Seden had not begged for me in the parish. May God reward the honest
fellow for it in eternity! Moreover, he was then growing old, and was
sorely plagued by his wicked wife Lizzie Kolken. Methought when I
married them that it would not turn out over well, seeing that she was
in common report of having long lived in unchastity with Wittich
Appelmann, who had ever been an arch-rogue, and especially an arrant
whoremaster, and such the Lord never blesses. This same Seden now
brought me five loaves, two sausages, and a goose, which old goodwife
Paal, at Loddin, had given him; also a flitch of bacon from the farmer
Jack Tewert. But he said I must shield him from his wife, who would have
had half for herself, and when he denied her she cursed him, and wished
him gout in his head, whereupon he straightway felt a pain in his right
cheek, and it was quite hard and heavy already. At such shocking news I
was affrighted, as became a good pastor, and asked whether peradventure
he believed that she stood in evil communication with Satan, and could
bewitch folks? But he said nothing, and shrugged his shoulders. So I
sent for old Lizzie to come to me, who was a tall, meagre woman of about
sixty, with squinting eyes, so that she could not look any one in the
face; likewise with quite red hair, and indeed her goodman had the same.
But though I diligently admonished her out of God's Word, she made no
answer until at last I said, 'Wilt thou unbewitch thy goodman (for I
saw from the window how that he was raving in the street like a madman),
or wilt thou that I should inform the magistrate of thy deeds?' Then,
indeed, she gave in, and promised that he should soon be better (and so
he was); moreover she begged that I would give her some bread and some
bacon, inasmuch as it was three days since she had a bit of anything to
put between her lips, saving always her tongue. So my daughter gave her
half a loaf, and a piece of bacon about two handsbreadths large; but she
did not think it enough, and muttered between her teeth; whereupon my
daughter said, 'If thou art not content, thou old witch, go thy ways and