Pine Needles

by Hildegard G. Frey

  CHAPTER X.

  "'The story that I am going to tell you now shall bear the heading, "TheHearts of the Children turned to the Fathers." I read it with a deal oftrouble in an old, yellowed manuscript which the mice had gnawed at. Butit bears so entirely the impress of truth that it may speak for itself,although the things happened more than a thousand years ago. I wouldrather, if I could, give it again exactly as it stood written in thatmanuscript; but I am unable to do so, because I only made extracts fromit. I found the MS. in the library of the Town House at Lueneburg, whereI was staying for a few days just then, and with the permission of boththe burgomasters of the city, I searched the Town House library through.When later I came to live in Lueneburg for many years, these and otherold MSS. were no longer to be found; and I heard that a Jew, to whom theburgomasters had sold a number of old suits of armour and weapons, hadprobably demanded to have these manuscripts into the bargain, thinkingthat he might in England dispose of them for a high price. The MS. wasentitled: "Res gestae Landolfi, Apostoli Salzonum, qui Horzae ripas adhabitant;" _i.e._, "_Acts of Landolf, the apostle to the Saxons wholived on the Oerze_." I have told you already many things about thisLandolf. It has been mentioned that he built the first wooden church inthis whole region of country, there where the heathen god Woden's placeof sacrifice had been; which place, under the name of the "cold church,"still belongs to the Hermannsburg glebe, ever since the church wasburned down in a predatory inroad of the Wends, and Hermann Billingbuilt the stone parish church in Hermannsburg. I have told you too ofthis Landolf, how he had gradually converted the whole region toChristianity, like a skilful general, consecrating to the Christianfaith for the worship of the true God, precisely those places where theheathen had been wont to adore their false idols, so that the triumph ofChristianity could in nothing have been more forcibly manifested than inthis founding of Christian altars and chapels on the very places wherepreviously the heathen abominations had been enacted.

  "'One hour from Hermannsburg above on the Oerze, two little rivers, theOerze and Wieze, flow into one another. Such meetings of two rivers arecalled in High German Muenden, in Low German Mueden; so accordingly thevillage situated at the meeting of the two rivers above mentioned bearsthe name of Mueden. Just a little above the place where the Wieze flowsinto the Oerze, in the middle of the latter river, lay a wonderfullybeautiful little island, almost like an egg in circumference, which hada circuit of perhaps from ninety to a hundred paces. How often when Iwas a child have I visited that little island, and stayed there forhours at a time! In the whole surrounding region I knew no lovelierplace, and it was always a particular delight to me when I could wanderthat way. On both sides of the island the swift-flowing, clear waters ofthe Oerze went rushing past, transparent to the very bottom, over theglistening sands of which, and among the long, thick, green tufts of thewater ranunculus hosts of nimble trout played and darted about. A littlebridge on each side connected the island with the two shores. If youcrossed the bridge which spanned the left arm of the Oerze, you cameinto green meadows and the parsonage garden, which extended along theleft bank of the river, enclosed with a hedge as high as the trees. Ifyou went from the island over the bridge of the right arm of the Oerze,you were in the courtyard of the parsonage, where the pastor's dwellingstood. This island was entirely framed in with high oaks and alders; anda number of mighty old oaks, with large trunks, and lifting their headshigh in air, grew on the island and wholly overshadowed it with theirgreen roof of leaves. So still it was, so cool, and so secluded, uponthis island that even the fiercest summer had no power over it; it wasgreen and fresh when everything around it was withered and dried up bythe hot sunbeams. And now as I write this it stirs me with pain to beforced to say that this island has disappeared! How can that have comeabout? It has fallen a sacrifice to the idol of Utility. The fine oakshave been felled, and used for building timber; the alders have been cutdown and turned to firewood; the island is no more, for the two arms ofthe Oerze have been dammed up, and a straight river bed carries theOerze now through green meadows which stretch along both shores. Yes,these are beautiful too, these green meadows, and they are veryprofitable also at the same time; but the wonderful beauty of the islandis departed, vanished with no trace of it left; and in the entire valleyof the Oerze there is not a place that can be compared to it. See, mydear readers, this is what is done by the much bepraised "Enclosings,"which could have originated only in our earthly-minded age; and whichspare nothing, neither right nor usage; respect no old legend, no oldcustom; have no eye at all for beauty, rate everything only according toits utility, and cannot endure anything round, but favour only straightlines and sharp corners. Even the very unreasoning beasts mourn over theway in which the "Enclosings" are carried on. The valley of the Oerze,once thickly peopled with nightingales on both shores of the river, nowhas not a single one to show; the poor creatures love the thicket, thedim light, the shade and solitude, where they sing their songs to Godand men; but the new-fangled clearings drive the whole away together.That is no matter; to be sure their singing brings no money in.

  "'Well, on this old island in heathen times was the sanctuary of the godThor, or Donner, as he was likewise called by our forefathers. Amongthese oaks and alders stood his altar, a big round stone of granite.Near this great stone lay a vast number of what are calledthunderbolts; for every thunderbolt that a Saxon found he laid down atThor's, or Donner's, altar. Now if you do not know what thunderboltsare, go to your pastors or to some other learned folk, and they willtell you, and perhaps show you one. The learned call them Belemnites.They are longish, round, wedge-shaped stones, pointed below, growingbroader above; at the point they are quite solid, and have a so-called_Peddig_, that is, a fine, round core, as in the middle of a tree-stem,which, however, is entirely turned to stone; towards the other end thiscore grows thicker and more crumbly, and at last the stone becomes quitehollow. These are petrifactions of sea animals, which have remainedsince the time of the flood. In my childhood the people still calledthese stones "thunderbolts," and the belief was generally prevalent thatin heavy thunder-showers such thunderbolts fall from the clouds upon theearth. That belief had its origin in the heathen time. It was the beliefof our heathen ancestors, that Thor, or Donner, the son of theirprincipal deity Woden, was the god of thunder; a man with a handsome,serious face and yellow beard, whose blast caused the thunder, and whoin thunder-storms drove through the air in a chariot drawn by goats, andthen in the lightning cast his thunderbolts on the earth, so that menmight fear and honour him. And he was not only the god of thunder, inthe belief of our forefathers, but the god of justice also. Whoeverwished to confirm a contract with his neighbour, made it before thealtar of Thor; and whatever had been promised "by Thor," could not betaken back. Also, as people believed, he watched over all laws andrights in the land; in the taking of oaths he was the witness appealedto. And woe to him who perverted law and justice, woe to him who swore afalse oath; Thor's thunderbolt was sure to fall upon the audacioustransgressor and dash him to pieces. And so, from this it came thatevery thunderbolt found was laid down at Thor's altar, as witnesses forthe god who guarded laws and rights, and punished covenant-breakers andfalse swearers with his strong hand. He dwelt among oaks, elders, andalder-trees; for which reason these trees, which were sacred to him,were always found about the places where sacrifices were offered in hishonour. Our forefathers were known for their inviolable truth. Even theheathen historian Tacitus says of them, that the word of a Saxon wasworth more than the oath of a Roman, and that among them good customswere regarded with more reverence than good statutes among the Romans.From this you can easily imagine in what high honour the god Thor washeld by our forefathers, and how sacred was Thor's place of sacrifice.But alas! the full ferocity of heathenism also came out in the worshipof Thor; for human victims were slain in his honour whenever, throughsome failure of faith keeping or breaking of a covenant, a curse restedupon the community. And how often may not yonder little island as wellhave drunk the blood
of slaughtered men!

  "'Now in Landolf's time, when he and the Christian doctrine had alreadybeen received at old Hermann Billing's, the priest of Thor's sacrificialaltar on the island I have described was a silver-haired old man, whomthe MS. calls Henricus, _i.e._, Heinrich, who also for long years hadbeen a faithful friend of Hermann. However, since Hermann had become aChristian, Heinrich had proudly withdrawn from him; he held him to be acovenant-breaker, and threatened him with the judgment of Thor, whichsooner or later would fall upon him because he had forsaken the faith ofhis fathers. Hermann sought an interview with his old friend, but theproud priest of Thor refused to give it. Now, when in the great assemblyof the people at the stone-houses, of which I have formerly spoken,Landolf received permission to declare the Christian faith openly in thewhole country, he did not fail to visit among other places also thesanctuary of Thor upon this island, and to preach the gospel to thepeople who gathered there for the offering of sacrifices. Heinrich hadno liberty or power to hinder the preaching; but when it was done hecame out as its most decided opponent, and declared in unmeasured termsthat the Saxons who had turned or who should turn to Christianity werecovenant-breakers, on whom Thor's vengeance would speedily fall. Inflaming zeal, with these words he lifted one of the thunderbolt stoneswhich lay beside Thor's altar, showed it to the people, and threatenedthat with such weapons Thor would punish the apostates. Then aroseLandolf's commanding figure, and looking at old Heinrich with a gentle,happy, beaming smile, he spoke:--

  "'"Brother, the Christian's God is better than your heathen god. See!all this while He, the only true God, has borne patiently with yourheathen ways, has seen how you slew human sacrifices and becamemurderers of your fellow-men; and instead of punishing you for your sinsand transgressions, He has borne with you in great love and patience;and now still He is not lifting His arm of vengeance against you, but issaying: 'Children, I have overlooked the times of ignorance; but now thetime of salvation has come, I open to you my arms of grace and pray you,be ye reconciled to your God.' But _your_ god knows no love. Hermann hasnot transgressed in anywise; he has only become a Christian; he simplyabhors the transgressions which he used to commit. He proves his lovetowards you; he has kept his friendship for you; he has besought you;'Brother, come let us talk together about our beliefs, and see whosefaith is the right one.' The God of the Christians has taught him tolove like this. But you, you hate the brother whom once you held dear,who has done nothing to harm you; you refuse him so much as a friendlyinterview; your heathen God has taught you to hate like this. Men," hewent on, turning to the people who stood around them,--"which is theright God? the God who loves and teaches to love, or the god that hatesand teaches to hate?"

  "'The people maintained an agitated silence; it had become as still asdeath, so that one could hear the very breaths that were drawn.Thereupon Landolf raised his voice again, and told the people of thelove of our God, who parted His only-begotten Son from His fatherlybreast and sent Him down to poor sinners to take pity on them; and thenhe went on to tell of the love of the Son of God, who forsook the throneof His Father, came to men, took part with their flesh and blood, in theheroism of love went about among men, followed by His faithful apostles;everywhere as the Mighty One, God's champion, overcoming Satan, settingmen free who were fast in his toils, opening the eyes of the blind andthe ears of the deaf, making the lame to go and the sick to be well;even laying hold of mighty Death with His divine hand and forcing him tolet go his prey; and how at last this true Hero of God, in order to savethe whole captive world from its common oppression under the evil one,and that He might with justice and righteousness set them free, offeredHimself up for sinners, for them suffered death, went down into thegrave and Hades to overcome death, hell, and the grave; thence to risevictorious, and to go back to His Father, and to sit down again upon thethrone of God, from which He had gone forth. And even there His love andpity never rest; from thence He is constantly sending out His apostlesand prophets; and has sent me to you. Not to punish, not to condemn; no,but to pray you, Be ye reconciled to God; to show you His arms of gracespread to receive you; and to tell you, Come, for all things are ready;the courts of heaven where Jesus reigns stand open to you. His blood hasredeemed also you; He will forgive your sins, and has prepared mansionsfor you to dwell in. Repent and be baptized, that your sins may beforgiven, and that you may be the children of God.

  "'After giving such testimony, Landolf kneeled down, as it was alwayshis wont to do after preaching to the heathen, and prayed to the LordJesus that He would enlighten the minds of the heathen by His HolySpirit to receive the word of divine teaching, and that He would opentheir hearts as once He opened Lydia's; he even had the boldness to askthe Lord to witness for Himself, as the living God, among the peoplethere assembled.'"

  "What did he mean? a miracle?" Flora asked.

  "I suppose, something like the signs that used to be asked for among theJews in old time. Not a miracle exactly; and yet they were miraclestoo."

  "What, Ditto? I don't remember," said Maggie.

  "Don't you remember how Samuel asked for a sign from heaven once, andthe Lord sent thunder, though it was a time of year when storms nevercome. Then Elijah asked for a sign of fire, and the fire fell and burntup his sacrifice with the wet pile of wood on which it lay, and lickedup the water in the trench. Don't you recollect? It was that sort ofsign the Jews used to ask Jesus to give them, and He never would."

  "I wonder why," said Flora.

  "We must ask Mr. Murray. I do not know. Any more remarks? or shall I goon?"

  "Oh, go on, dear Ditto."

  "'Landolf rose up, quiet and joyous. It seemed as if every man werepondering in his heart the preaching and the prayer; all were yethanging upon his words, when up rose Heinrich's three sons, priests ofThor like himself, along with his only daughter, a priestess of Freija,whoso sanctuary was situated about three hours further up the Oerze.They cried in an open outburst of rage,--"Our general assembly at thestone-houses has led the people astray, in suffering the Christianpreacher to proclaim his Christian faith. Come over to us here, whoeveris true to the gods of his fathers! Death to apostates, and thevengeance of the gods!"

  "'The people went over to the side of Heinrich's children. Landolf stoodalone.

  "'Landolf folded his hands in prayer, and looked up to heaven withsparkling eyes; his heart accepted joyfully the martyr's crown, withwhich he thought God would adorn him. Once more he fell upon his kneesto pray, and cried out in a clear voice, "O Lord, my God, I see heavenopened. Lord, I come gladly, but bless this people. Bless these mycountrymen; do not charge their sins upon them; bring them to the true,saving faith of the Christians; make them children of thy Church." Thenhe stepped up to the people and said, "Put me to death. I go gladly tomy Jesus in heaven."

  "'Upon this, old Heinrich stepped out in front of this faithful witnessof the Lord, and with emotion he had hard work to keep down, he spoke:"Thou hast a brave heart. Thou shalt not die a coward's death. I lovethee; thou art a hero, and thy Christ is a hero too. He died forsinners, thou sayest, and has vanquished death and the grave and hell. Iwill see if I can love Him. I cannot yet."

  "'Scarcely had he finished speaking, when Hermann hastily came up. Hehad followed after his beloved Landolf, that he might see what turnthings would take; for he knew that he was gone to the island. Hestretched out his hand to Heinrich, and Heinrich did not turn away, butgrasped it. And then the old man brought them both into his house. Inthe meanwhile the sky became overcast with dark clouds; before anybodywas aware, the heavens had grown black, the thunder rolled and thelightnings darted. "Thor is driving in the clouds!" cried the youngpriests; "he is angry at the Christians!" "The God of glory thundereth;the Lord is upon many waters; the voice of the Lord divideth the flamesof fire," cried Landolf; and with Heinrich and Hermann he went over tothe island. The crowd stood there hushed; every eye was fixed intentlyupon the black clouds and the flashing lightning. Then there came acrash through the air, a blinding blaze darted
out of the clouds, passedthrough the crowd, and shattered to pieces the sacrifice stone. Not aman was hurt. Then Landolf called out aloud: "'O Lord God, gracious andmerciful, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, thatforgiveth iniquity and will by no means clear the guilty!' Brothers, theLord has spoken from heaven. It is not Thor that is God; surely else hewould not have destroyed his own altar and borne witness againsthimself. The Lord, He is the God; He has shattered the altar and leftyou alive; give the glory to God."

  "'The people dispersed. But Heinrich repaired to Hermannsburg withHermann and Landolf, to the dwelling of the former, and remained thereeight days; during which time he was instructed by Landolf in theChristian faith. This teaching took deep hold of him; yet more did theutter revolution in Hermann's domestic life. After the eight days, hewent back with the two to the little island, and was baptized in theOerze. And on the spot where the round stone had been, there was alittle chapel built, with an altar, and on the altar stood the image ofthe crucified Christ. This was the second great victory that Landolffought for and gained. From that time forward Heinrich was his faithfulhelper. All the great influence which until then he had enjoyed as themuch reverenced priest of Thor, he used now only for the glory ofChrist. It seemed as if the old, grey-haired man had become young again.With all the zeal of a first love, with all a young convert's ardour, hewitnessed for the Lord Jesus Christ, the mighty Hero, the Conqueror ofSatan and of Thor, who had offered Himself a sacrifice for men and dieda hero's death; and in crowds the Saxons came over to him, and by crowdsthey received baptism from Landolf. His own sons alone remained hard,and his daughter was unmoved. This last, Ikia the chronicle calls her,never entered her father's house again; and the three sons, Tyr, Freyr,and Schwerting, who had so tenderly loved their father and so deeplyrevered him, declared to him now that they were no longer sons of his,since he was no longer priest of Thor. So then the venerable old man,sometimes alone, sometimes with Landolf or Hermann for a companion,every week set out to pay a visit to his sons and his daughter andpreach the Lord Jesus to them. In the winter he was not to be daunted bythe snow, nor in summer by the burning sands; leaning on his staff hepressed on through it all. The love of Christ fired him, and love to hischildren urged him forward; he would so fain take them with him toheaven. He had brought them up in the idolatrous worship of Thor; ifthey were lost, it seemed to him it would be by his own fault. Thereforehe made his weekly pilgrimages to them, since they avoided his house asthough it were spotted with the plague. And then, when he had preachedChrist to them, he went back to pray for them. Yes, he even made it apersistent petition that the Lord Christ would not let him die until hehad seen his children walk in the Lord's way.

  "'A year and a half went by in this manner, and still the hearts of hischildren seemed unimpressible and hard as stone. But Heinrich walked,preached, and prayed indefatigably, until at last he gave way before thestrain and the burden of years. Eight days he lay on his bed, and yetwrestled with God that he would not let him die before he had seen theconversion of his children. He sent messages to them, telling them thathe was sick; they never came near him. He sent to entreat them to comeand receive his fatherly blessing; they answered, they did not want it.And so all hope seemed to melt away. But the Scripture says with truth,that Love is stronger than Death. And if human love upon earth is sostrong, how great and strong must not the love of Jesus be!

  "'One morning, Landolf was sitting beside his friend's couch, trying tocomfort him, and, as he thought, to prepare him for death, when in cameSchwerting, the youngest of Heinrich's sons, and spoke: "Father, Ikiawants you. She is sick unto death, and wishes to ask you to forgive her;she sent me to you. But you cannot come," he went on; "you are sick untodeath yourself, and it may be will die now before Ikia, your child; andoh, she is so troubled, for she has never seen you again since that dayon the island, and that is her fault!" At this, something like the glowof the sunlight swept over Heinrich's pale face, and leaning over toLandolf's ear, he whispered to him: "Pray to Christ with me, that I maygo to Ikia, my daughter, and you will go along, that I may see herbaptized." And Landolf kneels down by his friend's couch and prays, andHeinrich on his bed joins in the prayer, and they hold up to the Lordthe word that He had given--"If two of you shall agree on earth astouching anything that ye shall ask, it shall be done for them of myFather which is in heaven;" and they doubt not that He is the Almightyand living God; therefore they ask that He will give strength and grace,that Heinrich may come to his daughter Ikia and see her baptism. Andwhen they had finished praying, Heinrich rose up from his couch, badethem bring his horse, begged his friend and his son to help him tomount, and when he was seated on the beast's back he went forward, upthe Oerze, towards the sanctuary of Freija, where Ikia was priestess.Landolf on one side, Schwerting on the other side, led the horse, andsupported the tottering old man. Whoever met the procession joined it,for God's hand was plainly there, and after three hours of travellingHeinrich reached Ikia. He found her dying, but still in full possessionof her senses. A happy smile flowed over her death-white features."Father," said she, "the Christian's God is the true God. His hand hasbeen too strong for me. I have been a godless child towards you; willyou forgive me?" "My child," said her father, "I have forgiven you, andI have prayed to my God that He would not let me die till I have seenyour conversion and that of your brothers--till I have seen you turnfrom false gods to the living God who has made heaven and earth, who hasdied for sinners and made intercession for the transgressors. I forgivethee, my daughter, and Christ also forgives thee, if thou wilt bebaptized for the remission of sins. See here," pointing to Landolf,"here is the priest of the Lord. Let Landolf baptize my child before shedies. Ikia, wilt thou be baptized?" She said, "Father, will Christ takeme?" "My child, I have received you and not been angry with you, and Iam a sinful man. And Christ, my Lord, is the Son of God; He died forsinners, and now He lives, and has the keys of hell and of death. Hewill receive thee, only believe." She turned her eyes inquiringly uponLandolf, and he spoke; "Ikia, it is written in the Word of my God, 'Thisis a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesuscame into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.' So says theholy apostle Paul. And Jesus spoke to the thief on the cross, who hadjust been reviling him, but now had bethought himself, turned, andsaid, 'Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom'--He said tohim, 'Verily, I say unto thee, this day shalt thou be with me inparadise!'" "Then baptize me, father, before I die. I believe thatChrist is the Son of God." And Schwerting went out and fetched water ina bowl, and handed the bowl to Landolf. But when Landolf had spoken theprayer over the water, and was about to baptize Ikia in the name of theTriune God, then down kneeled Schwerting at the side of his sister'scouch, and from the crowd of people collected before the open doorhurriedly broke forth two tall men and kneeled down by Schwerting'sside; and all three cried out, "Father, baptize us with our sister!" Thebaptism was performed. And when it was done, and over the four newlybaptized had been spoken the Word--"The God of all grace, by whom youhave been born again in the washing of regeneration and renewing of theHoly Ghost, strengthen you and uphold you firm in the faith unto theend. Peace be with you,"--then the voice of old Heinrich, who had sunkon his knees, came out in a shout of joy. "Lord, now lettest Thou Thyservant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen the salvation which Iprayed the Lord for, that He would not suffer me to die before I hadseen the conversion of my children." And when he had said that, he bowedhis head and departed, and Landolf caught the dying man in his faithfularms. Ikia however did not die; the Lord, who had quickened herspiritually, gave her also her bodily life again. She recovered, and herrecovery was a new salvation. For soon after, Freija's altar was brokento pieces, and an altar was dedicated to Christ on the same spot by thestaunch Landolf, who founded a cloister there, _monasterium_, as it wascalled, from which the place took the name of Munster. Heinrich's bodywas laid to rest in the churchyard at Hermannsburg. So were the heartsof the children turned to their father
s; and it was not long beforeheathenism had disappeared from the valley of the Oerze, and the LordJesus was become the King to whom every knee in the country wasbowed.'"