The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1872-03-20
A SOUVENIR OF FAUST.

A SOUVENIR OF FAUST.
Hi.tory presents many singular circuu
stances in connection. with the popular 81
: perstition on the subject of curses. Norl
: ing of this sort is more striking, howeve
than the force and perpetuity ofsOme ofthes
,, bans, that really exist only in the imagin'
! tiOns of the ignorant, do sometimes actuall
seem to possess. In fact, time OCCASIONAL
exhibits such an exact and unvaryiDg fu
fllment OF the original maledictiOn that W
are almost tempted, at the first view, to bt
lieve IN direct interposition of some su
perhuman agency.
A peculiarly interesting case Of this kin
occurred. not long ago, in the old Gerna
city of Mentz, or more properly, Mainz
This ancient municipality, 1t will be remem
bered, was the home of Johann Gsnsfleisch
(better knownIas Gutenburg,) and the scen
of his invention and improvements in con
traditions concerning Gutenberg and hi
associate, the wealthy goldsmith, johann
Faust, have been preserved and are still re
peated in that locality. Of course, too, tn
latter individual has been endowed, here a
well as elsewhere in Germany, with ver1
uDenviable reputation. Partly because h'
was the most notable name at first connect
ed with the new and apparently magical ar
of printing, and partly through confusion
with DR.. .Faustus, the hero of Goethe's drains
and Loss,ng's poem, he has long been spoken
OF among the lower order Of Germans as 8
man In league with the devil, and therefore
irredeemabiy lost. As is usual, also, in such
cases, everything belonging or in any way
appertaining, las the lawyers have it) to thi;
same professor of 'ways that are dark and
deeds that are vain," has shared his evil
treatment at the hands of fame.
Now it happened that the site of the
house in which Faust and his second asso-
ciate, Peter Sch0ffer, carried on their busi.
ness after the former had deprived Guten-
burg OF all his printing materials, came to
sive brewery. The proprietor thereof was
q successful man, and his beer had obtained
wide and favorable reputation. Finding
that his growing business required more
room. he began to make addition5 to the
original building and, among other i'm
provements, had q cellar dug underneath it,
to be used for storage. In the cosrse of
their excavations the workmen came upon
an old worm-eaten beam, with an iron
screw, thickly coated with rust, through the
middle of it. Further investigations, and q
careful examination and comparison of the
best authorities, made It certain that they
had discovered the original printing press
used by Faust and Schoffer. The old, de-
cayed remnant was Immediately cleansed,
restored to place of honor, and exhibited
to v sitOrs as curious relic of the past, and
an object Of interest to civilized people all
over the world. The sight-seers came in
crowds to inspectit, and the worthy brewer
soon began to have very high opinion of
the value attaching to his accidentally &C
quired treasure. When, at last, many of
the most celebrated scholars and scientific
men Of Europe, as well as the Kings of
PrncQio ond r ri vuifh 0fhor loccor cyrav,
dees, had visited him and expressed great
interest in his discovery, he became perfect
~ infatuated on Tho subject. 1t occupied
his mind constantly, to the exclusion Of ev-
erything else, ara he gradually neglected
his legitimate business more and more. He
confidently expected to realize an, euor-
nous sum by the sale of his press, and,
consequently, took little pains to pre-
serve his old run of custom. His wife, how.
ever, was by no means so sanguine about
the vast fortune the object in question was
to bring them and indeed, the good lady
always looked upon it as an ill-omened and
dangerous thing, redOlent of the sorcerer's
art and suggestive of the blackest dia5Ierie.
Her constant advice to her husband was to
think less about the old press, and take
measures to prevent, before it was too late,
the entire loss of a prosperous and lucrative
trade. But lie was deaf to all her argu-
ments, and at last grew so impatient at her
importantly, that, from being an Affection
ate and devoted husband, he became morose,
unsociable, and at times positively savage.
Oae morning there came to the brewers
door little Frenchman, who asked in the
most polite and propltiatory manner, to be
allowed to inspect the press. After hav-
ing his wish gratihed, and when he had ex.
pressed hi, admiration with mixture of
courtesy and enthusiasm that was wonder
full to see, he made known his desire to pur-
chase it on behalf of a certain society in
Paris. His first offer was of twenty thous-
and francs, but the Drawer SECUTED the idea,
declaring 1t to be ridiculous. With a shrug
OF polite depreciation, the other bid
five thousand more, but this was also in
stantly rejected. Thus they went on chaff-
ering, until finally, the visitor proffered
fifty thousand francs and declared with mild
that he could positively 90 no
higher. Seeing that her husband was again
going to refuse, the woman begged him to
accept that sum while he had the chance, and
let the unlucky thing go. The wrath OF the
excited German now broke out with force
like that attending the "Berserkr rage" in
the days of old; and shouting out '.Zum
Hengte init euch !''-he struck his helpless
'frau" blow in the face that stretched her
at full length on the floor. The Mortified
negotiation ended.
After this nobody came to bid for Faust's
press. But its pOssessor did NOT 10 g faith,
Tor an instant, in the prospect of the wealth
he was to derive from its sale. His voca-
ton, so long neglected, now ceas. to afford
him decent support, for his customers
nearly all became disguised with his care
lessness, and lett him. At last his creditors
seiZed upon all the appurtenancss and fur
niture OF his brewery to satisfy their claims,
and would certainly have attached even his
cherished press if he had not, before their
advent, escaped with it and fed to q town
in the neighboring Duchy of Nassau.
There he was living, at last accounts, |
IN great poverty and distress, but still re- |
fusing persstently to part with his relic for |
less than an amount which the decreased
interest In a curiosity no longer new made |
1t impossible for him even to obtain.
His wife tried, at first, to keep a small |
In a portion of the building thai
had once been too small for their business. |
But, to crown their mist rtunes, the whole |
structure was destroyed by fire, and she was
lett without a groschen in the world. She |
has since been accustomed to relate, often
with tears In her eyes, how she and her
husband have been utterly ruined by his
discovering and taking possession Of thing
on which the curse OF the devil rested. |
Many OF her neighbors also, ana others who |
were cOgniZant of the circumstances, seem
equally persuaded that the unhallowed and
ll-omened printing press caused all the
With all due Difference to these good folks. |