On his departure, he thus addressed him: “If it should please God to take you away, be not concerned about your wife and children. I will take them into my protection.” He recovered sufficiently to enter on his journey home on the 26th. Dangerous as travelling appeared to be under the circumstances, yet it was of immediate service. On the way, he was relieved of the principal cause of his intense suffering, and communicated the joyful event to his wife and the sympathizing Melanchthon. To the former he wrote, “Yesterday I left Smalcald. I was not well three days whilst there; in a word, I was dead, and I had commended you and the children to God and my gracious Elector, for I never expected to see you again; but God had mercy on me. Most fervent prayers to God were offered for me, and many tears were shed on my account. God heard these prayers, and last night I was relieved. I now feel like a new-born man. Thank God for this; and let the dear children, with Aunt Magdalena, thank the Heavenly Father, for you had almost lost me, the earthly father. God performed wonders towards me last night through the intercession of pious persons. This I also ascribe to you, for I presume the Elector ordered word to be sent to you that I was dying, so that you might come and speak to me, or at least see me before I died. That is not necessary now, you may remain at home, for God has so mercifully helped me that I expect soon to meet you happily in our own house. To-day we are stopping at Gotha.” Something similar to this he wrote to Melanchthon: but, unfortunately, he had a relapse at Gotha, and anticipated death so certainly, that he requested Bugenhagen to administer to him the Lord’s Supper. As soon as Catharine heard of this she could be no longer restrained from setting out to meet him. She remained with him all the time, and accompanied him home. Thus Luther, for the present, had escaped all apparent dangers, but every year, for the ensuing nine, he was attacked by some disease. Dysentery, Rheumatism, fever, violent vertigo, and headache, painful cutaneous eruptions, and pulmonary affections, embittered all his days.