40

DOMESTIC MANNERS OK THE l'HUSSIANS.

place, rather than the poor monk wlio had formerly beggedhis bread in its streets.

Suddenly the picture dissolves into a sadder scene; forthe mind wanders to the sick chamber of Friar Martin atEisenach, and, as if gazing into some magic mirror, it im-mediately beholds the wan figure of the Augustine inonkstretched on liis couch, with his dear companions Amsdorff',Jonas, SchurfF, and Suaven, grouped in affectionate anxietyabout his pillow, and the kind-hearted John Oswald, themayor of the town, Coming towards them with a cup ofcordial to revive thcir wearied friend.

Evanescent as thought itself, the image fades—like mistin the sunshine—with the least shift of the mind; and thenanother phase in the journey to Worms appears painted likea mirage in the air. The little caravan has halted for awhile, almost within sight of the place of thcir destination;between the trees the four misty spires of the cathedralof Worms are seen dimly looming in the distance; thesward on either side the roadway is dappled like a fawn'sback with the sun-spots falling between the openings of theforest canopy; the horse wanders with the empty car, nibblingthe fresh grass as it strays among the stems; the devotedJerome, Peter, Justus, and Amsdorff, have sought theseclusion of the neighbouring coppice to offer up a prayer,and there, dusked by the shadow of the leafy covert, theirbared heads and kneeling forms can just be seen; while,stretched on the velvet turf, beneath a broad-spreading elm,lies the form of Friar Martin himself, spent with fatiguefrom long travelling as well as anxiety for the doom awaitinghim, and seeking by a brief slumber to brace up all his powersfor the coming fight.

As drowning men are said to see in their death-struwles