Wisconsin herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1846-1849, 1848-08-12

prayers thou hast forgotten; the promises
thou hast not counted; the sackcloth thou
hast not worn; the stripes thou hast NOT 10.
fiicted upon flesh tough enough by my hoofs
TO have borne them unfinchng. Recall thy
drinkngs and thy gamhlings, thy quarrels
and thy leasings, thy oaths and thy cheats.
while speak. How now! no, no, sinner,
dost thou think that if thou hang, thy soul
can escape meH
While the tempter thus said, gloom Of
intense horror and despair settled upon the
mind of poor Kaspar Karnerach. Verify
aud indeed, one by one, all his sins rose
before him like visible things. The dread
phantasmagoria of the past succeeded each
other like shapes in the magic lantern.--
The demon continued. well, Kaspar, 10
the bargain hard' Am az bad as they
paint mef Do not offer thee terms tore
Iject! Instead Of dying tomorrow, thou
shalt live out thy natural term peaceful and
merry. ] will not claim thee these forty
years. Thou shalt be fourscore and eight
before | tap at thy door. Perhaps thou
doubtest still that thy sentence will pass
Look and listen.'
And the straight walls Of the dungeon re-
ceded, and Kaspar saw the Judge aud inn
keeper closeted together, and heard the
Judge say distinctly, Set thy mind at ease,
brother mine, 1t shall he more than eur for
ear. The cursed soldier shall hang on the
linden before thy door, aud the crows shall
pick out his eyes,
To .sc orbs thus unfeelingly menaced,
Kaspar clapped his hands in dismay, and
the vision was gone. 'Well, said he, at
last, 'before can decide, ask one condi-
non ut least. You can conjure the absent
before me, il seems. Let me see Bettine
once more-just as she is now. Let me
fancy kiss her in her Sleep
The demon interrupted the father with
laugh full Of irony and scorn. He repre-
scented the absurdity of such a sentiment in
rogue 80 abandoned. He argued and
sneercd. He pooh-poohed and tut-tutfsd.
But the soldier was naturally obstinate, and
he grew more logged TO insist, the more re-
Iuctant the fend was to conredc. At last,
evidently seeing that unless he complied, he
should lose all the advantage he had gained,
the teinpter with considerable repugnance
yielded the point. But mark said he, sit
can be but the hundrcdth part Of a mo-
ment! See this nail that draw from thy
morton. Only for the space Of time that
elapses while the nail drops from my hand
TO the floor, canst thou see thy Bcttine.--
Look thy best
The soldier lookrd--Bettine WINS before
him. The lille room nj the forge, the
small he'd at the corner, the crucfix hung at
the bed head. Bettne's sweet fmcc was
pale and disturbed; some dream scared or
distressed her; and her lips plainly syllnbled
the words Father, God save theep Then
the soldiers soul seemed TO futfer and
writhe in agony--to appeal 10 Heaven a.
gainst the base fears Of the body, by which
its divine essence was so mcrcilessly cndar.
gcred. Its voice became audible, as q
frightened child on the breast of its mother,
il walled for succor and deliverance. All
those phantoms of past sins, so lately tcrrif-
fic, lost their power OF despair. Beside the
doom of an eternity, how small seemed the
misdeeds of hours Suddenly, rs the form
Of giant angel, its feet on the earth, It's
brow encircled by the glory Of the loftiess
stnrs--rose HorE.
Son. said the angel, 'whom have rear.
cd from the cradle, wilt thou desert me nj
the gates of the tomb! Not till the tomb il
closed, canst thou know me as ] am. All
my beauty, all my power, are never shown
but in the land beyond the grave. DO thy
sin. dismay thee' | was created TO rescue
men from their sins. Nor guilt nor demon
has lasting authority on the soul while IL
clings to the garments of Hope
The voice died, The dream faded Be-
fore the soldier stood the tempter, nnd the
nail bad not yet reached the floor.
'Fiend said the man delivered, if in tho
hundredlh part Of n moment, the soul esca-
ped from The body can feel as mine has felt,
what must he eiernity' Avaunt, and let
me die, will take Gods judgment on nv
sins; and to Gods mercy will trust my
child So speaking, the soldier made the
sign Of the cross, and the te,npter vanished.
II was with composed and cheerful mind
that Kaspar Karnerach saw the day CLEAN
through his bars. Long before noon, tho
whole burgh was astr, and, accompanied
by file of halbcrdiers, Karnerach was led
into Court to take his trial.
The Judge was in the awful seat; the host
with his head bandaged. the halbcrdiers
whom KsSpar had wounded, and goodly
crowd of Witnesses were assembled, intent
upon SUI plying the mob with that most pop
ular of AL sgns---a man hanged.
Jusi az Khspar was being led To the bar,
he (, II his arm pinched. and an unfamiliar
voice whispered in his ear--"Say you leave
defence in the hands of your COUNSEL"
Kaspar looked round, and saw before him
u little man with sharp, hungry face, and
eyes that seemed keen enough to pierce
through n wall.
"Alas !" said the soldier, al have not now
in my pouch for fee for coun-
sell"
"Nevcr let that vex YOU" said the little
man, smiling. al will run nv chance 10
take my costs out Of the plaintiff. If miss
here, hit there; that's my maxim"
Before Ka-par could answer, the man had
vanished amongst the crowd. The soldier
rubbed his eyes and fancied himself dream
ing.
He was now placed Mt the bar. All eyes
glared inadvertently upon him. Silence was
anil the case was opened. The