verely
tortured, will never take place by the aid of your popish priests; it
is beyond their power. But I,' said the sharp blade, 'will take with me
another servant of the altar, and we will drive him out by the pure
word of God.' This was revealed to us by the aforesaid Geisslbrecht. It
grieved all the ecclesiastics, and not unreasonably, coming from one
who had been born, baptized, brought up, and confirmed, and had
communicated here, and whose father, mother, and sisters had lived, and
most of them already died, good Catholics; he alone having apostatized.
So that we all came to a determination that during the act of exorcism,
which was fixed to take place with all secresy on the Thursday, he
should be in the church even were we to bind him like the poor woman,
and drag him in. Not that we wished any harm to him, but only that he
might see what an anxious, great, and dangerous work this was, and not
such a thing as when one enticeth the tom-cat from behind the stove.
However he smelt fire, was warned, and went off.

"On Wednesday, after vespers, the suffering of the sick person became
so great, that they hastened to fetch the Dean, for if she did not
obtain help, she would be torn to a thousand pieces by the evil one.
When the said Dean, and some of us arrived, we found such a wretched
state of things as will be present to us all our lives; for although
the more than miserable woman was extended on the ground, on a wretched
little bed, fastened by two chains so that she could not move hand or
foot, and had also two men holding her arms whilst her brother sat
astride on her legs, and some women on her body, thinking thus
effectually to hold her down, yet all was of no avail. The evil spirit
reared himself up, and raised all that were over him in such a manner,
that any one could have slipped under her back. But the most horrible
of all was, that the evil spirit raised himself up between the skin and
the flesh, in the form of a great adder or serpent, so that we could
see and lay hold of him. Swiftly as by nature they glide along the
earth, so did he glide backwards and forwards in the body; at one
moment into the head, afterwards into one arm, then into the other, or
suddenly into the feet; and when in the body, it became hot, as if
burning with pure fire; finally the evil one glided into the heart,
which swelled up like a twopenny loaf, and crept and coiled himself
round it, just as a viper does round a tree; he shoo