Lord, and He shall sustain thee." Thank God we are fresh and well, except that we are getting tired of the whole business, and nothing would satisfy Dr. Jonas but to have a sore leg also, having knocked it against a chest; so great is the power of human envy, that he would not permit me to be the sole possessor of a lame leg. I herewith commit you to God. We would gladly be free and set out on our homeward journey, if God permitted it.
Amen. Amen. Amen. Your obedient servant,
- (De Wette.)
D
To Luther's Wife, Katherine
Luther's last letter to his wife is preserved in the room in which he died in Eisleben. He preached for the last time on Matthew xi. 25, exhorting the people to cleave to the Lord and Master, who calls the weak and weary to Himself; "I could say much more, but am weak, so will leave it alone,” he concluded. Luther died on February 18.
To my dear, kind wife, Katherine Luther, at Wittenberg. Grace and peace in the Lord! Dear Käthie—We hope to return home this week, if God will. God has richly manifested His grace towards us here, for the lords, through their Council, have arranged everything, except two or three things, one of which is that the two brothers, Counts Gebhardt and Albrecht, should again become brothers, which I shall try to accomplish to-day, through inviting them to be my guests—so that they may converse with one another, for till now they have been dumb, embittering each other with letters.
In other respects the young gentlemen have been very happy, riding out together on sledges with the tingling of fools' bells, the young ladies accompanying them, all joking and in high spirits, Count Gebhardt's son being among the number.
From this one may see that God is the hearer of prayer.
I send you some trout, which the Countess Albrecht has sent me. She is delighted with the reconciliation.
