The Amber Witch | Page 7

his doublet and coat pockets. My daughter then sat down
with the rest of the womankind to pluck the birds; and as there was no
salt (indeed it was long since most of us had tasted any), she desired
two men to go down to the sea, and to fetch a little salt-water in an iron
pot borrowed from Staffer Zuter; and so they did. In this water we first
dipped the birds, and then roasted them at a large fire, while our
mouths watered only at the sweet savour of them, seeing it was so long
since we had tasted any food.
And now when all was ready, and the people seated on the earth, I said,
"Behold how the Lord still feeds his people Israel in the wilderness
with fresh quails: if now he did yet more, and sent us a piece of manna
bread from heaven, what think ye? Would ye then ever weary of
believing in him, and not rather willingly endure all want, tribulation,
hunger and thirst, which he may hereafter lay upon you according to his
gracious will?" Whereupon they all answered and said, "Yea, surely!"
_Ego_: "Will you then promise me this in truth?" And they said again,
"Yea, that will we!" Then with tears I drew forth the loaf from my
breast, held it on high, and cried, "Behold, then, thou poor believing
little flock, how sweet a manna loaf your faithful Redeemer hath sent
ye through me!" Whereupon they all wept, sobbed and groaned; and the
little children again came running up and held out their hands, crying,
"See, bread, bread!" But as I myself could not pray for heaviness of
soul, I bade Paasch his little girl say the Gratias the while my Mary cut
up the loaf and gave to each his share. And now we all joyfully began
to eat our meat from God in the wilderness.
Meanwhile I had to tell in what manner I had found the blessed manna
bread, wherein I neglected not again to exhort them to lay to heart this
great sign and wonder, how that God in his mercy had done to them as
of old to the prophet Elijah, to whom a raven brought bread in his great
need in the wilderness; as likewise this bread had been given to me by
means of a raven, which showed it to me, when otherwise I might have
passed it by in my heaviness without ever seeing it.
When we were satisfied with food, I said the thanksgiving from Luke
xii. 24, where the Lord saith, "Consider the ravens: for they neither sow

nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth
them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?" But our sins stank
before the Lord. For old Lizzie, as I afterwards heard, would not eat her
birds because she thought them unsavoury, but threw them among the
juniper-bushes; whereupon the wrath of the Lord was kindled against
us as of old against the people of Israel, and at night we found but
seven birds in the snares, and next morning but two. Neither did any
raven come again to give us bread. Wherefore I rebuked old Lizzie, and
admonished the people to take upon themselves willingly the righteous
chastisement of the Most High God, to pray without ceasing, to return
to their desolate dwellings, and to see whether the all-merciful God
would peradventure give them more on the sea. That I also would call
upon him with prayer night and day, remaining for a time in the cavern
with my daughter and the maid to watch the springes, and see whether
his wrath might be turned from us. That they should meanwhile put my
manse to rights to the best of their power, seeing that the cold was
become very irksome to me. This they promised me, and departed with
many sighs. What a little flock! I counted but twenty-five souls where
there used to be above eighty: all the rest had been slain by hunger,
pestilence, or the sword. I then abode a while alone and sorrowing in
the cave, praying to God, and sent my daughter with the maid into the
village to see how things stood at the manse; _item_, to gather together
the books and papers, and also to bring me word whether Hinze the
carpenter, whom I had straightway sent back to the village, had
knocked together some coffins for the poor corpses, so that I might
bury them next day. I then went to look at the springes, but found only
one single little bird, whereby I saw that the wrath of God had not yet
passed away. Howbeit, I found a fine blackberry bush, from which I
gathered nearly a pint