MODERN INSTANCES OF DEMONIACAL POSSESSION. 163 



demon to worship it. This was more than the devil could stand, 

 and he cried out in a terrible rage, " The boy is possessed ! " The 

 good monk lays peculiar stress upon this incident, as furnishing 

 conclusive proof of the real presence of Christ in the holy sacra- 

 ment. Further interrogatories brought out the fact already men- 

 tioned, that the demons were ten in number, although the answers 

 were always given in the first person singular and in the Bavarian 

 dialect. Thus, when conjured to go out of the boy, the demon re- 

 plied, "I mog net" (IcJi mag nichtj I don't want to). 



Father Aurelian, having now got the devil so far under con- 

 trol as to make him speak, felt sure of a brilliant success, and on 

 the morning of July 14th threw the church open to the public. 

 Wernding, it must be remembered, has not only a sulphur-bath 

 for the periodical purging of the profane, but also a wonder-work- 

 ing shrine, to which thousands of pious pilgrims resort in order 

 to be purified from sin. On this occasion the persons who filled 

 the church were chiefly penitents of the latter class, and consti- 

 tuted a fit audience of eager and credulous witnesses fully in 

 sympathy with Father Aurelian and the marvelous work he had 

 undertaken to perform, howling, moaning, and praying, and wring- 

 ing their hands as the priest went on with his exorcisms. 



The following is the substance of the dialogue between the 

 capuchin and the devil : 



C. You must depart from the child ; there is no help for you. 



D. I can't. 



C. Why can't you ? 



D. Because she is always banning. 



C. Who is banning ? Some woman ? 



D. Yes. 



C. What is her name ? 



D. Herz. 



On hearing this, the parents lifted up their arms and exclaimed, 

 " She is our neighbor ! " 



C. Why did she send you into the child ? 



D. Because she was angry. 



C. Had the child done her any harm ? 



D. No. 



C. How long have you possessed the child ? 



D. Six months. 



C. When are you going to get out ? 



D. I don't know. 



C. Why don't you know ? 



_D. Because this woman Herz keeps on banning, and so long 

 as she does this I can't go. 



This conversation, repeated again and again with slight vari- 

 ations, occupied the whole forenoon. 



