Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1885-07-23
THE FIERY DEATH.

a., Sorceressl Gods curse De ON her
81 her evil doingsl" shouted the mob.
:, GAS early morning, yet even at that
,our the Judgment hall of the little
avn Of Bourdonnis was thronged with
~ nonulace. Men, women and chill
,.aa old and young. the noble and the
bureher, priests, soldiers and common
,,,a crowded the spacious hall and |
sr;ed madIy for her blood
The evening before female, closely 1
..o;,ed and attended by two servants,
,,boso dark countenances bespoke the
,ons Of Ethiopia, had arrived at Bour,
donnis and put up at one OF the princi-
aal hostelries of the piece. Strange
snmors soon arose respecting her. Her
al, her micn, her language and her
complexion were said to be those of
saracen, against which accused
..os the chiyalry of Europe and the
church itself warred in vain. These ru.
oors gained additional strength when
ne landlord of the inn where she had
stopped was heard to say that he had
saen her practicing sorcery, charge
easily credited in that age, and one
which few, especially IN n case like this,
hsathe hardwood to dishelieve. In
lass than an hour the whole population
q tbe town was about, surrounding the
hos.elry and crying out for vengeance
against the sorceress. Such commo-
,ons were both frequent and sanguinary
II that superstitious age.
The soldiery, however interfered by
o,rasting the unsuspecting victim of
.bese minors, aud ut this early hour the
,,r;soner had been brought into the
Judgment hall to await the mockery
Of trial.
answer me, daughter OF Belial !"
,aid tbe Judge, as soon rs the murmurs
os The mob allowed him TO be heard.
aW,ll you confess your crime? Speak,
Or Won diel Know you that the rack,
ayel fire itself, awaits you If your OBJ
s.inacy continues"
The prisoner was a slight girlish crea-
ture, sitting with her face buried in her
hands, directly opposite to the Judge.
She was apparently young and her fig
ure. so far as could be seen through the
dick veil which shrouded her form, was
light and agile as that OF sylph. To
the Judges question she made no an
swer. She only shook her head des-
pondingly, and those nigh her fancied
they heard her sob.
At these fearful words, repeated now
for the second time, and growled forth
sith an ominous iierceuess, appalling
even TO the nearer, the prisoner was
observed to tremblc, whether with fear
or otherwise we know not, and lifting
her veil up with sudden effort, she
rose TO her feet, turned hastily around to
the mob, and disclosed q countenance of
such surprising loneliness to their gaze
that even those who had cried out most
unrelentingly for her blood now shrank
abashed into silence, while others who
had been less eager for her condemna-
ton audibly murmured in her favor.
aWhat would We have of me?" she
said, addressing the judge, and for the
first time standing unveiled before him.
AS there is God in whom we both
believe, | have told you only the
truth. | ana stranger, foreigner,
dsfenseless woman. but not the
less the ailianeed bride Of one of your
proudest noblemen, the Count lie Gar
onne.'
The tone in which she spoke was low,
but oh how touchingly sweet; and her
words were uttered in broken French
with porceptible oriental accent.
Loud murmurs rose in her favor as she
ceased speaking. The tide was turning
But the judge now spoke.
"0ut on thee, woyaan of hell Out on
thee for base slanderer of noble oi
France aud a holy crusader Thou the
betrothed bride of ttaronnei As soon
would the eagle mate with the vulture.
tell thee woman, tilat tiny story or nav.
ing been shipwrecked in coming tc
France. and 4 all thy train having beer
lost except thy two Ethiopian myrmi.
dons, is q foul lie, and am almost mind
ed to wiring the Truth from thee on tho
rack"
Il have said it," said the prisoner
in a fem voice, for she felt that hel
Lie depended ON her firmness, "lnd i
you viii give but one week, one
little week, and / will prove i
before man as well as God. / came
from Syria in the same fleet with m,
lord, but under charge Of his motheri
eonfessor now saint in heaven bat
being separated by storm, in which
our galley was shipwrecked, WA
thrown unprotected on your shores.
am a stranger here. Ny seryents even
have deserted me. do no one harm
lplot no treason. All | ask is to pas
on my way. OH" she continued in /
burst of emotion, IF you have daugli
ter think what would be your feeling
II she was thus TO be set upon in
strange land" and she burst into tears
Again the crowd murmured in her ia
yor.
Womanl sternly interposed tn,
Judge, unmoyed by her emotion, "looI
at the victim of your sorcery, and seel
no longer to deceive us by your lies
Send forth, Philip the Dcformed"
At the words of the Judge, an oIleia
bearing white wand stepped into
side room, and in a moment reappeare(
WITH a cripple hideously deformed
whom the populace recognized as til,
landlord OF the hostelry. When con
ironted with the prisoner he glared a
her with a look Of demoniacal hatred.
Know you this woman ?" asked tn,
Judge.
Ay TO my cost, answered the Grip
ple. 1T is through her incantatiol
mat am the being am. 1t was Blu
yesterday she came TO my inn, ATTENDED
pytwo heathenish Philippians, whom
nave heard palmers from the Holy Ian,
say are kept by tho Panims God
VINO, three years ago, brought on IN
pan be theirs! ! no sooner beheld he
.aan recognized her to be the sorceres
sne disease by which am crippled.