Hedinger, Court chaplain in 1698 to Duke Eberhard Ludwig of Würtemberg, appears a curious story. The duke was a sadly immoral man, and after Hedinger had repeatedly urged him to a better life, he preached in the Court chapel against the sins to which the Duke was most addicted. The prince was furious, and sent orders to the Court chaplain to come to him alone in the palace at a certain hour. Hedinger went and was introduced. The intention of the duke was to reprimand him harshly and then punish him severely. When the chaplain entered the cabinet of the prince, the latter stared at him with astonishment, and said ‘Why have you not come alone?’ ‘I am alone, your serene highness.’ ‘No, you are not,’ retorted the duke, with his eyes fixed on the right side of the Court preacher. Hedinger replied gravely: ‘But I am—quite alone. Your highness, if God has sent His angel to stand by me, I know nothing about it.’ The duke dismissed him, showing all the signs of profound agitation. Whether this were an angel, or Hedinger’s double, cannot be said, as Eberhard Ludwig did not give a description of what he saw.
The musician Glück was staying in Ghent. While there he was spending an evening
