Frederic Mecum, in Latin Myconius, had become a monk in the Franciscan order.  He had had an experience with Tetzel which caused him to turn to Luther with joy and wonder when the latter had published his Theses.  Few of the writings of Myconius, who afterwards became the evangelical pastor of the city of Gotha, have been preserved.  In the ducal library at Gotha Freitag found [tr. note:  sic] an account in Latin of the incident to which we have referred.  It is as follows:  “John Tetzel, of Pirna in Meissen, a Dominican friar, was a powerful peddler of indulgences or the remission of sins by the Roman Pope.  He tarried with this purpose of his for two years in the city of Annaberg, new at that time, and deceived the people so much that they all believed there was no other way of obtaining the forgiveness of sins and eternal life except to make amends with our works; concerning this making of amends, however, he said that it was impossible.  But a single way was still left, that is, if we purchased the same for money from the Roman Pope, bought for ourselves, therefore, the Pope’s indulgence, which he called the forgiveness of sins and a certain entrance into eternal life.  Here I might tell wonders upon wonders and incredible things, what kind of sermons I heard Tetzel preach these two years in Annaberg, for I heard him preach quite diligently, and he preached every day; I could repeat his sermons to others, too, with all the gestures and intonations; not that I made him an object of ridicule, but I was entirely in earnest.  For I considered everything as oracles and divine words, which one had to believe, and what came from the Pope I regarded as if coming from Christ Himself.

“Finally, at Pentecost, in the year of our Lord 1510, he threatened he would lay down the red cross and lock the door of heaven and put out the sun, and it would never again come about that the forgiveness of sins and eternal life could be obtained for so little money.  Yes, he said, it was not to be expected that such charitableness of the Pope should come hither again as long as the world would stand.  He also exhorted that every one should attend well to the salvation of his own soul and to that of his deceased and living friends.  For now was at hand, according to him, the day of his salvation and the accepted time.  And he said:  ’Let no one under any condition neglect his own salvation; for if you do not have the Pope’s letters, you cannot be absolved and delivered by any human being from many sins and “reserved cases"’ (that is, cases with which an ordinary priest was not qualified to deal).  On the doors and walls of the church printed letters were publicly posted in which it was ordered that one should henceforth not sell the letters of indulgence and the full power at the close as dear as in the beginning, in order to give the German people a sign of gratitude for their devotion; and at the end of the letter at the foot was written in addition, ’Pauperibus dentur gratis,’ to the needy the letters of indulgence are to be given for nothing, without money, for the sake of God.