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Page 56
Meanwhile the miller had already stopped the mill, _item_, turned off the
water, and some four or five fellows had gone with the constable down to
the great water-wheel to take the Sheriff out of the fellies, wherein he
had till _datum_ still been carried round and round. This they could not
do until they had first sawn out one of the fellies; and when at last they
brought him to the bank, his neck was found to be broken, and he was as
blue as a corn-flower. Moreover, his throat was frightfully torn, and the
blood ran out of his nose and mouth. If the people had not reviled my
child before, they reviled her doubly now, and would have thrown dirt and
stones at her, had not the worshipful court interfered with might and
main, saying that she would presently receive her well-deserved
punishment.
[Illustration: The Doom of the Wheel]
Also, my dear gossip, the Reverend Martinus, climbed up into the cart
again, and admonished the people not to forestall the law; and seeing that
the storm had somewhat abated, he could now be heard. And when they had
become somewhat more quiet, _Dom. Consul_ left the corpse of the Sheriff
in charge with the miller, until such time as, by God's help, he should
return. _Item_, he caused the grey charger to be tied up to the oak-tree
till the same time, seeing that the miller swore that he had no room in
the mill, inasmuch as his stable was filled with straw; but that he would
give the grey horse some hay, and keep good watch over him. And now were
we wretched creatures forced to get into the cart again, after that the
unsearchable will of God had once more dashed all our hopes. The constable
gnashed his teeth with rage, while he took the cords out of his pocket to
bind my poor child to the rail withal. As I saw right well what he was
about to do, I pulled a few groats out of my pocket, and whispered into
his ear, "Be merciful, for she cannot possibly run away, and do you
hereafter help her to die quickly, and you shall get ten groats more from
me!" This worked well, and albeit he pretended before the people to pull
the ropes tight, seeing they all cried out with might and main, "Haul
hard, haul hard!" in truth he bound her hands more gently than before, and
even without making her fast to the rail; but he sat up behind us again
with the naked sword, and after that _Dom. Consul_ had prayed aloud, "God
the Father, dwell with us," likewise the _Custos_ had led another hymn (I
know not what he sang, neither does my child), we went on our way,
according to the unfathomable will of God, after this fashion: the
worshipful court went before, whereas all the folks, to our great joy,
fell back, and the fellows with the pitchforks lingered a good way behind
us, now that the Sheriff was dead.
_The Twenty-eighth Chapter_
HOW MY DAUGHTER WAS AT LENGTH SAVED BY THE HELP OF THE ALL-MERCIFUL, YEA,
OF THE ALL-MERCIFUL GOD
Meanwhile, by reason of my unbelief, wherewith Satan again tempted me, I
had become so weak that I was forced to lean my back against the constable
his knees, and expected not to live till even we should come to the
mountain; for the last hope I had cherished was now gone, and I saw that
my innocent lamb was in the same plight. Moreover, the reverend Martinus
began to upbraid her, saying that he, too, now saw that all her oaths were
lies, and that she really could brew storms. Hereupon, she answered with a
smile, although, indeed, she was as white as a sheet, "Alas, reverend
godfather, do you then really believe that the weather and the storms no
longer obey our Lord God? Are storms, then, so rare at this season of the
year, that none save the foul fiend can cause them? Nay, I have never
broken the baptismal vow you once made in my name, nor will I ever break
it, as I hope that God will be merciful to me in my last hour, which is
now at hand." But the reverend Martinus shook his head doubtingly, and
said, "The Evil One must have promised thee much, seeing thou remainest so
stubborn even unto thy life's end, and blasphemest the Lord thy God; but
wait, and thou wilt soon learn with horror that the devil 'is a liar, and
the father of it'" (St. John viii.). Whilst he yet spake this, and more of
a like kind, we came to Uekeritze, where all the people, both great and
small, rushed out of their doors, also Jacob Schwarten his wife, who, as
we afterwards heard, had only been brought to bed the night before, and
her goodman came running after her to fetch her back, in vain. She told
him he was a fool, and had been one for many a weary day, and that if she
had to crawl up the mountain on her bare knees, she would go to see the
parson's witch burned; that she had reckoned upon it for so long, and if
he did not let her go, she would give him a thump on the chaps, etc.
Thus did the coarse and foul-mouthed people riot around the cart wherein
we sat, and as they knew not what had befallen, they ran so near us that
the wheel went over the foot of a boy. Nevertheless, they all crowded up
again, more especially the lasses, and felt my daughter her clothes, and
would even see her shoes and stockings, and asked her how she felt.
_Item_, one fellow asked whether she would drink somewhat, with many more
fooleries besides, till at last, when several came and asked her for her
garland and her golden chain, she turned towards me and smiled, saying,
"Father, I must begin to speak some Latin again, otherwise the folks will
leave me no peace." But it was not wanted this time; for our guards, with
the pitchforks, had now reached the hindmost, and, doubtless, told them
what had happened, as we presently heard a great shouting behind us, for
the love of God to turn back before the witch did them a mischief; and as
Jacob Schwarten his wife heeded it not, but still plagued my child to give
her her apron to make a christening coat for her baby, for that it was
pity to let it be burnt, her goodman gave her such a thump on her back
with a knotted stick which he had pulled out of the hedge that she fell
down with loud shrieks; and when he went to help her up she pulled him
down by his hair, and, as reverend Martinus said, now executed what she
had threatened; inasmuch as she struck him on the nose with her fist with
might and main, until the other people came running up to them, and held
her back. Meanwhile, however, the storm had almost passed over, and sank
down toward the sea.
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