Page:Readings in European History Vol 2.djvu/250

 212 Readings in Europea?i History give he might thereby purchase respite and protection for himself and his family till the next man, who also wanted something, should come along. It was only when every- thing had been brought forth and there was nothing left to give that the real trouble commenced. Then, what with blows and threats. of shooting, stabbing, and hanging, the poor people were so terrified that if they had had anything left they would have brought it forth if it had been buried in the earth or hidden away in a thousand castles. In this frenzied rage, the great and splendid city that had stood like a fair princess in the land was now, in its hour of direst need and unutterable distress and woe, given over to the flames, and thousands of innocent men, women, and chil- dren, in the midst of a horrible din of heartrending shrieks and cries, were tortured and put to death in so cruel and shameful a manner that no words would suffice to describe, nor no tears to bewail it. . . . Thus in a single day this noble and famous city, the pride of the whole country, went up in fire and smoke ; and the remnant of its citizens, with their wives and children, were taken prisoners and driven away by the enemy with a noise of weeping and wailing that could be heard from afar, while the cinders and ashes from the town were carried by the wind to Wanzleben, Egeln, and still more distant places. . . . In addition to all this, quantities of sumptuous and irre- placeable house furnishings and movable property of all kinds, such as books, manuscripts, paintings, memorials of all sorts,. . . which money could not buy, were either burned or carried away by the soldiers as booty. The most magnificent garments, hangings, silk stuffs, gold and sil- ver lace, linen of all sorts, and other household goods were bought by the army sutlers for a mere song and peddled about by the cart load all through the archbishopric of Magdeburg and in Anhalt and Brunswick. Gold chains and rings, jewels, and every kind of gold and silver utensils were to be bought from the common soldiers for a tenth of their real value. . ..