Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1886-03-04
SELLING THE SOUL.

- - ~-*. tASt't - fAhS ~
London has excited a great deal Of
comment there and the pecuniary re.
turn to the tragedian has, been very.
large. The play is produced with ex-
traordinary effects, such AZ the popu-
Ter English actor knows 50 wellhow
% use, and one Of the results Of the
discussions which have arisen regard
ing it is a revival Of interest in the
subject Of superstitions and mystical
traditicns generally particularly those
Of the middle ages. The best super
natural literature Is that Of Germany.
~ tAi sssstl al shais laest, Tie
elements Of Che weird, terrifying and
grotesque. Next. perhaps. comes that
Of England.
An odd practice Of the old time
and virtually II became a practice
was the sale n the soul to che dew
il. Hunting through the ancient vol
umss Of neeromantio lore we come
upon the straugest stories, some Of
them declared most emphaticalIy to
be authentic, We have not only fall
details Of how this process Of making
a bargain with Satan was and proba-
olystill nj AZ be conducted, but descriT-
tiona Of the lives Of individuals who had
effected arrangements with him--the
incidents that happened to them Tho
splendor in which they lived, haunted
always BY the terror Of Che future,
and the horrible despair in which they
died.
Il is curious thatnoone, even among
the wiaest, seems to have doubted the
possibility Of this sort ofoonpaot with
The Evil Being. Even 50 sagacious
man az Bacon indicates his belief in
such bartors, and speaks as If they
we're facta Of comparatively common
occurrence. Then we have other
writer's Of good standing who display,
as we may say, the same oredulity,
and who, IN fact, never seem 10 ques-
lion the existence in all parts Of the
world Of beings who had disposed Of
their chances Of eternal happiness for
the heeting pleasures 81 this life,
The Satanic compact, as we dsseoy.f
er, ia very simple one for deed 20
momentons a. the transfer ola human
soul TO eternal peFdilion. His Dark
Majesty seldom allows more than
twenty years Of this worlds prosper
ity in exchange for the torments Of his
Own dreadful realm 10 tho next Nor
docs 10 give unlimited riches. Jean
dc Burguen, whosold himself in France
10 1883, aud who was 10 devote him.
self in the intervals Of his pleasures,
to the ruin Of as many other souls as
he could, only received an income
equivalent 70 twenty FIVE dollars Of
our money, Here we see that the De-
vii, az usual, understood thoroughly
what he was about, and that he was
very oloac at a trade, knowing that
tho market was abundant.
Sometimes there was roundabout
way Of making the desired exchange,
and IN return for the same some charm
or tallsman Is given. The London Sat.
'srzav Review speaking lately Of this
subject states that It Il customary 10
Germany even to this day 70 obtain
ohsrma By On agreement Of some sort
with the Prince Of the Powers Of
Darkness. The gamblers use and will
make any sacrifice to obtain them.
The writer says
Here Is one Of them In rough Out.
lac. II Il by far the worst and most
blasphemous We have ever heard ofin
Central Germany--a distinct piece Of
witchcraft, as u seems to as. 70 the
words Of the charm, distinctly noted
down ~ the time, We regret we can.
not refer, The receipt without them
stands thusl Catch toad on Easter
Sunday morning before sunrise, take
a piece Of soft wood--pine, &c., not
beech nor oak--a little larger than
the toad, and then nail the wretched
creature upon it in the form Of a cross,
hang it on an Isolated pole toward the
sun, thus gradually changing its pc.
sition with the progress Of the day;
keep sprinkling it every now and
then with water. for il il dies before
the sun sets your labor has been in
vain. II, when the sun goes down,
ho IL still partially alive it Is enoughj
take him to the nearest ant-hill and
bury him in It. On Whit Sunday dig
him up, II no one has disturbed the
hill you will find the bones quite clean
and white; put them in little bag,
hang il round your neck, and you will
| always win in games Of chance. This