The Amber Witch
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Wilhelm Meinhold >> The Amber Witch
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After this I did not see him again till the morning of the third day at
ten o'clock, seeing that he sat at work in a room at the castle, which the
Sheriff had given him, and also ate there, as he sent me word by old Ilse
when she carried him his breakfast next day.
At the above-named time he sent the new constable for me, who, meanwhile,
had been fetched from Uzdom at his desire. For the Sheriff was exceeding
wroth when he heard that the impudent fellow had attempted my child in the
prison, and cried out in a rage, "S'death, and 'ouns, I'll mend thy
coaxing!" Whereupon he gave him a sound thrashing with a dog-whip he held
in his hand, to make sure that she should be at peace from him.
But, alas! the new constable was even worse than the old, as will be shown
hereafter. His name was Master Koeppner, and he was a tall fellow with a
grim face, and a mouth so wide that at every word he said the spittle ran
out at the corners, and stuck in his long beard like soap-suds, so that my
child had an especial fear and loathing of him. Moreover, on all occasions
he seemed to laugh in mockery and scorn, as he did when he opened the
prison-door to us, and saw my poor child sitting in her grief and
distress. But he straightway left us without waiting to be told, whereupon
_Dom. Syndicus_ drew his defence out of his pocket, and read it to us; we
have remembered the main points thereof, and I will recount them here, but
most of the _auctores_ we have forgotten.
1. He began by saying that my daughter had ever till now stood in good
repute, as not only the whole village, but even my servants bore witness;
_ergo_, she could not be a witch, inasmuch as the Saviour hath said, "A
good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring
forth good fruit" (Matt. vii.).
2. With regard to the witchcraft in the village, that belike was the
contrivance of old Lizzie, seeing that she bore a great hatred towards
_Rea_, and had long been in evil repute, for that the parishioners dared
not to speak out, only from fear of the old witch; wherefore Zuter, her
little girl, must be examined, who had heard old Lizzie her goodman tell
her she had a familiar spirit, and that he would tell it to the parson;
for that notwithstanding the above-named was but a child, still it was
written in Psalm viii., "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou
ordained strength...."; and the Saviour himself appealed (Matt. xxi.) to
the testimony of little children.
3. Furthermore, old Lizzie might have bewitched the crops, _item_, the
fruit-trees, inasmuch as none could believe that _Rea_, who had ever shown
herself a dutiful child, would have bewitched her own father's corn, or
made caterpillars come on his trees; for no one, according to Scripture,
can serve two masters.
_Item_, she (old Lizzie) might very well have been the woodpecker that was
seen by _Rea_ and old Paasch on the Streckelberg, and herself have given
over her goodman to the Evil One for fear of the parson, inasmuch as
Spitzel _De Expugnatione Orci_ asserts; _item_, the _Malleus Maleficarum_
proves beyond doubt that the wicked children of Satan ofttimes change
themselves into all manner of beasts, as the foul fiend himself likewise
seduced our first parents in the shape of a serpent (Gen. iii.).
5. That old Lizzie had most likely made the wild weather when _Dom.
Consul_ was coming home with _Rea_ from the Streckelberg, seeing it was
impossible that _Rea_ could have done it, as she was sitting in the coach,
whereas witches when they raise storms always stand in the water, and
throw it over their heads backwards; _item_, beat the stones soundly with
a stick, as Hannold relates. Wherefore she too, may be, knew best about
the frog and the hedgehog.
6. That _Rea_ was erroneously charged with that as a _crimen_ which ought
rather to serve as her justification, namely, her sudden riches. For the
_Malleus Maleficarum_ expressly says that a witch can never grow rich,
seeing that Satan, to do dishonour to God, always buys them for a vile
price, so that they should not betray themselves by their riches.
Wherefore that as _Rea_ had grown rich, she could not have got her wealth
from the foul fiend, but it must be true that she had found amber on the
mountain; that the spells of old Lizzie might have been the cause why they
could not find the vein of amber again, or that the sea might have washed
away the cliff below, as often happens, whereupon the top had slipped
down, so that only a _miraculum naturale_ had taken place. The proof which
he brought forward from Scripture we have quite forgotten, seeing it was
but middling.
7. With regard to her re-baptism, the old hag had said herself that she
had not seen the devil or any other spirit or man about _Rea_, wherefore
she might in truth have been only naturally bathing, in order to greet the
King of Sweden next day, seeing that the weather was hot, and that bathing
was not of itself sufficient to impair the modesty of a maiden. For that
she had as little thought any would see her as Bathsheba the daughter of
Eliam, and wife of Uriah the Hittite, who in like manner did bathe
herself, as is written (2 Sam. xi. 2), without knowing that David could
see her. Neither could her mark be a mark given by Satan, inasmuch as
there was feeling therein; _ergo_, it must be a natural mole, and it was a
lie that she had it not before bathing. Moreover, that on this point the
old harlot was nowise to be believed, seeing that she had fallen from one
contradiction into another about it, as stated in the _acta_.
8. Neither was it just to accuse _Rea_ of having bewitched Paasch his
little daughter; for as old Lizzie was going in and out of the room, nay,
even sat herself down on the little girl her belly when the pastor went to
see her, it most likely was that wicked woman (who was known to have a
great spite against _Rea_) that contrived the spell through the power of
the foul fiend, and by permission of the all-just God; for that Satan was
"a liar and the father of it," as our Lord Christ says (John viii.).
9. With regard to the appearance of the foul fiend on the mountain in the
shape of a hairy giant, that indeed was the heaviest _gravamen_, inasmuch
as not only old Lizzie, but likewise three trustworthy witnesses, had seen
him. But who could tell whether it was not old Lizzie herself who had
contrived this devilish apparition in order to ruin her enemy altogether;
for that notwithstanding the apparition was not the young nobleman, as
_Rea_ had declared it to be, it still was very likely that she had not
lied, but had mistaken Satan for the young lord, as he appeared in his
shape; _exemplum_, for this was to be found even in Scripture: for that
all _Theologi_ of the whole Protestant Church were agreed that the vision
which the witch of Endor showed to King Saul was not Samuel himself, but
the arch-fiend; nevertheless, Saul had taken it for Samuel. In like manner
the old harlot might have conjured up the devil before _Rea_, who did not
perceive that it was not the young lord, but Satan, who had put on that
shape in order to seduce her; for as _Rea_ was a fair woman, none could
wonder that the devil gave himself more trouble for her than for an old
withered hag, seeing he has ever sought after fair women to lie with them.
Lastly, he argued that _Rea_ was in nowise marked as a witch, for that she
neither had bleared and squinting eyes nor a hooked nose, whereas old
Lizzie had both, which Theophrastus Paracelsus declares to be an unfailing
mark of a witch, saying, "Nature marketh none thus unless by abortion, for
these are the chiefest signs whereby witches be known whom the spirit
_Asiendens_ hath subdued unto himself."
When _Dom. Syndicus_ had read his _defensio_, my daughter was so rejoiced
thereat that she would have kissed his hand, but he snatched it from her
and breathed upon it thrice, whereby we could easily see that he himself
was nowise in earnest with his _defensio_. Soon after he took leave in an
ill-humour, after commending her to the care of the Most High, and begged
that I would make my farewell as short as might be, seeing that he
purposed to return home that very day, the which, alas! I very unwillingly
did.
_The Twenty-third Chapter_
HOW MY POOR CHILD WAS SENTENCED TO BE PUT TO THE QUESTION
After _acta_ had been sent to the honourable the central court, about
fourteen days passed over before any answer was received. My lord the
Sheriff was especially gracious toward me the while, and allowed me to see
my daughter as often as I would (seeing that the rest of the court were
gone home), wherefore I was with her nearly all day. And when the
constable grew impatient of keeping watch over me, I gave him a fee to
lock me in together with my child. And the all-merciful God was gracious
unto us, and caused us often and gladly to pray, for we had a steadfast
hope, believing that the cross we had seen in the heavens would now soon
pass away from us, and that the ravening wolf would receive his reward
when the honourable high court had read through the _acta_, and should
come to the excellent _defensio_ which _Dom. Syndicus_ had constructed for
my child. Wherefore I began to be of good cheer again, especially when I
saw my daughter her cheeks growing of a right lovely red. But on Thursday,
25th _mensis Augusti_, at noon, the worshipful court drove into the
castle-yard again as I sat in the prison with my child, as I was wont; and
old Ilse brought us our food, but could not tell us the news for weeping.
But the tall constable peeped in at the door, grinning, and cried, "Oh,
ho! they are come, they are come, they are come; now the tickling will
begin": whereat my poor child shuddered, but less at the news than at
sight of the fellow himself. Scarce was he gone than he came back again to
take off her chains and to fetch her away. So I followed her into the
judgment-chamber, where _Dom. Consul_ read out the sentence of the
honourable high court as follows:--That she should once more be questioned
in kindness touching the articles contained in the indictment; and if she
then continued stubborn she should be subjected to the _peine forte et
dure_, for that the _defensio_ she had set up did not suffice, and that
there were _indicia legitima praegnantia et sufficientia ad torturam
ipsam_; to wit--
1. _Mala fama_.
2. _Maleficium, publice commissum_.
3. _Apparitio daemonis in monte_.
Whereupon the most honourable central court cited about 20 _auctores_,
whereof, howbeit, we remember but little. When _Dom. Consul_ had read out
this to my child, he once more lift up his voice and admonished her with
many words to confess of her own free-will, for that the truth must now
come to light.
Hereupon she steadfastly replied, that after the _defensio_ of _Dom.
Syndicus_ she had indeed hoped for a better sentence; but that, as it was
the will of God to try her yet more hardly, she resigned herself
altogether into His gracious hands, and could not confess aught save what
she had said before, namely, that she was innocent, and that evil men had
brought this misery upon her. Hereupon _Dom. Consul_ motioned the
constable, who straightway opened the door of the next room, and admitted
_Pastor Benzensis_ in his surplice, who had been sent for by the court to
admonish her still better out of the word of God. He heaved a deep sigh,
and said, "Mary, Mary, is it thus I must meet thee again?" Whereupon she
began to weep bitterly, and to protest her innocence afresh. But he heeded
not her distress, and as soon as he had heard her pray, "Our Father," "The
eyes of all wait upon thee," and "God the Father dwell with us," he lift
up his voice and declared to her the hatred of the living God to all
witches and warlocks, seeing that not only is the punishment of fire
awarded to them in the Old Testament, but that the Holy Ghost expressly
saith in the New Testament (Gal. v.), "That they which do such things
shall not inherit the kingdom of God"; but "shall have their part in the
lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death"
(Apocal. xxi.). Wherefore she must not be stubborn nor murmur against the
court when she was tormented, seeing that it was all done out of Christian
love, and to save her poor soul. That, for the sake of God and her
salvation, she should no longer delay repentance, and thereby cause her
body to be tormented, and give over her wretched soul to Satan, who
certainly would not fulfil those promises in hell which he had made her
here upon earth; seeing that "He was a murderer from the beginning--a liar
and the father of it" (John viii.). "Oh!" cried he, "Mary, my child, who
so oft hast sat upon my knees, and for whom I now cry every morning and
every night unto my God, if thou wilt have no pity upon thee and me, have
pity at least upon thy worthy father, whom I cannot look upon without
tears, seeing that his hairs have turned snow-white within a few days, and
save thy soul, my child, and confess! Behold, thy Heavenly Father grieveth
over thee no less than thy fleshly father, and the holy angels veil their
faces for sorrow that thou, who wert once their darling sister, art now
become the sister and bride of the devil. Return therefore, and repent!
This day thy Saviour calleth thee, poor stray lamb, back into His flock,
'And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath
bound ... be loosed from this bond?' Such are His merciful words (Luke
xiii.); _item_, 'Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord, and I
will not cause mine anger to fall upon you, for I am merciful' (Jer.
iii.). Return then, thou back-sliding soul, unto the Lord thy God! He who
heard the prayer of the idolatrous Manasseh when 'he besought the Lord his
God and humbled himself' (2 Chron. xxxiii.); who, through Paul, accepted
the repentance of the sorcerers at Ephesus (Acts xix.), the same merciful
God now crieth unto thee as unto the angel of the church of Ephesus,
'Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent' (Apocal.
ii.). Oh, Mary, Mary, remember, my child, from whence thou art fallen, and
repent!"
Hereupon he held his peace, and it was some time before she could say a
word for tears and sobs; but at last she answered, "If lies are no less
hateful to God than witchcraft, I may not lie, but must rather declare, to
the glory of God, as I have ever declared, that I am innocent."
Hereupon _Dom. Consul_ was exceeding wroth, and frowned and asked the tall
constable if all was ready, _item_, whether the women were at hand to
undress _Rea_; whereupon he answered with a grin, as he was wont, "Ho, ho,
I have never been wanting in my duty, nor will I be wanting to-day; I will
tickle her in such wise that she shall soon confess."
When he had said this, _Dom. Consul_ turned to my daughter, and said,
"Thou art a foolish thing, and knowest not the torment which awaits thee,
and therefore is it that thou still art stubborn. Now, then, follow me to
the torture-chamber, where the executioner shall show thee the
_instrumenta_; and thou mayest yet think better of it when thou hast seen
what the question is like."
Hereupon he went into another room, and the constable followed him with my
child. And when I would have gone after them, _Pastor Benzensis_ held me
back, with many tears, and conjured me not to do so, but to tarry where I
was. But I hearkened not unto him, and tore myself from him, and swore
that so long as a single vein should beat in my wretched body I would
never forsake my child. I therefore went into the next room, and from
thence down into a vault, where was the torture-chamber, wherein were no
windows, so that those without might not hear the cries of the tormented.
Two torches were already burning there when I went in, and although _Dom.
Consul_ would at first have sent me away, after a while he had pity upon
me, so that he suffered me to stay.
And now that hell-hound the constable stepped forward, and first showed my
poor child the ladder, saying with savage glee, "See here! first of all
thou wilt be laid on that, and thy hands and feet will be tied. Next, the
thumb-screw here will be put upon thee, which straightway will make the
blood to spirt out at the tips of thy fingers; thou mayest see that they
are still red with the blood of old Gussy Biehlke, who was burnt last
year, and who, like thee, would not confess at first. If thou still wilt
not confess, I shall next put these Spanish boots on thee, and should they
be too large, I shall just drive in a wedge, so that the calf, which is
now at the back of thy leg, will be driven to the front, and the blood
will shoot out of thy feet, as when thou squeezest blackberries in a bag.
"Again, if thou wilt not yet confess--holla!" shouted he, and kicked open
a door behind him, so that the whole vault shook, and my poor child fell
upon her knees for fright. Before long two women brought in a bubbling
caldron, full of boiling pitch and brimstone. This caldron the hell-hound
ordered them to set down on the ground, and drew forth, from under the red
cloak he wore, a goose's wing, wherefrom he plucked five or six quills,
which he dipped into the boiling brimstone. After he had held them a while
in the caldron he threw them upon the earth, where they twisted about and
spirted the brimstone on all sides. And then he called to my poor child
again, "See! these quills I shall throw upon thy white loins, and the
burning brimstone will presently eat into thy flesh down to the very
bones, so that thou wilt thereby have a foretaste of the joys which await
thee in hell."
[Illustration: The Torture Chamber]
When he had spoken thus far, amid sneers and laughter, I was so overcome
with rage that I sprang forth out of the corner where I stood leaning my
trembling joints against an old barrel, and cried, "O, thou hellish dog!
sayest thou this of thyself, or have others bidden thee?" Whereupon,
however, the fellow gave me such a blow upon the breast that I fell
backwards against the wall, and _Dom. Consul_ called out in great wrath,
"You old fool, if you needs must stay here, at any rate leave the
constable in peace, for if not I will have you thrust out of the chamber
forthwith. The constable has said no more than is his duty; and it will
thus happen to thy child if she confess not, and if it appear that the
foul fiend have given her some charm against the torture." Hereupon this
hell-hound went on to speak to my poor child, without heeding me, save
that he laughed in my face: "Look here! when thou hast thus been well
shorn, ho, ho, ho! I shall pull thee up by means of these two rings in the
floor and the roof, stretch thy arms above thy head, and bind them fast to
the ceiling; whereupon I shall take these two torches, and hold them under
thy shoulders, till thy skin will presently become like the rind of a
smoked ham. Then thy hellish paramour will help thee no longer, and thou
wilt confess the truth. And now thou hast seen and heard all that I shall
do to thee, in the name of God, and by order of the magistrates."
And now _Dom. Consul_ once more came forward and admonished her to confess
the truth. But she abode by what she had said from the first; whereupon he
delivered her over to the two women who had brought in the caldron, to
strip her naked as she was born, and to clothe her in the black
torture-shift; after which they were once more to lead her barefooted up
the steps before the worshipful court. But one of these women was the
Sheriff his housekeeper (the other was the impudent constable his wife),
and my daughter said that she would not suffer herself to be touched save
by honest women, and assuredly not by the housekeeper, and begged _Dom.
Consul_ to send for her maid, who was sitting in her prison reading the
Bible, if he knew of no other decent woman at hand. Hereupon the
housekeeper began to pour forth a wondrous deal of railing and ill words,
but _Dom. Consul_ rebuked her, and answered my daughter that he would let
her have her wish in this matter too, and bade the impudent constable his
wife call the maid hither from out of the prison. After he had said this,
he took me by the arm, and prayed me so long to go up with him, for that
no harm would happen to my daughter as yet, that I did as he would have
me.
Before long she herself came up, led between the two women, barefooted,
and in the black torture-shift, but so pale that I myself should scarce
have known her. The hateful constable, who followed close behind, seized
her by the hand, and led her before the worshipful court.
Hereupon the admonitions began all over again, and _Dom. Consul_ bade her
look upon the brown spots that were upon the black shift, for that they
were the blood of old wife Bichlke, and to consider that within a few
minutes it would in like manner be stained with her own blood. Hereupon
she answered, "I have considered that right well, but I hope that my
faithful Saviour, who hath laid this torment upon me, being innocent, will
likewise help me to bear it, as he helped the holy martyrs of old; for if
these, through God's help, overcame by faith the torments inflicted on
them by blind heathens, I also can overcome the torture inflicted on me by
blind heathens, who, indeed, call themselves Christians, but who are more
cruel than those of yore; for the old heathens only caused the holy
virgins to be torn of savage beasts, but ye which have received the new
commandment, 'That ye love one another; as your Saviour hath loved you,
that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are his
disciples' (St. John xiii.); yourselves will act the part of savage
beasts, and tear with your own hands the body of an innocent maiden, your
sister, who has never done aught to harm you. Do, then, as ye list, but
have a care how ye will answer it to the highest Judge of all. Again, I
say, the lamb feareth nought, for it is in the hand of the good Shepherd."
When my matchless child had thus spoken, _Dom. Consul_ rose, pulled off
the black skull-cap which he ever wore, because the top of his head was
already bald, bowed to the court, and said, "We hereby make known to the
worshipful court that the question ordinary and extraordinary of the
stubborn and blaspheming witch, Mary Schweidler, is about to begin, in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
Hereupon all the court rose save the Sheriff, who had got up before, and
was walking uneasily up and down in the room. But of all that now follows,
and of what I myself did, I remember not one word, but will relate it all
as I have received it from my daughter and other _testes_, and they have
told me as follows:--
That when _Dom. Consul_ after these words had taken up the hour-glass
which stood upon the table, and walked on before, I would go with him,
whereupon _Pastor Benzensis_ first prayed me with many words and tears to
desist from my purpose, and when that was of no avail my child herself
stroked my cheeks, saying, "Father, have you ever read that the Blessed
Virgin stood by when her guileless Son was scourged? Depart, therefore,
from me. You shall stand by the pile whereon I am burned, that I promise
you; for in like manner did the Blessed Virgin stand at the foot of the
cross. But, now, go; go, I pray you, for you will not be able to bear it,
neither shall I."
And when this also failed, _Dom. Consul_ bade the constable seize me, and
by main force lock me into another room; whereupon, however, I tore myself
away, and fell at his feet, conjuring him by the wounds of Christ not to
tear me from my child; that I would never forget his kindness and mercy,
but pray for him day and night; nay, that at the day of judgment I would
be his intercessor with God and the holy angels if that he would but let
me go with my child; that I would be quite quiet, and not speak one single
word, but that I must go with my child, etc.
This so moved the worthy man that he burst into tears, and so trembled
with pity for me that the hour-glass fell from his hands and rolled right
before the feet of the Sheriff, as though God himself would signify to him
that his glass was soon to run out; and, indeed, he understood it right
well, for he grew white as any chalk when he picked it up and gave it back
to _Dom. Consul_. The latter at last gave way, saying that this day would
make him ten years older; but he bade the impudent constable (who also
went with us) lead me away if I made any _rumor_ during the torture. And
hereupon the whole court went below, save the Sheriff, who said his head
ached, and that he believed his old _malum_, the gout, was coming upon him
again, wherefore he went into another chamber; _item, Pastor Benzensis_
likewise departed.
Down in the vault the constable first brought in tables and chairs,
whereon the court sat, and _Dom. Consul_ also pushed a chair toward me,
but I sat not thereon, but threw myself upon my knees in a corner. When
this was done they began again with their vile admonitions, and as my
child, like her guileless Saviour before His unrighteous judges, answered
not a word, _Dom. Consul_ rose up and bade the tall constable lay her on
the torture-bench.
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