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.