, 1876-01-29

intercourse with the Fiend, all which was reA
ported in full to the Bishop. who, being less
Ignorant than bis officials, ,epioined mere con-
fnement for the woman, and recommended
that cas- such things mainly proceed from
superstition, a preacher should'b sent to them,
so as to urge them with Holy Writ to abstain
from such devilish fancy" But in the interval,
the woman accused of having played the chief
part succumbed to the effects of her treatment,
and the local authorities reported that conse.
quentiy they bad caused her corps to be burnt,
as unworthy of burial, a proceeding of which
the Bishop showed his disopproyai by ordering
The liberation of the other prisoners. But
soon came a time when Bishops ruled the land
under whom justice was administered in 9
different temper, as will be seen from the
following oase:-1n 1915, one Peter Kleik-
lamp came to be accused of witchoraft. under
these circumstances. He was a fellow of
drunken and generally irregular habits. who
some time before had absconded under sus.
picion of theft. On return to his native place,
kleiklamp was accused of sundry evil practices
by q cOmrade of former days, himself under a
cloud, and who had good reason for trying to
ingratiate himself with the authorities. Ao-
cordingly on the sole deposition of this one
VIGOROUSLY questionable witness, an indict-
ment OF soroery on thirty.six counts was
brought against the unfortunate Kleiklamp,
who was forthwith put to the question:
Nothing, however, could be got out of the
poor wretch at first be was then locked up for
a whole night, under the so.called protection
of watchers to keep of the evil one. In the
morning, Kleiklamp expressed himself ready to
make confession, and what be did confess must
have been listened to at the time with no less
establishment than it will be read at the present
day. Not only did Klieklamp admit to have
been a s~Oroerer, but be described In detail
what he had done as such, each statement
being more absurd than the other. This, how
ever, was by no means all, He confessed not
merely to his p~raotises, but to those Of q
number of aooomplices, all of whom he men
toned by name; they comprised the most
respected members of the community, and
amongst them prominently the wife Of the
public prosecutor. There is no little humour
of a savage kind in this grim sally by a poor
wretch baited to death. The grave and sedata
wlseacres of the locality stood aghast at
hearing their wives and their mothers
charged with having periodically disported
themselves as black raUemS in fendish gambols
at night, and amongst the acts of the trial is a
solemn protest against the charge. But this
did not suggest that there might be grounds
for letting the prosecution drop, and the unfor-
tunats KleikIamp expiated bis supposed sor-
ceries at the stake. A more elaborate murder
never was perpetrated. One single individual
of bad repute ohose'to throw out az insinuation,
and this Buficed for condemnation In this
case is represented completely all that is hOr-
rible and outrageous in these trials for witch
craft. The reader who will peruse Professor
Niebues'S pages will find many repetitions Of
similar proceedings; and amidst the mass of
S nsio f tba @'t tSs s oU.al1g 1son sSaUi5 %'p made %'i io
vain by persons with the hope of escaping the
pain Of death.