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Page 7
First, however, I asked my old Ilse, who was born in Liepe, whether she
would not rather return home, seeing how matters stood, and that I, for
the present at least, could not give her a stiver of her wages (mark that
she had already saved up a small sum, seeing that she had lived in my
service above twenty years, but the soldiers had taken it all). Howbeit, I
could nowise persuade her to this, but she wept bitterly, and besought me
only to let her stay with the good damsel whom she had rocked in her
cradle. She would cheerfully hunger with us if it needs must be, so that
she were not turned away. Whereupon I yielded to her, and the others went
alone.
Meanwhile the broth was ready, but scarce had we said the _Gratias_, and
were about to begin our meal, when all the children of the village, seven
in number, came to the door, and wanted bread, as they had heard we had
some from my daughter her little godchild. Her heart again melted, and
notwithstanding I besought her to harden herself against them, she
comforted me with the message to Liepe, and poured out for each child a
portion of broth on a wooden platter (for these also had been despised by
the enemy), and put into their little hands a bit of meat, so that all our
store was eaten up at once. We were, therefore, left fasting next morning,
till towards mid-day, when the whole village gathered together in a meadow
on the banks of the river to see the boat return. But, God be merciful to
us, we had cherished vain hopes! six loaves and a sheep, _item_, a quarter
of apples, was all they had brought. His reverence Abraham Tiburtius wrote
to me that after the cry of their wealth had spread throughout the island,
so many beggars had flocked thither that it was impossible to be just to
all, seeing that they themselves did not know how it might fare with them
in these heavy troublous times. Meanwhile he would see whether he could
raise any more. I therefore with many sighs had the small pittance carried
to the manse, and though two loaves were, as _Pastor Liepensis_ said in
his letter, for me alone, I gave them up to be shared among all alike,
whereat all were content save Seden his squint-eyed wife, who would have
had somewhat _extra_ on the score of her husband's journey, which,
however, as may be easily guessed, she did not get; wherefore she again
muttered certain words between her teeth as she went away, which, however,
no one understood. Truly she was an ill woman, and not to be moved by the
word of God.
Any one may judge for himself that such a store could not last long; and
as all my parishioners felt an ardent longing after spiritual food, and
as I and the churchwardens could only get together about sixteen
farthings in the whole parish, which was not enough to buy bread and
wine, the thought struck me once more to inform my lord the Sheriff of
our need. With how heavy a heart I did this may be easily guessed, but
necessity knows no law. I therefore tore the last blank leaf out of
_Virgilius_, and begged that, for the sake of the Holy Trinity, his
lordship would mercifully consider mine own distress and that of the
whole parish, and bestow a little money to enable me to administer the
holy sacrament for the comfort of afflicted souls; also, if possible,
to buy a cup, were it only of tin, since the enemy had plundered us of
ours, and I should otherwise be forced to consecrate the sacred elements
in an earthen vessel. _Item_, I besought him to have pity on our bodily
wants, and at last to send me the first-fruits which had stood over for
so many years. That I did not want it for myself alone, but would
willingly share it with my parishioners, until such time as God in his
mercy should give us more.
Here a huge blot fell upon my paper; for the windows being boarded up, the
room was dark, and but little light came through two small panes of glass
which I had broken out of the church, and stuck in between the boards;
this, perhaps, was the reason why I did not see better. However, as I
could not anywhere get another piece of paper, I let it pass, and ordered
the maid, whom I sent with the letter to Pudgla, to excuse the same to his
lordship the Sheriff, the which she promised to do, seeing that I could
not add a word more on the paper, as it was written all over. I then
sealed it as I had done before.
But the poor creature came back trembling for fear and bitterly weeping,
and said that his lordship had kicked her out of the castle-gate, and had
threatened to set her in the stocks if she ever came before him again.
"Did the parson think that he was as free with his money as I seemed to be
with my ink? I surely had water enough to celebrate the Lord's supper
wherewithal. For if the Son of God had once changed the water into wine,
he could surely do the like again. If I had no cup, I might water my flock
out of a bucket, as he did himself"; with many more blasphemies, such as
he afterwards wrote to me, and by which, as may easily be guessed, I was
filled with horror. Touching the first-fruits, as she told me he said
nothing at all. In such great spiritual and bodily need the blessed Sunday
came round, when nearly all the congregation would have come to the Lord's
table, but could not. I therefore spoke on the words of St. Augustine,
_crede et manducasti_, and represented that the blame was not mine, and
truly told what had happened to my poor maid at Pudgla, passing over much
in silence, and only praying God to awaken the hearts of magistrates for
our good. Peradventure I may have spoken more harshly than I meant. I know
not, only that I spoke that which was in my heart. At the end I made all
the congregation stay on their knees for nearly an hour, and call upon the
Lord for his holy sacrament; _item_, for the relief of their bodily wants,
as had been done every Sunday, and at all the daily prayers I had been
used to read ever since the heavy time of the plague. Last of all I led
the glorious hymn, "When in greatest need we be," which was no sooner
finished than my new churchwarden, Claus Bulk of Uekeritze, who had
formerly been a groom with his lordship, and whom he had now put into a
farm, ran off to Pudgla, and told him all that had taken place in the
church. Whereat his lordship was greatly angered, insomuch that he
summoned the whole parish, which still numbered about 150 souls, without
counting the children, and dictated _ad protocollum_ whatsoever they could
remember of the sermon, seeing that he meant to inform his princely grace
the Duke of Pomerania of the blasphemous lies which I had vomited against
him, and which must sorely offend every Christian heart. _Item_, what an
avaricious wretch I must be to be always wanting something of him, and to
be daily, so to say, pestering him in these hard times with my filthy
letters, when he had not enough to eat himself. This he said should break
the parson his neck, since his princely grace did all that he asked of
him, and that no one in the parish need give me anything more, but only
let me go my ways. He would soon take care that they should have quite a
different sort of parson from what I was.
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