of the black art better; besides, who reads the stars more diligently each night than he?"

And behold, while he is speaking, the fool runs into the hall, pale, and trembling in every limb.

"Alas! Lord Franz," he exclaimed, "I have seen the manikin again on his three-legged hare, which appeared at the death of Duke Ernest Ludovicus."

But the young lord boxed him, crying, "Away, thou knave! must thy chatter help to make us more melancholy?" However Duke Bogislaff bid the fool stay, and tell them when and where he had seen the imp.

My fool wiped his eyes, and began: "The young Lord Franz had bid him put on his best jacket (that which had been given him as a Christmas-box) for the carnival mummings on Shrove Tuesday; so he went up to the garret to get it himself out of the trunk, but, before he had quite reached the trunk, the black dwarf, with his little red boots, rode out from behind it on his three-legged hare-hop! hop! hop! made a frightful face at him, and after a little while rode back again-hop! hop! hop! behind his old boots, which stood in a corner, and disappeared!"

What the malicious Puck denoted we shall soon seeOh, woe! woe!

Next day all sorts of amusements were set on foot, to chase away gloomy thoughts out of the hearts of the illustrious guests—such as tilting with lances, dancing upon stilts, wrestling, rope-dancing. Item, pickleherring and harlequins. Amongst these last the fool showed off to great advantage, for who could twist his face into more laughable grimaces? Item, in the evening there was a mask of mummers, in which one fellow played the angel, and another dressed as Satan, with a large horse's foot and cock's plume, spat red fire from his mouth, and roared horribly when the angel overcame him (but withal I think the gloomy thoughts stayed there yet).

And mark what in truth soon happened! When the

drums and trumpets struck up the last mask dance in the great Ritter Hall, which every one joins in, old and young, his Grace, Duke Johann, went to the room of his dear cousin Hedwig, the princely widow, and prayed her to tread the dance with him; but she refuses, and sits by the fire and weeps.

"Let not my dear cousin fret," said the Duke, “about the chatter of the fool."

To which she replied, "Alas! wherefore not? For surely it betokens death to my darling little son, Philip Julius."

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No,” exclaimed the Duke quickly, “it betokens mine!" and he fell flat upon the ground.

One can easily imagine how the gracious lady screamed, so that all ran in from the Knight's Hall in their masks and mumming-dresses, to see indeed the mumming of the true bodily Satan; and Doctor Pomius, who was at the mask likewise, ran in with a smelling-bottle, but all was in vain. His Grace lingered for three days, and then having received the Holy Sacrament from Doctor Glambecken, died in the same chamber in which he was born, having lived fiftyseven years, five months, twelve days, and fourteen hours.

How can I describe the lamentations of the princely company—yea, indeed, of the whole town; for every one saw now plainly that the anger of God rested upon this ancient and illustrious Pomeranian race, and that He had given it over helplessly to the power of the evil one.

Summa.-On the 9th February the princely corse was laid in the very sleigh which had brought it a living body, and, followed by a grand train of princes, nobles, and knights, along with a strong guard of the ducal soldatesca, was conveyed back to Stettin; and there, with all due and befitting ceremonies, was buried on Palm Sunday in the vault of the castle church.

CHAPTER XXII.

How Barnim the Tenth succeeds to the government, and how Sidonia meets him as she is gathering bilberries. Item, of the unnatural witch-storm at his Grace's funeral, and how Duke Casimir refuses, in consequence, to succeed him. Now Barnim the Tenth succeeded to that very duchy about which he had been so wroth the day of the Diet at Wollin, but it brought him little good. He was, however, a pious Prince, and much beloved at his dower of Rügenwald, where he spent his time in making a little library of all the Lutheran hymn-books which he could collect, and these he carried with him in his carriage wherever he went; so that his subjects of Rügenwald shed many tears at losing so pious a ruler.

Item, the moment his Grace succeeded to the government, he caused all the courts to be reopened, along with the treasury and the chancery, which his deceased Grace had kept closed to the last; and for this goodness towards his people, the states of the kingdom promised to pay all his debts, which was done; and thus lawlessness and robbery were crushed in the land.

She wrote

But woe, alas!-Sidonia can no man crush! immediately to his Grace, soliciting the præbenda, and even presented herself at the ducal house of Stettin; but his Grace positively refused to lay eyes on her, knowing how fatal a meeting with her had proved to each of his brothers, who no sooner met her evil glance than they sickened and died.

Therefore his Highness held all old women in abhorrence. Indeed, such was his fear of them, that not one was allowed to approach the castle; and when he rode or drove out, lacqueys and squires went before with great horsewhips, to chase away all the old women out of his Grace's path, for truly Sidonia

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might be amongst them. From this, it came to pass that as soon as it was rumoured in the town, "His Grace is coming,” all the old mothers seized up their pattens, and scampered off, helter-skelter, to get out of reach of the horsewhips.

But who can provide against all the arts of the devil? for though it is true that Sidonia destroyed his two brothers, also his Grace himself, along with Philip II., by her breath and glance, yet she caused a great number of other unfortunate persons to perish, without using these means, as we shall hear further on; whereby many imagined that her familiar Chim could not have been so weak a spirit as she represented him, on the rack, in order to save her life, but a strong and terrible demon. These things, however, will come in their proper place.

Summa.-After Duke Barnim had reigned several years, with great blessing to his people, it happened that word came from Rügenwald how that his brother, Duke Casimir, was sick. This was the Prince whom, we may remember, Sidonia had whipped with her irreverent hands upon his princely podex, when he was a little boy.

Now Duke Barnim had quarrelled with the estates because they refused funds for the Turkish war; however, he became somewhat merrier that evening with the Count Stephen of Naugard, when the evil tidings came to him of his beloved brother (yet more bitter sorrow is before him, I think). So the next morning the Duke set off with a train of six carriages to visit his sick brother, and by the third evening they reached the wood which lies close beside Rügenwald. Here there was a large oak, the stem of which had often served his Grace for a target, when he amused himself by practising firing. So he stopped the carriage, and alighted to see if the twenty or thirty balls he had shot into it were still there.

But alas! as he reached the oak, that devil's spectre (I mean Sidonia) stepped from behind it; she had an old pot in her hand filled with bilberries, and asked his Grace, would he not take some to refresh himself after his journey.

His Highness, however, recoiled horror-struck, and asked who she was.

She was Sidonia von Bork, and prayed his Grace yet once more for the præbenda in Marienfliess.

Hereat the Duke was still more horrified, and exclaimed, "Curse upon thy prabenda, but thou shalt get something else, I warrant thee! Thou art a vile witch, and hast in thy mind to destroy our whole noble race with thy detestable sorceries."

Illa.- -"Alas! no one had called her a witch before; how could she bewitch them? It was a strange story to tell of her." The Duke." How did it happen, then, that he had no children by his beloved Amrick?

Illa (laughing)." He better ask his beloved Amrick herself. How could she know?"

But here she began to contort her face horribly, and to spit out, whereupon the Duke called out to his retinue— "Come here, and hang me this hag upon the oak-tree; she is at her devil's sorceries again! And woe! woe! already I feel strange pains all through my body!

Upon this, divers persons sprang forward to seize her, but the nimble night-bird darted behind a clump of fir-trees, and disappeared. Unluckily they had no bloodhounds along with them, otherwise I think the devil would have been easily seized, and hung up like an acorn on the oak-tree. But God did not so will it, for though they sent a pack of hounds from Rügenwald, the moment they arrived there, yet no trace of the hag could be found in the forest.

And now mark the result: the Duke became worse hour by hour, and as Duke Casimir had grown much better by the time he arrived, and was in a fair way of recovery, his Grace resolved to take leave of him and return with all speed to his own house at Stettin; but on the second day, while they were

* Anna Maria, second daughter of John George, Elector of Brandenburg.