Here, Also, That Voice Of His, Which
Rose Above The Choir And Organ, Sang The Alto In Those Chorals Which
He Gave To The World.
Monmouth, sung in this great church by five
thousand voices, must needs have a magnificent sound.
The altar-piece is a Lord's Supper, by Louis Cranach, who appears in
the foreground as a servant. On each side are the pictures of the
Sacraments. In baptism, Melanchthon stands by a laver, holding a
dripping baby, whom he has just immersed, one of Luther's children, I
suppose, for he is standing by; a venerable personage in a long beard
holds the towel to receive the little neophyte. From all I know of
babies, I should think this form of baptism liable to inconvenient
accessories and consequences. On the other side, Luther is preaching,
and opposite, foremost of his audience are, Catharine and her little
son. Every thing shows how strictly intimate were Luther, Melanchthon,
and Cranach; good sociable times they had together. A slab elaborately
carved, in the side of the church, marks the last rest of Lucas and
Magdalen Cranach.
I passed out of the church, and walked slowly down to the hotel,
purchasing by the way, at a mean little shop, some tolerable
engravings of Luther's room, the church, &c. To show how immutable
every thing has been in Wittenberg since Luther died, let me mention
that on coming back through the market-place, we found spread out for
sale upon a cloth about a dozen pairs of shoes of the precise pattern
of those belonging to Luther, which we had seen in Frankfort - clumsy,
rude, and heelless.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 386 of 455
Words from 102379 to 102651
of 120793
