The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1911, Page 51

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The Lutheran Pioneer:

51

Casper Maler.

During the Thirty Years’ War in Germany the
Imperial troops entered the Rhine country, and,
marched towards the town of Pforzheim, which had
incurred their especial wrath from its loyalty to
the Protestant faith. ‘The citizens fled with all
speed to the other side of the Rhine, and sought
safety in the camp. Casper Maler, a man of an
honest and true heart, lived in Pforzheim. Te had
lost his wife, but he had his aged mother and his
children in his home, and his soul trembled for
them as he thought of the ruthless soldiers who
would soon be masters of the city. ‘The few bolder
citizens who had hitherto remained fled now, and
among them Maler got ready to leave his home,
that le might save his life and his loved ones. But
an unlooked-for difliculty arose. Neither cart nor
conveyance of any kind could be procured, even for
the offer of large sums of money. Every vehicle
had been used by its owner in his own flight.
Casper could not have procured a horse or mule if
he had paid its weight in gold for it. For himself
and his young sons he was not troubled, for they
could go on foot and carry a heavy load besides;

_ but his mother was eighty years of age, and unable
to walk. What was to be done with her?

Leave her behind? No, he would sooner die
the most cruel death than think of deserting her.
But he was sorely puzzled how to carry her off out
of the way of danger. ‘There was no time to think
long, for the enemy’s troops were pushing nearer
and nearer; and already the smoke of burning
villages was rolling over the neighboring hillsides:

True love shrinks neither from trouble nor
difficulty. Arter a hasty search Maler found a light
cart in the yard of some neighbors who had left
the town. Je quickly fastened some feather-beds
on it, and then lifting up the aged mother -from
her arm-chair by the fireside, he laid her on the
cart; then he and his son harnessed themselves to

the.pole, and his other two lads pushed behind. .

_ Besides the aged mother, the cart was loaded
with all the most valuable property which they
could stow on it, so that it took their united strength
to drag and push it along. The first day they
succeeded in leaving their home ten miles behind
them; and though the labor was great, yet not one
of them’ uttered a word of complaint. After sey-
eral days of similar fatigue, borne with equal pa-
tience, they reached the shore of the Rhine, on the
other side of which they would be safe. They were

all weak and worn out, but, alas! their labors were
not yet at an end.

The waters of the Rhine were swollen, the wayes
ran high, and the wind was boisterous. ‘The ferry-
boat lay near the bank, but no ferry-man was to
be seen. Maler had never handled an oar in his
life, but he saw the smoke, which told of burning
villages and the foe following hard in the very
direction which they had takén. He knew that they
would soon be upon them.

Then he prayed: “O Lord, who sayest from
death, forsake us not! ‘Thou art mighty, even in
the weak! ‘Thou hast given us strength to draw
the dear mother thus far. Oh, help us now to
yonder shore of safety !”

Then he drew the cart, with his mother in it,
on board the boat, and his sons jumped in. After
loosening the boat from its moorings he pushed off
fearlessly from the shore. He seized the oars; but
as he did not know how to use them, the boat was
driven about at the mercy of the waves.

But, though alarmed, they were not utterly dis-
heartened. ‘The-Jads knelt down, and the aged
grandmother clasped her withered hands in prayer;
and Maler, too, as he Jabored at the oar, poured out
his earnest supplication to the Lord.

And after long, anxious hours, the boat drifted
over to the other shore of the river, and at last it
grounded on a low, sandy bank. Joyfully the lads
leaped into the shallow water, and dragged the
boat higher up the bank. Kneeling down upon the
strand, they gave thanks to God. ‘Then carefully
they drew the cart, with the aged mother in it, to
the land again, and set out on their strange journey.
At Landau they found a place of safety among their
relatives, and they enjoyed the blessing promised
in that commandment, “Honor thy father and thy
mother, that it may be well with thee, and that
thou mayest live long on the earth.”

When the troubles of war were over, they re-
turned home to Pforzheim, and the Lord made them
to prosper; but the dear mother, for whose sake
they had labored, they had laid in her quiet rest
in the churchyard at Landau. —C. B.

Strange.

The lamb will not follow the wolf; the chicken
will not follow the fox; the hare will not follow the
dog —why, then, will man follow the devil, that
roaring lion? {