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 now a merry chance befell with the old maid, the which I will here
note. For when the faithful old soul had heard what had taken place, she
was beside herself for joy, danced and clapped her hands, and at last said
to my child, "Now to be sure you will not weep when the young lord is to
lie in your bed," whereat my child blushed scarlet for shame, and ran out
of the room; and when the young lord would know what she meant therewith,
she told him that he had already once slept in my child her bed when he
came from Gutzkow with me, whereupon he bantered her all the evening after
that she was come back again. Moreover, he promised the maid that as she
had once made my child her bed for him, she should make it again, and that
on the day after to-morrow she and the ploughman too should go with us to
Mellenthin, so that masters and servants should all rejoice together after
such great distress.
And seeing that the dear young lord would stop the night under my roof, I
made him lie in the small closet together with me (for I could not know
what might happen). He soon slept like a top, but no sleep came into my
eyes, for very joy, and I prayed the livelong blessed night, or thought
over my sermon. Only near morning I dozed a little; and when I rose the
young lord already sat in the next room with my child, who wore the black
silken gown which he had brought her, and, strange to say, she looked
fresher than even when the Swedish king came, so that I never in all my
life saw her look fresher or fairer. _Item_, the young lord wore his black
doublet, and picked out for her the best bits of myrtle for the wreath she
was twisting. But when she saw me, she straightway laid the wreath beside
her on the bench, folded her little hands, and said the morning prayer, as
she was ever wont to do, which humility pleased the young lord right well,
and he begged her that in future she would ever do the like with him, the
which she promised.
Soon after we went to the blessed church to confession, and all the folk
stood gaping open-mouthed because the young lord led my child on his arm.
But they wondered far more when, after the sermon, I first read to them in
the vulgar tongue the _amende honorable_ to my child from his Princely
Highness, together with the confirmation of the same by his Imperial
Majesty, and after that my patent of nobility; and, lastly, began to
publish the banns between my child and the young lord. Dear reader, there
arose a murmur throughout the church like the buzzing of a swarm of bees.
(N.B. These _scripta_ were burnt in the fire which broke out in the castle
a year ago, as I shall hereafter relate, wherefore I cannot insert them
here _in origne_.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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. — John Shaqi
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