Nothing can be more charming or creditable to his heart than the truly childlike letter he
wrote to his oldest boy Hans, then four years of age, from Coburg, during the sessions of the
Augsburg Diet in the momentous year 1530.^587
"Grace and peace in Christ, my dear little boy. I am pleased to see that thou learnest
thy lessons well, and prayest diligently. Go on thus, my dear boy, and when I come home,
I will bring you a fine fairing. I know of a pretty, delightful garden, where are merry
children that have gold frocks, and gather nice apples and pears, cherries and plums under
the trees, and sing and jump and are happy; they also ride on fine little horses with gold
bridles and silver saddles. I asked the man who owns the garden, who the children were.
He said, ’These are the children who love to pray and to learn, and are good.’ Then I said,
’Dear man, I also have a son who is called Hans Luther. May he not come to this garden
and eat such pretty apples and pears, and ride on such fine little horses, and play with these
children?’ The man said, ’If he likes to pray and to learn, and is pious, he may come to
the garden, and Lippus^588 and Jost^589 may come also; and if they all come together, they
shall have pipes and drums and lutes and fiddles, and they shall dance and shoot with little
crossbows.’"Then he showed me a smooth lawn in the garden laid out for dancing, and there hung
the golden pipes and drums and crossbows. But it was still early, and the children had not
dined; therefore I could not wait for the dance. So I said, ’Dear sir, I will go straight home
and write all this to my little boy; but he has an aunt, Lene,^590 that he must bring with
him.’ And the man answered, ’So it shall be; go and write as you say.’"Therefore, dear little boy Johnny, learn and pray with a good heart, and tell Lippus
and Jost to do the same, and then you will all come to the garden together. And now I
commend you to Almighty God. Give my love to aunt Lene, and give her a kiss for me.
Anno 1530.Thy loving father,"Martinus Luther"
He was deeply grieved by the early death of his favorite daughter Lena (Magdalen), a pious,
gentle, and affectionate girl of fourteen, with large, imaginative eyes, and full of promise.^591 "I love
her very much," he prayed; "but, dear God, if it is thy holy will to take her hence, I would gladly
leave her with Thee." And to her he said, "Lena dear, my little daughter, thou wouldst love to remain
here with thy father: art thou willing to go to that other Father?"—"Yes, dear father," she replied,
"just as God wills." And when she was dying, he fell on his knees beside her bed, wept bitterly,
"Vom Himmel kam der Engel Schaar ."(^587) De Wette, IV. 41 sq. Comp. Luther’s Brief an sein Söhnlein Hänsigen. With woodcuts and original drawings by Ludwig Richter,
Leipz. 1883. Fronde calls it "the prettiest letter ever addressed by a father to a child."Luther, p. 53.
(^588) Philip, son of Melanchthon.
(^589) Jodocus, son of Jonas.
(^590) Great-aunt, Magdalen.
(^591) Erl. ed., vol. LXV. 237, in Latin and German. Lena died Sept. 20, 1542. See her picture by Cranach in Köstlin’s small biography,
p. 545.