The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1867-06-08

language was indisc,eet, maintained, ,nevcrthe-
less, that it was very dangefous to have the
slightest ,comnsuication with the demon, be-
cause he was. wicked, capricions md powerful,
and all those who had any communication with
him always experienced, misfortune from it.
Had he not given to the gallant Chcvalier Sy-
bert, the f,inous black stced, with Which he
conquered all his competitors at. the grand
tournament il! Bremen? Yes, nut that courscr
pluagcd with him down ffightful prccpicc,
from which man or horse has never cou G out
Did he not impart to Ddmc Gertrude Troddcn
some curious secrets, Which were soon after the
cause Of her being burned as a sorcercss, by
the command of the grand criminal judge Of
tie electorate?
l.. But these proofs aud many others, which
George and Max related of the evil conse-
qucnccs. attendant on the gifts Of the clfin,
made no impression on Martin Wallcck Mar
tin:was young, during and rash, and smiled at
| the timidity Of his brothers.
;Eeasc.' fc spid, .':all this folly; the demon
is good and kind one. Hc'lvcs among MS as
simple peasant; he frcqucnts the rocks and
solitu6cs Of the mountains, sometimes as
hunter, and other times as shepherd. But
how can this demon be SO malicious as yousa, :?
What power hc have over mortals who
make use Of his gifts without submitting them
selves to his will? The benefits and .yifts of
the spirit of the IIartz canno. inurc MS; it is
tho bad use which We make Of them, that
docs"
Max replied, that riches, badly acquired
could never profit their posscsser. Martin de-
clarcd, positively, that the possession of all tic
treasures in the IIartz Mountains would not be
capable of eilecting the least Change i'll his
habit, manners Or character.
y This conversation lasted until the brothers
reached their lowly hut, which was situated on
a Height in the nciyhborhood of Brock
| They then, according to custom arranged the
watches for the night for one of the brothers
! kept GUARD, while .thr two others slept. In
fact tlc Burning Of the e,a'rcal required a
! continual attention
Max. Wpldeck, the eldest brother, had
watched abodt7an hour. when he saw, suddenly
upon the bnrders of the swamp opposite to the
door of his cottage an immense fire, around
! which numerous figures danced III the most
grotcsquc attitudes, HInx's first thought was
to call George; but be coull not awaken him
without Martin hearing, So upon reflection,
i'll spite of tho terror with which this singular
piantom filled him, ,hc resolved to watch alone.
i Besides, the strajgc fire WAS gradually lisap-
pearing, and he was thon quite free from fear
George g did l not delay i'll relieving Max, who
retired to bed without saying anything. The
vast fire again filled tic valley, and the same
! phantoms surrounded and danced through the
flames. George was. more courageous than
| Max, and resolved to cross the stream which
separated him from the marsh. Climbing up
an cmincncc, he approached near to where. the
fire was burning. -\mong the cl6ns that
hustled about the flames, lie recognized the
giant, covered with hair and armed with pine
trccJ in word, it was the dc.nonof the Hartz,
i sch rs the old shepherds had described to him
/, Trembling ,"ith Fear he commenced rcciting
the psain. colnmenc:".g with "Lct all the angels
prais, thee, O Lore" which las looked on, in
that country, MS sovereign prcscrvatlvc
against the influence Of bad spirits. lie ..;:rncd
his eyes again towards Where the fire had been
burning but all had disappeared The valley
was no longer illumina.ed but by the pale rays
OF the neon, George, in great terror, directed
his course to the place Of this extraordinary
scene, but he found no trace of fire on the
heath; neither the moss nor wild flowers were
seorchcd or fadcd-thc branches of the oak
which had appeared cnvclorcd in ian,cs were
wet with tic night dew. George returned to
the hut, and reasoning the same way as Max,
resolved to say nothing of what he had seen,
I as he feared to awaken tho curiosity of Mar
tin. t
Tho night. was far advanced when Martins
watch came on and when well awake his first
care was to examine the furnace ITo saw, to
his grent astonishmcnt, that George had not
attended to it, and TINT the fire was out-:ee
know already why. Very much annoyed he.
set about lighting it, but it was useless. 1t
became serious for the poor fellows riskrd the
loss Of their market next day. Mortified by
this accident, Marin had just decided to A.
Wakcn his brothers when n vln,,, AZ b,;Il;,,t