Sidonia The Sorceress, vol 2 | Page 4

the abbess see to it, if
she chose.
Illa.--"Stuff, the old pussy--the less said of her the better. Why, she was
worse than the old maid, Wolde, herself."
_Hæc_.--"The abbess? why, the whole convent, and the whole world

too, talked of her piety and virtue."
Illa.--"Very virtuous, truly, to have the priest locked up with her; and
when some of the sisters wished to remain, suspecting that all was not
right, the priest pushed them out at the door with his own hands, and
bolted it after them, as many could testify to her had been done this
very day. Oh, what a Sodom and Gomorrah she had been betrayed into!
(weeping, sobbing, and falling upon Dorothea's neck.) I pray you, sister,
for the sake of our heavenly bridegroom, bring this evil to an end,
otherwise fire and brimstone will assuredly and justly be rained down
upon our poor cloister."
Still the other maintained, "That the dear sister must err as regarded the
abbess. It might be her chaste zeal that blinded her. True enough,
probably, what she said of the priest; but the worthy abbess--no, never
could she believe that."
Illa.--"Let her have proof then. It was not her custom to weaken
innocence; call her maid, Wolde."
Then as Wolde entered, Sidonia made a sign, and bid her tell the
sub-prioress all that the shameless priest had done.
Ancilla.--"He had asked her for little kisses, praised her hands and hair,
and her beautiful limp, and had sat up close to her on the bench, then
run after her into the kitchen, gave her money (shows the money),
asked again for kisses, then----"
Sidonia screams--
"Hold your tongue; no more, no more; enough, enough!"
At this story, Dorothea Stettin nearly went into convulsions--she wrung
her hands, crying--.
"How is it possible? O heaven, how is it possible?"
Illa.--"There is something more quite possible also; the hag shall tell

you what she saw at the room door of the abbess."
Ancilla.-"When the scandalous priest left her, he went straight to the
abbess, and there was taken with cramps, as she heard, upon which all
the convent ran thither, and she with the rest. And he was lying
stretched out on a bench, like one dead, no doubt from shame; but the
shame soon went off, and then he got up, and bade them all leave the
room. However, good Anna Apenborg did not choose to go, for she
suspected evil. Whereupon he seized her by the hand, and put her out
along with the others. She saw all this herself, for she was standing in
the passage, waiting to speak to sister Anna. When, behold, she was
pushed out, to her great surprise, in this way by the priest, and they
heard the door bolted inside immediately after."
At this Dorothea Stettin fell upon Sidonia's bed, weeping, sobbing, and
ready to die with grief; but Sidonia bade her not take on so; for perhaps,
after all, the old hag had not told the truth, at least concerning the dear,
worthy abbess; but two witnesses would be sufficient testimony.
Whereupon she bid Wolde watch for Anna Apenborg from the window,
and beckon to her to come in if she saw her going by.
And scarcely had Wolde stepped to the window, when she laughed and
said--
"Truly, there stands Anna chatting with Agnes Kleist's maid at the well.
Shall I run and call her?"
"Yes," said Sidonia.
In a little while Wolde returned with sister Anna. The girl looked
wildly round at first, stared at the broom-sticks which lay crosswise
under the table, and then asked, with a trembling voice, what the good
sister wanted with her, while she took a seat on a trunk near the bed.
"My old maid," said Sidonia, "tells me that the reverend chaplain took
you by the hand, and put you out of the abbess's room, after which he
bolted the door. Is this true or not? Speak the whole truth."

So Anna related the whole story as Wolde had done; but, while talking,
the curious damsel lifted up a corner of the quilt to peep under the bed,
upon which my cat in his little red hose crept forth again, mewing and
rubbing himself against Anna, at which she gave a shriek of horror and
sprang out of the room, down the steps and into the courtyard, without
ever once venturing to look behind her. And many think that this cat
was Sidonia's evil spirit Chim. But Anna Apenborg saw afterwards a
pair of terrible fiery eyes glaring at her from Sidonia's window; so
others said, that must have been Chim. But we shall hear more of this
same cat presently.
Summa.--Sidonia knew well enough what made the girl scream, but she
turned to Dorothea, and said--
"Ah,