o a hereditary
blacksmith,[82] at the village of Zernikaw, that he might 'knock out
the thief's eye;' and in order that the smith might do it better he let
him know, through an _einspaenner_,[83] that the bishop desired it,
which was not the case. When the smith is to perform a work of this
kind he must prepare a nail three successive Sundays, and on the last
Sunday strike this nail into a head made for the purpose; whereupon the
thief, as they say, will lose his eye. He must, also, at midnight rise
up naked, and go backwards to a hut which he has newly built in an open
field, and go up to a large new bellows; take it and blow out the fire
with it; upon this two large hell-hounds will appear. This performance
having taken place in the night of the first Sunday, the villagers of
Zernikaw came to me to complain, as the whole village had no rest for
this terrible howling, which they had heard in the smithy, and said I
ought to make it known to the duke, that he might stop this wicked
work. I told them that these were important things which they had
related to me; and asked, seriously, whether the affair was really such
as they represented it. They answered that the whole village could bear
witness of it, and that the _einspaenner_ had empowered the smith to do
it. Thereupon I went to the bishop[84] (with whom, as it so happened,
the gentleman of the bedchamber then was), and I told him I wished to
say something to him privately. When I had related all to him he was
horrified, sought for further information concerning the matter, and
learnt that the _einspaenner_ had enjoined the smith to do this in the
bishop's name; then he inquired of me what was to be done. I replied
that, as his name had been misused for these public wicked proceedings,
it was necessary that the hut, which had been built in honour of the
devil, should be destroyed in the name of God; this was approved of.
Thereupon I proceeded to do it; the boys from the school, noble pages,
and many noblemen accompanied me to destroy the work of the devil. The
smith had already run away, but his wife came and begged that she might
be allowed to keep the new bellows and the iron utensils. But I said
she ought to be ashamed of herself to desire to keep among her things
what the devil had handled; whereupon she desisted from her petition.
But the noble pages set fire to and burnt the hut and bellows, and cast
the iron work into deep water. Now there came some merchants,
t