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Page 48
And when I asked her how that could be, seeing that her goodman had been a
child of God until very near his end, and much given to prayer; albeit I
had indeed marvelled why he had other thoughts in his last illness; she
answered that one day he had seen her spirit, which she kept in a chest,
in the shape of a black cat, and whose name was Kit, and had threatened
that he would tell me of it; whereupon she, being frightened, had caused
her spirit to make him so ill that he despaired of ever getting over it.
Thereupon she had comforted him, saying that she would presently heal him
if he would deny God, who, as he well saw, could not help him. This he
promised to do; and when she had straight-way made him quite hearty again,
they took the silver which I had scraped off the new sacrament cup, and
went by night down to the seashore, where he had to throw it into the sea
with these words: "When this silver returns again to the chalice, then
shall my soul return to God." Whereupon the Sheriff, who was by,
re-baptized him in the name of Satan, and called him Jack. He had had no
sponsors save only herself, old Lizzie. Moreover, that on St. John's Eve,
when he went with them to Blockula for the first time (the Herrenberg was
their Blockula), they had talked of my daughter, and Satan himself had
sworn to the Sheriff that he should have her. For that he would show the
old one (wherewith the villain meant God) what he could do, and that he
would make the carpenter's son sweat for vexation (fie upon thee, thou
arch villain, that thou couldst thus speak of my blessed Saviour!).
Whereupon her old goodman had grumbled, and as they had never rightly
trusted him, the spirit Dudaim one day flew off with him through the air
by the Sheriff's order, seeing that her own spirit, called Kit, was too
weak to carry him. That the same Dudaim had also been the woodpecker who
afterwards 'ticed my daughter and old Paasch to the spot with his cries,
in order to ruin her. But that the giant who had appeared on the
Streckelberg was not a devil, but the young lord of Mellenthin himself, as
her spirit, Kit, had told her.
And this she said was nothing but the truth, whereby she would live and
die; and she begged me, for the love of God, to take pity upon her, and,
after her repentant confession, to speak forgiveness of her sins, and to
give her the Lord's Supper; for that her spirit stood there behind the
stove, grinning like a rogue, because he saw that it was all up with her
now. But I answered, "I would sooner give the sacrament to an old sow than
to thee, thou accursed witch, who not only didst give over thine own
husband to Satan, but hast likewise tortured me and my poor child almost
unto death with pains like those of hell." Before she could make any
answer, a loathsome insect, about as long as my finger, and with a yellow
tail, crawled in under the door of the prison. When she espied it she gave
a yell, such as I never before heard, and never wish to hear again. For
once, when I was in Silesia, in my youth, I saw one of the enemy's
soldiers spear a child before its mother's face, and I thought that a
fearful shriek which the mother gave; but her cry was child's play to the
cry of old Lizzie. All my hair stood on end, and her own red hair grew so
stiff that it was like the twigs of the broom whereon she lay; and then
she howled, "That is the spirit Dudaim, whom the accursed Sheriff has sent
to me--the sacrament, for the love of God, the sacrament!--I will confess
a great deal more--I have been a witch these thirty years!--the sacrament,
the sacrament!" While she thus bellowed and flung about her arms and legs,
the loathsome insect rose into the air, and buzzed and whizzed about her
where she lay, insomuch that it was fearful to see and to hear. And this
she-devil called by turns on God, on her spirit Kit, and on me, to help
her, till the insect all of a sudden darted into her open jaws, whereupon
she straightway gave up the ghost, and turned all black and blue like a
blackberry.
I heard nothing more save that the window rattled, not very loud, but as
though one had thrown a pea against it, whereby I straightway perceived
that Satan had just flown through it with her soul. May the all-merciful
God keep every mother's child from such an end, for the sake of Jesus
Christ our blessed Lord and Saviour! Amen.
As soon as I was somewhat recovered, which, however, was not for a long
time, inasmuch as my blood had turned to ice, and my feet were as stiff as
a stake; I began to call out after the impudent constable, but he was no
longer in the prison. Thereat I greatly marvelled, seeing that I had seen
him there but just before the vermin crawled in, and straightway I
suspected no good, as, indeed, it turned out; for when at last he came
upon my calling him, and I told him to let this carrion be carted out
which had just died in the name of the devil, he did as though he was
amazed; and when I desired him that he would bear witness to the innocence
of my daughter, which the old hag had confessed on her death-bed, he
pretended to be yet more amazed, and said that he had heard nothing. This
went through my heart like a sword, and I leaned against a pillar without,
where I stood for a long time: but as soon as I was come to myself I went
to _Dom. Consul_, who was about to go to Usedom and already sat in his
coach. At my humble prayer he went back into the judgment-chamber with the
_Camerarius_ and the _Scriba_, whereupon I told all that had taken place,
and how the wicked constable denied that he had heard the same. But they
say that I talked a great deal of nonsense beside; among other things,
that all the little fishes had swam into the vault to release my daughter.
Nevertheless, _Dom. Consul_, who often shook his head, sent for the
impudent constable, and asked him for his testimony. But the fellow
pretended that as soon as he saw that old Lizzie wished to confess, he had
gone away, so as not to get any more hard words, wherefore he had heard
nothing. Hereupon I, as _Dom. Consul_ afterwards told the pastor of Benz,
clenched my fists and answered, "What, thou arch-rogue, didst thou not
crawl about the room in the shape of a reptile?" whereupon he would
hearken to me no longer, thinking me distraught, nor would he make the
constable take an oath, but left me standing in the midst of the room, and
got into his coach again.
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