Section 524

of Julin, and his son. The Stettinians at first turned a deaf ear to Otto's exhortations. Twice a week, on the market-days, he proceeded to the market-place with his eighteen priests in sacerdotal ornaments, and preached before the multitude. The people from the country listened to his words less reluctantly than the denizens of the city; yet, after two months had thus elapsed, the latter declared that they would accept baptism, if Poland would consent to diminish the tribute, to grant to the country a permanent peace, and to draw up a deed of the transaction. The bishop, whose meek ways, friend- ly behavior, and works ol charity had won every heart, obtained those concessions from the Poles, and on Oct. 25 he christened botli sons of the prominent citizen Domiz- lav, the father soon afterwards; then five hundred rela- tions and other connections of that powerful family — an example which considerably influenced the people generally. The four temples of the city were destroyed, and Otto sent to the pope the three heads of the idol Triglav. After establishing two churches, one in honor of St. Adalbert — the patron saint of the Slaves — the other under the name of Peter and Paul, Otto, leaving two of his priests in the city, visited the towns of Garz and Lnbezin, left a priest in each, and repaired to Julin, where the intelligence of Stettin's conversion had al- ready been received. The inhabitants came to meet him on his way, and begged his pardon for their former conduct. Otto consecrated two altars in the city, inter- dicted the burying of the dead in forests, prohibited piracy, the intercourse with idolators, polygamy, and the inveterate custom of killing new-born girls when there were some girls already in the family. In the ensuing winter Otto, passing through Dodona (now Dodow), where he laid the foundations of two churches, went to Colberg and Belgard, the inhabitants of which did not prove open to his teachings. Hence he re- turned to Pyritz, Stettin, and Julin. where he confirmed the proselytes, inaugurated the building of churches, and then journeyed over Dodona and Belgard to Colberg, where he buried the deacon Hermann, drowned in the Persante. On Ash- Wednesday he set on his way home- wards, having converted 22,166 persons and founded eleven churches; he travelled through Poland. Silesia, and Bohemia, and arrived at Bamberg on the Saturday before Easter, March 29. Epidemics and great mortality having afflicted Stettin, the idolators pointed at those plagues as being the punition visited by the gods upon the apostates. This caused a general relapse, and made Otto sensible of the necessity of interfering in person, and of converting the cities of Demmin. Gbtzkow, Use- dom, and Wolgast, still left to idolatry. He set out April 19, 1128, crossed Saxony and Mecklenburg, carrying on fifty wagons the articles required for fitting out the churches. June 10 Wratislav assembled at Usedom the nobles of the left bank of the Oder : they were bap- tized, and promised to protect the Christian faith in their dominions. Otto longed to gain also to Christian- ity the inhabitants of the island of Riigen, but insuper- able obstacles lay in his way. In Stettin, where a very few had remained faithful. Otto was threatened witli death; he at once repaired to the church of Paul and Peter, and while the song of hymns filled the vaults of the church, the sound of arms was heard outside. The crowd calmed down by and by, and dispersed; a ser- mon in the market-place, whither the clergy repaired in procession under the protection of Wirtska, retrieved the strayed flock. Julin followed again the example of Stettin. The saint now visited again all the places of Pomerania where he had worked, and, journeying through Poland, reached Bamberg Dec. 20. Though he did not again see the country he had converted, he watched from afar over these young Christian commu- nities to the time of his death, which occurred June 30, 1139. The conversion of Pomerania, and its accession to the German empire in 1181, induced a number of monks and colonists to emigrate to the country of the Wends, depopulated bv long wars. Wratislav, the first YIII.— B u