A DAY OF REJOICING.
The rooks who lodged among the grey walls of the Augustinian Convent
at Wittenberg, peeped curiously forth from their nests, to discover
the cause of the unwonted activity throughout the silent house. They
were accustomed to being left in undisputed possession, but now they
fluttered about in dismay, as many people, busily going and coming,
carried in all manner of household goods, such as seemed to them
ill-suited to a convent. Still greater was their surprise, when the
kind monk, who had daily thrown them a few handfuls of grain, no
longer showed himself, and they were forced to fly abroad for their
daily bread.
A bustling activity had now entered the lonely old house. With busy
haste, Frau Elsa went in and out. The large room, overlooking the
court, was being freshly painted under her directions, and supplied
with costly furniture. She came each day to feast her eyes upon the
pleasant home she was preparing for her beloved Kate. But she kept
the door carefully locked and the key hidden in her pocket--for Kate
was to know nothing of this until the day when Luther would bring his
bride to his home--which was to be on the 27th of June.
As the day drew near, the commotion increased, and Frau Elsa saw with
heartfelt joy, how persons of all degrees sought to testify to Dr.
Martin their love and devotion. Her eyes filled with tears, when one
day an aged peasant woman came hobbling in on her crutch. She
brought in a basket a hen and six little chicks, saying that she must
give something to the man who, like the Saviour of old, had restored
to a a widowed mother her only son; for at Luther's word the convent
gates had opened, and her son had come back to her.
Many others came, with stores for the kitchen and larder, and Frau
Elsa could scarcely find room for so many provisions. Shortly before
the appointed day, the Senate of Wittenberg sent as a token of its
esteem, a barrel of Eimbeck beer, and twenty gold florins for the
Doctor--and for Mistress Katharine a piece of fine Suabian linen,
together with the written promise, to supply the newly wedded couple
for one year with table wine.
On the following day the University of Wittenberg sent to the
greatest of its teachers a huge silver tankard, lined with gold, and
richly chased. The inscription reads thus: "The honorable University
of the City of Wittenberg sends this bridal gift to Dr. Martin Luther
and Katharine von Bora; in the year 1525, on Tuesday after the Feast
of St. John the Baptist."
Frau Elsa was busily arranging the many wedding gifts about the room.
With a smile she said to herself: "What will the Doctor say to these
tokens of affection, after he had strictly forbidden all gifts from
his friends," when a wagon rolled into the court, and the Elector's
serving men unloaded a large wild boar and two roebucks. They
charged the wondering Elsa with a greeting from the court-preacher,
Spalatin, to Dr. Luther, and in the confusion of her happiness, she
had well nigh embraced the bearer of the message.
Meanwhile, Luther sat in his cell, writing the last of his wedding
invitations. A number of letters had already been dispatched to more
distant friends--to his aged parents at Mansfeld, to the three
Senators of that town, to his friends in Altenburg--Spalatin and
Link, and to Amsdorf and others, in Magdeburg. This last one had
almost been forgotten, although it should have been the first, being
directed to the merchant, Leonhard Koppe, in Torgau, without whose
deed of mercy, Luther had doubtless never seen his Kate.
"Dear and reverend Father Prior," it ran, "you know what has
befallen? namely, that the nun, whom two years ago you rescued from
one convent, is about to enter another--not however to take the veil,
but to become the housewife of Dr. Luther, who heretofore has dwelt
alone in the old, forsaken Augustinian monastery in Wittenberg. God
delights in preparing surprises, both for me and for the world. I
pray you, therefore, to come to my wedding on the Tuesday after the
feast of St. John the Baptist--but without gifts."
The important day had arrived. All Wittenberg was in a flutter of
festive excitement, and many fervent prayers ascended heavenward. In
the convent a distinguished company sat at table with Dr. Martin, at
whose side Katharine, in wordless bliss, heard what the guests had to
say in praise of the newly-wedded pair.
She was as one in a dream. She felt as though she were lifted from
the condition of a servant to that of a queen, for he who sat beside
her was a king indeed in the realms of thought; his sovereignty being
attested alike by the praise of his friends and by the deadly hatred
of his foes. And she, the humble maiden, was henceforth to stand
nearer to this great man, than the most intimate of his
friends--nearer than Melanchthon, or Kranach, than Bugenhagen or
Jonas. She pressed her hand to her heart to still its beating, and
the prayer rose from her soul: "Lord, help me, lest I grow proud.
Keep me humble always."
Notwithstanding the happiness which beamed from Luther's face, a
certain restlessness was perceptible in his manner, and he whispered
to Katharine: "Now I shall hope no longer. God has seen fit to deny
me this wish, lest there be too much of joy." Katharine understood.
Suddenly the student, John Pfister, who acted as cup bearer,
announced that an aged couple stood without, who desired to see Dr.
Martin. Luther ordered them to be brought in, and presently two old
people, in the dress of the Mansfeld peasants, appeared at the door,
where they paused, as if startled at the sight of so large a company.
Luther had risen from his seat, and as he hastened toward them, the
old woman stretched out her arms, and cried: "My son Martin!"
She sank upon her son's breast and wept aloud. Luther disengaged
himself for a moment, to greet his father: "Dearest father, you are a
thousand times welcome! I have heartily desired to know, whether you
have forgiven your disobedient son. God has led me by wondrous ways,
and we must bless His name, for whatsoever He begins, He carries out
most gloriously."
He turned, and pointing to Katharine, who had come nearer, said:
"Father, this is your daughter."
The old man trembled, and lifting his clasped hands he exclaimed,
"Now I will gladly die, since my eyes have seen this day. Martin,
you are again my son indeed, and old Hans Luther is a happy father."
The wedding guests surrounded the old people, to whom the place of
honor beside the bridal pair was assigned, and Dr. Martin said:
"My happiness is now complete. I had asked this one thing of the
Lord, that to-day I might see my dear parents face to face, and he
has heard my prayer. This I accept as a special token of his favor,
and will thank Him therefor as long as I live."
_BOOK SECOND._
KATHARINE VON BORA;
THE WIFE
THE WIFE.