She went back the following day, but nothing had changed in the corpse. This time, however, she finished the washing, not mentioning to anyone what she had seen. She had served the dean faithfully while he lived, she wanted to remain equally faithful to him after his death. Nothing must be said that could tarnish his memory.
Magda returned to the corpse-house on the third day, but the amazing sign still remained in her master. That same day the carpenter came with the coffin, and now her discovery could not be kept secret any longer. The carpenter saw the same as she had seen, and he was as disturbed as she. And he agreed with the old maid that their parish pastor could not be buried in this horrible condition. The maid asked his advice: What should she do? The carpenter himself could do nothing; this was not a job for a man of his trade. Against the evil powers that were active here nothing could be done by carpenters’ tools — neither hammer nor plane could be used. For he realized at once that the Evil One himself had taken up his abode in the dead corpse’s limb — in the very limb with which most of men’s sins are committed. By seizing this tool of sin the devil had taken possession of Dean Drysell’s remains. Some spiritual man who had his power from God must step in here and save the dead one. The carpenter advised Magda to see the new pastor.
The maid went to Pastor Stenbeck and tried haltingly to explain the situation of her dead master. The minister followed her to the corpse-house. The body was now shrouded, but the faithful servant uncovered it sufficiently so that the pastor could see with his own eyes. He paled at what he saw. He told Magda to cover the corpse, and said: My colleague cannot be buried in this abominable condition. He said nothing more. He did not call by name the power which had seized Drysell, but Magda understood that the carpenter was right.
Dean Drysell’s funeral was to take place on Friday — today was Tuesday.
Pastor Stenbeck was a clergyman with powers to exorcise Satan. He had once liberated a farmer in Långasjö, and another time the old wife of the captain in Grimsgöl, who had been possessed by the devil for many years. Now he went back to the parsonage and put on his vestments. Armed with the Holy Writ and many pious church books, he returned to the corpse-house and locked the door behind him. He was always alone with Satan when he exorcised him.
The good parson remained in the mangle shed several hours. The following day he returned again: no change had taken place in the body of the dead dean. Pastor Stenbeck locked himself in the shed an hour on each of the two following days, and continued his efforts. But the sign of the devil’s presence remained. Stenbeck had failed in his exorcism this time. The funeral must therefore be delayed — a funeral could not be performed with Satan holding on to the mortal remains of his brother in the ministry.
It was the month of sultry dog days, and the deceased dean had now stood above ground for a whole week. Strangely enough, no odor came from the corpse. It seemed as if the power which had taken up its abode in the dead one’s limb preserved the body from decay.
Pastor Stenbeck was unable to defeat the old Enemy, he needed help. He saddled his horse and rode to his colleagues in Linneryd and Elmeboda. The ministers of these two parishes were both noted for extraordinary spiritual powers. Stenbeck described to them the calamity which had overtaken their old friend Drysell after his death. Wouldn’t they return with him, and assist in forcing Satan to let go his prey?
The ministers in Linneryd and Elmeboda knew of their colleague’s weakness for women — those creatures who are so often the ruination of a good man. And they understood that it was because of the dean’s sins with women in his youth that the devil had taken possession of him now. They promised to help Pastor Stenbeck.
The following day three ministers in vestments and regalia met in the Ljuder parsonage at the bier of their deceased colleague. They prayed, they sang hymns, they made the sign of the cross, they performed the mass which is used in exorcising the devil. Three living priests prayed for a dead brother. They went on with their mass through half of the night.
The neighboring clergymen remained in Ljuder until the following day, when they went out to the corpse-house to view the results of the exorcism of yesterday. But nothing had changed. Satan still remained in the limb of the dead one, he still retained hold on his prey. By now Dean Drysell had remained above ground for eleven days.
The three ministers took counsel together in great consternation. What was to be done? Spiritual powers did not suffice here. They could not bury their brother and colleague — not commit him to the earth with the Enemy still in his body. Nor could the corpse remain unburied many more days. The secret of the delay had in some way leaked out, all people spoke about it, and this was not an edifying occurrence in a Christian community.
The clergymen spoke of traveling to the bishop in Växiö, to ask his advice. The bishop was an experienced servant of God, thoroughly familiar with the devices of Satan.
Then old Magda approached Pastor Stenbeck, and asked leave to speak with him alone. She had a confession to make, a terrible secret to divulge. She told the following. When first she came to the employ of Pastor Drysell she had been seventeen. She had come to him a virgin, but after only a few weeks in service her master had enticed her into carnal connection. For a long time she had lived in sin with him. But at last she began to worry about it — she feared for her salvation. And she grew more and more averse to the master who had tempted her and led her astray. She began to hate her seducer. By this hate she had once been led into a cruel deed: she had prayed to God for revenge. She had prayed that her master might receive punishment — that after death he might be delivered to Satan.
Drysell had soon finished his satisfaction in her, and had then turned to another woman. But Magda had remained in his service. She had had nothing more to complain about, he was good to her. She remained year after year; at length she became his faithful old servant; and now, when she no longer lived in sin with him, her peace of mind had returned to her.
After many years she had even forgiven her master his stealing of her maidenhead, and leading her to whoring-sin. Not only had all hate been deleted from her mind, she had become entirely devoted to the man who had led her astray. She served him well, and looked after him in all ways. She had come to depend on him, and he had depended on her. They had both passed the age when men and women seek each other for the sake of bodily lust, but they were in other ways a help and comfort to each other. Magda had learned to know her one-time seducer as a good man, generous, kind, and helpful to the poor and destitute. And she had suffered deeply from the memory that once in her youth she had wanted to condemn this man to eternal suffering and deliverance to Satan. It had been a bloody sin.
And then one Sunday morning the Lord touched the forehead of his servant: Drysell had a stroke in the sacristy and died. And the moment had arrived when Magda made her horrible discovery: the devil had indeed taken up abode in her master’s body. With her own eyes she had seen that the Lord had answered the prayer she had uttered in her youth.
Many nights had already passed since her prayer was answered, yet not one wink of sleep had she enjoyed during a single night. She had lain wakeful in agony; the master whom she loved had through her instigation become the possession of Satan.
This was old Magda’s confession. And now she wished to make her own attempt to liberate Dean Drysell. She intended to remain through a whole night in the corpse-house, alone with the dead one and the one who had taken possession of him. How she was to save her master, she did not know, but she wished to confess at his bier what she had done.