with their families; one side of the market-place was entirely uninhabited, long grass grew there, and cattle pastured upon it. In the winter, hunger and cold drove the women and children at last back to the ruined houses. The leading spirit of the new Council was one Julius, who had been a Franciscan, a desperate fellow, not at all like a monk, who wore under his capoche golden bracelets. Then a Roman Catholic priest, Exelmann, son of an evangelical preacher, was established there. But however crushed and dispersed the citizens were, the offices of the priest and the new town council were not undisputed. All the authorities of the town were not yet under constraint. How the opposition resisted, will be learned from the narration of a cotemporary, which was printed by the industrious Sutorius in his history of Löwenberg, 1782. "On the ninth of April, 1631, early in the morning, the following gentlemen met at the council-house: first, the priest, secondly, the King's judge, who was Elias Seiler, an advocate; thirdly, George Mümer, a woollen wiseacre and cloth factor; fourthly, Schwob Franze, also a cloth factor; fifthly, Dr. Melchior Hübner, who had been a miller's man, and a broken down baker; sixthly, Master Daniel Seiler, a joiner; seventhly, Peter Beyer, the town-clerk; all these took possession of the councillors' chairs. The worshipful burgomaster was ill of the gout. Then the priest who had the upper hand in the council made a proposal in the following words: 'My beloved children in the Church, hearing that you intend sending an embassage to the court of his Kingly[38] Majesty at Vienna, I and the worthy King's judge have, on mature consideration, come to the conclusion, that before you break up it would be well for you to compel all the women to adopt our religion. You would thereby obtain for yourselves great favour at court. Also I will not fail to give you letters of recommendation, to my highly esteemed honourable cousin Herr Pater Lemmermann, now confessor to his Kingly Majesty, who certainly has much influence in all secret deliberations, representing to him how indefatigable and zealous you have been, and have brought the women into the right way, so that all you who are now here together may receive a special gratulation. Therefore proceed zealously; if they are not willing, you have towers and prisons enough to compel them.'