Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-06-26

ed for years to tond cattle on the Alien
borg, an old mountaiA in tho ncig ghb0r-
hood; but there is a peculiarly in this
mountain that had entirely escaped bis
notice namely, a deep hole on the summit.
If any ono lies down and places his car
there, or stamp, upon the ground, he will
plainly por :ei1e from the sound that he is
over a deep hollow.
Ono evening, while tho Bottlckaspar was
sitting ner tho oriiice eating his bread, a
grey littls man, with IL pleasant expression
Of oounteaance, suddenly stood before him.
iIc was voly small, very old, and his
beard was white us snow.
"Yoa are the very man want" OK
claimed tho dwarf, "for you have neither
father, mother, nor home, and nobody
knows rightly who you are. Through
this, fortunate circumstance you are ia q
|sconlition to effect the rescue Of two beau
titul naaidens, who ere spell bound in this
mountain. Come to.morrow,at noon, wit
your cattle, without telling anybody what
you have heard. The young ladies' will
then make their appearance. and you will
have nothing more to do but to carry
their bundles, and to roar with them
through the air to Mount Sinai, where the
keys Of the Altenbsrg are kept, which you
will receive as your reward. The maid.
ems will be freed from the curse, and you
will open subtcrranean door, and find a
great store Of casks, some filled with the
choicest wines, others filed with the pur-
est gold"
Tho Beetlekaspar SO fur kept his word,
that he told his wife nothing hat had hap.
peaed, though he ordered her to yet his
breakfast ready somewhat earlier than
usual, and set of for the AlteDberg. Pre-.
clsely at noon tho little man was again
before him, accompanied this time by the
two n'aidens, whom he treated with the
greatest reverence. They were very tall,
ana the features were extremely regular,
but their faces were uncOn,monly q lie,
Not only we've their garments white, but
they had white kerchiefs on their heads,
and wore whito shoes. Their bundles Law
ut their feet.
The dwarf told the Beetlekaspar to put
the bundles on his back with all possible
speed. as " something" might otherwise
come, which would carry Of tho whole
party. However, all things considered,
their was no great danger.
A sudden misg,ving came over tho cow
herd. and he Stood motionless, rejecting
that the wind, instead Of waiting him safe.
ly to the end Of his journey, might possibly
drop him into the water. just as he was
about to give verbal expression to his
thoughts, the young ladies' startled him
with piercing shrek, and, looking be-
hind him, he saw u tall, black, horrible
looking man, who breathed fire out of bis
mouth. He now shouted in his turn
whereupon all that was beautiful, and ali
that was ugly, vanished in u twinkling,
and he found himself alone with his hunk
Of dry bread und his cattle. The fright
proved too much for him, and he was dead
and buried before the following spring.
Oae legend of the district treats, indeed,
Of White Lady who haunts the Bilstein
q mountain near Lauterbach; and who is
said to have been the daughter of q king,
who murdered her father, because he
would not consent to her marriage with q
man Of low degree. Like the others, she
| implores all who come near her to work
out her salvation. But generally, it will
be seen, the White Lady is essentially a
| o~AAou~sess OoAu6s "uO0O uAlooEy UClSObS 0Ot
TOR any crime committed during q mortal
life, bu. from that false position in which
heather deity must be placed after the
conversation Of q people to Christianity
In modern times th3 personal existence vi
pagan gods 10 of course utterly disbeliev.
ed; but it was not 50 in earlior ages
Saint Augustin and other fathers of The
Church, fur from wholly rejecting the
Greek and Roman mythology ~ q tissue
Of mere fables, maintained that the false
deities were actual demons, who sought t.
divert the mind Of man from the truth
The same Wow frequently appears il
popular legends, and We may refer par
ticularly to Ludwig Teich's beautiful stor,
Of the Faithful Eckhart, according K
which tho Goddess Venus reigus in q
mountain, named after her, as u foo tc
Christianity. In the Hessian legend,
given above, the revered Odin has becom,
hateful spectre, the amiable Bertha .
helpless mourner, vainly sighing for re-
demption.-AH The Year Round.