, 1864-05-15
lthough Gretchen was not at all too young

I 11As AG Q1t&ut pub4luA1 Va e4A4c kOu OiQ
ior Gretchen; md theraupon he began to
ponder whether, tn years to come. buIom
Young wife o1 thirty might infallibly lovo .
husband Of fifty quito us well as-as-aa-
+ ntsldes, the wedding ~fYh rather pcrrEeHsd
and annoyed him. He felt that he would "a
mske come confeupdel mistake In the mat
II. Hang, the wisb,' said Hans; bnt
theie1s one way. at least to escape 1t. aud Ii
~isA' for an, tLit : on that tsny, may bs-:
ana mere be Eearty brought some f0rdl Of
| speeen o. arather powerful 'paturs, but that
| ne: lnensas NJ beard sort' Of snigyering
| laugh all s1ound him, which luckily stopped
hinll 10 good time. ..,.,....,,
| ,"Wvli to 90 On. with ny story, everything
| tell out eEsclly Il. tiy t<:,::t. Eie,ff u: TIL;
hartzTald had predicted. The notary nearly
threw sometsault when the fatal bond Was
bis daughter for this terrfhlo rrnof 7f =his
Issc2lity. For ecec, Too. IT, eoa.:s:. !or t.1e
love mcautlercd On fairly and smoothly
eHangh, fur tirrttcheu really loved her suitor
Eans, Tho, blythe bS,1 forgot to mention,
wes IN good trnth y pcrsonahla fellow
yatc The affections a1id iazzlo the ronanse Of
aJoung and confidinE maiden of sixteen;
for, beeides daehirg figure and q hand.
some face, he rejoIceG in curling pair {Yt-
black nolittachcs ec1 beArd th2t-shas-
suffice Is, SHY, was the envy of all this to ~;
storm, and the Wedding day was liked pre-.
cisely one month. a1er the Bllck Fiend's
visit to Hans' solitary chamber: the said
chamber being speedily cxhau. cd for aspleu-
did n.ansl. 4 In tie Ecst quarter Of tbs town,
fer Hsus was now very rich, and Of COURSE
WA very much respected. -. ,.-p
~'..Weu. it nas Joyona dsy to be sure but
ai the happy couple walked from the church
dcor,' Gretchen could not help observing
that silly hit shade Of mancholy dwell upon
the features Of her handsome husband My
darling sp!tz.'. said she, adecttonsts1y.
happiness, and yet methinks, learest.
soIe tracc Of care seems to liu.cr eYen your
kindcst look sAhV said Hans, with .
sigh that might have agltated a windmill;
is not lore life, but fleeting, al tha pocts
ss,s:' Who cares about poet3s:'' quoth,
Gretchen, True love endnreth forerer!'
True, Gretchen said Hans, 'ana truly
When you are still young, and I am 70 no
longer, will yon still love ME then az 1ou
do now: Pooh! pool = said Gretchen,
with roguieh smile, What stnT aad non
sefa and ss shst tas to s 4as 7oa M
younger every. cay sAh, 1 Wish I did,
ssad Hans. sGranted,' muttered veIce 1t
Lie elbow, and ct the same time a hollow
uncarihlF laugh rang In his cars in fact, it
wss not altogether laugh, there WA sone
Hans shuddeIed too, and felt SO f,unt that he
literally leant for support on his hride, who,
desr little atttctfonate creature, exerted her
tcli to the Utmost to recover him, attribu-t
ini his sudden in disposition to the awful H.
ture Of the ceremony he had just gone
through, which sometimes Is known to aifert
the stern nerves of the male sex more than it
does the elastic sensibilfties Of the gentl.r por
tion of creation.
swell bless my sonl,'' said the narchio-
vtst y.
plain Of? PEay count, does any ona know
The address Of that politest Of Ill dcmous.'
~ dare ssy there arc very few ladies now
a-da.s who would tniut at the granting OF
such . wish" said the count, :" but wait the
result, madam; The agent. Of the Evil One
coon shall hear. True 1t was that every thing
went on swimminsly 1t first, for Hans dill
indeed grow younger every day, to the great
astonfshmcnt Of the entire population Of
Gotzberg. But, alas! Gretchen grew older
at the same time; md when he had grown
twenty-five, Hans was beginning to forget TIA
fist tendst-iosiDg a1tacailee:.:tt nf big GOOD
little wife. and hAsing dug up the whole Of.
the r lid o2ls that he lad soWn when he vas
young before, That with gambling, driRking,
smoking, and an sorry to say,, far worse
tlan al this, sad Life he began to lead poor
fQHfCh1QntRA.
"Weu, coafsc Of dissipation canaot lass
forever, thought for time Hans Si,ltzbuben
Nho thought he had outwilted the t1end in
good earntst, ami So, in truth at first sight it
Feared- But II the ways OF heaven are Iays-
teriurs, The designs Of Satan are absolutely 1n-
fathomable and It was only after aome mis- |
erabie years Of Vice and debatchery, that |
Bans discovered that he had again niscalcnl- |
atcd, as he had Oh former occasion in |
bis hrst encounter with the tempter; and his |
silly triumph changed rapidly to despair, IS
:enftsbled il health, ahuttered in Intellect, |
re1nofse, ho began to lostk. the wretched fn- ]
tuse to which hfs fatal compact must consfgn |
b, year upon ILLS agoRtes Of regret, as repent
lance shadowcd out to him, as in a mirror,
the image Of what waa still to come. But che
TACT was, by the time Gretchen had lived on
to be fine, healthy, and engaging woman Of |
tAisty-fye, Hans had gradually dwindletl
down to an awkward, long -shanked hpbtle- |
dchoy Of fifteen. AL his manly beauty had |
faded away; his nne flowing beard had long
since disappeared; his moustaches had crumb.
led of; his wlskers had eyaporated; bis voice |
suddenly jumped up IN octave =
"oh my goodness gracious - said the
marchfoneas,
'..Ah! you may say 80. indeed !" said the
count; but this was nothing to what hap
Eenea afterwards All Germany was In an
uproar about 1t. It was In vain that the
Inosr eminent physicians ware called In
Inns bafled thcm all. The whole faculty
lad hitherto been engaged In preventing
people from growing older, but to stop the
grow younger every day, was clean beyond
their skill It WAS {ue1s nasttrte-a case e.
tra arttn. n.edicam, and, as old DR.. SLnkenfu-
eel acutely: observed, 1t was impossible to
put nature On its legs, when it was positively
to Haik upon its head Well, as
htfOF - hanA txh hat ho l
Was about, If the doctors did not.''
!" But rrny," Interrupted the marchioness,
:, how did Gretchen support this remarka-
Bile dispcnsation
Oh! much better than her unfortunate
husband deserved. She btgan to consider
:ome way or other hitoWn child, and begnn
% love him oveS again, because he was 40 |
ike Ills latEer. She had once been an af1ac-
:ionate wife; she now bec1Lne an eqnally
.liectiouate mother; md lucky it was for
Hans that che Was kindly disposed, for from
his time to the tenth year Of his apparent
sse, be rapidly sank through the graduating
'ea1e Of = boys affection for marbles. peg-
ops, hoops, lollypops and elecampane.
fAere VAS no snying after this period how
'apidly LIS person diminished, and his clothes
grew 100 big, as be again sank downwasds
ron, the boy to the child, when, just as poor
3rettchen began to think-but Iden't know
madam, whether ought to- 20 on
"And I. count cannot unlerstaud why
Ioa should stop.''
well, madam, WAS only going to observe
hat just as poor Gretchen begun to think
hat The milk OF human kindness with which
The had hitherto supported him, might not
g nourishing. enough for his constitution,
md had actually cast her eyes upon . 'due
which relieved Ear from any further anxiety
IN this score, for suddenlY-unaxpectedly-
n the second year OF his second childhood,
md on the very adversary ofhis first iuter-
IieW with the black f1end Of the HartzWa1d,
3ans Spitzbnben died Of the meazles.'
swell, aail the marchioness, +" told you
It first that I did not believe word Of it,"
And, now, l assure Jon again, u,adarn,
hat it's as true-as true as-''
But the rcader-must not be detained whila
he count finds bis simile and when he bis
informed that the skeleton Of uans il still to
,e eeeu In glass csse at ths muse1fm OF
sotzberg, with \ certificate Of the bursoulas-
or attesting the truth Of the story, no rea-
onnble doubt can, or ought to, remain in
the mind OF any one--0hce Htxk.
NEWS FROM RICHMOND.