The Milkgirl of Midnight
Somebody for whom mercy came too late was the milklady whose ghost been haunted at the Buttermilk Bridge for years. Every midnight she rose out of the dark waters of the Ottogracht and she went to the middle of the bridge and cried: "Buttermilk, buttermilk! I forgot my poor soul because I measured more water than milk." It was soon made clear why the soul of the milkgirl was damned. For years she had diluted milk with water and she had sold that mixture for real goods. Till the day the remorse came because of the fear for hell and for the people she had cheated. The milkgirl went to confession and the priest granted her forgiveness on the condition that she would pay all the people back. But that's what the milkgirl didn't dare.
What would people say if she confessed she had been cheating them for years, even if she said she regretted it and promissed to pay everything back. At last the milkgirl's remorse and fear turned into despair. One night she threw herself of the bridge at the Steendam into the water. The next day a schoolmaster recovered her body from the river. Her body was buried in the womb of mother earth, bur her soul was wandering about. Numerous people have seen the hazy-white shape and heard her painful scream: "Buttermilk, buttermilk!"
The scene was so pityful that even her former victims had pity on her and they entreated God to forgive her. Those supplications must have been granted, because from that moment on nobody had seen the milkgirl again.... the Lord had been mercyful to her.
It's been told that not one milkman has been found in Ghent and surroundings who would dared to dilute his milk since then. But that could be a legend too....!