154 PARACELSUS 



deal of damage, and the injured people do not know 

 the cause of the evils that afflict them. A great deal 

 might be said in regard to this subject, but we will not 

 write it down, because we do not desire to give in- 



they possess such powers, and they '• bewitch " persons simply by the 

 power of their ill-will, guided by some unseen intelligence, and without 

 being themselves conscious of their success ; but in other instances they 

 know it. The fact that such sorceries do occur will not be doubted 

 by any one who has investigated the subject. They occur to a great 

 extent among the country people in Europe, and especially in Roman 

 Catholic countries. In Bavaria and Tyrol the country people are always 

 suspicious of strangers, whom they believe capable of bewitching their 

 cattle. They will not permit such strangers to enter their stables if the 

 latter do not pronounce a blessing on entering it ; and if they are afraid 

 of the evil power of some neighbour, they will, under no circumstance, 

 lend any article to him or accept anything from him. 



Several cases of "bewitched cattle" and "blue milk" are known to 

 me personally, of which I will mention the following as an example : — 



At a farm-house not far from Munich the milk became one day " blue " ; 

 after having been deposited in the usual place it began to darken, became 

 lightly blue, and that colour after a while deepened into an almost inky 

 darkness, while the layer of cream exhibited zigzag lines, and soon the 

 whole mass began to putrefy and to emit a horrible odour. This occurred 

 again and again every day, and the farmer was in despair. Everything 

 was attempted to find out the cause of the trouble ; the stable was 

 thoroughly cleaned, the place where the milk was kept was changed, a 

 different food was given to the cattle, and samples of the milk were sent to 

 Munich to be examined by chemists ; the old milk-pots were replaced by 

 new ones, &c., but nothing produced a change in the existing state of 

 affairs. 



At last my sister, the Countess S , who resided in the neighbour- 

 hood, hearing of these things, went to that farm-house to investigate the 

 matter. She took with her a clean, new bottle, and filled it with the 

 milk as it came from the bewitched cows. This milk she took home with 

 her and deposited it in her own pantry, and from that day the trouble in 

 the house of her neighbour ceased, and all the milk in her own house 

 became blue. 



Here again everything was tried to find out the cause, but without any 

 success, until, about three months afterwards, some old lady — living about 

 3CX) miles distant — effected another spell by her own occult powers, using 

 some slips of paper, on which she wrote something, and in consequence of 

 which the trouble ceased. Before it ceased, however, something strange 

 happened. Before daybreak, as the milkmaid was about to enter the 

 stable, some black thing like an animal rushed out of the half-opened 

 door, knocked the milk-pail and the lantern out of her hands, and dis- 

 appeared. After this all went well again. 



On another occasion, in a similar case which took place in the same 



