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

| VlllNSc clcNCnEauSCal, anu MIS- nCCueOn'
cd for years to tend cattle ON tho Alien
berg, an old mountain in tho neighbor-
hood; but there is a popularity in this
mountain that had entirely escaped his
notice namely, /. deep hole on the summit.
II any ono lies down and places his car
there, or STAMPS upon the ground, he will
plainly pcr:ei,e from the sound that lAc is
over Il deep hoIlow.
One cvolng, while the Bcttlckaspar was
sitting ne:r tho oriiice eating his broad, II
grey little man, with !. pleasant expression
OF cvuntenlnce, suddenly stood before him.
lie was very small, very old, and his
beard vas white us snow.
"Yoa arc the very man want" OK
claimed tho dwarf, "for you have neither
father, mother, nor homo, and nobody
knows rightly who you arc. Throug /,
this fortunate circumstance you arc in a
,coulition to effect the rescue Of two beau
titul n.aidens, who arc SPELL bound in this
mountain. Come tomorrow at noon, wi I
your cattle, without telling anybody what
you have hoard. Tho 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 ilount Sinai, where the
keys Of the Altcnberg are kept, which you
will receive as your reward. Tho maid.
ems will DO freed from the curse, and you
will open subtcrranean door, and find a
great store OF casks, some filled with the
choicest wines, others filled with the pur-
est gold"
The Beetlckaspur SO far kept his word,
that he told his wife nothing hat had hap
pened, though he ordered her to get hia
breakfast ready somewhat earlier than
usual, and set Oft for the AlteDbery. Pre-
clsely ut noon the little man was again
before him, accompanied this time by the
two naaidcns, whom he treated with the
greatest reverence. Thoy were very tall,
ana the features were extremely regular,
but their faces were uncon,mOnly p lie.
Not only weve their garments white, hut
they had white kerchiets on their heads,
and wore white shoes. Their bundles Law
ut their feet.
The dwarf told tho Beetlekaspar to put
the bundles on his back with all possible
speed, lis " something" night otherwise
come, which would carry off the whole
party. However, all things considered,
their was no great danger.
A sudden misglving came over the cow
herd, and he stood motionless, rejecting
that the wind, instead Of waiting him safe.
ly to the end Of his journey mi Gut possibly
drop him into the water. just US he was
about to g Two verbal expression to his
thoughts, the young ladies startled him
with q piercing shrek, and, looking be-
hind him, he saw Il tall, black, horrible
looking man, who breathed fire out Of his
mouth. He now shouted in his turn
whcreupon all that was beautiful, and ali
that was ugly, vanished in Il twinkling,
and no found himself alone with his hunk
Of dry bread and his cattle. The fright
proved too much for him, and he was dead
and buried before the following spring.
One legend of tho district treats, indeed,
Of a White Lady who haunts the Bilstein
IL mountain near Lauterbach; and who is
said to have been the daughter of king,
who murdered her father, because he
| would not consent to her marriage with {,
man Of low degree. Like the others, she
implores all who come near her to work
out her salvation. But generally, it will
| wv o~"As, WV " AAsO AuNy 10 OSocutlhlAy
beneficial being, whose misery arises, no,
for any crime committed during a mortal
life, bu. from that false position in which
u heather deity must be placed after the
conversation Of people to Christianity
In modern times til, personal existence Of
pagan gods 10 of course utterly disbeliey,
ed but it was not so in earlior ages
Saint Augnsin and other fathers of thu
Church, far from wholly rejecting the
Greek and Roman mythology as u tissue
Of mere fables, maintained that the falls,
deities were actual demons, who sought tt
divert the mind Of man from the truth
The same Wow frequently appears i,
popular legends, and we may refer par
ticularly to Ludwig Tcich's beautiful stor,
Of the Faithful Eckhart, according i
which tho Goddess Venus reiyns in :
mountain, named after her, as il foo tt
Christianity. In the Hessian legend
given above, the revered Odin has becom,
hateful spectre, the alniable Bertha =,
helpless mourner, v:.inly signing for re
demption.-AN the Year Round.