice of hundreds of lives, in spite of the pillaging of the Town
+Hall, in spite of the enormous sums wasted--thrown into the water, it
+would be more correct to say. They converted the bells of the city and
+of the villages into money; all these took the road to Lubeck, where,
+to our disgrace be it said, the mark of Stralsund can still be seen on
+a bronze pile-driver. Twice did the citizens, from the highest to the
+lowest, pay the tax of the hundredth halfpenny on the strength of their
+oath.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">When they saw their power tottering, the Forty-Eight imitated the
+unjust steward of St. Luke, and compelled the community to confirm,
+renew and extend the infamous declaration violently dragged from the
+council of 1522. The new act had apparently some good in it. It
+enjoined upon the magistrates judicious rules of conduct which,
+however, were not at all within their competence. In reality, the
+ancient council acknowledged to have incurred by its resistance a fine
+which was remitted to them by their magnanimous successors. It took the
+engagement to favour the cause of the Forty-Eight. No dissension,
+misunderstanding, accusation or recrimination, whether relating to the
+past or the present, would in future be tolerated. Any contravention to
+that effect entailed upon the councillors the loss of their dignities;
+upon other citizens, the loss of their civic rights; upon women and
+children, a fine of fifty florins, payable by the father or husband,
+and going to the fund for public buildings.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">That much was decided on the Friday after Candlemas, 1535.
+Nevertheless, the Forty-Eight kept trembling in their shoes. The very
+next year witnessed the promulgation of another decree, threatening
+with the utmost bodily penalty any and every one, young or old, rich or
+poor, magistrate or simple burgher who should decline the
+responsibility of the expedition to Denmark, or should influence others
+on the subject. This act was transcribed sequentially to that of 1535,
+with the formula: Given under our administration anno and day as above.
+Hence it was antedated. It was a clumsy trick, for a unique act does
+not admit of a codicil. But does the ass ever succeed in hiding its
+ears?</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In 1536, on the day of <i>Esto Mihi</i>, Duke Philip married, at the Castle
+of Torgau, Fräulein Marie, sister of the Duke of Saxony, Johannes
+Friedrich. The marriage rites were performed by Dr. Martin Luther, who
+after the ceremony said to the husband: &quot;Gracious prince and lord,
+Should the event so much desired be somewhat tardy in coming, let not
+your Highness be discouraged. <i>Saxum</i> means stone, and nothing can be
+drawn from a rock without time or patience. Your Highness shall be
+included in my prayers: <i>semen tuum non deficit</i>.&quot; The duchess, in
+fact, gave birth to her first child only about four years later.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The punishment of the wicked and the triumph of the just marched
+abreast, <i>inclusio unius est exclusio alterius et e contra</i>. Amidst the
+torments of hell the damned watch the bliss of the happy ones whom they
+have persecuted on earth. I am bound to insist upon this antithesis
+while pursuing my narrative. I expect no thanks, for men are so
+thin-skinned as to cause them to quiver at the slightest touch; and
+that is the reason why all those who have written on Stralsund, such as
+Thomas Kantzow, Valentin Eichstedt,<a name="div2_24" href="#div2Ref_24"><sup>[24]</sup></a> and Johannes Berckmann passed
+their pens to their successors when they got as far as 1536. I have no
+desire to flatter or to find fault, but I intend to speak the real
+truth, however disagreeable it may turn out to be. My sole concern is
+to preserve the dignity of history. If people will take the trouble to
+read carefully the authors just named, and especially Berckmann,
+otherwise the Augustine monk, his impertinent libels will enable them
+to appreciate the usefulness of the present pages. The approval of
+honest folk is the only reward I care for; the rest is of no
+consequence.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It is almost incredible that the Duke of Mecklenburg should have
+committed the blunder of yielding to the suggestions of Wullenweber,
+whom all good citizens virtually disavowed. Never was there a more
+unjust war. In disposing of a country which, on no assumption whatever,
+could possibly belong to them, the cities caused an incalculable
+prejudice to the Duke of Holstein, the Lord's anointed, the legitimate,
+well-beloved, and expected sovereign. He showed great firmness. The
+leader of a powerful army, and master of its communications by sea and
+by land, he was fully aware of his superiority to an adversary who,
+shut up in Copenhagen, only thought of pleasure, hunts and banquets. In
+spite of his just resentment, magnanimous Christian obtained a victory
+over himself, and while the surrender of the city was being negotiated,
+he sent provisions to the Duchess of Mecklenburg, at that time in
+childbed. This was tantamount to giving her charity. After the retreat
+of Duke Albrecht, Charles made a triumphal entry into Copenhagen, where
+he was crowned in 1537, and the presence at the pomp and ceremony of
+the coronation of the ambassadors of the cities was calculated to give
+him complete satisfaction. As for the Duke of Mecklenburg, he had
+learned to his cost the folly of disregarding the words of the Holy
+Spirit: &quot;My son, fear thou the Lord and the king, and meddle not with
+them that are given to change: for their calamity shall rise suddenly;
+and who knoweth the ruin of them both?&quot; (Proverbs xxiv. 21, 22).</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At Lubeck the pitiful collapse of the council brought about the
+reinstatement of the old magistracy. In a spirit of pacification they
+gave Wullenweber the captaincy of Bergendorf; but Wullenweber, while
+crossing the territory of the Abbey of Werden, was seized by order of
+Christopher, bishop of Bremen, who handed him over to his brother, Duke
+Heindrich of Brunswick. After a cruel captivity at Wolfenbüttel, and in
+consequence of indictments as numerous as they were grave (especially
+from Lubeck, represented by his secretary), he was sentenced to death
+in September, 1537, and his body quartered. At the taking of the
+fortress of Wardenburg, Duke Christian captured Marx Meyer, his brother
+Gerard Meyer, and a notorious Danish priest. These three were executed
+by the sword, quartered, and their bodies shown on the rack to the
+great satisfaction of the Danish people and the honest Lubeckenaars so
+long oppressed.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Nicholas Nering, a citizen of those parts, had sold to Johannes Krossen
+a farm with all its live stock and belongings, but, according to him,
+he had reserved for himself the foal of a handsome mare, if it should
+happen to be a colt, and a colt it turned out to be. At the period of
+its weaning, in 1535, he claimed the young animal. Krossen contested
+the claim. Thereupon, according to the evidence of his step-son, Peter
+Klatteville, who was about fifteen, and whose evidence was recorded in
+the black register of the court, Nering, not to be outdone, mounted his
+black horse, the lad trotting barefooted by his side, and both went at
+five a.m. to Krossen's farm. Nering got the colt out of the stables
+while the youngster kept watch. Nering hid his spoil for three weeks at
+Schwartz's, at the new mill, and after having made Peter promise to
+keep the secret on the penalty of the most terrible punishment.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Different is the version recorded in the new register, written on
+parchment and bound in white sow's skin. &quot;In 1536, on the Monday after
+<i>Reminiscere</i>, Nicholas Nering, accused of pillage, has confessed
+before the court that riding along the Frankische landstrasse, after
+passing the gate, he noticed three colts; that moved by a wicked
+inspiration, he had gone up to them and thrown the leash over one of
+these, and fastened it to the pommel of his saddle, and in that way
+brought it to his own stables. After having heard the above confession,
+it was decided to take Nicholas Nering outside the city and hang him on
+the gallows.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Nicholas Nering's bad reputation did not dispose the council in his
+favour; hence all his friends had employed him to restore the colt in
+order to prevent the matter going into the courts, but he had proved
+obstinate. While he was in his cell, he repeated that he was
+indifferent to death, but that he deplored the calamities which his
+execution would entail. It was an evident proof of his having concocted
+a scheme of vengeance with his confidants. This became obvious enough
+after his death, when his kindred left the city and began setting fire
+to mills, homesteads and villages of the neighbourhood, and recruiting
+accomplices by sheer weight of money. Two of these malefactors were
+taken at Bart, and put on the rack. At Stralsund they arrested ten
+individuals at once, among others, Christian Parow, the dean of the
+drapers, and Johannes Blumenow, the dean of the shoemakers. Young Peter
+Klatteville confessed to having set the New Mill on fire at the
+instigation of his mother, Nering's widow. Three were put on the rack;
+they declared having received of Parow ten marks for committing the
+crime, and the ministers who conducted them to the execution had much
+trouble to make them retract the accusation in the presence of the
+crowd. The following is the version in the <i>Annales</i> of Berckmann, one
+of the ministers: &quot;This is what I have personally seen. When Parow took
+his stroll in the market place, the raven of Barber Grellen ran to peck
+at his legs, so that Parow considered it the best part of valour to
+quit the place. I am bound to admit, though, that this bird was in the
+habit of annoying the peasants who happened to wear wide linen
+breeches. Parow, who was an old man, did not pay sufficient attention
+to his appearance as to have his breeches properly pulled up like those
+of his companions; hence, there is nothing to prove that Providence
+made use of the raven to declare which kind of death Parow deserved.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Berckmann is simply nothing more nor less than Satan's slave when he
+tries to make Parow odious. It is true that this worthy man signed and
+sealed the avowal of his forfeit; the act happened to fall into my
+hands when I was secretary of the city. I destroyed it, in that way
+saving an honourable family from future affronts, without causing any
+damage to the public welfare. Besides, this concession was known to
+every one. It had in the opinion of those who gave themselves time to
+think the same value as that of Burgomaster Smiterlow branding himself
+as a traitor and an infamous creature. During the inquiry, everybody
+could see how incensed Parow was with the Nerings. If he did give them
+ten marks, it was because the money was extorted from him bit by bit by
+a certain Smit who perished on the rack. Nering's stepson Klatteville
+even declares that Parow came one day to his mother and had a long
+conversation with her. He does not know what Parow said to her,
+but he seemed heartbroken at the behaviour of the Nerings, for he
+wept like a child and went away weeping. In the draper's company
+no one ever objected to sitting next to him at table, except Olaff
+Lorbeer, a ridiculous personage, and the son of one of the principal
+faction-mongers. He always overwhelmed the good old man with his coarse
+allusions.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Johannes Blumenow, condemned to death on Tuesday, was only led to the
+scaffold on the following Thursday. I saw the execution. The corpse
+remained on the wheel, wrapped up by means of a cord in the blue dress
+he wore every day. This was done in order to prevent the crows from
+going to work too quickly. This Blumenow, a lively, though grey-haired
+fellow, the dean of the shoemakers, was the wealthiest of the
+Forty-Eight. He was very ambitious for the burgomastership which, he
+flattered himself, he could discharge better than any body. At the last
+burgomaster's banquet, that of Nicholas Sonnenberg, Frau Blumenow said
+to the matron next to her: &quot;I did not wish to come, but I ought to know
+what to do when our turn comes to give the banquet.&quot; I have seen
+Blumenow busy cleaning skins and during that time many a notable
+personage clad in furs bowed down before him with more respect than
+before any former burgomaster. Berckmann attributes no other wrong to
+him than that of having induced Nering to renounce his citizenship
+(that is honest enough); but, he insinuates they had made up their
+minds to ruin him because he had in his possession the famous act
+elaborated by the Forty-Eight. What a pity it is that Berckmann sets so
+little store by the truth. Who compelled him to commit so many foolish
+fabrications to paper? With a little trouble on his part he could have
+learnt that about forty years previously a priest had been assassinated
+in his dwelling. The murderer remained unknown until Blumenow, being
+put to the torture, confessed to being the author of the crime. He had
+counted upon a big sum of money, but the victim did not possess more
+than a few pence. That, my very dear Berckmann, was what brought
+Blumenow to the scaffold. The sedition mongers had taken their
+precautions so well in the act of 1535 and in its appendix that, but
+for the Nering lawsuits, the honest part of the community would have
+never had the joy of seeing their oppressors pay for their misdeeds.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I have already recounted the pitiful end of Rolof Moller; the whole of
+his line was overtaken with similar punishment. His eldest son, George,
+who had been my schoolfellow at Rostock, was only a stripling when he
+caught a nameless disease through frequenting a certain class of women.
+He wanted to play the young country squire, did little work and spent
+much. His stepfather took him away from his studies, and sent him to
+England to learn the language of the country, and then to Antwerp, to
+get an insight into business. The young fellow, however, continued his
+spendthrift ways, and it became necessary to recall him. Rolof Moller's
+second son, for a mere trifle, stabbed in the open street his cousin
+with whom he had been drinking claret at an apothecary's. The name of
+Moller is fated to be extinguished in a short time.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">What shall I say about Burgomaster Lorbeer, the instigator of the three
+riots, and especially of the third against Smiterlow? Everybody is
+aware of the contempt into which he fell even during his lifetime, and
+of the horrible malady that carried him slowly to the grave. After his
+death his wife and daughters still believed themselves to be the
+masters, as in the days when visiting an estate of the city they were
+greeted with the formula of reception, &quot;Be welcome, dear ladies, on thy
+lands,&quot; and when the passers-by hailed them with a &quot;God preserve you,
+young and dear burgomasters.&quot; This deference had inflated their
+presumption to such an extent that they lost all respect for both the
+council and the law courts. They ended up by exhausting the Divine
+patience.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The master-miller Nicholas Hildebrand was not the least influential
+among the Forty-Eight. A busybody, self-interested, he meddled with
+everything that could bring water to his milldam. Having had certain
+private reasons for retiring to Wolgast, he intrigued so barefacedly as
+to compel the duke to imprison him; and inasmuch as nobody dreamt of
+interceding for him, he spent the whole winter in a cell. At his
+discharge his legs were frost-bitten and he was eaten up with vermin.
+Another active and restless firebrand, the erewhile tailor Marschmann,
+who came to Wolgast to escape his creditors, kept Hildebrand company
+the whole of the winter. Knigge took to making false coin; but for
+Doctor Gentzkow, whose step-daughter he had married, the capital
+sentence passed on him would not have been commuted into banishment.
+Christian Herwig died in abject misery. They had given him the nickname
+of Count Christian, because in his prosperous days he strutted about in
+his best dress, one hand on his hip, and taking up the whole width of
+the street by himself. His wife became an inmate of the St. John's
+Asylum. One of his daughters, a downright slattern, had to beg her
+bread and was found dead one morning; the rest vegetated in the most
+sordid conditions. Nicholas Loewe, a quarrelsome creature who tried to
+look like a captain in his white dress set off with red velvet, in the
+end considered himself lucky at the St. John's Asylum to don the grey
+small clothes provided for him by charity. Long before his death he
+became stone blind. His daughter Anna was the talk of the town. I could
+easily extend this list, for, as far as I recollect, not one of those
+sedition-mongers escaped the punishment inflicted by the Almighty on
+rebels unto the third and fourth generations.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Stralsund, there is no doubt, is likely to feel for a long while the
+pernicious effects of Rolof Moller; but just as history praises
+Cambyses, that arch-tyrant, <i>monstrum hominis el vera cloaca diaboli</i>
+for having ordered the death of the prevaricating judge and for having
+had his skin nailed on the judgment seat; so on one point, and on one
+only, are the sedition-mongers entitled to commendation. They replaced
+the banquets of the burgomaster and the councillors by presents of
+goldsmith's work or by a piece of silver. Nowadays the city receives
+from the burgomaster a piece of silver-gilt; a councillor merely gives
+a piece of silverwork. The guilds have also done away with the banquets
+of reception and election. Instead of foolishly wasting their money in
+gormandizing, the new dean or the new companion offers a present of
+silver which does duty at the fêtes and gatherings, so that nowadays
+the wooden and pewter goblets have made room for silver tankards. On
+Twelfth Night the council and the corporations make a display of their
+treasure, to show to the public that it is not only intact, but
+increased.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">After the tragedy of the Passion comes the glory of Easter Day.
+Nicholas Smiterlow had suffered civil death; and among certain
+individuals on the magistrates' bench the password had gone round to
+prevent his resurrection. When, however, the disastrous issue of the
+war but too plainly confirmed the prophecies of the old burgomaster,
+the ironical nickname of &quot;pacific&quot; became the chief claim to his glory.
+Councillors and burghers in plenary meeting assembled, dispatched two
+of the former to him with the request for him to repair to the Town
+Hall. Burgomaster Lorbeer tried to stop the mission by rubbing his arm
+and saying that the letter of avowal signed by Smiterlow was a most
+indispensable document on that occasion, inasmuch as it was a question
+of annulling it. His attempt to redress the balance of his own game by
+a delay of twenty-four hours was a failure. His objection was simply
+put aside, and the secretary went at once to Blumenow's for the said
+letter, together with the pact imposed by the Forty-Eight. When
+Smiterlow entered the council-room all the burghers cried, &quot;Here is our
+beloved father, Nicholas the Pacific.&quot; He was conducted to his former
+seat, above Lorbeer's; they begged him to give them the help of his
+experience, and they promised that henceforth he should be exempt from
+all missions and embassies. Standing on the treasury chest, so as to
+afford a sight to everybody, the secretary tore the famous agreement
+into two, and detached Smiterlow's seal from it. But the burghers were
+not at all satisfied, and shouted to him to stick his penknife into and
+to lacerate the letter of avowal in a similar fashion. And thus ended
+the domination of the Forty-Eight.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Faithful--perhaps too faithful--to his habit, the ex-Augustine monk
+Berckmann limns Smiterlow in the falsest colours. He fancies he is
+using irony when he exclaims, &quot;Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow was a
+fine specimen of a man, conscious of his own worth, handsome, eloquent,
+prudent and wise, and enjoying much consideration from princes and
+nobles.&quot; It so happens that all this is simply so much bare truth, and
+added to all these merits, Smiterlow had the fear of God and a wide
+knowledge of the Scriptures. The <i>Annales</i> of Master Gerhard Droege
+quote him as the oldest patron and protector of the Evangelical
+ministries; hence, everything that Berckmann writes in connexion with
+or about him is inexact. Here is an instance. Berckmann states that
+Smiterlow was confined to his bed twelve weeks, while in reality he was
+taken ill one Sunday and died the next Tuesday, in 1539. His son
+George, my junior by a twelvemonth, was burgomaster for twenty-two
+years. He had inherited all his father's virtues; he went through
+similar ordeals, and was vouchsafed the same comforts from on high, and
+I see no reason to modify my letter to Duke Ernest Ludwig. That prince,
+egged on by the caballers of his court, exclaimed at the news of
+Smiterlow's demise, &quot;I had two enemies at Stralsund. Smiterlow is dead,
+and the devil will soon take Sastrow.&quot; I wrote to His Highness as
+follows:</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Gracious prince and lord,--The defunct burgomaster was neither bad
+naturally nor of base condition. His loyalty towards your Highness and
+Stralsund never failed, as could be proved by his numerous services. If
+he could have changed a farthing into a florin to the advantage of the
+city he would unquestionably have done so. Neither he nor his ever
+cheated the treasury. Hard-working, just and incorruptible, his speech
+expressing the feelings of his heart he, was a slave to duty, and
+severe or lenient as circumstances and persons dictated. Not at all
+obstinate, he was particularly amenable to reason, for the public weal
+was his sole guide. He administered the law with the strictest
+impartiality. A foe to dissipation and excess, he led a useful and
+retired life; though frugal and saving, he never remained behind where
+honour demanded the spending of money. The greatest harmony prevailed
+between him, his wife, and his servants. Though he had not pursued the
+ordinary course of studies, he was endowed with supreme wisdom. He had
+a most wonderful memory, and an equally wonderful gift of elocution. As
+a loyal subject, I can but address to God one prayer. The King of the
+Persians, Darius, prayed for as many zopyres as a pomegranate contains
+pips; may your Highness be enabled to count as many Smiterlows in the
+city and in the fields, not to mention the court; and while including
+the latter I wish to cast no reflection on any one. What then are we to
+think of those who dare to slander the defunct and to blacken his
+character in your Highness' eyes, besides causing grief to his wife,
+his children and his friends?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Everybody on the other hand would freely admit that Rolof Moller was
+overbearing, presumptuous, crafty, greedy, ungrateful, relentless, and
+turbulent. Smiterlow and Moller were so utterly different in character
+as to be unable to breathe the same air. At the council, in church, nay
+in the city itself, the presence of one was sufficient to drive away
+the other. Great, therefore, was the surprise when George Smiterlow
+married Moller's niece. How would people, for whom the space of a large
+city seemed insufficient, agree under the same roof, at the same board,
+in the same bed? What strange <i>communicatio idiomatum</i> was going to
+result from that marriage? Hence, I should openly disadvise the
+election of such a Smiterlow for the council, and least of all should I
+make him a burgomaster, for they have many more of their mother's than
+of the father's characteristics; <i>in hac lucta duarum diversarum
+naturarum</i> the Mollers appear to have had the advantage.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Nevertheless, this new generation is still sufficiently young to be
+susceptible of improvement. From the bottom of my heart I wish it may
+be so, for the sake both of its reputation and its welfare.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I have written the foregoing pages somewhat oppressed by the thought of
+the ill-will I am drawing on my devoted head in praising Smiterlow at
+the expense of Rolof Moller. The descendants of the latter will never
+forgive me. But I derive consolation and strength from the appreciation
+of educated men. They know that the historian's duty is to go straight
+for his aim, and to proclaim the truth, whether for good or evil,
+whether it pleases or displeases, and let come what may. I recommend to
+my children submission to the authorities, no matter whether Pilatus or
+Caiaphas governs. For the good of their soul and the welfare of their
+body they ought never to make pacts with sedition-mongers.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_1.04" href="#div1_1.04">CHAPTER IV</a></h2>
+
+<p class="hang1">Dr. Martin Luther writes to my Father--My Studies at Rostock and at
+Greifswald--Something about my hard Life at Spires--I am admitted as a
+Public Notary--Dr. Hose</p>
+<br>
+<p class="continue">My parents recalled me in 1538, having discovered that at Greifswald I
+more often accompanied my grandfather in his strolls than sat over my
+books. I attended school during the stay of a twelvemonth at the
+paternal home.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">One instance will show into what kind of hands the chief power had
+fallen. In 1539, Duke Philip, travelling to Rügen with his wife, made
+his first entry into Stralsund, and Burgomaster Christopher Lorbeer,
+who fancied himself to be the incarnation of eloquence, made the
+following speech to him: &quot;Philip, by the grace of God, Duke of Stettin,
+Pomerania, of the Cassubes and the Wends, Prince of Rügen, and Count of
+Gutzkow, the council is indeed very pleased to see you. Be welcome.&quot; In
+subsequent days I have often been chaffed about this speech; usher
+Michael Kussow, among others, never opened the door to me without
+crying out, the moment he caught sight of me, &quot;And indeed Philip, by
+the grace of God ...&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My brother Johannes had been admitted <i>magister</i>--the first of
+thirteen--at Wittemberg, and on leaving he brought with him a
+letter from Dr. Luther to my father, who, in consequence of the
+Bruser-Leveling lawsuit, had stayed away for many years from the
+Communion table. The letter was couched as follows: &quot;To the honourable
+guildmaster, Nicholas Sastrow, my good friend: Grace and peace
+be with you. Your dear son, <i>magister</i> Johannes, after having expressed
+to me his sorrow at your having kept away for many years from the
+Holy Communion table--which absence is calculated to create a bad
+example--has requested me to rescue you from that dangerous path. Not
+one hour of our lives in reality belongs to ourselves. His filial
+solicitude, therefore, induced me to send you these present lines. Let
+me exhort you as a Christian, as a brother, according to the precept of
+Christ, to change your resolution, and well to remember the much
+greater sufferings of the Son of God, who forgave His executioners.
+Bear in mind that at your last hour you will be bound to forgive, as a
+brigand who is tied to the gallows forgives. Wait for the decision of
+the court before whom your suit is pending, but do not forget that
+nothing prevents you from participating in the Holy Supper. If it were
+otherwise I myself and our princes would have to remain away from the
+Holy Board until our differences with the papists be settled. Leave the
+matter in the hands of the law, and say to yourself for the comfort of
+your conscience: 'It is the judge's place to decide where lies the
+right; meanwhile, I forgive those who have wronged me and I will
+partake of the Holy Communion.' You consider yourself as having been
+wronged. You have had recourse to the courts; it is they who shall
+decide. Nothing can be more simple. Take in a friendly spirit this
+exhortation which was prompted to me at the instance of your son. May
+God watch over you, Amen. Wednesday after <i>Miser. Dni</i>. 1540. Martinus
+Luther.&quot;</p>
+<br>
+<p class="center"><a name="div3_luther">
+<img border="0" src="images/luther.png" alt="Martin Luther"></a></p>
+<br>
+<p class="normal">I trust my descendants will transmit religiously from generation to
+generation the autograph of the saintly man to whom the whole world
+owes gratitude and affection. Together with this letter, and as a proof
+of the wise outlay of the paternal allowance, my brother brought home
+with him a number of his <i>poemata</i> printed in a volume. My parents'
+means not admitting of his being maintained in a foreign land, he spent
+nearly four years at home, studying all the while. Besides the
+<i>Progymnasmata quaedam</i>, issued from the Lubeck press in 1538, he
+published in 1542 at Rostock an <i>Elegia de officio principis</i> dedicated
+to Duke Magnus of Mecklenberg; and in the same year at Lubeck, a
+<i>Querela de Ecclesia</i> and the <i>Epicidion Martyris Christi Doctoris
+Ruberti Barns</i>, which caused a good deal of trouble both to him and his
+printer.<a name="div2_25" href="#div2Ref_25"><sup>[25]</sup></a></p>
+
+<p class="normal">At the advice of my brother, my parents sent me to study at Rostock
+with Arnoldus Burenius and Henricus Lingensis. My brother, who became
+intimately acquainted with the latter, wrote to him that I had already
+gone through the ceremony of initiation; but the students found out
+that since then I had gone back to school at Stralsund, and each day my
+entrance at the <i>lectorium</i> caused a fearful tumult.<a name="div2_26" href="#div2Ref_26"><sup>[26]</sup></a> The
+<i>depositor</i> having pulled me by my cloak, I hurled a large inkstand
+which I happened to have in my hand at him. The ink soaked his long
+grey mantle with black fastenings, a fashionable garment of the time.
+Verily, I got my reward, when, for the sake of peace, I submitted a
+second time to the ordeal. It literally rained blows. The <i>depositor</i>
+pressed my upper lip with his wooden razor and the wound was a long
+while healing, for no sooner did it close up than my food, and, above
+all, salted things inflamed it once more.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The two <i>magistri</i> directed in common the purses (scholarships or
+otherwise) of the Arnsburg, which was the most numerous, as it
+consisted of thirty students. We took our meals at Jacob Broecker's,
+and we paid sixteen florins per annum for our breakfast and two other
+meals, <i>plus</i>, in the summer afternoons, some curdled milk or other
+refreshments.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At the end of two years my parents complained of the expense involved
+in my stay at Rostock; they were, moreover, displeased at my leaning
+towards theology. In fact, I felt neither old enough nor sufficiently
+advanced in learning to choose between the different faculties, but
+being unwilling to relinquish my studies I exposed my difficult
+position to my tutors, who at once decided to forego their fees, and
+also induced our host Broecker to feed me for eight florins per annum.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Truly, I had to lay the table, attend at meals, to clear it, and in
+addition to this to look after young Broecker, who was about my size
+and who was afterwards confined at Ribbenitz, to dress and undress him,
+to clean his shoes and to arrange his books. On the other hand, there
+were certain services to be rendered to <i>magister</i> H. Lingenfis. I had
+to brush his shoeleather, make his bed, keep his room heated, accompany
+him to church and to other places, and to carry his lantern in winter.
+It seemed very hard to me at first not to be served any longer, and not
+to sit down to meals with my college chums, but there was no help for
+it.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Besides, we had fallen into good hands. Arnoldus Burenius read us twice
+Cicero's <i>Offices</i>, which he interpreted in a thoroughly artistic
+manner, and afterwards the orations <i>pro Milone</i>, <i>pro rege Deiotaro</i>,
+<i>pro Marco Marcello</i>, <i>pro Roscio Amerino</i>, <i>pro domo sua</i>, and the <i>de
+Aruspicum responsis</i>, the <i>Epistolae familiares</i>, the long and
+beautiful chapter <i>ad Quintum fratrem</i>, the <i>Rhetorica ad Herennium</i>,
+etc. His colleague expounded Terence, the <i>Dialectica Molleri</i>, even
+the <i>Sphaera Joannis de Sacrobusto</i>, the <i>Theoriae planetarum</i>, the
+<i>Computum ecclesiasticum Spangenbergii</i>, the <i>libellus de Anima
+Philippi</i>, and finally he presided over useful <i>exercitia styli et
+disputationum</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My bedroom fellows were Franz von Stetten and Johannes Vegesack, the
+nephew of the Bishop of Dorpat, who kept him on a grand footing, and
+allowed him the staff of servants of a grand seigneur rather than that
+of a youngster. Vegesack practised all kind of sword-play, but I have
+heard that after the death of the bishop, he became a schoolmaster in
+Livonia. My private tutor, Danquart, coached him in the <i>praecepta
+grammaticae</i>, gave him themes to treat in German, and corrected his
+exercises.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The money we received from our parents had to be handed to our tutor
+Lingenfis; he gave it back to us as we needed it. We were bound to make
+notes of even our most trifling expenses. My tutors showed much
+interest in me, either out of consideration for my brother or because
+of my own unwearied application. I, on the other hand; served them
+zealously and faithfully, and was always at their bidding. The cross
+looks of my fellow-students, however, suggested the advisability of a
+change of residence; my brother counselled Greifswald.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In 1540 Duke Philip came to Greifswald for the ceremony of receiving
+homage. The exiles came with him; some held the tail, others the
+harness of his horse. My father was specially invited by the prince to
+hold the stirrup. The duke took up his quarters at Hannemann's, his
+wife with the Stoïentins. Frau Stoïentin, her daughter, her grandson,
+and all the relatives, when doing obeisance to the princess, claimed
+the upholding of the decree of expulsion against my father. The duchess
+specially recommended two of her principal officers to transmit the
+request to her august spouse; but the latter's reply effectually
+prevented her from returning to the charge, and the gates of Greifswald
+were reopened to my father.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I left Rostock in 1541. My stay at home was, nevertheless, very short.
+I soon transferred myself and my books to Greifswald, where I rented a
+room with Joachim Loewenhagen, the pastor that was to be of St.
+Nicholas' at Stralsund. Master Anthony Walter who shortly afterwards
+became rector of the Paedagogium of Stettin, instructed me in the
+<i>Dialectica Caesarii</i>. Master Kismann explained and interpreted Ovid's
+<i>Fasti</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On Christmas Day, 1541, a vessel hailing from Colberg, and laden with
+barrels for Falsterbo, anchored at Stralsund. The coopers were in a
+great state of excitement, declared an embargo, and would not even
+allow the cargo to be sold at Stralsund.<a name="div2_27" href="#div2Ref_27"><sup>[27]</sup></a> In vain did the council
+guarantee proceedings against the purchaser of that merchandise; they
+went on agitating, refused to buy the barrels themselves, and replied
+with blows to those who spoke common sense. One burgher died from the
+consequences of their ill-treatment. They finally destroyed the
+barrels. Five people were arrested. Johannes Vogt, their dean, fled to
+Garpenhagen, but he was brought back to Stralsund and placed under lock
+and key. There was but a narrow escape from the executioner's sword.
+The coopers were summoned to the Town Hall, where the prisoners made
+their appearance with the iron collar round their necks and their hands
+and feet fettered. The corporation was fined four marks per head. Its
+privileges were withdrawn; it had, moreover, to rebuild at its own
+expense part of the city walls.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I have already mentioned that my brother <i>Magister Joannes</i>, had
+various <i>poemata</i> published at Lubeck and Rostock. From the latter city
+he returned by stage coach to Stralsund in company of Heinrich
+Sonnenberg and a woman. By their side rode Johannes Lagebusch and a
+good-looking young man, Hermann Lepper, who had been to the mint at
+Gadebusch to exchange 100 old florins for new coin. That money was in
+the carriage. A gang of thieves, or rather highwaymen, got wind of the
+affair. In consequence of the mild laws of repression, these gentry
+swarmed throughout Mecklenburg, and the names of the noblest families
+figured among them, which fact gave substance to the poet who wrote:</p>
+<div class="poem">
+<p class="t4">Nobilis et nebulo parvo discrimine distant,<br>
+Sic nebulo magnus nobilis esse potest.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p class="normal">Of course these lines do not apply to many honourable personages
+belonging to the nobility. But to return to my story.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">When the travellers had got beyond the village of Willershagen they
+left the coach, and, provided with their firearms proceeded on foot,
+for the country was by no means safe. Instead of prudently escorting
+the vehicle the two horsemen went on in front. The brigands came up
+with them and entered into conversation. Suddenly one of them snatched
+the loaded pistol Lagebusch was carrying at his saddle-bow--the fashion
+of carrying two had not come in--fired it at Lepper, who was galloping
+back to the carriage, killing him there and then, while Lagebusch set
+spurs to his horse in time to warn Sonnenberg, who hid himself in the
+brushwood. My brother, armed with a pole, and standing with his back
+against the carriage to prevent an attack from behind, offered a stout
+and not unsuccessful resistance. He managed to wound in the thigh an
+assailant who, carried away by his horse, bit the dust further up the
+road. But another miscreant, charging furiously, sliced away a piece of
+my brother's skull as big as a crown (the fragment of bone that adhered
+to the skin was the size of a ducat), and at the same time dealt him a
+deep gash at the throat. As a matter of course, my brother lost
+consciousness; nay, was left for dead while the bandits sacked the
+carriage, caught the horse of their wounded comrade, but seeing that he
+could not be transported, abandoned him and decamped with their spoil.
+They, however, did not take the carriage team. In a little while
+Sonnenberg emerged from his hiding-place, and, with the aid of the
+driver, hauled my brother into the carriage. The woman bandaged his
+head and kept it on her knees. Lepper's body was placed between the
+legs of the wounded young man, and in that condition they reached
+Ribbenitz, where the surgeon closed the gash in the neck by means of
+pins.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The Rostock council promptly sent its officials to the spot. The
+brigand was conveyed to the city, but almost immediately after his
+being lodged in prison, he died without naming his accomplices. There
+was, moreover, no great difficulty in finding them out, but their
+friends succeeded in hushing up the whole affair; the authorities acted
+very mildly. The dead robber was nevertheless judged and beheaded. His
+head remained for many years exposed on a pike.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Lagebusch brought the news to Stralsund, and the Council immediately
+offered my father a closed carriage with four horses. We started that
+same night, provided with mattresses, and reached Ribbenitz next
+morning after daybreak. My brother was very weak. While the horses were
+stabled and after the court had drawn up a detailed report, we gave
+Lepper an honourable and Christian burial. We began our homeward
+journey at dusk, going slowly all through the night, and got to
+Stralsund at midday. Master Joachim Gelhaar attended to my brother, but
+in spite of his acknowledged skill, he did not succeed in curing the
+wound of the neck; the improvement of one day was counteracted the
+next. In the end they discovered that the surgeon of Ribbenitz had
+closed the wound askew; the edges did not join, and one had been
+flattened by means of a large copper pin, the head of which had
+disappeared. Master Joachim repaired the mischief, not without causing
+great pain to his patient, who, however, promptly regained his health.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">After reading the <i>Epicedion Ruberti Barns</i>, the King of England sent
+ambassadors to threaten Lubeck, the book having been issued from
+Johannes Balhorn's presses. Although the author had no connexion with
+the city, the council nevertheless apologized for him on the ground of
+his youth. He had simply aimed at giving a <i>specimen doctrinae</i>, but to
+pacify the king, Balhorn was banished, and had to leave the city at
+sunrise. He was allowed to return a few months later.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The costly Bruser lawsuit had deprived my parents of the means of
+sending us to study in foreign countries, so they bought two horses and
+dispatched me and my brother to Spires to watch the progress of the
+affair, and to do as best we could for ourselves. We started from
+Stralsund on June 14, 1542. Our parents accompanied us as far as
+Greifswald, where we stopped one day to bid good-bye to our grandmother
+and the rest of the family. I was in high spirits. Johannes was dull
+and depressed. &quot;Dear son,&quot; said our mother, &quot;why this sadness? Look at
+Bartholomäi, how gay he is.&quot; &quot;My brother,&quot; replied Johannes, &quot;has no
+care weighing on his mind; he has no thought for the future.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">We made for Stettin, then for Berlin and Wittemberg; in fact, &quot;we rode
+straight on,&quot; as people say. At Wittemberg, Johannes ran against Dr.
+Martin Luther, standing before the bookshop near the cemetery. Dr.
+Luther shook hands with me. Philip Melanchthon and other learned
+personages gave us letters of introduction to the procurators and
+advocates of Spires.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Half-way between Erfurt and Gotha there is a big inn where we halted
+for half a day to rest our horses and to mend our clothes. We settled
+our bill before going to bed. Next morning on reaching Gotha my brother
+found he had lost his purse; he had left it under his pillow. It was a
+great misfortune, for we were not overburdened with means, and the look
+of the inn left but little hope of getting our own back again.
+Immediately after my horse had had its feed, I retraced my steps,
+galloping all the way. When I reached the hotel I tied up my horse and
+in the twinkling of an eye ran up to the room with the servant at my
+heels. We both flung ourselves on the purse. I had the luck of laying
+hands on it first, but I fancied he was entitled to a tip. If either
+the girl or the young man had come near the bed after our going we
+should have never seen our money again.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In spite of the gathering darkness, I was in the saddle again, for it
+would have been unwise to spend the night alone under such a roof. Half
+a mile (German) farther there was a nice village, and as night had set
+in altogether I made up my mind to stop there. The inn was full of
+peasants. It happened to be Sunday, and these worthy folk, who had
+noticed my riding by like possessed two hours before, said to each
+other: &quot;Well, we were mistaken after all. It's His Highness'
+messenger.&quot; Thereupon the host told the servant to look to my horse;
+nothing would induce him to let me do it myself. He, moreover, insisted
+on my sitting down to the table immediately; they brought me boiled and
+roast meats and excellent wine. The peasants in their turn show me all
+kinds of attentions, and when I mention the settlement of my bill
+before going to bed, the host declares that he could not hear of such a
+thing, and moreover swears by all his household gods that he'll not let
+me go in the morning without a good basin of soup, and that if I were
+to stay for a week he would not accept a farthing, because he could
+never do enough for his gracious prince. They put me into a very white
+and very soft bed, where I slept long and soundly.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">While I was enjoying every comfort, my poor brother was bemoaning his
+imprudence of having sent me to look for the purse. I did not know the
+country, the hotel had a queer appearance. I had not returned, although
+it had been settled that the town gates should be opened to let me
+pass. My brother's anxiety may therefore be readily imagined. He
+dispatched an express messenger with a description of myself, and that
+of the horse; the messenger passed the inn at the very moment I was
+starting. He recognized me and informed me of my brother's anxiety.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At Spires we put up at the <i>Arbour</i>, and when our horses were
+sufficiently rested my brother sold them to the landlord of the
+<i>Crown</i>. We could not afford, though, to stay at the inn, so we rented
+a small room with one bed, and with this we had to be content for more
+than five weeks. At meal times we went to eat three or four rolls under
+the city walls, after which we drank half a measure of wine at the
+tavern. The days when Bartholomäi Sastrow led the dance, and feasted at
+the big wine cellars like <i>König Arthur</i> and the <i>Rathskeller</i> were
+over.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Philip Melanchthon had recommended us to his half-brother, Doctor
+Johannes Hochel, procurator, and to Doctor Jacob Schenck, advocate at
+the Imperial Chamber. Thanks to the latter, Johannes found bed and
+board, <i>mensa splendida et delicata</i> at the provost's of the chapter, a
+great personage occupying the handsomest mansion of Spires, the
+habitual quarters of the Emperor. This provost entertained daily a
+number of guests, but he himself lived upon fowl broth and apothecary's
+stuff prescribed by his doctor. He was fond of listening to the
+discussions of his guests, some of whom sided with Luther and others
+with the pope. If, at the end of the debate, he now and again added a
+few words, it was simply to admit that he had never read &quot;St. Paul,&quot;
+but that, on the other hand, he had read in Terence: &quot;<i>Bonorum
+extortor, legum contortor</i>.&quot; He was practically in the same boat with
+the Bishop of Wurzburg, who is reported to have said: &quot;I thank heaven
+that I have never read 'St. Paul,' for I should have become a heretic
+just like Luther.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On August 10, Dr. Hochel obtained a place for me at Dr. Frederick
+Reiffstock's, one of the oldest procurators of the Imperial Chamber, a
+most learned lawyer and excellent practitioner, who was altogether
+unlike the majority of the procurators at Spires. He had spent several
+years of his youth at Rome as auditor of the &quot;Rote&quot; (ecclesiastical
+jurisdiction). He was very conscientious and energetic. At the issue of
+the sittings, he immediately wrote to the party whose case had been
+called; then, the moment the minutes and other documents had been
+copied by his principal clerk, he sealed the whole, and deposited it in
+a large box on the table of his office. When this or that messenger
+came to announce his next departure the procurator examined the box to
+see whether there was anything to dispatch in that direction, and he
+marked on the outside wrapper the vail to be given according to the
+condition of the roads or their distance from the main ones. His
+practice was made up of princes, nobles, and eminent personages. One
+day he replied to Duke Albrecht of Mecklenburg who had sent him a case,
+that, unless new facts could be adduced, he advised the withdrawal of
+the suit. The fees were nevertheless very considerable. The duke handed
+the case to Dr. Leopold Dick, who allowed himself to be directed to the
+<i>juramentum calumniae</i> and lost the whole affair.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My master had four sons, all of whom took their doctor's degree. The
+three elder had returned, one from France, the two others from Leipzig;
+hence I had three horses to take care of, and three rooms to keep
+heated. Doctor Reiffstock was determined I should not be idle. One day
+he placed before me a bundle of documents as thick as my hand but very
+well written. He told me to copy them, and then to collate them
+carefully with his second clerk. I was under the impression that it was
+a most important affair; when it was finished the procurator told me
+that he simply wished to give me something to do.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On December 14, 1542, an imposing deputation of the Protestant States
+repudiated as suspect the Imperial Chamber, and declared its decisions
+and enactments null and void until its complete reformation. The
+procurators immediately reduced their staff, and Dr. Reiffstock
+dismissed me, which grieved me very much. As I foresaw, my parents
+would think me guilty of some grave misconduct, but a letter from
+Johannes soon undeceived them.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Though a writer's place could easily be had away from Spires, I would
+not leave my brother or the city before the termination of the lawsuit.
+We also hoped that the chamber would be reconstituted at the next diet.
+For all these reasons combined I entered into the service of my
+father's procurator, Simeon Engelhardt. I might as well have taken
+service in hell. Dr. Engelhard was an honest man, but he and his family
+belonged to the Schwenkfeld sect.<a name="div2_28" href="#div2Ref_28"><sup>[28]</sup></a> He had three daughters and a son
+between eight and nine whom I had to teach his declensions and
+conjugations. The matron of the establishment was a virago of the worst
+description, mean and bitter-spoken, who grudged her husband his food.
+Often and often did I see her snatch the glass from his lips. People
+may think she did it for the best, lest he should get drunk. Not in the
+least; she did that kind of thing at the family table; besides, his
+worst enemy could not have called him a wine-bibber. The pewter goblet
+of each child (there were two grown-up daughters) held about the
+contents of a pigeon's seed-box. The cup was filled once with wine,
+twice with Mayence beer (an abominable concoction), after which you
+were at liberty to swill as much water as you pleased. As for the two
+servants and the two scribes, the pittance was meagre indeed. A piece
+of meat not as big as an egg, floating in beef tea pellucid to a
+degree. This was followed by cabbages, turnips, lentils, herbs, oatmeal
+porridge, dried potatoes, etc., even on fish days. At the end of the
+meal a goblet (?) of wine. Whoever was thirsty after that--a by no
+means uncommon state of things--could go and pull the well-rope. Truly,
+it would be difficult to say how much water I swallowed in that house.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Dr. Simeon Engelhardt had nearly as many lawsuits on hand as Dr.
+Reiffstock, about four hundred. Each document was copied four times.
+The first remained with the principal bundle of papers, the second was
+sent to the client, the third and fourth went to the registry of the
+court which kept one, wrote the word &quot;Productum&quot; on the other, and
+dispatched it immediately by the beadle to the procurator of the
+opposing party. There were two sittings per week, sometimes a third for
+fiscal cases.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The copying of the protocol and of the acts imposed very hard work upon
+us. Being only two clerks, there was no time, on court days, for
+swallowing a piece of bread. On the other hand, the mistress of the
+house took no notice of anything like that. What her daughters or the
+servant girls could have done, namely, laying the table, bringing the
+cold or hot water for washing up, clearing the table and getting rid of
+the dish-water; all this came to Bartholomäi's share, whether he
+happened to be head over heels in other work or not, and the master of
+the house did not dare to utter a syllable. Amidst the biggest stress
+of business, when we did without our meals, the lady cried across the
+yard: &quot;Bartholomäi, will you mind troubling yourself to come and throw
+the dish-water away?&quot; And as if the satire was not obvious enough, she
+added: &quot;Look at the lazy scamp. He has not attended to the water at
+all.&quot; I was forbidden to go out without asking, even to call upon my
+brother. Nor was this all. In the morning I saved the servant girls
+marketing; a basket slung on my arm like Gretchen, I bought the
+provisions for the household; cabbages, turnips, bread, and what not,
+and when I came back there was faultfinding without end for not having
+haggled enough. On washing day, which came round too often to please
+me, I pumped the water. When the pump was out of order it was I who
+went down the well to repair the mischief. And I was not a child, but a
+young man of twenty-three. I was paying for the good times of
+Stralsund. At each visit my brother was bewailing my fate and preaching
+patience. &quot;In days to come, when you shall have a wife, children, and
+servants of your own, you will be able to tell them of your less happy
+days.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">When Mistress Engelhardt was in her &quot;tantrums,&quot; she went about for a
+week without addressing a friendly word to her husband. At such periods
+her son Solomon would come into the office to tell me that his father
+was a dissipated brute who had not slept with his mother for a week,
+etc., etc. The youngest of the girls fell ill and died; her mother put
+the corpse into a sack in guise of a coffin. An old crone carried it to
+the cemetery on her back. One can only hope that she dug a grave and
+placed her burden into it, for no one accompanied the dead child; no
+one superintended the burial.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Thanks to his capital practice, made up of the nobles and the cities
+paying him yearly retaining fees, thanks also to the avarice of this
+virago, Dr. Engelhardt easily put aside two thousand florins per annum.
+He lent money to the client-cities at interest. For two years running I
+made payments of two thousand florins each on a simple receipt.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In 1543, on his return from Italy, the emperor hurried on his
+preparations for a war against the Duke of Juliers. Ulm and Augsburg
+cast some magnificent pieces of field artillery, with their carriages
+and wheels; and as it was considered easier to transport the carriages
+separately, a numberless troop of Swabian carters was engaged. His
+Imperial Majesty stayed at Spires, the artillery not being ready.
+Autumn overtook him, and as the roads of the Netherlands were very bad
+at that season, his Majesty, to his great vexation, had to defer the
+attack. One day, being on horseback, he hustled a waggoner whose team
+proceeded too slowly to his taste, and spoke, moreover, very harshly to
+him. The Swabian, who had no idea of the identity of his interlocutor,
+merely made a grimace and shrugged his shoulders. A smart rap with a
+riding crop from the emperor was the result. So far from submitting,
+however, the stubborn clown promptly belabours his assailant's head
+with his whip, uttering imprecations all the while: &quot;May the thunder
+strike and blast you, you scum of a Spaniard,&quot; and so forth. Of course
+the emperor's suite laid hold of him, and he had to pay dearly for his
+mistake. Not so dearly, though, as he might have done if the colonels
+entrusted with inquiries and the drawing up of the indictment had not
+purposely dragged the thing along to let the emperor's anger spend
+itself. Charles had forgotten all about the affair. He probably thought
+that his orders had been carried out and that the Swabian culprit was
+comfortably swinging from this or that gibbet, when the said colonels
+and captains humbly submitted the reasons for his being pardoned. There
+was first of all the ignorance of the waggoner, secondly the often
+excessive roughness of the Spaniards towards these poor Swabians.
+Furthermore, there was the august leniency of all great potentates and
+the gratitude of which the army would feel bound to give proof, if it
+were exercised upon such an occasion as the present. The prince
+relented to the extent of deciding that the culprit should have his
+nose cut off in memory of the assault. The colonels and the captains
+expressed their respectful gratitude, and the condemned man learnt the
+commutation of his sentence with great joy. They cut off his nose flush
+with his face. He bore the operation with a good grace, and for the
+remainder of his life sang the praises of the emperor. For many years
+he could be seen urging his cattle along the roads between the Rhine
+and the Danube. I happened to come several times into contact with him
+at the inns. I asked him before other travellers about the nature of
+the accident that had cost him his nose, whether he had left it in the
+French country. &quot;Nay, nay,&quot; he replied, and with great glee recounted
+his adventure, showering blessings on his Imperial Majesty.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">While the emperor was warring in Africa, Martin van Rosse<a name="div2_29" href="#div2Ref_29"><sup>[29]</sup></a> profited
+by the diversion to work his own will in the Netherlands. He had, for
+instance, imposed a ransom on Antwerp on the penalty of burning it to
+the ground. His Majesty, having learnt that he was conducting the
+expedition as a landsknecht, felt curious to get a glimpse of this
+personage. Martin van Rosse was warned too late; the emperor was
+already there. He pulled up his horse before the rebel. The latter,
+dropping on his knee, begged that the past might be forgotten, and
+swore to shed his last drop of blood for the emperor, who touched him
+lightly with his stick on the shoulder, and forgave him everything. &quot;We
+forgive you, Martin,&quot; he said, &quot;but do not begin again.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On February 20, 1544, the Diet was opened at Spires. I have heard it
+said that the Elector Palatine Lewis always endeavoured to dissuade his
+Majesty from choosing that town, because his <i>mathematicus</i> had
+predicted that he should die at Spires. In consequence of this,
+perhaps, he presented himself in person to the emperor at the very
+beginning of the session, and at the end of a few days took his leave
+to return to Heidelberg, where he died on March 16.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In default of a church, the Elector of Saxony had religious service
+performed in a tavern where he had put up a seat for the ministers.
+Lutes, fifes, cornets, trumpets and violins, instead of an organ,
+constituted a most agreeable concert. The elector's horse was a most
+robust animal, and there was a stepping stone attached to his saddle.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On the eve of Maundy Thursday at sunset twenty-four flagellants of both
+sexes marched by in their shirts, their faces covered with pieces of
+stuff into which were cut holes for their eyes and mouth, their backs
+sufficiently bare for the birch provided with steel-pointed hooks to
+touch the flesh. It was a hideous spectacle, the hooks tearing pieces
+of flesh away, and causing the blood to trickle down to the ground. The
+penitents advanced very slowly, one by one, in two single files,
+divided as it were by Spanish gentlemen of high degree, each carrying a
+thick wax candle. The whole street was lighted with them. When they
+reached the church of the barefooted Carmelites the procession fell on
+its knees and dragged itself from the porch to the crucifix in the
+choir in that way. Near the entrance the surgeons dressed the wounds;
+rumour had it that two corpses were carried away.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The emperor washed the feet of twelve poor men; the King of the Romans
+did the same. Care had however been taken to ascertain that those
+people were in good health; nay, their feet had been washed beforehand.
+The two sovereigns with napkins round their waists merely dried the
+feet, after which they waited upon the poor at table. &quot;Friends,&quot; they
+cordially said to them, &quot;eat and drink.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Like all gatherings of eminent personages, this diet entailed a rise in
+the prices of food, but especially of fish. A Rhine salmon cost sixteen
+crowns; for half of one the purveyor of the Duke of Mecklenburg paid
+eight crowns.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">A Spanish gentleman who had taken up his quarters with an amiable widow
+who was looking to his comfort, became imbued with the idea that she
+would not refuse him her favours; so one night he crept into her bed;
+but the widow having got hold of a knife plunged it into his body and
+killed him there and then. Of course, she did not know how to get rid
+of the body; but though certain of her own ruin, she did not stir from
+her home. Her anguish at the prospect of the consequences had reached
+its height when the emperor, informed of the real state of the case,
+sent to reassure her. The Spaniards came to take the body of their
+countryman, and to perform the last duties to it.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On March 20, 1544, the emperor granted the privilege of a coat of arms
+to my brother Johannes, and conferred the title of poet laureate<a name="div2_30" href="#div2Ref_30"><sup>[30]</sup></a> on
+him, in recognition of a poem dedicated to him. Johannes Stigelius also
+offered the emperor a <i>scriptum poeticum</i>. His Majesty replied to him
+through the pen of his vice-chancellor, Seigneur Jean de Naves:
+&quot;<i>Carmen placet Imperatori; Poeta petat, quid velit habebit; Si
+voluerit esse nobilis, erit; si poeta laureatus, erit id quoque; sed
+pecuniam non petat, pecuniam, non habebit.</i>&quot; It might serve as a
+warning to Stralsund not to lavish its money on the first comer who
+thinks fit to dedicate some poor rhymes to it.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On May 19, 1544, I was made a notary by Imperial diploma. Prelate Otto
+Truchess, of Waldburg, bestowed upon my brother a gold chain for a
+<i>carmen gratulatorium</i> on the occasion of his recent installation in
+the see of Augsburg.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Doctor Christopher Hose, ex-procurator and advocate of Stralsund, who
+had been struck off on account of his evangelical faith, had built
+himself a handsome residence at Worms. He came to Spires during the
+Diet. A veteran practitioner, a straightforward and agreeable man, he
+was a favourite with his colleagues, and especially with the young
+ones. He was, however, highly esteemed by everybody, and nobody minded
+him exposing the astute moves of his adversaries. A learned doctor had
+invited him and several colleagues, Master Engelhardt among the number.
+When I got there with my lantern to escort my master home, the evening
+cup was being poured out, and whether I liked it or not, the host and
+Dr. Hose, who were acquainted with my family's circumstances, made me
+sit down at the lower end of the table and offered me cakes, pastry,
+etc. Thereupon Master Engelhardt got up brusquely and wanted to go.
+&quot;Seeing that my servant is sitting down, I had better go. At any rate I
+shall not sit down again unless he remains standing to attend to me,&quot;
+he said. Dr. Hose, however, went on with his little speech to me. &quot;Look
+you here, Pomeranian,&quot; he remarked, &quot;the words 'procurator at the
+Imperial Court' are simply synonymous with those of hardened rogue, and
+that is the gist of the matter.&quot; (The latter was a favourite
+interjection of his.) &quot;At your age,&quot; he went on, &quot;I was also with a
+procurator who run up costs very heavily with his clients without doing
+much for them. Now, just listen to this story. A Franconian gentleman
+entrusted a most important case to my master, gave him a considerable
+retaining fee, and promised him another big sum at the end of the year.
+When the case had been put upon the rolls, the procurator put the
+documents relating to it into a bag, showing the names of the parties
+to the suit in large letters; after which he suspended the bag in the
+usual way with many others in the registry room with which you are
+familiar. At the end of the year he claimed his fees, announcing at the
+same time the termination of the suit and his hurrying on of the
+judgment. The client added to the sum agreed upon a gratification and a
+present for us, the engrossing and copying clerks. Nevertheless, he
+fancied the affair was dragging along, and one fine day he came to
+Spires and rung at our door, and on its being opened my master a once
+recognized the visitor. You are aware that procurators generally have
+their own rooms facing the door, in order to see who came in and went
+out. Thereupon my master runs to the registry chamber, takes down the
+bag in question, and places it on the table. After which he has the
+Franconian shown in, receiving him very cordially, imbuing him at the
+same time with the idea that he never loses sight of his documents. He
+also tells him that he was constantly demanding the execution of the
+judgment, but that he will insist still more strongly, and will send an
+express to his noble client. The latter departed exceedingly satisfied,
+after having offered a rich gift to the procurator's lady. Well, as a
+fact, the lawsuit was not even in its first stage.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Take my word for it,&quot; he went on, &quot;the procurators of the Imperial
+Chamber are past-masters of trickery, and that's the gist of the
+matter. If you have made up your mind to practise at Spires,
+Pomeranian, you must provide yourself with three bags: one for the
+money, one for the documents, and the third for patience. In the course
+of the suit you will see the purse get flatter, the documents grow
+bigger, and patience desert altogether; but you will comfort yourself
+with the thought that the emperor writes to you: 'We, Charles V, by the
+Grace of God Roman Emperor, Perpetual Aggrandizer of the Germanic
+Empire, King of Spain, the Two Sicilies, Jerusalem, Hungary, Dalmatia,
+etc., assure our dear and faithful Bartholomäi Sastrow, of our grace
+and goodwill.' Think of the pleasure and the honour of receiving that
+missive, while you are sitting in the inglenook amidst your family.
+Assuredly it is money well spent.&quot; That was the manner of Dr. Hose's
+discourse.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The diet dissolved. King Ferdinand with his two sons, Maximilian and
+Ferdinand, reconducted the landgrave. At their return there was a
+terrible storm, accompanied by hailstones as big as hazel nuts. In
+Spires itself several hundred florins worth of windows were broken. The
+cavalry, hussars and royal trabans fled panic-stricken; it was nothing
+less than a general rout, and the gathering darkness increased the
+confusion. The runaways only reached Spires after the gates were
+closed, and lay down in the outer moats in order to save their lives.
+King Ferdinand appeared on the scene, absolutely alone. He called and
+knocked, shouted his name, and finally succeeded in finding some one
+who recognized him, when of course the gates were thrown open, and they
+sped towards him with many torches. The first question of the king was
+about his sons; nobody had seen them come up. Thereupon more confusion,
+shouting, questioning, and contemplated saddling of horses; but just in
+the nick of time the princes rode up, escorted by a small number of
+men. The trabans pleaded mortal danger in excuse for their neglect of
+duty, and their wounds in fact confirmed the plea, for the king, having
+made them strip, could see how the hailstones had literally riddled
+their bodies. All declared that their mounts no longer answered the
+bit.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The reconstitution of the Imperial Chamber was adjourned. I should have
+regretted returning to the paternal roof before our lawsuit was in a
+fair way of being settled; on the other hand, life at Master
+Engelhardt's was intolerable in consequence of his accursed wife, who
+was a fiend incarnate. Her dreadful character inspired me from that day
+forward with an aversion for petticoat government, and I am likely to
+preserve it until I draw my last breath. My father's interest dictated
+resignation, for my stay at Spires in hurrying up affairs also saved
+expenses of procedure and of correspondence, the latter of which
+threatened to be heavy now and again, when a messenger had to be
+dispatched to Stralsund. I was sufficiently versed in the scribal art
+and in High-German to find employment elsewhere. I was offered a post
+at the chancellerie of the Margrave Ernest of Baden and Hochberg,
+Landgrave of Sansenberg, Overlord of Roetteln and Badenweiler, etc.,
+whose residence was at Pforzheim. It was only six miles (German)
+distant from Spires, and I accepted.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I and my fellow-scribe had been constantly engaged in engrossing deeds.
+As a rule these were petitions addressed either to the emperor or to
+some prince in behalf of the Jews of Swabia or of the Palatinate, who
+paid largely. Our master left us free in that respect. He knew that we
+were not inclined to work for nothing. Eager to earn money we even
+encroached upon our hours of sleep in order to get all the possible
+benefit of the diet. We had, furthermore, the tips of clients in return
+for our promise not to neglect their affairs. The receipts were dropped
+into a solid iron box, secured to the window of the office. Dr.
+Engelhardt kept the key of it. We estimated the treasure at a hundred
+crowns, and looked forward with joy to its division. When I was about
+to leave, the procurator came into the office, opened the box in my
+presence, and emptied it. We gloated over the admirable collection of
+florins, crowns, and other specimens of beautiful German and Welch
+coinage. Master Engelhardt gave me a crown, another to my fellow-clerk,
+and pocketed the rest. Stupefied and dumbstricken we saw him walk away
+with the proceeds of our vigils and our labour. No! Dr. Hose did not
+libel Master Engelhardt.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_1.05" href="#div1_1.05">CHAPTER V</a></h2>
+
+<p class="hang1">Stay at Pforzheim--Margrave Ernest--My extreme Penury at Worms,
+followed by great Plenty at a Receiver's of the Order of St. John--I do
+not lengthen this Summary, seeing that but for my Respect for the
+Truth, I would willingly pass over many Episodes in Silence</p>
+<br>
+<p class="continue">My brother accompanied me as far as Rheinhausen. From thence I got to
+Bruchsall, the residence of the Bishop of Spires, then to Heidelsheim,
+Brettheim, and at last to <i>patria Philippi</i>, Pforzheim. I entered upon
+my duties at the Chancellerie on June 24, 1544. My brother Johannes
+went with his master to the baths of Zell, where he met with an
+honourable, young, and good-looking girl from Esslingen. The young
+girl's guardian and her kinsfolk (licentiates, the syndic of Esslingen,
+and other notables) allowed the couple to plight their troth, subject
+to the consent of our parents. It was agreed that my brother should
+proceed to Italy to get his doctor's degree, that he should get married
+on his return, and take his wife with him to Pomerania. Johannes asked
+me to go to Esslingen to see the young girl and her family; her birth,
+character and dowry left nothing to desire. We wrote home each on his
+side; my parents opposed a categorical refusal. After that I never saw
+my brother really in good spirits. The young girl married a wealthy
+goldsmith of Strasburg. When my mother informed us that she and her
+husband gave their consent, it was, alas, too late. Poor Johannes,
+undermined by regret, was visibly wasting away.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Pforzheim is not a large place, and it has only one church. The
+town lies in a hollow amidst smiling plains, watered by a clear,
+health-giving stream, swarming with delicate fish. It is a charming
+place in the summer. The neighbouring lofty mountains are covered with
+dense, almost impenetrable forests full of game. Though lying in a
+valley, the castle commands the town. There are among the population a
+great many learned, modest, pleasant and well brought-up men. All the
+necessities of life, both in good and bad health, are at hand:
+apothecaries, barbers, innkeepers, artisans, etc.; in addition to these
+there are the canticles and sermons of the Evangelical religion. The
+life at court was conducted on economical principles, but on a very
+decent footing, however, and without the slightest attempt at parsimony
+unworthy of a prince. Yet the difference between their usages and those
+of Pomerania was great. The meals consisted of meat, fish, vegetables,
+dried figs, oatmeal porridge, cabbages and a fair ration of bread, and
+in a pewter goblet some ordinary wine, unfortunately in insufficient
+quantity, especially in summer. The counsellors were, however, served a
+second time. There was always plenty of work; there was a secretary of
+seventy, and a chancellor not much his junior, and the most morose of
+all doctors of law.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In 1545 Margrave Ernest concluded a pact of succession with his
+nephews; the negotiations were only waiting for an exchange of deeds. I
+was entrusted with the engrossing of one copy. The text was so long
+that it would scarcely hold on one skin of parchment; it was,
+therefore, necessary to write very close and small. I was rather
+frightened, for the chancellor was difficult to please; one might
+scrape and scratch till the erasure was invisible; he would light a
+candle in plain daylight, hold the deed before the flame, find out the
+flaw, and tear up the document while giving a strong reprimand.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I had been working at that copy for forty-eight hours, when all of a
+sudden an omission of at least a line struck me all at once. I had
+never been in such an awkward position in my life. I might count on
+several days' imprisonment; the only thing that could save me was a
+stratagem. The castle was on the heights, the chancellerie at the foot
+of them in the town itself. When the bugle sounded for dinner I stopped
+behind till everybody was gone; then in the twinkling of an eye I got
+hold of a cat, dipped its tail into the ink, and let it loose on the
+skin of parchment; the deed was all smeared over, the marks of the
+animals feet as distinct as possible. I shut it up and went to my meal.
+When it was over I let my colleagues go first; as they opened the door
+the cat flew at them, and on the table they caught sight of its latest
+masterpiece. At that moment I entered, and they showed me the disaster,
+explaining at the same time how the cat &quot;went&quot; for them. Naturally I
+played at being in despair, equally naturally they all tried to comfort
+me, and thus I came with flying colours out of what threatened to be an
+ugly scrape.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Whenever a condemned man was led to execution, Margrave Ernest made him
+come to him in order to reconcile himself with him. After having asked
+pardon of him for his compulsory sternness, he recommended him to show
+himself firm and bold, the blood of Jesus Christ having been shed not
+in order to save the righteous, but the unjust. Then he shook hands
+with him, and the wretched man was led away.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The Margrave had his apartments right over the principal entrance of
+the castle, so as to see everybody that came in or went out. One day he
+caught sight of the head cook taking away such a magnificent carp that
+its tail showed from under his cloak. &quot;Just listen,&quot; exclaimed His
+Highness; &quot;the next time you rob me, either take a carp less big or a
+longer cloak.&quot; While they were putting wine in his Highness's cellar,
+two cooks who were going into the town passed by; one had a couple of
+capons stuffed away in his belt. The Margrave called them to lend a
+hand, and wishing to be quick they flung off their cloaks. The scamp
+was not thinking about the birds, which began to peck at his arms while
+he was pulling the rope; thereupon they called all the serving wenches
+out to enjoy the spectacle. There is no need to add that they were the
+laughingstock of them all.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">As there was to be a diet at Worms, I was anxious to have an interview
+with my brother. In order to save time I hired a trotter, which carried
+me in a day to Spires, and back the next morning to Pforzheim. The
+return journey, though, nearly cost me my life. I was leaving the hotel
+of Brettheim when I was hailed by a horseman coming out of another inn.
+&quot;Whither are you going?&quot; he asked. &quot;To Pforzheim.&quot; &quot;That's capital;
+that's my road; we'll ride together.&quot; A mile farther on a side path of
+which I knew enabled us to cut across the country, but at its other end
+they had put down four poles. Instead of turning back I urged my horse,
+which at first puts a forepaw betwixt the poles; it does not free
+itself in time, gets its hind leg in the wrong place, and finally falls
+on its left side. My companion shouts to me to catch hold of the
+animal's head to prevent its moving; then he jumps down himself,
+unbridles and unharnesses my mount, and after having told me to leave
+go its head, starts it with a smart stroke of his riding whip, while I
+am on the ground seated in my saddle, and with one spur caught in the
+belly-band. Had I been alone and without Divine help, I should have
+been dragged along and dashed to pieces. When all danger was over,
+the horseman told me that our roads parted on that spot. In vain
+did I remind him of his intention to go to Pforzheim; he wished me
+good-night, recommending me to the care of God and all His angels. I
+was anxious to offer him a finger's breadth of wine at the next inn; he
+declined my offer, on the pretext that its acceptance would cause too
+great a delay. I shall never cease to believe that my saviour was a
+holy angel.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Johannes approved of my intention to leave Pforzheim for Worms, where
+the diet would most probably proceed with the reconstitution of the
+Imperial Chamber. Then would be the right moment to return to Spires.
+The Margrave when I left, sent me half a golden florin, besides a court
+dress.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">All at once there grew under my right nostril a pustule as big as a
+grain of barley; I punctured it frequently, and there came more blood
+from it than one could have imagined, but the kind of tumour did not
+disappear, not even when the surgeon whom I consulted cut it. It kept
+growing again, so, in order to destroy its root, as he said, he rubbed
+it with what I suppose was <i>aqua fortis</i>, for it caused me a horrible
+pain. I suffered most when going to Spires, owing to the cold and the
+wind; my nose swelled enormously.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On April 17 my brother accompanied me to Hütten, a mile and a half
+distant from Spires. There we parted, weeping bitterly; we had a
+presentiment that we should never see each other again, or even write.
+Next morning Johannes started for Italy.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">His Imperial Majesty being detained in the Netherlands with gout, the
+king of the Romans opened the diet of Worms on March 24, 1545. Only a
+small number of princes came, so the emperor, when he arrived,
+prorogued the diet until the next year.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The spiteful, impious and fiendish wife of Procurator Engelhardt had
+made my life at Spires a misery, but at Worms I suffered hunger and
+thirst and all the wretchedness of downright distress. I wish this to
+be remembered not only by my children, but by all those who happen to
+read me. I carried the whole of my belongings upon me, namely: the
+court dress given to me at Pforzheim, two shirts, a sword with a silver
+tip to its sheath, and the six florins the Margrave had sent me, the
+whole constituting but a scant provision. The absence of the Emperor
+interfered with my livelihood; there was little work to do for
+copyists, and under those unfavourable conditions I stayed for twelve
+weeks. A canon, brother to Johannes' employer, gave me shelter during
+the first fortnight, after which he left for Mayence. The envoy of the
+dukes of Pomerania, Maurice Domitz, captain of Ukermünde, who knew my
+family very well, put, it is true, his purse at my disposal, knowing as
+he did that he would be reimbursed at Stralsund; the syndic of Lubeck
+was also at Worms with Franz von Sitten, my Rostock chum; neither the
+one nor the other would have refused to do me a service; borrowing
+meant, however, imposing new sacrifices upon my parents, so I preferred
+to suffer privation.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My nose caused me severe pain for a long while; when it gave me some
+respite, my mornings and afternoons were spent in walks, either with my
+countrymen from Mecklenburg, Pomerania or Lubeck, or with the friends I
+had made in Worms. Nobody had any idea of my being as poor as I was. At
+the dinner hour, when everybody repaired to the inn, I bought a
+pfenning's worth of bread, and the public fountain supplied the drink
+gratis; it was very rare that I took a little soup with a piece of meat
+as big as an egg in it, at the eating house. The owner of the
+establishment allowed me, in consideration of a kreutzer, to spend the
+night on a wooden seat; a bed would have cost half a batz (a batz was
+equal to about a penny of those days), and the wooden seat seemed
+preferable, inasmuch as I had sufficient &quot;live stock&quot; of my own,
+without picking up that of others. I sold the silver tip of my sword
+sheath, an iron tip as it seemed to me, to meet all my requirements. I
+subsequently disposed of one of my two shirts for what it would fetch;
+the six florins had melted away, and I wanted the wherewithal to buy
+dry bread. When my remaining shirt was dirty I went to wash it in the
+Rhine, and waited in the sun while it was drying; all this was so much
+money saved, no cost of laundry, soap, ironing or pleating.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My small clothes fell on my heels; I myself could no longer repair
+them. The &quot;snip&quot; at Worms would have asked not less than a batz; at
+Spires, on the other hand, it would have been done for half the price.
+So I made up my mind to go to Spires. I only reached the outer
+fortifications after the closing of the gates. Dying with hunger,
+thirst and fatigue, I lay down in the moat where I almost perished with
+cold. Next morning, at the tailor's, after having undressed, I sat
+huddled up all the while he was mending my clothes. I went back to
+Worms at a &quot;double quick,&quot; having done twelve miles to save half a
+batz.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The constant want of nourishment had made me weak, and with my blood in
+a bad state, incapable of holding a pen if I had found any copying to
+do. My distress was at its worst when one of my kindest acquaintances
+the secretary of the Bishop of Strasburg, informed me that being in
+need of a writer, he was going to recommend me to his master, but the
+prelate said no because Pomeranians professed the Evangelical religion.
+Finally, through the good offices of the secretary of the Order of St.
+John, the chancellor succeeded in getting me a place at the receiver's
+of the said order. Great indeed, was the deliverance, and joy reigned
+in my heart instead of despondency. It was only later on that my eyes
+were opened to the dangers of my new condition.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On July 9, 1545, then, Christopher von Loewenstein, receiver of the
+Order of St. John for Lower and Upper Germany (he had been present at
+the taking of Rhodes by the Turks), engaged my services as a scribe. He
+promised me a complete dress and boots, such as his other servants
+received, but he did not stipulate the amount of my salary; he gave me
+to understand, though, that I should have no reason to grumble.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The function of receiver consisted in collecting the revenues of the
+various commanderies on account of the knights of Rhodes actually at
+Malta. At the demise of a commander, the receiver takes possession of
+the property of the defunct, and despatches it with the ordinary
+interest by means of bills of exchange to the Grand Master of the
+Order, who at that time was a Frankish gentleman, Don Jean de Homedes.
+The Grand Master confers for life the vacant benefice upon this or that
+knight who has distinguished himself before the enemy. The right of
+installing the new commander belongs to the receiver, who derives
+enormous profits from his office.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My master had, moreover, seven commanderies of his own; he was,
+therefore, perfectly justified in having eight horses in his stable
+like a great noble. He gave me the money to take the coach to
+Oppenheim, whence I was to proceed by water to Mayence, where he
+himself was to make a stay of several days. Mayence, Frankfurt and
+Niederweisel were the three commanderies which most often required his
+personal attention.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Niederweisel is an imperial town of the Wetterau, between Butzbach and
+Fribourg. Herr von Loewenstein spent the greater part of the year in a
+magnificent dwelling, replete with every imaginable comfort; spacious
+dwellings kept in excellent condition had been erected around a vast
+court; granges, stables, riding school, brewery and bakery, kitchens,
+atop of which were the refectory and the servants' quarters; at one
+end of the court the master himself occupied a handsome room and
+dressing-room, affording an uninterrupted view of the whole. A deep
+moat crossed by a drawbridge ran round the structure. And I, after
+having wanted the strictly necessary at Worms, found myself suddenly
+wading in plenty. The effect of the abrupt change of fortune may easily
+be imagined.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Though short in height, my master had won his benefices by his bravery
+at the siege of Rhodes. In his riper age he remained the soldier he had
+been in his youth. Daily feasting, succulent cheer, washed down by
+copious libations--a numerous company always around him--his revenues
+enabled him to lead that kind of expensive existence. The commandery
+being on the high road, landsknecht and horseman, sure of liberal
+entertainment, regularly made a halt there; the neighbours themselves
+were not more sparing with their visits; in short, gaming, feasting and
+drinking took up all the time.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The commander had practically a concubine under his own roof. He chose
+her with an eye to beauty, dressed and adorned her according to his
+means; when he wished a little more freedom, he married her to one of
+his equerries, gave her a home at Butzbach, and provided her against
+want. Butzbach being within a stone's throw of Niederweisel, he
+reserved to himself the option of seeing her when he liked. In my time,
+he lived with Marie Koenigstein, the daughter of the defunct town clerk
+of Mayence; she was, moreover, his god-daughter, and by her father's
+will his ward. Beauty, education, excellent manners, kindliness: all
+these and many other qualities were hers. Why had she not met with a
+more staid and sober guardian? She was about eighteen, when one fine
+day the commander came to Mayence in a closed carriage, sent for the
+young girl, told her to get in for a few moments and drove her as fast
+as the horses would carry them to Neiderweisel. So effectually did he
+hide her that for seven or eight weeks her brothers and relations did
+not know what had become of her. Finally, by dint of gifts, the
+commander succeeded in mollifying the brother, whom he sent to the
+Grand Master of the Order. As for Marie, she had everything she could
+wish for in the matter of silken gowns, gold-embroidered cuffs and
+sable furs.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I was lucky enough to find favour with the commander. Every
+peasant-tenant of the seven commanderies held his homestead on a lease;
+and I had a crown for each renewal. I wore a dress like that of the
+equerries. Madame Marie looked to my shirts, handkerchiefs and
+night-caps and kept them in good condition. A nice well furnished room,
+close to the drawbridge did duty both as a bedchamber and study. I had
+my meals at the commander's board with his guests, Marie, the chaplain
+and the three equerries. Well fitting clothes, a sword with a silver
+sheath-tip, and a golden ring on my little finger contributed greatly
+to transform me into a young gallant; my pitiful figure of Worms was
+completely transformed; I improved physically and found favour in the
+eyes of the fair.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">As for my duties, they were not very heavy; the only commanderies that
+gave us trouble now and again were those of the Landgrave of Hesse;
+they grudgingly settled their dues in consequence of the antipathy of
+the landgrave, for my master, who did not worry himself much about
+religious matters, was neither a papist nor a Lutheran, only Knight of
+the Order. The intrigues of the court compelled Herr von Loewenstein,
+therefore, to summon the Hessian commanderies before the tribunals; and
+the results, as far as I was concerned, were frequent journeys to
+Cassel and to the chancellerie of Marburg.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The commander had a rich collection of bits, bridles, saddles and
+saddle-cloths; he kept three equerries, though only one bore that
+title; the stable held seven or eight young stallions from Friesland
+that had been bought at the Frankfort fair. When the commander went out
+on horseback, a frequent occurrence, I accompanied him with the
+equerries; he made us change our mounts each time and entrusted us with
+horses costing between sixty and seventy, while he himself only rode an
+indifferent cob not worth half-a-score of florins. His horses were all
+of the same colour; when he grew tired of that colour he sold the
+cattle at half-price or gave them away, just to get rid of them. On one
+occasion he fancied a good ambling animal; he had happened to meet with
+a dappled grey, strong, clean-limbed and a capital pacer. It was valued
+at a hundred crowns; he, however, soon afterwards offered it to the
+Elector of Mayence who was very anxious for it and reserved it for his
+personal use.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The commander kept a fool of about eighteen, but who had been downright
+mad from the day of his birth. On one occasion the fellow entered his
+master's room and told him that he had been embracing the cowherd's
+daughter in the shed. He spoke out plainly without the least disguise.
+&quot;After dinner, we mean to begin again in the same spot,&quot; he added.
+&quot;Beware of St. Valentine's evil,&quot; said the commander. &quot;Yes, sir, at the
+stroke of twelve, at the grange; your Grace will be able to bear
+witness to it.&quot; The commander hurried up and arrived <i>opere operato</i>.
+He sent to Friburg for the operator and signified his sentence to the
+fool who kicked against it. The commander, however, promised him a pair
+of crimson boots. &quot;True, will your Grace give me your hand on the
+promise?&quot; said the idiot. The commander gave him his hand; thereupon
+the fool exclaimed: &quot;Come, Master Johannes, make haste.&quot; The operator
+stretched him on a bench, where the other servants kept him motionless,
+for at the first cut of the razor he began to resist. Master Johannes
+proceeded quickly and surely.<a name="div2_31" href="#div2Ref_31"><sup>[31]</sup></a> ... The patient remained for nine
+days on his back on a narrow couch, bound hand and foot so that he
+could not move an inch. The commander had given instructions to treat
+him with every care.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Master Johannes very soon deemed the fool sufficiently recovered to get
+rid of him, but at the commander's wish he kept him for some time
+longer in his room to the great annoyance of Master Johannes' young and
+good-looking wife; the latter had a strong objection to the fool's
+telling all sorts of tales about herself and her husband, on whose
+doings he spied night and day. He became a great nuisance, for in spite
+of his operation he grew fat and saucy, and at the death of the
+Commander, Landgrave Philippe sent for him to come to Cassel.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The chaplain was a fine specimen of the young debauchee. Instead of
+preaching the pure doctrine of Luther he performed mass twice a week in
+the chapel of the commandery. To get to the chapel he had to go through
+the servants' refectory just at breakfast time. He simply sat down, got
+hold of a spoon and dipped it into the soup. &quot;Master Johannes,&quot; said
+we, &quot;you know it is forbidden to eat before the mass?&quot; &quot;Nonsense,&quot; he
+replied; &quot;the Saviour gets through bolts and locks; the soup won't stop
+him.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Herr von Loewenstein owned an old ape, a strong customer, who could get
+into formidable passions. The animal, which was kept on a chain, would
+only allow its master, the baker and myself, to come near it. Most
+dangerous was it when showing its teeth, as if laughing. When I sat
+down within its reach, I dared not get up without its leave; perched on
+my shoulder, it amused itself by scratching my head, and I had to wait
+till it got tired; then I shook hands with it and I was allowed to go.
+One day a landsknecht, a handsome, well built fellow, tempted by the
+prospect of a good meal, came into the commandery. He carried a
+javelin, and the ape, who unfortunately was free of his chain, jumped
+at him, and after having wrenched the weapon from him, bit him in
+several places that it was most pitiful to see; after which it crossed
+the moat, climbed to its master's window, opened it, and made its way
+into the room. With one glance the commander perceived that the animal
+was in a rage; he endeavoured to soothe it with kindly words. It so
+happened that a silver dagger was lying near the window sill; our ape
+ties it round its waist; thereupon the commander gently draws the
+weapon from its sheath, plunges it into the animal, and notwithstanding
+its bites, holds it pinned down until the breath is out of it. There is
+no denying that an ape is a terrible creature when it gets on in years
+and grows big.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">After the harvest our master wished to go partridge-hawking, for
+his hawks were well trained. As his dapple-grey was being brought
+round--the one that ambled so capitally--the unexpected visit of
+several strange horsemen interrupted the party; the commander gave me
+his hawk, telling me to go without him. Just as I am getting my right
+leg over the saddle the bird beat its wings, the horse frightened, gets
+out of hand of the groom, and I am caught in the stirrup; more
+concerned for the hawk than for my safety, I drop backward, the horse
+continues to plunge, drags me along, kicking me all the while, the
+commander and his frightened guests looking powerlessly on. Luckily my
+shoe and my left hose give way and stick to the stirrup, while I am
+left on the ground, with nothing more serious, though, than a couple of
+swollen limbs. Nevertheless, on that day I had a very narrow escape
+from death.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse constantly raising
+levies against the Duke of Brunswick, the commandery swarmed with
+colonels and captains.<a name="div2_32" href="#div2Ref_32"><sup>[32]</sup></a> They offered me the post of secretary; the
+arrangement was, in fact, concluded, but I did not wish to go except
+with the consent of the commander. He granted me my leave, though
+giving me to understand that I should not expect to return to his
+service after the war. And inasmuch as the war was to be a short one,
+the warning gave me food for reflection. The winter was coming on; I
+certainly had no wish for a repetition of my privations at Worms. I
+remained, for the following lines recurred to my memory:</p>
+<div class="poem">
+<p class="t4"><i>Si qua sede sedes, et erat tibi commoda sedes<br>
+Illâ sede sede, nec ab illâ sede recede</i>.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p class="normal">Several companies of landsknechten were reviewed; and nothing could
+have been more diverting than to watch the inspector examine the
+weapons and the shape of the men, their dress and their gait. He made
+them march past him rather twice than once. How each man tried to hide
+his shortcomings, and how those who were &quot;passed&quot; as fit blew
+themselves, and swaggered and talked loud and boastfully like the
+hirelings they were. The war came to an end on October 21, with the
+capture of Duke Henry of Brunswick and his son, Charles Victor; his
+second son, Philippe, hastened to Rome to ask for help of the pope.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At the autumn fair Herr von Loewenstein took up his quarters at
+Frankfurt with the whole of his household for six weeks. My old chum,
+Franz von Stiten, coming across me once more, I told him everything
+about my position, and when I had given him the address of the House of
+the Knights of St. John, he arranged to come and pay me a visit one
+morning before the commander was stirring. And, in fact, he came, and
+had a long conversation with Marie, to whom he gave particulars about
+my parents, birth, and family circumstances. The information still
+further disposed the damsel in my favour; in short, I am bound to
+confess that I lost all claim to the meritorious reputation of Joseph
+the chaste. Since then I have acknowledged my sin to the Almighty, and
+I have sufficiently expiated it during my journey to Rome to count upon
+my pardon; besides, amidst the privations, dangers and trials which I
+am about to relate, however just the punishment may have been, the
+Divine mercy has never failed me, sending me protection and deliverance
+as it did in its admirable ways.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">While my master drank and gamed with his guests (he was rarely alone,
+and in Frankfurt less than elsewhere) I read, in the quietude of my own
+room, the <i>Institutes</i>, which I nearly always carried about with me. In
+vain did Herr von Loewenstein tell me again and again not to expect to
+become a doctor of law while I was with him. I did not fear any
+opposition from that quarter.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In February 1546 my master having been summoned to Spires, the habitual
+residence of the superior of the Order for Germany, only left Marie and
+myself behind at Mayence. A letter from my parents, telling me of the
+death of my brother in Rome, made me decide upon my journey to Rome.
+There was not the slightest trace left of the sufferings I had
+undergone at Worms; my health was excellent, I had a well-stocked
+wardrobe, and my purse was fairly lined. On the other hand, the loose
+morals of the Knights of St. John were calculated to take me to hell
+rather than to heaven; the money earned in such a service could not
+bring luck; it was better to spend it on the high roads, and to cut
+myself adrift from such a reprehensible mode of life. Undoubtedly the
+time had come. Besides, it was absolutely necessary to ascertain the
+circumstances of my brother's death; I knew the sum of money he had
+with him, and the idea of his having spent it in so short a time was
+inadmissible. I told my reasons, though not all, to Marie; we parted on
+the most amicable footing. In the letter she gave me for the commander,
+she informed him of the sum she had given me at my departure, leaving
+it to him to increase it. Herr von Loewenstein wished me happiness and
+luck, and advised me, if I valued my life, to abstain in Italy, but
+above all in Rome, from all theological controversy; finally, he added
+a double ducat to Marie's gift. From Spires I went a little out of my
+way to see my friends at Pforzheim; after having said goodbye to them I
+began my long journey, alone and on foot, under the holy safeguard of
+the Almighty.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_1.06" href="#div1_1.06">CHAPTER VI</a></h2>
+
+<p class="hang1">Travels in Italy--What happened to me in Rome--I take Steps to recover
+my Brother's Property--I become aware of some strange Particulars--I
+suddenly leave Rome</p>
+<br>
+<p class="continue">I started from Mayence on April 8, 1546, and after crossing an unknown
+country by bad roads, I reached Kempten, an ancient imperial city at
+the foot of the Alps, and the see of an important abbey. The unpleasant
+parts of the journey hitherto had been solitude and fatigue, when at a
+quarter of an hour from Kempten there appeared two wolves of very good
+size. They were making for a plantation of oaks on the other side of
+the road, but when they got to the highway, at a stone's throw from
+where I was, they stopped &quot;to take stock of me.&quot; Evidently they were
+going to make a mouthful of my poor, insignificant person. What was I
+to do? To beat a retreat was practically to invite their pursuit. To
+advance was to lessen at every step the distance dividing us. Trusting
+to God's good will, I kept marching on, and the wolves disappeared in
+the underwood. I hurried on, to escape the double risk of meeting the
+carnivora again or to find the city gates shut against me, for night
+was coming on apace. At the hostelry nobody seemed surprised at the
+meeting, for the neighbouring mountains swarmed with large packs of the
+animals. What they wondered at was the manner in which I got out of the
+danger. I offered thanks to the Lord.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I lay two nights at Kempten, because I was told not to venture alone in
+those mountains, where wild beasts and murderers prevailed. Meanwhile
+three Hollanders, proceeding to Rome and to Naples, arrived at the inn;
+it was the very opportunity I wanted; other travellers going to Venice
+joined our little caravan. Every evening, or at least one out of every
+two, we plunged our feet into running water; it proved a sovereign
+remedy against fatigue, recommended by the Hollanders.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The council was sitting at Trent. Before that town we made a halt in
+the middle of the day, in one of the burghs called markets, because
+they are too large for a village and too small for a town,
+notwithstanding their having a few stone houses. After having cooled
+our feet in the running stream we prepared for ourselves a meal of hot
+milk, eggs, and other eatables we had managed to find. The host and
+hostess who had been invited to the feast were most obliging; they
+foresaw a fat bill. Having had a good rest and plenty of food and
+drink, and having paid our reckoning, we bade them goodbye, and we
+already were at a considerable distance when a horseman came galloping
+after us, signalling us to stop by raising his hat. He brought me the
+satchel of brown damask that contained the whole of my fortune. I had
+left it behind lying on the table. The man absolutely refused to accept
+any reward. I wonder if I could find any instance of such
+disinterestedness in our country?</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At Easter I heard most delicious singing in the Trent churches. I have
+heard the musicians of Duke Ulrich of Würtenberg (and they were a
+subject of pride with him), of the Elector of Saxony, of the King of
+the Romans, not to mention those of the Emperor, but what a difference.
+Old men, with beards almost reaching to their waists, sang the upper
+notes with a purity and skill fit to compare with those of the most
+accomplished youngster. Trent boasts of the most elegant castle of
+Germany and Italy. I also saw there the tomb of the child Simeon, the
+innocent victim of the Jews.<a name="div2_33" href="#div2Ref_33"><sup>[33]</sup></a></p>
+
+<p class="normal">A great personage had posted from Venice to the council; the rider, who
+was to take the carriage back, allowed me for a trifle to mount the
+second horse. It was agreed that I should wait for my companions at
+<i>The White Lion</i> in Venice.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At a short distance from Trent one gets into Lombardy. After a lone and
+difficult journey across the Alps, during which there is nothing to be
+seen but the sky and the mountains rearing their heads against the
+clouds, it was like entering into another world. The air was balmy, the
+country revelling in green; and if I had wanted a thousand florins'
+worth of cherries, I could have got them far more easily than in
+Pomerania in the middle of June. Lombardy is a beautiful land, of
+fertile and well cultivated plains. The trees are planted at thirty
+feet from each other, with an interval of sixty feet between each row;
+the vine extends its branches from one tree to another, and the grapes
+ripen between pears and apples. The corn grows between the trees; at
+the end of the fields there are reservoirs the water of which is
+distributed every morning by means of locks into the irrigation canals.
+The country resembles a vast prairie. The sun sheds his rays the whole
+day; no wonder that the earth is so fruitful. There are two crops of
+grain every year. From Trent to Venice there are also many important
+towns and castles.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I reached Venice towards the end of April. The public promenade helped
+me to kill the time while waiting for the arrival of my companions; and
+as my dress attracted the notice of the children in the street, who
+pursued me with the cry: &quot;<i>Tu sei Tedesco, percio Luterano!</i>&quot; I had it
+altered to the Welch fashion.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">An aged priest, travelling with a servant to attend to his horse, had
+left the Low Countries with the mad intention of visiting the Holy
+Sepulchre; my companions practically catechized him on the subject of
+religion, and the poor man showed himself so little versed that I came
+to his aid by pretending to be a Roman Catholic. In acknowledgment of
+the service I had rendered him, he paid my reckoning at the inn, and
+wished to take me with him at his expense to Jerusalem. I cannot say if
+he saw his own household gods again, but he did not shake my resolution
+to proceed to Rome.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Venice and its environs, especially Murano, where the most precious
+glass is manufactured, would be sufficient to claim one's interest and
+attention for a whole twelvemonth; but our resources required
+husbanding, and we proceeded to Chioggia to embark in a big ship
+sailing for Ancona. Contrary winds kept us in port a considerable time;
+to pass the time we played skittles outside the walls. We carried our
+daggers at our backs in Walloon fashion, which caused us to be summoned
+before the authorities. How did we dare to appear in public armed with
+daggers--a crime which was punished with hanging in Italy? In
+consideration of our presumed ignorance of the law, mercy would be
+shown to us this once, but we ought to take it as a warning. The
+magistrates inquired whence we came, and whence we hailed, etc., and
+their astonishment was intense when they learnt that my country was two
+hundred leagues away on the shores of the Baltic, and was called
+Pomerania. Then the interrogatory went on: &quot;Do you profess the Catholic
+religion?&quot; &quot;Yes,&quot; I answered. &quot;Do you admit the doctrine of our holy
+father, the pope?&quot; &quot;What is your opinion with regard to the Mother of
+God, the saints and the celebration of mass?&quot; &quot;In our country the
+Church teaches that at the moment St. John baptized Christ, God the
+Father spoke these words: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
+pleased; listen to him.' The doctrine of the Son of God and of the
+apostles is, therefore, the pure Catholic doctrine; and whosoever
+preaches it deserves belief. With regard to the blessed Virgin Mary,
+the saints and the mass, we entirely submit to the word of God.&quot;
+Finally, on our statement that we were going to Rome, the magistrates,
+inclining their heads with a smile, recommended us to God's keeping and
+to His holy angels.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At the first favourable wind we took ship, provided with the quantity
+of provisions the pilot had told us. After having passed Ravenna and
+other beautiful cities of the Adriatic, we cast anchor at Ancona, a
+town driving a considerable trade, and provided with an excellent port
+in the shape of a half moon, affording shelter from the most violent
+tempests. Here our company was still further increased by a certain
+Petrus from the Low Countries, a handsome young fellow, tall and well
+set up, who for a long time had been soldiering in Welch countries. He
+made us go round by Our Lady of Loretto, a locality famed for the
+indulgences granted to its pilgrims. It would be difficult to conceive
+anything more wild than the country--a veritable brigands' haunt. The
+town has but one long street, at the end of which there is a small
+chapel, the tenement reputed to have been occupied by the Virgin Mary
+at Nazareth and transported thence by the angels. In a niche there is
+an image of the Virgin, alleged to be the work of St. Luke. For a
+certain consideration a priest will rub the rosaries against the image,
+and under those conditions the pilgrim obtains so many indulgences that
+he would not part with them for an empire. The quills of the porcupine
+constitute one of the principal articles for sale at Loretto. I saw a
+great many of those animals alive; they are about the size of a
+hedgehog. I ornamented my hat with a large leaden medal of the Virgin
+surmounted by three quills fastened with a silken thread, and each with
+a small flag at the end. I also saw at Loretto a live chamois, the only
+one I ever beheld, though chamois are not rare in that country, and
+above all in the Alps. The flesh of the chamois is preferred to that of
+the deer. I have tasted it; I have even worn several pair of small
+clothes of chamois leather; it is excellent, and you can wash it like
+linen, and the skin remains as soft as ever.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Petrus was known everywhere, and principally in the mountains. Without
+ever having studied to that effect, he could pride himself upon being a
+good musician and being able to sing at sight. In every town he took us
+straight to a monastery, where the young monks hailed him by his name,
+feasted him, bringing him wine and refreshment; then they sang a piece
+of music, drank a cup of wine, and we took our leave. This Petrus was a
+precious travelling companion; added to his knowledge of the country,
+he had a most agreeable disposition, <i>et comes facundus in via pro
+vehiculo est</i>. He told us where he was born and how many years he had
+lived in Italy, far away from his parents, whom, however, he was most
+anxious to see again. I, in my turn, told him the business that called
+me to Rome; he offered to accompany me on the return journey. The
+voyage from Milan and across France was delightful, he said; he was
+familiar with the roads as far as the Low Countries. I was delighted
+with the proposal, which, as will be seen, was wellnigh fatal to me. In
+Rome, after having settled us in a hostelry, Petrus gave me his
+address, and we agreed to meet often.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On May 26, 1546, I presented myself at the house of Doctor Gaspard
+Hoyer, who, at the first glance, knew my identity by my likeness to
+Magister Johannes. He changed my straw hat, ornamented with the holy
+relic which I had bought at Loretto, for a black biretta of Italian
+fashion, a headgear very much worn in those days at Rome. He had with
+him Gerard Schwartz, the younger brother of Master Arndt Schwartz, and
+in talking together we discovered that we had left Trent on the same
+day without having fallen in with each other, Schwartz having travelled
+by way of Ferrara. He was a very scholarly young man, and a near
+kinsman of Dr. Hoyer. I never saw him again; and one day, when I asked
+Master Arndt Schwartz, he told me that Gerard had come back to
+Stralsund mentally affected, and that subsequently he disappeared. I
+have got an idea that he had contracted an illness in Rome which he
+dared not avow to his relatives.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Master Gaspard Hoyer had only learnt of the death of my brother
+thirteen days before my arrival, in a letter from my father. The news
+had grieved and surprised him, but there remained the fact that my
+parents in Pomerania had been informed more promptly of the misfortune
+than an inhabitant of Rome. I conceived many tragic suspicions, on the
+subject of which I could only trust to God. Dr. Hoyer proved his
+goodwill by accompanying me to the Cardinal Count de St. Flore,<a name="div2_34" href="#div2Ref_34"><sup>[34]</sup></a>
+whose servant my late brother had been; he presented me, exposed my
+wretched situation, and renewed the request he had preferred at the
+receipt of my father's letter. The cardinal was exquisitely
+sympathetic; he had promptly communicated with his steward at
+Acquapendente, and he expected the reply, together with my brother's
+belongings, at every moment. Nevertheless, Master Hoyer had to wait
+until July 1 without receiving another summons to call. He considered
+my presence necessary, and on our way he told me that he and the
+cardinal had offered my brother a canonry at Lubeck, and that in
+consequence of his refusal my brother had become strongly suspected of
+Lutheranism.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">We were taken at once to the cardinal, who handed me five-and-twenty
+golden crowns, three double ducats, two golden florins, two rose
+nobles, one florin of Hungary, three angelots (French money), a golden
+chain of twenty and a half crowns, three golden rings (the first being
+a seal, the second a keepsake, and the third set with a turquoise),
+worth seven and a half crowns, another half-crown in gold, and three
+Juliuses. I was told at the same time that my brother had spent thirty
+crowns in clothes, that during his illness he had bequeathed twenty
+crowns to the poor, and that his tombstone had cost another thirty.
+According to Roman custom, the servants had divided his wardrobe among
+themselves. The cardinal said also to me: &quot;<i>Legit aliquoties libros
+mihi admodum suspectos, et quanquam admonui eum, ut non legeret, tamen
+deprehendi saepius legentem.</i>&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">After this he asked me several questions of interest about Pomerania.
+Was it as hot there as in Rome? The cardinal, in fact, was sitting in
+his shirt sleeves, in a large room whose window panes were made of
+linen instead of glass; the floor was constantly sprinkled with water,
+which by a nice contrivance ran away. My reply caused the cardinal to
+exclaim: &quot;<i>O utinam et Romae ejusmodi temperatum aërem haberemus.</i>&quot;
+After Master Hoyer had thanked him in both our names, we took our
+leave. &quot;Did you hear what the cardinal said?&quot; asked the doctor, when we
+were in the streets once more. &quot;No doubt I did,&quot; was the answer. &quot;Yes,&quot;
+he remarked, &quot;Master Johannes' stay at Acquapendente was a very short
+one; and yet, no German was ever less fond of Italian fruit, fresh
+figs, melons, etc., than he.&quot; People ought to know that those fruits
+are delicious, but harmful to those who are not used to them. Many a
+German on his first arrival yields to the temptation, and pays for the
+imprudent act with his life. Besides, Dr. Hoyer had not had the
+slightest anxiety with regard to my brother, whom only very recently he
+had met in the street. I left the money and the trinkets with Dr. Hoyer
+until my departure.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Master Gaspard Hoyer was an honest, loyal and obliging little man; may
+the Lord watch over him. In order to make my money hold out, he took a
+good deal of trouble to find me a place with the superintendent of the
+hospitium of Santa-Brigitta, an aged Swedish priest, who took boarders
+from among the advocates, procurators and suitors of the Tribunal of
+the Rote. To cook, to wash up, to make the beds, to lay the table, and
+to clear it, to bring the wine from the cellar, and to serve it, these
+were my functions, for which I received half a crown per month.
+Apparently they were satisfied with my culinary talent; it is true, I
+had only to prepare the soup, called &quot;minestra&quot;; the other dishes came
+from the tavern. In Rome, where there are so many people who cannot
+publicly live with a woman, and where it swarms with suitors and
+pleaders who would find it difficult to keep up a house, there are
+excellent taverns, providing fish, flesh, game, poultry roast, boiled
+pasties, and delicate wines; in short, everything necessary to a
+princely banquet.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">One day, while at meat, my master announced the happy tidings of the
+death of Dr. Luther; the heresiarch had met with the end he deserved; a
+legion of devils had swooped down upon him, and a horrible din had put
+all those around him to flight. Luther himself had bellowed like a
+bull, and at the last moment he had uttered a terrible yell; his spirit
+went on haunting the house. The boarders vied with each other in
+falling foul of &quot;that abominable Luther,&quot; that limb of Satan, doomed,
+like all the other demons, to everlasting fire. The only one who did
+not join in this charitable colloquy was a procurator of the Rote; he
+only opened his lips to murmur now and again: &quot;<i>O Jesu, fili Dei,
+miserere mei</i>,&quot; to the tune of that famous Italian song, to which there
+seems no end, &quot;<i>Fala lilalela</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My master, who performed mass at the chapel of the hospitium, hit upon
+the idea to take me as his acolyte; my ignorance of the various
+movements and my lukewarmness to learn, made him exclaim: &quot;<i>Profecto tu
+es Lutheranus!</i>&quot; &quot;<i>Sum Christianus</i>,&quot; I replied, &quot;my schooling in my
+native country, and my daily work at Spires by the receiver of the
+Order of St. John, left me no leisure to think of mass.&quot; I am bound to
+confess that as we went on, the suspicions of my new master did not
+fail to inspire me with fears for my safety. My master officiated at
+all the masses on saints' days, both in town and in the neighbourhood;
+there were as many as three on the same day; and as the journey from
+one church to the other was long, and we left at daybreak to return
+very late at night, our satchel contained a large flagon of wine and
+substantial food. Each altar was completely prepared for mass; our
+master halted before the altar nearest to the entrance, put on his
+chasuble and said a mass. The first one I heard; then we departed for
+another church, and there, while my master officiated, I sat down
+behind the altar, my satchel on my knee, and ate a comfortable morsel,
+and washed it down with a moderately full cup. At meal time the priest
+noted the deficiency, and asked me for an explanation; I frankly
+confessed my inability to prolong the fast, which after all I was not
+bound to observe, inasmuch as I did not say mass. The explanation was
+more or less graciously received.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">This visit to the various stations enabled me to see and to learn a
+great many in a short time, for my master, who knew the city
+thoroughly, was very pleased to show me its curiosities, and often went
+a long way round for my sake. Rome has close upon one hundred and fifty
+churches, seven of which count as principal ones. There are many
+abbeys, convents and asylums. I did not see all these buildings, and
+the majority of those I saw did not strike me as remarkable. At the
+door of each church a tablet tells the dates of the pilgrimages and the
+number of indulgences to be gained; the general list of the pilgrimages
+and of the indulgences is also sold separately. The annual number of
+stations or pilgrimages exceeds a hundred; hence, one can redeem all
+one's sins at least a dozen times; that is, eleven times more than is
+necessary, and one is furthermore gratified with a hundred thousand
+years of indulgences. O, good Jesus, why didst not thou remain in
+heaven, if our salvation is after all to depend upon holy popes and
+their magnificent indulgences, notwithstanding which they have to go
+and join the devils in hell.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">A special mention is due to the Asylum of the Holy Spirit, the pride of
+Rome, and which is considered by the wise as the most meritorious work
+of Christendom. Rome contains a mass of single folk of both sexes; the
+pope's <i>entourage</i> consists of fifteen or sixteen cardinals, whose
+establishments are kept on a footing as good as that of the courts of
+our princes of Germany. Then there are about a hundred bishops having
+servants, and several thousand prelates, canons and priests with their
+servitors. I refrain from numbering the young monks, who keep their vow
+of chastity as a dog observes Lent. Nor should we forget the assessors,
+advocates, procurators, notaries and pleaders of a hundred different
+countries who crowd the law courts. All these are forbidden to have a
+wife. Nevertheless, thousands of them shelter under their roofs persons
+of the fair sex, supposed cooks, washerwomen and chambermaids. And now
+calculate the number of disorderly women.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">They, however, enjoy a wonderful liberty, and it is safer to wound or
+even to kill a man in Rome than to treat roughly an importunate harlot.
+At Vespers, great lords, pope, cardinals, bishops and prelates send for
+these &quot;damsels of joy.&quot; They come to their homes in male disguise; the
+others know exactly where to find them.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The courtesans sell their wares at a high price, for they stroll about
+attired in velvet, damasks, silks, and resplendent in gold. They cannot
+sell their favours cheaply, inasmuch as they pay a heavy tax, which,
+together with the proceeds of masses, constitutes the revenues of the
+priests with which Rome swarms. If one wishes to ascertain the revenues
+of an ecclesiastic, he asks: &quot;How many harlots?&quot; and the figures show
+whether he, the ecclesiastic, is more or less favoured. No wonder,
+then, that, privileged in that manner, magnificently dressed and kept
+in splendour, prostitutes come to Rome from all parts. It is worthy of
+notice that the young girls of Rome emulate the others with zest. (Dr.
+Hoyer's cook, a native of Nuremburg, must have been once a beautiful
+creature. Her master always called her madonna Margarita.) At thirty or
+thirty-five, when they find their admirers desert them, these persons
+become cooks, laundresses, serving wenches, without, however,
+disdaining a good windfall. The result was this: they smothered, they
+flung into the cloaca, they drowned in the Tiber more new-born than
+there were massacred at Bethlehem. Herod after all was an impious and
+barbaric tyrant, and resorted to this butchery in order to defend his
+crown. Yet by whom were the poor innocents in Rome deprived of baptism
+and life? By their mothers, by those to whom they owed their birth, by
+the saints of this world, the vicars of Christ.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">To cure the evil by means established by God Himself was not to be
+thought of, marriage having been declared incompatible with the
+sacerdotal office. Pope Sixtus IV, however, having set his heart upon
+stopping those horrible murders, restored from roof to cellar the
+Asylum of the Holy Spirit, tumbling to ruin, and enlarged it by several
+handsome structures; he established an important brotherhood there, at
+the head of which he inscribed his own name, an example followed by
+many cardinals. Each member of the fraternity has the privilege of
+choosing for himself a confessor; and power was given to said confessor
+to give plenary absolution once when the penitent was in a state of
+good health; when dying, an unlimited number of times, even for the
+cases usually reserved for the Apostolic See.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The wards of the hospital are handsome and roomy, the beds and
+appurtenances leave nothing to desire. The sick of every country are
+treated with unremitting care; when they are cured they pay, if they
+are able and willing; but the very poor are sent away dressed in new
+clothes from head to foot, and provided with some money. The staff is
+composed of sick-nurses of both sexes, physicians and surgeons; the
+establishment has, moreover, an excellent dispensary abundantly stocked
+with everything, and recourse to which was often had from outside. The
+institution--apart from the hospital--brings up foundlings and orphans;
+the governors have the boys taught this or that trade, according to
+their aptitude or taste, nor are the girls allowed to remain idle.
+While still very young they begin to knit, to spin, to sew and to
+weave; in fact, under the direct supervision of the mistresses attached
+to the establishment, they are taught all the occupations of their sex.
+If one of the inmates wishes to get married, he or she must inform the
+administrators either directly or through an intermediary. Inquiries
+are made about the suitors, about their means of maintaining a family,
+etc. The girls get a modest marriage-portion, an outfit, household
+goods and utensils, and at Whitsuntide six or seven unions are
+celebrated at the institution on the same day.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Truly, it is a great institution, which seems to defy all criticism. In
+spite of enormous expenses, the existence of the establishment is
+assured by its resources. Of course Sixtus IV. has contributed largely
+from his private purse, but those contributions were as nothing to the
+practically incredible sums collected by the courtesans throughout
+Christendom in aid of the hospital, Germany included, and even
+Pomerania, if I may trust to the recollections of my young days. One
+day, while taking a stroll with Dr. Hoyer, I ventured to ask him if he
+had no wish to come back to his native country, where he had friends,
+relatives, property and livings. He said he had not such a wish, in
+consequence of the difference of religion, adding: &quot;May my countrymen
+amend their ways and become converted, like all those who have turned
+away from the true and primitive Catholic doctrine.&quot; &quot;But,&quot; replied I,
+&quot;it's we who have the true and primitive Catholic doctrine in its
+purity.&quot; Dr. Hoyer retorted: &quot;It is written, 'Ye shall know them by
+their fruits.' Well, let them show me anywhere in Germany an
+institution to be compared to the hospital and the Asylum of the Holy
+Spirit.&quot; &quot;I know this saying of Christ,&quot; I remarked, &quot;and I turn it
+against the papists. Good fruits, indeed; a life of abomination, the
+murder of innocent creatures, a premium on debauch by picking up the
+new-born. The pope, the cardinals, bishops, prelates, canons, their
+servants, monks, assessors and other hangers-on of the priesthood,
+would not all these be better off in taking to themselves wives? for as
+much as the Almighty condemns fornication, as much does he recommend to
+the priest, as well as to the layman, the holy state of marriage, the
+antidote to the Roman horrors of a certain kind. Do not we read in the
+Epistles of Paul: 'Marriage is honourable among all things'? And if so,
+there would be no more murdering of innocents, mothers and fathers
+would themselves look after their offspring, the Asylum of the Holy
+Spirit would become useless, an immense saving would be effected, and
+everybody would have a clear conscience with regard to that kind of
+thing.&quot; Dr. Hoyer did not answer me, but what a wry face he pulled!</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Rome contains a great number of handsome mansions, for the popes, in
+order to perpetuate their memory, erect three-storied and four-fronted
+palaces; whole streets of houses are demolished if in any way they
+obstruct the view. The material employed is a magnificently hard stone;
+there is a popular saying to that effect: &quot;In Rome, great blocks of
+marble, great personages, great scoundrels.&quot; Nor are the cardinals and
+bishops satisfied with modest buildings, least of all with humble huts;
+as a consequence, the stone masons always have their hands full.
+Buffaloes, a species of very strong oxen, convey the stones, which are
+hoisted up in the easiest possible manner, by means of curious engines.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On Corpus Christi day there is a grand procession, in which the pope
+takes part. The streets through which he passes are bestrewn with
+green, the houses are ornamented with rich hangings, there is the
+firing of cannon, and clever pieces of fireworks are let off from the
+various palaces; naturally there is an immense crowd, and people could
+walk on each other's heads; the smallest window has a number of
+spectators. At the Castle of St. Angelo there was an admirable piece of
+fireworks in the shape of a sun; the whole structure seemed to be
+ablaze. At St. Peter's there was a discharge of heavy artillery, and
+the cannons of St. Angelo and of the cardinals replied to the salute.
+There was so much smoke and so much noise that one could neither hear
+nor see anything. At last both subsided, and then the pope appeared on
+the balcony, where they presented a book bound in gold to him, from
+which he read, but I could not catch a word he said. All at once the
+whole of the enormous throng, thousands of people, fall on their knees,
+I alone remain standing; those around me stare at me with stupefaction,
+thinking, no doubt, that I have taken leave of my senses. When the
+reading was over (it was a short one) the pope blessed the people, who
+cried: &quot;<i>Vivat papa Paulus, vivat</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Close to the Church of Maria de Pace stands the huge statue of Pasquin,
+which every morning denounces, without ceremony and with impunity, as
+it were, the mistakes and crimes of the great ones of the land, the
+cardinals and the Pope Paul III were often taken to task; numberless
+were the allusions with reference to his acquisition of the cardinal's
+hat. A German, who had come to Rome for absolution, confessed, among
+other things, to having spoken ill of the pope. The confessor was
+greatly perplexed. It was difficult to account this as a sin to the
+penitent, when at any minute the latter might hear the pope insulted
+openly; on the other hand, to refrain from condemnation on the ground
+that the case was a common one at Rome was virtually discrediting the
+papacy in the estimation of the Germans. Clever man that he was, the
+confessor asked: &quot;<i>Ubi maledixisti Pontifici, in patriâ vel hic
+Romae?</i>&quot; &quot;<i>In patriâ</i>.&quot; was the answer. &quot;<i>O!</i>&quot; exclaimed the priest,
+&quot;<i>commisisti grande peccatum; Romae licet Pontifici maledicere, in
+patriâ vero non.</i>&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At that time the pope was recruiting, to the sound of the drum, troops
+to aid the emperor against the Lutherans. About 10,000 foot soldiers
+and 500 light horse, both exceedingly well-equipped, enlisted. They
+mustered at Bologna; the pope's grandson Octavius, Governor of St.
+Angelo,<a name="div2_35" href="#div2Ref_35"><sup>[35]</sup></a> received the command of the contingent. The Spanish
+Inquisition grew more and more energetic in order to arouse the
+religious ardour of the horse and foot soldiers. A Spaniard, convicted
+of Lutheranism, was paraded seated on a horse, covered to its hoofs
+with placards representing the devil; the gallows were erected close to
+the pyre in front of Sancta Maria super Minervam. The poor wretch was
+hanged and his body burnt; after which a chattering monk demonstrated
+at length the temporal and spiritual dangers of the Lutheran heresy.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The cardinals gave a grand banquet in honour of Duke Philip of
+Brunswick. A well-born Spaniard slipped in among the servants of the
+prelate where the entertainment took place. That nation is greatly
+addicted to pilfering. Most people know the answer of Emperor Charles V
+to the Spaniards, who wished to induce him to suppress the habitual
+drunkenness of the Germans: &quot;It would practically remove the
+opportunity of Spaniards to do a bit of robbery now and again,&quot; said
+Charles. Fancying that such an opportunity had come, the Spaniard got
+hold of some bread and a flagon of wine, hid himself under the table,
+the cloths of which reached to the floor. In the event of his being
+caught, he was ready with the plea of a practical joke, knowing that
+the host was himself very fond of them. Two of his servants were posted
+near the great mansion. The banquet was not over before midnight, and
+the stewards of his Eminence, worn out with fatigue, considered that
+the silver would not take wing when the doors were shut. They therefore
+left it where it was, merely shutting the doors behind them. Emerging
+from his hiding-place, the Spaniard introduces his confederates, and
+they all carry away as much as they can. The spoil is sold to the Jews,
+with the exception of the least cumbersome pieces, which the scoundrel
+intends to keep for making a show of his own; and then the three depart
+in the direction of Naples as fast as their horses will carry them.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">His Eminence's retainers having gone to bed late, were not up betimes,
+and their astonishment on entering the banquetting hall may easily be
+imagined. Their flesh crept. How were they going to avoid being sent to
+prison? Were they to preserve silence about the affair, or inform the
+cardinal? They decided upon the latter course. They were locked up, and
+couriers were dispatched in hot haste to warn the innkeepers; the
+express order of the pope was to bring back to Rome any person in whose
+possession the stolen objects were found.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It so befell that, tired and hungry, the Spaniard stopped at a
+hostelry; they laid the table for him, but at the sight of the
+earthenware he waxed indignant. &quot;What's the meaning of this?&quot; he
+bellowed. &quot;Am I a nothing at all?&quot; Thereupon he orders his servant to
+bring out his own silver. The landlord, who had ample time, in the
+kitchen, to look at it, recognized it from its description, sent for
+reinforcements, and his three customers were taken back to Rome. When
+interrogated, the Spaniard denounced the Jews as receivers; his money
+was taken from him, the silver was found at the Jews' houses, and they
+were immediately put under lock and key.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">A great number of Jews dwell in Rome, practically confined to one long
+street, closed at both ends. Any one who should be imprudent enough to
+come out of that street during Passion week, commemorating, as it does,
+the martyrdom of Christ, would infallibly be murdered. When Easter is
+gone Jews are as secure as they were before; they go everywhere, and
+transact their business without being hampered or molested. The two
+receivers were the principal and the richest members of their tribe;
+thousands of crowns were offered for their ransom, but it was all in
+vain. The five criminals perished on the gallows, erected by the St.
+Angelo bridge, the Spaniard in the centre, a copper crown on his head,
+to single him out as king of the thieves.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In fact, no week went by without a hanging. I was an eye-witness of the
+following. The hangman was about to push a condemned man from the
+ladder, when a friendly voice in the crowd cried: &quot;<i>Messere Nicolao,
+confide in uno Dio!</i>&quot; to which the thief replied: &quot;<i>Messere, si.</i>&quot; At
+the same moment he was hurled into space.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I have often seen the strappado given; among others, to priests guilty
+of having said more than one mass per day, a practice considered
+hurtful to the interest of their fellow-priests. A pulley is fixed to
+the coping of the roof; in the middle of the rope there is a stick
+which stops the rope running along the groove farther than that. The
+culprit, his hands tied behind his back, is attached to the one end of
+the rope, which is in the street. After that he is hoisted up and left
+to fall suddenly to within a yard of the ground. In that way the wrists
+pass over the head, and the shoulders are dislocated. After three
+hoistings he is unbound, taken into the house, where his limbs are set,
+an operation which the <i>lictores</i> perform with the greatest ease in
+virtue of their great practice. There are, however, patients who remain
+maimed all their lives; on the other hand, I have known a priest, who,
+in consideration of a Julius, consented to suffer those three turns.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I was beginning to think about my homeward journey, and felt greatly
+perplexed about it. The dog-days were drawing near, and Northern folk
+are unable to bear them in Italy. On the other hand, along the whole of
+my route war was raging, and the Welch soldiers are a hundred times
+greater devils than the Germans; though in Germany itself it would have
+been a difficult task to get through the lines of those formidable
+imperial cohorts, the savage bands of Bohemians, and, in fine, the
+Protestant army. Was I to prolong my stay in Rome? Wisdom said no. I
+remembered but too well Cardinal St. Flore remark about my brother,
+&quot;<i>Frustra eum admonui, ut non legeres libros suspectos</i>.&quot; Moreover, my
+opinion on the Asylum of the Holy Spirit had scandalized Dr. Hoyer, and
+the provider of the St. Brigitta institute had exclaimed with an oath:
+&quot;<i>Profecto tu es Lutheranus</i>.&quot; The Spanish Inquisition was acting with
+the utmost rigour; and inasmuch as the wine was excellent I was very
+nigh forgetting for a little while the prudent counsel of my former
+master, the commander of St. John. Consequently, after ripe reflection,
+full of trust in the Almighty, and also counting on the faithful
+company of Petrus, I told Dr. Hoyer of my impending departure. He
+considered it incumbent on him to point out the dangers of the journey,
+but perceiving that my mind was fully made up, he handed me my
+brother's property and gave me a letter for my father. I parted with
+the Swede <i>bonâ cum veniâ</i>, seeing that he gave me a crown for the six
+weeks I had served him.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I had told my friend Petrus that until my going I should confide to Dr.
+Hoyer the valuables the cardinal had restored to me. From that
+particular moment he talked about leaving Rome, especially as the
+enlisting had begun, and the mercenaries were almost immediately after
+their registration dispatched to Bologna. We finally fixed our
+departure for July 5. God, once more, took me under His wing. I had
+become acquainted with a companion of my own age, named Nicholas, the
+son of a tailor at Lubeck. He told me that after many years stay at
+Rome he wished to see his own country again, but that he had not the
+necessary money for the journey. If I did not mind paying his expenses
+on the road, he would reimburse them at Lubeck, and consider himself my
+debtor ever afterwards. I was really glad at his request, for I
+considered him a man of honour and most loyal. He was, moreover,
+thoroughly master of Italian, which I knew very badly. I therefore
+thanked Providence who sent me a <i>comitem mente fideque parem</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On the eve of our departure I went to inform Petrus of the excellent
+news. He turned pale, grew low-spirited, and did not utter a syllable.
+I ascribed his coolness to something that had annoyed him, and told him
+that we should come for him very early in the morning. After a moment's
+hesitation he said &quot;yes,&quot; and walked away. Next morning Nicholas and I,
+prepared and equipped for our journey, knocked at his door. Petrus
+lodged with poor people; he was a simple landsknecht, and, according to
+his landlady, he carried all his belongings on his back. The woman then
+told us that Petrus, after leaving us, had promptly enlisted and
+betaken himself off, from fear of his creditors and in spite of his
+promise to pay them all with the money he was shortly expecting. Let my
+children give praise to the Almighty who saved my life at the moment I
+was blindly going to trust it to the mercy of a vagrant mercenary. No
+doubt that, shortly after leaving the city, he would have killed me in
+some solitary spot, of which there is no lack in the neighbourhood of
+Rome. Not a soul would have troubled about what had become of me. The
+least he would have done to me was to rob me of everything I possessed
+before letting me go free, and, as I am ignorant of the language of the
+country, I cannot help shuddering at the thought of the fate that was
+in store for me.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">And here I record, for the benefit of my children, the prediction of
+that sainted Doctor Martin Luther. &quot;War,&quot; he had said, &quot;will make
+Germany expiate her sins. It shall be staved off while I live, but the
+moment I am gone it will break out.&quot; Now, he went to sleep in the Lord
+on February 18 of this year (1546) at Eisleben, his natal town; and the
+historians have stated that the preparations for war commenced in
+February at the moment he fell ill. I myself had superabundant proofs
+in April of both the emperor and the pope arming on all sides; and it
+was at the beginning of June that the Cardinal of Trent reached Rome,
+dispatched by his Imperial Majesty to hurry the departure of the 10,000
+Italian foot-soldiers and the 500 light horsemen.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_1.07" href="#div1_1.07">CHAPTER VII</a></h2>
+
+<p class="hang1">From Rome to Stralsund, by Viterbo, Florence, Mantua, Trent, Innspruck,
+Ratisbon and Nuremberg--Various adventures</p>
+<br>
+<p class="continue">On the morning of July 6, 1546, in my twenty-sixth year, I left Rome
+with my faithful companion Nicholas. My gold was sewn up in my neck
+collar, the chain in my small clothes. In the way of luggage I had a
+small satchel containing a shirt and the poems composed by my brother
+at Spires and in Rome; slung across my shoulders I wore a kind of strap
+to which I tied my cloak in the day. I had my sword by my side and a
+rosary dangling from the belt, like a soldier joining his regiment. We
+had agreed (it being a question of life and death) that I should
+pretend to be dumb; hence Nicholas did not stir from my side for a
+moment wherever I went. The landsknechten, who spoke to me on the road
+without receiving an answer, were informed by him of my pretended
+infirmity. &quot;What a pity,&quot; they said; &quot;and such a handsome fellow, too.
+Never mind,&quot; they added, &quot;he'll none the less split those brigands of
+Lutherans lengthwise.&quot; &quot;You may be sure of that,&quot; replied my comrade,
+and thanks to this stratagem we got across the lines of the Welch
+soldiery.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On the morning after our leaving Rome, Duke Octavius went by, posting.
+He was accompanied by five people. When we got to Ronciglione, about
+two miles from Viterbo, we made up our minds to sup there, and go to
+bed afterwards, in order to arrive early in the city fresh and hearty,
+though not before daylight, inasmuch as we wanted to lay in a stock of
+things. Scarcely had we sat down to table when a turbulent crowd of
+soldiers invaded the inn; the host told us to remain quiet, for he was
+shaking in his shoes for himself. The bandits commenced by flinging him
+out of his own door; the larder was pillaged, and after having drunk to
+their heart's content, they staved in the barrels and swamped the
+cellars with the wine. It was an abominable bit of business and
+unquestionably the Welch, and Latin mercenaries are greater ruffians
+than the German landsknechten; at any rate, if we are to judge from
+what they did in a friendly country, and virtually under the very eyes
+of the pope. They invited us to accompany them to Viterbo, in spite of
+Nicholas pointing out to them that night was coming on apace, and that
+the gates would be shut. &quot;We'll get in for all that,&quot; they said. We
+were bound to follow them. We got there about midnight, and they were
+challenged by the guard. &quot;Who goes there?&quot; he asked. &quot;Soldiers of Duke
+Octavius,&quot; was the answer, and thereupon the gate was opened.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I recommend the following to the meditation of my children; let them
+compare my adventure with that of Simon Grynaeus, related at length in
+the writings of Philip Melanchthon, Selneccerus, Camerarius, Manlius
+and other learned personages. In 1529 Grynaeus, then professor of
+mathematics at Heidelberg, came to see Melanchthon at the diet of
+Spires; he heard Faber, one of his old acquaintances, emit from the
+pulpit many errors in connexion with transubstantiation. Having gone up
+to him when they came out of church, they started a discussion, and
+Faber, on the pretext of wishing to resume it, invited him to come to
+his inn the next morning. Melanchthon and his friends dissuaded
+Grynaeus from going. The next day, at the dinner hour, a weakly-looking
+old man stopped Manlius at the entrance to the hall asking him where
+Grynaeus was to be found, the process-servers, according to him, being
+on the look out to arrest him. Thereupon the various learned men who
+had foregathered there immediately conducted Grynaeus out of the town,
+and waited on the banks until he had crossed the Rhine; they had come
+upon the law-officers three or four houses away from the inn; luckily
+the latter neither knew them nor Grynaeus. As for the old man, there
+was no further trace of him; they made sure it was an angel. I myself
+am inclined to think it was some pious Nicodemus who, having got wind
+of the wicked designs of Faber, made it his business to frustrate them
+without compromising himself. Now for my own adventure.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">We entered Viterbo in the middle of the night. Prudence dictated the
+avoidance of the mercenaries' lodgings, for a meeting with Petrus would
+have been fatal to us; as it happened, the soldiers swarmed everywhere.
+Wandering from house to house, and devoured with anxiety, we invoked
+the Lord, our last hope. And behold a man of forty and of excellent
+appearance accosted us. We had never seen him, and not a syllable had
+fallen from our lips. We were dressed in the Welch fashion; everybody,
+even in plain daylight, would have taken us for soldiers. Well, without
+the slightest preamble, he addressed us in our own language. &quot;You are
+Germans,&quot; he said, &quot;and in a Welch country; don't forget it. If the
+podesta lays hold of you, it means the strappado, and perhaps worse.
+You are making for Germany.&quot; (How did he know, except by reading our
+thoughts?) &quot;Let me put you into the right road.&quot; Dumb with
+astonishment, we followed him in silence as far as the gates of the
+town; he exchanged a few words with the custodian, who, in his own
+gibberish, said to us: &quot;For the love of you, friends, I'll disobey my
+orders, which expressly forbid me to open the gates before dawn. You'll
+find nothing in the faubourg, I warn you; the soldiers have pillaged
+and burnt everything, but you'll not die for being obliged to do one
+night without food and drink.&quot; Saying which he showed us out and
+promptly shut the gates upon us.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Who had been our guide? I am still asking myself the question. As for
+us, reassured by the consciousness of the Divine presence; and in our
+hearts we gave praise for this miraculous deliverance. The faubourg,
+destroyed by fire, was simply a mass of ruins. We slept in the open air
+on the straw of a barn where the wheat is threshed out by oxen and
+horses. It was daylight when we opened our eyes, and the first thing we
+saw was a gallows. Towards midday we got as far as Montefiascone, a
+pretty town famed for its Muscat wine. Thanks be to God, we continued
+our journey without being again alarmed, and we did not catch sight of
+any mercenaries until we came to Bologna.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">We halted at Montefiascone until the evening and enjoyed the roast
+fowls and savoury dishes, but the oppressive heat interfered with our
+appetite, though the bottle was more frequently appealed to. A story is
+told a of traveller who was in the habit of getting his servant to
+taste the wine at every hostelry they stopped.<a name="div2_36" href="#div2Ref_36"><sup>[36]</sup></a> &quot;<i>Est</i>,&quot; said the
+latter if the wine was bad, &quot;<i>Est, Est</i>&quot; if it was passable, &quot;<i>Est,
+Est, Est</i>&quot; if it was good. And his master either continued his route or
+dismounted according to the signal. At Montefiascone, however, the
+servant did not fail to cry: &quot;<i>Est, Est, Est</i>,&quot; and his master drank so
+long as to contract an inflammation, of which he died. When the
+relatives inquired about the cause of his death, the servant replied:
+&quot;<i>Est, est, est facit quod dominus meus hic jacet</i>,&quot; and in his grief he
+kept repeating: &quot;<i>O Est, est, est, dominus meus mortuus est</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On July 9 we reached Acquapendente, where my brother died, I visited
+the church without being able to discover his burial place. To ask
+questions would have been tantamount to betraying ourselves,
+considering that the Germans were the butt of public hatred.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Sienna, an important town with a celebrated university, is called
+<i>Siena Virgo</i>, though it lost its virginity long ago. From a
+neighbouring mountain one notices two small burghs; the one is called
+Cent, the other Nonagent. The pope being at Sienna, a monk undertook to
+show him <i>Centum nonaginta civitates</i>. When he got his Holiness to the
+top he showed him the two places in question.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Lovely Florence is the pearl of Italy. At the entrance to each town
+they said to us, &quot;Liga la spada&quot; (Tie the hilt to the sheath). At
+Florence we had to give up our weapons. If we had only crossed the city
+a man would have accompanied us to restore them at the other gate, but
+on our declaring that we were going to stay until the evening our
+swords were taken from us, and the hilts provided with a wooden label,
+part of which they gave us to keep. Besides, some one came into the
+city with us, and, among other useful information, showed us a
+beautiful hostelry where they treated us remarkably well for our money.
+A magnificent palace, a church entirely constructed of variegated
+marble, adjusted with marvellous skill and art, a dozen lions and
+lionesses, two tigers and an eagle, that is all I remember. There were
+ever so many other curiosities to see, but our heads were full of
+Germany. When the heat of the day abated we pursued our journey; our
+arms were restored to us on our presenting part of the label.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">After having crossed Mount Scarperia, which fully deserves its name,
+seeing that it constitutes the most fatal passage of Italy to
+shoeleather and feet, we got to Bologna in the morning of July 13.
+Bologna is a big city belonging to the pope (<i>Bononia grassa, Padua la
+passa</i>), and endowed with a famous university. The town was teeming
+with mercenaries, so we were not particularly anxious to stop in it.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At some distance from Bologna begins a canal dug by the hand of man.
+There the Lord caused us to meet with an inhabitant of Mantua who had
+just enlisted. We proposed to hire a boat as far as Ferrara together.
+&quot;Whither are you going?&quot; he asked. As we had the appearance of
+soldiers, and as he might conceive some surprise at seeing us turn our
+backs on headquarters, we hit upon the idea of telling him that our
+master was at the Council of Trent. &quot;Oh,&quot; he remarked, &quot;you are going
+farther, then?&quot; We said neither &quot;yes&quot; nor &quot;no.&quot; He knew a little Latin,
+like myself, and so I no longer kept up my part of a dumb man before
+him. He professed but small regard for the pope and papism. &quot;How dare
+you,&quot; I exclaimed, &quot;talk in that way in Italy, and on the very
+territory of the Church? And why, if these are your opinions, do you
+take service against the Evangelicals?&quot; &quot;What does it matter?&quot; he
+replied; &quot;I am not risking the loss of a cardinal's hat. I am a
+fighting man, and fight for those who pay me.&quot; When we got near to the
+Pô, he said: &quot;Ferrara lies no doubt in your most direct road to
+Germany, but what could you see there of interest? It is only a big
+town of the old style. You had better come to Mantua, the country of
+Virgil, a handsome, pleasant, and strong city, with a superb castle.
+The rest you are likely to get in the boat will compensate for your
+coming out of your way. I'll go on shore just before Ferrara, and will
+get a boatman; the place is famed for its fat geese, which, at this
+season of the year, one eats smoking hot from the spit. I'll bring one
+back with me, together with bread and wine, and I shall only be gone a
+little while.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Ferrara, with its famous university, its actual importance, and ancient
+origin, unquestionably aroused our curiosity. Nevertheless, the advice
+of our soldier-friend was not to be despised, because by going up the
+Pô, we advanced in spite of the heat. Our guide soon came back,
+bringing with him everything he had promised. The boatman whom he
+brought was simply in his shirt sleeves, and drank at one draught a
+whole measure of heavy wine we offered him; then, flinging the towing
+rope over his shoulder, he towed us to Mantua, Ostiglia being our
+halting place for the night. Having got to Mantua in the morning of
+July 15, we were enabled to wander through the town before dinner time.
+Our expectations were in no way disappointed. After having shown us the
+castle and the principal buildings, our amiable soldier-friend insisted
+upon entertaining us at the inn. &quot;Are you provided with small change
+that is current everywhere?&quot; he asked us. &quot;The fact is,&quot; he went on,
+&quot;that the landlords pursue a regular system of cheating. They refuse to
+take your small money, so that you are obliged to change a crown, and
+then at the next inn they decline to accept the coin given to you
+except under its value. Give me a crown, and I'll get you money for it
+which is current as far as Trent.&quot; He brought back good pieces of
+silver, not to the amount of one crown, but of two crowns, asking us to
+accept the value of the second as a present, &quot;because,&quot; he said, &quot;I
+consider you very honest and straightforward companions.&quot; When we were
+outside the walls, he gave us full particulars of the route we were to
+take, recommended us to the safeguard of all the angels, and gave us
+his blessing. &quot;It is worth more in the sight of the Almighty and
+against the devil than the blessing of Pope Paul at Rome by his own
+sacred hands.&quot; This was indeed a happy meeting, and we had reason to be
+grateful to the Lord.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Not far from Mantua, at a spot where the road branches off into four
+different directions, we came upon two travellers coming from Verona.
+If we had said one pater more or less with our good friend we should
+have missed them, which would have been a pity, for they turned out to
+be my former fellow-travellers from Kempten to Rome, who, having pushed
+as far as Naples, had returned by way of Venice; they were making for
+home by Milan and France. They wished me to go their way, and I was
+very willing; but as Nicholas was altogether of a different mind, it
+would have been wrong to vex the comrade God had so marvellously
+provided for me.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">When I told them all about Petrus, my interlocutors had no doubt about
+the danger I had incurred by my imprudent confidence. Italians are not
+of much account. Germans, after a long stay in that country, end up by
+not being worth anything at all; and the proverb to that effect is a
+true one: &quot;<i>Tedesco Italianato è un diavolo incarnato.</i>&quot; I learnt later
+on, both from writing and from oral news, about the troubles between
+France and the Low Countries, and about the obstacles we should have
+encountered if we had selected the route of Milan. It gave me a new
+subject for being grateful to the Lord.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">We passed near enough to Verona to catch a glimpse of the buildings, to
+judge by which it must be a big town. At Trent, where both languages
+are spoken, and even more German than Italian, my pretended infirmity
+ceased, and it was Nicholas' turn to be mute, for the Lubeckian dialect
+is not understood until one gets to Brunswick.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In Italy the scorpions slip in everywhere; into the rooms, under the
+beds, in the sheets. Hence they place before the windows scorpion oil,
+that is oil in which one of these reptiles has been drowned. When put
+on the sting the oil stops the effect of the poison. Personally, I
+never caught a glimpse of a scorpion during the whole of my stay in
+Italy.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On July 18 we reached Botzen, a town of importance, famed for its rich
+mines. On the 19th we were at Brixen, a pleasant burgh, prettily
+situated. Its chapter enjoys great consideration. Dr. Gaspard Hoyer was
+its canon, and died there.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The Augsburg troops under the orders of Sebastian Schaertlin<a name="div2_37" href="#div2Ref_37"><sup>[37]</sup></a> had
+carried the castle of Ehrenberg. King Ferdinand tried to enter the
+place with the aid of the miners of Botzen, but the pay ran short, and,
+greatly vexed, the savage horde, which, though by no means devout,
+after all preferred Luther to the pope, made its way home. Between
+Brixen and Sterzing we had the misfortune of falling in with them. At
+the sight of our Italian dress, and our soldier-like equipment, they
+shook their spears. &quot;Kill the papists; down with the Welch scum,&quot; they
+cried. Nicholas, who was accustomed to enact the spokesman, uttered a
+few words in his own dialect; thereupon the imprecations grew louder.
+&quot;They belong to the Low Countries; they are no better than the
+Italians.&quot; &quot;Brothers,&quot; I shouted, &quot;you make a mistake. We are faithful
+Germans, Lutherans and Evangelicals like yourselves. Hence, no
+violence.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Thereupon we fell a-talking to each other. They complained bitterly of
+the king, and of his pretensions to carry on a war without a red cent.
+&quot;Kicks instead of pay,&quot; they said. &quot;We are much obliged. We are going
+back to our mines, where, at any rate, we can earn something.&quot; We
+parted quite cordially, and I once more recommended my faithful
+Nicholas to hold his tongue for the future, and to let me do the
+talking.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Innspruck, the capital of the Tyrol, is a moderately big town with long
+streets, consisting largely of stables for some thousands of horses,
+for the kings, the Austrian archdukes and their suites frequently halt
+there. The objurgations of the miners of Botzen induced us to change
+our dress according to the German fashion.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Our most direct route lay by Ulm, Cannstadt, Spires, Frankfurt, then by
+Hesse and Brunswick. There are, as it happens, two routes from
+Innspruck, the one for Bavaria, the other for Swabia. Having met at the
+city gates some people who professed to be going to Germany, we
+followed them without further inquiry. What then was our surprise at
+getting, not into Swabia, but into Bavaria, to Hall and to Ratisbon.
+Well, as we learnt later on, at that very moment the numerous troops
+the emperor was expecting from France and Spain were preparing to enter
+Swabia; the papal troops, whom the Imperial messages left little or no
+truce, arrived at Landshut, while all the Protestant forces, with the
+Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse at their head, occupied
+the country. But for the Lord constituting Himself our guide we should
+have run innumerable perils.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">We intended to go from Hall to Ratisbon on a raft, but on the overladen
+craft there was a horse stamping about in a most disquieting manner,
+causing the water to well up between the disjointed timber. We
+preferred to land and to tire our legs to swallowing more water than
+was necessary to our thirst. Half a league down the stream, the
+pole-men having got rid of the horse, drew near the shore once more to
+renew their offers of service. We remained faithful, however, to solid
+earth.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">When we got to the beautiful monastery of Ebersberg, our curiosity
+tempted us to get an idea of the results of a mendicant's life. As such
+we humbly and contritely addressed the chancellor, when we entered the
+abbot's presence. &quot;We have come all the way from Rome; our resources
+are exhausted,&quot; we said. After having promised us to do what he can,
+the chancellor begins to inquire about the Italian army. &quot;We left it at
+Bologna,&quot; we replied; &quot;it was being reviewed. You'll see it very
+shortly.&quot; This had the effect of turning the saintly dwelling upside
+down. The monks crowded round the abbot and took to running hither and
+thither as if bereft of their senses, because for a monastery situated
+as this was, in the open country, Roman mercenaries or Schmalkalden
+soldiers were practically one and the same thing.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">And inasmuch as our humble persons were forgotten in all this
+confusion, I said to Nicholas: &quot;Let us go to the inn and show these
+'frocked' individuals that we can do without their soup. A snap for
+that business, unless we have been too inexperienced at it.&quot; We ordered
+the best dishes and washed them down with generous wine. The echoes of
+our gay repast must have reached the monastery, and when we had paid
+our reckoning, we pursued our journey.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">We stopped four days in the big and beautiful city of Ratisbon. King
+Ferdinand, his wife, his daughters and the court ladies in gorgeous
+dresses, lodged in the principal square, the houses of which where
+elegantly decorated. We saw the carriage sent by the Duke of Mantua to
+his betrothed. It was entirely white, and perfectly built; the iron was
+replaced everywhere by silver, even for the smallest nail. The team
+consisted of four magnificent white mares, without the tiniest spot;
+the harness was of silver, and their crups were ornamented with three
+rings of the precious metal. Dressed in white silk, with boots and whip
+of the same colour, and silver spurs, the coachman slowly drove thrice
+round the square.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It was very evident that both the emperor and the king were using all
+their energy. Night and day, at home and beyond the frontier, strict
+guard was kept. The army of Bohemia was encamped beyond the Danube,
+while the Germans occupied the head of the bridge on the side of the
+city. We were warned of the danger of venturing among the Bohemians;
+between these madmen and the German soldiers there was nearly every day
+a fresh dispute resulting in wounds which often proved fatal. On the
+other hand, the Protestant troops were on the move, and it was most
+difficult to cross their lines. We could, however, not remain in
+Ratisbon. So we plucked up our courage and started, decided not to lose
+our heads in case of arrest, but to ask to be taken before the superior
+officer, for, after all, we had no need to fear an interrogatory. What
+was the danger of saying whence we came and whither we were going? Our
+lot was, moreover, in the hands of Him who in Italy had confided us to
+the protection of his angels.<a name="div2_38" href="#div2Ref_38"><sup>[38]</sup></a> We trudged straight on to Nuremberg.
+The weather was fine, the roads good, and the inns well provisioned.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Nuremberg is the <i>oculus Germaniae</i>. &quot;Germany,&quot; according to the
+Italians, &quot;has but one eye, Nuremberg.&quot; Nuremberg harbours the
+tradesmen, Augsburg the big merchants. We stayed three days in this
+interesting city, the study of whose civil and ecclesiastical
+institutions is by no means a waste of time. We there completed our
+German attire by doublets with short waists. It seemed to me
+unnecessary to hide the gold and jewels any longer in my clothes, for
+in spite of the eighty miles from our own native land, we already
+fancied ourselves in it.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The lord of Plawe had taken up his quarters at our hostelry. He
+was a Bohemian of important station, an experienced soldier, and a
+cool-headed, prudent, and clever personage, enjoying much favour with
+the electors and the princes. He was known by all the dignitaries of
+France, Germany, and Italy. His history may prove interesting to my
+children. The lord of Plawe had no children, and to prevent the lapse
+of his fiefs to the suzerain lord, he prevailed upon his wife to
+pretend being pregnant, and arranged with a shepherd of the
+neighbourhood, a strong, robust fellow, whose wife was genuinely in
+that condition. The newborn being of the male sex, it was carried
+clandestinely to the castle, where they had great rejoicings, a
+magnificent christening with high-born godparents. Seven years later,
+however, the lady of Plawe really gave birth to a son; the two children
+were brought up like brothers. When he came of age the elder visited
+the courts, and received a cordial welcome everywhere. The father died,
+and the elder, feeling himself cramped at home, abandoned the property
+to the younger in consideration of a yearly allowance. The mother is
+taken ill in her turn, and before her death reveals to her own child
+the whole of the secret. The elder, whose allowance is stopped,
+institutes a claim, and is answered that he is the mere son of a
+shepherd. The affair is referred to King Ferdinand, the suzerain lord,
+the lords of Prawe bearing the title of Burgrave of Mesnia, and first
+chancellor of the kingdom of Bohemia. To prove his parentage he
+produced the many letters in which his father recommended him in
+special terms to the emperor, and to the princes as his lawful heir.
+Several important personages, the majority belonging to the
+Evangelicals took an interest in his case, and provided largely for his
+maintenance. The principal Welch and German universities all declared
+that he proved his affiliation. King Ferdinand, though, leant to the
+other side, no doubt <i>ratione papisticae religionis</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Under these difficult circumstances, this gentleman considered it
+better not to take service in the war between the emperor and the
+League of Schmalkalden, inasmuch as he would neither be unfaithful to
+his master nor to his conscience. The catastrophe which he dreaded
+nevertheless overtook him. About six months after the termination of
+the war, when, probably, he felt exceedingly pleased with himself on
+account of his clever abstention, he was laid by the heels by order of
+King Ferdinand, shipped on a raft, and taken to Hungary; and from that
+time he was no more heard of.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On August 11 we only reached Nordhausen in the Harz mountains, just as
+they were closing the city gates, but sufficiently early, though, to
+notice ten corpses tied to as many posts. The guard, which had been
+reinforced, was inclined to leave us outside. They pointed to the men
+that had been executed. &quot;If they are there, it is because they deserved
+it,&quot; we answered; &quot;ours is a different case.&quot; When we got inside we
+could not find a shelter anywhere. I inquired for the dwelling of the
+burgomaster and found him at home.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">After the few customary inquiries about our names, our place of birth
+and our destination, the burgomaster questioned us about the beginning
+of the hostilities. We told him what we knew, and then exposed our
+embarrassing situation to him. &quot;Never during this painful journey, not
+even in Italy, had we met with such inhuman conduct,&quot; we said. &quot;We are
+not asking for charity. We are willing to pay for what we get; nobody
+shall have cause to complain of us. We ask you, therefore, to direct us
+to a respectable place of shelter.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Our very sordid appearance did not prevent the burgomaster from
+considering us altogether inoffensive, and, like a man of sense, he
+explained apologetically, &quot;Our citizens,&quot; he remarked, &quot;are still under
+the influence of a strong alarm, for we know for certain that a band
+subsidized by the confederate of hell who reigns at Rome is scouring
+the Saxon country, poisoning wells and pastures and setting fire to
+everything else. The proof of it is in the ten executed men whom you
+must have noticed at your arrival. Their crime admits of no doubt.&quot;
+&quot;Agreed,&quot; I replied, &quot;but if our conscience were in the least
+reproaching us, do you think we should have the courage to present
+ourselves before the first magistrate of the town?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The burgomaster told one of his servants to take us with his
+compliments to a certain private individual, who happened to be a
+butcher with a stock of beautiful, luscious meat. On the hearth the
+beef was simmering in a large pot, no doubt to be retailed hot next
+morning. We asked him for some of that; then inquired about the liquor
+he could offer us. &quot;I have got some excellent Nordhausen beer,&quot; he
+said. We, however, were used to wine. &quot;Cannot you give us some wine?
+That's what we want with our meat.&quot; &quot;If you care to pay for it. It's so
+much per measure.&quot; &quot;Here's the money.&quot; &quot;Do you want any fish?&quot; &quot;Yes;
+let us have a comfortable evening after this rough day. Come and sit
+yourself down with us and keep us company.&quot; He stared at us very hard,
+not knowing what to think. In spite of his knowing look, he behaved
+very well to us.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">When our hunger and thirst were appeased, the butcher asked us whether
+we would go to bed or remain where we were. &quot;Bring us some clean straw,
+and that will be enough for us. We shall not have the trouble of
+dressing in the morning,&quot; we answered. Besides the straw he gave us
+pillows, downright excellent beds, and snowy sheets; hence, in wishing
+him good-night, we assured him that we were born to understand each
+other. Next morning, the one who was the first to rise found the door
+bolted; we were obliged to wait for our host. We settled the reckoning
+with him, and the servant who had prepared our couch got a tip.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">We stopped a day and a half at Luneburg, which we reached on August 15,
+and in view of our approaching meeting with our nearest and dearest, we
+paid attention to our dress. We crossed the burgh of Moelln, where
+Eulenspiegel lies buried, but at Lubeck a messenger who caught us up
+informed me that my uncle Andreas Schwartz was living at Moelln with
+his wife and children, and begged of me to retrace my steps. I spent a
+whole day with him, and when we had chatted to our heart's content he
+provided me with a horse and attendant as far as Lubeck.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At the city gate I wanted to turn short; perhaps I was still feeling
+the effect of the stirrup cup. My horse gave way, and for a moment the
+rider and the animal lay motionless. They were under the impression
+that I had broken the left thigh bone; but I got up safe and well.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At Lubeck my faithful travelling companion loyally repaid his debt. I
+took the coach, and at last, after a journey of eight weeks' (eighteen
+days of which had been spent in resting at various places, the distance
+from Rome to Stralsund being 250 German miles, and consequently five
+times as many Welch ones), I heard the &quot;welcome&quot; from my father,
+mother, brother and five sisters, all of whom were in excellent health.
+Together with Dr. Hoyer's letter, I handed over the objects restored by
+Cardinal St. Flore according to the inventory. My parents gave me two
+of the rings. As I was as sore as the most foundered horse, my mother
+had a bath prepared for me twice a week, and she herself rubbed my
+thigh with curd soap, so that my limbs soon recovered their usual
+suppleness.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_pt02" href="#div1_pt02">PART II</a></h2>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_2.01" href="#div1_2.01">CHAPTER I</a></h2>
+
+<p class="hang1">I am appointed Pomeranian Secretary--Something about my diurnal and
+nocturnal Journeys with the Chancellor--Missions in the Camps--Dangers
+in the Wake of the Army</p>
+<br>
+<p class="continue">When I had recovered from the fatigue of my travels, I came to the
+conclusion that a life of monotony and frequent visits to the tavern
+were not at all to my taste. The day would come when I had a wife and
+children to maintain; I therefore wanted a means of livelihood. I voted
+for the scribal occupation, and had recourse to the influence of
+Superintendent-general Knipstrow to obtain a position at the
+chancellery of Wolgast. Our friend's efforts having been successful, I
+was summoned to Wollin, where the prince was going to hold a diet. The
+journey by coach enabled me to make ample acquaintance both with the
+councillors and with my colleagues. I entered upon my duties on
+November 14, 1546.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The staff of the chancellery was composed of Jacob Citzewitz,
+chancellor; Erasmus Hausen, accountant-general; Joachim Rust,
+proto-notary; Johannes Gottschalk, Lawrence Dinnies, Christopher Labbun
+and Heinrich Altenkuke, secretaries. I need only mention for form's
+sake Valentine von Eichstedt, a student from Greifswald, whom the
+chancellor wished to initiate in the dispatch of current affairs.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Valentine hung about the office, now and again copying a fragment of a
+letter. He was wretchedly dressed; his poor blue jacket scarcely
+reached to his waist, while, on the other hand, his hose fell over his
+boots. Rust and Gottschalk refused to have him at the clerks' table; he
+had his meals lower down with the servants. In spite of this,
+Valentine, at the retirement of Erasmus Hausen, was appointed to the
+audit office through the influence of the chancellor. In order to get
+him into the habit of pleading he was entrusted with the cases
+that were settled by mutual agreement; after which he was sent to
+Wittenberg to finish his studies, and in a very short period he became
+accountant-general. A few years later Citzewitz gave up his position of
+chancellor to him. The protégé paid his benefactor in the usual way of
+the world, and on that chapter I myself could say a great deal.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The experience I had gained at the Imperial Chamber and in the
+chancelleries compelled Rust and Gottschalk to acknowledge that I could
+handle my pen, and inasmuch as the chancellor preferred my work to
+theirs, they seized every opportunity to do me harm. I had only to ask
+them for a few materials for this or that work to be sure to get it
+badly done and teeming with inaccuracies.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The dissolution of the League of Schmalkalden<a name="div2_39" href="#div2Ref_39"><sup>[39]</sup></a> and the threatening
+attitude of the emperor imparted a feverish activity to the
+correspondence which was being exchanged between our princes, the
+Elector of Brandenburg and the Elector of Saxony. The latter spent the
+winter very sadly at Altenburg. Chancellor Jacob Citzewitz was the soul
+of these negotiations; his experience of imperial and provincial diets,
+his learning heightened by eloquence, the personal consideration he
+enjoyed, his imposing figure, his lofty mind, and his assiduous labours
+all these, in fact, singled him out to represent the princes both in
+the councils and on more solemn occasions. Being fully aware of the
+weightiness of his task, he wholly devoted himself to it; all the
+enactments of the princes were drawn up by his pen and defied
+criticism. When Citzewitz at the termination of a debate asked: &quot;Who
+undertakes the inditing?&quot; all the councillors cried in chorus: &quot;That's
+Solomon's business,&quot; for that was the nickname they had bestowed upon
+him.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Day and night, on horseback or on wheels, I scoured the highways in
+company of the chancellor. Starting from Berlin in the evening, we
+reached Stettin the next afternoon in sufficient time to present the
+report. Then there were the nights spent at work with the chancellor,
+who dictated to me the decisions to be submitted to the council on the
+morrow. I made a fair draft of them before the sitting, so that
+immediately after their having been read they could be sealed and
+dispatched. If my children should wish to compute the amount of labour
+I gave to the court and to Stralsund they will derive a salutary lesson
+from the reward these labours have brought me in my old days: <i>in fine
+laborum</i>, ingratitude.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Owing to those constant journeys I did not spend four weeks in six
+months at Wolgast, and still less at the chancellery. I lodged with
+Master Ernest, the cook of his Serene Highness Duke Philip, and of his
+august father and grandfather. Ernest was an honest and God-fearing
+man.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The year 1547 was an anxious one for the courts of Stettin and Wolgast,
+and the news that the Duke of Wurtemberg had tendered his submission
+accelerated the departure of a mission to the emperor. It was
+instructed to deny all participation of the princes in the League of
+Schmalkalden. The envoys of Duke Barnim were Dr. Falcke, in the
+capacity of chancellor, and Captain Jacob Putkammer; those of Duke
+Philip, Captain Moritz Damitz and Heinrich Normann. I was designated to
+accompany those four personages, and on March 10 we started by way of
+Silesia.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At Zittau we were obliged to leave Damitz in the doctor's hands; after
+which we crossed the Forest of Bohemia and reached Lertmeritz; next to
+Prague, the principal and best fortified town of the kingdom. We spent
+several days there in order to get an idea of the condition of affairs.
+The dislike of the Bohemians to march against the Elector of Saxony was
+evident, but King Ferdinand brought heavy pressure to bear upon them,
+he called up many of his troops both from Silesia and from Hungary.
+These Hungarian horsemen, called Husards, happen to be pitiless
+brigands. The King had placed them under the command of Sebastian von
+der Weitmülen, who, at the beginning of the war, had been appointed
+regent of the kingdom. The headquarters were at Eger, where this
+soldiery cut the children's hands and feet off to put them into their
+hats instead of plumes.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The councillors sent me to reconnoitre in the direction of Eger, at
+Schlackenwerth, and at Schlackenwald. My guide followed on foot. He was
+an intelligent lad, speaking both German and Bohemian. I ascertained
+that the Bohemians had cut down the trees in the wood, and as such made
+the route impassable for the horse and artillery, it was even
+impossible for the landsknechten to cross it with their standards
+flying.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">After that, the councillors sent me to the castle of Gaspard Pflug, to
+whom the States of the country had entrusted the command of the
+troops.<a name="div2_40" href="#div2Ref_40"><sup>[40]</sup></a> He was very reserved. &quot;What are we to do?&quot; he said, looking
+perplexed. &quot;The Elector of Saxony is our ally, our co-religionist; we
+cannot leave him to his fate. On the other hand, Ferdinand is our king.
+Are we to jeopardize our liberties?&quot; Gaspard Pflug, having taken refuge
+at Magdeburg after the capture of the elector, built himself opposite
+the cathedral an elegant dwelling, where he ended his days, the king
+having confiscated his property.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">While the elector encamped before Leipzig, the emperor overran the
+Algau and Swabia, imposing heavy fines and big garrisons to the towns
+forced to capitulate. The Spaniards committed every excess, and above
+all, in Wurtemberg.<a name="div2_41" href="#div2Ref_41"><sup>[41]</sup></a></p>
+
+<p class="normal">On April 23 and 25 the sun assumed so sombre an aspect that everybody
+rushed to the threshold of his house; both experts and scientific men
+foretold strange events.</p>
+<br>
+<p class="center"><a name="div3_stettin">
+<img border="0" src="images/stettin.png" alt="Stettin, Wittenberg, Spires."></a></p>
+<br>
+<p class="normal">One day I was strolling alone outside Lertmeritz around the walls (for
+the time hung heavily on my hands), when an individual, his eyes
+blazing with anger, assailed me without warning, vilifying me and
+trying to fling me into the moat. He was evidently under the impression
+of having come upon a spy. I endeavoured to convince him to the
+contrary; the difficulty was to understand each other. Finally, with
+hands clasped together as if they were bound, I gave him to understand
+with a sign of the head that I was ready to enter the town with him.
+Thanks to heaven, he consented to this, although he did not cease his
+imprecations. Before I had fairly entered our hostelry two members of
+the council came to ask our deputies to forbid their people to leave
+the city and the promenading on the walls. &quot;We know very well that we
+have nothing to fear from you,&quot; they said, &quot;but our citizens are quick
+to take umbrage, and just now one of your folk narrowly escaped coming
+to grief.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On April 16 the news came to Lertmeritz that two days previously the
+Elector of Saxony had been made a prisoner. Immediately leaving Bohemia
+we started in the direction of Torgau, but to get to the camp at
+Wittemberg the perils were endless, for the Spanish troops, whose lines
+we had to cross, shrank from no misdeeds.<a name="div2_42" href="#div2Ref_42"><sup>[42]</sup></a> Hence it was resolved
+that I should go to Wittenberg to get a safe-conduct--a decision
+against which I protested. &quot;How am I to pass without the smallest bit
+of parchment?&quot; &quot;Never mind,&quot; exclaimed Damitz; &quot;the Lord is the best
+safeguard.&quot; &quot;In that case,&quot; I retorted, &quot;are you not yourselves under
+the Divine protection?&quot; My argument was, however, in vain; my life
+weighed less in the balance than that of my superiors.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In my capacity of a member of the missions to Bohemia and to the camp
+of the elector, I wore a yellow gorget which was the insignia of the
+Protestants. I was obliged to hide it in my breast and to replace it
+with the one bought for me, the red gorget of the Imperialists. And
+thus I started. If they had caught me with the double insignia upon me,
+my account would soon have been settled. I should have been slung up on
+the nearest tree.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I crossed Mühlberg, where the elector, wounded in the cheek, had been
+made a prisoner on the very spot where his passion for the chase caused
+so much damage to his unfortunate subjects. Wherever the eye turned
+there were signs of the recent battle; broken lances, shattered
+muskets, and torn-up harnesses littered the ground, and all along the
+road soldiers dying of their wounds and from want of sustenance. Around
+Wittenberg itself all the villages were deserted; the inhabitants had
+taken flight without leaving anything behind them. Here, the corpse of
+a peasant, a group of dogs fighting for the entrails; there, a
+landsknecht with just a breath of life left to him, but the body
+putrefying, his arms stretched out at their widest, and his legs far
+enough apart to put a bar between them.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At the end of my journey and within sight of the Spanish troops I
+passed a Spaniard, who said to me: &quot;My good and handsome horseman, your
+service with the emperor is but of recent date.&quot; I rode a few steps
+further; then, undoing my gorget, I rubbed it against my boot to make
+it appear less new. At last, I reached the camp, where I lost several
+days in fruitless endeavours.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Every now and again there was firing from Wittenberg. Some Pomeranian
+horse-troopers with whom I had made acquaintance warned me not to keep
+to the high road if I should venture in that direction, but to go at
+random in order to avoid becoming a butt. A couple of steps in front of
+me a ball whizzed so closely past an individual's head that the shock
+or the fright felled him to the ground, where he was picked up for
+dead. From that moment I suspended my strolls.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Dr. Seld, the vice-chancellor, whom I succeeded in seeing,<a name="div2_43" href="#div2Ref_43"><sup>[43]</sup></a> did not
+disguise the deep irritation of the emperor. I answered that neither
+Duke Philip nor his brother, Barnim, notwithstanding the former's
+marriage with the sister of the Elector of Saxony, had given the
+slightest assistance to the Protestants, either in money, men or deeds,
+and that it would not be difficult for his Majesty to convince himself
+of this. Nevertheless my negotiations made no progress.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It was said in the camp that after the defeat of the elector, when
+Christopher Carlowitzi<a name="div2_44" href="#div2Ref_44"><sup>[44]</sup></a> the principal counsellor of Maurice, came to
+salute the emperor, whose docile instrument he was, the latter
+exclaimed: &quot;Well, Carlowitz, what is going to happen?&quot; &quot;Everything is
+in your Majesty's hands,&quot; Carlowitz replied. &quot;Yes, yes, something will
+happen,&quot; was the retort. And when the elector bent the knee before the
+emperor, saying, &quot;Most clement emperor and lord,&quot; King Ferdinand
+interrupted with, &quot;Ah, so he is your emperor now? But what about
+Ingoldstadt?<a name="div2_45" href="#div2Ref_45"><sup>[45]</sup></a> Wait a while. We shall soon settle your account.&quot; And
+when the death sentence was delivered, Ferdinand insisted upon its
+prompt execution. The Marquis de Saluces, on the other hand, repeated
+to the emperor, even before the arrival of the Elector of Brandenburg,
+that the best sheep in his flock was the Elector of Saxony, and that
+his execution would rouse the whole of Germany.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">As I found it impossible to get a safe-conduct, I returned to Torgau,
+and immediately after hearing my report, our embassy ordered its
+carriages and took the direct road to Stettin.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Inasmuch as the Elector of Brandenburg loudly promised his good offices
+with the emperor, the princes dispatched me with a letter of thanks to
+him to the camp at Wittenberg. They also prompted the language I was to
+hold to the vice-chancellor and to the other Imperial counsellors.<a name="div2_46" href="#div2Ref_46"><sup>[46]</sup></a>
+To accelerate matters they prepared six relays of horses for me, with
+precise indications on paper as to their whereabouts, though I started
+from Wolgast on a pitiful cart-horse, equipped anyhow, for neither
+saddle, bridle nor stirrups were in condition. They thought that it did
+not matter, as I had to change animals at a short distance. So far so
+good. But neither at the first, second, third, fourth nor fifth stage
+was there a sign of a horse. The last stage was Brandenburg--the Old.
+Abraham Gatzkow, a gentleman of Lower Pomerania, had indeed provided a
+downright good and properly equipped saddle-horse for me, only on the
+day of my arrival he had mounted it for a ride to the camp, so that the
+same jade carried me to the end of my journey.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On June 1 I alighted at the tent of the Elector of Brandenburg, and
+when presenting my dispatch, I begged of Chancellor Weinleben to spare
+me a long stay. Next morning when I called again, he exclaimed: &quot;Oh,
+the affair takes more time than you think,&quot; which remark did not
+prevent my insisting upon an answer on June 3, inasmuch as the elector
+went several times a day to the emperor, and that therefore he had no
+lack of opportunity to broach the subject. Moreover, there was need for
+urgency; they had just thrown a bridge across the Elbe and the emperor
+had transferred his quarters to the other side of the river, a sure
+sign of his approaching departure. To all which arguments on my part,
+Chancellor Weinleben angrily replied: &quot;The interests of princes are
+discussed with minds at rest. Just look at the presumption of a simple
+messenger. Wait till you are told to go and then go. Here, this is the
+elector's reply. Take it, go, and leave me in peace.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I stopped at the first dense clump of trees in the wood, opened the
+letter, and immediately turned my horse's head. &quot;What do you want now?&quot;
+yelled the chancellor, when he caught sight of me. &quot;Am I not to have
+any peace from you?&quot; &quot;My gracious masters,&quot; I replied, &quot;have authorized
+me to open the letter of his Electoral Highness and to act in
+consequence. The letter I have just read proves once more the brotherly
+feelings of the elector, but as he is striking his tent, I think it
+necessary respectfully to remind him of his generous assurances. I
+shall wait for him at his leaving the emperor's presence, for I am
+bound to bring back to Wolgast something more than vague words.&quot; At
+this little speech the chancellor altered his tone. He ceased to
+address me familiarly as &quot;thou,&quot; and, in fact, made somewhat
+exaggerated apologies, swearing by all his gods that in reality he had
+not the faintest idea of the affair, but that henceforth he was my
+staunch ally and that his master should not leave the emperor without
+ardently pleading the cause of our princes.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">When the elector went to the imperial tent I followed him at a
+distance, and the moment he got into the saddle again I galloped on his
+track, for I foresaw his departure for Berlin. I was just at the head
+of the bridge of boats, which was entirely unprovided with parapets or
+barriers, when I espied coming from the opposite side a heavy cart.
+Time was precious. I pursue my quarry, and my right stirrup catches in
+the wheel and my valiant mount, in spite of its prancing and rearing,
+cannot extricate itself, or even hold its own against four strong
+draught horses. There is no room to turn, and there seems not even a
+possibility of saving myself by sacrificing the animal; both it and I
+seem inevitably doomed to perish by drowning. As for any human help, I
+do not as much as expect it. Even if they could have assisted me, the
+Spaniards at the end of the bridge would have been particularly careful
+not to do so. Just fancy their delight at seeing a German making a
+plunge with his horse into the Elbe; the sight would have been too
+delightful willingly to forego it.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">When our distress is at its height, when neither our father nor our
+mother is able to save us, Providence stretches forth his protecting
+hand. It happened then, by this merciful grace; the rotten strap
+suddenly gave way, leaving the stirrup entangled in the wheel and
+freeing my leg. It was a startling confirmation of the Divine word that
+the righteous shall see good come out of evil; for had the equipment
+been brand-new, of the most solid leather and even embroidered with
+gold and pearls, that harness would have sent me into the stream as
+food for the fishes.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At last I managed to join the elector. He sent me word that the
+opportunity for interceding with the emperor in behalf of the princes
+of Pomerania had not presented itself, but that the counsellors he left
+behind with the emperor would look to the affair and keep the dukes
+informed of everything. Why had I not gone to the bottom of the Elbe?</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In the camp itself the tale went round that the King of the Romans,
+Duke Maurice, and after them, the emperor had made a very careful
+inspection of the church of the Castle of Willemberg, having been led
+to believe (the emperor and the king especially) that lamps and wax
+tapers were constantly burning day and night on Luther's tomb, and that
+prayers were said there just as in the Romish churches before the
+relics of the saints.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At Treuenbrietzen I made my report to Chancellor Citzewitz. As he was
+awaiting the arrival of the Pomeranian counsellors who were to
+accompany the emperor to Halle, he sent me to retain quarters and to
+give notice to the Brunswicker captain, Werner Hahn, to have twenty
+horsemen ready at Bitterfeld on June 12. On the morning of the 12th, in
+fact, the mission alighted at the general hostelry outside Bitterfeld.
+The captain of the husard-escort had, however, given the preference to
+an inn in the town. Seeing no sign of the Brunswickers, the counsellors
+put up their carriage, so that the captain at his return was under the
+impression that the mission was gone, and meeting with the horsemen,
+ordered them to face about, he being convinced that the deputies had
+taken another route.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Evening was drawing near; my business was finished, the quarters had
+been retained, the supper ordered, and the beds ready. I had taken
+advantage of the opportunity to renew my wardrobe, and, with my new
+clothes on, I took a stroll outside the gates through which the mission
+had to pass. Espying from the top of a mound a troop of advancing
+horsemen, I went back in hot haste afraid of a reprimand. At the same
+moment two Spanish bandits, half-naked, for their rags scarcely covered
+them, ran after me across the fields, the one on foot, the other on a
+kind of wretched farmer's cob--apparently stolen--and with a pistol at
+the saddle bow. Casting a careful look round to assure themselves that
+there were no witnesses to their contemplated deed, one had already
+raised his pistol when the Brunswicker horsemen arrived on the spot.
+&quot;<i>Sunt isti ex tuâ parte?</i>&quot; he asked. &quot;<i>Senior, si</i>,&quot; I quickly
+answered. &quot;Ah, landsknecht, landsknecht,&quot; he said, replacing his
+weapon, and followed by his companion, making off as fast as he could.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The adventures of that evening were, however, not at an end. I found
+the gates of the town shut, and a trumpeter galloping along the walls
+and blowing with all his might. I had not the faintest idea of what it
+all meant, when the captain of husards appeared upon the spot,
+recognizes, and hails me. &quot;What are you doing here, and what has
+happened?&quot; he asked. &quot;Why are the gates shut, and why is the alarm
+being sounded?&quot; While confessing my total ignorance, I began to ask
+about the ambassadors; thereupon great surprise of the captain at their
+being waited for. The matter seemed all the more strange to him in that
+he on the road fell in with some Spanish horsemen, who told him that
+they had been sent to meet a mission. What if our counsellors should
+have been attacked by these people, decoyed into the wood, and
+plundered? Of course, I felt very anxious to inform the Brunswicker
+captain, so that he might send a reconnoitring party in the direction
+of Bitterfeld. Finally, the noise ceased in the town, and the gates
+were reopened. I immediately reported matters to W. Hahn, who in the
+early morning sent out his horsemen. An hour afterwards there appeared
+upon the scene Abraham Gatzkow, the same gentleman from Lower Pomerania
+who had been instructed to keep a fresh horse for me for the last stage
+from Brandenburg-the-Old to the camp at Wittenberg. The envoys had sent
+him on in front, impatient to know why the escort had failed to appear
+at the appointed spot, a mishap which prejudiced them against me.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Odd to relate, neither Sleidan nor Beuter mentions the alarm to which I
+referred just now; hence, some further particulars will not be deemed
+superfluous. Nothing is more frequent in the army and less easy to
+prevent than the stealing of horses. If an animal takes your fancy,
+some scoundrel is ready to get it for you for a matter of six or eight
+crowns. If you keep it six or eight weeks elsewhere, so as to change
+its habits, and change its tail, its mane and other peculiarities, you
+may safely bring it back to the camp. A certain German gentleman
+proceeded in that way with the stallion of a Spaniard; he sent it away
+to his estates. When the affair had been forgotten the animal
+reappeared. It so happened that the German horsemen (eight squadrons at
+the lowest computation) encamped in the middle of a delightful plain,
+watered by the Saale, while the whole of the infantry of their nation
+was quartered in the town; a providential circumstance, for if the foot
+had come to the aid of the horse, there would have been nothing short
+of a massacre. The emperor, therefore, was well inspired in ordering at
+once the closing of all the gates.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The Spaniards occupied the height around the castle. At dusk, when
+taking the horses to be watered, a Spanish lad recognizes the stallion,
+cries out that it belongs to his master and wants to lead it away. The
+young German groom resists, and is supported by three or four of his
+countrymen. The Spaniard rallies a dozen, and the German immediately
+finds himself at the head of a score. The two parties increase every
+minute, and the first shots are fired. Posted on the heights, the
+Spaniards have the advantage of the position, their balls going through
+the walls of the tents, kill several gentlemen who are seated at table;
+the Germans give as good as they get. A Spanish lord issues from the
+town with words of peace from the emperor; he has magnificent golden
+chains round his neck and is riding a superb animal. At the sight of
+him there is a general cry: &quot;Fire on the dog of a Spaniard.&quot; He
+advances, nevertheless, on the bridge, but a projectile brings down his
+mount, which rolls into the Saale, and is drowned there with his
+master, the wearer of the beautiful collar. Nine days before this, at
+Wittenberg, a rotten strap had, with the help of God, saved my life.
+The gentleman covered with gold and dressed in velvet, on the other
+hand, miserably perished.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The emperor, while all this was going on, sent the son of King
+Ferdinand, the Archduke Maximilian (afterwards emperor). He felt
+convinced that it would suffice to restore order, but the moment the
+archduke opened his lips the Germans repeated the cry: &quot;Down with the
+Spaniard.&quot; The archduke was wounded in the right arm, which he wore
+during several weeks in a black sling. The emperor himself had to come
+forth. &quot;Dear Germans,&quot; he said, &quot;I know you to be without reproach. I
+therefore ask you to be calm. You shall be indemnified fully and in
+every respect, and on my Imperial word, to-morrow you shall see the
+Spaniards strung up on the highest gibbets.&quot; This promise had the
+effect of quieting the riot, and the gates were opened. The inquiry
+having shown that the loss of the Germans amounted to eighteen grooms
+or stablemen besides seven horses, and that of the opposing party to
+not less than seventy men, the emperor, though professing to be ready
+to make good the value of the horse and even to punish the Spaniards
+according to his promise, expressed the hope that the Germans would
+consider themselves sufficiently avenged, inasmuch as their adversaries
+had suffered four times more than they had.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">During the evening of June 19, the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg
+made their entry into Halle with the Landgrave Philip of Hesse in their
+midst. At six in the afternoon of the next day the landgrave &quot;made
+honourable amends&quot; in the great hall of the Imperial quarters in the
+presence of the electors, princes, foreign potentates, ambassadors,
+counts, colonels, captains, and in one word, of everybody who could
+find room inside or catch a glimpse of the scene through the windows.
+But while his chancellor, on his knees, close against him, humbly
+craved pardon, Philip, ever inclined to raillery, smiled with an air of
+bravado, and to such a degree as to make the emperor exclaim, while
+threatening him with his outstretched index: &quot;Go on; I'll teach you to
+laugh.&quot; Alas, he kept his word.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Our counsellors decided to leave me behind incognito at the Imperial
+camp with a gentleman of Lower Pomerania named George von Wedel, who
+having murdered his cousin and having been exiled by Duke Barnim, had
+entered the emperor's service with nine-and-twenty horse troopers. His
+goodwill towards our mission and my instances finally got him his
+pardon. That was how the horse on which I had left Wolgast was to carry
+me as far as Augsburg.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Having started from Halle on June 20, the emperor stopped three days at
+Naumberg. On the 24th, very early in the morning, he was at the general
+headquarters at some distance beyond the wall. He wore a violet cap and
+a black cloak trimmed with velvet several inches wide. Suddenly there
+was a shower, and immediately the emperor sent for a hat and a grey
+felt cloak to the town; but meanwhile he turned the cloak he wore and
+kept his headdress under it. Poor man, who spent untold gold on the
+war, and who stood bareheaded in the rain rather than spoil his
+clothes.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The Spanish escort of the landgrave preceded his Imperial Majesty by a
+day's march, and committed unheard-of excesses. Next morning the
+corpses were strewn where the emperor passed. Women and girls suffered
+the most terrible outrages; as for the men, after having suspended them
+by their genital parts, the barbarians tortured them to make them
+reveal the places where they had hidden their money, after which, with
+one stroke of their swords, flush with the abdomen, they detached the
+victim.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The emperor slept at Coburg, in Franconia. The German horsemen took up
+their quarters in the adjacent villages. Every house was deserted, the
+dwellings of the nobility as well as the peasant's farms; nowhere was
+there a soul to be seen, for, having been sorely tried the previous day
+by the passage of the Spaniards, the population dreaded renewed scenes
+of horror. In one house we found a <i>membrum virile</i>; elsewhere,
+stretched on a bed a bloodstained body, exactly in the condition in
+which those abominable miscreants had put them one after the other. The
+servants of Von Wedel dug a grave by my orders for the corpse and the
+<i>membrum virile</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Our first encampment after that was a village amidst fertile plains. I
+unsaddled my horse in order to let it graze in peace until the morning.
+In the same spot there was a handsome gentleman's dwelling, in its open
+courtyard a wagon with four strong horses; on the wagon two barrels of
+exquisite wine. Capons, poultry and pheasants were running about in all
+directions. I leave people to imagine the massacre, and how, on our
+return to our tent, we quickly plucked, boiled and roasted the game. We
+were the absolute masters. There was nothing to fear; the granary was
+full to overflowing, and we replenished our sacks to the very edge. In
+short, horses, vehicle and wine, and everything else was carried away.
+The barrels were emptied on our way; the team was sold at Nuremberg for
+what it would bring, for we ourselves had had it very cheaply.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The sight of our plenty attracted the notice of Duke Frederick von
+Liegnitz,<a name="div2_47" href="#div2Ref_47"><sup>[47]</sup></a> so we invited him to share it. Two joyous damsels in
+gorgeous silk attire were of the party and performed their duty well.
+The servants also shared in the feast which was prolonged till dawn.
+The nights, however, were very short.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It was full daylight when, wishing to saddle my horse, I discovered it
+had been stolen. Immediately, according to 'the usages and customs of
+war, I chose the best nag at hand, currycombed, bridled and mounted it
+in the space of a few minutes.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On July 1, towards midday, the emperor made his entry into Bamberg with
+a numerous suite. The Elector of Saxony occupied a house on the outside
+of the town on the right, just at the turn of the road, so that he
+could watch the city and the country. The captive was at the window
+just as his Imperial Majesty passed, mounted on a small Spanish horse.
+He made a profound bow; thereupon the emperor burst out laughing
+sarcastically, and stared at him as long as he could.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The Spaniards took with them from Bamberg four hundred women, girls and
+female servants, and did not let them go until they reached Nuremberg.
+The fathers, husbands and brothers followed in their wake; the father
+looking for his daughter, the husband for his better half, the brother
+for his sister; at Nuremberg each found his own again. Oh, those
+Spaniards! What a nation, to dare do such things after the cessation of
+hostilities, in a friendly country and under the very eyes of the
+sovereign. The latter, however, displayed a relentless severity. Each
+evening they put up a gibbet as well as his tent, and the former did
+not remain long untenanted, but it was all in vain.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I suddenly came across my horse in a meadow near the Nuremberg gates. I
+put my saddle on its back, and left the animal I had taken at Coburg.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">His Majesty journeyed by small stages in consequence of the excessive
+heat. The diet, in fact, was summoned only for September 1. This
+slowness gave me the leisure to ride with George von Wedel on the flank
+of the army, from its head to its tail. It was an interesting
+spectacle, this mass of men under arms and in battle order; here
+Germans, farther on Spaniards. In the evening we returned to our own.
+Far from keeping to the highway, the soldiers marched straight in front
+of them, making a roadway four times wider than the ordinary one,
+upsetting all obstacles, knocking down enclosures and filling in moats
+and ditches. One day the restive horse of George von Wedel insisted on
+getting into the ranks of the Spanish, who could not or would not get
+out of the way, and as the rider cried angrily: &quot;Very well, let the
+French kill thee, then,&quot; a half-drunken soldier, mistaking the words,
+retorted: &quot;<i>Senor mio, no soy Frances, mas soy un Espanol</i>.&quot; The
+Spaniards, in fact, think themselves much superior to the French.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">As we were getting near Nuremberg there was no longer any need for me
+to hide myself. I took up my quarters at the hotel selected by Duke
+Frederick von Liegnitz, at that period trying to interest the emperor
+in his paternal affairs. That prince was never sober, and at the
+refusal of his counsellors, he caroused with the suite of Margrave
+Johannes.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">One day the duke and six servitors of the margrave cut the right
+sleeves out of their doublets and their shirts. With bare arms, their
+hose undone so as to show their shirts, their heads uncovered, and list
+slippers on their feet, the seven persons marched in single file behind
+the town musicians, playing with all their might, and went after dinner
+to the Duke Henry of Brunswick's. Prince Frederick held in one hand a
+set of dice, and in the other a quantity of gold pieces; naturally the
+crowd ran with them, the foreigners foremost, Italians and Spaniards
+delighted to see &quot;these sots of Germans&quot; go by. The wine produced such
+a strong effect that Liegnitz, on entering the apartment of the duke,
+stumbled across the table, both hands foremost. There was only one dice
+left, and not a trace of the gold. He was unable to utter a syllable,
+and dropped on the floor. Four Brunswick gentlemen carried him to a bed
+on the story above. The emperor, it is said, was very angry at the
+Germans making such a show of themselves.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It would be a mistake to conclude that Prince Frederick's education had
+been neglected, for only a few days beforehand, though he had also been
+drinking, I was quite surprised at the many stories of the Old
+Testament he narrated without quoting the sacred text; he even applied
+some of them very ingenuously to his own situation. Certainly there can
+be nothing surpassing a careful education, provided the Holy Spirit
+guides the young man when he becomes responsible for his own acts; that
+is what we ought to pray for to the Almighty.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">As for the consequences of drunkenness, that inexhaustible fount of
+many sins, the Duke von Liegnitz was a terrible example of them. One
+night when he could no longer find some one in the humour to &quot;keep up
+with him,&quot; he came to my door, trying to beguile me out of my bed. I
+finally told him that to sit drinking at such an hour was beyond my
+strength, and that I humbly begged his Serene Highness to husband both
+our healths. He resigned himself, though reluctantly, to take &quot;no&quot; for
+an answer. I took good care not to open.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">After a fortnight's stay, the emperor left Nuremberg. Duke Frederick
+was so matutinal on the day of departure that on arriving about six
+o'clock at the Imperial residence, he was told the emperor had been
+gone for at least two hours. Not daring to follow the sovereign, he
+merely sent two counsellors to Augsburg.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I had bought at Nuremberg a handsome rapier which I wore with a Spanish
+belt. One morning after breakfast, being alone, I fell asleep in my
+chair. When I awoke I found that a skilful thief had cleverly
+unfastened it and carried it away. I bought another weapon, and when I
+had settled my bill, saddled my horse and made for Augsburg, where I
+landed three days before the emperor.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Prince Frederick went back to his own country with his suite; he never
+improved. Two students were returning to their homes; <i>en route</i> they
+breakfast at Liegnitz, and feeling jovial and gay they started singing.
+The duke, who was in his cups, was annoyed at the noise, had them
+apprehended, conducted outside the town, and beheaded. Next morning,
+before recommencing his libations, he took a ride with some of his
+counsellors in the direction of the place of execution. At the sight of
+the blood he begins to ask questions, and is informed that the executed
+men are the two students he sentenced the previous day. &quot;What had they
+done?&quot; he asked in the greatest surprise.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At the end of one of his orgies he ordered his counsellors to lock him
+up in prison on bread and water. If they disobeyed him they would
+answer with their heads. The dungeon already held several occupants.
+His Highness was taken to it, and the gaoler received the strictest
+instructions. When the fumes of his wine had vanished, the duke, in a
+livelier mood, conversed for a while with the other prisoners; then he
+shouted to the warder to let him out. &quot;I am too strictly forbidden to
+do so,&quot; was the answer. He, nevertheless, went to inform the
+counsellors; the latter delayed for three days, during which time the
+prince left not a moment respite to the turnkeys. Finally, the
+counsellors came themselves; they heard his shouting and his
+supplications, but they remembered his threat to have their heads off,
+and they knew that on that subject he did not jest. He had to reassure
+them over and over again before he was allowed to go free.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Three years later the same prince journeyed to Stettin for no other
+purpose than to have a drinking bout with some of the courtiers. At the
+news of his coming, Duke Barnim went away with everybody except the
+women. At his arrival the visitor found neither the duke nor any
+gentlemen of the least standing, and at the castle they sent him into
+the town to a house assigned to him as his quarters. An old man lay
+dying there, and they naturally expected that this would shorten
+Liegnitz's visit. The very opposite happened. The prince comfortably
+settled himself at the dying man's bedside, recited passages from the
+Scriptures to him until his last moment, and closed his eyes when the
+breath was out of him. The collector Valentin presenting himself, poor
+box in hand, the duke dropped a few crowns into it; after this, he sent
+for mourning cloth for two cloaks, one for himself, one for Valentin,
+with whom, he said, he wished to accompany the corpse to the cemetery.
+The duchess, however, would not hear of this. He was therefore
+quartered in the castle, just above the chancellerie, and opposite the
+women's quarters, so that they could converse from one window to
+another. I had been to the kitchen. As I was crossing the courtyard,
+the duke, passing his head out of the window and making a speaking
+trumpet of his hands, shouted with all his might to me: &quot;Hi-there!&quot; I
+knew him from Nuremberg, and was consequently familiar with the manner
+of treating him, so I answered: &quot;Hello!&quot; at which he was delighted.
+&quot;What a nice fellow,&quot; he cried. &quot;For heaven's sake, come up; we'll keep
+each other company, and try to enliven each other.&quot; I thanked him
+humbly and continued my way.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Duke Barnim's absence being somewhat prolonged, his guest Liegnitz had
+eventually to think about going. The princely presents of the duchess
+made him comfortable for some time. Health, welfare, country, were all
+ruined by his roystering conduct. When drink had killed him, his wife,
+a Duchess of Mecklenburg, saw herself and her children reduced to the
+direst privation. She had to inform not only her equals, but the
+magistrates of Stralsund of her distress, and to declare herself unable
+to bring up her son according to his rank. She merely asked for slight
+help, scarcely more than alms. The council of Stralsund sent her a few
+crowns by one of the messengers she dispatched in all directions.</p>
+<br>
+<p class="center"><a name="div3_diet">
+<img border="0" src="images/diet.png" alt="The Diet of Augsburg."></a></p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_2.02" href="#div1_2.02">CHAPTER II</a></h2>
+
+<p class="hang1">A Twelve Months' Stay at Augsburg during the Diet--Something about
+the Emperor and Princes--Sebastian Vogelsberg--Concerning the
+Interim--Journey to Cologne</p>
+<br>
+<p class="continue">On July 27, 1547, I dismounted at an inn in the wine market at
+Augsburg. The host was a person of consideration, and endowed with good
+sense; he was a master of one of the corporations. The latter had
+administered the city's affairs for more than a century. During a
+similar number of years the corporations of Nuremberg had ceded their
+power in that respect to the patricians. The Augsburg corporations,
+being Evangelicals, had sided against the emperor; consequently His
+Imperial Majesty proposed to exclude them at the forthcoming Diet from
+the government, in favour of the aristocracy, which had remained
+faithful to the ancient faith.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I took two rooms (each with an alcove, or sleeping closet, attached to
+it), of which the host had no need for his travelling patrons. The
+ambassadors settled in one; the other was set apart for their
+administration, which was composed of Jacob Citzewitz, chancellor; two
+secretaries of Duke Barnim, and myself. I sold my horse with its
+equipment, which was not worth much. I took what I could get for it;
+fodder was very dear, and the animal was no longer of the least use to
+me.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The emperor and his army arrived at the end of July. The landgrave
+remained behind at Donauwerth, under the guard of a Spanish detachment,
+while the elector, brought to Augsburg, took up his quarters with the
+Welsers, two houses away from the Imperial residence, and on the other
+side of a kind of alley by the side of my inn. A passage made between
+these two houses by means of a bridge thrown over the alley provided
+communication between the apartments of his Imperial Majesty and those
+of the elector. The captive prince had his own kitchens. His
+chancellor, Von Monkwitz, was always near him; he was served by his own
+attendants, so that the Spaniards had no pretext to enter his room or
+his sleeping closet. The Duke of Alva and other gentlemen of the
+Imperial suite constantly kept him company; the time was spent in
+pleasant conversations and equally agreeable recreations. They had
+arranged a list for the jousts in the courtyard of the dwelling, which
+was as superb a mansion as any royal one. The elector went out on
+horseback to the beautiful sites and spots of the town, namely, the
+various gardens, cultivated with much art. He had been very fond from
+his youth of swordplay, and while he remained well and active he
+indulged in all kinds of martial exercise. They therefore left him to
+superintend the assaults at arms, but he did not stir without an escort
+of Spanish soldiers. He was left free to read what he pleased, except
+in the latter days, namely, after his refusal to accept the Interim.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At Donauwerth, on the other hand, the landgrave had a guard even in his
+own apartment. If he looked out of the window two Spaniards craned
+their necks by his side. Drums and fifes told him of the guard coming
+on duty and of the guard that was being relieved. Armed sentries
+watched in the prisoner's room; they were relieved once during the
+night, and when those coming on duty entered the room, the others, when
+the shrill music had ceased, drew the curtains of the bed aside,
+saying: &quot;We commit him to your care. Keep a good watch.&quot; The emperor's
+words to the landgrave, &quot;I'll teach you to laugh,&quot; were not an empty
+threat.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Before retiring to rest, his Imperial Majesty, to the terror of many,
+had a gibbet erected in front of the town hall; by the side of the
+gibbet, the strapado, and, facing it, a scaffold at about an ordinary
+man's height from the ground. This was intended to hold the rack, and
+the beheading, the strangulating, the quartering, and kindred
+operations were to be carried out on it.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The emperor had sent to Spain for his secretary, a grandee, it will be
+seen directly, who stood high in his favour. As the said secretary
+sailed down the Elbe, coming from Torgau, a faithful subject of the
+captive elector hid himself in a wood on the bank of the stream. He was
+a skilful arquebusier, and when the craft was well within range, he
+fired a shot. They brought the emperor a corpse. The mortal remains of
+the secretary were taken to Spain in a handsome coffin; the murderer
+fled across Hungary in the direction of Turkey, but active pursuit
+resulted in his capture, and he was dispatched to Augsburg. He was
+driven in an open cart from St. Ulrich to the town hall, by way of the
+wine market. Hence, the elector had the extreme annoyance of seeing him
+pass under his windows. The condemned man had between his knees a pole,
+to which his right hand was tied as high as possible. In the midst of
+the drive, the sword severed the wrist from the arm; hemorrhage was
+prevented by dressing the wound, and the hand was nailed to a post put
+up in the street for the purpose. In front of the town hall the poor
+wretch was taken from the cart and was put on the rack.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The landsknechten quartered at Augsburg had not received their pay for
+several months. It was to come out of the fines imposed upon the
+landgrave and the towns. The rumour ran that the fines had been paid,
+but that the Duke of Alva had lost the money gaming with the elector,
+so that the troops were still waiting.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In the thick of all this, a number of soldiers made their way into the
+rooms of the ensigns, carrying off three standards, unfurling them, and
+marching in battle array to the wine market. Near the spot where the
+arquebusier had had his hand severed from his wrist, a proud Spaniard,
+impelled by the mad hope of securing the Imperial favour by rendering
+his name for ever glorious, flung himself into the advancing ranks and
+tried to get hold of a standard; behind it, however, marched three men
+with big swords, and one of these split the intruder in two just as he
+would have split a turnip. &quot;<i>Qui amat periculum, peribit in eo</i>.&quot; Thus
+it is written.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Roused to great excitement by the coming of the column, the Spanish
+soldiers promptly occupied the streets adjoining the market. The
+elector was transferred to the Imperial quarters, lest he should be
+carried off. The population were getting afraid of being pillaged in
+case the idea of paying themselves should present itself to the
+landsknechten. The tradesmen were more uneasy than the rest, for in
+expectation of the coming Diet their shops were crammed with precious
+wares, rich silk stuffs, golden and silvern objects, diamonds and
+pearls. There was an indescribable tumult to the accompaniment of cries
+and people foregathering in knots, though most of them barricaded
+themselves in their houses and armed themselves with pikes, muskets, or
+anything they could lay hands on. In short, as Sleidan expresses it,
+&quot;the day bade fair to be spent in armed alarm.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The emperor sent to ask the mercenaries what they wanted. &quot;Money or
+blood,&quot; replied the arquebusiers, their weapons reposing on the left
+arm, the lighted match in their right hands, and dangerously near the
+vent-hole. His Imperial Majesty promised them their arrears within
+twenty-four hours, but before dispersing they claimed impunity for what
+they had done, which demand the emperor granted. Next day they received
+their pay and were disbanded at the same time.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Now for the end of the adventure. Secret orders were given to accompany
+the ringleaders on their road, and at the first offensive remark on
+their part with regard to the emperor to call in armed assistance, and
+to bring them back to Augsburg. As a consequence, at the end of two or
+three days, some of the firebrands, having their wallets well-lined and
+sitting round frequently re-filled flagons at the inn, began to hold
+forth without more reserve than if they were on the territory of
+Prester John. The last thought in their minds was about informers being
+among them. &quot;We'll give him soldiers for nothing--this Charles of
+Ghent!<a name="div2_48" href="#div2Ref_48"><sup>[48]</sup></a> May the quartan fever get hold of him. We'll teach him how
+to behave. May the lightning blast him,&quot; and so forth. Not for long
+though. The words had scarcely left their lips than they were seized,
+taken to Augsburg, and hanged in front of the town hall, each with a
+little flag fluttering from the tab of their small clothes.</p>
+<br>
+<p class="center"><a name="div3_execution">
+<img border="0" src="images/execution.png" alt="An Execution at the Time of the Reformation."></a></p>
+<br>
+<p class="normal">Two Spaniards, probably guilty of robbery, as was their custom, were
+strung up at the same gibbet. Towards night the hangman came with his
+cart, cut the ropes and took the bodies of the seditious men outside
+the town. After which there appeared a gang of Spaniards who, with more
+ceremony, detached their countrymen, and placed them in a bier covered
+with a kind of white linen. Then they spread the funeral cloth over
+them, and the procession started. Young scholars dressed in white
+cloaks marched at its head, intoning psalms; the rest, in handsome
+dresses and carrying lighted tapers, followed two by two. They
+proceeded in that manner to the church given up to the Spaniards for
+their worship, where the two bodies were buried. It is difficult to
+withhold solemn funerals from thieves when you yourself are an
+incorrigible thief.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The Italian and Spanish troops were distributed in the towns of the
+Algau and Swabia. Memmingen and Kempten compounded their liability
+to quarter them respectively for thirty thousand and twenty thousand
+florins. Thereupon a certain Imperial commissioner hit upon the
+idea of presenting himself in various towns as having been instructed
+to quarter a couple of hundred Spaniards for the winter. The
+terror-stricken burghers implored him to spare them such a scourge, and
+considered themselves only too happy to present the commissioner with a
+little gratification of two, three, and four hundred crowns, paid on
+the nail. Thanks to that ingenious system, the commissioner managed to
+pocket some important sums. But the rumour of the thing having reached
+the emperor's ears, the cheat was arrested, sentenced to death, and
+executed in front of the town hall at Augsburg. The work of the hangman
+began by strangulation. The patient (?) was placed on a wooden seat
+against the rail of the scaffold, his forehead tightly bound in case of
+convulsions, his arms bound behind his back, and fastened to the
+balustrade. The hangman, after having flung a rather short rope round
+his neck, slipped a thick stick down his nape, and began to twist it
+round in the manner they press bales of wares. When the wretch was
+strangled, he was undressed except his shirt, laid out on a board, the
+hangman lifted the shirt, cut away the sexual parts, ripped open the
+body from bottom to top, removed the intestines, and threw them into a
+pail under the board, and finally cut the body into four quarters.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">George von Wedel stayed at my hotel. He invited the Duke of Brunswick
+and his steward to dinner, and chose me as the third guest. The repast
+consisted of six courses; the first was soup with a capon in it. I know
+that our landlady paid a crown for the bird, and that she charged Wedel
+a crown per head. I did not forget to mention to my host and my fellow
+guests that at Rome I had seen the hanging of the Spaniard, his
+servants, and the two Jews. The duke was delighted at my recollecting
+this, and he himself reminded us that the banquet had been given in his
+honour. His account of the story was, however, much longer than mine.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">While awaiting the arrival of the Pomeranian delegates, I borrowed
+two hundred crowns of the captive Elector of Saxony, for my functions
+at the Diet necessitated a decent appearance, considering that
+I was called upon to confer with grand personages, such as the
+Vice-Chancellor Seld, the Bishop of Arras and Dr. Johannes Marquardt,
+Imperial counsellor. Besides, everything was horribly dear at Augsburg;
+there was no possibility of getting along without money. Our
+ambassadors arrived on St. Matthew's Day (September 21). I immediately
+refunded the two hundred crowns.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Since we left Wittenberg I had never missed an opportunity of speaking
+to the Imperial counsellors and advisers, sometimes to one, then to
+another. More than once, for instance, I happened to be riding by the
+side of the Bishop of Arras, <i>intimus consiliarius imperatoris</i>. I
+solicited his intervention for a safe-conduct for our princes, in order
+that they might come and plead their cause in person, or be represented
+by some high dignitaries. The kindly tone of his answers afforded me
+much hope, although he abstained from all positive promises.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">One evening between Nuremberg and Augsburg chance made me alight at the
+hostelry where Lazarus von Schwendi was putting up.<a name="div2_49" href="#div2Ref_49"><sup>[49]</sup></a> At that time he
+was a beardless young man. We supped together, and he declared quite
+spontaneously that, having been sent by the emperor to the Brandenburg
+march as far as the Pomeranian frontiers to get information about the
+attitude of the dukes during the late war, he had not been able to find
+the slightest charge against them. He further stated that he had
+written to that effect to the emperor, and he announced his intention
+of repeating it to him by word of mouth.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In spite of this evidence, when I saw the Bishop of Arras, his father,
+Messire de Granvelle, the most trusty adviser of his Imperial Majesty,
+Dr. Seld and Dr. Marquardt at Augsburg, they seemed to vie with each
+other at looking askance at me, and at formulating a refusal in hard,
+haughty terms and entirely unexpected by me; such as: &quot;<i>Bannus
+decernetur contra principes tuos</i>.&quot;<a name="div2_50" href="#div2Ref_50"><sup>[50]</sup></a></p>
+
+<p class="normal">Our dukes sent their principal advisers. To do them justice, they
+spared neither time nor trouble, but it was all in vain, for the Bishop
+of Arras went as far as to growl at them: &quot;To suppose the emperor
+capable of punishing innocent people as your princes pretend to be;
+that alone already constitutes the crime of treason against the
+sovereign, and deserves chastisement.&quot; His Imperial Majesty closed his
+ears to the truth; he was determined to act against the Dukes of
+Pomerania. At Wittenberg Dr. Seld had said to me: &quot;We are going to
+examine the challenge of Ingoldstadt and will note for reference its
+instances of audacity, its offensive expressions, and its provocations.
+His Imperial Majesty means to show to the whole of the empire that he
+is neither deficient in German blood nor in power to chastize as he
+thinks fit no matter whom.&quot; This was an allusion to the following
+passage of the document defying him: &quot;And we inform Charles that we
+consider him a traitor to his duty to God, a perjurer towards us, and
+the German nation, and deserving the Divine punishment, and also as too
+devoid of noble and German blood to carry out his threats.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Our ambassadors paid daily visits to the important ecclesiastical
+personages. They went in couples, save Chancellor Citzewitz, who
+considered himself, not unjustly, capable of dispensing with
+assistance. He laboured, however, under the disadvantage of &quot;repeating
+himself,&quot; and of wearying his listeners. The chancellor of the Elector
+of Cologne, to whom Citzewitz paid a visit one night, said the next day
+to two of our ambassadors: &quot;What is your chancellor thinking of? He
+constantly repeats the same things. Does he credit me with so short a
+memory as to forget in three or four days the <i>status causae vestrorum
+principum</i>, or does he imagine that our affairs leave me sufficient
+leisure to listen to his never ending litanies. He reminds me of a hen
+about to lay. At first she flutters to the top of the open barn door,
+clucking, 'An egg, an egg.' Then she gets a little higher up to the
+hay-loft: 'An egg, an egg; I want to lay an egg.' From there she goes
+up to the rafters: 'Look out, friends, look out. I am going to lay an
+egg.' Finally, when she has cackled to her heart's content, she goes
+back to her nest and produces the tiniest imaginable egg. I prefer the
+goose who squats silently on the dung-heap and lays an egg as big as a
+child's head.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The Archbishop of Cologne would not forgive our princes for having
+secularized the monastery of Neu-Camp, a branch of the parent
+institution of Alt-Camp, in the diocese of Cologne. Besides, the clergy
+of Pomerania had become suspect to him ever since its choice for the
+See of Cammin had fallen upon the pious, able and learned chancellor
+Bartholomew Schwabe. Hence, the terms in which the emperor forbade our
+princes to recognize the new dignitary as such were the reverse of
+courteous, and he moreover summoned the chapters to Augsburg to take
+the oath of fidelity and do homage, pending his own selection of a
+chief for them. The princes, the chapters, the landed gentry, and the
+towns, with the exception of Colberg, appealed; the Pomeranian mission
+was entrusted with the negotiations; the States also delegated Martin
+Weyer, canon of Cammin, who subsequently became a bishop.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Nor was the Elector of Brandenburg in the emperor's good books. Where
+then could we find somebody successfully to intercede for us? All my
+supplications were in vain, for at courts and in large towns <i>causae
+perduntur quae paupertate reguntur</i>. Finally, Dr. Marquardt hinted
+discreetly that a well trained small horse would be very useful to him
+to proceed to the council, according to Imperial etiquette. I
+immediately wrote to Pomerania, whence they sent me a pretty animal,
+with instructions to buy an equipment to match. The present,
+supplemented by three &quot;Portuguese,&quot;<a name="div2_51" href="#div2Ref_51"><sup>[51]</sup></a> seemed to please the doctor
+mightily, and he accepted everything without much persuasion.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The melting of double ducats and Rhenish florins gave us some excellent
+gold of crown standard, which served to make two cups, each weighing
+seven marks. Citzewitz took them several times to Messire de Granvelle
+without finding the opportunity of offering them to him. These were
+indeed untimely scruples. That present, or even one of double its
+value, would no more have been refused then than it was later on at
+Brussels. In fact, in return for his friendly offices with the emperor,
+Granvelle willingly submitted to be presented with gold, silver, and
+precious objects, so that at his departure there were several vans and
+numerous mules laden with them. When he was asked what were the
+contents of that long convoy, he answered: &quot;<i>Peccata Germaniae</i>!&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">After many fruitless efforts our ambassadors found themselves reduced
+to inactivity, and compelled as a pastime to read two Latin pamphlets
+they received. The one dealt with the personality and acts of &quot;<i>Carolus
+Quintus</i>&quot;; the title of the other was, &quot;<i>De horum temporum statu</i>,&quot;
+with Pasquin and Marforio as interlocutors in Roman fashion.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">There were ten flag-companies of landsknechten quartered at Augsburg,
+besides the Spaniards and Germans accompanying the emperor, while the
+outskirts held Spanish and Italian fighting men. Six hundred horsemen
+from the Low Countries and more than twelve flag-companies of
+Spaniards, who had been quartered during the winter at Biberach, were
+posted on the shores of Lake Constance; seven hundred Neapolitan
+horsemen, who had wintered at Wissemburg, lay in the Nordgau. The days,
+therefore, were truly spent in &quot;armed alarm,&quot; but there was also
+extraordinary splendour, pomp, and magnificence.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Augsburg, in fact, had the honour of having within its walls his
+Imperial Majesty, his Royal Majesty, all the electors in person, with
+imposing suites; the Elector of Brandenburg with his wife; the Cardinal
+of Trent, Duke Heindrich of Brunswick and his two sons, Charles Victor
+and Philip; Margrave Albert; Duke Wolfgang, count palatine; Duke
+Augustus; Duke Albert of Bavaria; the Duke of Cleves; Herr Wolfgang,
+grand master of the Teutonic Order; the Bishop of Eichstedt; his Grace
+of Naumberg, Julius Pflug; Abbé Weingarten; Madame Marie, the sister of
+the emperor, who was accompanied by her niece, the Dowager of Lorraine;
+the wife of the margrave; the Duchess of Bavaria, and the envoys of the
+foreign potentates. The King of Denmark was represented by a learned
+and prudent man, who had given proof of his wisdom in many a mission,
+namely, Petrus Suavenius, the same who had accompanied Luther to Worms
+and had returned with him. The King of Poland was represented by
+Stanislas Lasky, a magnificent, experienced, learned, eloquent and
+elegant, amiable, great magnate, and most charming <i>in familiari
+colloquio</i>.</p>
+<br>
+<p class="center"><a name="div3_ferdinand">
+<img border="0" src="images/ferdinand1.png" alt="Ferdinand the First."></a></p>
+<br>
+<p class="normal">It is almost impossible to enumerate the crowd of vicars, counts and
+other personages of note, but I must not forget the Jew Michael, who
+aped the great lord, and showed himself off on horseback in gorgeous
+clothes, golden chains round his neck, and escorted by ten or a dozen
+servants, all Jews, but who might have fairly passed muster as horse
+troopers. Michael himself had an excellent appearance; he was said to
+be the son of one of the counts of Rheinfeld. The old hereditary
+Marshal von Pappenheim, who had grown very short-sighted, came up with
+him one day, and, not content with taking off his hat, made him a low
+bow, as to a superior. When he discovered his mistake, he vented his
+anger very loudly: &quot;May the lightning blast you, you big scoundrel of a
+Jew,&quot; he bellowed. The presence of so many princesses, countesses and
+other noble dames, handsome, and attired in a way that baffles my
+powers of description, afforded daily opportunities for banquets, Welch
+and German dances. King Ferdinand was rarely without guests. He gave
+magnificent receptions, splendid ballets, and beautiful concerts by a
+numerous and well trained band of vocal and instrumental performers.
+Behind the king's chair there stood a chattering jester; his master had
+frequent &quot;wit combats&quot; with him. The king kept up the conversation at
+table, and his tongue was never still for a moment. One evening I saw
+at his reception, a Spanish gentleman, with a cloak reaching to his
+heels, dancing an &quot;algarda&quot; or &quot;passionesa&quot; (I do not know the meaning
+of either word) with a young damsel. They both jumped very high,
+advancing and retreating, without ceasing to face each other. It was
+most charming. After that another couple performed a Welch dance.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The emperor, on the contrary, far from giving the smallest banquet,
+kept nobody near him; neither his sister, nor his brother, nor his
+nieces, nor the Duchess of Bavaria, nor the electors, nor any of the
+princes. After church, when he reached his apartments, he dismissed his
+courtiers, giving his hand to everybody. He had his meals by himself,
+without speaking a word to his attendants. One day, returning from
+church, he noticed the absence of Carlowitz. &quot;<i>Ubi est noster
+Carlovitius?</i>&quot; he asked of Duke Maurice. &quot;Most gracious emperor,&quot;
+replied the latter, &quot;he feels somewhat feeble.&quot; Immediately the emperor
+turned to his physician. &quot;Vesalius, gy zult naar Carlowitz gaan, die
+zal iets wat ziek zyn, ziet dat gy hem helpt.&quot; (Anglicé, &quot;You had
+better go and see Carlowitz. He is not well; you may be able to do
+something for him.&quot;)</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I have often been present (at Spires, at Worms, at Augsburg, and at
+Brussels) at the emperor's dinner. He never invited his brother, the
+king. Young princes and counts served the repast. There were invariably
+four courses, consisting altogether of six dishes. After having placed
+the dishes on the table, these pages took the covers off. The emperor
+shook his head when he did not care for the particular dish; he bowed
+his head when it suited, and then drew it towards him. Enormous
+pasties, large pieces of game, and the most succulent dishes were
+carried away, while his Majesty ate a piece of roast, a slice of a
+calf's head, or something analogous. He had no one to carve for him; in
+fact, he made but a sparing use of the knife. He began by cutting his
+bread in pieces large enough for one mouthful, then attacked his dish.
+He stuck his knife anywhere, and often used his fingers while he held
+the plate under his chin with the other hand. He ate so naturally, and
+at the same time so cleanly, that it was a pleasure to watch him. When
+he felt thirsty, he only drank three draughts; he made a sign to the
+<i>doctores medicinae</i> standing by the table; thereupon they went to the
+sideboard for two silver flagons, and filled a crystal goblet which
+held about a measure and a half. The emperor drained it to the last
+drop, practically at one draught, though he took breath two or three
+times. He did, however, not utter a syllable, albeit that the jesters
+behind him were amusing. Now and again there was a faint smile at some
+more than ordinarily clever passage between them. He paid not the
+slightest attention to the crowd that came to watch the monarch eat.
+The numerous singers and musicians he kept performed in church, and
+never in his apartment. The dinner lasted less than an hour, at the
+termination of which, tables, seats, and everything else were removed,
+there remaining nothing but the four walls hung with magnificent
+tapestry. After grace they handed the emperor the quills of feathers
+wherewith to clean his teeth. He washed his hands and took his seat in
+one of the window recesses. There, everybody could go up and speak to
+him, or hand a petition, and argue a question. The emperor decided
+there and then. The future emperor Maximilian was more assiduously by
+the side of the emperor than by that of his father.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Duke Maurice soon made acquaintance with the Bavarian ladies, and at
+his own quarters melancholy found no place, for he lodged with a doctor
+of medicine who was the father of a girl named Jacqueline, a handsome
+creature if ever there was one. She and the duke bathed together and
+played cards every day with Margrave Albrecht.<a name="div2_52" href="#div2Ref_52"><sup>[52]</sup></a> One day, the latter,
+thinking he was going to have the best of the game, ventured several
+crowns. &quot;Very well,&quot; answered the damsel; &quot;equal stakes. Mine against
+yours.&quot; &quot;Put down your money,&quot; retorted the margrave, &quot;and the better
+player wins.&quot; All this in plain and good German, while Jacqueline gave
+him her most charming smile. Such was their daily mode of life. The
+town gossiped about it, but the devil himself was bursting with
+pleasure.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Clerics or laymen, every one among those notable personages did as he
+pleased. I myself have seen young Margrave Albrecht, as well as other
+young princes, drinking and playing &quot;truc&quot; with certain bishops of
+their own age, but of inferior birth.<a name="div2_53" href="#div2Ref_53"><sup>[53]</sup></a> At such moments they made
+very light of titles. The margrave cried abruptly; &quot;Your turn, priest.
+I'll wager your stroke isn't worth a jot.&quot; The bishop was often still
+more coarse, inviting his opponent to accompany him outside to perform
+a natural want. The young princes squatted down by the side of the
+noblest dames on the floor itself, for there were neither forms nor
+chairs; merely a magnificent carpet in the middle of the room,
+exceedingly comfortable to stretch one's self at full length upon. One
+may easily imagine the kissing and cuddling that was going on.<a name="div2_54" href="#div2Ref_54"><sup>[54]</sup></a></p>
+
+<p class="normal">Both princes and princesses spent their incomes in banquets of
+unparalleled splendour. They arrived with their money caskets full to
+overflowing, but in a little while they were compelled to take many a
+humiliating step in order to obtain loans; the rates were ruinous, but
+anything, rather than leave Augsburg defeated and humbled in their love
+of display. Several sovereigns, among others the Duke of Bavaria, had
+received from their subjects thousands of dollars as &quot;play money.&quot; They
+lost every penny of it.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Our ambassadors lived very retired. They neither invited nor were
+invited; nevertheless, when a visitor came, they were bound to offer a
+collation, and to amuse their guests. One day they entertained Jacob
+Sturm of Strasburg.<a name="div2_55" href="#div2Ref_55"><sup>[55]</sup></a> During dinner the conversation turned on
+Cammin. Sturm gave us the history of that bishopric, of its foundation,
+of its expansion. Then he told us of the ancient prerogatives of the
+Dukes of Pomerania; of the negotiations set on foot seven years before
+at the diet of Ratisbon. In short, it was as lucid, as complete, and as
+accurate a summary of the subject as if he had just finished studying
+it. Our counsellors greatly admired his wonderful memory. Verily, he
+was a superior, experienced, eloquent, and prudent man, who had had his
+share in many memorable days from an Imperial as well as from a
+provincial view; for, in spite of his heresy, the emperor had at
+various times entrusted him with important missions. Without him,
+Sleidan could have never written his History. He avows it frankly, and
+renders homage to Sturm in many passages of his <i>Commentaries</i>. Nobody
+throughout the empire realized to the same degree as he the motto:
+&quot;<i>Usus me genuit, mater me peperit memoria</i>.&quot; A person of note having
+asked him if the towns of the League of Schmalkalden were all at peace
+with the emperor, he answered: &quot;<i>Constantia tantum desideratur</i>.&quot;<a name="div2_56" href="#div2Ref_56"><sup>[56]</sup></a>
+It would be impossible better to express both the isolation of
+Constance and the mistake to which the Protestants owed their reverses.
+Should my children have a desire to know what Sturm was like facially,
+they will only have to look at my portrait, which bears such a
+remarkable resemblance to him as to have baffled Apelles to improve
+upon it.<a name="div2_57" href="#div2Ref_57"><sup>[57]</sup></a> Our ambassadors also received the visits of Musculus and
+Lepusculus, but each came by himself. The moment for serious debate had
+struck, for the Interim was being gradually drawn up. The time for
+jesting had gone by; the only thing to do was to get at the root of
+matters.<a name="div2_58" href="#div2Ref_58"><sup>[58]</sup></a></p>
+
+<p class="normal">I sometimes brought my countryman, friend, and co-temporary Valerius
+Krakow home with me. He was secretary to Carlowitz, and, excluded as
+they were from all negotiations, our counsellors were glad to learn
+from his lips what was being plotted. During the campaign he had not
+stirred from the side of Carlowitz, who, in reward for his services,
+had got him into the chancellerie of Prince Maurice. Another countryman
+of mine who came to see us was the traban Simon Plate, one of my old
+acquaintances, for we had pursued our studies together more or less
+usefully at Greifswald, under George Normann. The counsellors did not
+care for him, for he was of no earthly use to them. The trabans had
+some respectable, honest, well set-up and plucky fellows in their
+ranks, and enjoyed a certain amount of consideration. The emperor was
+particular about their dress; they wore black velvet doublets, cloaks
+with large bands of velvet, and the Spanish head-dress of the same
+material.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Plate was never tired of praising his fellow-soldier sleeping next to
+him, and the ambassadors gave him leave to bring his friend. He wore a
+most beautiful golden chain. Plate had not exaggerated. Finally he even
+took umbrage at the favour shown to the new comer, so that one day he
+exclaimed: &quot;No doubt he is very upright and honest. He has shown his
+courage, consequently he pleases the emperor. It is a pity, though,
+that he is not a gentleman by birth.&quot; The remark, I am bound to say,
+displeased our ambassadors greatly, and above all Chancellor Citzewitz;
+but let my children look to it. I have heard many Pomeranian nobles
+hold the same language. According to them, intelligence, sound judgment
+and ability were the exclusive appanage of birth.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Plate showed himself in a better light on another occasion. Our
+counsellors had received several visits, and some flagons had been
+joyously emptied. When our guests were gone, Moritz Damis, captain of
+Ukermünde, a rollicking, lively creature, suddenly took a fancy to go
+to the court ball which was taking place that evening, not in the
+apartments of the emperor, but in those of his sister and niece, who
+likewise occupied the Fugger mansion in the wine market. His
+colleagues, who had not forgotten the emperor's threat to the
+landgrave, &quot;I'll teach you to laugh,&quot; were afraid of a scandal, and
+pointed out that our princes were in disgrace; but Damitz got angry.
+&quot;Our princes will give me money, but they cannot give me health,&quot; he
+exclaimed. &quot;What am I doing here? Why should I deny myself the sight of
+such rejoicings? How am I to keep alive? I may as well make up my mind
+never to cast eyes on Pomerania again.&quot; Saying which, he rushed down
+the stairs; a counsellor tried to hold him back by his golden chain,
+the links of which, however, broke, and our captain ran to the ball.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Simon Plate had remained perfectly cool, and they asked him to follow
+the madcap. There was no difficulty for Plate to get inside the
+ball-room, and the first person of note of whom he caught sight was the
+puissant and renowned warrior-chief, Johannes Walther von Hirnheim,<a name="div2_59" href="#div2Ref_59"><sup>[59]</sup></a>
+moodily walking to and fro at the lower end of the room. Damitz had
+noticed standing close by the dancers a handsome woman gorgeously
+dressed and glittering with jewels, and in less time than it takes to
+tell he had addressed her: &quot;Charming creature,&quot; he said, &quot;are you not
+going to dance?&quot; &quot;Oh no, sir,&quot; was the answer; &quot;dancing is only fit for
+young people, and I am an old woman.&quot; &quot;What, are you married?&quot; asked
+the captain. &quot;I could have sworn that you were only a girl, and if I
+were told to choose with the most beautiful woman here, my choice would
+fall upon you.&quot; &quot;Ah, sir, you are merely jesting.&quot; &quot;And what is your
+husband's name?&quot; the captain went on unabashed. &quot;Johannes Walther von
+Hirnheim.&quot; &quot;Johannes Walther? Oh, I know him well.&quot; The husband,
+somewhat curious with regard to the captain's conversation, had drawn
+near, though still continuing to walk up and down in silence. Damitz,
+though, taking no notice of either him or Simon Plate, continued his
+interrogatory. &quot;Have you any children?&quot; &quot;No; God has ordained it
+otherwise.&quot; &quot;Ah, if I had such a wife, I know what I am. God would soon
+grant us children.&quot; This incursion of the captain into the physical
+domain induced Simon Plate to interfere, to turn the conversation, and
+to take Damitz back to his domicile.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In December our ambassadors decided to send one of their body to
+Pomerania, and Heindrich Normann was selected for the journey. It was
+bitterly cold, and Normann endeavoured to provide against it. He put on
+a linen nightcap, over that a fur one, and a second of cloth, with a
+big muffler fastened behind and in front (just as the peasantry still
+wear it), and finally a thick hat, embroidered in silk. On his hands
+white thread gloves, chamois leather ones lined with fur; over these,
+and over the latter again thicker gloves of wolf's skin. His body was
+encased in a linen shirt, a knitted tightly-fitting garment in the
+Italian fashion; over that a vest of red English cloth, a doublet
+wadded with cotton, another lined jacket, a long coat of wool trimmed
+with wolf's skin, covering the whole; finally, on his feet, linen
+socks, Louvain gaiters reaching above the knee, cloth hose, stockings
+lined with sheep's skin, and high boots. When everybody had done giving
+special commissions, the servants hoisted him into the saddle, for he
+could have never got into it without their help. He went as far as
+Donauwerth; when he got there, his equipment decidedly seemed to him
+too uncomfortable. As, however, he had no desire to be frozen to death,
+he turned his horse's head and made for the good city of Augsburg.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Inasmuch as the narrative of Sleidan is very incomplete, I am going to
+write the story of Sebastian Vogelsberg. Having been an eye-witness, I
+made it my business to note down his last speeches. Vogelsberg was tall
+and of imposing appearance, his width being in proportion to his
+height; in short, a handsome, well-proportioned man with a head as
+round as a ball, a beard reaching to his waist, and an open face. No
+painter could have found a better model for a manly man. He had a
+certain amount of education. According to some people, he had been a
+schoolmaster in Italy. Count Wilhelm von Fürstenberg, who entered the
+&quot;paid&quot; service of the belligerent monarchs as a colonel, took him as a
+semi-secretary, semi-accountant. Vogelsberg, having been promoted to an
+ensignship, rendered distinguished service in the field; Ambitious,
+glib of tongue, not to say eloquent and rarely at a loss what to do, he
+quickly attained the grade of captain, and high and mighty potentates
+soon preferred him to Fürstenberg. The latter felt most annoyed at
+this, belonging as he did to a class of men to whom merit is
+inseparable from birth. He constantly inveighed against Vogelsberg,
+who, in his turn, did not spare his rival. Pamphlets were printed on
+both sides. The count appears to have begun; he appealed to his peers,
+their honour seemed to him at stake. The Protestant States sided with
+Vogelsberg, their co-religionist, while the popish camp swore mortal
+hatred to him.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Weary of fruitless polemics, and knowing full well that it would have
+been folly to take the law into his own hands, Vogelsberg decided upon
+bringing an action before the Imperial Chamber for damages for
+defamation of character. I was at the time clerk to his procurator, Dr.
+Engelhardt; consequently, I knew every particular of the affair. After
+protracted debates, the court finding for Vogelsberg, condemned Count
+Wilhelm to a fine of four hundred florins, a sentence which caused
+Wilhelm's brother, Frederick von Fürstenberg, and everybody who bore
+the title of count to consider themselves the injured parties.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Three <i>causae proægoumenae</i>, to use the language of the dialecticians,
+may be plainly discerned in this drama; namely, religion, the soldierly
+qualities of Vogelsberg, and the hostility of the nobles and papists.
+We may add two <i>causae procatarcticae</i>: the first, mentioned by
+Sleidan, to the effect that a twelvemonth previously Vogelsberg had
+taken a regiment of landsknechten to the King of France; the second,
+which I saw with my own eyes at Wissenburg on the Rhine, that
+Vogelsberg had built himself in that Imperial town a beautiful mansion
+of hewn stone with the arms of France, three big <i>fleurs de lis</i>
+artistically sculptured over the door. The papists, feeling confident
+that in the probable event of a new war of religion, the valiant
+captain would give them a great deal of trouble, and thirsting as they
+did for his blood, like a deer in summer pants for cooling streams,
+they took time by the forelock. Their skill in exploiting with his
+Imperial Majesty the <i>causae irritatrices</i> stood them in good stead.
+They were instrumental in getting two doctors of their following
+appointed as judges. The one was German, and the other Welch, but both
+promptly pronounced a sentence of death which was immediately carried
+out.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On February 7, 1548, shortly after eight in the morning, an
+ensign-corps of soldiers from the outskirts of &quot;Our Lady,&quot; and two
+other ensign-corps from the outskirts of &quot;St. Jacob,&quot; took up their
+position in the square of the Town Hall. Sleidan says the scaffold was
+erected for the purpose of executing Vogelsberg. This is an error on
+Sleidan's part. The scaffold had been there for six months, and had
+served many times. An officer from the Welch, whom they call <i>magister
+de campo</i> was detached from the troops with about thirty men to fetch
+the condemned man from the Peilach tower. The latter was brought back
+to the sound of drums and fifes.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Vogelsberg wore a black velvet dress and a Welch hat embroidered with
+silk. At his entrance into the circle surrounding the scaffold he
+caught sight of Count Reinhard von Solms, whose nose was half-eaten
+away by disease, and Ritter Conrad von Boineburg. Without taking any
+notice of the count, a relentless papist, who detested him on account
+of Fürstenberg, he asked of the ritter: &quot;Herr Conrad, is there any
+hope?&quot; &quot;Dear Bastian,&quot; replied Boineburg, &quot;May God help you.&quot;
+&quot;Certainly, He will help me,&quot; was Vogelsberg's rejoinder. And with his
+firmest step, his head erect, and his usual assurance, he climbed the
+steps to the scaffold.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">He looked for a long while at the crowd. All the windows were occupied
+by members of the nobility. At those of the Town Hall there were
+serried rows of electors, princes of the Church and of the empire,
+barons, counts, and knights. In a manly voice and as steady a tone as
+if he were at the head of his troops, Vogelsberg began to speak: &quot;Your
+serenissime highnesses, highnesses, excellencies, noble, puissant,
+valiant seigneurs and friends. As I am this day ...&quot; At that moment the
+<i>magister de campo</i> (quarter-master-general) told the executioner to
+proceed with his duty, but the latter, addressing the condemned man,
+said: &quot;Gracious sir, I shall not hurry you. Speak as long as you
+please.&quot; Thereupon Vogelsberg went on: &quot;I am to lose my life by order
+of the emperor, our very merciful and gracious master, and I now will
+tell you the cause of my death-warrant. It is for having raised ten
+ensign-companies last summer for the coronation of the praiseworthy
+King of France. No felonious act can be imputed to me during the ten
+years I served the emperor. As I am innocent, I beseech of you to keep
+me in kind memory, and to pity my undeserved misfortunes. Watch over my
+kindred, so that they may not come to grief on account of all this, and
+may benefit by the fruit of my services, for the whole of my life was
+that of an honest man. I am being sacrificed to the implacable
+resentment of that infamous Lazarus Schwendi.&quot; The latter was at the
+window facing the scaffold, and suddenly disappeared, but Vogelsberg
+did not interrupt his speech. &quot;He came to me to Wissemburg to tell me
+that he was in disgrace in consequence of the murder of a Spanish
+gentleman in the suite of his Imperial Majesty, and that the Spaniards
+were also looking for me. He proposed to me to fly to France together,
+and borrowed two hundred crowns of me. I even gave him a horse as a
+present for his advice. Well, the traitor took me straight to the
+Spaniards. While I was in prison I asked him, for my personal need, for
+some of the crowns I had lent him, but he turned a deaf ear to all my
+requests. I beg of you to be on your guard against that skunk of a
+thief who bears the name of Lazarus Schwendi. No one ought to have any
+dealings with him. He has even dared to denounce to his Imperial
+Majesty his Serenissimo Highness the Elector Palatine as having entered
+into a league with the King of France. It is an infamous slander. If I
+had another life to stake, I should stake it on that. I have been
+refused the last assistance of a minister, of a confessor--a refusal
+which has no precedent. I nevertheless die innocent and redeemed by the
+blood of Jesus Christ.&quot; After this he walked round the circle, though
+above it, asking everybody to forgive him as he forgave everybody. Then
+he seated himself. The executioner divided his long beard into two and
+knotted the two ends together on the skull. Having craved his pardon,
+and invited him to say a Pater and the Credo, he performed his office.
+The head rolled like a ball from the scaffold to the ground; the
+executioner caught it by the beard and placed it between the legs of
+the body, spreading a cloak over the whole, except the feet which
+showed from under it.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">After that the officer and his thirty arquebusiers went to fetch Jacob
+Mantel and Wolf Thomas, of Heilbron, who had been brought to Augsburg
+at the same time as Vogelsberg. Thomas was left at the foot of the
+scaffold. Mantel walked round the platform and said a few words, which
+many people could not hear. As his stiff leg made it difficult for him
+to kneel down, the executioner slipped a footstool under the paralyzed
+limb. He failed to sever the head at the first stroke, and had to
+finish the operation below; then he once more covered up the body.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">There only remained Wolf Thomas. To judge by his dress and bearing he
+was not an ordinary man. He stared fixedly at the feet of Vogelsberg,
+showing from under the cloak; then he took his eyes off, and told those
+around that he had been a loyal and faithful soldier for twenty-seven
+years, and that he died absolutely innocent, his sole crime consisted
+in having served the King of France during three months, as many an
+honest noble and squire had done before him without incurring the least
+punishment. He asked those around to forgive him as he forgave them,
+and to pray for him as he would intercede in their favour, he being
+firmly assured of a place near the Almighty. He asked those who
+promised to say a Pater and the <i>Credo</i> for him to hold up their hands.
+After that he was beheaded.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At the termination of the triple execution the executioner cried in a
+loud voice from the scaffold: &quot;In the name of his Imperial Majesty it
+is expressly forbidden to any one to serve the King of France on the
+penalty of sharing the fate of these three men.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The death of Vogelsberg caused universal regret. The unanimous opinion
+was that a soldier of such mettle was worth his weight in gold to a
+warlike monarch. Sleidan alleges erroneously that the two judges
+exculpated Lazarus von Schwendi. It was the emperor who caused to be
+printed and distributed everywhere a small proclamation of half a
+sheet, declaring Schwendi free from all blame, inasmuch as he strictly
+carried out the Imperial orders, and that the speech of Vogelsberg was
+obviously dictated by the desire to escape the most fully deserved
+punishment.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The King of France, it was said, was so displeased at the cry of the
+executioner from the scaffold that by his orders the Marquis de
+Saluces, on his return from Germany, was arrested and beheaded. This
+was the nobleman who at Wittenberg had disadvised the execution of the
+Elector of Saxony.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In April, Augsburg witnessed the arrival of Muleg-Hassan, King of
+Tunis. Thirteen years previously he had been driven forth by
+Barbarossa; subsequently he was re-established on his throne by the
+emperor, but his eldest son had ousted him and put his eyes out. A
+fugitive and wretched, he came to place himself under the protection of
+the emperor, and was soon joined in his exile by one of his sons. I
+often met these two on horseback, in company of Lasky, the Polish
+ambassador, who spoke their language.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">As the pope opposed, against all expectation, the holding at Trent of a
+Christian, free and impartial council, and experience having taught
+people besides that the learned men of both parties would never come to
+an agreement, the States of the empire proposed to his Imperial Majesty
+to confide to a restricted number of learned and God-fearing men the
+task of drawing up a document for the furtherance of the reign of God
+and the preservation of the public peace.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In pursuance of this the emperor delegated personally the Bishop of
+Mayence, Dr. George Sigismund Seld, and Dr. Heindrich Hase.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The King of the Romans selected Messire Gandenz von Madrutz. The
+Elector of Mayence chose his Bishop Suffragan; the Elector of Treves,
+Johannes von Leyen, canon of Treves and of Wurzburg; the Elector of
+Cologne, his provincial; the Elector Palatine, Ritter Wolf von
+Affenstein; the Elector of Saxony, Dr. Fachs; the Elector of
+Brandenburg, Eustacius von Schlieben.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The princes selected the Bishop of Augsburg, Dr. Heinrichmann; the Duke
+of Bavaria, Dr. Eck.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The prelates selected the Abbé von Weingarten; the counts, Count Hugo
+de Montfort; the towns: Strasburg, Jacob Sturm; Ulm, George Besserer.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">These personages met on Friday, February 11, 1548, but they failed to
+agree, which might have easily been foreseen. The ecclesiastical
+members of the Diet took advantage of the opportunity to have the book
+of the Interim composed respectively by the Bishop of Naumburg,
+Johannes Pflug; by the Bishop Suffragan of Mayence, appointed a little
+later on to the See of Meiseburg, and by the court preacher to the
+Elector of Brandenburg, Johannes Agricola, otherwise Eisleben, who
+coveted the bishopric of Cammin. The Imperial assent to this had to be
+obtained; they set to work in the following manner.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The Elector of Brandenburg and his wife lived on a sumptuous footing at
+Augsburg. The elector was fond of display; the electress, the daughter
+of a king of Poland, was even more lavish than her spouse. The dearth
+of everything and the frequency and the profusion of the entertainments
+had already for a long time reduced the finances of his Serene Highness
+to a critical state. Seven years previously, at the gathering of
+Ratisbon, Dr. Conrad Holde had already lent the prince close upon six
+thousand crowns. Their repayment had been constantly, but
+unsuccessfully demanded. Finally, at Augsburg, in default of ready
+money, he received the written promise of repayment in four instalments
+at the dates of the Frankfurt fairs. It was duly signed and sealed.
+Nothing was wanting to its perfect legality; the most suspicious would
+have been satisfied. Nevertheless, the payments were not made when due,
+and the creditor instituted proceedings before the Imperial Chamber.
+The elector did not know which way to turn; there was not a purse open
+to him. He was absolutely at a loss how to get his wife and his
+numerous suite decently away from Augsburg when the Bishop of Salzburg
+made an end of his embarrassments by advancing him sixteen thousand
+Hungarian florins on the duly executed promise of their being repaid in
+a short time. But the principal condition of the loan was that the
+Elector of Brandenburg should present to his Imperial Majesty the work
+of the three above-named personages, and bind himself and his subjects
+to submit to its provisions.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The Elector of Saxony instructed Christopher Carlowitz to send a copy
+of the &quot;Interim&quot; to Philip Melanchthon.<a name="div2_60" href="#div2Ref_60"><sup>[60]</sup></a> The latter's reply was
+singularly devoid of courage. It was supposed to be inspired by the
+theologians of Wittenberg and Leipzig, who in that way sounded the
+first notes of &quot;Adiaphorism.&quot; Carlowitz promptly communicated this
+epistle everywhere. It aroused general surprise, as well as the most
+opposed feelings; grief and consternation among the adherents to the
+Augsburg confession, matchless jubilation among the Catholics. And the
+Lord alone knows how they bellowed it about in the four corners of
+Germany, how they availed themselves of it to proclaim their victory.</p>
+<br>
+<p class="center"><a name="div3_melanchthon">
+<img border="0" src="images/melanchthon.png" alt="Melanchthon."></a></p>
+<br>
+<p class="normal">The ecclesiastical electors sent Melanchthon's letter, together with
+the book, to the pope, and what with backslidings and plotting the pear
+was very soon ripe. The publication of the &quot;Interim&quot; took place on May
+14, at four o'clock in the afternoon, in presence of the States
+assembled. The emperor had it printed in Latin and in German. In the
+first proofs handed to the emperor the passage from St. Paul,
+&quot;<i>Justificati fide pacem habemus</i>,&quot; was altogether changed by the
+suppression of the word <i>fide</i>; the confessionists protested
+energetically, and confounded the would-be authors of the fraud.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The stern tone of the act of promulgation stopped neither speeches nor
+scathing writings. Sterling refutations were published even outside
+Germany; the two best known are the Latin treatise of Calvin, which
+spread all over the empire--in Italy, in France, in Poland, etc.; and a
+piece of writing in German, which was more to the taste of everybody,
+and one of whose authors was Æpinus, superintendent of Hamburg.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Seigneur de Granvelle and his son, the Bishop of Arras, strongly
+persuaded the Elector of Saxony to adhere to the &quot;Interim,&quot; in order to
+regain his freedom, but the prince remained faithful to the Confession
+of Augsburg. Thereupon they took away his books; there was no meat on
+his table on fast days, and his chaplain, whom he had kept with him
+with the consent of the emperor, had to fly in disguise. The landgrave,
+on the other hand, who did not care to profess greater wisdom than the
+fathers of the Church, consented to recommend the book to his subjects,
+and begged to be pardoned for the sake of Christ and all His saints.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At the closure of the Diet, I took, like his Imperial Majesty, the road
+to the Low Countries. The stay of the emperor at Ulm brought about the
+dismissal of the council, which was replaced by more devoted creatures.
+The six ministers were bidden to accept the &quot;Interim.&quot; Four of them
+were not to be shaken, and they were led away captive in the suite of
+the emperor; the other two, in spite of their apostasy, had to leave
+wives and children, and scant consideration was shown to them. At
+Spires, the prior of the barefooted Carmelites was, like all the
+brothers of his monastery, a good evangelical, though all had preserved
+the dress of their order. During four years I had seen him going to and
+fro in the town, dressed in his monk's frock; each Sunday he went into
+the pulpit and the church was crowded to the very porch. Never did he
+breathe a word about the pope or about Luther, but he was a master of
+pure doctrine, and at the approach of the emperor he fled in a layman's
+dress. Worms and the whole of the country lost their preachers. Landau
+possessed a select group of learned and distinguished ministers,
+because the town offered many advantages; a delightful situation,
+excellent fare, and a splendid vineyard at the very gates of the town;
+but the ministers had to abandon the place to the popish priests,
+scamps without experience, without instruction, without piety, and
+without decency.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I often had occasion afterwards to go to Landau, where the advocate of
+my father, Dr. Engelhardt, resided. One Sunday, at the termination of
+the mass, I heard a young and impudent good-for-nothing hold forth from
+the pulpit in the following strain: &quot;The Lutherans are opposed to the
+worship of Mary and the saints. Now, my friends, be good enough to
+listen to this. The soul of a man who had just died got to the door of
+heaven, and Peter shut it in his face. Luckily, the Mother of God was
+taking a stroll outside with her sweet son. The deceased addresses her,
+and reminds her of the Paters and the Aves he has recited to her glory,
+the candles he has burned before her images. Thereupon Mary says to
+Jesus, 'It's the honest truth, my son.' The Lord, however, objected,
+and addressed the supplicant: 'Hast thou never read that I am the way
+and the door to everlasting life?' He asks. 'If thou art the door, I am
+the window,' replies Mary, taking the 'soul' by the hair and flinging
+it into heaven through the open casement. And now I ask you, is it not
+the same whether you enter Paradise by the door or by the window? And
+those abominable Lutherans dare to maintain that one must not invoke
+the Virgin Mary.&quot; That was the kind of scandalous irreligion exhibited
+in the places where formerly the healthy evangelical doctrine was
+preached.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The landgrave's submission to the &quot;Interim&quot; only brought him into
+contempt. His wife, who had hastened to Spires to beseech the emperor,
+was allowed to remain day and night with the prisoner during his week's
+stay there. At the departure for Worms I saw the landgrave pass at
+eight in the morning, with his escort of Spaniards with long
+arquebuses. They hemmed him in in front, behind, and at the sides,
+while he himself was bestriding a broken-down nag with empty and open
+holsters, and the hilt of his sword securely tied to its sheath. A
+serried crowd of strangers and inhabitants, women and servants, old and
+young, were pressing around his escort, as if there had been an order
+given to that effect. They cried: &quot;Here goes the wretched rebel, the
+felon, the scoundrel that he is.&quot; They said worse things which, from
+certain scruples, I abstain from repeating. It looked like the
+procession of a vulgar malefactor who was being taken to the scaffold.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Pure chance made me an eye-witness of a diverting scene at Augsburg. I
+have already said that Duke Maurice had ingratiated himself very much
+with the Bavarian court ladies. One Sunday, in December, when the
+weather was fine, he was ready to go out in a sleigh. I happened to be
+at the door with several others, who also heard the following dialogue.
+Carlowitz came down the stairs of the chancellerie in hot haste,
+exclaiming: &quot;Whither is your Highness going?&quot; &quot;To Munich,&quot; was the
+answer. &quot;But your Highness has an audience to-morrow with the emperor.&quot;
+&quot;I am going to Munich,&quot; repeated the duke. Thereupon Carlowitz: &quot;If,
+thanks to me, the electoral dignity is practically yours, it is
+nevertheless true that your frivolity causes you to be despised of
+their Majesties and of all honourable people.&quot; Maurice merely laid the
+whip on his horses, which started off at a gallop, Carlowitz shouting
+at the top of his voice: &quot;Very well, then; go to the devil, and may
+heaven blast you and your sledge.&quot; When the prince returned, Carlowitz
+announced his intention of going to Leipzig. &quot;If I miss the New Year's
+fair,&quot; he said, &quot;I shall lose several thousand crowns.&quot; The elector had
+only one means to make him stay, namely, to count out the sum to him.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">As the restoration of the Imperial Chamber necessitated my return to
+Spires to watch my father's lawsuit, I wrote to Pomerania to be
+dispensed from following the emperor. This is the answer from our
+princes.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Greetings to our loyal and well-beloved. Our counsellors have informed
+us of thy request, which we should willingly grant thee if it were not
+prejudicial to our interests and those of the country, and which thou
+hast up to the present administered. We therefore invite thee to
+exercise some patience, and to serve us with zeal and fidelity as
+heretofore; inclined as we are to recall thee after the Diet to give
+thee unquestionable proofs of our great satisfaction, as well as the
+means satisfactorily to bring to an end the paternal affairs. We rely
+on thy obedience, and bind ourselves to confirm all our promises as
+above. Given under our hand at Stettin-the-Old, Sunday after St. James,
+in the year 1548.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I had lived uninterruptedly for a twelvemonth at Augsburg, save for one
+ride to Munich, a city well worth seeing. The Diet being about to
+dissolve, I bought a horse, an acquisition which that big dreamer of a
+Normann deferred from day to day. Of course, the inevitable happened.
+The moment the emperor had announced his forthcoming departure
+everybody wanted horses, and he who had ordered himself a handsome
+dress, sold it at half-price in order to get a roadster. Normann, who,
+in spite of my warnings, had waited till the eleventh hour, unable to
+find a suitable mount, took mine, which had been well fed and looked
+after in anticipation of the long journey. I by no means relished this
+unceremonious proceeding, but I could not help myself, and was
+compelled to put up with a seat on a big fourgon, in which I placed the
+golden cups intended for Granvelle. At Ulm, Martin Weyer decided that
+Normann should give me back my horse when we reached Spires, and that
+he should go the rest of the way by the Rhine. When we got to Spires,
+Normann was not to be found there, and we finally learnt that he had
+gone to the baths of Zell with the chimerical hope of getting rid of
+his pimples which disfigured him.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I confided the two pieces of goldsmith's work to Dr. Louis Zigler, the
+procurator to our princes, then went by coach to Oppenheim, and by
+water to Mayence. On 10 September our ship reached Cologne, and next
+morning I went in search of a good horse to pursue my route in company
+of friends, when, whom should I meet in the street but Normann. As a
+consequence, I was obliged to change my inn, and to part with my
+company. Normann was in treaty for a horse, which he finally bought. In
+that way we were both provided for, but without a servant, each man
+taking care of his own horse; however, the ostlers were excellent, and
+there was no need to watch; one had only to command.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">We started for the Low Countries on September 12, the emperor going
+down the Rhine in a boat. Next day, at the branching off of the high
+road, we hesitated. On inquiring at the nearest inn we were told
+that one road led to Maestricht, and the other to Aix-la-Chapelle.
+The first-named was the shorter by six miles; on the other hand,
+Aix-la-Chapelle is the famous city founded by Charlemagne. It contains
+the royal throne, it is the city where the emperor is crowned after his
+election at Frankfurt. After we had discussed the &quot;for&quot; and &quot;against&quot;
+at some length, we hit upon the idea of giving our horses their heads,
+and leaving the bridles on their necks. By some subtle and mysterious
+intuition the animals chose, according to our secret desire, the road
+to Aix-la-Chapelle.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The city itself is large and in ancient style. The country around is
+barren, the soil consisting of coal, stone and slate. Previous to the
+foundation of the city it was simply a wilderness. There are some
+excellent mineral springs; the bath, constructed in beautiful hewn
+stone, is square, and about fourteen feet long; three steps enable one
+to sit down with the water up to the throat, or to be immersed at a
+small depth. Except the baths of the landgravate of Baden, I know of no
+other arrangement equally comfortable. At the town hall, castle, and
+arsenal of Charlemagne there are hundreds of thousands of sharp iron
+arrows stowed away in closed chests. On entering the church one
+immediately notices an ivory and gold armchair, fastened with exceeding
+great art. At the lower end of the nave, to the west, a huge crown of
+at least twelve feet diameter is suspended. I do not know the nature of
+the material, but it is gilt and painted in colours. In the way of
+relics there are the hose of Joseph. They are only shown at stated
+times, but whoever has the privilege of seeing them has a great many of
+his sins remitted.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On September 24 we reached Brussels in Brabant, and there I received
+the order to go back to my country, the functions of solicitor to the
+Imperial Chamber having been conferred upon me. Hence, on St. Denis'
+Day, I began this journey of more than a hundred miles, alone and
+across unknown countries, with abominable roads, above all in
+Westphalia. I was often obliged to stay the night at places which were
+more than suspect, and when only half-way my horse came to grief in
+consequence of Normann's former rough usage. I had to swop it, paying a
+sum of money besides, and was unfortunate enough to have come across a
+veritable crock which I was obliged to keep, there being no help for
+it. Finally, through good and evil I reached Wolgast on All Saints'
+Day.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_2.03" href="#div1_2.03">CHAPTER III</a></h2>
+
+<p class="hang1">How I held for two Years the Office of <i>Solicitator</i> at the Imperial
+Chamber at Spires--Visit to Herr Sebastian Münster--Journey to
+Flanders--Character of King Philip--I leave the Princes' Service</p>
+<br>
+<p class="continue">As soon as my nomination was drawn up, I was dispatched with it to
+Chancellor Citzewitz, at his estate of Muttrin, near Dantzig. The
+principal personages of the land had come to consult him, and he kept
+me for more than ten days with him in excellent company, making me
+share their favourite recreation, and the thing that bored me most,
+namely, the chase, to which the country admirably lends itself. I
+returned with the chancellor to Stettin, where my warrant of
+appointment was duly signed and sealed.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At Wolgast Duke Philip interrogated me at length in his own study, and
+with no one else present, on the condition of affairs at Augsburg and
+Brussels. He was much surprised at my boldness in having given him such
+a plain and straightforward account of the doings of the court. &quot;If
+only one of your letters had been intercepted, they would have strung
+you up at the nearest tree,&quot; he said. This was no exaggeration on his
+part; and supposing such a catastrophe had happened, he would, in spite
+of everything, have remained a prince of the empire, while there would
+have been an end of me. Of course, my behaviour gave him the measure of
+my devotion to him. He promised me a good horse; besides this, the
+ducal kitchen provided all that was necessary for a farewell banquet,
+and, in fact, at supper some pages brought us two hares from the
+prince's larder. I received a hundred crowns for my loyal services, and
+an appointment of one hundred and forty per annum; the cost of copying
+and dispatch of messengers being charged to their Highnesses.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I went to say good-bye to my parents at Stralsund. My mother had
+ordered for my sister chains and clasps which the goldsmith had as yet
+not delivered. I paid for them, and, moreover, left thirty crowns at
+home. &quot;Use them, if there be any need. I'll manage to make both ends
+meet with what remains.&quot; Duke Philip had given me a strong and lively
+hunter. Behind the saddle I had a small saddle-bag, like the court
+messengers. My brother Christian accompanied me as far as Leipzig,
+where we wished to be for the fair.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Our journey was an uneventful one, except that one day in Mesnia,
+having lost our way, we came at the end of a big forest upon a small
+tenement which was the residence of a poor gentleman. The fast
+gathering darkness compelled us to knock at the noble's dwelling, which
+was inhabited by a young widow of only a few weeks' standing with her
+mother-in-law. The bad-tempered old woman roughly refused us shelter.
+&quot;Go wherever you like,&quot; she snarled. Her daughter-in-law, on the other
+hand, said; &quot;We did not expect any one, and we do not keep an inn, but
+it is getting darker and darker, and you would have to go a long way
+before finding one. If you will be content with our humble
+accommodation, you may remain for the night.&quot; At these words the other
+one storms and raves. &quot;May the devil take you and them. You have found
+some youngsters who are to your taste, and you have already forgotten
+my son.&quot; I tried to appease her. &quot;We have never before been in this
+country,&quot; I said to her; &quot;at daybreak we'll be able to find our way.
+You need not be afraid of our using unsuitable language or doing aught
+that is not right, and we'll be satisfied with whatever accommodation
+you can give us, as long as our horses have some fodder and some straw.
+For all this we'll willingly pay.&quot; The virago, however, turned a deaf
+ear to this. If we were not the lovers of her daughter-in-law why
+should we have come at this late hour in the neighbourhood where no
+stranger ever came? The young woman was very patient throughout. After
+having provided us with hay and straw for our horses, she took us to a
+lofty room of very modest appearance. There was no man or woman servant
+to be seen; our supper, though, was none the worse for it. After she
+had set all our provisions before us, our hostess sat down and told us
+the sad existence she was leading. The bed was moderately comfortable,
+and the sheets were clean. We paid more than was asked.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At Leipzig I stopped two days to rest my horse. I gave my brother the
+wherewithal for his return journey, and continued my way alone. The
+country as far as Frankfurt was known to me. From Butzbach I went by
+Niederweisel and the Hundfruck, a route I had often pursued with my
+former master, the commander of St. John. It is more direct than by
+Friburg, but it swarms with highway robbers. As I was walking my horse
+up the slope of the forest I caught sight of two horsemen who were
+evidently bent on waiting for me, as they posted themselves, the one to
+the left and the other to the right of the road, and when I was between
+them they began interpellating me in a gruff voice. &quot;From what
+country?&quot; &quot;From Pomerania.&quot; &quot;What hast thou got in thy valise?&quot;
+&quot;Letters.&quot; &quot;Whither art thou going?&quot; &quot;To Spires.&quot; &quot;To whom dost thou
+belong?&quot; &quot;To the Dukes of Pomerania. Here is my safe-conduct.&quot;
+Thereupon one of them became more friendly. &quot;And how is his Highness
+Duke Philip, that excellent prince? I knew him very well at
+Heidelberg.&quot; And on my recommendation for them to go their way and to
+let me go mine, they looked at me very hard for a few moments, but did
+not follow me. I sold my horse and equipment at Frankfurt, and went
+down the Main as far as Mayence, whence, going up the Rhine, I got to
+Oppenheim, and by the coach to Worms and Spires.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I reached the latter town on January 21, 1549. I hired a room with a
+dressing closet at a clothshearer's, who was also a councillor. I also
+boarded with him, like many young doctors of law and other notable
+persons detained at Spires by their functions or by their wish to get
+practical experience.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Dr. Simeon Engelhardt, who, by the express act of a formal decision of
+his Imperial Majesty, had not been reinstated in his office of
+procurator any more than his brother-in-law, the licentiate Bernard Mey
+and Johannes Helfmann had transferred his household goods to Landau. At
+his recommendation, Dr. Johannes Portius, for procurator, and I brought
+him so many clients that he would accept no fees from me. Engelhardt
+remained my advocate, notwithstanding the inconvenience of the distance
+between us. How often have I walked the four miles between Spires and
+Landau! By starting at the closing of the gates, I reached Landau for
+the hour fixed for their opening; the morning sufficed to transact my
+business with the doctor, and my return journey was accomplished in the
+afternoon. Nor did Engelhardt claim any fees, but I remember having
+taken to him a client who for a single act paid him twenty crowns
+without his asking. The correspondence, thanks to the Pomeranian
+couriers always at my disposal, was equally cheap.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The Lloytz of Stettin chose me as their solicitor.<a name="div2_61" href="#div2Ref_61"><sup>[61]</sup></a> Martin Weyer, in
+the &quot;Cammin&quot; affair, did the same. There were others, and all, except
+Weyer, paid me handsomely. I was getting well known among the
+procurators, and I finally acted <i>pro principale vel adjuncto notario</i>.
+I earned, then, sufficient to live comfortably without having recourse
+to the paternal purse. I even could put aside the whole of my
+appointments, and something over. The chief benefit, however, lay in
+the acquisition of experience, the fruits of which have extended to the
+whole of my family, because my pen has always been the sole means of
+livelihood. If that business be well learnt and well carried out, it
+leaves no one to starve. Folks may mention the word scribe with as much
+contempt as they please; the fact remains that I have had many a choice
+morsel, and drunk delicious draughts through being a scribe.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">From Spires I wrote to Sebastian Münster that their Highnesses were
+particularly anxious not to hurry the printing of his excellent
+<i>Cosmographie</i>, because a special messenger was to bring him a
+description of Pomerania the moment it was finished, and that it would
+prove not the least valuable ornament of his work. He sent word that it
+was impossible for him to delay; his step-son was so deeply engaged in
+the undertaking that he would be ruined if he missed the next Lent fair
+at Frankfurt. I transmitted the reply to Pomerania; the same messenger
+brought back a big bundle of notes, unfortunately incomplete, as they
+pointed out to me. I promptly sent them to Sebastian Münster, promising
+to let him have the rest the moment I received them. He kindly sent me
+an autograph letter, which my children will find joined to that of Dr.
+Martin Luther.<a name="div2_62" href="#div2Ref_62"><sup>[62]</sup></a></p>
+
+<p class="normal">It struck me that an interview with Sebastian Münster would enable me
+to inform our princes accurately. The Imperial Chamber had its
+vacation. It was an excellent opportunity to see Alsace, flowing with
+corn and wine, so many handsome towns, the seat of the Margrave of
+Baden, bishops and courts, and, above all, the city of Basle. Hence, I
+undertook the journey on foot, an affair of about sixty miles there and
+back. At Strasburg I lodged at my friend's, Daniel Capito, a poor home,
+but we took our meals at the tavern of the <i>Ammeister</i>.<a name="div2_63" href="#div2Ref_63"><sup>[63]</sup></a></p>
+
+<p class="normal">In the church at Basle I saw the stone statue of Desiderius Erasmus, of
+Rotterdam. I invited Herr Lepusculus, the fugitive of Augsburg, to
+dinner, and we talked of many interesting things. I also became well
+acquainted with Sebastian Münster, who gave me a most hearty welcome. A
+huge room of his house contained a quantity of plates, either cast,
+engraved on wood or on copper. They had come from Germany, Italy or
+France; they were geographical, astronomical, or mathematical drawings,
+representing pieces of engineering work for the use of miners, and
+views of cities, countries, castles, or convents, that were to figure
+in his <i>Cosmographie</i>. He was most anxious for me to stay with him, so
+that he might show me the objects of interest connected with the town;
+unfortunately, my time was too short. After having taken leave of
+Münster and Lepusculus, I went back to Spires on foot.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I was just in time for a message from Pomerania relative to the lawsuit
+between Duke Barnim and the town of Stolpe. The latter, on the pretext
+of an attempt against its privileges, had deputed Simon Wolder to
+attend upon the emperor. Wolder was a young jackanapes without
+education, but pushing and cunning, and by dint of intriguing he
+obtained the confirmation of the said privileges, and for himself the
+Imperial safeguard. The people of Stolpe had their triumph, and to
+judge by their swaggering one would have concluded they had no longer
+anything in common with their prince and lord. Duke Barnim, though,
+having entered the town amidst his soldiers, summoned the council and
+the burghers to the Town Hall, and when he got them there, he forbade
+those who had had a hand in the intriguing to stir, while the others
+should stand aside. The majority of those present changed their
+positions; the rest, and notably the Burgomaster Schwabe, a near
+relation to the Bishop of Cammin, were imprisoned at Stettin, at
+Greiffenberg, and at Treptow, while Simon Wolder fled to the emperor,
+who was fighting the white Moors (?) in Africa. He succeeded in
+obtaining from the emperor the categorical order for releasing the
+prisoners, on the express penalty of being put &quot;under the ban&quot;; but
+that injunction arrived too late. The friends of the prisoners humbly
+interceded for them, and each liberation was bought at a heavy fine and
+after a long detention. As for Wolder, far from resting on his oars, he
+pursued his intrigues at the Imperial court, ingratiating himself with
+the princes, the nobles, and the cities. He enjoyed great favour; he
+dressed magnificently. Where did the money for all this display come
+from? In short, at the restoration of the Imperial Chamber, an action
+was begun.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The dukes of Pomerania had unquestionably cause for anxiety, for their
+relations with the emperor were already very strained, and the latter's
+victory made him very disinclined to exercise much consideration to the
+partisans of the Augsburg confession. Simon Wolder was jubilant; he
+looked upon the business as good as won; judges and assessors were
+papists, and their Highnesses under a cloud of Imperial disgrace. We
+devoted the most serious attention at Spires to the suit; procurator
+Ziegler and advocate Johannes Kalte amply did their duty; if need had
+been, I was there to spur them on. At Stettin, on the contrary, Martin
+Weyer and Dr. Schwallenberger, to whom the affair was entrusted, were
+mere sluggards whose conduct was disgraceful. We shall meet with
+Schwallenberger again.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In May our counsellors wrote to me to take the two golden cups to
+Brussels to them. The rumour ran, in fact, that the emperor's son was
+coming from Spain in great pomp; and our envoys hoped to secure,
+through the influence of certain important personages, his intercession
+with the emperor. I started immediately, going down the Rhine as far as
+the Meuse, and pursuing my journey by land by way of s'Hertogenbosch
+(Bois le Due) and Louvain.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">When I had delivered my precious deposit, the wish to see something of
+Flanders impelled me to Ghent. It is a big city, formerly endowed with
+important privileges. For instance, the emperor could impose no taxes
+in Flanders or demand anything without the assent of the said city.
+Charles V has deprived it of its privileges. He has razed a convent and
+several houses to the ground, and on their site built a castle with
+huge, deep moats filled with water, besides other remarkable outworks,
+so that the city is at his mercy. In the centre of Ghent there rises a
+high steeple. I climbed to the top, and it is from there that the
+emperor and his brother Ferdinand chose the spot whereon to build their
+fortress; they traced there, <i>propriis manibus</i>, their symbolum in red
+chalk.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The castle where Charles V saw the light is a decrepit, unsightly kind
+of tenement, surrounded by water, and accessible only by a drawbridge.
+At the head of the bridge, on the parapet, there are two bronze
+statues; one is kneeling, and behind it there is the second with
+uplifted sword. Tradition has it that they represent two men condemned
+to death, father and son, for whom no executioner could be found. They
+then promised the father a full pardon if he would behead his son. At
+his refusal the offer was made to the son, who accepted it with joy and
+gratitude, and severed his father's head from the trunk.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In Antwerp I met with Herr Heinrich Buchow, the future counsellor of
+Stralsund. We had both heard much about the house of Gaspard Duitz,
+about a good mile distant from the city. People compared it to the
+castle of Trent, some even said that it was handsomer. We obtained a
+letter from the owner to his steward, who showed us everything, and
+really rumour had not been guilty of exaggeration. Though there were a
+great number of them, each room was differently decorated; each
+contained a bed and a table. The hangings were of the same colour as
+the bed-curtains, and the cloth on the table which was either of velvet
+or damask, black, red or violet, as the case might be. Musical
+instruments everywhere, but varying in every room. Here a kettledrum;
+there Polish viols, elsewhere lutes, harps, zithers, hautboys,
+bassoons, Swiss fifes, etc. The girl who showed us over the place quite
+correctly played the kettledrum, the viol and the lute. In front of the
+house a beautiful garden cultivated with art, and enhanced by many
+exotics. Further on a zoological collection. The ground floor has one
+hall of such magnificence that one day Madame Marie entertained her
+brother there. The emperor, having looked and appreciated everything,
+asked: &quot;To whom, sister mine, belongs this house?&quot; &quot;To our treasurer.&quot;
+&quot;Well,&quot; rejoined the emperor, &quot;our treasurer evidently knows the
+science of profit-making.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">This Gaspard Duitz, an Italian by birth, a shrewd and even cunning
+merchant, had exercised commerce on a large scale at Antwerp, and
+failed twice if not three times. When he had thousands upon thousands
+of crowns in hand, he asked his creditors for five years' delay. Madame
+Marie, for instance, gave him such letters of respite. Of course,
+those rogueries made him very wealthy, and when Madame Marie was in
+need of money, her treasurer came to her aid. A house in Antwerp,
+which had cost him thousands of florins, not having realized his
+expectations--the drawbacks of a structure becoming only apparent after
+it is finished--he had it razed to the ground and rebuilt according to
+his taste.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The Count Maximilian van Buren (the same who, in the Schmalkalden
+campaign, took the Dutch horsemen to the emperor), having heard of
+Duitz's famous country seat, &quot;invited himself&quot; to it. Master Gaspard
+treated his visitor magnificently, showed him everything, and when
+taking leave inquired if perchance the count had noticed some fault or
+shortcoming in the decorations or general disposition of the whole;
+for, if such were the case, he would alter it, even if he had to send
+for artists from Venice or Rome. &quot;No,&quot; replied the count; &quot;the only
+thing wanting is a high gallows at the entrance, with Gaspard Duitz
+securely swinging from it.&quot; That was the count's acknowledgment of his
+host's hospitality, and he might have added: &quot;With a crown on his head,
+as an arch-thief.&quot;<a name="div2_64" href="#div2Ref_64"><sup>[64]</sup></a></p>
+
+<p class="normal">From Antwerp I went to Malines. What an admirable country! Louvain,
+Brussels and Antwerp, three big and handsome cities, are at an equal
+distance from each other, and Malines, which one always has to cross to
+get to either, stands in the centre. Along the route there are
+magnificent castles and lordly dwellings. Malines is a pretty city,
+though the smallest of the four; the water is brought there <i>labore et
+industriâ hominum</i>, and enables one to reach Antwerp by boat. I saw the
+damage caused by the lightning of August 7, 1546, when it fell on a
+powder magazine, which was entirely destroyed, together with the outer
+wall; huge quarters were hurled on the roofs of houses. There was a
+great loss of life and property.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At Malines I went to see Vogel Heine, who, in the days of Maximilian I,
+the great-great-grandfather of the present emperor, went in advance to
+prepare the night quarters. The emperor had left him sufficient to live
+upon; the woman who took care of him had her lodging and firing. Heine
+was so old and so decrepit as to be unable to stir from a room that was
+constantly heated. People gave the woman a small tip to see her charge,
+and in that way she made for herself a small income instead of wages.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">From Louvain I took the most direct and shortest road to Juliers and
+Cologne; at the latter place I put up at <i>The Angel</i>. The host had a
+raven that spoke, and even understood what was said to it. If, in the
+evening, there was a knock at the door, the bird asked: &quot;Is anybody
+knocking?&quot; &quot;Yes,&quot; replied the new-comer. But as the travellers' room
+happened to be at the back of the house, overlooking the Rhine, nobody
+stirred, and the knocking was repeated, the bird, on its part,
+repeating the same question. &quot;Can't you hear?&quot; said the claimant for
+admission, out of patience, and knocking much louder, so that they
+could hear it from the travellers' room. Naturally, the servant came to
+open the door, and endeavoured to mollify the would-be guest's anger by
+saying that they had heard no knocking. Thereupon the other called him
+a liar, or at any rate treated him as such; thereupon the cage with the
+bird in it was pointed out as evidence, and everything was well. The
+bird, upon the whole, was most remarkable, and many great personages
+made the most tempting offers for it, which were always refused. Six or
+seven years later, when I visited Cologne again, I inquired what had
+become of the bird, and its owner told me that he was then at law with
+a gentleman who, coming in drunk, had drawn his sword and cut the
+bird's head off. The host assured me that he would sooner have lost
+three hundred crowns.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">After having gone up the Rhine as far as Mayence, I took the coach to
+Spires.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In June 1549 King Philip, the emperor's son, came to Spires with a
+numerous suite. His father had appointed the cardinal of Trent, a
+Seigneur de Madrutz, as his marshal. The king was then about twenty-two
+years of age, my junior by seven. His far from intellectual face gave
+little hope of his equalling his father one day. The Elector of
+Heidelberg, the other counts palatine, the ecclesiastical electors, all
+of them in their state carriages, attended on him when he went to
+church. Well, I often saw his father under similar circumstances. When
+he came out of his apartments and mounted his horse in the courtyard,
+where princes and electors already in the saddle awaited him, he was
+the first to take his hat off. If it happened to rain, so much the
+worse. He remained bare-headed, and was not the less affable either in
+speech or gesture. He held out his hand to everybody, and did the same
+when he came back. When, at the foot of the staircase, he turned out,
+faced his escort, took off his hat, and bade them farewell in a
+gracious manner.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">King Philip, on the contrary, was most exacting with the electors and
+the princes, though many of them were old men. While the latter
+dismounted at the door of the church, Philip went in without troubling
+about them, making signs behind his back with his hands for them to
+march by his side, but they merely followed him. After the service they
+accompanied the king back to the palace. He jumped down, and went up
+the stairs without a look or a word of farewell. His marshal had,
+nevertheless, told him that there was a great difference between
+Spanish and German princes. As a proof of this, he quoted to him the
+paternal example, as typified by the consideration shown to the German
+nobles by the emperor, but Philip answered: &quot;Between myself and my
+father, the difference is as great, for he is only the son of a king; I
+am the son of an emperor.&quot; After having officially made their
+appearance, the princes promptly left for their own States. Philip
+spent a few more days hunting and going about, his suite being reduced
+to fourteen or twelve horses, and then the Duke of Aarschot came for
+him, by order of the emperor, to take him with a magnificent escort to
+Brussels.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Notwithstanding my constant reminders to them of the mortal danger of
+delay, the Stettin authorities were terribly slow in sending me the
+most indispensable documents for the serious lawsuit against the town
+of Stolpe. As some people, moreover, were attempting to discredit me
+with Duke Barnim, I wrote to Chancellor Falck, who answered me: &quot;You do
+not deserve the slightest reproach. All the neglect is on this side;
+but, in truth, the whole of your letter is so much Arabic to me,
+because I have not the faintest idea of the lawsuit itself.&quot; That is
+how things are managed at courts.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On the banks of the Rhine it is the custom to organize at twelfth night
+a complete court--king, marshal, steward, cup-bearer, etc. As a matter
+of course, the court fool is indispensable. The charges are drawn for
+by lot; each pays part of the expenses; alone the fool is exempt. In
+1550 there gathered round our table a young baron from the Low
+Countries, a bright young fellow, with considerable experience of the
+world, also several persons of consideration who were detained at
+Spires by their law business. It fell to my lot to be king, with the
+baron for my marshal. As for the fool, chance had picked out our host,
+the priest, and nature seemed really to have created him for the part.
+In my capacity of king I had a many-coloured hooded cloak of English
+linen made for him. When we had visitors, and, thanks to the gay baron,
+this happened frequently, our host put on his cloak and took our guests
+to task. We shook with laughter, but he himself fared very well by it,
+for his buffoonery brought him many silver and even gold pieces. He
+bought himself silver bells for his cap, and his cloak became spangled
+with gold and silver coins.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">This went on until &quot;kingdom&quot; time, which is celebrated one Sunday
+evening between twelfth night and Shrovetide. There are three or four
+kingdoms each Sunday, and the masked people of both sexes go from one
+gathering to another in fancy dress and accompanied by musicians. They
+have the right of three dances with those who give the entertainments.
+All this afforded capital opportunities for every kind of dissipation
+and debauch. One evening, for instance, it happened that a husband and
+his wife, after having danced together, divided for the second dance
+and came together for the third, without, however, recognizing each
+other. Side by side they went to another house, and having understood
+each other's desires by the pressure of their hands, they indulged
+their sudden fancy on their way in the penumbra of a clothworker's shop
+in the market place, and never did the hallowed joys of matrimony taste
+like the forbidden fruit of infidelity; at any rate, so each imagined.
+Being anxious to know who was his partner, the swain cut a snippet from
+her dress and, moreover, made her a present of a gold piece, then both
+joined the rest of the company. The husband was a chamois-leather
+dresser, and next morning some one came to buy a skin, and tendered a
+large coin. As he had no change himself, he took his wife's satchel and
+found the golden piece, which he recognized at once. When the customer
+was gone, the dame had to show the gown she wore on the previous
+evening, the husband confronted her with the abstracted piece of stuff.
+Denial was impossible, but the one happened to be as guilty as the
+other.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">We gave our fool ample opportunity to adorn his dress. At the carnival
+he made himself conspicuous by many pleasant quips and pranks; the
+marshal also did wonders, standing erect before his Majesty, and
+zealously attending upon him by bringing up the dishes, carving the
+viands, and cleaning the table with many genuflections and kissing of
+hands. The king paid very dearly for his three or four hours' reign.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Our host was a careless, irresponsible creature, more fit for the life
+of camps or of courts than for the priesthood; a gambler, a rogue, a
+boaster, a drunkard, a brawler, and an adept at jesting and practical
+joking. He did not care whether his boarders were papists or
+evangelicals. He was one of the three who celebrated early mass at the
+cathedral. His young boarders, the graduates, were fond of cards, and
+clever gamblers. They thought that a seasoned gamester like their host
+must necessarily be a valuable adviser, so they spent their night round
+the board. About three in the morning their landlord cried: &quot;Brothers,
+don't you move; I am going to say mass. But it will be short and sweet;
+just long enough to blow the dust off the altar, and I'll be back.&quot; And
+he was as good as his word.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It was a custom to place, during the night of Good Friday, a crucifix
+in one of the lateral chapels, and the three priests who said early
+mass were deputed to watch over it. Long files of matrons prostrated
+themselves, face downward, and deposited their offerings. On one
+occasion, towards three in the morning, the reverend guardians who no
+longer expected contributors, divided the receipts and began to gamble.
+Thanks to his long practice, our host won every penny to the annoyance
+of his colleagues. A quarrel ensued at the foot of the cross, followed
+by blows; our man being the strongest, the victory and the money
+remained with him.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In &quot;Rogation Week&quot; the clergy in their richest vestments, and carrying
+crosses, banners, and relics, perambulate the fields, followed by
+crowds of men and women. A young priest, thinking this a propitious
+time for an assignation, left the procession, and disappeared among the
+standing corn, whither a young damsel went after him. Two workmen,
+though, had noticed the manoeuvre; they watched for the opportune
+moment, surprised the couple, and only left the &quot;black beetle&quot; after
+having stripped him of his gown and surplice, both which &quot;proofs
+positive&quot; they brought to the dean of the chapter.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I have not the least doubt that the King of Spain interceded in favour
+of our princes. Assiduous solicitations, but above all the goldsmiths'
+work and the gratifications so much prized at courts and in large
+cities, mollified the influential counsellers, the Seigneur de
+Granvelle, his son, the Bishop of Arras, and others. The emperor
+finally consented to an arrangement, one of the conditions of which was
+the payment of a fine of ninety thousand florins. The Imperial
+chancellerie demanded three thousand florins for engrossing the act of
+reconciliation, which I could have done as elegantly in one day. The
+Bishop of Arras, to whom reverted half the chancellery fees, abandoned
+them in our favour, but he lost nothing by his generosity. In sum, this
+little matter cost two hundred thousand florins.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">One of the conditions imposed upon our princes was the acceptance of
+the &quot;Interim.&quot; The Pomeranian clergy unanimously rejected this work of
+Satan. The council of Stralsund summoned the ministers before it to
+forbid them pronouncing the word &quot;Interim&quot; from the pulpit, and, above
+all, to add any ill-sounding expression to it on the penalty of being
+deposed from their sacred office. As for the doctrines themselves, they
+were at liberty to weigh and to refute them by the Holy Scriptures. But
+superintendent Johannes Freder, an obstinate and narrow-minded man,
+replied that as a good shepherd he neither could nor would deliver his
+flock to the rage of devouring wolves, for to do this would be to
+imperil his own body and soul. He furthermore said that if he were
+dismissed God would provide, and that, moreover, men of education were
+not liked at Stralsund. The council adjourned the meeting, and two of
+its members intimated his dismissal to Freder.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The next day the ministers presented a petition signed by all except
+Johannes Niemann. They claimed their liberty of conscience and their
+right to serve the cause of truth by denouncing from the pulpit the
+damnable abominations of the &quot;Interim.&quot; &quot;One must obey God rather than
+men,&quot; they said. The impetuous Alexis Grosse and Johannes Berckmann
+were conspicuous by their anger. They hurled the most offensive
+accusations against honest Niemann, and tried to carry things with such
+a high hand that the council, greatly irritated, decided there and then
+upon the dismissal of Grosse, after payment of the arrears due to him.
+The other preachers expected the same fate, but matters went no
+farther, so Niemann would have risked nothing by adding his signature
+to that of his colleagues. Besides, the Interim was assailed from every
+direction; the attacks were made in German, in Latin, in Italian, in
+French, and in Spanish. Every line was weighed and refuted in the name
+of the Holy Word. The pope, for very shame, did not know where to hide
+his face.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Let my children bear in mind the high degree of fortune attained by the
+emperor. At the summit of that prosperity, when everything seemed to
+proceed according to his desires, he imagined that unhindered he could
+break his promise to undertake nothing against the Augsburg confession.
+For love of the pope, he contemplated ruining the unshakable stronghold
+of Luther. From that moment the emperor's star waned; all his
+enterprises failed. Instead of being razed to the ground, Luther's
+stronghold was, on the contrary, furnished with solid ramparts, and
+to-day it counts powerful defenders in Germany, such as the Duke of
+Prussia, the Margrave of Baden, the Margrave Ernest von Pforzheim, and
+others, while among other nations the number of champions inspired by
+the blood of the martyrs is constantly on the increase. That stronghold
+shall set its enemies at defiance for evermore.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At Stettin they went on blackening my character so effectually that Dr.
+Schwallenberg succeeded in getting himself sent on a mission to repair
+the effects of my supposed neglect. On my side, I had made up my mind
+to resign the functions of solicitor, and to leave Spires in December.
+I wrote to that effect to Chancellor Citzewitz, giving him the motives
+for my decision.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At his arrival Dr. Schwallenberg took up his quarters at a canon's of
+his acquaintance--an easy method of being boarded and lodged for
+nothing; he had retrenched in that way all along the route, though
+taking care to put down his expense in the usual manner. When I
+presented myself at his summons, he was at table; he did not ask me to
+sit down, adopted a haughty tone, and even wished me to serve him. I,
+however, protested energetically. &quot;This is not part of my duty. If
+there was an attempt to impose it upon me, I should refuse it; in that
+respect I have finished my apprenticeship. On the other hand, the
+advocate and I are very anxious to have your views on the affairs of
+our princes which have entailed so much writing upon me, at present
+without any result. Will you please name your own time?&quot; &quot;I'll see the
+advocate by himself,&quot; replied Schwallenberg. And, in fact, he went to
+the lawyer, but instead of entering upon the discussion of the urgent
+questions, he insinuated that I was a fifth wheel on the coach. &quot;Get
+him dismissed, and his emoluments will increase your modest fees,&quot; he
+remarked. The advocate was an honourable man. He replied that I was
+being slandered, and that he did not care about earning money by means
+of a cabal. Thereupon Dr. Schwallenberg went for a trip to Strasburg.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">At his return the arguments of the case were ready, but he refused to
+read them, alleging that they had to be submitted to the dukes. I
+dispatched a messenger, who also carried a missive from Schwallenberg.
+The latter then departed for the Diet of Ratisbon. In due time came the
+princes' answer, and feeling certain that it related to the lawsuit, I
+opened it and read as follows:</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Very learned, dear and faithful! We are pleased to express to thee our
+particular satisfaction at thy diligence at re-establishing our
+affairs, so greatly compromised by our solicitor that without thy
+arrival on the spot they would have entirely lapsed. As for the
+arguments thou hast elaborated with the advocate, we have ordered them
+to be returned to thee the moment our counsellors shall have examined
+and according to need amended them. We also authorize thee to go to the
+Diet of Ratisbon at our cost, etc.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It would be difficult to conceive blacker treachery. For at least a
+twelvemonth I had despatched messenger after messenger for
+instructions. In spite of that, all the delay had been imputed to me. A
+rogue presented as his work arguments not one word of which belonged to
+him; he had not even taken the trouble to read the documents. And while
+the princes tendered him their thanks, my disgrace was complete.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I had no longer anything to expect from my fellow-men; the Almighty,
+however, chose that moment to make my innocence patent to every one,
+and to confound my enemies. Thus was Mordecai laden with honours after
+the ignominious fall of Haman. Yes, even before the arguments were sent
+back from Pomerania, the Chamber delivered the following judgment: &quot;In
+the matter of the town of Stolpe and of Simon Wolder against his Grace
+Barnim, Duke of Pomerania, etc., we decide and declare that the said
+duke is acquitted of all the charges and obligations advanced against
+him by the plaintiffs.&quot; What hast thou to say against that, infamous
+libeller? Hide thy head with shame, vile hypocrite! The feelings with
+which I despatched a special messenger to the duke may easily be
+imagined. It may be equally taken for granted that I did not mince
+matters in pointing out the merits of Dr. Schwallenberg. And although
+his diabolical machinations had filled my heart with sadness, they
+turned to my profit and my salvation, so true it is that the Lord
+converts evil into good. I was, however, strengthened in my decision to
+abandon the office of solicitor, and, above all, the princes' service,
+and that notwithstanding Citzewitz's offer, both verbal and in writing,
+of a profitable position at the chancellerie of Wolgast. I had become
+disgusted with the life at courts. A new career was open to me in a
+town where, though the devil and his acolytes have not quite given up
+the game, there is nevertheless a means of enjoying one's self and to
+live and die according to God's precepts. My sister, who was married to
+Peter Frubose, burgomaster of Greifswald, proposed to me to marry her
+sister-in-law. As I expected to be at Greifswald on New Year's Day, I
+wrote to her to arrange the wedding before the carnival. A cabinet
+messenger, who was going home for good, sold me a young grey trotting
+horse, with its bridle and saddle.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Everything being wound up and settled with the advocates and
+procurators, etc., and having taken regular leave of them, I bade
+farewell to Spires on December 3, 1550, so disgusted with the Imperial
+Chamber as to have made up my mind never to return to it during my
+life. I had remained in foreign parts for five years in the interests
+of my father's lawsuit, in addition to the two years I had spent in
+behalf of the dukes of Pomerania. These years were not altogether
+without result. In fact, both in the chancelleries of Margrave Ernest
+and of the Commander of St. John, as well as at the secretary's office
+of our dukes and at the diets, I furthered my own affairs and amassed
+more money than many a doctor. It had all been done by my talent as a
+law writer, an art which is neither taught in Bartolus nor in Baldus,
+but which requires much application, memory, readiness to oblige and
+constant practice. Truly, I had worked day and night, and, as this
+narrative shows, incurred many dangers. Many folk after me, dazzled by
+my success, tried in their turn to become law writers, but they very
+soon succumbed to the monotony of the business, to the incessant
+labour, to the protracted vigils, to hunger, thirst, cares and dangers.
+Barely one in a hundred succeeds.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I reached Stettin on December 21, and, all things considered, there was
+nothing to grumble at in the welcome I received. The counsellors, among
+whom were Schwallenberg's confederates, heard my explanations at length
+as they said on behalf of the prince. I was warned that they had agreed
+upon baulking me of an audience. The next day they informed me that the
+duke was as pleased with the energy I had shown as with the tenour of
+my report, and that I was authorized to bring a plaint against
+Schwallenberg. As for the prince's promise of a gratification, he had
+not forgotten it, and he asked me to exercise patience for a few days.
+He evidently wished to consult with the court of Wolgast. I answered as
+follows:</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;Great is my joy to learn that my lord and master appreciates my
+devotion and acknowledges how undeserved was my disgrace. I should be
+grieved to have to attack Dr. Schwallenberger on the eve of my
+marriage. The evidence, however, is conclusive; the duke is more
+interested than I in the punishment of the rogue. What, after all, have
+I to gain by a lawsuit now that the prince, heaven be praised, thanks
+me by word of mouth and in writing? Nor is it possible for me to wait
+here for the promised recompense. I prefer to come back after the
+wedding.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">When they became aware of my determination to abandon the court for the
+city, all the counsellors intoned a &quot;hallelujah.&quot; There was an
+instantaneous change of language and behaviour to me. They were lavish
+with offers of service, but the first sentence of Chancellor Citzewitz
+at our meeting was: &quot;A plague upon the bird that will not wait for the
+stroke of fortune.&quot; Here ends the story of my life previous to my
+marriage.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_pt03" href="#div1_pt03">PART III</a></h2>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_3.01" href="#div1_3.01">CHAPTER I</a></h2>
+
+<p class="hang1">Arrival at Greifswald--Betrothal and Marriage--An old Custom--I am in
+Peril--Martin Weyer, Bishop</p>
+<br>
+<p class="continue">I reached Greifswald on January 1, 1551, at nightfall. I was thirty
+years old. After I had written to Stralsund for my parents' consent,
+and had conferred with my Greifswald relatives and those of my future
+wife, the invitations for the betrothal were sent out on both sides. On
+January 5, in the chapel of the Grey Friars, at eight in the morning,
+Master Matthew Frubose made a solemn promise to give me his daughter,
+in the presence of the burgomasters, councillors, and a large number of
+notable burghers. Burgomaster Bunsow gave me a loan of two hundred
+florins.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The worshipful council had been obliged to suppress the dances at
+weddings, because the manner in which the men whirled the matrons and
+damsels round and round had become indecent. Those who infringed the
+order, no matter what was their condition, were cited before the minor
+court. It so happened that a week after our betrothal my intended and I
+were invited to a wedding at one of the principal families. When the
+wedding banquet was over, my betrothed came back to me, and, being
+ignorant of the council's orders, I danced with her, but most quietly,
+and a very short time. Notwithstanding this, an officer of the court
+came the next morning and summoned me to appear. At the first blush I
+could scarcely credit such an instance of incivility. Moreover, it
+boded ill, and I could not help foreseeing struggles, animosities, and
+persecution in this manner of bidding me welcome by a satellite of the
+hangman after an absence of eight years. Does not the poet say, <i>Omina
+principiis semper inesse solent</i>? I was very indignant, and ran to the
+eldest of the burgomasters. He pointed out to me that urgent and severe
+proceedings were necessary against the coarse licence of the students
+and others, but my case being entirely different, he promised to stay
+all proceedings.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I had not said a word about the dowry, and least of all had I inquired
+as to its amount; but my sister told me that my father-in-law gave his
+daughter two hundred florins. I made no answer. My chief concern was to
+get a wife. According to my brother's calculations, one hundred marks
+yearly would suffice to keep the house. Experience told me a different
+story.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I went to Stralsund for my wedding clothes and other necessary things.
+My father gave me some sable furs he had had for many years. I bought
+the cloth for the coat as well as the rest of my marriage outfit. My
+father had put in pledge the things I intended offering to my bride. I
+was obliged to redeem them. Among several other objects there was a
+piece of velvet for collarettes for my betrothed and my sister. At
+Frankfurt-on-the-Main I had bought a dagger ornamented with silver.
+Those various purchases exhausted my stock of money.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Although I had invited my numerous Stralsund relatives on both sides in
+good time, only Johannes Gottschalk, my old schoolfellow and colleague
+at the chancellerie of Wolgast, came to my wedding. He made me a
+present of a golden florin of Lubeck.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My marriage took place at Greifswald on February 2, 1551. As I was one
+of the last to &quot;mount the stone,&quot; it may be interesting to give an
+account of that old custom. At three in the afternoon, and just before
+the celebration of the marriage service, the bridegroom was conducted
+to the market place between two burgomasters, or, in default of these,
+between the two most prominent wedding guests. At one of the angles of
+the place there was a square block of stone, on which the bridegroom
+took up his position, the guests ranging themselves in good order about
+fifty paces away. The pipers gave him a morning greeting lasting about
+five or six minutes, after which he resumed his place in the wedding
+procession. The purpose of the ceremony, according to tradition, was to
+give everybody an opportunity of addressing some useful remark to the
+bridegroom at that critical moment. These remarks were often more
+forcible and outspoken than flattering, and were not always
+distinguished by their strict adherence to the truth.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Johannes Bunsow, the son of the burgomaster, had been a suitor for my
+wife's hand; the preliminary arrangements to the marriage were as good
+as completed, and the invitations to the betrothal festivities were
+about to be sent out when everything was broken off, in consequence of
+the exacting demands of the proud wife of the burgomaster from the
+parents of the girl. The burgomaster's wife was considerably upset
+about all this. It so happened that on the wedding-day at the breakfast
+my wife was seated between the dames Bunsow and Gruwel. My father, who
+was her cavalier, sat opposite. All at once, the burgomaster's wife
+said to the bride, &quot;Eat, my girl, eat, for this is the happiest day of
+thy life. I had made other plans for thy happiness, but thou didst not
+fall in with them. The culprit is either thy brother or his wife. Keep
+thy husband at a distance, for if thou givest him an inch he will take
+an ell; therefore, be 'stand-offish' with him in the beginning.&quot; At
+these words Dame Gruwel exclaimed: &quot;Good heaven, what sad advice! Make
+thy mind easy, child; there are many happy days in store for thee.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Eighteen months later, as we were standing talking in the street, Peter
+and Matthew Schwarte and I, Dame Bunsow who went by, spoke to us. With
+the admirable volubility that distinguishes the women of Greifswald,
+she had a word for all of us. &quot;Dear cousins,&quot; she said to the
+Schwartes, &quot;how do you do? how are your wives? and how are your
+children?&quot; Then, turning to me, &quot;And how are you, cousin? How is your
+wife? I need not ask you about the children. You are having a good year
+of it. In these hard days one may as well save the bread.&quot; &quot;That's
+farthest from our thoughts,&quot; I answered, &quot;but that's because my wife is
+not 'stand-offish' enough with me.&quot; She knew what I was driving at,
+turned crimson, and went away without saying another word.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">A week after my marriage, on the Sunday, I returned to Stettin, as had
+been agreed upon. It was a fatiguing, not to say dangerous journey,
+because of the inundations. From the moment of my marriage the devil
+seemed to have declared war against me. It was, I suppose, his revenge
+for my having disappointed him by leaving the court, where I might have
+proved of great service. On the other hand, his Master, our Lord and
+Saviour, took me under His protection. A very heavy snowfall had been
+succeeded by a sudden thaw, the effect of a warm and continuous rain.
+As a consequence, the overflowing of banks everywhere, the mill-stream
+near Ukermünde had swept away the roadway at several spots. On the very
+day of my departure, a van laden, among other things, with a case of
+sealed letters, registers, documents and parchments, had passed that
+way, coming from Wolgast. Our travellers, knowing that they were on the
+high road, went ahead. Suddenly the horses fell into a deep rut; the
+cart was overturned, and only by a mighty effort did beasts and men
+escape drowning. They had to spend the night at Ukermünde to dry the
+letters.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I came to the spot of the accident in the afternoon. I was gaily
+trotting along, for I was following the highway and the fresh traces of
+the vehicle from Wolgast. My good fortune befriended me in the shape of
+a miller's lad who was standing by the water. He called out and showed
+me a little lower down, to the right, the way to a small burgh, having
+passed which I should find a long road and a bridge, the only available
+passage left. Though night was gathering fast, I ventured into the
+sodden road, beaten by big muddy waves. My horse was soon breast deep
+in the water, the force of the current threatening at every moment to
+sweep it off its legs. The poor beast was perfectly conscious of its
+danger, and reared whenever it felt the ground slipping away. Finally,
+the journey was accomplished without serious mishap, though it was
+completely dark when I got to the inn at Ukermünde, where the
+travellers from Wolgast and the host himself could scarcely believe
+their eyes.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I felt confident of having faithfully served Duke Barnim; I was,
+therefore, justified in my expectation of a princely remuneration.
+Heaven forbid that I should impute unfairness to this excellent
+gentleman, but part of the counsellors connected by birth with the
+people of Stolpe, were dissatisfied with the issue of the lawsuit,
+while others, such as Martin Weyer, had disgraced themselves by
+assisting Schwallenberg in his intrigues. In short, they discussed me
+so well that the prince only allowed me five and twenty florins as a
+gratification, while Duke Philip, whose business had not given me a
+hundredth part of the worry, presented me with five and twenty crowns.
+The court at Wolgast had waited to see what Stettin should do. Later on
+it employed me in a great many cases yielding large fees and spreading
+my name throughout the country. From Wolgast they sent me for my
+wedding a wild boar and four deer; at Stettin, the marshal told me that
+they intended to do likewise, but no one had paid any further attention
+to the matter.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On returning from Stettin night overtook me on the heath. It was
+infested with wolves, boars, and other dangerous animals; moreover,
+strange apparitions and terrible noises were often seen and heard
+there. I saw nothing; I heard nothing; and, besides, felt not in the
+least afraid.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I have already mentioned that the discussion with regard to the
+bishopric of Cammin had been brought before the Imperial Diet.<a name="div2_65" href="#div2Ref_65"><sup>[65]</sup></a>
+Canon Martin Weyer, the delegate of the chapter, was on most friendly
+terms with the Bishop of Arras; they had studied together at Bologna.
+In the course of their discussions on the subject, they put themselves
+this question: If the deposition of the bishop is to be persisted in,
+where can we find a candidate agreeable to the emperor, and not too
+antipathetic to the dukes of Pomerania? Thereupon his Grace of Arras
+conceived the idea of proposing Weyer himself. At first, the latter
+opposed the project altogether, objecting that he was not of the popish
+religion. His interlocutor assured him, however, that there was a means
+of arranging with the legate to obtain a dispensation. Briefly, when
+restored to favour, the dukes of Pomerania asked the emperor to accept
+as Bishop of Cammin Martin Weyer, their faithful subject, servitor and
+counsellor, and besides, a saintly man, almost an angel. He soon laid
+bare the bottom of his heart, <i>honores enim mutant mores et magistratus
+virum docet</i>. At the manifest instigation of the legate and of the
+Bishop of Arras, the new prelate sent his secretary to Rome to render
+homage to the pope, who afterwards granted the bulls <i>in optimâ formâ</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I fancied the time had come for Martin Weyer largely to remunerate the
+services I had rendered him as his solicitor at the Imperial Chamber
+during two years, but to my written requests he answered with very bad
+grace when he answered at all. I must admit that having been for a
+twelvemonth or so Weyer's companion at Augsburg, and during the journey
+to the Low Countries, I did, perhaps, not treat him with sufficient
+ceremony according to his taste. I deemed it sufficient to address him
+as &quot;Your Grace,&quot; without the &quot;serenissime,&quot; and that vexed him.
+Besides, he failed to digest the defeat of Schwallenberg and his gang,
+not the least accessory to which he had been.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I have seen at the chancellerie of Wolgast a missive from Weyer to Duke
+Philip couched in the following terms: &quot;From the authentic copy
+herewith of the papal bulls, your Grace&quot; (he did not add &quot;serenissime&quot;)
+&quot;will perceive that his Holiness, yielding to his inclination for my
+person even more than to your Grace's recommendation, has entrusted me
+with the spiritual government of Cammin.&quot; The affair ended in a
+convocation of one day at Cammin, where Weyer was assisted by Dr.
+Tauber, of Wittenberg, invested with the title of chancellor. It was
+positively stated that he had promised him fifteen hundred golden
+florins. I went to the convocation with the delegates of Greifswald to
+try to drag something from the new bishop, and finally, Canon von Wolde
+succeeded in getting thirty crowns for me. I had therefore an
+opportunity of witnessing a sitting of the diet.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Two tables covered with black velvet cloths had been placed in the hall
+fifteen paces apart. At the one sat Duke Bogislaw, acting for himself
+and in the name of his brothers, at that time absent from the country.
+Standing before him were the Marshal Ulrich Schwerin, the Chancellor
+Citzewitz, and several counsellors and delegates of the States. The
+bishop occupied the other table, Tauber standing by his side; and in
+front the episcopal counsellors and the delegates of the chapter. Each
+party exposed at length the rights with which it was invested.
+Citzewitz having said, &quot;The princes are lords of the chapter,&quot; Dr.
+Tauber replied, &quot;Yes, <i>sed secundum quid</i>? His Grace,&quot; turning towards
+the bishop, &quot;is in plenary possession of the right of administration of
+the chapter.&quot; Ulrich Schwerin, who was not well versed in letters,
+asked the meaning of <i>secundum quid</i>. &quot;It's a term of contempt,&quot; said
+Citzewitz; &quot;it's tantamount to saying that the dukes are princes like
+those on the playing cards.&quot; Schwerin's angry face was worth watching.
+&quot;A plague upon the scoundrel for treating our princes like playing card
+personages.&quot; From that time Tauber was known throughout the land as the
+doctor <i>secundum quid</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">After a most lengthy disputation, each party presented its formula for
+the convocation of the bishop to the diets and sittings. That of the
+princes was as follows:</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;To our venerable chief prelate, counsellor, dear and faithful Seignor
+Martin, Bishop of Cammin. Our greetings, dear, venerable and beloved!
+The welfare of our countries and of the common fatherland forbidding us
+from further delay in the convocation of a diet, we have decided to
+hold it on the ... in our city of Stettin, where we graciously request
+you to be present on the said day, to hear our intentions.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">As for the bishop, his formula was indited somewhat differently:</p>
+
+<p class="normal">&quot;To the high and venerable in God, the Seignor Martin, Bishop of
+Cammin, our signal friend. Our friendly greeting, high and venerable in
+God, and signal friend. The welfare of our countries and of our common
+fatherland forbidding us from further delay in the convocation of a
+diet, we have decided to hold it on the ... in our city of Stettin,
+where we amicably request you to be present on the said day.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I never knew the issue of the debate, and took no trouble to find out,
+as at the conclusion of the first sitting I embraced an opportunity of
+returning home by carriage. I am disposed to think that the chapter had
+better remain under the authority of the House of Pomerania. Princely
+titles are best suited to born princes; people of mediocre condition do
+not know how to bear them. They carry their heads too high, and their
+would-be magnificence exceeds all bounds.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_3.02" href="#div1_3.02">CHAPTER II</a></h2>
+
+<p class="hang1">Severe Difficulties after my Marriage--My Labours and Success as a
+Law-Writer and Notary, and subsequently as a Procurator--An account of
+some of the Cases in which I was engaged</p>
+<br>
+<p class="continue">I trust my children may be enabled to read the following attentively
+and remember the same as my justification. They will learn that I
+devoted every moment to my work, and avoided all useless expense, that
+I kept away from the tavern, went but rarely to weddings or banquets,
+and only entertained guests when not to do so would have been
+unbecoming, as, for instance, on occasions of family feasts or of civic
+repasts. It is--thanks to that retired life, scarcely diversified by
+the rare indulgence of a favourite dish washed down by a copious
+libation--that I have been enabled to amass a sufficient competence to
+make the devil and his acolytes burst with envy. Their jealousy goes as
+far as to accuse me of having arrived very poor at Stralsund, and to
+have ransomed the city, magnified my travelling expenses, and abused
+the custody of the seals. This third part of the story of my life will
+explain the origin of my fortune. Stralsund has never been instrumental
+in making my position, and I have never proved false to my oath.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My monetary provision after my wedding consisted of Gottschalk's golden
+florin, hence, two florins of current coin; my savings and the
+gratifications were nothing more than a memory. I had nothing to expect
+from my father. We were in a bare and cold tenement we had rented; in
+default of a boiler my wife did the washing in an earthen jar. Without
+money and without a livelihood, I did not dare to ask my father-in-law
+for the promised two hundred florins, for he had warned me that it was
+my father's duty to begin paying up. I was obliged to listen to the
+humiliating words, &quot;To get married without anything to live upon.&quot; My
+wife herself was getting fretful; a loaf of fine flour on our table set
+her grumbling as a luxury beyond our means. She said to her mother,
+&quot;You did not advise me; you simply handed me over.&quot; A friend of her
+childhood, a burgomaster's daughter, had married a wealthy old man.
+Wallowing in luxury, the owner of two houses (I was his tenant), she
+overwhelmed us with jokes, and asked my wife what she intended to do
+with her swallow's tail, alluding to the sword I continued to wear.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">What a deplorable beginning! God's help has, nevertheless, enabled me
+to provide during the space of forty-six years for my wants and those
+of my family. It was not a small affair, considering that the
+maintenance and starting in life of my children cost more than nine
+thousand florins, and my household, one year with another, three
+hundred florins. I, moreover, own a well appointed house, and am
+enabled to live <i>ex fructibus pecuniae salvo capitali</i>, and for the
+last forty-six years could truthfully say: &quot;I am better off to-day than
+yesterday.&quot; And I have accomplished all this with my pen. Thanks be to
+the Lord.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The people of the city asked me to be their scribe. The richest grain
+merchant, a personage without merit save that of his money, dictated a
+long petition to me, intended for the sovereign. He was pleased with my
+editing and writing of it, and he asked me how much he owed me. As I
+did not care to accept any remuneration, he flung two schellings of
+Lubeck on the table, exclaiming, &quot;Don't be an ass. Have you not got
+your paunch to fill?&quot; From the lips of any one else this would have
+savoured of sarcasm, but that man meant no harm.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The public and private courses of the <i>artistae, philosophi et
+jurisperiti</i> of Greifswald could only be profitable to a scribe and
+notary; hence, I spent every available moment attending them. I hired a
+room in the priory building, and was there from morn till night, only
+going home to dine, and coming back immediately afterwards. My first
+clerk was the son of Master Peter Schwarz, but I could do nothing with
+him; then I took Martin Speckin, who by now is a rich young fellow. His
+Greifswald people brought him to me; part of his duty was to keep my
+room at the priory sufficiently heated, and to precede me with the
+lantern when I went out. He was a zealous servitor.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Meanwhile, I incurred everybody's criticism, and my wife showed her
+displeasure pretty openly. People, she said, thought it disgraceful for
+me to return to school once more. My maternal grandmother asked me if
+as yet I had not learnt to keep a family. The remarks did not affect me
+in the least. I continued attending the lectures of Joachim Moritz, and
+day by day it appeared to me I got a better understanding of the
+practice of law. My interest in useful literature also increased day by
+day. <i>Crescit amor studii quantum ipsa scientia crescit</i>. Not less true
+did the other proverb begin to appear: <i>Crescit amor nummi quantum ipsa
+pecunia crescit</i>. I also followed the public courses of Balthazar Rau,
+to-day Dr. Rau of the <i>Libellus de anima</i> of Philip Melanchthon. Nor
+was I ashamed to join his <i>discipuli privati</i>, to whom he expounded at
+his house the <i>Dialectica</i> of the same author. I felt very satisfied
+with myself for doing all this, and on February 19, 1552, the Imperial
+Chamber inscribed my name on the roll of its notaries, on the
+presentation of Duke Philip.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My eldest son saw the light on August 29 of the same year. The
+confinement was a most critical one, and through the midwife's
+blundering, he had a stiff neck for his life.<a name="div2_66" href="#div2Ref_66"><sup>[66]</sup></a> On September 1
+he was christened, and received the name of Johannes. His two
+godfathers were the burgomasters Gaspard Bunsow and Peter Gruwel,
+and his great-grandmother stood as his godmother. My eldest daughter,
+Catherine, was born on December 6, 1553, and christened the next
+day.<a name="div2_67" href="#div2Ref_67"><sup>[67]</sup></a></p>
+
+<p class="normal">The wife of V. Prien, a daughter of the House of Maltzan, had taken
+possession of the fief of Schorsow, in virtue of the privilege accorded
+to noble damsels by the laws of Mecklenburg. When she died, and even
+before she was buried, the Maltzans of Mecklenburg violently invaded
+the fief. Joachim Maltzan, of Osten and of Nerung, who had helped his
+cousins by sending them reinforcements, was cited before the Imperial
+Chamber, in <i>poenam fractae pacis</i>. As he was most uneasy about the
+issue of the suit, Dr. B. vom Walde and Chancellor Citzewitz advised
+him to send me to Spires provided with counsel's opinion of Joachim
+Moritz. I complied with their wish, though the journey was exceedingly
+inconvenient to me. Joachim Maltzan provided me with two completely
+equipped horses, and the necessary funds; the chancellor and the doctor
+promised me a handsome gratification at my return. Instead of a
+servant, I took my brother Christian, and we started on the Sunday of
+Quasimodo (the Sunday after Easter). At Spires I fully instructed both
+procurator and advocate. The document drawn up by Moritz elicited their
+praise. They had no idea of the existence on the shores of the Baltic
+of a lawyer of that merit. They soon considered their client as being
+out of his difficulties, and, my mind at rest, I set out for my return
+journey to Pomerania.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I got there at Whitsuntide. When sending back the horses to Maltzan, I
+added my report, which put an end to his anxiety, and at the same time
+forwarded an account of my expenses day by day, the price of each meal,
+etc., leaving him to decide the amount of my honorarium. Well, the
+moment he felt reassured, Maltzan did not show the least inclination to
+settle with me; on the contrary, he accused me of having been too
+lavish. &quot;Look at the fellow, and then consider the copious meals he
+took. May all the evils of Job befall thee.&quot; That was his favourite
+objurgation. In vain did I call to my aid the two counsellors who, as
+it were, had forced my hand. Maltzan turned a deaf ear to all my
+requests. At the beginning he would have given hundreds to get over his
+difficulties, but now he sang out, &quot;I have broken the rope, and I do
+not care.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">He was very rich, but very mean and coarse beyond description. One
+night at Wolgast, I saw him send his hose at bedtime to be repaired.
+When early next morning the tailor brought the garment back, he asked a
+florin for his work. Maltzan refused to give more than a schelling, and
+overwhelmed the poor wretch with curses. The latter had, however, to
+take what he could get. Maltzan, who could neither write nor read, was
+obliged to have a secretary, but in consequence of his avarice, he had
+to be content with mediocre individuals. Dr. Gentzkow found him one who
+was satisfied with earning his food and a small salary. After a couple
+of years, during which his master had dragged him about with him to
+Rostock and elsewhere, everybody knew him as Maltzan's servant. He knew
+all Maltzan's investments, as well as the dates of his revenues being
+due; it was he who stored away the money in linen bags. &quot;Put a hundred
+crowns into each bag, and place them in a line,&quot; said Maltzan. &quot;In that
+way, I can see at a glance where I am; ten bags make a thousand
+crowns.&quot; One fine morning the secretary stamped a blank sheet of paper
+with the seal of his employer, departed for Rostock, took on credit at
+the ordinary tradesman's as much velvet, satin and damask as he could
+conveniently carry away, filled in the blank sheet in his master's
+name, then returned and took from each bag only ten crowns in order to
+dissimulate his theft. After that he went collecting the outstanding
+debts, farmers' and tenants' rents, etc., and disappeared with a sum
+sufficient to remunerate a good secretary for a decade of years or
+more. Maltzan himself had the annoyance of having to make good the
+merchant's losses. He had never been married, and his property,
+amounting to a hundred thousand golden florins, fell to two cousins,
+who spent it in feasting, swilling, and riotous living. One died
+burdened with debt; the other is alive, but in a similar position.
+Ill-gotten goods do not last.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The only means of bringing Maltzan to book seemed to me to inform the
+Spires procurator of everything, and to ask him to write to Maltzan
+that he was going to lose his case in default of some documents that
+had remained in my possession. Duke Philip immediately recommended me
+to hand them over on the penalty of being held responsible for all the
+damages that might accrue. I promptly replied that I would bring them
+into court, where I should have the honour of presenting my respects to
+Signor Maltzan, and to claim at the same time the salary due to me.
+This had the effect of making the generous gentleman swear like a devil
+incarnate, to the vast joy and diversion of the prince and the
+counsellors, who took great pleasure in pouring oil upon the flames.
+Maltzan was obliged to count out to me there and then a hundred crowns,
+which was much more than I had originally asked, and he received,
+besides, a severe reprimand. My energy in the matter was fully
+acknowledged, and they added: &quot;If ever we should ask you a similar
+service, you may refuse to render it without the fear of displeasing
+us.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The sacristan of Müggenwald committed homicide. The lord of the manor,
+who wished to get him out of the trouble, entrusted the case to me. A
+relative of the victim had retained Dr. Nicholas Gentzkow and Christian
+Smiterlow for the prosecution. I obtained a verdict for the accused.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Dr. Johannes Knipstrow having announced from the pulpit, in the name
+and by order of the prince, that Master J. Runge was going to succeed
+him in the office of superintendent, the Greifswald council considered
+the nomination as an infringement of its rights. Its <i>syndicus</i> at
+Stralsund, Dr. Gentzkow, formulated before me, a public notary convened
+for the purpose, both a verbal and written protest, of the latter of
+which I delivered a duly executed duplicate to the council of
+Greifswald, the legitimate charge for the same being three crowns.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Bartholomew, of Greifswald, a most intelligent, but also an exceedingly
+depraved goldsmith, had established himself at Stralsund with his
+son-in-law, Nicholas Schladenteuffel. As their expenditure exceeded
+their income, Bartholomew made counterfeit coin, Lubeck, Rostock,
+Wismar and Stralsund currency. The schellings supposed to issue from
+the latter city's mint contained nothing but copper. By means of some
+tartaric composition he made them look so wonderfully like silver as to
+deceive everybody. In a very short time both the city and the country
+were inundated with this spurious coin, for Nicholas made large
+purchases of cattle for the slaughter-houses. Finally, in September
+1552, when the farmers and peasantry came to pay their rent, the
+suspicions of the ducal land-steward were aroused, and the fraud
+discovered. The witnesses' depositions pointing unanimously to a
+cattle-dealer of Stralsund, the prince wrote to the council, asking it
+if they struck money of that description. At that very time
+Schladenteuffel was going his business rounds. Warning was given, and
+one morning, when he came back to the city with some cattle, he was
+apprehended and taken to prison, where his wife and five accomplices
+promptly joined him. Among the latter there was one of the vicious
+sedition-mongers mentioned in the first part of my recollections,
+namely, Nicholas Knigge. He was, in reality, the leader of the gang; he
+furnished both the copper and the silver, and he found an outlet in
+Sweden for sham silver, spoons, goblets, jugs, etc. Dr. Gentzkow, whose
+daughter he had married, had his sentence changed to one of lifelong
+banishment. Bartholomew, although the people who came to arrest him
+were close upon his heels, managed to escape.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In the Semmlow Strasse there lived a very rich merchant named C.
+Middleburgh. His sordid avarice kept him away from church. On the other
+hand, he carried on an extensive and harmful traffic. He exported
+Bogislaw schillings and other good coin; he also got hold of gold and
+silver pieces, and clipped those that appeared to him to be overweight.
+In spite of this, he did not benefit by his wealth. One day he took the
+Rostock coach, but instead of coming down at midday to dine with the
+other travellers, he had a sleep. When the company returned and while
+the ostler put in the horses, he asked the price of the meal. He was
+told it was two schellings. &quot;Very well,&quot; he said; &quot;I have earned two
+schellings by going to sleep.&quot; He was always ready to lend money on
+silver plate--of course at high interest. He lived and scraped money
+for many, many years. His widow continued his trafficking; she was,
+however, less cautious, and fell into the hands of scoundrels, who
+reduced her to beggary.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">To come back to Middelburg. On October 28, 1552, at two in the
+afternoon, he found himself in possession of a big cask containing
+twelve barrels of gunpowder of twenty-four pounds each; hence in all
+weighing two hundred and eighty-eight pounds. Close to the cask there
+sat a young servant weaving some kind of woollen lace, and, as it was
+very cold, she had a small stove filled with charcoal under her feet.
+At that moment there appeared upon the scene old Tacke and made a
+payment of a hundred Bogislaw schellings, which, having been carefully
+counted by Middelburg, were left on the table while he went to the
+stable for a moment. During his short absence, the servant stirs the
+incandescent charcoal, a spark of which falls on the floor and ignites
+the grains of powder; the house and the next to it are blown up; walls,
+beams, rafters come crashing down with a horrible noise. The city
+imagines that the end of the world has arrived. Of the young girl
+herself they found a foot here, an arm there, a leg elsewhere, and
+fragments of flesh pretty well everywhere. It was never known what had
+become of the hundred schellings that were lying on the table or of the
+furniture. One servant-girl was dug out from the ruins without a hurt;
+she was more fortunate than the brother-in-law of the burgomaster of
+Riga. They managed to drag him out by sawing some rafters beneath which
+he was buried, but he died of his wounds on the third day. Two
+children, though stark dead when picked up, still held a slice of bread
+and butter in their tiny hands. Three persons from the country, a
+mother and daughter and the latter's intended husband, who had stopped
+before the house to make some purchases for their new home, were killed
+outright on the spot. There were in all seven people killed. The
+neighbours brought an action against Middelburg which he had to settle.
+Even as far as the Passen-strasse my father had the window of his
+entrance hall broken; the stove in one of the upper rooms cracked and
+could never be used again; a hook used for hanging the salmon to be
+smoked, and belonging to Middelburg, was found in the gutter on our
+roof.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The advice of some well-meaning people, and ever growing necessity
+caused me to make up my mind to practise as procurator at the Aulic
+Court of Wolgast, though Counsellor Joachim Moritz, who boarded with my
+uncle, tried to dissuade me. As a professor of law at Greifswald, a
+jurisconsult of the court, and an assessor of the tribunal, he had had
+some close experience of the idiocy, the ignorance, and the underhand
+methods of my future colleagues. &quot;<i>Procuratorum officium vilissimum
+est</i>,&quot; he said to me. In fact, with the exception of Dr. Picht, the
+procurators were but little versed <i>in grammaticâ vel jure</i>. When their
+dean, who was a judge at Brandenburg, and a Mecklenburg counsellor,
+came up for his degree of <i>licenctiâ juris</i> at Rostock, he referred to
+an insolvent litigant, &quot;<i>Non est solvendus</i>,&quot; which provoked the
+repartee of the promoter: &quot;<i>Recte dicit dominus licentiandus, quia non
+est ligatus</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">One day at Rostock we happened to take our dinner at the same table
+with this procurator and the burgomaster of Brandenburg who, however,
+was fairly well versed in the <i>grammatica</i>. The conversation turned on
+a witch who was in prison at Brandenburg, and who professed to be
+pregnant by the devil. The burgomaster having put the question, &quot;<i>Quod
+diabolus cum muliere rem habere et impregnare eam posset?</i>&quot; Our
+licentiate replied without wincing: &quot;<i>Imo possibile est, nam diabolus
+furat semen a viribus et perfert ad mulieribus</i>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Simon Telchow, another procurator, for a long while master auditor at
+Eldenow, and who was married to a damsel of noble birth, after having
+set up as a brewer at Greifswald, had &quot;to shut up&quot; shop and come back
+to his pen. Having contracted at court a taste for drink, he never went
+to bed without being &quot;muddled.&quot; As a matter of course, he was not very
+matutinal. He, moreover, only practised <i>pro nudo procuratore</i>, and his
+clients had to provide themselves with an advocate. <i>In causis
+mandatorum</i>, when the <i>mandatarii</i> eluded execution, Telchow asked for
+an <i>arctiorem mandatum</i>. Sworn procurators there were none in those
+days, and as the procedure in general was oral, any one endowed with
+the &quot;gift of the gab&quot; could present himself at the bar. Since then
+things have changed to the glory of the prince and the advantage of
+litigants.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The experience I had gained at Spires was most useful to me in my new
+career. The judges, the chancellor, and the litigants themselves seemed
+to listen to me with pleasure; nay, this or that party who had not
+entrusted me with his cause, made me, nevertheless, accept his money,
+because he wished to retain my services, if the occasion required, or,
+at any rate, deprive his opponent of them. People came to fetch me from
+the country with chariot and horses to mediate between them. I was
+brought back in the same manner, and each time, besides the hard cash I
+received, I was laden with all kinds of provisions, hares, shoulders of
+mutton, haunches of venison or of wild boar, magnificent hams, quarters
+of bacon, butter, cheese, and eggs by the dozen, bundles upon bundles
+of flax. My reception at home may be easily imagined. There was no
+longer any risk of hearing the sad complaint, &quot;Mother, you did not
+advise me; you simply handed me over.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Peter Thun, of Schleminn, a violent-tempered man, and but too prompt to
+fire a shot or to draw the sword, was at constant loggerheads with his
+neighbour Ber. They were joint owners of a nice pond. Ber claimed the
+exclusive enjoyment of the half adjoining his estate, and which also
+happened to be the better stocked with fish. Thun, on the other hand,
+maintained that the whole of the pond was joint property. Ber having
+planted hemp along the common road, Thun sent his cattle to graze
+there, and went himself on horseback so that his mount might trample
+the plant down. Finally, a lot of peasants went under the personal
+command of Thun to Ber's windmill, and promptly sapped its foundations,
+so that it came down with a crash. Naturally, the law is set in motion.
+Thun is condemned to indemnify Ber <i>constrictibus</i>; then comes an
+appeal to the Imperial Chamber, which upholds the first verdict with
+<i>executoriales cum refusione expensarum</i>; the total amounting to about
+nine hundred florins.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Puffed up with his success and purse-proud besides, Ber applauded each
+scurvy trick his people played his enemy. Thun, on the other hand, was
+not a man to be played with. One of Ber's servants (in fact, his
+illegitimate son, a young, brazen and robust fellow), finally assailed
+Thun. The latter stood his ground valiantly, but his affrighted wife
+seized his arm; the bastard's sword went right through him. Thun's only
+heir was his nephew, a minor, the succession was most involved, and its
+liquidation cost me a great deal of trouble and a number of fatiguing
+journeys. My honorarium was fixed at twenty florins per annum. I only
+took ten from the minor, because I never returned from Schleminn
+empty-handed. Later on, his guardians made it up to me in presents of
+money and in kind; they provided for my building operations splendid
+oaks, which made magnificent joists. In sum, this affair yielded a good
+three hundred crowns to me.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">H. Smeker, of Wüstenfeld, was a character who ruined himself in
+litigation and in building. He left this or that structure which was
+ready to be roofed in to be spoilt by the rain or the snow, after which
+he had it completely razed to the ground. A Mecklenburger named
+Negendanck was, it would appear, one of his important creditors. To get
+his claim settled he employed a means rather common in his country. One
+night he arrived at Wüstenfeld at the head of a troop of armed
+horsemen. Smeker was asleep in his room, and his wife, who had just
+been brought to bed, lay in an adjoining closet. Lievetzow, her
+brother, a handsome young fellow, had been accommodated with a room
+near the drawbridge. Negendanck, swearing and bellowing, orders the
+bridge to be lowered. Lievetzow, in his shirt, issues from his room and
+tries to appease him by informing him of the condition of his sister.
+Negendanck replies with a shot which kills the defenceless and
+scantily-dressed stripling on the spot. Then, taking the passage by
+storm, he gets as far as the invalid's room, lays his hand upon
+everything, shatters the silver chest, which he knew where to find,
+takes whatever he likes, and finally drags the body of her brother to
+the foot of the sister's bed. Smeker, who had been awakened by the
+noise, had taken flight in his nightgown. Knowing the moat to be
+fordable, he had crossed it with the water shoulders high, and after
+making for the stables, had taken refuge in a kind of bog inaccessible
+to the horsemen. Negendanck took all the horses and cattle away with
+him.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Naturally, the Imperial Chamber was finally called upon to try the
+affair. A rule having been granted to prove his allegations, Smeker
+came to Greifswald to enlist my services. He was an old man with a grey
+head and short beard; a fluffy white gown with large pleats and black
+girdle reached to his feet. In short, the feathers pretty well
+indicated the nature of the bird. I had so often heard them call out at
+Spires, &quot;Smoker <i>contra</i> Negendanck,&quot; &quot;the Duke Heindrich of
+Mecklenburg <i>contra</i> Heindrich Smoker,&quot; as to make the name familiar to
+me. To my question if he was the identical Smoker, he replied in a
+surly tone, &quot;My name is Smeker, not Smoker.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">He produced a host of witnesses, many of whom lived in outlying regions
+of Pomerania or Mecklenburg; their hearing involved constant
+travelling. Smeker would have never got out of the difficulty by
+himself, in consequence of his want of ready money. The moment he found
+himself in possession of some, he got hold of the horse of one of his
+peasantry as if to ride to the nearest village, and never drew rein
+until he got to Spires. If, during his journey, the money ran short, he
+borrowed from people who all knew him and were sure of being repaid by
+his son Mathias. Not only did he pay nothing to his procurator, Dr.
+Schwartzenberg, but the latter had to feed him, to advance the
+chancellery fees, and to look to his return journey. Mathias, on the
+other hand, was most open-handed. His secretary, who came to Greifswald
+in order to watch the proceedings, lavished claret wine and tarts on
+the commissaries, and even sent some to my wife. Each session was worth
+from between fifty to seventy crowns to me. That secretary appreciated
+my trouble like a true expert. Said inquiry brought me about two
+hundred and fifty crowns.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On the occasion of a suit before the Imperial Chamber, and in which
+little Heindrich gained the day against big Heindrich--that was the
+designation of Smeker respectively of himself and his adversary--the
+Duke of Mecklenburg, the latter carried off all Smeker's sheep. Among
+the flock there was an old ram, accustomed to get a bit of bread at
+meal times from his master's hands. The animals either escaped, or
+perhaps the duke had them driven back to Wüstenfeld. At any rate, the
+ram appeared at the head of the flock, its appetite sharpened by the
+march, and, moreover, fond of bread, ran towards the table. No sooner
+did Smiterlow catch sight of it than he got up, doffed his hat, and
+bade it welcome. &quot;What an agreeable surprise!&quot; he exclaimed. &quot;<i>Bene
+veneritis!</i> The soup of princes is not to thy taste, it appears,
+inasmuch as thou comest back already.&quot; But Smeker caught at the chance
+of another lawsuit at Spires which brought me twenty crowns.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">His son and his son-in-law, who did their best to save the considerable
+paternal fortune, hit upon the idea to credit the suzerain, Duke
+Heindrich, with the intention of retiring the fiefs. Starting from that
+gratuitous supposition, they pointed out to the old man that the
+journeys to Spires became more and more difficult to him; that,
+moreover, he incurred the risk of being dispossessed, and that, in such
+a case, his son would have the greatest possible trouble to be
+reinstated. What, on the other hand, could be more simple than the
+averting of the blow by a pretended renunciation in favour of Mathias?
+He, the father, would take up his quarters for some time in a house
+close by, which he liked very much; he should always come and take his
+meals with his sons, or merely eat and drink there when he liked; they
+would give him a young, nice and bright peasant girl to take care of
+him, for in spite of his age he refused to dispense with female
+company. Heindrich Smeker, having been prevailed upon, signed an act
+duly engrossed on vellum, which the principal county gentlemen of
+Mecklenburg attested with their seals, and to which Duke Heindrich
+promptly affixed his ratification.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">When the old man's eyes opened to the deception it was too late. He was
+furious, and accused his son of having enacted the traitor to him,
+calling him all kind of names. Then he begged of me to bring the affair
+before the Imperial Chamber, but I had an excellent excuse for
+refusing, as I was only a notary. His robust constitution enabled him
+to make another journey to Spires--on a cart-horse as usual. Having
+been politely bowed out by Dr. Schwartzenberg, he simply wasted his
+breath with the other procurators--all of whom knew him. Finally,
+Schwartzenberg gave him the money to go home. Like a dutiful son,
+Mathias loyally kept his promise and showed his father every attention
+and consideration. He invited his father to his table or had his meals
+taken to him. He sent him beer and wine, and there was always a capital
+bed at his disposal when the fancy took him to lay at his former
+domicile. It was the sweetest existence imaginable, but the
+administration of his property was denied to him.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The worshipful council of Rostock having been cited before the Imperial
+Chamber by the kindred of an individual named Von der Lühe, who had
+been beheaded for highway robbery, the commissaries entrusted with the
+case took me as their notary in the inquiry made at Rostock, and as
+delegate notary in the inquiry set on foot by the plaintiffs. The
+<i>attestationes</i> and the <i>sententia definitiva</i> conclusively proved my
+assiduity in the matter; hence my honorarium amounted to four hundred
+crowns, <i>plus</i> a present in silver worth fifty crowns.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The counsellor Anthony Drache, a most pious gentleman, had only one
+brother who was drowned and left no issue. Drache pretended to reduce
+the widow's share, in accordance with the feudal laws of Pomerania; but
+besides his fiefs or hereditary tenures of land, the deceased possessed
+considerable property, the dividing of which was to be effected
+according to the urban or local statutes. Duke Philip, of blessed
+memory, having carried the affair into court, the trustee of the widow
+confided the case to me. I worked it up very conscientiously, assisted
+as I was by my particular studies, by the courses I had followed of
+Joachim Moritz and other professors at Greifswald, and finally by my
+private consultations with Moritz, who was good enough to give me his
+directions <i>in specie</i>. I had a verdict on all counts, though Dr.
+Gentzkow was on the other side, which, moreover, could count on the
+sympathy of the judges and even of the prince. This success had the
+effect of spreading my name throughout the land, and it prompted Dr.
+Gentzkow to propose my appointment as secretary to the council of
+Stralsund. My client gave me twenty crowns, a quantity of butter and a
+flitch of bacon.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Chancellor Citzewitz took me with him to Stettin, and afterwards to
+Stargardt to assist him in a personal lawsuit. There was no question of
+honorarium, for we were both of opinion that his kindness to me
+warranted such gratuitous service.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In 1553 the Owstin family had a lengthy lawsuit with reference to a
+village which Citzewitz finally took away from them. In my capacity of
+notary to the Owstins, I received forty crowns for my work. When
+Valentin von Eichstadt, the new chancellor, married his daughter to an
+Owstin, he bore his predecessor a grudge for his success in the matter.
+Meanwhile, the grand marshal of the court of Wolgast, Ulrich Schwerin,
+became involved in litigation with Dr. B. vom Walde; the latter and
+Citzewitz took sides against Schwerin and Eichstadt, and each tried to
+harm the other as much as possible. Duke Ernest Louis intervened. The
+report of his displeasure was maliciously exaggerated. In a fit of
+despair Citzewitz stabbed himself to death.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">J. vom Kalen, at that time high bailiff of Rügen (although he could
+neither read nor write), had sentenced an individual for having caught
+a small fish in the stream flowing past his garden. The angler appealed
+against the sentence, probably at the instigation of expert people,
+wishing to do the bailiff a good turn. The latter had entrusted the
+affair to me, merely saying that when I got to Wolgast I should get to
+know what it was &quot;all about&quot;; but when I presented myself and obtained
+communication of the documents, I declined to move in the matter. I
+nevertheless considered myself entitled to the three crowns I had
+received as a deposit; besides, they were not claimed.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The city of Pasewalk had to stand the brunt of a man named Fürstenberg,
+who, because matters did not always proceed according to his wishes,
+had renounced his citizenship. Not satisfied with that, he one night
+nailed to the post before the city gates a placard threatening to set
+fire to the place. He was almost as good as his word, for he set fire
+to several barns outside the walls. He was arrested at Lebus, and
+confined in the tower of the castle. The duke chose me to assist the
+two counsellors entrusted with the prosecution by the authorities of
+Pasewalk. The prisoner was put to the rack in our presence, judged the
+next day, and beheaded by the sword. To our great surprise the council
+allowed us to depart without offering the smallest present. On the
+other hand, the duke sent to my home two measures of rye, worth at that
+time about ten florins.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Holste, the governor of the convent of Puddegla, an eccentric and even
+dangerous young man, came to Greifswald to entrust me with his law
+affairs. He promised to remunerate me largely, and as an earnest gave
+me ten crowns. Shortly afterwards he had a difference with the duke,
+who had him confined to his quarters, but I succeeded in settling the
+affair to the satisfaction of both. My client was short of money for
+the time being, but the convent of Puddegla is situated on the banks of
+a beautiful lake teeming with fish (as a rule monks are not in the
+habit of choosing the worst spots). There was an abundance of enormous
+cray-fish, of various kinds of perch, of breams an ell long, of fat
+eels, of carp as black as soot and having only one eye, the fat and
+flesh having closed the other; they were indeed fit for a king's table.
+Holste filled my conveyance with victuals of that description, and I
+was glad to cry quits with him for some time to come.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">It was well I felt so disposed, for in a short time he got another
+affair on his hands. At first he thought that the advice of his
+maternal uncle George vom Kalen, and three captains from Rügen would be
+sufficient to settle matters, and as a matter of course he invited them
+to his small property at Wusterhausen, where he filled them with food
+and drink night and day. It was all in vain; their brain refused to
+suggest a way out of the difficulty except that he should send for me,
+which recommendation he followed. I drew up a humble petition to the
+duke. As I intended to leave early the next morning, Holste gave me six
+crowns, for the liquor that was in him already rendered him more
+generous than usual and than there was any occasion, considering the
+state of his revenues.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The gentlemen caroused till deep into the night, for long after I had
+retired I was awakened by George vom Kalen steadying himself by
+grasping my pillow. He came to propose to me to transact his law
+business for the future. As I was by no means anxious for that
+practice, I declined, though in most guarded terms. Notwithstanding
+this refusal, my interlocutor drew three crowns from his wallet, and
+slipped them into my purse, which he took from under my pillow. His two
+companions follow his example, and present me each with two crowns. In
+vain do I point out to them that I cannot accept what I have not
+earned, and I take the seven coins from my purse to hand them back.
+Thereupon George vom Kalen tells me plainly that if I persist in
+refusing this money, he will flay me alive as I am lying there. Knowing
+the people with whom I had to deal, I deemed it more prudent to listen
+no longer to my scruples. The company resumed their drinking, and by
+the time I was back at Greifswald with my thirteen crowns in my pocket,
+they were probably still snoring stretched under the table.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">A small farmer had got his step-daughter with child. When the truth
+leaked out, the girl's mother moved heaven and earth to shield her
+husband from the death penalty by flight. As for her daughter, her only
+child, to fling her upon the world in that condition was exposing her
+to disgrace, to starvation, and perhaps to everlasting punishment. At
+the request of some friends, I personally went to Wolgast and presented
+a petition to be handed immediately to the prince. After considerable
+waiting, I saw him come out of his apartment. &quot;Why does this woman
+speak of her daughter and not of her husband?&quot; he asked. &quot;Because he
+has taken flight,&quot; I answered; &quot;besides, considering the heinousness of
+the crime, she is afraid that to mention him will not avail much.&quot; &quot;You
+lawyers,&quot; retorted his Highness, &quot;you have a way of presenting things,
+of polishing and whitening the most atrocious and blackest horrors. It
+really requires some experience to determine whether your petitions are
+compatible either with law, equity, or religion. I am bound to remember
+that God has entrusted me with the punishment of gross and impious
+excesses. I shall not decide upon this case to-day, but think it over.&quot;
+These are the words of a just, but nevertheless merciful prince, and
+the petitioner had the proof of it.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Michael Hovisch, the son of poor peasants, had been brought up from his
+earliest years in town, put to school, and then into a business
+establishment. He succeeded in gaining the confidence of his employers,
+who sent him to Sweden and Denmark. Gradually he began to operate on
+his own account. Modest in behaviour, neat, and even elegant in
+appearance, he could aspire to a good match. Meanwhile Captain Dechow
+took it into his head to claim him for gratuitous and enforced
+seignorial labour. An old ducal farm had to be rebuilt. In vain did
+Hovisch offer a considerable sum instead. Dechow resolved to constrain
+him by imprisonment. He was a relentless despot, who tried to make
+himself conspicuous by oppressing the peasantry and, wherever it could
+be done, also the urban populations. Hovisch was compelled to take
+flight. At the request of some personages whom I was anxious to oblige,
+and being moreover strongly interested in the young fellow himself, I
+personally presented to Duke Philip a petition in which the vexatious
+proceedings of the captain were set forth at length. I defy people to
+guess the prince's reply. Here it is: &quot;That my subjects load thee with
+butter, eggs, cheese, poultry, geese, sheep and the rest, is all very
+well, nay, perfect in its way,&quot; he said. &quot;Take my word for it, though,&quot;
+he went on, &quot;that I can manage to govern them rightly enough with the
+assistance of my captain without your meddling.&quot; I told Citzewitz
+plainly that if the oppressed were thus deprived of their right of
+humble petition there was &quot;no saying&quot; how things would end. &quot;Dechow,&quot;
+remarked Citzewitz, &quot;is an arbitrary, hasty brute, but he has managed
+to ingratiate himself with the duke. Fortunately, his Highness has been
+warned. I'll recur to the subject when I get an opportunity; there must
+be a change.&quot; Dechow left Wolgast for Lubeck, where the people soon got
+tired of him. Michael Hovisch was never again heard of. It was the last
+time I took it into my head to present a petition, and especially to
+wait for its answer.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">To sum up, in the space of two years, the occupation of procurator,
+and, above all, of notary, brought me eleven hundred and four and
+twenty crowns in hard cash.</p>
+
+<p class="normal"><i>Magister</i> J. Schoenefeld acted as notary in four cases before the
+court presided over by Dr. von Walde. Duke Philip was the plaintiff. As
+it happened, Schoenefeld was too old to proceed energetically; the
+going from &quot;pillar to post&quot; frightened him; besides, people had become
+more exacting. He therefore decided upon handing his documents over to
+me, and they contained several interesting items. The prince, for
+instance, summoned Lutke Maltzan to prove his right to the fiefs of
+Sarow, Gantzkendorf, and Carin. Maltzan declined, pleading prescription
+in virtue of thirty years' possession. The fiefs in question had
+belonged to Jacob Voss, nephew and ward of Berendt Maltzan, surnamed
+&quot;the Bad.&quot; (Berckmann and other historians amply explain the reasons
+for the sobriquet.) The uncle having advanced two hundred or three
+hundred florins on the lands of his nephew, persuaded the latter to go
+to the war with a couple or so of horses. He made sure of never
+beholding him again. Jacob Voss, a model of honour and courage,
+distinguished himself in many a campaign, and the esteem in which he
+was held by all enabled him to borrow the necessary sum to redeem the
+paternal property. He gave notice to Berendt Maltzan of his intention
+to refund the money at the new year, and at the appointed time he
+arrived at his uncle's--a fortified domicile, most appropriate to his
+brigandage, rapine and exactions. For several days Maltzan loaded him
+with kindness, they drank together, played cards and diced; in short,
+honest Jacob Voss, instead of redeeming his lands, lost the borrowed
+money.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">His despair and his thirst for vengeance prompted him to extreme
+measures, and with a servant expressly engaged for the purpose, he
+several times set fire to his former possessions. Thereupon his uncle
+enjoined his tenants to proceed to his nephew's capture. One Sunday
+Voss and his companion having fallen asleep in the wood near
+Gantzkendorf, which they intended to burn down that night, were
+discovered by a little dog of some peasants gathering nuts; and not
+later than the Monday following Berendt Maltzan had the son of his
+sister &quot;racked&quot; alive. During the journey Jacob Voss apostrophized the
+tenants at labour by their names. &quot;Johannes, Peter, Nicholas,&quot; he
+exclaimed, &quot;can you understand this horrible and ignominious death for
+claiming my own property?&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">To come back to the suit of the prince against Maltzan. The judge sent
+the document to the faculty of law at Leipzig, which asked an
+honorarium of forty crowns. Its decision, the seal of which was broken
+in the presence of the parties as represented by their counsel and read
+there and then, concluded in favour of Maltzan, to the great vexation
+of the ducal advisers, Chancellor Citzewitz severely reprimanding Dr.
+von Walde for not having opened the reply in order to amend it. An
+appeal was entered at the Imperial Chamber, and the case only ended
+several years after my establishment at Stralsund. The parties paid me
+more than one thousand crowns.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Towards 1542 a Dane said to Christopher von der Lanckin, of Rügen, that
+the willow bow-nets for the catching of fish in the Danish fashion
+would be more profitable to him than two big houses he had at
+Stralsund. In fact from the time two of those contrivances arrived,
+Christopher, who had been very hampered in money matters, settled his
+debts very quickly. Struck with the result, two notable burghers of
+Stralsund, namely councillor Conrad Oseborn and Olof Lorbeer, the son
+of the burgomaster, went into partnership with some of their kindred,
+and promptly exploited the invention. The new nets, though, in
+consequence of their size, obstructed the entrance to the streams; the
+fish no longer passed, and it meant ruin to the inhabitants of the
+interior. There were protests on all sides. Duke Philip wrote to
+Stralsund; the council replied ironically that fish not being taken by
+hand, everybody was free to ply for it as he liked. An inquiry was set
+on foot, the prince prohibited the big bow-nets, and had those
+belonging to Lorbeer seized. Thereupon the whole gang began to shout
+that the liberties of the city were in peril, a galley was fitted out
+to guard the nets, and finally, Stralsund resorted to law.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">If, in taking the succession of Schoenefeld, I had suspected my
+countrymen of being so unreasonable as they were in this instance, I
+should certainly have declined the brief, albeit that my presence
+counterbalanced the hostility of the inquiring magistrate. In his
+examination C. von der Lanckin stated loyally that from his point of
+view, the Danish bow-nets were excellent, inasmuch as they had enabled
+him to pay his debts, but that on his faith and honour of a gentleman
+the new contrivance would ruin the country. The deposition of the
+fishermen was very clear: &quot;Whosoever will rid us of those nets will no
+longer need to go to church or to say Paters. We ask for nothing else
+from heaven from morn till night.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">In spite of everything, Stralsund persisted in its wrong. Finally, on
+the opinion of counsel and the verdict of September 28, 1554, the duke
+gained his cause, and the city was condemned in costs. On the spur of
+the moment the council wanted to lodge an appeal, but it thought the
+better of it. The suit had lasted twelve years, and had bred between
+the two parties a feeling of misunderstanding which only vanished with
+the death of the prince. As there had been two hundred and fifty
+witnesses, the six hundred crowns I received in fees was, I take it,
+not an excessive remuneration.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2><a name="div1Ref_3.03" href="#div1_3.03">CHAPTER III</a></h2>
+
+<p class="hang1">The Greifswald Council appoints me the City's Secretary--Delicate
+Mission to Stralsund--Burgomaster Christopher Lorbeer and his
+Sons--Journey to Bergen--I settle at Stralsund</p>
+<br>
+<p class="continue">The Greifswald magistrates, who had the opportunity of seeing me daily
+at work, gradually arrived at the conclusion that I could not be
+altogether devoid of merit, considering that highly placed personages
+and even the prince himself entrusted me with important affairs.
+Schoenefeld, being no longer up to the standard required, they offered
+me his charge on the condition of my completely relinquishing my
+practice as procurator. In consequence of this, on December 29, 1554, I
+was appointed secretary to the city of Greifswald.</p>
+<br>
+<p class="center"><a name="div3_stralsund">
+<img border="0" src="images/stralsund.png" alt="View of Stralsund."></a></p>
+<br>
+<p class="normal">The first burgomaster of Stralsund, Christopher Lorbeer, had two sons,
+who spent their time in the chase, in the taverns, and at the brilliant
+receptions of the nobility and of the opulent burgher class. They took
+it for granted that they might do anything they liked, and operated
+with dogs and nets on Greifswald territory. It so happened, though,
+that several young nobles and rich burghers of the latter town had
+excellent packs of hounds, and were, in consequence, often invited by
+the prince. As a matter of course, they objected to this poaching on
+the part of the Lorbeers. One day the two parties came face to face,
+and the attitude of the Greifswald people caused the others to face
+about and to abandon their nets. As a balm to their wounded pride, the
+Lorbeers, lying in ambush at the inn at Testenhagen, assailed pistol in
+hand a carter from Greifswald, maltreated him, and finally carried off
+his best horse. The Greifswald council wrote to Stralsund in the most
+measured terms, as ought to be done among neighbours. The reply was
+supercilious, and couched in most intemperate terms. I was, therefore,
+instructed to draw up an appeal to the duke. The moment was
+unquestionably exceedingly well chosen, considering the behaviour of
+Stralsund in the matter of the bow-nets. And although the reports of
+that lawsuit were as yet not published, I was familiar with them, and
+had no difficulty in conceiving the irritation of the prince against
+the Lorbeers. I nevertheless disadvised having recourse to his
+intervention; I deemed it more prudent to go to Stralsund and discuss
+the matter.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The moment I had presented my credentials the Stralsund council met in
+solemn assembly. One of them received me most graciously, and
+introduced me. Burgomaster Lorbeer's polite anxiety to make room for me
+on the bench of the council showed to me his secret hope of seeing me
+betray the interests of my clients, and of metaphorically falling at
+his feet. After the usual civilities, I pointed out to the meeting the
+seriousness of the case, going fully into the facts in a firm and
+perhaps somewhat plain language, reminding them of the Imperial
+&quot;orders&quot; with regard to the preservation of the public peace. Nor did I
+scruple to represent, as a good neighbour ought to have done, the
+danger of obstinacy, above all with a prince who was already more or
+less displeased.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I could read the exoneration for this bold speech on many a
+countenance, but Christopher Lorbeer and his staunch adherents, who
+were not accustomed to hear the truth to their faces, turned colour;
+their hitherto affable looks changed into scowls, and the burgomaster,
+beside himself with anger, rose and said: &quot;Thou art too eager to break
+thy first lance. I beg to submit that this man be strictly watched.&quot;
+&quot;And clapped into gaol if necessary,&quot; I retorted. Thereupon Lorbeer
+walked out, and I was dismissed without being reconducted as I had been
+introduced. In a little while, word was sent that the affair requiring
+further examination, the answer would be communicated later on. A
+couple of hours afterwards Dr. Gentzkow, the syndic, sent for me to
+come to the St. Nicholas' Church. &quot;I am obliged to admit,&quot; he said,
+&quot;that your language was justified in law as in fact, but Master
+Christopher has taken mortal offence at it, inasmuch as he is not
+accustomed to have people adopt this tone with him, or to hear himself
+and his sons taxed with disturbing the public peace. He can do you a
+great deal of good or a great deal of harm. His influence, both in the
+city and in the country, is immense. In short, if the council have
+rightly interpreted your message, the Greifswald folk desire to
+terminate this affair in a friendly manner; very well, let us appoint a
+day at Reinberg to arrange matters as good neighbours should. I am
+asking you for your best endeavours to bring this about.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The Stralsund people made their preparations for the day in question by
+slaughtering a great many birds and game, by roasting and boiling the
+same, and by broaching casks upon casks of beer and wine. Besides the
+principal burghers of the city related to them by blood and in thorough
+sympathy, the Lorbeers invited their friends from the neighbourhood,
+and their young boon companions, who appeared armed with pistols,
+arquebuses and spikes, so that the gathering looked more like a call to
+arms than like a friendly meeting. Consequently, some of the
+councillors and citizens of Stralsund secretly warned the people of
+Greifswald to send no one to the spot, and my father was particularly
+cautioned not to let me go, for that I should surely be killed. The
+Greifswald magistrates remained coy, and did not reply a word to the
+invitation; then, at the very hour of the invasion of Reinberg by the
+Lorbeer band, they wrote that if the horse were returned to them in
+three days they would return the nets sequestrated in just reprisal. If
+this were not done, the prince would be requested to dispense justice.
+At the news of Greifswald's abstention from the quasi-festivities the
+Lorbeer camp broke into an avalanche of imprecations and threats. Wound
+up with drink, they swore that they would murder everybody.
+Nevertheless, before the three days had expired, a stable-man brought
+back the horse, receiving in return the nets; and so there was an end
+of that disagreement.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">There was a time when &quot;milord&quot; burgomaster Christopher Lorbeer did
+pretty well as he liked with everybody without meeting with any
+resistance, and as a matter of course, his wife and children followed
+suit. Odd to relate, my mission was coincident with the heyday of his
+fortune, and it was really owing to a few simple words from my lips
+that his star suddenly waned. He did not mind being treated as ungodly,
+and as a soul likely to incur eternal punishment, and when I say this I
+am speaking on the authority of his eldest son, but he objected to
+being accused of endangering the public peace, or, in other words, to
+forfeiting his honour; it is that which put him beside himself. His
+annoyance at having failed in his contemplated revenge against
+Greifswald and against me seriously undermined his health. A most
+painful illness confined him to his bed for six months, during which no
+one was allowed to see him. It seemed a terrible retribution which
+profoundly moved both the city and the country. The burgomaster's
+victims raised their voices, and the exactions by which he had hitherto
+kept up his grand style of living were at an end. When his wife
+attempted to revictual the establishment as of old, she met with
+refusals. A grain dealer to whom she had sent her pigs to fatten
+brought them back to her, pretending &quot;hard times.&quot; She was beginning to
+&quot;ride the high horse&quot; with him, but he pointed to the room of the
+burgomaster, saying: &quot;Don't forget that 'I command you' is lying
+there.&quot; After a protracted agony, which practically reduced him to the
+condition of a mere animal, Christopher Lorbeer died on October 16,
+1555, and was buried in the choir of the St. Nicholas' Church, by the
+side of my mother and my two sisters, and under the same flagstone
+where my father subsequently lay. The council, greatly affected by his
+death, let three weeks pass before naming a successor to the deceased;
+after which the syndic, N. Gentzkow, and the first secretary, Anthony
+Lickow, were solemnly and joyously elected to the dignity.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Though as yet my emoluments were not fixed, the Greifswald council had
+already given me several proofs of its high confidence. At Stralsund,
+on the other hand, I was the constant butt of the violent enmity of the
+most notable citizens, who would have rent me to pieces if they had got
+hold of me. Stralsund being thus closed to me, no place was more
+suitable as a residence than Greifswald, where I was born and had many
+of my kindred. But the owner of the house I rented made me very
+uncomfortable with his mania for transforming the dwelling into a
+storehouse for the most lumbering material, such as wood, stone,
+mortar, sand, etc.; he also used the place for the weddings of his
+servants, without the least regard for my wife, whether she was sick or
+in childbed. All our objections were met with the same answer: &quot;If you
+do not like it you had better move.&quot; Hence, I finally made the
+acquisition of a house in the Fischhandler Strasse (Fishmonger Street),
+belonging to Johannes Velschow, the father-in-law of Brand Hartmann.
+Its price was three hundred and fifty florins, payable in four
+quarterly instalments. Brand Hartmann was the son of that George
+Hartmann with whom my father had had such grave differences. He felt
+very wroth at seeing the house his father had built for his use pass
+into my possession, but the sale was effected in due legal form. I had
+given the deposit (God's pfenning) and put down the first hundred
+florins in the presence of several councillors and notable burghers.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Masons and carpenters were set to work at once. The front door had to
+be widened, the heavy roof to be strengthened, the rooms, stables,
+cellar and yard to be overhauled. My father had had a great deal of
+building done in his days and gained much experience. He came to
+superintend matters. Now and again he somewhat bullied the workmen, and
+even dismissed them, replacing them by others. Looking back on all
+this, I cannot help wondering at my audacity, for my purse was
+practically empty, and the workmen had to be paid on Saturdays. With
+God's help my practice provided the necessary money every week. My
+profession took me away from home a great deal; hence, there was some
+delay in the building operations, but for every florin I lost in that
+way, I earned ten and more elsewhere.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">On September 25, 1555, Duke Philip, with a numerous suite stopped at
+Stralsund for the night and was entertained by the council. He was
+going to Bergen, in the island of Rügen, where he stayed until October
+11, and at his return he lay once more at Stralsund, equally at the
+expense of the city. The aim of the journey was to check the
+encroachments of the Jasmund nobility, which, not content with cutting
+down the forest of Stubenitz for its own benefit, conceded the same
+rights to others--for a consideration. The prince took me with him as
+secretary. The aristocracy having proposed a friendly settlement, there
+was much parleying, during which the duke was at a loss to kill time.
+He was lodged in the apartments of the prior at the monastery of
+Bergen, and which looked out upon the courtyard, and spent hours in
+watching from his windows the pages and valets and their constant
+bickerings, quarrels and fights. He could even hear their opinions of
+him. One day, when standing in his usual coign of vantage while four
+Polish violins performed several pieces of music in the room itself, he
+heard a valet below saying to his fellow, &quot;The people of Stralsund have
+much better musicians than their prince. What he has got is simply
+ridiculous. Duke Bogislaw keeps four trumpeters and a kettledrum
+player; they, at any rate, produce some effect. But this prince up
+there, with his caterwauling things, is absurd.&quot; The duke sent Prior
+Gottschalck to ascertain who was talking in that strain, but
+Gottschalck, having noticed a relative of his in the group, made them a
+sign to be off, and went upstairs, saying that they had been too quick
+for him, and that he had failed to recognize any one. The prince
+promptly repeated to his familiars word for word what he had heard on
+the art of keeping up his rank, and long afterwards he was fond of
+reminding them of the incident.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">Another anecdote: A lot of boys were noisily playing in the courtyard,
+and one of the most turbulent was the illegitimate son of the bailiff
+(his real father having sent him to school, though he bore the name of
+his putative parent, Arndts, the tailor of Bergen). His Highness having
+given order to drive the yelling beggars away and to box their ears if
+necessary, the footmen executed his orders to the letter, right and
+left. The prince noticed, though, that they spared Arndts, and he
+shouted that he more than any of the others deserved correction, but
+the servant to whom the recommendation was addressed simply smiled and
+shrugged his shoulders. &quot;Do you hear me?&quot; cried the duke; &quot;rub it into
+the little devil.&quot; &quot;Oh, no,&quot; replied the flunkey. &quot;Oh, yes, lay it on
+thickly.&quot; &quot;Nay, nay; heaven preserve me from doing such a thing.&quot; &quot;And
+why, what's to prevent you?&quot; &quot;What? to trounce the son of a bailiff! I
+should repent it afterwards.&quot; At these words the duke burst out
+laughing. He told the story to every one, even in the bailiff's
+presence. On one occasion the boy was sent for and placed by the side
+of his father. His eyes, his nose, his head and his legs were compared
+with those of his sire. The governor of Cammin, after having made the
+lad march up and down the room, said to the bailiff, &quot;That's your son,
+right enough; he is shaped like you.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The attempt at conciliation having failed, the parties met at the
+monastery in a large room provided with chairs, seats and two tables,
+one for his Highness, the other for the <i>pares curiae</i>. I took place at
+the latter in my capacity of <i>notarius judicii</i>. The chancellor, in his
+master's name, gave a summary of the facts, after which, the prince,
+rising from his seat, came to the second table, and there, facing me,
+he made a long speech, not at all badly composed. I only give its
+conclusion: &quot;In your presence, Master Notary, I maintain having been
+animated by most friendly intentions towards my subjects, but they
+rejected all attempts at settling matters. In consequence of this, and
+as a guarantee of my rights, I command you to state everything that has
+happened, including the present declaration, and to draw up a duly
+attested act which you shall remit to me in consideration of your
+lawful remuneration.&quot; The matter did not go farther that day, but the
+duke instructed me to pursue the inquiry jointly with the Governor of
+Cammin, which took us several days.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The &quot;instrument&quot; gave me a great deal of trouble, filling, as it did,
+seven of the largest skins of parchment, constituting fourteen sheets.
+It contained more matter than a quire of paper. There was no room to
+affix my signature and the <i>signum notariatus</i> at the end of the deed,
+according to custom, so I made an impression in wax of my seal engraved
+on lead, and suspended it from the string holding the sheets together.
+His Highness, without asking, gave me a fee of thirty crowns.</p>
+
+<p class="normal"><i>Magister</i> Joachim Moritz, <i>professor juris</i> at Greifswald and ducal
+counsellor, had never been to Stralsund, and knew nobody there. At my
+return from Bergen he asked me to &quot;put him up&quot; at my father's, which I
+was very glad to do. Having risen early to see the city, he went
+shortly after seven into St. Nicholas' to hear the sermon. Zabel
+Lorbeer, who caught sight of him, mistook him for his former boon
+companion, George Steinkeller. The likeness between these two seems to
+have been so striking as to have deceived people generally. Many a
+gentleman upon beholding Moritz on the bench at Wolgast, said to his
+neighbour, &quot;And where the devil did Steinkeller get his knowledge of
+the law from, to constitute him a judge?&quot; Lorbeer, then, coming from
+behind, takes Moritz by the ears and shakes him for full a minute, the
+professor, altogether nonplussed, asking himself all the while who it
+could be giving him such an energetic welcome. He made sure it was me.
+Finally, he managed to turn round, and Lorbeer, perceiving his mistake,
+was most profuse with apologies. Moritz was fond of relating the
+adventure, especially in the hearing of the Stralsunders, and no one
+enjoyed the story more than the duke.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The Stralsund council took the opportunity of my visit (which happened
+during the very week of Burgomaster Lorbeer's funeral), to offer me the
+position of secretary. My surprise may easily be imagined. I considered
+myself so compromised in the eyes of the Stralsunders that, without the
+company of the governor of Cammin and the commission I held of the
+prince, I should not have deemed myself safe in the city. Those
+overtures, though, caused me as much pleasure as they did to my
+kindred; nevertheless, I felt bound not to give a definite answer until
+I was relieved of my engagement at Greifswald, although I had not taken
+the oath. Being anxious to hasten my return, the Stralsund council sent
+me a messenger to Greifswald with a saddle-horse.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I pointed out to my friends and to the magistrates at Greifswald that,
+although I had to a certain extent begun my functions, there had as yet
+been no positive agreement; not a syllable had been uttered, for
+instance, about salary. Why then should I decline the important
+Stralsund appointment? My uncle and godfather, Burgomaster Bertram
+Smiterlow, summoned the council to the chancellerie, and a fixed salary
+of eighty florins was allotted to me. Never had a secretary been so
+well paid. I asked to let the matter stand over till the next morning,
+so that I might consult with my family. My wife's relatives implored me
+to accept; my father-in-law, a centenarian, promised me, with tears in
+his eyes, a hundred florins if I stayed. At the instance of all these,
+I declared myself ready to receive the luck-penny (the earnest-money)
+commensurate with the dignity of the office and of the council, it
+being, furthermore, understood that I should be allowed to remain at
+the chancellerie and not be elected to the council. The <i>camerarii</i>
+counted me out eight crowns as earnest-money, and my predecessor,
+Johannes Schoenefeld, sent me word to engross my own act of
+appointment. More than one precedent justified me in expecting about a
+year's salary as earnest-money, but after some hesitation I took the
+eight crowns.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">My father-in-law was anxiously waiting for the result of the interview.
+I flung the money on the table. &quot;Just look, father,&quot; I exclaimed, &quot;did
+I not sell myself at my worth? You had better get your hundred florins
+ready.&quot; But he had apparently recovered from his first depression, and
+seemed not at all touched by my obvious sacrifice, for he said
+tetchily, &quot;If it suits you to go, very well, go; but you'll not have
+one florin as far as I am concerned.&quot; I felt hurt, although I fully
+intended to refuse the hundred florins, lest my brother-in-law should
+look askance at me.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I put the Stralsund horse up in Burgomaster Smiterlow's stable, my own
+not being ready. My first impulse was to send it back the same day.
+Then I began to reflect that it would be better to draw up my &quot;act of
+appointment&quot;; after that, the letter to the Stralsund council would not
+take long. In drawing up the act, I could, however, not help noticing
+that neither the period nor the place of payment was stated, and next
+morning I went to ask Schoenefeld about all this. He told me that I
+should receive two florins one day from this person, and half a florin
+the next from another, so that at the end of the year the eighty
+florins would be complete. I certainly did congratulate myself for
+having kept a back door open, for the misunderstanding was very
+serious, casual instalments and fixed appointments being by no means
+the same thing. After leaving Schoenefeld, I ran against Burgomaster
+Smiterlow and the <i>camerarii</i> in the market-place, and told them that
+if Schoenefeld's version was true, I preferred returning the wretched
+earnest-money. &quot;Your conduct will surprise them,&quot; they replied. &quot;To
+summon the council at such a short notice is no more possible than to
+take back the earnest-money without its leave.&quot; I, on the other hand,
+maintained that it was yet time to arrange affairs. &quot;Should I be
+deserving of the magistrates' confidence if I were so incapable of
+conducting my own affairs? I am going to the burgomaster at once to
+deposit the earnest-money on his daughter's table. She'll know right
+enough to whom to hand it. After which I shall get into the saddle and
+take the road to Stralsund.&quot; Thereupon the council was summoned.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">I went to tell my wife, her brother, and my sister whom he had married.
+My wife, not satisfied with shedding tears, declared categorically that
+she should not leave Greifswald. She would take a room somewhere and
+earn her living knitting. My sister and her husband were also much
+excited. &quot;What shall you do with your nice house?&quot; said my sister. &quot;Why
+vex our parents? Stop here out of consideration for them; here where
+there are so many opportunities of being useful to them.&quot; An old aunt,
+a sensible, upright and honest matron whom my wife had called to her
+aid was the only one to express a contrary opinion. &quot;Dear nephew,&quot; she
+said, &quot;though I should be too pleased to keep you near me, for after
+God you are the prop of my old age, I'm bound to admit that there is no
+comparison between the post of Greifswald and that of Stralsund. If I
+placed an obstacle to your stroke of good fortune, my conscience would
+reproach me afterwards, so take my advice and carry out your plan. Do
+you remember how your wife mourned her mother? Does she still cry at
+the mention of her name? Well, she'll get just as used to living at
+Stralsund.&quot; My wife's tears flowed all the faster at these words.</p>
+
+<p class="normal">The messenger from Stralsund went to saddle my horse. Booted and
+spurred I joined him almost immediately, and had the animal brought
+round to Burgomaster Smiterlow's door where, somewhat impatiently, I
+awaited on the steps his return from the Town Hall. He told me that no
+secretary in the past had received the appointments allotted to me, and
+that no secretary in the future was likely to receive them, and yet I
+had still found better; hence the council felt most reluctant to hamper
+my career and sent their best wishes for my welfare. I immediately got
+into the saddle and left the town, avoiding our house, on the threshold
+of which I could see my wife standing surrounded by her kindred. It was
+on November 29, 1555. My residence at Greifswald dated from January 1,
+1551. During that period my earnings amounted to five thousand three
+hundred florins, exclusive of presents in kind, which often exceeded
+the strictly necessary. Here ends the third part of the story of my
+life.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h3>THE END</h3>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h2>INDEX</h2>
+<br>
+<br>
+<p class="hang1">Aarschot, 273</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Acquapendente, xx. 5, 151, 171</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Aepinus, Johannes, 39, 249</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Affenstein, Ritter Wolf von, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Agricola, Johannes, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Aix-la-Chapelle, 19, 254, 255</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Albrecht, Duke of Mecklenburg, 63, 64, 72, 80, 107, 231</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Alexander III., 96</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Algau, 192, 221</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Alpinus, Johannes, 12</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Alsace, 223</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Alsen, Island of, 63</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Altenkirchen, 40</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Altenkuke, Heinrich, 187</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Altingk, Johannes, 45, 46<br>
+Werner, 45</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Alva, Duke of, 216, 218</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Amandus, Dr. Johannes, xv., 20</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ammeister, 264</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Amsterdam, 3</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Anclam, 1</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ancona, xx. 146, 147</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Anelam, 46</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Anglus, Dr. Antonius, 95</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Anhault, xii. 48</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><i>Annales Pomeraniae</i>, 79, 82, 89</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Antwerp, xxiii. 4, 85, 268, 270</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><i>Appeal to the Christian Nobility</i>, xi.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Arndts, 331, 332</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Arnsburg, 97</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Arras, Bishop of, 222, 224, 249, 277, 291, 292</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ascagne, Count St. Florian, 150</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Artopaeus, Herr Petrus, 263</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Augsburg, xiii., xxii., 111, 176, 177, 195, 212, 215-230, 239,
+244-249, 252, 253, 257, 263, 264, 292<br>
+Bishop of, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Augustus, Duke, 228</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Babylonish captivity, The, xi.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Baden, 195, 255<br>
+Margrave of, xix. 263, 278</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Badenweiler, 120</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Balhorn, 103</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bamberg, 208, 209</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Barbarossa, 245</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Baremann, Nicholas, 69</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Barns, xx.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Barnes, 95, 96, 103</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Barth, 4</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Basle, xxiii., 223, 263</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bavaria, Duke Albert of, 228, 233, 246<br>
+Duchess of, 229</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Becker, Peter, 263</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Belbuck, 11, 13</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Benter, 196</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ber, 308</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Berckmann, Johannes, 28, 54, 79, 82, 83, 85, 89, 278, 320</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bergen, 330, 333</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Berkentin, 50</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Berlin, 190, 199</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bensançon, 224</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Besserer, George, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Beuter, 203</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Biberach, 227</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><i>Bilder aus der Deutschen Kulturgeschichte</i>, 228</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bischof, 43</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bitterfeld, 201, 202</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Blumenow, Johannes, 82, 84, 85, 88</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bole, Victor, 34</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bogislaw X., Duke, 9, 11, 14, 16, 17, 18<br>
+Duke Barnim, 16, 17, 30, 190, 205, 213, 214, 216, 265, 273,
+281, 290, 293, 331<br>
+Duke George, 16, 17, 28, 30, 48</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Boineburg, Ritter Conrad von, 241</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bois le Duc, 267</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Boldewan, Abbot, 11, 13</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bologna, 160, 165, 166, 171, 173, 179, 291</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bolte, Nicholas, 75</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bonus, Herrman, 39</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bonnus, 40</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Botzen, 176, 177</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Brabant, 255</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Brandenburg, xxiii., 9, 196, 205, 226, 306<br>
+Culmbach, 231<br>
+Elector of, 189, 197, 228, 246, 247<br>
+Wachim of, xiii., xxiii.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Brandenburg-the-Old, 202</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Brassanus, Matthias, 40, 42</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bremen, Christopher, Bishop of, 80</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Brenner, xx.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Brettheim, 125</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Brixen, 176, 177</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Broecker, Jacob, 97</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bruchsall, 122</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Brunswick, Duke Henry of, 137, 138, 210, 228<br>
+Duke Philip of, 161</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Brunswick-Luneberg, xii.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bruser, Hermann, 49, 51, 53, 54, 103</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bruser, Leveling, 94</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bruser, Mrs. xviii., xix.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Brussels, xxiii., 227, 230, 255, 267, 270, 273</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Buchow, Bartholomäi, 19</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Buchow, Heindrich, 268</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bugenhagen, Johannes, 11</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bukow, 51</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bunsaw, Gaspard, 35, 285, 298</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bunsow, Dame, 288</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Bunsow, Johannes, 287, 288</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Burgrave of Mesnia, 182</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Burenius Arnoldus, xvii., 96</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Burn, Count Maximilian, 269</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Burnet, Bishop, x.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Burtenbach, Captain Schaerthin von, 176</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Burwitz, Joachim, 54</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Buss, Valentine, 56</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Butzbach, 131, 132, 260</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Calvin, 249, 265</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Camerarius, 169</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Cammin, 261, 291, 333, 334, 246
+Bishop of, 226, 266, 293, 294</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Cannstadt, 178</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Capito Daniel, 263</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Carin, 319</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Carlowitz, Christopher, 195, 196, 230, 235, 248, 252</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Carmelites, 250</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Cassel, 132</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Cassules, 93</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Castle of St. Angelo, 159</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Cellini, Benvenuto, xx.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Charlemagne, 254, 255</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Charles V., xii., xiii., xxii., 9, 161, 177, 197, 220, 235, 267,
+146, 97</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Citzewitz, Jacob, 187, 188, 189, 200, 215, 225, 227, 236, 257,
+262, 279, 281, 283, 293, 299, 314, 319, 321</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Citzewitz, James, xxii.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Classen, Bernard, 7, 8</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Clerike, Jacob, 299</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Cleves, Anne of, 96</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Cleves, Duchy of, 263,<br>
+Duke of, 113, 228</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Coburg, 206, 209</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Colburg, 99, 226</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Cologne, 225, 270, 271<br>
+Elector of, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Compestella, 19</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Constance, 234</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Copenhagen, 39, 80</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><i>Cosmographie</i>, Munster's, 262, 264</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Damitz, Captain Moritz, 191, 193, 236, 237, 238</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Danquart, 98</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Dantzig, 7, 22, 257</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><i>De Anima</i>, xvii.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Dechow, Captain, 318, 319</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Denmark, King of, 228</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Deux Fonts, Prince, 195</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Devonne, 208</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Dialectica Caesarii, 99</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Dick, Dr. Leopold, 107</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Düren, 113</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Dinnies, Laurence, 187</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Domitz, Maurice, 128</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Donat, 31</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Donauwerth, 216, 217</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Dorpat, Bishop of, 98</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Drache, Anthony, 313</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Droege, Gerard, 19, 89</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Duitz, Gaspard, 268, 269, 270</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Eck, Dr., 17, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Eger, 191</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Eichstedt, Valentin, 78, 314<br>
+Bishop of, 228</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Einfriedlaw, 19</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Eisleben, 166, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Elbe, 200, 217</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Eldenow, 306</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><i>Emek Habakha</i>, 143</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Engelhardt, Dr. Simeon, 51, 108, 111, 117, 120, 121, 127, 250,
+260, 261</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Engeln, 48</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><i>Epitome Annalium Pomerania</i>, 79</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Erasmus, Desiderius, 264</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Erckhorst, Cyriacus, 49, 55</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Erfurt, 103</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ernest, Margrave, 120, 123, 125, 282</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Esslingen, 122</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Faber, 169</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Fachs, Dr., 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Falck, Chancellor, 273</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Falcke, Dr., 190</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Falsterbo, 70, 99</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Farnese, Peter Aloys, 160</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><i>Fasti</i>, Ovid's, 99</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ferrara, 173, 174</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ferdinand, King, 119, 177, 180, 182, 191, 196, 204</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Florence, 172</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Franconia, 206</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Frankfurt, 130, 138, 178, 247, 254, 259, 262, 286</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Frederick, III., Duke, xxii., 210, 211, 212</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Frederick, King of Denmark, 61, 207</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Freder, Johannes, 277</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><i>Freedom of a Christian Man</i>, xi.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Frese, Widow, 15</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Friesland, 133</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Fribourg, 131, 208, 260</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Friedrich, Johannes, 193, 197</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Frobose, Peter, 5, 7, 281</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Frock, Otto, 12</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Froment, 16</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Frubose, Matthew, 285</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Furstenburg, Count Wilhelm, 239, 240<br>
+Frederick von, 240, 315</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Gadebusch, 100</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Gantzkendorf, 319, 320</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Garpenhagen, 100</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Gatzkow, Abraham, 198</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Gelhaar, Joachim, 43, 59, 102</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Geneva, 16, 265</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Gentzkow, Dr. Nicholas, 86, 300, 302, 303, 313, 326, 329<br>
+Burgomaster Nicholas, 54</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ghent, 267<br>
+Charles of, 220</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Goeslin, Margaret, 237</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Gotha, 104</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Gottschalk, Heinrich, 299<br>
+Johannes, 41, 187, 188, 287, 296<br>
+Prior, 331</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><i>Grammatica Bonni</i>, 40</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Granvelle, Cardinal, xxiii.<br>
+Nicholas, Perremot de, 224, 227, 249, 253, 277</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Greiffenberg, 266</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Greifswald, xi. xvii., xix., xxiv., 2, 5-7, 20-31, 33, 35, 39,
+46, 48, 93, 98, 99, 110, 197, 235, 281, 282, 285, 287, 288,
+297, 302, 306, 310, 313-317, 324-338</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Grellen, Barber, 83</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Gribou, 2</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Grosse, Alexis, 278</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Gruwel, Peter, 288, 298</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Gruyère, Count Michael de, 207</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Grynaeus, Simon, 168, 169</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Guelderland, 113</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Gutzkow, Count, 65, 93</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hahn, Werner, 201, 202</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Halle, xxii., 201, 206</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hamburg, 3, 26, 65</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hannemann, 99</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hartmann, Brand, 329
+George, 24, 25, 26, 29, 329</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hase, Dr. Heinrich, 195, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hausen, Erasmus, 187, 188</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hawthorne, xx.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Heidelberg, 114, 169, 260<br>
+Elector of, 272</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Heidelsheim, 122</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Heimsdorff, 195</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Heindrich, Duke, 80, 207</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Heinrichmann, Dr., 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Helfmann, Johannes, 261</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Henry II. of France, xiv.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Henry VIII., 95</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hentzer, 264</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Heine Vogel, 270</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hertogenbosch, 267</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Herwig, Christian, 86</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hesiod, 53</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hesse, Philip of, xii.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hildebrand, Nicholas, 86</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hirnheim, Johannes Walther von, 237</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hochberg, 120</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hochel, Dr. Johannes, 106</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Holde, Dr. Conrad, 247</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Holme, Johannes, 66</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Holste, 315, 316</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Holstein, Duke Christian, 62, 66, 79</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Homedes, Jean de, 130</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Horns, the family of, 1, 2</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hose, Dr. Christopher, 116, 117, 119</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hovisch, Michael, 318, 319</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hoyer, Dr. Gaspard, 149, 150, 155, 164, 165, 176, 186</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hundfruck, 260</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Hutten, Ulrich, von, 24</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ingoldstadt, 224</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Innspruck, 177</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><i>Itinerarium Germanicae</i>, 264</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Juliers, Duke of, 111, 270</p>
+
+<br>
+<p class="hang1">Kalen, George von, 316</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Kalen, J. von, 314</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Kalte, Johannes, 267</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Kantzow, Thomas, 78</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Kasskow, Master, 68</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Kempe, George, 12</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Kempten, 141, 142, 221, 175</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ketelhot, Christian, xvi., 11, 12, 13, 20, 23</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><i>King Arthur</i>, 21</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Kirchschwarz, 24</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Kismann, 99</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Klatteville, Peter, 81, 82</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Kloche, Johannes, 49, 69</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Krugge, Nicholas, 86, 303</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Knipstrow, Dr. xxii., 22, 23, 34,48, 187, 302</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Koenigstein, 132</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Krahow, Valerius, 235</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Krossen, Johannes, 81</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Krou, Frau, 38</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Kruse, 23, 65</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Kurcke, Johannes, 11</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Kussow, Michael, 93</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Labbun, Christopher, 187</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lagebusch, Johannes, 100, 101, 102</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lanckin, Christopher von der, 321, 322</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Landau, 250, 261</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Landshut, 178</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lasky, Stanislas, 228, 245</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Leipzig, 17, 45, 107, 192, 248, 252, 258, 321</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lepper, Hermann, 100, 101, 102</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lepusculus, 235, 264, 265</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lertmeritz, 191, 192, 193</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Leveling, 49, 55, 56<br>
+Marie, 56</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lezen, Johannes von, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lickow, 329</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Liegnitz, xxii.<br>
+Duke Frederick von, 207, 208, 212, 214</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lievetzow, 309</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lingensis, Heinrich, 96, 97, 98</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Livonia, 13</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lloytz, The, of Stettin, 261</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Loewe, Nicholas, 87</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Loewenstein, Christopher von, 130, 133, 135, 138</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Loewenhagen, Joachim, 99</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lorbeer, Christopher, 12, 19, 20, 41, 50, 55, 67, 71-74, 79, 85,
+88, 93, 324, 326-328, 334<br>
+Olaff, 84, 321<br>
+Zabel, 57, 333, 334</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Loretto, xx., 149</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lorraine, Dowager of, 228</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Louvain, 267, 270</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lubeck, xvii., xix., 3, 4, 26, 39, 40, 48, 50-52, 61-63, 66, 71,
+72, 77, 80, 95, 100, 103, 128, 165, 297, 303</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lubbeke, 48</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ludwig, Duke Ernest, 89</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lake, Constance, 227</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Lühe Von der, 313</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Luther, Martin, xi.-xvii., 9, 14, 17, 18, 78, 94, 96, 103, 135,
+152, 166, 200, 228, 250, 278</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Madrid, 224</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Madrutz, Gandenz von, 246, 271</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Maestricht, 254</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Magdeburg, xiii., 192</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Malines, 270</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Manlius, 169</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Mantel, Jacob, 244</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Mantua, 173, 174, 175<br>
+Duke of, 180</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Marburg, xii., 133</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Marforio, 227</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Marie, Fräulein, of Saxony, 78</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Maries, The three, 57, 58</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Marquardt, Johannes, 195, 222, 224, 226</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Marschmann, 86</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Mattzan, Berendt, 320, 321<br>
+Joachim, 2, 99, 300-302<br>
+Lutke, 319</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Maurice, Duke, 195, 200, 231, 235</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Mauritz, 177</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Maximilian, Archduke, 119, 204, 231</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Mayence, 128, 130, 132, 139, 141, 254, 260, 271<br>
+Bishop of, 246<br>
+Elector of, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Mecklenburg, 51, 71, 79, 95, 96, 100, 115, 299</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Meisisch, Leonard, 40</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Meiseburg, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Memmingen, 221</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Melanchthon, Philip, xvi., xvii., 104, 106, 248, 298</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Mesnia, 258</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Mense, 267</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Mey, Bernard, 261</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Meyer, Christopher, 6, 7</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Meyer, Gerard, 81</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Meyer, Hermann, 12, 19</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Meyer, Marx, 62-67, 81</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Middleburgh, C. 304, 305</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Milan, 149, 175, 176</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Moller, Rolof, xv., 9, 10, 12, 16, 18, 19, 20, 31, 61, 85, 87, 91</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Moller, George, 85</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Monkwitz, Von, 216</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Montefiascone, 171</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Montfort, Count Hugo von, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Moritz, Joachim, 298, 299, 306, 313, 333, 334</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Mount Scarperia, 173</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Muggenwald, 302</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Muhlberg, xxii., 188, 193, 194, 195</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Muleg Hassan, King of Tunis, 245</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Munich, 252</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Munster, Sebastian, 262, 263, 264, 265</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Musculus, 235</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Muthrin, 257</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Nares, 195</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Naumberg, 206<br>
+Bishop of, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Naumberg, Duke of, 228</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Naves, Seigneur Jean, 116</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Negendanck, 309, 310</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Nering, Nicholas, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Nerung, 299</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">New Camp, 225</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Neuenkirchen, 25</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Nicholas, 165, 175, 176, 177</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Niederweisel, 130, 131, 132, 260</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Niemann, Johannes, 277, 278</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Nordgau, 227</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Nordhauser, 183</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Normann, George, 33, 235, 253, 254, 256<br>
+Heinrich, 191, 238</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Nuremburg, 9, 14, 18, 155, 181, 209, 211, 223</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Octavius, Duke, 160, 168</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><i>Offices</i>, Cicero's, 97</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Offing, 108</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Oppenheim, 130, 254, 260</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ornans, 224</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Oseborn, Zabel, 10, 321</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Osnaburgh, 39</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Osten, 2, 299</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ostiglia, 174</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ovid, 99</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Palatine, Count, 195<br>
+Elector of, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Pappenheim, Marshal von, 229</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Parow, Christian, 82, 83</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Pasewalk, 315</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Pasquin, 227</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Paul III., Pope, 150, 175</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Petrus, 147, 148, 165, 169, 175</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Pflug, Gaspard, 191, 192<br>
+Johannes, 246<br>
+Julius, 192, 228</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Pforzheim, xix., 120, 122, 126, 127, 140<br>
+Ernest von, 279</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Philip, Duke, 78, 99, 190, 195, 260, 290, 298, 301, 318, 322, 330</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Philip I., 17, 272</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Philip V. of Spain, 233</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Picht, Dr., 306</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Place Moland, 16</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Plate Simon, 235-238</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Plawe, 181</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Pô, 173, 174</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Poland, King of, 228</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Pomerania, xii., xv., 3, 17, 28, 122, 145, 146, 151, 189, 200,
+226, 238, 260<br>
+Duke of, 224</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><i>Pomeranus</i>, 11</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Portius, Dr. Johannes, 261</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><i>Praecepta Grammaticae</i>, 40</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Prestor, John, 220</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Prien, V., 299</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Prussia, Duke of, 278</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Pritze, Joachim, 69</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Puddegla, 315</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Putkammer, Dr., 190</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Putten, 44</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Quilow, Johannes Osten von, 2</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ranke, 196</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Rantzau, Count Johannes, 63, 64</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Rantzin, 1, 3</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Rantzow, Joachim 69, 74</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ratisbon, 178, 180, 233, 247<br>
+Diet of, 280</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Rau, Balthazar, 298</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ravenna, 147</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Reiffstock, Dr. Frederick, 106, 107, 108, 109</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Reinburg, 327</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Rheinfeld, 228</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Rheinhausen, 122</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Rhodes, 130, 131</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ribbenitz, 97, 102</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Richter, 232</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Rhode, Nicholas, 19, 49, 51, 52, 55</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Roetteln, 120</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Roevershagen, 36</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Rode, Nicholas, 73, 74</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Rome, 28, 147, 175, 178, 222, 269</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Rostock, xvii., 19, 36, 37, 50, 61, 71, 85, 95, 96, 97, 100, 128,
+300, 301, 303, 313</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Rosse, Martin van, 113</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Rotterdam, 264</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Rubricken, Bock, xxiv., 10</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Rugen, 33, 34, 93, 321, 330<br>
+Prince of, 93</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Runge, 23, 302</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Rust, Joachim, 187, 188</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Sachsen, 197</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">St. Angelo, Governor of, 160</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">St. Brigitta, 16, 27, 164</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">St. Flore, Cardinal, Count de, 150, 164, 186</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">St. Simon, Duke, 233</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">St. Alrich, 218</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Saluces, Marquis de, 196, 245</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Salzburg, 247</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Sandow, 23</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Sansenberg, 120</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Sarow, 319</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Sastrow, Amnistia, 299<br>
+Anna, 5<br>
+Barbara, 7, 8<br>
+Bartholomew, ix., x., xv., xvi., xix., xx.-xxiv., 103, 106,
+110, 196, 197, 235<br>
+Catherine, 6, 8, 299<br>
+Christian, 7<br>
+Gertrude, 7<br>
+Jeremy, 4<br>
+John, xx., 1, 2, 7, 39, 53, 93, 108, 122, 128, 149, 134, 298<br>
+Magdalen, 7</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Sastrow, Nicholas, xvi., xvii., xviii., 94, 116</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Saxony, Duke of, 78<br>
+Elector of, 114, 189, 191, 196, 205, 208, 222, 245, 247, 249<br>
+John of, xii., xiii.<br>
+Maurice of, xiii., xv., 195</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schaerlini, 223</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schenck, Dr. Jacob, 106</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schermer, Frau, 14</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schladenteuffel, Nicholas, 303</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schlackenwerth, 191</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schlemm, 307, 308</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schlieben, Eustacius, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schmalkalden, League of, 182, 188, 190, 197, 234, 269</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schwallenberg, 290, 292</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schoenfeld, Johannes, 319, 322, 324, 335, 336</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schorsow, 299</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schwede, Bailiff, 10, 15</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schwabe, Bartholomew, 226, 266</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schwallenberger, Dr., 267, 279, 280, 281, 283</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schwarte, Matthew, 288<br>
+Peter, 288</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schwartz, Arndt, 149<br>
+Christian, 21, 33, 36, 81</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schwartzenberg, 310, 312</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schwartz, Dr. Peter, 297</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schwendi, Lazarus von, 223</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schwendi, Lazarus, 242, 243, 245</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schwenkfeld, Gaspard von, 108</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Schwerin, Marshal Ulrich, 293, 314</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Seld, Dr. George Sigismund, 195, 222, 224, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Selneccerus, 169</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Senckestack, Johannes, 69</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Sickermann, Heindrich, 12</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Siena, Virgo, 172</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Sievershausen, 196, 232</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Silesia, 108, 191, 207</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Sitten, Nanz von, 128</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Sixtus IV., Pope, 156, 157</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Skramon, Admiral Peter, 64</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Sleidan, 188, 196, 203, 219, 234, 239, 240, 241</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Smalkald, xxi., xxii.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Smeker, H., 309, 310, 311, 312</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Smiterlow, Anna, xvi.<br>
+Bartholamäi, 4<br>
+Bertrand, 28, 34, 36, 37, 334-337<br>
+Christian, 14, 258, 302</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Smiterlow, George, 40, 43, 89,91<br>
+Johannes, 40<br>
+Nicholas, xvi., xviii., 4, 5, 10, 12, 14, 18, 20, 26, 29, 31,
+35, 41, 49, 50, 61, 66-74, 79, 83, 87, 89, 91, 311</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Solms, Count Reinhard, 241</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Sonnenberg, Nicholas, 56, 84, 101<br>
+Heinrich, 100</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Speckin, Martin, 297</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Spires, xii., xix., xxiii., 9, 52, 103, 105, 106, 108, 111, 114,
+116, 120, 125-129, 140, 178, 230, 250, 251, 254, 260, 262, 266,
+271, 273, 279, 282, 301, 307, 310, 312</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Stargurdt, 214</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Stainbruck, 64</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Steinkiller, 333</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Steinwer, Canon Hippolytus, 12, 30</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Sterzing, 177</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Stettin, 16, 17, 35, 103, 190, 253, 257, 266, 267, 273, 279, 282,
+289, 290, 314</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Stiten, Franz von, 98, 138</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Storentin, Frau, 99</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Stochkolm, 54</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Stolpe, 13, 265, 273, 281, 290</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Stralsund, xv., xvi.-xix., xxiv., 3, 5, 7, 9, 11-28, 40, 43, 45,
+50, 52, 54, 61, 66, 71, 72, 77, 82, 87, 96, 100, 102, 110, 190,
+197, 214, 235, 268, 277, 286, 287, 295, 302, 303, 314, 322,
+328, 330, 333-337</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Stranck, Anna, 58, 59</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Strasburg, 108, 123, 223, 233, 246, 263<br>
+Bishop of, 129</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Stroïentin, Dr. Valentin, 24-26</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Stubenitz, Forest of, 330</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Sturm, Jacob, 233, 234, 235, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Suave, Peter, 11</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Suavenius, Petrus, 228</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Svendsburg, 64</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Swabia, 108, 120, 178, 192, 221</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Tauber, Dr., 292, 293</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Telchow, Simon, 306, 307</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Terence, xvii.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Testenhagen, 325</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Thomas, Wolf, 244</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Thun, Peter, 307, 308</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Tollenstein, 65</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Torgau, 193, 197, 217<br>
+Castle of, 78</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Torrentius, 31</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Trent, xx., 175, 176, 177, 245, 268, 271<br>
+Cardinal of, 228<br>
+Council of, 173</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Trepstow, 11, 266</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Treuenbrietzen, 200</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Treves, Elector of, 19</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Truchess, Prelate Otto, 116</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Tulliver, sen., Mr., x.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Tunis, King of, 245</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ulm, 108, 111, 178, 246, 253</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ulrich, Duke, 143</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Upsal, Archbishop of, 22</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ukermünde, Geo. von, 11, 12, 128, 236, 289, 290</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Valentine, 188, 213</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><i>Valley of Tears</i>, 143</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Venice, 175, 269</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Verona, 175, 176</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Virgil, 174</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Vischer, L., 15, 19</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Viterbo, 168</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Vogelsberg, Sebastian, 223, 239-245</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Vogt, Johannes, 100</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Voss, Jacob, 320</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Walde, Dr. B. von, 299, 314, 321</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wallenstein, xii.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Walter, Anthony, 99</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wardenburg, Zutfeld, 12, 26</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wedel, George von, 205, 207, 210, 222</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Weingarten, Abbé von, 228, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Weinleben, Chancellor, 198</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Welch, 241</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Welfius, Heinrich, xvii.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Welsers, 216</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wessels, Franz, 12, 19, 27</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Westphalia, xiii., 256</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wetteran, 131</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wetzlar, 12</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Weitmulen, Sebastian von, 191</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wezer, Martin, 226, 253, 261, 267, 290-293</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Willemberg, Castle of, 200</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Willershagen, 101</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wismar, 51, 61, 71, 72, 303</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wissemberg, 223, 227, 240, 242</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wittenberg, xvi., 6, 11, 14, 17, 18, 40, 95, 103, 188, 193, 194,
+197, 202, 222, 224, 245, 248, 292</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wolde, Canon von, 293</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wolder, Simon, 266, 281</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wolfenbuttel, 65</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wolff, Frau, 39</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wolgang, 228</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wolgast, xxii., 17, 40, 47, 86, 187, 190, 199, 205, 256, 257,
+289, 290, 292, 300, 306, 314, 317, 319, 333</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Worms, 9, 116, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 131, 133, 139, 228, 230,
+250, 251, 260</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wulflam, Wulf, 56</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wullenweber, George, xvii., 5, 61-66, 71, 79, 80, 190, 192</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wurzburg, Bishop of, 106, 246</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wustenfeld, 309, 311</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Wustenhausen, 316</p>
+
+<br>
+
+<p class="hang1">Zell, 122, 254</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ziegesar, 39</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Ziegler, 267</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Zigler, Dr. Louis, 254</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Zittau, 191</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Zober, 54</p>
+
+<p class="hang1">Zwingli, xii.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+<br>
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_01" href="#div2_01">Footnote 1</a>: At the beginning of the sixteenth century the monetary
+unit in Pomerania was the golden florin, which within a fraction
+was equivalent to the Rhenish florin and represented eight francs,
+sixty-five centimes, regard being had to the fact that the value of
+silver compared to that of gold was a third more than to-day. The
+golden florin was divided into forty-eight schellings (not shillings),
+sixteen of which constituted a mark; the schelling again was divided
+into twelve pfenning. The schelling of Hamburg and of Lubeck were worth
+double that of Stralsund.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_02" href="#div2_02">Footnote 2</a>: House property was classified in three categories:
+dwelling houses (<i>Häuser</i>), shops (<i>Buden</i>), which were very light
+constructions set apart for trade or for accommodating strangers, and
+cellars (<i>Keller</i>), or places below the level of the ground floor. The
+scale of house-tax was for booths, stalls or shops half, for cellars a
+quarter of that due for dwelling-houses. A census of 1554 gives for
+Stralsund 559 houses, 1,133 booths or shops, and 535 cellars; of which
+numbers 30 dwelling houses, 39 booths and 38 cellars are not tenanted.
+To these figures must be added for the faubourgs or beyond the gates
+239 tenements of lesser importance.</p>
+
+<p class="hang2">On the site of the house in Huns' Street stands or stood a few years
+ago the Hotel Jarmer. An inscription on its frontage recalls the birth
+of Jeremy Sastrow. According to a competent etymological authority, the
+name of the Hunnenstrasse in Greifswald has not the faintest connexion
+with the Huns, but is simply a Low German corruption of Hundestrasse,
+<i>Platea Canum</i>, like in Lubeck and in Barth. In the latter town the
+thoroughfare thus designated was the locale of the Prince's pack of
+hounds.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_03" href="#div2_03">Footnote 3</a>: Nicholas Smiterlow, who was councillor in 1507 and
+burgomaster in 1516, enacted an important part at Stralsund at a period
+when the political influence of that city spread far beyond its walls.
+Events pleaded loudly in favour of the resolute and prudent burgomaster
+against his adventurous adversary, George Wullenweber. In spite of his
+dislike to popular agitation, Smiterlow was &quot;one of the first and best
+upholders of the Reformation,&quot; if we are to believe the evidence of a
+chronicler of the sixteenth century. He died in July, 1539. Hailing
+originally from Greifswald, he had got married at Stralsund in 1498.
+The Smiterlows, Schmiterlows, or Smiterloews interpreted their name in
+the sense of &quot;Smiters of Lions.&quot; Their arms represented a man wielding
+a club and a lion by his side. It was said that during the Crusades
+their ancestor had laid low one of those animals with the blow of a
+club.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_04" href="#div2_04">Footnote 4</a>: It was the custom to give a present to a relative or to a
+friend as a contribution to the furnishing of his house.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_05" href="#div2_05">Footnote 5</a>: When Sastrow became secretary of Stralsund he took care to
+collect, under the title of &quot;Rubrikenbuch&quot; all the documents relating
+to the privileges and property of the city; a collection which proved
+useful to the magistrates in office and which is of interest to-day as
+a contribution to the local history.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_06" href="#div2_06">Footnote 6</a>: The ancient monastery of Belbuck, near Treptow on the
+Rega, became, under Abbot Boldewan, a nursery of learning. From thence
+came George von Ukermünde, who was the first to preach the reformed
+doctrine at Stralsund; the impassioned preacher Kurcke or Kureke;
+Ketelhot, born in 1492, died in 1546, whom the chronicler Berckmann
+calls the &quot;Apostle of Stralsund and the founder of the holy doctrine&quot;;
+Peter Suave, the pioneer of the Reformation in Denmark and Holstein;
+and finally, Johannes Bugenhagen, famous under the name of <i>Pomeranus</i>,
+born in 1485, died in 1558, pastor at Wittemberg since 1523, the author
+of the first historical work on Pomerania, the translator of the Bible
+into Low-German, and the veritable organizer of Protestantism into
+those northern regions. Duke Bogislaw X, displeased with the spirit
+that prevailed at Belbuck, suppressed that institution in 1523; the
+dispersion of the monks only resulted in the prompter diffusion of the
+new doctrines.</p>
+
+<p class="hang2">The chronology of the history of the Reformation at Stralsund remained
+uncertain up to 1859, in which year the archives of the Imperial
+Chamber, forgotten at Wetzlar, brought to light the documents in
+connexion with the lawsuit brought by Canon Hippolytus Steinwer against
+Stralsund, in order to despoil the city of certain revenues and
+privileges. The principal dates may be fixed as follows: 1522.--First
+conflict of the city with the Catholic clergy who refuse to be taxed;
+Zutfeld Wardenburg, administrator of the diocese, flies to Rome. 1523
+or end of 1522.--Arrival of the first reformed monks and preachers,
+George Kempe, Heindrich Sichermann, George von Ukermünde. 1524.--First
+preachings of Ketelhot (at Easter), and of Kurcke on St. Michael's Day.
+1525.--The Monday after Palm Sunday (April 10), the churches and
+convents are invaded; suppression of Catholic worship. 1525.--The
+Sunday after All Saints' (November 5), official recognition of the
+Reformation through the promulgation of the ecclesiastical and
+scholastic ordinances of Johannes Alpinus.</p>
+
+<p class="hang2">With regard to political events the confusion was the same. Otho Frock,
+the recent historian of Pomerania, made it his business to apply the
+remedy, and the following are the results arrived at. 1524, from May to
+June.--Installation of the Forty-Eight; voluntary exile of Smiterlow.
+1525, January.--Frustrated attempt of Smiterlow to return to Stralsund
+with the support of the Hanseatic towns. 1525 (probably April
+15).--Riotous election of Rolof Moller and Christopher Lorbeer as
+burgomasters, of Franz Wessel, Hermann Meyer and six other partisans of
+the Reformation as councillors. 1525 (at St. John).--Entry into
+Stralsund of Dukes George and Barnim; the rendering of homage and
+confirmation of privileges. 1527 (July 24?).--Rolof Moller leaves
+Stralsund, and on August 1 or 5 Smiterlow returns. 1529.--Return and
+death of Rolof Moller.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_07" href="#div2_07">Footnote 7</a>: There are various versions of the origin of this famous
+tumult. According to some documents the servant's mistress was a widow
+named Frese, who lived in the old market.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_08" href="#div2_08">Footnote 8</a>: The fishmonger's bench or stall of Vischer reminds one of
+that of the reformer Froment, preaching on the Place Molard at Geneva,
+just as the departure of the nuns of St. Brigitta, at Stralsund,
+reminds one, though not quite so seriously, of the flitting from Geneva
+of the Sisters of Santa Clara.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_09" href="#div2_09">Footnote 9</a>: In the ducal House of Pomerania the law of succession
+admitted all the sons indistinctly to the throne. They reigned in
+common, but if an understanding was impossible, the county was divided
+between them. In 1478 the whole of Pomerania was united under the
+sceptre of Bogislaw X. At the death of this able prince, which took
+place in 1523, Dukes George and Barnim wielded power conjointly, in
+spite of their utterly opposed sentiments. George remained faithful to
+the old belief; Barnim, on the other hand, proceeded to the university
+of Wittemberg, and in 1519 had accompanied Luther to Leipzig when he
+was disputing with Eck. The honour accrued to Barnim in his capacity of
+rector, a dignity seldom conferred upon a student.</p>
+
+<p class="hang2">George died in 1531, leaving an only son, Philippe. The division of
+Pomerania long desired by Barnim occurred the following year. Barnim's
+chance gave him Eastern Pomerania as far as the Swine, and with Stettin
+as a residence. To his nephew, Philip I, fell Western Pomerania, of
+which Wolgast became once more the capital. That agreement, concluded
+for ten years, was renewed in 1541, and its effects were prolonged
+until 1625, at which date there was a new reunion under Bogislaw XIV,
+of the Stettin branch, who died in 1637, the last of the House. The
+franchises of Stralsund, in fact, were so extensive as to reduce the
+authority of the princes to a mere nominal rule. The bond between them
+only consisted of a kind of perfunctory rendering of homage and the
+payment of a small tribute, the amount of which had been fixed once for
+all. The suzerain only entered the city after a notice of three months.
+In 1525, with the political and religious crisis at its height, the
+rendering of homage was preceded by protracted negotiations. No
+safe-conduct, though delivered by the prince, was valid at Stralsund
+unless it was countersigned by the council. The city exercised its
+jurisdiction not only within its walls, but in its exterior domains.
+Though exempt from military obligations as far as the reigning dukes
+were concerned, the city imposed compulsory service both by sea and by
+land on its citizens. It had the power to conclude treaties and was its
+sole arbiter with regard to peace or war. These privileges were
+preserved by Stralsund during the whole of the sixteenth century, in
+spite of the decline of the Hanseatic bond.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_10" href="#div2_10">Footnote 10</a>: Franz Wessel, born at Stralsund, September 30, 1487, died
+May 19, 1570, was the son of a brewer of the Lange Strasse. At a very
+early age--when scarcely more than twelve--he embraced a commercial
+career and made long stays in foreign countries, besides pilgrimages to
+Trèves, Aix-la-Chapelle, Einfriedlaw, and St. James of Compostella. In
+1516 he was back at Stralsund, and was one of the most energetic and
+first promoters of the Reformation. Councillor in 1524, burgomaster in
+1541, he played a scarcely less important political part. Wessel is the
+author of a curious piece of writing on divine worship at Stralsund at
+the period of papistry. The very year of his death, Gerard Droege,
+who had been brought up in his house, published his biography at
+Rostock.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_11" href="#div2_11">Footnote 11</a>: Christopher Lorbeer, who was councillor in 1507,
+burgomaster in 1524, and who died in 1555, belonged to a much
+respected family of Stralsund and enjoyed great consideration
+there.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_12" href="#div2_12">Footnote 12</a>: According to tradition King Arthur or Artus, chief of the
+Knights of the Round Table, lived in the sixth century. He and his
+companions had devoted themselves to the recovery of the Holy Grail.
+Arthur himself is supposed to have conquered Sweden and Norway. On the
+other hand, the historian Johannes Magnus, Archbishop of Upsal, who
+died in 1554, mentions a Swedish Arthur famed for his doughty deeds,
+and he adds: &quot;Even in our days, there exist in certain towns along the
+Baltic, for instance at Dantzig and Stralsund, houses, <i>domus Arthi</i>,
+on which the term illustrious has been bestowed; it is there that the
+notables foregather for the relaxation of their minds, as if it were a
+kind of school of the highest courtesy and amenity.&quot; Hence in the
+trading cities of the north the magnificent structures set apart for
+public and private rejoicings, as well as for commercial transactions,
+were intimately bound up with the tradition of a legendary hero. If I
+am not mistaken, only one of those buildings still remains, namely, the
+<i>Artushof</i> of Dantzig, which does duty as an exchange, and the ancient
+halls of which were the scene of the interview of the German Emperor
+and the Czar in September, 1881. The local chroniclers assert that the
+<i>Artushof</i> of Stralsund was built with the ransom of Duke Eric of
+Saxony, taken prisoner by the city troops in 1316 The great fire of
+June 12, 1680, completely destroyed it. On its site stands the official
+residence of the military governor of the place.</p>
+
+<p class="hang2">When near his end Ketelhot expressed his regret at having, at that
+period of his scant resources, too eagerly accepted the burgher's
+hospitality. Johannes Knipstro (Knypstro or Knipstrow), born May 1,
+1497, at Sandow in the March, was at first a Franciscan monk. He and
+Ketelhot are considered as the most active propagators of the
+Reformation at Stralsund. But for the earnings of his wife, it
+is said, he would have been compelled to beg his bread, his salary
+being too small to keep body and soul together. She was an erewhile
+nun, and provided for both with her needle. Knipstro became
+superintendent-general at Wolgast in 1535, and professor of theology at
+Greifswald. He died October 4, 1556.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_13" href="#div2_13">Footnote 13</a>: Doctor and ducal councillor Valentin Stroïentin was the
+friend of Ulrich von Hutten. Bugenhagen dedicated his <i>Pomerania</i> to
+him. He died in 1539.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_14" href="#div2_14">Footnote 14</a>: Johannes Aepinus (in German Hoeck or Hoch, high), was
+born in 1499 at Ziegesar in the Urich, and died in 1553 superintendent
+at Hamburg, where he had discharged the ministry since 1529. Aepinus
+laboured hard at ecclesiastical and scholastic reform. Many writings,
+especially against the Interim, came from his pen.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_15" href="#div2_15">Footnote 15</a>: Hermann Bonnus, born in 1504, near Osnaburgh; he
+preached the new doctrine at Greifswald, Stralsund and Copenhagen, and
+died on February 12, 1548, superintendent at Lubeck, a post which had
+been confided to him in 1531. Bonnus has written a chronicle of
+Lubeck.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_16" href="#div2_16">Footnote 16</a>: Nicholas Gentzkow, doctor of law, born December 6, 1502,
+the son of a shoemaker, according to the annalist Berckmann, and
+deceased February 24, 1576, was elected burgomaster of Stralsund in
+1555. He, nevertheless, remained syndic, that is, legal adviser to the
+city, just as, after his admission to the council, Sastrow continued
+his functions of protonotary, or first secretary. Sastrow, who had many
+disagreements with Gentzkow, as, in fact, with others, succeeded him in
+the dignity of burgomaster. Gentzkow left a diary of which Zober
+published extracts in 1870.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_17" href="#div2_17">Footnote 17</a>: Wulf Wulflam, the head of the patricians of Stralsund,
+and illustrious in virtue of his warlike exploits, treated on
+a footing of equality with the crowned heads of the fourteenth
+century.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_18" href="#div2_18">Footnote 18</a>: The same story is related of the Schwerin family at
+Lubeck.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_19" href="#div2_19">Footnote 19</a>: A jocular allusion to the three Maries of Bethany, viz.,
+the mother of James the Minor and sister of the Virgin; the mother of
+the Apostles James and John, and Mary of Magdala.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_20" href="#div2_20">Footnote 20</a>: The dean of the Drapers had precedence of the deans of
+all the other corporations; in all the ceremonies he came immediately
+after the council.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_21" href="#div2_21">Footnote 21</a>: George Wullenweber was born about 1492, probably at
+Hamburg. When the political and religious struggle broke out at Lubeck,
+he was settled there as a merchant, and he distinguished himself by
+being in the front rank clamouring for changes. At the end of February,
+1533, he was elected councillor and afterwards burgomaster. From that
+moment the whole of his attempts tended in the direction of the
+restoration of the commercial monopoly the Hanseatic cities had so long
+possessed on the shores of the Baltic. The aim was to close those ports
+to the Dutch merchant navy, and to cause the influence of Lubeck to
+prevail in the three Scandinavian kingdoms.</p>
+
+<p class="hang2">In the spring of 1533, Lubeck made up its mind to come to close
+quarters with the Dutch, those detested rivals. A well-equipped fleet
+stood out to sea; the erewhile landsknecht, Marcus Meyer, who began by
+being a blacksmith at Hamburg, and had married the rich widow of a
+burgomaster, assumed the command of the mercenaries. The others had,
+however, been forewarned, and only some unimportant captures were made.
+Meyer, after having confiscated English merchandize found on board of
+the captured craft, made the mistake of landing on the English coast to
+revictual; he was arrested for piracy and taken to London. By a whim of
+Henry VIII, jealous of the power of the Netherlands and of Charles V,
+Marx Meyer, instead of being put to death, received a knighthood and
+immediately served as an intermediary between the king and Wullenweber
+in the more or less serious negotiations they started.</p>
+
+<p class="hang2">This first campaign had cost much, and its issue was not very
+profitable. The Dutch fleet had got some good prizes, and pillaged on
+the Schonen (Swedish) coast some of the factories belonging to the
+Hanseatic combination. The complaints of the traders themselves became
+general. Was the war to be pursued? A diet foregathered at Hamburg in
+March, 1534, in order to come to an understanding. Wullenweber was
+received with universal recrimination; his haughty attitude drew from
+the Stralsund delegate the famous and prophetic reminder recorded by
+Sastrow a few pages further on. The proud burgomaster left the place at
+the end of a few days, angry and embittered at heart; in spite of this,
+an armistice of four years was signed:</p>
+
+<p class="hang2">Naturally, Wullenweber felt it incumbent to retrieve this check. The
+elective throne of Denmark had become vacant through the death of
+Frederick I of Holstein: His son, Christian III, was unfavourably
+disposed towards the Hanseatic cities. Under those circumstances
+Wullenweber hit upon the idea of the candidature of Christian II, who
+had been deposed and afterwards confined to the castle of Sunderburg in
+the island of Alsen. A condottiere of high birth, Christopher of
+Oldenburg, accepted the chief command of the expedition. But the bold
+burgomaster, not satisfied with the restoration of Christian II.,
+offered to Duke Albrecht of Mecklenburg the crown of Sweden at that
+time borne by Gustavus Wasa. That monarch had committed the blunder of
+not showing himself sufficiently grateful for the aid lent to him by
+Lubeck in days gone by.</p>
+
+<p class="hang2">The beginnings of the campaign were successful. Copenhagen opened even
+its doors to the Count of Oldenburg. Christian III, however, had
+secured an able captain in Count Johannes Rantzau, who, leaving the
+enemy to carry on his devastations in Sealand, boldly came to invest
+Lubeck, inflicted a bloody defeat on Marx Meyer and captured eight
+vessels of war. Wullenweber understood that it was time to make
+concessions; his partners retired from the councils, and on November
+18, 1534, the very curious convention with Rantzau was concluded at
+Stockeldorf by which the Lubeckers were left free to continue warring
+in Denmark in favour of Christian II, but bound themselves to cease
+hostilities in Holstein.</p>
+
+<p class="hang2">The candidates for the Danish throne increased. Albrecht of Mecklenburg
+and even Count Christopher laid more and more stress upon their
+pretensions; Wullenweber, in order to conciliate the Emperor, put
+forward at the eleventh hour the name of a personage agreeable to the
+House of Hapsburg, namely, Count Palatine Frederick, the son-in-law of
+Christian II. The war went on with Christian III, whose cause Gustavus
+Wasa had espoused. Marx Meyer fell into the hands of the enemy; left
+prisoner on parole, he broke his pledge, made himself master of the
+very castle of Warburg that had been assigned to him as a residence,
+and his barbaric and cruel incursions terrified the country all round.
+The naval battle of Borholm on June 9, 1535, was not productive of a
+decisive result, a storm having dispersed the opposing fleets, but on
+June 11 Johannes Rantzau scored a victory on land in Denmark; and
+finally, on June 16, at Svendsburg, the Lubeck fleet fell without
+firing a shot into the hands of Admiral Peter Skramon. Added to all
+these catastrophes, Lubeck was threatened with being put outside the
+pale of the Empire; the game was evidently lost. Nevertheless peace
+with Christian III was only signed on February 14, 1536.</p>
+
+<p class="hang2">Marx Meyer, after a splendid defence, surrendered Warburg, on the
+condition of his retiring with the honours of war; in spite of their
+promise, the Danes tried and executed him together with his brother on
+June 17, 1536. On July 28 of the same year Copenhagen capitulated,
+after having sustained a twelve months' investment, aggravated by
+famine. Christian III gave their liberty to Duke Albrecht of
+Mecklenburg and to Count Christopher, although he inflicted repeated
+humiliations on the latter. As for the Duke, the adventure left him
+crestfallen for a long while.</p>
+
+<p class="hang2">At Lubeck the men of the old regime obtained power once more,
+Wullenweber having resigned towards the end of August, 1535. In the
+beginning of October, while crossing the territory of the Archbishop of
+Bremen, the brother of his enemy, Duke Heinrich the Younger, of
+Brunswick, he was arrested, taken to the castle of Rothenburg, and put
+on the rack as a traitor, an anabaptist and a malefactor. After which
+he was transferred to the castle of Stainbrück, between Brunswick and
+Hildesheim, and flung into a narrow dungeon, where to this day the
+following inscription records the event: &quot;Here George Wullenweber
+suffered, 1536-1537.&quot; Finally, on September 24, a court of aldermen
+summoned at Tollenstein, near Wolfenbüttel, by Heindrich of Brunswick,
+sentenced the wretched man to suffer death by the sword, a sentence
+which was carried out immediately, the executioner quartering the body
+and putting it on the wheel. Such was the deplorable end of the man
+whose ambition had dreamt the political and commercial domination of
+his country in the north of Europe. According to a sailor's ditty of
+old, &quot;The people of Lubeck are regretting every day the demise of
+Master George Wullenweber.&quot; The historian Waitz has devoted three
+volumes to the career of the famous burgomaster; the purely literary
+men and dramatic authors, Kruse and Gutzkow, have also seized upon this
+dramatic figure.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_22" href="#div2_22">Footnote 22</a>: Under the name of Wends, the Sclavs settled on the shores
+of the Baltic, engaged in maritime traffic, and became the founders of
+the Hanseatic League. In the sixteenth century the kernel of that
+confederation still consisted of the group of the six Wendish cities:
+&quot;Lubeck the chief one, Hamburg, Luneburg, Rostock, Stralsund and
+Wismar.&quot;--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_23" href="#div2_23">Footnote 23</a>: The Hanseatic League had established its most important
+factories, and above all for the herring traffic, in Schonen; enormous
+fairs were being held there from the beginning of July to the end of
+November. The centre of all this commerce was Falsterbo, at the extreme
+southwest of Sweden.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_24" href="#div2_24">Footnote 24</a>: Valentin Eichstedt died in 1600 as Chancellor of Wolgast.
+He wrote the life of Duke Philip I, an <i>Epitome Annalium Pomerania</i> and
+<i>Annales Pomeraniae</i>. Johannes Berckmann, a former monk of the order of
+St. Augustine, and preacher, an eye-witness of the scenes of the
+Reformation at Stralsund, is the author of a chronicle of that city
+which was published in 1833 by Mohnike and Gober. Sastrow has now and
+again borrowed from him for events anterior to his personal
+recollections; he nevertheless rarely misses an opportunity of
+attacking his fellow-worker in history. This may have been due to
+hatred of the popular party and perhaps to professional jealousy, apart
+from the fact of Berckmann being more favourable to his patron Christopher
+Lorbeer than to Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow. Born about the end of
+the fifteenth century, Berckmann died in 1560.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_25" href="#div2_25">Footnote 25</a>: Robert Barnes, chaplain to Henry VIII, and sent by the
+latter to Wittemberg in order to consult the theologians on the subject
+of Henry's divorce from Catherine of Arragon. At his return to London
+he showed so much zeal for the new faith that Henry sent him to the
+Tower. He recanted in order to recover his freedom; then overwhelmed
+with remorse fled to Wittemberg and stayed there several years with
+Bugenhagen under the name of Dr. Antonius Anglus. Henry VIII, after his
+rupture with the Pope, reinstated Barnes as his chaplain and entrusted
+him with the negotiations of his marriage with Anne of Cleves; but when
+the divorce took place, Barnes was brought before Parliament and was
+burned July 30, 1540. He wrote the lives of the Roman pontiffs from St.
+Peter to Alexander III.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_26" href="#div2_26">Footnote 26</a>: Arnold Büren, the son of a peasant, took his name from
+the hamlet of Büren, in Westphalia, in the neighbourhood of which he
+was born, in 1484. He spent fifteen years at Wittemberg with Luther and
+Melanchthon. The latter recommended him to the Duke of Mecklenburg,
+Henry the Pacific, as a tutor to his son Magnus, who was reported to be
+the most learned prince of his times. To Büren belongs the credit of
+having restored the prestige of the University of Rostock, seriously
+impaired by the pest and by the troubles of the Reformation. He died on
+September 16, 1566. His tomb is in St. Mary's, at Rostock; among the
+scutcheons adorning it are the Genevese key and eagle.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_27" href="#div2_27">Footnote 27</a>: The herring fishery and the brewing industry gave a great
+importance to the coopers' guild, which was moreover protected against
+foreign competition by ancient enactments.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_28" href="#div2_28">Footnote 28</a>: Gaspard von Schwenkfeld, born in 1490 at the castle of
+Offing, in Silesia, died at Ulm in 1561. Entered into holy orders, he
+reproached Luther with restoring the reign of literal interpretation
+and with neglecting the spirit. Banished from Silesia as a fanatic, he
+made his way to Southern Germany, and stayed at Strasburg, Augsburg,
+Spires and Ulm. For some time he seemed to incline towards the
+Anabaptists, but soon parted from them to found a particular sect. He
+taught that God reveals Himself in direct communication to every man,
+and that regeneration is accomplished by the spiritual life and not by
+outward means of grace. His profound conviction and great piety gained
+him many adherents, notably in Swabia and Silesia. A colony of his
+persecuted disciples settled in Philadelphia, U.S.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_29" href="#div2_29">Footnote 29</a>: At the head of the bands recruited by the Duke of Cleves
+and the King of Denmark, Martin van Rosse, or von Rossheim, acting in
+concert with the French troops, had ravaged Brabant. Not only did the
+Duke of Cleves retain Guelderland, on which Charles V pretended to
+have claims, but he continued his intrigues with France and Denmark. To
+put an end to these, Charles, in 1543, got together 35,000 men,
+Spaniards, Italians and Germans, and proceeded down the Rhine. The
+fortified place of Düren having been carried by assault, the Duke
+considered himself lucky to be able to conclude a peace which only cost
+him Guelderland, and Martin van Rosse took service once more with the
+Emperor.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_30" href="#div2_30">Footnote 30</a>: Sastrow has the whole of the grant of poet laureate,
+with the full description of the arms conferred. In reality it
+was not a patent of nobility in the proper significance of the
+term.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_31" href="#div2_31">Footnote 31</a>: Les especes enlevées, il renferma la bourse et le fou de
+s'écrier: &quot;Monseigneur, appelez votre coquin de prêtre (il ne le
+calumnioit point) qu'on le taille à son tour. Votre Grace sait qu'il a
+engrossé une fille de Butzbach.&quot; On suspendit derrière le poêle les
+angelots cousus dans un sachet.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_32" href="#div2_32">Footnote 32</a>: Duke Henry of Brunswick endeavoured to hold his own
+against the Protestant princes, but in 1545, abandoned by the
+mercenaries, he was compelled to surrender to the Landgrave Philip of
+Hesse.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_33" href="#div2_33">Footnote 33</a>: On the subject of the child Simeon, the following may be
+read with interest in the martyrology of the Israelites, entitled <i>Emek
+Habakha</i>, or <i>The Valley of Tears</i> (published by Julian Sée, 1881): &quot;At
+that period (1475), a scoundrel named Enzo, of Trent, in Italy, killed
+a child of two years old with the name of Simeon and flung it secretly
+into a pond, not far from the house of the Jew Samuel without any one
+having seen the deed. Immediately, as usual, the Jews were accused of
+it. At the order of the bishop their houses were entered into; the
+child, of course, was not found, and everybody went back to his home.
+The body was found afterwards. The bishop, after having had it examined
+on the spot itself, ordered the arrest of all the Jews, who were
+harassed and tortured to such a degree as to confess to a thing which
+had never entered their mind. Only one among them, a very old man,
+named Moses, refused to avow this signal falsehood and died under his
+torture. May the Lord reward him according to his piety.&quot;</p>
+
+<p class="hang2">Two Christians, learned and versed in the law came from Padua to judge
+for themselves. The wrath of the inhabitants of Trent was kindled
+against them and they were nearly killed. The bishop condemned the
+Jews, heaped bitterness upon them, tortured them with red-hot pincers,
+finally burned them, and their guiltless souls ascended to heaven. He
+subsequently took possession of all their property as he had intended,
+and filled his cellars with spoil. The child was already reported as
+admitted among the saints, and was supposed to perform miracles. The
+bishop disseminated the announcement of it throughout all the
+provinces, crowds rushed to see, and they did not come empty-handed.
+All the people of that country began to show great hatred to the Jews
+in the spots where they resided, and ceased to speak peacefully to
+them. Meanwhile, the bishop having asked the pope to canonize the
+child, considering that it was among the saints, the pope sent one of
+his cardinals with the title of legate to examine the affair more
+closely, and the latter did not fail before long to discover that it
+was nothing but an imposture and fancy. He also wished to see the
+corpse; the corpse was embalmed. Thereupon the cardinal began to jeer;
+he declared in the presence of the people that it was nothing but sheer
+deception. The people, however, became furious against him; he was
+obliged to flee and to take refuge in a neighbouring town. When there
+he sent for all the documents relating to the avowals of the
+unfortunate Jews and the measures taken against them, had the servant
+of the scoundrel who killed the child arrested, and the latter declared
+that the crime had been committed by order of the bishop in order to
+ruin the Jews. The cardinal took the servant with him to Rome, gave an
+account of his mission to the pope, who refused to canonize the child
+as the bishop kept asking him. The child was only &quot;beatified,&quot; but up
+to the present (1540) it has not been &quot;canonized.&quot; Still, it was
+canonized in 1588, and its &quot;day&quot; is celebrated with great pomp at Trent
+on March 24.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_34" href="#div2_34">Footnote 34</a>: Ascagne, Count of St. Florian and Cardinal, was the son
+of Constance Farnese, daughter of Pope Paul III.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_35" href="#div2_35">Footnote 35</a>: Duke Octavius was the son of Peter-Aloys
+Farnése.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_36" href="#div2_36">Footnote 36</a>: This epicure was prelate of Augsburg, Johannes Fugger,
+who in reality travelled for the sole purpose of getting a knowledge of
+the different vintages. His servant had the following words cut on his
+tombstone: &quot;<i>Est, Est, Est et propter nimium Est; dominus meus mortuus
+est.</i>&quot; The defunct left a legacy to empty so many bottles of wine on
+his grave once a year, a ceremony replaced nowadays by a distribution
+of bread to the poor. The wine of Montefiascone owes its name of <i>Est,
+Est, Est</i> to this adventure.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_37" href="#div2_37">Footnote 37</a>: The famous Captain Schaertlin von Burtenbach had received
+the command of the Protestant forces, among which figured the
+contingents of Ulm and Augsburg: The successful night-surprise against
+the fortress of Ehrenberg-Klause marks the beginning of the war of
+Schmalkalden. From that moment Schaertlin, having become master of the
+passages of the Tyrol, could stop the reinforcements despatched from
+Italy to the emperor; he could descend into the plain and drive away
+the Council of Trent. The citizens of Augsburg, though, being anxious
+for the safety of their own town, pressed him to come back. &quot;He obeyed,
+racked,&quot; says one of his own companions, &quot;by the same despair that
+Hannibal felt when recalled from Italy by Carthage.&quot; The taking of the
+same fortress by Mauritz of Saxony in 1552 compelled Charles V to leave
+Innspruck in hot haste.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_38" href="#div2_38">Footnote 38</a>: Here follows a very unsavoury passage, showing the
+lamentable want of cleanliness even among the educated middle classes
+in the sixteenth century throughout Europe, for the particulars given
+by Sastrow did not apply to Germany only.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_39" href="#div2_39">Footnote 39</a>: It is not the final dissolution brought about by the
+defeat of Mühlberg. A passage from Sleidan explains the league of
+Schmalkalden at the end of 1546. &quot;The embassies of the Protestants,
+which were not agreed, foregathered with the hope of being enabled to
+deliberate more efficiently. But inasmuch as the 'Allied of the
+Religion' gave no help, and the confederates of Luneburg and Pomerania
+did not assist in anything, inasmuch as the other States and towns of
+Saxony were most sparing with their subsidies, as there came nothing
+from France, and the army dwindled down day by day because the soldiers
+took their discharge on account of the season and other discomforts, it
+was proposed to adopt one of three measures: to give battle, to retire
+and put the soldiers into winter quarters, or to make peace. The
+discussion resulted in a hint to make peace. But because the emperor,
+who was aware of the state of things through his spies, proposed too
+onerous conditions, it was decided to take the whole of the army into
+Saxony. In consequence of all this, the war was by no means
+successfully conducted.&quot;--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_40" href="#div2_40">Footnote 40</a>: Gaspard Pflug, the chief of the Protestant party in
+Bohemia, must not be mistaken for Julius Pflug, Bishop of Naumburg, one
+of the three men who drew up &quot;the Interim.&quot;--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_41" href="#div2_41">Footnote 41</a>: Sastrow gives only one specimen, but I cannot reproduce
+it.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_42" href="#div2_42">Footnote 42</a>: After the victory of Mühlberg, the imperial army went to
+lay siege to Wittenberg, which finally capitulated at the advice of
+Johannes Friedrich of Sachsen himself.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_43" href="#div2_43">Footnote 43</a>: The jurist, George Sigismund Seld, born in 1516, the son
+of a goldsmith at Augsburg, had become vice-chancellor at the death of
+Nares. His deputies were Johannes Marquardt of Baden, and Heinrich
+Hase, formerly counsellor to the Count Palatine and the Prince of
+Deux-Ponts. Seld died in 1565.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_44" href="#div2_44">Footnote 44</a>: Christopher von Carlowitz, born at Heimsdorff, near
+Dresden, on December 7, 1507, died on January 8, 1578. He was the able
+counsellor of the valiant but changeable Maurice of Saxony, who, as is
+well known, deserted the Protestant side for that of the emperor, and
+was rewarded with the electoral dignity of which his kinsman and
+neighbour Johannes-Friedrich was deprived. A few years later, Maurice,
+at the head of the vanquished of Mühlberg, recommenced the struggle
+against the emperor, and in 1552 imposed upon that monarch the peace of
+Passau. In July 1553 Maurice met with a glorious death on the
+battlefield of Sievershausen, where the Margrave of Brandenburg
+suffered a defeat.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_45" href="#div2_45">Footnote 45</a>: It was at Ingoldstadt that the challenge of the
+Protestant princes was presented to Charles V. by a young squire,
+accompanied by a trumpeter. The emperor simply sent word to the two
+messengers that he granted them a safe-conduct; as for those by whom
+they were sent, he should know how to deal with them. That is the
+modern version of Ranke. According to Sastrow there were two challenges
+and he gives them both. The first was brought to Landshut by a
+gentleman accompanied by a trumpeter. Charles refused to receive him.
+The second is that of Ingoldstadt, and is posterior by three weeks to
+the other. It was presented on September 2. &quot;This missive,&quot; adds
+Sastrow, &quot;has been the cause of all the great ills that have befallen
+Germany, and I verily believe that wishing to chastise the German
+nation for her sins, God allowed it to be written with infernal ink.
+Neither Sleidan nor Beuter mentions it; it seems to me that there was
+an attempt to garble or altogether to suppress it.&quot;--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_46" href="#div2_46">Footnote 46</a>: Sastrow had no easy task for his diplomatic beginnings:
+Charles V had gained the crushing victory of Mühlberg over the German
+Protestants on April 24, 1547; the League of Schmalkalden had ceased to
+exist; its chiefs, the Elector Johannes-Friedrich of Sachsen and the
+Landgrave of Hesse, Philip the Magnanimous, were both prisoners. Though
+they were members of that league since 1536, the Dukes of Pomerania
+had, it is true, observed a neutral attitude during the latter years;
+nevertheless, the emperor's resentment inspired them, not without
+reason, with great fear. Preparations for defence commenced everywhere;
+Greifswald and Stralsund strengthened and increased their
+fortifications. Finally, the dukes obtained their pardon, in
+consideration of humiliating excuses, the acceptance of the Interim,
+and the payment of a large contribution, towards which Stralsund
+contributed 10,000 florins.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_47" href="#div2_47">Footnote 47</a>: The Duke Frederick III von Liegnitz in Silesia, born in
+1520, had become reigning duke in 1547. His ill-regulated conduct
+caused him to be called &quot;the Extravagant.&quot; Finally, the Emperor ordered
+him to be deposed. Frederick III, who died in 1570, spent the last six
+years of his life dependent upon private charity at the castle of
+Liegnitz. Heindrich XI, his son and successor, followed his example in
+every respect.</p>
+
+<p class="hang2">Far distant from Silesia, in a mountainous region of Switzerland, there
+lived at that period another offshoot of an illustrious princely house,
+namely, Count Michael de Gruyère, who, the last of his race, was soon
+compelled to abandon to his creditors even the manor of his ancestors
+By a curious coincidence the two incorrigible spendthrifts met at the
+French court and became, it appears intimately acquainted, for the
+noble Silesian paid a visit to the French noble in 1551 at his seat at
+Devonne, near Geneva. It would be impossible to conceive a better
+matched couple. Michael, finding his guest to be suffering from fever
+caused by a fall from his horse at Lyons, took him to the Castle of
+Gruyère. True to his custom, Frederick soon asked for a loan, and
+obtained a big sum which the count himself had borrowed.</p>
+
+<p class="hang2">When it came to repayment they fell out; there was a lawsuit at
+Friburg, and the Duke, ordered to refund, gave some jewels as security,
+which, after all, were not redeemed. A letter from the Countess de
+Gruyère says, in fact, that Count Michael, holding several precious
+stones of great beauty, having belonged to the Duke von Liegnitz, has
+pledged part of them with the lords of Lucerne and another part with
+various people of Friburg. An innkeeper of that town with whom
+the prince had lodged put a distraint on certain jewels and other
+objects. Frederick succeeded in leaving the country, as usual, without
+paying.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_48" href="#div2_48">Footnote 48</a>: Those who refused to Charles V the title of Emperor
+Called him Charles of Ghent.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_49" href="#div2_49">Footnote 49</a>: Lazarus von Schwendi was born in 1525. After a brilliant
+university career at Basle and Strasburg, he entered the service of
+Charles V, who employed him both in warfare and in diplomatic
+negotiations. It was he who was ordered to arrest, at Wissemburg,
+Sebastian Vogelsberg, who, in spite of the Emperor's prohibition,
+had taken service with France, and was relentlessly executed as an
+example to Schaerlin and other Protestant captains who had taken refuge
+at the court of the king. Schwendi became a member of the Imperial
+Council for German Affairs. He went through all the campaigns in
+Germany, the Low Countries and Hungary. In 1564 he was appointed
+general-in-chief against the Turks. He retired to Alsace, and died
+there in May, 1583, bequeathing to Strasburg ten thousand florins for
+poor students.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_50" href="#div2_50">Footnote 50</a>: Nicholas Perrenot de Granvelle, born at Ornans (Doubs) in
+1486, died at Augsburg in 1550. He was the most influential minister of
+Charles V. His son, Anthony, who was born at Besançon in 1517,
+inherited the paternal omnipotence. Appointed Bishop of Arras
+at twenty-three years of age, he died a cardinal at Madrid in
+1586.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_51" href="#div2_51">Footnote 51</a>: These &quot;Portuguese&quot; golden coins were pieces of mark and
+often served as presents.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_52" href="#div2_52">Footnote 52</a>: Margrave Albrecht of Brandenburg-Culmbach, nicknamed
+Alcibiades, was born in 1522 and died in 1555. These two princes were
+fated to oppose each other in 1553 at Sievershausen, where Maurice,
+though victorious, perished. He had been ordered to reduce Albrecht
+to order, as the latter continued to trouble the peace of the
+Empire.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_53" href="#div2_53">Footnote 53</a>: &quot;Truc&quot; was a kind of game of skill, not unlike billiards,
+but more like bagatelle. There is a reproduction from an ancient
+picture of a &quot;truc&quot; board in Richter's <i>Bilder aus der Deutschen
+Kulturgeschichte</i>, vol. ii. p. 385.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_54" href="#div2_54">Footnote 54</a>: At a grand ball at the court of Philip V of Spain,
+the Duke de Saint Simon saw nearly two centuries later the ladies
+seated on the carpet covering the floor of one of the reception
+rooms.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_55" href="#div2_55">Footnote 55</a>: Jacob Sturm, of Sturmeck, the great magistrate and
+reformer of Strasburg, &quot;the ornament of the German nobility,&quot; and who
+undertook not less than ninety-one missions between 1525 and 1552. He
+was born at Strasburg in 1489, and died therein 1553.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_56" href="#div2_56">Footnote 56</a>: Of all the towns of Upper Germany Constance was the last
+to submit to the emperor. On August 6, 1548, it was suddenly placed
+without the ban of the Empire, and on the same day a contingent of
+Spaniards endeavoured to take it by force. Though surprised, the
+inhabitants took up arms. The enemy, already master of the advanced
+part of the town, made for the bridge over the Rhine, and it was feared
+that they would enter pell-mell with the retreating defenders. At that
+critical moment, a burgher who was hard pressed by two Spaniards,
+performed an act of heroism; he took hold of his adversaries, and
+recommending his soul to God, dragged them into the stream with him,
+giving his townsmen time to close the gates. Constance escaped for the
+nonce, but, after having vainly waited for help, it had to capitulate
+on the following October 14.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_57" href="#div2_57">Footnote 57</a>: Sastrow's portrait is wanting in the collection of
+portraits of the burgomasters of Stralsund. The passage above suggests
+Sastrow's likeness to Jacob Sturm.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_58" href="#div2_58">Footnote 58</a>: The &quot;Interim&quot; was the document drawn up by Charles V in
+1548, which, until the decision of a general Church Convocation, was to
+guide both Catholics and Protestants, which document was disliked by
+both.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_59" href="#div2_59">Footnote 59</a>: Johannes Walther von Hirnheim belonged to an old knightly
+family and had no children by his wife Margaret Goeslin.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_60" href="#div2_60">Footnote 60</a>: In 1548, after the promulgation of the &quot;Interim,&quot;
+Melanchthon and some other theologians proposed a <i>modus vivendi</i> which
+was called the &quot;Leipzig Interim.&quot; They accepted the jurisdiction of
+bishops, confirmation and last unction, fasts and feasts, even those of
+the <i>Corpus Domini</i>, and nearly the whole of the ancient Canon of the
+Mass. All this, according to them, was so much <i>adiophora</i>, in other
+words, things of no importance, to submit to which was perfectly
+permissible for the sake of the unity and peace of the Church. This
+concession, which was considered as a sign of weakness by many, caused
+an animated polemical strife.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_61" href="#div2_61">Footnote 61</a>: The Lloytz were the richest merchants of Stettin. They
+went bankrupt in 1572 for twenty &quot;tuns&quot; of gold, i.e. for 280,000
+pounds sterling. Half a century later the council of Stettin still
+attributed the bad state of business to that failure.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_62" href="#div2_62">Footnote 62</a>: The letter of the celebrated geographer is in Latin and
+reads as follows: &quot;I received thy letter dated from Spires January 22,
+together with a large bundle of manuscripts and maps coming from
+Pomerania. The ducal chancellor Citzewitz when I saw him promised me
+those documents before Christmas without fail. We even waited for
+another month, and nothing having come, we proceeded with our work. The
+same thing happened with the Duchy of Cleves. In the one case as in the
+other, I decline all responsibility, for in both I gave the rulers of
+those countries ample notice. Herr Petrus Artopaeus asks me to send
+thee the map of Pomerania, which he dispatched to me from Augsburg two
+years ago. I comply with his wish; thou no doubt knowest what to do
+with it. At the Frankfurt fair I shall write to the Chancellor of
+Pomerania; I am too busy to do so at present: We are printing the last
+sheets of the <i>Cosmographiae</i>; the printer must be ready to offer this
+costly work for sale at the next fair, and it must be illustrated with
+a number of figures. Among the things sent from Pomerania, I have found
+the drawing of a big black fish with an explanation which I detach from
+it in order for thee to copy it clearly, for I have my doubts about the
+word '<i>Braunfisch</i>' (if I have read aright), and even stronger doubts
+with regard to the English and Spanish. I shall feel obliged by thy
+writing me those names more distinctly and to send them to me at the
+Easter vacation by one of the many merchants from Basle who pass
+through Spires on their return from the fair. Meanwhile, I wish thee
+good health! Basle, Wednesday after <i>Riminiscere</i> (the second Sunday in
+Lent).&quot; The printer of the <i>Cosmographie</i> was H. Petri. Artopaeus
+points out the theologian Peter Becker as the author of the description
+of Pomerania largely consulted by Münster.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_63" href="#div2_63">Footnote 63</a>: A very ancient custom obliged the Ammeister, or first
+magistrate of Strasburg, regularly to take his two meals per day during
+his year of office at the expense of the city, at &quot;The Lantern,&quot; unless
+he preferred the stewpans patronized by his own tribe. The table was
+open to every one willing to pay the fixed price. &quot;<i>Ad istum prandium
+omnibus et incolis et peregrinis pro certo pretio accedere licet</i>,&quot;
+says the <i>Itinerarium Germaniae</i> of Hentzer, who visited Strasburg in
+1599. Seven years later a gentleman from the March mentions also in his
+journal the <i>Ammeisterstube</i> (the <i>Ammeister's</i> room), where the
+<i>Ammeister</i> and two <i>Stadmeister</i> take their daily meals. Everybody is
+free to go in and to be served by paying. Each tribe (set) has its
+particular stewpan. What becomes of the <i>Ammeister's</i> usual haunt when
+the <i>Ammeister</i> is a member of that particular tribe? Nevertheless, the
+establishment mostly patronized is that of the Grain Market, which is
+conveniently situated. Among other strictly observed formalities are
+the blessing and the grace, announced by the rapping with a wand, and
+the proceedings are always opened by a reminder of the submission due
+to the authorities. The custom no doubt had its origin in the
+provisions for public order which induced the magistrates of Geneva to
+close all the taverns in 1546. They were replaced by five so-called
+abbeys, each having at its head one of the four syndics or their
+lieutenant; but after a few weeks, this reform, the idea of which had
+been brought, perhaps, from Strasburg by Calvin had to be abandoned.
+The <i>Ammeister</i> for 1570 being too feeble to eat twice a day at the
+expense of the city, the supper was suppressed. It would appear,
+however, that the magistrates &quot;forgot themselves&quot; at table, for the
+Council of Fifteen made an order in 1585 obliging the <i>Ammeister</i> to be
+at the Town Hall at one o'clock. &quot;The magistrates too often only
+appeared at the Senate and at the chancellerie between three and four
+o'clock,&quot; says a chronicler. Apparently the order did not remedy the
+evil, as in 1627 it was decided to do away with the ancient
+institution.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_64" href="#div2_64">Footnote 64</a>: An allusion to the thief whose execution Sastrow saw in
+Rome.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_65" href="#div2_65">Footnote 65</a>: The bishopric of Cammin had been secularized; the
+importance of the debate bore wholly upon the revenues.--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_66" href="#div2_66">Footnote 66</a>: This son, who became a doctor of law and who died in 1593
+without issue, had a very hasty temper. On one occasion he drew his
+sword at a sitting of the Council whither his father had sent him to
+present a document. On another occasion he shook the hall by violently
+striking the magisterial bench with his fist, while his father kept
+saying: &quot;Gently, Johannes, gently.&quot;--<span class="sc">Translator</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="hang1"><a name="div2Ref_67" href="#div2_67">Footnote 67</a>: It is to his two daughters Catherine and Amnistia, and to
+his two sons-in-law Heinrich Gottschalk and Jacob Clerike, and to their
+children, that Sastrow has dedicated his <i>Memoirs</i>, his son being
+already dead.--Translator.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<hr class="W10">
+
+<h4>Butler &amp; Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London.</h4>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bartholomew Sastrow, by 
+Bartholomew Sastrow and Albert D. Vandam
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BARTHOLOMEW SASTROW ***
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+</body>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bartholomew Sastrow, by
+Bartholomew Sastrow and Albert D. Vandam
+
+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: Bartholomew Sastrow
+       Being the Memoirs of a German Burgomaster
+
+Author: Bartholomew Sastrow
+        Albert D. Vandam
+
+Release Date: October 29, 2010 [EBook #33891]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BARTHOLOMEW SASTROW ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the Web Archive
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+Page scan source:
+http://www.archive.org/details/bartholomewsastr00sastiala
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Charles the Fifth.]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                              BARTHOLOMEW
+                                SASTROW
+
+
+                          BEING THE MEMOIRS OF
+                          A GERMAN BURGOMASTER
+
+
+
+            Translated by Albert D. Vandam. Introduction by
+                       Herbert A. L. Fisher, M.A.
+
+
+
+                         _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_.
+
+
+
+                                 LONDON
+                      ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE & CO LTD
+                                  1905
+
+
+
+
+                                Contents
+
+
+                                 PART I
+
+Introduction
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+
+Abominable Murder of My Grandfather--My Parents and their Family--Fatal
+Misadventure of my Father--Troubles at Stralsund--Appeal of the
+Evangelical Preachers
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+
+My Student's Days at Greifswald--Victor Bole and his tragical End--A
+Servant possessed by the Devil--My Brother Johannes' Preceptors and
+Mine--My Father's never-ending Law Suits
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+Showing the Ingratitude, Foolishness and Wickedness of the People, and
+how, when once infected with a bad Spirit, it returns with Difficulty
+to Common-Sense--Smiterlow, Lorbeer, and the Duke of Mecklenberg--Fall
+of the Seditious Regime of the Forty-eight
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IV
+
+Dr. Martin Luther writes to my Father--My Studies at Rostock and at
+Greifswald--Something about my hard Life at Spires--I am admitted as a
+Public Notary--Dr. Hose
+
+
+                               CHAPTER V
+
+Stay at Pforzheim--Margrave Ernest--My extreme Penury at Worms,
+followed by Great Plenty at a Receiver's of the Order of St. John's--I
+do not lengthen this Summary, seeing that but for my Respect for the
+Truth, I would willingly pass over many Episodes in Silence
+
+
+                               CHAPTER VI
+
+Travels in Italy--What happened to me in Rome--I take Steps to recover
+my Brother's Property--I become aware of some strange Particulars--I
+suddenly leave Rome
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VII
+
+From Rome to Stralsund, by Viterbo, Florence, Mantua, Trent, Innspruck,
+Ratisbon and Nuremberg--Various Adventures
+
+
+
+                                PART II
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+
+I am appointed Pomeranian Secretary--Something about my diurnal and
+nocturnal Journeys with the Chancellor--Missions in the Camps--Dangers
+in the Wake of the Army
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+
+A Twelve Months' Stay at Augsburg during the Diet--Something about the
+Emperor and Princes--Sebastian Vogelsberg--Concerning the Interim
+Journey to Cologne
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+How I held for two Years the Office of _Solicitator_ at the Imperial
+Chamber at Spires--Visit to Herr Sebastian Muenster--Journey to
+Flanders--Character of King Philip--I leave the Prince's Service
+
+
+
+                                PART III
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+
+Arrival at Greifswald--Betrothal and Marriage--An Old Custom--I am in
+Peril--Martin Weyer, Bishop
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+
+Severe Difficulties after my Marriage--My Labours and Success as a
+Law-writer and Notary, and subsequently as a Procurator--An Account of
+some of the Cases in which I was engaged
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+The Greifswald Council appoints me the City's Secretary--Delicate
+Mission to Stralsund--Burgomaster Christopher Lorbeer and his
+Sons--Journey to Bergen--I settle at Stralsund
+
+
+
+
+                             Illustrations
+
+Charles the Fifth                                   _frontispiece_
+
+Martin Luther
+
+Stettin, Wittenberg, Spires
+
+The Diet of Augsburg
+
+An Execution at the time of the Reformation
+
+Ferdinand the First
+
+Melanchthon
+
+View of Stralsund
+
+
+
+
+                              INTRODUCTION
+
+
+If we wish to understand the pedestrian side of German life in the
+sixteenth century, I know of no better document than the autobiography
+of Bartholomew Sastrow. This hard-headed, plain-spoken Pomeranian
+notary cannot indeed be classed among the great and companionable
+writers of memoirs. Here are no genial portraits, no sweet-tempered and
+mellow confidings of the heart such as comfortable men and women are
+wont to distil in a comfortable age. The times were fierce, and passion
+ran high and deep. One might as well expect to extract amiability from
+the rough granite of an Icelandic saga. There is no delicacy, no charm,
+no elevation of tone in these memoirs. Everything is seen through plain
+glass, but seen distinctly in hard and fine outlines, and reported with
+an objectivity which would be consistently scientific, were it not for
+some quick touches of caustic humour, and the stored hatreds of an
+active, unpopular and struggling life. Nobody very readily sympathizes
+with bitter or with prosperous men, and when this old gentleman took up
+his pen to write, he had become both prosperous and bitter. He had
+always been a hard hitter, and at the age of seventy-five set himself
+down to compose a fighting apologia. If the ethics are those of Mr.
+Tulliver, senior, we must not be surprised. Is not the blood-feud one
+of the oldest of Teutonic institutions?
+
+I frankly confess that I do not find Mr. Bartholomew Sastrow very
+congenial company, though I am ready to acknowledge that he had some
+conspicuous merits. Many good men have been naughty boys at school, and
+it is possible that even distinguished philanthropists have tippled
+brandy while Orbilius was nodding. If so, an episode detailed in these
+memoirs may be passed over by the lenient reader, all the more readily
+since the Sastrovian oats do not appear to have been very wildly or
+copiously sown. It is clear that the young man fought poverty with
+pluck and tenacity. He certainly had a full measure of Teutonic
+industry, and it argues no little character in a man past thirty years
+of age to attend the lectures of university professors in order to
+repair the defects of an early education. I also suspect that any
+litigant who retained Sastrow's services would have been more than
+satisfied with this swift and able transactor of business, who appears
+to have had all the combativeness of Bishop Burnet, with none of his
+indiscretion. He was just the kind of man who always rows his full
+weight and more than his weight in a boat. But, save for his vigorous
+hates, he was a prosaic fellow, given to self-gratulation, who never
+knew romance, and married his housemaid at the age of seventy-eight.
+
+A modern German writer is much melted by Sastrow's Protestantism, and
+apparently finds it quite a touching spectacle. Sastrow was of course a
+Lutheran, and believed in devils as fervently as his great master. He
+also conceived it to be part of the general scheme of things that the
+Sastrows and their kinsmen, the Smiterlows, should wax fat and prosper,
+while all the plagues of Egypt and all the afflictions of Job should
+visit those fiends incarnate, the Horns, the Brusers and the Lorbeers.
+For some reason, which to me is inscrutable, but which was as plain as
+sunlight to Sastrow, a superhuman apparition goes out of its way to
+help a young Pomeranian scribe, who upon his own showing is anything
+but a saint, while the innocent maidservant of a miser is blown up with
+six other persons no less blameless than herself, to enforce the
+desirability of being free with one's money. This, however, is the
+usual way in which an egoist digests the popular religion.
+
+Bartholomew Sastrow was born at Greifswald, a prosperous Hanseatic
+town, in 1520. The year of his birth is famous in the history of German
+Protestantism, for it witnessed the publication of Luther's three great
+Reformation tracts--the _Appeal to the Christian Nobility of the German
+Nation_, the _Babylonish Captivity_, and the _Freedom of a Christian
+Man_. It seemed in that year as if the whole of Germany might be
+brought to make common cause against the Pope. The clergy, the
+nobility, the towns, the peasants all had their separate cause of
+quarrel with the old regime, and to each of these classes in turn
+Luther addressed his powerful appeal. For a moment puritan and humanist
+were at one, and the printing presses of Germany turned out a stream of
+literature against the abuses of the papal system. The movement spread
+so swiftly, especially in the north, that it seemed a single
+spontaneous popular outburst. But the harmony was soon broken. The
+rifts in the political and social organization of Germany were too deep
+to be spanned by any appeal to merely moral considerations. The Emperor
+Charles V, himself half-Spanish, set his face against a movement which
+was directly antagonistic to the Imperial tradition. The peasants
+revolted, committed excesses, and were ruthlessly crushed, and the
+violence of anabaptists and ignorant men threw discredit on the
+Lutheran cause. Then, too, dogmatic differences began to reveal
+themselves within the circle of the reformers themselves. There were
+disputes as to the exact significance and philosophic explanation of
+the Lord's Supper. A conference was held at Marburg, in 1529, under the
+auspices of Philip of Hesse, with a view to adjusting the differences
+between the divines of Saxony and Switzerland, but Luther and Zwingli
+failed to arrive at a compromise. The Lutheran and the Reformed
+Churches now definitely separated, and the divisions of the Protestants
+were the opportunity of the Catholic Church. The emperor tried in vain
+to reconcile Germany to the old faith. Rival theologians met, disputed,
+formulated creeds in the presence of temporal princes and their armed
+retainers. In 1530 the Diet of Augsburg forbade Protestant teaching and
+ordered the restoration of church property. Then a Protestant league
+was signed at Smalkald by John of Saxony, by Hesse, Brunswick-Luneberg,
+Anhalt, and several towns, and the emperor was defied. This was in
+1531. It was the beginning of the religious wars of Germany, the
+beginning of that tremendous duel which lasted till the peace of
+Westphalia in 1648, the duel between the League of Smalkald and Charles
+V, between Gustavus Adolphus and Wallenstein, between the Protestant
+North and the Catholic South.
+
+In the initial stage of this combat the great military event was
+the rout of the Smalkaldic allies at Muhlberg, in April, 1547,
+where Charles captured John Frederic of Saxony, transferred his
+dominions--save only a few scattered territories in Thuringia--to his
+ally, Maurice, and reduced all north Germany save the city of
+Magdeburg. It seemed for a moment as if this battle might decide the
+contest. Charles summoned a Diet at Augsburg in 1548, and carried all
+his proposals without opposition. He strengthened his political
+position by the reconstitution of the Imperial Chamber, by the
+organization of the Netherlands into a circle of the empire, and by the
+formation of a new military treasury. He obtained the consent of the
+Diet to a religious compromise called the Interim which, while
+insisting on the seven sacraments in the Catholic sense, vaguely agreed
+to the Lutheran doctrine of justification by faith, and declared that
+the two questions of the Communion in both kinds and the celibacy of
+clergy were to be left till the summoning of a free Christian council.
+The strict Lutheran party--and Pomerania was a stronghold of strict
+Lutheranism--regarded the Interim as a base betrayal of Protestant
+interests. Their pamphleteers called it the _Interitum_, or the
+death-blow, and the conversion of a prince like Joachim of Brandenburg
+to such a scheme was regarded as an ominous sign for the future.
+
+In reality, however, the success of the emperor rested upon the most
+brittle foundations. That he was chilly, reserved, un-German, and
+therefore unpopular was something, but not nearly all. The princes of
+Germany had conquered practical independence in the thirteenth century,
+and were jealous of their prerogatives. The Hanseatic towns formed a
+republican confederacy in the north, corresponding to the Swiss
+confederacy in the south. There was no adequate central machinery, and
+the Jesuit order was only just preparing to enter upon its career of
+German victories. The Spanish troops made themselves detestable,
+outraging women--a dire offence in a nation so domestic as Germany--and
+there was standing feud between the famous Castilian infantry and the
+German lansquenets. The popes did not like the emperor's favourite
+remedy of a council, and busily thwarted his ecclesiastical schemes.
+Henry II of France was on the watch for German allies against a
+powerful rival. The allies were ready. A great spiritual movement can
+never be stifled by the issue of one battle. For good or evil, men had
+taken sides; interests intellectual, moral, and material had already
+been invested either in the one cause or the other; there had been
+brutal iconoclasm; there had been ardent preaching, so simple and
+moving that ignorant women understood and wept; there had been close
+and stubborn dogmatic controversy; there had been the shedding of
+blood, and the upheavals in towns, and the building of a new church
+system, and the growth of a new religious literature. Almost a whole
+generation had now been consumed in this controversy, a controversy
+which touched all lives, and cemented or divided families. The children
+were reading Luther's Bible, and singing Luther's hymns, and learning
+Luther's short catechism. Could it be expected that such a river should
+suddenly lose itself in the sand? Nevertheless there is something
+surprising in the quick revolution of the story. In 1550 Maurice of
+Saxony intrigues with the Protestants, and in the following year
+definitely goes over to their side. In 1552 the emperor has to flee for
+his life, and the Peace of Passau seals the victory of the Protestant
+cause.
+
+One of the first provinces to be conquered for Lutheranism was the
+duchy of Pomerania. John Bugenhagen, himself a Pomeranian and the
+historian of Pomerania, was the chief apostle of this northern region,
+and those who visit the Baltic churches will often see his sable
+portrait hanging side by side with Huss and Luther on the whitewashed
+walls. Sastrow gives us an excellent picture of the various forces
+which co-operated with the teaching of Bugenhagen to effect the change.
+In Eastern Pomerania there was the violent propaganda of Dr. Amandus,
+who wanted a clean sweep of images, princes, and established powers.
+There was the democratic movement in Stralsund, led by the turbulent
+Rolof Moller, who, accusing the council of malversation, revolutionized
+the constitution of his city. There was the mob of workmen who were
+only too glad of an excuse to plunder the priests and break the altars.
+But side by side with greed and violence there was the moral revolt
+against "the fables, the absurdities, and the impious lies" of the
+pulpit, and against the vices of priest and monk. The recollection of
+the early days of Puritan enthusiasm, when the fathers of the
+Protestant movement preached the gospel to large crowds in the open
+air, as, for instance, under "St. George's churchyard elm" at
+Stralsund, remained graven on many a lowly calendar. Even the texts of
+these sermons were remembered as epochs in spiritual life. Sastrow
+records how, ceding to the request of a great number of burgesses, Mr.
+Ketelhot (being detained in the port of Stralsund by contrary winds),
+preached upon Matthew xi. 28: "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are
+heavy laden, and I will give you rest"; and then upon John xvi. 23:
+"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in
+My name, He will give it you"; and, finally: "Go ye therefore and teach
+all nations." The general pride in civic monuments proved to be
+stronger than the iconoclastic mood. Certainly the high altar
+in the Nicolai Kirche at Stralsund--probably the most elaborate
+specimen of late fifteenth-century wood carving which still survives in
+Germany--would have received a short shrift from Cromwell's Ironsides.
+
+It was Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow, of Stralsund, who brought
+Protestantism into the Sastrow family. He had seen Luther in 1523, had
+heard him preach at Wittenberg, and became a convert to the "true
+gospel." Smiterlow's daughter Anna married Nicholas Sastrow, a
+prosperous brewer and cornfactor of Greifswald, and Nicholas deserted
+the mass for the sermon. Their eldest son, John, was sent to study at
+Wittenberg, where he made the acquaintance of Luther and Melanchthon.
+He became something, of a scholar, wrote in praise of the English
+divine, Robert Barns, and was crowned poet laureate by Charles V in
+1544. The second son was Bartholomew, author of these memoirs. Three
+years after his arrival the family life at Greifswald was rudely
+disturbed. Bartholomew's father had the misfortune to commit
+manslaughter (uncharitable people called it murder), and Greifswald was
+made too hot to hold the peccant cornfactor. The father of our
+chronicler lived in banishment for several years, while his wife
+brought up the children at Greifswald, and carried on the family
+business. It happened that Bartholomew's great-uncle, Burgomaster
+Nicholas Smiterlow the second, of Stralsund, was at that time residing
+at Greifswald. He possessed the avuncular virtues, had his great-nephew
+taught Latin, and earned his eternal gratitude. In time the heirs of
+the slain man were appeased and 1,000 marks of blood-money enabled the
+elder Sastrow to return to his native city. He did not, however, remain
+long in Greifswald, but sold his house and settled in the neighbouring
+city of Stralsund, the home of his wife's relations. Bartholomew
+received his early education at Greifswald and Stralsund, but in 1538
+was sent to Rostock (a university had been founded in this town in
+1415), where he studied under two well-known pupils of Luther and
+Melanchthon, Burenius and Heinrich Welfius (Wulf). The teaching
+combined the chief elements of Humanism and of Protestant theology, the
+works of Cicero and Terence on the one hand, and the _De Anima_ of
+Melanchthon on the other.
+
+Meanwhile (1534-37) there were great disturbances in Stralsund. An
+ambitious demagogue of Lubeck, George Wullenweber, had involved the
+Hanseatic League in a Danish war. Smiterlow and Nicolas Sastrow thought
+that the war was wrong and foolish, and that it would endanger the
+interests of Stralsund. But a democracy, when once bitten by the war
+frenzy, is hard to curb, and regards moderation in the light of
+treason. Stralsund rose against its conservative council, forced
+Smiterlow to resign and compelled the elder Sastrow to remain a
+prisoner in his house for the period of a year. Father and son never
+forgot or forgave these years of plebeian uproar. For them the art of
+statesmanship was to avoid revolution and to keep the people under. "I
+recommend to my children submission to authority, no matter whether
+Pilate or Caiaphas governs." This was the last word of Bartholomew's
+political philosophy.
+
+In 1535-6 the forces of the Hanse were defeated both by land and sea,
+and the war party saw the error of its ways. Sastrow was released, and
+his uncle-in-law was restored to office to die two years later, in
+1539. But meanwhile things had gone ill with the Sastrow finances. Some
+skilful but dishonest ladies had purchased large consignments of cloth,
+not to speak of borrowing considerable sums of money from Nicholas
+Sastrow, and declined to pay their bill. During his imprisonment
+Nicholas had been unable to sell the stock of salt which he had laid in
+with a view to the Schonen herring season. A certain Mrs. Bruser, wife
+of a big draper, with a hardy conscience, had bought 1,725 florins'
+worth of the Sastrow cloth of the dishonest ladies. The Sastrows
+determined to get the money out of the Brusers. Bruser first avowed the
+debt, and then repudiated it, taking a mean advantage of the civic
+troubles of Stralsund and the decline of the Smiterlow-Sastrow
+interest. Thereupon began litigation which was not to cease for
+thirty-four years. The case was heard before the town court of
+Stralsund, then before the council of Stralsund, then before the
+_oberhof_ or appellate court of Lubeck, and finally before the Imperial
+court of Spires. Bartholomew accompanied his father on the Lubeck
+journey, obtained his first insight into legal chicanery, and was, no
+doubt, effectually inoculated with the anti-Bruser virus. In 1541 the
+elder Sastrow obtained permission to return to Greifswald, and
+Bartholomew attended for a year the lectures of the Greifswald
+professors. The family circumstances, however (there were by this time
+five daughters and three sons), were too straitened to support the
+youth in idleness. Accordingly, in June, 1542, the two eldest sons left
+their home, partly to seek their fortunes, but more especially to watch
+the great Bruser case, which was winding its slow and slippery course
+through the reticulations of the Imperial Court at Spires.
+
+There is no need to anticipate the lively narrative of Bartholomew's
+experiences in this home of litigation long-drawn-out. The reader will,
+however, note that he was lucky enough to come in for a Diet, and has
+an excellent story to tell of how the emperor was inadvertently
+horsewhipped by a Swabian carter. On May 19, 1544, Sastrow received the
+diploma of Imperial notary, and a month later he left Spires and
+entered the chancellerie of Margrave Ernest of Baden, at Pforzheim.
+This, however, was destined to prove but a brief interlude. In the
+summer of 1545 Sastrow is in the service of a receiver of the Order of
+St. John, Christopher von Loewenstein, who, after his Turkish wars, was
+living a frolicsome old age among his Frisian stallions, his huntsmen
+and his hounds. The picture of this frivolous old person, with his
+dwarf, his mistress, and his chaplain, is drawn with some spirit.
+Sastrow, who had so long felt the pinch of poverty, was now luxuriating
+in good fare and fine raiment. He has little to do, plenty to eat and
+drink, and his festivity was untempered by moral considerations. "Do
+not think to become a doctor in my house," said the genial host, and it
+must be confessed that the surroundings were not propitious to the
+study of the Institutes.
+
+The news of John Sastrow's death put an end to this jollity. The poet
+laureate had been crossed in love, and sought oblivion in Italy. The
+panegyrist of Barns entered the service of a cardinal, and died at
+Acquapendente, without explaining theological inconsistencies,
+pardonable perhaps in lovelorn poets. Bartholomew determined to recover
+the property of his deceased brother, and set out for Italy on April 8,
+1546. He walked to Venice over the Brenner, thence took ship to Ancona,
+and then travelled over the Apennines to Rome, by way of Loretto. The
+council was sitting at Trent, but theological gossip does not interest
+our traveller so much as the alto voices in the church choirs, and "the
+tomb of the infant Simeon, the innocent victim of the Jews." Nor is he
+qualified to play the role of intelligent tourist among the antiquities
+and art treasures of Italy. He was not a Benvenuto Cellini, still less
+a Nathaniel Hawthorne, bent on instructing the Philistine in the art of
+cultured enthusiasm. "A magnificent palace, a church all of marble,
+variously tinted and assorted with perfect art, twelve lions and
+lionesses, two tigers and an eagle that is all I remember of Florence."
+
+Many modern tourists may not remember as much without Sastrow's
+excuses. Italy was by this time by no means a safe place for a German.
+Paul III was recruiting mercenaries to help the emperor to fight the
+League of Smalkald, and the Spanish Inquisition was industriously
+raging in Rome. It was sufficient to be a German to be suspected of
+heresy, and for the heretic, the pyre and the gibbet were ready
+prepared. It would be difficult to conceive a moment less propitious
+for aesthetic enjoyment. "Not a week without a hanging," says Sastrow,
+who was apparently careful to attend these lugubrious ceremonies. The
+excellence of the Roman wine increased the risk of an indiscretion, and
+by July Sastrow had determined that it would be well to extricate
+himself from the perils of Rome.
+
+His reminiscences of the papal capital are vivid and curious. We seem
+to see the cardinal sweating in his shirt sleeves under the hot Italian
+sun, while his floor is being watered. Heavy-eyed oxen of the Campagna
+are dragging stone and marble through the streets to build the Farnese
+palace and splendid houses for the cardinals; the whole town is a
+tumult of building and unbuilding. Streets are destroyed to improve a
+view. If one of the effects of a celibate clergy is to promote
+immorality, another is to improve the cuisine of the taverns. Upon both
+topics Sastrow is eloquent, and there are too many confirmations from
+other quarters to permit us to doubt the substantial accuracy of his
+indictment.
+
+By August 29, 1546, Sastrow was back at Stralsund. Through the good
+offices of Dr. Knipstrow, the general superintendent, he secured a post
+in the ducal chancellerie at Wolgast. His acuteness and industry
+obtained the respect of the Pomeranian chancellor, James Citzewitz, and
+he was given the most important business to transact. On March 10,
+1547, he accompanied the ducal chancellors in the character of notary
+on a mission to the emperor. Ten years before the Dukes of Pomerania
+had joined the League of Smalkald, and they were now thoroughly alarmed
+at the Imperial victory at Muhlberg, and anxious to make their peace
+with Charles. The journey of the envoys is full of historical interest.
+Sastrow had to cross the field of Muhlberg and received ocular
+assurance of the horrors of the war and of the barbarities practised by
+the Spanish troops. He was a spectator of the humiliation of the
+Landgrave Philip of Hesse, at Halle, and to his narrative alone we owe
+the knowledge of the ironical laugh of the prince, and the angry threat
+of the emperor. From Halle the Pomeranian envoys followed Charles to
+Augsburg, having the good fortune to fall in with the drunken but
+scriptural Duke Frederick III of Liegnitz, of whose wild doings Sastrow
+can tell some surprising tales.
+
+It must have been an astonishing experience, this life at Augsburg,
+while the Diet was sitting. The gravest theological and political
+problems, problems affecting the destiny of the Empire, were being
+handled in an atmosphere of unabashed debauchery and barbarism. Every
+one, layman and clerk, let himself go. Joachim of Brandenburg consented
+to the Interim for a bribe, and the Cardinal Granvelle, like Talleyrand
+afterwards, was able to build up an enormous fortune out of "the sins
+of Germany." In the midst of the coarse revels of the town the horrid
+work of the executioner was everywhere manifest. And, meanwhile, the
+grim emperor dines silently in public, seeming to convey a sullen
+rebuke to the garrulous hospitality of his brother Ferdinand, and to
+the loose morals of the princes.
+
+The cause of the Pomeranian mission did not much prosper at Augsburg,
+and Sastrow and his friends pursued the emperor to Brussels, where they
+were at last able to effect the desired reconciliation. For the
+services rendered on this occasion Sastrow was made the Pomeranian
+solicitor at the court of Spires. The second Spires residence was
+clearly a period of honourable and not ungainful activity. Sastrow is
+busy with ducal cases; he makes another journey to the Netherlands in
+order to present Cardinal Granvelle with some golden flagons, and has
+occasion to admire the treasures of the great Flemish cities. The
+seagirt Stralsund, with its thin gusty streets, high gables, red Gothic
+gateways and tall austere whitewashed churches could not, of course,
+show the ample splendours of Brussels or Antwerp. Then, too, upon this
+Flemish voyage he saw King Philip and was impressed by the young man's
+stupid face and stiff Spanish formality. Such a contrast to his father
+Charles! Again he was sent on a mission to Basle, carrying information
+about Pomerania to Sebastian Munster, the "German Strabo," as he loved
+to hear himself called, that it might be incorporated in that learned
+scholar's universal cosmography. In 1550, however, Sastrow became aware
+that his position was being undermined by the councillors at Stettin.
+He accordingly gave up his ducal appointment, and determined to confine
+himself to private practice. He marries a wife (January 5, 1551),
+settles at Greifswald, and builds up a prosperous business, and from
+this date his memoirs are mostly concerned with the cases in which he
+was engaged.
+
+There is yet one more change of place and occupation to be noticed in
+this bustling life. In 1555 Sastrow was enticed to Stralsund by the
+offer of the post of secretary, and for the next eight-and-forty years,
+till his death in 1603, he lived in that town, battling in the full
+stream of municipal politics, councillor in 1562, burgomaster in 1578,
+and frequently chosen to represent the city on embassies and other
+ceremonial occasions. A _Rubricken Bock_, or collection of municipal
+diplomata testifies to another branch of his useful activities. Enemies
+were as plentiful as gooseberries, and he never wanted for litigation.
+His second marriage created a scandal, and furnished an occasion for
+the foeman to scoff. But the choleric old gentleman was fully capable
+of taking care of himself. "At Stralsund," he says, "I fell full into
+the infernal caldron, and I have roasted there for forty years." But he
+took good heed that the enemy should roast likewise, and at the age of
+seventy-five began to lay the fire. The first two parts of the memoirs
+were composed in 1595, the third at the end of 1597, doubtless on the
+basis of some previous diary. They were composed for the benefit of his
+children, that they might enjoy the roasting. We too now can look on
+while the flames crackle.
+
+                                             HERBERT A. L. FISHER.
+
+   New College,
+     Oxford.
+
+
+
+
+
+                                 PART I
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+
+Abominable Murder of My Grandfather--My Parents and their Family--Fatal
+Misadventure of My Father--Troubles at Stralsund--Appeal of the
+Evangelical Preachers
+
+
+My father was born in 1488, in the village of Rantzin, in the inn close
+to the cemetery, on the road to Anclam. Even before his marriage, my
+grandfather, Johannes Sastrow, exceeded by far in worldly goods,
+reputation, power and understanding, the Horns, a family established at
+Rantzin. Hence, those Horns, frantic with jealousy, constantly attacked
+him, not only with regard to his property, but also in the
+consideration he enjoyed among his fellow-men; they did not scruple to
+attempt his life. Not daring to act openly, they incited one of their
+labourers to go drinking to the inn, to pick a quarrel with its host,
+and to fall upon him. Their inheritance, in fact, was so small that
+they only needed one ploughmaster. What was the upshot? My grandfather,
+who was on his guard, got wind of the affair, and took the offensive.
+The emissary had such a cordial reception as to be compelled to beat a
+retreat "on all fours," and even this was not accomplished without
+difficulty.
+
+The enmity of the Horns obliged my grandfather to look to his security.
+About the year 1487, in virtue of a friendly agreement with the old
+overlord Johannes Osten von Quilow, he redeemed his vassalage
+(lastage), and acquired the citizenship of Greifswald, where he bought
+a dwelling at the angle of the Butchers' Street. Thither he gradually
+transferred his household goods. Johannes Sastrow, therefore, left the
+Ostens and became a citizen before my father's birth.
+
+The infamous attempt occurred in this way. In 1494, there was a
+christening not far from Rantzin, namely at Gribon, where there lived a
+Horn. In his capacity of a near relative my grandfather received an
+invitation, and as the distance was short, he took my father, who was
+then about seven, with him. The Horns took advantage of the
+opportunity; on the pretext of paying a visit to their cousin, they
+repaired to Gribon. They had come down in the world, and they no longer
+minded either the company or the fare of the peasantry; consequently,
+during the meal that followed they sat down at the same table with my
+grandfather. When they had drunk their fill towards nightfall, they all
+got up together to have a look at the stables. They fancied they were
+among themselves; as it happened one of our relatives was hiding in a
+corner, and heard them discuss matters. They intended to watch
+Sastrow's going, to gallop after him and intercept him on the road, and
+to kill him and his child. My grandfather, having been warned,
+immediately took the advice not to delay his departure for a moment.
+Taking his son by the hand, he started there and then. Alas, the
+atrocious murderers who were lying in wait for him in a clearing,
+trampled him under their horses' hoofs, inflicted ever so many wounds;
+then, their rage not being spent, they dragged him to a large stone on
+the road, and which may be seen unto this day, chopped off his right
+hand at the wrist, and left him for dead on the spot. The child had
+crept into some damp underwood, inaccessible to horses; the fast
+gathering darkness saved him from being pursued. The labourers on the
+Horn farm, driven by curiosity, had mounted their cattle; they picked
+up the victim, and pulled the child from his hiding place. One of them
+galloped to Rantzin, whence he returned with a cart on which they laid
+the wounded man, who scarcely gave a sign of life, and, in fact,
+breathed his last at the entrance to the village.
+
+The nearest relatives realized the inheritance of the orphan, sold the
+house, the proceeds of the whole amounting to 2,000 florins.[1] Lords
+who allow their vassals to amass similar sums are rare nowadays. The
+child was brought up carefully; he was taught to read, to write and to
+cipher, afterwards he was sent to Antwerp and to Amsterdam to get a
+knowledge of business. When he was old enough to manage his own
+affairs, he bought the angle of Long Street and of Huns' Street, on the
+right, towards St. Nicholas' Church, that is, two dwelling houses and
+two shops in Huns' Street.[2] One of these houses he made his
+residence; the other he converted into a brewery, and on the site of
+the shops he built the present front entrance. All this cost a great
+deal of trouble and money. He was an attractive young fellow with an
+assured bit of bread, so he had no difficulty in obtaining the hand of
+the daughter of the late Bartholomaei Smiterlow, and the niece of
+Nicholas Smiterlow, the burgomaster of Stralsund.[3] Young and pretty,
+rather short than tall, but with exquisitely shaped limbs, amiable,
+clever, unpretending, an excellent managers, and exceedingly careful in
+her conduct, my mother unto her last hour was an honest and God-fearing
+woman. My father's register shows that the marriage took place in 1514,
+the Sunday after St. Catherine's Day; the husband, as I often heard him
+say, was still short of five and twenty.
+
+At the fast just before Advent, in 1515, Providence granted the young
+couple a son who was named Johannes, after his paternal grandfather; he
+died in 1545, at Aquapendente, in Italy. In 1517, _in vigilia
+nativitatis Mariae_, my sister Anna was born; she died on August 16,
+1594, at the age of seventy-seven; she was the widow of Peter Frobose,
+burgomaster of Greifswald. On Tuesday, August 21, 1520, at six in the
+morning, I came into the world and was named Bartholomaei, after my
+maternal grandfather. I leave to my descendants the task of recording
+my demise, to which I am looking forward anxiously in my seventy-fifth
+winter.
+
+The year 1523 witnessed the birth of my sister Catherine, a charming,
+handsome creature, amiable, loyal and pious. When my brother Johannes
+returned from the University of Wittemberg, she asked him what was the
+Latin for "This is certainly a good-looking girl?" "Profecto formosa
+puella," was the answer. "And how do they say, 'Yes, not bad?'" was the
+next question. "Sic satis," replied Johannes.
+
+Some time after that, three students from Wittemberg, young fellows of
+good family, stopped for a short while in our town, and Christian
+Smiterlow asked his father, the burgomaster, to let them stay with him.
+The burgomaster, who had three grown-up daughters, invited my sister
+Catherine. Naturally, the young people talked to and chaffed each
+other, and the lads themselves made some remarks in Latin, which would,
+perhaps, have not sounded well in German to female ears. One of them
+happened to exclaim: "Profecto formosa puella!" "Sic satis!" retorted
+Catherine, and thereupon the students became afraid that she had
+understood the whole of their lively comments.
+
+In 1544 Catherine married Christopher Meyer, an only son, but an
+illiterate, dissipated, lazy and drunken oaf, who spent all his
+substance, and ruined a servant girl while my sister was in childbed.
+God punished him for his misdeeds by bringing abject misery and a
+loathsome disease upon him, but Catherine died at twenty-six, weary of
+life.
+
+My sister Magdalen was born in 1527; she died a single woman at
+twenty-two. These five children were born to my parents in Greifswald;
+the last three saw the light at Stralsund; namely, in 1529, Christian,
+who lived till he was sixty; in 1532, Barbara, who only reached
+eighteen; and in 1534, Gertrude.
+
+From their very earliest age my sisters were taught by my mother the
+household and other work appropriate to their sex. One day while
+Gertrude, who was then about five, was plying her distaff--the spinning
+wheel was not known then--my brother Johannes announced the news that
+the Emperor, the King of the Romans, the electors, the princes and
+counts, in short all the great nobles, were to foregather at a diet.
+"What for?" asked Gertrude. "To look to the proper government of the
+world," was the answer. "Good Lord," sighed the child, "why don't they
+forbid little girls to spin."
+
+The pest of 1549 took away my mother, Gertrude, Magdalen and Catherine.
+As her daughters were weeping bitterly my mother said: "Why do you
+weep? rather ask the Lord to shorten my sufferings." She died on July
+3. On the 16th it was Gertrude's turn. Magdalen was also dying; she
+left her bed to get her own shroud and that of Gertrude out of the
+linen press, and bade me be careful to fling only a little earth on her
+sister's grave, because she herself would soon be put into it; after
+which she returned to her bed and expired on July 18, the morning after
+Gertrude's burial. Magdalen was the tallest and most robust of my
+sisters, an accomplished manageress, hardworking, and her head screwed
+tightly on her shoulders. Catherine sent me all this news on September
+9, two days before her own death of the plague. She did not try to
+disguise her approaching end; on the contrary, she prayed fervently for
+it, and bade me be resigned to it. She had had two children by her
+worthless husband; I undertook the care of the boy, Christopher Meyer,
+and my sister Frobose at Greifswald mothered the girl, who was but
+scantily provided for. Christopher gave me much trouble; neither
+remonstrance nor punishment proved of any avail; when he grew up he
+would not settle down, and practically followed in the footsteps of his
+father, yielding to dissipation, and indulging in all kinds of vice.
+Nevertheless, I made him contract a good marriage which gave him a kind
+of position. He left two sons; the elder was placed by his guardians at
+Dantzig, with most respectable people, who, however, declined to keep
+him. The younger remained with me for two years, going to school
+meanwhile, and causing me greater trouble than was consistent with my
+advanced age. But I had hoped to do some good with him; alas! he was so
+bent upon following his father's example as to make me rejoice getting
+rid of the cub.
+
+My sister Barbara had been sent to Greifswald; when the plague abated,
+my father recalled her, for he was old, wretched and bowed down with
+care. Barbara was only fifteen, very pretty, amiable and hardworking.
+She married Bernard Classen, then a widower for the second time. My
+father did not like this son-in-law, against whom he had acted in the
+law courts for the other side; but Classen was not to be shaken off,
+and finally obtained my father's consent. The wedding took place on St.
+Martin's Day (November 11), 1549. On my return from Spires, I paid a
+visit to the young couple; my brother-in-law showed me the window of
+his study ornamented with my monogram and name, taking care to mention
+that he had paid a Stralsund mark to the glazier; I loosened my
+purse-strings and counted the sum to him, but the proceeding did not
+commend itself to me after the protestations of friendship my father
+had conveyed to me from Classen's part.[4]
+
+In 1521, at the Diet of Worms, where Doctor Martin Luther so
+courageously made his confession of faith, Duke Bagislaw X, the
+grandfather of the two dukes at present reigning, received from His
+Imperial Majesty Charles V the solemn investiture under the open sky
+and with the standards unfurled, to the great displeasure of the
+Elector of Brandenburg. The imperial councillors were instructed to
+bring the two competitors to an agreement at Nuremberg, or to refer the
+matter further to His Majesty in case of the failure of negotiations.
+
+In 1522 occurred the disturbances in connexion with Rolof Moller, a
+young man of about thirty, if that. His grandfather had been
+burgomaster, and in consequence he had detained in his possession a
+register of the revenues and privileges of the city. Having summoned a
+number of citizens to the monastery of St. John, he tried to prove by
+means of said register the enormous revenues of the city, and to accuse
+the council of malversation; after which he invaded the town hall, took
+the councillors to task, and treated them all like so many thieves,
+including one of his own relatives, Herr Schroeder, whom he reproached
+with being small in stature, but big in scoundrelism. Burgomaster Zabel
+Oseborn indignantly denied the accusation, and worked himself into such
+a state of excitement that he had to be conveyed home. In consequence
+of these slanders Moller constituted himself a following among the
+burghers; his numerous adherents chose forty-eight of their own (double
+the number of the members of the council), to exercise the chief power;
+the council saw its influence annulled, an act defining the limits of
+its competence and rules for its conduct was presented for signature to
+the councillors, and they were furthermore required to take the oath.
+Herr Nicholas Smiterlow alone resisted; hence, during the whole period
+of their domination, namely up to 1537, the Forty-Eight made him pay
+for his courage by unheard-of persecutions.
+
+The primary cause of this agitation, so disastrous to the city, was the
+absence of a permanent record-office. The burgomasters, or the
+secretary, took the secret papers home with them[5]; at the
+magistrate's death those documents passed to the children and
+grandchildren, then fell into the hands of strangers; and the natural
+result were indiscreet revelations hurtful to the public weal.
+
+Johannes Bugenhagen, the Pomeranian, and rector of the school of
+Treptow on the Rega, converted several monks of the monastery of
+Belbuck to the pure faith. They left the monastery. Among them should
+be mentioned Herr Christian Ketelhot, Herr Johannes Kurcke, and Herr
+George von Ukermuende, whom the Stralsund people chose as their
+preacher. But when, after three sermons at St. Nicholas', he saw the
+citizens resolved to keep him, in spite of the council who forbade him
+the pulpit, when he saw the papist clergy increase their threats, and
+the dukes expel Ketelhot and Kurcke from Treptow, he was siezed with
+fear and went away in secret.[6]
+
+Johannes Kurcke was about to set sail for Livonia, intending to engage
+in commerce there, when he was detained at Stralsund to preach, in the
+first place in the St. George's cemetery, then at the cloister of St.
+Catherine, and finally at St. Nicholas'. He died in 1527, and was
+buried at St. George's.
+
+Ketelhot had been prior of the monastery of Belbuck during sixteen
+weeks. At the instigation of the Abbot Johannes Boldewan, the same who
+had given him the prior's hood, he left for the living of Stolpe, and
+preached the Gospel there for some time. The slanders of the priests
+induced the prince to prohibit him. In vain did he claim the right to
+justify himself by word of mouth and in writing before the sovereign,
+the prelates, the lords and the cities. He failed to obtain a hearing
+or even a safe-conduct. As a consequence he went to Mecklenburg,
+intending to adopt a trade; but unable to find a suitable master, he
+came to Stralsund determined to take ship for Livonia. Contrary winds
+kept him for several weeks in port; this gave him the opportunity of
+hearing the fables, absurdities and impious lies delivered from the
+pulpit; he beheld the misconduct of the priests, their debauchery,
+drunkenness, gluttony, fornication, adultery and worse. Acceding to the
+wish of a great number of burghers, and the Church of St. George's
+being too small to hold the crowd, he preached on the Sunday before
+Ascension Day under the great lime tree of the cemetery. He first took
+for his text Matthew xi. 28: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are
+heavy laden, and I will give you rest"; then John xvi. 23: "Verily,
+verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name,
+He will give it you"; and finally: "Go ye therefore and teach all
+nations." In spite of the opposition of the council, which felt
+inclined to yield to the frantic protestation of the clergy, the
+burghers practically forced Ketelhot to come into the city, and made
+him preach at St. Nicholas'.
+
+In 1523, Duke Bogislaw, accompanied by four hundred horsemen, proceeded
+to Nuremberg to settle his disagreement with the Elector of
+Brandenburg. Among his suite were Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow and
+his son Christian. The lad, lively and strong for his age, made his
+horse curvet and prance, so that it threw him and crushed him with all
+its weight. Young Smiterlow was deformed all his life; but when it
+became evident that there was no remedy, his father sent him to the
+University of Wittemberg; but for the accident he would have placed him
+in business at Lubeck.
+
+On his way home Duke Bogislaw stopped at Wittemberg to see Luther, the
+turbulent monk. Before they had exchanged many words, the prince in a
+jocular tone said: "Master Doctor, you had better let me confess to
+you." Luther, however, replied very quickly: "No, no, gracious lord!
+Your Highness is too exalted a penitent, and I am too lowly to give him
+absolution." Luther was thinking of the august birth of his
+interlocutor, who, moreover, was exceedingly tall of stature, but the
+Duke took the reply as an allusion to the gravity of his backslidings,
+and dismissed Luther without inviting him to his table.
+
+During the absence of Duke Bogislaw, the images were destroyed at
+Stralsund as I am going to narrate. On Monday of Holy Week, 1523, Frau
+Schermer sent her servant to St. Nicholas' for a box containing relics
+which she wished to have repaired.[7] Some workmen, noticing that a
+sacred object was being taken away, began to knock down everything;
+their constantly increasing numbers ran riot in the churches and in the
+convents; the altars were overtoppled, and the images thrown to the
+four winds. With the exception of the custodian of St. John's, monks
+and priests fled from the city. Thereupon the council issued an order
+that everybody had to bring back his loot on the following Wednesday to
+the old market. The burghers only obeyed reluctantly; they only
+restored the wooden images, but the more valuable ones were not to be
+found. Two women were brought before the council; the woman Bandelwitz
+deliberately defied the burgomaster, looked him straight into the face
+and addressed him as follows: "What dost thou want with me, Johannes
+Heye? Why hast thou summoned me before thee? What crime have I
+committed?"
+
+"Thou shalt know very soon," replied the burgomaster, and had her put
+under lock and key. The same fate befell the other woman. In the market
+place the partisans of the old doctrines had taken to arms and were
+much excited, while the evangelists loudly expressed their indignation
+at this double incarceration. Bailiff (or sheriff) Schroeder made his
+appearance on horseback, and showed with a kind of affectation a
+communion cup he had confiscated, and swore to "do" for all the
+evangelicals. Leaping on to a fishmonger's bench, L. Vischer cried in a
+thundering voice: "Rally to me all those who wish to live and die for
+the Gospel."[8] The greater number rallied to his side. From the
+windows of the Town House the councillors had been watching the scene,
+and they began to fear for their personal safety when they should wish
+to go home. Rolof Moller went upstairs to make the situation clear to
+them; the two women were discharged after an imprisonment of less than
+an hour, and the Council asked the burghers to let the matter rest
+there, professing their goodwill towards them; but the crowd, slow to
+abate its anger, occupied the place up to four o'clock, after which the
+councillors could make their way without danger.
+
+When Duke Bogislaw returned, the Stralsund council endeavoured to
+persuade His Highness that the destruction of the images had taken
+place in spite of them. In his great anger the prince would not hear of
+any justification; he accused the people of Stralsund of having failed
+in their duty towards religion as well as against the sovereign who was
+the patron of the city's churches. He added that the devil would bring
+them to account for it. The duke died on September 29 of the same year
+at Stettin, leaving two sons, George and Barnim.[9]
+
+The disturbances, nevertheless, continued, for the burghers saw with
+displeasure that the council, following the example of Princes George
+and Barnim, persisted in popish practices, thereby delaying the
+progress of Evangelism. On the Monday of St. John, 1524, Rolof Moller,
+at the head of a big troop of men, made his appearance in the old
+market place and, mounted also on a fishmonger's stall, began
+addressing the people, who applauded him. The dissensions between the
+magistrates and the burghers became more accentuated every day, and
+plainly foretold the ruin of public business. Moller observed no
+measure in his attacks on the council. He was just about thirty,
+clever, and, with an attractive personality, he might count upon being
+sooner or later elected burgomaster. It was only a question of time.
+His presumption blinded him to the reality; intoxicated with popular
+favour, he allowed himself certain excesses against the council, took
+his flight before his wings had grown, and dragged a number of people
+down with him in his fall. The city itself did not recover from the
+effects of all this for close upon a century.
+
+Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow, a personage of great consideration, a
+clever spokesman, and of a firm and generous disposition, was a member
+of the council for seventeen years. Duke Bogislaw, who fully
+appreciated his work, took him to the conference at Nuremberg. The
+journey enabled the burgomaster to hear the gospel preached in its
+purity, and to become aware of the fatal error of papism. At Wittemberg
+he heard Luther preach. As a consequence, he was the first to proclaim
+the wholesome doctrine in open council, though the opposition of that
+body prevented him from supporting the propagators of the true faith
+when they kept within reasonable limits. He interposed between the
+council, the princes, and the exalted personages of the land, who were
+still wedded to papism, and Rolof Moller, the Forty-Eight, and their
+adherents who wished to carry things with too high a hand. Smiterlow
+told the council to show themselves less unbending with the burghers in
+all just and reasonable things. On the other hand, he exhorted the
+citizens to show more deference to the magistrates, giving the former
+the assurance that the preachers should not be molested, and that the
+gospel should not be hampered in its course. Unfortunately, his efforts
+failed on both sides.
+
+Then the crisis occurred. The ringleaders--among the most turbulent,
+Franz Wessel, L. Vischer, Bartholomaei Buchow, Hermann Meyer and
+Nicholas Rode lifted Rolof Moller from his fishmonger's bench--took him
+to the Town House, and made him take his seat in the burgomaster's
+chair.[10] The council was compelled to accept Rolof and Christopher
+Lorbeer as burgomasters, and eight of the citizens as councillors. In
+order to save their heads, the magistrates found themselves compelled
+to share with their sworn enemies both the small bench of the four
+burgomasters and the larger bench of twenty-four councillors. As for
+Smiterlow, his was the fate of those who interfere between two
+contending parties, the peacemakers invariably coming to grief like the
+iron between the anvil and the hammer. When Rolof Moller entered the
+burgomaster's pew Smiterlow left it, and inasmuch as his consummate
+experience foretold him of his danger he came to Greifswald with his
+two sons to ask my mother's hospitality.[11]
+
+The tolerance shown at this conjuncture by the young princes George and
+Barnim was due to two reasons. In the first place they expected to get
+the upper hand of the city without much trouble after it became worn
+out with domestic dissensions. Secondly, a band of zealots, with Dr.
+Johannes Amandus at their head, scoured the country, especially Eastern
+Pomerania, inciting the people to break the images, and preaching from
+the pulpit the sweeping away of all refuse, princes included. In the
+eyes of the papists, those people and the evangelicals were but one and
+the same set, and as their number happened to be imposing, the princes
+considered it prudent to lay low.
+
+The flight of the priests and monks gave the magistrates the
+opportunity of listening to the preaching of Christian Ketelhot and
+his colleagues. In a short while the council's eyes were opened to the
+true light, and in accord with the Forty-Eight and the burghers
+themselves, they assigned the churches to the evangelical preachers;
+the monastery, that is, the supreme direction of all the ministers and
+servitors of the church being confided to Ketelhot, who exercised it
+for twenty-three years, in fact, up to the day of his death. Canons and
+vicars had taken the precaution to collect all the specie, valuables
+and title deeds, amounting to considerable sums; they entrusted to
+certain councillors of Greifswald chests and lockers filled with
+chalices, rich chasubles and various holy vessels. They occasionally
+converted these into money and handed to the debtors certain annuities
+at half-price. Consequently, the hospitals, churches, and pious
+foundations lost both their capital and their income. A long time after
+these events the sons of my relative, Christian Schwartz, dispatched to
+me for restitution to the council of Stralsund, a sailor's locker which
+had stood for forty years under their father's bed. It contained velvet
+chasubles embroidered with silver and pearls, in addition to a couple
+of silver crucifixes. Though their rules forbade the monks of St. John
+to touch coined metal, the father custodian did not scruple to carry
+away with him all that the convent held in clinking coin and precious
+objects.
+
+Called to the ministry by a small group of citizens who had not given a
+thought to the question of his salary, Ketelhot had no other resource
+for his daily sustenance than the city "wine cellar" and _The King
+Arthur_.[12] He found hospitable board and good company, but the life
+was detrimental to his studies. A Jew with whom he flattered himself he
+was studying the _lingua sancta_ induced him to announce from the
+pulpit the _error a Judaeo conceptus_. As a consequence the council
+promptly appointed Johannes Knipstro as superintendent at Stralsund. He
+was the first that bore the title there, and Ketelhot neither suffered
+in consideration, rank, nor benefices. He remained all his life
+_primarius pastor_, and his effigy at St. Nicholas, facing the pulpit,
+is inscribed with the words: _Repurgator ecclesiae Sundensis_.
+Appointed in 1524, Knipstro, by his talent and solicitude, succeeded in
+leading Ketelhot back to the right path, for he broke for ever with the
+_error_. The two ministers lived in the most brotherly understanding.
+Ketelhot was no more jealous of the superintendent than Knipstro, took
+umbrage at the title of _primarius pastor_. They were not vainglorious,
+as were later on Runge and Kruse. Gradually the dukes admitted that the
+evangelicals, far from making common cause with the zealots of Eastern
+Pomerania, energetically opposed them. The Stralsund preachers were
+henceforth left in peace; they were more firmly established in their
+functions, and neither the council nor the citizens were any longer
+molested for having called them.
+
+I now beg to resume the story of my family from the year 1523. My
+parents started house-keeping in the midst of plenty; they had a mill
+and a brewery, sold their corn, butter, honey, wool and feathers, and
+were even blessed with the superfluous. Everything was so cheap that it
+seemed easy to make money. It seemed as if the golden age had returned.
+Nevertheless, prosperity had to make room for misfortune.
+
+In the course of that year (1523), in fact, George Hartmann, the
+son-in-law of Doctor Stroientin,[13] bought of my father a quantity of
+butter. A violent discussion having occurred between them, Hartmann,
+who was on his way to Burgomaster Peter Kirchschwanz with a short sword
+belonging to the latter, went instead to his mother-in-law to pour his
+grievances into her ears. This haughty and purse-proud woman, full of
+contempt for very humble folk because she happened to have married a
+doctor and a ducal counsellor (I omit for charity's sake some details
+which I shall tell my children by word of mouth), that woman, I say,
+presented her son-in-law with a hatchet, saying: "There, go to market
+with this piece of money, and buy a bit of courage." Emboldened by a
+safe-conduct of the prince, which Doctor Stroientin had got for him,
+Hartmann fell in with my father at the top of the Sporenmacher Strasse.
+He was going to the public weigh-house to have a case of honey weighed,
+and he had not as much as a pocket knife wherewith to repel an
+assailant armed with a sword and a hatchet. He rushed into a
+spurmaker's shop, getting hold of a large pitchfork, but the bystanders
+wrenched it out of his hands; moreover, they prevented him taking
+refuge in the gallery. Thereupon my father snatched up a long stick
+with an iron prod standing against the wall, and going back into the
+street, shouted:
+
+"Let the fellow who wants to take my life come out and show himself."
+At these words, Hartmann issued from an adjoining workshop. Not
+satisfied with his short sword and his hatchet, he had taken a hammer
+from the anvil and flung it at my father, who warded it with his stick,
+though only partly, for my father spat blood for several days. The
+hatchet went the same way, and just caught my father on the shoulder.
+The double exploit having imbued him with the idea that the game was
+won, the aggressor made a rush with his bare sword, but my father
+spitted him on his iron-prodded pole, and Hartmann dropped down dead.
+This is the true account of this deplorable accident. I am quite aware
+of the version invented by the ill-will of the others, which is to the
+effect that my father having found Hartmann altogether disarmed behind
+the stove in the spurmaker's room, straightway killed him on the spot.
+These are vain rumours, _nugae sunt, fabulae sunt_.
+
+My father sought asylum with the "black" monks, to whom he was known.
+They hid him at the top of the church in a recess near the vault. In a
+little while Doctor Stroientin, at the head of his servants and of a
+numerous group of followers, came to search every nook and corner of
+the convent. Naturally, he went into the church, and the fugitive,
+fancying it was all over with him, was going to speak in order to prove
+his innocence; fortunately Providence closed his lips and shut his
+enemies' eyes. In the middle of the night the monks smuggled him over
+the wall. Keeping to the high road, he succeeded in reaching
+Neuenkirchen, where a peasant's cart, sent by his father-in-law, was
+waiting for him. He managed to squeeze himself into a sack of fodder by
+the side of a sack of barley. Doctor Stroientin stopped the vehicle on
+the road. The driver told him he was going to Stralsund. "What have you
+got there?" asked the doctor, beating the sacks with him. "Barley and
+my fodder," was the answer. "Have not you noticed any one going in a
+great hurry either on horseback or on foot?" "Yes; I saw a man
+galloping as hard as he could in the direction of Horst. I may have
+been mistaken, but I fancy it was Sastrow, of Greifswald, and I was
+wondering why he should be scouring the highway at that hour of night."
+Stroientin wanted to hear no more. He turned his horse's head as fast
+as it would go in the direction of Horst.
+
+My father reached Stralsund without further trouble; the council gave
+him a safe-conduct, which was only a broken reed in the way of a
+guarantee, for he had to deal with proud, rich and powerful enemies.
+Doctor Stroientin, His Highness' counsellor, took particular advantage
+of the fact that Hartmann enjoyed the protection of Duke George. My
+father went from pillar to post in Denmark, at Lubeck, at Hamburg, and
+other spots; finally, he appeased his suzerain by paying him a
+considerable sum in cash; then, after long-drawn negotiations, his
+father-in-law succeeded in reconciling him with his adversaries. The
+expiatory fine was 1,000 marks, but Greifswald, where the family of the
+deceased resided, remained closed to him. Nor did the 1,000 marks prove
+any benefit to the son of Hartmann; the contrary has been the case.
+Misfortune pursued him without cessation in his health, his wealth, his
+wife and children.
+
+At the gates of Stralsund stood the monastery of St. Brigitta; monks
+and nuns inhabited different parts. A wall divided the gardens. It was,
+however, by no means high enough to prove an obstacle to a nimble
+climber. It is the monks that did the cooking, and the dishes came to
+the nuns in a kind of lift large enough for one person. How the vow of
+chastity was observed was proved on the day of the invasion of the
+convent, when the skeletons, head and bones of new-born children were
+found everywhere.
+
+At the period of the invasion of the churches and the monasteries,
+Franz Wessel, who at that time had discharged the functions of
+councillor for more than a twelvemonth, was charged with preventing at
+St. Catherine's the abstraction of precious objects. In order to cut
+short the idolatrous practices, he had a trench dug at the door of the
+garden of eighteen ells long, in which the images were buried. On the
+Holy Thursday, between four and six in the morning, the nuns whose
+retreat had been attacked were taken to St. Catherine's. Wessel
+received them courteously on the threshold of the cloister, took the
+abbess by the hand and intoned the popish hymn _Veni, sponsa
+salvatoris_, etc. The abbess begged of him to cease this joking, and
+rather to welcome her with some flagons of wine. Wessel objected that
+the hour was too early to begin drinking.
+
+I have narrated the circumstances which compelled Burgomaster Nicholas
+Smiterlow to take refuge at my mother's with his two sons, Nicholas and
+Bertrand. The first-named, a doughty young man, good-looking and of
+independent character, had with great credit to himself terminated his
+studies. I have rarely seen such beautiful handwriting as his.
+Impatient to see the world, he felt himself cramped in Pomerania, and
+when he heard that Emperor Charles had an army in Italy, he induced his
+father to give him an outfit and to allow him to join it. Provided with
+a well-lined purse, he joined the Imperial troops, took part in the
+storming and sacking of Rome, got a great deal of loot, but fell ill
+and died.
+
+Fate proved not more lenient to Doctor Zutfeld Wardenberg, also the son
+of a burgomaster. Berckmann and other writers have made him pass as a
+great prelate. Be this as it may; he certainly fancied himself a member
+of the Trinity which rules the universe. In his official functions he
+observed no law but his own sweet will. His own house contained a
+prison, and he behaved as if the council did not exist. In short, he
+wound up by setting the magistrates against him to such an extent that
+one night he judged it prudent to leave the city. His brother, Joachim,
+opened the gates to him without authority--a piece of daring which cost
+him ten weeks of imprisonment in the Blue Tower. At the sacking of
+Rome, Zutfeld Wardenberg tried to hide himself among the invalids of a
+hospital. He was soon discovered, killed, and everything taken away
+from him. In the church of St. Mary, at Stralsund, stands the handsome
+mausoleum he had prepared for himself, together with an epitaph setting
+forth his titles, but his body lies somewhere at Rome, no one knows
+where.
+
+Burgomaster Smiterlow was as frank in his speech as he was open of
+heart. When he conversed in the street his strong and clear voice could
+be heard a couple of yards off. All his speeches began with "Yes, in
+the name of Jesus." One day, after dinner, he went into his stables
+where, as a rule, he had three horses; he saw one of his stablemen
+strike one of the animals with a pitchfork, saying, in imitation of
+himself, "In the name of Jesus." Smiterlow snatched the implement away
+from him, then stuck it between his shoulders so that he dropped down,
+and quietly remarked: "Now and again I cause people to cry 'In the name
+of all the devils.'"
+
+According to the custom of the papists, my mother went at half-past
+twelve, especially during Lent, to recite a Pater Noster and an Ave
+Maria before each of the three altars of her ordinary church. She
+always took her little Bartholomaei with her. On one occasion I sat down
+on the steps of the first altar and began to relieve nature; when she
+passed on to the second, I followed her and continued the operation,
+which I finished on the third. When my mother perceived what had
+occurred she rushed home in hot haste and sent a servant with a broom
+to repair the mischief. Seeing how young she was when separated from
+her husband and left with four young children, it is not surprising
+that my mother had moments of sadness and discouragement. One day that
+she was cutting up some dry fish, a piece fell from the block. I picked
+it up. Without noticing my mother stooped at the same time, and as I
+was rising, the edge of the hatchet cut my forehead. The scar was never
+effaced. The Lord be praised, though, the accident had no further
+consequence.
+
+Hartmann's family having received satisfaction, my father appointed to
+meet his wife and his children at the manse of Neuenkirchen. It was in
+the autumn and the pears were ripe. After having shaken down and eaten
+as many as they could, the children began to pelt each other with them.
+A big pear dropped under the hoofs of a couple of horses tied to a
+large pear tree. When I stooped to get hold of it, one of the animals
+dealt me a severe kick at the temple. There was general consternation,
+and the wound being seemingly dangerous, we came back immediately to
+town, and I was taken to the doctor.
+
+The Dukes George and Barnim came to Stralsund with four hundred
+horsemen; they received homage and confirmed the privileges of the
+city. As for the claims of the priests, it was decided to refer them to
+the Imperial Chamber. Burgomasters, councillors, burghers, preachers
+(in all about threescore), were summoned to depose on oath before the
+Imperial Commissioners, sitting at Greifswald. The lawsuit cost the
+city a considerable sum; the clergy practically flung the money away,
+but the rector, Hippolytus Steinwer, began to perceive that the chances
+were turning against them, and one day he was found dead. It was
+believed he had strangled himself from vexation. That event put an end
+to the litigation. The priests returned one after another to Stralsund.
+
+Gradually the sobered citizens began to open their eyes to the serious
+prejudice which was being done to public and private interests by the
+agitation of Moller. On the other hand, the princes had learned to know
+Smiterlow during the journey to Nuremberg; they were also aware of the
+esteem in which he had been held by their father. All those feelings
+showed themselves on the occasion of the rendering of homage. Rolof
+Moller was obliged to leave the city, and Burgomaster Smiterlow
+re-entered it on August 1, 1526. Moller, after a stay of several years
+at Stettin, received permission to come back to Stralsund, Smiterlow
+giving his consent; but scarcely a fortnight after his return had gone
+by when he died, it was said, of grief; and the assumption was
+sufficiently plausible.
+
+Hence, Smiterlow spent the time of his exile at my mother's, at
+Greifswald, while his house at Stralsund sheltered my father. The wives
+of the two banished men went constantly and at all seasons from one
+town to another, through hail, snow, rain, frost and cold, and also to
+the great detriment of their purse and their health.
+
+I have often been told afterwards I was a restless, energetic child. I
+often went up to the tower of St. Nicholas's, and on one occasion I
+made the round of it outside. My mother, standing on the threshold of
+her house, facing the church, was a witness of the feat, and dared
+scarcely breathe until her son came down safe and skin-whole. It would
+appear that little Bartholomaei had his reward at her hands.
+
+While at Greifswald I had already been sent to school. Besides reading,
+I was taught declension, comparisons and conjugation, according to the
+grammar of Donat; after which we passed to Torrentinus. On Palm Sunday
+I was selected to intone the _Quantus_; the preceding years I had sung
+at first the short, then the long _Hic est_. What an honour for the
+child and for the parents! It was a real feast, for as a rule the
+sharpest boys are chosen those who, undeterred by the crowds of priests
+and laymen, bring out their clearest notes, especially for the
+_Quantus_. The continuation of this story will, however, soon show how,
+from being sanguine, my temperament became melancholy, and how my
+gaiety and recklessness vanished.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+
+My Student's Days at Greifswald--Victor Bole and his tragical End--A
+Servant possessed by the Devil--My Brother Johannes' Preceptors and
+Mine--My Father's never-ending Law Suits
+
+
+Having acquired the certainty that the Hartmanns would never consent to
+my father's return to Greifswald, my parents, like the conscientious
+married couple they were, desired to bear in common the domestic
+burdens. In the spring of 1528 my mother, after having let her dwelling
+at Greifswald, joined her husband at Stralsund, where he had the
+freeman's right and a tumble-down old house. My maternal grandfather,
+Christian Schwarz, at that time city treasurer, kept me with him in
+order to let me pursue my studies. I underwent the ceremonial of
+installation, a kind of burlesque function of initiation applied to
+novices. My tutor was George Normann, of the island of Ruegen, who
+terminated his career in the service of the King of Sweden. I was the
+reverse of a studious boy and fonder of roving about with my relative
+in his journeys about Greifswald than of books. As a consequence my
+mental progress was in proportion to my efforts.
+
+There was at Greifswald a burgomaster named Victor Bole, belonging to a
+notable family of the island of Ruegen. Before he attained his civic
+honours he was a good evangelical and a zealous friend of the
+preachers, but his apostasy was thorough. As much as he had supported
+the ministry before his election, as much did he oppose them
+afterwards. I remember seeing him at the meetings of the corporation
+seated in the front place in virtue of his dual quality of eldest
+member and burgomaster, more or less in liquor, browbeating and talking
+everybody down (in High-German always). As he had taken part in several
+expeditions, fighting was the invariable theme of his discourses. He
+generally summoned the musicians, cymbal players and pipers before him.
+"Dost thou know a war cry?" he asked of a piper. "Yes, certainly," was
+the reply, while shrill notes rent the air. But the burgomaster was
+beaming. "This, at any rate, is a useful kind of fellow; while that
+Knipstro of Stralsund stammers in the pulpit about _pap_, _pap_, _pap_,
+I am sure he could play a war cry. Then what's the good of him?"
+
+"Those who laugh last laugh loudest," says the proverb. That same year,
+1528, the King of the May was Bertrand Smiterlow. I walked in front of
+him carrying his crown. Bole did Smiterlow the honour to prance by his
+side, being very pleased to parade his servants and his horses, of the
+latter of which he had four in his stable. If the skies had shown a
+little bit more clement we should have been very happy. But though it
+was the 1st May, there was not a bud nor a blade of grass to be seen.
+On the contrary, the snow powdered our procession with large flakes,
+both on coming and on going. As a consequence everybody was in a hurry
+to get back again. Odd to relate, the seed did not seem to suffer.
+After they had presented the crown to the May King in the city,
+everybody galloped back to his own roof tree. When the burgomaster
+reached his house he was taken with such violent colic that he had
+scarcely time to hand his horse to his servant before he dropped down
+dead. His neck was entirely twisted round, and his face was black. As a
+matter of course, people ascribed it to a visitation of God for having
+made fun of those who preached His Word.
+
+In 1528 the States were called together at Stettin to ratify the pact
+of succession between the Elector of Brandenburg and the Dukes of
+Pomerania. The deputy of Greifswald, Burgomaster Gaspard Bunsaw, my
+mother's first cousin, took me with him as page, or rather as
+companion, and also to enable me to see something new. Our host had a
+magnificent garden; on the banks of a vast lake uprose a vast tower
+with an inside staircase, closed by a trap. One day that the company
+was amusing itself in watching the carps from that tower, I hauled
+myself up to the window out of curiosity, but I forgot the yawning trap
+door behind me, and was flung right to the bottom. It was a miracle
+that I did not break my neck, or, at any rate, my arms and my legs.
+Heaven preserved me by means of its angels, who frustrate the tricks of
+the Evil One.
+
+At the age of five, Nicholas, the eldest son of Bertrand Smiterlow, was
+already much taller and stronger than I; this incarnate fiend worried
+all the children of the neighbourhood, and instead of reprimanding him,
+his father took no notice of the complaints against him. This
+indulgence bore such excellent fruit that in order to prevent disputes
+and perhaps personal violence between young Nicholas' father and the
+neighbours, Christian Schwarz considered it advisable to take Nicholas
+to live with him, and so we shared the same bed. One morning as we were
+dressing on the big locker at the foot of the bed, the youngster,
+without saying a word and out of sheer mischief, hit me right in the
+chest and made me tumble backward, a downright dangerous fall. The
+grandfather gave a dinner-party to his children and other people. Late
+in the evening the servants came with links to take their masters home.
+While they were waiting for that purpose, Nicholas began to play them
+tricks, which they endured from fear of the grandfather. Rendered bold
+by impunity, Nicholas struck some of the servants on the lips, but one
+of these retorted by a box on the ears which sent Nicholas whining to
+his grandfather. After the banquet the lanterns were lighted, and
+everybody was preparing to get home quietly when Bertrand Smiterlow,
+drawing his knife, rushed at the offending servant, who was lighting
+his master on his way, and wounded him seriously in the shoulder. On
+account of all this Christian Schwarz preferred to send me back to
+Stralsund to leaving me to enjoy the risky society of Nicholas. The boy
+grew up and his faults with him, for they amused his father, who
+encouraged them while nobody dared to say a word in protest. Nicholas
+had reached the age of twenty-seven when travelling to Rostock, he
+stopped for the night at Roevershagen. Some travellers, knowing his
+quarrelsome character, preferred to take themselves and their
+conveyance to the inn opposite. One of these had a sporting dog, which,
+running about, found its way into the hostel where Smiterlow was
+staying. The latter tied up the animal, did not send it back, and next
+morning the rightful owner saw it being taken away on a leash.
+Naturally, the man claimed his dog. Smiterlow, instead of giving him a
+civil answer, takes aim at him; the other, more prompt, quickly fires a
+bullet into the thigh. Smiterlow, in his wounded condition, got as far
+as Rostock, had his wound attended to; nevertheless died a few days
+later in consequence. The merchant continued his route without
+troubling himself, and no one lodged a complaint. Bertrand Smiterlow
+contracted the itch in the back; father and son, therefore, had their
+just reward. Heaven preserve me from criticizing the descendants of
+Herr Smiterlow, to whom I am doubly related, but I trust that mine will
+bring up their children in a more severe discipline and in the respect
+of their fellow-men.
+
+In 1529 the English pest which had already been spoken of during the
+previous year, carried away many people at Stralsund. My mother had two
+attacks, from both of which she fortunately recovered. Being _enceinte_
+with my brother Christian, she ordered, like the good housewife she
+was, a general cleaning before her confinement. It so happened that we
+had a servant-girl who was possessed. Nobody had the faintest suspicion
+of this. When, at the moment of cleaning the kitchener and cooking
+utensils, she began noisily to fling about saucepans, frying-pans,
+etc., crying at the top of her voice, "I want to get out, I want to get
+out." Her mother, who lived in the Zinngiesser Strasse (Pewterers'
+Street), had to take her back. The poor girl was taken several times in
+a sleigh to St. Nicholas's, and they exorcised her after the sermon.
+Her case, as far as the answers tended to show, was as follows: The
+mother had brought new cheese at the market. In her absence, the
+daughter had opened the cupboard and made a large breach in the cheese;
+the mother, on her return, had expressed the wish that the devil might
+take the perpetrator of this thing, and from that moment dated the
+"possession." The girl had, nevertheless, been to Communion since; how,
+then, could the Evil One have kept his position? The priest,
+interrogated on that point, had answered: "The scoundrel, who has
+hidden himself under a bridge, lets the honest man pass over his head";
+in other words, during the sacramental act, the Evil One hid himself
+under the girl's tongue. The Evil One was excommunicated and exorcised
+by the faithful on their bended knees. The formula of exorcism was
+received with derision. When the priest summoned him to go, he
+exclaimed: "I am agreeable, but you do not expect me to go with empty
+hands. I want this, and that, and the other." If they refused him one
+thing he asked for something quite different; and inasmuch as one of
+the faithful had remained "covered" during prayers, the Evil One
+politely snatched up his hat, and if God had let him have his own way,
+hair and skin would have accompanied the headgear.
+
+At about the same period I witnessed an analogous fact. Frau Kron, an
+honest and pious matron, was possessed by a demon; the minister was
+preparing to drive it out at all costs when Frau Wolff entered. She was
+a young woman who surpassed her sisters in the art of beautifying her
+face, arranging her cap, and posing before the looking glass. When the
+evil spirit caught sight of her, he shouted. "Ah, you are here, are
+you? Just wait a bit till I arrange your cap before the mirror. Your
+ears shall tingle, I can tell you."
+
+To come back to our own servant. When the power of mischief noticed
+that the time for tormenting her had passed away, and that the Lord was
+granting the prayers of the faithful, the Evil One asked in a mocking
+tone a pane of the belfry's window, which request was no sooner
+accorded to him than the pane shivered into ever so many splinters. The
+girl, however, ceased to be possessed; she married in the village, and
+had several children.
+
+My brother Johannes had for his first tutor Herr Aepinus, before the
+latter had his doctor's degree,[14] and afterwards Hermannus Bonus,[15]
+who would have been pleased to settle at Stralsund with fifty florins
+per annum, but the council of that particular period did not contain
+one member who had had a university training. Like the princes the
+council inclined towards papism, and looked askance at men of letters;
+hence, it rejected Bonnus' overtures. The latter soon afterwards became
+the tutor of the young King of Denmark, for whose use he composed his
+_Praecepta Grammaticae_, which was much more easy than the Donat
+Grammar, and prevails to the present day under the title of the
+_Grammatica Bonni_. At his return from Denmark, Bonnus was appointed
+superintendent at Lubeck, where he is interred _honorifice_ behind the
+choir.
+
+When my brother left the school at Lubeck, my parents made many heavy
+sacrifices to keep him at Wittemberg for several years, where,
+notwithstanding some _delicta juventutis_, he studied with advantage.
+
+My tutor's name was Matthias Brassanus. At the outset of his career he
+had been a monk at the monastery of Camp, but at the suppression of the
+institution he had lived at Wittemberg at the cost of the prince, like
+Leonard Meisisch, the future court preacher and minister at Wolgast,
+and afterwards pastor at Altenkirchen--a downright Epicurean pig!
+Brassanus, on the other hand, was a small, polite, temperate,
+well-bred, evenly balanced man. After his stay at Wittemberg he became
+the preceptor of George and Johannes Smiterlow, and afterwards _rector
+scholae_. Their worships of Lubeck having prevailed upon the council of
+Stralsund to part with this able teacher, Brassanus devoted the whole
+of his life successfully directing the school of Lubeck.
+
+I profited as much by the lessons as my natural restlessness of
+character permitted. There was a great deal of aptitude, but the
+application failed. In the winter time I ran amusing myself on the
+floating ice with my fellow-scholars of my own age. Johannes
+Gottschalk, our ringleader, always got scot-free, thanks to his long
+legs, while the rest of the gang (and I was invariably with them) took
+many enforced footbaths in order to get safely to the banks. My father,
+in crossing the bridge had occasion more than once to witness the
+prowess of his son, who received many a sound drubbing when he came to
+dry himself before the stove, for my father was a choleric gentleman.
+In summer I was in the habit of bathing with my chums behind Lorbeer's
+grange, which at present is my property. Burgomaster Smiterlow, having
+noticed me from his garden, told of me, and one day, while I was still
+asleep, my father planted himself in front of my bed, flourishing a big
+stick. He spoke very loudly while placing himself into position, and I
+was obliged to open my eyes. The sight of the club told me that my hour
+had come; I burst into tears and pleaded for mercy. "Very well, my good
+sir," said my father; when he called me "my good sir" it was a bad
+sign. "Very well, my good sir, you have been bathing; now allow me to
+rub you down." Saying which, he got hold of his weapon, pulled my shirt
+over my head, and did frightful execution.
+
+My parents brought us up carefully. My father was somewhat hasty, and
+now and again his anger carried him beyond all bounds. I put him out of
+temper one day when he was in the stable and I at the door. He caught
+up a pitchfork and flung it at me. I had just time to get out of the
+way; the pitchfork stuck into a bath made of oak, and they had much
+trouble to get it out. In that way the Evil One was frustrated in all
+his designs against me by Providence. In a similar case, my mother, who
+was gentleness and tenderness itself, came running to the spot. "Strike
+harder," she said, "the wicked boy deserves all he gets." At the same
+time she slyly held back the arm of her husband, preventing the stick
+from coming down too heavily. Oh, my children, pray that the knowledge
+may be vouchsafed to you of bringing up your family in the way they
+should go. Correct them temperately, without compromising either their
+health or their intelligence, but at the same time do not imitate the
+apes who from excess of tenderness, smother their young.
+
+Rector Brassanus insisted upon his pupils being present when he
+preached. Some were clever enough to get away on the sly; they went to
+buy pepper cakes, and repaired afterwards to the dram shop. The trick
+was done before there was time to look round. When the sermon drew to
+its close, every one was in his place again, and we went back to school
+as if nothing had happened. One day, however, we drank so much brandy
+that I felt horribly sick and vomited violently, and found it
+impossible either to keep on my legs or to articulate a syllable. The
+strongest of my schoolfellows took me home. My parents were under the
+impression that I was seriously ill; had they suspected the real cause
+of my malady, their treatment would have been less tender. When, at
+last, I avowed the truth, the fear of punishment had long ago vanished.
+The adventure was productive of some good. It inspired me with a
+thorough disgust for brandy, so that I could not even bear the smell of
+it.
+
+My daily playmate was George Smiterlow, for we were neighbours, nearly
+relatives, and of about the same age, I being but a year older than he.
+One day he cut me with his knife between the index and the thumb, and I
+still bear the scar.
+
+As I was whittling a piece of wood, my sister Anna snatched it away
+from me, and in trying to get it back again, I drove the chisel into my
+right thigh up to the handle. Master Joachim Gelhaar, an excellent
+_chirurgus_, renowned far and wide, began by probing the wound, and by
+getting the bad blood out of it; after which he dressed it with a
+cabbage leaf which was constantly kept moist. I was just recovering the
+use of my leg again when I took it into my head to go to the wood with
+my schoolfellows, for it was always difficult for me to keep still. The
+fatigue thus incurred caused a relapse. Next morning I dragged myself
+as far as the surgeon, who suspected my excursion, and swore at seeing
+a month of his efforts wasted. I should have been in a nice predicament
+if he had complained to my father.
+
+In 1531, on the Monday before St. Bartholomew, they burned at
+Stralsund, Bischof, a tailor who had outraged his own daughter, aged
+twelve. The fellow was so strong that he jumped from the pyre when the
+fire had destroyed his bonds, but the executioner plunged his knife
+into him, and flung him back into the flames.
+
+The following happened in June, 1532. A young fellow, good-looking, and
+with most fascinating manner, but by no means well enough in worldly
+goods, courted a more or less well-preserved widow, notwithstanding her
+nine children of her first husband, which subsequently she increased by
+another nine of her second. Tempted by the amiability, the appearance,
+and the demeanour of the youngster, the dame consented to be his wife.
+The happy day was already fixed, the viands ordered, and the
+preparations completed, but the bridegroom was at a loss how to pay for
+his wedding clothes, the customary presents and other things. Hence,
+one fine evening he left the city, and in the early morn reached the
+village of Putten, where, espying a ladder on a peasant's cart, he puts
+it against the wall of the church, breaks one of its windows, gets
+inside, forces the reliquary, possessing himself of the chalices, other
+holy vessels, all the gold and silver work, not forgetting the wooden
+box containing the money. After which, taking the way whence he had
+come, he flung away the box and entered the city laden with the spoil.
+
+A local cowherd, driving his cattle to the field, happened to pick up
+the box. At the selfsame moment the sight of the ladder and of the
+broken window sets the whole of the place, rector, beadle, clerk, and
+peasantry, mad with excitement. The whole village is up in arms; the
+neighbouring roads are scoured in search of the perpetrator of the
+sacrilege. At twelve o'clock, the cowherd comes back with the box. He
+is arrested; the patrons of the church, who reside in the city, have
+him put to the torture. He confesses to the theft. There was,
+nevertheless, the absolute impossibility for him to have got rid of the
+stolen objects, inasmuch as he had been guarding his cattle during the
+five or six hours that had gone by between the robbery and his arrest;
+the slightest inquiry would have conclusively proved his innocence. In
+spite of this, the confession dragged from the poor wretch by
+unbearable pain, appears most conclusive. Condemned there and then, he
+is there and then put on the wheel. The real culprit watched the
+execution with the utmost composure.
+
+The proceeds of this first crime were, however, by no means sufficient
+to defray the cost of the wedding, and the bridegroom forced another
+church. He took a reliquary and a holy vessel, reduced them to
+fragments, and tried to sell them to some goldsmiths at Greifswald.
+This time he was unable to lead the pursuers off the scent. Having been
+arrested in the house of my wife's parents, he was racked alive, and
+his body left to the carrion birds.
+
+A similar tragedy took place between the Easter and Whitsun of 1544. I
+anticipate events, because the horror of them was pretty well equal,
+but there was a great difference in the procedure. In the one case,
+deplorable acts, at variance with all wisdom, and disgraceful to
+Christians; in the other place, a thoroughly laudable conduct,
+consistent with right and reason. On his return from Leipzig, whither
+he had gone to buy books, Johannes Altingk, the son of the late Werner
+Altingk, a notable citizen and bookseller of Stralsund, was killed on
+the road from Anelam to Greifswald. In consequence of active inquiries,
+two individuals on whom rested grave suspicions, were incarcerated at
+Wolgast. But the case was proceeded with more methodically than the one
+I have just narrated. The magistrates went with the instruments of
+torture to the prisoner, who seemed the least resolved. He made a
+complete avowal. His companion and he had put up for the night at an
+inn at Grosskistow; Johannes Altingk had taken his seat at their table
+and shared their meal. Then, before going to bed, he had paid for all
+three, showing at the same time a well filled purse. The scoundrels had
+at once made up their minds between them to kill him at a little
+distance from the inn on the foot-road, intersected here and there by
+deep ruts, and where consequently there was only room to pass in single
+file. "Next morning, then, when the young bookseller was marching along
+between his fellow-travellers, I struck him at the back of the head;"
+said the accused. "The blow knocked him off his feet; we soon made an
+end of him altogether, and flung his body to the bottom of the deep
+bog. With my part of the spoil I bought myself this hat and this pair
+of shoes."
+
+After this interrogatory, the judges, accompanied by the executioner
+and his paraphernalia, went to the second prisoner, who denied
+everything. It was in vain they pressed him and told him of his
+accomplice's avowal; he went on denying everything. When they were
+confronted, the one who had been first examined repeated all the
+particulars of the crime, beseeching the other to prevent a double
+martyrdom, inasmuch as the truth would be dragged from them by torture,
+and the punishment was unavoidable. No doubt the Stralsund authorities,
+those who had judged the above named perpetrator of the sacrilege,
+would have put the accused on the rack without the least compunction or
+ceremony, _de simplice et piano, sine strepitu judicii, quemadmodum
+Deus procedere solet_. At Wolgast, on the contrary, though the hangman
+had orders to hold himself in readiness, _ad actum propinquum_, the
+magistrates preferred to exercise some delay. The prince had the bog
+examined, but no body was found there. When taken to the spot, the
+prisoner who had confessed his guilt recognized the place of the
+murder, without being able, however, to point it out accurately. The
+landlord and his wife at Gross-Kistow, when examined carefully, denied
+having lodged any one at the period indicated.
+
+Finally, a messenger of the Brandenburg March brought the news that an
+assassin condemned to death confessed to having killed in Pomerania a
+young librarian, for which crime two individuals were under lock and
+key at Wolgast. When taxed with having almost caused the death of
+innocent people by false avowals, the self-confessed murderer replied
+that death seemed to him preferable to the "criminal question," as that
+kind of torture was called. Their acquittal was pronounced on their
+taking the oath to bring no further action.
+
+But this only shows the precautions to be taken before applying the
+instruments of torture to merely suspected men. On the other hand, it
+has been shown over and over again that some of the guilty hardened to
+that kind of thing will allow themselves to be torn to pieces sooner
+than avow.
+
+In that year (1531) Duke George died in the prime of his life. His
+second wife was the sister to Margrave Joachim; they got rid of her for
+about 40,000 florins, and she subsequently married a prince of Anhalt,
+but finally she eloped with a falconer.
+
+My mother having realized all her property at Greifswald, my parents
+really possessed a considerable fortune in sterling coin, and they
+called my father "the rich man of the Passen Strasse." It wanted,
+however, but a few years to shake his credit and to impair the
+happiness of his family. Without exaggeration, two women, named Lubbeke
+and Engeln were the principal causes of our reverses. Not content to
+buy on credit our cloth, which they resold to heaven knows who, they
+borrowed of my father, fifty, a hundred, and as much as a hundred and
+fifty crowns on the slightest pretext. The crown in those days was
+worth eight and twenty shillings of Lubeck. They promised to refund at
+eight and twenty and a half, and to settle for their purchases at the
+same rate; but if now and again they happened to make a payment on
+account of a hundred florins, they took care to buy at the same time
+goods for double the amount. My mother did not look kindly upon those
+two customers; she imagined that her money would be better invested at
+five per cent., and she spared neither warnings, prayers, nor tears to
+dissuade my father from trusting them. She even took Pastor Knipstrow
+and others into her confidence to that effect. Finally, the account
+came to a considerable amount, while the debtors were unable to pay as
+much as twenty florins. Then it transpired what had become of the
+cloth. The mother of one townsman, Jacob Leveling, had had 800 florins
+of it; the wife of another, Hermann Bruser, 1,725 florins. Hermann
+Bruser was a big cloth merchant who sold retail much cheaper than any
+of his fellow-tradesmen.
+
+My father having taken proceedings against his two customers as well as
+against the woman Bruser, the latter and her husband promised to pay
+the 1,725 florins. Nicholas Rode, who had married Bruser's sister, and
+the syndic of the city, Johannes Klocke, afterwards burgomaster,
+induced my father to accept that arrangement, and Bruser secured
+conditions after having signed an acknowledgment beginning as follows:
+"I, together with my legitimate wife, declare to be duly and lawfully
+indebted to etc., etc." The syndic had drawn up this act with his own
+hand. He had affixed his signature to it, and his seal, and Rode had in
+the latter two respects done the same. But the period of the first
+payment coinciding with the tumult against Nicholas Smiterlow, Bruser,
+one of the ringleaders, thought he could have the whip hand of my
+father as well as of the burgomaster. On his refusal to pay, the case
+came before the court once more; and then, while denying his debt, in
+spite of the formal terms of his declaration, Bruser denounced as
+usurious agreements obtained by litigation. Klocke and Rode assisted
+him with their advice and influence; the first-named, in his capacity
+of a lawyer, conducted the suit, and quoting the _leges et doctorum
+opiniones_, easily convinced his non-legally educated colleagues of the
+council. The Westphalian Cyriacus Erckhorst, the son-in-law of Rode,
+and a velvet merchant, plotted on his side. There were golden florins
+for the all-powerful burgomaster Lorbeer, and pieces of dress-material
+for Mrs. Burgomaster; so that, after long arguments on both sides,
+Bruser was allowed to swear that he was ignorant of the affair, which,
+moreover, was tainted with usury. My father could not conceive that
+this personage would have the audacity to deny his signature, and,
+supported in his supposition by Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow, he did
+not appeal against the judgment, and at the next sitting Bruser
+appeared at the bar of the inner court, took the oath, and offered to
+comply with the second part of the order; only, in consequence of the
+absence of his witness he claimed a delay of a twelvemonth and a day,
+which was accorded to him; after which my father appealed to the
+council of Stralsund and afterwards to that of Lubeck.
+
+In due time my father started for Lubeck, and took me with him. At
+Rostock, we lodged at the sign of _The Hop_, in the Market Place. My
+father had a considerable sum upon him to pay cash for his purchases of
+salt, salted cod-fish and soap, and as a measure of precaution, he
+carried that money in his small clothes, for Mecklenburg was infested
+by footpads and highwaymen. While undressing, he dropped his purse
+under the bed, an accident which he did not notice until next day about
+twelve o'clock, when we had reached Bukow. As the court was just about
+to open it fell to my lot to take the road back to Rostock _per pedes_.
+On that day I could get no further than Berkentin, but very early next
+morning I was at Rostock. Naturally, I rushed to the inn and to the
+room. Luckily the servants had not made the beds. I soon espied the
+little bag and was in time to take the coach to Wismar. My father,
+uneasy on my account, was already reproaching himself for having let me
+go.
+
+Their worships of Lubeck condemned Bruser to keep his written promise;
+he then appealed to the Imperial Chamber. The suit dragged along for
+several years; finally, the supreme decision was to the effect that it
+had been well judged, but improperly thrown into appeal in the first
+instance, and that in the second it had been faultily judged and
+properly sent for appeal. The defendant was condemned to pay the costs
+to be determined by the judge.
+
+And now I may be permitted to give an instance of the disloyalty of the
+procurators of the Imperial Chamber. Doctor Simeon Engelhardt, my
+father's procurator, did not hesitate to write to him that he had won
+his case, and asked for the bill of costs of the two previous
+instances, so that he might hand them to the taxing judge and apply for
+execution. He added that the trouble he had taken with the affair
+seemed to him to warrant special fees. My parents, elated with the
+news, promptly transmitted the bill of costs and their fees for the
+execution. Engelhardt produced the _cedula expensarum_; Bruser's
+procurator requested copy, not without pretending to raise objection.
+Engelhardt delivered the required copy, leaving to the judge the case
+of designating the winning party; in other words, the one who had the
+right to present the _designatio expensarum_. Well, that right was
+adjudged to Bruser, who drew up the _cedula_ after _ours_. Engelhardt
+was compelled to hold his tongue and my father had to pay 164 florins.
+
+That point having been settled, they passed to the second _membrum_ of
+the Stralsund judgment; namely, whether the conditions stipulated for
+by my father were tainted with usury? After such an expensive and
+protracted lawsuit, the court, considering that Bruser had failed in
+his attempt to bring proof, condemned him to fulfil his engagements.
+Against that sentence he appealed to Lubeck. Having been non-suited
+there, he wished to have recourse to the Imperial Chamber, but we
+signified opposition to the _exceptio devolutionis_. According to us,
+he had not complied with the privilege of Lubeck. Bruser's procurator
+maintained the contrary. The whole of the discussion bore entirely on
+the sense of the word "_wann_" inserted in the Lubeck _vidimus_. Was it
+a _conjunctio causalis, cum posteaquam_, or an _adverbium temporis,
+quando_? After long-drawn debates, the appeal was rejected, and Bruser
+had all the costs to pay.
+
+Then, to frustrate his adversary, he pleaded poverty on oath, although
+he gave to his daughter as many pearls and jewels as a burgomaster's
+girl could possibly pretend to. Foreseeing the upshot of the lawsuit,
+he had already disposed of one of his houses; after which he bestirred
+himself to safeguard his dwelling-house, his cellar and his various
+other property from being seized. Nicholas Rode, he who had signed the
+obligation, deposed to that effect, a document professedly anterior to
+my father's claim, an act constituting in his favour a general mortgage
+on all Bruser's property. As a matter of course, this led to a new
+lawsuit, which occupied respectively the courts of Stralsund and of
+Lubeck and the Imperial Chamber. The latter registered Rode's appeal at
+the moment the Protestant States denied its jurisdiction. A suspension
+of six years was the result, but after the reconstitution of the
+chamber and the closure of the debates, I did not succeed, in spite of
+two years' stay at Spires, in getting a judgment.
+
+Weary of being involved in law for thirty-four years, my father wound
+up by acquitting the heirs of Rode of all future liabilities in
+consideration of a sum of one thousand florins. As it happened the
+original debt was seventeen hundred and five and twenty florins; in
+addition to this, my father had refunded to Bruser one hundred and
+sixty-four florins expenses, his own costs exceeded a thousand florins
+and he had waited forty years for his money. The whole affair was
+nothing short of a downright calamity to our family; it interrupted my
+studies and caused the death of my brother Johannes. "_Dimidium plus
+toto_," says Hesiod, and the maxim is above all wise in connexion with
+a law-suit at the Imperial Chamber.
+
+Writing, as I do, for the edification of my children, I consider it
+useful to mention here the subsequent fate of our godless adversaries.
+The seventy-fifth Psalm says: "For in the hand of the Lord there is a
+cup, and the wine is red, and he poured out of the same, but the dregs
+thereof all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink
+them." Yes, the Almighty has comforted me, he has permitted me to see
+the scattering of my enemies. The two principal ones, Hermann Bruser
+and his fraudulent wife, fell into abject misery; they lived for many
+years on the bounty of parents and friends; finally the husband became
+valet of Joachim Burwitz who from the position of porter and general
+servant at the school when I was young had risen to be the secretary of
+the King of Sweden. The devil, however, twisted Bruser's neck at
+Stockholm. He was found in his master's wardrobe, his face all
+distorted. His daughter, dowered _in fraudem mei patris_, did, for all
+that, not escape very close acquaintance with poverty. She sold her
+houses and her land; and at her death her husband became an inmate of
+the asylum of the Holy Ghost, where he is to this day. Bruser's son, it
+is true, rose to be a secretary in Sweden, but far from prospering, he
+committed all kind of foolish acts everywhere. His first wife, the
+daughter of Burgomaster Gentzkow,[16] died of grief at Stralsund, where
+he had left her with her children at his departure for Sweden. He was
+found dead one morning in his room; his descendants are vegetating some
+in the city, some in the country.
+
+The author of the plot, the honest dispenser of advice, Johannes
+Klocke, managed to keep his wealth, but he was racked with gout and had
+to be carried in a chair to the Town Hall; he died after having
+suffered martyrdom for many years. The four sons of Nicholas Rode were
+reduced to beggary; the house Bruser sold in order to cheat my father
+actually belongs to my son-in-law. As for Burgomaster Christopher
+Lorbeer, so skilled in prolonging law-suits, does he not expiate, he
+and his, every day, the wrong in having lent himself to corruption.
+Erckhorst, the man who tempted him, was robbed while engaged in
+transporting from one town to another two large bundles of velvet,
+silk, jewellery and pearls, the whole being estimated at several
+thousands of florins. His second wife was the byword of the city for
+her levity of conduct; at every moment she was caught in her own
+dwelling-house and in the most untoward spots committing acts of
+criminal intercourse with her apprentices. What had been saved from the
+thieves was devoured by his wife's paramours. Absolutely at a loss to
+reinstate himself in his former position, Erckhorst made an end of his
+life by stabbing himself.
+
+My father's other debtor, the woman Leveling, was left a widow with an
+only son. Her property in houses and in land yielded, it was said, a
+golden florin and a fowl per day. That fortune, nevertheless, melted
+away, and Leveling, worried by her creditors, was obliged to quit
+her house with nothing but what she stood up in. Lest her son, a
+horrible ne'er-do-well of fifteen, should spend his nights in houses of
+ill-fame, she kept a mistress for him at home; after that she married
+him at such an early age as to astonish everybody, but he cared as much
+about the sanctity of marriage as a dog cares about Lent. During the
+ceremonies connected with rendering homage to Duke Philip, the duchess
+lodged at Leveling's and stood godmother to his new-born daughter,
+which honour had not the slightest effect in changing the scandalous
+life he led with a concubine. One night, in company with a certain
+Valentin Buss, he emptied the baskets in the pond of the master of the
+fishmongers. An arrant thief, he was fast travelling towards the
+gallows. Buss, who wound up by going to prison, would have been hanged
+but for Leveling, who in order to redeem himself parted to the council
+with his last piece of ground, namely, that in which his father's body
+rested in the church. One day at the termination of the sermon,
+Leveling, sword in hand, pursued my father, who had just time to reach
+his domicile and to shut the door in his face. On the other hand,
+Master Sonnenberg, who sheltered the old woman Leveling while she was
+negotiating with her creditors, was not content with egging on her son
+to all sorts of evil deeds, but had the effrontery to say to my father:
+"I'll tame you so well that you shall come and eat out of my hands."
+
+After having squandered his inheritance, Leveling died in the most
+abject poverty; his daughter Marie, the duchess' goddaughter, sells
+fish in the market. Such was the end of the wealthy popinjay. Mother
+and son followed the traditions of their family without having profited
+by the lessons of the past; one of the woman Leveling's relatives was,
+in fact, that Burgomaster Wulf Wulflam, reputed the richest man on that
+part of the coast,[17] whose wife was so fond of show and splendour
+that at her second marriage she sent for the prince's musicians from
+Stettin and walked from her house to the church on an English carpet.
+For her own wear she only used the finest Riga flax. So much vainglory
+was punished by the God of Justice, who expels from His kingdom the
+proud and haughty. The only thing she had finally left of all her
+magnificence was a silver bowl with which she went begging from door to
+door. "Charity," she cried, "for the poor rich woman." One day she
+asked from one of her former servants a shift and some linen for a
+collar to it. Moved with pity, the latter did not refuse. "Madame," she
+said, "this linen was made of the flax you used for your own wear. I
+have carefully picked it up, cleaned and spun it."[18]
+
+The arrangement made by the Levelings with their creditors gave to my
+father the passage of the Muhlen-Strasse. Inasmuch as the premises were
+tumbling to pieces, masons, carpenters, stonecutters and plasterers
+were soon set to work and began by expelling the rats, mice and
+doubtful human creatures that had taken up their quarters there. The
+best tenement adjoining the city wall with a beautiful look-out on the
+moats and the open country was occupied by the concubine of Zabel
+Lorbeer. She was one of the three Maries, and had presented him with
+either seven or eight bastards. My father, finding the door locked one
+morning, ordered the workmen to knock down the wall which fell on the
+bed where the scamp and the girl were sleeping; the only thing they
+could do was to get out of the way as quickly as possible. Lorbeer
+brought up his progeny according to the principles that guided him; and
+finally had his son beheaded to save him the disgrace of the gallows.
+
+A short digression is necessary in connexion with the three Maries.[19]
+They were sisters, exceedingly good-looking, but the poet's "_Et quidem
+servasset, si non formosa fuisset_," essentially applied to them. Many
+traps are laid for beauty, and they one after another fell into them.
+They lived on their charms, being particularly careful about their
+appearance and dress in order to attract admirers. Their attempts to
+obtain such notice were seconded by an unspeakable old crone, Anna
+Stranck, who had been a downright Messalina in her time, and of
+whom it was said that she could reckon on the whole of the city
+among her parentage, although she had neither husband nor children, but
+that she had had illicit intercourse with every male, young, old and
+middle-aged, fathers, sons and brothers. Anna Stranck invented for the
+use of the three Maries a kind of loose coif, the fashion of which our
+womenkind have religiously preserved; even those who have discarded it
+wearing a velvet hood based upon that model. They brought their hair,
+black or grey about two inches down on the forehead. Then came as many
+inches of gold lace or embroidery, so that the real cap, intended to
+keep the head warm did not in the least cover the brain. I am purposely
+quoting the name of Anna Stranck, for it is well to remind people to
+whom the headgear was due in the first instance; and may it please our
+dames to preserve it for ever in memory of the woman, mother,
+grandmother and great-grandmother of their husbands.
+
+I now resume my personal narrative. During the rebuilding of this new
+property, I was fetching and carrying all the while. One day my father
+sent me to our own house for the luncheon for himself and for the
+carpenters. The workmen were just knocking down a chimney; they were
+working higher than the chimney on a gangway made of boards which at
+each extremity overlapped the stays. A great number of large nails were
+strewn about the scaffolding. I climbed up, with my arms full of
+provisions, but scarcely did I set my foot on the gangway than the
+gangway toppled over and I was flung into space, the nails descending
+in a shower on my head. I just happened to fall by the side of the open
+chimney; half an ell more or less and I should have been through its
+aperture on the ground floor. As it was, the accident proved
+sufficiently serious. I had dislocated my right elbow and horribly
+bruised my arm. They took me home, whence my mother took me to Master
+Joachim Gelhaar. He was absent, and inasmuch as the case seemed urgent,
+they had recourse to the barber in the Old Market, who dressed the
+bruises without noticing that the bone was dislocated. Next morning
+Master Gelhaar came. A simple glance was sufficient for him; he grasped
+my arm, pulled and twisted it and put the bones back into their
+sockets. But the limb was bruised and swollen and twisted. I shall
+never forget the pain I suffered. In a little while, though, I was
+enabled to go about the house as usual with one arm in a sling, and the
+other available for our childish pastimes.
+
+The old beams and rafters of the premises under repair were stacked at
+our place. One day, while perched on one of the piles, I struck out
+with a hammer in my left hand; one of the beams rolled down and my leg
+was caught between it and the other wood. The pain made me cry out
+lustily, but it was impossible to disengage my leg. My mother was not
+strong enough for the task, and making sure that my leg was crushed,
+she shouted and fetched the navvies and the brewery workmen; they
+delivered me. When she was certain that no harm had come to me, my
+mother, still excited, treated me to a good drubbing. On New Year's
+Day, 1533, my father was elected dean of the Corporation of
+Drapers.[20]
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+Showing the Ingratitude, Foolishness and Wickedness of the People, and
+how, when once infected with a bad Spirit, it returns with Difficulty
+to Common-Sense--Smiterlow, Lorbeer and the Duke of Mecklenburg--Fall
+of the seditious Regime of the Forty-Eight
+
+
+The ecclesiastical affairs of Stralsund had assumed more or less
+regular conditions; the Gospel was preached in all the churches without
+opposition either on the part of the princes or of the council.
+Smiterlow had sanctioned the return of Rolof Moller. Nevertheless,
+peace was not maintained for long, Lubeck, Rostock, Stralsund and
+Wismar having revolted against their magistrates. In fact, at the death
+of King Frederick of Denmark, George Wullenweber,[21] burgomaster of
+Lubeck, having for his acolyte Marx Meyer, decided to declare war upon
+Duke Christian of Holstein.
+
+According to Wullenweber, the conquest of Denmark was a certainty; and
+inasmuch as the magistrates of Lubeck, belonging to the old families,
+looked with apprehension on the enterprise, they were deposed and sixty
+burghers added to their successors.
+
+Marx Meyer was a working blacksmith with a handsome face and figure.
+Being a skilful farrier he had accompanied the cavalry in several
+campaigns, and his conduct both with regard to his comrades and the
+enemy had been such as to gain for him the highest grades. He was
+created a Knight in England and amassed a considerable fortune. His
+rise in the world filled him, however, with inordinate pride and
+vanity. Nothing in the way of sumptuous garments and golden ornaments
+seemed good enough to emphasize his knightly dignity. He had a crowd of
+retainers and a stable full of horses, for like the majority of folk of
+low birth, he knew of no bounds in his prosperity. Odd to relate, he
+was courted by people of good condition; women both young, rich and
+well-born fell in love with this, and it would appear that he gave them
+no cause to regret their infatuation. I have read a letter written to
+him by one of the foremost ladies of quality of Hamburg: "My dear Marx,
+after having visited all the chapels, you might for once in a way come
+to the cathedral." May his death be accounted as an instance of
+everlasting justice.
+
+In June 1534 the councillors of the Wendish cities,[22] apprehending a
+disaster and being moreover exceedingly grieved at this struggle
+against the excellent Duke of Holstein, foregathered at Hamburg to
+consider the state of affairs. Wullenweber, however, presumptuous as
+was his wont, became more obstinate than ever and rejected with scorn
+most acceptable terms of peace. Hence, the Stralsund delegate,
+Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow, addressed the following prophetic words
+to him: "I have been present at many negotiations, but never have I
+seen matters treated like this, Signor George. You will knock your head
+against the wall and you shall fall on your beam end." After that
+apostrophe, Wullenweber, furious with anger, left the council-chamber,
+made straight for his inn, had his and Meyer's horses saddled and both
+took the way back to Lubeck, where immediately after his arrival
+Wullenweber summoned his undignified council and the aforementioned
+sixty burghers, who between them decree in the twinkling of an eye a
+levy of troops; dispatching meanwhile to the council of Stralsund a
+blatant sedition-monger, Johannes Holm, with verbal instructions and a
+missive couched substantially as follows: "Wullenweber is zealously
+working to bring principalities and kingdoms under the authority of the
+cities, but the opposition of Burgomaster Smiterlow has driven him from
+the diet. In spite of this, the struggle is bound to continue, so it
+lays with you to act."
+
+Nothing more than that was wanted to stir the whole of the citizens
+against Smiterlow. The Forty-Eight came to tender their condolence to
+Burgomaster Lorbeer who was secretly jealous of his colleague.
+Pretending to be greatly concerned, he exclaimed: "This is too much,
+impossible to defend him any longer." His hearers took it for granted
+that Smiterlow was left to their discretion, while, according to
+Lorbeer himself, the ambiguous words merely signified: "Smiterlow has
+so many enemies that I can no longer come to his aid."
+
+At Smiterlow's return, the fire so skilfully fed by Lorbeer broke into
+flame. People hailed each other with the cry, "Nicholas the Pacific is
+here." The delegate had to deliver an account of his mission to the
+burghers summoned to that effect at six in the morning, at the Town
+Hall, with the city-gates closed and the cannon taken out of the
+arsenal and placed in position in the Old Markets The crowd poured into
+the streets, and at the Town Hall itself people were crushing the life
+out of each other. When Nicholas Smiterlow came to his statement that
+he had opposed Wullenweber's warlike motions, there was a hurricane of
+cries, curses and insults; it sounded as if they had all gone stark mad
+at once. It was proposed to fling the speaker out of the window; an axe
+was flung at the Councillors' bench and in endeavouring to intercept
+the weapon the worshipful Master Kasskow was severely wounded. One
+individual placed himself straight in front of the burgomaster. "You
+scum of the earth," he yelled; "did you not unjustly fine me twenty
+florins? Now it is my turn." "What's your name?" asked Smiterlow.
+"That's right," he said on its being given; "it was a piece of
+injustice, he ought to have had the gallows. I was sheriff at the time
+and the council instructed me to fine you twenty florins. My register
+of fines can show you that I did not keep them for myself, but spent
+them for the good of the city." His interlocutor wished to hear no more
+and disappeared in the crowd.
+
+It should also be noted that the beggars who generally hung about the
+burgomaster's dwelling were all the while vociferating under the
+windows of the Town Hall. "Fling Nicholas the Pacific down to us," they
+shouted; "we'll cut him up and play ball with the pieces." One of the
+Forty-Eight having asked, "What do you think of it, my worthy
+burghers?" the rabble yelled, "Yes, yes," without the faintest idea of
+the nature of the question. Somebody thereupon observed, "Why are you
+shouting 'Yes'? Are you willing to hand over the public chest?"
+Thereupon there was an equally unanimous and stentorian "No."
+Unquestionably the devil had occasion on that day to laugh at the
+people in his sleeve.
+
+This martyring of the first burgomaster, an eminent, virtuous man, who
+had, moreover, attained a certain age, was prolonged till seven o'clock
+at night. Finally, he received the order not to leave his quarters.
+Similar injunctions were inflicted on my father in his capacity of
+nephew by marriage to the burgomaster, and to Joachim Rantzow for
+having exclaimed, "Gently, gently; at least give people a chance to
+explain themselves."
+
+The soldiers and sailors were enjoined at the sound of the drum to man
+the galleys, and a strict watch was kept. At night a strong squad
+encamped in front of Smiterlow's dwelling; the soldiers, among other
+pastimes, amused themselves with firing at the front door; the bullets
+passed out at the other side of the passage through a circular glazed
+aperture. There were many hours of anguish for the burgomaster, his
+wife and children, who expected at every moment to have their home
+invaded by the mob.
+
+On the Monday of St. John they elected two burgomasters, namely,
+Joachim Pruetze, the erewhile town clerk, an honest and sensible man,
+and Johannes Klocke, the actual town clerk and syndicus. Seven burghers
+were elected councillors; with the exception of Secretary Johannes
+Senckestack, who had had no hand in the thing, they were all honest,
+uninteresting folk, as simple-minded as they were upright and virtuous.
+Johannes Tamme, for instance, a worthy and straightforward man, replied
+to the artizans and others who came to complain of the bad state of
+business: "Make your mind easy; it will change now that seven capable
+people form part of the council." Antique simplicity indeed. Nicholas
+Baremann boasted of earning ten marks each time he left his home. One
+day he went into the cellar to look at a barrel of salt-fish, he was
+accompanied by a servant who was not altogether right in his head. In
+those days men wore round their necks a very narrow collar of pleated
+tulle. While the master was bending over the fish, the servant with one
+blow of his hatchet clean cut his head off. Instead of taking flight he
+quietly went back to his work. When interrogated about the motive of
+his crime, he replied that his master presented his neck so gently as
+to make the operation merely child's play. In spite of his
+unquestionable mental state, the murderer was broken alive on the
+wheel.
+
+My father was practically imprisoned for fifteen months in his own
+house, whence resulted an enormous loss to his own business, for in
+view of the coming herring-fair at Falsterbo, in the province of
+Schonen,[23] his cellar and hall were packed with Luneburg salt; there
+was also a considerable quantity of dried cod, besides a big assortment
+of cloth, and amidst all this he was forbidden to cross the threshold
+of his house and no one was allowed to come and see him. My mother was,
+moreover, pregnant at the time, and as the date of her confinement drew
+near my father asked for leave to take up his quarters with a neighbour
+until it was over. His petition was refused, and at the critical moment
+he found himself compelled to get into the adjoining house by the roof.
+He was also prevented from personally inviting the godparents.
+
+George Wullenweber and his undisciplined followers opened the
+hostilities by sea and by land. In this bitter struggle the Duke of
+Holstein preserved the advantage, though he fought as one against two,
+but the Almighty was on his side. Humiliated by these reverses, with
+their prestige diminished and threatened with an ignominious fall, the
+fribbling authors of the war expected to save everything by
+substituting another chief for Wullenweber. After a week of
+negotiations the emissaries of Lubeck, Rostock, and Stralsund assembled
+at Wismar offered to Duke Albrecht of Mecklenburg the throne of
+Denmark. The act, drawn up in due form and signed and sealed by Lubeck,
+Rostock and Wismar was dispatched to Stralsund, the signature and seal
+of which was wanting to it. The fine phrases of the Lubeckian message
+got the better of the opposition of the council; the Forty-Eight broke
+open the casket containing the great seal, affixed it to the document
+and sent it back to Wismar.
+
+Every rule had been strictly observed; the Duke of Mecklenburg invited
+the representatives of the cities for the next day to a banquet, at
+which the act was to be handed to him. But during the morning itself
+the delegates of Stralsund, under the pretext of wishing to examine the
+parchment, asked to look at it, and Christopher Lorbeer, borrowing a
+pocket-knife of his colleague, Franz Wessel, cut the strings of the
+Stralsund seal, after which they made off as far as their carriage
+would let them. They were half-way to Rostock while the other
+ambassadors were still waiting for them with dinner. Undeterred by
+this, Albrecht, accompanied by his wife, her ladies, servants, horses
+and dogs, took the road to Copenhagen, like a legitimate sovereign.
+
+Lorbeer himself, his children, and the rest of his relations have
+sung in all manner of keys the resolute--others would say, the
+audacious--conduct he displayed on that occasion; nobody, whether
+townsman, rustic or alien was to remain ignorant of the feat; and to
+this day people keep repeating that Burgomaster Lorbeer, scorning all
+danger (_non enim sine periculo facinus magnum et memorabile_), made
+himself illustrious by this signal act, by this heroic exploit. If,
+however, we turn the leaf, what do we read? _Qui periculum amat peribit
+in eo_; real courage will never be confounded with reckless audacity.
+That the act was provided with the great seal of Stralsund is a fact
+known to the representatives of Lubeck, Rostock and Wismar, who
+handled the document on the strength of which, when ratified by the
+Forty-Eight, Duke Albrecht went and shut himself up in Copenhagen,
+where he sustained a siege, and practically obliged Stralsund to make
+the same sacrifices for him the other cities had made. Consequently,
+one has the right to ask: "Where was the advantage of detaching the
+seal?" If Lorbeer had utilized his energy in keeping in port vessels,
+soldiers and ammunition, then he would have rendered a signal service,
+and, besides, prevented the waste of much money. Do Lorbeer's admirers
+imagine that Duke Albrecht would not have avenged the outrage when once
+his throne was consolidated? The least he would have done was to close
+the Sound against us, and to hamper our commerce everywhere. Verily
+they are right, the citizens who keep on praising the mad trick of
+Lorbeer.
+
+Burgomaster Smiterlow bore his enforced retirement with admirable
+patience. Instead of meddling with public affairs, he assiduously read
+the Holy Scriptures, and spent most of his time in prayer. He finally
+knew by heart the Psalms of David. As a daily visitor to his home, I
+can say that no bitter word ever fell from his lips. He often repeated,
+"They are my fellow-citizens; the Lord will move their spirit. It is my
+duty to suffer for the love of my children."
+
+Our gracious prince, Duke Philip, sent to request the liberation of the
+burgomaster. The envoys were told that the answer would be sent to them
+to the hostel. The discussion was a very long one, after which they
+deputed the very host of the envoys, Hermann Meier, together with
+Nicholas Rode, the one as illiterate as the other, and both densely
+ignorant on every subject. Hermann Meier, who was a native of Parow,
+had amassed much property in cash, in land, and in houses. Being the
+owner of the two villages of Parow, he had practically for his vassals
+his uncles and his cousins, whom he ruled at his will. Nicholas Rode
+was a well-to-do merchant, but who had never associated with people of
+condition. Hermann Meier had undertaken to address the envoys, but he
+began to stumble at the first sentence, and finally, stricken dumb
+altogether, he left his colleague behind, rushed from the room, and
+went helter-skelter down the stairs. When he reached the yard, he fell
+altogether ill with excitement. Nevertheless, he plucked up his courage
+and went back--to apologize, as one would suppose. Not at all. Scorning
+all exordium, and without even giving the envoys their titles, he went
+straight to the point. "The council and the Forty-Eight," he said,
+"have decided in the name of the citizens that we should signify to you
+as follows: Inasmuch as they did not consult the prince to inflict the
+confinement, they shall not consult him to annul it." Verily, a speech
+worthy of the orator and of those who sent him, _similes habent labra
+lactucas_. I wonder what would happen if somebody took it into his head
+to-day to address a prince in that manner. Considering that all the
+magistrates of that period were of most mediocre capacity (I am using a
+mild term), two suppositions are admissible. It was either the
+intention of the Forty-Eight to make the young duke ridiculous by
+choosing such delegates, or the three or four intelligent members of
+the council declined this foolish mission.
+
+The embassy had, however, one result. My father was summoned to the
+Town Hall, where he was told that he could recover his freedom in
+consideration of a fine of a hundred marks. He wished to know what
+fault he had committed, and was told not to "argufy." "Hundred marks or
+the collar. You can take your choice." As a matter of course my father
+chose the former, although the only crime that could be imputed to him
+was his marriage with the niece of Burgomaster Smiterlow. The same mode
+of procedure was applied to the case of Joachim Rantzow, an honest and
+honoured citizen, who subsequently became a member of the council.
+
+Shortly after this Councillors Nicholas Rode and Nicholas Bolte came to
+enjoin Burgomaster Smiterlow, in conjunction with two of his relatives,
+to sign a document already engrossed and provided with the wax for
+three seals. According to them it was the only means to end his
+captivity and to avoid all further and even more serious dangers. In
+this piece of writing Burgomaster Smiterlow confessed to having been a
+traitor to the city, a perjurer, guilty of the most infamous conduct,
+and to have forfeited all his rights. The two councillors made it their
+special business to paint the situation in the most sombre colours.
+Terror-stricken and dissolved in tears, the burgomaster's wife implored
+her husband to accede to the request of these two fanatics until the
+Lord Himself could come to his aid. Unmanned by all this, Smiterlow
+asked my father to seal the act with him. "No," exclaimed the latter,
+"I shall not sign your dishonour." But his two sons-in-law, overcome by
+the tears of their mother-in-law, affixed their seals. Thereupon the
+burgomaster, escorted by the two councillors, his two sons-in-law and
+my father, repaired to the Town Hall. On their way, he went into the
+St. Nicholas' Church, knelt down in the stall near the great St.
+Christopher, and said a short prayer.
+
+The council of the Forty-Eight was holding its meeting in the summer
+council-room. Requested by Christopher Lorbeer to resume his usual
+seat, Smiterlow refused. "I cannot do so," he said, "after the document
+I have just signed." Nevertheless, they insisted until he took his
+seat. Then he addressed them, reminding them that he had travelled in
+the city's service a hundred and odd days (I have forgotten the exact
+number, for I was only sixteen years old). "If it can be proved that I
+have spent one florin unnecessarily, been guilty of one neglect or
+caused a single prejudice, I am ready to yield all I possess and my
+life besides. If, on the other hand, I can show my innocence, then can
+I count upon the same protection as that enjoyed by the other citizens;
+that is, frequent the churches, cross the bridges, appear in the market
+place, and attend to my business in all freedom and security." The
+reply being affirmative, he rose from his seat, wished the council a
+peaceful term of administration, and, followed by his nearest
+relatives, went back to his home.
+
+The situation remained the same until 1537. Strong in the consciousness
+of his own honesty, and leaving the Forty-Eight to govern at their
+own sweet will, Smiterlow remained perfectly tranquil in his
+retirement. He was an assiduous churchgoer, and when the weather was
+fine, took excursions into the country accompanied by his daughters,
+his sons-in-law, my parents and their family. His jovial disposition
+delighted them all.
+
+On the other hand, the Forty-Eight were constantly assailed by fear.
+The success of the war became more and more doubtful, in spite of the
+sacrifice of hundreds of lives, in spite of the pillaging of the Town
+Hall, in spite of the enormous sums wasted--thrown into the water, it
+would be more correct to say. They converted the bells of the city and
+of the villages into money; all these took the road to Lubeck, where,
+to our disgrace be it said, the mark of Stralsund can still be seen on
+a bronze pile-driver. Twice did the citizens, from the highest to the
+lowest, pay the tax of the hundredth halfpenny on the strength of their
+oath.
+
+When they saw their power tottering, the Forty-Eight imitated the
+unjust steward of St. Luke, and compelled the community to confirm,
+renew and extend the infamous declaration violently dragged from the
+council of 1522. The new act had apparently some good in it. It
+enjoined upon the magistrates judicious rules of conduct which,
+however, were not at all within their competence. In reality, the
+ancient council acknowledged to have incurred by its resistance a fine
+which was remitted to them by their magnanimous successors. It took the
+engagement to favour the cause of the Forty-Eight. No dissension,
+misunderstanding, accusation or recrimination, whether relating to the
+past or the present, would in future be tolerated. Any contravention to
+that effect entailed upon the councillors the loss of their dignities;
+upon other citizens, the loss of their civic rights; upon women and
+children, a fine of fifty florins, payable by the father or husband,
+and going to the fund for public buildings.
+
+That much was decided on the Friday after Candlemas, 1535.
+Nevertheless, the Forty-Eight kept trembling in their shoes. The very
+next year witnessed the promulgation of another decree, threatening
+with the utmost bodily penalty any and every one, young or old, rich or
+poor, magistrate or simple burgher who should decline the
+responsibility of the expedition to Denmark, or should influence others
+on the subject. This act was transcribed sequentially to that of 1535,
+with the formula: Given under our administration anno and day as above.
+Hence it was antedated. It was a clumsy trick, for a unique act does
+not admit of a codicil. But does the ass ever succeed in hiding its
+ears?
+
+In 1536, on the day of _Esto Mihi_, Duke Philip married, at the Castle
+of Torgau, Fraeulein Marie, sister of the Duke of Saxony, Johannes
+Friedrich. The marriage rites were performed by Dr. Martin Luther, who
+after the ceremony said to the husband: "Gracious prince and lord,
+Should the event so much desired be somewhat tardy in coming, let not
+your Highness be discouraged. _Saxum_ means stone, and nothing can be
+drawn from a rock without time or patience. Your Highness shall be
+included in my prayers: _semen tuum non deficit_." The duchess, in
+fact, gave birth to her first child only about four years later.
+
+The punishment of the wicked and the triumph of the just marched
+abreast, _inclusio unius est exclusio alterius et e contra_. Amidst the
+torments of hell the damned watch the bliss of the happy ones whom they
+have persecuted on earth. I am bound to insist upon this antithesis
+while pursuing my narrative. I expect no thanks, for men are so
+thin-skinned as to cause them to quiver at the slightest touch; and
+that is the reason why all those who have written on Stralsund, such as
+Thomas Kantzow, Valentin Eichstedt,[24] and Johannes Berckmann passed
+their pens to their successors when they got as far as 1536. I have no
+desire to flatter or to find fault, but I intend to speak the real
+truth, however disagreeable it may turn out to be. My sole concern is
+to preserve the dignity of history. If people will take the trouble to
+read carefully the authors just named, and especially Berckmann,
+otherwise the Augustine monk, his impertinent libels will enable them
+to appreciate the usefulness of the present pages. The approval of
+honest folk is the only reward I care for; the rest is of no
+consequence.
+
+It is almost incredible that the Duke of Mecklenburg should have
+committed the blunder of yielding to the suggestions of Wullenweber,
+whom all good citizens virtually disavowed. Never was there a more
+unjust war. In disposing of a country which, on no assumption whatever,
+could possibly belong to them, the cities caused an incalculable
+prejudice to the Duke of Holstein, the Lord's anointed, the legitimate,
+well-beloved, and expected sovereign. He showed great firmness. The
+leader of a powerful army, and master of its communications by sea and
+by land, he was fully aware of his superiority to an adversary who,
+shut up in Copenhagen, only thought of pleasure, hunts and banquets. In
+spite of his just resentment, magnanimous Christian obtained a victory
+over himself, and while the surrender of the city was being negotiated,
+he sent provisions to the Duchess of Mecklenburg, at that time in
+childbed. This was tantamount to giving her charity. After the retreat
+of Duke Albrecht, Charles made a triumphal entry into Copenhagen, where
+he was crowned in 1537, and the presence at the pomp and ceremony of
+the coronation of the ambassadors of the cities was calculated to give
+him complete satisfaction. As for the Duke of Mecklenburg, he had
+learned to his cost the folly of disregarding the words of the Holy
+Spirit: "My son, fear thou the Lord and the king, and meddle not with
+them that are given to change: for their calamity shall rise suddenly;
+and who knoweth the ruin of them both?" (Proverbs xxiv. 21, 22).
+
+At Lubeck the pitiful collapse of the council brought about the
+reinstatement of the old magistracy. In a spirit of pacification they
+gave Wullenweber the captaincy of Bergendorf; but Wullenweber, while
+crossing the territory of the Abbey of Werden, was seized by order of
+Christopher, bishop of Bremen, who handed him over to his brother, Duke
+Heindrich of Brunswick. After a cruel captivity at Wolfenbuettel, and in
+consequence of indictments as numerous as they were grave (especially
+from Lubeck, represented by his secretary), he was sentenced to death
+in September, 1537, and his body quartered. At the taking of the
+fortress of Wardenburg, Duke Christian captured Marx Meyer, his brother
+Gerard Meyer, and a notorious Danish priest. These three were executed
+by the sword, quartered, and their bodies shown on the rack to the
+great satisfaction of the Danish people and the honest Lubeckenaars so
+long oppressed.
+
+Nicholas Nering, a citizen of those parts, had sold to Johannes Krossen
+a farm with all its live stock and belongings, but, according to him,
+he had reserved for himself the foal of a handsome mare, if it should
+happen to be a colt, and a colt it turned out to be. At the period of
+its weaning, in 1535, he claimed the young animal. Krossen contested
+the claim. Thereupon, according to the evidence of his step-son, Peter
+Klatteville, who was about fifteen, and whose evidence was recorded in
+the black register of the court, Nering, not to be outdone, mounted his
+black horse, the lad trotting barefooted by his side, and both went at
+five a.m. to Krossen's farm. Nering got the colt out of the stables
+while the youngster kept watch. Nering hid his spoil for three weeks at
+Schwartz's, at the new mill, and after having made Peter promise to
+keep the secret on the penalty of the most terrible punishment.
+
+Different is the version recorded in the new register, written on
+parchment and bound in white sow's skin. "In 1536, on the Monday after
+_Reminiscere_, Nicholas Nering, accused of pillage, has confessed
+before the court that riding along the Frankische landstrasse, after
+passing the gate, he noticed three colts; that moved by a wicked
+inspiration, he had gone up to them and thrown the leash over one of
+these, and fastened it to the pommel of his saddle, and in that way
+brought it to his own stables. After having heard the above confession,
+it was decided to take Nicholas Nering outside the city and hang him on
+the gallows."
+
+Nicholas Nering's bad reputation did not dispose the council in his
+favour; hence all his friends had employed him to restore the colt in
+order to prevent the matter going into the courts, but he had proved
+obstinate. While he was in his cell, he repeated that he was
+indifferent to death, but that he deplored the calamities which his
+execution would entail. It was an evident proof of his having concocted
+a scheme of vengeance with his confidants. This became obvious enough
+after his death, when his kindred left the city and began setting fire
+to mills, homesteads and villages of the neighbourhood, and recruiting
+accomplices by sheer weight of money. Two of these malefactors were
+taken at Bart, and put on the rack. At Stralsund they arrested ten
+individuals at once, among others, Christian Parow, the dean of the
+drapers, and Johannes Blumenow, the dean of the shoemakers. Young Peter
+Klatteville confessed to having set the New Mill on fire at the
+instigation of his mother, Nering's widow. Three were put on the rack;
+they declared having received of Parow ten marks for committing the
+crime, and the ministers who conducted them to the execution had much
+trouble to make them retract the accusation in the presence of the
+crowd. The following is the version in the _Annales_ of Berckmann, one
+of the ministers: "This is what I have personally seen. When Parow took
+his stroll in the market place, the raven of Barber Grellen ran to peck
+at his legs, so that Parow considered it the best part of valour to
+quit the place. I am bound to admit, though, that this bird was in the
+habit of annoying the peasants who happened to wear wide linen
+breeches. Parow, who was an old man, did not pay sufficient attention
+to his appearance as to have his breeches properly pulled up like those
+of his companions; hence, there is nothing to prove that Providence
+made use of the raven to declare which kind of death Parow deserved."
+
+Berckmann is simply nothing more nor less than Satan's slave when he
+tries to make Parow odious. It is true that this worthy man signed and
+sealed the avowal of his forfeit; the act happened to fall into my
+hands when I was secretary of the city. I destroyed it, in that way
+saving an honourable family from future affronts, without causing any
+damage to the public welfare. Besides, this concession was known to
+every one. It had in the opinion of those who gave themselves time to
+think the same value as that of Burgomaster Smiterlow branding himself
+as a traitor and an infamous creature. During the inquiry, everybody
+could see how incensed Parow was with the Nerings. If he did give them
+ten marks, it was because the money was extorted from him bit by bit by
+a certain Smit who perished on the rack. Nering's stepson Klatteville
+even declares that Parow came one day to his mother and had a long
+conversation with her. He does not know what Parow said to her,
+but he seemed heartbroken at the behaviour of the Nerings, for he
+wept like a child and went away weeping. In the draper's company
+no one ever objected to sitting next to him at table, except Olaff
+Lorbeer, a ridiculous personage, and the son of one of the principal
+faction-mongers. He always overwhelmed the good old man with his coarse
+allusions.
+
+Johannes Blumenow, condemned to death on Tuesday, was only led to the
+scaffold on the following Thursday. I saw the execution. The corpse
+remained on the wheel, wrapped up by means of a cord in the blue dress
+he wore every day. This was done in order to prevent the crows from
+going to work too quickly. This Blumenow, a lively, though grey-haired
+fellow, the dean of the shoemakers, was the wealthiest of the
+Forty-Eight. He was very ambitious for the burgomastership which, he
+flattered himself, he could discharge better than any body. At the last
+burgomaster's banquet, that of Nicholas Sonnenberg, Frau Blumenow said
+to the matron next to her: "I did not wish to come, but I ought to know
+what to do when our turn comes to give the banquet." I have seen
+Blumenow busy cleaning skins and during that time many a notable
+personage clad in furs bowed down before him with more respect than
+before any former burgomaster. Berckmann attributes no other wrong to
+him than that of having induced Nering to renounce his citizenship
+(that is honest enough); but, he insinuates they had made up their
+minds to ruin him because he had in his possession the famous act
+elaborated by the Forty-Eight. What a pity it is that Berckmann sets so
+little store by the truth. Who compelled him to commit so many foolish
+fabrications to paper? With a little trouble on his part he could have
+learnt that about forty years previously a priest had been assassinated
+in his dwelling. The murderer remained unknown until Blumenow, being
+put to the torture, confessed to being the author of the crime. He had
+counted upon a big sum of money, but the victim did not possess more
+than a few pence. That, my very dear Berckmann, was what brought
+Blumenow to the scaffold. The sedition mongers had taken their
+precautions so well in the act of 1535 and in its appendix that, but
+for the Nering lawsuits, the honest part of the community would have
+never had the joy of seeing their oppressors pay for their misdeeds.
+
+I have already recounted the pitiful end of Rolof Moller; the whole of
+his line was overtaken with similar punishment. His eldest son, George,
+who had been my schoolfellow at Rostock, was only a stripling when he
+caught a nameless disease through frequenting a certain class of women.
+He wanted to play the young country squire, did little work and spent
+much. His stepfather took him away from his studies, and sent him to
+England to learn the language of the country, and then to Antwerp, to
+get an insight into business. The young fellow, however, continued his
+spendthrift ways, and it became necessary to recall him. Rolof Moller's
+second son, for a mere trifle, stabbed in the open street his cousin
+with whom he had been drinking claret at an apothecary's. The name of
+Moller is fated to be extinguished in a short time.
+
+What shall I say about Burgomaster Lorbeer, the instigator of the three
+riots, and especially of the third against Smiterlow? Everybody is
+aware of the contempt into which he fell even during his lifetime, and
+of the horrible malady that carried him slowly to the grave. After his
+death his wife and daughters still believed themselves to be the
+masters, as in the days when visiting an estate of the city they were
+greeted with the formula of reception, "Be welcome, dear ladies, on thy
+lands," and when the passers-by hailed them with a "God preserve you,
+young and dear burgomasters." This deference had inflated their
+presumption to such an extent that they lost all respect for both the
+council and the law courts. They ended up by exhausting the Divine
+patience.
+
+The master-miller Nicholas Hildebrand was not the least influential
+among the Forty-Eight. A busybody, self-interested, he meddled with
+everything that could bring water to his milldam. Having had certain
+private reasons for retiring to Wolgast, he intrigued so barefacedly as
+to compel the duke to imprison him; and inasmuch as nobody dreamt of
+interceding for him, he spent the whole winter in a cell. At his
+discharge his legs were frost-bitten and he was eaten up with vermin.
+Another active and restless firebrand, the erewhile tailor Marschmann,
+who came to Wolgast to escape his creditors, kept Hildebrand company
+the whole of the winter. Knigge took to making false coin; but for
+Doctor Gentzkow, whose step-daughter he had married, the capital
+sentence passed on him would not have been commuted into banishment.
+Christian Herwig died in abject misery. They had given him the nickname
+of Count Christian, because in his prosperous days he strutted about in
+his best dress, one hand on his hip, and taking up the whole width of
+the street by himself. His wife became an inmate of the St. John's
+Asylum. One of his daughters, a downright slattern, had to beg her
+bread and was found dead one morning; the rest vegetated in the most
+sordid conditions. Nicholas Loewe, a quarrelsome creature who tried to
+look like a captain in his white dress set off with red velvet, in the
+end considered himself lucky at the St. John's Asylum to don the grey
+small clothes provided for him by charity. Long before his death he
+became stone blind. His daughter Anna was the talk of the town. I could
+easily extend this list, for, as far as I recollect, not one of those
+sedition-mongers escaped the punishment inflicted by the Almighty on
+rebels unto the third and fourth generations.
+
+Stralsund, there is no doubt, is likely to feel for a long while the
+pernicious effects of Rolof Moller; but just as history praises
+Cambyses, that arch-tyrant, _monstrum hominis el vera cloaca diaboli_
+for having ordered the death of the prevaricating judge and for having
+had his skin nailed on the judgment seat; so on one point, and on one
+only, are the sedition-mongers entitled to commendation. They replaced
+the banquets of the burgomaster and the councillors by presents of
+goldsmith's work or by a piece of silver. Nowadays the city receives
+from the burgomaster a piece of silver-gilt; a councillor merely gives
+a piece of silverwork. The guilds have also done away with the banquets
+of reception and election. Instead of foolishly wasting their money in
+gormandizing, the new dean or the new companion offers a present of
+silver which does duty at the fetes and gatherings, so that nowadays
+the wooden and pewter goblets have made room for silver tankards. On
+Twelfth Night the council and the corporations make a display of their
+treasure, to show to the public that it is not only intact, but
+increased.
+
+After the tragedy of the Passion comes the glory of Easter Day.
+Nicholas Smiterlow had suffered civil death; and among certain
+individuals on the magistrates' bench the password had gone round to
+prevent his resurrection. When, however, the disastrous issue of the
+war but too plainly confirmed the prophecies of the old burgomaster,
+the ironical nickname of "pacific" became the chief claim to his glory.
+Councillors and burghers in plenary meeting assembled, dispatched two
+of the former to him with the request for him to repair to the Town
+Hall. Burgomaster Lorbeer tried to stop the mission by rubbing his arm
+and saying that the letter of avowal signed by Smiterlow was a most
+indispensable document on that occasion, inasmuch as it was a question
+of annulling it. His attempt to redress the balance of his own game by
+a delay of twenty-four hours was a failure. His objection was simply
+put aside, and the secretary went at once to Blumenow's for the said
+letter, together with the pact imposed by the Forty-Eight. When
+Smiterlow entered the council-room all the burghers cried, "Here is our
+beloved father, Nicholas the Pacific." He was conducted to his former
+seat, above Lorbeer's; they begged him to give them the help of his
+experience, and they promised that henceforth he should be exempt from
+all missions and embassies. Standing on the treasury chest, so as to
+afford a sight to everybody, the secretary tore the famous agreement
+into two, and detached Smiterlow's seal from it. But the burghers were
+not at all satisfied, and shouted to him to stick his penknife into and
+to lacerate the letter of avowal in a similar fashion. And thus ended
+the domination of the Forty-Eight.
+
+Faithful--perhaps too faithful--to his habit, the ex-Augustine monk
+Berckmann limns Smiterlow in the falsest colours. He fancies he is
+using irony when he exclaims, "Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow was a
+fine specimen of a man, conscious of his own worth, handsome, eloquent,
+prudent and wise, and enjoying much consideration from princes and
+nobles." It so happens that all this is simply so much bare truth, and
+added to all these merits, Smiterlow had the fear of God and a wide
+knowledge of the Scriptures. The _Annales_ of Master Gerhard Droege
+quote him as the oldest patron and protector of the Evangelical
+ministries; hence, everything that Berckmann writes in connexion with
+or about him is inexact. Here is an instance. Berckmann states that
+Smiterlow was confined to his bed twelve weeks, while in reality he was
+taken ill one Sunday and died the next Tuesday, in 1539. His son
+George, my junior by a twelvemonth, was burgomaster for twenty-two
+years. He had inherited all his father's virtues; he went through
+similar ordeals, and was vouchsafed the same comforts from on high, and
+I see no reason to modify my letter to Duke Ernest Ludwig. That prince,
+egged on by the caballers of his court, exclaimed at the news of
+Smiterlow's demise, "I had two enemies at Stralsund. Smiterlow is dead,
+and the devil will soon take Sastrow." I wrote to His Highness as
+follows:
+
+"Gracious prince and lord,--The defunct burgomaster was neither bad
+naturally nor of base condition. His loyalty towards your Highness and
+Stralsund never failed, as could be proved by his numerous services. If
+he could have changed a farthing into a florin to the advantage of the
+city he would unquestionably have done so. Neither he nor his ever
+cheated the treasury. Hard-working, just and incorruptible, his speech
+expressing the feelings of his heart he, was a slave to duty, and
+severe or lenient as circumstances and persons dictated. Not at all
+obstinate, he was particularly amenable to reason, for the public weal
+was his sole guide. He administered the law with the strictest
+impartiality. A foe to dissipation and excess, he led a useful and
+retired life; though frugal and saving, he never remained behind where
+honour demanded the spending of money. The greatest harmony prevailed
+between him, his wife, and his servants. Though he had not pursued the
+ordinary course of studies, he was endowed with supreme wisdom. He had
+a most wonderful memory, and an equally wonderful gift of elocution. As
+a loyal subject, I can but address to God one prayer. The King of the
+Persians, Darius, prayed for as many zopyres as a pomegranate contains
+pips; may your Highness be enabled to count as many Smiterlows in the
+city and in the fields, not to mention the court; and while including
+the latter I wish to cast no reflection on any one. What then are we to
+think of those who dare to slander the defunct and to blacken his
+character in your Highness' eyes, besides causing grief to his wife,
+his children and his friends?"
+
+Everybody on the other hand would freely admit that Rolof Moller was
+overbearing, presumptuous, crafty, greedy, ungrateful, relentless, and
+turbulent. Smiterlow and Moller were so utterly different in character
+as to be unable to breathe the same air. At the council, in church, nay
+in the city itself, the presence of one was sufficient to drive away
+the other. Great, therefore, was the surprise when George Smiterlow
+married Moller's niece. How would people, for whom the space of a large
+city seemed insufficient, agree under the same roof, at the same board,
+in the same bed? What strange _communicatio idiomatum_ was going to
+result from that marriage? Hence, I should openly disadvise the
+election of such a Smiterlow for the council, and least of all should I
+make him a burgomaster, for they have many more of their mother's than
+of the father's characteristics; _in hac lucta duarum diversarum
+naturarum_ the Mollers appear to have had the advantage.
+
+Nevertheless, this new generation is still sufficiently young to be
+susceptible of improvement. From the bottom of my heart I wish it may
+be so, for the sake both of its reputation and its welfare.
+
+I have written the foregoing pages somewhat oppressed by the thought of
+the ill-will I am drawing on my devoted head in praising Smiterlow at
+the expense of Rolof Moller. The descendants of the latter will never
+forgive me. But I derive consolation and strength from the appreciation
+of educated men. They know that the historian's duty is to go straight
+for his aim, and to proclaim the truth, whether for good or evil,
+whether it pleases or displeases, and let come what may. I recommend to
+my children submission to the authorities, no matter whether Pilatus or
+Caiaphas governs. For the good of their soul and the welfare of their
+body they ought never to make pacts with sedition-mongers.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IV
+
+Dr. Martin Luther writes to my Father--My Studies at Rostock and at
+Greifswald--Something about my hard Life at Spires--I am admitted as a
+Public Notary--Dr. Hose
+
+
+My parents recalled me in 1538, having discovered that at Greifswald I
+more often accompanied my grandfather in his strolls than sat over my
+books. I attended school during the stay of a twelvemonth at the
+paternal home.
+
+One instance will show into what kind of hands the chief power had
+fallen. In 1539, Duke Philip, travelling to Ruegen with his wife, made
+his first entry into Stralsund, and Burgomaster Christopher Lorbeer,
+who fancied himself to be the incarnation of eloquence, made the
+following speech to him: "Philip, by the grace of God, Duke of Stettin,
+Pomerania, of the Cassubes and the Wends, Prince of Ruegen, and Count of
+Gutzkow, the council is indeed very pleased to see you. Be welcome." In
+subsequent days I have often been chaffed about this speech; usher
+Michael Kussow, among others, never opened the door to me without
+crying out, the moment he caught sight of me, "And indeed Philip, by
+the grace of God ..."
+
+My brother Johannes had been admitted _magister_--the first of
+thirteen--at Wittemberg, and on leaving he brought with him a
+letter from Dr. Luther to my father, who, in consequence of the
+Bruser-Leveling lawsuit, had stayed away for many years from the
+Communion table. The letter was couched as follows: "To the honourable
+guildmaster, Nicholas Sastrow, my good friend: Grace and peace
+be with you. Your dear son, _magister_ Johannes, after having expressed
+to me his sorrow at your having kept away for many years from the
+Holy Communion table--which absence is calculated to create a bad
+example--has requested me to rescue you from that dangerous path. Not
+one hour of our lives in reality belongs to ourselves. His filial
+solicitude, therefore, induced me to send you these present lines. Let
+me exhort you as a Christian, as a brother, according to the precept of
+Christ, to change your resolution, and well to remember the much
+greater sufferings of the Son of God, who forgave His executioners.
+Bear in mind that at your last hour you will be bound to forgive, as a
+brigand who is tied to the gallows forgives. Wait for the decision of
+the court before whom your suit is pending, but do not forget that
+nothing prevents you from participating in the Holy Supper. If it were
+otherwise I myself and our princes would have to remain away from the
+Holy Board until our differences with the papists be settled. Leave the
+matter in the hands of the law, and say to yourself for the comfort of
+your conscience: 'It is the  judge's place to decide where lies the
+right; meanwhile, I forgive those who have wronged me and I will
+partake of the Holy Communion.' You consider yourself as having been
+wronged. You have had recourse to the courts; it is they who shall
+decide. Nothing can be more simple. Take in a friendly spirit this
+exhortation which was prompted to me at the instance of your son. May
+God watch over you, Amen. Wednesday after _Miser. Dni_. 1540. Martinus
+Luther."
+
+[Illustration: MARTIN LUTHER. _From a Drawing by_ Lucas Cranach.]
+
+I trust my descendants will transmit religiously from generation to
+generation the autograph of the saintly man to whom the whole world
+owes gratitude and affection. Together with this letter, and as a proof
+of the wise outlay of the paternal allowance, my brother brought home
+with him a number of his _poemata_ printed in a volume. My parents'
+means not admitting of his being maintained in a foreign land, he spent
+nearly four years at home, studying all the while. Besides the
+_Progymnasmata quaedam_, issued from the Lubeck press in 1538, he
+published in 1542 at Rostock an _Elegia de officio principis_ dedicated
+to Duke Magnus of Mecklenberg; and in the same year at Lubeck, a
+_Querela de Ecclesia_ and the _Epicidion Martyris Christi Doctoris
+Ruberti Barns_, which caused a good deal of trouble both to him and his
+printer.[25]
+
+At the advice of my brother, my parents sent me to study at Rostock
+with Arnoldus Burenius and Henricus Lingensis. My brother, who became
+intimately acquainted with the latter, wrote to him that I had already
+gone through the ceremony of initiation; but the students found out
+that since then I had gone back to school at Stralsund, and each day my
+entrance at the _lectorium_ caused a fearful tumult.[26] The
+_depositor_ having pulled me by my cloak, I hurled a large inkstand
+which I happened to have in my hand at him. The ink soaked his long
+grey mantle with black fastenings, a fashionable garment of the time.
+Verily, I got my reward, when, for the sake of peace, I submitted a
+second time to the ordeal. It literally rained blows. The _depositor_
+pressed my upper lip with his wooden razor and the wound was a long
+while healing, for no sooner did it close up than my food, and, above
+all, salted things inflamed it once more.
+
+The two _magistri_ directed in common the purses (scholarships or
+otherwise) of the Arnsburg, which was the most numerous, as it
+consisted of thirty students. We took our meals at Jacob Broecker's,
+and we paid sixteen florins per annum for our breakfast and two other
+meals, _plus_, in the summer afternoons, some curdled milk or other
+refreshments.
+
+At the end of two years my parents complained of the expense involved
+in my stay at Rostock; they were, moreover, displeased at my leaning
+towards theology. In fact, I felt neither old enough nor sufficiently
+advanced in learning to choose between the different faculties, but
+being unwilling to relinquish my studies I exposed my difficult
+position to my tutors, who at once decided to forego their fees, and
+also induced our host Broecker to feed me for eight florins per annum.
+
+Truly, I had to lay the table, attend at meals, to clear it, and in
+addition to this to look after young Broecker, who was about my size
+and who was afterwards confined at Ribbenitz, to dress and undress him,
+to clean his shoes and to arrange his books. On the other hand, there
+were certain services to be rendered to _magister_ H. Lingenfis. I had
+to brush his shoeleather, make his bed, keep his room heated, accompany
+him to church and to other places, and to carry his lantern in winter.
+It seemed very hard to me at first not to be served any longer, and not
+to sit down to meals with my college chums, but there was no help for
+it.
+
+Besides, we had fallen into good hands. Arnoldus Burenius read us twice
+Cicero's _Offices_, which he interpreted in a thoroughly artistic
+manner, and afterwards the orations _pro Milone_, _pro rege Deiotaro_,
+_pro Marco Marcello_, _pro Roscio Amerino_, _pro domo sua_, and the _de
+Aruspicum responsis_, the _Epistolae familiares_, the long and
+beautiful chapter _ad Quintum fratrem_, the _Rhetorica ad Herennium_,
+etc. His colleague expounded Terence, the _Dialectica Molleri_, even
+the _Sphaera Joannis de Sacrobusto_, the _Theoriae planetarum_, the
+_Computum ecclesiasticum Spangenbergii_, the _libellus de Anima
+Philippi_, and finally he presided over useful _exercitia styli et
+disputationum_.
+
+My bedroom fellows were Franz von Stetten and Johannes Vegesack, the
+nephew of the Bishop of Dorpat, who kept him on a grand footing, and
+allowed him the staff of servants of a grand seigneur rather than that
+of a youngster. Vegesack practised all kind of sword-play, but I have
+heard that after the death of the bishop, he became a schoolmaster in
+Livonia. My private tutor, Danquart, coached him in the _praecepta
+grammaticae_, gave him themes to treat in German, and corrected his
+exercises.
+
+The money we received from our parents had to be handed to our tutor
+Lingenfis; he gave it back to us as we needed it. We were bound to make
+notes of even our most trifling expenses. My tutors showed much
+interest in me, either out of consideration for my brother or because
+of my own unwearied application. I, on the other hand; served them
+zealously and faithfully, and was always at their bidding. The cross
+looks of my fellow-students, however, suggested the advisability of a
+change of residence; my brother counselled Greifswald.
+
+In 1540 Duke Philip came to Greifswald for the ceremony of receiving
+homage. The exiles came with him; some held the tail, others the
+harness of his horse. My father was specially invited by the prince to
+hold the stirrup. The duke took up his quarters at Hannemann's, his
+wife with the Stoientins. Frau Stoientin, her daughter, her grandson,
+and all the relatives, when doing obeisance to the princess, claimed
+the upholding of the decree of expulsion against my father. The duchess
+specially recommended two of her principal officers to transmit the
+request to her august spouse; but the latter's reply effectually
+prevented her from returning to the charge, and the gates of Greifswald
+were reopened to my father.
+
+I left Rostock in 1541. My stay at home was, nevertheless, very short.
+I soon transferred myself and my books to Greifswald, where I rented a
+room with Joachim Loewenhagen, the pastor that was to be of St.
+Nicholas' at Stralsund. Master Anthony Walter who shortly afterwards
+became rector of the Paedagogium of Stettin, instructed me in the
+_Dialectica Caesarii_. Master Kismann explained and interpreted Ovid's
+_Fasti_.
+
+On Christmas Day, 1541, a vessel hailing from Colberg, and laden with
+barrels for Falsterbo, anchored at Stralsund. The coopers were in a
+great state of excitement, declared an embargo, and would not even
+allow the cargo to be sold at Stralsund.[27] In vain did the council
+guarantee proceedings against the purchaser of that merchandise; they
+went on agitating, refused to buy the barrels themselves, and replied
+with blows to those who spoke common sense. One burgher died from the
+consequences of their ill-treatment. They finally destroyed the
+barrels. Five people were arrested. Johannes Vogt, their dean, fled to
+Garpenhagen, but he was brought back to Stralsund and placed under lock
+and key. There was but a narrow escape from the executioner's sword.
+The coopers were summoned to the Town Hall, where the prisoners made
+their appearance with the iron collar round their necks and their hands
+and feet fettered. The corporation was fined four marks per head. Its
+privileges were withdrawn; it had, moreover, to rebuild at its own
+expense part of the city walls.
+
+I have already mentioned that my brother _Magister Joannes_, had
+various _poemata_ published at Lubeck and Rostock. From the latter city
+he returned by stage coach to Stralsund in company of Heinrich
+Sonnenberg and a woman. By their side rode Johannes Lagebusch and a
+good-looking young man, Hermann Lepper, who had been to the mint at
+Gadebusch to exchange 100 old florins for new coin. That money was in
+the carriage. A gang of thieves, or rather highwaymen, got wind of the
+affair. In consequence of the mild laws of repression, these gentry
+swarmed throughout Mecklenburg, and the names of the noblest families
+figured among them, which fact gave substance to the poet who wrote:
+
+      Nobilis et nebulo parvo discrimine distant,
+      Sic nebulo magnus nobilis esse potest.
+
+Of course these lines do not apply to many honourable personages
+belonging to the nobility. But to return to my story.
+
+When the travellers had got beyond the village of Willershagen they
+left the coach, and, provided with their firearms proceeded on foot,
+for the country was by no means safe. Instead of prudently escorting
+the vehicle the two horsemen went on in front. The brigands came up
+with them and entered into conversation. Suddenly one of them snatched
+the loaded pistol Lagebusch was carrying at his saddle-bow--the fashion
+of carrying two had not come in--fired it at Lepper, who was galloping
+back to the carriage, killing him there and then, while Lagebusch set
+spurs to his horse in time to warn Sonnenberg, who hid himself in the
+brushwood. My brother, armed with a pole, and standing with his back
+against the carriage to prevent an attack from behind, offered a stout
+and not unsuccessful resistance. He managed to wound in the thigh an
+assailant who, carried away by his horse, bit the dust further up the
+road. But another miscreant, charging furiously, sliced away a piece of
+my brother's skull as big as a crown (the fragment of bone that adhered
+to the skin was the size of a ducat), and at the same time dealt him a
+deep gash at the throat. As a matter of course, my brother lost
+consciousness; nay, was left for dead while the bandits sacked the
+carriage, caught the horse of their wounded comrade, but seeing that he
+could not be transported, abandoned him and decamped with their spoil.
+They, however, did not take the carriage team. In a little while
+Sonnenberg emerged from his hiding-place, and, with the aid of the
+driver, hauled my brother into the carriage. The woman bandaged his
+head and kept it on her knees. Lepper's body was placed between the
+legs of the wounded young man, and in that condition they reached
+Ribbenitz, where the surgeon closed the gash in the neck by means of
+pins.
+
+The Rostock council promptly sent its officials to the spot. The
+brigand was conveyed to the city, but almost immediately after his
+being lodged in prison, he died without naming his accomplices. There
+was, moreover, no great difficulty in finding them out, but their
+friends succeeded in hushing up the whole affair; the authorities acted
+very mildly. The dead robber was nevertheless judged and beheaded. His
+head remained for many years exposed on a pike.
+
+Lagebusch brought the news to Stralsund, and the Council immediately
+offered my father a closed carriage with four horses. We started that
+same night, provided with mattresses, and reached Ribbenitz next
+morning after daybreak. My brother was very weak. While the horses were
+stabled and after the court had drawn up a detailed report, we gave
+Lepper an honourable and Christian burial. We began our homeward
+journey at dusk, going slowly all through the night, and got to
+Stralsund at midday. Master Joachim Gelhaar attended to my brother, but
+in spite of his acknowledged skill, he did not succeed in curing the
+wound of the neck; the improvement of one day was counteracted the
+next. In the end they discovered that the surgeon of Ribbenitz had
+closed the wound askew; the edges did not join, and one had been
+flattened by means of a large copper pin, the head of which had
+disappeared. Master Joachim repaired the mischief, not without causing
+great pain to his patient, who, however, promptly regained his health.
+
+After reading the _Epicedion Ruberti Barns_, the King of England sent
+ambassadors to threaten Lubeck, the book having been issued from
+Johannes Balhorn's presses. Although the author had no connexion with
+the city, the council nevertheless apologized for him on the ground of
+his youth. He had simply aimed at giving a _specimen doctrinae_, but to
+pacify the king, Balhorn was banished, and had to leave the city at
+sunrise. He was allowed to return a few months later.
+
+The costly Bruser lawsuit had deprived my parents of the means of
+sending us to study in foreign countries, so they bought two horses and
+dispatched me and my brother to Spires to watch the progress of the
+affair, and to do as best we could for ourselves. We started from
+Stralsund on June 14, 1542. Our parents accompanied us as far as
+Greifswald, where we stopped one day to bid good-bye to our grandmother
+and the rest of the family. I was in high spirits. Johannes was dull
+and depressed. "Dear son," said our mother, "why this sadness? Look at
+Bartholomaei, how gay he is." "My brother," replied Johannes, "has no
+care weighing on his mind; he has no thought for the future."
+
+We made for Stettin, then for Berlin and Wittemberg; in fact, "we rode
+straight on," as people say. At Wittemberg, Johannes ran against Dr.
+Martin Luther, standing before the bookshop near the cemetery. Dr.
+Luther shook hands with me. Philip Melanchthon and other learned
+personages gave us letters of introduction to the procurators and
+advocates of Spires.
+
+Half-way between Erfurt and Gotha there is a big inn where we halted
+for half a day to rest our horses and to mend our clothes. We settled
+our bill before going to bed. Next morning on reaching Gotha my brother
+found he had lost his purse; he had left it under his pillow. It was a
+great misfortune, for we were not overburdened with means, and the look
+of the inn left but little hope of getting our own back again.
+Immediately after my horse had had its feed, I retraced my steps,
+galloping all the way. When I reached the hotel I tied up my horse and
+in the twinkling of an eye ran up to the room with the servant at my
+heels. We both flung ourselves on the purse. I had the luck of laying
+hands on it first, but I fancied he was entitled to a tip. If either
+the girl or the young man had come near the bed after our going we
+should have never seen our money again.
+
+In spite of the gathering darkness, I was in the saddle again, for it
+would have been unwise to spend the night alone under such a roof. Half
+a mile (German) farther there was a nice village, and as night had set
+in altogether I made up my mind to stop there. The inn was full of
+peasants. It happened to be Sunday, and these worthy folk, who had
+noticed my riding by like possessed two hours before, said to each
+other: "Well, we were mistaken after all. It's His Highness'
+messenger." Thereupon the host told the servant to look to my horse;
+nothing would induce him to let me do it myself. He, moreover, insisted
+on my sitting down to the table immediately; they brought me boiled and
+roast meats and excellent wine. The peasants in their turn show me all
+kinds of attentions, and when I mention the settlement of my bill
+before going to bed, the host declares that he could not hear of such a
+thing, and moreover swears by all his household gods that he'll not let
+me go in the morning without a good basin of soup, and that if I were
+to stay for a week he would not accept a farthing, because he could
+never do enough for his gracious prince. They put me into a very white
+and very soft bed, where I slept long and soundly.
+
+While I was enjoying every comfort, my poor brother was bemoaning his
+imprudence of having sent me to look for the purse. I did not know the
+country, the hotel had a queer appearance. I had not returned, although
+it had been settled that the town gates should be opened to let me
+pass. My brother's anxiety may therefore be readily imagined. He
+dispatched an express messenger with a description of myself, and that
+of the horse; the messenger passed the inn at the very moment I was
+starting. He recognized me and informed me of my brother's anxiety.
+
+At Spires we put up at the _Arbour_, and when our horses were
+sufficiently rested my brother sold them to the landlord of the
+_Crown_. We could not afford, though, to stay at the inn, so we rented
+a small room with one bed, and with this we had to be content for more
+than five weeks. At meal times we went to eat three or four rolls under
+the city walls, after which we drank half a measure of wine at the
+tavern. The days when Bartholomaei Sastrow led the dance, and feasted at
+the big wine cellars like _Koenig Arthur_ and the _Rathskeller_ were
+over.
+
+Philip Melanchthon had recommended us to his half-brother, Doctor
+Johannes Hochel, procurator, and to Doctor Jacob Schenck, advocate at
+the Imperial Chamber. Thanks to the latter, Johannes found bed and
+board, _mensa splendida et delicata_ at the provost's of the chapter, a
+great personage occupying the handsomest mansion of Spires, the
+habitual quarters of the Emperor. This provost entertained daily a
+number of guests, but he himself lived upon fowl broth and apothecary's
+stuff prescribed by his doctor. He was fond of listening to the
+discussions of his guests, some of whom sided with Luther and others
+with the pope. If, at the end of the debate, he now and again added a
+few words, it was simply to admit that he had never read "St. Paul,"
+but that, on the other hand, he had read in Terence: "_Bonorum
+extortor, legum contortor_." He was practically in the same boat with
+the Bishop of Wurzburg, who is reported to have said: "I thank heaven
+that I have never read 'St. Paul,' for I should have become a heretic
+just like Luther."
+
+On August 10, Dr. Hochel obtained a place for me at Dr. Frederick
+Reiffstock's, one of the oldest procurators of the Imperial Chamber, a
+most learned lawyer and excellent practitioner, who was altogether
+unlike the majority of the procurators at Spires. He had spent several
+years of his youth at Rome as auditor of the "Rote" (ecclesiastical
+jurisdiction). He was very conscientious and energetic. At the issue of
+the sittings, he immediately wrote to the party whose case had been
+called; then, the moment the minutes and other documents had been
+copied by his principal clerk, he sealed the whole, and deposited it in
+a large box on the table of his office. When this or that messenger
+came to announce his next departure the procurator examined the box to
+see whether there was anything to dispatch in that direction, and he
+marked on the outside wrapper the vail to be given according to the
+condition of the roads or their distance from the main ones. His
+practice was made up of princes, nobles, and eminent personages. One
+day he replied to Duke Albrecht of Mecklenburg who had sent him a case,
+that, unless new facts could be adduced, he advised the withdrawal of
+the suit. The fees were nevertheless very considerable. The duke handed
+the case to Dr. Leopold Dick, who allowed himself to be directed to the
+_juramentum calumniae_ and lost the whole affair.
+
+My master had four sons, all of whom took their doctor's degree. The
+three elder had returned, one from France, the two others from Leipzig;
+hence I had three horses to take care of, and three rooms to keep
+heated. Doctor Reiffstock was determined I should not be idle. One day
+he placed before me a bundle of documents as thick as my hand but very
+well written. He told me to copy them, and then to collate them
+carefully with his second clerk. I was under the impression that it was
+a most important affair; when it was finished the procurator told me
+that he simply wished to give me something to do.
+
+On December 14, 1542, an imposing deputation of the Protestant States
+repudiated as suspect the Imperial Chamber, and declared its decisions
+and enactments null and void until its complete reformation. The
+procurators immediately reduced their staff, and Dr. Reiffstock
+dismissed me, which grieved me very much. As I foresaw, my parents
+would think me guilty of some grave misconduct, but a letter from
+Johannes soon undeceived them.
+
+Though a writer's place could easily be had away from Spires, I would
+not leave my brother or the city before the termination of the lawsuit.
+We also hoped that the chamber would be reconstituted at the next diet.
+For all these reasons combined I entered into the service of my
+father's procurator, Simeon Engelhardt. I might as well have taken
+service in hell. Dr. Engelhard was an honest man, but he and his family
+belonged to the Schwenkfeld sect.[28] He had three daughters and a son
+between eight and nine whom I had to teach his declensions and
+conjugations. The matron of the establishment was a virago of the worst
+description, mean and bitter-spoken, who grudged her husband his food.
+Often and often did I see her snatch the glass from his lips. People
+may think she did it for the best, lest he should get drunk. Not in the
+least; she did that kind of thing at the family table; besides, his
+worst enemy could not have called him a wine-bibber. The pewter goblet
+of each child (there were two grown-up daughters) held about the
+contents of a pigeon's seed-box. The cup was filled once with wine,
+twice with Mayence beer (an abominable concoction), after which you
+were at liberty to swill as much water as you pleased. As for the two
+servants and the two scribes, the pittance was meagre indeed. A piece
+of meat not as big as an egg, floating in beef tea pellucid to a
+degree. This was followed by cabbages, turnips, lentils, herbs, oatmeal
+porridge, dried potatoes, etc., even on fish days. At the end of the
+meal a goblet (?) of wine. Whoever was thirsty after that--a by no
+means uncommon state of things--could go and pull the well-rope. Truly,
+it would be difficult to say how much water I swallowed in that house.
+
+Dr. Simeon Engelhardt had nearly as many lawsuits on hand as Dr.
+Reiffstock, about four hundred. Each document was copied four times.
+The first remained with the principal bundle of papers, the second was
+sent to the client, the third and fourth went to the registry of the
+court which kept one, wrote the word "Productum" on the other, and
+dispatched it immediately by the beadle to the procurator of the
+opposing party. There were two sittings per week, sometimes a third for
+fiscal cases.
+
+The copying of the protocol and of the acts imposed very hard work upon
+us. Being only two clerks, there was no time, on court days, for
+swallowing a piece of bread. On the other hand, the mistress of the
+house took no notice of anything like that. What her daughters or the
+servant girls could have done, namely, laying the table, bringing the
+cold or hot water for washing up, clearing the table and getting rid of
+the dish-water; all this came to Bartholomaei's share, whether he
+happened to be head over heels in other work or not, and the master of
+the house did not dare to utter a syllable. Amidst the biggest stress
+of business, when we did without our meals, the lady cried across the
+yard: "Bartholomaei, will you mind troubling yourself to come and throw
+the dish-water away?" And as if the satire was not obvious enough, she
+added: "Look at the lazy scamp. He has not attended to the water at
+all." I was forbidden to go out without asking, even to call upon my
+brother. Nor was this all. In the morning I saved the servant girls
+marketing; a basket slung on my arm like Gretchen, I bought the
+provisions for the household; cabbages, turnips, bread, and what not,
+and when I came back there was faultfinding without end for not having
+haggled enough. On washing day, which came round too often to please
+me, I pumped the water. When the pump was out of order it was I who
+went down the well to repair the mischief. And I was not a child, but a
+young man of twenty-three. I was paying for the good times of
+Stralsund. At each visit my brother was bewailing my fate and preaching
+patience. "In days to come, when you shall have a wife, children, and
+servants of your own, you will be able to tell them of your less happy
+days."
+
+When Mistress Engelhardt was in her "tantrums," she went about for a
+week without addressing a friendly word to her husband. At such periods
+her son Solomon would come into the office to tell me that his father
+was a dissipated brute who had not slept with his mother for a week,
+etc., etc. The youngest of the girls fell ill and died; her mother put
+the corpse into a sack in guise of a coffin. An old crone carried it to
+the cemetery on her back. One can only hope that she dug a grave and
+placed her burden into it, for no one accompanied the dead child; no
+one superintended the burial.
+
+Thanks to his capital practice, made up of the nobles and the cities
+paying him yearly retaining fees, thanks also to the avarice of this
+virago, Dr. Engelhardt easily put aside two thousand florins per annum.
+He lent money to the client-cities at interest. For two years running I
+made payments of two thousand florins each on a simple receipt.
+
+In 1543, on his return from Italy, the emperor hurried on his
+preparations for a war against the Duke of Juliers. Ulm and Augsburg
+cast some magnificent pieces of field artillery, with their carriages
+and wheels; and as it was considered easier to transport the carriages
+separately, a numberless troop of Swabian carters was engaged. His
+Imperial Majesty stayed at Spires, the artillery not being ready.
+Autumn overtook him, and as the roads of the Netherlands were very bad
+at that season, his Majesty, to his great vexation, had to defer the
+attack. One day, being on horseback, he hustled a waggoner whose team
+proceeded too slowly to his taste, and spoke, moreover, very harshly to
+him. The Swabian, who had no idea of the identity of his interlocutor,
+merely made a grimace and shrugged his shoulders. A smart rap with a
+riding crop from the emperor was the result. So far from submitting,
+however, the stubborn clown promptly belabours his assailant's head
+with his whip, uttering imprecations all the while: "May the thunder
+strike and blast you, you scum of a Spaniard," and so forth. Of course
+the emperor's suite laid hold of him, and he had to pay dearly for his
+mistake. Not so dearly, though, as he might have done if the colonels
+entrusted with inquiries and the drawing up of the indictment had not
+purposely dragged the thing along to let the emperor's anger spend
+itself. Charles had forgotten all about the affair. He probably thought
+that his orders had been carried out and that the Swabian culprit was
+comfortably swinging from this or that gibbet, when the said colonels
+and captains humbly submitted the reasons for his being pardoned. There
+was first of all the ignorance of the waggoner, secondly the often
+excessive roughness of the Spaniards towards these poor Swabians.
+Furthermore, there was the august leniency of all great potentates and
+the gratitude of which the army would feel bound to give proof, if it
+were exercised upon such an occasion as the present. The prince
+relented to the extent of deciding that the culprit should have his
+nose cut off in memory of the assault. The colonels and the captains
+expressed their respectful gratitude, and the condemned man learnt the
+commutation of his sentence with great joy. They cut off his nose flush
+with his face. He bore the operation with a good grace, and for the
+remainder of his life sang the praises of the emperor. For many years
+he could be seen urging his cattle along the roads between the Rhine
+and the Danube. I happened to come several times into contact with him
+at the inns. I asked him before other travellers about the nature of
+the accident that had cost him his nose, whether he had left it in the
+French country. "Nay, nay," he replied, and with great glee recounted
+his adventure, showering blessings on his Imperial Majesty.
+
+While the emperor was warring in Africa, Martin van Rosse[29] profited
+by the diversion to work his own will in the Netherlands. He had, for
+instance, imposed a ransom on Antwerp on the penalty of burning it to
+the ground. His Majesty, having learnt that he was conducting the
+expedition as a landsknecht, felt curious to get a glimpse of this
+personage. Martin van Rosse was warned too late; the emperor was
+already there. He pulled up his horse before the rebel. The latter,
+dropping on his knee, begged that the past might be forgotten, and
+swore to shed his last drop of blood for the emperor, who touched him
+lightly with his stick on the shoulder, and forgave him everything. "We
+forgive you, Martin," he said, "but do not begin again."
+
+On February 20, 1544, the Diet was opened at Spires. I have heard it
+said that the Elector Palatine Lewis always endeavoured to dissuade his
+Majesty from choosing that town, because his _mathematicus_ had
+predicted that he should die at Spires. In consequence of this,
+perhaps, he presented himself in person to the emperor at the very
+beginning of the session, and at the end of a few days took his leave
+to return to Heidelberg, where he died on March 16.
+
+In default of a church, the Elector of Saxony had religious service
+performed in a tavern where he had put up a seat for the ministers.
+Lutes, fifes, cornets, trumpets and violins, instead of an organ,
+constituted a most agreeable concert. The elector's horse was a most
+robust animal, and there was a stepping stone attached to his saddle.
+
+On the eve of Maundy Thursday at sunset twenty-four flagellants of both
+sexes marched by in their shirts, their faces covered with pieces of
+stuff into which were cut holes for their eyes and mouth, their backs
+sufficiently bare for the birch provided with steel-pointed hooks to
+touch the flesh. It was a hideous spectacle, the hooks tearing pieces
+of flesh away, and causing the blood to trickle down to the ground. The
+penitents advanced very slowly, one by one, in two single files,
+divided as it were by Spanish gentlemen of high degree, each carrying a
+thick wax candle. The whole street was lighted with them. When they
+reached the church of the barefooted Carmelites the procession fell on
+its knees and dragged itself from the porch to the crucifix in the
+choir in that way. Near the entrance the surgeons dressed the wounds;
+rumour had it that two corpses were carried away.
+
+The emperor washed the feet of twelve poor men; the King of the Romans
+did the same. Care had however been taken to ascertain that those
+people were in good health; nay, their feet had been washed beforehand.
+The two sovereigns with napkins round their waists merely dried the
+feet, after which they waited upon the poor at table. "Friends," they
+cordially said to them, "eat and drink."
+
+Like all gatherings of eminent personages, this diet entailed a rise in
+the prices of food, but especially of fish. A Rhine salmon cost sixteen
+crowns; for half of one the purveyor of the Duke of Mecklenburg paid
+eight crowns.
+
+A Spanish gentleman who had taken up his quarters with an amiable widow
+who was looking to his comfort, became imbued with the idea that she
+would not refuse him her favours; so one night he crept into her bed;
+but the widow having got hold of a knife plunged it into his body and
+killed him there and then. Of course, she did not know how to get rid
+of the body; but though certain of her own ruin, she did not stir from
+her home. Her anguish at the prospect of the consequences had reached
+its height when the emperor, informed of the real state of the case,
+sent to reassure her. The Spaniards came to take the body of their
+countryman, and to perform the last duties to it.
+
+On March 20, 1544, the emperor granted the privilege of a coat of arms
+to my brother Johannes, and conferred the title of poet laureate[30] on
+him, in recognition of a poem dedicated to him. Johannes Stigelius also
+offered the emperor a _scriptum poeticum_. His Majesty replied to him
+through the pen of his vice-chancellor, Seigneur Jean de Naves:
+"_Carmen placet Imperatori; Poeta petat, quid velit habebit; Si
+voluerit esse nobilis, erit; si poeta laureatus, erit id quoque; sed
+pecuniam non petat, pecuniam, non habebit._" It might serve as a
+warning to Stralsund not to lavish its money on the first comer who
+thinks fit to dedicate some poor rhymes to it.
+
+On May 19, 1544, I was made a notary by Imperial diploma. Prelate Otto
+Truchess, of Waldburg, bestowed upon my brother a gold chain for a
+_carmen gratulatorium_ on the occasion of his recent installation in
+the see of Augsburg.
+
+Doctor Christopher Hose, ex-procurator and advocate of Stralsund, who
+had been struck off on account of his evangelical faith, had built
+himself a handsome residence at Worms. He came to Spires during the
+Diet. A veteran practitioner, a straightforward and agreeable man, he
+was a favourite with his colleagues, and especially with the young
+ones. He was, however, highly esteemed by everybody, and nobody minded
+him exposing the astute moves of his adversaries. A learned doctor had
+invited him and several colleagues, Master Engelhardt among the number.
+When I got there with my lantern to escort my master home, the evening
+cup was being poured out, and whether I liked it or not, the host and
+Dr. Hose, who were acquainted with my family's circumstances, made me
+sit down at the lower end of the table and offered me cakes, pastry,
+etc. Thereupon Master Engelhardt got up brusquely and wanted to go.
+"Seeing that my servant is sitting down, I had better go. At any rate I
+shall not sit down again unless he remains standing to attend to me,"
+he said. Dr. Hose, however, went on with his little speech to me. "Look
+you here, Pomeranian," he remarked, "the words 'procurator at the
+Imperial Court' are simply synonymous with those of hardened rogue, and
+that is the gist of the matter." (The latter was a favourite
+interjection of his.) "At your age," he went on, "I was also with a
+procurator who run up costs very heavily with his clients without doing
+much for them. Now, just listen to this story. A Franconian gentleman
+entrusted a most important case to my master, gave him a considerable
+retaining fee, and promised him another big sum at the end of the year.
+When the case had been put upon the rolls, the procurator put the
+documents relating to it into a bag, showing the names of the parties
+to the suit in large letters; after which he suspended the bag in the
+usual way with many others in the registry room with which you are
+familiar. At the end of the year he claimed his fees, announcing at the
+same time the termination of the suit and his hurrying on of the
+judgment. The client added to the sum agreed upon a gratification and a
+present for us, the engrossing and copying clerks. Nevertheless, he
+fancied the affair was dragging along, and one fine day he came to
+Spires and rung at our door, and on its being opened my master a once
+recognized the visitor. You are aware that procurators generally have
+their own rooms facing the door, in order to see who came in and went
+out. Thereupon my master runs to the registry chamber, takes down the
+bag in question, and places it on the table. After which he has the
+Franconian shown in, receiving him very cordially, imbuing him at the
+same time with the idea that he never loses sight of his documents. He
+also tells him that he was constantly demanding the execution of the
+judgment, but that he will insist still more strongly, and will send an
+express to his noble client. The latter departed exceedingly satisfied,
+after having offered a rich gift to the procurator's lady. Well, as a
+fact, the lawsuit was not even in its first stage.
+
+"Take my word for it," he went on, "the procurators of the Imperial
+Chamber are past-masters of trickery, and that's the gist of the
+matter. If you have made up your mind to practise at Spires,
+Pomeranian, you must provide yourself with three bags: one for the
+money, one for the documents, and the third for patience. In the course
+of the suit you will see the purse get flatter, the documents grow
+bigger, and patience desert altogether; but you will comfort yourself
+with the thought that the emperor writes to you: 'We, Charles V, by the
+Grace of God Roman Emperor, Perpetual Aggrandizer of the Germanic
+Empire, King of Spain, the Two Sicilies, Jerusalem, Hungary, Dalmatia,
+etc., assure our dear and faithful Bartholomaei Sastrow, of our grace
+and goodwill.' Think of the pleasure and the honour of receiving that
+missive, while you are sitting in the inglenook amidst your family.
+Assuredly it is money well spent." That was the manner of Dr. Hose's
+discourse.
+
+The diet dissolved. King Ferdinand with his two sons, Maximilian and
+Ferdinand, reconducted the landgrave. At their return there was a
+terrible storm, accompanied by hailstones as big as hazel nuts. In
+Spires itself several hundred florins worth of windows were broken. The
+cavalry, hussars and royal trabans fled panic-stricken; it was nothing
+less than a general rout, and the gathering darkness increased the
+confusion. The runaways only reached Spires after the gates were
+closed, and lay down in the outer moats in order to save their lives.
+King Ferdinand appeared on the scene, absolutely alone. He called and
+knocked, shouted his name, and finally succeeded in finding some one
+who recognized him, when of course the gates were thrown open, and they
+sped towards him with many torches. The first question of the king was
+about his sons; nobody had seen them come up. Thereupon more confusion,
+shouting, questioning, and contemplated saddling of horses; but just in
+the nick of time the princes rode up, escorted by a small number of
+men. The trabans pleaded mortal danger in excuse for their neglect of
+duty, and their wounds in fact confirmed the plea, for the king, having
+made them strip, could see how the hailstones had literally riddled
+their bodies. All declared that their mounts no longer answered the
+bit.
+
+The reconstitution of the Imperial Chamber was adjourned. I should have
+regretted returning to the paternal roof before our lawsuit was in a
+fair way of being settled; on the other hand, life at Master
+Engelhardt's was intolerable in consequence of his accursed wife, who
+was a fiend incarnate. Her dreadful character inspired me from that day
+forward with an aversion for petticoat government, and I am likely to
+preserve it until I draw my last breath. My father's interest dictated
+resignation, for my stay at Spires in hurrying up affairs also saved
+expenses of procedure and of correspondence, the latter of which
+threatened to be heavy now and again, when a messenger had to be
+dispatched to Stralsund. I was sufficiently versed in the scribal art
+and in High-German to find employment elsewhere. I was offered a post
+at the chancellerie of the Margrave Ernest of Baden and Hochberg,
+Landgrave of Sansenberg, Overlord of Roetteln and Badenweiler, etc.,
+whose residence was at Pforzheim. It was only six miles (German)
+distant from Spires, and I accepted.
+
+I and my fellow-scribe had been constantly engaged in engrossing deeds.
+As a rule these were petitions addressed either to the emperor or to
+some prince in behalf of the Jews of Swabia or of the Palatinate, who
+paid largely. Our master left us free in that respect. He knew that we
+were not inclined to work for nothing. Eager to earn money we even
+encroached upon our hours of sleep in order to get all the possible
+benefit of the diet. We had, furthermore, the tips of clients in return
+for our promise not to neglect their affairs. The receipts were dropped
+into a solid iron box, secured to the window of the office. Dr.
+Engelhardt kept the key of it. We estimated the treasure at a hundred
+crowns, and looked forward with joy to its division. When I was about
+to leave, the procurator came into the office, opened the box in my
+presence, and emptied it. We gloated over the admirable collection of
+florins, crowns, and other specimens of beautiful German and Welch
+coinage. Master Engelhardt gave me a crown, another to my fellow-clerk,
+and pocketed the rest. Stupefied and dumbstricken we saw him walk away
+with the proceeds of our vigils and our labour. No! Dr. Hose did not
+libel Master Engelhardt.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER V
+
+Stay at Pforzheim--Margrave Ernest--My extreme Penury at Worms,
+followed by great Plenty at a Receiver's of the Order of St. John--I do
+not lengthen this Summary, seeing that but for my Respect for the
+Truth, I would willingly pass over many Episodes in Silence
+
+
+My brother accompanied me as far as Rheinhausen. From thence I got to
+Bruchsall, the residence of the Bishop of Spires, then to Heidelsheim,
+Brettheim, and at last to _patria Philippi_, Pforzheim. I entered upon
+my duties at the Chancellerie on June 24, 1544. My brother Johannes
+went with his master to the baths of Zell, where he met with an
+honourable, young, and good-looking girl from Esslingen. The young
+girl's guardian and her kinsfolk (licentiates, the syndic of Esslingen,
+and other notables) allowed the couple to plight their troth, subject
+to the consent of our parents. It was agreed that my brother should
+proceed to Italy to get his doctor's degree, that he should get married
+on his return, and take his wife with him to Pomerania. Johannes asked
+me to go to Esslingen to see the young girl and her family; her birth,
+character and dowry left nothing to desire. We wrote home each on his
+side; my parents opposed a categorical refusal. After that I never saw
+my brother really in good spirits. The young girl married a wealthy
+goldsmith of Strasburg. When my mother informed us that she and her
+husband gave their consent, it was, alas, too late. Poor Johannes,
+undermined by regret, was visibly wasting away.
+
+Pforzheim is not a large place, and it has only one church. The
+town lies in a hollow amidst smiling plains, watered by a clear,
+health-giving stream, swarming with delicate fish. It is a charming
+place in the summer. The neighbouring lofty mountains are covered with
+dense, almost impenetrable forests full of game. Though lying in a
+valley, the castle commands the town. There are among the population a
+great many learned, modest, pleasant and well brought-up men. All the
+necessities of life, both in good and bad health, are at hand:
+apothecaries, barbers, innkeepers, artisans, etc.; in addition to these
+there are the canticles and sermons of the Evangelical religion. The
+life at court was conducted on economical principles, but on a very
+decent footing, however, and without the slightest attempt at parsimony
+unworthy of a prince. Yet the difference between their usages and those
+of Pomerania was great. The meals consisted of meat, fish, vegetables,
+dried figs, oatmeal porridge, cabbages and a fair ration of bread, and
+in a pewter goblet some ordinary wine, unfortunately in insufficient
+quantity, especially in summer. The counsellors were, however, served a
+second time. There was always plenty of work; there was a secretary of
+seventy, and a chancellor not much his junior, and the most morose of
+all doctors of law.
+
+In 1545 Margrave Ernest concluded a pact of succession with his
+nephews; the negotiations were only waiting for an exchange of deeds. I
+was entrusted with the engrossing of one copy. The text was so long
+that it would scarcely hold on one skin of parchment; it was,
+therefore, necessary to write very close and small. I was rather
+frightened, for the chancellor was difficult to please; one might
+scrape and scratch till the erasure was invisible; he would light a
+candle in plain daylight, hold the deed before the flame, find out the
+flaw, and tear up the document while giving a strong reprimand.
+
+I had been working at that copy for forty-eight hours, when all of a
+sudden an omission of at least a line struck me all at once. I had
+never been in such an awkward position in my life. I might count on
+several days' imprisonment; the only thing that could save me was a
+stratagem. The castle was on the heights, the chancellerie at the foot
+of them in the town itself. When the bugle sounded for dinner I stopped
+behind till everybody was gone; then in the twinkling of an eye I got
+hold of a cat, dipped its tail into the ink, and let it loose on the
+skin of parchment; the deed was all smeared over, the marks of the
+animals feet as distinct as possible. I shut it up and went to my meal.
+When it was over I let my colleagues go first; as they opened the door
+the cat flew at them, and on the table they caught sight of its latest
+masterpiece. At that moment I entered, and they showed me the disaster,
+explaining at the same time how the cat "went" for them. Naturally I
+played at being in despair, equally naturally they all tried to comfort
+me, and thus I came with flying colours out of what threatened to be an
+ugly scrape.
+
+Whenever a condemned man was led to execution, Margrave Ernest made him
+come to him in order to reconcile himself with him. After having asked
+pardon of him for his compulsory sternness, he recommended him to show
+himself firm and bold, the blood of Jesus Christ having been shed not
+in order to save the righteous, but the unjust. Then he shook hands
+with him, and the wretched man was led away.
+
+The Margrave had his apartments right over the principal entrance of
+the castle, so as to see everybody that came in or went out. One day he
+caught sight of the head cook taking away such a magnificent carp that
+its tail showed from under his cloak. "Just listen," exclaimed His
+Highness; "the next time you rob me, either take a carp less big or a
+longer cloak." While they were putting wine in his Highness's cellar,
+two cooks who were going into the town passed by; one had a couple of
+capons stuffed away in his belt. The Margrave called them to lend a
+hand, and wishing to be quick they flung off their cloaks. The scamp
+was not thinking about the birds, which began to peck at his arms while
+he was pulling the rope; thereupon they called all the serving wenches
+out to enjoy the spectacle. There is no need to add that they were the
+laughingstock of them all.
+
+As there was to be a diet at Worms, I was anxious to have an interview
+with my brother. In order to save time I hired a trotter, which carried
+me in a day to Spires, and back the next morning to Pforzheim. The
+return journey, though, nearly cost me my life. I was leaving the hotel
+of Brettheim when I was hailed by a horseman coming out of another inn.
+"Whither are you going?" he asked. "To Pforzheim." "That's capital;
+that's my road; we'll ride together." A mile farther on a side path of
+which I knew enabled us to cut across the country, but at its other end
+they had put down four poles. Instead of turning back I urged my horse,
+which at first puts a forepaw betwixt the poles; it does not free
+itself in time, gets its hind leg in the wrong place, and finally falls
+on its left side. My companion shouts to me to catch hold of the
+animal's head to prevent its moving; then he jumps down himself,
+unbridles and unharnesses my mount, and after having told me to leave
+go its head, starts it with a smart stroke of his riding whip, while I
+am on the ground seated in my saddle, and with one spur caught in the
+belly-band. Had I been alone and without Divine help, I should have
+been dragged along and dashed to pieces. When all danger was over,
+the horseman told me that our roads parted on that spot. In vain
+did I remind him of his intention to go to Pforzheim; he wished me
+good-night, recommending me to the care of God and all His angels. I
+was anxious to offer him a finger's breadth of wine at the next inn; he
+declined my offer, on the pretext that its acceptance would cause too
+great a delay. I shall never cease to believe that my saviour was a
+holy angel.
+
+Johannes approved of my intention to leave Pforzheim for Worms, where
+the diet would most probably proceed with the reconstitution of the
+Imperial Chamber. Then would be the right moment to return to Spires.
+The Margrave when I left, sent me half a golden florin, besides a court
+dress.
+
+All at once there grew under my right nostril a pustule as big as a
+grain of barley; I punctured it frequently, and there came more blood
+from it than one could have imagined, but the kind of tumour did not
+disappear, not even when the surgeon whom I consulted cut it. It kept
+growing again, so, in order to destroy its root, as he said, he rubbed
+it with what I suppose was _aqua fortis_, for it caused me a horrible
+pain. I suffered most when going to Spires, owing to the cold and the
+wind; my nose swelled enormously.
+
+On April 17 my brother accompanied me to Huetten, a mile and a half
+distant from Spires. There we parted, weeping bitterly; we had a
+presentiment that we should never see each other again, or even write.
+Next morning Johannes started for Italy.
+
+His Imperial Majesty being detained in the Netherlands with gout, the
+king of the Romans opened the diet of Worms on March 24, 1545. Only a
+small number of princes came, so the emperor, when he arrived,
+prorogued the diet until the next year.
+
+The spiteful, impious and fiendish wife of Procurator Engelhardt had
+made my life at Spires a misery, but at Worms I suffered hunger and
+thirst and all the wretchedness of downright distress. I wish this to
+be remembered not only by my children, but by all those who happen to
+read me. I carried the whole of my belongings upon me, namely: the
+court dress given to me at Pforzheim, two shirts, a sword with a silver
+tip to its sheath, and the six florins the Margrave had sent me, the
+whole constituting but a scant provision. The absence of the Emperor
+interfered with my livelihood; there was little work to do for
+copyists, and under those unfavourable conditions I stayed for twelve
+weeks. A canon, brother to Johannes' employer, gave me shelter during
+the first fortnight, after which he left for Mayence. The envoy of the
+dukes of Pomerania, Maurice Domitz, captain of Ukermuende, who knew my
+family very well, put, it is true, his purse at my disposal, knowing as
+he did that he would be reimbursed at Stralsund; the syndic of Lubeck
+was also at Worms with Franz von Sitten, my Rostock chum; neither the
+one nor the other would have refused to do me a service; borrowing
+meant, however, imposing new sacrifices upon my parents, so I preferred
+to suffer privation.
+
+My nose caused me severe pain for a long while; when it gave me some
+respite, my mornings and afternoons were spent in walks, either with my
+countrymen from Mecklenburg, Pomerania or Lubeck, or with the friends I
+had made in Worms. Nobody had any idea of my being as poor as I was. At
+the dinner hour, when everybody repaired to the inn, I bought a
+pfenning's worth of bread, and the public fountain supplied the drink
+gratis; it was very rare that I took a little soup with a piece of meat
+as big as an egg in it, at the eating house. The owner of the
+establishment allowed me, in consideration of a kreutzer, to spend the
+night on a wooden seat; a bed would have cost half a batz (a batz was
+equal to about a penny of those days), and the wooden seat seemed
+preferable, inasmuch as I had sufficient "live stock" of my own,
+without picking up that of others. I sold the silver tip of my sword
+sheath, an iron tip as it seemed to me, to meet all my requirements. I
+subsequently disposed of one of my two shirts for what it would fetch;
+the six florins had melted away, and I wanted the wherewithal to buy
+dry bread. When my remaining shirt was dirty I went to wash it in the
+Rhine, and waited in the sun while it was drying; all this was so much
+money saved, no cost of laundry, soap, ironing or pleating.
+
+My small clothes fell on my heels; I myself could no longer repair
+them. The "snip" at Worms would have asked not less than a batz; at
+Spires, on the other hand, it would have been done for half the price.
+So I made up my mind to go to Spires. I only reached the outer
+fortifications after the closing of the gates. Dying with hunger,
+thirst and fatigue, I lay down in the moat where I almost perished with
+cold. Next morning, at the tailor's, after having undressed, I sat
+huddled up all the while he was mending my clothes. I went back to
+Worms at a "double quick," having done twelve miles to save half a
+batz.
+
+The constant want of nourishment had made me weak, and with my blood in
+a bad state, incapable of holding a pen if I had found any copying to
+do. My distress was at its worst when one of my kindest acquaintances
+the secretary of the Bishop of Strasburg, informed me that being in
+need of a writer, he was going to recommend me to his master, but the
+prelate said no because Pomeranians professed the Evangelical religion.
+Finally, through the good offices of the secretary of the Order of St.
+John, the chancellor succeeded in getting me a place at the receiver's
+of the said order. Great indeed, was the deliverance, and joy reigned
+in my heart instead of despondency. It was only later on that my eyes
+were opened to the dangers of my new condition.
+
+On July 9, 1545, then, Christopher von Loewenstein, receiver of the
+Order of St. John for Lower and Upper Germany (he had been present at
+the taking of Rhodes by the Turks), engaged my services as a scribe. He
+promised me a complete dress and boots, such as his other servants
+received, but he did not stipulate the amount of my salary; he gave me
+to understand, though, that I should have no reason to grumble.
+
+The function of receiver consisted in collecting the revenues of the
+various commanderies on account of the knights of Rhodes actually at
+Malta. At the demise of a commander, the receiver takes possession of
+the property of the defunct, and despatches it with the ordinary
+interest by means of bills of exchange to the Grand Master of the
+Order, who at that time was a Frankish gentleman, Don Jean de Homedes.
+The Grand Master confers for life the vacant benefice upon this or that
+knight who has distinguished himself before the enemy. The right of
+installing the new commander belongs to the receiver, who derives
+enormous profits from his office.
+
+My master had, moreover, seven commanderies of his own; he was,
+therefore, perfectly justified in having eight horses in his stable
+like a great noble. He gave me the money to take the coach to
+Oppenheim, whence I was to proceed by water to Mayence, where he
+himself was to make a stay of several days. Mayence, Frankfurt and
+Niederweisel were the three commanderies which most often required his
+personal attention.
+
+Niederweisel is an imperial town of the Wetterau, between Butzbach and
+Fribourg. Herr von Loewenstein spent the greater part of the year in a
+magnificent dwelling, replete with every imaginable comfort; spacious
+dwellings kept in excellent condition had been erected around a vast
+court; granges, stables, riding school, brewery and bakery, kitchens,
+atop of which were the refectory and the servants' quarters; at one
+end of the court the master himself occupied a handsome room and
+dressing-room, affording an uninterrupted view of the whole. A deep
+moat crossed by a drawbridge ran round the structure. And I, after
+having wanted the strictly necessary at Worms, found myself suddenly
+wading in plenty. The effect of the abrupt change of fortune may easily
+be imagined.
+
+Though short in height, my master had won his benefices by his bravery
+at the siege of Rhodes. In his riper age he remained the soldier he had
+been in his youth. Daily feasting, succulent cheer, washed down by
+copious libations--a numerous company always around him--his revenues
+enabled him to lead that kind of expensive existence. The commandery
+being on the high road, landsknecht and horseman, sure of liberal
+entertainment, regularly made a halt there; the neighbours themselves
+were not more sparing with their visits; in short, gaming, feasting and
+drinking took up all the time.
+
+The commander had practically a concubine under his own roof. He chose
+her with an eye to beauty, dressed and adorned her according to his
+means; when he wished a little more freedom, he married her to one of
+his equerries, gave her a home at Butzbach, and provided her against
+want. Butzbach being within a stone's throw of Niederweisel, he
+reserved to himself the option of seeing her when he liked. In my time,
+he lived with Marie Koenigstein, the daughter of the defunct town clerk
+of Mayence; she was, moreover, his god-daughter, and by her father's
+will his ward. Beauty, education, excellent manners, kindliness: all
+these and many other qualities were hers. Why had she not met with a
+more staid and sober guardian? She was about eighteen, when one fine
+day the commander came to Mayence in a closed carriage, sent for the
+young girl, told her to get in for a few moments and drove her as fast
+as the horses would carry them to Neiderweisel. So effectually did he
+hide her that for seven or eight weeks her brothers and relations did
+not know what had become of her. Finally, by dint of gifts, the
+commander succeeded in mollifying the brother, whom he sent to the
+Grand Master of the Order. As for Marie, she had everything she could
+wish for in the matter of silken gowns, gold-embroidered cuffs and
+sable furs.
+
+I was lucky enough to find favour with the commander. Every
+peasant-tenant of the seven commanderies held his homestead on a lease;
+and I had a crown for each renewal. I wore a dress like that of the
+equerries. Madame Marie looked to my shirts, handkerchiefs and
+night-caps and kept them in good condition. A nice well furnished room,
+close to the drawbridge did duty both as a bedchamber and study. I had
+my meals at the commander's board with his guests, Marie, the chaplain
+and the three equerries. Well fitting clothes, a sword with a silver
+sheath-tip, and a golden ring on my little finger contributed greatly
+to transform me into a young gallant; my pitiful figure of Worms was
+completely transformed; I improved physically and found favour in the
+eyes of the fair.
+
+As for my duties, they were not very heavy; the only commanderies that
+gave us trouble now and again were those of the Landgrave of Hesse;
+they grudgingly settled their dues in consequence of the antipathy of
+the landgrave, for my master, who did not worry himself much about
+religious matters, was neither a papist nor a Lutheran, only Knight of
+the Order. The intrigues of the court compelled Herr von Loewenstein,
+therefore, to summon the Hessian commanderies before the tribunals; and
+the results, as far as I was concerned, were frequent journeys to
+Cassel and to the chancellerie of Marburg.
+
+The commander had a rich collection of bits, bridles, saddles and
+saddle-cloths; he kept three equerries, though only one bore that
+title; the stable held seven or eight young stallions from Friesland
+that had been bought at the Frankfort fair. When the commander went out
+on horseback, a frequent occurrence, I accompanied him with the
+equerries; he made us change our mounts each time and entrusted us with
+horses costing between sixty and seventy, while he himself only rode an
+indifferent cob not worth half-a-score of florins. His horses were all
+of the same colour; when he grew tired of that colour he sold the
+cattle at half-price or gave them away, just to get rid of them. On one
+occasion he fancied a good ambling animal; he had happened to meet with
+a dappled grey, strong, clean-limbed and a capital pacer. It was valued
+at a hundred crowns; he, however, soon afterwards offered it to the
+Elector of Mayence who was very anxious for it and reserved it for his
+personal use.
+
+The commander kept a fool of about eighteen, but who had been downright
+mad from the day of his birth. On one occasion the fellow entered his
+master's room and told him that he had been embracing the cowherd's
+daughter in the shed. He spoke out plainly without the least disguise.
+"After dinner, we mean to begin again in the same spot," he added.
+"Beware of St. Valentine's evil," said the commander. "Yes, sir, at the
+stroke of twelve, at the grange; your Grace will be able to bear
+witness to it." The commander hurried up and arrived _opere operato_.
+He sent to Friburg for the operator and signified his sentence to the
+fool who kicked against it. The commander, however, promised him a pair
+of crimson boots. "True, will your Grace give me your hand on the
+promise?" said the idiot. The commander gave him his hand; thereupon
+the fool exclaimed: "Come, Master Johannes, make haste." The operator
+stretched him on a bench, where the other servants kept him motionless,
+for at the first cut of the razor he began to resist. Master Johannes
+proceeded quickly and surely.[31] ... The patient remained for nine
+days on his back on a narrow couch, bound hand and foot so that he
+could not move an inch. The commander had given instructions to treat
+him with every care.
+
+Master Johannes very soon deemed the fool sufficiently recovered to get
+rid of him, but at the commander's wish he kept him for some time
+longer in his room to the great annoyance of Master Johannes' young and
+good-looking wife; the latter had a strong objection to the fool's
+telling all sorts of tales about herself and her husband, on whose
+doings he spied night and day. He became a great nuisance, for in spite
+of his operation he grew fat and saucy, and at the death of the
+Commander, Landgrave Philippe sent for him to come to Cassel.
+
+The chaplain was a fine specimen of the young debauchee. Instead of
+preaching the pure doctrine of Luther he performed mass twice a week in
+the chapel of the commandery. To get to the chapel he had to go through
+the servants' refectory just at breakfast time. He simply sat down, got
+hold of a spoon and dipped it into the soup. "Master Johannes," said
+we, "you know it is forbidden to eat before the mass?" "Nonsense," he
+replied; "the Saviour gets through bolts and locks; the soup won't stop
+him."
+
+Herr von Loewenstein owned an old ape, a strong customer, who could get
+into formidable passions. The animal, which was kept on a chain, would
+only allow its master, the baker and myself, to come near it. Most
+dangerous was it when showing its teeth, as if laughing. When I sat
+down within its reach, I dared not get up without its leave; perched on
+my shoulder, it amused itself by scratching my head, and I had to wait
+till it got tired; then I shook hands with it and I was allowed to go.
+One day a landsknecht, a handsome, well built fellow, tempted by the
+prospect of a good meal, came into the commandery. He carried a
+javelin, and the ape, who unfortunately was free of his chain, jumped
+at him, and after having wrenched the weapon from him, bit him in
+several places that it was most pitiful to see; after which it crossed
+the moat, climbed to its master's window, opened it, and made its way
+into the room. With one glance the commander perceived that the animal
+was in a rage; he endeavoured to soothe it with kindly words. It so
+happened that a silver dagger was lying near the window sill; our ape
+ties it round its waist; thereupon the commander gently draws the
+weapon from its sheath, plunges it into the animal, and notwithstanding
+its bites, holds it pinned down until the breath is out of it. There is
+no denying that an ape is a terrible creature when it gets on in years
+and grows big.
+
+After the harvest our master wished to go partridge-hawking, for
+his hawks were well trained. As his dapple-grey was being brought
+round--the one that ambled so capitally--the unexpected visit of
+several strange horsemen interrupted the party; the commander gave me
+his hawk, telling me to go without him. Just as I am getting my right
+leg over the saddle the bird beat its wings, the horse frightened, gets
+out of hand of the groom, and I am caught in the stirrup; more
+concerned for the hawk than for my safety, I drop backward, the horse
+continues to plunge, drags me along, kicking me all the while, the
+commander and his frightened guests looking powerlessly on. Luckily my
+shoe and my left hose give way and stick to the stirrup, while I am
+left on the ground, with nothing more serious, though, than a couple of
+swollen limbs. Nevertheless, on that day I had a very narrow escape
+from death.
+
+The Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse constantly raising
+levies against the Duke of Brunswick, the commandery swarmed with
+colonels and captains.[32] They offered me the post of secretary; the
+arrangement was, in fact, concluded, but I did not wish to go except
+with the consent of the commander. He granted me my leave, though
+giving me to understand that I should not expect to return to his
+service after the war. And inasmuch as the war was to be a short one,
+the warning gave me food for reflection. The winter was coming on; I
+certainly had no wish for a repetition of my privations at Worms. I
+remained, for the following lines recurred to my memory:
+
+      _Si qua sede sedes, et erat tibi commoda sedes
+      Illa sede sede, nec ab illa sede recede_.
+
+Several companies of landsknechten were reviewed; and nothing could
+have been more diverting than to watch the inspector examine the
+weapons and the shape of the men, their dress and their gait. He made
+them march past him rather twice than once. How each man tried to hide
+his shortcomings, and how those who were "passed" as fit blew
+themselves, and swaggered and talked loud and boastfully like the
+hirelings they were. The war came to an end on October 21, with the
+capture of Duke Henry of Brunswick and his son, Charles Victor; his
+second son, Philippe, hastened to Rome to ask for help of the pope.
+
+At the autumn fair Herr von Loewenstein took up his quarters at
+Frankfurt with the whole of his household for six weeks. My old chum,
+Franz von Stiten, coming across me once more, I told him everything
+about my position, and when I had given him the address of the House of
+the Knights of St. John, he arranged to come and pay me a visit one
+morning before the commander was stirring. And, in fact, he came, and
+had a long conversation with Marie, to whom he gave particulars about
+my parents, birth, and family circumstances. The information still
+further disposed the damsel in my favour; in short, I am bound to
+confess that I lost all claim to the meritorious reputation of Joseph
+the chaste. Since then I have acknowledged my sin to the Almighty, and
+I have sufficiently expiated it during my journey to Rome to count upon
+my pardon; besides, amidst the privations, dangers and trials which I
+am about to relate, however just the punishment may have been, the
+Divine mercy has never failed me, sending me protection and deliverance
+as it did in its admirable ways.
+
+While my master drank and gamed with his guests (he was rarely alone,
+and in Frankfurt less than elsewhere) I read, in the quietude of my own
+room, the _Institutes_, which I nearly always carried about with me. In
+vain did Herr von Loewenstein tell me again and again not to expect to
+become a doctor of law while I was with him. I did not fear any
+opposition from that quarter.
+
+In February 1546 my master having been summoned to Spires, the habitual
+residence of the superior of the Order for Germany, only left Marie and
+myself behind at Mayence. A letter from my parents, telling me of the
+death of my brother in Rome, made me decide upon my journey to Rome.
+There was not the slightest trace left of the sufferings I had
+undergone at Worms; my health was excellent, I had a well-stocked
+wardrobe, and my purse was fairly lined. On the other hand, the loose
+morals of the Knights of St. John were calculated to take me to hell
+rather than to heaven; the money earned in such a service could not
+bring luck; it was better to spend it on the high roads, and to cut
+myself adrift from such a reprehensible mode of life. Undoubtedly the
+time had come. Besides, it was absolutely necessary to ascertain the
+circumstances of my brother's death; I knew the sum of money he had
+with him, and the idea of his having spent it in so short a time was
+inadmissible. I told my reasons, though not all, to Marie; we parted on
+the most amicable footing. In the letter she gave me for the commander,
+she informed him of the sum she had given me at my departure, leaving
+it to him to increase it. Herr von Loewenstein wished me happiness and
+luck, and advised me, if I valued my life, to abstain in Italy, but
+above all in Rome, from all theological controversy; finally, he added
+a double ducat to Marie's gift. From Spires I went a little out of my
+way to see my friends at Pforzheim; after having said goodbye to them I
+began my long journey, alone and on foot, under the holy safeguard of
+the Almighty.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER VI
+
+Travels in Italy--What happened to me in Rome--I take Steps to recover
+my Brother's Property--I become aware of some strange Particulars--I
+suddenly leave Rome
+
+
+I started from Mayence on April 8, 1546, and after crossing an unknown
+country by bad roads, I reached Kempten, an ancient imperial city at
+the foot of the Alps, and the see of an important abbey. The unpleasant
+parts of the journey hitherto had been solitude and fatigue, when at a
+quarter of an hour from Kempten there appeared two wolves of very good
+size. They were making for a plantation of oaks on the other side of
+the road, but when they got to the highway, at a stone's throw from
+where I was, they stopped "to take stock of me." Evidently they were
+going to make a mouthful of my poor, insignificant person. What was I
+to do? To beat a retreat was practically to invite their pursuit. To
+advance was to lessen at every step the distance dividing us. Trusting
+to God's good will, I kept marching on, and the wolves disappeared in
+the underwood. I hurried on, to escape the double risk of meeting the
+carnivora again or to find the city gates shut against me, for night
+was coming on apace. At the hostelry nobody seemed surprised at the
+meeting, for the neighbouring mountains swarmed with large packs of the
+animals. What they wondered at was the manner in which I got out of the
+danger. I offered thanks to the Lord.
+
+I lay two nights at Kempten, because I was told not to venture alone in
+those mountains, where wild beasts and murderers prevailed. Meanwhile
+three Hollanders, proceeding to Rome and to Naples, arrived at the inn;
+it was the very opportunity I wanted; other travellers going to Venice
+joined our little caravan. Every evening, or at least one out of every
+two, we plunged our feet into running water; it proved a sovereign
+remedy against fatigue, recommended by the Hollanders.
+
+The council was sitting at Trent. Before that town we made a halt in
+the middle of the day, in one of the burghs called markets, because
+they are too large for a village and too small for a town,
+notwithstanding their having a few stone houses. After having cooled
+our feet in the running stream we prepared for ourselves a meal of hot
+milk, eggs, and other eatables we had managed to find. The host and
+hostess who had been invited to the feast were most obliging; they
+foresaw a fat bill. Having had a good rest and plenty of food and
+drink, and having paid our reckoning, we bade them goodbye, and we
+already were at a considerable distance when a horseman came galloping
+after us, signalling us to stop by raising his hat. He brought me the
+satchel of brown damask that contained the whole of my fortune. I had
+left it behind lying on the table. The man absolutely refused to accept
+any reward. I wonder if I could find any instance of such
+disinterestedness in our country?
+
+At Easter I heard most delicious singing in the Trent churches. I have
+heard the musicians of Duke Ulrich of Wuertenberg (and they were a
+subject of pride with him), of the Elector of Saxony, of the King of
+the Romans, not to mention those of the Emperor, but what a difference.
+Old men, with beards almost reaching to their waists, sang the upper
+notes with a purity and skill fit to compare with those of the most
+accomplished youngster. Trent boasts of the most elegant castle of
+Germany and Italy. I also saw there the tomb of the child Simeon, the
+innocent victim of the Jews.[33]
+
+A great personage had posted from Venice to the council; the rider, who
+was to take the carriage back, allowed me for a trifle to mount the
+second horse. It was agreed that I should wait for my companions at
+_The White Lion_ in Venice.
+
+At a short distance from Trent one gets into Lombardy. After a lone and
+difficult journey across the Alps, during which there is nothing to be
+seen but the sky and the mountains rearing their heads against the
+clouds, it was like entering into another world. The air was balmy, the
+country revelling in green; and if I had wanted a thousand florins'
+worth of cherries, I could have got them far more easily than in
+Pomerania in the middle of June. Lombardy is a beautiful land, of
+fertile and well cultivated plains. The trees are planted at thirty
+feet from each other, with an interval of sixty feet between each row;
+the vine extends its branches from one tree to another, and the grapes
+ripen between pears and apples. The corn grows between the trees; at
+the end of the fields there are reservoirs the water of which is
+distributed every morning by means of locks into the irrigation canals.
+The country resembles a vast prairie. The sun sheds his rays the whole
+day; no wonder that the earth is so fruitful. There are two crops of
+grain every year. From Trent to Venice there are also many important
+towns and castles.
+
+I reached Venice towards the end of April. The public promenade helped
+me to kill the time while waiting for the arrival of my companions; and
+as my dress attracted the notice of the children in the street, who
+pursued me with the cry: "_Tu sei Tedesco, percio Luterano!_" I had it
+altered to the Welch fashion.
+
+An aged priest, travelling with a servant to attend to his horse, had
+left the Low Countries with the mad intention of visiting the Holy
+Sepulchre; my companions practically catechized him on the subject of
+religion, and the poor man showed himself so little versed that I came
+to his aid by pretending to be a Roman Catholic. In acknowledgment of
+the service I had rendered him, he paid my reckoning at the inn, and
+wished to take me with him at his expense to Jerusalem. I cannot say if
+he saw his own household gods again, but he did not shake my resolution
+to proceed to Rome.
+
+Venice and its environs, especially Murano, where the most precious
+glass is manufactured, would be sufficient to claim one's interest and
+attention for a whole twelvemonth; but our resources required
+husbanding, and we proceeded to Chioggia to embark in a big ship
+sailing for Ancona. Contrary winds kept us in port a considerable time;
+to pass the time we played skittles outside the walls. We carried our
+daggers at our backs in Walloon fashion, which caused us to be summoned
+before the authorities. How did we dare to appear in public armed with
+daggers--a crime which was punished with hanging in Italy? In
+consideration of our presumed ignorance of the law, mercy would be
+shown to us this once, but we ought to take it as a warning. The
+magistrates inquired whence we came, and whence we hailed, etc., and
+their astonishment was intense when they learnt that my country was two
+hundred leagues away on the shores of the Baltic, and was called
+Pomerania. Then the interrogatory went on: "Do you profess the Catholic
+religion?" "Yes," I answered. "Do you admit the doctrine of our holy
+father, the pope?" "What is your opinion with regard to the Mother of
+God, the saints and the celebration of mass?" "In our country the
+Church teaches that at the moment St. John baptized Christ, God the
+Father spoke these words: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well
+pleased; listen to him.' The doctrine of the Son of God and of the
+apostles is, therefore, the pure Catholic doctrine; and whosoever
+preaches it deserves belief. With regard to the blessed Virgin Mary,
+the saints and the mass, we entirely submit to the word of God."
+Finally, on our statement that we were going to Rome, the magistrates,
+inclining their heads with a smile, recommended us to God's keeping and
+to His holy angels.
+
+At the first favourable wind we took ship, provided with the quantity
+of provisions the pilot had told us. After having passed Ravenna and
+other beautiful cities of the Adriatic, we cast anchor at Ancona, a
+town driving a considerable trade, and provided with an excellent port
+in the shape of a half moon, affording shelter from the most violent
+tempests. Here our company was still further increased by a certain
+Petrus from the Low Countries, a handsome young fellow, tall and well
+set up, who for a long time had been soldiering in Welch countries. He
+made us go round by Our Lady of Loretto, a locality famed for the
+indulgences granted to its pilgrims. It would be difficult to conceive
+anything more wild than the country--a veritable brigands' haunt. The
+town has but one long street, at the end of which there is a small
+chapel, the tenement reputed to have been occupied by the Virgin Mary
+at Nazareth and transported thence by the angels. In a niche there is
+an image of the Virgin, alleged to be the work of St. Luke. For a
+certain consideration a priest will rub the rosaries against the image,
+and under those conditions the pilgrim obtains so many indulgences that
+he would not part with them for an empire. The quills of the porcupine
+constitute one of the principal articles for sale at Loretto. I saw a
+great many of those animals alive; they are about the size of a
+hedgehog. I ornamented my hat with a large leaden medal of the Virgin
+surmounted by three quills fastened with a silken thread, and each with
+a small flag at the end. I also saw at Loretto a live chamois, the only
+one I ever beheld, though chamois are not rare in that country, and
+above all in the Alps. The flesh of the chamois is preferred to that of
+the deer. I have tasted it; I have even worn several pair of small
+clothes of chamois leather; it is excellent, and you can wash it like
+linen, and the skin remains as soft as ever.
+
+Petrus was known everywhere, and principally in the mountains. Without
+ever having studied to that effect, he could pride himself upon being a
+good musician and being able to sing at sight. In every town he took us
+straight to a monastery, where the young monks hailed him by his name,
+feasted him, bringing him wine and refreshment; then they sang a piece
+of music, drank a cup of wine, and we took our leave. This Petrus was a
+precious travelling companion; added to his knowledge of the country,
+he had a most agreeable disposition, _et comes facundus in via pro
+vehiculo est_. He told us where he was born and how many years he had
+lived in Italy, far away from his parents, whom, however, he was most
+anxious to see again. I, in my turn, told him the business that called
+me to Rome; he offered to accompany me on the return journey. The
+voyage from Milan and across France was delightful, he said; he was
+familiar with the roads as far as the Low Countries. I was delighted
+with the proposal, which, as will be seen, was wellnigh fatal to me. In
+Rome, after having settled us in a hostelry, Petrus gave me his
+address, and we agreed to meet often.
+
+On May 26, 1546, I presented myself at the house of Doctor Gaspard
+Hoyer, who, at the first glance, knew my identity by my likeness to
+Magister Johannes. He changed my straw hat, ornamented with the holy
+relic which I had bought at Loretto, for a black biretta of Italian
+fashion, a headgear very much worn in those days at Rome. He had with
+him Gerard Schwartz, the younger brother of Master Arndt Schwartz, and
+in talking together we discovered that we had left Trent on the same
+day without having fallen in with each other, Schwartz having travelled
+by way of Ferrara. He was a very scholarly young man, and a near
+kinsman of Dr. Hoyer. I never saw him again; and one day, when I asked
+Master Arndt Schwartz, he told me that Gerard had come back to
+Stralsund mentally affected, and that subsequently he disappeared. I
+have got an idea that he had contracted an illness in Rome which he
+dared not avow to his relatives.
+
+Master Gaspard Hoyer had only learnt of the death of my brother
+thirteen days before my arrival, in a letter from my father. The news
+had grieved and surprised him, but there remained the fact that my
+parents in Pomerania had been informed more promptly of the misfortune
+than an inhabitant of Rome. I conceived many tragic suspicions, on the
+subject of which I could only trust to God. Dr. Hoyer proved his
+goodwill by accompanying me to the Cardinal Count de St. Flore,[34]
+whose servant my late brother had been; he presented me, exposed my
+wretched situation, and renewed the request he had preferred at the
+receipt of my father's letter. The cardinal was exquisitely
+sympathetic; he had promptly communicated with his steward at
+Acquapendente, and he expected the reply, together with my brother's
+belongings, at every moment. Nevertheless, Master Hoyer had to wait
+until July 1 without receiving another summons to call. He considered
+my presence necessary, and on our way he told me that he and the
+cardinal had offered my brother a canonry at Lubeck, and that in
+consequence of his refusal my brother had become strongly suspected of
+Lutheranism.
+
+We were taken at once to the cardinal, who handed me five-and-twenty
+golden crowns, three double ducats, two golden florins, two rose
+nobles, one florin of Hungary, three angelots (French money), a golden
+chain of twenty and a half crowns, three golden rings (the first being
+a seal, the second a keepsake, and the third set with a turquoise),
+worth seven and a half crowns, another half-crown in gold, and three
+Juliuses. I was told at the same time that my brother had spent thirty
+crowns in clothes, that during his illness he had bequeathed twenty
+crowns to the poor, and that his tombstone had cost another thirty.
+According to Roman custom, the servants had divided his wardrobe among
+themselves. The cardinal said also to me: "_Legit aliquoties libros
+mihi admodum suspectos, et quanquam admonui eum, ut non legeret, tamen
+deprehendi saepius legentem._"
+
+After this he asked me several questions of interest about Pomerania.
+Was it as hot there as in Rome? The cardinal, in fact, was sitting in
+his shirt sleeves, in a large room whose window panes were made of
+linen instead of glass; the floor was constantly sprinkled with water,
+which by a nice contrivance ran away. My reply caused the cardinal to
+exclaim: "_O utinam et Romae ejusmodi temperatum aerem haberemus._"
+After Master Hoyer had thanked him in both our names, we took our
+leave. "Did you hear what the cardinal said?" asked the doctor, when we
+were in the streets once more. "No doubt I did," was the answer. "Yes,"
+he remarked, "Master Johannes' stay at Acquapendente was a very short
+one; and yet, no German was ever less fond of Italian fruit, fresh
+figs, melons, etc., than he." People ought to know that those fruits
+are delicious, but harmful to those who are not used to them. Many a
+German on his first arrival yields to the temptation, and pays for the
+imprudent act with his life. Besides, Dr. Hoyer had not had the
+slightest anxiety with regard to my brother, whom only very recently he
+had met in the street. I left the money and the trinkets with Dr. Hoyer
+until my departure.
+
+Master Gaspard Hoyer was an honest, loyal and obliging little man; may
+the Lord watch over him. In order to make my money hold out, he took a
+good deal of trouble to find me a place with the superintendent of the
+hospitium of Santa-Brigitta, an aged Swedish priest, who took boarders
+from among the advocates, procurators and suitors of the Tribunal of
+the Rote. To cook, to wash up, to make the beds, to lay the table, and
+to clear it, to bring the wine from the cellar, and to serve it, these
+were my functions, for which I received half a crown per month.
+Apparently they were satisfied with my culinary talent; it is true, I
+had only to prepare the soup, called "minestra"; the other dishes came
+from the tavern. In Rome, where there are so many people who cannot
+publicly live with a woman, and where it swarms with suitors and
+pleaders who would find it difficult to keep up a house, there are
+excellent taverns, providing fish, flesh, game, poultry roast, boiled
+pasties, and delicate wines; in short, everything necessary to a
+princely banquet.
+
+One day, while at meat, my master announced the happy tidings of the
+death of Dr. Luther; the heresiarch had met with the end he deserved; a
+legion of devils had swooped down upon him, and a horrible din had put
+all those around him to flight. Luther himself had bellowed like a
+bull, and at the last moment he had uttered a terrible yell; his spirit
+went on haunting the house. The boarders vied with each other in
+falling foul of "that abominable Luther," that limb of Satan, doomed,
+like all the other demons, to everlasting fire. The only one who did
+not join in this charitable colloquy was a procurator of the Rote; he
+only opened his lips to murmur now and again: "_O Jesu, fili Dei,
+miserere mei_," to the tune of that famous Italian song, to which there
+seems no end, "_Fala lilalela_."
+
+My master, who performed mass at the chapel of the hospitium, hit upon
+the idea to take me as his acolyte; my ignorance of the various
+movements and my lukewarmness to learn, made him exclaim: "_Profecto tu
+es Lutheranus!_" "_Sum Christianus_," I replied, "my schooling in my
+native country, and my daily work at Spires by the receiver of the
+Order of St. John, left me no leisure to think of mass." I am bound to
+confess that as we went on, the suspicions of my new master did not
+fail to inspire me with fears for my safety. My master officiated at
+all the masses on saints' days, both in town and in the neighbourhood;
+there were as many as three on the same day; and as the journey from
+one church to the other was long, and we left at daybreak to return
+very late at night, our satchel contained a large flagon of wine and
+substantial food. Each altar was completely prepared for mass; our
+master halted before the altar nearest to the entrance, put on his
+chasuble and said a mass. The first one I heard; then we departed for
+another church, and there, while my master officiated, I sat down
+behind the altar, my satchel on my knee, and ate a comfortable morsel,
+and washed it down with a moderately full cup. At meal time the priest
+noted the deficiency, and asked me for an explanation; I frankly
+confessed my inability to prolong the fast, which after all I was not
+bound to observe, inasmuch as I did not say mass. The explanation was
+more or less graciously received.
+
+This visit to the various stations enabled me to see and to learn a
+great many in a short time, for my master, who knew the city
+thoroughly, was very pleased to show me its curiosities, and often went
+a long way round for my sake. Rome has close upon one hundred and fifty
+churches, seven of which count as principal ones. There are many
+abbeys, convents and asylums. I did not see all these buildings, and
+the majority of those I saw did not strike me as remarkable. At the
+door of each church a tablet tells the dates of the pilgrimages and the
+number of indulgences to be gained; the general list of the pilgrimages
+and of the indulgences is also sold separately. The annual number of
+stations or pilgrimages exceeds a hundred; hence, one can redeem all
+one's sins at least a dozen times; that is, eleven times more than is
+necessary, and one is furthermore gratified with a hundred thousand
+years of indulgences. O, good Jesus, why didst not thou remain in
+heaven, if our salvation is after all to depend upon holy popes and
+their magnificent indulgences, notwithstanding which they have to go
+and join the devils in hell.
+
+A special mention is due to the Asylum of the Holy Spirit, the pride of
+Rome, and which is considered by the wise as the most meritorious work
+of Christendom. Rome contains a mass of single folk of both sexes; the
+pope's _entourage_ consists of fifteen or sixteen cardinals, whose
+establishments are kept on a footing as good as that of the courts of
+our princes of Germany. Then there are about a hundred bishops having
+servants, and several thousand prelates, canons and priests with their
+servitors. I refrain from numbering the young monks, who keep their vow
+of chastity as a dog observes Lent. Nor should we forget the assessors,
+advocates, procurators, notaries and pleaders of a hundred different
+countries who crowd the law courts. All these are forbidden to have a
+wife. Nevertheless, thousands of them shelter under their roofs persons
+of the fair sex, supposed cooks, washerwomen and chambermaids. And now
+calculate the number of disorderly women.
+
+They, however, enjoy a wonderful liberty, and it is safer to wound or
+even to kill a man in Rome than to treat roughly an importunate harlot.
+At Vespers, great lords, pope, cardinals, bishops and prelates send for
+these "damsels of joy." They come to their homes in male disguise; the
+others know exactly where to find them.
+
+The courtesans sell their wares at a high price, for they stroll about
+attired in velvet, damasks, silks, and resplendent in gold. They cannot
+sell their favours cheaply, inasmuch as they pay a heavy tax, which,
+together with the proceeds of masses, constitutes the revenues of the
+priests with which Rome swarms. If one wishes to ascertain the revenues
+of an ecclesiastic, he asks: "How many harlots?" and the figures show
+whether he, the ecclesiastic, is more or less favoured. No wonder,
+then, that, privileged in that manner, magnificently dressed and kept
+in splendour, prostitutes come to Rome from all parts. It is worthy of
+notice that the young girls of Rome emulate the others with zest. (Dr.
+Hoyer's cook, a native of Nuremburg, must have been once a beautiful
+creature. Her master always called her madonna Margarita.) At thirty or
+thirty-five, when they find their admirers desert them, these persons
+become cooks, laundresses, serving wenches, without, however,
+disdaining a good windfall. The result was this: they smothered, they
+flung into the cloaca, they drowned in the Tiber more new-born than
+there were massacred at Bethlehem. Herod after all was an impious and
+barbaric tyrant, and resorted to this butchery in order to defend his
+crown. Yet by whom were the poor innocents in Rome deprived of baptism
+and life? By their mothers, by those to whom they owed their birth, by
+the saints of this world, the vicars of Christ.
+
+To cure the evil by means established by God Himself was not to be
+thought of, marriage having been declared incompatible with the
+sacerdotal office. Pope Sixtus IV, however, having set his heart upon
+stopping those horrible murders, restored from roof to cellar the
+Asylum of the Holy Spirit, tumbling to ruin, and enlarged it by several
+handsome structures; he established an important brotherhood there, at
+the head of which he inscribed his own name, an example followed by
+many cardinals. Each member of the fraternity has the privilege of
+choosing for himself a confessor; and power was given to said confessor
+to give plenary absolution once when the penitent was in a state of
+good health; when dying, an unlimited number of times, even for the
+cases usually reserved for the Apostolic See.
+
+The wards of the hospital are handsome and roomy, the beds and
+appurtenances leave nothing to desire. The sick of every country are
+treated with unremitting care; when they are cured they pay, if they
+are able and willing; but the very poor are sent away dressed in new
+clothes from head to foot, and provided with some money. The staff is
+composed of sick-nurses of both sexes, physicians and surgeons; the
+establishment has, moreover, an excellent dispensary abundantly stocked
+with everything, and recourse to which was often had from outside. The
+institution--apart from the hospital--brings up foundlings and orphans;
+the governors have the boys taught this or that trade, according to
+their aptitude or taste, nor are the girls allowed to remain idle.
+While still very young they begin to knit, to spin, to sew and to
+weave; in fact, under the direct supervision of the mistresses attached
+to the establishment, they are taught all the occupations of their sex.
+If one of the inmates wishes to get married, he or she must inform the
+administrators either directly or through an intermediary. Inquiries
+are made about the suitors, about their means of maintaining a family,
+etc. The girls get a modest marriage-portion, an outfit, household
+goods and utensils, and at Whitsuntide six or seven unions are
+celebrated at the institution on the same day.
+
+Truly, it is a great institution, which seems to defy all criticism. In
+spite of enormous expenses, the existence of the establishment is
+assured by its resources. Of course Sixtus IV. has contributed largely
+from his private purse, but those contributions were as nothing to the
+practically incredible sums collected by the courtesans throughout
+Christendom in aid of the hospital, Germany included, and even
+Pomerania, if I may trust to the recollections of my young days. One
+day, while taking a stroll with Dr. Hoyer, I ventured to ask him if he
+had no wish to come back to his native country, where he had friends,
+relatives, property and livings. He said he had not such a wish, in
+consequence of the difference of religion, adding: "May my countrymen
+amend their ways and become converted, like all those who have turned
+away from the true and primitive Catholic doctrine." "But," replied I,
+"it's we who have the true and primitive Catholic doctrine in its
+purity." Dr. Hoyer retorted: "It is written, 'Ye shall know them by
+their fruits.' Well, let them show me anywhere in Germany an
+institution to be compared to the hospital and the Asylum of the Holy
+Spirit." "I know this saying of Christ," I remarked, "and I turn it
+against the papists. Good fruits, indeed; a life of abomination, the
+murder of innocent creatures, a premium on debauch by picking up the
+new-born. The pope, the cardinals, bishops, prelates, canons, their
+servants, monks, assessors and other hangers-on of the priesthood,
+would not all these be better off in taking to themselves wives? for as
+much as the Almighty condemns fornication, as much does he recommend to
+the priest, as well as to the layman, the holy state of marriage, the
+antidote to the Roman horrors of a certain kind. Do not we read in the
+Epistles of Paul: 'Marriage is honourable among all things'? And if so,
+there would be no more murdering of innocents, mothers and fathers
+would themselves look after their offspring, the Asylum of the Holy
+Spirit would become useless, an immense saving would be effected, and
+everybody would have a clear conscience with regard to that kind of
+thing." Dr. Hoyer did not answer me, but what a wry face he pulled!
+
+Rome contains a great number of handsome mansions, for the popes, in
+order to perpetuate their memory, erect three-storied and four-fronted
+palaces; whole streets of houses are demolished if in any way they
+obstruct the view. The material employed is a magnificently hard stone;
+there is a popular saying to that effect: "In Rome, great blocks of
+marble, great personages, great scoundrels." Nor are the cardinals and
+bishops satisfied with modest buildings, least of all with humble huts;
+as a consequence, the stone masons always have their hands full.
+Buffaloes, a species of very strong oxen, convey the stones, which are
+hoisted up in the easiest possible manner, by means of curious engines.
+
+On Corpus Christi day there is a grand procession, in which the pope
+takes part. The streets through which he passes are bestrewn with
+green, the houses are ornamented with rich hangings, there is the
+firing of cannon, and clever pieces of fireworks are let off from the
+various palaces; naturally there is an immense crowd, and people could
+walk on each other's heads; the smallest window has a number of
+spectators. At the Castle of St. Angelo there was an admirable piece of
+fireworks in the shape of a sun; the whole structure seemed to be
+ablaze. At St. Peter's there was a discharge of heavy artillery, and
+the cannons of St. Angelo and of the cardinals replied to the salute.
+There was so much smoke and so much noise that one could neither hear
+nor see anything. At last both subsided, and then the pope appeared on
+the balcony, where they presented a book bound in gold to him, from
+which he read, but I could not catch a word he said. All at once the
+whole of the enormous throng, thousands of people, fall on their knees,
+I alone remain standing; those around me stare at me with stupefaction,
+thinking, no doubt, that I have taken leave of my senses. When the
+reading was over (it was a short one) the pope blessed the people, who
+cried: "_Vivat papa Paulus, vivat_."
+
+Close to the Church of Maria de Pace stands the huge statue of Pasquin,
+which every morning denounces, without ceremony and with impunity, as
+it were, the mistakes and crimes of the great ones of the land, the
+cardinals and the Pope Paul III were often taken to task; numberless
+were the allusions with reference to his acquisition of the cardinal's
+hat. A German, who had come to Rome for absolution, confessed, among
+other things, to having spoken ill of the pope. The confessor was
+greatly perplexed. It was difficult to account this as a sin to the
+penitent, when at any minute the latter might hear the pope insulted
+openly; on the other hand, to refrain from condemnation on the ground
+that the case was a common one at Rome was virtually discrediting the
+papacy in the estimation of the Germans. Clever man that he was, the
+confessor asked: "_Ubi maledixisti Pontifici, in patria vel hic
+Romae?_" "_In patria_." was the answer. "_O!_" exclaimed the priest,
+"_commisisti grande peccatum; Romae licet Pontifici maledicere, in
+patria vero non._"
+
+At that time the pope was recruiting, to the sound of the drum, troops
+to aid the emperor against the Lutherans. About 10,000 foot soldiers
+and 500 light horse, both exceedingly well-equipped, enlisted. They
+mustered at Bologna; the pope's grandson Octavius, Governor of St.
+Angelo,[35] received the command of the contingent. The Spanish
+Inquisition grew more and more energetic in order to arouse the
+religious ardour of the horse and foot soldiers. A Spaniard, convicted
+of Lutheranism, was paraded seated on a horse, covered to its hoofs
+with placards representing the devil; the gallows were erected close to
+the pyre in front of Sancta Maria super Minervam. The poor wretch was
+hanged and his body burnt; after which a chattering monk demonstrated
+at length the temporal and spiritual dangers of the Lutheran heresy.
+
+The cardinals gave a grand banquet in honour of Duke Philip of
+Brunswick. A well-born Spaniard slipped in among the servants of the
+prelate where the entertainment took place. That nation is greatly
+addicted to pilfering. Most people know the answer of Emperor Charles V
+to the Spaniards, who wished to induce him to suppress the habitual
+drunkenness of the Germans: "It would practically remove the
+opportunity of Spaniards to do a bit of robbery now and again," said
+Charles. Fancying that such an opportunity had come, the Spaniard got
+hold of some bread and a flagon of wine, hid himself under the table,
+the cloths of which reached to the floor. In the event of his being
+caught, he was ready with the plea of a practical joke, knowing that
+the host was himself very fond of them. Two of his servants were posted
+near the great mansion. The banquet was not over before midnight, and
+the stewards of his Eminence, worn out with fatigue, considered that
+the silver would not take wing when the doors were shut. They therefore
+left it where it was, merely shutting the doors behind them. Emerging
+from his hiding-place, the Spaniard introduces his confederates, and
+they all carry away as much as they can. The spoil is sold to the Jews,
+with the exception of the least cumbersome pieces, which the scoundrel
+intends to keep for making a show of his own; and then the three depart
+in the direction of Naples as fast as their horses will carry them.
+
+His Eminence's retainers having gone to bed late, were not up betimes,
+and their astonishment on entering the banquetting hall may easily be
+imagined. Their flesh crept. How were they going to avoid being sent to
+prison? Were they to preserve silence about the affair, or inform the
+cardinal? They decided upon the latter course. They were locked up, and
+couriers were dispatched in hot haste to warn the innkeepers; the
+express order of the pope was to bring back to Rome any person in whose
+possession the stolen objects were found.
+
+It so befell that, tired and hungry, the Spaniard stopped at a
+hostelry; they laid the table for him, but at the sight of the
+earthenware he waxed indignant. "What's the meaning of this?" he
+bellowed. "Am I a nothing at all?" Thereupon he orders his servant to
+bring out his own silver. The landlord, who had ample time, in the
+kitchen, to look at it, recognized it from its description, sent for
+reinforcements, and his three customers were taken back to Rome. When
+interrogated, the Spaniard denounced the Jews as receivers; his money
+was taken from him, the silver was found at the Jews' houses, and they
+were immediately put under lock and key.
+
+A great number of Jews dwell in Rome, practically confined to one long
+street, closed at both ends. Any one who should be imprudent enough to
+come out of that street during Passion week, commemorating, as it does,
+the martyrdom of Christ, would infallibly be murdered. When Easter is
+gone Jews are as secure as they were before; they go everywhere, and
+transact their business without being hampered or molested. The two
+receivers were the principal and the richest members of their tribe;
+thousands of crowns were offered for their ransom, but it was all in
+vain. The five criminals perished on the gallows, erected by the St.
+Angelo bridge, the Spaniard in the centre, a copper crown on his head,
+to single him out as king of the thieves.
+
+In fact, no week went by without a hanging. I was an eye-witness of the
+following. The hangman was about to push a condemned man from the
+ladder, when a friendly voice in the crowd cried: "_Messere Nicolao,
+confide in uno Dio!_" to which the thief replied: "_Messere, si._" At
+the same moment he was hurled into space.
+
+I have often seen the strappado given; among others, to priests guilty
+of having said more than one mass per day, a practice considered
+hurtful to the interest of their fellow-priests. A pulley is fixed to
+the coping of the roof; in the middle of the rope there is a stick
+which stops the rope running along the groove farther than that. The
+culprit, his hands tied behind his back, is attached to the one end of
+the rope, which is in the street. After that he is hoisted up and left
+to fall suddenly to within a yard of the ground. In that way the wrists
+pass over the head, and the shoulders are dislocated. After three
+hoistings he is unbound, taken into the house, where his limbs are set,
+an operation which the _lictores_ perform with the greatest ease in
+virtue of their great practice. There are, however, patients who remain
+maimed all their lives; on the other hand, I have known a priest, who,
+in consideration of a Julius, consented to suffer those three turns.
+
+I was beginning to think about my homeward journey, and felt greatly
+perplexed about it. The dog-days were drawing near, and Northern folk
+are unable to bear them in Italy. On the other hand, along the whole of
+my route war was raging, and the Welch soldiers are a hundred times
+greater devils than the Germans; though in Germany itself it would have
+been a difficult task to get through the lines of those formidable
+imperial cohorts, the savage bands of Bohemians, and, in fine, the
+Protestant army. Was I to prolong my stay in Rome? Wisdom said no. I
+remembered but too well Cardinal St. Flore remark about my brother,
+"_Frustra eum admonui, ut non legeres libros suspectos_." Moreover, my
+opinion on the Asylum of the Holy Spirit had scandalized Dr. Hoyer, and
+the provider of the St. Brigitta institute had exclaimed with an oath:
+"_Profecto tu es Lutheranus_." The Spanish Inquisition was acting with
+the utmost rigour; and inasmuch as the wine was excellent I was very
+nigh forgetting for a little while the prudent counsel of my former
+master, the commander of St. John. Consequently, after ripe reflection,
+full of trust in the Almighty, and also counting on the faithful
+company of Petrus, I told Dr. Hoyer of my impending departure. He
+considered it incumbent on him to point out the dangers of the journey,
+but perceiving that my mind was fully made up, he handed me my
+brother's property and gave me a letter for my father. I parted with
+the Swede _bona cum venia_, seeing that he gave me a crown for the six
+weeks I had served him.
+
+I had told my friend Petrus that until my going I should confide to Dr.
+Hoyer the valuables the cardinal had restored to me. From that
+particular moment he talked about leaving Rome, especially as the
+enlisting had begun, and the mercenaries were almost immediately after
+their registration dispatched to Bologna. We finally fixed our
+departure for July 5. God, once more, took me under His wing. I had
+become acquainted with a companion of my own age, named Nicholas, the
+son of a tailor at Lubeck. He told me that after many years stay at
+Rome he wished to see his own country again, but that he had not the
+necessary money for the journey. If I did not mind paying his expenses
+on the road, he would reimburse them at Lubeck, and consider himself my
+debtor ever afterwards. I was really glad at his request, for I
+considered him a man of honour and most loyal. He was, moreover,
+thoroughly master of Italian, which I knew very badly. I therefore
+thanked Providence who sent me a _comitem mente fideque parem_.
+
+On the eve of our departure I went to inform Petrus of the excellent
+news. He turned pale, grew low-spirited, and did not utter a syllable.
+I ascribed his coolness to something that had annoyed him, and told him
+that we should come for him very early in the morning. After a moment's
+hesitation he said "yes," and walked away. Next morning Nicholas and I,
+prepared and equipped for our journey, knocked at his door. Petrus
+lodged with poor people; he was a simple landsknecht, and, according to
+his landlady, he carried all his belongings on his back. The woman then
+told us that Petrus, after leaving us, had promptly enlisted and
+betaken himself off, from fear of his creditors and in spite of his
+promise to pay them all with the money he was shortly expecting. Let my
+children give praise to the Almighty who saved my life at the moment I
+was blindly going to trust it to the mercy of a vagrant mercenary. No
+doubt that, shortly after leaving the city, he would have killed me in
+some solitary spot, of which there is no lack in the neighbourhood of
+Rome. Not a soul would have troubled about what had become of me. The
+least he would have done to me was to rob me of everything I possessed
+before letting me go free, and, as I am ignorant of the language of the
+country, I cannot help shuddering at the thought of the fate that was
+in store for me.
+
+And here I record, for the benefit of my children, the prediction of
+that sainted Doctor Martin Luther. "War," he had said, "will make
+Germany expiate her sins. It shall be staved off while I live, but the
+moment I am gone it will break out." Now, he went to sleep in the Lord
+on February 18 of this year (1546) at Eisleben, his natal town; and the
+historians have stated that the preparations for war commenced in
+February at the moment he fell ill. I myself had superabundant proofs
+in April of both the emperor and the pope arming on all sides; and it
+was at the beginning of June that the Cardinal of Trent reached Rome,
+dispatched by his Imperial Majesty to hurry the departure of the 10,000
+Italian foot-soldiers and the 500 light horsemen.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VII
+
+From Rome to Stralsund, by Viterbo, Florence, Mantua, Trent, Innspruck,
+Ratisbon and Nuremberg--Various adventures
+
+
+On the morning of July 6, 1546, in my twenty-sixth year, I left Rome
+with my faithful companion Nicholas. My gold was sewn up in my neck
+collar, the chain in my small clothes. In the way of luggage I had a
+small satchel containing a shirt and the poems composed by my brother
+at Spires and in Rome; slung across my shoulders I wore a kind of strap
+to which I tied my cloak in the day. I had my sword by my side and a
+rosary dangling from the belt, like a soldier joining his regiment. We
+had agreed (it being a question of life and death) that I should
+pretend to be dumb; hence Nicholas did not stir from my side for a
+moment wherever I went. The landsknechten, who spoke to me on the road
+without receiving an answer, were informed by him of my pretended
+infirmity. "What a pity," they said; "and such a handsome fellow, too.
+Never mind," they added, "he'll none the less split those brigands of
+Lutherans lengthwise." "You may be sure of that," replied my comrade,
+and thanks to this stratagem we got across the lines of the Welch
+soldiery.
+
+On the morning after our leaving Rome, Duke Octavius went by, posting.
+He was accompanied by five people. When we got to Ronciglione, about
+two miles from Viterbo, we made up our minds to sup there, and go to
+bed afterwards, in order to arrive early in the city fresh and hearty,
+though not before daylight, inasmuch as we wanted to lay in a stock of
+things. Scarcely had we sat down to table when a turbulent crowd of
+soldiers invaded the inn; the host told us to remain quiet, for he was
+shaking in his shoes for himself. The bandits commenced by flinging him
+out of his own door; the larder was pillaged, and after having drunk to
+their heart's content, they staved in the barrels and swamped the
+cellars with the wine. It was an abominable bit of business and
+unquestionably the Welch, and Latin mercenaries are greater ruffians
+than the German landsknechten; at any rate, if we are to judge from
+what they did in a friendly country, and virtually under the very eyes
+of the pope. They invited us to accompany them to Viterbo, in spite of
+Nicholas pointing out to them that night was coming on apace, and that
+the gates would be shut. "We'll get in for all that," they said. We
+were bound to follow them. We got there about midnight, and they were
+challenged by the guard. "Who goes there?" he asked. "Soldiers of Duke
+Octavius," was the answer, and thereupon the gate was opened.
+
+I recommend the following to the meditation of my children; let them
+compare my adventure with that of Simon Grynaeus, related at length in
+the writings of Philip Melanchthon, Selneccerus, Camerarius, Manlius
+and other learned personages. In 1529 Grynaeus, then professor of
+mathematics at Heidelberg, came to see Melanchthon at the diet of
+Spires; he heard Faber, one of his old acquaintances, emit from the
+pulpit many errors in connexion with transubstantiation. Having gone up
+to him when they came out of church, they started a discussion, and
+Faber, on the pretext of wishing to resume it, invited him to come to
+his inn the next morning. Melanchthon and his friends dissuaded
+Grynaeus from going. The next day, at the dinner hour, a weakly-looking
+old man stopped Manlius at the entrance to the hall asking him where
+Grynaeus was to be found, the process-servers, according to him, being
+on the look out to arrest him. Thereupon the various learned men who
+had foregathered there immediately conducted Grynaeus out of the town,
+and waited on the banks until he had crossed the Rhine; they had come
+upon the law-officers three or four houses away from the inn; luckily
+the latter neither knew them nor Grynaeus. As for the old man, there
+was no further trace of him; they made sure it was an angel. I myself
+am inclined to think it was some pious Nicodemus who, having got wind
+of the wicked designs of Faber, made it his business to frustrate them
+without compromising himself. Now for my own adventure.
+
+We entered Viterbo in the middle of the night. Prudence dictated the
+avoidance of the mercenaries' lodgings, for a meeting with Petrus would
+have been fatal to us; as it happened, the soldiers swarmed everywhere.
+Wandering from house to house, and devoured with anxiety, we invoked
+the Lord, our last hope. And behold a man of forty and of excellent
+appearance accosted us. We had never seen him, and not a syllable had
+fallen from our lips. We were dressed in the Welch fashion; everybody,
+even in plain daylight, would have taken us for soldiers. Well, without
+the slightest preamble, he addressed us in our own language. "You are
+Germans," he said, "and in a Welch country; don't forget it. If the
+podesta lays hold of you, it means the strappado, and perhaps worse.
+You are making for Germany." (How did he know, except by reading our
+thoughts?) "Let me put you into the right road." Dumb with
+astonishment, we followed him in silence as far as the gates of the
+town; he exchanged a few words with the custodian, who, in his own
+gibberish, said to us: "For the love of you, friends, I'll disobey my
+orders, which expressly forbid me to open the gates before dawn. You'll
+find nothing in the faubourg, I warn you; the soldiers have pillaged
+and burnt everything, but you'll not die for being obliged to do one
+night without food and drink." Saying which he showed us out and
+promptly shut the gates upon us.
+
+Who had been our guide? I am still asking myself the question. As for
+us, reassured by the consciousness of the Divine presence; and in our
+hearts we gave praise for this miraculous deliverance. The faubourg,
+destroyed by fire, was simply a mass of ruins. We slept in the open air
+on the straw of a barn where the wheat is threshed out by oxen and
+horses. It was daylight when we opened our eyes, and the first thing we
+saw was a gallows. Towards midday we got as far as Montefiascone, a
+pretty town famed for its Muscat wine. Thanks be to God, we continued
+our journey without being again alarmed, and we did not catch sight of
+any mercenaries until we came to Bologna.
+
+We halted at Montefiascone until the evening and enjoyed the roast
+fowls and savoury dishes, but the oppressive heat interfered with our
+appetite, though the bottle was more frequently appealed to. A story is
+told a of traveller who was in the habit of getting his servant to
+taste the wine at every hostelry they stopped.[36] "_Est_," said the
+latter if the wine was bad, "_Est, Est_" if it was passable, "_Est,
+Est, Est_" if it was good. And his master either continued his route or
+dismounted according to the signal. At Montefiascone, however, the
+servant did not fail to cry: "_Est, Est, Est_," and his master drank so
+long as to contract an inflammation, of which he died. When the
+relatives inquired about the cause of his death, the servant replied:
+"_Est, est, est facit quod dominus meus hic jacet_," and in his grief he
+kept repeating: "_O Est, est, est, dominus meus mortuus est_."
+
+On July 9 we reached Acquapendente, where my brother died, I visited
+the church without being able to discover his burial place. To ask
+questions would have been tantamount to betraying ourselves,
+considering that the Germans were the butt of public hatred.
+
+Sienna, an important town with a celebrated university, is called
+_Siena Virgo_, though it lost its virginity long ago. From a
+neighbouring mountain one notices two small burghs; the one is called
+Cent, the other Nonagent. The pope being at Sienna, a monk undertook to
+show him _Centum nonaginta civitates_. When he got his Holiness to the
+top he showed him the two places in question.
+
+Lovely Florence is the pearl of Italy. At the entrance to each town
+they said to us, "Liga la spada" (Tie the hilt to the sheath). At
+Florence we had to give up our weapons. If we had only crossed the city
+a man would have accompanied us to restore them at the other gate, but
+on our declaring that we were going to stay until the evening our
+swords were taken from us, and the hilts provided with a wooden label,
+part of which they gave us to keep. Besides, some one came into the
+city with us, and, among other useful information, showed us a
+beautiful hostelry where they treated us remarkably well for our money.
+A magnificent palace, a church entirely constructed of variegated
+marble, adjusted with marvellous skill and art, a dozen lions and
+lionesses, two tigers and an eagle, that is all I remember. There were
+ever so many other curiosities to see, but our heads were full of
+Germany. When the heat of the day abated we pursued our journey; our
+arms were restored to us on our presenting part of the label.
+
+After having crossed Mount Scarperia, which fully deserves its name,
+seeing that it constitutes the most fatal passage of Italy to
+shoeleather and feet, we got to Bologna in the morning of July 13.
+Bologna is a big city belonging to the pope (_Bononia grassa, Padua la
+passa_), and endowed with a famous university. The town was teeming
+with mercenaries, so we were not particularly anxious to stop in it.
+
+At some distance from Bologna begins a canal dug by the hand of man.
+There the Lord caused us to meet with an inhabitant of Mantua who had
+just enlisted. We proposed to hire a boat as far as Ferrara together.
+"Whither are you going?" he asked. As we had the appearance of
+soldiers, and as he might conceive some surprise at seeing us turn our
+backs on headquarters, we hit upon the idea of telling him that our
+master was at the Council of Trent. "Oh," he remarked, "you are going
+farther, then?" We said neither "yes" nor "no." He knew a little Latin,
+like myself, and so I no longer kept up my part of a dumb man before
+him. He professed but small regard for the pope and papism. "How dare
+you," I exclaimed, "talk in that way in Italy, and on the very
+territory of the Church? And why, if these are your opinions, do you
+take service against the Evangelicals?" "What does it matter?" he
+replied; "I am not risking the loss of a cardinal's hat. I am a
+fighting man, and fight for those who pay me." When we got near to the
+Po, he said: "Ferrara lies no doubt in your most direct road to
+Germany, but what could you see there of interest? It is only a big
+town of the old style. You had better come to Mantua, the country of
+Virgil, a handsome, pleasant, and strong city, with a superb castle.
+The rest you are likely to get in the boat will compensate for your
+coming out of your way. I'll go on shore just before Ferrara, and will
+get a boatman; the place is famed for its fat geese, which, at this
+season of the year, one eats smoking hot from the spit. I'll bring one
+back with me, together with bread and wine, and I shall only be gone a
+little while."
+
+Ferrara, with its famous university, its actual importance, and ancient
+origin, unquestionably aroused our curiosity. Nevertheless, the advice
+of our soldier-friend was not to be despised, because by going up the
+Po, we advanced in spite of the heat. Our guide soon came back,
+bringing with him everything he had promised. The boatman whom he
+brought was simply in his shirt sleeves, and drank at one draught a
+whole measure of heavy wine we offered him; then, flinging the towing
+rope over his shoulder, he towed us to Mantua, Ostiglia being our
+halting place for the night. Having got to Mantua in the morning of
+July 15, we were enabled to wander through the town before dinner time.
+Our expectations were in no way disappointed. After having shown us the
+castle and the principal buildings, our amiable soldier-friend insisted
+upon entertaining us at the inn. "Are you provided with small change
+that is current everywhere?" he asked us. "The fact is," he went on,
+"that the landlords pursue a regular system of cheating. They refuse to
+take your small money, so that you are obliged to change a crown, and
+then at the next inn they decline to accept the coin given to you
+except under its value. Give me a crown, and I'll get you money for it
+which is current as far as Trent." He brought back good pieces of
+silver, not to the amount of one crown, but of two crowns, asking us to
+accept the value of the second as a present, "because," he said, "I
+consider you very honest and straightforward companions." When we were
+outside the walls, he gave us full particulars of the route we were to
+take, recommended us to the safeguard of all the angels, and gave us
+his blessing. "It is worth more in the sight of the Almighty and
+against the devil than the blessing of Pope Paul at Rome by his own
+sacred hands." This was indeed a happy meeting, and we had reason to be
+grateful to the Lord.
+
+Not far from Mantua, at a spot where the road branches off into four
+different directions, we came upon two travellers coming from Verona.
+If we had said one pater more or less with our good friend we should
+have missed them, which would have been a pity, for they turned out to
+be my former fellow-travellers from Kempten to Rome, who, having pushed
+as far as Naples, had returned by way of Venice; they were making for
+home by Milan and France. They wished me to go their way, and I was
+very willing; but as Nicholas was altogether of a different mind, it
+would have been wrong to vex the comrade God had so marvellously
+provided for me.
+
+When I told them all about Petrus, my interlocutors had no doubt about
+the danger I had incurred by my imprudent confidence. Italians are not
+of much account. Germans, after a long stay in that country, end up by
+not being worth anything at all; and the proverb to that effect is a
+true one: "_Tedesco Italianato e un diavolo incarnato._" I learnt later
+on, both from writing and from oral news, about the troubles between
+France and the Low Countries, and about the obstacles we should have
+encountered if we had selected the route of Milan. It gave me a new
+subject for being grateful to the Lord.
+
+We passed near enough to Verona to catch a glimpse of the buildings, to
+judge by which it must be a big town. At Trent, where both languages
+are spoken, and even more German than Italian, my pretended infirmity
+ceased, and it was Nicholas' turn to be mute, for the Lubeckian dialect
+is not understood until one gets to Brunswick.
+
+In Italy the scorpions slip in everywhere; into the rooms, under the
+beds, in the sheets. Hence they place before the windows scorpion oil,
+that is oil in which one of these reptiles has been drowned. When put
+on the sting the oil stops the effect of the poison. Personally, I
+never caught a glimpse of a scorpion during the whole of my stay in
+Italy.
+
+On July 18 we reached Botzen, a town of importance, famed for its rich
+mines. On the 19th we were at Brixen, a pleasant burgh, prettily
+situated. Its chapter enjoys great consideration. Dr. Gaspard Hoyer was
+its canon, and died there.
+
+The Augsburg troops under the orders of Sebastian Schaertlin[37] had
+carried the castle of Ehrenberg. King Ferdinand tried to enter the
+place with the aid of the miners of Botzen, but the pay ran short, and,
+greatly vexed, the savage horde, which, though by no means devout,
+after all preferred Luther to the pope, made its way home. Between
+Brixen and Sterzing we had the misfortune of falling in with them. At
+the sight of our Italian dress, and our soldier-like equipment, they
+shook their spears. "Kill the papists; down with the Welch scum," they
+cried. Nicholas, who was accustomed to enact the spokesman, uttered a
+few words in his own dialect; thereupon the imprecations grew louder.
+"They belong to the Low Countries; they are no better than the
+Italians." "Brothers," I shouted, "you make a mistake. We are faithful
+Germans, Lutherans and Evangelicals like yourselves. Hence, no
+violence."
+
+Thereupon we fell a-talking to each other. They complained bitterly of
+the king, and of his pretensions to carry on a war without a red cent.
+"Kicks instead of pay," they said. "We are much obliged. We are going
+back to our mines, where, at any rate, we can earn something." We
+parted quite cordially, and I once more recommended my faithful
+Nicholas to hold his tongue for the future, and to let me do the
+talking.
+
+Innspruck, the capital of the Tyrol, is a moderately big town with long
+streets, consisting largely of stables for some thousands of horses,
+for the kings, the Austrian archdukes and their suites frequently halt
+there. The objurgations of the miners of Botzen induced us to change
+our dress according to the German fashion.
+
+Our most direct route lay by Ulm, Cannstadt, Spires, Frankfurt, then by
+Hesse and Brunswick. There are, as it happens, two routes from
+Innspruck, the one for Bavaria, the other for Swabia. Having met at the
+city gates some people who professed to be going to Germany, we
+followed them without further inquiry. What then was our surprise at
+getting, not into Swabia, but into Bavaria, to Hall and to Ratisbon.
+Well, as we learnt later on, at that very moment the numerous troops
+the emperor was expecting from France and Spain were preparing to enter
+Swabia; the papal troops, whom the Imperial messages left little or no
+truce, arrived at Landshut, while all the Protestant forces, with the
+Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse at their head, occupied
+the country. But for the Lord constituting Himself our guide we should
+have run innumerable perils.
+
+We intended to go from Hall to Ratisbon on a raft, but on the overladen
+craft there was a horse stamping about in a most disquieting manner,
+causing the water to well up between the disjointed timber. We
+preferred to land and to tire our legs to swallowing more water than
+was necessary to our thirst. Half a league down the stream, the
+pole-men having got rid of the horse, drew near the shore once more to
+renew their offers of service. We remained faithful, however, to solid
+earth.
+
+When we got to the beautiful monastery of Ebersberg, our curiosity
+tempted us to get an idea of the results of a mendicant's life. As such
+we humbly and contritely addressed the chancellor, when we entered the
+abbot's presence. "We have come all the way from Rome; our resources
+are exhausted," we said. After having promised us to do what he can,
+the chancellor begins to inquire about the Italian army. "We left it at
+Bologna," we replied; "it was being reviewed. You'll see it very
+shortly." This had the effect of turning the saintly dwelling upside
+down. The monks crowded round the abbot and took to running hither and
+thither as if bereft of their senses, because for a monastery situated
+as this was, in the open country, Roman mercenaries or Schmalkalden
+soldiers were practically one and the same thing.
+
+And inasmuch as our humble persons were forgotten in all this
+confusion, I said to Nicholas: "Let us go to the inn and show these
+'frocked' individuals that we can do without their soup. A snap for
+that business, unless we have been too inexperienced at it." We ordered
+the best dishes and washed them down with generous wine. The echoes of
+our gay repast must have reached the monastery, and when we had paid
+our reckoning, we pursued our journey.
+
+We stopped four days in the big and beautiful city of Ratisbon. King
+Ferdinand, his wife, his daughters and the court ladies in gorgeous
+dresses, lodged in the principal square, the houses of which where
+elegantly decorated. We saw the carriage sent by the Duke of Mantua to
+his betrothed. It was entirely white, and perfectly built; the iron was
+replaced everywhere by silver, even for the smallest nail. The team
+consisted of four magnificent white mares, without the tiniest spot;
+the harness was of silver, and their crups were ornamented with three
+rings of the precious metal. Dressed in white silk, with boots and whip
+of the same colour, and silver spurs, the coachman slowly drove thrice
+round the square.
+
+It was very evident that both the emperor and the king were using all
+their energy. Night and day, at home and beyond the frontier, strict
+guard was kept. The army of Bohemia was encamped beyond the Danube,
+while the Germans occupied the head of the bridge on the side of the
+city. We were warned of the danger of venturing among the Bohemians;
+between these madmen and the German soldiers there was nearly every day
+a fresh dispute resulting in wounds which often proved fatal. On the
+other hand, the Protestant troops were on the move, and it was most
+difficult to cross their lines. We could, however, not remain in
+Ratisbon. So we plucked up our courage and started, decided not to lose
+our heads in case of arrest, but to ask to be taken before the superior
+officer, for, after all, we had no need to fear an interrogatory. What
+was the danger of saying whence we came and whither we were going? Our
+lot was, moreover, in the hands of Him who in Italy had confided us to
+the protection of his angels.[38] We trudged straight on to Nuremberg.
+The weather was fine, the roads good, and the inns well provisioned.
+
+Nuremberg is the _oculus Germaniae_. "Germany," according to the
+Italians, "has but one eye, Nuremberg." Nuremberg harbours the
+tradesmen, Augsburg the big merchants. We stayed three days in this
+interesting city, the study of whose civil and ecclesiastical
+institutions is by no means a waste of time. We there completed our
+German attire by doublets with short waists. It seemed to me
+unnecessary to hide the gold and jewels any longer in my clothes, for
+in spite of the eighty miles from our own native land, we already
+fancied ourselves in it.
+
+The lord of Plawe had taken up his quarters at our hostelry. He
+was a Bohemian of important station, an experienced soldier, and a
+cool-headed, prudent, and clever personage, enjoying much favour with
+the electors and the princes. He was known by all the dignitaries of
+France, Germany, and Italy. His history may prove interesting to my
+children. The lord of Plawe had no children, and to prevent the lapse
+of his fiefs to the suzerain lord, he prevailed upon his wife to
+pretend being pregnant, and arranged with a shepherd of the
+neighbourhood, a strong, robust fellow, whose wife was genuinely in
+that condition. The newborn being of the male sex, it was carried
+clandestinely to the castle, where they had great rejoicings, a
+magnificent christening with high-born godparents. Seven years later,
+however, the lady of Plawe really gave birth to a son; the two children
+were brought up like brothers. When he came of age the elder visited
+the courts, and received a cordial welcome everywhere. The father died,
+and the elder, feeling himself cramped at home, abandoned the property
+to the younger in consideration of a yearly allowance. The mother is
+taken ill in her turn, and before her death reveals to her own child
+the whole of the secret. The elder, whose allowance is stopped,
+institutes a claim, and is answered that he is the mere son of a
+shepherd. The affair is referred to King Ferdinand, the suzerain lord,
+the lords of Prawe bearing the title of Burgrave of Mesnia, and first
+chancellor of the kingdom of Bohemia. To prove his parentage he
+produced the many letters in which his father recommended him in
+special terms to the emperor, and to the princes as his lawful heir.
+Several important personages, the majority belonging to the
+Evangelicals took an interest in his case, and provided largely for his
+maintenance. The principal Welch and German universities all declared
+that he proved his affiliation. King Ferdinand, though, leant to the
+other side, no doubt _ratione papisticae religionis_.
+
+Under these difficult circumstances, this gentleman considered it
+better not to take service in the war between the emperor and the
+League of Schmalkalden, inasmuch as he would neither be unfaithful to
+his master nor to his conscience. The catastrophe which he dreaded
+nevertheless overtook him. About six months after the termination of
+the war, when, probably, he felt exceedingly pleased with himself on
+account of his clever abstention, he was laid by the heels by order of
+King Ferdinand, shipped on a raft, and taken to Hungary; and from that
+time he was no more heard of.
+
+On August 11 we only reached Nordhausen in the Harz mountains, just as
+they were closing the city gates, but sufficiently early, though, to
+notice ten corpses tied to as many posts. The guard, which had been
+reinforced, was inclined to leave us outside. They pointed to the men
+that had been executed. "If they are there, it is because they deserved
+it," we answered; "ours is a different case." When we got inside we
+could not find a shelter anywhere. I inquired for the dwelling of the
+burgomaster and found him at home.
+
+After the few customary inquiries about our names, our place of birth
+and our destination, the burgomaster questioned us about the beginning
+of the hostilities. We told him what we knew, and then exposed our
+embarrassing situation to him. "Never during this painful journey, not
+even in Italy, had we met with such inhuman conduct," we said. "We are
+not asking for charity. We are willing to pay for what we get; nobody
+shall have cause to complain of us. We ask you, therefore, to direct us
+to a respectable place of shelter."
+
+Our very sordid appearance did not prevent the burgomaster from
+considering us altogether inoffensive, and, like a man of sense, he
+explained apologetically, "Our citizens," he remarked, "are still under
+the influence of a strong alarm, for we know for certain that a band
+subsidized by the confederate of hell who reigns at Rome is scouring
+the Saxon country, poisoning wells and pastures and setting fire to
+everything else. The proof of it is in the ten executed men whom you
+must have noticed at your arrival. Their crime admits of no doubt."
+"Agreed," I replied, "but if our conscience were in the least
+reproaching us, do you think we should have the courage to present
+ourselves before the first magistrate of the town?"
+
+The burgomaster told one of his servants to take us with his
+compliments to a certain private individual, who happened to be a
+butcher with a stock of beautiful, luscious meat. On the hearth the
+beef was simmering in a large pot, no doubt to be retailed hot next
+morning. We asked him for some of that; then inquired about the liquor
+he could offer us. "I have got some excellent Nordhausen beer," he
+said. We, however, were used to wine. "Cannot you give us some wine?
+That's what we want with our meat." "If you care to pay for it. It's so
+much per measure." "Here's the money." "Do you want any fish?" "Yes;
+let us have a comfortable evening after this rough day. Come and sit
+yourself down with us and keep us company." He stared at us very hard,
+not knowing what to think. In spite of his knowing look, he behaved
+very well to us.
+
+When our hunger and thirst were appeased, the butcher asked us whether
+we would go to bed or remain where we were. "Bring us some clean straw,
+and that will be enough for us. We shall not have the trouble of
+dressing in the morning," we answered. Besides the straw he gave us
+pillows, downright excellent beds, and snowy sheets; hence, in wishing
+him good-night, we assured him that we were born to understand each
+other. Next morning, the one who was the first to rise found the door
+bolted; we were obliged to wait for our host. We settled the reckoning
+with him, and the servant who had prepared our couch got a tip.
+
+We stopped a day and a half at Luneburg, which we reached on August 15,
+and in view of our approaching meeting with our nearest and dearest, we
+paid attention to our dress. We crossed the burgh of Moelln, where
+Eulenspiegel lies buried, but at Lubeck a messenger who caught us up
+informed me that my uncle Andreas Schwartz was living at Moelln with
+his wife and children, and begged of me to retrace my steps. I spent a
+whole day with him, and when we had chatted to our heart's content he
+provided me with a horse and attendant as far as Lubeck.
+
+At the city gate I wanted to turn short; perhaps I was still feeling
+the effect of the stirrup cup. My horse gave way, and for a moment the
+rider and the animal lay motionless. They were under the impression
+that I had broken the left thigh bone; but I got up safe and well.
+
+At Lubeck my faithful travelling companion loyally repaid his debt. I
+took the coach, and at last, after a journey of eight weeks' (eighteen
+days of which had been spent in resting at various places, the distance
+from Rome to Stralsund being 250 German miles, and consequently five
+times as many Welch ones), I heard the "welcome" from my father,
+mother, brother and five sisters, all of whom were in excellent health.
+Together with Dr. Hoyer's letter, I handed over the objects restored by
+Cardinal St. Flore according to the inventory. My parents gave me two
+of the rings. As I was as sore as the most foundered horse, my mother
+had a bath prepared for me twice a week, and she herself rubbed my
+thigh with curd soap, so that my limbs soon recovered their usual
+suppleness.
+
+
+
+
+
+                                PART II
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+
+I am appointed Pomeranian Secretary--Something about my diurnal and
+nocturnal Journeys with the Chancellor--Missions in the Camps--Dangers
+in the Wake of the Army
+
+
+When I had recovered from the fatigue of my travels, I came to the
+conclusion that a life of monotony and frequent visits to the tavern
+were not at all to my taste. The day would come when I had a wife and
+children to maintain; I therefore wanted a means of livelihood. I voted
+for the scribal occupation, and had recourse to the influence of
+Superintendent-general Knipstrow to obtain a position at the
+chancellery of Wolgast. Our friend's efforts having been successful, I
+was summoned to Wollin, where the prince was going to hold a diet. The
+journey by coach enabled me to make ample acquaintance both with the
+councillors and with my colleagues. I entered upon my duties on
+November 14, 1546.
+
+The staff of the chancellery was composed of Jacob Citzewitz,
+chancellor; Erasmus Hausen, accountant-general; Joachim Rust,
+proto-notary; Johannes Gottschalk, Lawrence Dinnies, Christopher Labbun
+and Heinrich Altenkuke, secretaries. I need only mention for form's
+sake Valentine von Eichstedt, a student from Greifswald, whom the
+chancellor wished to initiate in the dispatch of current affairs.
+
+Valentine hung about the office, now and again copying a fragment of a
+letter. He was wretchedly dressed; his poor blue jacket scarcely
+reached to his waist, while, on the other hand, his hose fell over his
+boots. Rust and Gottschalk refused to have him at the clerks' table; he
+had his meals lower down with the servants. In spite of this,
+Valentine, at the retirement of Erasmus Hausen, was appointed to the
+audit office through the influence of the chancellor. In order to get
+him into the habit of pleading he was entrusted with the cases
+that were settled by mutual agreement; after which he was sent to
+Wittenberg to finish his studies, and in a very short period he became
+accountant-general. A few years later Citzewitz gave up his position of
+chancellor to him. The protege paid his benefactor in the usual way of
+the world, and on that chapter I myself could say a great deal.
+
+The experience I had gained at the Imperial Chamber and in the
+chancelleries compelled Rust and Gottschalk to acknowledge that I could
+handle my pen, and inasmuch as the chancellor preferred my work to
+theirs, they seized every opportunity to do me harm. I had only to ask
+them for a few materials for this or that work to be sure to get it
+badly done and teeming with inaccuracies.
+
+The dissolution of the League of Schmalkalden[39] and the threatening
+attitude of the emperor imparted a feverish activity to the
+correspondence which was being exchanged between our princes, the
+Elector of Brandenburg and the Elector of Saxony. The latter spent the
+winter very sadly at Altenburg. Chancellor Jacob Citzewitz was the soul
+of these negotiations; his experience of imperial and provincial diets,
+his learning heightened by eloquence, the personal consideration he
+enjoyed, his imposing figure, his lofty mind, and his assiduous labours
+all these, in fact, singled him out to represent the princes both in
+the councils and on more solemn occasions. Being fully aware of the
+weightiness of his task, he wholly devoted himself to it; all the
+enactments of the princes were drawn up by his pen and defied
+criticism. When Citzewitz at the termination of a debate asked: "Who
+undertakes the inditing?" all the councillors cried in chorus: "That's
+Solomon's business," for that was the nickname they had bestowed upon
+him.
+
+Day and night, on horseback or on wheels, I scoured the highways in
+company of the chancellor. Starting from Berlin in the evening, we
+reached Stettin the next afternoon in sufficient time to present the
+report. Then there were the nights spent at work with the chancellor,
+who dictated to me the decisions to be submitted to the council on the
+morrow. I made a fair draft of them before the sitting, so that
+immediately after their having been read they could be sealed and
+dispatched. If my children should wish to compute the amount of labour
+I gave to the court and to Stralsund they will derive a salutary lesson
+from the reward these labours have brought me in my old days: _in fine
+laborum_, ingratitude.
+
+Owing to those constant journeys I did not spend four weeks in six
+months at Wolgast, and still less at the chancellery. I lodged with
+Master Ernest, the cook of his Serene Highness Duke Philip, and of his
+august father and grandfather. Ernest was an honest and God-fearing
+man.
+
+The year 1547 was an anxious one for the courts of Stettin and Wolgast,
+and the news that the Duke of Wurtemberg had tendered his submission
+accelerated the departure of a mission to the emperor. It was
+instructed to deny all participation of the princes in the League of
+Schmalkalden. The envoys of Duke Barnim were Dr. Falcke, in the
+capacity of chancellor, and Captain Jacob Putkammer; those of Duke
+Philip, Captain Moritz Damitz and Heinrich Normann. I was designated to
+accompany those four personages, and on March 10 we started by way of
+Silesia.
+
+At Zittau we were obliged to leave Damitz in the doctor's hands; after
+which we crossed the Forest of Bohemia and reached Lertmeritz; next to
+Prague, the principal and best fortified town of the kingdom. We spent
+several days there in order to get an idea of the condition of affairs.
+The dislike of the Bohemians to march against the Elector of Saxony was
+evident, but King Ferdinand brought heavy pressure to bear upon them,
+he called up many of his troops both from Silesia and from Hungary.
+These Hungarian horsemen, called Husards, happen to be pitiless
+brigands. The King had placed them under the command of Sebastian von
+der Weitmuelen, who, at the beginning of the war, had been appointed
+regent of the kingdom. The headquarters were at Eger, where this
+soldiery cut the children's hands and feet off to put them into their
+hats instead of plumes.
+
+The councillors sent me to reconnoitre in the direction of Eger, at
+Schlackenwerth, and at Schlackenwald. My guide followed on foot. He was
+an intelligent lad, speaking both German and Bohemian. I ascertained
+that the Bohemians had cut down the trees in the wood, and as such made
+the route impassable for the horse and artillery, it was even
+impossible for the landsknechten to cross it with their standards
+flying.
+
+After that, the councillors sent me to the castle of Gaspard Pflug, to
+whom the States of the country had entrusted the command of the
+troops.[40] He was very reserved. "What are we to do?" he said, looking
+perplexed. "The Elector of Saxony is our ally, our co-religionist; we
+cannot leave him to his fate. On the other hand, Ferdinand is our king.
+Are we to jeopardize our liberties?" Gaspard Pflug, having taken refuge
+at Magdeburg after the capture of the elector, built himself opposite
+the cathedral an elegant dwelling, where he ended his days, the king
+having confiscated his property.
+
+While the elector encamped before Leipzig, the emperor overran the
+Algau and Swabia, imposing heavy fines and big garrisons to the towns
+forced to capitulate. The Spaniards committed every excess, and above
+all, in Wurtemberg.[41]
+
+On April 23 and 25 the sun assumed so sombre an aspect that everybody
+rushed to the threshold of his house; both experts and scientific men
+foretold strange events.
+
+[Illustration: Stettin. Wittenberg. Spires. _From old Prints_.]
+
+One day I was strolling alone outside Lertmeritz around the walls (for
+the time hung heavily on my hands), when an individual, his eyes
+blazing with anger, assailed me without warning, vilifying me and
+trying to fling me into the moat. He was evidently under the impression
+of having come upon a spy. I endeavoured to convince him to the
+contrary; the difficulty was to understand each other. Finally, with
+hands clasped together as if they were bound, I gave him to understand
+with a sign of the head that I was ready to enter the town with him.
+Thanks to heaven, he consented to this, although he did not cease his
+imprecations. Before I had fairly entered our hostelry two members of
+the council came to ask our deputies to forbid their people to leave
+the city and the promenading on the walls. "We know very well that we
+have nothing to fear from you," they said, "but our citizens are quick
+to take umbrage, and just now one of your folk narrowly escaped coming
+to grief."
+
+On April 16 the news came to Lertmeritz that two days previously the
+Elector of Saxony had been made a prisoner. Immediately leaving Bohemia
+we started in the direction of Torgau, but to get to the camp at
+Wittemberg the perils were endless, for the Spanish troops, whose lines
+we had to cross, shrank from no misdeeds.[42] Hence it was resolved
+that I should go to Wittenberg to get a safe-conduct--a decision
+against which I protested. "How am I to pass without the smallest bit
+of parchment?" "Never mind," exclaimed Damitz; "the Lord is the best
+safeguard." "In that case," I retorted, "are you not yourselves under
+the Divine protection?" My argument was, however, in vain; my life
+weighed less in the balance than that of my superiors.
+
+In my capacity of a member of the missions to Bohemia and to the camp
+of the elector, I wore a yellow gorget which was the insignia of the
+Protestants. I was obliged to hide it in my breast and to replace it
+with the one bought for me, the red gorget of the Imperialists. And
+thus I started. If they had caught me with the double insignia upon me,
+my account would soon have been settled. I should have been slung up on
+the nearest tree.
+
+I crossed Muehlberg, where the elector, wounded in the cheek, had been
+made a prisoner on the very spot where his passion for the chase caused
+so much damage to his unfortunate subjects. Wherever the eye turned
+there were signs of the recent battle; broken lances, shattered
+muskets, and torn-up harnesses littered the ground, and all along the
+road soldiers dying of their wounds and from want of sustenance. Around
+Wittenberg itself all the villages were deserted; the inhabitants had
+taken flight without leaving anything behind them. Here, the corpse of
+a peasant, a group of dogs fighting for the entrails; there, a
+landsknecht with just a breath of life left to him, but the body
+putrefying, his arms stretched out at their widest, and his legs far
+enough apart to put a bar between them.
+
+At the end of my journey and within sight of the Spanish troops I
+passed a Spaniard, who said to me: "My good and handsome horseman, your
+service with the emperor is but of recent date." I rode a few steps
+further; then, undoing my gorget, I rubbed it against my boot to make
+it appear less new. At last, I reached the camp, where I lost several
+days in fruitless endeavours.
+
+Every now and again there was firing from Wittenberg. Some Pomeranian
+horse-troopers with whom I had made acquaintance warned me not to keep
+to the high road if I should venture in that direction, but to go at
+random in order to avoid becoming a butt. A couple of steps in front of
+me a ball whizzed so closely past an individual's head that the shock
+or the fright felled him to the ground, where he was picked up for
+dead. From that moment I suspended my strolls.
+
+Dr. Seld, the vice-chancellor, whom I succeeded in seeing,[43] did not
+disguise the deep irritation of the emperor. I answered that neither
+Duke Philip nor his brother, Barnim, notwithstanding the former's
+marriage with the sister of the Elector of Saxony, had given the
+slightest assistance to the Protestants, either in money, men or deeds,
+and that it would not be difficult for his Majesty to convince himself
+of this. Nevertheless my negotiations made no progress.
+
+It was said in the camp that after the defeat of the elector, when
+Christopher Carlowitzi[44] the principal counsellor of Maurice, came to
+salute the emperor, whose docile instrument he was, the latter
+exclaimed: "Well, Carlowitz, what is going to happen?" "Everything is
+in your Majesty's hands," Carlowitz replied. "Yes, yes, something will
+happen," was the retort. And when the elector bent the knee before the
+emperor, saying, "Most clement emperor and lord," King Ferdinand
+interrupted with, "Ah, so he is your emperor now? But what about
+Ingoldstadt?[45] Wait a while. We shall soon settle your account." And
+when the death sentence was delivered, Ferdinand insisted upon its
+prompt execution. The Marquis de Saluces, on the other hand, repeated
+to the emperor, even before the arrival of the Elector of Brandenburg,
+that the best sheep in his flock was the Elector of Saxony, and that
+his execution would rouse the whole of Germany.
+
+As I found it impossible to get a safe-conduct, I returned to Torgau,
+and immediately after hearing my report, our embassy ordered its
+carriages and took the direct road to Stettin.
+
+Inasmuch as the Elector of Brandenburg loudly promised his good offices
+with the emperor, the princes dispatched me with a letter of thanks to
+him to the camp at Wittenberg. They also prompted the language I was to
+hold to the vice-chancellor and to the other Imperial counsellors.[46]
+To accelerate matters they prepared six relays of horses for me, with
+precise indications on paper as to their whereabouts, though I started
+from Wolgast on a pitiful cart-horse, equipped anyhow, for neither
+saddle, bridle nor stirrups were in condition. They thought that it did
+not matter, as I had to change animals at a short distance. So far so
+good. But neither at the first, second, third, fourth nor fifth stage
+was there a sign of a horse. The last stage was Brandenburg--the Old.
+Abraham Gatzkow, a gentleman of Lower Pomerania, had indeed provided a
+downright good and properly equipped saddle-horse for me, only on the
+day of my arrival he had mounted it for a ride to the camp, so that the
+same jade carried me to the end of my journey.
+
+On June 1 I alighted at the tent of the Elector of Brandenburg, and
+when presenting my dispatch, I begged of Chancellor Weinleben to spare
+me a long stay. Next morning when I called again, he exclaimed: "Oh,
+the affair takes more time than you think," which remark did not
+prevent my insisting upon an answer on June 3, inasmuch as the elector
+went several times a day to the emperor, and that therefore he had no
+lack of opportunity to broach the subject. Moreover, there was need for
+urgency; they had just thrown a bridge across the Elbe and the emperor
+had transferred his quarters to the other side of the river, a sure
+sign of his approaching departure. To all which arguments on my part,
+Chancellor Weinleben angrily replied: "The interests of princes are
+discussed with minds at rest. Just look at the presumption of a simple
+messenger. Wait till you are told to go and then go. Here, this is the
+elector's reply. Take it, go, and leave me in peace."
+
+I stopped at the first dense clump of trees in the wood, opened the
+letter, and immediately turned my horse's head. "What do you want now?"
+yelled the chancellor, when he caught sight of me. "Am I not to have
+any peace from you?" "My gracious masters," I replied, "have authorized
+me to open the letter of his Electoral Highness and to act in
+consequence. The letter I have just read proves once more the brotherly
+feelings of the elector, but as he is striking his tent, I think it
+necessary respectfully to remind him of his generous assurances. I
+shall wait for him at his leaving the emperor's presence, for I am
+bound to bring back to Wolgast something more than vague words." At
+this little speech the chancellor altered his tone. He ceased to
+address me familiarly as "thou," and, in fact, made somewhat
+exaggerated apologies, swearing by all his gods that in reality he had
+not the faintest idea of the affair, but that henceforth he was my
+staunch ally and that his master should not leave the emperor without
+ardently pleading the cause of our princes.
+
+When the elector went to the imperial tent I followed him at a
+distance, and the moment he got into the saddle again I galloped on his
+track, for I foresaw his departure for Berlin. I was just at the head
+of the bridge of boats, which was entirely unprovided with parapets or
+barriers, when I espied coming from the opposite side a heavy cart.
+Time was precious. I pursue my quarry, and my right stirrup catches in
+the wheel and my valiant mount, in spite of its prancing and rearing,
+cannot extricate itself, or even hold its own against four strong
+draught horses. There is no room to turn, and there seems not even a
+possibility of saving myself by sacrificing the animal; both it and I
+seem inevitably doomed to perish by drowning. As for any human help, I
+do not as much as expect it. Even if they could have assisted me, the
+Spaniards at the end of the bridge would have been particularly careful
+not to do so. Just fancy their delight at seeing a German making a
+plunge with his horse into the Elbe; the sight would have been too
+delightful willingly to forego it.
+
+When our distress is at its height, when neither our father nor our
+mother is able to save us, Providence stretches forth his protecting
+hand. It happened then, by this merciful grace; the rotten strap
+suddenly gave way, leaving the stirrup entangled in the wheel and
+freeing my leg. It was a startling confirmation of the Divine word that
+the righteous shall see good come out of evil; for had the equipment
+been brand-new, of the most solid leather and even embroidered with
+gold and pearls, that harness would have sent me into the stream as
+food for the fishes.
+
+At last I managed to join the elector. He sent me word that the
+opportunity for interceding with the emperor in behalf of the princes
+of Pomerania had not presented itself, but that the counsellors he left
+behind with the emperor would look to the affair and keep the dukes
+informed of everything. Why had I not gone to the bottom of the Elbe?
+
+In the camp itself the tale went round that the King of the Romans,
+Duke Maurice, and after them, the emperor had made a very careful
+inspection of the church of the Castle of Willemberg, having been led
+to believe (the emperor and the king especially) that lamps and wax
+tapers were constantly burning day and night on Luther's tomb, and that
+prayers were said there just as in the Romish churches before the
+relics of the saints.
+
+At Treuenbrietzen I made my report to Chancellor Citzewitz. As he was
+awaiting the arrival of the Pomeranian counsellors who were to
+accompany the emperor to Halle, he sent me to retain quarters and to
+give notice to the Brunswicker captain, Werner Hahn, to have twenty
+horsemen ready at Bitterfeld on June 12. On the morning of the 12th, in
+fact, the mission alighted at the general hostelry outside Bitterfeld.
+The captain of the husard-escort had, however, given the preference to
+an inn in the town. Seeing no sign of the Brunswickers, the counsellors
+put up their carriage, so that the captain at his return was under the
+impression that the mission was gone, and meeting with the horsemen,
+ordered them to face about, he being convinced that the deputies had
+taken another route.
+
+Evening was drawing near; my business was finished, the quarters had
+been retained, the supper ordered, and the beds ready. I had taken
+advantage of the opportunity to renew my wardrobe, and, with my new
+clothes on, I took a stroll outside the gates through which the mission
+had to pass. Espying from the top of a mound a troop of advancing
+horsemen, I went back in hot haste afraid of a reprimand. At the same
+moment two Spanish bandits, half-naked, for their rags scarcely covered
+them, ran after me across the fields, the one on foot, the other on a
+kind of wretched farmer's cob--apparently stolen--and with a pistol at
+the saddle bow. Casting a careful look round to assure themselves that
+there were no witnesses to their contemplated deed, one had already
+raised his pistol when the Brunswicker horsemen arrived on the spot.
+"_Sunt isti ex tua parte?_" he asked. "_Senior, si_," I quickly
+answered. "Ah, landsknecht, landsknecht," he said, replacing his
+weapon, and followed by his companion, making off as fast as he could.
+
+The adventures of that evening were, however, not at an end. I found
+the gates of the town shut, and a trumpeter galloping along the walls
+and blowing with all his might. I had not the faintest idea of what it
+all meant, when the captain of husards appeared upon the spot,
+recognizes, and hails me. "What are you doing here, and what has
+happened?" he asked. "Why are the gates shut, and why is the alarm
+being sounded?" While confessing my total ignorance, I began to ask
+about the ambassadors; thereupon great surprise of the captain at their
+being waited for. The matter seemed all the more strange to him in that
+he on the road fell in with some Spanish horsemen, who told him that
+they had been sent to meet a mission. What if our counsellors should
+have been attacked by these people, decoyed into the wood, and
+plundered? Of course, I felt very anxious to inform the Brunswicker
+captain, so that he might send a reconnoitring party in the direction
+of Bitterfeld. Finally, the noise ceased in the town, and the gates
+were reopened. I immediately reported matters to W. Hahn, who in the
+early morning sent out his horsemen. An hour afterwards there appeared
+upon the scene Abraham Gatzkow, the same gentleman from Lower Pomerania
+who had been instructed to keep a fresh horse for me for the last stage
+from Brandenburg-the-Old to the camp at Wittenberg. The envoys had sent
+him on in front, impatient to know why the escort had failed to appear
+at the appointed spot, a mishap which prejudiced them against me.
+
+Odd to relate, neither Sleidan nor Beuter mentions the alarm to which I
+referred just now; hence, some further particulars will not be deemed
+superfluous. Nothing is more frequent in the army and less easy to
+prevent than the stealing of horses. If an animal takes your fancy,
+some scoundrel is ready to get it for you for a matter of six or eight
+crowns. If you keep it six or eight weeks elsewhere, so as to change
+its habits, and change its tail, its mane and other peculiarities, you
+may safely bring it back to the camp. A certain German gentleman
+proceeded in that way with the stallion of a Spaniard; he sent it away
+to his estates. When the affair had been forgotten the animal
+reappeared. It so happened that the German horsemen (eight squadrons at
+the lowest computation) encamped in the middle of a delightful plain,
+watered by the Saale, while the whole of the infantry of their nation
+was quartered in the town; a providential circumstance, for if the foot
+had come to the aid of the horse, there would have been nothing short
+of a massacre. The emperor, therefore, was well inspired in ordering at
+once the closing of all the gates.
+
+The Spaniards occupied the height around the castle. At dusk, when
+taking the horses to be watered, a Spanish lad recognizes the stallion,
+cries out that it belongs to his master and wants to lead it away. The
+young German groom resists, and is supported by three or four of his
+countrymen. The Spaniard rallies a dozen, and the German immediately
+finds himself at the head of a score. The two parties increase every
+minute, and the first shots are fired. Posted on the heights, the
+Spaniards have the advantage of the position, their balls going through
+the walls of the tents, kill several gentlemen who are seated at table;
+the Germans give as good as they get. A Spanish lord issues from the
+town with words of peace from the emperor; he has magnificent golden
+chains round his neck and is riding a superb animal. At the sight of
+him there is a general cry: "Fire on the dog of a Spaniard." He
+advances, nevertheless, on the bridge, but a projectile brings down his
+mount, which rolls into the Saale, and is drowned there with his
+master, the wearer of the beautiful collar. Nine days before this, at
+Wittenberg, a rotten strap had, with the help of God, saved my life.
+The gentleman covered with gold and dressed in velvet, on the other
+hand, miserably perished.
+
+The emperor, while all this was going on, sent the son of King
+Ferdinand, the Archduke Maximilian (afterwards emperor). He felt
+convinced that it would suffice to restore order, but the moment the
+archduke opened his lips the Germans repeated the cry: "Down with the
+Spaniard." The archduke was wounded in the right arm, which he wore
+during several weeks in a black sling. The emperor himself had to come
+forth. "Dear Germans," he said, "I know you to be without reproach. I
+therefore ask you to be calm. You shall be indemnified fully and in
+every respect, and on my Imperial word, to-morrow you shall see the
+Spaniards strung up on the highest gibbets." This promise had the
+effect of quieting the riot, and the gates were opened. The inquiry
+having shown that the loss of the Germans amounted to eighteen grooms
+or stablemen besides seven horses, and that of the opposing party to
+not less than seventy men, the emperor, though professing to be ready
+to make good the value of the horse and even to punish the Spaniards
+according to his promise, expressed the hope that the Germans would
+consider themselves sufficiently avenged, inasmuch as their adversaries
+had suffered four times more than they had.
+
+During the evening of June 19, the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg
+made their entry into Halle with the Landgrave Philip of Hesse in their
+midst. At six in the afternoon of the next day the landgrave "made
+honourable amends" in the great hall of the Imperial quarters in the
+presence of the electors, princes, foreign potentates, ambassadors,
+counts, colonels, captains, and in one word, of everybody who could
+find room inside or catch a glimpse of the scene through the windows.
+But while his chancellor, on his knees, close against him, humbly
+craved pardon, Philip, ever inclined to raillery, smiled with an air of
+bravado, and to such a degree as to make the emperor exclaim, while
+threatening him with his outstretched index: "Go on; I'll teach you to
+laugh." Alas, he kept his word.
+
+Our counsellors decided to leave me behind incognito at the Imperial
+camp with a gentleman of Lower Pomerania named George von Wedel, who
+having murdered his cousin and having been exiled by Duke Barnim, had
+entered the emperor's service with nine-and-twenty horse troopers. His
+goodwill towards our mission and my instances finally got him his
+pardon. That was how the horse on which I had left Wolgast was to carry
+me as far as Augsburg.
+
+Having started from Halle on June 20, the emperor stopped three days at
+Naumberg. On the 24th, very early in the morning, he was at the general
+headquarters at some distance beyond the wall. He wore a violet cap and
+a black cloak trimmed with velvet several inches wide. Suddenly there
+was a shower, and immediately the emperor sent for a hat and a grey
+felt cloak to the town; but meanwhile he turned the cloak he wore and
+kept his headdress under it. Poor man, who spent untold gold on the
+war, and who stood bareheaded in the rain rather than spoil his
+clothes.
+
+The Spanish escort of the landgrave preceded his Imperial Majesty by a
+day's march, and committed unheard-of excesses. Next morning the
+corpses were strewn where the emperor passed. Women and girls suffered
+the most terrible outrages; as for the men, after having suspended them
+by their genital parts, the barbarians tortured them to make them
+reveal the places where they had hidden their money, after which, with
+one stroke of their swords, flush with the abdomen, they detached the
+victim.
+
+The emperor slept at Coburg, in Franconia. The German horsemen took up
+their quarters in the adjacent villages. Every house was deserted, the
+dwellings of the nobility as well as the peasant's farms; nowhere was
+there a soul to be seen, for, having been sorely tried the previous day
+by the passage of the Spaniards, the population dreaded renewed scenes
+of horror. In one house we found a _membrum virile_; elsewhere,
+stretched on a bed a bloodstained body, exactly in the condition in
+which those abominable miscreants had put them one after the other. The
+servants of Von Wedel dug a grave by my orders for the corpse and the
+_membrum virile_.
+
+Our first encampment after that was a village amidst fertile plains. I
+unsaddled my horse in order to let it graze in peace until the morning.
+In the same spot there was a handsome gentleman's dwelling, in its open
+courtyard a wagon with four strong horses; on the wagon two barrels of
+exquisite wine. Capons, poultry and pheasants were running about in all
+directions. I leave people to imagine the massacre, and how, on our
+return to our tent, we quickly plucked, boiled and roasted the game. We
+were the absolute masters. There was nothing to fear; the granary was
+full to overflowing, and we replenished our sacks to the very edge. In
+short, horses, vehicle and wine, and everything else was carried away.
+The barrels were emptied on our way; the team was sold at Nuremberg for
+what it would bring, for we ourselves had had it very cheaply.
+
+The sight of our plenty attracted the notice of Duke Frederick von
+Liegnitz,[47] so we invited him to share it. Two joyous damsels in
+gorgeous silk attire were of the party and performed their duty well.
+The servants also shared in the feast which was prolonged till dawn.
+The nights, however, were very short.
+
+It was full daylight when, wishing to saddle my horse, I discovered it
+had been stolen. Immediately, according to 'the usages and customs of
+war, I chose the best nag at hand, currycombed, bridled and mounted it
+in the space of a few minutes.
+
+On July 1, towards midday, the emperor made his entry into Bamberg with
+a numerous suite. The Elector of Saxony occupied a house on the outside
+of the town on the right, just at the turn of the road, so that he
+could watch the city and the country. The captive was at the window
+just as his Imperial Majesty passed, mounted on a small Spanish horse.
+He made a profound bow; thereupon the emperor burst out laughing
+sarcastically, and stared at him as long as he could.
+
+The Spaniards took with them from Bamberg four hundred women, girls and
+female servants, and did not let them go until they reached Nuremberg.
+The fathers, husbands and brothers followed in their wake; the father
+looking for his daughter, the husband for his better half, the brother
+for his sister; at Nuremberg each found his own again. Oh, those
+Spaniards! What a nation, to dare do such things after the cessation of
+hostilities, in a friendly country and under the very eyes of the
+sovereign. The latter, however, displayed a relentless severity. Each
+evening they put up a gibbet as well as his tent, and the former did
+not remain long untenanted, but it was all in vain.
+
+I suddenly came across my horse in a meadow near the Nuremberg gates. I
+put my saddle on its back, and left the animal I had taken at Coburg.
+
+His Majesty journeyed by small stages in consequence of the excessive
+heat. The diet, in fact, was summoned only for September 1. This
+slowness gave me the leisure to ride with George von Wedel on the flank
+of the army, from its head to its tail. It was an interesting
+spectacle, this mass of men under arms and in battle order; here
+Germans, farther on Spaniards. In the evening we returned to our own.
+Far from keeping to the highway, the soldiers marched straight in front
+of them, making a roadway four times wider than the ordinary one,
+upsetting all obstacles, knocking down enclosures and filling in moats
+and ditches. One day the restive horse of George von Wedel insisted on
+getting into the ranks of the Spanish, who could not or would not get
+out of the way, and as the rider cried angrily: "Very well, let the
+French kill thee, then," a half-drunken soldier, mistaking the words,
+retorted: "_Senor mio, no soy Frances, mas soy un Espanol_." The
+Spaniards, in fact, think themselves much superior to the French.
+
+As we were getting near Nuremberg there was no longer any need for me
+to hide myself. I took up my quarters at the hotel selected by Duke
+Frederick von Liegnitz, at that period trying to interest the emperor
+in his paternal affairs. That prince was never sober, and at the
+refusal of his counsellors, he caroused with the suite of Margrave
+Johannes.
+
+One day the duke and six servitors of the margrave cut the right
+sleeves out of their doublets and their shirts. With bare arms, their
+hose undone so as to show their shirts, their heads uncovered, and list
+slippers on their feet, the seven persons marched in single file behind
+the town musicians, playing with all their might, and went after dinner
+to the Duke Henry of Brunswick's. Prince Frederick held in one hand a
+set of dice, and in the other a quantity of gold pieces; naturally the
+crowd ran with them, the foreigners foremost, Italians and Spaniards
+delighted to see "these sots of Germans" go by. The wine produced such
+a strong effect that Liegnitz, on entering the apartment of the duke,
+stumbled across the table, both hands foremost. There was only one dice
+left, and not a trace of the gold. He was unable to utter a syllable,
+and dropped on the floor. Four Brunswick gentlemen carried him to a bed
+on the story above. The emperor, it is said, was very angry at the
+Germans making such a show of themselves.
+
+It would be a mistake to conclude that Prince Frederick's education had
+been neglected, for only a few days beforehand, though he had also been
+drinking, I was quite surprised at the many stories of the Old
+Testament he narrated without quoting the sacred text; he even applied
+some of them very ingenuously to his own situation. Certainly there can
+be nothing surpassing a careful education, provided the Holy Spirit
+guides the young man when he becomes responsible for his own acts; that
+is what we ought to pray for to the Almighty.
+
+As for the consequences of drunkenness, that inexhaustible fount of
+many sins, the Duke von Liegnitz was a terrible example of them. One
+night when he could no longer find some one in the humour to "keep up
+with him," he came to my door, trying to beguile me out of my bed. I
+finally told him that to sit drinking at such an hour was beyond my
+strength, and that I humbly begged his Serene Highness to husband both
+our healths. He resigned himself, though reluctantly, to take "no" for
+an answer. I took good care not to open.
+
+After a fortnight's stay, the emperor left Nuremberg. Duke Frederick
+was so matutinal on the day of departure that on arriving about six
+o'clock at the Imperial residence, he was told the emperor had been
+gone for at least two hours. Not daring to follow the sovereign, he
+merely sent two counsellors to Augsburg.
+
+I had bought at Nuremberg a handsome rapier which I wore with a Spanish
+belt. One morning after breakfast, being alone, I fell asleep in my
+chair. When I awoke I found that a skilful thief had cleverly
+unfastened it and carried it away. I bought another weapon, and when I
+had settled my bill, saddled my horse and made for Augsburg, where I
+landed three days before the emperor.
+
+Prince Frederick went back to his own country with his suite; he never
+improved. Two students were returning to their homes; _en route_ they
+breakfast at Liegnitz, and feeling jovial and gay they started singing.
+The duke, who was in his cups, was annoyed at the noise, had them
+apprehended, conducted outside the town, and beheaded. Next morning,
+before recommencing his libations, he took a ride with some of his
+counsellors in the direction of the place of execution. At the sight of
+the blood he begins to ask questions, and is informed that the executed
+men are the two students he sentenced the previous day. "What had they
+done?" he asked in the greatest surprise.
+
+At the end of one of his orgies he ordered his counsellors to lock him
+up in prison on bread and water. If they disobeyed him they would
+answer with their heads. The dungeon already held several occupants.
+His Highness was taken to it, and the gaoler received the strictest
+instructions. When the fumes of his wine had vanished, the duke, in a
+livelier mood, conversed for a while with the other prisoners; then he
+shouted to the warder to let him out. "I am too strictly forbidden to
+do so," was the answer. He, nevertheless, went to inform the
+counsellors; the latter delayed for three days, during which time the
+prince left not a moment respite to the turnkeys. Finally, the
+counsellors came themselves; they heard his shouting and his
+supplications, but they remembered his threat to have their heads off,
+and they knew that on that subject he did not jest. He had to reassure
+them over and over again before he was allowed to go free.
+
+Three years later the same prince journeyed to Stettin for no other
+purpose than to have a drinking bout with some of the courtiers. At the
+news of his coming, Duke Barnim went away with everybody except the
+women. At his arrival the visitor found neither the duke nor any
+gentlemen of the least standing, and at the castle they sent him into
+the town to a house assigned to him as his quarters. An old man lay
+dying there, and they naturally expected that this would shorten
+Liegnitz's visit. The very opposite happened. The prince comfortably
+settled himself at the dying man's bedside, recited passages from the
+Scriptures to him until his last moment, and closed his eyes when the
+breath was out of him. The collector Valentin presenting himself, poor
+box in hand, the duke dropped a few crowns into it; after this, he sent
+for mourning cloth for two cloaks, one for himself, one for Valentin,
+with whom, he said, he wished to accompany the corpse to the cemetery.
+The duchess, however, would not hear of this. He was therefore
+quartered in the castle, just above the chancellerie, and opposite the
+women's quarters, so that they could converse from one window to
+another. I had been to the kitchen. As I was crossing the courtyard,
+the duke, passing his head out of the window and making a speaking
+trumpet of his hands, shouted with all his might to me: "Hi-there!" I
+knew him from Nuremberg, and was consequently familiar with the manner
+of treating him, so I answered: "Hello!" at which he was delighted.
+"What a nice fellow," he cried. "For heaven's sake, come up; we'll keep
+each other company, and try to enliven each other." I thanked him
+humbly and continued my way.
+
+Duke Barnim's absence being somewhat prolonged, his guest Liegnitz had
+eventually to think about going. The princely presents of the duchess
+made him comfortable for some time. Health, welfare, country, were all
+ruined by his roystering conduct. When drink had killed him, his wife,
+a Duchess of Mecklenburg, saw herself and her children reduced to the
+direst privation. She had to inform not only her equals, but the
+magistrates of Stralsund of her distress, and to declare herself unable
+to bring up her son according to his rank. She merely asked for slight
+help, scarcely more than alms. The council of Stralsund sent her a few
+crowns by one of the messengers she dispatched in all directions.
+
+[Illustration: The Diet of Augsburg. _From an old Engraving_.]
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+
+A Twelve Months' Stay at Augsburg during the Diet--Something about
+the Emperor and Princes--Sebastian Vogelsberg--Concerning the
+Interim--Journey to Cologne
+
+
+On July 27, 1547, I dismounted at an inn in the wine market at
+Augsburg. The host was a person of consideration, and endowed with good
+sense; he was a master of one of the corporations. The latter had
+administered the city's affairs for more than a century. During a
+similar number of years the corporations of Nuremberg had ceded their
+power in that respect to the patricians. The Augsburg corporations,
+being Evangelicals, had sided against the emperor; consequently His
+Imperial Majesty proposed to exclude them at the forthcoming Diet from
+the government, in favour of the aristocracy, which had remained
+faithful to the ancient faith.
+
+I took two rooms (each with an alcove, or sleeping closet, attached to
+it), of which the host had no need for his travelling patrons. The
+ambassadors settled in one; the other was set apart for their
+administration, which was composed of Jacob Citzewitz, chancellor; two
+secretaries of Duke Barnim, and myself. I sold my horse with its
+equipment, which was not worth much. I took what I could get for it;
+fodder was very dear, and the animal was no longer of the least use to
+me.
+
+The emperor and his army arrived at the end of July. The landgrave
+remained behind at Donauwerth, under the guard of a Spanish detachment,
+while the elector, brought to Augsburg, took up his quarters with the
+Welsers, two houses away from the Imperial residence, and on the other
+side of a kind of alley by the side of my inn. A passage made between
+these two houses by means of a bridge thrown over the alley provided
+communication between the apartments of his Imperial Majesty and those
+of the elector. The captive prince had his own kitchens. His
+chancellor, Von Monkwitz, was always near him; he was served by his own
+attendants, so that the Spaniards had no pretext to enter his room or
+his sleeping closet. The Duke of Alva and other gentlemen of the
+Imperial suite constantly kept him company; the time was spent in
+pleasant conversations and equally agreeable recreations. They had
+arranged a list for the jousts in the courtyard of the dwelling, which
+was as superb a mansion as any royal one. The elector went out on
+horseback to the beautiful sites and spots of the town, namely, the
+various gardens, cultivated with much art. He had been very fond from
+his youth of swordplay, and while he remained well and active he
+indulged in all kinds of martial exercise. They therefore left him to
+superintend the assaults at arms, but he did not stir without an escort
+of Spanish soldiers. He was left free to read what he pleased, except
+in the latter days, namely, after his refusal to accept the Interim.
+
+At Donauwerth, on the other hand, the landgrave had a guard even in his
+own apartment. If he looked out of the window two Spaniards craned
+their necks by his side. Drums and fifes told him of the guard coming
+on duty and of the guard that was being relieved. Armed sentries
+watched in the prisoner's room; they were relieved once during the
+night, and when those coming on duty entered the room, the others, when
+the shrill music had ceased, drew the curtains of the bed aside,
+saying: "We commit him to your care. Keep a good watch." The emperor's
+words to the landgrave, "I'll teach you to laugh," were not an empty
+threat.
+
+Before retiring to rest, his Imperial Majesty, to the terror of many,
+had a gibbet erected in front of the town hall; by the side of the
+gibbet, the strapado, and, facing it, a scaffold at about an ordinary
+man's height from the ground. This was intended to hold the rack, and
+the beheading, the strangulating, the quartering, and kindred
+operations were to be carried out on it.
+
+The emperor had sent to Spain for his secretary, a grandee, it will be
+seen directly, who stood high in his favour. As the said secretary
+sailed down the Elbe, coming from Torgau, a faithful subject of the
+captive elector hid himself in a wood on the bank of the stream. He was
+a skilful arquebusier, and when the craft was well within range, he
+fired a shot. They brought the emperor a corpse. The mortal remains of
+the secretary were taken to Spain in a handsome coffin; the murderer
+fled across Hungary in the direction of Turkey, but active pursuit
+resulted in his capture, and he was dispatched to Augsburg. He was
+driven in an open cart from St. Ulrich to the town hall, by way of the
+wine market. Hence, the elector had the extreme annoyance of seeing him
+pass under his windows. The condemned man had between his knees a pole,
+to which his right hand was tied as high as possible. In the midst of
+the drive, the sword severed the wrist from the arm; hemorrhage was
+prevented by dressing the wound, and the hand was nailed to a post put
+up in the street for the purpose. In front of the town hall the poor
+wretch was taken from the cart and was put on the rack.
+
+The landsknechten quartered at Augsburg had not received their pay for
+several months. It was to come out of the fines imposed upon the
+landgrave and the towns. The rumour ran that the fines had been paid,
+but that the Duke of Alva had lost the money gaming with the elector,
+so that the troops were still waiting.
+
+In the thick of all this, a number of soldiers made their way into the
+rooms of the ensigns, carrying off three standards, unfurling them, and
+marching in battle array to the wine market. Near the spot where the
+arquebusier had had his hand severed from his wrist, a proud Spaniard,
+impelled by the mad hope of securing the Imperial favour by rendering
+his name for ever glorious, flung himself into the advancing ranks and
+tried to get hold of a standard; behind it, however, marched three men
+with big swords, and one of these split the intruder in two just as he
+would have split a turnip. "_Qui amat periculum, peribit in eo_." Thus
+it is written.
+
+Roused to great excitement by the coming of the column, the Spanish
+soldiers promptly occupied the streets adjoining the market. The
+elector was transferred to the Imperial quarters, lest he should be
+carried off. The population were getting afraid of being pillaged in
+case the idea of paying themselves should present itself to the
+landsknechten. The tradesmen were more uneasy than the rest, for in
+expectation of the coming Diet their shops were crammed with precious
+wares, rich silk stuffs, golden and silvern objects, diamonds and
+pearls. There was an indescribable tumult to the accompaniment of cries
+and people foregathering in knots, though most of them barricaded
+themselves in their houses and armed themselves with pikes, muskets, or
+anything they could lay hands on. In short, as Sleidan expresses it,
+"the day bade fair to be spent in armed alarm."
+
+The emperor sent to ask the mercenaries what they wanted. "Money or
+blood," replied the arquebusiers, their weapons reposing on the left
+arm, the lighted match in their right hands, and dangerously near the
+vent-hole. His Imperial Majesty promised them their arrears within
+twenty-four hours, but before dispersing they claimed impunity for what
+they had done, which demand the emperor granted. Next day they received
+their pay and were disbanded at the same time.
+
+Now for the end of the adventure. Secret orders were given to accompany
+the ringleaders on their road, and at the first offensive remark on
+their part with regard to the emperor to call in armed assistance, and
+to bring them back to Augsburg. As a consequence, at the end of two or
+three days, some of the firebrands, having their wallets well-lined and
+sitting round frequently re-filled flagons at the inn, began to hold
+forth without more reserve than if they were on the territory of
+Prester John. The last thought in their minds was about informers being
+among them. "We'll give him soldiers for nothing--this Charles of
+Ghent![48] May the quartan fever get hold of him. We'll teach him how
+to behave. May the lightning blast him," and so forth. Not for long
+though. The words had scarcely left their lips than they were seized,
+taken to Augsburg, and hanged in front of the town hall, each with a
+little flag fluttering from the tab of their small clothes.
+
+[Illustration: An Execution at the Time of the Reformation. _From a
+Drawing by_ Lucas Cranach.]
+
+Two Spaniards, probably guilty of robbery, as was their custom, were
+strung up at the same gibbet. Towards night the hangman came with his
+cart, cut the ropes and took the bodies of the seditious men outside
+the town. After which there appeared a gang of Spaniards who, with more
+ceremony, detached their countrymen, and placed them in a bier covered
+with a kind of white linen. Then they spread the funeral cloth over
+them, and the procession started. Young scholars dressed in white
+cloaks marched at its head, intoning psalms; the rest, in handsome
+dresses and carrying lighted tapers, followed two by two. They
+proceeded in that manner to the church given up to the Spaniards for
+their worship, where the two bodies were buried. It is difficult to
+withhold solemn funerals from thieves when you yourself are an
+incorrigible thief.
+
+The Italian and Spanish troops were distributed in the towns of the
+Algau and Swabia. Memmingen and Kempten compounded their liability
+to quarter them respectively for thirty thousand and twenty thousand
+florins. Thereupon a certain Imperial commissioner hit upon the
+idea of presenting himself in various towns as having been instructed
+to quarter a couple of hundred Spaniards for the winter. The
+terror-stricken burghers implored him to spare them such a scourge, and
+considered themselves only too happy to present the commissioner with a
+little gratification of two, three, and four hundred crowns, paid on
+the nail. Thanks to that ingenious system, the commissioner managed to
+pocket some important sums. But the rumour of the thing having reached
+the emperor's ears, the cheat was arrested, sentenced to death, and
+executed in front of the town hall at Augsburg. The work of the hangman
+began by strangulation. The patient (?) was placed on a wooden seat
+against the rail of the scaffold, his forehead tightly bound in case of
+convulsions, his arms bound behind his back, and fastened to the
+balustrade. The hangman, after having flung a rather short rope round
+his neck, slipped a thick stick down his nape, and began to twist it
+round in the manner they press bales of wares. When the wretch was
+strangled, he was undressed except his shirt, laid out on a board, the
+hangman lifted the shirt, cut away the sexual parts, ripped open the
+body from bottom to top, removed the intestines, and threw them into a
+pail under the board, and finally cut the body into four quarters.
+
+George von Wedel stayed at my hotel. He invited the Duke of Brunswick
+and his steward to dinner, and chose me as the third guest. The repast
+consisted of six courses; the first was soup with a capon in it. I know
+that our landlady paid a crown for the bird, and that she charged Wedel
+a crown per head. I did not forget to mention to my host and my fellow
+guests that at Rome I had seen the hanging of the Spaniard, his
+servants, and the two Jews. The duke was delighted at my recollecting
+this, and he himself reminded us that the banquet had been given in his
+honour. His account of the story was, however, much longer than mine.
+
+While awaiting the arrival of the Pomeranian delegates, I borrowed
+two hundred crowns of the captive Elector of Saxony, for my functions
+at the Diet necessitated a decent appearance, considering that
+I was called upon to confer with grand personages, such as the
+Vice-Chancellor Seld, the Bishop of Arras and Dr. Johannes Marquardt,
+Imperial counsellor. Besides, everything was horribly dear at Augsburg;
+there was no possibility of getting along without money. Our
+ambassadors arrived on St. Matthew's Day (September 21). I immediately
+refunded the two hundred crowns.
+
+Since we left Wittenberg I had never missed an opportunity of speaking
+to the Imperial counsellors and advisers, sometimes to one, then to
+another. More than once, for instance, I happened to be riding by the
+side of the Bishop of Arras, _intimus consiliarius imperatoris_. I
+solicited his intervention for a safe-conduct for our princes, in order
+that they might come and plead their cause in person, or be represented
+by some high dignitaries. The kindly tone of his answers afforded me
+much hope, although he abstained from all positive promises.
+
+One evening between Nuremberg and Augsburg chance made me alight at the
+hostelry where Lazarus von Schwendi was putting up.[49] At that time he
+was a beardless young man. We supped together, and he declared quite
+spontaneously that, having been sent by the emperor to the Brandenburg
+march as far as the Pomeranian frontiers to get information about the
+attitude of the dukes during the late war, he had not been able to find
+the slightest charge against them. He further stated that he had
+written to that effect to the emperor, and he announced his intention
+of repeating it to him by word of mouth.
+
+In spite of this evidence, when I saw the Bishop of Arras, his father,
+Messire de Granvelle, the most trusty adviser of his Imperial Majesty,
+Dr. Seld and Dr. Marquardt at Augsburg, they seemed to vie with each
+other at looking askance at me, and at formulating a refusal in hard,
+haughty terms and entirely unexpected by me; such as: "_Bannus
+decernetur contra principes tuos_."[50]
+
+Our dukes sent their principal advisers. To do them justice, they
+spared neither time nor trouble, but it was all in vain, for the Bishop
+of Arras went as far as to growl at them: "To suppose the emperor
+capable of punishing innocent people as your princes pretend to be;
+that alone already constitutes the crime of treason against the
+sovereign, and deserves chastisement." His Imperial Majesty closed his
+ears to the truth; he was determined to act against the Dukes of
+Pomerania. At Wittenberg Dr. Seld had said to me: "We are going to
+examine the challenge of Ingoldstadt and will note for reference its
+instances of audacity, its offensive expressions, and its provocations.
+His Imperial Majesty means to show to the whole of the empire that he
+is neither deficient in German blood nor in power to chastize as he
+thinks fit no matter whom." This was an allusion to the following
+passage of the document defying him: "And we inform Charles that we
+consider him a traitor to his duty to God, a perjurer towards us, and
+the German nation, and deserving the Divine punishment, and also as too
+devoid of noble and German blood to carry out his threats."
+
+Our ambassadors paid daily visits to the important ecclesiastical
+personages. They went in couples, save Chancellor Citzewitz, who
+considered himself, not unjustly, capable of dispensing with
+assistance. He laboured, however, under the disadvantage of "repeating
+himself," and of wearying his listeners. The chancellor of the Elector
+of Cologne, to whom Citzewitz paid a visit one night, said the next day
+to two of our ambassadors: "What is your chancellor thinking of? He
+constantly repeats the same things. Does he credit me with so short a
+memory as to forget in three or four days the _status causae vestrorum
+principum_, or does he imagine that our affairs leave me sufficient
+leisure to listen to his never ending litanies. He reminds me of a hen
+about to lay. At first she flutters to the top of the open barn door,
+clucking, 'An egg, an egg.' Then she gets a little higher up to the
+hay-loft: 'An egg, an egg; I want to lay an egg.' From there she goes
+up to the rafters: 'Look out, friends, look out. I am going to lay an
+egg.' Finally, when she has cackled to her heart's content, she goes
+back to her nest and produces the tiniest imaginable egg. I prefer the
+goose who squats silently on the dung-heap and lays an egg as big as a
+child's head."
+
+The Archbishop of Cologne would not forgive our princes for having
+secularized the monastery of Neu-Camp, a branch of the parent
+institution of Alt-Camp, in the diocese of Cologne. Besides, the clergy
+of Pomerania had become suspect to him ever since its choice for the
+See of Cammin had fallen upon the pious, able and learned chancellor
+Bartholomew Schwabe. Hence, the terms in which the emperor forbade our
+princes to recognize the new dignitary as such were the reverse of
+courteous, and he moreover summoned the chapters to Augsburg to take
+the oath of fidelity and do homage, pending his own selection of a
+chief for them. The princes, the chapters, the landed gentry, and the
+towns, with the exception of Colberg, appealed; the Pomeranian mission
+was entrusted with the negotiations; the States also delegated Martin
+Weyer, canon of Cammin, who subsequently became a bishop.
+
+Nor was the Elector of Brandenburg in the emperor's good books. Where
+then could we find somebody successfully to intercede for us? All my
+supplications were in vain, for at courts and in large towns _causae
+perduntur quae paupertate reguntur_. Finally, Dr. Marquardt hinted
+discreetly that a well trained small horse would be very useful to him
+to proceed to the council, according to Imperial etiquette. I
+immediately wrote to Pomerania, whence they sent me a pretty animal,
+with instructions to buy an equipment to match. The present,
+supplemented by three "Portuguese,"[51] seemed to please the doctor
+mightily, and he accepted everything without much persuasion.
+
+The melting of double ducats and Rhenish florins gave us some excellent
+gold of crown standard, which served to make two cups, each weighing
+seven marks. Citzewitz took them several times to Messire de Granvelle
+without finding the opportunity of offering them to him. These were
+indeed untimely scruples. That present, or even one of double its
+value, would no more have been refused then than it was later on at
+Brussels. In fact, in return for his friendly offices with the emperor,
+Granvelle willingly submitted to be presented with gold, silver, and
+precious objects, so that at his departure there were several vans and
+numerous mules laden with them. When he was asked what were the
+contents of that long convoy, he answered: "_Peccata Germaniae_!"
+
+After many fruitless efforts our ambassadors found themselves reduced
+to inactivity, and compelled as a pastime to read two Latin pamphlets
+they received. The one dealt with the personality and acts of "_Carolus
+Quintus_"; the title of the other was, "_De horum temporum statu_,"
+with Pasquin and Marforio as interlocutors in Roman fashion.
+
+There were ten flag-companies of landsknechten quartered at Augsburg,
+besides the Spaniards and Germans accompanying the emperor, while the
+outskirts held Spanish and Italian fighting men. Six hundred horsemen
+from the Low Countries and more than twelve flag-companies of
+Spaniards, who had been quartered during the winter at Biberach, were
+posted on the shores of Lake Constance; seven hundred Neapolitan
+horsemen, who had wintered at Wissemburg, lay in the Nordgau. The days,
+therefore, were truly spent in "armed alarm," but there was also
+extraordinary splendour, pomp, and magnificence.
+
+Augsburg, in fact, had the honour of having within its walls his
+Imperial Majesty, his Royal Majesty, all the electors in person, with
+imposing suites; the Elector of Brandenburg with his wife; the Cardinal
+of Trent, Duke Heindrich of Brunswick and his two sons, Charles Victor
+and Philip; Margrave Albert; Duke Wolfgang, count palatine; Duke
+Augustus; Duke Albert of Bavaria; the Duke of Cleves; Herr Wolfgang,
+grand master of the Teutonic Order; the Bishop of Eichstedt; his Grace
+of Naumberg, Julius Pflug; Abbe Weingarten; Madame Marie, the sister of
+the emperor, who was accompanied by her niece, the Dowager of Lorraine;
+the wife of the margrave; the Duchess of Bavaria, and the envoys of the
+foreign potentates. The King of Denmark was represented by a learned
+and prudent man, who had given proof of his wisdom in many a mission,
+namely, Petrus Suavenius, the same who had accompanied Luther to Worms
+and had returned with him. The King of Poland was represented by
+Stanislas Lasky, a magnificent, experienced, learned, eloquent and
+elegant, amiable, great magnate, and most charming _in familiari
+colloquio_.
+
+[Illustration: Ferdinand the First. _From an old Print._]
+
+It is almost impossible to enumerate the crowd of vicars, counts and
+other personages of note, but I must not forget the Jew Michael, who
+aped the great lord, and showed himself off on horseback in gorgeous
+clothes, golden chains round his neck, and escorted by ten or a dozen
+servants, all Jews, but who might have fairly passed muster as horse
+troopers. Michael himself had an excellent appearance; he was said to
+be the son of one of the counts of Rheinfeld. The old hereditary
+Marshal von Pappenheim, who had grown very short-sighted, came up with
+him one day, and, not content with taking off his hat, made him a low
+bow, as to a superior. When he discovered his mistake, he vented his
+anger very loudly: "May the lightning blast you, you big scoundrel of a
+Jew," he bellowed. The presence of so many princesses, countesses and
+other noble dames, handsome, and attired in a way that baffles my
+powers of description, afforded daily opportunities for banquets, Welch
+and German dances. King Ferdinand was rarely without guests. He gave
+magnificent receptions, splendid ballets, and beautiful concerts by a
+numerous and well trained band of vocal and instrumental performers.
+Behind the king's chair there stood a chattering jester; his master had
+frequent "wit combats" with him. The king kept up the conversation at
+table, and his tongue was never still for a moment. One evening I saw
+at his reception, a Spanish gentleman, with a cloak reaching to his
+heels, dancing an "algarda" or "passionesa" (I do not know the meaning
+of either word) with a young damsel. They both jumped very high,
+advancing and retreating, without ceasing to face each other. It was
+most charming. After that another couple performed a Welch dance.
+
+The emperor, on the contrary, far from giving the smallest banquet,
+kept nobody near him; neither his sister, nor his brother, nor his
+nieces, nor the Duchess of Bavaria, nor the electors, nor any of the
+princes. After church, when he reached his apartments, he dismissed his
+courtiers, giving his hand to everybody. He had his meals by himself,
+without speaking a word to his attendants. One day, returning from
+church, he noticed the absence of Carlowitz. "_Ubi est noster
+Carlovitius?_" he asked of Duke Maurice. "Most gracious emperor,"
+replied the latter, "he feels somewhat feeble." Immediately the emperor
+turned to his physician. "Vesalius, gy zult naar Carlowitz gaan, die
+zal iets wat ziek zyn, ziet dat gy hem helpt." (Anglice, "You had
+better go and see Carlowitz. He is not well; you may be able to do
+something for him.")
+
+I have often been present (at Spires, at Worms, at Augsburg, and at
+Brussels) at the emperor's dinner. He never invited his brother, the
+king. Young princes and counts served the repast. There were invariably
+four courses, consisting altogether of six dishes. After having placed
+the dishes on the table, these pages took the covers off. The emperor
+shook his head when he did not care for the particular dish; he bowed
+his head when it suited, and then drew it towards him. Enormous
+pasties, large pieces of game, and the most succulent dishes were
+carried away, while his Majesty ate a piece of roast, a slice of a
+calf's head, or something analogous. He had no one to carve for him; in
+fact, he made but a sparing use of the knife. He began by cutting his
+bread in pieces large enough for one mouthful, then attacked his dish.
+He stuck his knife anywhere, and often used his fingers while he held
+the plate under his chin with the other hand. He ate so naturally, and
+at the same time so cleanly, that it was a pleasure to watch him. When
+he felt thirsty, he only drank three draughts; he made a sign to the
+_doctores medicinae_ standing by the table; thereupon they went to the
+sideboard for two silver flagons, and filled a crystal goblet which
+held about a measure and a half. The emperor drained it to the last
+drop, practically at one draught, though he took breath two or three
+times. He did, however, not utter a syllable, albeit that the jesters
+behind him were amusing. Now and again there was a faint smile at some
+more than ordinarily clever passage between them. He paid not the
+slightest attention to the crowd that came to watch the monarch eat.
+The numerous singers and musicians he kept performed in church, and
+never in his apartment. The dinner lasted less than an hour, at the
+termination of which, tables, seats, and everything else were removed,
+there remaining nothing but the four walls hung with magnificent
+tapestry. After grace they handed the emperor the quills of feathers
+wherewith to clean his teeth. He washed his hands and took his seat in
+one of the window recesses. There, everybody could go up and speak to
+him, or hand a petition, and argue a question. The emperor decided
+there and then. The future emperor Maximilian was more assiduously by
+the side of the emperor than by that of his father.
+
+Duke Maurice soon made acquaintance with the Bavarian ladies, and at
+his own quarters melancholy found no place, for he lodged with a doctor
+of medicine who was the father of a girl named Jacqueline, a handsome
+creature if ever there was one. She and the duke bathed together and
+played cards every day with Margrave Albrecht.[52] One day, the latter,
+thinking he was going to have the best of the game, ventured several
+crowns. "Very well," answered the damsel; "equal stakes. Mine against
+yours." "Put down your money," retorted the margrave, "and the better
+player wins." All this in plain and good German, while Jacqueline gave
+him her most charming smile. Such was their daily mode of life. The
+town gossiped about it, but the devil himself was bursting with
+pleasure.
+
+Clerics or laymen, every one among those notable personages did as he
+pleased. I myself have seen young Margrave Albrecht, as well as other
+young princes, drinking and playing "truc" with certain bishops of
+their own age, but of inferior birth.[53] At such moments they made
+very light of titles. The margrave cried abruptly; "Your turn, priest.
+I'll wager your stroke isn't worth a jot." The bishop was often still
+more coarse, inviting his opponent to accompany him outside to perform
+a natural want. The young princes squatted down by the side of the
+noblest dames on the floor itself, for there were neither forms nor
+chairs; merely a magnificent carpet in the middle of the room,
+exceedingly comfortable to stretch one's self at full length upon. One
+may easily imagine the kissing and cuddling that was going on.[54]
+
+Both princes and princesses spent their incomes in banquets of
+unparalleled splendour. They arrived with their money caskets full to
+overflowing, but in a little while they were compelled to take many a
+humiliating step in order to obtain loans; the rates were ruinous, but
+anything, rather than leave Augsburg defeated and humbled in their love
+of display. Several sovereigns, among others the Duke of Bavaria, had
+received from their subjects thousands of dollars as "play money." They
+lost every penny of it.
+
+Our ambassadors lived very retired. They neither invited nor were
+invited; nevertheless, when a visitor came, they were bound to offer a
+collation, and to amuse their guests. One day they entertained Jacob
+Sturm of Strasburg.[55] During dinner the conversation turned on
+Cammin. Sturm gave us the history of that bishopric, of its foundation,
+of its expansion. Then he told us of the ancient prerogatives of the
+Dukes of Pomerania; of the negotiations set on foot seven years before
+at the diet of Ratisbon. In short, it was as lucid, as complete, and as
+accurate a summary of the subject as if he had just finished studying
+it. Our counsellors greatly admired his wonderful memory. Verily, he
+was a superior, experienced, eloquent, and prudent man, who had had his
+share in many memorable days from an Imperial as well as from a
+provincial view; for, in spite of his heresy, the emperor had at
+various times entrusted him with important missions. Without him,
+Sleidan could have never written his History. He avows it frankly, and
+renders homage to Sturm in many passages of his _Commentaries_. Nobody
+throughout the empire realized to the same degree as he the motto:
+"_Usus me genuit, mater me peperit memoria_." A person of note having
+asked him if the towns of the League of Schmalkalden were all at peace
+with the emperor, he answered: "_Constantia tantum desideratur_."[56]
+It would be impossible better to express both the isolation of
+Constance and the mistake to which the Protestants owed their reverses.
+Should my children have a desire to know what Sturm was like facially,
+they will only have to look at my portrait, which bears such a
+remarkable resemblance to him as to have baffled Apelles to improve
+upon it.[57] Our ambassadors also received the visits of Musculus and
+Lepusculus, but each came by himself. The moment for serious debate had
+struck, for the Interim was being gradually drawn up. The time for
+jesting had gone by; the only thing to do was to get at the root of
+matters.[58]
+
+I sometimes brought my countryman, friend, and co-temporary Valerius
+Krakow home with me. He was secretary to Carlowitz, and, excluded as
+they were from all negotiations, our counsellors were glad to learn
+from his lips what was being plotted. During the campaign he had not
+stirred from the side of Carlowitz, who, in reward for his services,
+had got him into the chancellerie of Prince Maurice. Another countryman
+of mine who came to see us was the traban Simon Plate, one of my old
+acquaintances, for we had pursued our studies together more or less
+usefully at Greifswald, under George Normann. The counsellors did not
+care for him, for he was of no earthly use to them. The trabans had
+some respectable, honest, well set-up and plucky fellows in their
+ranks, and enjoyed a certain amount of consideration. The emperor was
+particular about their dress; they wore black velvet doublets, cloaks
+with large bands of velvet, and the Spanish head-dress of the same
+material.
+
+Plate was never tired of praising his fellow-soldier sleeping next to
+him, and the ambassadors gave him leave to bring his friend. He wore a
+most beautiful golden chain. Plate had not exaggerated. Finally he even
+took umbrage at the favour shown to the new comer, so that one day he
+exclaimed: "No doubt he is very upright and honest. He has shown his
+courage, consequently he pleases the emperor. It is a pity, though,
+that he is not a gentleman by birth." The remark, I am bound to say,
+displeased our ambassadors greatly, and above all Chancellor Citzewitz;
+but let my children look to it. I have heard many Pomeranian nobles
+hold the same language. According to them, intelligence, sound judgment
+and ability were the exclusive appanage of birth.
+
+Plate showed himself in a better light on another occasion. Our
+counsellors had received several visits, and some flagons had been
+joyously emptied. When our guests were gone, Moritz Damis, captain of
+Ukermuende, a rollicking, lively creature, suddenly took a fancy to go
+to the court ball which was taking place that evening, not in the
+apartments of the emperor, but in those of his sister and niece, who
+likewise occupied the Fugger mansion in the wine market. His
+colleagues, who had not forgotten the emperor's threat to the
+landgrave, "I'll teach you to laugh," were afraid of a scandal, and
+pointed out that our princes were in disgrace; but Damitz got angry.
+"Our princes will give me money, but they cannot give me health," he
+exclaimed. "What am I doing here? Why should I deny myself the sight of
+such rejoicings? How am I to keep alive? I may as well make up my mind
+never to cast eyes on Pomerania again." Saying which, he rushed down
+the stairs; a counsellor tried to hold him back by his golden chain,
+the links of which, however, broke, and our captain ran to the ball.
+
+Simon Plate had remained perfectly cool, and they asked him to follow
+the madcap. There was no difficulty for Plate to get inside the
+ball-room, and the first person of note of whom he caught sight was the
+puissant and renowned warrior-chief, Johannes Walther von Hirnheim,[59]
+moodily walking to and fro at the lower end of the room. Damitz had
+noticed standing close by the dancers a handsome woman gorgeously
+dressed and glittering with jewels, and in less time than it takes to
+tell he had addressed her: "Charming creature," he said, "are you not
+going to dance?" "Oh no, sir," was the answer; "dancing is only fit for
+young people, and I am an old woman." "What, are you married?" asked
+the captain. "I could have sworn that you were only a girl, and if I
+were told to choose with the most beautiful woman here, my choice would
+fall upon you." "Ah, sir, you are merely jesting." "And what is your
+husband's name?" the captain went on unabashed. "Johannes Walther von
+Hirnheim." "Johannes Walther? Oh, I know him well." The husband,
+somewhat curious with regard to the captain's conversation, had drawn
+near, though still continuing to walk up and down in silence. Damitz,
+though, taking no notice of either him or Simon Plate, continued his
+interrogatory. "Have you any children?" "No; God has ordained it
+otherwise." "Ah, if I had such a wife, I know what I am. God would soon
+grant us children." This incursion of the captain into the physical
+domain induced Simon Plate to interfere, to turn the conversation, and
+to take Damitz back to his domicile.
+
+In December our ambassadors decided to send one of their body to
+Pomerania, and Heindrich Normann was selected for the journey. It was
+bitterly cold, and Normann endeavoured to provide against it. He put on
+a linen nightcap, over that a fur one, and a second of cloth, with a
+big muffler fastened behind and in front (just as the peasantry still
+wear it), and finally a thick hat, embroidered in silk. On his hands
+white thread gloves, chamois leather ones lined with fur; over these,
+and over the latter again thicker gloves of wolf's skin. His body was
+encased in a linen shirt, a knitted tightly-fitting garment in the
+Italian fashion; over that a vest of red English cloth, a doublet
+wadded with cotton, another lined jacket, a long coat of wool trimmed
+with wolf's skin, covering the whole; finally, on his feet, linen
+socks, Louvain gaiters reaching above the knee, cloth hose, stockings
+lined with sheep's skin, and high boots. When everybody had done giving
+special commissions, the servants hoisted him into the saddle, for he
+could have never got into it without their help. He went as far as
+Donauwerth; when he got there, his equipment decidedly seemed to him
+too uncomfortable. As, however, he had no desire to be frozen to death,
+he turned his horse's head and made for the good city of Augsburg.
+
+Inasmuch as the narrative of Sleidan is very incomplete, I am going to
+write the story of Sebastian Vogelsberg. Having been an eye-witness, I
+made it my business to note down his last speeches. Vogelsberg was tall
+and of imposing appearance, his width being in proportion to his
+height; in short, a handsome, well-proportioned man with a head as
+round as a ball, a beard reaching to his waist, and an open face. No
+painter could have found a better model for a manly man. He had a
+certain amount of education. According to some people, he had been a
+schoolmaster in Italy. Count Wilhelm von Fuerstenberg, who entered the
+"paid" service of the belligerent monarchs as a colonel, took him as a
+semi-secretary, semi-accountant. Vogelsberg, having been promoted to an
+ensignship, rendered distinguished service in the field; Ambitious,
+glib of tongue, not to say eloquent and rarely at a loss what to do, he
+quickly attained the grade of captain, and high and mighty potentates
+soon preferred him to Fuerstenberg. The latter felt most annoyed at
+this, belonging as he did to a class of men to whom merit is
+inseparable from birth. He constantly inveighed against Vogelsberg,
+who, in his turn, did not spare his rival. Pamphlets were printed on
+both sides. The count appears to have begun; he appealed to his peers,
+their honour seemed to him at stake. The Protestant States sided with
+Vogelsberg, their co-religionist, while the popish camp swore mortal
+hatred to him.
+
+Weary of fruitless polemics, and knowing full well that it would have
+been folly to take the law into his own hands, Vogelsberg decided upon
+bringing an action before the Imperial Chamber for damages for
+defamation of character. I was at the time clerk to his procurator, Dr.
+Engelhardt; consequently, I knew every particular of the affair. After
+protracted debates, the court finding for Vogelsberg, condemned Count
+Wilhelm to a fine of four hundred florins, a sentence which caused
+Wilhelm's brother, Frederick von Fuerstenberg, and everybody who bore
+the title of count to consider themselves the injured parties.
+
+Three _causae proaegoumenae_, to use the language of the dialecticians,
+may be plainly discerned in this drama; namely, religion, the soldierly
+qualities of Vogelsberg, and the hostility of the nobles and papists.
+We may add two _causae procatarcticae_: the first, mentioned by
+Sleidan, to the effect that a twelvemonth previously Vogelsberg had
+taken a regiment of landsknechten to the King of France; the second,
+which I saw with my own eyes at Wissenburg on the Rhine, that
+Vogelsberg had built himself in that Imperial town a beautiful mansion
+of hewn stone with the arms of France, three big _fleurs de lis_
+artistically sculptured over the door. The papists, feeling confident
+that in the probable event of a new war of religion, the valiant
+captain would give them a great deal of trouble, and thirsting as they
+did for his blood, like a deer in summer pants for cooling streams,
+they took time by the forelock. Their skill in exploiting with his
+Imperial Majesty the _causae irritatrices_ stood them in good stead.
+They were instrumental in getting two doctors of their following
+appointed as judges. The one was German, and the other Welch, but both
+promptly pronounced a sentence of death which was immediately carried
+out.
+
+On February 7, 1548, shortly after eight in the morning, an
+ensign-corps of soldiers from the outskirts of "Our Lady," and two
+other ensign-corps from the outskirts of "St. Jacob," took up their
+position in the square of the Town Hall. Sleidan says the scaffold was
+erected for the purpose of executing Vogelsberg. This is an error on
+Sleidan's part. The scaffold had been there for six months, and had
+served many times. An officer from the Welch, whom they call _magister
+de campo_ was detached from the troops with about thirty men to fetch
+the condemned man from the Peilach tower. The latter was brought back
+to the sound of drums and fifes.
+
+Vogelsberg wore a black velvet dress and a Welch hat embroidered with
+silk. At his entrance into the circle surrounding the scaffold he
+caught sight of Count Reinhard von Solms, whose nose was half-eaten
+away by disease, and Ritter Conrad von Boineburg. Without taking any
+notice of the count, a relentless papist, who detested him on account
+of Fuerstenberg, he asked of the ritter: "Herr Conrad, is there any
+hope?" "Dear Bastian," replied Boineburg, "May God help you."
+"Certainly, He will help me," was Vogelsberg's rejoinder. And with his
+firmest step, his head erect, and his usual assurance, he climbed the
+steps to the scaffold.
+
+He looked for a long while at the crowd. All the windows were occupied
+by members of the nobility. At those of the Town Hall there were
+serried rows of electors, princes of the Church and of the empire,
+barons, counts, and knights. In a manly voice and as steady a tone as
+if he were at the head of his troops, Vogelsberg began to speak: "Your
+serenissime highnesses, highnesses, excellencies, noble, puissant,
+valiant seigneurs and friends. As I am this day ..." At that moment the
+_magister de campo_ (quarter-master-general) told the executioner to
+proceed with his duty, but the latter, addressing the condemned man,
+said: "Gracious sir, I shall not hurry you. Speak as long as you
+please." Thereupon Vogelsberg went on: "I am to lose my life by order
+of the emperor, our very merciful and gracious master, and I now will
+tell you the cause of my death-warrant. It is for having raised ten
+ensign-companies last summer for the coronation of the praiseworthy
+King of France. No felonious act can be imputed to me during the ten
+years I served the emperor. As I am innocent, I beseech of you to keep
+me in kind memory, and to pity my undeserved misfortunes. Watch over my
+kindred, so that they may not come to grief on account of all this, and
+may benefit by the fruit of my services, for the whole of my life was
+that of an honest man. I am being sacrificed to the implacable
+resentment of that infamous Lazarus Schwendi." The latter was at the
+window facing the scaffold, and suddenly disappeared, but Vogelsberg
+did not interrupt his speech. "He came to me to Wissemburg to tell me
+that he was in disgrace in consequence of the murder of a Spanish
+gentleman in the suite of his Imperial Majesty, and that the Spaniards
+were also looking for me. He proposed to me to fly to France together,
+and borrowed two hundred crowns of me. I even gave him a horse as a
+present for his advice. Well, the traitor took me straight to the
+Spaniards. While I was in prison I asked him, for my personal need, for
+some of the crowns I had lent him, but he turned a deaf ear to all my
+requests. I beg of you to be on your guard against that skunk of a
+thief who bears the name of Lazarus Schwendi. No one ought to have any
+dealings with him. He has even dared to denounce to his Imperial
+Majesty his Serenissimo Highness the Elector Palatine as having entered
+into a league with the King of France. It is an infamous slander. If I
+had another life to stake, I should stake it on that. I have been
+refused the last assistance of a minister, of a confessor--a refusal
+which has no precedent. I nevertheless die innocent and redeemed by the
+blood of Jesus Christ." After this he walked round the circle, though
+above it, asking everybody to forgive him as he forgave everybody. Then
+he seated himself. The executioner divided his long beard into two and
+knotted the two ends together on the skull. Having craved his pardon,
+and invited him to say a Pater and the Credo, he performed his office.
+The head rolled like a ball from the scaffold to the ground; the
+executioner caught it by the beard and placed it between the legs of
+the body, spreading a cloak over the whole, except the feet which
+showed from under it.
+
+After that the officer and his thirty arquebusiers went to fetch Jacob
+Mantel and Wolf Thomas, of Heilbron, who had been brought to Augsburg
+at the same time as Vogelsberg. Thomas was left at the foot of the
+scaffold. Mantel walked round the platform and said a few words, which
+many people could not hear. As his stiff leg made it difficult for him
+to kneel down, the executioner slipped a footstool under the paralyzed
+limb. He failed to sever the head at the first stroke, and had to
+finish the operation below; then he once more covered up the body.
+
+There only remained Wolf Thomas. To judge by his dress and bearing he
+was not an ordinary man. He stared fixedly at the feet of Vogelsberg,
+showing from under the cloak; then he took his eyes off, and told those
+around that he had been a loyal and faithful soldier for twenty-seven
+years, and that he died absolutely innocent, his sole crime consisted
+in having served the King of France during three months, as many an
+honest noble and squire had done before him without incurring the least
+punishment. He asked those around to forgive him as he forgave them,
+and to pray for him as he would intercede in their favour, he being
+firmly assured of a place near the Almighty. He asked those who
+promised to say a Pater and the _Credo_ for him to hold up their hands.
+After that he was beheaded.
+
+At the termination of the triple execution the executioner cried in a
+loud voice from the scaffold: "In the name of his Imperial Majesty it
+is expressly forbidden to any one to serve the King of France on the
+penalty of sharing the fate of these three men."
+
+The death of Vogelsberg caused universal regret. The unanimous opinion
+was that a soldier of such mettle was worth his weight in gold to a
+warlike monarch. Sleidan alleges erroneously that the two judges
+exculpated Lazarus von Schwendi. It was the emperor who caused to be
+printed and distributed everywhere a small proclamation of half a
+sheet, declaring Schwendi free from all blame, inasmuch as he strictly
+carried out the Imperial orders, and that the speech of Vogelsberg was
+obviously dictated by the desire to escape the most fully deserved
+punishment.
+
+The King of France, it was said, was so displeased at the cry of the
+executioner from the scaffold that by his orders the Marquis de
+Saluces, on his return from Germany, was arrested and beheaded. This
+was the nobleman who at Wittenberg had disadvised the execution of the
+Elector of Saxony.
+
+In April, Augsburg witnessed the arrival of Muleg-Hassan, King of
+Tunis. Thirteen years previously he had been driven forth by
+Barbarossa; subsequently he was re-established on his throne by the
+emperor, but his eldest son had ousted him and put his eyes out. A
+fugitive and wretched, he came to place himself under the protection of
+the emperor, and was soon joined in his exile by one of his sons. I
+often met these two on horseback, in company of Lasky, the Polish
+ambassador, who spoke their language.
+
+As the pope opposed, against all expectation, the holding at Trent of a
+Christian, free and impartial council, and experience having taught
+people besides that the learned men of both parties would never come to
+an agreement, the States of the empire proposed to his Imperial Majesty
+to confide to a restricted number of learned and God-fearing men the
+task of drawing up a document for the furtherance of the reign of God
+and the preservation of the public peace.
+
+In pursuance of this the emperor delegated personally the Bishop of
+Mayence, Dr. George Sigismund Seld, and Dr. Heindrich Hase.
+
+The King of the Romans selected Messire Gandenz von Madrutz. The
+Elector of Mayence chose his Bishop Suffragan; the Elector of Treves,
+Johannes von Leyen, canon of Treves and of Wurzburg; the Elector of
+Cologne, his provincial; the Elector Palatine, Ritter Wolf von
+Affenstein; the Elector of Saxony, Dr. Fachs; the Elector of
+Brandenburg, Eustacius von Schlieben.
+
+The princes selected the Bishop of Augsburg, Dr. Heinrichmann; the Duke
+of Bavaria, Dr. Eck.
+
+The prelates selected the Abbe von Weingarten; the counts, Count Hugo
+de Montfort; the towns: Strasburg, Jacob Sturm; Ulm, George Besserer.
+
+These personages met on Friday, February 11, 1548, but they failed to
+agree, which might have easily been foreseen. The ecclesiastical
+members of the Diet took advantage of the opportunity to have the book
+of the Interim composed respectively by the Bishop of Naumburg,
+Johannes Pflug; by the Bishop Suffragan of Mayence, appointed a little
+later on to the See of Meiseburg, and by the court preacher to the
+Elector of Brandenburg, Johannes Agricola, otherwise Eisleben, who
+coveted the bishopric of Cammin. The Imperial assent to this had to be
+obtained; they set to work in the following manner.
+
+The Elector of Brandenburg and his wife lived on a sumptuous footing at
+Augsburg. The elector was fond of display; the electress, the daughter
+of a king of Poland, was even more lavish than her spouse. The dearth
+of everything and the frequency and the profusion of the entertainments
+had already for a long time reduced the finances of his Serene Highness
+to a critical state. Seven years previously, at the gathering of
+Ratisbon, Dr. Conrad Holde had already lent the prince close upon six
+thousand crowns. Their repayment had been constantly, but
+unsuccessfully demanded. Finally, at Augsburg, in default of ready
+money, he received the written promise of repayment in four instalments
+at the dates of the Frankfurt fairs. It was duly signed and sealed.
+Nothing was wanting to its perfect legality; the most suspicious would
+have been satisfied. Nevertheless, the payments were not made when due,
+and the creditor instituted proceedings before the Imperial Chamber.
+The elector did not know which way to turn; there was not a purse open
+to him. He was absolutely at a loss how to get his wife and his
+numerous suite decently away from Augsburg when the Bishop of Salzburg
+made an end of his embarrassments by advancing him sixteen thousand
+Hungarian florins on the duly executed promise of their being repaid in
+a short time. But the principal condition of the loan was that the
+Elector of Brandenburg should present to his Imperial Majesty the work
+of the three above-named personages, and bind himself and his subjects
+to submit to its provisions.
+
+The Elector of Saxony instructed Christopher Carlowitz to send a copy
+of the "Interim" to Philip Melanchthon.[60] The latter's reply was
+singularly devoid of courage. It was supposed to be inspired by the
+theologians of Wittenberg and Leipzig, who in that way sounded the
+first notes of "Adiaphorism." Carlowitz promptly communicated this
+epistle everywhere. It aroused general surprise, as well as the most
+opposed feelings; grief and consternation among the adherents to the
+Augsburg confession, matchless jubilation among the Catholics. And the
+Lord alone knows how they bellowed it about in the four corners of
+Germany, how they availed themselves of it to proclaim their victory.
+
+[Illustration: Melanchthon. _From a Drawing by_ Lucas Cranach.]
+
+The ecclesiastical electors sent Melanchthon's letter, together with
+the book, to the pope, and what with backslidings and plotting the pear
+was very soon ripe. The publication of the "Interim" took place on May
+14, at four o'clock in the afternoon, in presence of the States
+assembled. The emperor had it printed in Latin and in German. In the
+first proofs handed to the emperor the passage from St. Paul,
+"_Justificati fide pacem habemus_," was altogether changed by the
+suppression of the word _fide_; the confessionists protested
+energetically, and confounded the would-be authors of the fraud.
+
+The stern tone of the act of promulgation stopped neither speeches nor
+scathing writings. Sterling refutations were published even outside
+Germany; the two best known are the Latin treatise of Calvin, which
+spread all over the empire--in Italy, in France, in Poland, etc.; and a
+piece of writing in German, which was more to the taste of everybody,
+and one of whose authors was AEpinus, superintendent of Hamburg.
+
+Seigneur de Granvelle and his son, the Bishop of Arras, strongly
+persuaded the Elector of Saxony to adhere to the "Interim," in order to
+regain his freedom, but the prince remained faithful to the Confession
+of Augsburg. Thereupon they took away his books; there was no meat on
+his table on fast days, and his chaplain, whom he had kept with him
+with the consent of the emperor, had to fly in disguise. The landgrave,
+on the other hand, who did not care to profess greater wisdom than the
+fathers of the Church, consented to recommend the book to his subjects,
+and begged to be pardoned for the sake of Christ and all His saints.
+
+At the closure of the Diet, I took, like his Imperial Majesty, the road
+to the Low Countries. The stay of the emperor at Ulm brought about the
+dismissal of the council, which was replaced by more devoted creatures.
+The six ministers were bidden to accept the "Interim." Four of them
+were not to be shaken, and they were led away captive in the suite of
+the emperor; the other two, in spite of their apostasy, had to leave
+wives and children, and scant consideration was shown to them. At
+Spires, the prior of the barefooted Carmelites was, like all the
+brothers of his monastery, a good evangelical, though all had preserved
+the dress of their order. During four years I had seen him going to and
+fro in the town, dressed in his monk's frock; each Sunday he went into
+the pulpit and the church was crowded to the very porch. Never did he
+breathe a word about the pope or about Luther, but he was a master of
+pure doctrine, and at the approach of the emperor he fled in a layman's
+dress. Worms and the whole of the country lost their preachers. Landau
+possessed a select group of learned and distinguished ministers,
+because the town offered many advantages; a delightful situation,
+excellent fare, and a splendid vineyard at the very gates of the town;
+but the ministers had to abandon the place to the popish priests,
+scamps without experience, without instruction, without piety, and
+without decency.
+
+I often had occasion afterwards to go to Landau, where the advocate of
+my father, Dr. Engelhardt, resided. One Sunday, at the termination of
+the mass, I heard a young and impudent good-for-nothing hold forth from
+the pulpit in the following strain: "The Lutherans are opposed to the
+worship of Mary and the saints. Now, my friends, be good enough to
+listen to this. The soul of a man who had just died got to the door of
+heaven, and Peter shut it in his face. Luckily, the Mother of God was
+taking a stroll outside with her sweet son. The deceased addresses her,
+and reminds her of the Paters and the Aves he has recited to her glory,
+the candles he has burned before her images. Thereupon Mary says to
+Jesus, 'It's the honest truth, my son.' The Lord, however, objected,
+and addressed the supplicant: 'Hast thou never read that I am the way
+and the door to everlasting life?' He asks. 'If thou art the door, I am
+the window,' replies Mary, taking the 'soul' by the hair and flinging
+it into heaven through the open casement. And now I ask you, is it not
+the same whether you enter Paradise by the door or by the window? And
+those abominable Lutherans dare to maintain that one must not invoke
+the Virgin Mary." That was the kind of scandalous irreligion exhibited
+in the places where formerly the healthy evangelical doctrine was
+preached.
+
+The landgrave's submission to the "Interim" only brought him into
+contempt. His wife, who had hastened to Spires to beseech the emperor,
+was allowed to remain day and night with the prisoner during his week's
+stay there. At the departure for Worms I saw the landgrave pass at
+eight in the morning, with his escort of Spaniards with long
+arquebuses. They hemmed him in in front, behind, and at the sides,
+while he himself was bestriding a broken-down nag with empty and open
+holsters, and the hilt of his sword securely tied to its sheath. A
+serried crowd of strangers and inhabitants, women and servants, old and
+young, were pressing around his escort, as if there had been an order
+given to that effect. They cried: "Here goes the wretched rebel, the
+felon, the scoundrel that he is." They said worse things which, from
+certain scruples, I abstain from repeating. It looked like the
+procession of a vulgar malefactor who was being taken to the scaffold.
+
+Pure chance made me an eye-witness of a diverting scene at Augsburg. I
+have already said that Duke Maurice had ingratiated himself very much
+with the Bavarian court ladies. One Sunday, in December, when the
+weather was fine, he was ready to go out in a sleigh. I happened to be
+at the door with several others, who also heard the following dialogue.
+Carlowitz came down the stairs of the chancellerie in hot haste,
+exclaiming: "Whither is your Highness going?" "To Munich," was the
+answer. "But your Highness has an audience to-morrow with the emperor."
+"I am going to Munich," repeated the duke. Thereupon Carlowitz: "If,
+thanks to me, the electoral dignity is practically yours, it is
+nevertheless true that your frivolity causes you to be despised of
+their Majesties and of all honourable people." Maurice merely laid the
+whip on his horses, which started off at a gallop, Carlowitz shouting
+at the top of his voice: "Very well, then; go to the devil, and may
+heaven blast you and your sledge." When the prince returned, Carlowitz
+announced his intention of going to Leipzig. "If I miss the New Year's
+fair," he said, "I shall lose several thousand crowns." The elector had
+only one means to make him stay, namely, to count out the sum to him.
+
+As the restoration of the Imperial Chamber necessitated my return to
+Spires to watch my father's lawsuit, I wrote to Pomerania to be
+dispensed from following the emperor. This is the answer from our
+princes.
+
+"Greetings to our loyal and well-beloved. Our counsellors have informed
+us of thy request, which we should willingly grant thee if it were not
+prejudicial to our interests and those of the country, and which thou
+hast up to the present administered. We therefore invite thee to
+exercise some patience, and to serve us with zeal and fidelity as
+heretofore; inclined as we are to recall thee after the Diet to give
+thee unquestionable proofs of our great satisfaction, as well as the
+means satisfactorily to bring to an end the paternal affairs. We rely
+on thy obedience, and bind ourselves to confirm all our promises as
+above. Given under our hand at Stettin-the-Old, Sunday after St. James,
+in the year 1548."
+
+I had lived uninterruptedly for a twelvemonth at Augsburg, save for one
+ride to Munich, a city well worth seeing. The Diet being about to
+dissolve, I bought a horse, an acquisition which that big dreamer of a
+Normann deferred from day to day. Of course, the inevitable happened.
+The moment the emperor had announced his forthcoming departure
+everybody wanted horses, and he who had ordered himself a handsome
+dress, sold it at half-price in order to get a roadster. Normann, who,
+in spite of my warnings, had waited till the eleventh hour, unable to
+find a suitable mount, took mine, which had been well fed and looked
+after in anticipation of the long journey. I by no means relished this
+unceremonious proceeding, but I could not help myself, and was
+compelled to put up with a seat on a big fourgon, in which I placed the
+golden cups intended for Granvelle. At Ulm, Martin Weyer decided that
+Normann should give me back my horse when we reached Spires, and that
+he should go the rest of the way by the Rhine. When we got to Spires,
+Normann was not to be found there, and we finally learnt that he had
+gone to the baths of Zell with the chimerical hope of getting rid of
+his pimples which disfigured him.
+
+I confided the two pieces of goldsmith's work to Dr. Louis Zigler, the
+procurator to our princes, then went by coach to Oppenheim, and by
+water to Mayence. On 10 September our ship reached Cologne, and next
+morning I went in search of a good horse to pursue my route in company
+of friends, when, whom should I meet in the street but Normann. As a
+consequence, I was obliged to change my inn, and to part with my
+company. Normann was in treaty for a horse, which he finally bought. In
+that way we were both provided for, but without a servant, each man
+taking care of his own horse; however, the ostlers were excellent, and
+there was no need to watch; one had only to command.
+
+We started for the Low Countries on September 12, the emperor going
+down the Rhine in a boat. Next day, at the branching off of the high
+road, we hesitated. On inquiring at the nearest inn we were told
+that one road led to Maestricht, and the other to Aix-la-Chapelle.
+The first-named was the shorter by six miles; on the other hand,
+Aix-la-Chapelle is the famous city founded by Charlemagne. It contains
+the royal throne, it is the city where the emperor is crowned after his
+election at Frankfurt. After we had discussed the "for" and "against"
+at some length, we hit upon the idea of giving our horses their heads,
+and leaving the bridles on their necks. By some subtle and mysterious
+intuition the animals chose, according to our secret desire, the road
+to Aix-la-Chapelle.
+
+The city itself is large and in ancient style. The country around is
+barren, the soil consisting of coal, stone and slate. Previous to the
+foundation of the city it was simply a wilderness. There are some
+excellent mineral springs; the bath, constructed in beautiful hewn
+stone, is square, and about fourteen feet long; three steps enable one
+to sit down with the water up to the throat, or to be immersed at a
+small depth. Except the baths of the landgravate of Baden, I know of no
+other arrangement equally comfortable. At the town hall, castle, and
+arsenal of Charlemagne there are hundreds of thousands of sharp iron
+arrows stowed away in closed chests. On entering the church one
+immediately notices an ivory and gold armchair, fastened with exceeding
+great art. At the lower end of the nave, to the west, a huge crown of
+at least twelve feet diameter is suspended. I do not know the nature of
+the material, but it is gilt and painted in colours. In the way of
+relics there are the hose of Joseph. They are only shown at stated
+times, but whoever has the privilege of seeing them has a great many of
+his sins remitted.
+
+On September 24 we reached Brussels in Brabant, and there I received
+the order to go back to my country, the functions of solicitor to the
+Imperial Chamber having been conferred upon me. Hence, on St. Denis'
+Day, I began this journey of more than a hundred miles, alone and
+across unknown countries, with abominable roads, above all in
+Westphalia. I was often obliged to stay the night at places which were
+more than suspect, and when only half-way my horse came to grief in
+consequence of Normann's former rough usage. I had to swop it, paying a
+sum of money besides, and was unfortunate enough to have come across a
+veritable crock which I was obliged to keep, there being no help for
+it. Finally, through good and evil I reached Wolgast on All Saints'
+Day.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+How I held for two Years the Office of _Solicitator_ at the Imperial
+Chamber at Spires--Visit to Herr Sebastian Muenster--Journey to
+Flanders--Character of King Philip--I leave the Princes' Service
+
+
+As soon as my nomination was drawn up, I was dispatched with it to
+Chancellor Citzewitz, at his estate of Muttrin, near Dantzig. The
+principal personages of the land had come to consult him, and he kept
+me for more than ten days with him in excellent company, making me
+share their favourite recreation, and the thing that bored me most,
+namely, the chase, to which the country admirably lends itself. I
+returned with the chancellor to Stettin, where my warrant of
+appointment was duly signed and sealed.
+
+At Wolgast Duke Philip interrogated me at length in his own study, and
+with no one else present, on the condition of affairs at Augsburg and
+Brussels. He was much surprised at my boldness in having given him such
+a plain and straightforward account of the doings of the court. "If
+only one of your letters had been intercepted, they would have strung
+you up at the nearest tree," he said. This was no exaggeration on his
+part; and supposing such a catastrophe had happened, he would, in spite
+of everything, have remained a prince of the empire, while there would
+have been an end of me. Of course, my behaviour gave him the measure of
+my devotion to him. He promised me a good horse; besides this, the
+ducal kitchen provided all that was necessary for a farewell banquet,
+and, in fact, at supper some pages brought us two hares from the
+prince's larder. I received a hundred crowns for my loyal services, and
+an appointment of one hundred and forty per annum; the cost of copying
+and dispatch of messengers being charged to their Highnesses.
+
+I went to say good-bye to my parents at Stralsund. My mother had
+ordered for my sister chains and clasps which the goldsmith had as yet
+not delivered. I paid for them, and, moreover, left thirty crowns at
+home. "Use them, if there be any need. I'll manage to make both ends
+meet with what remains." Duke Philip had given me a strong and lively
+hunter. Behind the saddle I had a small saddle-bag, like the court
+messengers. My brother Christian accompanied me as far as Leipzig,
+where we wished to be for the fair.
+
+Our journey was an uneventful one, except that one day in Mesnia,
+having lost our way, we came at the end of a big forest upon a small
+tenement which was the residence of a poor gentleman. The fast
+gathering darkness compelled us to knock at the noble's dwelling, which
+was inhabited by a young widow of only a few weeks' standing with her
+mother-in-law. The bad-tempered old woman roughly refused us shelter.
+"Go wherever you like," she snarled. Her daughter-in-law, on the other
+hand, said; "We did not expect any one, and we do not keep an inn, but
+it is getting darker and darker, and you would have to go a long way
+before finding one. If you will be content with our humble
+accommodation, you may remain for the night." At these words the other
+one storms and raves. "May the devil take you and them. You have found
+some youngsters who are to your taste, and you have already forgotten
+my son." I tried to appease her. "We have never before been in this
+country," I said to her; "at daybreak we'll be able to find our way.
+You need not be afraid of our using unsuitable language or doing aught
+that is not right, and we'll be satisfied with whatever accommodation
+you can give us, as long as our horses have some fodder and some straw.
+For all this we'll willingly pay." The virago, however, turned a deaf
+ear to this. If we were not the lovers of her daughter-in-law why
+should we have come at this late hour in the neighbourhood where no
+stranger ever came? The young woman was very patient throughout. After
+having provided us with hay and straw for our horses, she took us to a
+lofty room of very modest appearance. There was no man or woman servant
+to be seen; our supper, though, was none the worse for it. After she
+had set all our provisions before us, our hostess sat down and told us
+the sad existence she was leading. The bed was moderately comfortable,
+and the sheets were clean. We paid more than was asked.
+
+At Leipzig I stopped two days to rest my horse. I gave my brother the
+wherewithal for his return journey, and continued my way alone. The
+country as far as Frankfurt was known to me. From Butzbach I went by
+Niederweisel and the Hundfruck, a route I had often pursued with my
+former master, the commander of St. John. It is more direct than by
+Friburg, but it swarms with highway robbers. As I was walking my horse
+up the slope of the forest I caught sight of two horsemen who were
+evidently bent on waiting for me, as they posted themselves, the one to
+the left and the other to the right of the road, and when I was between
+them they began interpellating me in a gruff voice. "From what
+country?" "From Pomerania." "What hast thou got in thy valise?"
+"Letters." "Whither art thou going?" "To Spires." "To whom dost thou
+belong?" "To the Dukes of Pomerania. Here is my safe-conduct."
+Thereupon one of them became more friendly. "And how is his Highness
+Duke Philip, that excellent prince? I knew him very well at
+Heidelberg." And on my recommendation for them to go their way and to
+let me go mine, they looked at me very hard for a few moments, but did
+not follow me. I sold my horse and equipment at Frankfurt, and went
+down the Main as far as Mayence, whence, going up the Rhine, I got to
+Oppenheim, and by the coach to Worms and Spires.
+
+I reached the latter town on January 21, 1549. I hired a room with a
+dressing closet at a clothshearer's, who was also a councillor. I also
+boarded with him, like many young doctors of law and other notable
+persons detained at Spires by their functions or by their wish to get
+practical experience.
+
+Dr. Simeon Engelhardt, who, by the express act of a formal decision of
+his Imperial Majesty, had not been reinstated in his office of
+procurator any more than his brother-in-law, the licentiate Bernard Mey
+and Johannes Helfmann had transferred his household goods to Landau. At
+his recommendation, Dr. Johannes Portius, for procurator, and I brought
+him so many clients that he would accept no fees from me. Engelhardt
+remained my advocate, notwithstanding the inconvenience of the distance
+between us. How often have I walked the four miles between Spires and
+Landau! By starting at the closing of the gates, I reached Landau for
+the hour fixed for their opening; the morning sufficed to transact my
+business with the doctor, and my return journey was accomplished in the
+afternoon. Nor did Engelhardt claim any fees, but I remember having
+taken to him a client who for a single act paid him twenty crowns
+without his asking. The correspondence, thanks to the Pomeranian
+couriers always at my disposal, was equally cheap.
+
+The Lloytz of Stettin chose me as their solicitor.[61] Martin Weyer, in
+the "Cammin" affair, did the same. There were others, and all, except
+Weyer, paid me handsomely. I was getting well known among the
+procurators, and I finally acted _pro principale vel adjuncto notario_.
+I earned, then, sufficient to live comfortably without having recourse
+to the paternal purse. I even could put aside the whole of my
+appointments, and something over. The chief benefit, however, lay in
+the acquisition of experience, the fruits of which have extended to the
+whole of my family, because my pen has always been the sole means of
+livelihood. If that business be well learnt and well carried out, it
+leaves no one to starve. Folks may mention the word scribe with as much
+contempt as they please; the fact remains that I have had many a choice
+morsel, and drunk delicious draughts through being a scribe.
+
+From Spires I wrote to Sebastian Muenster that their Highnesses were
+particularly anxious not to hurry the printing of his excellent
+_Cosmographie_, because a special messenger was to bring him a
+description of Pomerania the moment it was finished, and that it would
+prove not the least valuable ornament of his work. He sent word that it
+was impossible for him to delay; his step-son was so deeply engaged in
+the undertaking that he would be ruined if he missed the next Lent fair
+at Frankfurt. I transmitted the reply to Pomerania; the same messenger
+brought back a big bundle of notes, unfortunately incomplete, as they
+pointed out to me. I promptly sent them to Sebastian Muenster, promising
+to let him have the rest the moment I received them. He kindly sent me
+an autograph letter, which my children will find joined to that of Dr.
+Martin Luther.[62]
+
+It struck me that an interview with Sebastian Muenster would enable me
+to inform our princes accurately. The Imperial Chamber had its
+vacation. It was an excellent opportunity to see Alsace, flowing with
+corn and wine, so many handsome towns, the seat of the Margrave of
+Baden, bishops and courts, and, above all, the city of Basle. Hence, I
+undertook the journey on foot, an affair of about sixty miles there and
+back. At Strasburg I lodged at my friend's, Daniel Capito, a poor home,
+but we took our meals at the tavern of the _Ammeister_.[63]
+
+In the church at Basle I saw the stone statue of Desiderius Erasmus, of
+Rotterdam. I invited Herr Lepusculus, the fugitive of Augsburg, to
+dinner, and we talked of many interesting things. I also became well
+acquainted with Sebastian Muenster, who gave me a most hearty welcome. A
+huge room of his house contained a quantity of plates, either cast,
+engraved on wood or on copper. They had come from Germany, Italy or
+France; they were geographical, astronomical, or mathematical drawings,
+representing pieces of engineering work for the use of miners, and
+views of cities, countries, castles, or convents, that were to figure
+in his _Cosmographie_. He was most anxious for me to stay with him, so
+that he might show me the objects of interest connected with the town;
+unfortunately, my time was too short. After having taken leave of
+Muenster and Lepusculus, I went back to Spires on foot.
+
+I was just in time for a message from Pomerania relative to the lawsuit
+between Duke Barnim and the town of Stolpe. The latter, on the pretext
+of an attempt against its privileges, had deputed Simon Wolder to
+attend upon the emperor. Wolder was a young jackanapes without
+education, but pushing and cunning, and by dint of intriguing he
+obtained the confirmation of the said privileges, and for himself the
+Imperial safeguard. The people of Stolpe had their triumph, and to
+judge by their swaggering one would have concluded they had no longer
+anything in common with their prince and lord. Duke Barnim, though,
+having entered the town amidst his soldiers, summoned the council and
+the burghers to the Town Hall, and when he got them there, he forbade
+those who had had a hand in the intriguing to stir, while the others
+should stand aside. The majority of those present changed their
+positions; the rest, and notably the Burgomaster Schwabe, a near
+relation to the Bishop of Cammin, were imprisoned at Stettin, at
+Greiffenberg, and at Treptow, while Simon Wolder fled to the emperor,
+who was fighting the white Moors (?) in Africa. He succeeded in
+obtaining from the emperor the categorical order for releasing the
+prisoners, on the express penalty of being put "under the ban"; but
+that injunction arrived too late. The friends of the prisoners humbly
+interceded for them, and each liberation was bought at a heavy fine and
+after a long detention. As for Wolder, far from resting on his oars, he
+pursued his intrigues at the Imperial court, ingratiating himself with
+the princes, the nobles, and the cities. He enjoyed great favour; he
+dressed magnificently. Where did the money for all this display come
+from? In short, at the restoration of the Imperial Chamber, an action
+was begun.
+
+The dukes of Pomerania had unquestionably cause for anxiety, for their
+relations with the emperor were already very strained, and the latter's
+victory made him very disinclined to exercise much consideration to the
+partisans of the Augsburg confession. Simon Wolder was jubilant; he
+looked upon the business as good as won; judges and assessors were
+papists, and their Highnesses under a cloud of Imperial disgrace. We
+devoted the most serious attention at Spires to the suit; procurator
+Ziegler and advocate Johannes Kalte amply did their duty; if need had
+been, I was there to spur them on. At Stettin, on the contrary, Martin
+Weyer and Dr. Schwallenberger, to whom the affair was entrusted, were
+mere sluggards whose conduct was disgraceful. We shall meet with
+Schwallenberger again.
+
+In May our counsellors wrote to me to take the two golden cups to
+Brussels to them. The rumour ran, in fact, that the emperor's son was
+coming from Spain in great pomp; and our envoys hoped to secure,
+through the influence of certain important personages, his intercession
+with the emperor. I started immediately, going down the Rhine as far as
+the Meuse, and pursuing my journey by land by way of s'Hertogenbosch
+(Bois le Due) and Louvain.
+
+When I had delivered my precious deposit, the wish to see something of
+Flanders impelled me to Ghent. It is a big city, formerly endowed with
+important privileges. For instance, the emperor could impose no taxes
+in Flanders or demand anything without the assent of the said city.
+Charles V has deprived it of its privileges. He has razed a convent and
+several houses to the ground, and on their site built a castle with
+huge, deep moats filled with water, besides other remarkable outworks,
+so that the city is at his mercy. In the centre of Ghent there rises a
+high steeple. I climbed to the top, and it is from there that the
+emperor and his brother Ferdinand chose the spot whereon to build their
+fortress; they traced there, _propriis manibus_, their symbolum in red
+chalk.
+
+The castle where Charles V saw the light is a decrepit, unsightly kind
+of tenement, surrounded by water, and accessible only by a drawbridge.
+At the head of the bridge, on the parapet, there are two bronze
+statues; one is kneeling, and behind it there is the second with
+uplifted sword. Tradition has it that they represent two men condemned
+to death, father and son, for whom no executioner could be found. They
+then promised the father a full pardon if he would behead his son. At
+his refusal the offer was made to the son, who accepted it with joy and
+gratitude, and severed his father's head from the trunk.
+
+In Antwerp I met with Herr Heinrich Buchow, the future counsellor of
+Stralsund. We had both heard much about the house of Gaspard Duitz,
+about a good mile distant from the city. People compared it to the
+castle of Trent, some even said that it was handsomer. We obtained a
+letter from the owner to his steward, who showed us everything, and
+really rumour had not been guilty of exaggeration. Though there were a
+great number of them, each room was differently decorated; each
+contained a bed and a table. The hangings were of the same colour as
+the bed-curtains, and the cloth on the table which was either of velvet
+or damask, black, red or violet, as the case might be. Musical
+instruments everywhere, but varying in every room. Here a kettledrum;
+there Polish viols, elsewhere lutes, harps, zithers, hautboys,
+bassoons, Swiss fifes, etc. The girl who showed us over the place quite
+correctly played the kettledrum, the viol and the lute. In front of the
+house a beautiful garden cultivated with art, and enhanced by many
+exotics. Further on a zoological collection. The ground floor has one
+hall of such magnificence that one day Madame Marie entertained her
+brother there. The emperor, having looked and appreciated everything,
+asked: "To whom, sister mine, belongs this house?" "To our treasurer."
+"Well," rejoined the emperor, "our treasurer evidently knows the
+science of profit-making."
+
+This Gaspard Duitz, an Italian by birth, a shrewd and even cunning
+merchant, had exercised commerce on a large scale at Antwerp, and
+failed twice if not three times. When he had thousands upon thousands
+of crowns in hand, he asked his creditors for five years' delay. Madame
+Marie, for instance, gave him such letters of respite. Of course,
+those rogueries made him very wealthy, and when Madame Marie was in
+need of money, her treasurer came to her aid. A house in Antwerp,
+which had cost him thousands of florins, not having realized his
+expectations--the drawbacks of a structure becoming only apparent after
+it is finished--he had it razed to the ground and rebuilt according to
+his taste.
+
+The Count Maximilian van Buren (the same who, in the Schmalkalden
+campaign, took the Dutch horsemen to the emperor), having heard of
+Duitz's famous country seat, "invited himself" to it. Master Gaspard
+treated his visitor magnificently, showed him everything, and when
+taking leave inquired if perchance the count had noticed some fault or
+shortcoming in the decorations or general disposition of the whole;
+for, if such were the case, he would alter it, even if he had to send
+for artists from Venice or Rome. "No," replied the count; "the only
+thing wanting is a high gallows at the entrance, with Gaspard Duitz
+securely swinging from it." That was the count's acknowledgment of his
+host's hospitality, and he might have added: "With a crown on his head,
+as an arch-thief."[64]
+
+From Antwerp I went to Malines. What an admirable country! Louvain,
+Brussels and Antwerp, three big and handsome cities, are at an equal
+distance from each other, and Malines, which one always has to cross to
+get to either, stands in the centre. Along the route there are
+magnificent castles and lordly dwellings. Malines is a pretty city,
+though the smallest of the four; the water is brought there _labore et
+industria hominum_, and enables one to reach Antwerp by boat. I saw the
+damage caused by the lightning of August 7, 1546, when it fell on a
+powder magazine, which was entirely destroyed, together with the outer
+wall; huge quarters were hurled on the roofs of houses. There was a
+great loss of life and property.
+
+At Malines I went to see Vogel Heine, who, in the days of Maximilian I,
+the great-great-grandfather of the present emperor, went in advance to
+prepare the night quarters. The emperor had left him sufficient to live
+upon; the woman who took care of him had her lodging and firing. Heine
+was so old and so decrepit as to be unable to stir from a room that was
+constantly heated. People gave the woman a small tip to see her charge,
+and in that way she made for herself a small income instead of wages.
+
+From Louvain I took the most direct and shortest road to Juliers and
+Cologne; at the latter place I put up at _The Angel_. The host had a
+raven that spoke, and even understood what was said to it. If, in the
+evening, there was a knock at the door, the bird asked: "Is anybody
+knocking?" "Yes," replied the new-comer. But as the travellers' room
+happened to be at the back of the house, overlooking the Rhine, nobody
+stirred, and the knocking was repeated, the bird, on its part,
+repeating the same question. "Can't you hear?" said the claimant for
+admission, out of patience, and knocking much louder, so that they
+could hear it from the travellers' room. Naturally, the servant came to
+open the door, and endeavoured to mollify the would-be guest's anger by
+saying that they had heard no knocking. Thereupon the other called him
+a liar, or at any rate treated him as such; thereupon the cage with the
+bird in it was pointed out as evidence, and everything was well. The
+bird, upon the whole, was most remarkable, and many great personages
+made the most tempting offers for it, which were always refused. Six or
+seven years later, when I visited Cologne again, I inquired what had
+become of the bird, and its owner told me that he was then at law with
+a gentleman who, coming in drunk, had drawn his sword and cut the
+bird's head off. The host assured me that he would sooner have lost
+three hundred crowns.
+
+After having gone up the Rhine as far as Mayence, I took the coach to
+Spires.
+
+In June 1549 King Philip, the emperor's son, came to Spires with a
+numerous suite. His father had appointed the cardinal of Trent, a
+Seigneur de Madrutz, as his marshal. The king was then about twenty-two
+years of age, my junior by seven. His far from intellectual face gave
+little hope of his equalling his father one day. The Elector of
+Heidelberg, the other counts palatine, the ecclesiastical electors, all
+of them in their state carriages, attended on him when he went to
+church. Well, I often saw his father under similar circumstances. When
+he came out of his apartments and mounted his horse in the courtyard,
+where princes and electors already in the saddle awaited him, he was
+the first to take his hat off. If it happened to rain, so much the
+worse. He remained bare-headed, and was not the less affable either in
+speech or gesture. He held out his hand to everybody, and did the same
+when he came back. When, at the foot of the staircase, he turned out,
+faced his escort, took off his hat, and bade them farewell in a
+gracious manner.
+
+King Philip, on the contrary, was most exacting with the electors and
+the princes, though many of them were old men. While the latter
+dismounted at the door of the church, Philip went in without troubling
+about them, making signs behind his back with his hands for them to
+march by his side, but they merely followed him. After the service they
+accompanied the king back to the palace. He jumped down, and went up
+the stairs without a look or a word of farewell. His marshal had,
+nevertheless, told him that there was a great difference between
+Spanish and German princes. As a proof of this, he quoted to him the
+paternal example, as typified by the consideration shown to the German
+nobles by the emperor, but Philip answered: "Between myself and my
+father, the difference is as great, for he is only the son of a king; I
+am the son of an emperor." After having officially made their
+appearance, the princes promptly left for their own States. Philip
+spent a few more days hunting and going about, his suite being reduced
+to fourteen or twelve horses, and then the Duke of Aarschot came for
+him, by order of the emperor, to take him with a magnificent escort to
+Brussels.
+
+Notwithstanding my constant reminders to them of the mortal danger of
+delay, the Stettin authorities were terribly slow in sending me the
+most indispensable documents for the serious lawsuit against the town
+of Stolpe. As some people, moreover, were attempting to discredit me
+with Duke Barnim, I wrote to Chancellor Falck, who answered me: "You do
+not deserve the slightest reproach. All the neglect is on this side;
+but, in truth, the whole of your letter is so much Arabic to me,
+because I have not the faintest idea of the lawsuit itself." That is
+how things are managed at courts.
+
+On the banks of the Rhine it is the custom to organize at twelfth night
+a complete court--king, marshal, steward, cup-bearer, etc. As a matter
+of course, the court fool is indispensable. The charges are drawn for
+by lot; each pays part of the expenses; alone the fool is exempt. In
+1550 there gathered round our table a young baron from the Low
+Countries, a bright young fellow, with considerable experience of the
+world, also several persons of consideration who were detained at
+Spires by their law business. It fell to my lot to be king, with the
+baron for my marshal. As for the fool, chance had picked out our host,
+the priest, and nature seemed really to have created him for the part.
+In my capacity of king I had a many-coloured hooded cloak of English
+linen made for him. When we had visitors, and, thanks to the gay baron,
+this happened frequently, our host put on his cloak and took our guests
+to task. We shook with laughter, but he himself fared very well by it,
+for his buffoonery brought him many silver and even gold pieces. He
+bought himself silver bells for his cap, and his cloak became spangled
+with gold and silver coins.
+
+This went on until "kingdom" time, which is celebrated one Sunday
+evening between twelfth night and Shrovetide. There are three or four
+kingdoms each Sunday, and the masked people of both sexes go from one
+gathering to another in fancy dress and accompanied by musicians. They
+have the right of three dances with those who give the entertainments.
+All this afforded capital opportunities for every kind of dissipation
+and debauch. One evening, for instance, it happened that a husband and
+his wife, after having danced together, divided for the second dance
+and came together for the third, without, however, recognizing each
+other. Side by side they went to another house, and having understood
+each other's desires by the pressure of their hands, they indulged
+their sudden fancy on their way in the penumbra of a clothworker's shop
+in the market place, and never did the hallowed joys of matrimony taste
+like the forbidden fruit of infidelity; at any rate, so each imagined.
+Being anxious to know who was his partner, the swain cut a snippet from
+her dress and, moreover, made her a present of a gold piece, then both
+joined the rest of the company. The husband was a chamois-leather
+dresser, and next morning some one came to buy a skin, and tendered a
+large coin. As he had no change himself, he took his wife's satchel and
+found the golden piece, which he recognized at once. When the customer
+was gone, the dame had to show the gown she wore on the previous
+evening, the husband confronted her with the abstracted piece of stuff.
+Denial was impossible, but the one happened to be as guilty as the
+other.
+
+We gave our fool ample opportunity to adorn his dress. At the carnival
+he made himself conspicuous by many pleasant quips and pranks; the
+marshal also did wonders, standing erect before his Majesty, and
+zealously attending upon him by bringing up the dishes, carving the
+viands, and cleaning the table with many genuflections and kissing of
+hands. The king paid very dearly for his three or four hours' reign.
+
+Our host was a careless, irresponsible creature, more fit for the life
+of camps or of courts than for the priesthood; a gambler, a rogue, a
+boaster, a drunkard, a brawler, and an adept at jesting and practical
+joking. He did not care whether his boarders were papists or
+evangelicals. He was one of the three who celebrated early mass at the
+cathedral. His young boarders, the graduates, were fond of cards, and
+clever gamblers. They thought that a seasoned gamester like their host
+must necessarily be a valuable adviser, so they spent their night round
+the board. About three in the morning their landlord cried: "Brothers,
+don't you move; I am going to say mass. But it will be short and sweet;
+just long enough to blow the dust off the altar, and I'll be back." And
+he was as good as his word.
+
+It was a custom to place, during the night of Good Friday, a crucifix
+in one of the lateral chapels, and the three priests who said early
+mass were deputed to watch over it. Long files of matrons prostrated
+themselves, face downward, and deposited their offerings. On one
+occasion, towards three in the morning, the reverend guardians who no
+longer expected contributors, divided the receipts and began to gamble.
+Thanks to his long practice, our host won every penny to the annoyance
+of his colleagues. A quarrel ensued at the foot of the cross, followed
+by blows; our man being the strongest, the victory and the money
+remained with him.
+
+In "Rogation Week" the clergy in their richest vestments, and carrying
+crosses, banners, and relics, perambulate the fields, followed by
+crowds of men and women. A young priest, thinking this a propitious
+time for an assignation, left the procession, and disappeared among the
+standing corn, whither a young damsel went after him. Two workmen,
+though, had noticed the manoeuvre; they watched for the opportune
+moment, surprised the couple, and only left the "black beetle" after
+having stripped him of his gown and surplice, both which "proofs
+positive" they brought to the dean of the chapter.
+
+I have not the least doubt that the King of Spain interceded in favour
+of our princes. Assiduous solicitations, but above all the goldsmiths'
+work and the gratifications so much prized at courts and in large
+cities, mollified the influential counsellers, the Seigneur de
+Granvelle, his son, the Bishop of Arras, and others. The emperor
+finally consented to an arrangement, one of the conditions of which was
+the payment of a fine of ninety thousand florins. The Imperial
+chancellerie demanded three thousand florins for engrossing the act of
+reconciliation, which I could have done as elegantly in one day. The
+Bishop of Arras, to whom reverted half the chancellery fees, abandoned
+them in our favour, but he lost nothing by his generosity. In sum, this
+little matter cost two hundred thousand florins.
+
+One of the conditions imposed upon our princes was the acceptance of
+the "Interim." The Pomeranian clergy unanimously rejected this work of
+Satan. The council of Stralsund summoned the ministers before it to
+forbid them pronouncing the word "Interim" from the pulpit, and, above
+all, to add any ill-sounding expression to it on the penalty of being
+deposed from their sacred office. As for the doctrines themselves, they
+were at liberty to weigh and to refute them by the Holy Scriptures. But
+superintendent Johannes Freder, an obstinate and narrow-minded man,
+replied that as a good shepherd he neither could nor would deliver his
+flock to the rage of devouring wolves, for to do this would be to
+imperil his own body and soul. He furthermore said that if he were
+dismissed God would provide, and that, moreover, men of education were
+not liked at Stralsund. The council adjourned the meeting, and two of
+its members intimated his dismissal to Freder.
+
+The next day the ministers presented a petition signed by all except
+Johannes Niemann. They claimed their liberty of conscience and their
+right to serve the cause of truth by denouncing from the pulpit the
+damnable abominations of the "Interim." "One must obey God rather than
+men," they said. The impetuous Alexis Grosse and Johannes Berckmann
+were conspicuous by their anger. They hurled the most offensive
+accusations against honest Niemann, and tried to carry things with such
+a high hand that the council, greatly irritated, decided there and then
+upon the dismissal of Grosse, after payment of the arrears due to him.
+The other preachers expected the same fate, but matters went no
+farther, so Niemann would have risked nothing by adding his signature
+to that of his colleagues. Besides, the Interim was assailed from every
+direction; the attacks were made in German, in Latin, in Italian, in
+French, and in Spanish. Every line was weighed and refuted in the name
+of the Holy Word. The pope, for very shame, did not know where to hide
+his face.
+
+Let my children bear in mind the high degree of fortune attained by the
+emperor. At the summit of that prosperity, when everything seemed to
+proceed according to his desires, he imagined that unhindered he could
+break his promise to undertake nothing against the Augsburg confession.
+For love of the pope, he contemplated ruining the unshakable stronghold
+of Luther. From that moment the emperor's star waned; all his
+enterprises failed. Instead of being razed to the ground, Luther's
+stronghold was, on the contrary, furnished with solid ramparts, and
+to-day it counts powerful defenders in Germany, such as the Duke of
+Prussia, the Margrave of Baden, the Margrave Ernest von Pforzheim, and
+others, while among other nations the number of champions inspired by
+the blood of the martyrs is constantly on the increase. That stronghold
+shall set its enemies at defiance for evermore.
+
+At Stettin they went on blackening my character so effectually that Dr.
+Schwallenberg succeeded in getting himself sent on a mission to repair
+the effects of my supposed neglect. On my side, I had made up my mind
+to resign the functions of solicitor, and to leave Spires in December.
+I wrote to that effect to Chancellor Citzewitz, giving him the motives
+for my decision.
+
+At his arrival Dr. Schwallenberg took up his quarters at a canon's of
+his acquaintance--an easy method of being boarded and lodged for
+nothing; he had retrenched in that way all along the route, though
+taking care to put down his expense in the usual manner. When I
+presented myself at his summons, he was at table; he did not ask me to
+sit down, adopted a haughty tone, and even wished me to serve him. I,
+however, protested energetically. "This is not part of my duty. If
+there was an attempt to impose it upon me, I should refuse it; in that
+respect I have finished my apprenticeship. On the other hand, the
+advocate and I are very anxious to have your views on the affairs of
+our princes which have entailed so much writing upon me, at present
+without any result. Will you please name your own time?" "I'll see the
+advocate by himself," replied Schwallenberg. And, in fact, he went to
+the lawyer, but instead of entering upon the discussion of the urgent
+questions, he insinuated that I was a fifth wheel on the coach. "Get
+him dismissed, and his emoluments will increase your modest fees," he
+remarked. The advocate was an honourable man. He replied that I was
+being slandered, and that he did not care about earning money by means
+of a cabal. Thereupon Dr. Schwallenberg went for a trip to Strasburg.
+
+At his return the arguments of the case were ready, but he refused to
+read them, alleging that they had to be submitted to the dukes. I
+dispatched a messenger, who also carried a missive from Schwallenberg.
+The latter then departed for the Diet of Ratisbon. In due time came the
+princes' answer, and feeling certain that it related to the lawsuit, I
+opened it and read as follows:
+
+"Very learned, dear and faithful! We are pleased to express to thee our
+particular satisfaction at thy diligence at re-establishing our
+affairs, so greatly compromised by our solicitor that without thy
+arrival on the spot they would have entirely lapsed. As for the
+arguments thou hast elaborated with the advocate, we have ordered them
+to be returned to thee the moment our counsellors shall have examined
+and according to need amended them. We also authorize thee to go to the
+Diet of Ratisbon at our cost, etc."
+
+It would be difficult to conceive blacker treachery. For at least a
+twelvemonth I had despatched messenger after messenger for
+instructions. In spite of that, all the delay had been imputed to me. A
+rogue presented as his work arguments not one word of which belonged to
+him; he had not even taken the trouble to read the documents. And while
+the princes tendered him their thanks, my disgrace was complete.
+
+I had no longer anything to expect from my fellow-men; the Almighty,
+however, chose that moment to make my innocence patent to every one,
+and to confound my enemies. Thus was Mordecai laden with honours after
+the ignominious fall of Haman. Yes, even before the arguments were sent
+back from Pomerania, the Chamber delivered the following judgment: "In
+the matter of the town of Stolpe and of Simon Wolder against his Grace
+Barnim, Duke of Pomerania, etc., we decide and declare that the said
+duke is acquitted of all the charges and obligations advanced against
+him by the plaintiffs." What hast thou to say against that, infamous
+libeller? Hide thy head with shame, vile hypocrite! The feelings with
+which I despatched a special messenger to the duke may easily be
+imagined. It may be equally taken for granted that I did not mince
+matters in pointing out the merits of Dr. Schwallenberg. And although
+his diabolical machinations had filled my heart with sadness, they
+turned to my profit and my salvation, so true it is that the Lord
+converts evil into good. I was, however, strengthened in my decision to
+abandon the office of solicitor, and, above all, the princes' service,
+and that notwithstanding Citzewitz's offer, both verbal and in writing,
+of a profitable position at the chancellerie of Wolgast. I had become
+disgusted with the life at courts. A new career was open to me in a
+town where, though the devil and his acolytes have not quite given up
+the game, there is nevertheless a means of enjoying one's self and to
+live and die according to God's precepts. My sister, who was married to
+Peter Frubose, burgomaster of Greifswald, proposed to me to marry her
+sister-in-law. As I expected to be at Greifswald on New Year's Day, I
+wrote to her to arrange the wedding before the carnival. A cabinet
+messenger, who was going home for good, sold me a young grey trotting
+horse, with its bridle and saddle.
+
+Everything being wound up and settled with the advocates and
+procurators, etc., and having taken regular leave of them, I bade
+farewell to Spires on December 3, 1550, so disgusted with the Imperial
+Chamber as to have made up my mind never to return to it during my
+life. I had remained in foreign parts for five years in the interests
+of my father's lawsuit, in addition to the two years I had spent in
+behalf of the dukes of Pomerania. These years were not altogether
+without result. In fact, both in the chancelleries of Margrave Ernest
+and of the Commander of St. John, as well as at the secretary's office
+of our dukes and at the diets, I furthered my own affairs and amassed
+more money than many a doctor. It had all been done by my talent as a
+law writer, an art which is neither taught in Bartolus nor in Baldus,
+but which requires much application, memory, readiness to oblige and
+constant practice. Truly, I had worked day and night, and, as this
+narrative shows, incurred many dangers. Many folk after me, dazzled by
+my success, tried in their turn to become law writers, but they very
+soon succumbed to the monotony of the business, to the incessant
+labour, to the protracted vigils, to hunger, thirst, cares and dangers.
+Barely one in a hundred succeeds.
+
+I reached Stettin on December 21, and, all things considered, there was
+nothing to grumble at in the welcome I received. The counsellors, among
+whom were Schwallenberg's confederates, heard my explanations at length
+as they said on behalf of the prince. I was warned that they had agreed
+upon baulking me of an audience. The next day they informed me that the
+duke was as pleased with the energy I had shown as with the tenour of
+my report, and that I was authorized to bring a plaint against
+Schwallenberg. As for the prince's promise of a gratification, he had
+not forgotten it, and he asked me to exercise patience for a few days.
+He evidently wished to consult with the court of Wolgast. I answered as
+follows:
+
+"Great is my joy to learn that my lord and master appreciates my
+devotion and acknowledges how undeserved was my disgrace. I should be
+grieved to have to attack Dr. Schwallenberger on the eve of my
+marriage. The evidence, however, is conclusive; the duke is more
+interested than I in the punishment of the rogue. What, after all, have
+I to gain by a lawsuit now that the prince, heaven be praised, thanks
+me by word of mouth and in writing? Nor is it possible for me to wait
+here for the promised recompense. I prefer to come back after the
+wedding."
+
+When they became aware of my determination to abandon the court for the
+city, all the counsellors intoned a "hallelujah." There was an
+instantaneous change of language and behaviour to me. They were lavish
+with offers of service, but the first sentence of Chancellor Citzewitz
+at our meeting was: "A plague upon the bird that will not wait for the
+stroke of fortune." Here ends the story of my life previous to my
+marriage.
+
+
+
+
+
+                                PART III
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+
+Arrival at Greifswald--Betrothal and Marriage--An old Custom--I am in
+Peril--Martin Weyer, Bishop
+
+
+I reached Greifswald on January 1, 1551, at nightfall. I was thirty
+years old. After I had written to Stralsund for my parents' consent,
+and had conferred with my Greifswald relatives and those of my future
+wife, the invitations for the betrothal were sent out on both sides. On
+January 5, in the chapel of the Grey Friars, at eight in the morning,
+Master Matthew Frubose made a solemn promise to give me his daughter,
+in the presence of the burgomasters, councillors, and a large number of
+notable burghers. Burgomaster Bunsow gave me a loan of two hundred
+florins.
+
+The worshipful council had been obliged to suppress the dances at
+weddings, because the manner in which the men whirled the matrons and
+damsels round and round had become indecent. Those who infringed the
+order, no matter what was their condition, were cited before the minor
+court. It so happened that a week after our betrothal my intended and I
+were invited to a wedding at one of the principal families. When the
+wedding banquet was over, my betrothed came back to me, and, being
+ignorant of the council's orders, I danced with her, but most quietly,
+and a very short time. Notwithstanding this, an officer of the court
+came the next morning and summoned me to appear. At the first blush I
+could scarcely credit such an instance of incivility. Moreover, it
+boded ill, and I could not help foreseeing struggles, animosities, and
+persecution in this manner of bidding me welcome by a satellite of the
+hangman after an absence of eight years. Does not the poet say, _Omina
+principiis semper inesse solent_? I was very indignant, and ran to the
+eldest of the burgomasters. He pointed out to me that urgent and severe
+proceedings were necessary against the coarse licence of the students
+and others, but my case being entirely different, he promised to stay
+all proceedings.
+
+I had not said a word about the dowry, and least of all had I inquired
+as to its amount; but my sister told me that my father-in-law gave his
+daughter two hundred florins. I made no answer. My chief concern was to
+get a wife. According to my brother's calculations, one hundred marks
+yearly would suffice to keep the house. Experience told me a different
+story.
+
+I went to Stralsund for my wedding clothes and other necessary things.
+My father gave me some sable furs he had had for many years. I bought
+the cloth for the coat as well as the rest of my marriage outfit. My
+father had put in pledge the things I intended offering to my bride. I
+was obliged to redeem them. Among several other objects there was a
+piece of velvet for collarettes for my betrothed and my sister. At
+Frankfurt-on-the-Main I had bought a dagger ornamented with silver.
+Those various purchases exhausted my stock of money.
+
+Although I had invited my numerous Stralsund relatives on both sides in
+good time, only Johannes Gottschalk, my old schoolfellow and colleague
+at the chancellerie of Wolgast, came to my wedding. He made me a
+present of a golden florin of Lubeck.
+
+My marriage took place at Greifswald on February 2, 1551. As I was one
+of the last to "mount the stone," it may be interesting to give an
+account of that old custom. At three in the afternoon, and just before
+the celebration of the marriage service, the bridegroom was conducted
+to the market place between two burgomasters, or, in default of these,
+between the two most prominent wedding guests. At one of the angles of
+the place there was a square block of stone, on which the bridegroom
+took up his position, the guests ranging themselves in good order about
+fifty paces away. The pipers gave him a morning greeting lasting about
+five or six minutes, after which he resumed his place in the wedding
+procession. The purpose of the ceremony, according to tradition, was to
+give everybody an opportunity of addressing some useful remark to the
+bridegroom at that critical moment. These remarks were often more
+forcible and outspoken than flattering, and were not always
+distinguished by their strict adherence to the truth.
+
+Johannes Bunsow, the son of the burgomaster, had been a suitor for my
+wife's hand; the preliminary arrangements to the marriage were as good
+as completed, and the invitations to the betrothal festivities were
+about to be sent out when everything was broken off, in consequence of
+the exacting demands of the proud wife of the burgomaster from the
+parents of the girl. The burgomaster's wife was considerably upset
+about all this. It so happened that on the wedding-day at the breakfast
+my wife was seated between the dames Bunsow and Gruwel. My father, who
+was her cavalier, sat opposite. All at once, the burgomaster's wife
+said to the bride, "Eat, my girl, eat, for this is the happiest day of
+thy life. I had made other plans for thy happiness, but thou didst not
+fall in with them. The culprit is either thy brother or his wife. Keep
+thy husband at a distance, for if thou givest him an inch he will take
+an ell; therefore, be 'stand-offish' with him in the beginning." At
+these words Dame Gruwel exclaimed: "Good heaven, what sad advice! Make
+thy mind easy, child; there are many happy days in store for thee."
+
+Eighteen months later, as we were standing talking in the street, Peter
+and Matthew Schwarte and I, Dame Bunsow who went by, spoke to us. With
+the admirable volubility that distinguishes the women of Greifswald,
+she had a word for all of us. "Dear cousins," she said to the
+Schwartes, "how do you do? how are your wives? and how are your
+children?" Then, turning to me, "And how are you, cousin? How is your
+wife? I need not ask you about the children. You are having a good year
+of it. In these hard days one may as well save the bread." "That's
+farthest from our thoughts," I answered, "but that's because my wife is
+not 'stand-offish' enough with me." She knew what I was driving at,
+turned crimson, and went away without saying another word.
+
+A week after my marriage, on the Sunday, I returned to Stettin, as had
+been agreed upon. It was a fatiguing, not to say dangerous journey,
+because of the inundations. From the moment of my marriage the devil
+seemed to have declared war against me. It was, I suppose, his revenge
+for my having disappointed him by leaving the court, where I might have
+proved of great service. On the other hand, his Master, our Lord and
+Saviour, took me under His protection. A very heavy snowfall had been
+succeeded by a sudden thaw, the effect of a warm and continuous rain.
+As a consequence, the overflowing of banks everywhere, the mill-stream
+near Ukermuende had swept away the roadway at several spots. On the very
+day of my departure, a van laden, among other things, with a case of
+sealed letters, registers, documents and parchments, had passed that
+way, coming from Wolgast. Our travellers, knowing that they were on the
+high road, went ahead. Suddenly the horses fell into a deep rut; the
+cart was overturned, and only by a mighty effort did beasts and men
+escape drowning. They had to spend the night at Ukermuende to dry the
+letters.
+
+I came to the spot of the accident in the afternoon. I was gaily
+trotting along, for I was following the highway and the fresh traces of
+the vehicle from Wolgast. My good fortune befriended me in the shape of
+a miller's lad who was standing by the water. He called out and showed
+me a little lower down, to the right, the way to a small burgh, having
+passed which I should find a long road and a bridge, the only available
+passage left. Though night was gathering fast, I ventured into the
+sodden road, beaten by big muddy waves. My horse was soon breast deep
+in the water, the force of the current threatening at every moment to
+sweep it off its legs. The poor beast was perfectly conscious of its
+danger, and reared whenever it felt the ground slipping away. Finally,
+the journey was accomplished without serious mishap, though it was
+completely dark when I got to the inn at Ukermuende, where the
+travellers from Wolgast and the host himself could scarcely believe
+their eyes.
+
+I felt confident of having faithfully served Duke Barnim; I was,
+therefore, justified in my expectation of a princely remuneration.
+Heaven forbid that I should impute unfairness to this excellent
+gentleman, but part of the counsellors connected by birth with the
+people of Stolpe, were dissatisfied with the issue of the lawsuit,
+while others, such as Martin Weyer, had disgraced themselves by
+assisting Schwallenberg in his intrigues. In short, they discussed me
+so well that the prince only allowed me five and twenty florins as a
+gratification, while Duke Philip, whose business had not given me a
+hundredth part of the worry, presented me with five and twenty crowns.
+The court at Wolgast had waited to see what Stettin should do. Later on
+it employed me in a great many cases yielding large fees and spreading
+my name throughout the country. From Wolgast they sent me for my
+wedding a wild boar and four deer; at Stettin, the marshal told me that
+they intended to do likewise, but no one had paid any further attention
+to the matter.
+
+On returning from Stettin night overtook me on the heath. It was
+infested with wolves, boars, and other dangerous animals; moreover,
+strange apparitions and terrible noises were often seen and heard
+there. I saw nothing; I heard nothing; and, besides, felt not in the
+least afraid.
+
+I have already mentioned that the discussion with regard to the
+bishopric of Cammin had been brought before the Imperial Diet.[65]
+Canon Martin Weyer, the delegate of the chapter, was on most friendly
+terms with the Bishop of Arras; they had studied together at Bologna.
+In the course of their discussions on the subject, they put themselves
+this question: If the deposition of the bishop is to be persisted in,
+where can we find a candidate agreeable to the emperor, and not too
+antipathetic to the dukes of Pomerania? Thereupon his Grace of Arras
+conceived the idea of proposing Weyer himself. At first, the latter
+opposed the project altogether, objecting that he was not of the popish
+religion. His interlocutor assured him, however, that there was a means
+of arranging with the legate to obtain a dispensation. Briefly, when
+restored to favour, the dukes of Pomerania asked the emperor to accept
+as Bishop of Cammin Martin Weyer, their faithful subject, servitor and
+counsellor, and besides, a saintly man, almost an angel. He soon laid
+bare the bottom of his heart, _honores enim mutant mores et magistratus
+virum docet_. At the manifest instigation of the legate and of the
+Bishop of Arras, the new prelate sent his secretary to Rome to render
+homage to the pope, who afterwards granted the bulls _in optima forma_.
+
+I fancied the time had come for Martin Weyer largely to remunerate the
+services I had rendered him as his solicitor at the Imperial Chamber
+during two years, but to my written requests he answered with very bad
+grace when he answered at all. I must admit that having been for a
+twelvemonth or so Weyer's companion at Augsburg, and during the journey
+to the Low Countries, I did, perhaps, not treat him with sufficient
+ceremony according to his taste. I deemed it sufficient to address him
+as "Your Grace," without the "serenissime," and that vexed him.
+Besides, he failed to digest the defeat of Schwallenberg and his gang,
+not the least accessory to which he had been.
+
+I have seen at the chancellerie of Wolgast a missive from Weyer to Duke
+Philip couched in the following terms: "From the authentic copy
+herewith of the papal bulls, your Grace" (he did not add "serenissime")
+"will perceive that his Holiness, yielding to his inclination for my
+person even more than to your Grace's recommendation, has entrusted me
+with the spiritual government of Cammin." The affair ended in a
+convocation of one day at Cammin, where Weyer was assisted by Dr.
+Tauber, of Wittenberg, invested with the title of chancellor. It was
+positively stated that he had promised him fifteen hundred golden
+florins. I went to the convocation with the delegates of Greifswald to
+try to drag something from the new bishop, and finally, Canon von Wolde
+succeeded in getting thirty crowns for me. I had therefore an
+opportunity of witnessing a sitting of the diet.
+
+Two tables covered with black velvet cloths had been placed in the hall
+fifteen paces apart. At the one sat Duke Bogislaw, acting for himself
+and in the name of his brothers, at that time absent from the country.
+Standing before him were the Marshal Ulrich Schwerin, the Chancellor
+Citzewitz, and several counsellors and delegates of the States. The
+bishop occupied the other table, Tauber standing by his side; and in
+front the episcopal counsellors and the delegates of the chapter. Each
+party exposed at length the rights with which it was invested.
+Citzewitz having said, "The princes are lords of the chapter," Dr.
+Tauber replied, "Yes, _sed secundum quid_? His Grace," turning towards
+the bishop, "is in plenary possession of the right of administration of
+the chapter." Ulrich Schwerin, who was not well versed in letters,
+asked the meaning of _secundum quid_. "It's a term of contempt," said
+Citzewitz; "it's tantamount to saying that the dukes are princes like
+those on the playing cards." Schwerin's angry face was worth watching.
+"A plague upon the scoundrel for treating our princes like playing card
+personages." From that time Tauber was known throughout the land as the
+doctor _secundum quid_.
+
+After a most lengthy disputation, each party presented its formula for
+the convocation of the bishop to the diets and sittings. That of the
+princes was as follows:
+
+"To our venerable chief prelate, counsellor, dear and faithful Seignor
+Martin, Bishop of Cammin. Our greetings, dear, venerable and beloved!
+The welfare of our countries and of the common fatherland forbidding us
+from further delay in the convocation of a diet, we have decided to
+hold it on the ... in our city of Stettin, where we graciously request
+you to be present on the said day, to hear our intentions."
+
+As for the bishop, his formula was indited somewhat differently:
+
+"To the high and venerable in God, the Seignor Martin, Bishop of
+Cammin, our signal friend. Our friendly greeting, high and venerable in
+God, and signal friend. The welfare of our countries and of our common
+fatherland forbidding us from further delay in the convocation of a
+diet, we have decided to hold it on the ... in our city of Stettin,
+where we amicably request you to be present on the said day."
+
+I never knew the issue of the debate, and took no trouble to find out,
+as at the conclusion of the first sitting I embraced an opportunity of
+returning home by carriage. I am disposed to think that the chapter had
+better remain under the authority of the House of Pomerania. Princely
+titles are best suited to born princes; people of mediocre condition do
+not know how to bear them. They carry their heads too high, and their
+would-be magnificence exceeds all bounds.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+
+Severe Difficulties after my Marriage--My Labours and Success as a
+Law-Writer and Notary, and subsequently as a Procurator--An account of
+some of the Cases in which I was engaged
+
+
+I trust my children may be enabled to read the following attentively
+and remember the same as my justification. They will learn that I
+devoted every moment to my work, and avoided all useless expense, that
+I kept away from the tavern, went but rarely to weddings or banquets,
+and only entertained guests when not to do so would have been
+unbecoming, as, for instance, on occasions of family feasts or of civic
+repasts. It is--thanks to that retired life, scarcely diversified by
+the rare indulgence of a favourite dish washed down by a copious
+libation--that I have been enabled to amass a sufficient competence to
+make the devil and his acolytes burst with envy. Their jealousy goes as
+far as to accuse me of having arrived very poor at Stralsund, and to
+have ransomed the city, magnified my travelling expenses, and abused
+the custody of the seals. This third part of the story of my life will
+explain the origin of my fortune. Stralsund has never been instrumental
+in making my position, and I have never proved false to my oath.
+
+My monetary provision after my wedding consisted of Gottschalk's golden
+florin, hence, two florins of current coin; my savings and the
+gratifications were nothing more than a memory. I had nothing to expect
+from my father. We were in a bare and cold tenement we had rented; in
+default of a boiler my wife did the washing in an earthen jar. Without
+money and without a livelihood, I did not dare to ask my father-in-law
+for the promised two hundred florins, for he had warned me that it was
+my father's duty to begin paying up. I was obliged to listen to the
+humiliating words, "To get married without anything to live upon." My
+wife herself was getting fretful; a loaf of fine flour on our table set
+her grumbling as a luxury beyond our means. She said to her mother,
+"You did not advise me; you simply handed me over." A friend of her
+childhood, a burgomaster's daughter, had married a wealthy old man.
+Wallowing in luxury, the owner of two houses (I was his tenant), she
+overwhelmed us with jokes, and asked my wife what she intended to do
+with her swallow's tail, alluding to the sword I continued to wear.
+
+What a deplorable beginning! God's help has, nevertheless, enabled me
+to provide during the space of forty-six years for my wants and those
+of my family. It was not a small affair, considering that the
+maintenance and starting in life of my children cost more than nine
+thousand florins, and my household, one year with another, three
+hundred florins. I, moreover, own a well appointed house, and am
+enabled to live _ex fructibus pecuniae salvo capitali_, and for the
+last forty-six years could truthfully say: "I am better off to-day than
+yesterday." And I have accomplished all this with my pen. Thanks be to
+the Lord.
+
+The people of the city asked me to be their scribe. The richest grain
+merchant, a personage without merit save that of his money, dictated a
+long petition to me, intended for the sovereign. He was pleased with my
+editing and writing of it, and he asked me how much he owed me. As I
+did not care to accept any remuneration, he flung two schellings of
+Lubeck on the table, exclaiming, "Don't be an ass. Have you not got
+your paunch to fill?" From the lips of any one else this would have
+savoured of sarcasm, but that man meant no harm.
+
+The public and private courses of the _artistae, philosophi et
+jurisperiti_ of Greifswald could only be profitable to a scribe and
+notary; hence, I spent every available moment attending them. I hired a
+room in the priory building, and was there from morn till night, only
+going home to dine, and coming back immediately afterwards. My first
+clerk was the son of Master Peter Schwarz, but I could do nothing with
+him; then I took Martin Speckin, who by now is a rich young fellow. His
+Greifswald people brought him to me; part of his duty was to keep my
+room at the priory sufficiently heated, and to precede me with the
+lantern when I went out. He was a zealous servitor.
+
+Meanwhile, I incurred everybody's criticism, and my wife showed her
+displeasure pretty openly. People, she said, thought it disgraceful for
+me to return to school once more. My maternal grandmother asked me if
+as yet I had not learnt to keep a family. The remarks did not affect me
+in the least. I continued attending the lectures of Joachim Moritz, and
+day by day it appeared to me I got a better understanding of the
+practice of law. My interest in useful literature also increased day by
+day. _Crescit amor studii quantum ipsa scientia crescit_. Not less true
+did the other proverb begin to appear: _Crescit amor nummi quantum ipsa
+pecunia crescit_. I also followed the public courses of Balthazar Rau,
+to-day Dr. Rau of the _Libellus de anima_ of Philip Melanchthon. Nor
+was I ashamed to join his _discipuli privati_, to whom he expounded at
+his house the _Dialectica_ of the same author. I felt very satisfied
+with myself for doing all this, and on February 19, 1552, the Imperial
+Chamber inscribed my name on the roll of its notaries, on the
+presentation of Duke Philip.
+
+My eldest son saw the light on August 29 of the same year. The
+confinement was a most critical one, and through the midwife's
+blundering, he had a stiff neck for his life.[66] On September 1
+he was christened, and received the name of Johannes. His two
+godfathers were the burgomasters Gaspard Bunsow and Peter Gruwel,
+and his great-grandmother stood as his godmother. My eldest daughter,
+Catherine, was born on December 6, 1553, and christened the next
+day.[67]
+
+The wife of V. Prien, a daughter of the House of Maltzan, had taken
+possession of the fief of Schorsow, in virtue of the privilege accorded
+to noble damsels by the laws of Mecklenburg. When she died, and even
+before she was buried, the Maltzans of Mecklenburg violently invaded
+the fief. Joachim Maltzan, of Osten and of Nerung, who had helped his
+cousins by sending them reinforcements, was cited before the Imperial
+Chamber, in _poenam fractae pacis_. As he was most uneasy about the
+issue of the suit, Dr. B. vom Walde and Chancellor Citzewitz advised
+him to send me to Spires provided with counsel's opinion of Joachim
+Moritz. I complied with their wish, though the journey was exceedingly
+inconvenient to me. Joachim Maltzan provided me with two completely
+equipped horses, and the necessary funds; the chancellor and the doctor
+promised me a handsome gratification at my return. Instead of a
+servant, I took my brother Christian, and we started on the Sunday of
+Quasimodo (the Sunday after Easter). At Spires I fully instructed both
+procurator and advocate. The document drawn up by Moritz elicited their
+praise. They had no idea of the existence on the shores of the Baltic
+of a lawyer of that merit. They soon considered their client as being
+out of his difficulties, and, my mind at rest, I set out for my return
+journey to Pomerania.
+
+I got there at Whitsuntide. When sending back the horses to Maltzan, I
+added my report, which put an end to his anxiety, and at the same time
+forwarded an account of my expenses day by day, the price of each meal,
+etc., leaving him to decide the amount of my honorarium. Well, the
+moment he felt reassured, Maltzan did not show the least inclination to
+settle with me; on the contrary, he accused me of having been too
+lavish. "Look at the fellow, and then consider the copious meals he
+took. May all the evils of Job befall thee." That was his favourite
+objurgation. In vain did I call to my aid the two counsellors who, as
+it were, had forced my hand. Maltzan turned a deaf ear to all my
+requests. At the beginning he would have given hundreds to get over his
+difficulties, but now he sang out, "I have broken the rope, and I do
+not care."
+
+He was very rich, but very mean and coarse beyond description. One
+night at Wolgast, I saw him send his hose at bedtime to be repaired.
+When early next morning the tailor brought the garment back, he asked a
+florin for his work. Maltzan refused to give more than a schelling, and
+overwhelmed the poor wretch with curses. The latter had, however, to
+take what he could get. Maltzan, who could neither write nor read, was
+obliged to have a secretary, but in consequence of his avarice, he had
+to be content with mediocre individuals. Dr. Gentzkow found him one who
+was satisfied with earning his food and a small salary. After a couple
+of years, during which his master had dragged him about with him to
+Rostock and elsewhere, everybody knew him as Maltzan's servant. He knew
+all Maltzan's investments, as well as the dates of his revenues being
+due; it was he who stored away the money in linen bags. "Put a hundred
+crowns into each bag, and place them in a line," said Maltzan. "In that
+way, I can see at a glance where I am; ten bags make a thousand
+crowns." One fine morning the secretary stamped a blank sheet of paper
+with the seal of his employer, departed for Rostock, took on credit at
+the ordinary tradesman's as much velvet, satin and damask as he could
+conveniently carry away, filled in the blank sheet in his master's
+name, then returned and took from each bag only ten crowns in order to
+dissimulate his theft. After that he went collecting the outstanding
+debts, farmers' and tenants' rents, etc., and disappeared with a sum
+sufficient to remunerate a good secretary for a decade of years or
+more. Maltzan himself had the annoyance of having to make good the
+merchant's losses. He had never been married, and his property,
+amounting to a hundred thousand golden florins, fell to two cousins,
+who spent it in feasting, swilling, and riotous living. One died
+burdened with debt; the other is alive, but in a similar position.
+Ill-gotten goods do not last.
+
+The only means of bringing Maltzan to book seemed to me to inform the
+Spires procurator of everything, and to ask him to write to Maltzan
+that he was going to lose his case in default of some documents that
+had remained in my possession. Duke Philip immediately recommended me
+to hand them over on the penalty of being held responsible for all the
+damages that might accrue. I promptly replied that I would bring them
+into court, where I should have the honour of presenting my respects to
+Signor Maltzan, and to claim at the same time the salary due to me.
+This had the effect of making the generous gentleman swear like a devil
+incarnate, to the vast joy and diversion of the prince and the
+counsellors, who took great pleasure in pouring oil upon the flames.
+Maltzan was obliged to count out to me there and then a hundred crowns,
+which was much more than I had originally asked, and he received,
+besides, a severe reprimand. My energy in the matter was fully
+acknowledged, and they added: "If ever we should ask you a similar
+service, you may refuse to render it without the fear of displeasing
+us."
+
+The sacristan of Mueggenwald committed homicide. The lord of the manor,
+who wished to get him out of the trouble, entrusted the case to me. A
+relative of the victim had retained Dr. Nicholas Gentzkow and Christian
+Smiterlow for the prosecution. I obtained a verdict for the accused.
+
+Dr. Johannes Knipstrow having announced from the pulpit, in the name
+and by order of the prince, that Master J. Runge was going to succeed
+him in the office of superintendent, the Greifswald council considered
+the nomination as an infringement of its rights. Its _syndicus_ at
+Stralsund, Dr. Gentzkow, formulated before me, a public notary convened
+for the purpose, both a verbal and written protest, of the latter of
+which I delivered a duly executed duplicate to the council of
+Greifswald, the legitimate charge for the same being three crowns.
+
+Bartholomew, of Greifswald, a most intelligent, but also an exceedingly
+depraved goldsmith, had established himself at Stralsund with his
+son-in-law, Nicholas Schladenteuffel. As their expenditure exceeded
+their income, Bartholomew made counterfeit coin, Lubeck, Rostock,
+Wismar and Stralsund currency. The schellings supposed to issue from
+the latter city's mint contained nothing but copper. By means of some
+tartaric composition he made them look so wonderfully like silver as to
+deceive everybody. In a very short time both the city and the country
+were inundated with this spurious coin, for Nicholas made large
+purchases of cattle for the slaughter-houses. Finally, in September
+1552, when the farmers and peasantry came to pay their rent, the
+suspicions of the ducal land-steward were aroused, and the fraud
+discovered. The witnesses' depositions pointing unanimously to a
+cattle-dealer of Stralsund, the prince wrote to the council, asking it
+if they struck money of that description. At that very time
+Schladenteuffel was going his business rounds. Warning was given, and
+one morning, when he came back to the city with some cattle, he was
+apprehended and taken to prison, where his wife and five accomplices
+promptly joined him. Among the latter there was one of the vicious
+sedition-mongers mentioned in the first part of my recollections,
+namely, Nicholas Knigge. He was, in reality, the leader of the gang; he
+furnished both the copper and the silver, and he found an outlet in
+Sweden for sham silver, spoons, goblets, jugs, etc. Dr. Gentzkow, whose
+daughter he had married, had his sentence changed to one of lifelong
+banishment. Bartholomew, although the people who came to arrest him
+were close upon his heels, managed to escape.
+
+In the Semmlow Strasse there lived a very rich merchant named C.
+Middleburgh. His sordid avarice kept him away from church. On the other
+hand, he carried on an extensive and harmful traffic. He exported
+Bogislaw schillings and other good coin; he also got hold of gold and
+silver pieces, and clipped those that appeared to him to be overweight.
+In spite of this, he did not benefit by his wealth. One day he took the
+Rostock coach, but instead of coming down at midday to dine with the
+other travellers, he had a sleep. When the company returned and while
+the ostler put in the horses, he asked the price of the meal. He was
+told it was two schellings. "Very well," he said; "I have earned two
+schellings by going to sleep." He was always ready to lend money on
+silver plate--of course at high interest. He lived and scraped money
+for many, many years. His widow continued his trafficking; she was,
+however, less cautious, and fell into the hands of scoundrels, who
+reduced her to beggary.
+
+To come back to Middelburg. On October 28, 1552, at two in the
+afternoon, he found himself in possession of a big cask containing
+twelve barrels of gunpowder of twenty-four pounds each; hence in all
+weighing two hundred and eighty-eight pounds. Close to the cask there
+sat a young servant weaving some kind of woollen lace, and, as it was
+very cold, she had a small stove filled with charcoal under her feet.
+At that moment there appeared upon the scene old Tacke and made a
+payment of a hundred Bogislaw schellings, which, having been carefully
+counted by Middelburg, were left on the table while he went to the
+stable for a moment. During his short absence, the servant stirs the
+incandescent charcoal, a spark of which falls on the floor and ignites
+the grains of powder; the house and the next to it are blown up; walls,
+beams, rafters come crashing down with a horrible noise. The city
+imagines that the end of the world has arrived. Of the young girl
+herself they found a foot here, an arm there, a leg elsewhere, and
+fragments of flesh pretty well everywhere. It was never known what had
+become of the hundred schellings that were lying on the table or of the
+furniture. One servant-girl was dug out from the ruins without a hurt;
+she was more fortunate than the brother-in-law of the burgomaster of
+Riga. They managed to drag him out by sawing some rafters beneath which
+he was buried, but he died of his wounds on the third day. Two
+children, though stark dead when picked up, still held a slice of bread
+and butter in their tiny hands. Three persons from the country, a
+mother and daughter and the latter's intended husband, who had stopped
+before the house to make some purchases for their new home, were killed
+outright on the spot. There were in all seven people killed. The
+neighbours brought an action against Middelburg which he had to settle.
+Even as far as the Passen-strasse my father had the window of his
+entrance hall broken; the stove in one of the upper rooms cracked and
+could never be used again; a hook used for hanging the salmon to be
+smoked, and belonging to Middelburg, was found in the gutter on our
+roof.
+
+The advice of some well-meaning people, and ever growing necessity
+caused me to make up my mind to practise as procurator at the Aulic
+Court of Wolgast, though Counsellor Joachim Moritz, who boarded with my
+uncle, tried to dissuade me. As a professor of law at Greifswald, a
+jurisconsult of the court, and an assessor of the tribunal, he had had
+some close experience of the idiocy, the ignorance, and the underhand
+methods of my future colleagues. "_Procuratorum officium vilissimum
+est_," he said to me. In fact, with the exception of Dr. Picht, the
+procurators were but little versed _in grammatica vel jure_. When their
+dean, who was a judge at Brandenburg, and a Mecklenburg counsellor,
+came up for his degree of _licenctia juris_ at Rostock, he referred to
+an insolvent litigant, "_Non est solvendus_," which provoked the
+repartee of the promoter: "_Recte dicit dominus licentiandus, quia non
+est ligatus_."
+
+One day at Rostock we happened to take our dinner at the same table
+with this procurator and the burgomaster of Brandenburg who, however,
+was fairly well versed in the _grammatica_. The conversation turned on
+a witch who was in prison at Brandenburg, and who professed to be
+pregnant by the devil. The burgomaster having put the question, "_Quod
+diabolus cum muliere rem habere et impregnare eam posset?_" Our
+licentiate replied without wincing: "_Imo possibile est, nam diabolus
+furat semen a viribus et perfert ad mulieribus_."
+
+Simon Telchow, another procurator, for a long while master auditor at
+Eldenow, and who was married to a damsel of noble birth, after having
+set up as a brewer at Greifswald, had "to shut up" shop and come back
+to his pen. Having contracted at court a taste for drink, he never went
+to bed without being "muddled." As a matter of course, he was not very
+matutinal. He, moreover, only practised _pro nudo procuratore_, and his
+clients had to provide themselves with an advocate. _In causis
+mandatorum_, when the _mandatarii_ eluded execution, Telchow asked for
+an _arctiorem mandatum_. Sworn procurators there were none in those
+days, and as the procedure in general was oral, any one endowed with
+the "gift of the gab" could present himself at the bar. Since then
+things have changed to the glory of the prince and the advantage of
+litigants.
+
+The experience I had gained at Spires was most useful to me in my new
+career. The judges, the chancellor, and the litigants themselves seemed
+to listen to me with pleasure; nay, this or that party who had not
+entrusted me with his cause, made me, nevertheless, accept his money,
+because he wished to retain my services, if the occasion required, or,
+at any rate, deprive his opponent of them. People came to fetch me from
+the country with chariot and horses to mediate between them. I was
+brought back in the same manner, and each time, besides the hard cash I
+received, I was laden with all kinds of provisions, hares, shoulders of
+mutton, haunches of venison or of wild boar, magnificent hams, quarters
+of bacon, butter, cheese, and eggs by the dozen, bundles upon bundles
+of flax. My reception at home may be easily imagined. There was no
+longer any risk of hearing the sad complaint, "Mother, you did not
+advise me; you simply handed me over."
+
+Peter Thun, of Schleminn, a violent-tempered man, and but too prompt to
+fire a shot or to draw the sword, was at constant loggerheads with his
+neighbour Ber. They were joint owners of a nice pond. Ber claimed the
+exclusive enjoyment of the half adjoining his estate, and which also
+happened to be the better stocked with fish. Thun, on the other hand,
+maintained that the whole of the pond was joint property. Ber having
+planted hemp along the common road, Thun sent his cattle to graze
+there, and went himself on horseback so that his mount might trample
+the plant down. Finally, a lot of peasants went under the personal
+command of Thun to Ber's windmill, and promptly sapped its foundations,
+so that it came down with a crash. Naturally, the law is set in motion.
+Thun is condemned to indemnify Ber _constrictibus_; then comes an
+appeal to the Imperial Chamber, which upholds the first verdict with
+_executoriales cum refusione expensarum_; the total amounting to about
+nine hundred florins.
+
+Puffed up with his success and purse-proud besides, Ber applauded each
+scurvy trick his people played his enemy. Thun, on the other hand, was
+not a man to be played with. One of Ber's servants (in fact, his
+illegitimate son, a young, brazen and robust fellow), finally assailed
+Thun. The latter stood his ground valiantly, but his affrighted wife
+seized his arm; the bastard's sword went right through him. Thun's only
+heir was his nephew, a minor, the succession was most involved, and its
+liquidation cost me a great deal of trouble and a number of fatiguing
+journeys. My honorarium was fixed at twenty florins per annum. I only
+took ten from the minor, because I never returned from Schleminn
+empty-handed. Later on, his guardians made it up to me in presents of
+money and in kind; they provided for my building operations splendid
+oaks, which made magnificent joists. In sum, this affair yielded a good
+three hundred crowns to me.
+
+H. Smeker, of Wuestenfeld, was a character who ruined himself in
+litigation and in building. He left this or that structure which was
+ready to be roofed in to be spoilt by the rain or the snow, after which
+he had it completely razed to the ground. A Mecklenburger named
+Negendanck was, it would appear, one of his important creditors. To get
+his claim settled he employed a means rather common in his country. One
+night he arrived at Wuestenfeld at the head of a troop of armed
+horsemen. Smeker was asleep in his room, and his wife, who had just
+been brought to bed, lay in an adjoining closet. Lievetzow, her
+brother, a handsome young fellow, had been accommodated with a room
+near the drawbridge. Negendanck, swearing and bellowing, orders the
+bridge to be lowered. Lievetzow, in his shirt, issues from his room and
+tries to appease him by informing him of the condition of his sister.
+Negendanck replies with a shot which kills the defenceless and
+scantily-dressed stripling on the spot. Then, taking the passage by
+storm, he gets as far as the invalid's room, lays his hand upon
+everything, shatters the silver chest, which he knew where to find,
+takes whatever he likes, and finally drags the body of her brother to
+the foot of the sister's bed. Smeker, who had been awakened by the
+noise, had taken flight in his nightgown. Knowing the moat to be
+fordable, he had crossed it with the water shoulders high, and after
+making for the stables, had taken refuge in a kind of bog inaccessible
+to the horsemen. Negendanck took all the horses and cattle away with
+him.
+
+Naturally, the Imperial Chamber was finally called upon to try the
+affair. A rule having been granted to prove his allegations, Smeker
+came to Greifswald to enlist my services. He was an old man with a grey
+head and short beard; a fluffy white gown with large pleats and black
+girdle reached to his feet. In short, the feathers pretty well
+indicated the nature of the bird. I had so often heard them call out at
+Spires, "Smoker _contra_ Negendanck," "the Duke Heindrich of
+Mecklenburg _contra_ Heindrich Smoker," as to make the name familiar to
+me. To my question if he was the identical Smoker, he replied in a
+surly tone, "My name is Smeker, not Smoker."
+
+He produced a host of witnesses, many of whom lived in outlying regions
+of Pomerania or Mecklenburg; their hearing involved constant
+travelling. Smeker would have never got out of the difficulty by
+himself, in consequence of his want of ready money. The moment he found
+himself in possession of some, he got hold of the horse of one of his
+peasantry as if to ride to the nearest village, and never drew rein
+until he got to Spires. If, during his journey, the money ran short, he
+borrowed from people who all knew him and were sure of being repaid by
+his son Mathias. Not only did he pay nothing to his procurator, Dr.
+Schwartzenberg, but the latter had to feed him, to advance the
+chancellery fees, and to look to his return journey. Mathias, on the
+other hand, was most open-handed. His secretary, who came to Greifswald
+in order to watch the proceedings, lavished claret wine and tarts on
+the commissaries, and even sent some to my wife. Each session was worth
+from between fifty to seventy crowns to me. That secretary appreciated
+my trouble like a true expert. Said inquiry brought me about two
+hundred and fifty crowns.
+
+On the occasion of a suit before the Imperial Chamber, and in which
+little Heindrich gained the day against big Heindrich--that was the
+designation of Smeker respectively of himself and his adversary--the
+Duke of Mecklenburg, the latter carried off all Smeker's sheep. Among
+the flock there was an old ram, accustomed to get a bit of bread at
+meal times from his master's hands. The animals either escaped, or
+perhaps the duke had them driven back to Wuestenfeld. At any rate, the
+ram appeared at the head of the flock, its appetite sharpened by the
+march, and, moreover, fond of bread, ran towards the table. No sooner
+did Smiterlow catch sight of it than he got up, doffed his hat, and
+bade it welcome. "What an agreeable surprise!" he exclaimed. "_Bene
+veneritis!_ The soup of princes is not to thy taste, it appears,
+inasmuch as thou comest back already." But Smeker caught at the chance
+of another lawsuit at Spires which brought me twenty crowns.
+
+His son and his son-in-law, who did their best to save the considerable
+paternal fortune, hit upon the idea to credit the suzerain, Duke
+Heindrich, with the intention of retiring the fiefs. Starting from that
+gratuitous supposition, they pointed out to the old man that the
+journeys to Spires became more and more difficult to him; that,
+moreover, he incurred the risk of being dispossessed, and that, in such
+a case, his son would have the greatest possible trouble to be
+reinstated. What, on the other hand, could be more simple than the
+averting of the blow by a pretended renunciation in favour of Mathias?
+He, the father, would take up his quarters for some time in a house
+close by, which he liked very much; he should always come and take his
+meals with his sons, or merely eat and drink there when he liked; they
+would give him a young, nice and bright peasant girl to take care of
+him, for in spite of his age he refused to dispense with female
+company. Heindrich Smeker, having been prevailed upon, signed an act
+duly engrossed on vellum, which the principal county gentlemen of
+Mecklenburg attested with their seals, and to which Duke Heindrich
+promptly affixed his ratification.
+
+When the old man's eyes opened to the deception it was too late. He was
+furious, and accused his son of having enacted the traitor to him,
+calling him all kind of names. Then he begged of me to bring the affair
+before the Imperial Chamber, but I had an excellent excuse for
+refusing, as I was only a notary. His robust constitution enabled him
+to make another journey to Spires--on a cart-horse as usual. Having
+been politely bowed out by Dr. Schwartzenberg, he simply wasted his
+breath with the other procurators--all of whom knew him. Finally,
+Schwartzenberg gave him the money to go home. Like a dutiful son,
+Mathias loyally kept his promise and showed his father every attention
+and consideration. He invited his father to his table or had his meals
+taken to him. He sent him beer and wine, and there was always a capital
+bed at his disposal when the fancy took him to lay at his former
+domicile. It was the sweetest existence imaginable, but the
+administration of his property was denied to him.
+
+The worshipful council of Rostock having been cited before the Imperial
+Chamber by the kindred of an individual named Von der Luehe, who had
+been beheaded for highway robbery, the commissaries entrusted with the
+case took me as their notary in the inquiry made at Rostock, and as
+delegate notary in the inquiry set on foot by the plaintiffs. The
+_attestationes_ and the _sententia definitiva_ conclusively proved my
+assiduity in the matter; hence my honorarium amounted to four hundred
+crowns, _plus_ a present in silver worth fifty crowns.
+
+The counsellor Anthony Drache, a most pious gentleman, had only one
+brother who was drowned and left no issue. Drache pretended to reduce
+the widow's share, in accordance with the feudal laws of Pomerania; but
+besides his fiefs or hereditary tenures of land, the deceased possessed
+considerable property, the dividing of which was to be effected
+according to the urban or local statutes. Duke Philip, of blessed
+memory, having carried the affair into court, the trustee of the widow
+confided the case to me. I worked it up very conscientiously, assisted
+as I was by my particular studies, by the courses I had followed of
+Joachim Moritz and other professors at Greifswald, and finally by my
+private consultations with Moritz, who was good enough to give me his
+directions _in specie_. I had a verdict on all counts, though Dr.
+Gentzkow was on the other side, which, moreover, could count on the
+sympathy of the judges and even of the prince. This success had the
+effect of spreading my name throughout the land, and it prompted Dr.
+Gentzkow to propose my appointment as secretary to the council of
+Stralsund. My client gave me twenty crowns, a quantity of butter and a
+flitch of bacon.
+
+Chancellor Citzewitz took me with him to Stettin, and afterwards to
+Stargardt to assist him in a personal lawsuit. There was no question of
+honorarium, for we were both of opinion that his kindness to me
+warranted such gratuitous service.
+
+In 1553 the Owstin family had a lengthy lawsuit with reference to a
+village which Citzewitz finally took away from them. In my capacity of
+notary to the Owstins, I received forty crowns for my work. When
+Valentin von Eichstadt, the new chancellor, married his daughter to an
+Owstin, he bore his predecessor a grudge for his success in the matter.
+Meanwhile, the grand marshal of the court of Wolgast, Ulrich Schwerin,
+became involved in litigation with Dr. B. vom Walde; the latter and
+Citzewitz took sides against Schwerin and Eichstadt, and each tried to
+harm the other as much as possible. Duke Ernest Louis intervened. The
+report of his displeasure was maliciously exaggerated. In a fit of
+despair Citzewitz stabbed himself to death.
+
+J. vom Kalen, at that time high bailiff of Ruegen (although he could
+neither read nor write), had sentenced an individual for having caught
+a small fish in the stream flowing past his garden. The angler appealed
+against the sentence, probably at the instigation of expert people,
+wishing to do the bailiff a good turn. The latter had entrusted the
+affair to me, merely saying that when I got to Wolgast I should get to
+know what it was "all about"; but when I presented myself and obtained
+communication of the documents, I declined to move in the matter. I
+nevertheless considered myself entitled to the three crowns I had
+received as a deposit; besides, they were not claimed.
+
+The city of Pasewalk had to stand the brunt of a man named Fuerstenberg,
+who, because matters did not always proceed according to his wishes,
+had renounced his citizenship. Not satisfied with that, he one night
+nailed to the post before the city gates a placard threatening to set
+fire to the place. He was almost as good as his word, for he set fire
+to several barns outside the walls. He was arrested at Lebus, and
+confined in the tower of the castle. The duke chose me to assist the
+two counsellors entrusted with the prosecution by the authorities of
+Pasewalk. The prisoner was put to the rack in our presence, judged the
+next day, and beheaded by the sword. To our great surprise the council
+allowed us to depart without offering the smallest present. On the
+other hand, the duke sent to my home two measures of rye, worth at that
+time about ten florins.
+
+Holste, the governor of the convent of Puddegla, an eccentric and even
+dangerous young man, came to Greifswald to entrust me with his law
+affairs. He promised to remunerate me largely, and as an earnest gave
+me ten crowns. Shortly afterwards he had a difference with the duke,
+who had him confined to his quarters, but I succeeded in settling the
+affair to the satisfaction of both. My client was short of money for
+the time being, but the convent of Puddegla is situated on the banks of
+a beautiful lake teeming with fish (as a rule monks are not in the
+habit of choosing the worst spots). There was an abundance of enormous
+cray-fish, of various kinds of perch, of breams an ell long, of fat
+eels, of carp as black as soot and having only one eye, the fat and
+flesh having closed the other; they were indeed fit for a king's table.
+Holste filled my conveyance with victuals of that description, and I
+was glad to cry quits with him for some time to come.
+
+It was well I felt so disposed, for in a short time he got another
+affair on his hands. At first he thought that the advice of his
+maternal uncle George vom Kalen, and three captains from Ruegen would be
+sufficient to settle matters, and as a matter of course he invited them
+to his small property at Wusterhausen, where he filled them with food
+and drink night and day. It was all in vain; their brain refused to
+suggest a way out of the difficulty except that he should send for me,
+which recommendation he followed. I drew up a humble petition to the
+duke. As I intended to leave early the next morning, Holste gave me six
+crowns, for the liquor that was in him already rendered him more
+generous than usual and than there was any occasion, considering the
+state of his revenues.
+
+The gentlemen caroused till deep into the night, for long after I had
+retired I was awakened by George vom Kalen steadying himself by
+grasping my pillow. He came to propose to me to transact his law
+business for the future. As I was by no means anxious for that
+practice, I declined, though in most guarded terms. Notwithstanding
+this refusal, my interlocutor drew three crowns from his wallet, and
+slipped them into my purse, which he took from under my pillow. His two
+companions follow his example, and present me each with two crowns. In
+vain do I point out to them that I cannot accept what I have not
+earned, and I take the seven coins from my purse to hand them back.
+Thereupon George vom Kalen tells me plainly that if I persist in
+refusing this money, he will flay me alive as I am lying there. Knowing
+the people with whom I had to deal, I deemed it more prudent to listen
+no longer to my scruples. The company resumed their drinking, and by
+the time I was back at Greifswald with my thirteen crowns in my pocket,
+they were probably still snoring stretched under the table.
+
+A small farmer had got his step-daughter with child. When the truth
+leaked out, the girl's mother moved heaven and earth to shield her
+husband from the death penalty by flight. As for her daughter, her only
+child, to fling her upon the world in that condition was exposing her
+to disgrace, to starvation, and perhaps to everlasting punishment. At
+the request of some friends, I personally went to Wolgast and presented
+a petition to be handed immediately to the prince. After considerable
+waiting, I saw him come out of his apartment. "Why does this woman
+speak of her daughter and not of her husband?" he asked. "Because he
+has taken flight," I answered; "besides, considering the heinousness of
+the crime, she is afraid that to mention him will not avail much." "You
+lawyers," retorted his Highness, "you have a way of presenting things,
+of polishing and whitening the most atrocious and blackest horrors. It
+really requires some experience to determine whether your petitions are
+compatible either with law, equity, or religion. I am bound to remember
+that God has entrusted me with the punishment of gross and impious
+excesses. I shall not decide upon this case to-day, but think it over."
+These are the words of a just, but nevertheless merciful prince, and
+the petitioner had the proof of it.
+
+Michael Hovisch, the son of poor peasants, had been brought up from his
+earliest years in town, put to school, and then into a business
+establishment. He succeeded in gaining the confidence of his employers,
+who sent him to Sweden and Denmark. Gradually he began to operate on
+his own account. Modest in behaviour, neat, and even elegant in
+appearance, he could aspire to a good match. Meanwhile Captain Dechow
+took it into his head to claim him for gratuitous and enforced
+seignorial labour. An old ducal farm had to be rebuilt. In vain did
+Hovisch offer a considerable sum instead. Dechow resolved to constrain
+him by imprisonment. He was a relentless despot, who tried to make
+himself conspicuous by oppressing the peasantry and, wherever it could
+be done, also the urban populations. Hovisch was compelled to take
+flight. At the request of some personages whom I was anxious to oblige,
+and being moreover strongly interested in the young fellow himself, I
+personally presented to Duke Philip a petition in which the vexatious
+proceedings of the captain were set forth at length. I defy people to
+guess the prince's reply. Here it is: "That my subjects load thee with
+butter, eggs, cheese, poultry, geese, sheep and the rest, is all very
+well, nay, perfect in its way," he said. "Take my word for it, though,"
+he went on, "that I can manage to govern them rightly enough with the
+assistance of my captain without your meddling." I told Citzewitz
+plainly that if the oppressed were thus deprived of their right of
+humble petition there was "no saying" how things would end. "Dechow,"
+remarked Citzewitz, "is an arbitrary, hasty brute, but he has managed
+to ingratiate himself with the duke. Fortunately, his Highness has been
+warned. I'll recur to the subject when I get an opportunity; there must
+be a change." Dechow left Wolgast for Lubeck, where the people soon got
+tired of him. Michael Hovisch was never again heard of. It was the last
+time I took it into my head to present a petition, and especially to
+wait for its answer.
+
+To sum up, in the space of two years, the occupation of procurator,
+and, above all, of notary, brought me eleven hundred and four and
+twenty crowns in hard cash.
+
+_Magister_ J. Schoenefeld acted as notary in four cases before the
+court presided over by Dr. von Walde. Duke Philip was the plaintiff. As
+it happened, Schoenefeld was too old to proceed energetically; the
+going from "pillar to post" frightened him; besides, people had become
+more exacting. He therefore decided upon handing his documents over to
+me, and they contained several interesting items. The prince, for
+instance, summoned Lutke Maltzan to prove his right to the fiefs of
+Sarow, Gantzkendorf, and Carin. Maltzan declined, pleading prescription
+in virtue of thirty years' possession. The fiefs in question had
+belonged to Jacob Voss, nephew and ward of Berendt Maltzan, surnamed
+"the Bad." (Berckmann and other historians amply explain the reasons
+for the sobriquet.) The uncle having advanced two hundred or three
+hundred florins on the lands of his nephew, persuaded the latter to go
+to the war with a couple or so of horses. He made sure of never
+beholding him again. Jacob Voss, a model of honour and courage,
+distinguished himself in many a campaign, and the esteem in which he
+was held by all enabled him to borrow the necessary sum to redeem the
+paternal property. He gave notice to Berendt Maltzan of his intention
+to refund the money at the new year, and at the appointed time he
+arrived at his uncle's--a fortified domicile, most appropriate to his
+brigandage, rapine and exactions. For several days Maltzan loaded him
+with kindness, they drank together, played cards and diced; in short,
+honest Jacob Voss, instead of redeeming his lands, lost the borrowed
+money.
+
+His despair and his thirst for vengeance prompted him to extreme
+measures, and with a servant expressly engaged for the purpose, he
+several times set fire to his former possessions. Thereupon his uncle
+enjoined his tenants to proceed to his nephew's capture. One Sunday
+Voss and his companion having fallen asleep in the wood near
+Gantzkendorf, which they intended to burn down that night, were
+discovered by a little dog of some peasants gathering nuts; and not
+later than the Monday following Berendt Maltzan had the son of his
+sister "racked" alive. During the journey Jacob Voss apostrophized the
+tenants at labour by their names. "Johannes, Peter, Nicholas," he
+exclaimed, "can you understand this horrible and ignominious death for
+claiming my own property?"
+
+To come back to the suit of the prince against Maltzan. The judge sent
+the document to the faculty of law at Leipzig, which asked an
+honorarium of forty crowns. Its decision, the seal of which was broken
+in the presence of the parties as represented by their counsel and read
+there and then, concluded in favour of Maltzan, to the great vexation
+of the ducal advisers, Chancellor Citzewitz severely reprimanding Dr.
+von Walde for not having opened the reply in order to amend it. An
+appeal was entered at the Imperial Chamber, and the case only ended
+several years after my establishment at Stralsund. The parties paid me
+more than one thousand crowns.
+
+Towards 1542 a Dane said to Christopher von der Lanckin, of Ruegen, that
+the willow bow-nets for the catching of fish in the Danish fashion
+would be more profitable to him than two big houses he had at
+Stralsund. In fact from the time two of those contrivances arrived,
+Christopher, who had been very hampered in money matters, settled his
+debts very quickly. Struck with the result, two notable burghers of
+Stralsund, namely councillor Conrad Oseborn and Olof Lorbeer, the son
+of the burgomaster, went into partnership with some of their kindred,
+and promptly exploited the invention. The new nets, though, in
+consequence of their size, obstructed the entrance to the streams; the
+fish no longer passed, and it meant ruin to the inhabitants of the
+interior. There were protests on all sides. Duke Philip wrote to
+Stralsund; the council replied ironically that fish not being taken by
+hand, everybody was free to ply for it as he liked. An inquiry was set
+on foot, the prince prohibited the big bow-nets, and had those
+belonging to Lorbeer seized. Thereupon the whole gang began to shout
+that the liberties of the city were in peril, a galley was fitted out
+to guard the nets, and finally, Stralsund resorted to law.
+
+If, in taking the succession of Schoenefeld, I had suspected my
+countrymen of being so unreasonable as they were in this instance, I
+should certainly have declined the brief, albeit that my presence
+counterbalanced the hostility of the inquiring magistrate. In his
+examination C. von der Lanckin stated loyally that from his point of
+view, the Danish bow-nets were excellent, inasmuch as they had enabled
+him to pay his debts, but that on his faith and honour of a gentleman
+the new contrivance would ruin the country. The deposition of the
+fishermen was very clear: "Whosoever will rid us of those nets will no
+longer need to go to church or to say Paters. We ask for nothing else
+from heaven from morn till night."
+
+In spite of everything, Stralsund persisted in its wrong. Finally, on
+the opinion of counsel and the verdict of September 28, 1554, the duke
+gained his cause, and the city was condemned in costs. On the spur of
+the moment the council wanted to lodge an appeal, but it thought the
+better of it. The suit had lasted twelve years, and had bred between
+the two parties a feeling of misunderstanding which only vanished with
+the death of the prince. As there had been two hundred and fifty
+witnesses, the six hundred crowns I received in fees was, I take it,
+not an excessive remuneration.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+The Greifswald Council appoints me the City's Secretary--Delicate
+Mission to Stralsund--Burgomaster Christopher Lorbeer and his
+Sons--Journey to Bergen--I settle at Stralsund
+
+
+The Greifswald magistrates, who had the opportunity of seeing me daily
+at work, gradually arrived at the conclusion that I could not be
+altogether devoid of merit, considering that highly placed personages
+and even the prince himself entrusted me with important affairs.
+Schoenefeld, being no longer up to the standard required, they offered
+me his charge on the condition of my completely relinquishing my
+practice as procurator. In consequence of this, on December 29, 1554, I
+was appointed secretary to the city of Greifswald.
+
+[Illustration: View of Stralsund. _From an old Print_.]
+
+The first burgomaster of Stralsund, Christopher Lorbeer, had two sons,
+who spent their time in the chase, in the taverns, and at the brilliant
+receptions of the nobility and of the opulent burgher class. They took
+it for granted that they might do anything they liked, and operated
+with dogs and nets on Greifswald territory. It so happened, though,
+that several young nobles and rich burghers of the latter town had
+excellent packs of hounds, and were, in consequence, often invited by
+the prince. As a matter of course, they objected to this poaching on
+the part of the Lorbeers. One day the two parties came face to face,
+and the attitude of the Greifswald people caused the others to face
+about and to abandon their nets. As a balm to their wounded pride, the
+Lorbeers, lying in ambush at the inn at Testenhagen, assailed pistol in
+hand a carter from Greifswald, maltreated him, and finally carried off
+his best horse. The Greifswald council wrote to Stralsund in the most
+measured terms, as ought to be done among neighbours. The reply was
+supercilious, and couched in most intemperate terms. I was, therefore,
+instructed to draw up an appeal to the duke. The moment was
+unquestionably exceedingly well chosen, considering the behaviour of
+Stralsund in the matter of the bow-nets. And although the reports of
+that lawsuit were as yet not published, I was familiar with them, and
+had no difficulty in conceiving the irritation of the prince against
+the Lorbeers. I nevertheless disadvised having recourse to his
+intervention; I deemed it more prudent to go to Stralsund and discuss
+the matter.
+
+The moment I had presented my credentials the Stralsund council met in
+solemn assembly. One of them received me most graciously, and
+introduced me. Burgomaster Lorbeer's polite anxiety to make room for me
+on the bench of the council showed to me his secret hope of seeing me
+betray the interests of my clients, and of metaphorically falling at
+his feet. After the usual civilities, I pointed out to the meeting the
+seriousness of the case, going fully into the facts in a firm and
+perhaps somewhat plain language, reminding them of the Imperial
+"orders" with regard to the preservation of the public peace. Nor did I
+scruple to represent, as a good neighbour ought to have done, the
+danger of obstinacy, above all with a prince who was already more or
+less displeased.
+
+I could read the exoneration for this bold speech on many a
+countenance, but Christopher Lorbeer and his staunch adherents, who
+were not accustomed to hear the truth to their faces, turned colour;
+their hitherto affable looks changed into scowls, and the burgomaster,
+beside himself with anger, rose and said: "Thou art too eager to break
+thy first lance. I beg to submit that this man be strictly watched."
+"And clapped into gaol if necessary," I retorted. Thereupon Lorbeer
+walked out, and I was dismissed without being reconducted as I had been
+introduced. In a little while, word was sent that the affair requiring
+further examination, the answer would be communicated later on. A
+couple of hours afterwards Dr. Gentzkow, the syndic, sent for me to
+come to the St. Nicholas' Church. "I am obliged to admit," he said,
+"that your language was justified in law as in fact, but Master
+Christopher has taken mortal offence at it, inasmuch as he is not
+accustomed to have people adopt this tone with him, or to hear himself
+and his sons taxed with disturbing the public peace. He can do you a
+great deal of good or a great deal of harm. His influence, both in the
+city and in the country, is immense. In short, if the council have
+rightly interpreted your message, the Greifswald folk desire to
+terminate this affair in a friendly manner; very well, let us appoint a
+day at Reinberg to arrange matters as good neighbours should. I am
+asking you for your best endeavours to bring this about."
+
+The Stralsund people made their preparations for the day in question by
+slaughtering a great many birds and game, by roasting and boiling the
+same, and by broaching casks upon casks of beer and wine. Besides the
+principal burghers of the city related to them by blood and in thorough
+sympathy, the Lorbeers invited their friends from the neighbourhood,
+and their young boon companions, who appeared armed with pistols,
+arquebuses and spikes, so that the gathering looked more like a call to
+arms than like a friendly meeting. Consequently, some of the
+councillors and citizens of Stralsund secretly warned the people of
+Greifswald to send no one to the spot, and my father was particularly
+cautioned not to let me go, for that I should surely be killed. The
+Greifswald magistrates remained coy, and did not reply a word to the
+invitation; then, at the very hour of the invasion of Reinberg by the
+Lorbeer band, they wrote that if the horse were returned to them in
+three days they would return the nets sequestrated in just reprisal. If
+this were not done, the prince would be requested to dispense justice.
+At the news of Greifswald's abstention from the quasi-festivities the
+Lorbeer camp broke into an avalanche of imprecations and threats. Wound
+up with drink, they swore that they would murder everybody.
+Nevertheless, before the three days had expired, a stable-man brought
+back the horse, receiving in return the nets; and so there was an end
+of that disagreement.
+
+There was a time when "milord" burgomaster Christopher Lorbeer did
+pretty well as he liked with everybody without meeting with any
+resistance, and as a matter of course, his wife and children followed
+suit. Odd to relate, my mission was coincident with the heyday of his
+fortune, and it was really owing to a few simple words from my lips
+that his star suddenly waned. He did not mind being treated as ungodly,
+and as a soul likely to incur eternal punishment, and when I say this I
+am speaking on the authority of his eldest son, but he objected to
+being accused of endangering the public peace, or, in other words, to
+forfeiting his honour; it is that which put him beside himself. His
+annoyance at having failed in his contemplated revenge against
+Greifswald and against me seriously undermined his health. A most
+painful illness confined him to his bed for six months, during which no
+one was allowed to see him. It seemed a terrible retribution which
+profoundly moved both the city and the country. The burgomaster's
+victims raised their voices, and the exactions by which he had hitherto
+kept up his grand style of living were at an end. When his wife
+attempted to revictual the establishment as of old, she met with
+refusals. A grain dealer to whom she had sent her pigs to fatten
+brought them back to her, pretending "hard times." She was beginning to
+"ride the high horse" with him, but he pointed to the room of the
+burgomaster, saying: "Don't forget that 'I command you' is lying
+there." After a protracted agony, which practically reduced him to the
+condition of a mere animal, Christopher Lorbeer died on October 16,
+1555, and was buried in the choir of the St. Nicholas' Church, by the
+side of my mother and my two sisters, and under the same flagstone
+where my father subsequently lay. The council, greatly affected by his
+death, let three weeks pass before naming a successor to the deceased;
+after which the syndic, N. Gentzkow, and the first secretary, Anthony
+Lickow, were solemnly and joyously elected to the dignity.
+
+Though as yet my emoluments were not fixed, the Greifswald council had
+already given me several proofs of its high confidence. At Stralsund,
+on the other hand, I was the constant butt of the violent enmity of the
+most notable citizens, who would have rent me to pieces if they had got
+hold of me. Stralsund being thus closed to me, no place was more
+suitable as a residence than Greifswald, where I was born and had many
+of my kindred. But the owner of the house I rented made me very
+uncomfortable with his mania for transforming the dwelling into a
+storehouse for the most lumbering material, such as wood, stone,
+mortar, sand, etc.; he also used the place for the weddings of his
+servants, without the least regard for my wife, whether she was sick or
+in childbed. All our objections were met with the same answer: "If you
+do not like it you had better move." Hence, I finally made the
+acquisition of a house in the Fischhandler Strasse (Fishmonger Street),
+belonging to Johannes Velschow, the father-in-law of Brand Hartmann.
+Its price was three hundred and fifty florins, payable in four
+quarterly instalments. Brand Hartmann was the son of that George
+Hartmann with whom my father had had such grave differences. He felt
+very wroth at seeing the house his father had built for his use pass
+into my possession, but the sale was effected in due legal form. I had
+given the deposit (God's pfenning) and put down the first hundred
+florins in the presence of several councillors and notable burghers.
+
+Masons and carpenters were set to work at once. The front door had to
+be widened, the heavy roof to be strengthened, the rooms, stables,
+cellar and yard to be overhauled. My father had had a great deal of
+building done in his days and gained much experience. He came to
+superintend matters. Now and again he somewhat bullied the workmen, and
+even dismissed them, replacing them by others. Looking back on all
+this, I cannot help wondering at my audacity, for my purse was
+practically empty, and the workmen had to be paid on Saturdays. With
+God's help my practice provided the necessary money every week. My
+profession took me away from home a great deal; hence, there was some
+delay in the building operations, but for every florin I lost in that
+way, I earned ten and more elsewhere.
+
+On September 25, 1555, Duke Philip, with a numerous suite stopped at
+Stralsund for the night and was entertained by the council. He was
+going to Bergen, in the island of Ruegen, where he stayed until October
+11, and at his return he lay once more at Stralsund, equally at the
+expense of the city. The aim of the journey was to check the
+encroachments of the Jasmund nobility, which, not content with cutting
+down the forest of Stubenitz for its own benefit, conceded the same
+rights to others--for a consideration. The prince took me with him as
+secretary. The aristocracy having proposed a friendly settlement, there
+was much parleying, during which the duke was at a loss to kill time.
+He was lodged in the apartments of the prior at the monastery of
+Bergen, and which looked out upon the courtyard, and spent hours in
+watching from his windows the pages and valets and their constant
+bickerings, quarrels and fights. He could even hear their opinions of
+him. One day, when standing in his usual coign of vantage while four
+Polish violins performed several pieces of music in the room itself, he
+heard a valet below saying to his fellow, "The people of Stralsund have
+much better musicians than their prince. What he has got is simply
+ridiculous. Duke Bogislaw keeps four trumpeters and a kettledrum
+player; they, at any rate, produce some effect. But this prince up
+there, with his caterwauling things, is absurd." The duke sent Prior
+Gottschalck to ascertain who was talking in that strain, but
+Gottschalck, having noticed a relative of his in the group, made them a
+sign to be off, and went upstairs, saying that they had been too quick
+for him, and that he had failed to recognize any one. The prince
+promptly repeated to his familiars word for word what he had heard on
+the art of keeping up his rank, and long afterwards he was fond of
+reminding them of the incident.
+
+Another anecdote: A lot of boys were noisily playing in the courtyard,
+and one of the most turbulent was the illegitimate son of the bailiff
+(his real father having sent him to school, though he bore the name of
+his putative parent, Arndts, the tailor of Bergen). His Highness having
+given order to drive the yelling beggars away and to box their ears if
+necessary, the footmen executed his orders to the letter, right and
+left. The prince noticed, though, that they spared Arndts, and he
+shouted that he more than any of the others deserved correction, but
+the servant to whom the recommendation was addressed simply smiled and
+shrugged his shoulders. "Do you hear me?" cried the duke; "rub it into
+the little devil." "Oh, no," replied the flunkey. "Oh, yes, lay it on
+thickly." "Nay, nay; heaven preserve me from doing such a thing." "And
+why, what's to prevent you?" "What? to trounce the son of a bailiff! I
+should repent it afterwards." At these words the duke burst out
+laughing. He told the story to every one, even in the bailiff's
+presence. On one occasion the boy was sent for and placed by the side
+of his father. His eyes, his nose, his head and his legs were compared
+with those of his sire. The governor of Cammin, after having made the
+lad march up and down the room, said to the bailiff, "That's your son,
+right enough; he is shaped like you."
+
+The attempt at conciliation having failed, the parties met at the
+monastery in a large room provided with chairs, seats and two tables,
+one for his Highness, the other for the _pares curiae_. I took place at
+the latter in my capacity of _notarius judicii_. The chancellor, in his
+master's name, gave a summary of the facts, after which, the prince,
+rising from his seat, came to the second table, and there, facing me,
+he made a long speech, not at all badly composed. I only give its
+conclusion: "In your presence, Master Notary, I maintain having been
+animated by most friendly intentions towards my subjects, but they
+rejected all attempts at settling matters. In consequence of this, and
+as a guarantee of my rights, I command you to state everything that has
+happened, including the present declaration, and to draw up a duly
+attested act which you shall remit to me in consideration of your
+lawful remuneration." The matter did not go farther that day, but the
+duke instructed me to pursue the inquiry jointly with the Governor of
+Cammin, which took us several days.
+
+The "instrument" gave me a great deal of trouble, filling, as it did,
+seven of the largest skins of parchment, constituting fourteen sheets.
+It contained more matter than a quire of paper. There was no room to
+affix my signature and the _signum notariatus_ at the end of the deed,
+according to custom, so I made an impression in wax of my seal engraved
+on lead, and suspended it from the string holding the sheets together.
+His Highness, without asking, gave me a fee of thirty crowns.
+
+_Magister_ Joachim Moritz, _professor juris_ at Greifswald and ducal
+counsellor, had never been to Stralsund, and knew nobody there. At my
+return from Bergen he asked me to "put him up" at my father's, which I
+was very glad to do. Having risen early to see the city, he went
+shortly after seven into St. Nicholas' to hear the sermon. Zabel
+Lorbeer, who caught sight of him, mistook him for his former boon
+companion, George Steinkeller. The likeness between these two seems to
+have been so striking as to have deceived people generally. Many a
+gentleman upon beholding Moritz on the bench at Wolgast, said to his
+neighbour, "And where the devil did Steinkeller get his knowledge of
+the law from, to constitute him a judge?" Lorbeer, then, coming from
+behind, takes Moritz by the ears and shakes him for full a minute, the
+professor, altogether nonplussed, asking himself all the while who it
+could be giving him such an energetic welcome. He made sure it was me.
+Finally, he managed to turn round, and Lorbeer, perceiving his mistake,
+was most profuse with apologies. Moritz was fond of relating the
+adventure, especially in the hearing of the Stralsunders, and no one
+enjoyed the story more than the duke.
+
+The Stralsund council took the opportunity of my visit (which happened
+during the very week of Burgomaster Lorbeer's funeral), to offer me the
+position of secretary. My surprise may easily be imagined. I considered
+myself so compromised in the eyes of the Stralsunders that, without the
+company of the governor of Cammin and the commission I held of the
+prince, I should not have deemed myself safe in the city. Those
+overtures, though, caused me as much pleasure as they did to my
+kindred; nevertheless, I felt bound not to give a definite answer until
+I was relieved of my engagement at Greifswald, although I had not taken
+the oath. Being anxious to hasten my return, the Stralsund council sent
+me a messenger to Greifswald with a saddle-horse.
+
+I pointed out to my friends and to the magistrates at Greifswald that,
+although I had to a certain extent begun my functions, there had as yet
+been no positive agreement; not a syllable had been uttered, for
+instance, about salary. Why then should I decline the important
+Stralsund appointment? My uncle and godfather, Burgomaster Bertram
+Smiterlow, summoned the council to the chancellerie, and a fixed salary
+of eighty florins was allotted to me. Never had a secretary been so
+well paid. I asked to let the matter stand over till the next morning,
+so that I might consult with my family. My wife's relatives implored me
+to accept; my father-in-law, a centenarian, promised me, with tears in
+his eyes, a hundred florins if I stayed. At the instance of all these,
+I declared myself ready to receive the luck-penny (the earnest-money)
+commensurate with the dignity of the office and of the council, it
+being, furthermore, understood that I should be allowed to remain at
+the chancellerie and not be elected to the council. The _camerarii_
+counted me out eight crowns as earnest-money, and my predecessor,
+Johannes Schoenefeld, sent me word to engross my own act of
+appointment. More than one precedent justified me in expecting about a
+year's salary as earnest-money, but after some hesitation I took the
+eight crowns.
+
+My father-in-law was anxiously waiting for the result of the interview.
+I flung the money on the table. "Just look, father," I exclaimed, "did
+I not sell myself at my worth? You had better get your hundred florins
+ready." But he had apparently recovered from his first depression, and
+seemed not at all touched by my obvious sacrifice, for he said
+tetchily, "If it suits you to go, very well, go; but you'll not have
+one florin as far as I am concerned." I felt hurt, although I fully
+intended to refuse the hundred florins, lest my brother-in-law should
+look askance at me.
+
+I put the Stralsund horse up in Burgomaster Smiterlow's stable, my own
+not being ready. My first impulse was to send it back the same day.
+Then I began to reflect that it would be better to draw up my "act of
+appointment"; after that, the letter to the Stralsund council would not
+take long. In drawing up the act, I could, however, not help noticing
+that neither the period nor the place of payment was stated, and next
+morning I went to ask Schoenefeld about all this. He told me that I
+should receive two florins one day from this person, and half a florin
+the next from another, so that at the end of the year the eighty
+florins would be complete. I certainly did congratulate myself for
+having kept a back door open, for the misunderstanding was very
+serious, casual instalments and fixed appointments being by no means
+the same thing. After leaving Schoenefeld, I ran against Burgomaster
+Smiterlow and the _camerarii_ in the market-place, and told them that
+if Schoenefeld's version was true, I preferred returning the wretched
+earnest-money. "Your conduct will surprise them," they replied. "To
+summon the council at such a short notice is no more possible than to
+take back the earnest-money without its leave." I, on the other hand,
+maintained that it was yet time to arrange affairs. "Should I be
+deserving of the magistrates' confidence if I were so incapable of
+conducting my own affairs? I am going to the burgomaster at once to
+deposit the earnest-money on his daughter's table. She'll know right
+enough to whom to hand it. After which I shall get into the saddle and
+take the road to Stralsund." Thereupon the council was summoned.
+
+I went to tell my wife, her brother, and my sister whom he had married.
+My wife, not satisfied with shedding tears, declared categorically that
+she should not leave Greifswald. She would take a room somewhere and
+earn her living knitting. My sister and her husband were also much
+excited. "What shall you do with your nice house?" said my sister. "Why
+vex our parents? Stop here out of consideration for them; here where
+there are so many opportunities of being useful to them." An old aunt,
+a sensible, upright and honest matron whom my wife had called to her
+aid was the only one to express a contrary opinion. "Dear nephew," she
+said, "though I should be too pleased to keep you near me, for after
+God you are the prop of my old age, I'm bound to admit that there is no
+comparison between the post of Greifswald and that of Stralsund. If I
+placed an obstacle to your stroke of good fortune, my conscience would
+reproach me afterwards, so take my advice and carry out your plan. Do
+you remember how your wife mourned her mother? Does she still cry at
+the mention of her name? Well, she'll get just as used to living at
+Stralsund." My wife's tears flowed all the faster at these words.
+
+The messenger from Stralsund went to saddle my horse. Booted and
+spurred I joined him almost immediately, and had the animal brought
+round to Burgomaster Smiterlow's door where, somewhat impatiently, I
+awaited on the steps his return from the Town Hall. He told me that no
+secretary in the past had received the appointments allotted to me, and
+that no secretary in the future was likely to receive them, and yet I
+had still found better; hence the council felt most reluctant to hamper
+my career and sent their best wishes for my welfare. I immediately got
+into the saddle and left the town, avoiding our house, on the threshold
+of which I could see my wife standing surrounded by her kindred. It was
+on November 29, 1555. My residence at Greifswald dated from January 1,
+1551. During that period my earnings amounted to five thousand three
+hundred florins, exclusive of presents in kind, which often exceeded
+the strictly necessary. Here ends the third part of the story of my
+life.
+
+
+
+
+                                THE END
+
+
+
+
+                                 INDEX
+
+
+      Aarschot, 273
+
+      Acquapendente, xx. 5, 151, 171
+
+      Aepinus, Johannes, 39, 249
+
+      Affenstein, Ritter Wolf von, 246
+
+      Agricola, Johannes, 246
+
+      Aix-la-Chapelle, 19, 254, 255
+
+      Albrecht, Duke of Mecklenburg, 63, 64, 72, 80, 107, 231
+
+      Alexander III., 96
+
+      Algau, 192, 221
+
+      Alpinus, Johannes, 12
+
+      Alsace, 223
+
+      Alsen, Island of, 63
+
+      Altenkirchen, 40
+
+      Altenkuke, Heinrich, 187
+
+      Altingk, Johannes, 45, 46
+        Werner, 45
+
+      Alva, Duke of, 216, 218
+
+      Amandus, Dr. Johannes, xv., 20
+
+      Ammeister, 264
+
+      Amsterdam, 3
+
+      Anclam, 1
+
+      Ancona, xx. 146, 147
+
+      Anelam, 46
+
+      Anglus, Dr. Antonius, 95
+
+      Anhault, xii. 48
+
+      _Annales Pomeraniae_, 79, 82, 89
+
+      Antwerp, xxiii. 4, 85, 268, 270
+
+      _Appeal to the Christian Nobility_, xi.
+
+      Arndts, 331, 332
+
+      Arnsburg, 97
+
+      Arras, Bishop of, 222, 224, 249, 277, 291, 292
+
+      Ascagne, Count St. Florian, 150
+
+      Artopaeus, Herr Petrus, 263
+
+      Augsburg, xiii., xxii., 111, 176, 177, 195, 212, 215-230, 239,
+        244-249, 252, 253, 257, 263, 264, 292
+        Bishop of, 246
+
+      Augustus, Duke, 228
+
+
+
+      Babylonish captivity, The, xi.
+
+      Baden, 195, 255
+        Margrave of, xix. 263, 278
+
+      Badenweiler, 120
+
+      Balhorn, 103
+
+      Bamberg, 208, 209
+
+      Barbarossa, 245
+
+      Baremann, Nicholas, 69
+
+      Barns, xx.
+
+      Barnes, 95, 96, 103
+
+      Barth, 4
+
+      Basle, xxiii., 223, 263
+
+      Bavaria, Duke Albert of, 228, 233, 246
+        Duchess of, 229
+
+      Becker, Peter, 263
+
+      Belbuck, 11, 13
+
+      Benter, 196
+
+      Ber, 308
+
+      Berckmann, Johannes, 28, 54, 79, 82, 83, 85, 89, 278, 320
+
+      Bergen, 330, 333
+
+      Berkentin, 50
+
+      Berlin, 190, 199
+
+      Bensancon, 224
+
+      Besserer, George, 246
+
+      Beuter, 203
+
+      Biberach, 227
+
+      _Bilder aus der Deutschen Kulturgeschichte_, 228
+
+      Bischof, 43
+
+      Bitterfeld, 201, 202
+
+      Blumenow, Johannes, 82, 84, 85, 88
+
+      Bole, Victor, 34
+
+      Bogislaw X., Duke, 9, 11, 14, 16, 17, 18
+        Duke Barnim, 16, 17, 30, 190, 205, 213, 214, 216, 265, 273,
+          281, 290, 293, 331
+        Duke George, 16, 17, 28, 30, 48
+
+      Boineburg, Ritter Conrad von, 241
+
+      Bois le Duc, 267
+
+      Boldewan, Abbot, 11, 13
+
+      Bologna, 160, 165, 166, 171, 173, 179, 291
+
+      Bolte, Nicholas, 75
+
+      Bonus, Herrman, 39
+
+      Bonnus, 40
+
+      Botzen, 176, 177
+
+      Brabant, 255
+
+      Brandenburg, xxiii., 9, 196, 205, 226, 306
+        Culmbach, 231
+        Elector of, 189, 197, 228, 246, 247
+        Wachim of, xiii., xxiii.
+
+      Brandenburg-the-Old, 202
+
+      Brassanus, Matthias, 40, 42
+
+      Bremen, Christopher, Bishop of, 80
+
+      Brenner, xx.
+
+      Brettheim, 125
+
+      Brixen, 176, 177
+
+      Broecker, Jacob, 97
+
+      Bruchsall, 122
+
+      Brunswick, Duke Henry of, 137, 138, 210, 228
+        Duke Philip of, 161
+
+      Brunswick-Luneberg, xii.
+
+      Bruser, Hermann, 49, 51, 53, 54, 103
+
+      Bruser, Leveling, 94
+
+      Bruser, Mrs. xviii., xix.
+
+      Brussels, xxiii., 227, 230, 255, 267, 270, 273
+
+      Buchow, Bartholomaei, 19
+
+      Buchow, Heindrich, 268
+
+      Bugenhagen, Johannes, 11
+
+      Bukow, 51
+
+      Bunsaw, Gaspard, 35, 285, 298
+
+      Bunsow, Dame, 288
+
+      Bunsow, Johannes, 287, 288
+
+      Burgrave of Mesnia, 182
+
+      Burenius Arnoldus, xvii., 96
+
+      Burn, Count Maximilian, 269
+
+      Burnet, Bishop, x.
+
+      Burtenbach, Captain Schaerthin von, 176
+
+      Burwitz, Joachim, 54
+
+      Buss, Valentine, 56
+
+      Butzbach, 131, 132, 260
+
+
+
+      Calvin, 249, 265
+
+      Camerarius, 169
+
+      Cammin, 261, 291, 333, 334, 246
+        Bishop of, 226, 266, 293, 294
+
+      Cannstadt, 178
+
+      Capito Daniel, 263
+
+      Carin, 319
+
+      Carlowitz, Christopher, 195, 196, 230, 235, 248, 252
+
+      Carmelites, 250
+
+      Cassel, 132
+
+      Cassules, 93
+
+      Castle of St. Angelo, 159
+
+      Cellini, Benvenuto, xx.
+
+      Charlemagne, 254, 255
+
+      Charles V., xii., xiii., xxii., 9, 161, 177, 197, 220, 235, 267,
+        146, 97
+
+      Citzewitz, Jacob, 187, 188, 189, 200, 215, 225, 227, 236, 257,
+        262, 279, 281, 283, 293, 299, 314, 319, 321
+
+      Citzewitz, James, xxii.
+
+      Classen, Bernard, 7, 8
+
+      Clerike, Jacob, 299
+
+      Cleves, Anne of, 96
+
+      Cleves, Duchy of, 263,
+        Duke of, 113, 228
+
+      Coburg, 206, 209
+
+      Colburg, 99, 226
+
+      Cologne, 225, 270, 271
+        Elector of, 246
+
+      Compestella, 19
+
+      Constance, 234
+
+      Copenhagen, 39, 80
+
+      _Cosmographie_, Munster's, 262, 264
+
+
+
+      Damitz, Captain Moritz, 191, 193, 236, 237, 238
+
+      Danquart, 98
+
+      Dantzig, 7, 22, 257
+
+      _De Anima_, xvii.
+
+      Dechow, Captain, 318, 319
+
+      Denmark, King of, 228
+
+      Deux Fonts, Prince, 195
+
+      Devonne, 208
+
+      Dialectica Caesarii, 99
+
+      Dick, Dr. Leopold, 107
+
+      Dueren, 113
+
+      Dinnies, Laurence, 187
+
+      Domitz, Maurice, 128
+
+      Donat, 31
+
+      Donauwerth, 216, 217
+
+      Dorpat, Bishop of, 98
+
+      Drache, Anthony, 313
+
+      Droege, Gerard, 19, 89
+
+      Duitz, Gaspard, 268, 269, 270
+
+
+
+      Eck, Dr., 17, 246
+
+      Eger, 191
+
+      Eichstedt, Valentin, 78, 314
+        Bishop of, 228
+
+      Einfriedlaw, 19
+
+      Eisleben, 166, 246
+
+      Elbe, 200, 217
+
+      Eldenow, 306
+
+      _Emek Habakha_, 143
+
+      Engelhardt, Dr. Simeon, 51, 108, 111, 117, 120, 121, 127, 250,
+        260, 261
+
+      Engeln, 48
+
+      _Epitome Annalium Pomerania_, 79
+
+      Erasmus, Desiderius, 264
+
+      Erckhorst, Cyriacus, 49, 55
+
+      Erfurt, 103
+
+      Ernest, Margrave, 120, 123, 125, 282
+
+      Esslingen, 122
+
+
+
+      Faber, 169
+
+      Fachs, Dr., 246
+
+      Falck, Chancellor, 273
+
+      Falcke, Dr., 190
+
+      Falsterbo, 70, 99
+
+      Farnese, Peter Aloys, 160
+
+      _Fasti_, Ovid's, 99
+
+      Ferrara, 173, 174
+
+      Ferdinand, King, 119, 177, 180, 182, 191, 196, 204
+
+      Florence, 172
+
+      Franconia, 206
+
+      Frankfurt, 130, 138, 178, 247, 254, 259, 262, 286
+
+      Frederick, III., Duke, xxii., 210, 211, 212
+
+      Frederick, King of Denmark, 61, 207
+
+      Freder, Johannes, 277
+
+      _Freedom of a Christian Man_, xi.
+
+      Frese, Widow, 15
+
+      Friesland, 133
+
+      Fribourg, 131, 208, 260
+
+      Friedrich, Johannes, 193, 197
+
+      Frobose, Peter, 5, 7, 281
+
+      Frock, Otto, 12
+
+      Froment, 16
+
+      Frubose, Matthew, 285
+
+      Furstenburg, Count Wilhelm, 239, 240
+        Frederick von, 240, 315
+
+
+
+      Gadebusch, 100
+
+      Gantzkendorf, 319, 320
+
+      Garpenhagen, 100
+
+      Gatzkow, Abraham, 198
+
+      Gelhaar, Joachim, 43, 59, 102
+
+      Geneva, 16, 265
+
+      Gentzkow, Dr. Nicholas, 86, 300, 302, 303, 313, 326, 329
+        Burgomaster Nicholas, 54
+
+      Ghent, 267
+        Charles of, 220
+
+      Goeslin, Margaret, 237
+
+      Gotha, 104
+
+      Gottschalk, Heinrich, 299
+        Johannes, 41, 187, 188, 287, 296
+        Prior, 331
+
+      _Grammatica Bonni_, 40
+
+      Granvelle, Cardinal, xxiii.
+        Nicholas, Perremot de, 224, 227, 249, 253, 277
+
+      Greiffenberg, 266
+
+      Greifswald, xi. xvii., xix., xxiv., 2, 5-7, 20-31, 33, 35, 39,
+        46, 48, 93, 98, 99, 110, 197, 235, 281, 282, 285, 287, 288,
+        297, 302, 306, 310, 313-317, 324-338
+
+      Grellen, Barber, 83
+
+      Gribou, 2
+
+      Grosse, Alexis, 278
+
+      Gruwel, Peter, 288, 298
+
+      Gruyere, Count Michael de, 207
+
+      Grynaeus, Simon, 168, 169
+
+      Guelderland, 113
+
+      Gutzkow, Count, 65, 93
+
+
+
+      Hahn, Werner, 201, 202
+
+      Halle, xxii., 201, 206
+
+      Hamburg, 3, 26, 65
+
+      Hannemann, 99
+
+      Hartmann, Brand, 329
+        George, 24, 25, 26, 29, 329
+
+      Hase, Dr. Heinrich, 195, 246
+
+      Hausen, Erasmus, 187, 188
+
+      Hawthorne, xx.
+
+      Heidelberg, 114, 169, 260
+        Elector of, 272
+
+      Heidelsheim, 122
+
+      Heimsdorff, 195
+
+      Heindrich, Duke, 80, 207
+
+      Heinrichmann, Dr., 246
+
+      Helfmann, Johannes, 261
+
+      Henry II. of France, xiv.
+
+      Henry VIII., 95
+
+      Hentzer, 264
+
+      Heine Vogel, 270
+
+      Hertogenbosch, 267
+
+      Herwig, Christian, 86
+
+      Hesiod, 53
+
+      Hesse, Philip of, xii.
+
+      Hildebrand, Nicholas, 86
+
+      Hirnheim, Johannes Walther von, 237
+
+      Hochberg, 120
+
+      Hochel, Dr. Johannes, 106
+
+      Holde, Dr. Conrad, 247
+
+      Holme, Johannes, 66
+
+      Holste, 315, 316
+
+      Holstein, Duke Christian, 62, 66, 79
+
+      Homedes, Jean de, 130
+
+      Horns, the family of, 1, 2
+
+      Hose, Dr. Christopher, 116, 117, 119
+
+      Hovisch, Michael, 318, 319
+
+      Hoyer, Dr. Gaspard, 149, 150, 155, 164, 165, 176, 186
+
+      Hundfruck, 260
+
+      Hutten, Ulrich, von, 24
+
+
+
+      Ingoldstadt, 224
+
+      Innspruck, 177
+
+      _Itinerarium Germanicae_, 264
+
+
+
+      Juliers, Duke of, 111, 270
+
+
+      Kalen, George von, 316
+
+      Kalen, J. von, 314
+
+      Kalte, Johannes, 267
+
+      Kantzow, Thomas, 78
+
+      Kasskow, Master, 68
+
+      Kempe, George, 12
+
+      Kempten, 141, 142, 221, 175
+
+      Ketelhot, Christian, xvi., 11, 12, 13, 20, 23
+
+      _King Arthur_, 21
+
+      Kirchschwarz, 24
+
+      Kismann, 99
+
+      Klatteville, Peter, 81, 82
+
+      Kloche, Johannes, 49, 69
+
+      Krugge, Nicholas, 86, 303
+
+      Knipstrow, Dr. xxii., 22, 23, 34,48, 187, 302
+
+      Koenigstein, 132
+
+      Krahow, Valerius, 235
+
+      Krossen, Johannes, 81
+
+      Krou, Frau, 38
+
+      Kruse, 23, 65
+
+      Kurcke, Johannes, 11
+
+      Kussow, Michael, 93
+
+
+
+      Labbun, Christopher, 187
+
+      Lagebusch, Johannes, 100, 101, 102
+
+      Lanckin, Christopher von der, 321, 322
+
+      Landau, 250, 261
+
+      Landshut, 178
+
+      Lasky, Stanislas, 228, 245
+
+      Leipzig, 17, 45, 107, 192, 248, 252, 258, 321
+
+      Lepper, Hermann, 100, 101, 102
+
+      Lepusculus, 235, 264, 265
+
+      Lertmeritz, 191, 192, 193
+
+      Leveling, 49, 55, 56
+        Marie, 56
+
+      Lezen, Johannes von, 246
+
+      Lickow, 329
+
+      Liegnitz, xxii.
+        Duke Frederick von, 207, 208, 212, 214
+
+      Lievetzow, 309
+
+      Lingensis, Heinrich, 96, 97, 98
+
+      Livonia, 13
+
+      Lloytz, The, of Stettin, 261
+
+      Loewe, Nicholas, 87
+
+      Loewenstein, Christopher von, 130, 133, 135, 138
+
+      Loewenhagen, Joachim, 99
+
+      Lorbeer, Christopher, 12, 19, 20, 41, 50, 55, 67, 71-74, 79, 85,
+        88, 93, 324, 326-328, 334
+        Olaff, 84, 321
+        Zabel, 57, 333, 334
+
+      Loretto, xx., 149
+
+      Lorraine, Dowager of, 228
+
+      Louvain, 267, 270
+
+      Lubeck, xvii., xix., 3, 4, 26, 39, 40, 48, 50-52, 61-63, 66, 71,
+        72, 77, 80, 95, 100, 103, 128, 165, 297, 303
+
+      Lubbeke, 48
+
+      Ludwig, Duke Ernest, 89
+
+      Lake, Constance, 227
+
+      Luehe Von der, 313
+
+      Luther, Martin, xi.-xvii., 9, 14, 17, 18, 78, 94, 96, 103, 135,
+        152, 166, 200, 228, 250, 278
+
+
+
+      Madrid, 224
+
+      Madrutz, Gandenz von, 246, 271
+
+      Maestricht, 254
+
+      Magdeburg, xiii., 192
+
+      Malines, 270
+
+      Manlius, 169
+
+      Mantel, Jacob, 244
+
+      Mantua, 173, 174, 175
+        Duke of, 180
+
+      Marburg, xii., 133
+
+      Marforio, 227
+
+      Marie, Fraeulein, of Saxony, 78
+
+      Maries, The three, 57, 58
+
+      Marquardt, Johannes, 195, 222, 224, 226
+
+      Marschmann, 86
+
+      Mattzan, Berendt, 320, 321
+        Joachim, 2, 99, 300-302
+        Lutke, 319
+
+      Maurice, Duke, 195, 200, 231, 235
+
+      Mauritz, 177
+
+      Maximilian, Archduke, 119, 204, 231
+
+      Mayence, 128, 130, 132, 139, 141, 254, 260, 271
+        Bishop of, 246
+        Elector of, 246
+
+      Mecklenburg, 51, 71, 79, 95, 96, 100, 115, 299
+
+      Meisisch, Leonard, 40
+
+      Meiseburg, 246
+
+      Memmingen, 221
+
+      Melanchthon, Philip, xvi., xvii., 104, 106, 248, 298
+
+      Mesnia, 258
+
+      Mense, 267
+
+      Mey, Bernard, 261
+
+      Meyer, Christopher, 6, 7
+
+      Meyer, Gerard, 81
+
+      Meyer, Hermann, 12, 19
+
+      Meyer, Marx, 62-67, 81
+
+      Middleburgh, C. 304, 305
+
+      Milan, 149, 175, 176
+
+      Moller, Rolof, xv., 9, 10, 12, 16, 18, 19, 20, 31, 61, 85, 87, 91
+
+      Moller, George, 85
+
+      Monkwitz, Von, 216
+
+      Montefiascone, 171
+
+      Montfort, Count Hugo von, 246
+
+      Moritz, Joachim, 298, 299, 306, 313, 333, 334
+
+      Mount Scarperia, 173
+
+      Muggenwald, 302
+
+      Muhlberg, xxii., 188, 193, 194, 195
+
+      Muleg Hassan, King of Tunis, 245
+
+      Munich, 252
+
+      Munster, Sebastian, 262, 263, 264, 265
+
+      Musculus, 235
+
+      Muthrin, 257
+
+
+
+      Nares, 195
+
+      Naumberg, 206
+        Bishop of, 246
+
+      Naumberg, Duke of, 228
+
+      Naves, Seigneur Jean, 116
+
+      Negendanck, 309, 310
+
+      Nering, Nicholas, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85
+
+      Nerung, 299
+
+      New Camp, 225
+
+      Neuenkirchen, 25
+
+      Nicholas, 165, 175, 176, 177
+
+      Niederweisel, 130, 131, 132, 260
+
+      Niemann, Johannes, 277, 278
+
+      Nordgau, 227
+
+      Nordhauser, 183
+
+      Normann, George, 33, 235, 253, 254, 256
+        Heinrich, 191, 238
+
+      Nuremburg, 9, 14, 18, 155, 181, 209, 211, 223
+
+
+
+      Octavius, Duke, 160, 168
+
+      _Offices_, Cicero's, 97
+
+      Offing, 108
+
+      Oppenheim, 130, 254, 260
+
+      Ornans, 224
+
+      Oseborn, Zabel, 10, 321
+
+      Osnaburgh, 39
+
+      Osten, 2, 299
+
+      Ostiglia, 174
+
+      Ovid, 99
+
+
+
+      Palatine, Count, 195
+        Elector of, 246
+
+      Pappenheim, Marshal von, 229
+
+      Parow, Christian, 82, 83
+
+      Pasewalk, 315
+
+      Pasquin, 227
+
+      Paul III., Pope, 150, 175
+
+      Petrus, 147, 148, 165, 169, 175
+
+      Pflug, Gaspard, 191, 192
+        Johannes, 246
+        Julius, 192, 228
+
+      Pforzheim, xix., 120, 122, 126, 127, 140
+        Ernest von, 279
+
+      Philip, Duke, 78, 99, 190, 195, 260, 290, 298, 301, 318, 322, 330
+
+      Philip I., 17, 272
+
+      Philip V. of Spain, 233
+
+      Picht, Dr., 306
+
+      Place Moland, 16
+
+      Plate Simon, 235-238
+
+      Plawe, 181
+
+      Po, 173, 174
+
+      Poland, King of, 228
+
+      Pomerania, xii., xv., 3, 17, 28, 122, 145, 146, 151, 189, 200,
+        226, 238, 260
+        Duke of, 224
+
+      _Pomeranus_, 11
+
+      Portius, Dr. Johannes, 261
+
+      _Praecepta Grammaticae_, 40
+
+      Prestor, John, 220
+
+      Prien, V., 299
+
+      Prussia, Duke of, 278
+
+      Pritze, Joachim, 69
+
+      Puddegla, 315
+
+      Putkammer, Dr., 190
+
+      Putten, 44
+
+
+
+      Quilow, Johannes Osten von, 2
+
+
+
+      Ranke, 196
+
+      Rantzau, Count Johannes, 63, 64
+
+      Rantzin, 1, 3
+
+      Rantzow, Joachim 69, 74
+
+      Ratisbon, 178, 180, 233, 247
+        Diet of, 280
+
+      Rau, Balthazar, 298
+
+      Ravenna, 147
+
+      Reiffstock, Dr. Frederick, 106, 107, 108, 109
+
+      Reinburg, 327
+
+      Rheinfeld, 228
+
+      Rheinhausen, 122
+
+      Rhodes, 130, 131
+
+      Ribbenitz, 97, 102
+
+      Richter, 232
+
+      Rhode, Nicholas, 19, 49, 51, 52, 55
+
+      Roetteln, 120
+
+      Roevershagen, 36
+
+      Rode, Nicholas, 73, 74
+
+      Rome, 28, 147, 175, 178, 222, 269
+
+      Rostock, xvii., 19, 36, 37, 50, 61, 71, 85, 95, 96, 97, 100, 128,
+        300, 301, 303, 313
+
+      Rosse, Martin van, 113
+
+      Rotterdam, 264
+
+      Rubricken, Bock, xxiv., 10
+
+      Rugen, 33, 34, 93, 321, 330
+        Prince of, 93
+
+      Runge, 23, 302
+
+      Rust, Joachim, 187, 188
+
+
+
+      Sachsen, 197
+
+      St. Angelo, Governor of, 160
+
+      St. Brigitta, 16, 27, 164
+
+      St. Flore, Cardinal, Count de, 150, 164, 186
+
+      St. Simon, Duke, 233
+
+      St. Alrich, 218
+
+      Saluces, Marquis de, 196, 245
+
+      Salzburg, 247
+
+      Sandow, 23
+
+      Sansenberg, 120
+
+      Sarow, 319
+
+      Sastrow, Amnistia, 299
+        Anna, 5
+        Barbara, 7, 8
+        Bartholomew, ix., x., xv., xvi., xix., xx.-xxiv., 103, 106,
+          110, 196, 197, 235
+        Catherine, 6, 8, 299
+        Christian, 7
+        Gertrude, 7
+        Jeremy, 4
+        John, xx., 1, 2, 7, 39, 53, 93, 108, 122, 128, 149, 134, 298
+        Magdalen, 7
+
+      Sastrow, Nicholas, xvi., xvii., xviii., 94, 116
+
+      Saxony, Duke of, 78
+        Elector of, 114, 189, 191, 196, 205, 208, 222, 245, 247, 249
+        John of, xii., xiii.
+        Maurice of, xiii., xv., 195
+
+      Schaerlini, 223
+
+      Schenck, Dr. Jacob, 106
+
+      Schermer, Frau, 14
+
+      Schladenteuffel, Nicholas, 303
+
+      Schlackenwerth, 191
+
+      Schlemm, 307, 308
+
+      Schlieben, Eustacius, 246
+
+      Schmalkalden, League of, 182, 188, 190, 197, 234, 269
+
+      Schwallenberg, 290, 292
+
+      Schoenfeld, Johannes, 319, 322, 324, 335, 336
+
+      Schorsow, 299
+
+      Schwede, Bailiff, 10, 15
+
+      Schwabe, Bartholomew, 226, 266
+
+      Schwallenberger, Dr., 267, 279, 280, 281, 283
+
+      Schwarte, Matthew, 288
+        Peter, 288
+
+      Schwartz, Arndt, 149
+        Christian, 21, 33, 36, 81
+
+      Schwartzenberg, 310, 312
+
+      Schwartz, Dr. Peter, 297
+
+      Schwendi, Lazarus von, 223
+
+      Schwendi, Lazarus, 242, 243, 245
+
+      Schwenkfeld, Gaspard von, 108
+
+      Schwerin, Marshal Ulrich, 293, 314
+
+      Seld, Dr. George Sigismund, 195, 222, 224, 246
+
+      Selneccerus, 169
+
+      Senckestack, Johannes, 69
+
+      Sickermann, Heindrich, 12
+
+      Siena, Virgo, 172
+
+      Sievershausen, 196, 232
+
+      Silesia, 108, 191, 207
+
+      Sitten, Nanz von, 128
+
+      Sixtus IV., Pope, 156, 157
+
+      Skramon, Admiral Peter, 64
+
+      Sleidan, 188, 196, 203, 219, 234, 239, 240, 241
+
+      Smalkald, xxi., xxii.
+
+      Smeker, H., 309, 310, 311, 312
+
+      Smiterlow, Anna, xvi.
+        Bartholamaei, 4
+        Bertrand, 28, 34, 36, 37, 334-337
+        Christian, 14, 258, 302
+
+      Smiterlow, George, 40, 43, 89,91
+        Johannes, 40
+        Nicholas, xvi., xviii., 4, 5, 10, 12, 14, 18, 20, 26, 29, 31,
+          35, 41, 49, 50, 61, 66-74, 79, 83, 87, 89, 91, 311
+
+      Solms, Count Reinhard, 241
+
+      Sonnenberg, Nicholas, 56, 84, 101
+        Heinrich, 100
+
+      Speckin, Martin, 297
+
+      Spires, xii., xix., xxiii., 9, 52, 103, 105, 106, 108, 111, 114,
+        116, 120, 125-129, 140, 178, 230, 250, 251, 254, 260, 262, 266,
+        271, 273, 279, 282, 301, 307, 310, 312
+
+      Stargurdt, 214
+
+      Stainbruck, 64
+
+      Steinkiller, 333
+
+      Steinwer, Canon Hippolytus, 12, 30
+
+      Sterzing, 177
+
+      Stettin, 16, 17, 35, 103, 190, 253, 257, 266, 267, 273, 279, 282,
+        289, 290, 314
+
+      Stiten, Franz von, 98, 138
+
+      Storentin, Frau, 99
+
+      Stochkolm, 54
+
+      Stolpe, 13, 265, 273, 281, 290
+
+      Stralsund, xv., xvi.-xix., xxiv., 3, 5, 7, 9, 11-28, 40, 43, 45,
+        50, 52, 54, 61, 66, 71, 72, 77, 82, 87, 96, 100, 102, 110, 190,
+        197, 214, 235, 268, 277, 286, 287, 295, 302, 303, 314, 322,
+        328, 330, 333-337
+
+      Stranck, Anna, 58, 59
+
+      Strasburg, 108, 123, 223, 233, 246, 263
+        Bishop of, 129
+
+      Stroientin, Dr. Valentin, 24-26
+
+      Stubenitz, Forest of, 330
+
+      Sturm, Jacob, 233, 234, 235, 246
+
+      Suave, Peter, 11
+
+      Suavenius, Petrus, 228
+
+      Svendsburg, 64
+
+      Swabia, 108, 120, 178, 192, 221
+
+
+
+      Tauber, Dr., 292, 293
+
+      Telchow, Simon, 306, 307
+
+      Terence, xvii.
+
+      Testenhagen, 325
+
+      Thomas, Wolf, 244
+
+      Thun, Peter, 307, 308
+
+      Tollenstein, 65
+
+      Torgau, 193, 197, 217
+        Castle of, 78
+
+      Torrentius, 31
+
+      Trent, xx., 175, 176, 177, 245, 268, 271
+        Cardinal of, 228
+        Council of, 173
+
+      Trepstow, 11, 266
+
+      Treuenbrietzen, 200
+
+      Treves, Elector of, 19
+
+      Truchess, Prelate Otto, 116
+
+      Tulliver, sen., Mr., x.
+
+      Tunis, King of, 245
+
+
+
+      Ulm, 108, 111, 178, 246, 253
+
+      Ulrich, Duke, 143
+
+      Upsal, Archbishop of, 22
+
+      Ukermuende, Geo. von, 11, 12, 128, 236, 289, 290
+
+
+
+      Valentine, 188, 213
+
+      _Valley of Tears_, 143
+
+      Venice, 175, 269
+
+      Verona, 175, 176
+
+      Virgil, 174
+
+      Vischer, L., 15, 19
+
+      Viterbo, 168
+
+      Vogelsberg, Sebastian, 223, 239-245
+
+      Vogt, Johannes, 100
+
+      Voss, Jacob, 320
+
+
+
+      Walde, Dr. B. von, 299, 314, 321
+
+      Wallenstein, xii.
+
+      Walter, Anthony, 99
+
+      Wardenburg, Zutfeld, 12, 26
+
+      Wedel, George von, 205, 207, 210, 222
+
+      Weingarten, Abbe von, 228, 246
+
+      Weinleben, Chancellor, 198
+
+      Welch, 241
+
+      Welfius, Heinrich, xvii.
+
+      Welsers, 216
+
+      Wessels, Franz, 12, 19, 27
+
+      Westphalia, xiii., 256
+
+      Wetteran, 131
+
+      Wetzlar, 12
+
+      Weitmulen, Sebastian von, 191
+
+      Wezer, Martin, 226, 253, 261, 267, 290-293
+
+      Willemberg, Castle of, 200
+
+      Willershagen, 101
+
+      Wismar, 51, 61, 71, 72, 303
+
+      Wissemberg, 223, 227, 240, 242
+
+      Wittenberg, xvi., 6, 11, 14, 17, 18, 40, 95, 103, 188, 193, 194,
+        197, 202, 222, 224, 245, 248, 292
+
+      Wolde, Canon von, 293
+
+      Wolder, Simon, 266, 281
+
+      Wolfenbuttel, 65
+
+      Wolff, Frau, 39
+
+      Wolgang, 228
+
+      Wolgast, xxii., 17, 40, 47, 86, 187, 190, 199, 205, 256, 257,
+        289, 290, 292, 300, 306, 314, 317, 319, 333
+
+      Worms, 9, 116, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 131, 133, 139, 228, 230,
+        250, 251, 260
+
+      Wulflam, Wulf, 56
+
+      Wullenweber, George, xvii., 5, 61-66, 71, 79, 80, 190, 192
+
+      Wurzburg, Bishop of, 106, 246
+
+      Wustenfeld, 309, 311
+
+      Wustenhausen, 316
+
+
+
+      Zell, 122, 254
+
+      Ziegesar, 39
+
+      Ziegler, 267
+
+      Zigler, Dr. Louis, 254
+
+      Zittau, 191
+
+      Zober, 54
+
+      Zwingli, xii.
+
+
+
+                               FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Footnote 1: At the beginning of the sixteenth century the monetary
+unit in Pomerania was the golden florin, which within a fraction
+was equivalent to the Rhenish florin and represented eight francs,
+sixty-five centimes, regard being had to the fact that the value of
+silver compared to that of gold was a third more than to-day. The
+golden florin was divided into forty-eight schellings (not shillings),
+sixteen of which constituted a mark; the schelling again was divided
+into twelve pfenning. The schelling of Hamburg and of Lubeck were worth
+double that of Stralsund.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 2: House property was classified in three categories:
+dwelling houses (_Haeuser_), shops (_Buden_), which were very light
+constructions set apart for trade or for accommodating strangers, and
+cellars (_Keller_), or places below the level of the ground floor. The
+scale of house-tax was for booths, stalls or shops half, for cellars a
+quarter of that due for dwelling-houses. A census of 1554 gives for
+Stralsund 559 houses, 1,133 booths or shops, and 535 cellars; of which
+numbers 30 dwelling houses, 39 booths and 38 cellars are not tenanted.
+To these figures must be added for the faubourgs or beyond the gates
+239 tenements of lesser importance.
+
+On the site of the house in Huns' Street stands or stood a few years
+ago the Hotel Jarmer. An inscription on its frontage recalls the birth
+of Jeremy Sastrow. According to a competent etymological authority, the
+name of the Hunnenstrasse in Greifswald has not the faintest connexion
+with the Huns, but is simply a Low German corruption of Hundestrasse,
+_Platea Canum_, like in Lubeck and in Barth. In the latter town the
+thoroughfare thus designated was the locale of the Prince's pack of
+hounds.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 3: Nicholas Smiterlow, who was councillor in 1507 and
+burgomaster in 1516, enacted an important part at Stralsund at a period
+when the political influence of that city spread far beyond its walls.
+Events pleaded loudly in favour of the resolute and prudent burgomaster
+against his adventurous adversary, George Wullenweber. In spite of his
+dislike to popular agitation, Smiterlow was "one of the first and best
+upholders of the Reformation," if we are to believe the evidence of a
+chronicler of the sixteenth century. He died in July, 1539. Hailing
+originally from Greifswald, he had got married at Stralsund in 1498.
+The Smiterlows, Schmiterlows, or Smiterloews interpreted their name in
+the sense of "Smiters of Lions." Their arms represented a man wielding
+a club and a lion by his side. It was said that during the Crusades
+their ancestor had laid low one of those animals with the blow of a
+club.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 4: It was the custom to give a present to a relative or to a
+friend as a contribution to the furnishing of his house.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 5: When Sastrow became secretary of Stralsund he took care to
+collect, under the title of "Rubrikenbuch" all the documents relating
+to the privileges and property of the city; a collection which proved
+useful to the magistrates in office and which is of interest to-day as
+a contribution to the local history.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 6: The ancient monastery of Belbuck, near Treptow on the
+Rega, became, under Abbot Boldewan, a nursery of learning. From thence
+came George von Ukermuende, who was the first to preach the reformed
+doctrine at Stralsund; the impassioned preacher Kurcke or Kureke;
+Ketelhot, born in 1492, died in 1546, whom the chronicler Berckmann
+calls the "Apostle of Stralsund and the founder of the holy doctrine";
+Peter Suave, the pioneer of the Reformation in Denmark and Holstein;
+and finally, Johannes Bugenhagen, famous under the name of _Pomeranus_,
+born in 1485, died in 1558, pastor at Wittemberg since 1523, the author
+of the first historical work on Pomerania, the translator of the Bible
+into Low-German, and the veritable organizer of Protestantism into
+those northern regions. Duke Bogislaw X, displeased with the spirit
+that prevailed at Belbuck, suppressed that institution in 1523; the
+dispersion of the monks only resulted in the prompter diffusion of the
+new doctrines.
+
+The chronology of the history of the Reformation at Stralsund remained
+uncertain up to 1859, in which year the archives of the Imperial
+Chamber, forgotten at Wetzlar, brought to light the documents in
+connexion with the lawsuit brought by Canon Hippolytus Steinwer against
+Stralsund, in order to despoil the city of certain revenues and
+privileges. The principal dates may be fixed as follows: 1522.--First
+conflict of the city with the Catholic clergy who refuse to be taxed;
+Zutfeld Wardenburg, administrator of the diocese, flies to Rome. 1523
+or end of 1522.--Arrival of the first reformed monks and preachers,
+George Kempe, Heindrich Sichermann, George von Ukermuende. 1524.--First
+preachings of Ketelhot (at Easter), and of Kurcke on St. Michael's Day.
+1525.--The Monday after Palm Sunday (April 10), the churches and
+convents are invaded; suppression of Catholic worship. 1525.--The
+Sunday after All Saints' (November 5), official recognition of the
+Reformation through the promulgation of the ecclesiastical and
+scholastic ordinances of Johannes Alpinus.
+
+With regard to political events the confusion was the same. Otho Frock,
+the recent historian of Pomerania, made it his business to apply the
+remedy, and the following are the results arrived at. 1524, from May to
+June.--Installation of the Forty-Eight; voluntary exile of Smiterlow.
+1525, January.--Frustrated attempt of Smiterlow to return to Stralsund
+with the support of the Hanseatic towns. 1525 (probably April
+15).--Riotous election of Rolof Moller and Christopher Lorbeer as
+burgomasters, of Franz Wessel, Hermann Meyer and six other partisans of
+the Reformation as councillors. 1525 (at St. John).--Entry into
+Stralsund of Dukes George and Barnim; the rendering of homage and
+confirmation of privileges. 1527 (July 24?).--Rolof Moller leaves
+Stralsund, and on August 1 or 5 Smiterlow returns. 1529.--Return and
+death of Rolof Moller.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 7: There are various versions of the origin of this famous
+tumult. According to some documents the servant's mistress was a widow
+named Frese, who lived in the old market.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 8: The fishmonger's bench or stall of Vischer reminds one of
+that of the reformer Froment, preaching on the Place Molard at Geneva,
+just as the departure of the nuns of St. Brigitta, at Stralsund,
+reminds one, though not quite so seriously, of the flitting from Geneva
+of the Sisters of Santa Clara.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 9: In the ducal House of Pomerania the law of succession
+admitted all the sons indistinctly to the throne. They reigned in
+common, but if an understanding was impossible, the county was divided
+between them. In 1478 the whole of Pomerania was united under the
+sceptre of Bogislaw X. At the death of this able prince, which took
+place in 1523, Dukes George and Barnim wielded power conjointly, in
+spite of their utterly opposed sentiments. George remained faithful to
+the old belief; Barnim, on the other hand, proceeded to the university
+of Wittemberg, and in 1519 had accompanied Luther to Leipzig when he
+was disputing with Eck. The honour accrued to Barnim in his capacity of
+rector, a dignity seldom conferred upon a student.
+
+George died in 1531, leaving an only son, Philippe. The division of
+Pomerania long desired by Barnim occurred the following year. Barnim's
+chance gave him Eastern Pomerania as far as the Swine, and with Stettin
+as a residence. To his nephew, Philip I, fell Western Pomerania, of
+which Wolgast became once more the capital. That agreement, concluded
+for ten years, was renewed in 1541, and its effects were prolonged
+until 1625, at which date there was a new reunion under Bogislaw XIV,
+of the Stettin branch, who died in 1637, the last of the House. The
+franchises of Stralsund, in fact, were so extensive as to reduce the
+authority of the princes to a mere nominal rule. The bond between them
+only consisted of a kind of perfunctory rendering of homage and the
+payment of a small tribute, the amount of which had been fixed once for
+all. The suzerain only entered the city after a notice of three months.
+In 1525, with the political and religious crisis at its height, the
+rendering of homage was preceded by protracted negotiations. No
+safe-conduct, though delivered by the prince, was valid at Stralsund
+unless it was countersigned by the council. The city exercised its
+jurisdiction not only within its walls, but in its exterior domains.
+Though exempt from military obligations as far as the reigning dukes
+were concerned, the city imposed compulsory service both by sea and by
+land on its citizens. It had the power to conclude treaties and was its
+sole arbiter with regard to peace or war. These privileges were
+preserved by Stralsund during the whole of the sixteenth century, in
+spite of the decline of the Hanseatic bond.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 10: Franz Wessel, born at Stralsund, September 30, 1487, died
+May 19, 1570, was the son of a brewer of the Lange Strasse. At a very
+early age--when scarcely more than twelve--he embraced a commercial
+career and made long stays in foreign countries, besides pilgrimages to
+Treves, Aix-la-Chapelle, Einfriedlaw, and St. James of Compostella. In
+1516 he was back at Stralsund, and was one of the most energetic and
+first promoters of the Reformation. Councillor in 1524, burgomaster in
+1541, he played a scarcely less important political part. Wessel is the
+author of a curious piece of writing on divine worship at Stralsund at
+the period of papistry. The very year of his death, Gerard Droege,
+who had been brought up in his house, published his biography at
+Rostock.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 11: Christopher Lorbeer, who was councillor in 1507,
+burgomaster in 1524, and who died in 1555, belonged to a much
+respected family of Stralsund and enjoyed great consideration
+there.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 12: According to tradition King Arthur or Artus, chief of the
+Knights of the Round Table, lived in the sixth century. He and his
+companions had devoted themselves to the recovery of the Holy Grail.
+Arthur himself is supposed to have conquered Sweden and Norway. On the
+other hand, the historian Johannes Magnus, Archbishop of Upsal, who
+died in 1554, mentions a Swedish Arthur famed for his doughty deeds,
+and he adds: "Even in our days, there exist in certain towns along the
+Baltic, for instance at Dantzig and Stralsund, houses, _domus Arthi_,
+on which the term illustrious has been bestowed; it is there that the
+notables foregather for the relaxation of their minds, as if it were a
+kind of school of the highest courtesy and amenity." Hence in the
+trading cities of the north the magnificent structures set apart for
+public and private rejoicings, as well as for commercial transactions,
+were intimately bound up with the tradition of a legendary hero. If I
+am not mistaken, only one of those buildings still remains, namely, the
+_Artushof_ of Dantzig, which does duty as an exchange, and the ancient
+halls of which were the scene of the interview of the German Emperor
+and the Czar in September, 1881. The local chroniclers assert that the
+_Artushof_ of Stralsund was built with the ransom of Duke Eric of
+Saxony, taken prisoner by the city troops in 1316 The great fire of
+June 12, 1680, completely destroyed it. On its site stands the official
+residence of the military governor of the place.
+
+When near his end Ketelhot expressed his regret at having, at that
+period of his scant resources, too eagerly accepted the burgher's
+hospitality. Johannes Knipstro (Knypstro or Knipstrow), born May 1,
+1497, at Sandow in the March, was at first a Franciscan monk. He and
+Ketelhot are considered as the most active propagators of the
+Reformation at Stralsund. But for the earnings of his wife, it
+is said, he would have been compelled to beg his bread, his salary
+being too small to keep body and soul together. She was an erewhile
+nun, and provided for both with her needle. Knipstro became
+superintendent-general at Wolgast in 1535, and professor of theology at
+Greifswald. He died October 4, 1556.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 13: Doctor and ducal councillor Valentin Stroientin was the
+friend of Ulrich von Hutten. Bugenhagen dedicated his _Pomerania_ to
+him. He died in 1539.]
+
+[Footnote 14: Johannes Aepinus (in German Hoeck or Hoch, high), was
+born in 1499 at Ziegesar in the Urich, and died in 1553 superintendent
+at Hamburg, where he had discharged the ministry since 1529. Aepinus
+laboured hard at ecclesiastical and scholastic reform. Many writings,
+especially against the Interim, came from his pen.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 15: Hermann Bonnus, born in 1504, near Osnaburgh; he
+preached the new doctrine at Greifswald, Stralsund and Copenhagen, and
+died on February 12, 1548, superintendent at Lubeck, a post which had
+been confided to him in 1531. Bonnus has written a chronicle of
+Lubeck.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 16: Nicholas Gentzkow, doctor of law, born December 6, 1502,
+the son of a shoemaker, according to the annalist Berckmann, and
+deceased February 24, 1576, was elected burgomaster of Stralsund in
+1555. He, nevertheless, remained syndic, that is, legal adviser to the
+city, just as, after his admission to the council, Sastrow continued
+his functions of protonotary, or first secretary. Sastrow, who had many
+disagreements with Gentzkow, as, in fact, with others, succeeded him in
+the dignity of burgomaster. Gentzkow left a diary of which Zober
+published extracts in 1870.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 17: Wulf Wulflam, the head of the patricians of Stralsund,
+and illustrious in virtue of his warlike exploits, treated on
+a footing of equality with the crowned heads of the fourteenth
+century.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 18: The same story is related of the Schwerin family at
+Lubeck.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 19: A jocular allusion to the three Maries of Bethany, viz.,
+the mother of James the Minor and sister of the Virgin; the mother of
+the Apostles James and John, and Mary of Magdala.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 20: The dean of the Drapers had precedence of the deans of
+all the other corporations; in all the ceremonies he came immediately
+after the council.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 21: George Wullenweber was born about 1492, probably at
+Hamburg. When the political and religious struggle broke out at Lubeck,
+he was settled there as a merchant, and he distinguished himself by
+being in the front rank clamouring for changes. At the end of February,
+1533, he was elected councillor and afterwards burgomaster. From that
+moment the whole of his attempts tended in the direction of the
+restoration of the commercial monopoly the Hanseatic cities had so long
+possessed on the shores of the Baltic. The aim was to close those ports
+to the Dutch merchant navy, and to cause the influence of Lubeck to
+prevail in the three Scandinavian kingdoms.
+
+In the spring of 1533, Lubeck made up its mind to come to close
+quarters with the Dutch, those detested rivals. A well-equipped fleet
+stood out to sea; the erewhile landsknecht, Marcus Meyer, who began by
+being a blacksmith at Hamburg, and had married the rich widow of a
+burgomaster, assumed the command of the mercenaries. The others had,
+however, been forewarned, and only some unimportant captures were made.
+Meyer, after having confiscated English merchandize found on board of
+the captured craft, made the mistake of landing on the English coast to
+revictual; he was arrested for piracy and taken to London. By a whim of
+Henry VIII, jealous of the power of the Netherlands and of Charles V,
+Marx Meyer, instead of being put to death, received a knighthood and
+immediately served as an intermediary between the king and Wullenweber
+in the more or less serious negotiations they started.
+
+This first campaign had cost much, and its issue was not very
+profitable. The Dutch fleet had got some good prizes, and pillaged on
+the Schonen (Swedish) coast some of the factories belonging to the
+Hanseatic combination. The complaints of the traders themselves became
+general. Was the war to be pursued? A diet foregathered at Hamburg in
+March, 1534, in order to come to an understanding. Wullenweber was
+received with universal recrimination; his haughty attitude drew from
+the Stralsund delegate the famous and prophetic reminder recorded by
+Sastrow a few pages further on. The proud burgomaster left the place at
+the end of a few days, angry and embittered at heart; in spite of this,
+an armistice of four years was signed:
+
+Naturally, Wullenweber felt it incumbent to retrieve this check. The
+elective throne of Denmark had become vacant through the death of
+Frederick I of Holstein: His son, Christian III, was unfavourably
+disposed towards the Hanseatic cities. Under those circumstances
+Wullenweber hit upon the idea of the candidature of Christian II, who
+had been deposed and afterwards confined to the castle of Sunderburg in
+the island of Alsen. A condottiere of high birth, Christopher of
+Oldenburg, accepted the chief command of the expedition. But the bold
+burgomaster, not satisfied with the restoration of Christian II.,
+offered to Duke Albrecht of Mecklenburg the crown of Sweden at that
+time borne by Gustavus Wasa. That monarch had committed the blunder of
+not showing himself sufficiently grateful for the aid lent to him by
+Lubeck in days gone by.
+
+The beginnings of the campaign were successful. Copenhagen opened even
+its doors to the Count of Oldenburg. Christian III, however, had
+secured an able captain in Count Johannes Rantzau, who, leaving the
+enemy to carry on his devastations in Sealand, boldly came to invest
+Lubeck, inflicted a bloody defeat on Marx Meyer and captured eight
+vessels of war. Wullenweber understood that it was time to make
+concessions; his partners retired from the councils, and on November
+18, 1534, the very curious convention with Rantzau was concluded at
+Stockeldorf by which the Lubeckers were left free to continue warring
+in Denmark in favour of Christian II, but bound themselves to cease
+hostilities in Holstein.
+
+The candidates for the Danish throne increased. Albrecht of Mecklenburg
+and even Count Christopher laid more and more stress upon their
+pretensions; Wullenweber, in order to conciliate the Emperor, put
+forward at the eleventh hour the name of a personage agreeable to the
+House of Hapsburg, namely, Count Palatine Frederick, the son-in-law of
+Christian II. The war went on with Christian III, whose cause Gustavus
+Wasa had espoused. Marx Meyer fell into the hands of the enemy; left
+prisoner on parole, he broke his pledge, made himself master of the
+very castle of Warburg that had been assigned to him as a residence,
+and his barbaric and cruel incursions terrified the country all round.
+The naval battle of Borholm on June 9, 1535, was not productive of a
+decisive result, a storm having dispersed the opposing fleets, but on
+June 11 Johannes Rantzau scored a victory on land in Denmark; and
+finally, on June 16, at Svendsburg, the Lubeck fleet fell without
+firing a shot into the hands of Admiral Peter Skramon. Added to all
+these catastrophes, Lubeck was threatened with being put outside the
+pale of the Empire; the game was evidently lost. Nevertheless peace
+with Christian III was only signed on February 14, 1536.
+
+Marx Meyer, after a splendid defence, surrendered Warburg, on the
+condition of his retiring with the honours of war; in spite of their
+promise, the Danes tried and executed him together with his brother on
+June 17, 1536. On July 28 of the same year Copenhagen capitulated,
+after having sustained a twelve months' investment, aggravated by
+famine. Christian III gave their liberty to Duke Albrecht of
+Mecklenburg and to Count Christopher, although he inflicted repeated
+humiliations on the latter. As for the Duke, the adventure left him
+crestfallen for a long while.
+
+At Lubeck the men of the old regime obtained power once more,
+Wullenweber having resigned towards the end of August, 1535. In the
+beginning of October, while crossing the territory of the Archbishop of
+Bremen, the brother of his enemy, Duke Heinrich the Younger, of
+Brunswick, he was arrested, taken to the castle of Rothenburg, and put
+on the rack as a traitor, an anabaptist and a malefactor. After which
+he was transferred to the castle of Stainbrueck, between Brunswick and
+Hildesheim, and flung into a narrow dungeon, where to this day the
+following inscription records the event: "Here George Wullenweber
+suffered, 1536-1537." Finally, on September 24, a court of aldermen
+summoned at Tollenstein, near Wolfenbuettel, by Heindrich of Brunswick,
+sentenced the wretched man to suffer death by the sword, a sentence
+which was carried out immediately, the executioner quartering the body
+and putting it on the wheel. Such was the deplorable end of the man
+whose ambition had dreamt the political and commercial domination of
+his country in the north of Europe. According to a sailor's ditty of
+old, "The people of Lubeck are regretting every day the demise of
+Master George Wullenweber." The historian Waitz has devoted three
+volumes to the career of the famous burgomaster; the purely literary
+men and dramatic authors, Kruse and Gutzkow, have also seized upon this
+dramatic figure.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 22: Under the name of Wends, the Sclavs settled on the shores
+of the Baltic, engaged in maritime traffic, and became the founders of
+the Hanseatic League. In the sixteenth century the kernel of that
+confederation still consisted of the group of the six Wendish cities:
+"Lubeck the chief one, Hamburg, Luneburg, Rostock, Stralsund and
+Wismar."--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 23: The Hanseatic League had established its most important
+factories, and above all for the herring traffic, in Schonen; enormous
+fairs were being held there from the beginning of July to the end of
+November. The centre of all this commerce was Falsterbo, at the extreme
+southwest of Sweden.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 24: Valentin Eichstedt died in 1600 as Chancellor of Wolgast.
+He wrote the life of Duke Philip I, an _Epitome Annalium Pomerania_ and
+_Annales Pomeraniae_. Johannes Berckmann, a former monk of the order of
+St. Augustine, and preacher, an eye-witness of the scenes of the
+Reformation at Stralsund, is the author of a chronicle of that city
+which was published in 1833 by Mohnike and Gober. Sastrow has now and
+again borrowed from him for events anterior to his personal
+recollections; he nevertheless rarely misses an opportunity of
+attacking his fellow-worker in history. This may have been due to
+hatred of the popular party and perhaps to professional jealousy, apart
+from the fact of Berckmann being more favourable to his patron Christopher
+Lorbeer than to Burgomaster Nicholas Smiterlow. Born about the end of
+the fifteenth century, Berckmann died in 1560.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 25: Robert Barnes, chaplain to Henry VIII, and sent by the
+latter to Wittemberg in order to consult the theologians on the subject
+of Henry's divorce from Catherine of Arragon. At his return to London
+he showed so much zeal for the new faith that Henry sent him to the
+Tower. He recanted in order to recover his freedom; then overwhelmed
+with remorse fled to Wittemberg and stayed there several years with
+Bugenhagen under the name of Dr. Antonius Anglus. Henry VIII, after his
+rupture with the Pope, reinstated Barnes as his chaplain and entrusted
+him with the negotiations of his marriage with Anne of Cleves; but when
+the divorce took place, Barnes was brought before Parliament and was
+burned July 30, 1540. He wrote the lives of the Roman pontiffs from St.
+Peter to Alexander III.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 26: Arnold Bueren, the son of a peasant, took his name from
+the hamlet of Bueren, in Westphalia, in the neighbourhood of which he
+was born, in 1484. He spent fifteen years at Wittemberg with Luther and
+Melanchthon. The latter recommended him to the Duke of Mecklenburg,
+Henry the Pacific, as a tutor to his son Magnus, who was reported to be
+the most learned prince of his times. To Bueren belongs the credit of
+having restored the prestige of the University of Rostock, seriously
+impaired by the pest and by the troubles of the Reformation. He died on
+September 16, 1566. His tomb is in St. Mary's, at Rostock; among the
+scutcheons adorning it are the Genevese key and eagle.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 27: The herring fishery and the brewing industry gave a great
+importance to the coopers' guild, which was moreover protected against
+foreign competition by ancient enactments.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 28: Gaspard von Schwenkfeld, born in 1490 at the castle of
+Offing, in Silesia, died at Ulm in 1561. Entered into holy orders, he
+reproached Luther with restoring the reign of literal interpretation
+and with neglecting the spirit. Banished from Silesia as a fanatic, he
+made his way to Southern Germany, and stayed at Strasburg, Augsburg,
+Spires and Ulm. For some time he seemed to incline towards the
+Anabaptists, but soon parted from them to found a particular sect. He
+taught that God reveals Himself in direct communication to every man,
+and that regeneration is accomplished by the spiritual life and not by
+outward means of grace. His profound conviction and great piety gained
+him many adherents, notably in Swabia and Silesia. A colony of his
+persecuted disciples settled in Philadelphia, U.S.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 29: At the head of the bands recruited by the Duke of Cleves
+and the King of Denmark, Martin van Rosse, or von Rossheim, acting in
+concert with the French troops, had ravaged Brabant. Not only did the
+Duke of Cleves retain Guelderland, on which Charles V pretended to
+have claims, but he continued his intrigues with France and Denmark. To
+put an end to these, Charles, in 1543, got together 35,000 men,
+Spaniards, Italians and Germans, and proceeded down the Rhine. The
+fortified place of Dueren having been carried by assault, the Duke
+considered himself lucky to be able to conclude a peace which only cost
+him Guelderland, and Martin van Rosse took service once more with the
+Emperor.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 30: Sastrow has the whole of the grant of poet laureate,
+with the full description of the arms conferred. In reality it
+was not a patent of nobility in the proper significance of the
+term.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 31: Les especes enlevees, il renferma la bourse et le fou de
+s'ecrier: "Monseigneur, appelez votre coquin de pretre (il ne le
+calumnioit point) qu'on le taille a son tour. Votre Grace sait qu'il a
+engrosse une fille de Butzbach." On suspendit derriere le poele les
+angelots cousus dans un sachet.]
+
+[Footnote 32: Duke Henry of Brunswick endeavoured to hold his own
+against the Protestant princes, but in 1545, abandoned by the
+mercenaries, he was compelled to surrender to the Landgrave Philip of
+Hesse.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 33: On the subject of the child Simeon, the following may be
+read with interest in the martyrology of the Israelites, entitled _Emek
+Habakha_, or _The Valley of Tears_ (published by Julian See, 1881): "At
+that period (1475), a scoundrel named Enzo, of Trent, in Italy, killed
+a child of two years old with the name of Simeon and flung it secretly
+into a pond, not far from the house of the Jew Samuel without any one
+having seen the deed. Immediately, as usual, the Jews were accused of
+it. At the order of the bishop their houses were entered into; the
+child, of course, was not found, and everybody went back to his home.
+The body was found afterwards. The bishop, after having had it examined
+on the spot itself, ordered the arrest of all the Jews, who were
+harassed and tortured to such a degree as to confess to a thing which
+had never entered their mind. Only one among them, a very old man,
+named Moses, refused to avow this signal falsehood and died under his
+torture. May the Lord reward him according to his piety."
+
+Two Christians, learned and versed in the law came from Padua to judge
+for themselves. The wrath of the inhabitants of Trent was kindled
+against them and they were nearly killed. The bishop condemned the
+Jews, heaped bitterness upon them, tortured them with red-hot pincers,
+finally burned them, and their guiltless souls ascended to heaven. He
+subsequently took possession of all their property as he had intended,
+and filled his cellars with spoil. The child was already reported as
+admitted among the saints, and was supposed to perform miracles. The
+bishop disseminated the announcement of it throughout all the
+provinces, crowds rushed to see, and they did not come empty-handed.
+All the people of that country began to show great hatred to the Jews
+in the spots where they resided, and ceased to speak peacefully to
+them. Meanwhile, the bishop having asked the pope to canonize the
+child, considering that it was among the saints, the pope sent one of
+his cardinals with the title of legate to examine the affair more
+closely, and the latter did not fail before long to discover that it
+was nothing but an imposture and fancy. He also wished to see the
+corpse; the corpse was embalmed. Thereupon the cardinal began to jeer;
+he declared in the presence of the people that it was nothing but sheer
+deception. The people, however, became furious against him; he was
+obliged to flee and to take refuge in a neighbouring town. When there
+he sent for all the documents relating to the avowals of the
+unfortunate Jews and the measures taken against them, had the servant
+of the scoundrel who killed the child arrested, and the latter declared
+that the crime had been committed by order of the bishop in order to
+ruin the Jews. The cardinal took the servant with him to Rome, gave an
+account of his mission to the pope, who refused to canonize the child
+as the bishop kept asking him. The child was only "beatified," but up
+to the present (1540) it has not been "canonized." Still, it was
+canonized in 1588, and its "day" is celebrated with great pomp at Trent
+on March 24.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 34: Ascagne, Count of St. Florian and Cardinal, was the son
+of Constance Farnese, daughter of Pope Paul III.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 35: Duke Octavius was the son of Peter-Aloys
+Farnese.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 36: This epicure was prelate of Augsburg, Johannes Fugger,
+who in reality travelled for the sole purpose of getting a knowledge of
+the different vintages. His servant had the following words cut on his
+tombstone: "_Est, Est, Est et propter nimium Est; dominus meus mortuus
+est._" The defunct left a legacy to empty so many bottles of wine on
+his grave once a year, a ceremony replaced nowadays by a distribution
+of bread to the poor. The wine of Montefiascone owes its name of _Est,
+Est, Est_ to this adventure.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 37: The famous Captain Schaertlin von Burtenbach had received
+the command of the Protestant forces, among which figured the
+contingents of Ulm and Augsburg: The successful night-surprise against
+the fortress of Ehrenberg-Klause marks the beginning of the war of
+Schmalkalden. From that moment Schaertlin, having become master of the
+passages of the Tyrol, could stop the reinforcements despatched from
+Italy to the emperor; he could descend into the plain and drive away
+the Council of Trent. The citizens of Augsburg, though, being anxious
+for the safety of their own town, pressed him to come back. "He obeyed,
+racked," says one of his own companions, "by the same despair that
+Hannibal felt when recalled from Italy by Carthage." The taking of the
+same fortress by Mauritz of Saxony in 1552 compelled Charles V to leave
+Innspruck in hot haste.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 38: Here follows a very unsavoury passage, showing the
+lamentable want of cleanliness even among the educated middle classes
+in the sixteenth century throughout Europe, for the particulars given
+by Sastrow did not apply to Germany only.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 39: It is not the final dissolution brought about by the
+defeat of Muehlberg. A passage from Sleidan explains the league of
+Schmalkalden at the end of 1546. "The embassies of the Protestants,
+which were not agreed, foregathered with the hope of being enabled to
+deliberate more efficiently. But inasmuch as the 'Allied of the
+Religion' gave no help, and the confederates of Luneburg and Pomerania
+did not assist in anything, inasmuch as the other States and towns of
+Saxony were most sparing with their subsidies, as there came nothing
+from France, and the army dwindled down day by day because the soldiers
+took their discharge on account of the season and other discomforts, it
+was proposed to adopt one of three measures: to give battle, to retire
+and put the soldiers into winter quarters, or to make peace. The
+discussion resulted in a hint to make peace. But because the emperor,
+who was aware of the state of things through his spies, proposed too
+onerous conditions, it was decided to take the whole of the army into
+Saxony. In consequence of all this, the war was by no means
+successfully conducted."--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 40: Gaspard Pflug, the chief of the Protestant party in
+Bohemia, must not be mistaken for Julius Pflug, Bishop of Naumburg, one
+of the three men who drew up "the Interim."--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 41: Sastrow gives only one specimen, but I cannot reproduce
+it.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 42: After the victory of Muehlberg, the imperial army went to
+lay siege to Wittenberg, which finally capitulated at the advice of
+Johannes Friedrich of Sachsen himself.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 43: The jurist, George Sigismund Seld, born in 1516, the son
+of a goldsmith at Augsburg, had become vice-chancellor at the death of
+Nares. His deputies were Johannes Marquardt of Baden, and Heinrich
+Hase, formerly counsellor to the Count Palatine and the Prince of
+Deux-Ponts. Seld died in 1565.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 44: Christopher von Carlowitz, born at Heimsdorff, near
+Dresden, on December 7, 1507, died on January 8, 1578. He was the able
+counsellor of the valiant but changeable Maurice of Saxony, who, as is
+well known, deserted the Protestant side for that of the emperor, and
+was rewarded with the electoral dignity of which his kinsman and
+neighbour Johannes-Friedrich was deprived. A few years later, Maurice,
+at the head of the vanquished of Muehlberg, recommenced the struggle
+against the emperor, and in 1552 imposed upon that monarch the peace of
+Passau. In July 1553 Maurice met with a glorious death on the
+battlefield of Sievershausen, where the Margrave of Brandenburg
+suffered a defeat.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 45: It was at Ingoldstadt that the challenge of the
+Protestant princes was presented to Charles V. by a young squire,
+accompanied by a trumpeter. The emperor simply sent word to the two
+messengers that he granted them a safe-conduct; as for those by whom
+they were sent, he should know how to deal with them. That is the
+modern version of Ranke. According to Sastrow there were two challenges
+and he gives them both. The first was brought to Landshut by a
+gentleman accompanied by a trumpeter. Charles refused to receive him.
+The second is that of Ingoldstadt, and is posterior by three weeks to
+the other. It was presented on September 2. "This missive," adds
+Sastrow, "has been the cause of all the great ills that have befallen
+Germany, and I verily believe that wishing to chastise the German
+nation for her sins, God allowed it to be written with infernal ink.
+Neither Sleidan nor Beuter mentions it; it seems to me that there was
+an attempt to garble or altogether to suppress it."--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 46: Sastrow had no easy task for his diplomatic beginnings:
+Charles V had gained the crushing victory of Muehlberg over the German
+Protestants on April 24, 1547; the League of Schmalkalden had ceased to
+exist; its chiefs, the Elector Johannes-Friedrich of Sachsen and the
+Landgrave of Hesse, Philip the Magnanimous, were both prisoners. Though
+they were members of that league since 1536, the Dukes of Pomerania
+had, it is true, observed a neutral attitude during the latter years;
+nevertheless, the emperor's resentment inspired them, not without
+reason, with great fear. Preparations for defence commenced everywhere;
+Greifswald and Stralsund strengthened and increased their
+fortifications. Finally, the dukes obtained their pardon, in
+consideration of humiliating excuses, the acceptance of the Interim,
+and the payment of a large contribution, towards which Stralsund
+contributed 10,000 florins.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 47: The Duke Frederick III von Liegnitz in Silesia, born in
+1520, had become reigning duke in 1547. His ill-regulated conduct
+caused him to be called "the Extravagant." Finally, the Emperor ordered
+him to be deposed. Frederick III, who died in 1570, spent the last six
+years of his life dependent upon private charity at the castle of
+Liegnitz. Heindrich XI, his son and successor, followed his example in
+every respect.
+
+Far distant from Silesia, in a mountainous region of Switzerland, there
+lived at that period another offshoot of an illustrious princely house,
+namely, Count Michael de Gruyere, who, the last of his race, was soon
+compelled to abandon to his creditors even the manor of his ancestors
+By a curious coincidence the two incorrigible spendthrifts met at the
+French court and became, it appears intimately acquainted, for the
+noble Silesian paid a visit to the French noble in 1551 at his seat at
+Devonne, near Geneva. It would be impossible to conceive a better
+matched couple. Michael, finding his guest to be suffering from fever
+caused by a fall from his horse at Lyons, took him to the Castle of
+Gruyere. True to his custom, Frederick soon asked for a loan, and
+obtained a big sum which the count himself had borrowed.
+
+When it came to repayment they fell out; there was a lawsuit at
+Friburg, and the Duke, ordered to refund, gave some jewels as security,
+which, after all, were not redeemed. A letter from the Countess de
+Gruyere says, in fact, that Count Michael, holding several precious
+stones of great beauty, having belonged to the Duke von Liegnitz, has
+pledged part of them with the lords of Lucerne and another part with
+various people of Friburg. An innkeeper of that town with whom
+the prince had lodged put a distraint on certain jewels and other
+objects. Frederick succeeded in leaving the country, as usual, without
+paying.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 48: Those who refused to Charles V the title of Emperor
+Called him Charles of Ghent.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 49: Lazarus von Schwendi was born in 1525. After a brilliant
+university career at Basle and Strasburg, he entered the service of
+Charles V, who employed him both in warfare and in diplomatic
+negotiations. It was he who was ordered to arrest, at Wissemburg,
+Sebastian Vogelsberg, who, in spite of the Emperor's prohibition,
+had taken service with France, and was relentlessly executed as an
+example to Schaerlin and other Protestant captains who had taken refuge
+at the court of the king. Schwendi became a member of the Imperial
+Council for German Affairs. He went through all the campaigns in
+Germany, the Low Countries and Hungary. In 1564 he was appointed
+general-in-chief against the Turks. He retired to Alsace, and died
+there in May, 1583, bequeathing to Strasburg ten thousand florins for
+poor students.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 50: Nicholas Perrenot de Granvelle, born at Ornans (Doubs) in
+1486, died at Augsburg in 1550. He was the most influential minister of
+Charles V. His son, Anthony, who was born at Besancon in 1517,
+inherited the paternal omnipotence. Appointed Bishop of Arras
+at twenty-three years of age, he died a cardinal at Madrid in
+1586.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 51: These "Portuguese" golden coins were pieces of mark and
+often served as presents.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 52: Margrave Albrecht of Brandenburg-Culmbach, nicknamed
+Alcibiades, was born in 1522 and died in 1555. These two princes were
+fated to oppose each other in 1553 at Sievershausen, where Maurice,
+though victorious, perished. He had been ordered to reduce Albrecht
+to order, as the latter continued to trouble the peace of the
+Empire.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 53: "Truc" was a kind of game of skill, not unlike billiards,
+but more like bagatelle. There is a reproduction from an ancient
+picture of a "truc" board in Richter's _Bilder aus der Deutschen
+Kulturgeschichte_, vol. ii. p. 385.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 54: At a grand ball at the court of Philip V of Spain,
+the Duke de Saint Simon saw nearly two centuries later the ladies
+seated on the carpet covering the floor of one of the reception
+rooms.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 55: Jacob Sturm, of Sturmeck, the great magistrate and
+reformer of Strasburg, "the ornament of the German nobility," and who
+undertook not less than ninety-one missions between 1525 and 1552. He
+was born at Strasburg in 1489, and died therein 1553.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 56: Of all the towns of Upper Germany Constance was the last
+to submit to the emperor. On August 6, 1548, it was suddenly placed
+without the ban of the Empire, and on the same day a contingent of
+Spaniards endeavoured to take it by force. Though surprised, the
+inhabitants took up arms. The enemy, already master of the advanced
+part of the town, made for the bridge over the Rhine, and it was feared
+that they would enter pell-mell with the retreating defenders. At that
+critical moment, a burgher who was hard pressed by two Spaniards,
+performed an act of heroism; he took hold of his adversaries, and
+recommending his soul to God, dragged them into the stream with him,
+giving his townsmen time to close the gates. Constance escaped for the
+nonce, but, after having vainly waited for help, it had to capitulate
+on the following October 14.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 57: Sastrow's portrait is wanting in the collection of
+portraits of the burgomasters of Stralsund. The passage above suggests
+Sastrow's likeness to Jacob Sturm.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 58: The "Interim" was the document drawn up by Charles V in
+1548, which, until the decision of a general Church Convocation, was to
+guide both Catholics and Protestants, which document was disliked by
+both.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 59: Johannes Walther von Hirnheim belonged to an old knightly
+family and had no children by his wife Margaret Goeslin.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 60: In 1548, after the promulgation of the "Interim,"
+Melanchthon and some other theologians proposed a _modus vivendi_ which
+was called the "Leipzig Interim." They accepted the jurisdiction of
+bishops, confirmation and last unction, fasts and feasts, even those of
+the _Corpus Domini_, and nearly the whole of the ancient Canon of the
+Mass. All this, according to them, was so much _adiophora_, in other
+words, things of no importance, to submit to which was perfectly
+permissible for the sake of the unity and peace of the Church. This
+concession, which was considered as a sign of weakness by many, caused
+an animated polemical strife.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 61: The Lloytz were the richest merchants of Stettin. They
+went bankrupt in 1572 for twenty "tuns" of gold, i.e. for 280,000
+pounds sterling. Half a century later the council of Stettin still
+attributed the bad state of business to that failure.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 62: The letter of the celebrated geographer is in Latin and
+reads as follows: "I received thy letter dated from Spires January 22,
+together with a large bundle of manuscripts and maps coming from
+Pomerania. The ducal chancellor Citzewitz when I saw him promised me
+those documents before Christmas without fail. We even waited for
+another month, and nothing having come, we proceeded with our work. The
+same thing happened with the Duchy of Cleves. In the one case as in the
+other, I decline all responsibility, for in both I gave the rulers of
+those countries ample notice. Herr Petrus Artopaeus asks me to send
+thee the map of Pomerania, which he dispatched to me from Augsburg two
+years ago. I comply with his wish; thou no doubt knowest what to do
+with it. At the Frankfurt fair I shall write to the Chancellor of
+Pomerania; I am too busy to do so at present: We are printing the last
+sheets of the _Cosmographiae_; the printer must be ready to offer this
+costly work for sale at the next fair, and it must be illustrated with
+a number of figures. Among the things sent from Pomerania, I have found
+the drawing of a big black fish with an explanation which I detach from
+it in order for thee to copy it clearly, for I have my doubts about the
+word '_Braunfisch_' (if I have read aright), and even stronger doubts
+with regard to the English and Spanish. I shall feel obliged by thy
+writing me those names more distinctly and to send them to me at the
+Easter vacation by one of the many merchants from Basle who pass
+through Spires on their return from the fair. Meanwhile, I wish thee
+good health! Basle, Wednesday after _Riminiscere_ (the second Sunday in
+Lent)." The printer of the _Cosmographie_ was H. Petri. Artopaeus
+points out the theologian Peter Becker as the author of the description
+of Pomerania largely consulted by Muenster.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 63: A very ancient custom obliged the Ammeister, or first
+magistrate of Strasburg, regularly to take his two meals per day during
+his year of office at the expense of the city, at "The Lantern," unless
+he preferred the stewpans patronized by his own tribe. The table was
+open to every one willing to pay the fixed price. "_Ad istum prandium
+omnibus et incolis et peregrinis pro certo pretio accedere licet_,"
+says the _Itinerarium Germaniae_ of Hentzer, who visited Strasburg in
+1599. Seven years later a gentleman from the March mentions also in his
+journal the _Ammeisterstube_ (the _Ammeister's_ room), where the
+_Ammeister_ and two _Stadmeister_ take their daily meals. Everybody is
+free to go in and to be served by paying. Each tribe (set) has its
+particular stewpan. What becomes of the _Ammeister's_ usual haunt when
+the _Ammeister_ is a member of that particular tribe? Nevertheless, the
+establishment mostly patronized is that of the Grain Market, which is
+conveniently situated. Among other strictly observed formalities are
+the blessing and the grace, announced by the rapping with a wand, and
+the proceedings are always opened by a reminder of the submission due
+to the authorities. The custom no doubt had its origin in the
+provisions for public order which induced the magistrates of Geneva to
+close all the taverns in 1546. They were replaced by five so-called
+abbeys, each having at its head one of the four syndics or their
+lieutenant; but after a few weeks, this reform, the idea of which had
+been brought, perhaps, from Strasburg by Calvin had to be abandoned.
+The _Ammeister_ for 1570 being too feeble to eat twice a day at the
+expense of the city, the supper was suppressed. It would appear,
+however, that the magistrates "forgot themselves" at table, for the
+Council of Fifteen made an order in 1585 obliging the _Ammeister_ to be
+at the Town Hall at one o'clock. "The magistrates too often only
+appeared at the Senate and at the chancellerie between three and four
+o'clock," says a chronicler. Apparently the order did not remedy the
+evil, as in 1627 it was decided to do away with the ancient
+institution.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 64: An allusion to the thief whose execution Sastrow saw in
+Rome.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 65: The bishopric of Cammin had been secularized; the
+importance of the debate bore wholly upon the revenues.--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 66: This son, who became a doctor of law and who died in 1593
+without issue, had a very hasty temper. On one occasion he drew his
+sword at a sitting of the Council whither his father had sent him to
+present a document. On another occasion he shook the hall by violently
+striking the magisterial bench with his fist, while his father kept
+saying: "Gently, Johannes, gently."--Translator.]
+
+[Footnote 67: It is to his two daughters Catherine and Amnistia, and to
+his two sons-in-law Heinrich Gottschalk and Jacob Clerike, and to their
+children, that Sastrow has dedicated his _Memoirs_, his son being
+already dead.--Translator.]
+
+
+
+                               *   *   *
+
+    Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bartholomew Sastrow, by
+Bartholomew Sastrow and Albert D. Vandam
+
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