The Indianapolis journal., 1896-10-11
BARGAINS WITH SATIN
a STORY OF RECENT Date THAT
RECALLS THE MIDDLE AGES.
How Compacts with the Devil Were
Made-H Was Not a Difficult Mat
ter to Cheat the Evil One.
St. Louis Globe-pamocrnt.

The New York papers recently contained
story that. in it's grotesqueness and the
luridness of fits details. recalls the widest
legends of the Middle Ages. 1t seems that
in one of the foreign quarters of that city
there was Italian who was long known
by the police TO exercise almost unbounded
influence over a large circle of his country
men. How he acquired IL was mystery
but that every Italian in his neighberhood
was mortally afraid of him and took par
ttcular pains not only not to offend him.
but also to comply with mis- wishes was
fixed fact that could not be doubted For
time the police were inclined to suspect
the existence OF some unlawful secret Or
ganization, such as the Mafia but, though
strict watch was kept, nothing could be
discovered. At last the man committed some
offense which brought him under the ban
OF the law, was arrested and his lodgings
were searched, when among other docu-
ments. regularly signed and sealed con-
tract with the devil discovered writ
ten with a fluid supposed to be blood, and
guaranteeing to the party of the second
part immunity from arrest and punishment
no matter Of what crime he might be
guilty. The charm being broken by his ar
rest the other Italians, evidently believing
that the devil had either lost his power or
had given up his protege to the lash of the
law willingly told what they knew. 1t ap-
pears from their narratives that they were
aware of the contract made by the man
with the archenemy of human souls. and
believed that he had thereby been invested
with supernatural power, against which
human courage would be of no avail They
We're afraid of the man, and therefore did
his bidding with scrupulous exactness. lest
ne should bewitch them by means of his
mailgn power, or use the entertainments
learned from Satan to put them to death
Many, appreciating the supposed virtue of
articles which they had been taught to be-
Heve possessed protective power, habitually
bore about OH their persons small cruel
axes, sacred pictures and relics and some
even carried little prayer books in the hope
or thereby guaranteeing to themselves i'm
nlunity from the power of the man whom
confident of the virtue of these articles and
regarding prudence as the better part of
valor, tooH pains to concilate the man and
rhus make assurance of safety doubly sure
A CURIOUS SURVIVAL.
Hhat such an incident should occur in
This, the nineteenth century, and in a land
which we have accustomed ourselves to
consider the especial home of culture re-
nnement and education, is a striking com
mentary on a suggestion by Buckle that in
great cities, the extremes of ignorance and
education meet; the highest culture and
neighbors. Had such incident occurred
in the mountains of Calabria or in one of
the country villages of Andalusia, or in a
Russian hamlet on the slopes Of the Urals
1t would still have afforded matter OF as
tonishment at such a thing being possible
In our century. but in New York. with its
hundreds of schools and churches with
its electric lights and libraries and news
papers, with every facility for the spread
of education and the dissipation of ie-
he
incredible. But in every community there
IS class on whom education and refine
ment make absolutely no Impression; its
members do not read ard do not care to
learn; while. perforce, compelled to alb
sorb some of the knowledge with which
they are daily brought into contact. they
make no practical use OF what in this way
they gain, but willingly lag behind the rest
ol the World, content to Vegetate. We
speak of the darkness of the Middle Ages
but 1t is far from dissipated. In many
large cities the ninth and nineteenth CEN
turleS are walking hand in hand. 1t is
indeed, matter OF some difficulty to ascer-
tain 10 what extent the leaVen of civiliza-
ton has penetrated the mass Of society
Paris, at the outbreak Of the French revo-
luton. was the most highly cultured city in
Europe. and yet the horrors perpetrated in
the gay capital between 1889 and 1898, even
IA their recital make the blood run cold
Jhey came dangerously near being repeated
IN ihe reign of the commune in 1870 and
iSH showing that the temper of the rab-
ne had not changed in any particular since
Ine great revolution, while sporadic in
stances of barbarity here and there, in
Europe ana our own country. show that we
have still among men and women who
In all but name, are the worst of saw
ages. 1t is probable that the tigerish in
stinets of humanity are ever present and
though In many cases they may he COW
cred by velvet. have but to strip off
the covering and the tiger stands revealed.
COMPACTS WITH SATAN
Even conceding all this however. most
people have supposed that the world was
past the age when men made bargains with
the evil one. A few hundred years ago no.
body doubted that such bargains could be
made, and in fact. that they were made
and were also of common occurrences
When stingy man. disliked by his neigh
bors, grew Old and rich it was an easv
matter for his detractors to account for
his wealth by alleging a bargain with the
devil whereby he was to make money right
ana left for certain term of years at the
end OF which Satan was to come in person
and carry him off. II. some morning, when
the servants opened his room the old nliser
was found dead, his money gone and All
the MORTGAGES in his safe destroyed noth-
Ing was palmer than that his time was nm
and Satan had insisted on the terms Of tbe
contract. Generally there were not want
ing witnesses who had heard unusual noises
the night before, combined with a strong
srnell OF sulphur, and, peeping from their
WINDOWS, these veracious persons occa-
sionally caught glimpse of the devil. as
ne galloped off on n black horse that
snorted hre, carrying off the soul of the
oAu Altsti. 4 q people OF a ta1th StalWart
the suggestion of thieves and murder would
nave been very unWelcome. the theory of
supernatural agency being simple and easy
ana besides saving so much labor in tracina.
the evlI-doeTs as to be generally accepted !
as tuilT meeting all the requirements in the
case, and also satisfying poetic justice for.
then. as now, there were those who believed
that no man had right TO make too much
money. So general indeed was the belief
In ine possibility of a bargain with the
deVH that the formula made and provided
Tor such an occasion was public property:
the devn always appeared in answer to a
certain adjuration, the bargain was form
ally written out in blood, signed by both
parties, two copies being made one to be
stored in the archenemy's safety deposit
box, the other TO be kept by the man The
sale or the soul was always for a term of
years. at the end of which, in consideration
or service rendered, 1t was to become the
property of the evil one, who very often
also included the body in the bond SO as
TO make the transfer as complete as pos
sihle at the end of the allotted time.
THE FAUST LEGEND
The story of the old scholar who ex-
hausted all the resources of earthly wis
dom. saw and enjoyed all that the world
had to offer and. either despairing at the