Vorzurechnen. Ich liess mir's gefallen; wir schlossen ein Bündniss Und gelobten einander, als treue Gesellen zu wandern; Leider sollt' ich dadurch mir manches Uebel bereiten. Wir durchstrichen zusammen das Land. Da stahl er das Grosse, Stahl ich das Kleine. Was wir gewonnen, das sollte gemein sein; Aber es war nicht gemein, wie billig: er theilte nach Willkür; Niemals empfing ich die Hälfte. Ja schlimmeres hab' ich erfahren. Wenn er ein Kalb sich geraubt, sich einen Widder erbeutet, Wenn ich im Ueberfluss sitzen ihn fand, er eben die Ziege Frisch geschlachtet verzehrte, ein Bock ihm unter den Klauen Lag und zappelte; grinst' er mich an und stellte sich grämlich Trieb mich knurrend hinweg: so war mein Theil ihm geblieben Immer ging es mir so, es mochte der Braten so gross sein, Als er wollte. Ja, wenn es geschah, dass Gleich erschienen sein Weib und sieben Keine Rippe konnt' ich erlangen, sie wäre denn gänzlich Glatt und trocken genagt; das sollte mir alles gefallen! Aber Gott sei gedankt, ich litt deswegen nicht Hunger; Heimlich nährt ich mich wohl von meinem herrlichen Schatze, Von dem Silber und Golde, das ich an sicherer Stätte Heimlich verwahre; dess hab ich genug. Und es horchte der König, da von dem Neigte sich vor und sprach: von wannen ist er euch kommen? Saget an! Ich meine den Schatz. Und Reinecke sagte: Dieses Geheimniss verhehl' ich euch nicht, was könnt es mir helfen, Denn ich nehme nichts mit von diesen köstlichen Dingen Aber wie ihr befehlt, will ich euch alles erzählen: Denn es muss nun einmal heraus; um Leibes und Leides Finger's end. I did not object; we made an alliance And pledged each other, to roam about as faithful companions; Alas! it was to cause me many a bitter pang. We travelled together through the country. Whenever he stole large things, I robbed the small. Whatever we got, was to be shared in common; But of course it was not so, he divided at pleasure; And I never got half of it. Nay I have even fared worse. When he had stolen a calf, or taken a wether, When I found him revelling in plenty, devouring a goat Just killed, or when a he-goat was writhing Under his claws; he grinned at me and looked sullen, Grumbled and drove me away: and thus he got my share. I always fared thus, be the piece of roast meat However large. And when it happened, that we had taken together An ox, or got a cow, Immediately his wife and seven childrén appeared, attacked The booty, so that I got nothing of the meal. No, not a rib I could get, unless it was polished Off to the very bone; I could not stand that! But, thank goodness, I did not starve after all. I secretly enjoyed the good things, The silver and gold which I had Well secured; I had plenty of that. A waggon would Hardly carry it away, no not in seven loads. Leaned forward and said: How did you get it? Let us know! Of course I mean the treasure! And Reinecke said, • This secret, sir, I cannot divulge, what use would it be to me, For I cannot take anything of these precious things with me, But, as you command, I shall tell you all: For out it must come after all; no, not for my life Möcht' ich wahrhaftig das grosse Geheim- Should I wish to conceal the secret any niss nicht länger verhehlen longer, Denn der Schatz war gestolen. Es hatten Euch, Herr König, zu morden, und wurde Merket es, gnädiger Herr! Denn euer Hing an dem Schatz. Und dass man ihn Frühe zer traurigen Fahrt, vielleicht zu Aber gnädiger Herr, zu eurem Nutzen geschah es! For the treasure was stolen. Many had conspired To murder your Majesty, and if at that time The treasure was not cleverly taken, the thing was done. Remember, gracious lord! Your precious Everything depended on the treasure. His early death, perhaps his eternal per- But, gracious Sir, it was all done for your own sake! The different versions given of this remarkable poem vary as much as the pranks of its chief actors, and the following short specimen of the Flemish and Low German may probably be acceptable to the reader. FLEMISH VERSION OF REINAERT. Nu gaet hier op ene claghe Dordu Edelheit, ende dor du ere Di mi Reinaert hêft ghedaen, etc., etc. Low-GERMAN VERSION OF REINEKE VOS. Isegrim, de wulv begunde de klage, Dorg juwe eddeligheid un dorg juwe ere Den mi Reinke hädt gedan, etc., etc. Rarely did a poem enjoy greater popular favour; it is full of humour and excellent maxims,—a work to be appreciated alike by the statesman and philosopher, for the race of the Reinekes is not extinct, and many a European court could, no doubt, produce a specimen of that interesting animal, even in our days. THE REFORMATION. Ir was a great blessing for Germany, that, at a time when the empire was utterly prostrate, and its dissolution fast progressing, an event should have occurred calculated to invigorate the Statebody, and so stir both rulers and ruled to new exertions. Such an event was the Reformation. 'It gave Germany,' as an able writer expresses it,* a new knowledge of her own faculties, and new views of The great movement, which shook the political European frame to its very foundation, begun in 1517, by an humble Augustine monk in Wittemberg, spread like wildfire throughout Germany. Many of her princes, be it from conviction, or ill-hidden hostility towards the Pope, eagerly embraced the opportunity to shake off the fetters binding them to the Holy See. Charles V., entertaining ulterior ambitious designs, for the execution of which he needed the co-operation of the Pope was, of course, adverse to this movement. The foundation, once laid, the fulminations launched from Rome, Paris, and her destination, but there can be no doubt, that its purer or loftier form died in Germany with Luther.' When he appeared; that country, in a political sense, stood very low; full of interior even from the secret closet of the English king, Henry VIII., impeded the movement less than did the inner feuds which followed; for Zwingli, the Swiss reformer, who, with Melanchthon, had imitated Luther's example in Switzerland, disagreed with the Wittemberg reformer on several vital points of the Christian faith. Then followed the devastating war, known under that of the peasants (1525), where lawless bands, under the leadership of Müntzer, committed the most fearful excesses. After the death of Frederick the Wise, of Saxony, the movement assumed, under his still more energetic son, John, such proportions that, in 1526, the German princes, then assembled at Spires, rejected by a great majority the proposals of the Emperor's brother, Ferdinand, who wanted to see the sentence against Luther and his followers at Worms carried out. Other favourable circumstances promoted the cause. We allude to the feud existing between Charles and the Pope; at the conclusion of which the Emperor made a new attempt to deprive the princes of the power of managing their own ecclesiastical affairs. John, elector of Saxony, George, elector of Brandenburg, Ernest and Francis, dukes of Lüneburg, the landgrave of Hesse and the prince of Anhalt protested against this attack on their rights, and were supported by thirteen imperial towns, among which we cite Strasburg, Nuremberg, St. Gallen, Ulm, Constance. This protest, from which the term Protestant is derived, led afterwards to a confederacy between various German princes who became apprehensive of their own personal safety, when Charles had brutally arrested a deputation sent to him. The elector, having desired Luther to write a thesis on the principal articles of faith, the latter presented the result of his labour to the elector at Thorgau in 1529 (hence the term articles of Thorgau, changed subsequently into that of Confession of Augsburg). Charles now proceeded to Augsburg, and opened the Diet on the 20th June, 1530. Here the twenty-five articles were read out to him and to the assembled princes by Christian Bayer, the Chancellor of Saxony, who then presented a copy of the same to the Emperor, signed by the above-named German princes. The Romish court had these articles refuted by Faber, Eckius, and Cochlæus. This elicited an answer from the Protestants; but Charles peremptorily refused to receive the answer. Matters grew now worse and worse. Conciliatory steps on the part of the Protestants led to no result, and when Charles published new edicts, in order to compel his opponents to return to the allegiance of the Pope, the Protestants, under the leadership of the elector of Saxony, aware of the coming tempest, met at Schmalkalden (1530 to 1531), in order to combine for the protection of their mutual interests, the kings of England, France, and Denmark, having been invited to support their cause. Luther at first opposed this combination, apprehensive of the wounds it might inflict on Germany. Proposals made by the princes to Henry VIII. to act as arbiter, remained without any result; but finally the peace of Nuremberg concluded in 1532, thanks to the exertions of the Elector Palatine and the Elector of Mentz, brought about a reconciliation between the Emperor and the confederate princes. In consequence of this treaty, it was stipulated that the latter should furnish a subsidy to the Emperor to carry on the war against the Turks; and should, moreover, recognise Ferdinand his brother as king of Bohemia, whilst Charles, in his turn, should leave the Lutherans undisturbed in the exercise of their religious doctrines. Soon afterwards, John, Elector of Saxony, having died, his son and successor, John Frederick, promoted the cause with energy and fortitude. The Emperor, witnessing its growth; and desiring some arrangement to be made, obtained from Pope Clement VII, a promise, that a general council should meet at Padua; a pledge left unfulfilled, until after the death of that Pope in 1534. His successor, Paul III.. then proposed that the council should meet at Mantua; but the Protestant resources, it did not know how to develop them. Its constitution was but a chaos. The relations of the various princes to the chief of the empire had, it is true, been clearly defined by the Golden Bull in 1356; yet no one was there to decide legally in case of any differences arising between these princes. Every thing depended on the greater or lesser influence exercised by the chief of the state. During the long reign of Frederick III., who, for more than half a century (1420-1492), had been sleeping on the throne, this influence had almost disappeared, and Maximilian I., though, in many respects, a useful reformer, had increased it but little. Unfortunately, not one among these princes possessed sufficient genius or energy to shake off this lethargical condition; they were leading princes objecting to the assembly taking place in Italy, it met at Schmalkalden in 1537, where a new summary of their doctrines, called the Articles of Schmalkalden was drawn up. In 1542, the Pope apparently desirous of coming to some arrangement, proposed to hold a Council at Trent promising, at the same time, various reforms of importance, yet, leaving the principal grievances of the Protestants unredressed. Luther smiled at this proposal, and the great fearless reformer, not destined to witness the sanguinary strife which was now to commence, died soon afterwards at Eisleben, in the year 1546. The Emperor and his party then met at Trent, the Protestant princes at Ratisbon, and the storm which was to fill Germany with woe for many a year to come, now burst out in all its intensity. The Elector of Saxony, and the Landgrave of Hesse, having led their armies into Bavaria, were, owing to various impediments, compelled to retrace their steps. Hardly pressed by the Emperor, the armies met on the 24th of April, 1547, at Mühlberg, on the Elbe, where a battle took place, disastrous to the Elector, and in which he was taken prisoner. Maurice of Saxony was made Elector, Philip of Hesse, relying on the Emperor's pledged word, made his submission, but, by a treachery without parallel in history, was kept by the faithless Emperor, for several years in prison. The affairs of the Protestants grew now worse and worse. Promises to hold a council at Trent remained unfulfilled. The Diet of Augsburg was dissolved on the plea of a plague having broken out in that town, and during this interval the Emperor caused a formula to be drawn up, known under the name of the 'Interim,' a document worthy of the subtle jesuitism of those who concocted it. When promulgated at Augsburg, those princes who opposed it were reduced by force of arms. The moment was critical. Maurice of Saxony, having assembled his nobility and clergy to deliberate on the subject, Melanchthon, of too gentle a character for those stirring times, was inclined to make concessions. In 1549, Paul III. died, and was succeeded by Julius III. Again we hear of diets and councils, remaining without any result, the Emperor all the time playing fast and loose; so that Maurice at last was induced to ally himself with the King of France. In 1552, he boldly marched his army against the Emperor, surprised him at Innspruck, and compelled him to conclude a treaty at Passau, highly favourable to the Protestants. Albert, Markgrave of Brandenburg, however, would not give in; so that the confederate princes had to reduce him by compulsion. In one of these encounters, Maurice rcceived a mortal wound, of which he died, 1553. The clouds which for so many years had remained spread over the political horizon of Germany, at last began to break in 1555; and a Diet taking place in that year, at Augsburg, opened by Ferdinand in the name of the Emperor, terminated the era of blood and affliction. a contemplative life, and their chief possessed more the habits of an extensive landholder than that of the ruler of a great empire. They met at their Diet more by way of routine than for the dispatch of business; and it must be admitted that Max showed in this respect much regularity, especially when he wanted to replenish his exchequer. In fact, had it not been for the Turks, the inveterate enemies of Christendom, who had established themselves in Eastern Europe, and whose inroads had to be resisted anyhow, the German empire would probably have accomplished at that time its own dissolution. It was the Reformation, and nothing but the Reformation, which instilled new life into that drowsy body, and gave to Germany the political importance which it has maintained ever since. Considered in this light, all the strife and bloodshed accompanying this great era must be looked upon as the necessary means towards the attainment of a great end. Martin Luther and Ulrich von Hutten now entered the arena to fight the battle of religious liberty with the sword of speech, mit dem Schwerdte der Rede,' and the final victory showed how these champions had fought. In order to act on the masses, it had now become essential to address them in their vernacular language; this developed the oratorical and didactic style, and created a desire for free discussions, so conducive to religious and civil liberty. Luther, the son of an humble miner, was born at Eisleben, in Saxony, on the 10th of November, 1483. His indomitable perseverance, and his vast erudition, gained him, at a very early age, a professorship in the University of Wittenberg, then just founded. Here he knew how to captivate his hearers; but here also his troubles began. Having entered into a controversy with the monk Tetzel about the sale of indulgences, he was exposed single-handed to a long-continued argumentative cross-fire from all the ecclesiastical batteries, but sustained it with a perseverance and courage of which a man of such a mind and such a heart was alone capable. In the year 1521, he was summoned before a congress of princes at the town of Worms. After having victoriously refuted the accusations brought against him, he terminated his memorable defence in exclaiming, 'Here I have taken my stand, I cannot speak otherwise; may God help me!' The Elector Frederick, his only friend and protector, in order to shelter him from further persecution, offered him an asylum at a castle called the Wartburg, where, by the celebrated translation of the Bible into high German and other literary labours, he laid the foundation of that monument which will last as long as the German language. Luther's style is nervous, terse, and concise; it bears the stamp |