Hereupon I ordered mine

hc

take the money forthwith. make ready at once a mug of beer, and a good dinner fo child, and went back to the Castle with the man, and the who carried the box, begging him, in order to avoid con talk, to say nothing of my good fortune to mine host, nor, in to any one else in the town, and to count out the money t privately, seeing that I could not be sure that the thieves n not lay in wait for me on the road home, if they heard of it this the man did; for he whispered something into the e his fellow, who straightway opened his leathern surcoat, iter doublet and hose, and unbuckled from his paunch a wellpurse which he gave to him. Summa. Before long I had riches in my pocket, and, moreover, the man begged me to to him at Amsterdam whenever I found any more amber, which I promised to do. But the worthy fellow, as I have s heard, died of the plague at Stettin, together with his C panion-truly I wish it had happened otherwise. Shortly a I was very near getting into great trouble; for, as I had extreme longing to fall on my knees, so that I could not until such time as I should have got back to my inn, I wen three or four steps of the Castle-stairs, and entered into a si chamber, where I humbled myself before the Lord. But host, Nicolas Graeke, followed me, thinking I was a thief, would have stopped me, so that I knew not how to excuse my but by saying that I had been made drunken by the wine wh the strange merchants had given to me (for he had seen w a good pull I had made at it), seeing I had not broken fast that morning, and that I was looking for a chamber whe I might sleep a while, which lie he believed (if in truth it w a lie, for I was really drunken, though not with wine, but w love and gratitude to my Maker), and. accordingly he me go.

But I must now tell my story of his Princely Highness, a promised above. Anno 22, as I chanced to walk with my daug ter, who was then a child of about twelve years old, in the cast

*Micrælius mentions these Dutch merchants, p. 171, but asserts that cause of their death was doubtful, and that the town physician, Dr. Laur tius Eichstadius, in Stettin, had written a special medical paper on subject. However, he calls one of them Kiekepost, instead of Kiekebusch

garden at Wolgast, and was showing her the beautiful flowers that grew there, it chanced that as we came round from behind some bushes we espied my gracious lord the Duke Philippus Julius, with his Princely Highness the Duke Bogislaff, who lay here on a visit, standing on a mount and conversing, wherefore we were about to return. But as my gracious lords presently walked on toward the drawbridge, we went to look at the mount where they had stood; of a sudden my little girl shouted loudly for joy, seeing that she found on the earth a costly signet-ring, which one of their Princely Highnesses doubtless had dropped. I therefore said, "Come, and we will follow our gracious lords with all speed, and thou shalt say to them in Latin: Serenissimi principes, quis vestrum hunc annulum deperdidit (for, as I have mentioned above, I had instructed her in the Latin tongue ever since her seventh year)? and if one of them says Ego, give to him the ring. Item.-Should he ask thee in Latin to whom thou belongest, be not abashed, and say: Ego sum filia pastoris Coserowiensis; for thou wilt thus find favour in the eyes of their Princely Highnesses, for they are both gracious gentlemen, more especially the taller one, who is our gracious ruler Philippus Julius himself." This she promised to do; but as she trembled sorely as she went, I encouraged her yet more and promised her a new gown if she did it, seeing that even as a little child she would have given a great deal for fine clothes. As soon, then, as we were come into the court-yard, I stood by the statue of his Princely Highness Ernest Ludewig,* and whispered her to run boldly after them, as their Princely Highnesses were only a few steps before us and had already turned toward the great entrance. This she did, but of a sudden she stood still, and would have turned back, because she was frightened by the spurs of their Princely Highnesses, as she afterwards told me, seeing that they rattled and jingled very loudly.

But my gracious lady the Duchess Agnes saw her from the open window wherein she lay, and called to his Princely Highness, "My lord, there is a little maiden behind you, who, it seems, would speak with you," whereupon his Princely Highness straightway turned him round, smiling pleasantly, so that my little maid presently took courage, and, holding up the ring, spoke in • The father of Philippus Julius, died at Wolgast the 17th June, 1592.

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Latin as I had told her. Hereat both the princes wondered be yond measure, and after my gracious Duke Philippus had fe his finger, he answered, "Dulcissima puella, ego perdidi = whereupon she gave it to him. Then he patted her cheek, an again asked, " Sed quænam es, et unde venis?" whereupon sh boldly gave her answer, and at the same time pointed with he finger to where I stood by the statue; whereupon his Princel Highness motioned me to draw near. My gracious lady saw al that passed from the window, but all at once she left it. She however, came back to it again before I had time even humbly to draw near to my gracious lord, and beckoned to my child, and held a cake out of the window for her. On my telling her, she ra up to the window, but her Princely Highness could not reach s low nor she so high above her as to take it, wherefore my graciou lady commanded her to come up into the castle, and as she looked anxiously round after me, motioned me also, as did my gracious lord himself, who presently took the timid little maid by the hand and went up with his Princely Highness the Duke Bo gislaff. My gracious lady came to meet us at the door, an caressed and embraced my little daughter, so that she soon grew quite bold and ate the cake. When my gracious lord had asked me my name, item, why I had in so singular a manner taught my daughter the Latin tongue, I answered that I had heard much from a cousin at Cologne of Maria Schurman,* and as I had observed a

* Anna Maria Schurman, born at Cologne on the 5th Nov., 1607, died at Wiewardin the 5th May, 1678, was, according to the unanimous testimony of her contemporaries, a prodigy of learning, and, perhaps, the most learned woman that ever lived. The Frenchman Naudé says of her, "You find in her alone all that the hand can fashion or the mind conceive. No one paints better, no one works better in brass, wax, and wood. In needlework she excels all women past or present. It is impossible to say in what branch of knowledge she is most distinguished. Not content with the European languages, she understands Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, and writes Latin so well that no one who has devoted his whole life to it can do it better." The celebrated Netherlander Spanheim calls her a teacher of the Graces and the Muses; the still more celebrated Salmasius confesses that he knows not in which branch of learning to say she excells: and the Pole Rotyer calls her "The sole example of all wondrous works in one single learned person, and a perfect monstrum of her sex, yet without fault or blame." For, in truth. with all her extraordinary knowledge she was marvellously humble, although she herself confesses that the immoderate praises of the learned even yet at times blinded her to her own defects. In her later years she went over to the sect of the Labadists, which appears to have some points in common with that of the Muckers. She died unmarried, as an early love-affair in her 15th

very excellent ingenium in my child, and also had time enough in my lonely cure, I did not hesitate to take her in hand, and teach her from her youth up, seeing I had no boy alive. Hereat their Princely Highnesses marvelled greatly, and put some more questions to her in Latin, which she answered without any prompting from me. Whereupon my gracious lord Duke Philippus said in the vulgar tongue : "When thou art grown up and art one day to be married, tell it to me, and thou shalt then have another ring from me, and whatsoever else pertains to a bride, for thou hast this day done me good service, seeing that this ring is a precious jewel to me, as I had it from my wife." Hereupon I whispered her to kiss his Princely Highness hand for such a promise, and so she did.

time?

(But alas, most gracious God, it is one thing to promise and quite another to hold! Where is his Princely Highness at this Wherefore let me ever keep in mind that "thou only art faithful, and that which thou hast promised thou wilt surely hold." Ps. xxxiii. 4. Amen.*)

Item. When his Princely Highness had also inquired concerning myself and my cure, and heard that I was of ancient and noble family, and my salarium very small, he called from the window to his chancellor, D. Rungius, who stood without, looking at the sundial, and told him that I was to have an addition from the convent at Pudgla, item from the crown-lands at Ernsthoff, as I mentioned above, but, more's the pity, I never have received the same, although the instrumentum donationis was sent me soon after by his Princely Highness chancellor.

Then cakes were brought for me also, item, a glass of foreign wine in a glass painted with armorial bearings, whereupon I humbly took my leave, together with my daughter.

However, to come back to my bargain, anybody may guess what joy my child felt when I showed her the fair ducats and florins I had gotten for the amber. To the maid, however, we said that we had inherited such riches from my brother in Holland, and after we had again given thanks to the Lord on our

year with the Dutchman Caets had been broken off. It is related of her as a strange fancy that she liked to eat spiders. The celebrated Spanheim was the first to publish an edition of her works under the title of Annæ Mariæ a Schurman opuscula.' Leyden, 1648.

* Luther's version.

knees, and eaten our dinner, we bought in a great store of br salt, meat, and stock-fish: item, of clothes, seeing that I prov what was needful for us three throughout the winter from cloth-merchant. Moreover, for my daughter, I bought a h net and a scarlet silk boddice, with a black apron and w petticoat, item, a fine pair of ear-rings, as she begged hard them; and as soon as I had ordered the needful from the co wainer we set out on our way homewards, as it began to g very dark; but we could not carry nearly all we had boug Wherefore we were forced to get a peasant from Bannemin to h us, who likewise was come into the town, and as I found from him that the fellow who gave me the piece of bread a poor cotter called Pantermehl, who dwelt in the village by roadside, I shoved a couple of loaves in at his house-door with his knowing it, and we went on our way by the bright moonlig so that by the help of God we got home about ten o'clock night. I likewise gave a loaf to the other fellow, though tru he deserved it not, seeing that he would go with us no furth than to Zitze. But I let him go, for I, too, had not deserv that the Lord should so greatly bless me.