Bartholomew Sastrow Part 10

It would be a mistake to conclude that Prince Frederick's education had been neglected, for only a few days beforehand, though he had also been drinking, I was quite surprised at the many stories of the Old Testament he narrated without quoting the sacred text; he even applied some of them very ingenuously to his own situation. Certainly there can be nothing surpa.s.sing a careful education, provided the Holy Spirit guides the young man when he becomes responsible for his own acts; that is what we ought to pray for to the Almighty.

As for the consequences of drunkenness, that inexhaustible fount of many sins, the Duke von Liegnitz was a terrible example of them. One night when he could no longer find some one in the humour to "keep up with him," he came to my door, trying to beguile me out of my bed. I finally told him that to sit drinking at such an hour was beyond my strength, and that I humbly begged his Serene Highness to husband both our healths. He resigned himself, though reluctantly, to take "no" for an answer. I took good care not to open.

After a fortnight's stay, the emperor left Nuremberg. Duke Frederick was so matutinal on the day of departure that on arriving about six o'clock at the Imperial residence, he was told the emperor had been gone for at least two hours. Not daring to follow the sovereign, he merely sent two counsellors to Augsburg.

I had bought at Nuremberg a handsome rapier which I wore with a Spanish belt. One morning after breakfast, being alone, I fell asleep in my chair. When I awoke I found that a skilful thief had cleverly unfastened it and carried it away. I bought another weapon, and when I had settled my bill, saddled my horse and made for Augsburg, where I landed three days before the emperor.

Prince Frederick went back to his own country with his suite; he never improved. Two students were returning to their homes; _en route_ they breakfast at Liegnitz, and feeling jovial and gay they started singing.

The duke, who was in his cups, was annoyed at the noise, had them apprehended, conducted outside the town, and beheaded. Next morning, before recommencing his libations, he took a ride with some of his counsellors in the direction of the place of execution. At the sight of the blood he begins to ask questions, and is informed that the executed men are the two students he sentenced the previous day. "What had they done?" he asked in the greatest surprise.

At the end of one of his orgies he ordered his counsellors to lock him up in prison on bread and water. If they disobeyed him they would answer with their heads. The dungeon already held several occupants.

His Highness was taken to it, and the gaoler received the strictest instructions. When the fumes of his wine had vanished, the duke, in a livelier mood, conversed for a while with the other prisoners; then he shouted to the warder to let him out. "I am too strictly forbidden to do so," was the answer. He, nevertheless, went to inform the counsellors; the latter delayed for three days, during which time the prince left not a moment respite to the turnkeys. Finally, the counsellors came themselves; they heard his shouting and his supplications, but they remembered his threat to have their heads off, and they knew that on that subject he did not jest. He had to rea.s.sure them over and over again before he was allowed to go free.

Three years later the same prince journeyed to Stettin for no other purpose than to have a drinking bout with some of the courtiers. At the news of his coming, Duke Barnim went away with everybody except the women. At his arrival the visitor found neither the duke nor any gentlemen of the least standing, and at the castle they sent him into the town to a house a.s.signed to him as his quarters. An old man lay dying there, and they naturally expected that this would shorten Liegnitz's visit. The very opposite happened. The prince comfortably settled himself at the dying man's bedside, recited pa.s.sages from the Scriptures to him until his last moment, and closed his eyes when the breath was out of him. The collector Valentin presenting himself, poor box in hand, the duke dropped a few crowns into it; after this, he sent for mourning cloth for two cloaks, one for himself, one for Valentin, with whom, he said, he wished to accompany the corpse to the cemetery.

The d.u.c.h.ess, however, would not hear of this. He was therefore quartered in the castle, just above the chancellerie, and opposite the women's quarters, so that they could converse from one window to another. I had been to the kitchen. As I was crossing the courtyard, the duke, pa.s.sing his head out of the window and making a speaking trumpet of his hands, shouted with all his might to me: "Hi-there!" I knew him from Nuremberg, and was consequently familiar with the manner of treating him, so I answered: "h.e.l.lo!" at which he was delighted.

"What a nice fellow," he cried. "For heaven's sake, come up; we'll keep each other company, and try to enliven each other." I thanked him humbly and continued my way.

Duke Barnim's absence being somewhat prolonged, his guest Liegnitz had eventually to think about going. The princely presents of the d.u.c.h.ess made him comfortable for some time. Health, welfare, country, were all ruined by his roystering conduct. When drink had killed him, his wife, a d.u.c.h.ess of Mecklenburg, saw herself and her children reduced to the direst privation. She had to inform not only her equals, but the magistrates of Stralsund of her distress, and to declare herself unable to bring up her son according to his rank. She merely asked for slight help, scarcely more than alms. The council of Stralsund sent her a few crowns by one of the messengers she dispatched in all directions.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Diet of Augsburg. _From an old Engraving_.]

CHAPTER II

A Twelve Months' Stay at Augsburg during the Diet--Something about the Emperor and Princes--Sebastian Vogelsberg--Concerning the Interim--Journey to Cologne

On July 27, 1547, I dismounted at an inn in the wine market at Augsburg. The host was a person of consideration, and endowed with good sense; he was a master of one of the corporations. The latter had administered the city's affairs for more than a century. During a similar number of years the corporations of Nuremberg had ceded their power in that respect to the patricians. The Augsburg corporations, being Evangelicals, had sided against the emperor; consequently His Imperial Majesty proposed to exclude them at the forthcoming Diet from the government, in favour of the aristocracy, which had remained faithful to the ancient faith.

I took two rooms (each with an alcove, or sleeping closet, attached to it), of which the host had no need for his travelling patrons. The amba.s.sadors settled in one; the other was set apart for their administration, which was composed of Jacob Citzewitz, chancellor; two secretaries of Duke Barnim, and myself. I sold my horse with its equipment, which was not worth much. I took what I could get for it; fodder was very dear, and the animal was no longer of the least use to me.

The emperor and his army arrived at the end of July. The landgrave remained behind at Donauwerth, under the guard of a Spanish detachment, while the elector, brought to Augsburg, took up his quarters with the Welsers, two houses away from the Imperial residence, and on the other side of a kind of alley by the side of my inn. A pa.s.sage made between these two houses by means of a bridge thrown over the alley provided communication between the apartments of his Imperial Majesty and those of the elector. The captive prince had his own kitchens. His chancellor, Von Monkwitz, was always near him; he was served by his own attendants, so that the Spaniards had no pretext to enter his room or his sleeping closet. The Duke of Alva and other gentlemen of the Imperial suite constantly kept him company; the time was spent in pleasant conversations and equally agreeable recreations. They had arranged a list for the jousts in the courtyard of the dwelling, which was as superb a mansion as any royal one. The elector went out on horseback to the beautiful sites and spots of the town, namely, the various gardens, cultivated with much art. He had been very fond from his youth of swordplay, and while he remained well and active he indulged in all kinds of martial exercise. They therefore left him to superintend the a.s.saults at arms, but he did not stir without an escort of Spanish soldiers. He was left free to read what he pleased, except in the latter days, namely, after his refusal to accept the Interim.

At Donauwerth, on the other hand, the landgrave had a guard even in his own apartment. If he looked out of the window two Spaniards craned their necks by his side. Drums and fifes told him of the guard coming on duty and of the guard that was being relieved. Armed sentries watched in the prisoner's room; they were relieved once during the night, and when those coming on duty entered the room, the others, when the shrill music had ceased, drew the curtains of the bed aside, saying: "We commit him to your care. Keep a good watch." The emperor's words to the landgrave, "I'll teach you to laugh," were not an empty threat.

Before retiring to rest, his Imperial Majesty, to the terror of many, had a gibbet erected in front of the town hall; by the side of the gibbet, the strapado, and, facing it, a scaffold at about an ordinary man's height from the ground. This was intended to hold the rack, and the beheading, the strangulating, the quartering, and kindred operations were to be carried out on it.

The emperor had sent to Spain for his secretary, a grandee, it will be seen directly, who stood high in his favour. As the said secretary sailed down the Elbe, coming from Torgau, a faithful subject of the captive elector hid himself in a wood on the bank of the stream. He was a skilful arquebusier, and when the craft was well within range, he fired a shot. They brought the emperor a corpse. The mortal remains of the secretary were taken to Spain in a handsome coffin; the murderer fled across Hungary in the direction of Turkey, but active pursuit resulted in his capture, and he was dispatched to Augsburg. He was driven in an open cart from St. Ulrich to the town hall, by way of the wine market. Hence, the elector had the extreme annoyance of seeing him pa.s.s under his windows. The condemned man had between his knees a pole, to which his right hand was tied as high as possible. In the midst of the drive, the sword severed the wrist from the arm; hemorrhage was prevented by dressing the wound, and the hand was nailed to a post put up in the street for the purpose. In front of the town hall the poor wretch was taken from the cart and was put on the rack.

The landsknechten quartered at Augsburg had not received their pay for several months. It was to come out of the fines imposed upon the landgrave and the towns. The rumour ran that the fines had been paid, but that the Duke of Alva had lost the money gaming with the elector, so that the troops were still waiting.

In the thick of all this, a number of soldiers made their way into the rooms of the ensigns, carrying off three standards, unfurling them, and marching in battle array to the wine market. Near the spot where the arquebusier had had his hand severed from his wrist, a proud Spaniard, impelled by the mad hope of securing the Imperial favour by rendering his name for ever glorious, flung himself into the advancing ranks and tried to get hold of a standard; behind it, however, marched three men with big swords, and one of these split the intruder in two just as he would have split a turnip. "_Qui amat periculum, peribit in eo_." Thus it is written.

Roused to great excitement by the coming of the column, the Spanish soldiers promptly occupied the streets adjoining the market. The elector was transferred to the Imperial quarters, lest he should be carried off. The population were getting afraid of being pillaged in case the idea of paying themselves should present itself to the landsknechten. The tradesmen were more uneasy than the rest, for in expectation of the coming Diet their shops were crammed with precious wares, rich silk stuffs, golden and silvern objects, diamonds and pearls. There was an indescribable tumult to the accompaniment of cries and people foregathering in knots, though most of them barricaded themselves in their houses and armed themselves with pikes, muskets, or anything they could lay hands on. In short, as Sleidan expresses it, "the day bade fair to be spent in armed alarm."

The emperor sent to ask the mercenaries what they wanted. "Money or blood," replied the arquebusiers, their weapons reposing on the left arm, the lighted match in their right hands, and dangerously near the vent-hole. His Imperial Majesty promised them their arrears within twenty-four hours, but before dispersing they claimed impunity for what they had done, which demand the emperor granted. Next day they received their pay and were disbanded at the same time.

Now for the end of the adventure. Secret orders were given to accompany the ringleaders on their road, and at the first offensive remark on their part with regard to the emperor to call in armed a.s.sistance, and to bring them back to Augsburg. As a consequence, at the end of two or three days, some of the firebrands, having their wallets well-lined and sitting round frequently re-filled flagons at the inn, began to hold forth without more reserve than if they were on the territory of Prester John. The last thought in their minds was about informers being among them. "We'll give him soldiers for nothing--this Charles of Ghent![48] May the quartan fever get hold of him. We'll teach him how to behave. May the lightning blast him," and so forth. Not for long though. The words had scarcely left their lips than they were seized, taken to Augsburg, and hanged in front of the town hall, each with a little flag fluttering from the tab of their small clothes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: An Execution at the Time of the Reformation. _From a Drawing by_ Lucas Cranach.]

Two Spaniards, probably guilty of robbery, as was their custom, were strung up at the same gibbet. Towards night the hangman came with his cart, cut the ropes and took the bodies of the seditious men outside the town. After which there appeared a gang of Spaniards who, with more ceremony, detached their countrymen, and placed them in a bier covered with a kind of white linen. Then they spread the funeral cloth over them, and the procession started. Young scholars dressed in white cloaks marched at its head, intoning psalms; the rest, in handsome dresses and carrying lighted tapers, followed two by two. They proceeded in that manner to the church given up to the Spaniards for their wors.h.i.+p, where the two bodies were buried. It is difficult to withhold solemn funerals from thieves when you yourself are an incorrigible thief.

The Italian and Spanish troops were distributed in the towns of the Algau and Swabia. Memmingen and Kempten compounded their liability to quarter them respectively for thirty thousand and twenty thousand florins. Thereupon a certain Imperial commissioner hit upon the idea of presenting himself in various towns as having been instructed to quarter a couple of hundred Spaniards for the winter. The terror-stricken burghers implored him to spare them such a scourge, and considered themselves only too happy to present the commissioner with a little gratification of two, three, and four hundred crowns, paid on the nail. Thanks to that ingenious system, the commissioner managed to pocket some important sums. But the rumour of the thing having reached the emperor's ears, the cheat was arrested, sentenced to death, and executed in front of the town hall at Augsburg. The work of the hangman began by strangulation. The patient (?) was placed on a wooden seat against the rail of the scaffold, his forehead tightly bound in case of convulsions, his arms bound behind his back, and fastened to the bal.u.s.trade. The hangman, after having flung a rather short rope round his neck, slipped a thick stick down his nape, and began to twist it round in the manner they press bales of wares. When the wretch was strangled, he was undressed except his s.h.i.+rt, laid out on a board, the hangman lifted the s.h.i.+rt, cut away the s.e.xual parts, ripped open the body from bottom to top, removed the intestines, and threw them into a pail under the board, and finally cut the body into four quarters.

George von Wedel stayed at my hotel. He invited the Duke of Brunswick and his steward to dinner, and chose me as the third guest. The repast consisted of six courses; the first was soup with a capon in it. I know that our landlady paid a crown for the bird, and that she charged Wedel a crown per head. I did not forget to mention to my host and my fellow guests that at Rome I had seen the hanging of the Spaniard, his servants, and the two Jews. The duke was delighted at my recollecting this, and he himself reminded us that the banquet had been given in his honour. His account of the story was, however, much longer than mine.

While awaiting the arrival of the Pomeranian delegates, I borrowed two hundred crowns of the captive Elector of Saxony, for my functions at the Diet necessitated a decent appearance, considering that I was called upon to confer with grand personages, such as the Vice-Chancellor Seld, the Bishop of Arras and Dr. Johannes Marquardt, Imperial counsellor. Besides, everything was horribly dear at Augsburg; there was no possibility of getting along without money. Our amba.s.sadors arrived on St. Matthew's Day (September 21). I immediately refunded the two hundred crowns.

Since we left Wittenberg I had never missed an opportunity of speaking to the Imperial counsellors and advisers, sometimes to one, then to another. More than once, for instance, I happened to be riding by the side of the Bishop of Arras, _intimus consiliarius imperatoris_. I solicited his intervention for a safe-conduct for our princes, in order that they might come and plead their cause in person, or be represented by some high dignitaries. The kindly tone of his answers afforded me much hope, although he abstained from all positive promises.

One evening between Nuremberg and Augsburg chance made me alight at the hostelry where Lazarus von Schwendi was putting up.[49] At that time he was a beardless young man. We supped together, and he declared quite spontaneously that, having been sent by the emperor to the Brandenburg march as far as the Pomeranian frontiers to get information about the att.i.tude of the dukes during the late war, he had not been able to find the slightest charge against them. He further stated that he had written to that effect to the emperor, and he announced his intention of repeating it to him by word of mouth.

In spite of this evidence, when I saw the Bishop of Arras, his father, Messire de Granvelle, the most trusty adviser of his Imperial Majesty, Dr. Seld and Dr. Marquardt at Augsburg, they seemed to vie with each other at looking askance at me, and at formulating a refusal in hard, haughty terms and entirely unexpected by me; such as: "_Bannus decernetur contra principes tuos_."[50]

Our dukes sent their princ.i.p.al advisers. To do them justice, they spared neither time nor trouble, but it was all in vain, for the Bishop of Arras went as far as to growl at them: "To suppose the emperor capable of punis.h.i.+ng innocent people as your princes pretend to be; that alone already const.i.tutes the crime of treason against the sovereign, and deserves chastis.e.m.e.nt." His Imperial Majesty closed his ears to the truth; he was determined to act against the Dukes of Pomerania. At Wittenberg Dr. Seld had said to me: "We are going to examine the challenge of Ingoldstadt and will note for reference its instances of audacity, its offensive expressions, and its provocations.

His Imperial Majesty means to show to the whole of the empire that he is neither deficient in German blood nor in power to chastize as he thinks fit no matter whom." This was an allusion to the following pa.s.sage of the doc.u.ment defying him: "And we inform Charles that we consider him a traitor to his duty to G.o.d, a perjurer towards us, and the German nation, and deserving the Divine punishment, and also as too devoid of n.o.ble and German blood to carry out his threats."

Our amba.s.sadors paid daily visits to the important ecclesiastical personages. They went in couples, save Chancellor Citzewitz, who considered himself, not unjustly, capable of dispensing with a.s.sistance. He laboured, however, under the disadvantage of "repeating himself," and of wearying his listeners. The chancellor of the Elector of Cologne, to whom Citzewitz paid a visit one night, said the next day to two of our amba.s.sadors: "What is your chancellor thinking of? He constantly repeats the same things. Does he credit me with so short a memory as to forget in three or four days the _status causae vestrorum principum_, or does he imagine that our affairs leave me sufficient leisure to listen to his never ending litanies. He reminds me of a hen about to lay. At first she flutters to the top of the open barn door, clucking, 'An egg, an egg.' Then she gets a little higher up to the hay-loft: 'An egg, an egg; I want to lay an egg.' From there she goes up to the rafters: 'Look out, friends, look out. I am going to lay an egg.' Finally, when she has cackled to her heart's content, she goes back to her nest and produces the tiniest imaginable egg. I prefer the goose who squats silently on the dung-heap and lays an egg as big as a child's head."

The Archbishop of Cologne would not forgive our princes for having secularized the monastery of Neu-Camp, a branch of the parent inst.i.tution of Alt-Camp, in the diocese of Cologne. Besides, the clergy of Pomerania had become suspect to him ever since its choice for the See of Cammin had fallen upon the pious, able and learned chancellor Bartholomew Schwabe. Hence, the terms in which the emperor forbade our princes to recognize the new dignitary as such were the reverse of courteous, and he moreover summoned the chapters to Augsburg to take the oath of fidelity and do homage, pending his own selection of a chief for them. The princes, the chapters, the landed gentry, and the towns, with the exception of Colberg, appealed; the Pomeranian mission was entrusted with the negotiations; the States also delegated Martin Weyer, canon of Cammin, who subsequently became a bishop.

Nor was the Elector of Brandenburg in the emperor's good books. Where then could we find somebody successfully to intercede for us? All my supplications were in vain, for at courts and in large towns _causae perduntur quae paupertate reguntur_. Finally, Dr. Marquardt hinted discreetly that a well trained small horse would be very useful to him to proceed to the council, according to Imperial etiquette. I immediately wrote to Pomerania, whence they sent me a pretty animal, with instructions to buy an equipment to match. The present, supplemented by three "Portuguese,"[51] seemed to please the doctor mightily, and he accepted everything without much persuasion.

The melting of double ducats and Rhenish florins gave us some excellent gold of crown standard, which served to make two cups, each weighing seven marks. Citzewitz took them several times to Messire de Granvelle without finding the opportunity of offering them to him. These were indeed untimely scruples. That present, or even one of double its value, would no more have been refused then than it was later on at Brussels. In fact, in return for his friendly offices with the emperor, Granvelle willingly submitted to be presented with gold, silver, and precious objects, so that at his departure there were several vans and numerous mules laden with them. When he was asked what were the contents of that long convoy, he answered: "_Peccata Germaniae_!"

After many fruitless efforts our amba.s.sadors found themselves reduced to inactivity, and compelled as a pastime to read two Latin pamphlets they received. The one dealt with the personality and acts of "_Carolus Quintus_"; the t.i.tle of the other was, "_De horum temporum statu_,"

with Pasquin and Marforio as interlocutors in Roman fas.h.i.+on.

There were ten flag-companies of landsknechten quartered at Augsburg, besides the Spaniards and Germans accompanying the emperor, while the outskirts held Spanish and Italian fighting men. Six hundred hors.e.m.e.n from the Low Countries and more than twelve flag-companies of Spaniards, who had been quartered during the winter at Biberach, were posted on the sh.o.r.es of Lake Constance; seven hundred Neapolitan hors.e.m.e.n, who had wintered at Wissemburg, lay in the Nordgau. The days, therefore, were truly spent in "armed alarm," but there was also extraordinary splendour, pomp, and magnificence.

Augsburg, in fact, had the honour of having within its walls his Imperial Majesty, his Royal Majesty, all the electors in person, with imposing suites; the Elector of Brandenburg with his wife; the Cardinal of Trent, Duke Heindrich of Brunswick and his two sons, Charles Victor and Philip; Margrave Albert; Duke Wolfgang, count palatine; Duke Augustus; Duke Albert of Bavaria; the Duke of Cleves; Herr Wolfgang, grand master of the Teutonic Order; the Bishop of Eichstedt; his Grace of Naumberg, Julius Pflug; Abbe Weingarten; Madame Marie, the sister of the emperor, who was accompanied by her niece, the Dowager of Lorraine; the wife of the margrave; the d.u.c.h.ess of Bavaria, and the envoys of the foreign potentates. The King of Denmark was represented by a learned and prudent man, who had given proof of his wisdom in many a mission, namely, Petrus Suavenius, the same who had accompanied Luther to Worms and had returned with him. The King of Poland was represented by Stanislas Lasky, a magnificent, experienced, learned, eloquent and elegant, amiable, great magnate, and most charming _in familiari colloquio_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Ferdinand the First. _From an old Print._]

It is almost impossible to enumerate the crowd of vicars, counts and other personages of note, but I must not forget the Jew Michael, who aped the great lord, and showed himself off on horseback in gorgeous clothes, golden chains round his neck, and escorted by ten or a dozen servants, all Jews, but who might have fairly pa.s.sed muster as horse troopers. Michael himself had an excellent appearance; he was said to be the son of one of the counts of Rheinfeld. The old hereditary Marshal von Pappenheim, who had grown very short-sighted, came up with him one day, and, not content with taking off his hat, made him a low bow, as to a superior. When he discovered his mistake, he vented his anger very loudly: "May the lightning blast you, you big scoundrel of a Jew," he bellowed. The presence of so many princesses, countesses and other n.o.ble dames, handsome, and attired in a way that baffles my powers of description, afforded daily opportunities for banquets, Welch and German dances. King Ferdinand was rarely without guests. He gave magnificent receptions, splendid ballets, and beautiful concerts by a numerous and well trained band of vocal and instrumental performers.

Behind the king's chair there stood a chattering jester; his master had frequent "wit combats" with him. The king kept up the conversation at table, and his tongue was never still for a moment. One evening I saw at his reception, a Spanish gentleman, with a cloak reaching to his heels, dancing an "algarda" or "pa.s.sionesa" (I do not know the meaning of either word) with a young damsel. They both jumped very high, advancing and retreating, without ceasing to face each other. It was most charming. After that another couple performed a Welch dance.

The emperor, on the contrary, far from giving the smallest banquet, kept n.o.body near him; neither his sister, nor his brother, nor his nieces, nor the d.u.c.h.ess of Bavaria, nor the electors, nor any of the princes. After church, when he reached his apartments, he dismissed his courtiers, giving his hand to everybody. He had his meals by himself, without speaking a word to his attendants. One day, returning from church, he noticed the absence of Carlowitz. "_Ubi est noster Carlovitius?_" he asked of Duke Maurice. "Most gracious emperor,"

replied the latter, "he feels somewhat feeble." Immediately the emperor turned to his physician. "Vesalius, gy zult naar Carlowitz gaan, die zal iets wat ziek zyn, ziet dat gy hem helpt." (Anglice, "You had better go and see Carlowitz. He is not well; you may be able to do something for him.")

I have often been present (at Spires, at Worms, at Augsburg, and at Brussels) at the emperor's dinner. He never invited his brother, the king. Young princes and counts served the repast. There were invariably four courses, consisting altogether of six dishes. After having placed the dishes on the table, these pages took the covers off. The emperor shook his head when he did not care for the particular dish; he bowed his head when it suited, and then drew it towards him. Enormous pasties, large pieces of game, and the most succulent dishes were carried away, while his Majesty ate a piece of roast, a slice of a calf's head, or something a.n.a.logous. He had no one to carve for him; in fact, he made but a sparing use of the knife. He began by cutting his bread in pieces large enough for one mouthful, then attacked his dish.

He stuck his knife anywhere, and often used his fingers while he held the plate under his chin with the other hand. He ate so naturally, and at the same time so cleanly, that it was a pleasure to watch him. When he felt thirsty, he only drank three draughts; he made a sign to the _doctores medicinae_ standing by the table; thereupon they went to the sideboard for two silver flagons, and filled a crystal goblet which held about a measure and a half. The emperor drained it to the last drop, practically at one draught, though he took breath two or three times. He did, however, not utter a syllable, albeit that the jesters behind him were amusing. Now and again there was a faint smile at some more than ordinarily clever pa.s.sage between them. He paid not the slightest attention to the crowd that came to watch the monarch eat.

The numerous singers and musicians he kept performed in church, and never in his apartment. The dinner lasted less than an hour, at the termination of which, tables, seats, and everything else were removed, there remaining nothing but the four walls hung with magnificent tapestry. After grace they handed the emperor the quills of feathers wherewith to clean his teeth. He washed his hands and took his seat in one of the window recesses. There, everybody could go up and speak to him, or hand a pet.i.tion, and argue a question. The emperor decided there and then. The future emperor Maximilian was more a.s.siduously by the side of the emperor than by that of his father.

Duke Maurice soon made acquaintance with the Bavarian ladies, and at his own quarters melancholy found no place, for he lodged with a doctor of medicine who was the father of a girl named Jacqueline, a handsome creature if ever there was one. She and the duke bathed together and played cards every day with Margrave Albrecht.[52] One day, the latter, thinking he was going to have the best of the game, ventured several crowns. "Very well," answered the damsel; "equal stakes. Mine against yours." "Put down your money," retorted the margrave, "and the better player wins." All this in plain and good German, while Jacqueline gave him her most charming smile. Such was their daily mode of life. The town gossiped about it, but the devil himself was bursting with pleasure.