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Sidonia The Sorceress V2

W >> William Mienhold >> Sidonia The Sorceress V2




This at first sounded strange to her, seeing that she had very
seldom been out of our parish, and that her departed mother and
her little brother lay in our churchyard. She asked, "Who was to
make up their graves and plant flowers on them? _Item_, as
the Lord had given her a smooth face, what I should do if in these
wild and cruel times she were attacked on the highways by
marauding soldiers or other villains, seeing that I was a weak old
man and unable to defend her; _item_, wherewithal should we
shield ourselves from the frost, as the winter was setting in, and
the enemy had robbed us of our clothes, so that we had scarce
enough left to cover our nakedness?" All this I had not
considered, and was forced to own that she was right; so after
much discussion we determined to leave it this night to the Lord,
and to do whatever He should put into our hearts next morning. At
any rate, we saw that we could in nowise keep the old maid any
longer; I therefore called her out of the kitchen, and told her
she had better go early next morning to Liepe, as there still was
food there, whereas here she must starve, seeing that perhaps we
ourselves might leave the parish and the country to-morrow. I
thanked her for the love and faith she had shown us, and begged
her at last, amid the loud sobs of my poor daughter, to depart
forthwith privately, and not to make our hearts still heavier by
leave-taking; that old Paasch was going a-fishing to-night on the
Achterwater, as he had told me, and no doubt would readily set her
on shore at Grussow, where she had friends, and could eat her fill
even to-day. She could not say a word for weeping, but when she
saw that I was really in earnest she went out of the room. Not
long after we heard the house-door shut to, whereupon my daughter
moaned, "She is gone already," and ran straight to the window to
look after her. "Yes," cried, she, as she saw her through the
little panes, "she is really gone;" and she wrung her hands and
would not be comforted. At last, however, she was quieted when I
spoke of the maid Hagar, whom Abraham had likewise cast off, but
on whom the Lord had nevertheless shown mercy in the wilderness;
and hereupon we commended ourselves to the Lord, and stretched
ourselves on our couches of moss.




CHAPTER IX.

_How the old maid-servant humbled me by her faith, and the Lord
yet blessed me His unworthy servant_.


"Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His
holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His
benefits. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy
diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth
thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies" (Ps. ciii.).

Alas! wretched man that I am, how shall I understand all the
benefits and mercies which the Lord bestowed upon me the very next
day? I now wept for joy as of late I had done for sorrow; and my
child danced about the room like a young roe, and would not go to
bed, but only cry and dance, and between whiles repeat the 103rd
Psalm, then dance and cry again until morning broke. But as she
was still very weak, I rebuked her presumption, seeing that this
was tempting the Lord; and now mark what had happened.

After we had both woke in the morning with deep sighs, and called
upon the Lord to manifest to us, in our hearts, what we should do,
we still could not make up our minds. I therefore called to my
child, if she felt strong enough, to leave her bed and light a
fire in the stove herself, as our maid was gone; that we would
then consider the matter further. She accordingly got up, but came
back in an instant with cries of joy, because the maid had
privately stolen back into the house, and had already made a fire.
Hereupon I sent for her to my bedside, and wondered at her
disobedience, and asked what she now wanted here, but to torment
me and my daughter still more, and why she did not go yesterday
with old Paasch? But she lamented and wept so sore that she scarce
could speak, and I understood only thus much: that she had eaten
with us, and would likewise starve with us, for that she could
never part from her young mistress, whom she had known from her
cradle. Such faithful love moved me so, that I said almost with
tears, "But hast thou not heard that my daughter and I have
determined to wander as beggars about the country; where, then,
wilt thou remain?" To this she answered that neither would she
stay behind, seeing it was more fitting for her to beg than for
us; but that she could not yet see why I wished to go out into the
wide world; whether I had already forgotten that I had said, in my
induction sermon, that I would abide with my flock in affliction
and in death? That I should stay yet a little longer where I was,
and send her to Liepe, as she hoped to get something worth having
for us there, from her friends and others. These words, especially
those about my induction sermon, fell heavy on my conscience, and
I was ashamed of my want of faith, since, not my daughter only,
but yet more, even my maid, had stronger faith than I, who,
nevertheless, professed to be a servant of God's Word. I believed
that the Lord, to keep me, poor fearful hireling, and at the same
time to humble me, had awakened the spirit of this poor
maid-servant to prove me, as the maid in the palace of the
high-priest had also proved the fearful St. Peter. Wherefore I
turned my face towards the wall, like Hezekiah, and humbled myself
before the Lord; which scarce had I done before my child ran into
the room again with a cry of joy. For behold some Christian heart
had stolen quietly into the house in the night, and had laid in
the chamber two loaves, a good piece of meat, a bag of oatmeal,
_item_, a bag of salt, holding near a pint. Any one may guess
what shouts of joy we all raised. Neither was I ashamed to confess
my sins before my maid; and in our common morning prayer, which we
said on our knees, I made fresh vows to the Lord of obedience and
faith. Thus we had that morning a grand breakfast, and sent
something to old Paasch besides; _item_, my daughter again
sent for all the little children to come, and kindly fed them with
our store, before they said their tasks; and when in my heart of
little faith I sighed thereat, although I said naught, she smiled,
and said, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the
morrow shall take thought for the things of itself." [Footnote:
Matt. vi. 34.]

The Holy Ghost spoke by her, as I cannot but believe, nor thou
either, beloved reader: for, mark what happened. In the afternoon,
she (I mean my child) went up the Streckelberg to seek for
blackberries, as old Paasch had told her through the maid that a
few bushes were still left. The maid was chopping wood in the
yard, to which end she had borrowed old Paasch his axe, for the
Imperialist thieves had thrown away mine, so that it could nowhere
be found; and I myself was pacing up and down in the room,
meditating my sermon; when my child, with her apron full, came
quickly in at the door, quite red and with beaming eyes, and
scarce able for joy to say more than "Father, father, what have I
got?" "Well," quoth I, "what hast thou got, my child?" Whereupon
she opened her apron, and I scarce trusted my eyes when I saw,
instead of the blackberries which she had gone to seek, two
shining pieces of amber, each nearly as big as a man's head, not
to mention the small pieces, some of which were as large as my
hand, and that, God knows, is no small one. "Child of my heart,"
cried I, "how cam'st thou by this blessing from God?" As soon as
she could fetch her breath, she told me as follows:

That while she was seeking for blackberries in a dell near the
shore, she saw somewhat glistening in the sun, and on coming near,
she found this wondrous godsend, seeing that the wind had blown
the sand away from off a black vein of amber. [Footnote: This
happens frequently even now, and has occurred to the editor
himself. The small dark vein held indeed a few pieces of amber,
mixed with charcoal, a sure proof of its vegetable origin, of
which we may observe in passing there is now scarce any doubt,
since whole trees of amber have been found in Prussia, and are
preserved in the museum at Konigsberg.] That she straightway had
broken off these pieces with a stick, and that there was plenty
more to be got, seeing that it rattled about under the stick when
she thrust it into the sand, neither could she force it farther
than, at most, a foot deep into the ground; _item_, she told
me that she had covered the place all over again with sand, and
swept it smooth with her apron so as to leave no traces.

Moreover, that no stranger was at all likely to go thither, seeing
that no blackberries grew very near, and she had gone to the spot,
moved by curiosity and a wish to look upon the sea, rather than
from any need; but that she could easily find the place again
herself, inasmuch as she had marked it with three little stones.
What was our first act after the all-merciful God had rescued us
out of such misery, nay, even as it seemed, endowed us with great
riches, any one may guess. When we at length got up off our knees
my child would straightway have run to tell the maid our joyful
news. But I forbade her, seeing that we could not be sure that the
maid might not tell it again to her friends, albeit in all other
things she was a faithful woman, and feared God; but that if she
did that, the sheriff would be sure to hear of it, and to seize
upon our treasure for his princely Highness the Duke, that is to
say, for himself; and that naught would be left to us but the
sight thereof, and our want would begin all over again; that we
therefore would say, when folks asked about the luck that had
befallen us, that my deceased brother, who was a councillor at
Rotterdam, had left us a good lump of money; and indeed it was
true that I had inherited near 200 florins from him a year ago,
which, however, the soldiery (as mentioned above) cruelly robbed
me of; _item_, that I would go to Wolgast myself next day,
and sell the little bits as best I might, saying that thou hadst
picked them up by the seaside; thou mayst tell the maid the same
if thou wilt, but show the larger pieces to no one, and I will
send them to thy uncle at Hamburg, to be turned into money for us;
perchance I may be able to sell one of them at Wolgast, if I find
occasion, so as to buy clothes enough for the winter, for thee and
for me, wherefore thou too mayst go with me. We will take the few
farthings which the congregation have brought together to pay the
ferry, and thou canst order the maid to wait for us till eventide
at the water-side to carry home the victuals. She agreed to all
this, but said we had better first break off some more amber, so
that we might get a good round sum for it at Hamburg; and I
thought so too, wherefore we stopped at home next day, seeing that
we did not want for food, and that my child, as well as myself,
both wished to refresh ourselves a little before we set out on our
journey; _item_, we likewise bethought us that old Master
Rothoog, of Loddin, who is a cabinet-maker, might knock together a
little box for us, to put the amber in, wherefore I sent the maid
to him in the afternoon. Meanwhile we ourselves went up the
Streckelberg, where I cut a young fir-tree with my pocket knife,
which I had saved from the enemy, and shaped it like a spade, so
that I might be better able to dig deep therewith. First, however,
we looked about us well on the mountain, and seeing nobody, my
daughter walked on to the place, which she straightway found
again. Great God! what a mass of amber, was there! The vein was
hard upon twenty feet long, as near as I could feel, and the depth
of it I could not sound. Nevertheless, save four good-sized
pieces, none, however, so big as those of yesterday, we this day
only broke out little splinters, such as the apothecaries bruise
for incense. After we had most carefully covered and smoothed over
the place, a great mishap was very near befalling us; for we met
Witthan her little girl, who was seeking blackberries, and she
asked what my daughter carried in her apron, who straightway grew
red, and stammered so that our secret would have been betrayed if
I had not presently said, "What is that to thee? she has got
fir-apples, for firing," which the child believed. Wherefore we
resolved in future only to go up the mountain at night by
moonlight, and we went home and got there before the maid, and hid
our treasure in the bedstead, so that she should not see it.




CHAPTER X.

_How we journeyed to Wolgast, and made good barter there._


Two days after, so says my daughter, but old Ilse thinks it was
three (and I myself know not which is true), we at last went to
the town, seeing that Master Rothoog had not got the box ready
before. My daughter covered it over with a piece of my departed
wife her wedding gown, which the Imperialists had indeed torn to
pieces, but as they had left it lying outside, the wind had blown
it into the orchard, where we found it. It was very shabby before,
otherwise I doubt not they would have carried it off with them. On
account of the box we took old Ilse with us, who had to carry it,
and as amber is very light ware, she readily believed that the box
held nothing but eatables. At daybreak, then, we took our staves
in our hands, and set out with God. Near Zitze, [Footnote: A
village half way between Coserow and Wolgast, now called
Zinnowitz.] a hare ran across the road before us, which they say
bodes no good. Well-a-day!--When we came near Bannemin I asked a
fellow if it was true that here a mother had slaughtered her own
child, from hunger, as I had heard. He said it was, and that the
old woman's name was Zisse; but that God had been wroth at such a
horrid deed, and she had got no good by it, seeing that she
vomited so much upon eating it that she forthwith gave up the
ghost. On the whole, he thought things were already going rather
better with the parish, as Almighty God had richly blessed them
with fish, both out of the sea and the Achterwater. Nevertheless a
great number of people had died of hunger here also. He told us
that their vicar, his reverence Johannes Lampius, [Footnote: The
present parish archives contain several short and incomplete
notices of his sufferings during these dreadful wars.] had had his
house burnt down by the Imperialists, and was lying in a hovel
near the church. I sent him my greeting, desiring that he would
soon come to visit me (which the fellow promised he would take
care to deliver to him), for the reverend Johannes is a pious and
learned man, and has also composed sundry Latin
_Chronosticha_ on these wretched times, in _metrum
heroicum_, which, I must say, pleased me greatly. [Footnote:
The old vicar has introduced them among the still existing
parochial accounts, and we will here give a specimen of them:--

For 1620.
VsqVe qVo Do MIne IrasCerls, sIs nobIs pater!

For 1628.
InqVe tVa DeXtra fer operaM tV ChrIste benIgne!]

When we had crossed the ferry we went in at Sehms his house, on
the castle green, who keeps an ale-house; he told us that the
pestilence had not yet altogether ceased in the town; whereat I
was much afraid, more especially as he described to us so many
other horrors and miseries of these fearful times, both here and
in other places, _e.g._, of the great famine in the island of
Rügen, where a number of people had grown as black as Moors from
hunger; a wondrous thing if it be true, and one might almost
gather therefrom how the first blackamoors came about. [Footnote:
Micrælius also, in his "Ancient Pomerania" (vol. Ixxi. 2),
mentions this circumstance, but only says:--"Those who came over
to Stralsund were quite black from the hunger they had suffered."
This accounts for the strange exaggeration of mine host, and the
still stranger conclusion of our author.] But be that as it may.
_Summa_. When Master Sehms had told us all the news he had
heard, and we had thus learnt to our great comfort that the Lord
had not visited us only in these times of heavy need, I called him
aside into a chamber and asked him whether I could not here find
means to get money for a piece of amber, which my daughter had
found by the sea. At first he said "No;" but then recollecting, he
began, "Stay, let me see, at Nicolas Graeke's, the inn at the
castle, there are two great Dutch merchants, Dieterich von Pehnen
and Jacob Kiekebusch, who are come to buy pitch and boards,
_item_, timber for ships and beams; perchance they may like
to cheapen your amber too; but you had better go up to the castle
yourself, for I do not know for certain whether they still are
there." This I did, although I had not yet eaten anything in the
man's house, seeing that I wanted to know first what sort of
bargain I might make, and to save the farthings belonging to the
church until then. So I went into the castle yard. Gracious God!
what a desert had even his princely Highness' house become within
a short time! The Danes had ruined the stables and hunting-lodge,
anno 1628; _item_, destroyed several rooms in the castle; and
in the _locamentum_ of his princely Highness Duke Philippus,
where, anno 22, he so graciously entertained me and my child, as
will be told further on, now dwelt the innkeeper Nicolas Graeke;
and all the fair tapestries, whereon was represented the
pilgrimage to Jerusalem of his princely Highness Bogislaus X.,
were torn down, and the walls left grey and bare. [Footnote:
Compare Heller's "Chronicle of the Town of Wolgast," p. 42, &c.
The riots were caused by the successor of Philippus Julius (d. 6th
Feb. 1625), who was also the last Duke of Pomerania, Bogislaus
XIV., choosing to reside in Stettin. At the present time the
castle is a mere ruin, and only several large vaulted cellars
remain, wherein some of the tradesmen of the present day keep
their shops.] At this sight my heart was sorely grieved; but I
presently inquired for the merchants, who sat at the table
drinking their parting cup, with their travelling equipments
already lying by them, seeing that they were just going to set out
on their way to Stettin; straightway one of them jumped up from
his liquor, a little fellow with a right noble paunch, and a black
plaster on his nose, and asked me what I would of them? I took him
aside into a window, and told him I had some fine amber, if he had
a mind to buy it of me, which he straightway agreed to do. And
when he had whispered somewhat into the ear of his fellow, he
began to look very pleasant, and reached me the pitcher before we
went to my inn. I drank to him right heartily, seeing that, as I
have already said, I was still fasting, so that I felt my very
heart warmed by it in an instant. (Gracious God! what can go
beyond a good draught of wine taken within measure!) After this we
went to my inn, and told the maid to carry the box on one side
into a small chamber. I had scarce opened it and taken away the
gown, when the man (whose name was Dieterich von Pehnen, as he had
told me by the way), held up both hands for joy, and said he had
never seen such wealth of amber, and how had I come by it? I
answered that my child had found it on the sea-shore; whereat he
wondered greatly that we had so much amber here, and offered me
300 florins for the whole box. I was quite beside myself for joy
at such an offer, but took care not to let him see it, and
bargained with him till I got 500 florins, and I was to go with
him to the castle, and take the money forthwith. Hereupon I
ordered mine host to make ready at once a mug of beer, and a good
dinner for my child, and went back to the castle with the man, and
the maid who carried the box, begging him, in order to avoid
common talk, to say nothing of my good fortune to mine host, nor
indeed to any one else in the town, and to count out the money to
me privately, seeing that I could not be sure that the thieves
might not lay in wait for me on the road home if they heard of it.
And this the man did; for he whispered something into the ear of
his fellow, who straightway opened his leathern surcoat,
_item_, his doublet and hose, and unbuckled from his paunch a
well-filled purse which he gave to him. _Summa_.--Before long
I had my riches in my pocket, and, moreover, the man begged me to
write to him at Amsterdam whenever I found any more amber, the
which I promised to do. But the worthy fellow, as I have since
heard, died of the plague at Stettin, together with his
companion--truly I wish it had happened otherwise. [Footnote:
Micrælius mentions these Dutch merchants, p. 171, but asserts that
the cause of their death was doubtful, and that the town
physician, Dr. Laurentius Eichstadius, in Stettin, had written a
special medical paper on the subject. However, he calls one of
them Kiekepost, instead of Kiekebusch.] Shortly after, I was very
near getting into great trouble; for, as I had an extreme longing
to fall on my knees, so that I could not wait until such time as I
should have got back to my inn, I went up three or four steps of
the castle stairs, and entered into a small chamber, where I
humbled myself before the Lord. But the host, Nicolas Graeke,
followed me, thinking I was a thief, and would have stopped me, so
that I knew not how to excuse myself but by saying that I had been
made drunken by the wine which the strange merchants had given to
me (for he had seen what a good pull I had made at it), seeing I
had not broken my fast that morning, and that I was looking for a
chamber wherein I might sleep a while, which lie he believed (if
in truth it were a lie, for I was really drunken, though not with
wine, but with love and gratitude to my Maker), and accordingly he
let me go.

But I must now tell my story of his princely Highness, as I
promised above. Anno 22, as I chanced to walk with my daughter,
who was then a child of about twelve years old, in the castle
garden at Wolgast, and was showing her the beautiful flowers that
grew there, it chanced that as we came round from behind some
bushes we espied my gracious lord the Duke Philippus Julius, with
his princely Highness the Duke Bogislaff, who lay here on a visit,
standing on a mount and conversing, wherefore we were about to
return. But as my gracious lords presently walked on towards the
drawbridge, we went to look at the mount where they had stood; of
a sudden my little girl shouted loudly for joy, seeing that she
found on the earth a costly signet-ring, which one of their
princely Highnesses doubtless had dropped. I therefore said,
"Come, and we will follow our gracious lords with all speed, and
thou shalt say to them in Latin: _Serenissimi principes, quis
vestrum hunc annulum deperdidit_? (for, as I have mentioned
above, I had instructed her in the Latin tongue ever since her
seventh year), and if one of them says _Ego_, give to him the
ring. _Item_, should he ask thee in Latin to whom thou
belongest, be not abashed, and say: _Ego sum filia pastoris
Coserowiensis_; for thou wilt thus find favour in the eyes of
their princely Highnesses, for they are both gracious gentlemen,
more especially the taller one, who is our gracious ruler
Philippus Julius himself." This she promised to do; but as she
trembled sorely as she went, I encouraged her yet more and
promised her a new gown if she did it, seeing that even as a
little child she would have given a great deal for fine clothes.
As soon, then, as we were come into the courtyard, I stood by the
statue of his princely Highness Ernest Ludewig, [Footnote: The
father of Philippus Julius, died at Wolgast 17th June 1592.] and
whispered her to run boldly after them, as their princely
Highnesses were only a few steps before us, and had already turned
toward the great entrance. This she did, but of a sudden she stood
still, and would have turned back, because she was frightened by
the spurs of their princely Highnesses, as she afterwards told me,
seeing that they rattled and jingled very loudly.

But my gracious lady the Duchess Agnes saw her from the open
window wherein she lay, and called to his princely Highness, "My
lord, there is a little maiden behind you, who, it seems, would
speak with you," whereupon his princely Highness straightway
turned him round, smiling pleasantly, so that my little maid
presently took courage, and, holding up the ring, spoke in Latin
as I had told her. Hereat both the princes wondered beyond
measure, and after my gracious Duke Philippus had felt his finger,
he answered, "_Dulcissima puella, ego perdidi_;" whereupon
she gave it to him. Then he patted her cheek, and again asked,
"_Sed quoenam es, et unde venis_?" whereupon she boldly gave
her answer, and at the same time pointed with her finger to where
I stood by the statue; whereupon his princely Highness motioned me
to draw near. My gracious lady saw all that passed from the
window, but all at once she left it. She, however, came back to it
again before I had time even humbly to draw near to my gracious
lord, and beckoned to my child, and held a cake out of the window
for her. On my telling her she ran up to the window, but her
princely Highness could not reach so low nor she so high above her
as to take it, wherefore my gracious lady commanded her to come up
into the castle, and as she looked anxiously round after me,
motioned me also, as did my gracious lord himself, who presently
took the timid little maid by the hand and went up with his
princely Highness the Duke Bogislaff. My gracious lady came to
meet us at the door, and caressed and embraced my little daughter,
so that she soon grew quite bold and ate the cake. When my
gracious lord had asked me my name, _item_, why I had in so
singular a manner taught my daughter the Latin tongue, I answered
that I had heard much from a cousin at Cologne of Maria Schurman,
[Footnote: Anna Maria Schurman, born at Cologne on the 5th Nov.
1607, died at Wiewardin the 5th May 1678, was, according to the
unanimous testimony of her contemporaries, a prodigy of learning,
and perhaps the most learned woman that ever lived. The Frenchman
Naudé says of her, "You find in her alone all that the hand can
fashion or the mind conceive. No one paints better, no one works
better in brass, wax, and wood. In needlework she excels all women
past or present. It is impossible to say in what branch of
knowledge she is most distinguished. Not content with the European
languages, she understands Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, and writes
Latin so well that no one who has devoted his whole life to it can
do it better." The celebrated Netherlander Spanheim calls her a
teacher of the Graces and the Muses; the still more celebrated
Salmasius confesses that he knows not in which branch of learning
to say she excels: and the Pole Rotyer calls her "The sole example
of all wondrous works in one single learned person, and a perfect
_monstrum_ of her sex, yet without fault or blame." For, in
truth, with all her extraordinary knowledge she was marvellously
humble, although she herself confesses that the immoderate praises
of the learned even yet at times blinded her to her own defects.
In her later years she went over to the sect of the Labadists,
which appears to have some points in common with that of the
Muckers. She died unmarried, as an early love affair in her
fifteenth year with the Dutchman Caets had been broken off. It is
related of her, as a strange fancy, that she liked to eat spiders.
The celebrated Spanheim was the first to publish an edition of her
works under the title of _Annæ Mariæ a Schurman Opuscula_.
Leyden, 1648.] and as I had observed a very excellent
_ingenium_ in my child, and also had time enough in my lonely
cure, I did not hesitate to take her in hand, and teach her from
her youth up, seeing I had no boy alive. Hereat their princely
Highnesses marvelled greatly, and put some more questions to her
in Latin, which she answered without any prompting from me.
Whereupon my gracious lord Duke Philippus said in the vulgar
tongue, "When thou art grown up and art one day to be married,
tell it to me, and thou shalt then have another ring from me, and
whatsoever else pertains to a bride, for thou hast this day done
me good service, seeing that this ring is a precious jewel to me,
as I had it from my wife." Hereupon I whispered her to kiss his
princely Highness' hand for such a promise, and so she did.

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