Pictures of German Life in the XVth, XVIth, and XVIIth Centuries, Vol. II.Freytag, Gustav
History
Pictures of German Life in the XVth, XVIth, and XVIIth Centuries, Vol. II.
Freytag, Gustav
Germany -- Civilization; Germany -- Social life and customs
brewery. When they perceived that I was about to get into the narrow
lane, they all ran into the town, collected more companions, and watched
at the tan-house to see whether I would come thither. But as I perceived
this, and was now left to myself, I remained lying in the water, and
placed my head under a thick willow bush, and rested in the water four
or five hours, till it was night and the town quiet; then I crept out
half dead, and could hardly breathe, on account of the blows I had had.
I went down to the tan-house and found that there was as yet no safety,
as there was one there cutting grass, and another picking hides out of
the tan-pits, and I almost stumbled upon them, so I was obliged to hide
there till late in the night; I went then over the conduit, always
following the course of the stream, and climbed over a willow stem by
which I reached the other side, towards Poppenhausen.
"When I came to the Poppenhausen or Einöder road, it was strewed here
and there with linen, which the soldiers had thrown away or lost, but I
could not stoop to pick anything up. I came at last to Poppenhausen, and
found no one at home but Claus Hön, whose wife was lying-in; he was
obliged to cut the clothes from off my body, for I was swollen, and he
put aside the wet clothes to be dried. He also lent me a shirt, and then
examined my head, which was of all colours from the blows I had
received; afterwards my back and arms became quite black and blue. The
following day my parishioner bade me go away, for he feared they might
lie in wait for me, and that he should get into trouble on my account.
So with his assistance I put on my wet clothes, and went quite slowly to
Lindenau, always through the densest thicket, and kept on the other side
in the Lindenau garden, from which I could see the village. At last I
discovered some people going into a house; I went thither, but they
would not admit me, for they were too much afraid, but finally, when
they saw through the window that it was I, their pastor, who had come,
they admitted me, and I remained with them some days; for there was
quartered there one who was a Lindenauer, which helped a little. But I
met with a new misfortune. When those who were quartered here went to
the castle of Einöd with the Lindenauers, to fetch away what could yet
be found of their goods, the magistrate, the smith, and I were keeping
guard the while on the tower; as we were all three performing this duty,
certain horsemen came into the village, they saw us on the tower, went
straight up to it, and found us there together. As they ascended the
stairs we discovered from their blustering and talking that they were
troopers, so, in bad plight as I was, I endeavoured, alas! to climb. I
clambered up into the belfry and curled myself like a cat behind the
clock; but one of the thieves climbed up at the same time and found me.
My parishioners said I was their schoolmaster, and entreated for me, as
I had already been badly beaten by the soldiers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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