The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1907-09-05
81 FRED MfReH caisY.

Thuringia. crowning proud and
slightly eminence, is famous old cas-
tie Its tall towers and long rows Of
bright Gothic windows overlook
wide extent Of country, some Of the
most interesting portions of the Ger
man fatherland. The castle itself is
rich with many memories, and is eel
ebrated IL song and story as the
Wartburg Did you ever hear of it,
In one CT its many rooms the great
reformer. Martin Luther, spent ten
months OF his life, from May 4, 1921,
to March &. 1922. 1t is small
apartment and has but one window,
which even yet looks out upon Il
great forest The furniture is said
to be the same that he used. Here is
the table he wrote at and the chair
he sat in, and even the inkstand in
which ne dipped his pen, that Won
derful pen that wrote so many grand
and inspiring things. There, too, is
the spot OF ink on the wall, made, as
the sorry goes, when the reformer
the story goes. when the ,reformer
truder whom? he believed to be the
devil.
In another part OF the castle is
great lofty room called the Minstrels'
Hall, where took place the famous
musical contest between the trouba-
dours in the time of Landgrave Her.
mann J., about the year 1900. For
seven days this contest continued,
and the whole spiendors of medieval
chivalry and hospitality was here dis
played to heighten the charm of song.
Almost can YOU hear the twanging
harps now and see the excited COM
batants, as YOU tread the floor of the
frescoed hall.
1t was IN this grand old castle with
all these historic associations that
the little prince was born who had
the bitten cheek. He lived about half
way between the time of his illus
trious ancestor, the Landgrave Her
mann, and that of Martin Luther, SO
that you car very easily tell the"age
in which he fourished. The room is
shown in the upper part of the castle
where he and his little brother were
born, and there is the cradle in which
all the Landgyaves were rocked for
200 or 500 years.
His name was Friedrich and mis-
younger brothers name was Helm
rich. Their father was the Land
noonnar
ate. He vas brutal and unprinci-
pied man, and treated his beautiful
wife Marguerite very harshly. She
was the daughter Of the Emperor
Friedrich H., one of the most Drii-
liant and 'llustrious sovereigns of his
time. Marguerite was good and
noble woman, but her husband re-
spected neither her virtues, her rank,
nor her beauty. He even seemed to
hate his children on their mother S
account, and the poor young prince
had a hare time of it.
Landgrave A!brecht was mean and
selfish enough to sell Thuringia for a
large sum of money to the Emperor
Alolph, who was no relation TO the
great Friedrich. He was thus de-
priving his sons Of their. inheritance.
In order to have no trouble with them
he determined 10 shut them up out o.
the way. So ne sent some hard
hearted ui9, take them from their
mother cnC LTing them to the Wart-
burg.
The ill-used Landgravin. was liv-
ing away from her cruel husband,
and whe , she heard of his orders she
tried to fee TO save her children. But
the Landgrave's soldiers overlook her
and she was forced to give them up.
When she parted with them, instead
of kissing the eldest, she gave him a
fierce bite in the cheek so that the
scar would always remind him of his
own and his mothers wrongs. Lit
tie Friedrich was then only seven
years old.
The poor children were taken to
the WaTtburg and shut up in one of
it's dark dungeons. Just think of
them being prisoners in the grand
and splendid home where they should
have been so happy. Was it not
cruelo They were treated SO harshly
that they would have starved in pri-
son had rot some Of the old servants
been true to them and given them
food in secret. And one night, after
long, weary months, they opened the
dungeon doors and the poor little
princes walked out of heir prison
and escaped in company with party
OF horsemen who were watching tc
help them.
The young princes had many ad
ventures leto-e they regained the
side of their mother. Once III pass
ing through forest they and theil