against Turks and Baschkirs, (Russians?) so bloody, that the Rhine
shall be dyed red for twenty-five leagues.”
Traditions of battles in Westphalia:—
“A prodigious number of people shall come from the east towards the
west.
“The whole west and south shall rise against them.
“The armies shall meet in the middle of Westphalia.
“A dreadful battle shall take place on the Strönheide, (a heath,) near
Ahaus.
“At Riesenbeck, a bloody combat shall be fought.
“At Lüdinghausen,” said a seer, “I saw whole hosts of white-clad
soldiers. (Austrians?)
“Ottmarsbocholt will have much to suffer.
“On the Lipperheide (a heath) a bloody battle is fought.
“Also in Rittberg, and the whole country round, a battle shall be
fought.
“But the chief engagement shall be _at the Birch-Tree_.”
Every one, says the author, who takes the trouble, can hear all this
from the mouths of the peasantry. In many places, the seers have even
described the positions of the troops, and the direction in which the
cannon are pointed.
Prophecy of a Capuchin monk in Düsseldorf, of date 1672:—
“After a dreadful war (Napoleon’s wars?) shall there be peace; yet
there shall be no peace, because the contest of the poor against the
rich, and of the rich against the poor, shall break out.
“After this peace shall come a heavy time. The people shall have no
longer truth nor faith.
“When women know not, from pride and luxuriousness, what clothes they
shall wear—sometimes short, sometimes long, sometimes narrow,
sometimes wide; when men also change their dress, and wear everywhere
the beards of the Capuchins,[3] then will God chastise the world. A
dreadful war shall break out in the south (Hungary?) and spread
eastward and northward. The kings shall be killed. Savage hordes shall
overflow Germany, and come to the Rhine. They shall take delight in
murdering and burning, so that mothers, in despair, seeing death
everywhere before their eyes, shall cast themselves and their
sucklings into the water. When the need is greatest, a preserver shall
come from the south. He shall defeat the hordes of the enemy, and make
Germany prosperous. But, in those days, many parts shall be so
depopulated, that it will be necessary to climb a tree to look for
people afar off.”
An old prophecy concerning the battle of the _Birch-Tree_:—
“A time shall come when the world shall be godless. The people will
strive to be independent of king or magistrate, subjects will be
unfaithful to their princes. Neither truth nor faith prevails more. It
will then come to a general insurrection, in which father shall fight
against son, and son against father. In that time, men shall try to
pervert the articles of faith, and shall introduce new books. The
Catholic religion shall be hard pressed, and men will try with cunning
to abolish it. Men shall love play and jest, and pleasure of all
kinds, at that time. But then it shall not be long before a change
occurs. A frightful war shall break out. On one side shall stand
Russia, Sweden, and the whole north; on the other, France, Spain,
Italy, and the whole south, under a powerful prince. This prince shall
come from the south. He wears a white coat, with buttons all the way
down. He has a cross on his breast, rides a gray horse, which he
mounts from his left side, because he is lame of one foot. He will
bring peace. Great is his severity, for he will put down all
dance-music and rich attire. He will hear morning mass in the church
at Bremen. (According to some traditions, he will read mass.) From
Bremen he rides to the Haar, (a height near Werl;) from thence he
looks with his spyglass towards the country of the Birch-Tree, and
observes the enemy. Next, he rides past Holtum, (a village near Werl.)
At Holtum stands a crucifix between two lime-trees; before this, he
kneels and prays with outstretched arms, for some time. Then he leads
his soldiers, clad in white, into the battle, and, after a bloody
contest, he remains victorious.
“The chief slaughter will take place at a brook which runs from west
to east. Woe! woe! to Budberg and Söndern in those days! The
victorious leader shall assemble the people after the battle, and
address to them a speech in the church.”
So runs the above prophecy, according to the concurring testimony of
many peasants of that country. It was long ago printed in a small
pamphlet, in the convent at Werl. But, at the removal of the convent,
all its books were lost or destroyed. The tradition, however, remained
among the peasantry, and has even penetrated into France; for when
French (troops?) came to Werl, they inquired for the Birch-Tree. In
Pomerania also, natives of Westphalia, when quartered there, have been
questioned about its position. It stood long between Holtum and
Kirch-Hemmerde, villages lying between Unna and Werl. When it withered,
a new one was, by royal order, planted on the spot. This proves that the
Government knew of the prophecy or tradition, and felt an interest in
it. The people believe so firmly in the prophecy, that the peasantry
near Werl even opposed the introduction of new hymn-books, under the
impression that they were the predicted _new books_. Bremen, Holtum,
Budberg, and Söndern are villages near Werl. A crucifix stands at Holtum
between two young lime-trees; and a brook there flows from west to east.
Another old prophecy of the battle of the Birch-Tree. This prophecy was
printed at Cologne in 1701, in Latin. The title, translated, is as
follows:—
“A prophecy concerning the frightful contest between South and North,
and a terrific battle on the borders of the duchy of Westphalia, near
Bodberg, (Budberg.) From a book, entitled, A treatise on the heavenly
regeneration (or restoration,) by an anonymous author, illuminated (or
enlightened,) by visions. With permission of the Officialate at Werl.
Cologne, 1701.”
It was translated and printed in German by the monks of Werl, but, as
already stated, their library was destroyed or dispersed.
“After these days shall dawn the sad unhappy time, predicted by our
Lord. Men, in terror on the earth, shall faint for expectation of the
coming events. The father shall be against the son and the brother
against the brother. Truth and faith shall no longer be found. After
the nations, singly, have long warred against each other, after
thrones have crumbled, and kingdoms been overthrown, shall the entire
South take arms against the North. (Auster contra Aquilonem.) Then
country, language, and faith shall not be contended for, but they
shall fight for the rule of the world.”
“They shall meet in the middle of Germany, destroy towns and villages,
after the inhabitants have been compelled to fly to the hills and the
woods. This dreadful contest shall be decided in Lower Germany. There
the armies shall pitch camps, such as the world has not yet seen. This
fearful engagement shall begin _at the Birch-Tree_ near Bodberg. Woe!
woe! poor Fatherland! They shall fight three whole days. Even when
covered with wounds, they shall mangle each other, and wade in blood
to the ankles. The bearded people of the seven stars (?) shall finally
conquer, and their enemies shall fly; they shall turn at the bank of
the river, and again fight with the extremity of despair. But there
shall that power be annihilated, and its strength broken, so that
hardly a few will be left, to tell of this unheard-of defeat. The
inhabitants of the allied places shall mourn, but the Lord shall
comfort them, and they shall say, It is the Lord’s doing.”
The two preceding prophecies, both old, and printed long since, have
probably a common origin, whatever that may be. The tradition has
probably come to the people from the monks of Werl.
Some predictions or visions, connected with the prophecy of Werl:—
A seer, named Rölink, of Steinen, who has been dead some time,
prophesied of three processions in Kirch-Hemmerde.
“The first shall be a funeral procession. The names of several men
shall be hung up on the church.”
This happened when, in the war of 1813–15, some brave men of this
district fell in battle.
“The second procession shall go from the old church to the new one.”
This took place when the Catholics of Kirch-Hemmerde built a new church;
and the Host was carried from the Simultankirche into the new edifice.
“The third shall be after a dreadful war. Then shall Catholics and
Protestants again go together in procession into the old church, and
have one religion.”
He said further,—
“When two towers are built between Söndern and Werl, then shall a
frightful war soon break out.”
The towers are now there, having been lately built. One is a chimney for
the Salt-Works; the other a Bohrthurm, (a tower over the pit whence the
salt spring is pumped up.)
Another seer, named Ludolf, saw the whole order of battle of both
armies, and pointed out in a corn-field near Kirch-Hemmerde the spot,
near the _Birch-Tree_, where he saw in his vision a colonel fall from
his horse, struck by a ball. The horse, he said, would run to a sheaf of
oats, (therefore late in autumn,) snap at it, and in the same moment
fall, also pierced by a shot.
A third seer, Hermann Kappelmann, of Scheidingen, near Werl, prophesied
as follows, thirty years ago (1819,) before a whole company.
“The times are yet good, but they shall change much. After many years
a frightful war shall break out. The signs shall be: When in Spring
the cowslips appear early in the hedges, and disturbances prevail
everywhere; in that year the explosion does not take place. But when,
after a short winter, the cowslips bloom very early, and all appears
quiet, let no man believe in peace.
“When great wisps of straw stand on the Bärenwiese, (Bear’s meadow,)
then shall the war break out.”
The Bärenwiese is a large common meadow at Scheidingen. Soon after the
French and Polish revolutions of 1830 it was divided, and on that
account wisps of straw were set up. The people believed the great war
was then at hand. Now there are once more wisps of straw set up, to mark
the line of the railway to Cassel, which is in progress.
“When you then hear cannon from the side of Münster, then hasten to
cross the Ruhr, and take bread (a loaf) with you sufficient for three
days. He who only puts his foot in the water shall be safe from harm.
Then you may return, but whether you shall find your posts (or poles)
again, I cannot say. (Probably marks of agricultural subdivisions.)
After a short contest shall follow peace and quiet. The peace shall be
announced at Christmas from all the pulpits.”
Numberless traditions speak of the burning of the town of Unna, round
which, and not through it, the armies will march, on account of the
conflagration. Others speak of the burning of Dortmund, on the east
side. Others, again, describe how the remains of the enemy fly to
Erwitte and Salzkotten, and are there totally cut to pieces. All the
towns and villages from Paderborn to the Rhine have similar traditions.
There is a very old one concerning the Marienheide, (a heath,)—namely,
that there the Whites shall drive the Blues before them, and through the
Lippe, in which many shall be drowned.
Traditions concerning the years 1846–1850:—
“1846, I would not be a vine.”
“1847, I would not be an apple-tree.”
“1848, I would not be a king.”
“1849, I would not be a hare, a soldier, or a gravedigger.”
“1850, I would not be a priest.”
In 1846, the crop of grapes was too heavy for the vines.
In 1847, the apple-trees broke under the weight of their fruit.
In 1848, as we know, kings were at a discount.
In 1849, the hares suffered from the suspension or abolition of the game
laws in Germany; the soldiers had much to suffer; and the gravediggers,
in consequence of war and cholera, were overwhelmed with work in many
places.
As to the priests in 1850, we heard from several quarters, of an old
prophecy that there shall be a fearful massacre of priests, against whom
the people shall be much embittered. One seer declares, that such will
be the hatred of the peasantry towards the priests, that a peasant,
sitting down to dinner with his family, and having just stuck a fork
into the fowl, shall, on seeing a priest pass by the house, lay down his
fork, rush out, beat out the priest’s brains with his club, and then
return to his meal with satisfaction.
Another tradition, of which we heard from several well-informed persons,
states that a pope shall come as a fugitive to reside at Cologne, with
four cardinals, and there exercise his ecclesiastical functions.
A prophecy, of date 1622, concerning certain months of a year not named.
“The month of May shall earnestly prepare for war. But it is not yet
time. June shall also invite to war, but still it is not time. July
will prove so cruel, that many must part from wife and child. In
August, men shall everywhere hear of war. September and October shall
bring great bloodshed. Wonders shall be seen in November. At this time
the child is twenty-eight years old, (the powerful monarch) whose wet
nurse shall be from the east. He shall do great things.”
Prophecies of the “Powerful Monarch:”—
One prophet says,—“He shall be of an ancient noble house, and descend
from the top of the rocks. His mother shall be a twin. He will be
Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, (the German Empire.) Holzhaüser
says, ‘He shall be born in the bosom of the Catholic Church;’ his name
shall be, ‘The Help of God.’”
See the preceding prophecies, _passim_.
We have now given a sufficient sketch of some of the more curious and
definite popular German prophecies. The curate of Dortmund adds a
considerable number of others, more vague, mystical, and in some cases
theological, which we omit, as not adapted to our present purpose; and
others not bearing on Germany, of some interest—especially a long one
concerning Italy, by the Franciscan monk, Bartolomeo da Saluzzi—which
want of space prevents us from discussing at this time.
Let us now consider the foregoing prophecies in general. We must admit,
as it seems to us, that there exist in Germany unfulfilled popular
prophecies, the authenticity of which is respectably attested and
generally admitted.
We further observe, that, taking the whole of them, as far as known to
us, we can trace the following points pervading the entire series, more
or less:—
1. A great war after a peace, about this time.
2. It is preceded by political convulsions, and lesser wars.
3. The East and North fight against the South and West.
4. The latter finally prevail, under a powerful prince, who unexpectedly
rises up.
5. The great struggle is short, and occurs late in the year.
6. It is decided by the battle of the Birch-Tree, near Werl.
7. After horrible devastations, and murders, and burnings, caused by
this war, peace and prosperity return.
8. Priests are massacred and become very rare; but
9. One religion unites all men.
10. All this takes place soon after the introduction of railways into
Germany.
11. The present King of Prussia is the last.
12. The “powerful prince” from the South becomes Emperor of Germany.
13. France is, about this time, inwardly divided.
14. The Russians come as enemies to the Rhine, the French enter Germany
as friends—without entering into further details.
We see moreover, that, admitting the genuineness of the prophecies,
partial fulfilment has in several cases taken place. Here it must be
noted, that our curate has chiefly confined himself to the unfulfilled
parts, and has avowedly omitted many fulfilled predictions. While we
attach considerable importance to the general impression among the
people of the truth of these prophecies, which in part depends on their
partial fulfilment in past times, our chief object has been to put on
record the more remarkable of the unfulfilled predictions, in order that
they may be compared with future events.
If we seek to form any idea of the origin of these prophecies, we find
that there are three sources, from which the people may have derived the
traditions.
1. They may possibly be, in some cases at least, derived from the
reflections of sagacious men. Even Napoleon predicted dreadful wars, and
that Europe must become either Cossack or Republican. But although some
things may thus be explained, we do not see how the minute details, in
other cases, can be thus accounted for.
2. Scriptural prophecies may have been applied to modern events, which,
indeed, are no doubt foretold in them, in a general way. We cannot avoid
observing the tolerably frequent occurrence of Scripture language in the
predictions; but this also does not account for all the details.
3. The seers or prophets may have had genuine visions, or dreams, in
which they saw what they describe; it has been seen that various
prophets use language implying this. And, while the general resemblance
of the different visions naturally leads us to suspect that the popular
traditions have a common origin; we can at most conclude from this, that
the original seer or seers lived long ago, which only increases the
difficulty. They were probably, like Brother Herrmann, monks and
ascetics, their imaginations exalted by religious fervour: in other
words they were nervous and excitable, and predisposed to visions.
Supposing their visions known to the people, the feeling of the
marvellous, if excited along with religious sentiments, may have led to
visions or second sight among the peasantry, and thus visions may have
been multiplied and expanded in details.
If we reflect on the many known instances of prophetic dreams, and on
the alleged and respectably attested cases of somnambulistic prevision,
we shall see reason to hesitate before we deny the possibility of the
occurrence, in certain individuals, of prophetic visions. We are far
from imagining that, if such have been the case with our German seers,
they have enjoyed direct communications from Heaven; on the contrary,
were we satisfied of the fact, we should regard it as a phenomenon
depending on some obscure physical cause, which may in time be
discovered and traced; and which, at all events, exists by Divine
permission.
Here we may allude to the remarkable prophecy of Monsieur de Cazotte,
who, some years previous to 1787, predicted to a large company of
persons of rank, science, and literature, with much detail, the
atrocities of the Reign of Terror. He likewise told many of those
present, both male and female, that they should perish on the
guillotine. To Condorcet he said, that he should die in prison, of the
effects of a poison which he should long, with the view of escaping a
public execution, have carried about his person—which happened. He also
predicted the fate of Louis XVI. and his Queen. This prophecy caused
much amazement, and soon became known. Persons are yet alive, both in
France and England, who heard it detailed before 1789. We have seen one
of them. Now, it might be said, that Cazotte merely exercised a rare
sagacity, in judging of the course of events, at a time when all France
was enthusiastically looking forward to the blessings of liberty, and
while yet no one dreamed of violence or bloodshed. But this would hardly
account for the details he gave. On the other hand, he often uttered
predictions; and it is very remarkable, although it has been too much
overlooked, that those who report his prophecies, including the above
one, always state that, when about to predict, he fell into a peculiar
state, _as if asleep_—yet not ordinary sleep. It can hardly be doubted
that this was a trance, in which he saw visions. That they were
fulfilled to the letter is surely, if only a coincidence, a most
wonderful one. If, again, it was merely the result of sagacious
reflection, how came it that Cazotte alone, of all the able thinkers
then in Paris, made these reflections, and was laughed at for his pains?
The laborious, minute, and conscientious researches of the Baron von
Reichenbach have proved, beyond a doubt, that we are far from being
acquainted with all the physical influences which surround us; and he
has even referred to a physical cause—_one_ source of the belief in
ghosts—by proving that luminous appearances are visible, to sensitive
persons, over recent graves. No one can fail to see the resemblance
between the Sensitives of Baron von Reichenbach, who are far from rare,
and the Spoikenkiker, or ghost seers, of the curate of Dortmund.
We consider it probable, therefore, that at different periods seers have
had visions, more or less distinct and detailed, of what appeared to
their minds likely to happen; that these visions have occurred in a
state of trance; that among ascetic monks, who may be regarded as liable
to such trances, it may often have happened that extensive knowledge of
history and of mankind has enabled them to foresee the probable course
of events; that their predictions, becoming known to the peasantry, have
given a tone to _their_ visions, in which the events are generally
localised in the immediate vicinity of the seer; and that thus, by
degrees, more detailed predictions have arisen. Considering the general
ignorance and superstition of the peasantry in all countries, it is not
wonderful that such predictions, generally bearing on violent political
convulsions, war, and religion, the subjects most interesting to their
minds, should acquire a hold over them such as is found to exist in many
parts of Germany, in reference to the prophecies above described. It is
even probable that the existence of the predictions may have had a
considerable influence in preparing the people for such sudden outbreaks
as those of 1848, and may thus, in some measure, have contributed to
their own fulfilment.
We must admit that these remarks do not much assist in explaining the
occurrence of minute details in these predictions, many of which are
said, on good authority, to have been fulfilled. But we do not feel
ourselves in possession of sufficient evidence to justify us in arguing
on the alleged fulfilment as certain; and we have therefore satisfied
ourselves with laying before the reader a brief sketch of these
predictions, the existence of which, as an article of belief with many
thousands of people at this day, is, under whatever point of view it may
be considered, very interesting.
W. G.
THE HISTORY OF A REGIMENT DURING THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN.[4]
The Russian Campaign of Napoleon is unquestionably the most wonderful
episode in the history of war. We are not only interested, but
astounded, by its study. It comprises a series of events gigantic and
unparalleled in the annals of human strife. From the note of preparation
to the final wail of despair, the reader’s imagination is continually on
the stretch to realise and comprehend the prodigious scale of its
circumstances. At the word of the great military magician,
half-a-million of men, levied from half Europe, mustered in arms for
aggression. From France they came, from Italy and Poland: Austria and
Prussia dared not refuse their contingents; Illyria and Dalmatia sent
forth their infantry; to their astonishment and dismay, Spanish and
Portuguese battalions were marched into the dreary north under the
banners of the man against whose generals their brothers and fathers
were at that moment contending on the mountains of their native
peninsula. The West was arrayed against the East. Since the birth of
discipline and civilisation, such an army had never been seen. The
events of its first and only campaign were in proportion to its
unprecedented magnitude. In six months the mighty armament returned, a
shattered wreck, having fought the most desperate battle the world ever
saw, having witnessed the self-destruction of a vast and wealthy
capital—suicide for the country’s salvation—and having endured
sufferings which may have been equalled on a smaller scale, but which
certainly never before or since fell to the lot of so numerous and
powerful a host.