The Adventurous Simplicissimus: being the description of the Life of a Strange vagabond named Melchior Sternfels von FuchshaimGrimmelshausen, Hans Jakob Christoph von
General
The Adventurous Simplicissimus: being the description of the Life of a Strange vagabond named Melchior Sternfels von Fuchshaim
Grimmelshausen, Hans Jakob Christoph von
German fiction -- Translations into English; Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648 -- Fiction
Jump-i'-th'-field to us with my adversary: and, "Lookye," says I, "Is
it thus we come together, thou honourable rascal, thou? Were it not
that I respect the emperor's arms which thou hast undertaken to bear
against the enemy, I would incontinently send a ball through thy head:
till now I have been the huntsman of Soest, and thee I count for a
rogue unless thou take one of these swords here present and measurest
the other with me soldier-fashion." And with that my servant (who, like
Jump-i'-th'-field, had on horrible devil's apparel with goat's horns)
laid a couple of swords at our feet which I had brought from Soest, and
gave the huntsman of Wesel the choice, to take which he would: whereat
the poor huntsman was so dismayed that it fared with him as with me at
Hanau when I spoiled the dance: he and his comrade trembled like wet
dogs, fell on their knees, and begged for pardon. But Jump-i'-th'-field
growled out, as 'twere from the inside of a hollow pot, "Nay, ye must
fight, or I will break the neck of ye." "O honourable sir devil," says
the huntsman, "I came not here to fight: oh, deliver me from this,
master devil, and I will do what thou wilt." So as he talked thus
wildly, my servant put one sword in his hand and gave me the other: yet
he trembled so sore he could not hold it. Now the moon was bright, and
the shepherd and his men could see and hear all from out their hut: so
I called to him to come, that I might have a witness of this bargain:
but when he came, he made as though he saw not the two in devils'
disguise, and said, what cause had I to bicker so long with these two
fellows in his sheepfold: if I had aught to settle with them, I might
do it elsewhere: for our business concerned him not at all: he paid his
"Conterbission" regularly every month, and hoped, therefore, he might
live in peace with his sheep. To the two fellows he said, why did they
so suffer one man to plague them, and did not knock me on the head at
once. "Why," said I, "thou rascal, they would have stolen thy sheep."
"Then let the devil wring their necks for them," says the peasant, and
away he went. With that I would come to the fighting again: but my poor
huntsman could, for sheer terror, no longer keep his feet, so that I
pitied him: yea, he and his comrade uttered such piteous plaints that,
in a word, I forgave and pardoned him all. But Jump-i'-th'-field would
not so be satisfied, but scratched the huntsman so grievously in the
face that he looked as he had been at dinner with the cats, and with
this poor revenge I must be content. So the huntsman vanished from
Wesel, for he was sore shamed: inasmuch as his comrade declared
everywhere, and confirmed it with horrible oaths, that I had in real
truth two devils in the flesh that waited on me; and so was I more
feared, and contrariwise less loved.
_Chap. iii._: HOW THE GREAT GOD JUPITER WAS CAPTURED AND HOW HE
REVEALED THE COUNSELS OF THE GODS
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account