[132] In the margin is added; ‘The prison governor also severely reprimanded the woman because she had told me that the King was dead; that it would not go as well with me as I thought. She gave him word for word.’
[133] In the margin is added: ‘Among his terrible curses was one that his tongue might be paralysed if he had not spoken for me. The following year God struck him with paralysis of the tongue; he had a stroke from anger, and lived eight days afterwards; he was in his senses, but he was not able to speak, and he died; but he lived to see the day when another clergyman administered the holy communion to me.’
[134] In the margin is added: ‘I saw now that this was the cause of Balcke’s dismissal.’
[135] In the margin is added: ‘Chresten, who was ill satisfied both with Karen and with me, gave us a different title one day, when he was saying something to one of the house-servants, upon which the latter asked him who had said it? Chresten answered, ‘She who is kept up there for her.’ When I was told of this, I laughed and said, ‘That is quite right, we are two “shes.”’
[136] In the margin is noted: ‘Some of my money I expended on books, and it is remarkable that I obtained from M. Buck’s books (which were sold by auction) among others the great Martilegium, in folio, which he would not lend me. I excerpted and translated various matters from Spanish, Italian, French, and German authors. I especially wrote out and translated into Danish the female personages of different rank and origin, who were mentioned with praise by the authors as valiant, true, chaste and sensible, patient, steadfast and scholarly.’ [E52]
[137] In the margin is added: ‘This dog was of an Icelandic breed, not pretty, but very faithful and sagacious. He slept every afternoon on the stool, and when she had fallen asleep, she let her hands hang down. Then the dog would get up and run softly and bite her finger till the blood came. If she threw down her slippers, he would take one and sit upon it. She never got it back again without a bloody finger.’
[138] In the margin is this note: ‘In the year 1672, on the 4th May, one of the house-servants was arrested for stealing. Adam Knudt, at that time gentleman of the chamber, himself saw him take several ducats early one morning from the King’s trousers, which were hanging against the walls. He was at first for some hours my neighbour in the Dark Church. He was then placed in the Witch Cell, and as he was to be tortured, he received secret warning of it (which was forbidden), so that when the executioner came he was found to have hung himself. That is to say, he was said to have hung himself, though to all appearance this was not possible; he was found with a cloth round his neck, which was a swaddling-cloth belonging to one of Chresten, the tower-warder’s, children. Chresten became my neighbour, and was ostensibly brought to justice, but he was acquitted and reinstated in his office.
[139] In the margin is added: ‘She was so proud of her knowledge of German that when she sang a morning hymn (which, however rarely happened) she interspersed it with German words. I once asked her if she knew what her mother’s cat was called in Danish, and I said something at which she was angry.
[140] In the margin is added: ‘There was no similar row on the other stocking. The prison governor never mentioned it.’
[141] In the margin is noted: ‘I must remember one thing about Karen, [Nils’] daughter. When anything gave her satisfaction, she would take up her book directly and read. I asked her whether she understood what she read. “Yes, of course,” she answered, “as truly as God will bless you! When a word comes that I don’t understand, I pass it over.” I smiled a little in my own mind, but said nothing.’