Milford chronicle., 1888-07-13

said the stranger and, extending his hand
beneath the stone, he drew up a pair of
plump partridges, smoking hot, as from a
| gridiron. Father Pietro was surprised at
/ first, but the brandy had given him a feeling
Of recklessness entirely unknown 20 his sober
senses. So he ate and joled with his strange
entertainer, and was in no way surprised
| when he drew couple Of bottles of wine
and some delicious fruit from the same
strange larder. After much general conver-
sation, in the course of which the stranger
had expressed a high admiration for Father
| Pietros zeal and learning, he said, carelessly:
"You are well acquainted with this part
Of the country, presume, reverend father. ~
81 have travelled through it several yearsT'
was the prompt answer.
SHOW would you like to leave the priest
hood and become my agentl The work is
easy, the pay is liberal, and you viii be pro
vided with a warm home after you have
done For, by my faith, it pains me to my
heart to see a man Of your talents and learn
ing working for a beggarly monastery, half
clothed and worse fed. Come with me and
this viii all be changed
II could not leave the brotherhO0d,n an
swered Father Pietro
Then followed a long argument between
bis power, promising untold wealth, a life Of
ease and the qualification Of every passion.
The good father persistently refused. At
last the stranger rose, and rolling away the
rock, showed Father Pietro an immense mass
Of gold and silver underneath, saying; "Ths
shall be yours if you viii give up your work
and assist me. Do you still refusefi
81 do" answered Father Pietro, sturdily
"Then die cried the stranger, in arage,
and grasping his staff as If for blow He
suddenly grew in size until he was over sixty
feet high; heswung the terrible club over the
priests head and roared;
"Will you work for met"
"Neverm
The club was poised for a blow. As It came
down Father Pietro grasped his crucifix and
prayed. The club fell powerless, and, the
devil losing all power to harm one holding
the clucifix, Slid down the side Of the mount
ain, the two walls Of rock rising on each side
as he went As he reached the bottom he
thrust his club into the hill opposite, rushed
down the canyon and tore open that pass in
the rocks which is known as "The DEVILS
Gate"
Pedro paused.
"What became of Father Pietror 1 in.
quired.
'Ile at last found his way back to the Mis- |
sion Dolores, where he spent the remainder
of his life in fasting and praying as a
penance for having held communication with |
the devil"
"Well, Pedro, do you believe that yarnT |
was my next question.
'Si, senior; it was told me by holy priest, /
who said that in the same manner was the |
devil accustomed to tempt us to this day
first by fattery then by making us diseon-
tented, then by bribes, and finally by |
threats And, senior, know that to be true. /
Moreover, does not the slide, the club and
the gate attest to its truthin
1t was useless to argue with such a simple
faith, so l crawled into my blanket and went
to sleep.
The next morning his Satanic majesty
seemed to have got into the fish, for no art on
my part could make them rise to the fly. So,
to the intense delight Of Pedro, we packed up
our camp traps and left the place of which
be had such a horror; which, even in the
bright sunlight, seemed a most appropriate
spot for the devil to choose for an interview.
Allan Forman in Pittsburg Bulletin.