OF THE HOMES OF GERMAN CITIZENS. (1675-1681-1683.)
While foreign guests, courtesy and ceremonial were doing their best to
restrain the aftergrowth of a lawless time in the upper classes, the
German citizen was aided by the innate character of his nation, its need
of order and discipline, its industry and feeling of duty. The marriage
tie and family life, his home and his employment were restored to him as
of old. The wooing still proceeded after the old German fashion, the
matrimonial agent still played his part, and the betrothal presents of
the bride and bridegroom were still recorded with their accurate worth
in money. Nay, the wooing had become still more formal, even the mode of
expression was prescribed. The lover had to think over his address to
the maiden carefully; where his own inventive powers were deficient, he
was assisted by the indispensable compliment book, the treasured morsel
of the library. The same style was adopted by the modest young lady;
even where the marriage had been settled for her, it was considered
desirable that she should not at once consent; nay, the strictest
decorum required that she should at first refuse, or at least ask time
for consideration. Then the lover made his addresses a little more
ardent, in rather a higher strain, and then the interdict was withdrawn,
and she was permitted to say, Yes. But they were not pedants, they felt
that long speeches in these cases were pedantic, and that both parties
who were contemplating matrimony, should express themselves in few
words; the lover had to introduce his proposal somewhat thus:
"Mademoiselle! Forgive me kindly, I pray you, for taking a liberty of
which I myself am ashamed; yet my confidence in your kindness emboldens
me so much, that I cannot refrain from acquainting you with the
resolution I have taken, of changing my present condition," &c. Then the
well-conducted young lady had to answer after this fashion: "Monsieur! I
can hardly believe that what it has pleased you to propose to me is
spoken in earnest, for I well know how little charm I possess to please
so agreeable a person," &c. It had all been previously arranged by the
matrimonial agent, they both knew what would be the result, but decorum
required of the citizen, as courtesy did of the noble, that he should
openly express his wishes by a proceeding which should make his
resolution irrevocable. Of the agitation of the man, or the
heart-beating of the maiden, we find nothing recorded; we hope that both
were happy, when they had gone through the trying scene, he without
faltering, she without an outburst of tears.
In the year 1644, Friedrich Lucä, son of a professor at the Gymnasium,
was born in the capital of the Silesian principality of Brieg. He
studied as a Calvinist, first in Heidelberg, then in the Netherlands and
Frankfort on the Oder, returned after many travels and adventures to his
native city, became the court preacher at Brieg, and, after the death of
the last Piasten Duke at Liegnitz, and the occupation of the country by
the Austrians, was appointed pastor and court preacher at Cassel. He
died after an active life, rich in honours, in 1708. As a copious
historical writer, he was appreciated, but also severely criticised by
his contemporaries. He corresponded with Leibnitz, and some interesting
letters to him from that great man are still preserved to us. He wrote
also an autobiography, which has been piously preserved in his family
for five generations, and was published by one of his descendants. ('The
Chronicle of Friedrich Lucä. A picture of the time, and its manners,'
published by Dr. Friedrich Lucä. Frankfort a. M. Brönner, 1854.) We will
here give Friedrich Lucä's account of his wooing. This event, so replete
with excitement, took place the year he was preacher at Liegnitz.
"Meanwhile, when my mind was least intent on thoughts of matrimony, and
the other proposals made to me had been unheeded, a foreign lady,
Elizabeth Mercer, whom I had never seen or heard of all my life long,
made known to me her intention of receiving the holy sacrament from me
privately, as she could not wait till it was again publicly given, it
having been so only a short time before. The said lady had come hither
with the noble General Schlepusch and his most dear wife, from Bremen,
and resided at their noble country mansion Klein-Polewitz, a mile and a
half from Liegnitz.
"On Sunday, the maiden presented herself at divine service, and after
the performance of the same, came from the church to my house, and the
holy communion being devoutly concluded, I took occasion to discourse
with her concerning the condition of the Church at Bremen, as also to
thank her for two capons which she had sent me for my kitchen, and then
I dismissed her with the Lord's blessing. In this my first interview
however with the maiden, I had not only perceived in her a refined and
seemly demeanour towards me, and discovered a beautiful conformity of
mind with mine, but I found in the effervescence of my feelings, and
emotions of my heart, an evident token that the spirit of love had been
somehow remarkably busy with me, for during my whole life I had never
experienced such an ardent affection for any maiden.
"This my heartfelt but chaste love, I concealed firmly within my breast,
and let no living soul know aught concerning it. The thought of this
maiden accompanied me every evening to my rest, and rose up with me in
the morning. Sometimes I spoke of her to my housekeeper, who was a
well-bred and discreet woman, and she, without adverting to the motive
of my discourse, extolled the maiden highly to me, and the like did also
my sexton. I tormented myself now with secret love thoughts for a length
of time, but at last spoke out my mind, thinking to myself: 'Why should
thy soul afflict itself fruitlessly concerning a stranger maiden, who
will again leave the country, and who will never fall to thy lot?'
"Half a year after, the good maiden Mercer had entirely passed from my
remembrance, but the already forgotten maiden sent me an amiable
greeting through the page of the Lord Baron Schlepusch, and signified to
me that she was minded to communicate again. This message renewed the
old wounds of my heart, and therefore I made inquiries of the page at
some length concerning the maiden, with respect to one thing and
another; but could learn little or nothing from him. I then sent an
invitation to dinner on the Sunday through my sexton, to the Mistress
Mercer, but this she did not accept, excusing herself by saying that
she was accustomed to fast the whole of the day on which she
communicated. Thus on Sunday, the maiden, all unconscious of my loving
thoughts, came after church to my house. I gave her then, as before, the
communion, and discoursed with her to the same effect on all kinds of
subjects, to give her thereby some diversion. I would gladly in such
discourse have learnt some particulars as to whether she were noble, and
would like to remain in Silesia, but I could not ask such things this
time. After a while the maiden rose to leave my house; and as she
imagined I had a spouse, commended herself to her. I explained to her
forthwith that I was a bachelor, having no wife. During this discourse,
my sexton as well as my housekeeper were present, and to them, as to
myself, the demeanour of the maiden had always given the greatest
contentment, yet they did not fathom my intent.
"Now did my trouble begin again. After maturely reflecting upon the
matter, I could think of no means whereby I might learn the lineage and
circumstances of the maiden, whom I always looked upon as a noble
person, for I did not deem it expedient to open myself to any one.
Meanwhile, I met one day, Herr Tobias Pirner, the pastor at Nickelstadt,
a pious, honourable, and upright man, although of the Lutheran
confession. Now as I knew that the wife of General Schlepusch, whose
husband had lately died and been buried with great pomp in the church at
Liegnitz, went every Sunday, together with the maiden, to attend divine
service in the Lutheran church at Nickelstadt, I begged of this Herr
Pirner, in a way that made it in no wise remarkable on my part, to
inquire concerning the lineage and other circumstances of the Mistress
Mercer. He undertook this, and promised me the following week a report
thereupon. Herr Pirner faithfully fulfilled his engagement, and at the
end of the week reported to me in _optima forma_, what he had learnt
from the _Frau Generalin_. Mistress Mercer was the daughter of Mr.
Balthaser Mercer, formerly parliamentary assessor at Edinburgh, in
Scotland, who had many times been sent to England by King Charles I. on
weighty commissions, and once on a mission to Hamburg, where he was
decorated with a golden medal of honour. Her mother, also called
Elizabeth, was of noble lineage, born a Kennewy of Scotland. When in
1644 perilous troubles broke forth in England, her honoured father and
also her brother, the court preacher Robert Mercer, as they had been
favourites of the decapitated King, fled the kingdom with the whole
family, from fear of Cromwell and his party; he went with all belonging
to him to Bremen, where he lived on his own means, which were pretty
considerable, till his happy end in 1650, leaving his widow, a pious,
godly matron, with three sons and three daughters. The sons had gone
forth into the world, one to India, another to the Canary Islands; of
the daughters the eldest was married in London to a nephew of Cromwell,
of the noble family of Cleipold, and the youngest to a merchant named
Uckermann at Wanfried in Hess, the second was my love. In the year 1660
her lady mother also died in Bremen, and was laid beside her honoured
father in the church of St. Stephen, after which Mistress Elizabeth had
lived for a while with the widow of Herr Doctor Schnellen. Meanwhile she
became acquainted with the _Frau_ Schlepusch, who lived at her property
Schönbeck, near Bremen, and when soon after, the General Schlepusch and
his wife departed for Silesia, they took her with them as a playfellow
for their young daughter, to Klein-Polewitz, where she was always held
in good esteem.
"This report and intelligence increased the ardour of my love for her,
especially as I now knew that she was indeed of distinguished family,
but not of noble extraction, and also because Herr Pirner had highly
commended the maiden on account of her godly behaviour, piety, prudence,
and many domestic qualities; and the _Frau Generalin_ had no hesitation
in trusting her with the whole conduct of the household, during her many
journeys to and fro. Now my whole heart being filled to overflowing with
a stream of chaste love, I poured it out for the first time to this
honourable man, and revealed to his discretion what else I would not
have disclosed to any man in the whole world, namely, that if it were
possible, and provided it were the will of God, I desired to make
Mistress Mercer my wife, and I begged of him to lend me his faithful aid
in this important affair, and help to promote my good purpose.
"The good man was willing to esteem it the greatest honour to perform
this service for me; he devoted his heart to the work, and gave
expression to my intentions, first to the _Frau Generalin_. Meanwhile I
exchanged letters with him, and soon entertained good hopes. _In summa_,
the affair advanced in a short time in the most satisfactory manner, so
that nothing remained but for me to visit her in person. One Monday
morning, having first sought aid of the Lord, I proceeded on horseback
to Nickelstadt, called for the Herr Pirner there, and went with him to
Klein-Polewitz, which lay about a quarter of a mile from thence. The
son-in-law of the _Frau Generalin_, Herr Heinrich von Poser, the royal
receiver-general of taxes in the principality of Jauer and Schweidnitz,
received us in the baronial mansion, conducted us with great politeness
to the dining-room, where he entertained us with various discourse, like
a highly-talented and well-educated cavalier. Soon afterwards the _Frau
Generalin_ sent for me to her room, and welcomed me with much civility,
receiving my compliments in return most favourably. My proposals
contented her right well, and she gave me good hope that my desires
would meet with a happy issue. In the mean time the table was spread,
and the _Frau Generalin_ with her maiden daughter, and Herr von Poser
with his spouse, made their appearance, followed by good Mistress
Mercer, who received me most courteously. During dinner every variety of
lively discourse was carried on, and my love was the true centre to
which all were attracted. When dinner was ended, the whole company
absented themselves, and left me and my love alone in the dining-room.
On this occasion I opened my heart to her, and begged for her sympathy,
hoping she might in some degree reciprocate my chaste love, and allow
herself to be persuaded, under God's providence, to be united with me in
wedlock. Now as generally in love affairs a maiden's No is as good as
Yes, so I considered my love's first uttered No as Yes, and was not
thereby alarmed, but pursued my intent. Meanwhile, however, the _Frau
Generalin_ and the Herr von Poser passed to and fro, and teased us poor
lovers with polite jests. At last our love could no longer hide itself
under compliments, but burst forth like the moon from behind dark
clouds, and we exclaimed, 'Yes, I am thine, and thou art mine!' And now
we called together the _Frau Generalin_, the Herr Poser, and he who was
my rightful wooer, who then, as assistants and witnesses, confirmed our
verbal Yes, by joining together our hands. As a pledge of my affection,
I hereupon presented my love with a small Bible handsomely embossed with
silver, and a ring with ten diamonds, which had been made for me at
Breslau for fifty-three imperial thalers. But my treasure entered into a
contest of love with me, presenting me with a ring with one diamond,
which, on account of its size, was estimated at ninety imperial thalers.
Now when the affair had in such wise come to an arrangement, we sat down
again to table in the evening, and supped together with gladness of
heart, till at nightfall I and Herr Pirner were conducted to two
comfortable bedchambers. The following morning I expressed to _Frau
Generalin_ my thankfulness for all the honour she had shown me, took
leave of my love and all present, and returned with Herr Pirner to
Nickelstadt, and from thence back to Liegnitz. From there I corresponded
weekly with my love, visited her every Sunday after the performance of
divine service, at Polewitz; treated her each time with a special
present, and finally fixed with her upon St. Elizabeth's day, namely the
19th of November, 1675, for the conclusion of our nuptials.
"After this fashion did our courtship continue almost five weeks; then
as the appointed nuptial day was approaching, and everything necessary
had been procured, and the wedding guests invited, and more especially
as my former colleague at Brieg, Herr Dares, whom I had requested to
unite us, had arrived at Klein-Polewitz, the _Frau Generalin_ sent two
coaches, the one with six, the other with four horses, to Liegnitz to
fetch me and my guests; but as these coaches could not bring all, the
Captain General, Herr von Schweinichen lent me one, item the Abbess of
Nonnenklosters, item the city councillor, nay one with four horses,
together with certain calèches, whereupon, by God's will, I with my
guests repaired to Polewitz. After the marriage sermon, in which Herr
Dares introduced the names Friedrich and Elizabeth very ingeniously and
emblematically, the wedding took place by the light of burning torches,
about six o'clock in the evening in the large dining-room, whereunto I
was conducted by the Royal Councillors Herr Kurchen and Herr Caspar
Braun, and my love by Herr von Poser and Herr von Eicke, brother to the
_Frau Generalin_. Before the wedding, Fräulein von Schlepusch had
presented me with the wreath, and I had given her in return a beautiful
gold ring. As soon as the marriage was completed we sat down to supper,
which had been provided by my love at our cost, and were all very blithe
and merry. In such fashion did we entertain our guests for the space of
three days with the greatest gaiety and contentment; and it all ended in
confidential union and harmony. On the fourth day, accompanied by Herr
Rath Knichen and his wife, I brought home my love to Liegnitz in the
coach of the _Frau Generalin_, drawn by six horses."
Here we conclude the narrative of the happy husband; he had won by his
wooing a most excellent housewife. In the midst of flowery expressions
the reader will perhaps discern here the deep emotions of an honourable
heart.
But the mode of expressing the feelings of the heart was altered. When a
century before, Felix Platter related the beginning of his love for his
maiden, he expresses his feeling in these simple words: "I began to love
her much;" Lucä, on the other hand, already expresses himself thus:
"That the stream of chaste love filled his heart to overflowing." The
bride of the Glauburger still decorously addressed her bridegroom in her
letters as "Dearly beloved Junker;" but now in a tender epistle from a
wife to her husband, she accosts him as "Most beautiful angel." In other
European nations also, we find the same false refinement; with them also
the finest feelings were overloaded with ornament. Through the foreign
and classical poets this style had been brought into Germany, partly a
bad kind of renaissance, which had originated in an unskilful imitation
of the ancients. But nevertheless it satisfied a real need of the heart;
men wished to raise themselves and those they loved, out of the common
realities of life into a purer atmosphere: as angels, they placed them
in the golden halo of the Christian heaven; as goddesses, in the ancient
Olympus; as Chloe, in the sweet perfumed air of the Idylls. In the same
childish effort to make themselves honourable, dignified, and great,
they wore peruques, introduced ridiculous titles, believed in the
philosopher's stone, and entered into secret societies; and whoever
would write a history of the German mind might well call this a period
of ardent aspirations. These aspirations were not altogether estimable,
by turns they became vague, childish, fanatical, stupid, sentimental,
and at last dissolute; but beneath might always be discovered the
feeling that there was something wanting in German life. Was it a higher
morality? Was it gaiety? Perhaps it was the grace of God? The beautiful
or the frivolous? Or perhaps that was wanting to the people, which the
princes had long possessed, political life. With the broken window-panes
of the Thirty years' war, and the choice phrases of the young officers
who banqueted in the tent of General Hatzfeld, this period of aspiration
began; it reached its highest point in the fine minds which gathered
round Goethe, and in the brothers who embraced in the east, and it ended
perhaps with the war of freedom, or amidst the alarms of 1848.
The home life of the respectable citizen of the seventeenth century was
as strictly regulated as was his wooing, prudent and circumspect, even
in the most minute particulars. His energies were occupied in strenuous
labour from morning to evening, which afforded him a secret
satisfaction. Thoughtful and meditative, the artisan sat over his work,
and sought to derive pleasure from the labour of his hands. The workman
was still full of anxiety, but the beautiful product of his hands was
precious to him. Most of the great inventions of modern times were
thought out in the workshops of German citizens, though they may indeed
sometimes have been first brought into practical use in foreign
countries. Scarcely was the war ended when the workshops were again in
full activity, the hammer sounded, the weavers' shuttle flew, the joiner
sought to collect beautiful veined woods, in order to inlay wardrobes
and writing-tables with ornamental arabesques. Even the poor little
scribe began again to enjoy the use of his pen; he encircled his
characters with beautiful flourishes, and looked with heartfelt pride
on his far-famed Saxon _ductus_. The scholar also was occupied
incessantly with thick quartos; but the full bloom of German literature
had not yet arrived. Everywhere, indeed, interest was aroused in
collecting materials and details, and the industry and knowledge of
individuals appears prodigious. But they knew not how to work out these
details, it was pre-eminently a period of collection. Historical
documents, the legal usages of nations, the old works of theologians,
the lives of the saints, and stores of words of all languages were
compiled in massive works, the inquiring mind lost itself in the
insignificant, without comprehending how to give life to individual
learning. It wrote upon antique ink-horns and shoes it reckoned
accurately the length and breadth of Noah's ark, and examined
conscientiously the length of the spear of the old Landsknecht Goliah.
Thus we find that industry did not obtain the full benefit of its
labour; yet it assisted much in training the genius of our great
astronomer Leibnitz; it also helped to give an ideal purpose to man, a
spirit for which he might live.
The war had inflicted much injury on the artisan, and it was first in
domestic life that he began to recover from the effects of it. The
weaker minds withdrew entirely into their homes, for there was little
satisfaction in public life, and their means of defence were diminished.
There was now peace, and the old gates of the battered city walls grated
on their hinges, but trivial quarrels distracted the council-table, and
envious tittle-tattle and malignant calumny embittered every hour of the
year to those stronger minds that exerted themselves for the public
good. A morbid terror of publicity prevailed. When in the beginning of
the eighteenth century the first weekly advertisers sprang up, and the
Council of Frankfort-on-Main conceded to the undertakers of it, a weekly
list of baptisms, marriages, and deaths, there was a general burst of
displeasure; it was considered insupportable that such private concerns
should be made public. So completely had the German become a private
character.
There were few cities then in Germany on whose social life we can dwell
with satisfaction. Hamburg is perhaps the best specimen that can be
given. Even there war and its consequences had caused great devastation,
but the fresh air that blew from the wide ocean through the streets of
the honest citizens of a free town, soon invigorated their energies.
Their self-government, and position as a small state in union with
foreign powers, preserved their community from extreme
narrow-mindedness, and it appears that in the period of laxity and
weakness that followed the Thirty years' war, they became by their
energetic conduct the principal gainers. Land traffic with the interior
of Germany, as also nautical commerce across the North Sea and Atlantic
Ocean, recovered their elasticity soon after the termination of the war.
Hamburg envoys and agents negotiated with the States-general, and at the
court of Cromwell. The Hamburgers possessed not only a merchant fleet,
but also a small navy. Their two frigates were, more than once, a terror
to the pirates of the Mediterranean and of the German Ocean. They
convoyed, now Greenland and Archangel navigators, now great fleets of
from forty to fifty merchantmen, to Oporto, Lisbon, Cadiz, Malta, and
Leghorn, in short, wherever there were Hamburg settlements.
This commerce, inferior as it may be to that of the present day, was
perhaps, in proportion to that of other German seaports of the
seventeenth century, more important than now. The young Hamburgers went
then to the seaports of the German and Atlantic Ocean, and of the
Mediterranean, as they now do to America, and founded there commercial
houses on their own account. Thus was formed in Hamburg a
cosmopolitanism which is still characteristic of that great city. But it
was undoubtedly more difficult for that generation to conform themselves
to foreign customs, than for the present. It was not devotion to the
German empire, but an attachment to the customs of their daily life and
family ties, which made the Hamburgers then, as now, rarely consider a
foreign country as their fixed home. When they had passed a course of
years abroad, in profitable activity, they hastened home, in order to
form a household with a German wife. The warm patriotism and the prudent
pliancy to foreign customs, which are peculiar to the citizens of small
republics, were produced by this kind of life, and also the love of
enterprise, and the enlarged views, which were seldom to be found then
in the courts of Princes in the interior. Thus the family of a Hamburg
patrician of that period shows a number of interesting peculiarities
which are well worth dwelling upon.
Such a family was that of the Burgomaster Johann Schulte, whose race
still survives on the female side. Johann Schulte (who lived 1621-1697),
was of ancient family, he had studied at Rostock, Strasburg, and Basle,
had travelled, and married whilst secretary to the city council, and had
then acted as envoy from Hamburg to Cromwell. He became burgomaster in
1668, was a worthy gentleman of great moderation of character,
experienced in all worldly affairs as well as in the government of his
good city, a happy husband and father. Some letters are preserved from
him to his son, who in 1680 entered into partnership in a Lisbon house.
These letters contain many instructive details. But most interesting, is
the pleasing insight we get into the family life at that period; the
terms the father was on with his children, the heartiness of the feeling
on both sides; in the father the quiet dignity, and wisdom of the much
experienced man, with a strong feeling of his distinguished position,
and in all the members of the family a firm bond of union, which, in
spite of all the inevitable disputes within the circle, formed an
impenetrable barrier to all without.
A journey to Lisbon, and a separation of many years from the paternal
house, was then a great affair. When the son, after his departure amid
the tears and pious blessings and good wishes of parents and sisters,
was detained by contrary winds at Cuxhaven, his father lost no time in
sending him "a small prayer book; item, a book called 'The Merry Club,'
and Gottfried Schulze's Chronicle, also a box of cream of tartar, and a
blue stone pitcher with tamarinds, and preserved lemon-peel for
sea-sickness." The son during his voyage, called to mind that he owed
his brother three marks and six shillings, and anxiously entreated his
mother to withdraw that sum for him from the eight thalers he had left
in her keeping. The father liberally responded, that the eight thalers
should be kept for him undiminished, that his mother would make no
difficulty about three marks. After the son was established at Lisbon,
regular supplies were sent of Zerbster and Hamburg beer, butter, and
smoked meats, as also prescriptions for illnesses, and whatever else the
care of the mother could procure for the absent son; he on the other
hand sent oranges back, and casks of wine. The father accurately
reported the changes which had occurred in the family, and among the
citizens of the good city of Hamburg, and zealously laboured to send his
son, commissions from his Hamburg friends. Soon the son confessed to his
parents from that foreign land, that he loved a maiden at Hamburg;
naturally one of the acquaintances of the family, and the father
sympathized in this love affair, but always treated it as a matter of
serious negotiation, which was to be cautiously and tenderly dealt with.
It is clearly the object of the father to put off the wooing and
proposal till his son had been some years abroad, and with diplomatic
tact he meets his son's wishes just far enough to retain his confidence.
What however is perhaps most characteristic of that period, is the
advice given by the father to the son as to the necessity of adapting
himself to the usages of foreign countries. The son is a pious zealous
Protestant, whose conscience was much disquieted at having to live among
strict Roman Catholics, and to join the practices so repugnant to him of
Roman Catholic countries. What the father writes to him on this subject,
is here given from the first letters, with the slight alterations
necessary to make them intelligible.
"Dear Son,
"It is a week to-day since the last meeting of the Council, under my
government, for this year, and I sent in the afternoon to the post-house
to inquire whether the Spanish letters had arrived, and received for
answer, No. The following day, at noon on Saturday, Herr Brindts sent
his servant with your letter of the 11/22 of this month. As far as
concerns your letter, we are in the first place all rejoiced that,
thanks to God, you are in good health, which is a great mercy; and then
that you are well pleased with your partners, and on this account
likewise you should thank the Lord, that you have met in a foreign
country with such honourable and well-disposed men. God grant that you
may henceforth pass your time with all contentment, in peace and
harmony, and also in a sound and prosperous condition till it pleases
God to restore you to your country. Nevertheless, in reading your letter
I have remarked that your place of residence, Lisbon, and its
inhabitants, both clerical and lay, are not altogether suited to you,
and you do not find yourself quite right in your present position, owing
to which I discover in you some traces of impatience. It cannot be
otherwise than that the change from Hamburg to Lisbon, the difference
between the inhabitants of one and the other, their customs and
behaviour, and many other things, should strike you with amazement, nay,
even with consternation and anger; but you must remember that there and
in other places, you have had many predecessors in like case, with whom
it has fared the same, and to whom the great change in everything,
especially in religious matters, has appeared very surprising.
"According to the Latin adage, _post nubila Phœbus_, that is, bad
weather is followed by brighter and more agreeable sunshine, which may
the most benign God in his mercy fulfil to you, and grant that, as you
met with and endured great dangers and bodily weakness by sea, the time
which you may spend in Portugal may sweeten and brighten the former sour
and bitter days, and that you may by degrees forget those bad days, and
be comforted and rejoice in the good ones, which may the Almighty in his
mercy constantly grant and bestow upon you. Amen.
"Brother-in-law Gerdt Buermeister (who loves you as his child) told me
to-day, that many things would indeed appear surprising to you on your
first arrival at Lisbon, especially the seeing on all sides the forms of
white, black, and gray monks and other persons; but it would be only
three or four months, before you would become accustomed to this and
other things. Now it is certainly true that one gets habituated in time
to everything. I was for four years constantly at Strasburg, and got so
accustomed to it that it became alike to me whether I lived at Strasburg
or Hamburg, and was never disturbed about anything.
"Believe me and others, you will find equally that a short time and a
little patience will alter and improve all. I trust in God, therefore,
that I shall in the course of eight or ten weeks receive from you more
satisfactory letters, especially as you gradually make progress in the
language. Brother-in-law Gerdt Buermeister says that he was twelve years
old when he arrived at Lisbon, and he could not sufficiently describe
his dissatisfaction; and whenever he descried the monks he thought they
were devils; he would also have poured water on them from above, but
would have got into difficulties thereby: he says, that when he was
obliged to go out he felt terrified, but he soon overcame his fears. As
regards religion, you must be judicious, and as much as possible avoid
all hypocrisy, and never enter into discourse with your partner, nor
with any one, on religious topics, but continue yourself at fitting
times to read thereon, and also pray to God with devotion morning and
evening, and put your firm trust in Him, that as He has so wonderfully
called you to that place, He will also be, and ever remain your gracious
Father and protector under all apparent crosses.
"You state that you have already once sinned from necessity, when the
consecrated host was carried past--or as it is otherwise called the
venerabile--and ask whether you have well done to pray for yourself, and
whether the good God will hear and forgive you this sin. I cannot
forbear relating to you on this occasion what befel me at Maintz: when,
in 1641, I journeyed from Hamburg to Strasburg, and was obliged to
remain quiet at Frankfort for a fortnight during the fair, I went to
Maintz, which is four miles from thence. It so happened I was there a
Sunday, on which a special feast was kept by the Roman Catholics; so I
ascertained in which church the Elector was to attend mass, betook
myself there, and found in the church many devout people on their knees.
Some had their _rosarium_ or rosaries in their hands, and said the Ave
Maria and Lord's prayer, others smote their breasts with their hands
like the penitent publican, and repented of their sins. I thus in some
sort inspected the people, and thought their devotion commendable, and
wished also that such good devotion in outward demeanour in the church
could be found among us Lutherans. Meanwhile the Elector came, and
entered into the choir. I, as an inquisitive young man, pressed in
together with him, and as I was well dressed, having round me a scarlet
mantle, the halberdiers allowed me to pass, supposing me to be a young
nobleman. In the mean time the Herr von Andlaw chanted the mass in
_pontificalibus_, that is he had a bishop's hat or cap on his head, and
a bishop's staff in his hand. I had good thoughts as I looked on all
these ceremonies, and all was as yet well. But when the Herr von Andlaw
raised the consecrated cup, then all knelt down who were standing by me,
I did the same, and said a Paternoster. To this I was led by my
curiosity, but you were led unavoidably, and I trust in God that He will
forgive me and you this fault. Besides this once, I have been in the
Roman Catholic church frequently in France, and especially at Orleans on
a Sunday afternoon, and have heard good music, but have never found my
limbs tremble as you write that you have experienced. One should not be
like a timid hare, but maintain always a constant steadfast heart. You
mention that in Lisbon there are many priests, and also many churches
and monasteries. Well! let it be so, that is nothing to you; however
many priests there may be there they will not bite you, only take heed
to yourself. No one can compel you to go to mass or into the church, and
if at Easter you can obtain a ticket from an ecclesiastic, as if you had
confessed and communicated, you have no farther need to care about the
priests. But if you see the priests at a distance coming towards you
with the consecrated host, use all caution and turn into a byway, or go
into a house.
"You write to me also, that many are already envious of you, and that
Frick and Amsing are amongst the number. My son! who is without envious
rivals? The more a person prospers, the more there are who envy them.
Therefore the Dutch say: _idt is beter, beniedt als beklaegt, als idt
man onsen lieven Heer behaegt._ What think you of the many who envy me,
but whereof I know only a few, most of them I know not. On that account
one has to pray in the Litany: 'That it may please the Lord to forgive
our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers, and turn their hearts.' I
should have been glad to see that when Frick and Amsing invited you
twice you had gone to them. You write that they would have
cross-questioned you. But you are not such a child that they could have
cross-questioned you, particularly as you could undoubtedly tell them
what you chose, and what they ought to know. You write also that Frick
did not take off his hat to you; now you are younger than Frick, and
thus it behoved you to greet him first. You tell me also that Amsing
gave good words with his mouth, while gall was in his heart; to that I
answer, that one must set a thief to catch a thief; give always good
words to all, be they ecclesiastics or laymen, and keep to yourself your
own thoughts, that is the way of the world.
"It is particularly satisfactory to us to find from your letter that you
hope soon to make progress in the Portuguese language, which will cause
you great contentment, and although on account of your deficiency in
that language, you cannot yet give any special help and assistance in
buying and selling, yet you can keep the books, and be assiduous in
setting down and registering everything.
"Admonish your young Heinrich to fear God, and to that end to pray and
read, and make him read to you in your room on the forenoon of Sunday
from the _Molleri postilla_.
"Your mother has spoken to Gunther Andreas, and told him he must take
heed, and when a vessel is noted up at the exchange to be laden for
Lisbon, send a ton of beer by it. You have in your mother's hands not
eight marks, ten shillings, but eight good rix-dollars, which I have
before written to you. And if the eight rix-dollars are already gone, a
ton of beer will not signify. You have always as much or more in hand.
We will also, God willing, send you a present of fresh smoked Elbe
salmon, for I have already had two salmon in the smoke three days, one
of which we have destined for you. The salmon fishery promises fair,
though as yet a pound costs one mark.
"Last Monday we held our Peter's, and yesterday our Matthias's
collation, when I had a convenient opportunity to recommend you and your
brother-partner to Herr Brümmelman. The same reported to me that he had
received letters from you, and the good honest man opened his mind to me
thoroughly, and told me that he would answer you by this post, also that
I need not doubt God would bless you and your brother-partner, and you
would have no cause to complain. God grant you health, patience, and a
constant cheerful spirit, also pleasure in and love for your business
and work of superintendence. A common proverb says: _ora et labora_, and
let God be your councillor. This do, and throw all your cares on the
Lord, and it will be well with you. Wherewith I conclude for this time,
as I brought to a close yesterday my seventh year of administration, and
by God's grace and favour have concluded it; and together with the
friendly greetings of all your dear belongings, I faithfully commend you
to the secure protection of the great God, and remains always
"Your kindly affectionate father,
"Johann Schulte, Lt.
"Hamburg, Feb. 25, 1681.
"P.S. I have mentioned, in my letter of the 14th of January, if I am not
mistaken, that the pleasant fellow Heinrich Mein served up to us and the
ship's company a rarity, a dish of fish which had been cooked in Lisbon.
Now you might intend sending me a gift of the like in future, but do not
do it, it would cost you trouble and money, and I care not much about
it. Vale.
"P.S. Your lady mother sends you most kindly greeting from herself, and
is glad to find, _par curiosité_, that you here and there mention in
your letters what kind of weather you have, and what vegetables and
fruit you get in succession; you may also touch lightly upon what meat
and fish or vegetables you eat. And you should look to it that you eat
wholesome food, and above all not too much. Here indeed the Elbe is
open, and there is tolerably mild weather; we have good Elbe and sea
fish, only we have deep muddy roads, and a foggy thick atmosphere,
whilst with you doubtless all is now green and gay and everything in
blossom.
"P.S. As the price of letters to Spain and Portugal runs somewhat higher
than to other places, I write, contrary to my usual habit and manner,
somewhat small and _compresser_. Write small and light letters, but
tolerably long ones, and _menagire_ also herein. Vale."
Thus far the cautious Burgomaster Johann Schulte. He had the pleasure of
seeing his son return safe from the land of monks, and united after
many family negotiations to the maiden of his choice.
Labour undoubtedly makes men firm and enduring, and it more especially
serves the egotistic interests of men of sound capacity; but to any one
whose vocation it is to be employed for the benefit of others, the
service will be consecrated by a feeling of duty. Every employment which
is capable of maintaining life gives man also a position. The journeyman
is the official of his master, the housewife has the office of the keys,
and every work develops even in the smallest circle a domain of moral
duties. The German has never been deficient in a feeling of the duties
of home and of his trade. There always have been citizens who were not
only ready to die for their city, but who have sometimes passed a life
of self-sacrifice for it. The Reformation elevated the feeling of duty
to a higher domain of earthly action and the self-denial and
self-sacrifice of the pious shepherd of souls should always be highly
esteemed; but on closer observation, we perceive that the foundation of
this more elevated feeling of duty was more especially of a religious
nature. It was the command of God which men sought to obey; where the
Scripture did not command with powerful voice, the feeling for the
universal good was not so strongly developed, and the perception of the
duties of their own position was uncertain.
It is instructive to notice that it was the armies brought together by
the war which first raised the citizen's idea of the duties of his
calling. The soldier's feeling of honour not only developed itself in a
noble esprit de corps, but became the source gradually of official
honour in the citizen. First of all it gave him honour in the eyes of
others when he fulfilled his duty, but also it afforded himself internal
satisfaction and a just pride. Thus after the fidelity of the middle
ages and the piety of the Reformation there arose a new domain of moral
requirements. There was more of feeling than of the result of thought in
it, but it was still an advance; though at first indeed only among the
best.
Two years after the paternal admonitions of Herr Burgomaster Schulte to
his son, at a little distance south of Lisbon, the life of a Hamburger
was put an end to by a fearful catastrophe. The account of it is given
in an old narrative.
Berend Jacob Carpfanger was one of the captains at Hamburg. He was born
in that city in 1623; he got his schooling, as was the custom, in the
merchant service; he early became a member of the admiralty, and at last
as captain of convoys, commander of one of the vessels of war which had
to defend the merchantmen against pirates. These marine officers of the
city, besides having to exercise the highest official control in their
fleet, had to perform diplomatic negotiations in the harbours, and
sometimes were sent for the same purpose to foreign courts. It was
necessary for them to have some practice in business, and to know how to
associate with great lords, so as to maintain the honour and fame of
their city. Carpfanger was considered in his city an elegant, smart man,
who knew better than most how to conduct himself. He had an earnest
countenance, almost melancholy, a high forehead, large eyes, and a chin
and mouth of great power. His health appeared rather less strong than
was desirable in a seaman. He had given proof that he understood how to
conduct a sea-fight, and had often been in bloody actions. For the
Barbary pirates still continued their depredations both on sea and land.
Not only in galleys, but in large frigates did these birds of prey bear
down upon the swarm of commercial vessels. It was just at that period
that the 'Hund' was the terror of European seas. Far over the channel,
from Gibraltar onwards, on the great ocean, nay, on the coasts of the
Northern Sea, his swift vessels made their appearance; dreadful were the
harbour tales of their temerity, violence, and bloodthirstiness. In the
year 1662, a squadron of eight Hamburg merchantmen had become the booty
of these "barbarians."
In 1674, the burgomaster of the admiralty girded the silver sword on
Captain Carpfanger, and handed to him the admiral's staff. Then the
seaman swore before the senate, that he would manfully defend the fleet
intrusted to him, and sacrifice everything, body and soul, rather than
abandon his ship.
During the ten years that passed after that, up to his death, he made an
annual voyage, starting with his fleet in the Spring and returning home
in August. He had many severe struggles with storm and waves, and often
complained how unfavourable the elements were to him.
Thus he went to Cadiz and Malaga, to the Northern frozen ocean, and to
Lisbon. From an expedition to Greenland, his fleet of fifty vessels
brought home a booty of five hundred and fifty whales. Once when
returning home he was attacked at the north of the Elbe by five French
privateers; in the course of a twelve hours' fight he sent two to the
bottom by his shot, and they sank before his eyes with every man and
mouse on board, the remainder escaped to the open sea. He was also
engaged with the Brandenburg privateers. It happened that the admiral's
red flag of Hamburg floated on the gaff of the Besan threateningly
against the red eagle of Brandenburg; for in 1679 the great Elector was
not favourably disposed towards the Hamburgers, and his little vessels
of war had already captured many of theirs. The opponents met, but
Carpfanger had strict instructions to keep on the defensive, therefore
it came to a good issue. The large ship inspired the Brandenburgers with
respect; they sent the long-boat with two officers to salute him, and
"in order to inspect the arrangements of the ship." The Hamburger
regaled them with wine in his cabin, and then they politely took leave.
Their vessel fired a salute, which Carpfanger answered with equal
courtesy, and then both sailed away.
Again the captain on one of his voyages met with a fleet of Spanish
galleons in fight with Turkish pirates. The combat was taking an
unfavourable turn for the Spaniards; some heavy galleons had been cut
out and overpowered by the pirates. Carpfanger attacked the pirates, and
by a broadside freed the Spanish vessels. He was on this account invited
to the court of Charles II., and presented by the king with a golden
chain of honour.
When in August he exchanged the winds and waves for the narrow streets
of the old city, even there little rest was allowed him. First there
were disputes with the senate about expenses, a writing of reports, the
vindication of particular arrangements which did not appear clear to the
gentlemen of the council-table, or injured some private interest, and
all the vexations of the counting office which are so hateful to the
seaman. For there is no lack of petty trading spirit in old Hamburg. In
the winter of 1680, his dear wife died in the prime of life.
Again and again he convoyed merchantmen to Cadiz and Malaga: in 1683 he
commanded the frigate 'The Arms of Hamburg.' The passage had been
lengthened by a storm, and a leaking vessel in the fleet, but it had
already been made known at the Hamburg Exchange that the captain was
about to return from Spain _viâ_ the Isle of Wight. Then there came
instead of him, sorrowful tidings. These will be here given; it is an
example of the old method by which news was rapidly spread.
"Sorrowful tidings from Cadiz in Spain.
"From Cadiz 12/22 October.
"Good and dear friend,
"I could have wished that this my letter might have awakened joy rather
than occasioned sorrow. But when we mortal men are in the highest tide
of happiness, and think of nought but gladness, misfortune hovers over
our heads.
"Such, alas! contrary to all expectation, has been the case with me and
all who together with me came in the convoyship 'The Arms of Hamburg.'
"On October 10/20, I and our chief officers, as also the noble captain's
son and his cousin, had the honour of taking supper with our noble
captain. When it was about eight o'clock and we were on the point of
rising from table, our cabin-watch brought the sad tidings that there
was fire in the hold of our ship. Thereupon our noble captain and we all
sprang up terrified from the table and hastened to the spot, where we
found all the cordage in the hold already in full blaze. By the order of
the captain, buckets and water-casks were speedily brought; much water
was poured on it, and some holes opened because this place was not
easily reached; all this in hopes of extinguishing the fire. Our people,
especially the soldiers, who were valiantly urged on by their commander,
worked assiduously, but all in vain, for no diminution could be
perceived in the fire, but only increase. Divers guns were fired as
signals of distress, in order to procure help, but fruitlessly, as the
other vessels afterwards pretended they did not know what such firing
signified.
"Thus the captain was obliged to send our lieutenant in the small cutter
to the surrounding vessels, to acquaint them with our unhappy condition,
to entreat the aid of their cutters and boats, and procure some
pump-hose. They came, it is true, but stopped at a distance; for the
fire was very near the place where the powder, which used to lie in the
fore-part of the ship, was kept, and it was impossible, on account of
the great heat, to bring it away; so every one feared that the ship, and
we all, one with another, should be blown up, if the flames were to
reach it. On this account many of the seamen gave up the work, and
retreated into the boats and the large cutter behind the ship, or made
away in foreign boats, however much we implored of these not to carry
off our people.
"To those in our boat and great cutter, the captain called out from the
cabin window, that they should remember the oath they had sworn to him
and the magistracy, and not abandon him, but return on board, as at
present there was no danger, and by God's help the fire might be
extinguished.
"These certainly obeyed the command, and began to work again earnestly,
but it all was of no avail for the fire increased more and more. After
working assiduously but fruitlessly for two hours, the lieutenant and
shipmaster, as also the other officers, went to the captain, and
informed him that, alas! there was no more help, that it was impossible
to save the good ship, and it was now high time to save themselves, if
they did not intend to be burned in the ship or blown up with it. For
between the fire and the powder there was now only a plank of a
finger-breadth remaining. But the captain, who still thought to preserve
the ship, and prized his honour more than life and everything in the
world, answered that he would not leave the ship, but would live and die
therein. His son fell on his knees before him, and besought him for
God's sake to think better of it, and seek to preserve his life. To whom
he replied: 'Away with you, I know better what is intrusted to me.'
"Thereupon he commanded the quartermaster to place this his son,
together with his cousin, in another vessel, which was then done. He
would not allow the least bit of his own property to be removed, that
the men might not be disheartened thereby.
"Meanwhile it was suggested by some that it would be best to cut a hole
in the ship and let her go to the bottom; to this however the captain
would not consent, but said he had still hopes of saving her. Others
advised to cut the cable and strand the ship. This was at last agreed
to, and the order given to cut the cable. But just as this was about to
be done, when the mizen and foremast were on the point of falling, and
the people were still sitting on the fore-yard, the powder in the
fore-part of the ship caught fire. The force of it however being broken
by the pouring in of a large body of water it only blew up with a whizz.
The fire burnt through the deck almost to the foremast, and as a stiff
east wind blew above, and the vessel lay to the wind, it ran up the mast
into the shrouds and sails, and in a moment over the whole ship.
"When the people who were still in the vessel saw this, they sought to
fly with pitiful shrieks. Some ran to the cabin, hoping to find safety
there; others to the gun-room. At the door of this last, the
lieutenant, by order of the captain, had placed himself, together with a
soldier with a loaded gun, to prevent any one from running through the
room into the large cutter, which lay fastened just behind it. The
lieutenant was pressed through the door, and thus obliged to betake
himself to the cutter, followed forthwith by a throng of people: many
sprang into the boat. As this however, was already pushed off, because
the fire from behind burnt quite over, and as it appeared likely that
the fire would reach the powder at the back of the ship, and all who
were around and near it would be blown up, the poor men who were still
in the ship, and did not wish to be burnt, determined to abandon
themselves to the waves, and sprang into the water. It would have melted
a heart of stone to have heard the cries and shrieks of these miserable
men, driven about in shoals in the water, so that nothing but heads
could be seen. Now whilst the fire was driven by the wind from the
fore-part to the stem with great power, its violence increasing with its
duration, I stood in the cabin with divers persons round the captain;
they moaned and wept before him, and at the same time exhorted him,
saying there was no time now to remain any longer.
"I went from them to the window, to see whether there was yet a boat at
hand, and found that the large cutter was still fastened to the ship. I
took my resolution, and commending my life to God, sprang through the
cabin window into the boat; which succeeded so well that I was saved
therein without suffering any damage. As I turned my back to the
captain, he, with the persons remaining by him, among whom were the
commander and some soldiers and seamen, went out of the door. I thought
they were seeking to save themselves, as indeed they were willing to do;
for I perceived that they went to the great blaze with the intention of
forcing the captain into a boat. But finding none, as the flames were
already over their heads they left the captain and sprang overboard.
"As soon as I was in the large cutter, the lieutenant became visible; I
asked him whether the captain was out of the ship, he answered that a
Dutch captain had saved him. Now when we thought we were assured
thereof, we loosened the cutter in all haste, for there were many people
swimming about in the water, seeking to save themselves therein; and the
cutter was almost dragged down by them, as many clung to its side. It
was also to be feared that we should be blown up when the flames reached
the powder.
"When we had gone about a cable's length from the ship, many pieces of
it fell asunder by reason of the heat of the fire; and the grenades
sprang one after another. The fire, at last, towards one o'clock,
reached the powder in the powder room, and with one hollow clap the
stern of the vessel blew up; whereupon the remaining portion, with all
that was still therein, went to the bottom, after the good ship had been
burning about five hours.
"Meanwhile we came with our cutter to another ship lying in the bay, and
put out the people who had been saved, with the exception of the
necessary rowers; with whom the lieutenant, during the remaining portion
of the night, sought sorrowfully after the noble captain among all the
vessels in the bay. But in vain, as he was nowhere to be found.
"On the following day, about ten in the forenoon, notice was given by
the English cutter of Captain Thompson's ship, that the body of our
captain, alas! had been driven on to their boat's cable, and had been
rescued by them.
"Thereupon, the now deceased good man was forthwith brought from the
vessel of the said Captain Thompson, and as was fitting, was clothed in
clean linen, for which Captain Thompson was paid with gratitude.
"Of all the men who lost their lives by this great misfortune (of seamen
two-and-forty, of soldiers two-and-twenty), the deceased noble captain
was the first that was found. Preparations were forthwith made for his
funeral, and when everything needful was provided, on Saturday the 13th
of this month, he was consigned to the grave according to Christian
usages, here behind the Puntales, in the place where it is the custom to
bury those of foreign nations. Our _Domine_ first preached a fine
funeral discourse; the body was convoyed by some twenty cutters, wherein
were many distinguished captains and merchants; in each the flags were
half mast high, as a sign of mourning; in like manner all the English,
Dutch, and Hamburg ships lying here, testified their condolence by
hoisting their flags and Jacks half-mast high, amid the firing of guns,
whereof above three hundred were heard.
"Who caused this fearful fire and misfortune, or by what negligence it
originated, is unknown. The boatswain's son, who had been in the hold,
and had to watch the lamp which usually burnt there, stated that he had
gone from the hold upon deck, in order to speak to another youth, and on
his return to the hold, found it in flames. God preserve other ships
from a like misfortune, and comfort the widows and orphans of those who
have been lost."
Here we conclude the news from Cadiz. According to another account the
captain walked alone about his ship up to the last; others declare that
they saw him at an open port-hole, raising his clasped hands to heaven;
and according to others, he last of all committed himself to the waves,
either to be preserved or to sink as God willed it; and it is no wonder
that the weakly old gentleman, after the mental and bodily exertions of
the last hours, should have gone to the bottom. A great marvel had been
observed by the sailors: three doves had for several hours hovered over
the burning ship, to the time of its blowing up.[44] King Charles II. of
Spain caused a monument to be erected on the grave of the Hamburg
seaman; which, according to consular records, was only destroyed in the
Spanish war, the beginning of this century.
We rejoice that the deceased kept his oath. The honour of his calling
demanded his death, and he died. For it is better that once in a while,
a brave, honest, and able man, though he were still able to save
himself, should go down with his good ship, than that mariners should in
the hour of danger want a model of enduring energy. He died as became a
sailor, silent and collected; he laconically dismissed his own son; his
whole soul was in his employment. May the German citizen never come to
such a pass as to consider the deed of this man, strange and unheard of.
In the inland provinces also, many hundreds of peaceable citizens since
his time have died in the performance of their duty to the utmost of
their power, and beyond it; pastors in the midst of contagion, doctors
in the lazar house, and helpful citizens in dangers from fire. And we
hope that the reader will discern that this is the path of duty, and the
general rule with us.
And still our hearts heave with the thought that in the same year in
which Strasburg was so ignominiously lost, a fellow-countryman felt even
as we should feel, namely, that there is not much cause for
astonishment, and no occasion for crying and moaning, when any one dies
in the performance of duty. And his memory should be honoured both by
those who traverse the sea, and those who never hear its roar. The
German had much degenerated after 1648, but he yet deserved a better
life; for he still understood how to die for an idea.