rederic III., who looked
more seriously at the "damnable bigotry of the Mass." He caused certain
of the most obstinate among these female insurgents to be seized and
sent to the hospital at Dilsberg in order to nurse the sick soldiers of
the fortress. Old Domina Brigitta was also deprived of her pastoral
staff, and the prioress Sabina of Pfalz-Zweibruecken was only permitted
to retain her position on promising to keep the peace, and because she
happened to be a favorite cousin of the Kurfuerst. The reform of the
Church and Convent was however now carried on in the most ruthless
manner. The ladies had to give way to violence as they could not do
otherwise. Outwardly the Stift preserved an evangelical appearance,
mass was no longer celebrated, the songs in honor of the Mother of God
and of the Saints were heard no more, the preaching was protestant,
and the elements were distributed in both forms. The number of
schoolchildren was increased, and the nuns were compelled to teach them
reading, writing, and the female accomplishments. This the new Abbess
had to permit, but at heart the older generation of nuns remained
Romanists and privately hoped for better days.

The new Domina herself was a kind-hearted, rather old-fashioned lady.
She was in reality as catholic as the others, but she loved peace and
wisely avoided a conflict with those in power. When the Pfalz inclined
from Lutheranism to Calvinism, public attention became less and less
directed to the Stift. The ladies now hoped to be able to return to
their former practices if they could only get rid of the Preacher.
Domina Sabina managed at last, owing to her influence with the Church
Council of the Kurfuerst, to have the old drunkard as she called him
dismissed from his office. To avoid fresh conflicts, the Kurfuerst
ordered that the ladies should choose from among the clergy of the town
the preacher most acceptable to them. Long had they consulted and
hesitated, at length they elected Master Laurenzano of the College of
the Sapientia, who was capable of imparting instruction in the foreign
languages to the young ladies committed to their charge. "My pious
cousin has chosen the youngest and handsomest of the lot," sneered the
Kurfuerst, as he nevertheless granted their wish. "They will however
thus become quicker reconciled to the new doctrines," he thought. This
time he had not seen the matter in the right light, and however sharp
the old gentleman appeared, in this