carl friedrich kahlert - the necromancer or the tale of the black forest
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THE NECROMANCER:
OR
THE TALE OF THE BLACK FOREST
by
Carl Friedrich Kahlert
Under the psed!ni"s !#
La$rence Fla""enber%
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FOUN&E&ONFACTS
Translated #r!" the 'er"an !#
(ETER TEUTHOL&
LON&ON
ROBERT HOL&EN ) CO* LT&*
+,- 'O.ERSTREET- .*C*,
,/01
Printed in Great Britain by
John Wright and Sons Ltd., Stonebridge, Bristol
2
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2NTRO&UCT2ON
As in England, so in Germany, the Romantic Movement, which among us may
conveniently (if not quite exactly) e said to have commenced with the !ulication of
The Castle of Otrantoin "#$%, had its first and !erha!s most enthusiastic stirrings in the
late decades of the eighteenth century, the middle years of which era were, in Germany,
dominated y two great figures& 'essing, who was, in some sense, the flower and most
rilliant ex!onent of the !ast, and lo!stoc, who foreshadowed the years that were to
come* +t may truly e said that until "#% England was not in touch with German
thought and German literature* -ranslations there had een, ut these were almostentirely of scientific and theological wors, and, when one considers how .e.une was the
!receding !eriod, the numer of versions made from the German, the wide study of
contem!orary German literature, the influence of German dramatists and novelists u!on
the stage and in the lirary, from roughly "#/ to "02, cannot ut e regarded as a
most extraordinary literary !henomenon* -he ground had long lain fallow, and the
harvest was ounteous to su!erfluity*
+t has een said, and the oservation is indeed acute, that one of the !redis!osing causes
of this sudden concentration u!on German literature was the em!loyment y England of
German troo!s in the American 1ar of +nde!endence* -his has een !articularly
!ointed out y * 3effrey who, in his notice of 'ichtenerg4s Vermischte Schriftenin theEdinburgh Review, 3anuary, "05, definitely gives as his considered o!inion that
67uring the American 1ar, the intercourse with 8ritain was strengthened y many
well9nown causes* -he German officers in our service communicated the nowledge
of their oos and language* :am!hlets, !lays, novels, and other light !ieces, were
circulated in America, and found their way, after the !eace, into England*6 -here were,
of course, other causes at wor; :russia was consolidating her !ower, and assuming no
small international im!ortance& friendlier and closer, until they reached the ties of
stanchest (if interested) inshi! and onds of lood, grew the relations etween the
English court and Germany, and these cordialities were more harlotte, who had rought the !ainful and
drudging etiquette of the little court of Meclenerg9?trelit< to ?t* 3ames4s, and whosewishes and whose !atronage, oth of which carried no small weight, were invarialy
and ostinately exercised in the direction of things German*
A little later the declaration of war against rance in "#/@ would, however asurdly and
illogically, divert !o!ular favour from rench thought and literature to other sources of
intellectual activity, and these fertile Germany was eager and ready to su!!ly*
or must it e forgotten that there was in England a devoted and enthusiastic grou! of
German scholars and students, for the most !art exiles from their native land, and with
the urning !atriotism that distinguishes every -euton, these ardent s!irits !roceeded to
exhaust every energy in the tireless !ursuit of literary !ro!aganda on ehalf of theiratherland*
@
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+t has een said that !roaly the first occasion u!on which ?chiller4s name was
!ulicly !ronounced in the 8ritish +sles was when the celerated author of The Man of
#eeling, Benry Macen
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and that the grim inside of a !rison, although very well to read aout in !oetry and in
!lay, was a vastly different matter when they came sadly to investigate it in their own
!ro!er !ersons*
Although it is to e ho!ed that few will go to these wild extremes, it is not to e denied
that we all of us indulge a sneaing sym!athy with the great and successful thieves ofhistory and romance* +t may e the daring and ingenuity of their de!redations, it may e
the interest ever awaened y the record of !erilous adventure, it may e that we realilaude 7uval, 7ic -ur!in, 3ac ?he!!ard,
and the rest of those nights of the forest and the heath, the country road and the town,
who were oth the dread and delight of England during the good old eighteenth
century As a matter of soer fact 3ohn ?he!!ard and Richard -ur!in were vile ruffians,
and Beaven forid we should meet the lacguards or their lie outside the !ages of
romance* 8ut in BarrisonAinsworth4s)ac* She++ardandRoo*wood, or in the,ewgateCalendar, or inHalf-Hours with the Highwa.men, +, for my !art, am always ready to
afford them hearty welcome* -he immense !o!ularity of our detective stories, of Raffles
and The Ringeru!on the stage, shows that we are, all of us, of one heart and mind*
ames and costumes change, ut, .ust elow the surface, taste does not* A century ago
there were no two more !o!ular !lays in the 'ondon theatre than The Miller and his
Men and The $rigand* The Miller and his Men, y +saac :ococ, which was first
!roduced at >ovent Garden on Cctoer 2", "0"@, with arley, 'iston, Mrs* Egerton, and
Miss 8ooth in the cast, met with a rilliant rece!tion* -he scene is laid on 6the 8ans of
a River on the 8orders of a orest in 8ohemia*6 +t was certainly written under German
influence, and + sus!ect a direct German origin* -he !lot is unusually comustile&Grindoff, the miller, is, in fact, a roer chief, and the millers in their floury frocs are
his and* -heir ca!tain, when at home in his forest lair, dons your true thief4s
unmistaale attire; 6salmon9coloured !antaloons& dar tunic, with large rass !lates
and studs down the front& short russet anle9oots, with small to!s turned over& a long
dar cloa& dar rown ca!, and small feather*6 +f only it had een a large funereal
!lumeH
The $rigand, y 3* R* :lanchI, was !roduced at 7rury 'ane in ovemer, "02/* 3ames
1allac !layed the hero, Alessandro Maharles reer99The $rigandwas !erformed to thronging houses* ?o !o!ular, indeed, has
The $rigand!roved, that it was taen as the liretto of an o!era !roduced in 7ulin in
"0/5, whilst the original Miller and his Menwas still eing acted at the 8ritannia
-heatre, Boxton, some thirty years ago* 8oth The $rigandand The Miller and his Men+
have seen !erformed with great a!!lause, in which + heartily .oined, u!on the stages of
my good friend Mr* :olloc*
An evergreen attraction in the theatre, in fiction the romantic roer held even greater
sway* -he vagaond literature of England is famous* -he Eliheats
of oth ?exes6& there is a Scotch Rogue, and an0rish Roguetoo, ut these are dull fol*
-he lirary of naves and !adders is enormous& with 7efoe and ielding4s immortal
$
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)onathan !ildwe are u!on the heights* 8anditti frequently mae their a!!earance in the
castles and forests of Mrs* Radcliffe; !erha!s the most interesting cha!ter in 'ewis4s
The Mon* is that which descries the adventures of 7on Raymond with the roers in
the wood near ?trasourg* 'ewis also, it may e rememered, ada!ted Jschoe4s
famous"b'llino1 der grosse $andit, as The $ravo of Venice* Roers revel and carouse
in Benry Guy4s "ngelina1 or1 M.stic Ca+tives& in +saac >rooenden4s The 0talian$anditti& in Kincent4s The Castle of the "+ennines& in The Sicilian 2irate& in The $lac*
Mon*, and in scores of similar romances* And, as if England had not sufficient store of
thieves of her own, Germany su!!lied us with am!lest contriutions, for the German
roer romances are many as the sands of the sea* ?ome half a do
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!ossile to select a more ty!ical s!ecimen of its ind, and, as such, which no dout 3ane
Austen intended, it is now once again set forth, tendered, and !resented*
MC-AGDE ?DMMER?*
0
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(REFACE OF THE TRANSLATOR
-he wonderful +ncidents related in the following ?heets, not eing made u! of tiresome
'ove +ntrigues, re!eated again and again in almost every new 8oo of Amusement,
will, as + flatter myself, not e quite dis!leasing to the reader, on account of the ovelty
of the ?u.ect* -he strange mysterious Events which occur in this little :erformance are
founded on acts, the authenticity of which can e warranted y the -ranslator, who haslived many Lears not far from the !rinci!al :lace of Action*
+f the ?u.ect of the following -ale should e thought interesting and amusing, the
:ulic may ex!ect a s!eedy :ulication of a still more intricated and wonderful one,
exhiiting a long ?eries of similar rauds, !er!etrated under the mysterious Keil of
!retended su!ernatural Aid*
-he :ulisher eing sensile of the manifold 7efects of his -ranslation, will
acnowledge with Gratitude the gentle >orrections of the dread Ariters of 'iterary
7eath and 'ife, and :romises carefully to avoid, in a future :ulication, the re!etition
of any sli!s the >ritic4s Eagle Eye shall discover in the following ?heets*
/
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THE NECROMANCER:
OR
THE TALE OF THE BLACK FOREST
(ART 2
-he hurricane was howling, the hailstones eating against the windows, the hoarse
croaing of the raven idding adieu to autumn, and the weather9coc4s dismal creaing
.oined with the mournful dirge of the solitary owl&99such was the evening when Berman
and Elfrid, who had een united y the strongest onds of friendshi! from their youthful
days, were seated y the cheering fireside* -hirty long years had ela!sed since they
were se!arated y different em!loyments& Berman having een called to distant
countries, whilst Elfrid (leaving the Dniversity where their mutual friendshi! had
egun) hastened home to his !arents, to ease the urden of their old age, and to cheer
the tem!estuous evening of his dear !rogenitor4s life*
Cn his .ourney homewards, he ramled over some of the most charming !arts of
Germany& yet he sought in vain after !leasure, se!arated as he was from the dear
com!anion of his youthful days* At length he found in the circle of his family, what he
had een seeing in vain aroad* -he !leasure which his venerale !arents felt, in again
eholding the offs!ring of their mutual love, soothed the disquiet of his mind& the .oy
s!arling in their eyes at the sight of the su!!orter of their declining years, tinged his
chees with the rosy hue of contentment, and filled his soul with inward liss* After ten
years of congenial ha!!iness, his aged father died, closing a well s!ent life in his
seventy9second year* -he guardian angel of virtue carried his uns!otted soul to the
cheerful mansion of everlasting !eace& the gentle smile of a good conscience sat still on
his wan li!s, when his sainted s!irit arrived in heaven, hailed y millions of holy angels*
-welve years longer Elfrid soothed the sorrows of his mother, and su!!orted her under
the heavy load of ever9increasing infirmities, until she was re9united to the dear
com!anion of all her earthly .oys and cares* Be dro!!ed a tear of filial affection on her
tom, and now directed all his care and tenderness towards the !romoting his onlysister4s ha!!iness& who as well as himself remained unmarried& and some years after, in
order to dis!erse the clouds of gloomy fancies, the usual com!anions of achelors, he
determined on taing a .ourney, and left the care of his house to his maiden sister*
Be was so fortunate as to meet on his .ourney with many friends of his earlier days,
com!anions of his academical studies& at length he also traced out his dear Berman, the
most eloved among his youthful friends*
Be found his worthy friend a favourite of fortune, lest in the la! of sweet contentment
and unmixed ha!!iness*99A loving wife crowned the favours which fortune had so
aundantly lessed him with& !rovidence had also surrounded him with a circle of!romising children, two of whom were ha!!ily married, and had lessed him with two
"
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granddaughters and three grandsons99Beaven4s greatest lessings smiled u!on him
wherever he went, contentment and .oy sat u!on his reverend row, and !eace of mind
had taen her aode within his heart*
6Good GodH6 exclaimed he, as soon as he could find words to give vent to the ra!ture of
his soul, 6do + then ehold, once more efore + die, the dear com!anion of my youthfuldays Beaven e !raised for thatF:g @unex!ected ha!!inessH ow all my wishes are
fulfilled99Ch, ElfridH -he se!aration from thee, the a!!rehension of seeing thee no
more, was the only itterness mixed in the cu! of liss which !rovidence has indly
administered to thy friend* -hou art alive99+ have nothing else to wish than that my end
may e as ha!!y as this hour*6
After the first ecstasy of meeting was over, Elfrid related how anxiously he had ever
een inquiring after his dear friend& told him how many letters he had written to get
information of his aode, and was going to chide him for his negligence, when Berman
fetched a letter from an old acquaintance of his, who had written to him, that 6Elfrid had
left the service of the Muses, enlisted under the anners of Mars during the ?even
Lears4 1ar, and had fallen a victim to his martial s!irit*6
Elfrid was satisfied with this ex!lanation*
68rother,6 he exclaimed, 6let us forget our age and live together, as long as + can remain
with thee, as if the thirty years since we have seen each other had never !assed, and e
as merry as we have een in our youthful days*6
Berman4s chee glowed with !leasure, and he squee
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6-he great fair was .ust eginning when + arrived at 9999& the ustle of the uyers and
vendors, the meeting with a numer of dear friends, and the many different
amusements, !romised to afford me a great deal of !leasure, and + resolved to sto! a few
wees at that town*
6-he inn where + had taen lodging was crowded with travellers; an aged hoary manamongst them was !articularly noticed y every one, on account of his remarale
a!!earance* Bis loos were reverend& his dress, though very !lain, was costly& he
a!!eared to e a rich noleman, and occu!ied the est a!artments* A coach and six,
with four servants richly dressed, carried him frequently out& he was seen at all the
!ulic !laces, was !resent at all amusements, yet, what raised my curiosity, he was
constantly alone and in !rofound meditation* + often remared, that wherever he was, he
did not tae the least notice of what was doing around him, and, as if a !rey to grief and
inward sufferings, seemed to e insensile of all the o.ects that surrounded him* Be
was also continually alone when in his a!artment, the door of which was always olted*
Be rode out as soon as dinner was over, and commonly returned very late at night*
6+ questioned the landlord aout this strange man, ut he shrugged u! his shoulders and
could tell me nothing* 48ut,4 exclaimed + !eevishly, 4you certainly now where he comes
from, could not you as his servants4994-he servants,4 answered he, 4are as mute as their
master* Be is su!!osed to e an English lord, that is all + now*4
6+ was of the same o!inion when + first saw him& having met, on my travels, with many
Englishmen who had ehaved in the same sullen and reserved manner* Bis melancholy
mood + fancied to e the effect of the s!leen, and + did not troule myself any more
aout him*
6+ had not een aove three days at 9999 when + lost my !urse* At first + fancied + had
dro!!ed it somewhere in a sho!, or my !ocet had een !iced in the street, anddetermined to e more careful in future& ut, in s!ite of all my !recaution and care, +
suffered a second loss the next day, missing a diamond ring, with a miniature !icture of
my deceased mother& + was sure that the !receding night + had !ulled that ring from my
finger and !ut it on the tale when + went to ed& + questioned the waiters, ut they
a!!eared to e offended at my inquiries99in short, the ring was gone*
6A few days after, + went to the !lay& + had a snuff9ox, of very little value, in the right
!ocet of my coat& a gentleman who was sitting y me, at the left, egged me to give
him a !inch of snuff, ut + could not find my ox* -hat insignificant theft made me
smile* + was only glad that + had left my !urse at home*
6-he !lay was over, and a oy with a lighted torch went efore me to an ad.acent
tavern& + wanted to see what hour it was, ut my watch was also gone* 4>ursed
misfortuneH4 exclaimed +* -he oy reminded me of his money, + gave it him, and entered
the su!!er room* An acquaintance of mine too notice of the !aleness of my
countenance, inquiring whether + was ill& + denied it, and too my seat at the tale* +
hurried down my su!!er without noticing my neighour, and determined to de!art the
next morning, eing !ersuaded that some cunning rogues had singled me out to try their
sill with me at the ex!ense of my !ro!erty* As + was !ushing ac my chair, someody
close y me ased me what o4cloc it was* + did not answer, ecause that question, y
reminding me of my loss, had vexed me, and was going to leave the room*
64?ir, what o4cloc is it4 exclaimed someody once more, ta!!ing me on the shoulder* 4+
do not now,4 + re!lied, without looing ac, and !aid my ill*994Bave you no watch
"2
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with you4 exclaimed the same !erson again* ow + turned round in great vexation, and,
guess my sur!rise, the troulesome inquirer was my neighour at the inn, the very same
gentleman who had excited my curiosity so much some days ago*
6Be stared me in the face, as if ex!ecting an answer*
64?ir,4 said + now, 4my watch994
64Bas een stolen,4 interru!ted he quicly, 4+ have caught the thief, there it is*4 ?o saying,
he !ut my watch into my hand* + was stunned with ama
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acwardness of detors& these and a thousand other ostacles !revented my friends
from assisting me* + went home in a melancholy mood, and did not now what to do* +t
struc one, the dinner was on tale, ut + could not eat* + was standing in my room with
a downcast loo, and musing on my distress, and + cannot tell how long + had een in
that des!onding situation, when a gentle noc at my door roused me suddenly from my
reverie; + exclaimed in an agony, >ome inH -he door o!ened, and + was thunderstrucwhen + eheld the unnown gentleman efore me* + ran almost frantic with .oy towards
the stranger, clas!ed him in my arms, and exclaimed, 4Bave you, have you found it4
64+ have notH4 answered he*
64oH4 groaned +* 4Gracious heavenH how unha!!y am +*4
64:atience, young man,4 he re!lied, 4although the thief may have made his esca!e, yet +
am here*4
6+ ga
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deceased motherH My nees shoo, a cold sweat edewed my face, and my strength
forsoo me*
6Meanwhile the a!!arition had come to the door without having turned its face& it
o!ened the latch gently, and, when on the threshold turned round, staring me in the face
with a ghastly loo, and lifting u! its emaciated hand, thrice made a threatening gestureand disa!!eared*
6+ fell senseless ac u!on my couch, and when + could recollect myself again, + fancied
+ had een haunted y a ad dream* -he cloc struc one as + was going to loo at my
watch*
6Kexed that the stranger did not come home, + went to ed and sle!t till it was road
day* 1hen the waiter rought my reafast, + ased whether my neighour was come
home* Be said no* -hen + ased if he had left 9999 -he waiter answered, 4+t may e, he
always !ays his ill after dinner, he carries no truns with him, and none of his servants
lodge in our house*4
6+ went with the waiter to the a!artment which the stranger had occu!ied* -he ey was
in the loc, we waled in, all was em!ty*
6+ returned to my room, too u! the drafts he had given me, and would have destroyed
them, if + thus could have disencumered myself of the oligation which + owed him* +t
suddenly came in my mind that they !erha!s might e fictitious, or the name of the
merchant who was to !ay the money not nown* -his thought afforded me !leasure,
though + could ex!ect nothing ut misery if it should !rove true*
6+ hastened to the host and shewed him my drafts, under the !retext of wanting to now
the direction of the merchant* Be descried the house and the street where he lived* +
was frightened and went that same morning to the merchant* Be looed slightly at the!a!er ut very seriously at me, and his eyes seemed to denote astonishment and !ity* +
ex!ected .oyfully that the ills would e !rotested& however, + was mistaen* Be
o!ened, sighing, his drawers, and counted down two hundred dollars, still looing at me
with astonishment* + !ut the money in my !ocet, and eing convinced that he !itied me
for eing oliged to that stranger, + too the lierty of asing him y whom he was to e
re!aid& u!on which he a!!eared disconcerted, shrugged his shoulders, muttered some
unintelligile words, and left me suddenly* + went away under the greatest
a!!rehensions, and the weather eing fine, was tem!ted to wal to a !ulic garden* -he
eautiful morning had assemled there a great numer of foreigners, and of the
inhaitants of 9999& + went into a remote ower, and ordered some chocolate* Retired
from the noisy ustle of com!any, + could now muse on the strange accidents which +
had ex!erienced during my short stay at 9999* + also recollected my dream, and reflected
on it more seriously than efore* -hough + was very much tem!ted to deem it something
more than a delusion of fancy, yet + was still disinclined to ascrie that strange incident
to a su!ernatural cause, eing strongly !re!ossessed against the elief in a!!aritions,
and found myself ewildered in a ma
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64+t was no dreamH4 exclaimed a well9nown voice on a sudden* + looed u!* +magine my
sur!rise at eholding the mysterious stranger standing efore meH
64Loung man,4 said he, without giving me time to utter a single word, 4young man, do
you wish for an ex!lanation of the a!!arition of last night4 + gauriosity on a sudden raised her ewitching voice, driving away every dout, and
idding defiance to the wise counsels of !rudence* 4-hy de!arture is fixed, to9morrow
thou art going to leave this town&4 thus the charming seducer whis!ered in my ear& 4and
to9day thou canst get rid of every teasing dout* -hou wilt re!ent it if thou refusest to
go* >ourage, man, courage, don4t e such a coward as to fear an old man&4 and thus my
!ride added, 4thou canst inform thyself how to !ay the notes*4
6+ was determined to go* 4+ will re!air to the !lace of rende
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6-he landlord shoo his head smiling, he was called away, and hastening to my room, +
found everything as the landlord had told me* -he ill of exchange was in the !ocet
oo, and + was lost in dum ama
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small !leasure9house& my conductor o!ened the door, and we entered a small dam!
room*
64ow we are on the s!ot,4 said he, after having carefully secured the door, 4tell me what
you want to now*4
6irst of all, + wanted to give him a rief account of the recovery of my effects, and thenegan to as him, if he had een my enefactor* Bowever, he !revented me from doing
it, exclaiming, 4+ now it all, + eg you will concentrate all you want to now into one
question*4
6+ mused awhile, ut + was not ale to ring all my wishes to one !oint, and it is very
liely that the !resence of that extraordinary man, had greatly contriuted to my
!er!lexity* + found it im!ossile to mae the question he had ordered me to do*
6?eeing my distress, he said, 41ell, then, inquire after the name of the friend who has
taen so much care of you*4
6-hat was the very question which + was most eager to as* + had wished to !ro!ose, ut
+ would not venture to do it for fear of offending the stranger& with great .oy + re!lied
that is what + wish to now*
641ell then,4 re!lied he, 4you shall get !ersonally acquainted with that friend of
yours*4994-hen + do not now him yet !ersonally4 resumed +, 4+ thought it was you, sir*4
-he stranger shoo his head* 4+ am only his de!uty,4 was his answer, 4and,4 added he,
after a short !ause, 4only through the third hand*4
6+ ga
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of my mother a third time, still louder and more tremendous* At once the whole
!leasure9house a!!eared to e surrounded with fire* -he ground egan to shae under
me, and + san suddenly down* -he ghost of my mother hovered efore my eyes, with a
grim, ghastly loo& a chilly sweat edewed my face and my senses forsoo me*
6A violent shaing roused me at length from my stu!efaction*6-he shaing did not cease, and + felt as if + was tossed to and fro; at the same time +
heard a terrile creaing and whi
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+nquiring after the mysterious stranger + was told, that he had een seen no more since +
had left the inn* My deliverer stayed three days with me, and then we !arted in a most
affectionate manner* -he next day + set out for my own country, where + ha!!ily arrived
without any farther accident*6
Bere Elfrid concluded his wonderful tale, which he, as he added, never had een ale tounfold, though he had taen the greatest !ains to come at the ottom of it* Be looed at
his friend, eager to hear what he would say to those extraordinary adventures& ut
Berman was lost in !rofound meditation for many minutes, at length he egan;
68rother, thy tale is very wonderful, so wonderful, that + should not have elieved it, if +
had not met, on my travels, with adventures, which seem to have some connexion with
thine*6
Elfrid had a!!rehended that Berman would laugh at his story, as many of his friends
had done& he was therefore very much astonished at Berman4s words, and esought him
to give a short account of the adventures he had hinted at* Berman !romised to give a
full account of whatever had ha!!ened to him, !artly y way of narration and !artly in
writing& however, he egged him to wait till to9morrow, that he might e ale to arrange
the necessary !a!ers* Elfrid very readily consented to it*
-he next morning was uncommonly fine, yet Berman4s guest had no inclination for a
hunting !arty* As soon as reafast was over he reminded his friend of his !romise,
asing whether he had found the !a!ers he had een mentioning* Berman said he had,
telling his friend at the same time, that he intended to relate only that !art of those
adventures in which he had een !ersonally concerned, the remainder he would give
him in writing, ut not efore his de!arture, lest ghosts and necromancers might de!rive
him of the !leasure of maing his dear visitor as comfortale and ha!!y as !ossile*
Elfrid having consented to it, the two friends too their !laces y the fireside, lighted
their !i!es, and Berman egan as follows;
6-hou nowest, rother, that +, having finished my studies, was a!!ointed governor to
the young 8aron de R9999, to conduct him on his travels* Cn our return from +taly we
too our way through ?wit
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drin his randy* 1e ased him where the lord of the village resided& he answered that
he never lived there, ecause the castle had not een haitale for many years* +
enquired the reason of it*
64At !resent,4 re!lied the host, 4+ dare not give you an account of it, to9morrow you shall
now everything& ut, very liely, this night will mae you guess the reason*46-he 8aron and + entreated him to satisfy our curiosity, ut he shoo his head and left
the room*
6:inched y hunger we too u! with our scanty su!!er, and then ased the landlord to
show us to our eds, ut, alasH there was not one ed unoccu!ied in the whole house,
and we were oliged to rest our weary lims u!on a ed of clean straw in the middle of
the room*
6-he 8aron soon egan to snore, ut + could not get a win of slee!* ow the watchman
announced the hour of midnight with a hoarse voice, and on a sudden + heard the
tram!ling of horses and the sound of horns* -he noise came nearer, and methought +heard a numer of horsemen rushing y, and sounding their horns as if a large hunting
!arty were !assing through the village& the troo! darted lie lightning through the street
close y the windows of the inn* -he 8aron started u!, asing me with a fearful voice,
41hat is this4994+ don4t now,4 re!lied + aru!tly* + listened attentively, and the troo! had
not een far from our inn, when on a sudden all was again as silent as the grave& the
8aron egan to snore as efore, and + to muse on that strange incident*
6+ could not thin it !ossile that any ody would go a hunting in so large a com!any, at
that unseasonale hour, and was much inclined to thin all had een a deluding dream,
when + suddenly recollected the mysterious words of our landlord, + cannot ut confess
that + was sei
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cocs sounded through the village, and the watchman announced the a!!roach of day*
-he 8aron awoe*
64Lou are very early,4 said he, ruing his eyes, 4!ray tell me, what noise was it + heard
in the night4
64+ myself am im!atient to now it,4 re!lied +, 4+ wish the landlord would rise and unfoldthat mystery& the troo! has rushed y again at one o4cloc with the same terrile noise*4
61hile + was taling thus, + heard the tram!ling of horses, and looing out of the
window, saw an officer with a servant* -hey alighted at the inn, noced at the door,
and entered the room* -he officer, a lively young man, wore a 7anish uniform, and was
on the recruiting usiness& he had missed his way lie ourselves, and we soon got
acquainted with him* 1hen the 8aron related the nightly adventure, the officer at first
thought he was .oing, ut when + most seriously affirmed every circumstance, he
showed an ardent desire to get acquainted with those nocturnal s!ortsmen*
64-hat honour you can easily have,4 said the 8aron, 4if you will stay here the ensuingnight, we will give you com!any*4
648ravoH4 exclaimed the officer, 4!erha!s the gentlemen will e so !olite to invite us to
their s!ort, and then we may e so fortunate as to get a haunch of venison*4
6ow the landlord entered the room* 41ell,4 said he, idding us a good morning, 4have
you heard anything to night, gentlemen4
64More than + lied,4 answered +& 4who are those s!ortsmen that go a hunting at
midnight*4
641hy,4 re!lied he, 4we don4t tal of it; + would not tell you anything aout it last night,for fear your curiosity might ex!ose you to some misfortune& yet, having !romised you
yesterday to tell you as much of it as + now, + will e as good as my word*4
6After having !aused awhile, he egan thus, in a confidential tone; 4>lose y our village
is a very large uilding, where formerly the 'ord of this village used to reside* Cne of
the former masters of the castle was a very wiced and irreligious man, who found great
delight in tormenting the !oor !easants& every ody tremled when he a!!eared* Be
tram!led with his feet u!on his own children, confined them in dar dungeons, where
they were often e!t for many days without a morsel of read* Be used to call his
tenants dogs, and to treat them as such99in short, he was cruelty itself*
64Bunting was his only amusement, and he always e!t a vast numer of deer, whichwere the ruin of the !easants4 little !ro!erty, and reduced them to the utmost !overty& no
one dared to drive them from his fields, and if he did, he was confined in a dam!
dungeon, under ground, for many wees* 1hen that wiced man wanted to hunt, then
the whole village was called together to serve him instead of dogs& if any one was not
alert enough, then he would hunt him instead of the deer, till he fell down ex!iring
under the lashes of his whi!*
64Cne time after he had roved aout from morning till night, he fell from his horse and
roe his nec* Be was uried in his garden* 8ut now he was terrily !unished for his
wicedness, having had no rest in his grave to the !resent day* At certain times of the
year he is doomed to a!!ear in the village, at twelve o4cloc at night, and to mae hisentry into the castle with his infernal crew, ut as soon as the cloc stries one he is
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!lunged ac again into the lae of fire urning with rimstone* oody can inhait the
castleH Many who have een so fool9hardy to attem!t it have lost their lives& whoever
ventures to loo out of the window when the infernal hosts are !assing y gets a
swollen face as a !unishment for his curiosity* 1e are now used to that nocturnal s!ort,
and do not care for those infernal s!irits, ut many strangers have fallen ill through
fright*4
6Bere the landlord finished his tale, and seemed to e !leased with our astonishment&
however, his !leasure was soon dam!ed when the 'ieutenant roe out in a roaring
laughter*
64'augh as long as you !lease,4 said he& 4stay here till night if you have courage, and then
we shall see if you will laugh*4
64-hat + will,4 re!lied the officer, 4+ will not only stay in your house, ut + will also s!end
the coming night at that dreadful castle* + dare say, gentlemen,4 added he, 4you will ee!
me com!any*4
6-he 8aron, eing a man of honor, thought it a great disgrace to etray the least want of
courage in the !resence of the soldier& he therefore !romised to accom!any him thither;
+ made several o.ections, re!resenting to the officer the danger we should run, not
nowing who those s!irits might e& however, he silenced all my remonstrances; 4+ am a
soldier,4 said he, 4and all ghosts and hogolins have ever een e!t at a res!ectful
distance y a martial dress*4
6At length + was oliged to tae a !art in the ex!edition, if + would not desert the 8aron*
-he landlord, who had all that time een staring at us in dum ama
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63ust as we were going to leave this aode of gloom and horror, + !erceived a little door
in the remotest corner of the room, it was liewise unolted, and we entered a second
room, which ore the same gloomy as!ect with the former a!artment, eing covered
with half9rotten remains of roen furniture& another door led us at length into a
s!acious hall, where the cheering light of the day hailed us at last, many of the arched
windows eing either o!en or roen to !ieces& the fresh air, the eautiful view meetingour eye from every side, chased at once from our countenance the solemn awe*
64Bere,4 exclaimed the 'ieutenant, 4here we will meet the airy 'ords of this Manor& 'et
us try, gentlemen, whether we cannot fit a tale and some seats among the rotten relics
of furniture*4
61e succeeded in our attem!t, dragged a round massy tale in the middle of the hall,
su!!orted it y four worm9eaten !oles, then we fetched some !ieces of wood from the
ad.acent a!artments, !lacing them u!on large stones round the tale, and thus secured a
resting !lace for the night*
6ow we ramled through several a!artments on the other side of the hall, and meetingwith nothing worthy of our notice, exce!t the traces of desolation, we returned y the
way we had entered that gloomy mansion*
61e descended into the court9yard and made there liewise our oservations; s!urred
on y curiosity, we entered through a ruinous side uilding, a garden, which still ore
some mars of former grandeur& roen statues of marle were here and there lying on
the ground* 1e cleared with our sares a way through ramles and nettles to a grove
of eech trees& it liewise was hardly !enetrale*
6Baving wored our way for more than half an hour, with much toil and difficulty,
through a thicet of thistles and ramles, we arrived at length wearied and fatigued atan o!en s!ot& in the middle of it we eheld a statue, earing in one hand an urn of lac
marle99we a!!roached and read the following inscri!tion on the !edestal;99
6B+> 3A>E-
GC7CRE7D? BAD??+GERD?,
:E>>A-CR*
(Here lieth Godfre. Haussinger1 a Sinner*)
6A little lower down we !erceived a cross engraved in the stone, and under it
A*7* "$@*
61e stared at each other in dum ama
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6Baving now examined every corner we returned to our inn*
6-he landlord, who was ignorant of what we had een aout, was struc with horror and
ama
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glimmering in the s!acious dreary hall& the 8aron, leaning his head u!on his arm,
struggled to forget every o.ect around him, and the officer uttered not a single word*
6ow we heard a cloc toll twelve at a great distance, and + waled softly ac to my
seat, the 'ieutenant did the same, taing u! one of his !istols, and ruing the loc with
his handerchief* 1e looed at each other, and every one of us strove in vain to hide thehorror he was struggling against* -he watchman cried the hour, the crowing of the cocs
told us midnight was set in, and still all around us was as silent as the grave* -he 8aron
laid the oo u!on the tale, and the 'ieutenant was going to raise a loud laughter,
asing us where the s!irits might e, when suddenly the tram!ling of horses and the
sound of horns was heard99we all were fixed to our seats, staring at each other with a
ghastly loo& now the noise seemed to e under our window& the 'ieutenant ran towards
it, with a coced !istol in his hand, ut he was too late*
6All was quiet again, and an awful stillness swayed around the castle; however, a few
seconds after we heard suddenly a most tremendous noise in the court9yard, which was
followed y a terrile tram!ling and a gingling of s!urs on the staircase, as if a great
numer of !eo!le in oots was coming u!* -he noise came nearer and nearer, my feet
egan to fail, my teeth to chatter in my mouth, and my hair to rise lie ristles, while
every sense was lost in anxious odings& at length the noise grew fainter and fainter, and
soon we could hear it no more, and midnight stillness resumed her awful sway*
6A long !ause of dum astonishment ensued, until at last the 'ieutenant, who had
recovered his s!irits first, exclaimed, 4?hall we go down4 + shoo my head without
uttering a word, and the 8aron was liewise silent* 4-hen + will go alone,4 said the
'ieutenant, snatched u! a race of !istols, drew his sare, and hurried down* Be
returned a few minutes after, exclaiming, 4+t is sur!rising& + cannot see the least traces of
either men or horses*4
6ow he retoo his seat, casting down his loos in a !ensive manner99his servant was
still snoring99the 8aron egan again to read, and + fell fast aslee!* At once + was roused
y the re!ort of a !istol, + and honest 3ohn started u! at the same moment, and we heard
once more the tram!ling of horses and the sound of horns, ut it soon died away at a
distance, and the 'ieutenant entered the hall with the 8aron*
6-hey also had not een ale to resist the leaden wand of slee!, ut the same noise in
the court9yard we had heard at twelve o4cloc had soon roused them from their slumer*
4As soon as we heard the noise,4 said the 8aron, 4we hastened to the outer room, our
!istols coced, ut efore we could reach it the noise was under the window of the
castle& the 'ieutenant noced through one of the windows in the room close to the hall,and sent a ullet after the troo!, which was rushing y lie an hurricane& however, he
was !revented y the darness of the night from distinguishing any thing exce!t some
white horses*
64-he s!irits are afraid of us,4 exclaimed the 'ieutenant now, 4ut come, let us return to
our inn, we shall rest more comfortale on a ed of clean straw than on this dam!
ground*4 1e all consented to it, and left the gloomy aode of those nocturnal s!ortsmen*
1e noced a good while at the door of the inn efore it was o!ened; and at last the
landlord a!!eared, stammering, lost in wonder, 4God e !raised that you are still alive,
how did you esca!e4
6-he 'ieutenant silenced him y some hasty lies, and !romised to give him a full
account of the whole adventure after he should have rested a little*
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64Gentlemen,4 said he, as soon as he got u! in the morning, 4next night + will go once
more to the haunted castle, and s!end the night in the court9yard, will you ee! me
com!any4
6-he 8aron looed at me as if he wished me to refuse the !ro!osal& + did so* 41e
cannot,4 said +, 4stay here a day longer, and such an undertaing would, esides, e toodangerous for only four !eo!le*4
64CH4 exclaimed the 'ieutenant, 4if that is all you have to say against it, then + will soon
mae you easy* 1e will tae a do
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the tram!ling of horses was heard at a distance* -he !easants listened, their mouths
wide o!en, and ga
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6ow the old man lifted his reverend head slowly u!, stared at us with angry loos, and
then said, with a solemn awful voice,
641isdomH4
641hat language is it4
C'7MA*99(Reading again)996-he language of wisdom*6
641hat dost thou call wisdom4
C'7MA*996All that thou dost not com!rehend*6
'+ED-EA-*996+f thou nowest what other !eo!le cannot com!rehend, then + should
lie to as thee a question*6
C'7MA*99(?taring again at him)9961hat question6
'+ED-EA-*996-here is a castle not far from the next village, where every night a
numerous troo! of s!irits mae their entry& + and these two gentlemen have watched
there these two nights*6
C'7MA*99(+nterru!ting him)996And art not a it wiser for4t, for thou seemest not to e
fit to converse with s!irits*6
'+ED-EA-*9968ut thou996
C'7MA*996+ understand the language of 1isdom*6
6-he 'ieutenant it his li!s, shaing his head with a contem!tuous smile* ow the
8aron accosted the old man, who again was immersed in !rofound meditation*
8ARC*9961ell, then, if thy oo contains such a treasure of wisdom, then tell us why
that castle is haunted y s!irits, and for what reason they go their nightly rounds6
C'7MA*996-hat the s!irits must tell thee themselves*6
8ARC*9961hat does then thy oo contain6
C'7MA*996-he ways and means of forcing them to a confession*6
8ARC*9968ut why hast thou not forced them long ago to confess every thing6
C'7MA*9968ecause + never cared for it*6
8ARC*99('aughing)9968ut if we should entreat thee to do it, and !ull our !urses,
would4st thou not do us that favour6
C'7MA*99(rowning)996Kile mortal, can wisdom e ought with gold and silver6
8ARC*996Bow can one then !urchase it6
C'7MA*9961ith nothing99hast thou courage6
8ARC*996Else we could not have watched in the dreadful castle*6
C'7 MA*996-hen s!end another night in it* + will e there a quarter efore twelve
o4cloc99now leave me*6
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61e ga
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awhile with a ghastly loo& after an awful !ause of ex!ectation, he said with a low
tremling voice, 47on4t utter a word as you value your lives*4 -hen he went down the
two first ste!s& taing from his osom an enormous ey which had een sus!ended
round his nec y an iron chain, and o!ened, without the least difficulty, the monstrous
!adloc, the door flew o!en, and the old man too the lam! from the 'ieutenant,
leading us down a large staircase of stone& we descended into a s!acious cellar, vaultedwith hewn stone, and eheld all around large iron doors, secured y strong !adlocs&
our hoary leader went slowly towards an iron folding door, o!!osite to the staircase, and
o!ened it liewise with his ey& it flew suddenly o!en, and we eheld with horror a
lac vault, which received a faint light from a lam! sus!ended to the ceiling y an iron
chain*
6-he old man entered, uncovering his reverend head, and we did the same, standing y
his side in tremling ex!ectation, awed y the solemnity that reigned around us& a
dreadful chilliness sei
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dying as!ect, it tremled violently as it rose and emitted a hollow groan, looing around
with chilly horror* ow the s!ectre descended from the !edestal, and moved with
tremling ste!s and haggard loos towards the circle where we were standing*
641ho dares,4 groaned it, in a faltering hollow accent& 4who dares to distur the rest of
the dead464And who art thou4 re!lied our leader, with a threatening frowning as!ect, 4who art
thou, that thou darest to distur the stillness of this castle, and the nocturnal slumer of
those that inhait its environs4
6-he !hantom shuddered ac, groaning in a most lamentale accent, 4ot +, not +, my
cursed husand disturs the !eace around and mine*4
C'7MA*996or what reason6
GBC?-*996+ was assassinated, and he who .udges men has thrown my sins u!on the
murderer*6
C'7 MA*996+ com!rehend thee, unha!!y s!irit, etae thyself again to rest& y my
!ower, which every s!irit dreads, he shall distur thee no more99egone996
6-he !hantom owed res!ectfully, staggered towards the !edestal, climed u!, got into
the coffin, and disa!!eared& the lid sun slowly down, and the light which had
illuminated the dismal mansion of mortality died away y degrees* A flash of lightning
hissed again through the vault, licing the dam! walls, the hollow sound of thunder
roared through the suterraneous aode of horror, the lam! egan again to urn, and the
awful silence of the grave swayed all around*
6-he old man too u! his wallet and his oo, econing us to follow him* 1e returnedto the ad.oining vault, through which we had entered that aode of awful dread& it was
as lonesome as we had left it& our leader loced the iron folding9door carefully& then he
too out of his wallet a large !iece of !archment on which a numer of strange
characters were written, a !iece of lac sealing wax, and a monstrous iron seal* Baving
made several crosses over those things with his eony wand, he fixed the !archment
aove the loc, and sealed it hastily on the four corners*
6-his done, he went into the middle of the cellar assigning us our !laces& then he
strewed sand on the ground, drew a circle with his wand, and egan again to read in his
oo amid horrile convulsions* Be randished his wand, !ronouncing three times with
a most tremendous voice the same word he had made use of in the urying vault* A
flash of lightning hissed through the cellar, a cla! of thunder shoo the suterraneous
faric, all the doors save that which had een sealed u! were suddenly forced o!en with
a thundering noise, the lam! was extinguished, and a lue light reflected in a grisly
manner from the staircase against the dam! wall& woeful groans, lamentations, and the
dismal clashing of chains resounded through the s!acious caverns* -he noise seemed to
come from the staircase99gentle ste!s were heard99a numerous troo! seemed to e
descending into the cellar& the lamentations and the woeful groans advanced nearer, and
louder resounded the clashing of chains*
6Borrid to ehold did now a second !hantom a!!ear efore our ga
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641ho art thou4 roared our leader with a thundering voice, and the dreary cavern
echoed to the sound*
6-he !hantom answered with a hollow, dismal voice, 4A damned soulH4
C'7MA*9961hat usiness hast thou in this castle6
GBC?-*996+ want to e redeemed from hell*6
C'7MA*996Bow canst thou e redeemed6
GBC?-*9968y the forgiveness of my wife*6
C'7 MA*996Bow darest thou claim it, re!roate villain Return to thy damned
com!anions in hell* Res!ect this seal, res!ect these characters*6
6Bere the old man !ointed at the door of the vault which had een sealed u!; the
!hantom staggered towards it, ut suddenly shuddered ac and sun groaning on the
ground& a flash of lightning illuminated the cellar, and a tremendous !eal of thunderresounded through the lofty vault& all the doors were shut again with a terrile noise, a
frightful howling filled our ears, and horrid !hantoms hovered efore our eyes& flashes
of lightning hissed through the vault and roaring cla!s of thunder threatened to overturn
the whole faric*
6-he lightning ceased y degrees, and the roaring of the thunder died away, a lue
flame was still glimmering on the staircase, ut it soon died away, and we were
surrounded with darness& groans and dreadful lamentations resounded still through the
winding caverns, ut soon all around was hushed in !rofound silence* After a short
!ause of horrid stillness, the tram!ling of horses and the sound of horns was heard
again& yet that noise died also away efore we recovered our recollection*61hen our astonishment egan to suside, we !erceived that we were standing in a dar
cellar, without nowing whether any one of us was missing* A disagreeale sul!hurous
odour affected our smelling organs, and ereft us almost of the !ower of res!iration& not
a whis!er interru!ted the dead midnight silence which surrounded us* At length,
someody too me y the hand, + shuddered ac, my imagination eing still the
wrestling !lace of horrid wild !hantoms, and my soul divining a thousand dreadful
thoughts*
64+t is +,4 said the 'ieutenant, and + felt at once as if a heavy load had een taen from my
reast* ow the 8aron egan also to s!ea, 41here are you4 whis!ered he, 4are you still
alive4
61e gro!ed aout in the dar, and at last found him leaning against the wall*
64Bow shall we get out of this cursed residence of horror4 exclaimed the 'ieutenant*
4>ome, let us try whether we can find the staircase& +t must e .ust o!!osite to us, if + am
not mistaen*4 -hen he egan to wal on, and we gro!ed after him, tumling now and
then over loose stones*
64+ have found the staircase,4 cried our fellow adventurer, 4at last, after a long fruitless
search, + feel the first ste!*4
6A ray of .oy eamed through our hearts as we were climing u!, ut alasH it was soonmost cruelly dam!ed& the cellar door was loced u!, and the lood congealed in our
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veins when the 'ieutenant told it us* 1e exerted all our strength to force it o!en, ut in
vain, it was olted on the outside* -he 'ieutenant called as loud as he could for his
servant, whom he had left snoring in the hall& we .oined our voices with his, calling with
all our might 43ohnH 3ohnH4
6-he hollow echo re!eated in a tremendous accent, 3ohnH 3ohnH ut no human footste!would gladden our des!onding hearts* rantic with lac des!air did we now egin to
noc at the massy door till the lood was running down from our hands, and to cry
3ohn, 3ohn, till our voices grew hoarse99the hollow echo still re!eated in an awful
tremendous accent our nocing and crying, ut no human footste! was heard* 4-he
fellow slee!s and cannot hear us,4 said the 'ieutenant, at length with a faint voice, 4let us
sit down and watch him when he shall come down*4
61e did so, ut + had no ho!e that the servant would come, yet + concealed my
a!!rehension within my reast* -he 'ieutenant dissemled to e easy, and egan to
converse on what we had seen and heard& however his roen accent, the faltering of his
s!eech, and his low voice, etrayed the anxiety of his mind* -he 8aron and + s!oe
little, and when we had een sitting aout an hour not one uttered a word more& all was
silent around us* othing interru!ted the death9lie stillness of the night, exce!t the
violent eating of our hearts*
6At length the 'ieutenant ased if we were aslee!& however, the anxiety of our minds
and the dreadful a!!rehensions which assailed us, drove far away even the idea of slee!*
1e sat some hours in the dreadful situation, and it was now aout five o4cloc in the
morning when the 'ieutenant exclaimed, 4+ fear we wait in vain for my servant, he
cannot slee! so fast that he should not hear usH 8ut where can he e4 -hen he egan
again to noc violently against the massy iron door, ut all was in vain* o human
footste!s were heard, we remained some hours on the staircase, ut all our waiting and
listening was fruitless, no cheering sound of human footste!s would gladden our
des!onding hearts*
64+ will not torment you y vain a!!rehensions,4 egan the 'ieutenant at length,
4however, we seem to e doomed to destruction, yet let us try if we cannot esca!e some
way or other, come down with me into the cellar, there we shall have a etter chance to
es!y an outlet than here*4
61e descended, with tremling nees, without saying a word, and gro!ed along in the
dar a good while, nocing our heads against the dam! wall, and the iron doors* AlasH
our search seemed to e in vain, and the grim s!ectre of a lingering death stared us
grisly in the face, my feet could su!!ort me no longer, and + dro!!ed down weariedwith anxiety*
6ow + egan to re!roach myself for having !lunged into the gul!h of destruction not
only myself ut also him who had een entrusted to my care* -he a!!rehension of eing
famished in that infernal aode, thrilled my soul with horror and lac des!air& at first +
heard the 8aron and the 'ieutenant still gro!ing aout& neither of them uttered a word&
the hollow sound of their footste!s re9echoed horrily through the vault99at length the
sound of the 8aron4s footste!s died away at a distance, and only one of my com!anions
in destruction remained with me*
641here are you4 exclaimed the 'ieutenant*
64Bere + am,4 re!lied +, 4ut where is the 8aron4
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6-he 'ieutenant called him, and + did the same, ut we received no answer* At once a
sudden hollow noise struc our ears, and at the same time a faint glimmering of light
darted from a remote corner of our dungeon* + started u!, half frantic with .oy, and we
!ursued the gladdening ray of light& it seemed to come from an o!ening in the wall* o
words can ex!ress the ra!ture we felt when we eheld one of the iron doors half o!en&
we went through it with hasty ste!s, and entered a long vaulted !assage* A faint dawn oflight hailed our .oyful loos at a great distance from elow* 1e descended a declivity,
the farther we went the more the light increased, at length we reached the end of the
avenue, and !erceived some ste!s leading into a s!acious a!artment, at the entrance of
which some oards on the floor had given way* 1e descended the ste!s, and, who can
!aint the horror which rushed u!on us, when we eheld the 8aron lying lifeless in the
dee! vault, u!on some mouldering straw + lea!ed down without a moment4s hesitation,
the 'ieutenant did the same, and now we egan to shae the 8aron till we at length
!erceived signs of returning life* 1e continued our endeavours to recall his senses, he
reathed, gave a hollow groan, and o!ened his eyes; his fainting fit had een the effect
of sudden terror, and he had not received the least hurt*
6Be now told us that he had met in the dar with a long narrow !assage which he had
!ursued, in a ind of insensiility, till he had staggered down from an elevated s!ot,
when the oards suddenly gave way, dragging him along into the dee! vault*
6'ooing around we !erceived that we were in a s!acious cavern, which a!!eared to
have een formerly a ind of stale* Bigh over our heads were two large round holes,
grated with strong iron ars, through which the daylight was admitted, and after a closer
examination we es!ied a gloomy outlet in a remote corner, shut u! y a wooden door,
which we forced o!en without difficulty* 1e now ascended through a dar !assage,
higher and higher, till we at length with ra!ture eheld an outlet which o!ened into the
garden& we were oliged to cut our way with our sares, through the underwood and theentangled weeds, and soon came to the court9yard* -ears of .oy s!arled in our eyes,
rays of uns!eaale ra!ture eamed through our hearts, and we !raised God for our
unex!ected deliverance from the grisly .aws of a lingering death*
6-he dreary desolated court9yard a!!eared to us a !aradise, the da
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one was im!atient to now the !articulars of our adventure, ut the 'ieutenant having
then no inclination of amusing himself with their sim!licity, gave them a short answer,
and ased the landlord where his servant was*
64+ have not seen him since yesterday,4 re!lied he*
64+t is im!ossile,4 resumed the 'ieutenant& 4where are the horses4
64-hey are in the stale,4 re!lied the landlord, 4+ have .ust een looing after them*4
6-he 'ieutenant gave us an a!!rehensive loo, and egged the ga!ing !easants to loo
after him, all over the village and the ad.acent !laces; they all were very willing to do it,
and left the inn*
6+t was nine o4cloc when we entered the inn, and it struc twelve when our honest
villagers returned, with the disagreeale news that they could find !oor 3ohn nowhere*
6-he 'ieutenant thought it not !rudent to remain any longer at that fatal !lace& the
8aron liewise wished to de!art and + too was im!atient to e gone* As soon as we hadfinished our scanty dinner, we de!arted a second time& the tears started from our
landlord4s eyes, and from those of the good villagers, when we ade them farewell, after
having made them a small !resent, and they saw us de!art with regret*
6-he 'ieutenant new the ways through the 8lac orest !retty well, he rode y our
chaise leading his servant4s horse with one hand, and we reached without any farther
accident the limits of that dreadful forest* 1e !arted com!any at the close of the second
day, idding each other a tender adieu*
64+ than you, gentlemen,4 said the 'ieutenant, as we were getting into our chaise at the
door of the inn* 4+ than you for your ind and faithful assistance in the most dreadfuladventure of my life& if + should e so fortunate to get at the ottom of the mystery
which hangs over that castle, as + shall endeavour to do, + will tae the first o!!ortunity
to a!!rise you of my success* arewell, rememer now and then the 2th of ?e!temer,
"#%, and do not forget your friend*4
6-he !ostillion smaced his whi!, and we went different roads* Cn the fifth day we
arrived, without any further accident, at the castle of 8aron R9999, the father of my !u!il*
6And here,6 added Berman, 6my narration is finished* A letter which the 8aron wrote
me, and a manuscri!t sent me y the 'ieutenant, contains everything that has ha!!ened
afterwards* 8ut these !a!ers you shall not get efore your de!arture*6
-hough Elfrid4s curiosity had een s!urred very much, yet he could not ut consent to
his friend4s !ro!osal, and s!ent a fortnight more with him in uninterru!ted !leasure*
-he days rolled swiftly on, shortened y the conversation of his friend, y hunting and
other diversions, and he at length was oliged to id his host adieu*
8efore he !arted with his Elfrid, he gave him the aove9mentioned manuscri!t, assuring
him that he would have given it him sooner, if he had een ale to find it amongst a
great many !a!ers* Be added, that he had searched for it in vain several days, and would
have given him the continuation and conclusion of those mysterious adventures, y way
of narration, if he could not have found the manuscri!t, ut he had fortunately traced it
out the day efore his de!arture amongst a numer of old musty !a!ers* Berman
cleaned it from the dust and gave it to his friend, saying to him, 6-ae, rother, tae
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here the continuation of my tale, and if thou thinest the !ulication of it will amuse and
enefit the world thou art welcome to !ulish it*6
-hen they !arted, alasH for ever* Berman4s wish was accom!lished, he had seen once
more the faithful friend of his younger days, and soon after went to that etter world
where good men will meet again the friends of their osom, never to !art again* Elfrid,too, is awaiting the solemn morn of resurrection in his grave, and he, efore he died, set
down in writing the foregoing narration* ow let us see what the writings which his
friend had given him contain*
EN& OF THE F2RST (ART
(ART 22
@#
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CHA(TER 2
8ARC R9999 -C MR*
BERMA
689999, CK* "", "##2*
67EAR R+E7,99+t is with the greatest !leasure + am going to communicate to you a
remarale incident + met with this summer, when at :yrmont* + would have given you
the following account some time ago, if it had not een for some !a!ers which + was
oliged to wait for& they are arrived at last, and here + send them, eseeching you to
remit them to me as soon as you shall have !erused them*
6+ had een three wees at :yrmont, when + one time went to the !romenade on a very
eautiful evening, there + ha!!ened to meet a gentleman whose features interested me
very much though they were unnown to me* 1aling slowly on + soon saw him come
after me, he !assed me with hasty ste!s, and turning suddenly stared me in the face& +did the same, eing sur!rised that + also had attracted the notice of the stranger* Be went
on, ut soon after turned round once more, directing his ste!s towards me and staring
again at me* + sto!!ed and did the same* Be moved his li!s as if he wanted to s!ea to
me, .ust when + was going to as him whether he wanted something& however, we oth
remained silent, !ursuing our wal* -hat !antomime we re!eated several times, neither
of us uttering a word, at length it egan to grow dar and + went to my lodgings*
6-he next morning + awoe with the first ray of th sun, and went again to the
!romenade, to inhale the salurious reereator so striing in the eautifulscenes of a fine summer4s morning, when + once more eheld the stranger who had
interested me so much the !receding evening* Be came nearer, saluted me, and too a
seat on the ench where + was sitting* 1e oth admired, in !rofound silence, the
eautiful scene around for a quarter of an hour* Every o.ect which surrounded us
!ronounced the greatness of God; numers of feathered songsters hailed the rising sun&
diamonds and ruies s!arled on the leaves of the trees, loaded with the !early dro!s of
dew* ow the sun darted his warming cheerful rays all around, and the stranger looed
at me with an inquisitive eye* 4?ir,4 he at length egan, 4you will excuse me if + should e
mistaen* + thin + have had, some years !ast, the !leasure of eing in your com!any
somewhere or other*4
64+t is !ossile,4 re!lied +, 4that + have had that honour* 1ill you favour me with your
name4
64My name is 89999, and + am Ma.or in the service of the ing of 7enmar*4
6489999H + thin + rememer that name, yet + cannot recollect where + have had the
honour of seeing you*4
64:erha!s + may,4 re!lied he, 4if you will e so ind to favour me with your name*4
64My name is R9999*4
647id not you return from your travels to Germany in the year "#%4
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6+ re!lied in the affirmative*
64-hen + am not mistaen,4 said he smiling, 4don4t you rememer the adventure at the
Baunted >astle on the sirts of the 8lac orest, and that villanous ecromancer4
6+ was struc with ama
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CHA(TER 22
A&3ENTURES OF L2EUT* B4444
6+ was lost in !rofound meditation after + had !arted with my com!anions& all the horridscenes of the adventure at the castle hovered efore my imagination& + fancied myself at
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the inn, in the ruinous hall, and then in the cellar, still eholding the ecromancer and
the !hantoms, seeing the flashes of lightning, and hearing the roaring of the thunder,
and the hollow voices of the s!ectres* My fancy renewed all the horrors which had
rushed u!on me when shut u! in the cellar, as well as the .oy + felt when we had the
good fortune to find an outlet from our infernal dungeon& my restless fancy !ainted all
these !ictures with the strongest colours, !ainted them so grisly, that + sent u! to heaventhe most fervent thansgiving for my delivery from that infernal aode*
6-hese horrid dreams vanished at length, giving room to contem!lations of a more
serious cast* + was every moment reminded of the unha!!y fate of my faithful 3ohn, and
felt an ardent desire to get at the ottom of those mysterious events, that + might e
enaled to deliver my !oor servant from the clutches of the s!irits, or, at least, revenge
his death* + was however sensile, that + alone should not e equal to it& the !easants of
the village + did not thin fit for assisting me in my enter!rise, and the whole
undertaing too haastle, if + could ut gain his confidence& yet + was sensile that
it would e no easy tas to ingratiate myself so far with him that he should not refuse
elieving a tale lie mine, which ore such glaring mars of fiction* + a!!rehended a
veteran of so much ex!erience, and so serious a turn of mind, would laugh at my
narrative, and treat it as a nursery tale*
6+ was the more inclined to fear this a!!rehension might !rove true, when + learned y
ex!erience that his curiosity was always guided y cool and .ust reasoning* Bis
cheerfulness never exceeded the limits of moderated seriousness, and his smile was
nothing more than an almost im!erce!tile unfolding of the wrinles, which contracted
his reverend row& his mirth ore the resemlance of his carriage, and whoever new
him, tremled at his anger, though none of his acquaintances had ever ex!erienced the
least mar of !assion in his countenance, and much less had he ever etrayed a
sym!tom of unridled wrath*
6+ let sli! no o!!ortunity of doing him some little services, and thus endeavoured to gain
his favour& however, he a!!eared to tae no notice of my unremitted
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he seemed not to regard it* All my most anxious endeavours to win that strange man
over to my interest !roved aortive, and, at last, + gave over every ho!e of engaging his
attention*
6>hance efriended me, at length, unex!ectedly, and + got y accident what + already
had des!aired to attain y the most indefatigale endeavours*6-he inn where one of the recruiting officers lodged was re!orted to e haunted& many
strange stories circulated on account of that re!ort, which the then owner of the house
endeavoured to laugh off, ecause he had lived a fortnight in it without !erceiving any
thing uncommon*
6-his su.ect afforded one evening matter for a serious discourse among the officers*
-he Austrian veteran maintained, contrary to our ex!ectation, that one ought not to treat
with ridicule some events of su!ernatural a!!earance, and no argument could mae him
relinquish his o!inion* My heart !anted for .oy, for now + could ho!e he would not
refuse to credit my wondrous tale*
6+ was already going to relate the strange events which + had witnessed at the Baunted
>astle, when + suddenly was checed y the a!!rehension of drawing u!on me the
laugh of the com!any, or that some one or other would offer to encounter with me the
nightly s!ortsmen, without eing equal to that ha
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CHA(TER 222
THE AUSTR2AN OFF2CER5S TALE OF 'O&FR2E& BUR'HER5S
'HOST
5@
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6+n a regiment of the garrison in which + served as 'ieutenant, aout twenty years ago,
was a man who gave the most undeniale !roofs of the truth of my assertion& he was a
ser.eant, aout forty years old, and of a morose and gloomy a!!earance& he was
res!ected y his su!eriors, !rom!t and exact in the service, and never would roo an
affront* -he unthining called him a sorcerer, and !eo!le of a more serious cast of mind
taled of his connexion with su!erior eings, taing great care not to offend that terrileman, whose name was Kolert* +n the whole he was a very good sort of a man, never
offended any ody, if not !rovoed, was averse to com!any, and fond of solitude*
6Be was re!orted to have !erformed many strange and wonderful ex!loits& an ensign,
who had severely chastised him for a slight neglect in his duty, was said to have een
de!rived ever since of the !ro!er use of his right arm& and a ca!tain, who had scolded
him without reason, to e afflicted with a deficiency in his s!eaing organs* +n short,
strange things were every where related of Kolert, and in so serious a manner, that no
im!artial man would laugh at those re!orts*
6+ had not, as yet, got an o!!ortunity of getting more nearly acquainted with that
wonderful man, and + must confess + was not very desirous of eing introduced to him,
for + always treated with scorn such su!ernatural events, yet + never lied to mae those
matters a su.ect for ridicule*
6?ome of my comrades were frequently inclined to have a fun, as they used to call it,
and to request the sorcerer, Kolert, to raise u! the ghost of one of their com!anions
who had died suddenly in order to as his de!arted s!irit whether he had found !retty
girls and good wine in the other world& ut + always dissuaded them from it,
endeavouring to direct them to some other amusement* Meanwhile the rumour of
Kolert4s ex!loits increased from day to day, and some !eo!le would swear solemnly,
that they had seen and conversed with their de!arted relations, through his assistance*
6Among those who related such strange things of Kolert, was a woman, whose
husand had died suddenly some months ago, and entreated her, efore he ex!ired, not
to give her daughter in marriage to a certain tradesman who had courted her* -he girl
doated on the young man, and he liewise was exceedingly fond of her& the distress this
young cou!le felt at that sad and cruel !rohiition, cannot e ex!ressed y words& their
grief was uns!eaale when they were thus unex!ectedly removed for ever from the
ha!!iness of eing united y the onds of holy wedloc, .ust when they flattered
themselves to have reached the aim of their fondest wishes*
6Kolert was quartered in the same street where the unha!!y girl4s mother lived* ?he
requested him to find out, y means of his su!ernatural sill, what reason might haveinduced her de!arted husand to forid his daughter, on his death9ed, to marry the man
of her choice, though he had not only never the least o.ection against the union, ut
also had always looed u!on it with the greatest satisfaction* Kolert !romised to tae
the matter into consideration and answered, some days after, that the deceased himself
must e a!!lied to*
6-he !oor girl was very much frightened at this declaration, however, the ho!e of eing
at last united to the darling of her love9sic heart, revived her s!irits, and she consented
at length to suffer the rest of her !arent to e distured* -he mother refused for a
considerale time to consent to it, however, at last she agreed to Kolert4s !ro!osal, and
the day, or rather the night, for the execution of the con.uration was fixed*994-he
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mother,4 added the Austrian, 4has related to me the whole transaction, and + will let her
s!ea herself*4
64+t was on a ?aturday,4 said the good old woman, 4when we were assemled in a ac
room, the same wherein my late husand had reathed his last, myself, my daughter, her
lover, and two of my neighours eing !resent* At eleven o4cloc we egan to sing, asKolert had ordered us, !enitential hymns and !salms till the cloc struc twelve, when
we left off singing, and Kolert entered the room, clad in a white garment, arefoot, and
with a !ale and disordered countenance& under his arm he carried a lac car!et, a naed
sword, and a crucifix, and in each hand a lighted ta!er* As soon as he entered the room,
he econed us to rise, and made a sign not to utter a word& then he !laced a tale in the
middle of the room, covered it with the lac car!et, and !ut the crucifix and the ta!ers
u!on it, holding the sword in his hand; -his done, he too out of his !ocet a ottle with
consecrated water, and s!rinled us and the floor with it* After we had !ulled off our
shoes and stocings, he urned !erfumes in a chaffing9dish, and egan the con.uration,
mumling many mysterious words, and randishing his sword as if fighting with an
invisile enemy& at once the comat seemed to cease, he grew quiet, and turningtowards us who had een standing around him, exclaimed, 4+ have succeeded, he is
comingH4
6A thic smoe overdarened suddenly the room, the lights were extinguished, and a
shiny figure, resemling in a most striing manner my deceased husand a!!eared*
64As him,4 said the ecromancer, 4as him efore he vanishes*4
6+ shuddered, sei
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transaction, hovers constantly efore my ewildered fancy& my !eace is gone for ever& +
dare not to !ray to the su!reme ruler of the world, for comfort and mercy, though he
who dwelleth in heaven nows that + reluctantly consented to that wiced transaction,
for no other reason ut to !romote the ha!!iness of my murdered child, murdered y
her own mother, who ought to have een her guardian angelH ChH God of mercy, whatH
what will ecome of me, when + shall e called to the triunal of the All9seeingH when +shall ehold her standing efore the ?u!reme 3udge, and hear her accuse me in the face
of heaven as her murderer Bow shall +, how can + answer the stern questions of him
who has entrusted her to my care, to watch with a mother4s tenderness, over her life and
ha!!iness + tremle, sei
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6A few months after my a!!lication to him, a new accident ha!!ened, which gave him
an o!!ortunity to exhiit an astonishing !roof of his su!ernatural sill, and tem!ted him
forcily to disregard the earnest !rohiition of his General*
6A friend of mine ha!!ened to fall out with a foreign officer, who had een visiting his
!arents, the foreigner challenged my friend, who most readily consented to decide thequarrel y the sword* 8usiness of the greatest consequence oliged the foreigner to
de!art in the night !receding the morning on which the duel was to e fought99he wrote
a note to my friend, !romising u!on his honour to a!!ear at the a!!ointed !lace on the
ninth day, and my rother officer consented to the delay*
6+ and a few more officers of our regiment !aid a visit to my friend who had een
challenged, two days efore the duel was to e fought& we were in high s!irits, !layed,
ate and dran amid the cheerful laughter of merriment, not recollecting, that after three
days our host, !erha!s, might not e more* Be himself a!!eared to have entirely
forgotten the quarrel, 4till he at last, at the close of our merriment, recollected the duel he
was going to fight, telling me who was to e his second, to remind him the following
day of his illing usiness, lest his valiant adversary, >a!tain -9999, might wait in vain
for him*
64D!on my soul,4 added he, heated with wine, 4+ wish he was here now, d99n me if +
would not send him to :aradise, to rest in Araham4s osom*4
641hy, rother,4 exclaimed one of the visitors, 4could you not have him summoned
hither y Kolert4
64-hat would indeed e excellent funH4 resumed my friend, 4ut you now Kolert dare
not do it, we must of course let him alone& yet, if the rascal does not come the day after
to9morrow, Kolert must e a!!lied to, and, even if + should e oliged to as theGeneral4s !ermission he shall con.ure him hither, that + may !ierce his cowardly soul*4
6A unanimous ravo rewarded this unri!e .oe of our .ovial host& we se!arated, and +
went home, lost in !rofound meditation* Baving some reason to sus!ect that 8aron -9999
would let us wait in vain, his de!arture having een so aru!t, + thought this would
!rove a fair o!!ortunity of !utting Kolert4s su!ernatural !ower to the test* At last +
resolved to wait quietly the issue of that affair& and if -9999 should give us the sli!, to try
whether + should e ale to !ersuade Kolert to give us a sam!le of his sill*
6-hough + had un.ustly douted 8aron -99994s courage, as it will a!!ear in the sequel of
my narrative, yet what we had sus!ected ha!!ened afterwards*
6-he day fixed for the duel came, ut no 8aron -9999 a!!eared* 1e waited for him six
hours, and still he did not come* ow + hastened to Kolert without telling a syllale of
my design to my friends* -he mysterious man smiled as + entered the room, and
a!!eared to have a little more confidence in my honesty than when + !aid him my first
visit* + roe the usiness to him without circumlocution, and he seemed not unwilling
to chastise the foreign officer for his want of courage, yet he endeavoured to mae me
sensile of the disagreeale consequences which liely would arise, if the transaction
should trans!ire* + summoned u! all my little rhetoric, and refuted his o.ections, y
assuring him, that my friends would give him their word of honour never to etray him,
and thus screen him from every disagreeale consequence& and that, if an unforeseen
accident should unha!!ily mae the transaction nown, our .oint interference shouldsave him from !unishment*
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6-hese arguments, accom!anied y golden encouragements, conquered at last all his
remaining fear& he !romised to serve me at any time& however, he entreated me not to
invite too great a numer of friends, that the danger of detection might not e increased
without need* Baving !romised to act according to his desire, + left him with the greatest
satisfaction, and went directly to my disa!!ointed friend, who was railing with much
as!erity against the cowardice of his adversary*
641hat, rother,4 exclaimed +, 4what will all this anger oot thee +t certainly will not
give courage to 8aron -9999, and thou canst not e lamed on account of his
ungentleman9lie ehaviour, having not challenged him* -here are a great many who
would e glad to snea off so chea!ly and yet so gloriously& you rather ought to !ity the
white9livered fellow than to e angry with him, yet, if you lie, we may hit him a low
when he least sus!ects it*4
6ot nowing whether my friend would a!!rove my !lan or not, + !ronounced the last
words in a .ocose tone to secure a fair retreat, in case he should not relish my !ro!osal*
64Bow else,4 resumed +, 4could one get at him, than yforcinghim to wait on us 7idstthou not lately swear to have him con.ured hither y Kolert, if he should give us the
sli!4
6My friend seemed at first to e offended, looing u!on my !ro!osal as an unseasonale
.oe& ut when + went on taling of Kolert, and his occult arts, he ased me at last,
4?eriously, friend, dost thou elieve in the secret arts of that fellow4
64+ elieve nothing,4 re!lied +, 4that + have not seen& let us mae a trial how far the
common tal of his su!ernatural arts deserves to e credited*4
6Be stared at me with astonishment, asing me, after a short !ause, 47ost thou ex!ect to
!revail on that necromancer to agree with our wishes4
641hat wouldst thou say,4 re!lied +, 4if he had already consented to give us his
assistance4
6My friend stared again at me, and exclaimed at last with visile satisfaction, 41ell
then, let us see what honest Kolert can do*4
6Everything requisite for the accom!lishment of our design was now taled over and
settled* -wo of our rother officers, whose discretion we could rely u!on, were chosen
to e of the !arty, and my friend agreed to win them over to our !ur!ose*
6+ returned to Kolert, and was not a little sur!rised when + found him less willing thanever to assist us in our undertaing* Be !retended to have !ondered my !ro!osal, ut
thought it too dangerous to exert his su!ernatural nowledge in the !resent case,
ecause the con.uring of a living !erson could have the most dreadful consequences,
which very liely might ha!!en on the !resent ecause the 8aron seemed not at all to e
over9stoced with courage* -hough + could not contradict him, yet + endeavoured once
more to dis!el his a!!rehensions, y the re!eated assurance to screen him, with the
assistance of my friends, against every disagreeale consequence* At length he a!!eared
to e easy in res!ect to that !oint& yet he did not thin it convenient to execute our
design in the a!artment of my friend, ut when + !ro!osed my room, he consented, after
many !ersuasions, to loo at it* Baving gained his consent, + left him with ra!turous .oy*
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6Kolert came the next day to my lodgings, faithful to his !romise, ut having looed
over my a!artments, he raised new o.ections, telling me that none of my rooms were
fit for the undertaing* + could not conceal my dis!leasure, which he, however, did not
seem to notice*
6At last he made me another !ro!osal efore he left me, offering to s!ea to an honesttradesman, who had an em!ty room, which would exactly fit his !ur!ose, and, as he
ho!ed, e at our service, if we would ut mae a reasonale acnowledgment to its
owner* + consented to that !ro!osal, Kolert went away, and returned after half an hour
with the .oyful tidings that he had !revailed on
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