Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1842-10-08

~ u 1Stth w L1it Ma hH{lIlft w fJ bot
and Clisma, where st. SisoGs died.
Oribe day III question, tho Devil had HI
better luck t,n.ou usual and while he was f
ling his bag, he CHANGED to turn round, and b.
held at his side an angel, watching his move
menteand smiling. The Devil shrugged b
shoulders. and continued to cram in the soul
without being very dainty in his selection
indeed, anything is good enough for his eau
dron. When he had finished, he took hol
Of the sack with one hand 10 swing il over hi
shoulder, but it was SO heavy that he coul
not raise i from The ground. lie next seize
the hellish wallet with both hands, but the Sc
cond effort was as futile as the first the ba
would no more move than if it were the TO
OF a rock projecting out Of the earth.
"Oh, you souls of | ad !" exclaimed he, an,
he was beginning to swear, when he turnei
again and saw The angel laughing at him.
What are you doing here 7" demnndedl lie
angrlIy.
You see what | am doing" repliei the
angel !" just now ! was smiling, and now
am laughing outright"
Celestial pullet !" cried Asmolo1s, " go
about your business
/" Ciagoh - replied the angel and as he
spoke his face assumed a grave and severe
expression F." listen to the words | s~peaksi1
behalf OF lin whom you fear. You will not
he able to carry those souls to He'll, until a
saint from Paradise, or n Christian from the
sky. shall aid you to lift the sack from the
ground aud place it on your shoulders" So
saying, the angel spread bis c~agle-wjngs and
flew away.
The Devil was perploxcd. "What did the
fool mean - muttered he, between his teeth
" a saint from Paradise, or u Christian from
the skies :! Umph !! think | shall wait a long
time before | get aid from either of those.
Why the devil did I stuff the sack SO full /.
And that ninny, that's neither man nor bird,
rnade fun Of me, too! Well, | suppose have
nothing for it but TO sit down and wait for my
saint or my Christian. It's q stupid affair
anyhow ] don't see anything TO laugh at.
The truth is, the people up above arc easily
amused"
To a wagner stuck in the mud, swearing
is a great relief though, indeed, to get out
d the scrape is a much greater. But the
poor Devil scratched his head and pondered.
Lot us leave him to himself asmoment.
The fellow who ruined Eve is a knowing
one. He poles his nose everywhere, as he
did in Paradise. He is on good terms with
st. Cyprlen, the magician and he knows how,
on proper occasions, to make himself acccp-
table to other saints, sometimes by rendering
them little private services, sometimes by
making them agreeable speeches. He knows
what communication pIeases everybody. He
brings 10 St. Robert Of York little buttcred
oaten cakes. He talks golds,nitiwith ~. Floy,
and cooking with st. Theodotus. He talks Of
k!nk ChIldebert to the holy Bishop German:
efkjng Dagobert TO the holy Able Wandrille;
and of King Sapor 10 the holy Eunucb U.s.
thazade. To st. Paul, the Simple, talks Of
st. Anthony aud to St. Anthony, he speaks
of his pig. lie speaks 10 st. Loup of bis wife
PimenioIa, and does not speak TO 81, Conner
of his wife Gwinmaria; for the Devil is a
great fiatterer-mouth of honey, heart Of
gall.
Meanwhile, four saints, celebrated for their
great fricndship-St. Nile, the Solitary ]; st.
Autremoine st. John, the Dwarf and St.
Mtdard-went, on that very day, to take a
walk along the shores Of the Red Sea. They
were SO deeply engaged in conversation, as
they approached the wood Of palm-trees, that
the Devil saw them without being himself
perceived. Incontincntly, hes assumed the
form of poor. decrepit old man, and began
to utter lamentable cries.
What's the matter 7" said ST. Niles. =
'Alas! alas my good ~sirs," exclaimed the
Devil, "come to my aid, | beseech you. ] am
the poor slave Of a very wicked master, who
is a merchant of Fee. You know the inhab-
Of Fee, the Moors, Numidians, Cara
MAINTAINS, and all the people of Barbary, Nj
bia and Egypt,a mischievous and peryerse,
rash, profigate, and merciless ; and all owing
to the influence Of the planet Mars. Mereo-
YER, my master is tormented BY the Ciceroni-
an black bile, yellow bile and phIegm, which
engender a cold and dry melancholy that
makes him timId and dastardly. However, he
has a great faculty for contriving evil, and
makes us poor slaves feel the power of it, par
~ticularly me, poor old man that / am"
"Wha are Won driving at, my good friend'"
said st. Autrcmoine, puzzled 10 understand
this harangue. 4
"This, my good sir" answered the Devil,
"my master IS a great traveller, and
has a great many whins. To whatever coun-
try he goes, he carries the fancyof forming in
his garden a mountain of sand, that must be
collected frorn the shores Of The sea nearest
TO the place where he dwells for the time be-
ing. In Zealand, he raised a heap OF black,
muddy sand. In Friezland, a mass Of coarse
sand, mixed with those red shells among
which, you discover the speckled cone. In
the CirnbriaH Chersene3e, now called JutlaEd,
mass of fine whitessand-"
1.-THE Devil take you :" interrupted st,
Nile, who was of an impatient disposition !;
sc why don't you come TO the point! Here you
have kept us a quarter of an hour listening to
your fiddle PADDLE. count my minutes"
The Devil made a humble bow. "You
your minutes, do you say0sood sir ?
a noble taste. You must be from the
South; for they of the South are ingenious
and given to mathematics, because they are
nearer than other men TO the circle of the
wandering stars" Then, bursting out again
into signs and beating his breast, he contin-
ued, "Alas, my good friends my master is a
cruel master. Hesis now building this NOUN
tain, and every day | am forced to come TO the
shores of this sea, fill this bag with sand, and
carry it home on my shoulders. As soon as |
finish one journey, | must make another, and
this lasts from the rising 10 the setting sun.
If | pause To rest or to sleep, Or if fall from
fatigue, or if the sack is not full, he beats me.
| am an unfortunate wretch, overwhelmed
with misery. Yesterday, made six journeys,
and when night came on | was 80 tired that !
could not lift this burden to my shoulders. |
have passed the night here By the side of it,
terrified at my masters anger. Take pity on
me. my good sirs, and help NE to raise it,
While listening to this pathetic harangue,
St, Nile, St. Au{remoine, and st. John the
Dwarf, we're much moved, and St. Mtdard be-
gan to cry which caused it to rain forty days
on the earth.
But st. Nile said to the Devil, u cannota aid
YOU. nv friend and | am very sorry for it.