Mary Schweidler, the amber witch: The most interesting trial for witchcraft ever known, printed from an imperfect manuscript by her father, Abraham Schweidler, the pastor of Coserow in the island of Usedom / edited by W. Meinhold ; translated from the German by Lady Duff Gordon.Meinhold, Wilhelm
General
Mary Schweidler, the amber witch: The most interesting trial for witchcraft ever known, printed from an imperfect manuscript by her father, Abraham Schweidler, the pastor of Coserow in the island of Usedom / edited by W. Meinhold ; translated from the German by Lady Duff Gordon.
Meinhold, Wilhelm
Witchcraft -- Pomerania (Poland and Germany)
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.
She shook like an aspen leaf when he bound her hands and feet; and when he
was about to bind over her sweet eyes a nasty old filthy clout wherein my
maid had seen him carry fish but the day before, and which was still all
over shining scales, I perceived it, and pulled off my silken neckerchief,
begging him to use that instead, which he did. Hereupon the thumb-screw
was put on her, and she was once more asked whether she would confess
freely, but she only shook her poor blinded head and sighed with her dying
Saviour, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" and then in Greek, "Thee mou, Thee
mou, iuati me egkatelipes"; Whereat _Dom. Consul_ started back, and made
the sign of the cross (for inasmuch as he knew no Greek, he believed, as
he afterwards said himself, that she was calling upon the devil to help
her), and then called to the constable with a loud voice, "Screw!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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