felicitously the popular humour to which Luther owed
not a little of his success. The words of the evangelical songs, the
titles and contents of Lutheran works were always parodied. Perhaps the
internal resemblance is nowhere more striking than among the most
talented of the Ingoldstadt University. Andrea, Scherer, and their
friends might but for the difference of their dogmas, and above all
personal, hate, as well be Lutherans as Roman Catholics. Thus there
arose between the ecclesiastics of both confessions a sometimes
laughable, but frequently a disgusting contention to drive the devil
out of the possessed. If a possessed person became in question where
the two Churches were in collision, each endeavoured to show the power
of their faith by healing the patient; the evangelical by the prayers
of the clergy and parishioners, the Roman Catholics by exorcism; the
soul which was saved brought glory on the fortunate Church. Among the
numerous accounts which we find of suchlike exorcisms, the following,
which proceeds from the Roman Catholic camp in the neighbourhood of
Ingoldstadt, is remarkable from its detailed narration and interesting
psychological features. It was published shortly after the event, in a
pamphlet, with the title, 'A terrible but quite true history, which
took place between Hans Geisslbrecht, citizen at Spalt, and his wife
Apollonia, in the bishopric of Eystaetter. By M. Sixtus Agricolas.
Ingolstadt, 1587.' The narrative begins as follows:--

"Hans Geisslbrecht, citizen at Spalt, after the death of his first
wife, married Apollonia, widow of the late Hans Francke of
Lautershausen, in the Margravate of Brandenburg; here he continued
after his marriage, and lived with her more than a year; at last,
however, the miserable marriage devil entered in, so that there was
between them both, nothing from morning to night but scolding,
quarrelling, strife, crying, chiding, and nagging; besides which, what
was altogether most terrible, great blaspheming of God and wicked
swearing. The said Geisslbrecht came home quite drunk on Friday the
nineteenth October of the past year '82, and began according to his old
custom to quarrel and swear at his wife; and they carried this on, as
most of their neighbours heard, almost throughout the night. On
Saturday morning Apollonia came to Anna Stadlerin, her neighbour, and
said: 'Dear Stadlerin, have you not heard how rudely and shamefully my
husband has behaved during the whole