Part 70 (2/2)
But, Cajetan, will you fulfil my last request?”
”Name it, and I will comply with it.”
”Then weep no more, my dear friend, for your tears give me pain. Be, as formerly, manful and firm.”
”I will,” said Doeninger; and he dried his tears and forced himself to be calm and composed.
”And now, Cajetan, be my secretary for the last time,” said Andreas, gently. ”I will dictate to you a letter to my brother-in-law Pohler, at Neustadt. The jailer has already laid paper, pen, and ink on the table. Sit down, therefore, and write.”
Cajetan went to the table and seated himself. ”I am ready, commander-in-chief,” he said; ”dictate to me now.”
Andreas walked up and down several times musingly; he then stood still near the table; a wondrous expression of serene calmness and peace beamed from his face, and he dictated in a clear, quiet voice which did not once tremble with emotion.
”Dearest brother-in-law: It was G.o.d's will that I should exchange here at Mantua my earthly life for a better one. But--G.o.d be praised for his divine mercy!--it seems to me as little painful as if I were to be led out for another purpose. G.o.d in His mercy will doubtless be with me to the last moment, when I shall ascend to that eternal dwelling-place where my soul will rejoice for evermore with all the chosen spirit! and where I shall pray for all, and particularly for those to whom I owe my intercession; above all, for you, too, and your dear wife, on account of the book which you presented to me.
and of other kind acts. Let all my dear friends and acquaintances pray for me too, and help me to rise from the devouring flames, when I have to expiate my sins in purgatory. My beloved wife, Anna Gertrude, is to have ma.s.ses read for me at St. Martin's Zum rosenfarbnen Blut. She shall have prayers read in both of the parish-churches, and treat my friends at the lower inn to soup and meat, and give every one half a bottle of wine. The money I had about me will be distributed among the poor of this city; for the rest, settle with my debtors and creditors as honestly as you can; lest I should have to atone for it also. Farewell, all of you, for this world, until we shall meet in heaven and praise G.o.d for evermore. Dearest brother-in-law, repair to the Pa.s.seyr valley, and inform the landlord of the lower inn of my instructions. He will make all necessary dispositions. Let all the inhabitants of Pa.s.seyr, and all my acquaintances remember me in their prayers. Dearest brother-in-law, tell my wife, Anna Gertrude, not to grieve for me. I shall pray to G.o.d for her and for all. Adieu, beautiful world! Dying seems to me so easy that there are not even tears in my eyes.”
”Written at nine o'clock; at ten I shall ascend to G.o.d with the aid of all the saints.”
”Your--.”
”Mantua, February 20, 1810.”
[Footnote: ”Gallery of heroes: Andreas Hofer,” p. 197.]
”I will write the signature as I always did,” said Andreas Hofer; and, taking up the pen quickly, he wrote:
”Your Andreas Hofer, from Sand in Pa.s.seyr, whom you loved in this life. I will set out on my last journey in the Lord's name.”
[Footnote: ”Gallery of Heroes.”]
”I thank you, Cajetan, for rendering me this last service,” said Andreas, kindly. ”And now, my dear friend, let us take leave of each other. The confessor will be here soon, and then I must no longer speak to any one but G.o.d.”
Cajetan came to him with a tottering step, and leaned his head silently on Hofer's shoulder. He did not speak, he wanted to be firm, but he was unable to restrain the sobs and sighs which issued from his breast.
”My dear Cajetan, why do you weep?” asked Hofer, pressing Doeninger's head gently to his heart. ”Did you weep when I went into battle, where the enemy's bullets might have hit me at any second?
You did not weep then. Think, therefore, that I am going into battle to-day too, and that it is better for me to be hit by the bullets than suffer any longer in this manner.”
At this moment the door opened, and the priest, Giovanni Giacomo Manifesti, dressed in full vestments, came in. The guards who followed him led away Doeninger, who obeyed them in silence, as if stunned by his terrible grief. [Footnote: Cajetan Doeninger was taken immediately after Hofer's execution, from his prison, and sent to the Island of Corsica, as a private in a regiment of light infantry. He succeeded, some time afterward, in escaping from thence, and returning to his native country.]
Andreas Hofer remained alone with his confessor.
At eleven o'clock the doors of the prison were thrown open, and Andreas Hofer was led out to execution. His face was serene, and in his hands he held the small crucifix which he had always worn on his breast. His confessor, Manifesti, walked by his side, and a battalion of grenadiers followed him.
Andreas Hofer walked along the ramparts of the fortress with a firm step. As he pa.s.sed by the barracks of the Porta Molina, where the Tyrolese prisoners were confined, they fell on their knees and wept aloud. Andreas turned quickly to Manifesti the, priest. ”Your reverence,” he said, ”you will distribute among my poor countrymen the five hundred florins, my last property, which I gave to you, will you not?”
”I will, my son.”
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