confinement, as is customary with women. Now my
parents had at this time a servant-maid who was possessed with an evil
spirit; it had hitherto not shown itself, but now, when she had to
scour the numerous kitchen utensils, and took down the kettle and
saucepan, she threw them on the ground in a dreadful way, and cried
out, with a loud voice, 'I will away!' When therefore they found the
reason of this, her mother, who dwelt in the Patinenmacher Strasse,
took her home, and she was taken several times in a Riga sledge to the
church of St. Nicholas. When the sermon was ended, the spirit was
exorcised; and it appeared from its confession, that her mother having
bought a fresh sour cheese, and placed it in the cupboard, the maiden
had gone there in her absence and eaten of the cheese. Now when the
mother saw that some one had been to the cheese, she had wished that
person possessed of the evil spirit, and ever since, he had dwelt in
the maiden. When he was then asked how he could have remained in the
maiden, as since then she had received the sacrament, he answered, 'A
rogue may lie under a bridge whilst a good man is passing over;' he had
meanwhile been under her tongue. He was not only exorcised and
expelled, but each and every one present in the church knelt down and
prayed diligently and devoutly. He however, loudly scoffed at the
exorcism, for when the preacher conjured him to go away, he said he
would depart, he must forsooth give up the field; but he demanded that
he might be allowed to take away with him sundry things, and if this
demand were refused, he would be free to remain. One of those present
having his hat on whilst praying, the evil spirit begged of the
preacher to allow him to take off this hat; he would then depart, and
carry it away with him. I feared that, had it been permitted him by
God, the hair and scalp would have gone with the hat. At last, when he
perceived that his time for vexing the maiden was passed, and that our
Lord God listened mercifully to the prayers of the believers present,
he demanded mockingly a square of glass from the window over the tower
clock, and when a pane was granted to him, it loosed itself visibly
with a great clang, and flew away. After that time nothing evil was
observed in the maiden. She got a husband in the village, and had
children.

"I went to school, and learnt as much as my wildness would
allow me: of intelligence there was sufficient in me, as may be
observed, b