CHAPTER XII.

THE WASUNGER WAR. (1747.)

The great century of enlightenment began with blood and the thunder of

cannon. The Spanish war of succession raged on the western frontier,

within the distracted realm. Bavaria and Cologne fought under the ban of

the Empire, in alliance with Louis XIV. against the house of Hapsburg.

The constitution of the Empire had become weak. In the east the

Hohenzollerns already held a powerful position by the side of the

Hapsburgers; from the beginning of the century they had become kings

independent of the Empire, and the Electoral house of Saxony, had

shortly before obtained the insecure possession of the Polish Electoral

throne.

Condemned witches were still burnt on the funeral pile; the

ecclesiastics of three persuasions still carried on a wearisome strife;

the intolerance of the Church, the pressure of poverty, want of great

political interests, and the pitifulness of the small sovereigns and

their courts, still weighed upon the masses.

Ever wider became the separation of classes. Etiquette only permitted

the princes to have intercourse with the citizens in particular cases,

and under prescribed forms. It therefore occurred sometimes that a good

paternal ruler disguised himself as a private man, withdrew into a

chamber apart, put on his old dressing-gown, and took a pipe in his

mouth, in order to be enabled to have direct intercourse with his

citizens, and thus learn their wishes from themselves. During such hours

his princely dignity was, to a certain degree, suspended, but instantly

he quitted the room he was again within courtly interdict.

Yet it was just at this period that numerous mesalliances took place.

Among many of the higher nobility, wild nature broke through the

restraint of court usage, and more than once a city maiden had the

doubtful advantage of becoming the persecuted wife of a Prince of old

family. Seldom did the wife obtain from the Emperor the rights of equal

birth; the marriages were generally morganatic, and the children refused

the succession.

Among the German princes, the course of whose life was changed by a

union of this kind, was Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Saxe Meiningen; born in

1687, the youngest of three brothers, he became, according to the custom

of his house, joint ruler of the country, that is to say, the elder

brother exercised the rights of sovereignty, but the younger ones

received a portion of the revenues of the country. In his youth, this

prince had travelled; in the war of succession he had served through

some campaigns as an Imperial officer; and at the peace of Rastatt, he

quitted the army with the rank of Major-general. A fiery youth,

courteous and accomplished, affable as becomes young princes, not

without an interest in intellectual pursuits, he had, following the

prevailing fashion, zealously collected objects of art and natural

curiosities; with a lively disposition and chivalrous demeanour, he was

the favourite of the country which he only nominally ruled. Whatever

entered into his head, he carried on wilfully and recklessly, with an

iron perseverance which might have led him to great things. Then it

became his lot to fall in love with Philippine Cesar, the daughter of a

Hessian captain, lady of the bedchamber to his sister, the Abbess of

Gandersheim; he took her to Holland and married her.

For many years he did not avow his marriage. His life became unsettled;

he kept his wife concealed in Amsterdam, and strictly commanded his

servants to keep secret his place of residence; he received letters from

home in roundabout ways, and was always moving to and fro in the land of

his fathers. But when his wife became more precious to him, and sons

were born, the stubbornness of his nature was brought forth, he revealed

his marriage, and required of his family the recognition of it, and the

right of succession for his children.

The displeasure of his proud house now broke out. The recognition was

denied. Such a marriage was considered by the Court altogether

monstrous, but it was always doubtful whether the decisions of feudal

law were competent to declare this marriage invalid. Therefore the Dukes

of Saxony met together in 1717, and decided that all unequal unions in

their house were to be considered as only morganatic, and the children

were never to be allowed the rights of succession.[48]

Anthony Ulrich remained firm. He solicited the Imperial court, and

strove unweariedly against the council of the country, who took

advantage of this quarrel to diminish the revenues of the Duke. But his

nature was not easily bent. When in 1722, the last feudal tenant of

Altenstein, one Hund von Wenckheim lay dying, and the commissaries of

the government were standing by the death-bed to take possession of the

vacant fief, Anthony Ulrich rode suddenly into the court of the castle,

and in spite of the protest of the councillors, who were also his

servants, entered the chamber of the dying man, sang with him the

evening song and the penitential hymn, and passed the night, armed with

pistols and other weapons, in the castle. As soon as the vassal had

closed his eyes, he entered the room, and according to the old usage

took possession of the vacant fief, and seating himself in a red velvet

arm-chair, said: "I hereby take possession of my third share, without

prejudice to the two-thirds of my brothers." He then called in his

attendants as witnesses, and according to the prescribed usage, struck

his hand forcibly on the table, so that a jug upset, symbolical of the

movable property, and caused a chip to be cut out of the door of the

chamber of death, and of the dining-room. After this he swore into his

service all who had not fled; he then rode out, cut splinters from the

oak wood, and bits of turf from the meadows, as further tokens of having

taken possession, and went back to Meiningen. But when he returned to

the castle, he found the gates closed and guarded by grenadiers, and all

his threats and protestations were of no avail.

He afterwards wished to take his wife and children to one of his own

possessions, and lead a peaceable life at home. But such was not his

happy lot. His brothers obtained a decision from the Imperial high court

of judicature, according to which he was not to take his wife and

children into the country of his fathers, and if he should venture to do

so, he was never to usurp for them the title of princes. He now however

went himself to Vienna and so worked there, with the help of large sums

of money, and through the medium of his military acquaintances--the

Spanish minister, the Marquis of Perlas was his supporter--that the

Emperor Charles VI. raised his wife Philippine to the dignity of

Princess of the holy Roman Empire, and her sons and daughters to be

dukes and duchesses of Saxony, with all the privileges and rights,

_i.e._ those of the succession.

Against this, the whole house of Saxony, and those of Hohenzollern and

Hesse, who were interested by the settlement of succession, rose in

opposition. At first, however, Anthony Ulrich was victor. His eldest

brother died, and the second was a weak man. So he became in 1729, the

real ruler of the country. Then he brought his wife and eldest son under

the ducal roof at Meiningen. For eleven years the stubborn prince

rejoiced in having established his own will. But the struggle with his

house had embittered him; and added to restlessness and violence, a

litigious spirit had come over him. Peevish and endless were the

disputes about the government, and the discord with his brothers and his

favourites; the little country was divided into two parties; ministers

and officials threw themselves on the one or the other side, and

sometimes the machine of government stood still. The Duke lived

generally with his wife and children out of the country, at Vienna. The

legal proceedings with the agnates about the equality of birth, which

still continued, and vexatious quarrels with neighbours, gave him but a

gloomy satisfaction. He had gained no trifling knowledge of the forms of

public law, and conducted all his suits himself. They seem to have taken

up the greater part of his time.

But the victory was to be followed by a sad reverse. The new Emperor of

the house of Wittelsbacher, Charles VII., was with very evident

reference to Anthony Ulrich's affair, bound on oath not to legitimatize

any notorious mesalliances, and to declare the right of inheritance of

such children null and void. Therefore the rank given to the Duchess of

Meiningen and her children was repealed. Anthony Ulrich had recourse to

the Diet. But in vain. This also declared that his application must be

refused, and the Emperor Francis I. of Lorraine confirmed this decision.

It was a cruel stroke of destiny. The wife of the Duke had the good

fortune not to outlive the last Imperial decision; she died a few weeks

previous to it; whilst her husband was fruitlessly setting heaven and

earth in motion at Frankfort to ward off this fate. But the two parties

quarrelled even over her coffin. The brother, and co-ruler with the

Duke, refused to allow the corpse to be buried in the royal hereditary

vault, nay even denied her the usual tolling of the bells for royal

personages. Anthony Ulrich rushed furiously from Frankfort and commanded

the tolling and the burial in the royal vault. Orders and counter orders

crossed each other during several weeks; now the tolling began and now

it was stopped. As Anthony Ulrich, who had again hastened to Frankfort,

had commanded that the coffin should not be deposited anywhere but in

the royal burial place, it was kept in a room in the castle covered over

with sand; there it remained a year and a half, till in 1746, Anthony

Ulrich's last brother died. Then the Duke in order to give satisfaction

to his wife even in death, caused his brother's corpse after lying in

state, to be placed in the same room next his wife's coffin and like

hers to be covered over with sand. There the two coffins remained for a

year, when they were both quietly deposited at the same time in the

royal burial place.

Now Anthony Ulrich, once the youngest of his family, remained sole ruler

and the eldest of his race, but Meiningen was a source of annoyance to

him. He could not take his dear children home as Dukes, therefore he

went to them at Frankfort. His agnates could scarcely conceal the

impatience with which they awaited for his death in order to take

possession of the inheritance of the last of the Meiningens. He had

passed the greater part of his life in struggle with them; now he would

be revenged. Out of spite to them he married at the age of sixty-three a

Princess of Hesse-Philippsthal. He had ten children by his first wife

and eight by his second. He announced every fresh birth to the agnates

on a sheet of the largest royal folio.

He died at Frankfort-on-the-Main in 1763. Even in his last testament the

stubborn determination breaks forth, of bringing the two sons of his

first marriage into the country as co-heirs. All the children of the

first marriage died unmarried.

His was an unprofitable life, but it well deserves the sympathy of a

later generation. A strong passion disturbed his days up to his last

hours. Mixed with a great love, a stream of gall penetrated into his

heart, flowing unceasingly; his time, his money and all his talents were

spent in the most sorrowful of all struggles--in family disputes. His

brilliant youth gave great promise, yet how profitless to others, nay to

himself, was his whole manhood. In his old age he dwelt in a foreign

city, divided between his past and his new domestic life, to which he

could never get thoroughly accustomed. His spirit, once so lively and

active, and his unbending will, were so engrossed with his personal

affairs, that when he became the real ruler of his country he no longer

took an interest in doing his duty.

It was not unnatural that Anthony Ulrich should, from his own

experience, entertain a repugnance to the pretensions of the lower

nobility at court, and it was quite in accordance with his character, to

display his hatred when opportunities offered. This he did shortly after

the death of his first wife, to the bereaved court at Meiningen.

In the royal palace at Meiningen the _Frau Landjägermeisterin_, (wife of

the Grand Master of the chase), Christiane Auguste von Gleichen held the

highest rank. Among the other ladies who had a right to be there, was a

Fran von Pfaffenrath, born Countess Solms, but yet only the wife of a

councillor, who had only just been ennobled, and to whom she had been

married in a not very regular way, for her husband had been tutor in her

parents' house: she had eloped with him, and had after many troubles

accomplished a reconciliation with her mother, and obtained a diploma of

nobility for her husband. Now Duke Anthony Ulrich, who was residing at

Frankfort, protected her, because, as the court whispered, her sister

had the advantage of being in the good graces of the old gentleman.

Naturally, she ought only to have ranked according to the patent of her

husband, but alas! she raised pretensions because she was of high

nobility. When therefore in October 1746, the doors of the dining-room

were to be opened, and the page was standing ready to repeat grace, the

Master-of-the-Horse entered and said to the _Frau Landjägermeisterin_:

"His most Serene Highness has commanded that the Frau von Pfaffenrath

shall take rank before all other ladies." Frau von Gleichen answered

that she would never consent to that, but the Frau von Pfaffenrath had

placed herself favourably and took the precedence of the _Frau

Landjägermeisterin_ before she could prevent it. Yet this determined

lady was far from submitting tamely. She hastened round the table to the

Duke's cabinet minister, and declared to him, as became a lady of

character after such an insult: "If _Frau von_ Pfaffenrath again goes

before me to table, I will pull her back even to the sacrifice of her

hooped gown, and will say a few words which will be very disagreeable to

her." The cabinet minister was in a great embarrassment, for he knew the

resolute character of _Frau von_ Gleichen. At last he advised her to

rise from the table before grace, then she would at all events go out

first and so get the precedence. Thus the _Landjägermeisterin_

maintained her place, but she was much offended, and so was the whole

court, which split into two parties. This quarrel of the ladies made a

commotion in the whole of the holy Roman Empire, occasioned a campaign

between Gotha and Meiningen, and was only ended by Frederick the Great,

in a manner which reminds one of the fable of the lion which took the

royal share for himself.

_Frau von_ Gleichen appealed to the absent Duke for reparation. She only

received a strong and ungracious answer. Irritated at this, she made

inquiries into the former life of her enemy, and propagated an anonymous

writing, in which the love affairs of the Countess were described with

more energy than delicacy. The _Frau von_ Pfaffenrath complained of this

lampoon to the sovereign at Frankfort, and afterwards began a course of

proceedings against the _Frau Landjägermeisterin_ which even then was

considered harsh and cruel. She was called upon to crave pardon of the

_Frau von_ Pfaffenrath, on her knees entreating her most penitently for

forgiveness; and when she refused with these words: "I would die first,"

she was taken in arrest to the council-house and there guarded by two

musketeers; her husband also was put in an unhealthy prison. Unshaken by

such great sufferings the _Frau Landjägermeisterin_, in a beautiful

letter full of self-reliance and noble sentiments, petitioned the Duke

for her husband's freedom, her own dismission from the service of the

court, and permission to institute a legal defence against the

Pfaffenrath. All this was denied her. She was on the contrary carried by

two musketeers into the room of the Pfaffenrath in order to beg pardon,

and when she again refused, she was taken into the market-place of

Meiningen surrounded by a circle of soldiers, and the sheriff read aloud

a decree, in which it was proclaimed to the people, that the lampoon was

to be burnt before the eyes of the _Landjägermeisterin_ by the hangman,

and every one was forbidden, on pain of six weeks' imprisonment and a

fine of a hundred thalers, ever to speak again on the subject. The

letter was burnt by the hangman and _Frau von_ Gleichen again taken back

to prison.

But now the friends of the Gleichen brought a complaint before the

Imperial chamber. But the repeated mandates of the Chamber to Duke

Anthony Ulrich and his government, to give freedom to the Gleichens and

to proceed according to law, were not obeyed. After that Duke Friedrich

III. of Gotha, received a commission from the same tribunal to defend

_Frau von_ Gleichen and her husband from farther violence, and to

deliver them from imprisonment in Meiningen, yet keep them in honourable

custody. Duke Friedrich demanded the delivery of the prisoners from

Meiningen, but his commissioners were not admitted into the city, nor

his letter accepted; but it was signified to him, that if Gotha should

attempt to free them by force, there was plenty of powder and shot at

Meiningen. Betwixt Meiningen and Gotha there were endless quarrels and

great bitterness.

Thereupon Duke Friedrich of Gotha prepared himself for armed

intervention. He was a warlike Prince, who maintained a subsidiary force

of six thousand infantry and fifteen hundred horse in the Dutch and

Imperial service. He had, besides a large number of guns, a strong corps

of officers and several Generals. On the other hand the military

strength of Meiningen was small; it consisted almost entirely of the old

fortifications and unskilled militia. These were assembled, and

Meiningen was fortified as well as was possible in such haste. But it

was not destined that Meiningen itself should become the scene of

action, for the fury of war raged only about the town of Wasungen. It

was indeed a remarkable coincidence that this place should become the

theatre of war, for scandal says that it was considered the shield or

place of refuge of Meiningen; and in the country there is a lying story

about its councillors and a large gourd. The councillors mistook the

gourd for the egg of a foreign horse which was to be hatched for the

good of the town by the united powers of the councillors.

The struggle which then took place in the centre of Germany, between the

Thuringian states of Gotha and Meiningen, is known by the name of the

Wasunger war. In a military point of view it is of no importance, but is

characteristic of the period. All the misery in the German Empire, the

decaying state of the burgher life, the coarse immorality of the

politics of that time, the meannesses, pedantry, and helplessness of the

Imperial army, are shown to such an extent, that they might be a source

of amusement, if they did not give rise to a more serious and better

feeling, bringing to light the helplessness of the German Empire.

The narrative is here given by Lieutenant Rauch of Gotha, who took part

in the war. He speaks in his diary as follows:--

"Early on the 15th of February, precisely at one o'clock, our whole

division broke up from Tambach, and marched with burning torches through

the wood beyond the so-called Rosengarten, in order that we might enter

at break of day the Hessian village Flohe; we knew not whither we were

going. We continued our march through the city of Smalkalden up to

Middle Smalkalden.

"When the cavalry came to the Meiningen village Niederschmalkalden, a

Lieutenant, with about four-and-twenty militia men, stood right across

the road, and would not let us pass. Here all three corps were obliged

to halt. Major von Benkendorf, together with the Lieutenant-Colonel,

rode up to the Lieutenant who was commanding there; and the Major asked

him what he meant by not letting us pass, and whether this was not a

public road? The Lieutenant answered: 'Yes! it was a high road, but he

had orders not to let us pass. Major Benkendorf might say what he liked,

the Lieutenant would not listen to him.' The Major then took a letter

out of his pocket which he wished to show him; but neither would he take

that. Whereupon the Major said to the Lieutenant: if he would not let

him pass with his people he would force his way.

"The Lieutenant answered shortly, that we might do so, as he had not

sufficient force to prevent him. The Major rode immediately to the

guards, drew his sword, and approached the Lieutenant to see whether he

would consent to treat; but he would not stir from the spot. The Major

asked him once more, whether he would yield up the ground? But he

remained firm. Thereupon the Major gave his orders to the guard: March!

March! and broke through.

"While they were passing, it happened that one of the horses pushed

against the Meiningen Lieutenant and threw him down. But he soon

recovered himself, seized his weapon, and shot the serjeant-major of the

guards, Starke, and then took to flight. A horseman however, whose name

was Stähm, pursued him forthwith, and would have cut his head in two,

but the Lieutenant held his weapon obliquely over his head, so that the

horseman Stähm cut in half the powder sack on the barrel. But my good

old Lieutenant thought he would run further, and sprang over a ditch,

where the horseman might not be able to follow him, and thought he was

now safe. But the grenadier Hellbich fired and shot my old Lieutenant

Zimmermann behind the right ear as he ran, so that he fell suddenly to

the ground, and not a muscle quivered. The militia still standing there

looked on at the game; but the grenadiers fired some grenades among

them, and they then took to their heels and ran away.

"Meanwhile all the streets of the village had been barricaded with carts

and wagons; but the Mayor and the peasants seeing their old Lieutenant

lying dead, whom they had at all times considered as their bulwark, and

observing that some grenades had fallen into their gardens, were in

great terror, and began to ring the alarm bells that all the peasants

might speedily assemble.

"In a moment all the wagons and carts were moved out of the way so that

we might march. The militia had fled to the village of Schwallungen,

through which also we had to pass, and where again there was an officer

in command of thirty militia, to whom they reported what had taken place

in the village of Niederschmalkalden. So the officer, who was a

shoemaker by profession, when he heard this report from the fugitives,

took such of his men as would go with him and tore off to Wasungen

before he had even caught sight of us.

"When we came to the afore-mentioned village, we formed ourselves in

column, fixed our bayonets, and thought what will now take place? We

marched on, and when we came to the gate the officer and all the troops

had fled, and there to not a single man to make resistance. We marched

straight through with fixed bayonets; then we saw the portion that had

remained of the runaway shoemaker-Ensign's troop in their uniform, with

their cartridge boxes, peeping out of the windows.

"My good shoemaker-Ensign was off, and had posted himself and the men

who thus went out with him at the gate of Wasungen, where again a

Lieutenant, who was a good barber--as I knew by experience, having

myself been shaved by him--had posted himself, and was awaiting us. The

gate of Wasungen was firmly closed with strong double doors, but a

sentinel stood without; so Major von Benkendorf called to him that the

gate must be opened. But the sentinel excused himself, saying he could

not. The said Major asked him, 'Who is there besides?' He answered: 'The

Lieutenant.' The Major said he must call his Lieutenant; whereupon he

ran hastily and fetched him out. Then came up my good barber-Lieutenant;

the man was already well nigh dead of fright, and his face was whiter

than his shirt. The Major accosted him sharply, asking how it was that

the gates were fastened, and whether a public high road did not pass

through there? He answered, Yes! So Major von Benkendorf said he must

that instant open the gates, or we would do it ourselves. When he heard

this, being half dead with fright, he begged for pardon, saying it was

not he that could open the gates, but the councillors who had closed

them. The answer was, that he must forthwith produce the councillors.

Good gracious! was there ever any one more glad than the good barber,

who ran as if his head was burning; but meanwhile there was nothing seen

or heard of the shoemaker-Ensign.

"At last the councillors came.

"When I saw these men creeping out of the little gate, I thought, 'What

the devil! are these councillors? they are a fine lot!' The councillors

looked a little respectable, but the burgomaster was up to the knees

in cow-dung, and must have been fetched from clearing away the dung in

the stable. Hereupon, Major von Benkendorf asked whether they were the

councillors? They answered: 'Yes, and what did we desire?' The Major

asked whether this was not the highroad to Nuremberg? They said, 'Yes.'

'Why then were the gates closed and barricaded, and we not allowed to

pass through?' Then the president of the council answered: 'They were

commanded by their government not to let any troops pass through,

therefore they must keep the gates closed; they must do what their

master commanded them.' But Major von Benkendorf repeated his former

words, and said to them: 'They must open to us, and that quickly, for

that we must march further; and if they did not open, we would do it

ourselves.' The president of the council answered this, and said: 'We

might do as we liked, but he could not open the gates to us.' But the

dung-bespattered burgomaster then began: 'Nay! if you wish to march

further, you can do so by the back road.' I thought to myself, 'If thou

couldst but kill that cursed dirty fellow!' The Major then forthwith

called to me, and desired that all the carpenters of the whole division

should be summoned; which was done in a moment. Hereupon he asked once

more whether they would amicably open the gate? if not, he would have

them immediately hewn open. They might now see that we ourselves would

open the gates if they did not prefer preserving them whole.

"The Major thought they would resolve to open them, but they said they

would not, and we might do what we liked. Hereupon the Major called out:

'Proceed carpenters! hew the gates down!' Thereupon the carpenters set

to work. When the knocking and cracking began, it was well worth seeing

how the councillors, among whom was the Burgomaster, and the

frightened barber-Lieutenant, began to ran, as if carried off by the

devil. In a moment both gates were hewn down, and the whole detachment

marched with trumpets, drums, and fifes, into the city.

"As we marched in through the gates, the good barber-Lieutenant, and the

shoemaker-Ensign, with their men, presented arms, and saluted both the

officers of our detachment.

"Here we stopped, just as we were; everyone was hungry and thirsty. We

officers made the citizens fetch us something to drink, and stood

looking at and questioning one another. The snow was lying on the

ground, and our men began to be impatient. I went to the inn where the

Lieutenant-Colonel was in consultation with his officers; they were

deliberating, and I could not speak with them. The citizens were already

beginning to kindle their lights, and it did not appear how the affair

was to end.

"At last the Lieutenant-Colonel came and sent forthwith to the

councillors, who were already assembled in their council-room,

deliberating what report they should make to Meiningen concerning the

hewing down of their gates. But the president of the council had got

scent of it, so he kept apart, and left the others to themselves, for

all men could see that we could not go any further, as it was night. Now

as the president was away, no one would go to the Lieutenant-Colonel,

and each kept calling upon the other to go. At last one consented, and

said: 'Some one must go, let what will happen.' When therefore he came

to the Lieutenant-Colonel, it was represented to him that the town must

provide us with accommodation for the night, whether they liked or not.

The Lieutenant-Colonel also added, that we should march very early on

the morrow; that the citizens were not bound to give the smallest thing

to the soldiers, who had to live on their pay; therefore he need not

deliberate any more about it. The councillor begged to be excused, but

said he could do nothing himself, he must lay the matter before his

colleagues, and see what they were disposed to do.

"Hereupon I marched forth again with the good councillor to the

Schlundhouse, where the other councillors were sitting. When I entered

the room with the plenipotentiary, he delivered the Lieutenant-Colonel's

message to them, in his own words: 'That the Commander desired to have

night-quarters for his men, and that on the morrow at sunrise, they

would again march; that he could not help the citizens; they must do so

whether they chose or not; if they would not do it, they must tell

Lieutenant Rauch; in which case, he would quarter the soldiers in houses

according to the custom with troops; they would get what they wanted,

for soldiers must live on their pay. No citizen was bound to give them

anything but a warm room and a place of rest.'

"Now every one shall hear what passed amongst these councillors. The

first who began, said: 'I do not assent to this. Who asked them to wait

so long here? they might long ere now have marched away, if they had

chosen.' Another said: 'You are right, cousin Kurtz; I would rather tear

myself in pieces than consent.' The third then said: 'So, ho! first they

hew down our gates, and then, forsooth, they cannot go further, and

expect us to give them quarters: most decidedly not!' The fourth now

spoke: 'The honourable Commander seems to be an honest man, but let him

say what he will, there is no doubt that we must provide food for them,

for truly they bring nothing with them.' The fifth then began: 'That is

right, cousin Hopf: do you not remember how it fared with us when the

Imperial cavalry came? they behaved in like manner; and afterwards we

could not get rid of them, but were obliged to keep them with a good

grace.' The sixth said: 'This will never do; we cannot provide them with

quarters till we have received orders from our government, otherwise we

shall be punished.' The seventh spoke thus: 'Did I not tell you,

gentlemen, what would happen, by keeping these people so long outside?

Truly the President, Herr Läufer, has made off, and slips his head out

of the noose, leaving us to bear the brunt. Take heed; they say they

will be off to-morrow, but they have been marching yesterday and to-day,

and to-morrow they will make a day of rest, as they will need repose.

Rest assured that I am right; what think you, gentlemen? suppose we were

to send a messenger on horseback to Meiningen?'

"I had listened to all the discussions of the councillors, and now I

began, and said: 'Gentlemen, you come to no conclusion; I will inform my

Commander of it, let it fare with you as it may.' But he who had gone

with me to the Lieutenant-Colonel, begged me to wait but a little, and

they would just send to the treasurer and city clerk to confer with

them. Here the strife began again, none would go thither. At last one of

them allowed himself to be persuaded, but soon returned again, saying

they had both ridden off when we hewed down the gates. Then I said,

'Now, gentlemen, do what you like; I will not wait a moment longer.'

"Thereupon the eighth and last began to speak, he who had accompanied me

to the Lieutenant: 'Gentlemen, what shall we do; here they are, and you

have heard what the Commander says: if we will allot them no quarters,

he will let his soldiers go into whatsoever houses they please; if they

fill your houses it is no fault of mine. I go home to close mine. As

many as come to my share I will take; the others I will show to your

houses. You have heard of to-day's misfortunes. At Smalkalden, friend

Böhler's brother-in-law, Lieutenant Zimmermann, is dead; our gates have

been hewn down; below are the soldiers thundering out curses. Gentlemen,

let us billet them. The soldiers in the market-place say they only wish

they had shot the peasants who were with the Lieutenant. What a calamity

that would have been! They say also that more shall be shot; that one

shall not be the last. Thus you see that the same misfortune might come

upon us also. Ah! gentlemen, if we had but such a prince as he of Gotha

is! but ours troubles himself not about us; he lives comfortably at

Frankfort, and let what will come to us, he cares not. And who knows

wherefore this has begun? These soldiers assuredly have not come for a

pastime. One can learn nothing from them. And how soon one night will

pass, or even two! They are our border neighbours too; why should we not

give them a night's lodging?'

"They all agreed to this and sought for their old rate of tax; whereupon

I had to tell them the whole strength of our division.

"After that, I received an order to enjoin upon the soldiers, when they

received their billets, that they were not to undress themselves, but

were each of them to place his weapon by his bedside, and soon as a call

was heard, every soldier was instantly to join his commanding officer

fully armed, and if any one was found in a state of drunkenness, he was

to be punished by running the gauntlet of the whole division; therefore

an order was to be given directly to the assistant executioner, to cut

this very evening six hundred rods.

"None of the officers undressed themselves; for the most part they

remained in company together, in order to be alert on the morrow. When

morning approached, the citizens as well as the officers were listening

for the beating of the drum. They also had probably passed an unquiet

night; wherefore? because they were badly provided with beds, and had

given them up perhaps to the soldiers for a douceur. This one might

conclude, as in all the houses lights were to be seen throughout the

night. In the morning, instead of the call from the staff of the

grenadier guards, the reveille was beaten. Now, every soldier knows

well, that beating the reveille signifies remaining quiet, or a day of

rest; so we put our heads together to guess what this might mean. The

citizens, also, when they saw that the soldiers did not break up, and

prepare to march, laid their heads together likewise, and there was a

great amount of whispering among them. My host, himself a councillor,

came and asked me what was the meaning of our not marching further? I

could give him no information.

"Now the misery began; there was only food for him who had brought

bread. The citizens quarrelled with the soldiers, and asked why they had

not marched away yesterday or early to-day, and whither we had intended

to go? They told them the truth. It was such an uproar as is impossible

to describe. The poor citizens who possessed no goods or houses, fled,

and their dwellings were broken open by the soldiers, and one excess was

committed after another.

"Meanwhile, all the councillors and burgomasters were called to

Meiningen, where they were charged by their government, on pain of

punishment, to signify to the citizens that they were not to provide

anything for the Saxe-Gotha soldiers. The bakers were not to bake, nor

the butchers to slaughter the beasts; the innkeepers were not to prepare

any food, nor the brewers to brew. This the councillors actually

proclaimed to the citizens. And truly I was not able to get even

three-pennyworth of cheese. The citizens who were prudent people, begged

of us not to take it amiss of them; as we must accept good words instead

of what they would have given us. If I wanted bread I had to send to

Smalkalden for it, and give more pay to the messenger than for the

bread.

"Thus we remained there, expecting the Meiningens, who never came.

Meanwhile we found provisions; we got most of them from Smalkalden; the

beer was bought in the Hessian village of Tambach, and the Jews brought

us meat. At last the Wasungers became disloyal, turned round on their

magistrates and said: 'We have all the troubles, and the other states

the enjoyment; this does not suit us; we have promised to obey our

government, but then they should protect us. If they cannot rid us of

these people, we will bake, brew, and cook.' And from that hour they

began to do all. For many years the citizens had not brewed nor sold so

much beer as after this; every week three and four brews; bakers began

to bake, who had long shut up shop; the butchers did the like. Then the

wise councillors went off again to Meiningen and reported everything;

whereupon the citizens were again cited to the town house, on a penalty

of twenty gulden. But they were refractory and would not go, but sent

thither their barefooted children, and heeded no more commands. When

these wise councillors found this, they themselves began to brew.

"On the 22nd of May, on Whit Monday, 1747, an order must probably have

come from Major S---- of which we officers learnt nothing. Hereupon

there was a running and scampering to the Privy Councillor Flörcke at

the 'Bear,' which was quite astounding; now they ran in and now out. I

thought: 'What the devil is the matter?' yet I thought, if something is

passing, I shall hear of it. The citizens also began to inquire:

'Wherefore is all this running to the commander at the "Bear?"' But I

could give no answer.

"Whilst all this running hither and thither was going on, I went with

Ensign Köhler to inspect the sentinels, and when we arrived at the upper

gate, Majors von S---- and von B---- and Captain von W---- met us. Major

von S---- came straight up to me and asked me secretly, whether I had

heard any news? I answered, No; whereupon he inquired of me, whether I

knew that the Meiningens meant to attack us that night? I replied: 'Well

and good; if they come they must knock pretty loud, we will be ready for

them.' He then said, would I wish to send my wife away? 'No,' said I,

'she only came on holy Whitsun eve, and will not go away till the day

following Whit Sunday.' 'Indeed,' he continued; 'but if the Meiningens

come?' 'I shall gird a sword round her,' was my answer, 'and she may

defend herself.'

"Then Major S---- continued, saying, 'I was to make my dispositions

here, and see that all the gates and posts were defended.' This is truly

being deceived with one's eyes open; to make dispositions before the

eyes of men and not to keep them!

"When I came down I called out to the soldiers: 'Attention! cease that

chattering.' Then I began to arrange the right wing, but had hardly

placed four or five files, when Captain W---- came running, and asked

me, whether I had not heard that I was to come with him directly. Here

came out the first result of their council of war. I did not delay long,

but ran directly to the Major, and asked what commands he had to give

me; whereunto he answered, that I was to take thirty dragoons and march

them to the 'Bear,' and there report myself to the Privy Councillor

Flörcke, in order to bring him in safety to Schwallungen. I forthwith

replied: 'I beg your pardon, Major, but that is not befitting me, and I

shall not do it; there are other officers there who may be ordered to do

this, but not I.' Now, in short, I heard that the Privy Councillor

wished to have me. Who would have dreamt of such a trick? As if I would

have escorted the Privy Councillor from Wasungen! I would sooner have

taken him into the Werra. But no remonstrances would serve; they said I

must and should go. This was the first trick! Hereupon I replied to the

Major: 'So I must consider it an honour, that the Privy Councillor

places such confidence in me, when there are so many officers in the

division;' hereupon I received an order, to tell the officer at the

lower gate that he should give information as soon as I had passed

through with the Privy Councillor; this was the second trick. Who could

have imagined such a trick? I will not write what I think of it. When I

found it out I wished that all the horses of the carriages had died,

that I might not be taken away from Wasungen by such cunning.

"Now I went forth, taking with me a corporal named Görnlein, and

nine-and-twenty dragoons, and marched to the 'Bear,' where I found a

carriage at the door, but saw the servant sitting within in the doorway.

I called to him to inform his master I was there; whereupon the Privy

Councillor called out to me from the carriage, 'I am already here.'

Whereupon, I detached the corporal with fourteen men to go behind the

carriage, while I went in advance with the others.

"Now when I came to the lower gate, I called to the serjeant, and bade

him tell the major that I and the privy councillor had passed out.

Meanwhile the soldiers were in great confusion at the rendezvous; but

when the corporal announced that I had passed out with the Privy

Councillor, the major immediately gave orders that all the soldiers

should pile their arms, and go to their quarters to fetch their baggage;

when they had dispersed, he sent to the guard to desire them to go

forthwith and assemble at his quarters, which was done. Thus all the

outposts were forgotten. At last the noise and bawling was so great, it

reached the ears of the outposts, who went off without orders. Now when

the soldiers from the guards came to the market-place, they saw some of

the soldiers coming back from their quarters with their baggage, so they

piled their arms and went off for theirs.

"But this was not enough. Either the time appeared to him too long

before the soldiers were again assembled, or the fear of death had

already come upon him, or he was incited to it by his comrades; but in

short, he determined at once to leave, and going down to the soldiers he

called out, 'Allons! March!' although the men had not nearly all

assembled. Then Captain Brandis, who had not consented to this at their

council of war, asked what this meant? whereto the Major von S----

answered, they were to march into the district of Britungen. The good

man who was standing in front of the Meiningen gate, then ran quickly to

his house, collected his things together, and threw them into his

portmanteau. He had well nigh been left behind.

"Now when Captain Brandis, and the musketeer who had packed up his

things, returned to the place of rendezvous, all were gone, and there

were only a few weapons remaining there. So he sent on his servant, and

waited for the remainder of the men. Now every one should know, in the

first place, that Major von S----, had not waited till all the soldiers

were collected together, still less had he thought of the artillery; he

had thought of nothing but calling out 'March! march!' and the sick

officers (Captain Rupert among them), and sick soldiers were forgotten;

besides this, he never set the troops in order, but marched them out as

a shepherd drives his cattle through the gate; and such a shameful sight

was never seen, nor can it be described.

"Captain Brandis now came marching through the town with the soldiers he

had collected; whereupon the citizens began to call out after him:

'There they run like vagabonds; they entered in the daylight and run

away at night, like thieves and rogues; the good Major von S---- is up

and away.' Captain Brandis swallowed all this patiently, and continued

marching slowly with his troops. When he had come to a height in front

of the town, some Wasungers, who were lying in ambush, fired at him; and

when he had marched a short distance further, he found our artillery

lying in a defile, without a single man to guard it, and it lay now with

the wheels, now with the wagons uppermost, and hardly a piece was

standing; for as there was a deficiency of chains, the gunners had

fastened the guns with tow to the powder wagons, and these were breaking

every moment. Captain Brandis with his men, remained with the artillery.

"Now I had to make my arrangements carefully. When I arrived at

Schwallungen, I stopped my soldiers and the carriage, and went up to the

Privy Councillor to inquire where I should convey him; whereto he, half

dead with fear, answered, 'To the upper Inn.' Where the devil that was I

did not know, till I found a dragoon, who having been there formerly,

conducted us to the place; for I knew nothing about the village, nor

where the inn lay; it was dark as pitch, and rained as if the water was

poured from heaven in buckets. When I arrived at the inn he had

designated, I caused the gates to be opened, and the carriage to drive

into the court; the Privy Councillor alighted with his clerk who

accompanied him, and retired into an upper room, for he knew the place

better than I. I put a sentry on each side of the carriage, because the

chancery papers lay therein. I desired the rest of the soldiers to place

their arms in the house that they might be safe from the rain, and

placed a sentry to guard both the arms and the Privy Councillor. I did

not care any more about the said Privy Councillor, for I had, according

to the orders of Major von S----, brought him to a place of security;

where he would probably be about as safe as a cake among rats, for it

was a Meiningen village; and according to all accounts there were no

worse rogues in the whole country, than the inhabitants of Schwallungen.

"Having therefore executed my orders, I sent my sergeant to Lieutenant

Griesheim, who was stationed with forty or fifty dragoons in the said

village, to inform him that I had brought the Privy Councillor hither,

and that he should come and release me from my charge. A short time

after, the Lieutenant made his appearance, and was much amazed that I,

being adjutant, should have come hither with a detachment, and could not

help remarking on it.

"I said, it appeared to me more serious. However, this was now nothing

to the purpose. I begged of him to set to work, and send for his

soldiers, that I might march back to Wasungen with my detachment;

whereupon he took the trouble of going himself for them. When he had

collected about fifteen men, I told him he must take charge of the

posts, as I wished at once to resume my march; the which he did, and so

released me. Now it was right to pay my respects to the Privy

Councillor, and ask him whether he had any commands for Wasungen?

whereupon the man addressed me as if I were a thrasher, and asked me

whether I had no orders to remain here? but I was prepared and answered

him with the most perfect indifference, 'No, the devil has given me no

orders to remain here; and it was no part of my duty to bring you here.'

That he said I might settle with Major von S----. Whereunto I replied,

'I will most certainly do so.' After that he inquired of me more kindly

what I wished to do at Wasungen, as the whole division were on the

march, and would speedily be here. Then I said, 'Is that the way the

cards are shuffled? that is good, truly.' Now whilst I was still

standing in the room with the Privy Councillor, I heard the tramping of

horses; I rushed down stairs and asked who it was. I received for

answer, 'We are all here.' Then I was so horrified that I almost lost my

senses; there were the two majors, who forthwith dismounted, hastened up

stairs into the councillor's room, and I after them.

"Now they were beginning to relate to each other how fortunately they

had escaped from the besieged Wasungen, but I would not let Major von

S---- say a word, but asked him: 'Herr Major, what manner of conduct is

this, to send me so cunningly away from Wasungen, without telling me

that you were going to march out, and I have left there my wife and

child, and all my property? Is this the custom of war? I know not

whether you have received money for acting thus, or what I am to think

of it. Are these your secret projects which are brought to light to-day?

In the devil's name, I am not so young, nor have only become a soldier

to-day; perhaps I know as well or better than you, what is the way to do

things.' I was in such a rage, I would have staked my life against him.

"Now my dear reader, you must observe, that up to this moment I had

neither seen nor heard a single man of the whole division, and did not

know how matters stood. Major von S---- tried to comfort me, saying I

need not be unhappy about my things; he would be surety for them; but I

answered him quickly: 'Herr Major, how can you answer for my things? Why

did you not tell me the truth instead of sending me out of Wasungen by

such deceit? that is not allowable.' Then the Privy Councillor would

have his say, and truly to this effect, that the Major was right in

sending me away; that was his opinion. But I replied: 'By ---- I require

no clerks to give me orders; if I were a commander, I would tell those

who were under me, what was going to take place, and what they were to

do; but to act in such a way as this, is not honourable.'

"Thereupon I left the room, and when I came to the guard in the court,

one Pleissner, a citizen of Gotha, a tinman, who had been at that time

on a visit at Wasungen, entered the court, and said to me of his own

accord; 'God help us, Herr Lieutenant, what a sight that was at

Wasungen! it filled me with sorrow and vexation when our people marched

out in that way, for I am a citizen of Gotha. When our soldiers marched

out through the lower gate, the militia of the country entered in

through the upper gate, and visited every house; and sent off to

Meiningen, Christian, Ensign of Captain Brandis's company, who had been

forgotten on guard, and was going to his quarters to fetch his baggage.

The devil is in the militia; they visited every house, and said they

would carry off all to Meiningen.'

"I will ask anyone to think what kind of temper I was in then; Captain

Ruprecht and many soldiers had been left ill at Wasungen; my wife and

child and my small chattels were also there; and now I heard that the

musketeer Huthmann had already been carried off to Meiningen, so

everything wore a black aspect. I asked the citizen where our soldiers

were? 'Ah,' said he, 'they lie without, all in troops under the trees,

and Captain Brandis is still at Wasungen; the field-pieces lie all on

the road upside down; they cannot get on, as they have no chains to

couple them together, but they have made use of the tow for that

purpose, which breaks every minute. I remained near them some time, but

the Wasungers began to fire at us from behind; it was the devil to pay,

and as it also rained heavily, I thought I would get under cover. Our

people are lying so dispersed about the roads, that it would take two

hours to collect them, and I saw no officer but Captain Brandis: the

soldiers were swearing enough to bring down heaven upon them; I was

frightened out of my wits and hastened away.'

"After hearing this I stood there, not knowing what to do; there was not

a man of the whole detachment to be heard or seen, and it rained

terribly. At last the old grenadier corporal came into the village with

about ten grenadiers, wading through the mud; I knew his voice from

afar, and his soldiers were swearing astoundingly; so I called out to

them, 'What is the use of swearing? it cannot be helped now.' 'Aye,

zounds,' said the corporal, 'I have gone through two campaigns, but

never had such a business as this. Is this to be allowed? There is our

captain lying ill at Wasungen, and our major, who ought to take charge

of us, is gone with Major S---- to the devil; we are poor forsaken

soldiers, but, the devil take me, I will march to Gotha with the few men

I have here.' I asked him where the other grenadiers were; but he did

not know whether they were in advance or behind. 'We have not an

officer,' he said, 'and no one took charge of us,' so each one went

where he chose. He did not know that the two majors were at the inn; but

if the old corporal was foul-mouthed, his grenadiers were still worse.

"I had enough to do to mollify the grenadiers, and thus things went on;

every quarter or half-hour a small troop came in, and if the first had

made a clamour, the others were still worse; finally, the artillery

came, though it is usual, under whatever circumstances one may march, to

place the artillery either in front or in the middle, and guard them as

one would guard one's soul. It might plainly be seen that this commander

had never seen a corps or army marching with artillery, which must,

according to the usages of war, always be protected.

"The soldiery became more and more disorderly, and I had to admonish

them to be on their good behaviour before the peasants, who were looking

at and listening to us from their windows, and making their jests upon

us.

"At last, thank God, the rain ceased; a dragoon had led us to a meadow

which lay hard by the road, along which I stationed the right wing, and

taking command, told the force off into divisions and half-divisions.

Whilst I was doing this I heard some horses in the distance coming at a

great pace, so I thought, here comes the enemy; I forthwith called out

to the right wing to send out some men and challenge the new-comers; at

the same time I ran up to one of the grenadiers, and taking his musket

from his hand, as during the process of dividing the men I had given up

mine, I placed myself with some grenadiers in the middle of the road,

and called out, 'Who goes there?' I was answered by a well-known voice,

which I immediately recognized as that of Major von Benkendorf, as he

did mine likewise. When I challenged him, he called to me, 'Do you not

know me?' 'Yes, thank God!' I knew him by his voice, but could not do so

before he spoke, on account of the darkness. Thus did God send to the

children of Israel in the wilderness; here was the word fulfilled: God

forsakes none who trust in him always.

"The first words of the major were: 'Children, what are you doing here?'

I answered, Herr Major, God only knows, not I; we have been brought away

in such a fashion, that we hardly know how we have come here.' He asked

further: 'Did you all march?' 'Yes, there is no longer any one there

except the sick, and those they have taken prisoners.' '_Oh, mon Dieu!_'

exclaimed he, 'we must return thither, even were we to sit down before

the gates; where are your majors?' 'At the Schwallungen inn.' Then he

called out, 'Allons, children! march away;' and galloped in all haste to

the inn, where he may have found them at a good bottle of wine, but what

kind of greeting he gave them, or compliments, I have not heard."

Thus far we have the valiant Rauch. In the farther part of his diary he

relates how the Gotha troops regained courage, returned to Wasungen and

there drove out the Meiningens, who were equally eager to run away, as

they had done, and again established themselves there.

Immediately after the first capture of Wasungen, the government at

Meiningen, in great consternation, had sent Frau von Gleichen with her

husband there in a carriage, attended by Gotha troops. But it was no

great pleasure to them to see that the cause of the quarrel was done

away with; so the poor court dignitaries met with a cold reception; the

health of both was broken by sorrow, vexation, and long imprisonment.

In 1748, Herr von Gleichen died, and his wife soon after. Meanwhile,

flying-sheets and memorials, mandates of the Imperial chamber, and

ministerial missives concerning this affair, flew all over Germany; the

Gotha troops kept possession of Wasungen. Anthony Ulrich obstinately

refused to acknowledge the claims of Gotha to indemnification, and the

voices of numerous princes were loud in condemning the sentence of the

Imperial chamber, and the execution of it by Gotha, as a violation of

the sovereign rights of a German ruler. Frederick the Great did so

likewise.

Just then, when the Duke of Saxe-Gotha was in a desperate position, a

new prospect and a new subject of quarrel presented themselves to him.

The Duke of Weimar had died, and had settled that his cousin of Gotha

was to be guardian to his only son during his minority. The Duke of

Gotha speedily entered upon the guardianship, and caused homage to be

sworn to him: upon this, a violent altercation again sprang up between

him, and the Duke of Coburg and Anthony Ulrich, who both contested the

right of the Gotha prince to the guardianship. Then Frederick II. of

Prussia offered his services to the Duke of Gotha, who was reduced to

great extremities, on condition that he should obligingly offer him the

small gift of two hundred picked men from the guards of Weimar. This was

done; thus the Duke of Gotha purchased the administration of this

country, and the settlement of the Wasunger strife, with two hundred men

of the Weimar guards. Two hundred children of the soil of Weimar, to

whom the quarrel mattered not in the least, were arbitrarily given away

like a herd of sheep. Contrary to all justice, they were chaffered away

by a foreign prince.

The two hundred followed King Frederick in the seven Years' war.

CONCLUSION.

This work ends with the name of the great king. The social condition of

the country in his time, although very different from the present, is

well known to us; and even minute particulars, have become, through its

history and literature, the common property of the people. Frederick

became the hero of the nation. The Germans have exalted him even more

than Gustavus Adolphus. He ruled the minds of men far beyond the

boundaries of his limited dominions. In the distant Alpine valleys,

among men speaking another tongue, and holding another faith, he was

reverenced as a saint both in pictures and writings. He was a powerful

ruler, a genial commander, and what was more valued by the Germans, a

great man in the highest of earthly positions. It was his personal

appearance and manners which made foreigners and even enemies admire

him. He inspired the people again with enthusiasm for German greatness,

zeal for the highest earthly interests, and sympathy in a German state.

In the course of three centuries, he was the third man round whom the

national love and veneration had entwined itself; the second to whom it

was granted to elevate and improve the character of the nation. For the

Germans became better, richer, and happier, when they were carried

beyond the narrow interests of their private life, and beyond their

petty literary quarrels, by the appearance of a great character daringly

aspiring to the highest objects, struggling, suffering, persevering, and

firm. He was of their own blood, and in spite of his passion for what

was French, he was a thorough child of Germany, reared in a hard time,

and belonging to them. Under him, the grandsons of those citizens who

had passed through the great war, began for the first time after a

century to feel their own powers. We delight to see, how the poor poet

sings the praises of him, who would so little appreciate the odes of the

German Sappho, or the outpouring of elevated poetry; still more do we

rejoice in seeing the whole people, even in Austria, contending on his

behalf, his image penetrating into every family, and his name exciting

everywhere party spirit, new interests, and political passions. This has

been the greatest blessing of his whole life. He forced the private

individual to take part in political life; he created a state for the

German, which whether loved or hated, must become a continual object of

care and watchfulness.

But though enthusiasm for a hero perhaps gives a capacity for the

development of powers, it does not give stability. The Germans had yet

to go through severe trials after the death of the great king. He had

bequeathed to them the first beginning of a German State, but the ruins

of the Empire of the middle ages lay defenceless against the western

enemy. The curse which since the time of Charles V. had rested on the

German Empire had not yet changed into a blessing. Once more was Germany

overrun by a great army, once more did a league of German princes unite

with a foreign conqueror, even the state of the great Frederick was

shattered, the last hope seemed to have vanished, the German people were

crushed.

But in the rooms of the German peasants, the picture of the old king, in

his three-cornered hat and small pigtail, did not turn his earnest look

in vain on the life he had revived; nor in vain had the mothers of the

present generation run to the churches to pray for a blessing on his

arms. Now it was that the full blessing of his energetic life truly

manifested itself. The spirit of that great man lived again in the

German people. Fifty years after the return of the king from the seven

years' war, three hundred years after Luther strove earnestly to find

his God, the German nation roused itself for the greatest struggle it

had ever yet successfully carried on. The fathers now sent out their

sons, and the wives their husbands to the war; the Germans encountered

death with a song on their lips, to seek a body for the German soul, a

state for the fatherland.

In the year 1813, we find the conclusion of that great struggle which

began in 1517. From the time of the contest of the Wittenburger

Augustine against indulgences, to the march of the German volunteers

against Napoleon, the German spirit carried on a great defensive war

against a foreign influence, which issuing from Rome well nigh

overwhelmed those who had once been the conquerors of the Roman Empire.

From this life-and-death struggle of three hundred years, Germany passed

from the bondage of the middle ages into freedom. But though the spirit

of the people became free, the reality of a German state was lost to

them. The nation was almost annihilated by this unnatural condition.

After a death-like exhaustion it recovered itself slowly; the

resuscitated spirit was helpless, its form weak and sickly; it was

seeking unity of government. By a powerful development of strength, the

foundation of it was laid in the beginning of this century.

Henceforth German Protestantism became a living, sound, and manly

acquisition, a great national principle, the expression of the German

popular mind, the peculiar German characteristic in every domain of

ideal and practical life.

We all still feel how deficient and unfinished is the development of

this, the highest principle of life in the German nation. But it is this

feeling which gives us courage and leads us to struggle onwards.

What are here given from the old records are narratives of individuals

of past generations. They are some of them unimportant passages from the

lives of insignificant persons. But, as the outward appearance of any

stranger we meet, his mode of greeting, and his first words, give us an

impression of his individuality, an imperfect, an unfinished impression,

but still a whole; so, if we are not mistaken, does each record, in

which the impulses of individuals and their peculiar working are

portrayed, give us with rapid distinctness a vivid picture of the life

of the people; a very imperfect and unfinished picture, but yet, also a

whole, round which a large portion of our knowledge and intuitive

perceptions rapidly concentrate, like the radii round the centre of a

crystal.

If every such picture gives us an impression, that in the soul of each

man a miniature picture may be found of the characteristics of his

nation; something will be learnt from a succession of these narratives,

arranged according to their periods, however much there may be in them

that is incidental and arbitrary. We shall discover the stirring and

gradual development of a higher intellectual unity, which likewise meets

us here in the shape of a distinct individuality; and therefore, these

little sketches will perhaps help us to a more lively comprehension, of

what we call the life of a nation.

Everywhere man appears to us, by his customs and laws, by language and

the whole genial tendencies of his nature, as a small portion of a

greater whole. It is true also that this greater whole, appears to us as

an intellectual unity, which like an individual, is earthly and

perishable, a thing which accomplishes its earthly existence in a

century, as a man does his in a certain number of years. Like an

individual, a people developes its intellectual capacities in the course

of time, but more powerfully and on a grander scale. And further, a

people consists of millions of individuals the tide of human life flows

in millions of souls, but the conscious and unconscious working together

of these millions, produces an intellectual whole, in which the share of

individuals often vanishes from our eyes, so that the soul of a whole

people seems to us, a self-creative living unity. Who was the man who

created languages? who devised the most ancient law of nations? who

first thought of giving poetical expression to an elevated tone of mind?

It was not individuals who invented these for practical purposes, but a

universal intellectual life, which burst forth among thousands who lived

together. All the great productions of national power, law, customs, and

the constitution of states, are not the work of individual men, but

organic creations of a higher life, which in every period shine forth in

individuals, yet in all periods seem to unite the intellectual

capacities of individuals, in one mighty whole. Each man bears and

cultivates within his soul, part of the intellect of the nation; each

one possesses its language, a certain amount of knowledge, and a sense

of justice and propriety; but in each, this general nationality is

coloured, concentrated, and limited by his individuality. Individuals do

not represent the language or the moral feelings of the whole; they only

are, as it were, the single notes, which joined together produce a

harmonious chord as part of the collective nation. One may therefore

fairly, and without mysticism, speak of a national soul.

And if one examines more narrowly, one perceives with astonishment, that

this law of development of a higher intellectual unity, differs

remarkably from that which binds or makes an individual free. A man

chooses freely for himself, between what will injure or be beneficial to

him and his interests; judiciously does he shape his life, and prudently

does he judge the conceptions which reach his soul from the great world.

But less conscious, less full of purpose and judgment than the

determination of man's will, is the working of the life of the nation.

In history, man represents freedom and judgment, but national energy,

works incessantly with the mysterious instinctive impulse of a primitive

power, and its intellectual conceptions correspond sometimes in a

remarkable way, with the process of formation of the silently productive

powers of nature, which bring forth from the seed, the stalk, leaves,

and flowers of the plant. From this point of view, the life of a nation

passes in unceasing alternations from the whole body to the individual,

and from the man to the whole body. The life of each man, even the most

insignificant, gives a portion of its substance to the nation, and a

portion of the collective powers of the nation lives in each man; he

transmits soul and body from one generation to another; he adds to the

language, and preserves the consciousness of right; all the results of

his labours are beneficial to the nation as well as to himself. The

course of life of millions runs smoothly and imperceptibly along with

the stream. But important personalities develop themselves from the

multitude in all directions, gaining a great influence on the whole

body. Sometimes a powerful character arises, which in some wide field of

action, long rules the spiritual life of the people, and stamps the

impress of its individual mind on the age. Then the life of the whole

nation, which also flows through our heads and hearts, becomes as

familiar to us as is possible for the soul of any individual man; then

the whole powers of the people seem for some years working for the one

individual, and obeying him as a master. These are the great periods in

the formation of a people. Such was Luther to the Germans.

But no nation develops its life independent of others. As the life of

one individual works on that of another, so does it happen with nations.

Each nation communicates some of its intellectuality to another. Even

the practical forms of national existence, its state and its Church, are

either advanced, or checked and destroyed by foreign powers. Close is

the union of the minds of the nations of Europe, though manifold the

contradiction of their interests. How constantly does one nationality

derive strength, or experience trouble and disturbance from another!

Sometimes the energetic development of some particular national

characteristic, exercises for centuries a preponderating influence on

another. Thus once did the Jews, the Greeks, and the Romans. The German

nation has experienced this foreign influence, both for good and for

evil. From the ancient world came the holy faith of the Crucified One,

to the wild sons of our forefather Tuisco: at the same time this warlike

race received countless traditions from the Roman Empire, transforming

their whole life. Through the whole of the middle ages, the nation was

earnestly endeavouring to make these new acquisitions their own. Again,

at the end of this period, after a thousand years had passed, began a

new influence of the ancient world. From it came the ideal of the

Humanitarians, the forerunners of Luther, and the ideal of the German

poets, the forerunners of the war of freedom. On the other hand, from

the Romish world, came upon Germany, with the highest claims, the

pressure of the despotism of Gregory VII., and Innocent III., the

devotion of the restored Church, and the lust of conquest of France.

Then did Germany become depopulated, and the national life was

endangered; but the foreigners who had penetrated into it with such

overpowering force, aided its recovery. All that Italians, French, and

English had attained to in science and arts, was introduced into

Germany, and to these foreign acquisitions did German culture cling,

from the Thirty years' war up to the time of Lessing.

It is the task of science to investigate the productive life of nations.

To her the souls of nations are the highest fields of investigation that

man is capable of knowing. Searching out every individuality, tracing

every received impression, observing even the broken splinters, uniting

all discernible knowledge, more guessing at truths and pointing out the

way, than apprehending them, she seeks, as her highest aim, to prove the

intellectual unity of the whole human race upon earth. Whilst pious

faith with undoubting certainty places before man the idea of a personal

God, the man of science reverently seeks to discover the Divine, in the

great conceptions, which however they may surpass the understanding of

the individual, yet are all attached to the life of the world. But

however little he may consider their importance, in comparison with that

which is incomprehensible in time and eternity, yet in his limited

circle lies all the greatness that we are capable of understanding, all

the beautiful which we ever enjoy, and all the good which has ennobled

our life. But in those spheres which we do not yet know, and are

anxiously investigating, there remains a boundless work. And this work

is to seek the development of the Divine power in history.

FOOTNOTES:

Footnote 1: Even the great Imperial army that assembled before the

battle of Nördlingen, in 1634, was a combination of several armies; that

of Wallenstein, an Italian army, Spanish auxiliaries, and troops of

Maximilian of Bavaria, altogether perhaps sixty thousand men, they only

remained together a short time.

Footnote 2: This machine consisted of a number of short barrels, which,

bound in parallel rows, formed a nearly cubic mass, the front of which

showed from six to ten rows of as many mouths arranged in a square. This

system of barrels rested on a carriage, and was fired in rows. Every

single barrel was loaded with three or more balls, and could be fired

separately or together. Fronsperg boasts that after one loading there

could be a thousand shots from the hundred barrels of the gun.

Footnote 3: Wallhausen, 'Archiley Art of War,' 1617. For the

corresponding French system of this time, a good description is to be

found in the 'Etude sur le passé et l'avenir de l'artillerie par le

Prince Napoléon Louis Bonaparte.' T. I.

Footnote 4: In the battle of Breitenfeld the metal guns of Sweden were

overheated; there the leather cannon did their last great service

against the Croats.

Footnote 5: Thus generated the ingenious comparison of guns with birds

of prey; the thirty-six pounders were called eagles, the twenty-four

pounders falcons, twelve pounders vultures, six pounders hawks, three

pounders sparrowhawks, and the sixty-pound mortars owls.

Footnote 6: Yet he himself had a brigade which was called red.

Footnote 7: The lieutenants carried partisans, the non-commissioned

officers halberds.

Footnote 8: About 1600 one gulden of the coin of the Empire was equal

to forty silver groschen of our money; thus sixteen of these was equal

to forty-two of our thalers.

Footnote 9: Wallhausen 'On the Art of War.'

Footnote 10: A name given to bands that went about pillaging the

fields, orchards, and gardens.

Footnote 11: Because they slide and skate.

Footnote 12: A mocking allusion to the mountainous country of Bavaria.

Footnote 13: It was especially John the Baptist, who, according to the

third chapter of St. Luke, was the merciful protector of soldiers; but

at the beginning of the Reformation the difference between the Baptist

and Evangelist was little understood by Landsknechte, nor indeed by all

ecclesiastics.

Footnote 14: Bilwiz-kind, same as child of the devil. Bilwiz is an old

name for magician or hobgoblin.

Footnote 15: One is tempted to change this passage to an old heathenish

form: "Whoever falls by honourable weapons on the field of battle, will

be carried to Walhalla by the virgins of battle; those who contend with

the sorcery of the gods of death, Helja takes to herself." We find the

name of Black Kaspar for the devil even in the sixteenth century.

Footnote 16: Königl. schwedischer Victorischlüssel a. a. O.

Footnote 17: Zimmermann, Goth. Msc. a. a. O.

Footnote 18: Grimmelshausen speaks of the art of rendering invulnerable

as credible, but as a thing long known. He was more interested in the

superstition which was prevalent in 1660--the art of becoming invisible

and of witchcraft. At the end of the century magic rods were common, and

familiar spirits powerful. Wunderbares Vogelnest. ii. Th. Satyrischer

Pilgram ii. Th.

Footnote 19: Müllenhof, Sagen. S. 231.--Femme, Pommesache Sagen. Nr.

244.

Footnote 20: Philander von Sittewald, "Gesicht von Soldatenleben."

Footnote 21: Grimmelshausen, "Seltsamer Springinsfeld."

Footnote 22: _Dionys Klein. Kriegsinstitution_, 1598, 8. _S_. 288.

Footnote 23: Simplicissimus i. 3, 9, and Philander von Sittewald,

'Soldatenleben.'

Footnote 24: Grimmelshausen, 'Springinsfeld.'

Footnote 25: Lump, German for ragamuffin.

Footnote 26: Philander von Sittewald, 'Soldatenleben.'

Footnote 27: Moscherosoh und Grimmelshausen, a. v. O.

Footnote 28: At the beginning of the war it was customary for people to

conceal their treasures in the dung-heaps.

Footnote 29: The parish receiver, Johann Martin at Heldburg, writes,

for example, on the 13th September, 1640, on behalf of the helpless

pastor, and proposes his removal, because in this village there remained

only a widow and another woman, and he himself could not obtain a

groschen from the annual fees of his district, which formerly amounted

to some hundred thalers.

Footnote 30: This was the time in the Thirty years' war when the German

princes and dukes coined base money. When one prince had obtained

possession of the coinage of another he melted it, and made it into new

money by alloying it with copper and other metals.

Footnote 31: Bötzinger gives this account to his children.

Footnote 32: In a sheet of this kind, entitled, 'A Noteworthy Hungarian

and the Netherlands New Newspaper,' 1599, has already the form and

contents of a modern newspaper. It contains a short correspondence with

different cities, in the form of eleven letters; amongst them reports of

four vessels which had come to Amsterdam with spices, and of a new toll

which the court at Brussels had levied on merchants' goods, of ten

stivers on each pound of silk.

Footnote 33: The sources of the following description were taken from

the flying-sheets and brochures, first of the year 1620-24, and also

from the later writings of the sixteenth century upon coinage, a rich

literature.

Footnote 34: The new money was almost pure copper boiled and blanched;

this lasted a week, and then it became glowing red. The bottles,

kettles, pipes, gutters, and whatever else was of copper, were taken

away to the mint, and made into money. An honest man could not venture

to lodge any one, as he could not but fear that his guest might wrench

away his copper in the night, and carry it off. Wherever there was an

old copper font in a church, it was taken to the mint; its sanctity did

not save it; those sold it who had been baptized in it. Müller,

'Chronika von Sangerhausen.'

Footnote 35: A batz was four kreuzer.

Footnote 36: In the decrees of the Diet the words do not occur before

the Thirty years' war; they appear to be new in 1621.

Footnote 37: In 1770 the population was only 2126; but in 1845 it had

increased again to 4500.

Footnote 38: The Emperor was sovereign of Silesia, as King of Bohemia.

Footnote 39: The bunch of keys in the middle ages was not only an

important symbol of right, but also the popular weapon of women.

Footnote 40: We have to thank Professor Brückner of Meiningen, for the

communication of the following summary: it is printed in 'Memorials of

Franconian and Thuringian History and Statistics,' 1852.

In nineteen villages of the former domain of Henneberg there were in the

years--

1634 1649 1849

Families 1773 316 1916

Houses 1717 627 1558

In 17 villages--Cattle 1402 244 1994

13 " Horses 485 73 107

12 " Sheep 4616 -- 4596

4 " Goats 158 26 286

Footnote 41: Brazier here means tinker and scythe-sharpener. The oldest

accounts of them are in a free paraphrase of the 1st Book of Moses, in

rude verses, which were at all events written before 1122; printed in

'Hoffmann's Fundgrubben,' 2. There they are represented as foreign Jew

traders. These remarkable verses are as follows:--

"From Ishmael come the Ishmaelitish people;

They go peddling throughout the wide world;

We call them braziers.

Oh! what a life and habits are theirs!

On all they have for sale

There is a blot, and it is unsound.

If he, the brazier, buys anything,

Good or bad, one must give him somewhat over;

And if he sells his wares

He never replaces the damaged ones.

They have neither house nor home--

Every place is alike to them;

They rove through the country,

And cheat the people with their tricks:

Thus they deceive mankind.

They rob, but not openly."

Footnote 42: Here, and further on, he gives the fixed characters of the

old Italian comedy.

Footnote 43: Some tedious passages are shortened, and it is necessary

in one place to soften the angry expressions for the reader of this

book.

Footnote 44: They did not fail to make an engraving of the mysterious

doves, which appeared shortly after with an interpretation.

Footnote 45: A copper coin in the south of Germany.

Footnote 46: A Swiss farthing.

Footnote 47: The Diet was then held at Baden, because the foreign

diplomatist could best be entertained there.

Footnote 48: It was particularly offensive to them, as an elder sister

of Anton Ulrich's wife had just married the master of the Ducal Chapel,

Schurmann, at Meiningen.

THE END.

LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET.