The mountain Democrat., 1864-06-18

ly, for her father is rich. and you are worth
somewhat less than nought besides this,
the last bill you gave to Capt. Schwartz
is already in the notary's hands, and to
morrow you become the occupant of q
jail =
Its all too true, too true groancd
Sritzhuhen; but, in Heavens name,
want assistance and not catalogue of my
mi>fortGnrS.'
As the student mentioned the name Of
Heaven, a sfuddcr passed through the
whole frame of the Fiend, 50 that even the
tip Of his tail quivered with strong emo.
ton; hut Hans unluckiy remarked it not,
as with a voice Of suppressed anger the
Tempter proceeded
Little assistance do you deserve at my
hands, for you have just uttered a word
that does not agree with my constitution,
and give von at once fair warning. that
if you repeat the offence, shall leave you
to your tate forever.
Now raise the hearthstone at your feet;
YOU will do it easily by pressing down an
iron spring that lies concealed between
two stones in the wall, even where now
place nv hand
Hans rushed TO the wall and eagerly
pressed his fingers upon the spring, but
he could not rrpreSS cry OF pain, for the
iron that the Fiend had just touched was
nearly red hot.
Nevertheless. the hearthstnne slipped
aside, and he forgot the pain in astoni>h-
mcnt at what he brhe!d, for there were at
lftN. lac LrT, ,l,l, ,,c fr,ll
besides that, parchment deed closely
written in very legal sort Of hand-that
is To say, nearly ill gible.
First of all, said the Fiend, read that
dnrulcnt'
Hans with difficulty obcyc1, but what
was his bcwderment to find a r, gular
deed of acknowledgment from the Notary
to his deceased uncle for the sum Of TWEEN
tl thousand dollars, deposited with him at
interest.
Now said the Temptcr, when the
Notary Schlossten presents his little bill
tomorrow, unfold this attc>tcd deed be-
fore him, and my word upon it, before a
month passes over, the pretty Gretchen
will become your most loving and atfrc
tioHa;e wife, as the price Of its cancelia
ton
And is all this treasure mine?' cried
Spiizhubrn. oh Ilra-'
What! again = said the Fieul and
St,aj -htway uuwinding his tail from his
tyfy with the rapitity Of lightning, he
gave poor Hans two such tremendous
!a>hcS over his right aud left shoulder,
that there remained a sort Of devils cross
or pair of indclihie black braces on his
back, which | am told no washing could
atcrwaId rub out.
On. mercy, mercy = roared the victim,
now iIIing ~ on his knees.
1T was bat half pronouucrd,' said tie
Ev' Que. hut beware Cf the hext ntf, n>c
kroV. then, that the whole Of this treas
urr may he thine, but upon one condition.
y mast wlu it
Win it, cried Hans; 'hut how
'fn' simplest thing in the world we
viii lry at crhhage for il"
Now Iia,s recollcctcd that, when he
wa> ia Go;;iug II in years gonc hy, he bad
h,rn taught tins very game hy r"ilck
tng English student. and to such Il good
pu'Iu tiat It was imagined by many,
a"d specially by himself, that tie Fl,nl
hlm>,.f as 10 match iur him. But |
havr no board. said he.
j have, said the Fiend.
S. saying he placed upon the table "A
cihbagc hoard Of most cno,m Us dimcn-
>lon>, the like of which ElaOS had never
,ct eyes upon before but the more he
lookcl at it the less he liked it; the orna
uctt> were not at all in good taste, the
divisions hciug formed Of leg and thigh
hnnr>, a d the holes strongly resembling
tie eve sockets of skull. In short, he
u l,!yd bv h>IikiuG it a,t,S othcr, aud
tHln. 4 >4nrNhnt pa,i>h aud leprntaut Of
ill.,. ~Lo'r affair.
'l,i,t.' said the Firnd, vino read his
t,"ugi,t>. do YOU Waver now? Think Of
the lovc'y Gret'rh'n We ldyd to another.
YoHr accomplished old fIirnd, Captain
Scrwnrlz, may >ucr,e in lavi' z out your
moucv in matrimonial arrangement With
the "il Insurer. And what do Won wager
a.aju>t thrSr riches? Have asked You
t. >takr anything: All! am too good.
Qri'k, quick, or change my mind
Now, Hans could not help seeing that
these words were true enough, and that
he reilly could run no great risk il he
Staked nothing at all on the game; so
down he sat.
But we have no pegs, said he.
Excuse me- said his companion, 4
have upon which, gracefully extracting
one OF his horns from his forehead, he
placed it in the spare hole or socket Of the
board, and then politely handed the other
to SpltZhubcn.
With good PLAYERS one peg is sufficient.
Produce the cards
Hans did so and won the deal; and
a".'i>hinC hand and crib he had.
But when it came to his opponents
turn
Stop, STOP cried Hans; there's some
;hing Arong here. I'll take my oath that
twO Of tny best cards have vanished, and
those which | put out have got back into
my hand again
Come, me, Master Hans, no attempt
at cheating. said the Ficnd, aud his eyes
g'owcd fcaifuly as he spoke; either dis
c0ntiIuc the game, or Cut the cards and
play on
Oar hero felt cowed by the fierce bear
ing of his adversary, hesitated, but obey
ed. and a was turned up. Hans had
good hand, and played, as he thought,
conSummately well; at last, throwing
down his cards.
Il am out-out! he cried exultingly.
All but one hole said the sable one.
And sure enough Hans had miNcaculated,
for his opponent, showing 3 tives and
knavc of the suit turned up, scored 90,
and won the game exactly by single
point.
The hearthStOne closed up with noise
like thunder, the board disappeared, aud
as the Demon TRANQUILITY replaced his horn
in his forehead -