ABSTRACT
One of our fellow-gunners at the Arsenal, by name Søren Andersen, an elderly man, quiet and worthy, being well-to-do beyond the ruck of us, had a fair wife, of middle age, called Mette or Mathilde, and by her two sons, Rasmus and Anders, who had sailed to Spain, fine young fellows. This Mette had a good name among the gentry, the citizens and the farmers, and gave herself out as practised in healing. She measured with a band those who were afflicted with the wasting sickness and made signs and passes, so that they recovered. She also declared that she knew cures for colic and ague, and took money for them from the farmers: also that she could put a stop to wet weather, and took money for it. For all this there arose a complaint from the farmers that she had fooled many out of their money by trickery and fair words. This rumour reached Copenhagen Castle, and with his consent the wife of the Governor sent for her to visit her, and made out to her in secret that she had lost a silver jug, and asked her to bring about the discovery of the thief, and gave her wine and drink and promised high rewards if she were successful. And although she excused herself for a long time, at last she promised to come again the next morning to satisfy the lady’s wish in some way, moved by her kindness and the presents. She came next morning and told the lady that she should seek the jug in the room of her serving-maid, whom she named. But the Governor of the Castle was standing outside the chamber door where they were shut in, and she was seized and cast into prison at the gaoler’s, that is he who locks up and lets loose every prisoner, both those who are confined in the cellar of the Town Hall, and those who are in his own keeping to be punished in life and limb. She was frequently put to the torture in the Town Hall, and would never confess anything more than has been told, and said that it would be more fitting to rack and torture those women who destroyed their mates, or their husband, with poison. They questioned her eagerly, and she began as follows. A woman in Store Færgestræde, Anna by name, wife of Peter Holst 1 , had begged her in a friendly manner to buy her as much poison as would suffice to kill one person, for that Grabow, before he went away, had urgently pressed her to put an end to her husband, who was an old man and called Peter Holst. He had been a captain under King Frederik and King Christian, and was a worthy and God-fearing man of dignified appearance; and when he issued forth from his house to visit his friends or take a walk on the shore to pass the time, he would take a link-boy 2 as the Burgomasters and other officials use. King Frederik had assigned him for his support 100 florins yearly for as long as he should live, and this was brought to his door every autumn in cattle and sheep and pigs and such-like 3 . For this her excellent husband she had for many years placed a bed in the attic of his house. In this same house Grabow had had his lodgings for ten years previous to these events.
