when he saw me sitting at work over the Hebrew Bible, he said, "Are you
a Hebrew? you must teach it to me also." I said, "I know nothing;" but
he would not let himself be put off his purpose, till I promised him;
for I also thought that by staying there longer I might become a
burden to Myconius. I therefore went with him to Mettmenstetten,
instructed him in Hebrew, had plenty to eat and to drink, and remained
seven-and-twenty weeks with him. From him I came to Hedingen, to pastor
Weber, who likewise desired instruction in Hebrew, and remained about
twenty weeks with him. After that I came to another pastor at
Rifferswyl; he was eighty years old, and wished to begin to learn
Hebrew. From him I came again to Zurich. In the mean time there came a
very learned young man from Lucern, of the name of Rudolph Collin; he
was to go to Constance to receive priest's orders. Zuinglius, however,
and Myconius, persuaded him to learn the rope-making trade with his
money instead. After he had married, and become a master, I asked him
to teach me the rope-making trade also. He said he had no hemp. Now
just at that time a small legacy had fallen to me from my mother; with
that I bought the master a cwt. of hemp, and learned as much as
possible, till it was used up; but had, at the same time, always a
desire for study, I used to get up quietly when the master thought I
was asleep, and strike a light, and had a Homer, and secretly my
master's translation, out of which I made notes into my Homer. When I
was working at my trade, I took Homer with me. When the master
discovered that, he said, "Platere! pluribus intentus, minor est ad
singula sensus:" (Either study or follow your trade!) Once as we were
eating our supper, and drinking water to it, he said, "Platere! how
does Pindar begin?" I answered, "[Greek: Ariston men to hudor]," (Water
is the best). He then laughed and said, "Then we will follow Pindar's
advice and drink water, because we have no wine." When I had used up
the cwt. of hemp my apprenticeship was over, and I intended to go to
Basle. I therefore took leave of my master, as if I was going early
next morning; but I went to my old lodging at the house of the hatter's
widow, and remained there six weeks privately, and wrote a gloss upon
Euripides, that I might be able to take it as well as Homer with me;
for I intended also to study on the way. I then took my bundle and left
Zurich at day-break, came in one day as far as Muttentz, and the next
morning to Basle. Here I inquired after a master, and came to Hans
Stäheli at the Ox-market, whom they called the Red Rope-maker. They
said that he was the rudest master on the whole length of the Rhine, on
which account the rope-making journeymen did not like to be with him,
and I found a place open the sooner. When he first employed me I could
scarcely hang up the hemp, and could twist it very little. Then the
master shewed me his manners, began to be abusive and to curse, and
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