In the vicinity of Englebelmer nocturnal wayfarers were often surprised
at hearing repeated sneezes by the roadside, and the young people of
the neighboring villages made frequent attempts to ascertain the origin
of the mysterious sounds, but without avail. The mischievous spirit or
_lutin_ took pleasure in seeing them run about in a vain search while he
himself remained invisible. Finally people became accustomed to hearing
these phantom sneezes, and, as no harm had ever resulted to any one, with
the contempt bred of familiarity they gave little heed to the spiritual
manifestations, and were content with merely crossing themselves devoutly.
One fine moonlight evening in summer a peasant returning from market
heard the usual _Atchi, atchi_, but pursued his way with equanimity.
However, the _lutin_ pursued him for about a mile, sneezing repeatedly.
At length the peasant impatiently exclaimed, “May the good Lord bless you
and your cold in the head!” Scarcely had he spoken when there appeared
before him the apparition of a man clad in a long white garment. “Thank
you, my friend,” said he: “you have just released me from the spell under
which I have long rested. In consequence of my sins, God condemned me to
wander about this village sneezing without rest from eve till morn, until
some charitable person should deliver me by saying a benediction. For at
least five hundred years I have thus roamed about, and you are the first
one who has said to me ‘God bless you.’ Fortunately it occurred to me to
follow you, and thus I have been set free. I thank you. Good-by.”
Thereafter the mysterious sounds were no longer heard; and thus, in the
belief of the peasants of Picardy, arose the custom of salutation after
sneezing.[404]
Under a bridge near the town of Paderborn, in Prussia, there lives a
poor soul who does nothing but sneeze at frequent intervals. If a wagon
happens to pass over the bridge at the moment when a sneeze is heard,
and the driver fails to say “God help thee,” the vehicle will surely be
overturned, and the driver will become poor and break his leg.
Tradition says that a godless fellow who died long ago of incessant
sneezing, during an epidemic of the plague at Wurmlingen in Würtemberg,
was condemned on account of his sins to wander about the neighborhood,
still sneezing at intervals. One day, while one of the villagers was
crossing a bridge over some meadows near the town, he heard some one
underneath sneeze twice, and each time he piously responded, “God help
thee!” When, however, he heard a third sneeze, the villager thought to
himself, “That fellow may keep on sneezing for a long time and make a
fool of me.” So he cried out angrily, “May the Devil help you!” Thereupon
a voice from under the bridge exclaimed pitifully, “If you had only said,
‘God help thee!’ a third time, I should have been freed from the spell
which binds me.”[405]