Part 21

And he went on to the Town Hall, crying out all the time, so as to gather together the burghers and the aldermen. And thereafter in the silence that ensued Nele could hear two blasts of a trumpet, and straightway all the people of Damme came running to their doors thinking that it must be no less a personage than His Royal Majesty himself whose arrival was announced by such a fanfare. And Katheline also went to her door with Nele, and in the distance she could see a troop of splendid horsemen riding all together, and at their head a magnificent figure in a cloak of black velvet edged with sable. And she knew him at once for the high bailiff of Damme.

Now behind him there rode a company of youthful Lords clad in long cloaks, and they rode along gaily, and their coats were adorned with buttons and trimmings of gold, and their hats with long ostrich plumes waving gaily in the wind. And they seemed one and all to be good comrades and friends of the high bailiff; and conspicuous among them was a thin-faced gentleman dressed in green velvet and gold trimmings, and like the others his cloak was of black velvet and his hat also was adorned with black plumes. And his nose was like a vulture's beak, his mouth compressed and thin, and his beard was red and his face pale, and very proud was his bearing.

While the company of gentlemen was passing before the cottage, Katheline suddenly ran forward and leapt at the bridle of the pale horseman, and cried out, mad with joy as it seemed:

"Hans! My beloved, I knew you would come back! Oh, you are beautiful like this, all clad in velvet and gold, shining like a sun against the snow! Have you brought me those seven hundred caroluses? Shall I hear you again crying like the sea-eagle?"

The high bailiff brought the cavalcade to a stand, and the pale gentleman said:

"What does this beggar-woman want with me?"

But Katheline, still holding the horse by the bridle, made answer: "You must be dreaming, Hans. Wake up from your dream! I have cried for you so long. O nights of love, my beloved! O kisses of snow, O body of ice! See, this is your child!"

And she pointed to Nele, who was gazing at the man with terror, for now he had raised his whip as though he were about to strike at Katheline. But Katheline still continued her entreaties, weeping all the time:

"Ah! Do you not remember? Have pity on your servant! Take her with you whithersoever you will! Put out the fire! Hans, have pity!"

"Get out of the way!" he said. And he urged on his steed so quickly that Katheline was forced to loose hold of the bridle, and she fell on to the road, and the horse went over her, leaving a bleeding wound upon her forehead. Then the bailiff inquired of the pale horseman as to whether he knew aught of the woman.

"I know her not," was the answer. "She is out of her wits, doubtless."

But by this time Nele had helped up Katheline from the ground. "If this woman is mad," she said, "at least, my Lord, I am not. And I am ready to die here and now of this snow that I am eating"--and here Nele took and ate of the snow with her fingers--"if this horseman has not had knowledge of my mother, and if he has not forced her to lend him money, nay, all the money that she had, and if it was not he that killed the dog which belonged to Claes, so that he might take from the wall of the well those seven hundred caroluses which belonged to the poor man that is dead."

"Hans, my pet," sobbed Katheline, "give me the kiss of peace. Time was when you killed your friend because you were jealous, by the dike.... You loved me well in those days."

"Who is that man she speaks of?" demanded the bailiff.

"I know not," said the pale horseman. "The talk of this beggar-woman is no concern of ours. Let us move on."

But by now a crowd of people had collected, workpeople of the town, and they all began to take Katheline's part, crying: "Justice! Justice, my Lord Bailiff! Justice!"

And the bailiff said to Nele: "Who is the one that was killed? Speak the truth in God's name."

Then Nele said her say, pointing the while at the pale horseman:

"This is the man who came every Saturday to the keet to visit my mother, and to take her money from her. He killed one of his own friends, Hilbert by name, in the field of Servaes Van der Vichte; and this he did not from any love of Katheline, as she in her innocent folly believes, but rather that he might get hold of her seven hundred caroluses and keep them all for himself."

"You lie," said the pale horseman.

"Oh no!" said Nele. "For it is you that caused the death of Soetkin; you that reduced her orphan son to misery; you--nobleman that you are--who came to us, common people, and the first time you came you brought money to my mother, so that ever afterwards you might take her money from her! And you it is that introduced into our house that friend of yours to whom you would have given me in marriage; but, as you know, I would have none of him. What did he do, your friend Hilbert, that time I tore his eyes with my finger-nails?"

"Nele is naughty," said Katheline. "You must not pay any attention to her, Hans, my pet. She is angry because Hilbert tried to take her by force; but Hilbert cannot do so any more. The worms have eaten him. And Hilbert was ugly, Hans, my pet. It is you alone that are beautiful, and Nele, she is naughty."

Now the bailiff ordered the women to go about their business, but Katheline would not budge from where she stood. They were obliged, therefore, to take her into the cottage by force. And all the people that were there assembled began to cry out:

"Justice, my Lord! Justice!"

At this moment the sergeants of the commune came upon the scene, attracted by the noise, and the bailiff, bidding them wait, addressed himself to the Lords and nobles in the following manner:

"My Lords and Gentlemen,--Notwithstanding all those privileges which protect the illustrious order of the nobility of Flanders, I find myself constrained to arrest Joos Damman on account of the accusations which have been brought against him. And I therefore order him to be confined to prison until such time as he can be brought to trial according to the laws and ordinances of the Empire. Hand me, then, your sword, Sir Joos!"

At this command Joos Damman was seen to hesitate, but all the people cried out as with one voice:

"Justice, my Lord! Justice! Let him deliver up his sword!"

And he was obliged to do so in spite of himself; and when he had dismounted from his horse he was conducted by the sergeants to the prison of the commune.

Nevertheless he was not confined in one of the dungeons, but was placed in a room with barred windows, where, for a payment of money, he was made not too uncomfortable. For he was provided with a fire, a good bed, and some good food, half of which, however, went to the gaoler.

XXX

On the morrow there came a soft wind blowing from Brabant. The snow began to melt and the meadows were all flooded.

And the bell that is called Borgstorm summoned the judges to the tribunal of the Vierschare. And they sat under the penthouse, because the grassy banks where they were accustomed to sit were too damp. And round about the tribunal stood the people of the town.

Joos Damman was brought before the judges. He was not in bonds, and he still wore the dress of a nobleman. Katheline was also brought there, but her hands were tied in front of her, and she wore a grey dress, the dress of a prisoner.

On being examined, Joos Damman pleaded guilty to the charge of having killed his friend Hilbert with a sword in single combat; and this he confessed willingly because, as he said, he was protected by the law of Flanders, which made a murderer safe from conviction after the space of ten years.

Then the bailiff asked him if he was a sorcerer.

"No," replied Damman.

"Prove it," said the bailiff.

"That I will do at the right time and in the proper place," said Joos Damman, "but not now."

Then the bailiff began to question Katheline. She, however, paid no attention to his questions, but kept her eyes fixed on Hans, saying:

"You are my green master. Beautiful you are as the Sun himself. Put out the fire, my pet!"

Then Nele spoke on Katheline's behalf.

"She can tell you naught, my Lord, that you do not know already. She is not a sorceress. She is only out of her mind."

Then the bailiff said his say:

"A sorcerer, I would remind you, is one who knowingly employs a devilish art, or devilish arts, for the attainment of a certain object. Well, these two persons, the man and the woman, I find to be sorcerers both in intention and in fact; the man because, as the evidence states, he gave to this woman the balm of the Witches' Sabbath, and made his visage like unto Lucifer so as to obtain money from her and the satisfaction of his wanton desires. And the woman also I find to be a sorceress because she submitted herself to the man, taking him for a devil and abandoning herself to his will. I ask, therefore, if the gentlemen of the tribunal are agreed that it is a case where the prisoners should both be sent to the torture?"

The aldermen did not answer, but showed clearly enough that such was not their desire, so far at any rate as Katheline was concerned.

Then the bailiff spake again:

"Like you I am moved with pity and compassion for the woman, but mad as she undoubtedly is and obedient in all things to the devil, is it not probable that at the behest of her leman she might have committed the most horrible crimes and abominations, as do all those who resign themselves to the devil's will? No. Since Joos Damman has refused to acknowledge any crime save that of murder, and since Katheline has not told us anything at all, it is clear that by the laws of the Empire we are bound to proceed in the manner I have indicated."

And the aldermen gave sentence to the effect that the two prisoners were to be committed to torture on the following Friday, which was the day but one following.

And Nele cried out for mercy upon Katheline, and the people joined with her in supplication, but all in vain. And the prisoners were taken back into the gaol.

There, by order of the tribunal, the keeper of the gaol was ordered to provide a couple of guards for each prisoner, and these guards were commanded to beat them whenever they looked like going off to sleep. Now the two guards that were allotted to Katheline suffered her to sleep during the night; but they that were assigned to Joos Damman beat him unmercifully every time that he closed his eyes or even hung his head down. And neither of the prisoners was given anything to eat through all that Wednesday, and through all the night and day which followed. But on the Thursday evening they were given food and drink--meat, that is to say, which had been soaked in salt and saltpetre, and water which had been salted in a similar fashion. And this was the beginning of their torture. And in the morning, crying out with thirst, they were led by the sergeants into the chamber of doom.

There they were set opposite to one another, bound as they were, each to a separate bench which itself was covered with knotted cords that hurt them grievously. And they were both made to drink a glass of water saturated with salt and saltpetre.

Joos Damman began to fall off to sleep where he was, but the sergeants soon beat him awake again. And Katheline said:

"Do not beat him, kind sirs. He has committed but a single crime, when he killed Hilbert--and that was done for love's sake. Oh, but I am thirsty! And you also are thirsty, Hans, my beloved! Pray give him something to drink first of all. Water! Water! My body is burning me up. But spare him. I will die for him. Water!"

Joos said to her:

"Ugly old witch that you are, go and die for all I care! Throw her into the fire, my Lords! Oh, but I am thirsty!"

Meanwhile the clerks of the court were busy writing down every word that was being said. And the bailiff asked him:

"Have you nothing to confess?"

"I have nothing more to say," replied Damman. "You know all that there is to know."

"Forasmuch as he persists in his denials," said the bailiff, "let him remain where he is until he shall have made a complete avowal of his crimes. Let him neither eat nor drink nor go to sleep."

"So be it," said Joos Damman. "And I will amuse myself by watching the sufferings of this old witch here."

And Katheline answered him, saying:

"Cold arms, warm heart, Hans, my beloved! I am thirsty, my head is burning!"

The clerk of the court wrote down what she said, and the bailiff asked her:

"Woman, have you nothing to say in your own defence?"

But Katheline only gazed at Joos Damman, and said very amorously:

"It is the hour of the sea-eagle, Hans, my pet. They say that you will give me back the seven hundred caroluses. Put out the fire! Put out the fire!" Then she began to cry out most horribly: "Water! Water! My head is burning! God and His angels are eating apples in heaven!"

And she lost consciousness.

Thereupon the bailiff ordered her to be released from the bench of torture; which was done, and thereafter she was seen to stagger to and fro because of her feet, which were all swollen from the cords that had been bound too tight.

"Give her to drink," said the bailiff.

And they gave her some fresh water which she swallowed greedily, holding the goblet between her teeth as a dog holds a bone and refusing to let it go. Then they gave her more water, and this she would have carried over to Joos Damman had not the torturer wrested the goblet from her hand. And she fell down asleep, like a piece of lead.

But Joos Damman cried out in his fury:

"I also am thirsty and sleepy. Why do you give her to drink? Why do you let her fall asleep?"

"She is a woman," answered the bailiff. "And she is weak and out of her mind."

"Her madness is only pretence," said Joos Damman. "She is a witch. I want to drink, and I want to sleep."

And he closed his eyes, but his tormentors struck him in the face.

"Give me a knife," he cried, "that I may cut these varlets in pieces. I am a nobleman; no one has ever struck me in the face before! Water! Let me sleep. I am innocent. It is not I that took the seven hundred caroluses, it was Hilbert. Water! I have never committed any sorceries nor any incantations. I am innocent. Leave me alone and give me something to drink."

But the bailiff only asked him how he had passed the time after he left Katheline.

"I do not know Katheline at all," he said, "therefore I never left her. You have asked me an unfair question, and I am not bound to answer it. Give me something to drink. Let me go to sleep. I tell you it was Hilbert who was responsible for everything."

"Take him away," said the bailiff, "put him back into his prison. But see that he has nothing to drink, and that he does not fall asleep until he has admitted his sorceries and incantations."

And now Damman suffered the most cruel torture of all, and he cried out continually in his prison: "Water! Water!" And so loudly did he cry that the people outside could hear him, nevertheless they felt no pity for him. And when he began to fall off to sleep the guards struck him in the face, and he cried out again, like a tiger:

"I am a nobleman, and I will kill you, you varlets! I will go to the King our master. Water!"

But he would confess nothing at all, and they left him where he was.

XXXI

It was the month of May. The Tree of Justice was green again. Green also were those grassy banks where the judges were wont to seat themselves. Nele was summoned to give evidence, for it was the day on which the judgment was to be promulgated. And the people--men and women--of Damme, stood around the open space of the court, and the sun shone brightly.

Katheline and Joos Damman were now brought before the tribunal, and Damman appeared more pale than ever because of the torture he had suffered, the many nights he had passed without sleep or anything to drink. As for Katheline, she could scarcely support herself on her tottering legs, and she pointed to the sun continually, and cried out: "Put out the fire! My head is burning!" And she gazed at Joos Damman with tender love. And he looked back at her with hate and despite. And his friends, the Lords and gentlemen who had been summoned to Damme, were all present there before the tribunal as witnesses.

Then the bailiff spoke as follows:

"The girl Nele here, who is protecting her mother Katheline with such great and brave affection, has found sewn into the pocket of Katheline's Sunday dress a letter signed by Joos Damman. And I myself, when I was inspecting the dead body of Hilbert Ryvish, which was dug up in the field near Katheline's cottage, found thereon a second letter, addressed to him and signed by the said Joos Damman, the accused now present before you. Is it your pleasure that these letters be now read to you?"

"Read them, read them!" cried the crowd. "Nele is a brave girl! Read the letters! Katheline is no witch!"

And the clerk of the court read out as follows:

"To Hilbert, son of William Ryvish, knight, Joos Damman, knight, Greeting.

"Most excellent friend, let me advise you to lose no more of your money in gambling, dicing, and other foolishness of that kind. I will tell you a way of making money safe and sound. My plan is that we should disguise ourselves as devils, such as are beloved by women and girls, and then choose out for ourselves all the pretty ones, leaving alone all such as are ugly or poor; for we will make them pay for their pleasure. Do you know that when I was in Germany I acquired by this means as much as five thousand rixdaelders, and all within the space of six months? For a woman will give her last denier to the man she loves. When, therefore, such an one is willing to receive you in the night, the thing is to announce your coming by crying like a night-bird, so it may seem that you are really and truly a devil; and if you want to make your countenance appear devilish you must rub it all over with phosphorus, for phosphorus burns when it is damp, and the smell of it is horrible; and the women mistake it for the odour of hell itself. And if anything gets in your way, be it man, woman, or beast, kill it.

"Before long we will go together to one Katheline, a handsome woman I know. And she has a daughter--a child of mine forsooth, if indeed Katheline has proved faithful to me. And she is a right comely lass, and I give her to you, for these bastards are nothing to me. And you must know that I have already had from the mother a sum of three and twenty caroluses. This money all belonged to her. But somewhere, unless I am a dunce, she keeps secreted the fortune of Claes, that heretic, you remember, who was burned alive at Damme--seven hundred caroluses in all, and liable to confiscation. But the good King Philip, who has burned so many of his subjects for the sake of their inheritance, cannot lay his claw upon this, and assuredly it will weigh heavier in my purse than ever it would in his. Katheline will tell me where it is hidden, and we will share it between us. Fortune favours the young, as His Sacred Majesty Charles V was never tired of saying, and he was a past master in all the arts of love and war."

Here the clerk of the court stopped reading and said:

"Such is the letter, and it is signed Joos Damman."

And the people cried out:

"To the death with the murderer! To the death with the sorcerer!"

But the bailiff ordered them to keep silence so that judgment might be passed on the prisoners with every form of freedom and legality. After that he addressed himself again to the aldermen.

"Now I will read to you the second letter, which is the letter Nele found sewn into the pocket of Katheline's Sunday gown. These are the terms of it:

"Sweet witch, here is the recipe of a mixture which was sent to me by the wife of Lucifer himself. By the aid of this mixture it is possible to be transported to the sun, the moon, and the stars, and you can hold converse with the elemental spirits who carry the prayers of men to God, and can traverse the cities, towns, rivers, and fields of all the world. Mix equal parts of the following: stramonium, solanum, somniferum, henbane, opium, fresh ends of hemp, belladonna, and thorn-apple. Then drink. If it is your wish we will go this very night to the Sabbath of the Spirits. But you must love me more, and not be cold to me like you were the other night, refusing to give me even ten florins, and denying that you had got them! For I know very well you have a treasure in your hiding but will not tell me where. Do you not love me any more, my sweetheart?--Your cold devil,

"Hanske."

"To death with the sorcerer!" cried the crowd.

The bailiff said:

"Let the two handwritings be compared."

When this had been done, and when it had been found that they were in all respects similar, the bailiff said:

"After these proofs, Messire Joos Damman is found to be a sorcerer, a murderer, a seducer of women, a robber of the property of the King, and as such he must be accounted guilty of high treason against God and man."

And the bailiff and the aldermen gave judgment on Joos Damman, and he was condemned to be degraded from the rank of a nobleman, and to be burned alive in the slower fire till death supervened. And he underwent this punishment on the following day in front of the Town Hall. And all the time he kept on crying: "Let the witch perish, it is she and she alone who is guilty! Cursed be God! My father will avenge me!"

And the people said: "Behold how he curses and blasphemes. He is dying the death of a dog."

On the next day, the bailiff and the aldermen gave sentence upon Katheline. She was condemned to undergo the trial by water in the Bruges Canal. If she floated she would be burned for a witch. If she sank and was drowned she would be considered to have died the death of a Christian and would be buried in the churchyard.

So on the morrow Katheline was conducted to the canal-bank, holding a candle in her hand and walking barefoot in a shift of black linen. Along by the trees went the long procession. In front was the Dean of Notre Dame, chanting the prayers for the dead, and with him were his vicars, and the beadle carrying the cross. Behind came the bailiff of Damme, the aldermen, the clerks, the sergeants of the commune, the provost, the executioner and his two assistants. On the edge of the procession there followed a great crowd of women crying, and men mourning, in pity for Katheline, who herself walked like a lamb that allows itself to be led whither it knows not. And all the time she kept on crying:

"Put out the fire! My head is burning! Hans, where are you?"

In the midst of the women was Nele, who kept crying also:

"Let them throw me in with her!"

But the women did not suffer her to come near to Katheline.

A sharp wind came blowing in from the sea, and from the grey sky a fine hail fell dripping into the water of the canal. Now there was a boat moored by the side of the water, and this boat the executioner and his assistants commandeered in the name of His Royal Majesty. Then Katheline was ordered to step down into the boat. She obeyed at once, and the executioner was seen standing by her side and holding her securely. Then the provost raised the rod of justice, and the executioner threw Katheline into the canal. For a while she struggled, but soon sank, with one last cry: "Hans! Hans! Help!"

And the people said: "This woman was no witch."