# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1849 05 15_S150
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

150

his own, if they wanted to have them in the earth, bury them themselves, and parents had to be laid to earth by their children, children by their parents, one spouse and good friend by another. It is known that many, taking what little remained of their travelling money, 20, 30, 40 and more ducats, showed it to the gravediggers, or a good friend did so to another, and promised it as the gravedigger's fee, to the end that after their death they might come only into fresh earth, and that their bodies might not perhaps be dragged away and devoured by the dogs. Otherwise the dead bodies were commonly dragged out of the city daily with two carts, dumped outside before the city, and thrown into the entrenchment or siege trenches, among which were also many bodies of the nobility. And on a single day ten times more people died than the gravediggers and others could bury, or the carts could carry out. Hardly a single little garden in the city was to be found into which dead had not been laid.

When at last neither joiners nor boards were to be had in the city, and the soldiers in the Saxon camp observed this, they, compelled thereto by famine, looked about for where they might get boards, and made coffins, sold the same in the city, and even carried the corpses out in them themselves, yet often emptied them out again, brought the coffins back several times, and sold them anew. When the fraud came to light, they threw the dead out of the coffins, made firewood of them, brought it to market in the city, and earned money.

Not only did the empty houses and narrow streets lie full of dead bodies, also elsewhere in the lofts of the houses, in the stables, cellars, gardens, but heads and hands, arms and thighs were also found here and there, which presented a pitiful spectacle: as it was also observed that the dogs had already begun to feed upon the bodies lying on the dunghills in the city. — What a horrible stench the unburied dead bodies, lying here and there both in and before the city, and in part torn by the dogs, gave off, they know best who were then in the distress. When one went in the streets, one had to hold mouth and nose shut, and yet could not be relieved of the foul smell. — Flies were seen in the city of Schweidnitz in unspeakable multitude, so that one could scarcely defend oneself against them in any room; they fouled and defiled everything. And it was especially loathsome that, since they had often sat here and there upon the dead, and for that reason, from the poison they had imbibed, looked quite brown and yellow, contrary to their wont, one was always filled with horror at eating and drinking, and had to think whether the very flies which now sat on the bread and other food had not shortly before sat on a dead stinking corpse and sucked in the poison; to say nothing of how many of them one swallowed, so that it was no wonder that no man remained alive. —

In the camps, however, there was such famine, because of the passes closed almost everywhere, that many, especially of the common soldiers, often saw not a morsel of bread for several days; hence they devoured unripe fruit by heaps, and at last nevertheless fell down, languished, and perished. The hungry soldiers often begged in the city, for God's sake, only for a morsel of bread. Even those, too, who a short while before could not be entertained by the citizenry with sufficient dishes. Thus, in particular, among others, one, to whom his host had not been able to serve enough food beforehand, entreated earnestly for a little piece of bread: when he had obtained it out of compassion, and was about to bring it to his mouth, he nevertheless could not enjoy it, but sank down and died."

(Sent in.)

"Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also." (Luke 11, 45.)

The esteemed reader will remember having read in No. 7 of this paper a story which shows whither Methodism, as such, leads. This publication came, as could be foreseen, to the notice of the Methodists here also. Their indignation over this "article of abuse," as they are pleased to call the matter, was great, and in order to rescue the repute of their holiness at least among those who do not know them more closely, they set about giving an "Answer" to it in No. 10 of the "Christlichen Apologeten," having first set forth the "chief points" of the story in question "as briefly as possible."

The Editor of the paper mentioned, who is firmly convinced that a Methodist cannot lie, likewise waxes exceedingly zealous over the "impudent" attack, and calls it also a "heathenish" one; but because I believe the esteemed gentleman meant to write heidisch instead of "heidnisch," I will say nothing further about it.*)

*) We believe Mr. Nast wished, in his contest with Pastor Heid, to use the same weapons as did of old the work-righteous Papists, so closely akin in spirit to the Methodists, who, in order to fasten a stain of shame upon Luther, took revenge upon his innocent name and styled him, instead of Luther, Luder. The Editors.

The holy Methodists begin their "Answer" thus: "We know well that one makes no end if one will begin to contend with the world, and are also mindful of the saying: ""Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you for my sake""" etc.

It is as if they would say: We have now demonstrated to thee beforehand who and what we are; therefore see that thou dost not presume to doubt the truth of the following words. We take leave nevertheless to show that whoever lets himself be deceived by the introduction must also suffer himself to be deceived in the sequel: "Let no man beguile you of your reward." (Col. 2, 18 and 19.)

1. The little flock says: "The Methodist preachers came to us not under the name Lutheran, but in the name of JEsus." They ought indeed to know that no church bows more reverently before the name of JEsus than the Lutheran, and if they will not know it, they ought in fairness never to confess themselves with the mouth to her, which they yet so gladly do when they can ensnare the unsuspecting thereby. So and not otherwise did Mr. Peters in particular act here. Only his "I too am Lutheran" gained him access to the sickbed, and caused the evangelical Lutheran congregation here to look to him, which, however, was no longer willing to open its church when he could not show letters and seal upon their demand. As he was Lutheran among the Lutherans, so was he Reformed among the Reformed.

"With great blessing," the persons concerned go on, "have they labored among us, and we are their letters and seal before God." A fine "letters and seal." If I am to describe the Methodist congregation here, I must do so thus: It is a haughty little folk, which looks down contemptuously upon everything that is not called Methodist. An intoxication, which they have drunk from the cup of trembling of their feeling, seems to have deranged their senses; withal they are rich and quite full, and seem to be wishing to ask: What lack we yet? If one answers them now: Give up thine old Adam, they puff themselves up, and wonder, in the best case, that one can still look for an old Adam among them.

2. They say: "That Br. Peters waited for the time when the man was not at home, in order to pray with the women, of that we know nothing." It may be that in this point they do not know everything. Mr. Peters will, namely, have told them nothing of how a man earnestly threatened him not to disquiet his wife any more thus with his zeal for conversion; and how another, in his certainly sinful, fleshly zeal, promised him the axe upon his head, in case he should venture once more to enter his house when he was outside of it. But even if Mr. Peters kept silence about such things, should not that which filled every mouth have reached the ears of the Methodists here also?

3. They likewise will know nothing of this, that Herbst said: his room had been lit by a wonderful light and he sinned no more. I regret that the people have so weak a memory. But the "class leader," who at the same time fills the office of an "exhorter," who does not yet know the text when he goes to the meeting, and yet delivers an exhortation "by the Spirit," ought in fairness to have noticed that also. That was indeed what Herbst often remembered in his last sorrowful hours, but, to be sure, with deep repentance.

4. The Methodists deny that Herbst was admitted to the Lord's Table. They have