Descending at that time, the supper hour of the Castle, he found a
dainty meal awaiting him, flanked by a flagon of that rare wine which he
sipped so sparingly.
"I lodged with my brethren in their small and quiet monastery on the
opposite side of the Main from Frankfort, in that suburb of the
workingmen which is called Sachsenhausen. Even if my eyes had not seen
the desolation of the city, with the summer grass growing in many of its
streets, the description given of its condition by my brethren would
have been saddening enough to hear. All authority seems at an end. The
nobles have fled to their country estates, for defense in the city is
impossible should once a universal riot break out, and thinking men look
for an insurrection when continued hunger has worn down the patience of
the people. Up to the present sporadic outbreaks have been cruelly
suppressed, starving men falling mutilated before the sword-cuts of the
soldiers; but now disaffection has penetrated the ranks of the Army
itself, through short rations and deferred pay, and when the people
learn that the military are more like to join them than oppose,
destruction will fall upon Frankfort.
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