The other letter, to the abbess of Petersdorf, was sent by a salmon lad to the convent, as we shall hear further on, and ran thus:—
"WE, BOGISLAFF, &c.
"WORTHY ABBESS, TRUSTY AND WELL-BELOVED FRIEND!
"Hereby we send to you a noble damsel, named Sidonia von Bork, and desire a cell for her in your cloisters, even as the other nuns. We trust that misery may have softened her heart towards God; but if she do not demean herself with Christian sobriety, you have our commands to send her, along with the fish peasants and others, to our court for judgment.
"God keep you; pray for us! Signatum, &c. "BOGISLAFF."
The letter to Sidonia was, in truth, laid that same night upon the altar of St. Mary's, by a lacquey, who was further desired to hide himself in the church, and see what became of it. Now, the fellow had a horrible dread of staying alone in the church by night, so he took the cook, Jeremias Bild, along with him; and after they had laid the letter down upon the altar, they crept both of them into a high pew close by, belonging to the Aulick Counsellor, Dieterick Stempel.
Now mark what happened. They had been there about an hour, and the moon was pouring down as clear as daylight from the high altar window; when, all at once, the letter upon the altar began to move about of itself, as if it were alive, then it hopped down upon the floor, from that danced down the altar steps, and so on all along the nave, though no human being laid hands on it the while, and not a breath or stir was heard in the church. [Footnote: Something similar is related in the Seherin of Prevorst, where a glass of water moved of its own accord to another place.]
Our two carls nearly died of the fright, and solemnly attested by oath to his Highness the truth of their relation. Thereby young Lord Franz was more strengthened in his belief concerning Sidonia's witchcraft, and had many arguments with his father in consequence.
"His lord father might easily know that a letter could not move of itself without devil's magic. Now, this letter had moved of itself; ergo," &c.
Whereupon his Highness answered—