Indulgences dictated by a soul in purgatory. Unrecorded booklet.

[Indulgence]. Beschreibung einer ganz wunderlichen Geschichte einer armen Seele, so aus dem Fegefeuer kommen zu einem reichen herrn, und ihm entdeckt, wie folgt. S.l.: s.n., s.a. 8vo [17.0 x 10.3 cm], [2] ff., with woodcut on title page and final page. Unbound. Folds.
 
 
Unrecorded late 18th-century German devotional pamphlet containing a prayer for freeing souls from purgatory. The item is decorated with a (quite vernacular) woodcut depicting the Virgin & Child above the furnace of purgatory in which are to be glimpsed the faces of the suffering.
 
What is unusual about the text is the curious prefatory backstory, which makes the claim that these anti-purgatorial prayers were dictated by a wailing soul to a startled rich man who was riding through the woods: “Once upon a time, a rich man was riding through a forest when he heard a pitiful cry and lamentation. The man rode on, but the voice continued to cry out more miserably, calling: ‘Dear sir! Wait for me, for God’s sake, until I come to you.’ The man hesitated, unsure whether to wait or not, but then he stopped, thinking, ‘For God’s sake, surely no harm can come to me.’ As the figure drew closer, he asked what he desired. He said: ‘I am a poor soul, and I would have been lost eternally, yet I prayed a certain prayer every day. Because I never revealed it to anyone, I ended up in Purgatory (otherwise, I would not have had to endure any torment) and I have had to suffer for so long.’ The man immediately wrote down the prayer in the forest just as the poor soul had dictated it, and it follows hereafter. This prayer is highly beneficial, for it brings a great indulgence for the soul and eternal reward.”
 
The prayer dwell especially on Christ’s blood, sweat, and his Holy Five Wounds.
 
 
The item offered here is not located by OCLC, KVK or VD-18, but other versions of the story are known.