'What is there in that to be ashamed of?' babbled the tailor. 'Let each honor his profession. An armorer, with legs and arms to his body, as you have, by the grace of God, must hammer upon his enemies as he would upon old iron--it is his duty; but a poor little tailor, like me, has the privilege of running away from such affairs of honor; and I should little grace my fraternity by exhibiting an ill-timed valor in old quarrels.'

'Under such circumstances,' said Alf, 'I cannot understand how your cowardice can suffer you to return to Munster, which just now is very tempestuous and clanging with arms.'

'Why, not a hair of my head can be injured!' triumphantly answered the tailor. 'I am the old boon companion of the second of the prophets who are now very powerful in the government of the city, and they cannot fail me. When once the old order of affairs shall be wholly overturned, I may be clothed with a station of high honor in the new government. For a generalship in the field my stars have certainly not directly designed me; but a chancellorship or treasurership I may fill as well as another.'

'For that must God in his anger have created you,' cried Alf, with indignant laughter.

'Because I am a tailor?' asked the chancellor-in-expectancy, angrily. 'How blind does the pride of your hands make you, friend armorer! Does every thing depend upon strong bones in this world? What was Johannes Bockhold of Leyden, our great prophet, more than a tailor? What does he now appear, and to what will he not hereafter attain! The days and nights have not yet all passed. He has a head for twenty; and when we loitered about together as comedians, while business in our line was dull, then did he play the parts of emperors and kings, and played and ranted in such a manner as to compel respect from all. Give him the world and he will govern it in fine style.'

'A man who plays the buffoon for bread, selected to carry on the work of the spirit in my native city!' sighed Alf, losing himself in sad reflections until they arrived at the closed gates.

Here all was crowded with the busy activity of the burghers. The city walls were repaired and raised,--the ditches were deepened and furnished with palisades,--new bulwarks and towers arose on high,--hammer and trowel, shovel and pickaxe, were in constant motion,--and the dirt carts creaked incessantly. Aged and distinguished men worked unweariedly, like day-laborers; women and children assisted; and the pleasure and satisfaction, with which every thing was accomplished, rendered it very apparent that the most ardent enthusiasm was the soul of this body.

'Do you not perceive,' cried the tailor, gaily slapping Alf's shoulder, 'that the bishop will be compelled to break many a tooth upon our walls before he will be able to eat us up?'

'What does that denote?' asked Alf, disregarding the boast, and pointing to two large stone slabs covered with letters which were hanging upon the gates.

'Those are the commands of our second Moses, of our great Matthias,' replied the tailor, reverently. 'He has caused them to be cut in stone and to be hung thus on all the gates of the city, to keep the people in the fear of God, so that every man may conduct according to them.'