The city itself is large and in ancient style. The country around is barren, the soil consisting of coal, stone and slate. Previous to the foundation of the city it was simply a wilderness. There are some excellent mineral springs; the bath, constructed in beautiful hewn stone, is square, and about fourteen feet long; three steps enable one to sit down with the water up to the throat, or to be immersed at a small depth. Except the baths of the landgravate of Baden, I know of no other arrangement equally comfortable. At the town hall, castle, and a.r.s.enal of Charlemagne there are hundreds of thousands of sharp iron arrows stowed away in closed chests. On entering the church one immediately notices an ivory and gold armchair, fastened with exceeding great art. At the lower end of the nave, to the west, a huge crown of at least twelve feet diameter is suspended. I do not know the nature of the material, but it is gilt and painted in colours. In the way of relics there are the hose of Joseph. They are only shown at stated times, but whoever has the privilege of seeing them has a great many of his sins remitted.
On September 24 we reached Brussels in Brabant, and there I received the order to go back to my country, the functions of solicitor to the Imperial Chamber having been conferred upon me. Hence, on St. Denis"
Day, I began this journey of more than a hundred miles, alone and across unknown countries, with abominable roads, above all in Westphalia. I was often obliged to stay the night at places which were more than suspect, and when only half-way my horse came to grief in consequence of Normann"s former rough usage. I had to swop it, paying a sum of money besides, and was unfortunate enough to have come across a veritable crock which I was obliged to keep, there being no help for it. Finally, through good and evil I reached Wolgast on All Saints"
Day.
CHAPTER III
How I held for two Years the Office of _Solicitator_ at the Imperial Chamber at Spires--Visit to Herr Sebastian Munster--Journey to Flanders--Character of King Philip--I leave the Princes" Service
As soon as my nomination was drawn up, I was dispatched with it to Chancellor Citzewitz, at his estate of Muttrin, near Dantzig. The princ.i.p.al personages of the land had come to consult him, and he kept me for more than ten days with him in excellent company, making me share their favourite recreation, and the thing that bored me most, namely, the chase, to which the country admirably lends itself. I returned with the chancellor to Stettin, where my warrant of appointment was duly signed and sealed.
At Wolgast Duke Philip interrogated me at length in his own study, and with no one else present, on the condition of affairs at Augsburg and Brussels. He was much surprised at my boldness in having given him such a plain and straightforward account of the doings of the court. "If only one of your letters had been intercepted, they would have strung you up at the nearest tree," he said. This was no exaggeration on his part; and supposing such a catastrophe had happened, he would, in spite of everything, have remained a prince of the empire, while there would have been an end of me. Of course, my behaviour gave him the measure of my devotion to him. He promised me a good horse; besides this, the ducal kitchen provided all that was necessary for a farewell banquet, and, in fact, at supper some pages brought us two hares from the prince"s larder. I received a hundred crowns for my loyal services, and an appointment of one hundred and forty per annum; the cost of copying and dispatch of messengers being charged to their Highnesses.
I went to say good-bye to my parents at Stralsund. My mother had ordered for my sister chains and clasps which the goldsmith had as yet not delivered. I paid for them, and, moreover, left thirty crowns at home. "Use them, if there be any need. I"ll manage to make both ends meet with what remains." Duke Philip had given me a strong and lively hunter. Behind the saddle I had a small saddle-bag, like the court messengers. My brother Christian accompanied me as far as Leipzig, where we wished to be for the fair.
Our journey was an uneventful one, except that one day in Mesnia, having lost our way, we came at the end of a big forest upon a small tenement which was the residence of a poor gentleman. The fast gathering darkness compelled us to knock at the n.o.ble"s dwelling, which was inhabited by a young widow of only a few weeks" standing with her mother-in-law. The bad-tempered old woman roughly refused us shelter.
"Go wherever you like," she snarled. Her daughter-in-law, on the other hand, said; "We did not expect any one, and we do not keep an inn, but it is getting darker and darker, and you would have to go a long way before finding one. If you will be content with our humble accommodation, you may remain for the night." At these words the other one storms and raves. "May the devil take you and them. You have found some youngsters who are to your taste, and you have already forgotten my son." I tried to appease her. "We have never before been in this country," I said to her; "at daybreak we"ll be able to find our way.
You need not be afraid of our using unsuitable language or doing aught that is not right, and we"ll be satisfied with whatever accommodation you can give us, as long as our horses have some fodder and some straw.
For all this we"ll willingly pay." The virago, however, turned a deaf ear to this. If we were not the lovers of her daughter-in-law why should we have come at this late hour in the neighbourhood where no stranger ever came? The young woman was very patient throughout. After having provided us with hay and straw for our horses, she took us to a lofty room of very modest appearance. There was no man or woman servant to be seen; our supper, though, was none the worse for it. After she had set all our provisions before us, our hostess sat down and told us the sad existence she was leading. The bed was moderately comfortable, and the sheets were clean. We paid more than was asked.
At Leipzig I stopped two days to rest my horse. I gave my brother the wherewithal for his return journey, and continued my way alone. The country as far as Frankfurt was known to me. From Butzbach I went by Niederweisel and the Hundfruck, a route I had often pursued with my former master, the commander of St. John. It is more direct than by Friburg, but it swarms with highway robbers. As I was walking my horse up the slope of the forest I caught sight of two hors.e.m.e.n who were evidently bent on waiting for me, as they posted themselves, the one to the left and the other to the right of the road, and when I was between them they began interpellating me in a gruff voice. "From what country?" "From Pomerania." "What hast thou got in thy valise?"
"Letters." "Whither art thou going?" "To Spires." "To whom dost thou belong?" "To the Dukes of Pomerania. Here is my safe-conduct."
Thereupon one of them became more friendly. "And how is his Highness Duke Philip, that excellent prince? I knew him very well at Heidelberg." And on my recommendation for them to go their way and to let me go mine, they looked at me very hard for a few moments, but did not follow me. I sold my horse and equipment at Frankfurt, and went down the Main as far as Mayence, whence, going up the Rhine, I got to Oppenheim, and by the coach to Worms and Spires.
I reached the latter town on January 21, 1549. I hired a room with a dressing closet at a clothshearer"s, who was also a councillor. I also boarded with him, like many young doctors of law and other notable persons detained at Spires by their functions or by their wish to get practical experience.
Dr. Simeon Engelhardt, who, by the express act of a formal decision of his Imperial Majesty, had not been reinstated in his office of procurator any more than his brother-in-law, the licentiate Bernard Mey and Johannes Helfmann had transferred his household goods to Landau. At his recommendation, Dr. Johannes Portius, for procurator, and I brought him so many clients that he would accept no fees from me. Engelhardt remained my advocate, notwithstanding the inconvenience of the distance between us. How often have I walked the four miles between Spires and Landau! By starting at the closing of the gates, I reached Landau for the hour fixed for their opening; the morning sufficed to transact my business with the doctor, and my return journey was accomplished in the afternoon. Nor did Engelhardt claim any fees, but I remember having taken to him a client who for a single act paid him twenty crowns without his asking. The correspondence, thanks to the Pomeranian couriers always at my disposal, was equally cheap.
The Lloytz of Stettin chose me as their solicitor.[61] Martin Weyer, in the "Cammin" affair, did the same. There were others, and all, except Weyer, paid me handsomely. I was getting well known among the procurators, and I finally acted _pro princ.i.p.ale vel adjuncto notario_.
I earned, then, sufficient to live comfortably without having recourse to the paternal purse. I even could put aside the whole of my appointments, and something over. The chief benefit, however, lay in the acquisition of experience, the fruits of which have extended to the whole of my family, because my pen has always been the sole means of livelihood. If that business be well learnt and well carried out, it leaves no one to starve. Folks may mention the word scribe with as much contempt as they please; the fact remains that I have had many a choice morsel, and drunk delicious draughts through being a scribe.
From Spires I wrote to Sebastian Munster that their Highnesses were particularly anxious not to hurry the printing of his excellent _Cosmographie_, because a special messenger was to bring him a description of Pomerania the moment it was finished, and that it would prove not the least valuable ornament of his work. He sent word that it was impossible for him to delay; his step-son was so deeply engaged in the undertaking that he would be ruined if he missed the next Lent fair at Frankfurt. I transmitted the reply to Pomerania; the same messenger brought back a big bundle of notes, unfortunately incomplete, as they pointed out to me. I promptly sent them to Sebastian Munster, promising to let him have the rest the moment I received them. He kindly sent me an autograph letter, which my children will find joined to that of Dr.
Martin Luther.[62]
It struck me that an interview with Sebastian Munster would enable me to inform our princes accurately. The Imperial Chamber had its vacation. It was an excellent opportunity to see Alsace, flowing with corn and wine, so many handsome towns, the seat of the Margrave of Baden, bishops and courts, and, above all, the city of Basle. Hence, I undertook the journey on foot, an affair of about sixty miles there and back. At Strasburg I lodged at my friend"s, Daniel Capito, a poor home, but we took our meals at the tavern of the _Ammeister_.[63]
In the church at Basle I saw the stone statue of Desiderius Erasmus, of Rotterdam. I invited Herr Lepusculus, the fugitive of Augsburg, to dinner, and we talked of many interesting things. I also became well acquainted with Sebastian Munster, who gave me a most hearty welcome. A huge room of his house contained a quant.i.ty of plates, either cast, engraved on wood or on copper. They had come from Germany, Italy or France; they were geographical, astronomical, or mathematical drawings, representing pieces of engineering work for the use of miners, and views of cities, countries, castles, or convents, that were to figure in his _Cosmographie_. He was most anxious for me to stay with him, so that he might show me the objects of interest connected with the town; unfortunately, my time was too short. After having taken leave of Munster and Lepusculus, I went back to Spires on foot.
I was just in time for a message from Pomerania relative to the lawsuit between Duke Barnim and the town of Stolpe. The latter, on the pretext of an attempt against its privileges, had deputed Simon Wolder to attend upon the emperor. Wolder was a young jackanapes without education, but pushing and cunning, and by dint of intriguing he obtained the confirmation of the said privileges, and for himself the Imperial safeguard. The people of Stolpe had their triumph, and to judge by their swaggering one would have concluded they had no longer anything in common with their prince and lord. Duke Barnim, though, having entered the town amidst his soldiers, summoned the council and the burghers to the Town Hall, and when he got them there, he forbade those who had had a hand in the intriguing to stir, while the others should stand aside. The majority of those present changed their positions; the rest, and notably the Burgomaster Schwabe, a near relation to the Bishop of Cammin, were imprisoned at Stettin, at Greiffenberg, and at Treptow, while Simon Wolder fled to the emperor, who was fighting the white Moors (?) in Africa. He succeeded in obtaining from the emperor the categorical order for releasing the prisoners, on the express penalty of being put "under the ban"; but that injunction arrived too late. The friends of the prisoners humbly interceded for them, and each liberation was bought at a heavy fine and after a long detention. As for Wolder, far from resting on his oars, he pursued his intrigues at the Imperial court, ingratiating himself with the princes, the n.o.bles, and the cities. He enjoyed great favour; he dressed magnificently. Where did the money for all this display come from? In short, at the restoration of the Imperial Chamber, an action was begun.
The dukes of Pomerania had unquestionably cause for anxiety, for their relations with the emperor were already very strained, and the latter"s victory made him very disinclined to exercise much consideration to the partisans of the Augsburg confession. Simon Wolder was jubilant; he looked upon the business as good as won; judges and a.s.sessors were papists, and their Highnesses under a cloud of Imperial disgrace. We devoted the most serious attention at Spires to the suit; procurator Ziegler and advocate Johannes Kalte amply did their duty; if need had been, I was there to spur them on. At Stettin, on the contrary, Martin Weyer and Dr. Schwallenberger, to whom the affair was entrusted, were mere sluggards whose conduct was disgraceful. We shall meet with Schwallenberger again.
In May our counsellors wrote to me to take the two golden cups to Brussels to them. The rumour ran, in fact, that the emperor"s son was coming from Spain in great pomp; and our envoys hoped to secure, through the influence of certain important personages, his intercession with the emperor. I started immediately, going down the Rhine as far as the Meuse, and pursuing my journey by land by way of s"Hertogenbosch (Bois le Due) and Louvain.
When I had delivered my precious deposit, the wish to see something of Flanders impelled me to Ghent. It is a big city, formerly endowed with important privileges. For instance, the emperor could impose no taxes in Flanders or demand anything without the a.s.sent of the said city.
Charles V has deprived it of its privileges. He has razed a convent and several houses to the ground, and on their site built a castle with huge, deep moats filled with water, besides other remarkable outworks, so that the city is at his mercy. In the centre of Ghent there rises a high steeple. I climbed to the top, and it is from there that the emperor and his brother Ferdinand chose the spot whereon to build their fortress; they traced there, _propriis manibus_, their symbolum in red chalk.
The castle where Charles V saw the light is a decrepit, unsightly kind of tenement, surrounded by water, and accessible only by a drawbridge.
At the head of the bridge, on the parapet, there are two bronze statues; one is kneeling, and behind it there is the second with uplifted sword. Tradition has it that they represent two men condemned to death, father and son, for whom no executioner could be found. They then promised the father a full pardon if he would behead his son. At his refusal the offer was made to the son, who accepted it with joy and grat.i.tude, and severed his father"s head from the trunk.
In Antwerp I met with Herr Heinrich Buchow, the future counsellor of Stralsund. We had both heard much about the house of Gaspard Duitz, about a good mile distant from the city. People compared it to the castle of Trent, some even said that it was handsomer. We obtained a letter from the owner to his steward, who showed us everything, and really rumour had not been guilty of exaggeration. Though there were a great number of them, each room was differently decorated; each contained a bed and a table. The hangings were of the same colour as the bed-curtains, and the cloth on the table which was either of velvet or damask, black, red or violet, as the case might be. Musical instruments everywhere, but varying in every room. Here a kettledrum; there Polish viols, elsewhere lutes, harps, zithers, hautboys, ba.s.soons, Swiss fifes, etc. The girl who showed us over the place quite correctly played the kettledrum, the viol and the lute. In front of the house a beautiful garden cultivated with art, and enhanced by many exotics. Further on a zoological collection. The ground floor has one hall of such magnificence that one day Madame Marie entertained her brother there. The emperor, having looked and appreciated everything, asked: "To whom, sister mine, belongs this house?" "To our treasurer."
"Well," rejoined the emperor, "our treasurer evidently knows the science of profit-making."
This Gaspard Duitz, an Italian by birth, a shrewd and even cunning merchant, had exercised commerce on a large scale at Antwerp, and failed twice if not three times. When he had thousands upon thousands of crowns in hand, he asked his creditors for five years" delay. Madame Marie, for instance, gave him such letters of respite. Of course, those rogueries made him very wealthy, and when Madame Marie was in need of money, her treasurer came to her aid. A house in Antwerp, which had cost him thousands of florins, not having realized his expectations--the drawbacks of a structure becoming only apparent after it is finished--he had it razed to the ground and rebuilt according to his taste.
The Count Maximilian van Buren (the same who, in the Schmalkalden campaign, took the Dutch hors.e.m.e.n to the emperor), having heard of Duitz"s famous country seat, "invited himself" to it. Master Gaspard treated his visitor magnificently, showed him everything, and when taking leave inquired if perchance the count had noticed some fault or shortcoming in the decorations or general disposition of the whole; for, if such were the case, he would alter it, even if he had to send for artists from Venice or Rome. "No," replied the count; "the only thing wanting is a high gallows at the entrance, with Gaspard Duitz securely swinging from it." That was the count"s acknowledgment of his host"s hospitality, and he might have added: "With a crown on his head, as an arch-thief."[64]
From Antwerp I went to Malines. What an admirable country! Louvain, Brussels and Antwerp, three big and handsome cities, are at an equal distance from each other, and Malines, which one always has to cross to get to either, stands in the centre. Along the route there are magnificent castles and lordly dwellings. Malines is a pretty city, though the smallest of the four; the water is brought there _labore et industria hominum_, and enables one to reach Antwerp by boat. I saw the damage caused by the lightning of August 7, 1546, when it fell on a powder magazine, which was entirely destroyed, together with the outer wall; huge quarters were hurled on the roofs of houses. There was a great loss of life and property.
At Malines I went to see Vogel Heine, who, in the days of Maximilian I, the great-great-grandfather of the present emperor, went in advance to prepare the night quarters. The emperor had left him sufficient to live upon; the woman who took care of him had her lodging and firing. Heine was so old and so decrepit as to be unable to stir from a room that was constantly heated. People gave the woman a small tip to see her charge, and in that way she made for herself a small income instead of wages.
From Louvain I took the most direct and shortest road to Juliers and Cologne; at the latter place I put up at _The Angel_. The host had a raven that spoke, and even understood what was said to it. If, in the evening, there was a knock at the door, the bird asked: "Is anybody knocking?" "Yes," replied the new-comer. But as the travellers" room happened to be at the back of the house, overlooking the Rhine, n.o.body stirred, and the knocking was repeated, the bird, on its part, repeating the same question. "Can"t you hear?" said the claimant for admission, out of patience, and knocking much louder, so that they could hear it from the travellers" room. Naturally, the servant came to open the door, and endeavoured to mollify the would-be guest"s anger by saying that they had heard no knocking. Thereupon the other called him a liar, or at any rate treated him as such; thereupon the cage with the bird in it was pointed out as evidence, and everything was well. The bird, upon the whole, was most remarkable, and many great personages made the most tempting offers for it, which were always refused. Six or seven years later, when I visited Cologne again, I inquired what had become of the bird, and its owner told me that he was then at law with a gentleman who, coming in drunk, had drawn his sword and cut the bird"s head off. The host a.s.sured me that he would sooner have lost three hundred crowns.
After having gone up the Rhine as far as Mayence, I took the coach to Spires.
In June 1549 King Philip, the emperor"s son, came to Spires with a numerous suite. His father had appointed the cardinal of Trent, a Seigneur de Madrutz, as his marshal. The king was then about twenty-two years of age, my junior by seven. His far from intellectual face gave little hope of his equalling his father one day. The Elector of Heidelberg, the other counts palatine, the ecclesiastical electors, all of them in their state carriages, attended on him when he went to church. Well, I often saw his father under similar circ.u.mstances. When he came out of his apartments and mounted his horse in the courtyard, where princes and electors already in the saddle awaited him, he was the first to take his hat off. If it happened to rain, so much the worse. He remained bare-headed, and was not the less affable either in speech or gesture. He held out his hand to everybody, and did the same when he came back. When, at the foot of the staircase, he turned out, faced his escort, took off his hat, and bade them farewell in a gracious manner.
King Philip, on the contrary, was most exacting with the electors and the princes, though many of them were old men. While the latter dismounted at the door of the church, Philip went in without troubling about them, making signs behind his back with his hands for them to march by his side, but they merely followed him. After the service they accompanied the king back to the palace. He jumped down, and went up the stairs without a look or a word of farewell. His marshal had, nevertheless, told him that there was a great difference between Spanish and German princes. As a proof of this, he quoted to him the paternal example, as typified by the consideration shown to the German n.o.bles by the emperor, but Philip answered: "Between myself and my father, the difference is as great, for he is only the son of a king; I am the son of an emperor." After having officially made their appearance, the princes promptly left for their own States. Philip spent a few more days hunting and going about, his suite being reduced to fourteen or twelve horses, and then the Duke of Aarschot came for him, by order of the emperor, to take him with a magnificent escort to Brussels.
Notwithstanding my constant reminders to them of the mortal danger of delay, the Stettin authorities were terribly slow in sending me the most indispensable doc.u.ments for the serious lawsuit against the town of Stolpe. As some people, moreover, were attempting to discredit me with Duke Barnim, I wrote to Chancellor Falck, who answered me: "You do not deserve the slightest reproach. All the neglect is on this side; but, in truth, the whole of your letter is so much Arabic to me, because I have not the faintest idea of the lawsuit itself." That is how things are managed at courts.
On the banks of the Rhine it is the custom to organize at twelfth night a complete court--king, marshal, steward, cup-bearer, etc. As a matter of course, the court fool is indispensable. The charges are drawn for by lot; each pays part of the expenses; alone the fool is exempt. In 1550 there gathered round our table a young baron from the Low Countries, a bright young fellow, with considerable experience of the world, also several persons of consideration who were detained at Spires by their law business. It fell to my lot to be king, with the baron for my marshal. As for the fool, chance had picked out our host, the priest, and nature seemed really to have created him for the part.
In my capacity of king I had a many-coloured hooded cloak of English linen made for him. When we had visitors, and, thanks to the gay baron, this happened frequently, our host put on his cloak and took our guests to task. We shook with laughter, but he himself fared very well by it, for his buffoonery brought him many silver and even gold pieces. He bought himself silver bells for his cap, and his cloak became spangled with gold and silver coins.
This went on until "kingdom" time, which is celebrated one Sunday evening between twelfth night and Shrovetide. There are three or four kingdoms each Sunday, and the masked people of both s.e.xes go from one gathering to another in fancy dress and accompanied by musicians. They have the right of three dances with those who give the entertainments.
All this afforded capital opportunities for every kind of dissipation and debauch. One evening, for instance, it happened that a husband and his wife, after having danced together, divided for the second dance and came together for the third, without, however, recognizing each other. Side by side they went to another house, and having understood each other"s desires by the pressure of their hands, they indulged their sudden fancy on their way in the penumbra of a clothworker"s shop in the market place, and never did the hallowed joys of matrimony taste like the forbidden fruit of infidelity; at any rate, so each imagined.
Being anxious to know who was his partner, the swain cut a snippet from her dress and, moreover, made her a present of a gold piece, then both joined the rest of the company. The husband was a chamois-leather dresser, and next morning some one came to buy a skin, and tendered a large coin. As he had no change himself, he took his wife"s satchel and found the golden piece, which he recognized at once. When the customer was gone, the dame had to show the gown she wore on the previous evening, the husband confronted her with the abstracted piece of stuff.
Denial was impossible, but the one happened to be as guilty as the other.
We gave our fool ample opportunity to adorn his dress. At the carnival he made himself conspicuous by many pleasant quips and pranks; the marshal also did wonders, standing erect before his Majesty, and zealously attending upon him by bringing up the dishes, carving the viands, and cleaning the table with many genuflections and kissing of hands. The king paid very dearly for his three or four hours" reign.
Our host was a careless, irresponsible creature, more fit for the life of camps or of courts than for the priesthood; a gambler, a rogue, a boaster, a drunkard, a brawler, and an adept at jesting and practical joking. He did not care whether his boarders were papists or evangelicals. He was one of the three who celebrated early ma.s.s at the cathedral. His young boarders, the graduates, were fond of cards, and clever gamblers. They thought that a seasoned gamester like their host must necessarily be a valuable adviser, so they spent their night round the board. About three in the morning their landlord cried: "Brothers, don"t you move; I am going to say ma.s.s. But it will be short and sweet; just long enough to blow the dust off the altar, and I"ll be back." And he was as good as his word.
It was a custom to place, during the night of Good Friday, a crucifix in one of the lateral chapels, and the three priests who said early ma.s.s were deputed to watch over it. Long files of matrons prostrated themselves, face downward, and deposited their offerings. On one occasion, towards three in the morning, the reverend guardians who no longer expected contributors, divided the receipts and began to gamble.
Thanks to his long practice, our host won every penny to the annoyance of his colleagues. A quarrel ensued at the foot of the cross, followed by blows; our man being the strongest, the victory and the money remained with him.
In "Rogation Week" the clergy in their richest vestments, and carrying crosses, banners, and relics, perambulate the fields, followed by crowds of men and women. A young priest, thinking this a propitious time for an a.s.signation, left the procession, and disappeared among the standing corn, whither a young damsel went after him. Two workmen, though, had noticed the manoeuvre; they watched for the opportune moment, surprised the couple, and only left the "black beetle" after having stripped him of his gown and surplice, both which "proofs positive" they brought to the dean of the chapter.
I have not the least doubt that the King of Spain interceded in favour of our princes. a.s.siduous solicitations, but above all the goldsmiths"
work and the gratifications so much prized at courts and in large cities, mollified the influential counsellers, the Seigneur de Granvelle, his son, the Bishop of Arras, and others. The emperor finally consented to an arrangement, one of the conditions of which was the payment of a fine of ninety thousand florins. The Imperial chancellerie demanded three thousand florins for engrossing the act of reconciliation, which I could have done as elegantly in one day. The Bishop of Arras, to whom reverted half the chancellery fees, abandoned them in our favour, but he lost nothing by his generosity. In sum, this little matter cost two hundred thousand florins.
One of the conditions imposed upon our princes was the acceptance of the "Interim." The Pomeranian clergy unanimously rejected this work of Satan. The council of Stralsund summoned the ministers before it to forbid them p.r.o.nouncing the word "Interim" from the pulpit, and, above all, to add any ill-sounding expression to it on the penalty of being deposed from their sacred office. As for the doctrines themselves, they were at liberty to weigh and to refute them by the Holy Scriptures. But superintendent Johannes Freder, an obstinate and narrow-minded man, replied that as a good shepherd he neither could nor would deliver his flock to the rage of devouring wolves, for to do this would be to imperil his own body and soul. He furthermore said that if he were dismissed G.o.d would provide, and that, moreover, men of education were not liked at Stralsund. The council adjourned the meeting, and two of its members intimated his dismissal to Freder.
The next day the ministers presented a pet.i.tion signed by all except Johannes Niemann. They claimed their liberty of conscience and their right to serve the cause of truth by denouncing from the pulpit the d.a.m.nable abominations of the "Interim." "One must obey G.o.d rather than men," they said. The impetuous Alexis Grosse and Johannes Berckmann were conspicuous by their anger. They hurled the most offensive accusations against honest Niemann, and tried to carry things with such a high hand that the council, greatly irritated, decided there and then upon the dismissal of Grosse, after payment of the arrears due to him.