Bartholomew Sastrow: Being the Memoirs of a German Burgomaster

by Bartholomäus Sastrow

I lay two nights at Kempten, because I was told not to venture alone in those mountains, where wild beasts and murderers prevailed. Meanwhile three Hollanders, proceeding to Rome and to Naples, arrived at the inn; it was the very opportunity I wanted; other travellers going to Venice joined our little caravan. Every evening, or at least one out of every two, we plunged our feet into running water; it proved a sovereign remedy against fatigue, recommended by the Hollanders.

The council was sitting at Trent. Before that town we made a halt in the middle of the day, in one of the burghs called markets, because they are too large for a village and too small for a town, notwithstanding their having a few stone houses. After having cooled our feet in the running stream we prepared for ourselves a meal of hot milk, eggs, and other eatables we had managed to find. The host and hostess who had been invited to the feast were most obliging; they foresaw a fat bill. Having had a good rest and plenty of food and drink, and having paid our reckoning, we bade them goodbye, and we already were at a considerable distance when a horseman came galloping after us, signalling us to stop by raising his hat. He brought me the satchel of brown damask that contained the whole of my fortune. I had left it behind lying on the table. The man absolutely refused to accept any reward. I wonder if I could find any instance of such disinterestedness in our country?

At Easter I heard most delicious singing in the Trent churches. I have heard the musicians of Duke Ulrich of Würtenberg (and they were a subject of pride with him), of the Elector of Saxony, of the King of the Romans, not to mention those of the Emperor, but what a difference. Old men, with beards almost reaching to their waists, sang the upper notes with a purity and skill fit to compare with those of the most accomplished youngster. Trent boasts of the most elegant castle of Germany and Italy. I also saw there the tomb of the child Simeon, the innocent victim of the Jews.[^[33]]

A great personage had posted from Venice to the council; the rider, who was to take the carriage back, allowed me for a trifle to mount the second horse. It was agreed that I should wait for my companions at The White Lion in Venice.

At a short distance from Trent one gets into Lombardy. After a lone and difficult journey across the Alps, during which there is nothing to be seen but the sky and the mountains rearing their heads against the clouds, it was like entering into another world. The air was balmy, the country revelling in green; and if I had wanted a thousand florins' worth of cherries, I could have got them far more easily than in Pomerania in the middle of June. Lombardy is a beautiful land, of fertile and well cultivated plains. The trees are planted at thirty feet from each other, with an interval of sixty feet between each row; the vine extends its branches from one tree to another, and the grapes ripen between pears and apples. The corn grows between the trees; at the end of the fields there are reservoirs the water of which is distributed every morning by means of locks into the irrigation canals. The country resembles a vast prairie. The sun sheds his rays the whole day; no wonder that the earth is so fruitful. There are two crops of grain every year. From Trent to Venice there are also many important towns and castles.

I reached Venice towards the end of April. The public promenade helped me to kill the time while waiting for the arrival of my companions; and as my dress attracted the notice of the children in the street, who pursued me with the cry: "Tu sei Tedesco, percio Luterano!" I had it altered to the Welch fashion.

An aged priest, travelling with a servant to attend to his horse, had left the Low Countries with the mad intention of visiting the Holy Sepulchre; my companions practically catechized him on the subject of religion, and the poor man showed himself so little versed that I came to his aid by pretending to be a Roman Catholic. In acknowledgment of the service I had rendered him, he paid my reckoning at the inn, and wished to take me with him at his expense to Jerusalem. I cannot say if he saw his own household gods again, but he did not shake my resolution to proceed to Rome.

Venice and its environs, especially Murano, where the most precious glass is manufactured, would be sufficient to claim one's interest and attention for a whole twelvemonth; but our resources required husbanding, and we proceeded to Chioggia to embark in a big ship sailing for Ancona. Contrary winds kept us in port a considerable time; to pass the time we played skittles outside the walls. We carried our daggers at our backs in Walloon fashion, which caused us to be summoned before the authorities. How did we dare to appear in public armed with daggers--a crime which was punished with hanging in Italy? In consideration of our presumed ignorance of the law, mercy would be shown to us this once, but we ought to take it as a warning. The magistrates inquired whence we came, and whence we hailed, etc., and their astonishment was intense when they learnt that my country was two hundred leagues away on the shores of the Baltic, and was called Pomerania. Then the interrogatory went on: "Do you profess the Catholic religion?" "Yes," I answered. "Do you admit the doctrine of our holy father, the pope?" "What is your opinion with regard to the Mother of God, the saints and the celebration of mass?" "In our country the Church teaches that at the moment St. John baptized Christ, God the Father spoke these words: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him.' The doctrine of the Son of God and of the apostles is, therefore, the pure Catholic doctrine; and whosoever preaches it deserves belief. With regard to the blessed Virgin Mary, the saints and the mass, we entirely submit to the word of God." Finally, on our statement that we were going to Rome, the magistrates, inclining their heads with a smile, recommended us to God's keeping and to His holy angels.

At the first favourable wind we took ship, provided with the quantity of provisions the pilot had told us. After having passed Ravenna and other beautiful cities of the Adriatic, we cast anchor at Ancona, a town driving a considerable trade, and provided with an excellent port in the shape of a half moon, affording shelter from the most violent tempests. Here our company was still further increased by a certain Petrus from the Low Countries, a handsome young fellow, tall and well set up, who for a long time had been soldiering in Welch countries. He made us go round by Our Lady of Loretto, a locality famed for the indulgences granted to its pilgrims. It would be difficult to conceive anything more wild than the country--a veritable brigands' haunt. The town has but one long street, at the end of which there is a small chapel, the tenement reputed to have been occupied by the Virgin Mary at Nazareth and transported thence by the angels. In a niche there is an image of the Virgin, alleged to be the work of St. Luke. For a certain consideration a priest will rub the rosaries against the image, and under those conditions the pilgrim obtains so many indulgences that he would not part with them for an empire. The quills of the porcupine constitute one of the principal articles for sale at Loretto. I saw a great many of those animals alive; they are about the size of a hedgehog. I ornamented my hat with a large leaden medal of the Virgin surmounted by three quills fastened with a silken thread, and each with a small flag at the end. I also saw at Loretto a live chamois, the only one I ever beheld, though chamois are not rare in that country, and above all in the Alps. The flesh of the chamois is preferred to that of the deer. I have tasted it; I have even worn several pair of small clothes of chamois leather; it is excellent, and you can wash it like linen, and the skin remains as soft as ever.

Petrus was known everywhere, and principally in the mountains. Without ever having studied to that effect, he could pride himself upon being a good musician and being able to sing at sight. In every town he took us straight to a monastery, where the young monks hailed him by his name, feasted him, bringing him wine and refreshment; then they sang a piece of music, drank a cup of wine, and we took our leave. This Petrus was a precious travelling companion; added to his knowledge of the country, he had a most agreeable disposition, et comes facundus in via pro vehiculo est. He told us where he was born and how many years he had lived in Italy, far away from his parents, whom, however, he was most anxious to see again. I, in my turn, told him the business that called me to Rome; he offered to accompany me on the return journey. The voyage from Milan and across France was delightful, he said; he was familiar with the roads as far as the Low Countries. I was delighted with the proposal, which, as will be seen, was wellnigh fatal to me. In Rome, after having settled us in a hostelry, Petrus gave me his address, and we agreed to meet often.