WOKMS.
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monk. A few of his brother-students are with him at supperin the University. They sing together once more, as he shareswith them the joys of the World for the last tirne. At last heteils them that he is about to give himself up to God for ever;nor will he listen to their remonstrances against the vow whichhe has made ; and immediately they have left him, he takes withhim Ins Virgil and Plautus, and retires alone, in the darknessof night, to the monastery of the hermits of St. Augustine.The gate opens, and quickly shuts again lipon parents, com-panions, and the world without.
And now the dreamer suddenly Starts to his feet, rousedby the tramp of approaching horsemen. A messenger fromSpalatin, the chaplain of the friendly Elector of Saxony, isat the head of the troop. We fancy we can hear him whisperas he advances to Luther, " Spalatin entreats you not to enterWorms," and instantly the sublime reply is heard again : " Goteil your master, that even if there were as many devils inWorms as tiles on the house-tops still would I enter it."
At length the procession, that we have followed in fancyfrom town to town on its way from Wittenberg to the Diet,passes through the streets of the very city in which weourselves are standing. It needs then but little fancy torealise the history of the eventful 16th of April, 1521.
All are expecting Luther. The news of his Coming hasoutstripped the travellers themselves. Young nohles, knightsand gentlemen, in the train of princes, to the numher of a hun-dred, unable to restrain their impatience, ride out to meet himand Surround him as an escort as he enters the barbican. A
Ue was idly glancing at in the library at Erfurth, he might never have seen orheen touohed by the sacred volume. And further, had it not heen for the" accident" of the thunder-storm occurring on Martin's return from his father'sto Erfurth, he might never have made the vow to enter the Augustine monastery.And, if neither of these accidental events had happened, how different a storymight history have had to teil!