Sunbury American and Shamokin journal. [volume] (Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa.) 1840-1848, 1845-04-05
THE RAT TOWER.

Tie memory Of lidtto, nrchoishop oI ha'hZ,
is still cxccra,ed on the banks of the Rhine.
.iph, or nine centuries after his death and. to
this dav, when cloud or fog is seen resting on
the Maus,hrum. the peasants point to 1t, IN fear
and drtestaton, as containing the spirit OF the
savage priest Ilato was man without
heart He delighted in cruelty, and was plea.
sed with all sorts of horrors, except tn fcti.
,ous.-Tle wond have made an excellent ogre,
only that he wanted the popularity Of appetite.
A famine Wis ted the land which was under
the spiritual and pastoral care ofthis good shep-
herd The people died in thousands /; infants
pcr.hed nf hunger at the breast, and others of
hunger and self Diet 'sta'ion that their fountains
of natur" refused to supply their IF spring with
the means orlfr. The archbishop fassted and
Gi,cued He paved To God. however. 10 TO.
move his curse tron Il" land he an.
a,hcma'ized the ful fpnd with bl'. brok. and
candle nay. he tasted an entire day on stewart
carp and smoked salmon drinking naught save
iohnn,isherger and sudeshpi mer and hockel-
mer. But he gave nothing to the starving poor
NOT a fragment. not crumh.
Then the people waxed wroth. They look
cd with their hungry eyes into one sno'her's
faccs. and said, "Lpt us 60 unto the man o.
God let us 90 mp in body. and show him our
skin and bores, and cry altogether with loud
voice. help ,--hclpr" and ,hcv went up: ard
their W ices although thin and weak and bro
ken. were able. because of the number, 10 reach
the archhi,hop's ears. a. he sat drinking the
pale wine and th" red al his dessert.
.Whai il this = CT ed the archbishop; what
rascallv concert have we now
1T is the people, answered his men; they
are hungry, and they cry for food
'l.e them work vat'ei-. said the archbish'
op, growing red with Indignation.
They have no work, and are TOO feeble TO
work
Too feeble TO work Go you now what is
| thai Mercy "n us, these are feeble lungs. in
! deed. Send them packing. | say on with
| lhcm-rroop, lrundIe.'
| Bot the people would not move for they were
| hs rce III their hunger, and valiant IN their de-
| spaIr; and they continued Ia cry with one voice,
| oh, man of God help help!
| Then the soul Of The archbishop was stirred
with wrath and fiery Indignation, and he COM
nandcd hl- archCrs Ia lay hold ot the rebels,
ard ,hut them up in an empty barn near the pa.
lace. And when this was done, he sat quaf4.
ing the pale wine aud the red, thinking Of the
insoercc of The bas" popnace, till the veins OF
hs hrad swrllG with fury.
Go said he To his mcr, starting suddenly mp
from III" table. go and set fire TO the barn.
Ard hia men did so.
Ard the nrchh shop Stood at the window
waiting rmp.lientlv; hut when he saw the
! n ,mr> burst through The root o. the harm, and
heard the scrcum- oi the wreches within, ne
clappod his hands and cried on, joyfnlv: ~
burns It hurns Hark ho,o the rats s9uek =
Tint night the archhishop's men were ava
kened by their master, ard ran 10 his chamber
| NV lnrd' sad they. what is the matter
III is the ra's,' nn-w, red he /; they viii not
lrt me snnr.' Aud they saw that The coun.
rrrpane nf prrcious fur was indeed all gmawed
10 pieces Then the men waited and set traps
and dnns and slew the rats IN great numbers
| but the faster they slew, the fastrr they grew
| AID the archbishop had no rest, uelthrr night
nor aay. Al his meals. III" o1ious vcrmiu am.
ped IN his porrlneer, or upset hIs drinking cup;
and II he slept. (Which E.nr allow' him but
rarely to do,) he was sure to be awakened by a
rat tearing at his throat.
The archbishop, at last, determined ni only
10 hnve II palace infested by such imp"rlnna'e
guests but to chnos" lodging in which there
could be- no p'ss bll'y Of repetition ot the
nnisance He accordingly caused tower Ia
he built amid the rushing waters ofthe Bng"r-
Ioeh. and when it was ready. set ou, with a jny-
ful heart 10 shu, himself up in his new atode.
He embarked at BmGen, aud On arriving at
the tower. sprang eagerly 10 land. That day
he ftasred in safety. lie retired carly. and com
man.lIng that no one should disturb or come
near him on pain of death, he prepared TO en-
ioy, at Iesst. the luxury Of an untroubed sleep
lie had ALREADY undresscd hut, m the fulness
Of his cxulistion, would scan with his own eyes
the s. ace of waters between him and the land
which was the tensntabe inheritance of his
toes
As he hooked out Of the window, he saw a
motion on the dark and troub' cd waters beneath
whole sar'ace seemed instinct with life and