he church discipline?" he added
inquisitively.

"Aha, you are thinking of your cards and beer at the Hirsch. Well, the
best of that bad joke is, that Herr Olevianus was obliged to mix much
water with his wine. But still I would not advise you to rattle the
dice in the Prince's antechamber."

Whilst the gentlemen were thus joking with the servant, the Prince
stood within with both his hands laid on Erastus' shoulders, saying to
him in a kindly voice: "Can you forgive me, Erastus, for having treated
you so badly?"

"Your Gracious Highness only fulfilled his duties as father of his
dominions," replied Erastus modestly. "I have nothing to forgive."

"Be assured that only within the last few days have I thoroughly
learned what a treasure I possessed in you. These religious men are all
false. However cast down they might seem to appear at your disgrace,
nevertheless a silent triumph shone through their ill-painted mask of
sorrow. It is not to them, but only to the poor Italian crippled by the
rack that we owe the solution of the game."

"To him," said Erastus astonished, "I always considered him to be the
traitor."

"He may have been so at first; but immediately on his first trial, he
told Pigavetta to his face, that he had compelled him as his Jesuit
superior to write that letter to Neuser which was laid among your
papers, and offered to immediately write such another which would
resemble your handwriting just as well. The proof was not thoroughly
convincing because the poor man's arm was swollen through his
sufferings and his hand trembled. Then it came to pass that they
tortured him to the fourth degree, to extract a confession from him,
that you had tried to talk him over to Arianism. He was also called
upon to acknowledge that he attended with your daughter the witches'
sabbath on the Holtermann, and executed his miracles and cures at
Schoenau by means of the black art. God knows, who instructed the old
witch, but she said exactly what your enemies desired. She had seen at
the last witches' sabbath on the Staffelstein near Bamberg a large
black he-goat with fiery eyes, which came flying through the air from
Heidelberg. A long broom stuck out of the animal's body behind, on
which all the opponents of the Church discipline were seated, Probus
and his wife, you and your fair child, Xylander and his maid and
Pithopoeus with his five lean daughters. Moreover she pretended to have
seen you on the Holtermann, near the T