these events much is yet as clear and plain in my mind as though I saw
and heard it all at this present time; albeit I, an old woman, would fain
hide my face in my hands and weep thereat. For, notwithstanding there
were certain hours in those days which brought me sweet love-making, and
others of sheer mirth and vanity, yet is the spirit of man so tempered
that, when great sorrow follows hard on the greatest joy it sufficeth
to darken it wholly. And thus we may liken heaviness of heart to the
chiming of bells, which hurts the ear if they sound over near, but at a
distance make a sweet and devout music. Now, in sooth, inasmuch as I
must make record of the deepest woe of my life, the brazen toll is a sad
one, and the long-healed wounds ache afresh.

Those two months of the Imperial Diet! They lie behind me like distant
hills. I can no more discern them apart, albeit certain landmarks, as it
were, stand forth plainly to be seen, like the church-tower, the
windmill, and the old oak on the ridge on the horizon.

How the night sped after our return from the forest and the morning next
after--the 27th of July in the year of our Lord 1422--I can no longer
call to mind; but I can see myself now as, the afternoon of that day, I
set forth with Ann, attired in silk and lace--all white and new from head
to foot, as it were for a wedding--to go to the open place between St.
James' Church and the German House, within the Spital Gate. Whichever
way we looked, behold flowers, green garlands, hangings, pennons, and
banners; it was as though all the gardens in Franconia had been stripped
of their blossoms. Never had such a brave show been seen, and with every
breath we drank in the odors of the leaves and flowers which were already
withering in the July sunshine. A finer Saint Pantaloon's day I never
remember; the very sky seemed to share the city's gladness and was fair
to see, in spotless blue. A light wind assuaged the waxing heat, and