The United Provinces
The 14th Day of April in the Year of Our Lord 1700
Dearest Mama and Pa,
I trust in the Lord that this leter findes you as I left you, in goode hellth. You must forgiv mee for not setting pen to paper earlier than I have done, butt wee have been very busy, marching all over the Low Countries. I am verry well and fele much stronger than I hav ever done so befor. Eeven so, I have found some of the marches verry wearying, but unlike sum of my por comraeds, who have sunk under the wate of their arms and eqkwipment, I am able to prowdly claim that I have, so far - and thank the Lord - kept with columm, as wee saye in the army.
That I hav dun so, is mosetly doow to the help and enkurrachment wich my comraeds hav givven to me. I am in the first gruuppe of the second sektion in Nummber Too Kompagnie. Our Chefe in the Sektion is an Obergefreiter, by Name Kurt Schulendorf. He is verry eksperiensed, and has bene a soldier for a long tyme. He is abowt forty years of age I think, and does nott hav to pouder his hair, because itt is alreddy wite. He says he hass bene a solier alle his lyfe and thatt he first fort with Hermann der Cherusker when that Genral d'feeted the Rowmans under their Kaiserr Warus , but I think he is mayking a game of uss when he says so. I do nott beleeve thatt he is thatt Olde, because the Rowmans wer Italians, I think, and I can nott remember heering telle of any Italians fiting in Germann lander for menny ajes. Butt he is a good comraed and lookes after us all verry well, altho' he cann be feerce wenn on dooty and sumboddy does summthing he does not lyke. My comraeds call hym 'Onkel Kurt, or 'Grossvatti', and hee calls uss 'Kinder,' butt nott of course wenn on dootie. Hee is verry fond of his pype, and he has a nummber of them, shorte claye ones, wich freekwently brake, as is their wont! And Oh, he does kurse wenn that happens! Butt he is nott a bad fellow - I feer thatt kursing goes on alle the tyme, but I do nott kurse, of course.
Hee is also verry wyse and noes exactly where the best and cheepest extra provisions maye be hadde. The armie food is kwite goode, but itt is onelie bread and meate. Onkel Kurt sayes thatt to be healthie a man must eet alsoe vegetibels and egges. Hee sayes thatt hard-boiled egges are verrie goode and thatt a man cann never have enuff of themm. He tells uss ware the best of everiethingge maye be hadde and howe much we shudd paye for itt. Hee does nott like itt when soldiers steel from the peeple of the country - hee sayes thatt they are mosetly pore menn like uss and thatt we shud nott stele from the pore. Hee warns too abowt the risks of strong likkors, and sayes thatt menny a mann has been browt lowwe by them, and telles uss that we shudd drinke onlie the beere. I do nott like the the lokal schnapps - itt is called Hollands - and the bier is verry stranje. It is verry pale and feles thin in the mowthe, and itt does nott kwentsch your thurste, butt leaves youer mowthe feleing drie and stikky. Butt to bee a good comraed one must joyne in with your fellowes, and so I am lerning to lyke itt! I am karefull tho' not too spend too much! Owr paye has arived, and Onkel Kurt hass tolde uss thatt hee does nott want any of uss to throwe owr munny awaye in gaymes of chance, butt thatt wee shudd sayve owr munney in case of unforseen thinges happening. He hass mayde an arranjement with a lokal merchant, soe thatt wee maye sende owr munney home. I have kept for myeself one Groschen owt of everie three thatt we have bene payde, and I have given the reste to the merchant, so that he maye send you a 'Bill of Exchanje' which you can gett the munney for at the house of Walther Langenkerel, a merchant att Schloss Neuhaus. I did thiss yesterday, and Mynheer van Rijn - the Hollands Merchant - sayes thatt you shudd gett the bill in abowt three weekes.
Itt mite be thowt that it wudd bee diffikultt to ecsplane to a forrenner whatt I wanted, butt the peeple here speke a verry stranje sort of Germann, it remyndes mee of the sorte of German that the olde country-peeple att home speke. Butt if we alle speke verry sloely and lissen harde thenn wee cann unnderstand wun another.
Well, thatt is alle my newes fore now. Soe prayinge thatt Godde has you sayfe in Hiss Keepinge this is fairewell fore the tyme from your luvvinge sunne,
Albericht
(Soldat Albericht Zimmermann
Nr 2 Kompagnie, 1er Bon, Infanterie Regiment Nr 2)
That I hav dun so, is mosetly doow to the help and enkurrachment wich my comraeds hav givven to me. I am in the first gruuppe of the second sektion in Nummber Too Kompagnie. Our Chefe in the Sektion is an Obergefreiter, by Name Kurt Schulendorf. He is verry eksperiensed, and has bene a soldier for a long tyme. He is abowt forty years of age I think, and does nott hav to pouder his hair, because itt is alreddy wite. He says he hass bene a solier alle his lyfe and thatt he first fort with Hermann der Cherusker when that Genral d'feeted the Rowmans under their Kaiserr Warus , but I think he is mayking a game of uss when he says so. I do nott beleeve thatt he is thatt Olde, because the Rowmans wer Italians, I think, and I can nott remember heering telle of any Italians fiting in Germann lander for menny ajes. Butt he is a good comraed and lookes after us all verry well, altho' he cann be feerce wenn on dooty and sumboddy does summthing he does not lyke. My comraeds call hym 'Onkel Kurt, or 'Grossvatti', and hee calls uss 'Kinder,' butt nott of course wenn on dootie. Hee is verry fond of his pype, and he has a nummber of them, shorte claye ones, wich freekwently brake, as is their wont! And Oh, he does kurse wenn that happens! Butt he is nott a bad fellow - I feer thatt kursing goes on alle the tyme, but I do nott kurse, of course.
Hee is also verry wyse and noes exactly where the best and cheepest extra provisions maye be hadde. The armie food is kwite goode, but itt is onelie bread and meate. Onkel Kurt sayes thatt to be healthie a man must eet alsoe vegetibels and egges. Hee sayes thatt hard-boiled egges are verrie goode and thatt a man cann never have enuff of themm. He tells uss ware the best of everiethingge maye be hadde and howe much we shudd paye for itt. Hee does nott like itt when soldiers steel from the peeple of the country - hee sayes thatt they are mosetly pore menn like uss and thatt we shud nott stele from the pore. Hee warns too abowt the risks of strong likkors, and sayes thatt menny a mann has been browt lowwe by them, and telles uss that we shudd drinke onlie the beere. I do nott like the the lokal schnapps - itt is called Hollands - and the bier is verry stranje. It is verry pale and feles thin in the mowthe, and itt does nott kwentsch your thurste, butt leaves youer mowthe feleing drie and stikky. Butt to bee a good comraed one must joyne in with your fellowes, and so I am lerning to lyke itt! I am karefull tho' not too spend too much! Owr paye has arived, and Onkel Kurt hass tolde uss thatt hee does nott want any of uss to throwe owr munny awaye in gaymes of chance, butt thatt wee shudd sayve owr munney in case of unforseen thinges happening. He hass mayde an arranjement with a lokal merchant, soe thatt wee maye sende owr munney home. I have kept for myeself one Groschen owt of everie three thatt we have bene payde, and I have given the reste to the merchant, so that he maye send you a 'Bill of Exchanje' which you can gett the munney for at the house of Walther Langenkerel, a merchant att Schloss Neuhaus. I did thiss yesterday, and Mynheer van Rijn - the Hollands Merchant - sayes thatt you shudd gett the bill in abowt three weekes.
Itt mite be thowt that it wudd bee diffikultt to ecsplane to a forrenner whatt I wanted, butt the peeple here speke a verry stranje sort of Germann, it remyndes mee of the sorte of German that the olde country-peeple att home speke. Butt if we alle speke verry sloely and lissen harde thenn wee cann unnderstand wun another.
Well, thatt is alle my newes fore now. Soe prayinge thatt Godde has you sayfe in Hiss Keepinge this is fairewell fore the tyme from your luvvinge sunne,
Albericht
(Soldat Albericht Zimmermann
Nr 2 Kompagnie, 1er Bon, Infanterie Regiment Nr 2)
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