Sidonia The Sorceress, vol 2 | Page 9

with many lovely children;
for all the evil which Sidonia tried to bring upon them, as we shall hear,
came to nought, through the mercy of the great God.
But to return to the porter-on the third day he died; and during that time,
day and night, Sidonia prayed, and was never seen but once. This was
at the dividing of the salmon, when she threw up her window, and
shaking her withered clenched hand at them, and her long white locks,
threatened the nuns on their peril to touch the tail-piece-the tail-piece
was hers.

A general horror pervaded the convent now, in truth, when the death of
the porter was known. Anna Apenborg shut herself up, trembling, in
her cell, and even good Dorothea began somewhat to doubt the virtues
of the vile sorceress; for the corpse had a strange and unnatural
appearance, so that it was horrible to look upon, by which signs it was
easy to perceive that he had been prayed to death, as the fearful
night-hag had threatened.
I must notify these symptoms, for the corpses of many of Sidonia's
victims presented the same appearances; as the corpse of the reverend
David--_item_, Joachim Wedeln of Cremzow--_item/_, Doctor
Schwalenberg of Stargard, and Duke Philip II., and lastly, the abbess,
Magdalena von Petersdorf. Whether her brother's son, Otto of Stramehl,
whom she was suspected also of having prayed to death, presented the
like, I cannot say with certainty. At this same time also his princely
Grace Duke Bogislaff XIII. expired, many say bewitched to death; but
of this I have no proof, as the body had quite a natural aspect after
death. Still he had just arranged to journey to Marienfliess himself, and
turn out Sidonia, in consequence of the accusations of Sheriff Sparling
and the convent chaplain, so that his sudden death looks suspicious;
however, as the _medicus_, Dr. Nicolaus Schulz, pronounced, "Quod
ex ramis venæ portæ Epatis et lienis exporrectis, iste adustus sanguis eo
prosiliiset" (for he died by throwing up a black matter like his brothers);
and further, as the manikin on the three-legged hare did not appear this
time at the castle, I shall not lay the murder on Sidonia, to increase her
terrible burden at the last day, though I have my own thoughts upon the
matter.
_Summa._-My gracious Prince died suddenly. Alas, woe! exactly like
all his brothers; he was just sixty-one years old, seven months, and
fifteen days, and a more God-fearing prince never sat on a throne. But
my grief over the fate of this great Pomeranian house has carried me
away from the corpse of the old porter. The appearances were these:--
1. The face brown, green, and yellow, particularly about the _musculi
frontales et temporales._
2. The musculi pectorales so swelled, and the cartilago ensiformis so
singularly raised, that the chest of the corpse touched the mouth.
3. From the patella of the left leg to the malleolus externus of the foot,
all brown, green, and yellow, blended together.

And on examination of the said corpse, Dr. Kukuck of Stargard
affirmed and was ready to swear, that no one tittle of the signature of
Satan was wanting thereupon.
Summa.--The poor carl was buried with great mourning on the
following Friday; and the reverend David preached a sermon thereupon,
in which he plainly spoke of his strange and unnatural death, so that
every one knew well whom he suspected. My hag heard of this
instantly, and therefore determined to attend the sacrament on the
following Sunday; for this end she despatched Wolde to the priest,
bidding her tell him she had a great desire to attend the holy rite, and
would go to confession that day after noon. At this horrid blasphemy a
cold shudder fell upon the priest (and I trust every Christian man will
feel the like as he reads this), for he now saw through her motive
clearly, how she wanted to blind the eyes of the people as to the death
of the porter, by this mockery of the holiest rites of religion. Besides,
amongst the horrible abominations practised by witches, it is well
known that having received the sacred bread, they privately take the
same again from their mouth and feed their familiar therewith. And one
day when the convent was quite still, Anna Apenborg, having crept
down to peep through the key-hole of the refectory door, saw enough to
confirm this general belief.
No wonder then if the good priest stood long silent from horror; then he
spake--"Tell the prioress it is well;" but when Wolde was gone, he
threw himself upon his knees in his closet before God, and wrestled
long in prayer, with tears and wringing of hands, that He would open to
him what was his path of duty.
About noon