XXIII.
Atlantis' Story.
Chriemhild and I have always been the least clever of the family, andwith much less that is distinctive about us. Indeed, I do not thinkthere is anything particularly characteristic about us, except our beingtwins. Thekla says we are pure Saxons, and have neither of us anythingof the impetuous Czech or Bohemian blood; which may so far be good forme, because Conrad has not a little of the vehement Swiss character inhim. Every one always spoke of Chriemhild and me, and thought of ustogether; and when they called us the beauties of the family, I thinkthey chiefly meant that we looked pleasant together by contrast. Theklasays God sends the flowers into the world as twins; contrasting witheach other just as we did,--the dark-eyed violets with the fairprimroses; golden gorse, and purple heather. Chriemhild she usedsometimes to call sister Primrose, and me sister Violet. Chriemhild,however, is beautiful by herself without me,--so tall, and fair, andplacid, and commanding-looking, with her large grey eyes, her calm broadbrow, and her erect full figure, which always made her gentle mannerseem condescending like a queen's. But I am nothing without Chriemhild;only people used to like to see my small slight figure, and my blackeyes and hair, beside hers.
I wonder what Conrad Winkelried's people will think of me in thatfar-off mountainous Switzerland whither he is to take me! He is surethey will all love me; but how can I tell? Sometimes my heart flutters agreat deal to think of leaving home, and Else and the dear mother, andall. It is true Chriemhild seemed to find it quite natural when the timecame, but she is so different. Every one was sure to be pleased withChriemhild.
And I am so accustomed to love and kindness. They all know me so wellhere, and how much less clever I am than the rest, that they all bearwith me tenderly. Even Thekla, who is often a little vehement, is alwaysgentle with me, although she may laugh a little sometimes when I sayanything more foolish than usual. I am so often making discoveries ofthings that every one else knew long since. I do not think I am so muchafraid on my own account, because I have so little right to expectanything, and always get so much more than I deserve from our dearheavenly Father and from every one. Only on Conrad's account I shouldlike to be a little wiser, because he knows so many languages, and is sovery clever. When I spoke to Else about it once, she smiled and said shehad the same kind of fears once, but if we ask him, God will always giveus just the wisdom we want day by day. It is part of the "daily bread,"she said. And certainly Else is not learned, and yet every one lovesher, and she does so much good in a quiet way. But then, although she isnot learned, she seems to me wise in little things. And she used towrite a Chronicle when she was younger than I am. She told me so,although I have never seen it. I have been thinking that perhaps it iswriting the Chronicle that has made her wise, and therefore I intend totry to write one. But as at present I can think of nothing to say of myown, I will begin by copying a narrative Conrad lent me to read a fewdays since, written by a young Swiss student, a friend of his, who hasjust come to Wittemberg from St. Gall, where his family live. His nameis Johann Kessler, and Conrad thinks him very good and diligent.
"_Copy of Johann Kessler's Narrative._
"As we were journeying towards Wittemberg to study the Holy Scriptures,at Jena we encountered a fearful tempest, and after many inquiries inthe town for an inn where we might pass the night, we could find none,either by seeking or asking; no one would give us a night's lodging. Forit was carnival time, when people have little care for pilgrims andstrangers. So we went forth again from the town, to try if we could finda village where we might rest for the night.
"At the gate, however, a respectable-looking man met us, and spokekindly to us, and asked whither we journeyed so late at night, since inno direction could we reach house or inn where we could find shelterbefore dark night set in. It was, moreover, a road easy to lose; hecounselled us, therefore, to remain all night where we were.
"We answered,--
"'Dear father, we have been at all the inns, and they sent us from oneto another; everywhere they refused us lodging; we have, therefore, nochoice but to journey further.'
"Then he asked if we had also inquired at the sign of the Black Bear.
"Then we said,--
"'We have not seen it. Friend, where is it?'
"Then he led us a little out of the town. And when we saw the BlackBear, lo, whereas all the other landlords had refused us shelter, thelandlord there came himself out at the gate to receive us, bade uswelcome, and led us into the room.
"There we found a man sitting alone at the table, and before him lay alittle book. He greeted us kindly, asked us to draw near, and to placeourselves by him at the table. For our shoes (may we be excused forwriting it) were so covered with mud and dirt, that we were ashamed toenter boldly into the chamber, and had seated ourselves on a littlebench in a corner near the door.
"Then he asked us to drink, which we could not refuse. When we saw howcordial and friendly he was, we seated ourselves near him at his tableas he had asked us, and ordered wine that we might ask him to drink inreturn. We thought nothing else but that he was a trooper, as he satthere, according to the custom of the country, in hosen and tunic,without armour, a sword by his side, his right hand on the pommel of hissword, his left grasping its hilt. His eyes were black and deep,flashing and beaming like a star, so that they could not well be lookedat.
"Soon he began to ask what was our native country. But he himselfreplied,--
"'You are Switzers. From what part of Switzerland?"
"We answered,--
"'From St Gall.'
"Then he said,--
"If you are going hence to Wittemberg, as I hear, you will find goodfellow-countrymen there, namely, Doctor Hieronymus Schurf, and hisbrother, Doctor Augustin.'
"We said,--
"'We have letters to them.' And then we inquired,
"'Sir, can you inform us if Martin Luther is now at Wittemberg, or ifnot, where he is?'
"He said,--
"'I have reliable information that Luther is not now at Wittemberg. Hewill, however, soon be there. Philip Melancthon is there now; he teachesGreek, and others teach Hebrew. I counsel you earnestly to study both;for both are necessary in order to understand the Holy Scriptures.'
"We said,--
"'God be praised! For if God spare our lives we will not depart till wesee and hear that man; since on his account we have undertaken thisjourney, because we understood that he purposes to abolish thepriesthood, together with the mass, as an unfounded worship. For as wehave from our youth been destined by our parents to be priests, we wouldknow what kind of instruction he will give us, and on what authority heseeks to effect such an object.'
"After these words, he asked,--
"'Where have you studied hitherto?'
"Answer, 'At Basel.'
"Then he said, 'How goes it at Basel? Is Erasmus of Rotterdam stillthere, and what is he doing?"
"'Sir,' said we, 'we know not that things are going on there otherwisethan well. Also, Erasmus is there, but what he is occupied with isunknown to any one, for he keeps himself very quiet, and in greatseclusion.'
"This discourse seemed to us very strange in the trooper; that he shouldknow how to speak of both the Schurfs, of Philip, and Erasmus, and alsoof the study of Hebrew and Greek.
"Moreover, he now and then used Latin words, so that we deemed he mustbe more than a common trooper.
"'Friend,' he asked, 'what do they think in Switzerland of Luther.'
"'Sir, there, as elsewhere, there are various opinions. Many cannotenough exalt him, and praise God that He has made His truth plainthrough him, and laid error bare; many, on the other hand, and amongthese more especially the clergy, condemn him as a reprobate heretic.'
"Then he said, 'I can easily believe it is the clergy that speak thus.'
"With such conversation we grew quite confidential, so that my companiontook up the little book that lay before him, and looked at it. It was aHebrew Psalter. Then he laid it quickly down again, and the
trooper drewit to himself. And my companion said, 'I would give a finger from myhand to understand that language.'
"He answered, 'You will soon comprehend it, if you are diligent; I alsodesire to understand it better, and practise myself daily in it.'
"Meantime the day declined, and it became quite dark, when the host cameto the table.
"When he understood our fervent desire and longing to see Martin Luther,he said,--
"'Good friends, if you had been here two days ago, you would have hadyour wish, for he sat here at table, and' (pointing with his finger) 'inthat place.'
"It vexed and fretted us much that we should have lingered on the way;and we vented our anger on the muddy and wretched roads that had delayedus.
"But we added,--
"'It rejoices us, however, to sit in the house and at the table where hesat.'
"Thereat the host laughed, and went out at the door.
"After a little while, he called me to come to him at the door of thechamber. I was alarmed, fearing I had done something unsuitable, or thatI had unwittingly given some offence. But the host said to me,--
"Since I perceive that you so much wish to see and hear Luther,--that ishe who is sitting with you.'
"I thought he was jesting, and said,--
"'Ah, Sir Host, you would befool me and my wishes with a false image ofLuther!'
"He answered,--
"'It is certainly he. But do not seem as if you knew this.'
"I could not believe it; but I went back into the room, and longed totell my companion what the host had disclosed to me. At last I turned tohim, and whispered softly,--
"'The host has told me that is Luther.'
"He, like me, could not at once believe it, and said,--
"'He said, perhaps, it was Hutten, and thou hast misunderstood him.'
"And because the stranger's bearing and military dress suited Huttenbetter than Luther, I suffered myself to be persuaded he had said, 'Itis Hutten,' since the two names had a somewhat similar sound. What Isaid further, therefore, was on the supposition that I was conversingwith Huldrich ab Hutten, the knight.
"While this was going on, two merchants arrived, who intended also toremain the night; and after they had taken off their outer coats andtheir spurs, one laid down beside him an unbound book.
"Then he the host had (as I thought) called Martin Luther, asked whatthe book was.
"'It is Dr. Martin Luther's Exposition of certain Gospels and Epistles,just published. Have you not yet seen it?'
"Said Martin, 'It will soon be sent to me.'
"Then said the host,--
"'Place yourselves at table; we will eat.'
"But we besought him to excuse us, and give us a place apart. But hesaid,--
"'Good friends, seat yourselves at the table. I will see that you arewelcome.'
"When Martin heard that he said,--
"'Come, come, I will settle the score with the host by-and-by.'
"During the meal, Martin said many pious and friendly words, so that themerchants and we were dumb before him, and heeded his discourse far morethan our food. Among other things, he complained, with a sigh, how theprinces and nobles were gathered at the Diet at Nuernberg on account ofGod's word, many difficult matters, and the oppression of the Germannation, and yet seemed to have no purpose but to bring about bettertimes by means of tourneys, sleigh-rides, and all kinds of vain, courtlypleasures; whereas the fear of God and Christian prayer would accomplishso much more.
"'Yet these,' said he sadly, 'are our Christian princes!'
"'Further, he said, 'We must hope that the evangelical truth will bringforth better fruit in our children and successors--who will never havebeen poisoned by papal error, but will be planted in the pure truth andword of God--than in their parents, in whom these errors are so deeplyrooted that they are hard to eradicate.'
"After this, the merchants gave their opinion, and the elder of themsaid,--
"'I am a simple, unlearned layman, and have no special understanding ofthese matters; but as I look at the thing, I say, Luther must either bean angel from heaven or a devil from hell. I would gladly give tenflorins to be confessed by him, for I believe he could and wouldenlighten my conscience.'
"Meantime the host came secretly to us and said,--
"'Martin has paid for your supper.'
"This pleased us much, not on account of the gold or the meal, butbecause that man had made us his guests.
"After supper, the merchants rose and went into the stable to look aftertheir horses. Meanwhile Martin remained in the room with us, and wethanked him for his kindness and generosity, and ventured to say we tookhim to be Huldrich ab Hutten. But he said,--
"'I am not he.'
"Thereon the host came, and Martin said,--
"'I have to-night become a nobleman, for these Switzers take me forHuldrich ab Hutten.'
"And then he laughed at the jest, and said,--
"'They take me for Hutten, and you take me for Luther. Soon I shallbecome Markolfus the clown.'
"And after this he took a tall beer-glass, and said, according to thecustom of the country,--
"'Switzers, drink after me a friendly draught to each other's welfare.'
"But as I was about to take the glass from him, he changed it, andordered, instead, a glass of wine, and said,--
"'Beer is a strange and unwonted beverage to you. Drink the wine.'
"Thereupon he stood up, threw his mantle over his shoulder, and tookleave. He offered us his hand, and said,--
"'When you come to Wittemberg, greet Dr. Hieronymus Schurf from me.'
"We said,--
"'Gladly would we do that, but what shall we call you, that he mayunderstand the greeting?'
"He said,--
"'Say nothing more than, _He who is coming_ sends you greeting. He willat once understand the words.'
"Thus he took leave of us, and retired to rest.
"Afterwards the merchants returned into the room, and desired the hostto bring them more to drink, whilst they had much talk with him as towho this guest really was.
"The host confessed he took him to be Luther; whereupon they were soonpersuaded, and regretted that they had spoken so unbecomingly beforehim, and said they would rise early on the following morning, before herode off, and beg him not to be angry with them, or to think evil ofthem, since they had not known who he was.
"This happened as they wished, and they found him the next morning inthe stable.
"But Martin said, 'You said last night at supper you would gladly giveten florins to confess to Luther. When you confess yourselves to him youwill know whether I am Martin Luther or not.'
"Further than this he did not declare who he was, but soon afterwardsmounted and rode off to Wittemberg.
"On the same day we came to Naumburg, and as we entered a village (itlies under a mountain, and I think the mountain is called Orlamunde, andthe village Nasshausen), a stream was flowing through it which wasswollen by the rain of the previous day, and had carried away part ofthe bridge, so that no one could ride over it. In the same village welodged for the night, and it happened that we again found in the inn thetwo merchants; so they, for Luther's sake, insisted on making us theirguests at this inn.
"On the Saturday after, the day before the first Sunday in Lent, we wentto Dr. Hieronymus Schurf, to deliver our letters of introduction. Whenwe were called into the room, lo and behold! there we found the trooperMartin, as before at Jena; and with him were Philip Melancthon, JustusJonas, Nicolaus Amsdorf, and Dr. Augustin Schurf, who were relating tohim what had happened at Wittemberg during his absence. He greeted us,and, laughing, pointed with his finger and said, 'This is PhilipMelancthon, of whom I spoke to you.'"
* * * * *
I have copied this to begin to improve myself, that I may be a bettercompanion for Conrad, and also because in after years I think we shallprize anything which shows how our Martin Luther won the hearts ofstrangers, and how, when retur
ning to Wittemberg an excommunicated andoutlawed man, with all the care of the evangelical doctrine on him, hehad a heart at leisure for little acts of kindness and words of faithfulcounsel.
What a blessing it is for me, who can understand nothing of the"Theologia Teutsch," even in German, and never could have learned Latinlike Eva, that Dr. Luther's sermons are so plain to me, great andlearned as he is. Chriemhild and I always understood them; and althoughwe could never talk much to others, at night in our bed-room we used tospeak to each other about them, and say how very simple religion seemedwhen he spoke of it,--just to believe in our blessed Lord Jesus Christ,who died for our sins, and to love him, and to do all we can to makeevery one around us happier and better. What a blessing for people whoare not clever, like Chriemhild and me, to have been born in days whenwe are taught that religion is faith and love, instead of all of thosecomplicated rules and lofty supernatural virtues which people used tocall religion.
And yet they say faith and love and humility are more really hard thanall the old penances and good works.
But that must be, I think, to people who have never heard, as we havefrom Dr. Luther, so much about God to make us love him; or to people whohave more to be proud of than Chriemhild and I and so find it moredifficult to think little of themselves.
Chronicles of the Schonberg-Cotta Family Page 23
