Sidonia, the Sorceress Volume Ii Part 9

"Who is it that you see no more?" asked the abbess.

_Illa_.--"The evil spirit, my angel says. He has gone forth from me. Woe, woe, alas!"

_Haec_.--"Why dost thou cry, alas, when he has in truth gone out from thee?"

_Illa.--"My angel says, he will first strangle the priest who has cast him forth, then will he return, as it is written in the Scripture (Matt. xi. 24), 'After three days I will return to my house from which I had gone forth.' Ah, look! the good priest is growing pale. But let him be comforted, for he shall have his reward in heaven, as the Lord saith (Matt, v.)."

_Haec_.--"But why does the great G.o.d permit such power to the devil, if what thou sayest be true?"

_Illa_ is silent.

_Haec_.--"Thou art silent; what says thy angel?"

_Illa_.--"He is silent also--now he speaks again."

_Haec_.--"What says he then?"

_Illa_.--"The wisdom of G.o.d is silent."

The abbess repeats the words, while the priest falls back against the wall, as white as chalk, and exclaims--

"Your angel is right. I feel as if a mouse were running up and down through my body. Alas! now the bones of my chest are breaking. Farewell, dear sisters; in heaven we shall meet again.

Farewell; pray for me. I go to lay my head upon my death-pillow."

And he was scarcely gone out at the door when a great cry and weeping arose amongst the sisters present, and the abbess asked, weeping likewise--

"Is this, too, Sidonia's work?"

_Illa_.--"Whose else? She hath never forgiven him because he rejected her love, and hath only delayed his death to a fitting opportunity."

_Haec_.--"Merciful G.o.d! and will this murderous nun be brought to judgment?"

_Illa_.--"Yes, when her hour comes, she will be burned and beheaded--not many years after this."

_Haec_.--"And what will become of you? Will you die, if Satan often takes up his dwelling-place in your heart?"

_Illa_.--"If you do not prevent him, I shall die; if he leave me, I shall grow well."

_Haec_.--"What can we, miserable mortals, do to prevent him?"

_Illa_.--"Jobst Bork of Saatzig has three rings, which the spirits made, and gave to his grandmother in Pansin. _Item_, he has also a beautiful daughter called Diliana, and as no second on earth bears her name, [Footnote: In fact, I have nowhere else met with the name "Diliana," whereas that of "Sidonia" is by no means uncommon. Virgil calls Dido "Sidonia" (aen. i, v. 446), with somewhat of poetic license, for she was not born in Sidon but in Tyre. About the time of the Reformation this name became very common in the regal houses. For example, King George of Bohemia, Duke Henry of Saxony, Duke Franz of Westphalia, and others, had daughters called "Sidonia." For this reason, therefore, the proud knight of Stramehl probably gave the same name to his daughter. In the Middle Ages I find only one Sidonia or Sittavia, the spouse of Count Manfred of Xingelheim, who built the town of Zittau, and died in the year 1021.] so is there no other who equals her in goodness, piety, humility, chast.i.ty, and courage. If this Diliana lays one of the rings on my stomach, in the name of G.o.d, the devil can no more enter in me, and I shall be healed. But what do I see?--there she comes herself."

_Haec_.--"Who comes?"

_Illa_.--"Diliana. She has run away from her father, and will offer herself as servant to Sidonia, because old Wolde is sick."

_Haec_.--"She must be foolish then, if this be true."

_Illa_.--"Ay, she is foolish, but it is from pure love, which indeed is a G.o.dlike folly; for Sidonia hath bewitched her poor father, and he grows worse and worse, and her prayers to the sorceress are of no avail to help him, so she hath privately left her father's castle, to offer herself as servant to Sidonia; for no wench, far or near, will be found who will take old Wolde's place, and she hopes, in return for this, that the sorceress will give her something from her herbal to cure her old father. Ha!

what do I see? How her beautiful hair streams behind her upon the wind! How she runs like a deer over the heather, and looks back often, for her heart is trembling lest her father might send after her. Now she enters the wood; see, she kneels down, and prays for her father and for herself, that G.o.d will keep her steps. Let us pray also, dear sisters, for her, for the poor priest, and for the unfortunate maiden."

Whereupon they all fell upon their knees, and the possessed virgin offered up so beautiful a prayer that none had ever heard the like before, and every face was bedewed with tears. After which she awoke, and, as the first time, remembered nothing whatever of what had pa.s.sed, or of what she had uttered.

CHAPTER XI.

_Of the arrival of Diliana and the death of the convent priest--Item, how the unfortunate corpse is torn by a wolf_.

Scarcely had the abbess returned to her apartment when Diliana sprang in, with flowing hair, and her beautiful, blooming face looking like a rose sprinkled with morning dew. So the worthy matron screamed first with wonder that all should be true, then taking the lovely young maiden in her arms, pressed her to her heart, and asked--

"Wherefore comest thou here, my beloved Diliana?"

_Illa_.--"I have run away from my father, good mother, and will serve my cousin Sidonia Bork as her waiting-maid, hoping that in return she will give him something out of her herbal to heal his poor frame, which is distracted day and night with pain, even as she healed you and Sheriff Sparling; and she will do this, I am sure, because I hear that her maid, Anne Wolde, is sick, and no one in all the country round will take service with her, they say."

_Haec_.--"Poor child, thou knowest not what thou dost. She will slay thee, or ill-treat thee in her wickedness, or may be bring some worse evil than either on thee."

_Illa_.--"And I will do as the Lord commanded--if she strike me on one cheek, I will turn to her the other also, whereby she will be softened, and consent to help my poor father."

_Haec_.--"She will help him in nothing, and then how wilt thou bear the disgrace of servitude?"

_Illa_.--"Disgrace? If the soul suffer not disgrace, the body, methinks, can suffer it never."

_Haec_.--"But how canst thou do the duties of a serving-wench?

Thou, brought up the lady of a castle!"

_Illa_.--"I have learned everything privately from Lisette; trust me, I can feed the pigs and sheep, milk the cow, and wash the dishes, &c."

_Haec_.--"But what put it into thy head, child, to serve her as a maid?"

_Illa_.--"When I last entreated my cousin Sidonia to help my poor father, she said, 'Get me a good maid who will do my business well, and then I shall see what can be done to help him. Now, as no one will take service with her, what else can I do, but play the trencher-woman myself, and thus save my poor father's life?"

_Haec_.--"Thou hast saved it once before, as I have heard."

_Illa_ is silent.

_Haec_.--"How was it? Tell me, that I may see if they told me the story truly."

_Illa_.--"Ah, good mother, speak no more of it. It was as you have heard, no doubt."

_Haec_.--"People say that a horse threw your father, dragged him along, and attempted to kick him, upon which, while all the men-folk stood and gaped, you flew like the wind, seized the bridle of the animal, and held him fast till your father was up again."

_Illa_.--"Well, mother, there was nothing very wonderful in that."

_Haec_.--"Also, they tell that one day at the hunt you came upon a part of the wood where two robbers were beating a n.o.ble almost to death, after having plundered him. You sprang forward, menaced them, and finally made them take to their heels, after which you helped the poor wounded man upon your own palfrey, like a good Samaritan indeed, and without thought of the danger or fatigue, walked beside him, leading the horse by the bridle until clear out of the wood, and thus----"

_Illa_.--"Ah, good mother, do not make me more red than I am; for know, the poor wounded n.o.ble thought so much of what I had done, that he must needs ask me for his bride, though truly I would have done the like for a beggar."