The next morning the bishop entered the tranquilized city at the head of fifteen hundred horsemen. All the houses had been strictly searched; during which operation many a mad fanatical spirit was found, and the exasperated soldiery did not always respect the general pardon which had been granted. Among others Knipperdolling and Krechting were drawn from their lurking holes; but their lives, with a cruel, calculating forbearance were spared for a future and more solemn execution. Alf's testimony as to the total inactivity and inoffensiveness of his kinsman, the butcher-burgomaster-treasurer, and also of the tailor-duodecemvir-lord-steward, Dilbek, rescued both from imprisonment and death. The first, Alf charged with the duty of collecting his little property, as well as that of Trutlinger's niece, converting it into money and sending it after him, by the first convenient opportunity, to the place where he might thereafter take up his abode; he not feeling disposed to remain in his native city after what he had experienced there,--and besides, the bishop, notwithstanding the favor he shewed him during the audience, had not gained his approbation to such a degree as to induce him to wish to dwell under his sceptre.
Nor was the bishop yet quite disposed to make his home at the episcopal residence. He drove out to castle Dulmen, three miles from Munster, on the day of his entrance; thereby giving to Oberstein a fine opportunity to execute the decisions of the Diet of Worms in relation to the unfortunate city without the interference of its irritable master. He did every thing in his power to mitigate the measureless distress of the citizens. Plentiful supplies of provisions put an end to the torments of hunger. A general pardon, which the bishop himself could not avoid signing, relieved the Munsterers from their incessant and excessive fears of being yet reached by the sword of judicial power. Only the king, Knipperdolling and Krechting were excepted from this pardon. Every one, protestant or catholic, besieged or emigrant, was allowed to take his property out of the public repository where the prophet had sequestered it. The refugees returned again; particularly the expelled burgomaster and aldermen, who immediately resumed their functions, and every thing appeared as if the city was well pleased to find itself returning to the old order of things.
Three days had thus passed away. Early on the fourth, Oberstein sent for Alf. 'I have caused St. Lambert's church to be repaired and embellished a little,' said the general to him. 'It looked as drear and desolate in its large plundered interior, as if the Zihim and Ohim2were to rule in it--and the poor people must truly have some external show with their public worship. We must in some measure provide for an impression upon their senses, because their thoughts and feelings are confined within a narrow circle. If you please my young friend, we will go together and observe what great things the painters and garnishers have accomplished in so short a time.'
Alf proceeded to the church with the old hero, and could not refrain from expressing his surprise when he found the lateral walks wholly desolate and untrimmed.
'Only be patient, the best is yet to come,' said the smiling Oberstein, consolingly, and passed into the next lateral walk, where, turning suddenly, they found themselves before the freshly gilded and well adorned high altar. Before it, with the church service in his hand, stood doctor Fabricius in his priestly robes. With a myrtle wreath in her blond hair, in a simple white dress, her eyes cast down, her cheeks glowing with love, joy and shame, stood the faithful little Clara, opposite the youth; while his kinsman Gerhard, Hanslein, and the old body servant of the bishop, as witnesses of the marriage ceremony, approached to wish him joy.
'Oh my God!' cried Alf, surprised and enraptured,--and the worthy Oberstein himself accompanied the pair before the clergyman.
The YES was spoken--the benediction pronounced--and Alf had seized the hand of his young wife to lead her out of church--when an episcopalian officer entered and delivered to the general a letter of which he was the bearer.
Oberstein opened, read, and angrily stamped his foot. 'No joy without interruption,' cried he. 'More than a year have we been detained before these rascally walls without any interruption of the everlasting sameness. This is the first day which I had thought to spend happily here, and now this is to be marred by such a bum-bailiff commission! I cannot help you, my dear bridegroom,' proceeded he, turning to Alf; 'the bishop here commands that you immediately bring to Dulmen, under a strong guard, the tailor-king whom you took prisoner.'
'Is not my marriage a sufficient excuse?' asked Alf dejectedly.
'With the bishop, hardly,' whispered Oberstein to him. 'Man-service goes before God-service with these proud prelates--and we have already, on account of the poor Munsterers, every motive to keep him in as good a humor as possible. It will be fortunate if he satiate his anger upon the wretch whom you are about to conduct to him.'
'Poor little Clara,' sighed Alf, printing a passionate and sorrowful kiss upon the lips of the maiden.
'He named you and thought of himself,' said Oberstein, jestingly; 'but in order that the happy couple may not be separated on this first day of their espousal, I will ride out to Dulmen and endeavor to get you excused by the lord bishop.'
'You are very good!' said the little bride, bending over the hand of the gray old general and pressing it to her lips.
At Dulmen, in the hall of state, sat the prince-bishop upon his gilded throne. On each side of him were placed his counsellors and field officers. At a table covered with rich red cloth, sat two secretaries with ready pens. Oberstein had announced the tailor-king, and after a short conversation with the bishop resumed his place. The bishop made a signal--the guards opened the door, and, accompanied by Alf, Johannes entered, loaded with chains and very pale; but with a proud and solemn bearing, casting round upon the assembly his wild, impudent and bold glance.
'That is the murderer of my son,' sighed the bishop in a suppressed tone to Oberstein, covering his face with his hands from grief and horror.
'Remember that you are here as a prince and judge, and not as a party,' whispered Oberstein in return.
The bishop recovered himself with difficulty. 'Wretched man,' cried he vehemently to the criminal: 'wherefore hast thou ruined my defenceless people?'
'I have not done less than you deserve, priest!' answered Johannes, as proudly as if Zion's crown had yet stood upon his head. 'I have given into thy hand a strong city which can stand against every power. Nevertheless if I have injured you I have sufficient means to make you reparation, in case you will but follow my counsels.'
'Wretch!' growled the bishop, 'how wilt thou compensate for a single drop of the innocent blood which thou hast caused to flow in streams?'
'Human blood,' said Johannes, scornfully, 'comes not into the account in the reckoning of kings. Here we can only speak respecting the restitution of money. Therefore shut me up in an iron cage as Tamerlane did Bajazet, take me through the neighboring countries and show me for money--you will make more out of me in that way than the whole siege has cost.'
The whole assembly broke out into a loud cry of astonishment and displeasure at the unparalleled insolence of the criminal, whose life hung upon the nod of his judge.
The latter was paralyzed by the extent of the monster's profligacy. He soon however recovered himself, and silently viewed him for a long time with a horrible smile upon his countenance.
'My God!' murmured Alf, when he saw that smile; 'this will end tragically.'
'Thou hast advised well, wise Solomon,' said the bishop with great calmness. 'Be it done to thee according to thy words. Deliver up your prisoner to the constable of the castle,' he commanded Alf. 'Let him be confined in the murderer's cell until further orders--and do you convey to the smiths of Munster my command that they immediately make three iron cages of a man's height. Therein shall this man and his coadjutors be conducted round the land as he himself has desired, and be shown to the people as they are accustomed to show wild beasts. What further is to be done with the worthy trio, shall be duly pronounced at the proper time in the criminal court.'
With unaltered pride Johannes suffered himself to be led forth by Alf. The bishop dismissed the assembly. Only Oberstein remained with him, and now Alf returned to announce that he had deposited his prisoner in his dungeon.
'It was you who captured the hyæna who butchered my children for me,' cried the bishop with horrible joy. 'I thank you for the opportunity to avenge on him the blood of all his victims! Oh that he had more than one life! Say, what reward do you desire for the deed!'
'Such a reward would be the price of blood,' thought Alf, 'and therefore God preserve me from it.'
'Would you like a good military or civil office at my court?' asked the bishop in his desire to express his gratitude.
'I am a protestant, most reverend sir,' answered Alf: 'and hope to die in the evangelical faith; but if I may prefer a petition to you, I have to request that you will permit me without ceremony or hindrance to take my own and my wife's property to the place where I am to settle myself.'
'Are you determined absolutely not to remain in my territories?' asked the bishop resentfully.
'I think of procuring for him a captaincy from the elector of Saxony,' said Oberstein, with a view of softening the effect of Alf's short and ungracious reply.
'Pardon me sir earl,' said Alf, 'for respectfully declining that favor also. I have lately seen so many people commanded, and so many evils have been caused by the orders given--and I myself in my simplicity have done so much mischief by my own commands, that I have become utterly disgusted with the whole business. Wherefore I have solicited the reverend doctor Fabricius to seek me out a quiet little place in Hesse Cassel, were I may honorably employ myself as an armorer and enjoy the society of my wife and the children with which God may bless our union, until my happy end.'
'Do you not think he has chosen the wisest part?' asked Oberstein of the bishop, at the same time leaving the room.
'O that I could find in Munster a hundred burghers like this who now deserts me!' said the bishop, through forgetfulness, laying his hand in blessing upon the heretic's head.
'Think well of my request, reverend sir,' said Alf, bowing low and following his friend and protector.
When the happy Clara opened her blue eyes on the first morning after her marriage, she saw that her young husband was already awake and sitting upright in bed as if in deep and earnest meditation upon some important matter. She threw her arms about his neck, kissed him tenderly and asked him what he was meditating upon so intently.
'Upon my future destiny, and the decision I must make as to what business I shall hereafter pursue, my dear wife,' answered he with seeming earnestness. 'So many offers were made to me yesterday that I hardly know which of them to embrace. The lord bishop wishes to retain me with him, either in a military capacity or as an officer of his court, as I may choose; for the latter of which I suppose I am more particularly well qualified. I can also at any moment become a captain in the service of the elector of Saxony.'
'You surely will not accept of either of them?' cried Clara, anxiously. 'Leave those high honors and dignities to others, and be satisfied with the quiet domestic happiness which awaits you, and which your unambitious disposition is best calculated to enjoy. Remain what you are, a good armorer! As such only have I joined hands with you, before God's altar, in the holy bands of matrimony. If now you wish the captaincy, or a seat in the royal council, then have you deceived me, even at the moment of marriage, and that would be very wrong in a bridegroom.'
'God be praised!' joyfully exclaimed Alf, pressing her to his bosom. 'That is precisely what I desired to hear from you, my dear Clara. I only wished to ascertain whether you agreed with me upon a most important question; and behold, our wishes and opinions are as similar as if we had been made for each other.'
'Ah, that was always clear to me from the first moment I saw you,' stammered Clara, blushing; 'and it used to render me truly miserable to see that you had eyes only for my unfortunate sister.'
'Peace to her ashes!' said Alf with emotion; 'but I now perceive quite clearly that she would have been no wife for me. What God brings to pass is intended for our good.'
At that moment began under the windows, arranged by the wedding guests, an excellent morning serenade; and the vocalists, falling in, sang to the bridal pair, in Martin Luther's words:3
'Oh happy man, whose soul is fill'dWith zeal and reverend awe!His lips to God their honors yield,His life adorns the law.'A careful Providence shall standAnd ever guard thy head,Shall on the labors of thy hand,Its kindly blessings shed.'
'Oh happy man, whose soul is fill'dWith zeal and reverend awe!His lips to God their honors yield,His life adorns the law.
'Oh happy man, whose soul is fill'd
With zeal and reverend awe!
His lips to God their honors yield,
His life adorns the law.
'A careful Providence shall standAnd ever guard thy head,Shall on the labors of thy hand,Its kindly blessings shed.'
'A careful Providence shall stand
And ever guard thy head,
Shall on the labors of thy hand,
Its kindly blessings shed.'
'Shall on the labors of thy hand,'--said the young couple joyfully to each other at the same moment, and Alf smilingly remarked; 'now we shall be sure to live together at least a year, my Clara, since we both had the same thought at the same time.'
Again sang the choir:
'Thy wife shall be a fruitful vine;Thy children round thy board,Each like an olive-plant shall shine,And learn to fear the Lord.'The Lord shall thy best hopes fulfilFor months and years to come;The Lord who dwells on Zion's hill,Shall send thee blessings home.'
'Thy wife shall be a fruitful vine;Thy children round thy board,Each like an olive-plant shall shine,And learn to fear the Lord.
'Thy wife shall be a fruitful vine;
Thy children round thy board,
Each like an olive-plant shall shine,
And learn to fear the Lord.
'The Lord shall thy best hopes fulfilFor months and years to come;The Lord who dwells on Zion's hill,Shall send thee blessings home.'
'The Lord shall thy best hopes fulfil
For months and years to come;
The Lord who dwells on Zion's hill,
Shall send thee blessings home.'
Reminded of the pleasures of paternity, Alf pressed his beloved wife yet closer, while she hid her blushing face in his bosom. They listened with delighted attention to the remainder of the hymn, and when the last verse came they joined in with a pious ecstasy, and in thankful remembrance of all that God had done for them:
'To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,The God whom we adore,Be everlasting honors paidHenceforth, forevermore.'
'To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
The God whom we adore,
Be everlasting honors paid
Henceforth, forevermore.'
Having obtained an honorable discharge from the army of the Diet, Alf settled himself with his young wife under the shadow of Fabricius's wing at Cassel, as a respectable armorer. The property which he took with him from Munster, together with the rich marriage presents which he received from the bishop and count Oberstein, rendered him a well conditioned burgher. He enjoyed the blessings of a middle station in society, in an unusual measure, and the painful remembrance of what he had experienced, performed, and suffered, was merged by degrees in the feeling of repose, and in the quiet enjoyment of well merited prosperity.
Meanwhile the timid and exasperated bishop began to bring poor Munster fully under the yoke; so that it should never again be able to raise its head in rebellion. Two castles arose towering over the city, with the aid of which he hoped easily to suppress every disturbance, and occasionally to curtail some of the ancient privileges of the people; but the ambassadors of the Circle, who suddenly appeared in Munster, efficaciously remedied this fault and many others. The peaceable citizens of Munster, whom he had compelled to perform all sorts of labor, were protected; the fortifications of the anabaptists as well as the castles of the bishop were razed; and the latter was compelled to permit a decision, by a trial and sentence, upon the fate of the tailor-king and his companions, who, until then, had been, in mockery and scorn, dragged through all the neighboring parts of Germany in their cages. In February of the year 1536, the three criminals were finally led to the scaffold. However great was their guilt, the cruelty of their punishment seemed unworthy the mercy which should have been exercised by the spiritual lords, from whom alone a mitigation of their sentence could emanate; but who commanded its execution with unrelenting severity.
'Holy God!' exclaimed Alf, when he heard of their unhappy end; 'whither will not fanaticism lead its unhappy devotees! Happy is he who confines his attention to the narrow circle of his household and his business, and who does not forget that prayer and labor are the best antidotes to vain imaginings. Thrice happy is the man to whom God grants a good wife, who, with gentle power, draws him from the wild impulses of the world, and with flowery chains binds him to his own hearth. Under that hearth lies buried the true treasure of life, which so few have the desire and happiness to raise. We have disinterred it, have we not, my Clara? When the olive plants stand around us, which Dr. Luther has promised, what shall we then lack?' Saying this, he laid his hand affectionately upon his young wife, who was most assiduously spinning at the opposite side of the table. At first, with a sweet smile, she clasped her beloved husband's hand, and then passing quickly round the table, she fell upon his neck. 'Lord God, we thank thee!' cried the superlatively happy husband, glowing with love and gratitude.
Footnote 1: The name of one of the imperial regiments, composed of catholics.
Footnote 2: Evil spirits.
Footnote 3: We use the version of Dr. Watts.--Tr.