Ellsworth American., 1877-11-29
The Man In the Moon.

Among the supersttiOns yet lingering
In the minds Of mankind, none, perhaps, Is
more universal than that OF the man In the
moon. In England he is chiefly immortal
ized by the old nursery rhyme, but no fur
ther details are given of his proceedings.
German legends are, however. more COM
municative, aud sundry traditions relate bis
history, varying in different parts OF the
country.
A Suablau mother at Derendigen tells
her child that 4 man was once walking In
his vineyard on Sunday, and, after having
pruned all his vines, he made bundle OF
the shoots he had just cut off, laid IL In his
basket, and went home. According to one
version. the vines were stolen from neigh
bor's vineyard. When taxed either with
Sabbath-breaking or with the theft, the
culprit stoutly protested his innocence, and
finally exclaimed: If have committed
such n crime, may go TO the moonn' Az
ter his death this fate duly befell him, and
there he remains to this day, condemned to
eat molten lead as punishment. The
Black Forest pessantry saw that the dark
spots visible In the moon are caused by
man being spell-bound there. He stole
bundle OF wood on Sunday. because he
thought on that day he should be uumoles-
ted by the foresters. But he had not gone
far with 1t when he met stranger, who
was none other but the Almighty Himself.
After reproving the thief for not keeping
the Sabbath day holy, God said he must be
punished; but he might choose whether he
would be banished to the sun or the moon.
The man chose the latter. declaring he
would rather freeze Ia the moon than burn
In the sun. and thus the Bessenmannle"
or "Broom-man" came into the moon with
his fagot on his back. Some say that the
Almighty set light to the fagot, and Il
burns perpetually, In order that the bearer
may not be frozen to death. At Walten-
burg In the Grsons. the tale Is somewhat
diferept. A poor woman besought "Sen-
ner" TO give her little milk, which he
roughly refused TO do. Tnereupon she
wished he might 90 to the coolest place in
existence. which is the moon, and he Is
there visible With his milk pail.
The man In rife moon frequently figures
in North German legends. khun relates a
tradition in the Havel country. One Christ
mas eve a peasant felt n great desire to eat
cabbage, and having none himself, he slip
ped into his ueighbor's garden TO cut some.
just a. he had filled his basket, the Christ
child rode past on His white horse and said, +,
because thou hast stolen on the holy nsht
thou shalt Immediately sit In the moon with
thy basket Of cabbage No sooner said
than done, and the criminal il still UNDER
going his penalty. AtPaderoorn, in Vest
phalia, the crime committed was not theft
but hinderng people from attending church
on Easter day, by placing thorn bush in
the field gate through which they had to
pass.
In the neighborhood Of Wittcngen, the
man Is said to be bunshed TO the moon be-
cause he tied up his brooms OIL Maunday
Thursday, aud at Deilinghofen, because Of
having nown his meadows on Sunday.
Different versions are related In Linn
burg, where the man In the moon Is be-
leved to have stolen wood on Easter morn
ing, while at llemer, in Westphalia,, peo-
pie say he was engaged in fencing his tie ID
on Good FRIDAY, and had just poised a
bunch Of thorns on his fork, when he was
at once transported 10 the moon. Some Of
the iemer peasants declare that the moon
il not only Inhabited by man with his
thorn bush and pitch-tork. but likewise a
woman churning They are husband and
wife, and both broke the Sabbath, the man
by fencing his field. aud the Woman bv
churning her butter, during the hours of
divine service.