Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-01

birthdays Of his children are festivals Tor
ALL
\ series of large connecting rooms
Rave been converted into a museum. and
contain the most interesting collection OF
relics of Luther that can be found in any
one place. and a number of original por-
traits of Luther. his wife, his daughter and
his parents. They were all painted from
life between 1925 and 1910 by Lucas
Cranach, one of the most famous artists
of his day. There are innumerable en-
cravings, Autographs, wood cuts, sketches
and other illustrations, hundreds OF med
ais that have been struck to celebrate
Protestant anniversaries throughout the
world; bushels of badges. decorations
graph letters. His Bible that he used
every day. his breviary, or prayer book.
which he used when he was student
and a monk and large part of his IL
served. Some of the books were given
Linn by his father and by his professors
when he was student at Erfurt Most
of them are in Latin: only few of the
volumes are in German.
The most interesting OF all the relics
IS the original manuscript OF his Ger
man translation of the Bible. made dur
ing his concealment at WartburE Castle
in 1521. The original Greek text from
which the translation was made lies
beside it. Melanchthon taught him
Greek. An old-fashioned hour glass
which he used to mea sure his time em-
ployed at the task at Wartburg is pre-
served beside the manuscript
X
Luther always kept the rosary ne
wore while monk, and it is there. also.
Beside it is a travelling
Personal drinking cup he carried in
his pocket as a student In
N.oA0S' a cupboard in the corner is
~ nv 10
adversaries and critics of Luther during
and since the reformation, and the Gus
todan assures me that it is complete. He
does not believe that any printed
criticism or condemnation of Luther's
conduct or doctrines has escaped his
hand, unless it be some trivial pamphlet
or magazine article
One Of the cases contains what is
claimed to be the genuine betrothal rings
exchanged by Luther and Katrina Won
Bora. and the custodian insists that there
can be no mistake about them; that they
were handed down in the family and can
be traced through every owner. At the
same time she admits that the wedding
ring exhibited is a fac-simile. The origi-
nal disappeared several centuries ago,
and nobody knows what became of it.
What purports to be the genuine we'd
ding ring is shown at the Grassi Museum
In Leipzig. but no proof is offered to
sustain the claim. Another wedding ring
formerly belonged to a lady in Washing
prominent in the diplomatic service.
and was obtained by her while he was
minister to a European court. That
ring disappeared in mysterious man.
cabinet in her drawing room, and on one
of her reception days she took it out
| to show it to a caller. who had inquired
particularly about it. While the ring
little group Of callers, the attention
of the owner was diverted and she
thought no more about it. Several weeks
later. when other friends asked to see
! seen it since 1t must have teen carried
away by one of the visitors in the group
that was examining it on the previous
! occasion. She does not remember who
they were. and it has been impossible
to trace the treasure. 1t was plain
gold ring with a German inscription.
:: ::
At his wedding Luther received from a
friend. whose name has not been pre-
served, a double ring: that is,
| Double two rings joined together, one
NJ: having diamond in the CEN
NAA6' ter with the initials m. L.
and the other containing a ruby with the
initials of the bride. &c. V. B." On the
inner side Of both were the words:
Those whom God has joined together
let no man put asunder."
Luther's signet ring. bearing a coat of
arms, which he adopted after his mar
riage. is preserved in the green vault in
the royal palace at Dresden. with the
crown jewels and regalia of the Saxon
kings
Duplicates of the several rings in the
museum are sold by the custodian and
at the shops in the town of Wittenberg.
At his marriage the students of the uni
versity gave him beautiful cup, the
faculty gave him a large silver tankard
and the wedding gifts of the municipal
officials were several casks of beer.
The convent of Nimbshen. of which Ka-
trina Won Bora was an inmate from 100
to 1928 stood in the village Of Grimma,
few miles east of Leipzig. 1t was de-
stroyed by fire many years ago and has
never been rebuilt.
Torgau. an ancient town on the river
E.lbe, forty EIGHT miles from Halle, was
the scene of battle in the Napoleonic
war in 1913. The chapel of Schloss Ha-
tenfels, at Torgau. one of the largest
fortresses in Germany, and formerly a
residence of the electors of Saxony, was
consecrated by Luther in 1544 Two
years after his death-in 154S-his widow
came TO TOrgau to live as the guest OF
the electors. She died at the castle in
1:s2 and was buried in the chapel
Frederick the Wise of Saxony. Lu-
theirs protector. died May ). 1o25, and
was buried in the clOister of the mOnas-
tery at Wittenberg Luther preached
twice on the day of the funeral Fred
ericks successor was Duke John of Sax
ony.
Near the center of Wittenoerg is an
old house dating from the reforma ton,
with an inscription carved into the stone
walls reading: Gods words and Luz
theirs writings are poison to the Pope
and to John Calvin.
The Identical iron-bound chest in which
the friar Tetzel carried the indulgences
he Offered for sale is preserved in the
cathedral at Magdeburg.
The house of Philip Melanchthon is
No %, a little farther along on. the same
street with the Luther house. \ tablet
of bronze beside the door tells the reason
of its fame.