The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1905-12-07
Why the World
Needs the Devil

A LONG time ago there lived In VIA
~ lsFbefg. Ia the mountains II aaaef
iand. a skilifal losksmilh named Zach
srias Werner HIS reputation sa'
great. not oRly In weslphalla, but "a
Thafingia. even as far as Sssbis
Strangers Nho PASSED through The NC
de lnWn Of wigisFbeFE never failed "a
visit Werner and admire bic works,
one Christmas eve = nas.lookihs
gentleman dressed IN searie, stopped Al
the door ~ the famous workman AMI
asked 10 soc hlm lie found him IN bic
Worship,
Good evening said the stranger "a
the prince ~ iosksmiIhs They tell
me that iron In your hands IL a. dough
IN the hands Of a child
bah" modesily replied Werner. IL
10 not my skin hui the IRE that con
aneFs the iron"
Said the stranger 4 have Al my
home a nns furnare ahieh never sues
oul. day OF night That's where yoa
sonld do hhe Nofk Jnsi now ! van, q
door made for nay house. II musi open
With the greatest ease from the outside.
hut IL must remain Dramatically ciosad
TO those inside Who would attempt a.
90 out"
w-rnefs curiosity sas excited 'is
1, far Ia your hnusr my lofdY"
Ny lord smiled That, ny dear
would depend upon the number OF
Team you have lived"
Werner opened his eyes In wonder
What did the SCARLET gentleman mean'
Was he iokinsT The good locksmiih
did not like to b. made game Of For
that reason b. changed the subject.
Here said be- 10 a trunk ! have
Just finished I consider the lock on
II a. my masterpiece The dsvil him.
tclf could not open o."
The stranger lnughed IN such a AZ
tasiic manner that IL set ihe iocksmiih
60 thinking hard. People are not fonis
"a winterbcrg That hnc gentleman
dressed In red Who bad a furnace IN hi
house aud a hnnt. into which On
could enter bu' from which none conlf
efcapf could ii De-? - This very mo
meui slight sr1rfh.ng udof ilcki"d
the nosirils 81 Werner and b. I'm
agiued b. saw iho raRging ~ = shori
tail under the coat tail ~ the visitor lie
Kept cool aud save No signs of the emo
Ion he felt
See. said he. IN the manner Of a mer
chant pralsing his wares see how veil
this trunk IL proportioned. A tall man
could lle IN Il a. in he bed"
"oh. hardly"
TRY and sec for yourself"
The gentleman. without apparent
misFiving. entered aud lay down In
t.. Hardly had be done 20 when the I'D
came down with crash. and the key
turned instantly.
"Mahant, Gretchen. Hllda, Wolf.
gang, Bernhardt." The locksmiih
was calling al the top Of his voice his
sife. daughter. servant. apprentice
All came "a haste and asked what was
the matter
The matter u that have jailed the
devil In this trunk. lie Is locked 10 and
cannot escape
In those days wives had tho habi, OF
rritlcising their husbands and doubted
their power and intelligence. So she
said. What The devil who Is so
cunning. and can do anything he wish
es? The devil. who could put the bridge
Of Mayence in his pocket. and transport
the Cologne cathedral on the Taurus
You imagine you can hold him a cap
tive in your worthless trunk. oh. what
are you talking about?"
With a frown Werner said
Woman. you talk without renec-
ton. Have you only looked at my worth.
less trunk. as you call e.? on the lid
on the sides-what do you see? Bands
Of iron crossing each other. forming
the sign OF our redemption. What Is
the lock itself but a cross? How do
you expect him to overcome such obsta-
Giles? Wolfgang. run for the priest
Dom Aloysius. With two or three exor
cisms and holy water, he will make es'
cape impossible The rascal knows II
well. Hear him grunt." Sure enough.
painful groans we're heard coming
from the trunk.
He wants air" said Gretchen, the
poor wretch is suffocating."
What" said Werner, with laugh
"You pity the enemy of makind? My
trunk is too fine londging place fol
such as he"
Dom Aloysius, being informed of the
great event. arrived in haste, a. missal
in one hand and sprinkler in the other
He told the devil some hard truths in