The Ominous Origin of an Austrian Folk Song - Ach du Lieber Augustin

Marx Augustin

Augustin's Casual Way of Life.

The above is the title of an old Austrian folk song that is often sung. One might imagine it in a beer Keller or something similar. It is usually played to one of the handheld accordion instruments. These are common among the German-speaking peoples of Europe. Sometimes a rum little tune can capture the imagination of the multitude. It might develop a fascination with viral quality. In the days of no computers, a song was a strong way of spreading across the land. Sometimes songs came about by strange and unexpected events.

Ach, du Lieber Augustin is such a song. The man it refers to was real. He lived in Austria between 1643 and 1685. He was a wandering minstrel who sang ballads. He was also a player of bagpipes. The taverns or alehouses of Vienna were the favourite haunts for the minstrel Marx Augustin. By all accounts, he was a jolly man who enjoyed a beer and was able to entertain with his bagpipe playing and Ballard singing. He may have been quick-witted and humorous. In such establishments frequented by inebriated and happy people, Marx Augustin may have accepted many a free stein of beer.

One might imagine a portly and jovial man who had found his vocation in life. Beer drinking and making people happy. In return, the appreciation was motivational for the happy go lucky minstrel. Perhaps a quick wit and warm camaraderie helped common folk escape the trials and tribulations of everyday life. Such ordeals and sufferings were extreme in 1679 Vienna. The city and nation were being ravaged by an epidemic. Some say it was bubonic plague.

Collecting the Dead During the Plague.

Oh, Dear Augustin.

At the time, the Brotherhood of the Holy Trinity was trying to treat the many victims of the plague. They had opened a number of hospitals in Vienna. There were helpers leading carts around the city and gathering people that were ill. Some went to the makeshift hospitals. Others that died were taken to the outskirts of the city. There were open pits where the deceased were unceremoniously tipped. After so many days, when the hole became full of dead, it was filled in. Many thousands of people perished from 1679 to the early 1680s. During this time, the workers for the Brotherhood of the Trinity were a common sight around the city.

One night Augustin had been playing his bagpipes and singing his ballads in one of the many taverns. He had had an extreme amount to drink. Even by his standards. As the inebriated minstrel staggered home, he collapsed in a drunken stupor. He lay unconscious in the gutter. Around the block came the horse and cart. The workers for the Brotherhood of the Holy Trinity were on their rounds. They were gathering the dead. This had become normal. Each day people perished from the epidemic. They stopped by the prostrate figure of Augustine. With ill-deserved confidence, he was pronounced dead. His limp form was cast onto the cart with his bagpipes. Off went the gatherers following the trundling cart through the streets. Once full, the cart went to the outskirts of the city, where the large pits were dug.

When Marx Augustine woke, he must have been rather perplexed and then horrified. He was lying beneath the multitude of plague-ridden dead people. How long before the pit was filled in? He tried to get himself out but could not move the weight of the dead bodies. So folk legend says he began to play his bagpipes beneath the corpses. When the gathers heard the tune, they pulled the diseased bodies aside and were able to rescue Marx Augustine from the giant grave.

Ach du Lieber Augustin

Who Knows the Origin of the Melody for Sure?

The story spread and so the song came about. Ach, du Lieber Augustin. No one is sure if Marx Augustin wrote it himself or whether another minstrel did. This is because written documents of the song can only be proved back to 1800. Over one hundred years after the event.

There was a fiery German preacher named Abraham a Sancta Clara who told the story of Marx Augustin in the time of 1679 onwards. His religious platform attracted many people from far and wide. He also moved to Vienna. Perhaps having something to do with the Brotherhood of the Holy Trinity? Who can say for sure?

The song may have come about from an inspired listener of the monk. Perhaps encouraged by the elaborate tale. The holy man was as popular as the minstrel. It would have certainly been a yarn of great wonder. Abraham a Santa Clara was the religious name taken by Johann Ulrich Megerle before becoming a monk of his sacred order. He lived from 1644 to 1709.

No one knows for sure if Marx Augustine ever sang or wrote the Ballard about himself. As a wandering minstrel, it is feasible. He was a humorous man and he enjoyed the company of other comical people. One can imagine him singing such a song to amuse his audience. However, the truth is, that no one knows for sure because the written work of the song can only be traced back to 1800. One would need a copy of such a script from before 1685. We only know of a preacher who told the story at religious gatherings.

Ach, du Lieber Augustin translated into English reads; Oh, you dear Augustin. The Ballard keeps returning to how all is lost for Augustin. As the verses go on, each mentions something that is gone for poor Augustin. His girlfriend, his money, his coat and staff. One verse speaks of feasting being replaced by the plague. The tune sounds rather jovial and humorous. Yet the jolly words have a more ominous meaning. I think the melody sounds like something to present to a packed tavern of people. Happy soul’s intent upon life’s trials being twisted and presented in a more light-hearted fashion. In my mind’s eye, I can see the harmony touching intoxicated revellers with big cherub faces and glowing red noses. How the rudely drawn folk would relish the light-hearted escape of Ach, du Lieber Augustin.

Yet, I imagine today, it is sung in infant schools. It is, after all, a very jolly tune.

Oh, du Lieber Augustin-Remix (The Modern Day Bad Boy Version)

© 2017 colin powell

Who was United Kingdom's famous executioner? (Albert Pierrepoint.)

Albert Pierrepoint lived from 1905 to 1992. He achieved an unwanted celebrity as one of Britain’s top executioners through the 1940s and into the 1950s. When executioners were vetted in Britain, they were required to be firm, polite and above all, very discreet about their work. Being an executioner in the British prison service was a well paid part time job and those men that did this ominous task had other day jobs that they could acquire release from when necessary.

Albert Pierrepoint was the third member of his family to do this dubious task. His father and his Uncle Tom also executed criminals for the prison service. By 1932, when Albert was invited to an interview, his father had been dead for some years and his mother was unhappy that he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. Though he got support from his Uncle Tom.

He passed the vetting board and was put on the list. Surprisingly, his first job as an executioner’s assistant was with his Uncle Tom and it was not in Britain, but in Ireland. He went as assistant with his uncle to Mountjoy prison in Dublin and assisted in the hanging of an Irish Free State criminal Patrick Dermott.

He assisted many hangings through out the 1930s and then began to be the actual hangman in 1940. He took part in the execution of over 600 criminals, but what really blew his cover as a hangman was when the war ended and many of Nazi Germany’s war criminals were publicly brought to account.

Field Marshal Montgomery met Albert Pierrepoint in London in 1945 and instructed him to be ready to go to Germany, where he would be participating in the execution of Nazi war criminals. When Pierrepoint arrived in Germany he was shocked by how many war criminals he had to execute each day. He got on with the dreadful assignment and executed more then 200 including the famous SS female concentration camp officer Imra Grese.

When he arrived back home, his discretion was blown and many who knew him were shocked to discover he was one of the nation’s hangman. He continued in his work and hung the innocent Evans of the famous Christie murders and also hung the last female to get the death sentence in Britain – Ruth Ellis.

In 1956, he retired from the prison service and moved to the sea with his wife. He believed hanging only satisfied revenge and did no good, which is strange coming from one of Britain’s executioners. He did a few t.v. interviews in the 1960s 70s and 80s, plus a book. He died in 1992 age 87. He is sometimes referred to as the last hangman, but this is not so because hangman still functioned in Britain up until 1964.

Why Napoleon's Marshal Ney of France was the Bravest of the Brave.

Bravest of the Brave - Marshal Ney of France

I am a Brit and my country fought a long and hard war against Napoleon’s France – like many nations throughout Europe, but this man, despite being a foe, was very brave and honourable. As school boys we all knew of Napoleon’s Marshals and though they were our nation’s enemies, we were taught to have respect for these soldiers of a bygone age.

I think Michel Ney was one of France’s best known Marshals of the Napoleonic times. He was to become much loved by his French soldiers and revered and respected by his enemies too. He was born in a place called Saarlous, which was in France in 1769. Today the town is in Germany.

He joined the army in the 1790s and rose rapidly through the ranks and was caught up in the times of the turbulent French revolutionary wars. In 1797, after taking part in other battle actions, he led a charge against Austrian Lancers at the battle of Neuwied. During this action he was captured but exchanged for an Austrian General.

In 1804 he was made a Marshal in Napoleon’s new imperial Army and from this moment his fighting career really took off. He was at the Battle of Jena in 1806, took part in the siege of Magdeburg in 1807 and brought reinforcements in time to save Napoleon from defeat at Eulou. His battle honours were becoming very impressive.

In 1808 he went to Spain and in the first year won some minor actions. Then in 1809 he routed a combined British and Portuguese force at Barlos. In 1810 he took part in the invasion of Portugal and took Ciudad Rodrigo from the Spanish and Almeida from the British and Portuguese. Despite these winning actions the over all campaign failed and during the retreat from Torres Vedras he held the rear guard and fought a number of retreating actions against Britain’s Duke of Wellington. He was removed from the final campaign for insubordination.

Then came 1812 and Napoleon’s grand invasion of Russia. Five hundred thousand troops of many nations led by France. Marshal Ney was given a command and accompanied the Empower Napoleon on this huge invasion. It went terribly wrong for the French and although they took Moscow; there was no surrender from the Russians who retreated further into the depths of their vast country. Winter came and France was forced to retreat. Marshal Ney held the rear guard all the way back during the horrendous winter conditions. This monumental retreat has become legendary and Marshal Ney was nicknamed ‘Bravest of the Brave’ by his fellow countrymen. He was known as the last Frenchman to leave Russia and his iron bravery had echoed across Europe among ally and foe.

From 1813 to 1814 the enemies of Napoleonic France began to close in on the nation – pushing its imperial borders back to the confines of France itself. From the East, Marshal Ney was caught up in actions against many nations – among them; Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden. From the South, came the British who had crossed the Pyrenees mountain range and entered France. The situation became hopeless and France faced ruin.

There was a revolt among the chief of Marshals and Ney was chosen as the spokesman to demand Napoleon’s abdication. At first the Empower tried to refuse and there was an argument, but eventually Napoleon was made to see how hopeless the situation was. He went into exile and the Bourbons reclaimed the throne of France.

In 1815 Napoleon returned from exile and Ney was sent to stop Napoleon causing a new war. Marshal Ney made a promise to bring the old imperial emperor back in a cage. It was a futile pledge because when he stood before the man, he could not do such a thing. Instead he joined forces and so began the Hundred Days War. There were other small battles that culminated in a grand final one in Belgium – at a place called Waterloo. This epic battle was very closely fought but Britain’s Wellington, with the aid of Prussia and other nations managed to defeat Napoleon. Again, the old Emperor was sent into exile and Marshal Ney was arrested for treason.

On December 6th 1815 he was led out before a firing squad. He made a short speech and refused a blindfold. He was allowed to give the command to fire upon his self and did so. Thus ended the life of Marshal Ney – Bravest of the Brave. He is buried at the Pere Lachaise Cemetery and his execution caused deep resentment and public division in France.

What Type of ship was HMS Thunder Child?

What type of ship was H.M.S. Thunder Child? The fictitious ironclad from H.G. Wells’ story: War of the Worlds.

How do you imagine her? Obviously late Victorian and because I think most of us see her without any rigging, she would probably have been built after 1871. She would have had revolving metal covered turrets and probably breech loading guns. At first, revolving turret guns were muzzle loaded. The barrels were short fat stubby casks that barely went through the turret ports. However, the Royal Navy outdated muzzle loaders after 1879 and refitted all ships with longer barrelled breech loaders. However, I wanted H.M.S. Thunder Child to have muzzle loaders, so I had to go against history a little. Well, after all, Martians never really came either, so why not take a liberty for my pastiche story of War of the Worlds’ H.M.S. Thunder Child.

The reason there were no more muzzle loaded turret guns was a terrible accident in 1879. This happened on board H.M.S. Thunderer, the sister ship of H.M.S. Devastation. The Thunderer was doing a routine gunnery exercise one day with her muzzle loading guns. These antiquated weapons were pulled inside the turrets and turned muzzle down towards the floor were holes lead down to the deck below. Here the armourers would load a charge and ram it up a gutter type contraption through the hole in the ceiling and into the waiting gun muzzle above where the gun turret crew was. Then a shell would be loaded up the same way so that shell sat on charge inside the gun barrel. The gun was then pulled back up into a firing position and wheeled forward so that the short nozzle protruded out of the turret’s gun ports. There were two cannons to each cylinder covered turret. When the guns were fired one of the barrels did not ignite, so a shell complete with charge was still in the barrel. The turret crew were none the wiser and pulled both guns back in for reloading. Of course a new charge and shell was placed on top of the old unexploded charge and shell. When the guns were wheeled forward and fired, one of the guns with two charges and two shells blew up inside the turret, killing eleven and injuring thirty five. After this, all Royal Navy ships were equipped with breech loaders, except for one – my fictitious idea of H.M.S. Thunder Child.

I imagine the fictitious Thunder Child as a ship kept out of the way and outdated because she had no refits to modernize her. So in the world of fiction, my image of H.M.S. Thunder Child is that she still had the obsolete muzzle loading guns. She was an abomination because she was built after an argument between Edward James Reed and supporters of the late Captain Cowper Phipps Coles, who was lost at sea when he was aboard his newly designed ship H.M.S. Captain. The ship with revolving turrets and rigging had sunk in 1870 with great loss of life. Her freeboard had been designed to be only eight feet above the water level, but due to construction mistakes with added weight, the finished ship floated another fourteen inches lower – under seven feet. During a storm she capsized and Captain Cowper Phipps Coles perished with many others.

Edward James Reed used the turret design on H.M.S. Devastation and the sister ship Thunderer. I wanted to pretend that Thunder Child was an accidental design that went ahead when it should not have because of a squabble between both camps. When it was done – the ship was put in obscure locations and by 1898 it was going to be scrapped. It had missed out on refits and was generally neglected by the admiralty. I wanted an excuse to go against history and to invent a reason why my idea of H.M.S. Thunder Child could have obsolete muzzle loading guns. I needed a historical event when one of these early ironclads went into action. Of course none in the Royal Navy ever did see action except for a few off shore bombardments around various parts of the British Empire. I think it was called Gunboat diplomacy. But now in the H.G. Wells’ Victorian Britain of Martian invaders, a muzzle loading Thunder Child can come out of the closet and fire her obsolete guns at the alien tripods.

Hooray!