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 proebenda in Marienfliess.
Hereat the Duke was still more horrified, and exclaimed, "Curse upon thy proebenda, 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?" [Footnote: Anna Maria, second daughter of John George, Elector of Brandenburg.]
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 still a mile from Stettin, Duke Barnim grew so much worse, that they had to stop at Alt-Damm for the night. And scarcely had he laid himself down in bed when he expired. This was on the 1st of September 1603, when he was fifty-four years, six months, sixteen days, and sixteen hours old.