The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-07-08
On the morrow, at break of day, the

the bailif made his appearance on the
Goschenen highway. He had come to
obtain the testimony of his own eyes that
the devil had fulfilled his agreement;
and, sure enough, he saw the bridge,
(which would have satisfied the most
exacting), and at the other end of the
structure opposite that towards which he
was advancing, he saw Satan seated on q
milestone, impatiently awaiting the price
of his nocturnal labor.
"You see that lam man ofmy word,' u
said Satan.
"And that am, also," replied the bai-
lifE.
"What, my dear Curtius," rejoined hi.
astonished auditor, thinking that the
bailiff intended to cross the bridge; care
uo,s about to sacrifice yourself for the
good of your constituents 2"
"Not precisely that" continued the
bailifs, depositing at the entrance of the
bridge large bag which he had carried
on his shoulders, and commencing to
unite the string which closed it mouth.
"What have you there?" said the dev-
il, trying to divine what was in the sack.
"S.s-s-c-c-a-a-tp said the bailiff; and
o dog, dragging a frying-pan tied to his
tail, leaped hastily from the mouth OF
the sack and, running quickly over the
bridge, slipped, bowling and barking,
between the extended legs of his expec-
liant master.
"Egad," said the bailitf, laughing
"your soul has slipped through your fin
gers; why don't you run after it, mon
seigneur?"
Satan's gorge rose at this; he was
simply furious be had counted ON the
soul of man, and was forced to content
himself with that of dog. He would
have had something worthy of damna-
ton if affairs had not shaped themselves
as they did. Nevertheless, he put good
face on the matter, as he saw there was
"the devil to pay" and slammed an air
of finding the joke very droll, indeed:
He would feign laugh as heartily as did
the bailiff; but, scarcely bad the latter
turned his back, when the devil set to
work with his hands and feet to demolish
the bridge which be had built; but, as he
had carried out his contract to the letter,
in vain did be bend his nails to the quick
and stub his toes against the solid mason
ry-he could notdislodge even the small
est pebble. -.
shave made great fool of myself" "
said he. Then, having made this con.
soling reflection, he put his hands in his
rockets. whistled melancholy air, and
commenced descending the banks of the
Reuss, keeping sharp lookout to the
right and left, as if he were an admirer
Of landscape beauty. However, he had
not entirely renounced his project of ven
geance. His intention was to hunt up
a huge boulder of suitable size and
weight, transport it to the summit of the
mountain which overlooked the valley,
and then, at height of FIVE hundred
feet, to let it fall like an avalanche on
tho ill-starred bridge which the bailiff Of
Goschenen had inveigled him into build
ing. Hehad not walked more than three
leagues before he unexpectedly hit up
on the very object of his search. 1t was
an enormous rock, huge as one Of the
towers of Notfe. Dame. Satan dislodged
it from its bed with as much ease as a
youngster would pull up a turnip, carried
it to bis shoulder, and commenced trudg-
inc; along the footpath which led to the
tor of the mountain. He sauntered along
loiling out his tongue the while in pure
exhiliration of spirits, and gloating in
anticipation over the despair of the bailif,
when he found on the morrow that the
bridge was a melancholy pile of ruins.
When he had gone on about a league,
Satan thought he could distinguish a
great concourse of people on the deck of
the bridge. He Immediately set his bur-
den on the ground, hastily clambered up
the side, and was soon standing on the
summit of the rock. He could then dis
tinctly see long procession of priests,
headed by the elevated cross and richly
embroidered banners Auttering in the
breeze. It was, in fact, the clergy of Cos
chenen, who had come to sprinkle holy
water over the internal handiwork and
to consecrate to God the bridge Of. the
devil. The devil plainly saw the folly
of proceeding further, and slowly de-
scended the mountain in no very amiable
mood. Falling in with poor COW in
his path, he determined to glut his ire on
this guileless victim; SO sezing the un-
fortunate creature by the tail, he hurled
her over the precipice into the stream
below.
As to the bailiff of Gosche, he was
never afterwards heard to allude to his
architect from the lower regions; only,
the first time he thrust his finger in his
purse, he burnt himself severely. 1t
was the golden ingot which had been
transmitted back again into coal. As to
the bridge, it lasted for the full period of
five centuries, as the devil had pledged
bis word, and may still be seen by the
curious traveller among the Alps.