The Huron Expositor, 1872-12-27, Page 2-- ,
THE HURON EXPOSITOR.
DEC, 27, 1872.
PIE INVISIBLE EYE.
BY mu. Nacricm.kni-erfA.TRIA:N,
It was about this time, said Christian,
that, poor as a church rat, I had taken
shelter in the roof -loft of an old house ita
the Rue des Minnesangers, at Nurem-
berg,
I had made my nest in an angle of the
roof., The slates served me for walls,.
., and the roof -tree for a ceiling : had. to
walk over 'my straw mattress to reach
the window; bat this window commane
decl a magnificent view, for it overlooked
both city and country beyond. From it
I watched eats gravely walking along the
gutter, storks, with beale•loads of frogs,
carrying food to their, devouriegyoung
ones ; pigeons with their tails spread
fandike, whirling above the depths of the
streets below.
In the evening, when the chareh-bells
called the people to the Angelus, resting
my elbows on the edge of the roof, 1 iist
enecl ..to their raelancholy song, and
watched the windows lit up one by one,
the good townsmen, smoking their pipes
on the pavement ; the young girls, in
short red !petticoats,. and with their
pitchers und.er their 'arms, laughing and
chatting about the fountain of Saint Se
-
bait Insensibly all these objects faded
from my view; the bats came abroad in
the dim au, and I lay me down to sleep
in the midsi of the soft quietude.
The old second-hand dealer, Toabec,
knew the road up to my little clan as
wen as I kn,ew it myself, and was not
afraid of climbing the ladder. Every
week his goat's head, surmounted by a
rusty wig, pushed up the trap-door, his
fingers clutched the edge of the floor; and
in a noisy torte he eried—
" Well, well, Master Christian, have
we anything -new ?"
To -wbich I answered—
" Come n: why the deuce don't you
come in? I'm just finishing a little land-
scape, and want toehave your opinion of
Then his long thin spine lengthened it-
self out, until hie head touched the roof ;
and the old fellow Ia,ughed silently.
I must do justice to Toubec : he nev-
er bargained with me. Ire bought all
my pictures at fifteen florins apiece, one
with the other, and sold them again at
forty. Re was an honest Jew.
' This kind of existence was beginning
to please me,an' d I was every day find.-
ing ln it some new Charm, when the geed.
city of Nuremberg was agitated by a
strange and mysterious event.
Net far from my garret -window, a a-
tt. to the left, rose the auberge of the
Beauf-gras, esti old inn much frequented
byithe country people. Three or four
waggons, loa.ded with sacks or casks.
were always standing before its doors ;
for before going to market the country-
men:used to take their nip of wine there.
The gable of this auberge was conspicu-
ous for the peculiarity of its form : it
was very narrow, sharply pointed, and
its edges were cut like the teeth, of a
saw ; grotesque carvings ornamentedthe
cornices and framework of its+ windows.
But what wasi most remarkable was that
the house which faced it reproduced ex--
actly the same carvings and ornaments,
every detail had been „minutely copied,
even to the support of the signboard,
with its iron volutes and vitals:. -
It might have been said that these two
ancient buildings reflected one another,
only that behind the in grew atoll oak,
the dark foliage of whiela,served to bring.
into bold relief the fornis of the roof,
while the opposite house stood bare
against the sky, For the rest, the inn
Was as noisy and animatedeas the other
Louse was silent. On the one side was
to be seen, going in and coming out, an
endless crowd of drinkers, singing,
stumbling, cracking their whips; over
the other, solitude reigned. •
Once or twice a day, at most,the
heavy door of the silent house opened. to
glare egress to a little old women; her
back bent into a half-eircle, her chin long
and pointed, her drees (dinging to her
limbs, an enormous basket under her piao
arm, and. one hand tightly clutched upon a
her chest.
The physiognomy of this old woman you
had struck me more than once; her lit- tar„
tle green eyes, her skinny-, piached-up knee
nose, the large flower -pattern on her first
shawl, dating baajta hundred years at T
least ; the smile' that wrinkled her box,
cheeks. and the lace of her cap banging
down mean her eyebrows—all this ap-
peared to me stranger interested me, and
made me strongly desire to learn who
this old, woman was, and what 1k did in
her great lonely house.
I imagined her as pasaing there an ex-
istence devoted to good works and pions
. meditation. But one day, when. I had
stoped hi the street to look at her, she
turned, sharply around and darted at me
a look the horrible expression of which 1,
know not how to deseribe, and. made
three or four hideous grimaces at me •
then clroppmg again her doddering head, and
; ;
* she drew her large shawl about her, the ingends of whieh trained after her on the le;
gratind, and slowly entered her heavy w"le.
door, behind which I saw her disappear prop
That s an old mad-vroman," I said to
myself, ; a malicious, cunning Ohl mad-
woman ! I ought not to have allowed my:-
seif to be so Interested in her. But
try and recall her abominable grimace--
Toubec will give -me fifteen florins for it
This way of treating the Matter was
far from. satisfying my mind however.
The old woman s horrible glance pursued
me everywhere ; and. more than once,
while scaling the perpendicular ladder of
my lodging -hole, feeling my clothes
caught in a nail, I trembled from head. to
foot, believing that the old woman had
/seized me by the tails of my coat for the
purpose of pulling me down backwards.
Toirbee, to whom I related the etory,
far from. laughing at it, received it with a
serious air
"Master Christian," he said,' if the
old woman means you harm take care
her teeth are small, sharp pointed, and was
wonderfully white, which is not natural walls'
a her age, She has the Evil Eye!
Children ran away at her approadt, and
the people of aaaremberg call her Fleeter-
mausse !a*
I admired the Jew's clear-sightedness,
and what he had told mernade me reflect
a good deal, but at the end of,a few weeks,
haviag often met Fledermausse without
harmfal cansequences, my fears died
away and I thought no more of her.
Now, it happened one night, eshen I
was lying sound. asleep, I was awoke by
a strange harmony. It was kind. of
vibratioe, so soft, so nretoclioue; that the
murmur of a light breeze through foliage
can convey but a feeble idea. of its gentle
nature. For a longtime I listened to it,
my eyes wide, open, and holding my
breath the better tcehear it.
At length, looking toward the window,
w,
tat.
I saw two wings beating against the glass.
I thought, at first, that it was a bat im-
prisoned in my- chamber; but the moon
was shining cleatly, and the. wings of a
magnificent night -moth, transparent an_
lace, were designed upon its radiant disc.
At tidies their vibrations were so rapid as
to hide them . from my view ; then for
awhile they would lie in repose, extend-
ed on the glass pane, their delicate. arti-
culations made visible anew.
This vaporotie apparition in the midst
of the universal silence opened. my heart
to the tenderest emotions ; it eeemed to
me that sylphid, pitying my solitude,
had. corn's to see me ; • and this idea
brought the tears to my eyes.
-"Have no fear, gentle captive—have
no fear !"- I said to it; " Your oonfidence
shall not be betrayed. I will net retain
you against your wadies ; return to hea-
ven--toliberty !"
And I opened the window.
The. night was calm. Thousands of
stare glittered in space. ,For a moment I
contemplated this sublinae epeetacle, and
the words of prayer rose nasurally to my
lips; But judge of my .amazernent when,
looking down, I saw a man hanging from
the iron stanchion which supported the
signboard of the Beeuf-gras - the hair in
disorder, the arms stiff, the legs straight-
ened to a paint, and throwing their gi-
gantic shadow. the whole length of the
street !
The immobility of this figure, in the
moonlight, had something frightful in it.
I felt my tongue grow icy cold, and my
teeth chattered. I was about to utter a
cry. • but by 'what mysterious attracticn
I know not, my eyes. were drawn towards
the opposite house, and there I dimly
distinguished the old woman, in the
midst of the heavy 'shadow, squatting at
her window and contemplating. the hang-
ing body with diabolical satisfaetion.
I became giddy with terror; ray whole.
„strength deserted me, and I fell down in
a heapinsensible.
'1,clo not know how long lay unconsci-
ous. On coming to myself I found.that
it was broad day. The mists of night,
entering my garret, had. dropped their
fresh moisture on my hair. Mingled and
e,onfused noises rose from the street be-
lovv. , I looked out from my window.
The burgomaster and his secretary
were standing at the door of the Bceuf-
gees ; they remaiued. there a long time.
People came and went, stopped. to look,
then passed on their' way. Women of
the neighbourhood, sWeeping in front Of
their houses, looked in the direction of
the inn and chatted together. Atlength
a stretcher, on which lay a body covered
with a woolen clothe was brought out
and carried away by two men, children,
on their way to school, following them
as they went.
Then every one else disappeared.
The window in the front of the house
remained open atilt; a fragment of rope
dangled from the iron support of the
signboard. I had not dreamed—I had
really seen the night -moth on my win-
dow -pane --then• the suspended • body—
then the old wom-art !
In the course oi that day Toubec paid
me his weekly visit.
"Aaything to sell, .Master Chris- -
tian ?" cried,- as his big nose became
visible above the edge of the floor, which
it seeated to shave.
' I did not hear him. I was seated on
lily only chair, my hands -upon my knees,
my eyes fixed on vacancy before me.
Toubec, surprised at my iminobility, re-
peated in a louder. tone, . " Master Chris.
tian 1—Master Christian !" then, step-
ping up to me, tapped me smartly on the
shoulder.
What's the metter ?—what's the
matter V'. he asked.-
"Ab ! is that you, Toubec ?"-
"Well, it's pleas:ant for me to think
so ! Are you ill ?"
" No—I was thinking."
What the deuce aboat ?"" The man who was hung
" Aha 1" cried the old broker ; "you
saw the poor fellow, then ? What a
strange affair! The third he the same
eV'
The third ?''
Yea, the third. I ought to have told
about it before ; but there's still
e -.-for there's sure to be a fourth, fol -
ng the example of the others, the
step only making the difficulty."
his said, ,Tottbee seated himself on a
struck a light with the flint and
steel, lit his pipe ond sent out a few puffs
of , tobeacii-snioke with a thoughtful
air..
" Good faith !" said he, "I'm not
tineid ; but if any one were to ask. me to
sleep it that room, I'd rather go and
hang myself somewhere else! Nine or
ten months back," he continued, ." a
w-holesale furrier; from Tubingen, put up
at the Bceuf-gras. Ile called for supper;
ate well, drank well, and was shown up
to bed la the room on the third floor
-which they call the green chamber •'
the next day they found him hang-
rom. the stanchion of the signboard.
ao much fer number eine, about
h there was nothing to be said. A
er report of theaffair was drawn up
and the body of, the stranger was buried
at the bottom of the garden. But about
six Weeks afterWards came a soldier from
Neustadt ; he had his discharge, and was
congratulating himself on his returnto
his village. All -the evening he did noth-
ing but empty mugs of wine and talk of
his cousin, who was waiting his return to
marry him. At last they put him to oed
in the green chamber, and, the same
night, the watchman passing along the
Ree des Minnesangers noticed something
hanging from the signboardeitanchion.
He raised his lantern; it was the 'sol-
dier, with his discharge -papers in a tin
box hanging on his left thigh, and his
hands planted anaoothly on the outer
seams of his trousers, as if he had been
on parade!
1)
"It was certainly an extraordinary af-
fair ! The burgomaster declared it was
the work of the devil, The chamber
exemmed ; they replastered its
A notice of the death was sent to
Neustadt, On the margin .of which the
clerk wrote—'Died suddenly of apo-
plexy.' •
" All 'Nuremberg was indignant against
the landlord of the Boeuf-gras, and wish-
ed to compel him to take down the iron
stanchion of his eignboard, . on the pre- .
text that it put dangerous ideas in peo-
ple's.heads. But you may easily imagine
that old Nikel Schmidt didn't listen with
the ear on that side of his bead.
That stanchion was put there by my
graedfathera he said; the sign of the
Bieuf-gras has hung on it, froni father. to
son, for a hundred. and fifty years; it
does nobody any Winn, not even the hay.
carts that pass under it, because it's
more than thiety feet high up; those
who don't like it have oely-to look an-,
other way, and then they won't see it.'
"People's excitement gradually cooled
• - —
down, and for several mon
th
new happened. Unfortunately, a stu-
dent of Heidelberg, on his way to the Uni-
versity, came to the I:iced-gas end asked
for.a bed. .-Ile Was the son of a pastor.
"Who could suppose that the son of a
.pastor would take iato his head the idea
of hanging himself to the stanchion of a
public-housesign, because a furrieranda.
soldier had hung themselves there before
him ? It must be confessed, Master
Christian, that the thing Was not very
probable—it would not have appeared
more likely to you than it did to me.
Well—e—" •
"Enough ! enough !" l' cried ; " it is
a horrible affair. I feel sure there is
some frightful mystery at the bottom of
it. It is _neither the stanchion nor the
chamb.er • " ,
"You don't mean that you suspect the
landlord ?—as honest a man as there is
in the world. and belonging to one of the
oldest homilies in Nuremberg ?" ,
No, no! Heaven keep me from form-
,/
tug unjust suspicious of any one ; lent*
there are abysses into the depths of which
one dare a not look." •
"You are rightrsaid Toubec, aston-
ished at •my excited + manner': and we
had much better talk of something else.
By -the -bye, Master Christian, what ab- •
out our landscape, the view of Sainte-
Odile ?" •
The question brought me back to actu-
alities. I showed the broker the picture
1 had just finished. The business was
soon settled between us, and Toubec,
thoroughly satisfied, went down the lad-
der, advisiag me' to think no more of the
student of Heidelberg.
I would very willingly have followed
the old broker's advice, but when the
devil Mixes himself up with our affairs
he is not easily shaken off.
tr.
In solitude, all these events came back
to my mind with frightful distinct-
ness.
The old woman, 1 said to myself, is the
cause of all this; ehe- alone has planned
these crimes, she alone has carried them
into exechtion ; but by what means?
Has she had recourse to cunning only, or
really to the interventiou of the invisible
powers?:
[ paced my garret, a voice within me
crying, "It is not without purpose that
Heaven has permitted you to see Fleder-
mausse watching the agony of her vic-
tim ; it was not without design that the
poor young man's soul came to wake you
in the form of a night -moth!
this has not been withput purpose.
Christian, Heaven imposes on you a ter-
rible mission ; if you fail to accomplish
it, fear that you yourself may fall into
the toils of the old woman ! Perhaps at
.
this moment she is laying her snares for
you in the darkness;!"
During eeveral days these frightful im-
ages pursued me without cessation. I
could not sleep ; I found it impossible to
work ; the brush fell from my hand,
and, shocking to confess, I detected my-
self at times complacently contemplating
the dreadful stanchion. At last, one
evening, unable any longer to bear this
state of mind, T flew down the ladder
four steps , at a time, and went and hid
myself beside Flederrnausse's door, for
the purpose of discovering her fatal se-
cret.
14`t•oin that time there was never a day
that I was; not on the watch, following •
the old woman like her shadow, never
losing sight of her ; but she was so cun-
ning, she had so keen a scent, that with-
out 'even turning her head she discovered'
that I was behind her, and knew that I
was on he track. But nevertheless, she
pretended not to see me—went to mar-
ket, to the butcher's, like a simple hduse-
wife ; only she quickened her pace' and
muttered to herself as she went.
At the end of a month I saw that it
would be impossible for me to achieve rely
purpose by these means and this convic-
tion filled me with an inexpressible sad-
ness.
What can I do ?" I asked, myself.
"The old woman has discovered nay in-
tentions, and is thoroughly on her guard.
I am helpless. The old wretch already
thinks she sees me at the end of the
card. 1"
At length, from repeating to Myself
aga,in and again the question, " Whatcan
I do ?" a luminous idea presented itself
to my mind.
My chamber overlooked the house of
Fledermausse, but it had no dornier win-
dow on that side, I carefully raised one
of the slates of my roof, and the delight
I felt on discoverrog by this means f
could command a view of the entire an-
tique building can hardly be imagined.
"At last I've got you ," I (Tied to my-
self; "you cannot escape me now !
From here I shall see everything—the go
ings and comings, the habits of the weas-
el 111 her hole ! You. will not suspect
this.invisible eye ----this eye that will sur-
prise the crime at the moment of its in-
ception ! Oh, Justice ! it meves slowly,
but it comes!" •
Nothing more sinister than this den
could be looked on— a large yard, payed
with moss -grown flagstones e, a- well in.
one corner, the stagnant water of which
was frightful to behold; a wooden stair-
case leading up to a railed gallery, 'from
the balustrade of which hung the tick of
an old mattress ; to the left, on the first
floor, a drain-stcne indicated the kitch-
en- ; to the right, the upper windows of
the house • looked into the street. All
was dark, decaying, and dank -looking.
The sun penetrated only for an hour or
two during the day the depths of this
dismal Sty; then the shadows again
spread' over it—the light fell in lozenge
shapes upon the crumbling walls, on the
mouldy 'balcony, On the dull NO.ndows.
Clouds of motes danced in the gplden
rays that not a motion of the air came to
disturb.
Oh, the whole place was worthy of its
mistress!
I had hardly made these reflections
whett the old wontan entered the yard on
her return from market. First, I heard.
her heavy door grate on its hinges, then
Fledermausse, with her (basket, appeared.
She seemed fatigued—out of breath.
The border of her cap hung down upon
her nose, as, °latching the wooden rail
with one hand, she mounted the stairs.
The heat was suffocating. It was ex-
actly one of those days when insects of
every kind--criekets, spiders, mosquitoes
—fill old buiddings with their grating
noises and subterranean borings.
Fledermausse crossed. the gallery slow-
ly, like a ferret that feels itself at home.
For more than a quarter of an hour she
remained in the kitchen, then came out'
and turned sher mattress -tick, swept the
stones a little, on which a few straws had
been scattered; at last she raised her
head, and with her green eyes carefully
scrutinised every portion of the roof
from which I was observing her.
By what atrange intuition' did she sus -
et anything? I know not; but gent-
s nothing 1 Jr lowered. the uplifted slate into its
place, and gave ever watching for the
rest of that day.
The day following Fledermausse ap-
peared to be reassured. A jagged ray of
light fell into the gallery ; passing this,
she -caught a fly, and delicately presented
it to a spider establiehed in an angle of
the roof.
The spider was so large, that, int spite
of the distance, I saw it descend retarcl
by roiled of its ladder, then gliding
along one thread, like a drop Of venom,
seize its prey from the fingers of the
dreadful old woman, aud remount rapid-
ly. Fledermaussre wataked it attentive-
ly ; then her eyes half -dosed, she sneez-
ed, and cried to herselfin a jocular tone—
" Bless you. beauty !—bless you !"
For six weeks I could 'discover nothing
as to the power of Fledermausse ;} some-
times I saw her peeling potatoes, some-
times spreading her linen on the balus-
trade .; sometimes I saw her spin ; but
she never eang, as old women usually do,
their quivering:voices going so well with
the humming of the spinning -wheel.
Silence reigned about her. She had no
cat—the favorite company of old maids;
not a s.parrow ever flew down into her
m
yard, passing over -which the pigeons
seemed to hurry their flight. It seem-
ed as if everything were afraid of her
look.
The spider alone took pleasure in her
society.
I now look back with wonder at my
patience during these long hours of ob-
servation; teething escaped my atten-
tion, nothing was indifferent to me • at
the least sound I lifted my slate. dine
was a boundless curiosity stimulated by
an indefinable feat'.
Toubec complained.
"What the devil are you doing with
your time, Master Christian ?" he would
say. "Formerly,.;' you had something
ready for me every week ; now, hardly
once in a month. Oh, you painters 1
people may well say, Idle as a pain-
ter !' As 80‘111 as they have a few kreut-
zer before them, they put their hands in
their pockets and go to sleep !"
I myself was beginning to lose courage.
With all my watching and spying, I had
discovered nothing extraordinary. I was
inclined to think that the old woman
might not be SO dangerotts after all—
that I had been wrong, perhaps, to sus-
pect her. In short, I tried to find ex-
cuses for her. But one fine evening
while, witth my eyes to the opening in
the roof, I was giving myself up to these
charitable reflections, the scene abruptly
changed. ,
Fledermausse passed along her gallery
with the swiftness of a flash of light.
She was no longer herself ; she was erect,
her jaws knit, her look fixed, her neck
extended ; she moved with long strides,
her grey hair streaming behind her.
"Ob, oh I" 1 said -to myself, some -
ting is going on—attention !"
But the shadows of the night descend-
ed on the big honee, the noises of the
town died out, and all became silent. I
was about to seek my bed,' when, hap-
pening to look out of my skylight, I saw
a light in the window of the green cham-
ber of the Biceuf-gras--a traveller was
occupying that terrible room !
All my fears were instantly revived.
The old woman's excitement explained
itself—she scented another victim !
I co- uld not sleep all that night. The
rustling of the straw of my mattress, the
nibbling of a mouse under the floor, sent
a chill through me. I rose and looked
out of my window—I listened. The light
I bad seen was no longer visible in the
green chamber.
During one of these moments of poig-
nant anxiety —veleether the result -of il-
lusion or of reality -1 fancied I could
discern the figure of the old witch, like-
wise watching and listening.
The night passed, the dawn showed
grey against my window -panes, and,
slowly increasing, the sounds and move-
ments of the re -awakened town arose.
Harassed with fatigue and eniotion; I
at last fell asleep; but my repose was
of short duttation, and by eight e'clock
I was againiat my post of observation.
-It appeared.' that Fledermausse had
passed a light no less stormy than mine
had been ; for, when she opened the
door of the gallery, I saw that a livid
pallor was upon her cheeks and skinny
neck. She had nothing on but her
chemise and a flannel petticoat; a few
locks of rusty gray hair fell upon her
shoulders. She looked up musingly
towards my garret; but she saw noth-
ing—she was thinking of something else.
. Suddenly she descended into the yard,
leaving her shoes at the top of the stairs.
Doubtless her object was to assure her-
self that the outer door was securely fas-
tened. She then hurried up the stairs.
taking three or four steps at a time. It
was frightful to see.! She rushed into:
one of the side recta* and I heard the
sound of a heavy box -lid fall. Then
Fledermausse reappeared in the gallery,
dragging with her a lay -figure the size
of life—and this figure was drestsed
like the unfortunate student of Heidel-
berg!
With surprising dexterity the old wo-
man suspended this hidecus object to a
beam of. the overhanging roof, then went
down into the yard, to contemplate it
from that point of view. A peal of grat-
ing laughter broke from her lips—she
hurried up the stairs, and rdshed down
again tile a maniac and every time she
did dais she bust into fresh fits of laugh-
ter.
A sound was heard from outside the
street door; the old woman sprang to
the figure, snatched it from its fastening,
and carried it into the house; then she
reappeared and leaned over the balcony,
with outstretched neck, glittering eyes,
and eagerly -listening ears. The sound
passed away—the muscles of her face
relaxed, she drew a long breath. The
passing of a vehicle had alarmed the old
witche.
sihth
en, once more, went back into
her chamber, and I heard the lid of the
box close heavily.
This strange scene utterly confounded
all friy ideas. What could. that lay -figure
mean? •
I became mote watchful and attentive
than 'ever, Fledermausse went out with
her basket, and I watched her to the top
of the street; she had resumed her air a
tottering ageilness, walking with short
steps, and from time to time half -turning
her heaa., so as to enable herself to leek
behind out of the corners of her eye's.
For five long hours she remained abroad,
while I went and came from my spying -
place incessantly, meditating all the
while—the sun heating the slates above
my head till my brain was almost scorch-
ed.
I saw at his window the traveller who
occupied the green chamber at the Bceuf- prud
gras ; he was a peasant of Nassau, I wear- ough
ing a three -cornered hat, a scarlet waist- was
coat, and having a broad laughing eoun- Th
tenance. He was tranquilly smoking the b
his Ulm pipe, unsuipicious of anything
wrong: I felt impelled to call out to
him, My good fellow', be on your
guard 1 Don't let yourself be fascinated
by the old woman 1.—don't trust your
!" But he could not have under-
stood a word 1 said, even if he had heard
me.
About two o'clock Fledermausse came
back. The sound of her 'door opening
echoed to the end of the passage. ere.se
ently she appeared alone, quite alone, in
the yard, and seated herself on/the low-
est step of the gallery stairs. She placed
her basket at her feet and drew from it,
first several bunches of herbs, then some
vegetables—then a three -cornered h
scarlet velvet waistcoat, a pair of p
breeches, and. a pair of thick wor
stockings—the coniplete costume
peasant of Nassau !
I reeled with giddiness—flames passed
before my eyes.
I remembered. those precipices that
drew one toward them with irresistible
power—wells that have had to be filled
up because of persons throwing them-
selves into thein. --trees that have had. to
be out down because of people hanging
themselves upon them—the contagion of
suicide and theft and murder, which at
various tanes has taken .poseession of
people's minds, by means' well under-
stood; that strange inducement, for ex-
ample, which makes people yawn be-
cause they see others yawn—kill them-
selves because others kill themselves.
My hair rose upon my head with horror 1
But how could this Flederneausse—a
creature so mean and wretched—have
made discovery of so profound. a law
of nature? How had she foiled. the means
of turning it to the use of her sanguin
ary instincts ? This I could neither
understand nor imagine. Without More
reflection, however, resolved to turn
the fatal law against her, and by its
power to drag her into her own snare.
So many innocent victims called for ven-
geance !
I began At once. I hurried to all the
old clothes dealers in Nuremberg; and
by the evening arrived . at the Bceuf-
gras, with an enormous parcel under my
arm.
Nikel Schmidt had long known me.
had painted the portrait of his wife, a
and comely' dame.
"What .11 — Master Christian 1" he
cried, abakittg me by the hand, " to -what
happy circumstances do 1 owe the pleas-
ure of this visit ?"
" My dear Mr. Schmidt, I feel a very
strong desire to pass the night in that
room of yours up yonder."
We were on the doorstep of the inn,
and I pointed up to the green chamber.
The good fellow looked suspiciously at
me. v
" Oh ! don't be afraid," I said, " P
no desire to hang myself."
" I'm glad of it ! I'm glad of it ! for,
frankly. should be sorry—an aatist of
your talent. When do you *ant the
room, Mr. Chrititian.?"
" To -night."
"That's impossible—it's occupied."
" The gentleman can have it at once,
if he likes," said a voice behind us; "1
shan't stay in it."
We turned in surprise. It was the
peasant of Nassau ; his large three -cor-
nered hat pressed down upon the back of
his neck, mid his bundle at the ena of his
travelling -stick. Ile had learned the
story of the three travellers who had
hung themselves.
Such chambers 1" he cried, stam-
mering with terror ; " it's—it's murder-
ing people to put them into such !—you
—you deserve to be sent to the gal-
leys !" -
" Come, come, calm yourself," said
the landlord ; you slept there comfort-
ably enough last night."
"Thank Heaven! I said my prayer8
before going to rest, or where shoul
I be now ?—where should. I be now ?"
And he hurried away, raising his hand
to heaven.
" Well," said Master Schmidt, stupe
fled, "the chamber is empty, but don'
go into it to do me an ill turn."
low rays on her lay -figure, dressed like
the peasant of Nassau, which sat hud- -
died up on the side of the bed. its head
dropped upon its chest, the larg,e three -
cornered hat drawn down over its fea-
tures, its arrns*pendent by its sides, and
its whele attitude that of ah person plung-
edltilnandaeg8elPcair'with diabolical art, the
shadow permitted only a general vie -w of
the figure, the red waistcoat and its six
rounded buttons alone caught the light;
but the silence of night, the complet
immobility of the figure, and its air of
terrible dejection, all served to impress
the beholder with irresistible force; even
at, a I myself, though not in the least taken
of a
1
lush by surprise, felt chilled to the marrow
sted of my bones. How, then, would a, poor
countryman taken completel off his
guard have felt! He would have been
utterly overthrown ;he would have lost
all control of will, and the spirit of imi-
Wien would have done the rest
Scarcely had I drawn aeide' the cur-
tains than I discoveeed Fledermausse
on the watch behind her window -panes.
She could not see me. I opened the
window softly, the window over the way
softly opened too; then the lay -figure
appeared to rise slowly and. advance to-
wards me ; I dkl the same, mid seizing -
my candle with one heed, with the other
threw the casement wide open. -
Thesold woman and I were face to face;
for, overwhelmed with astonishment,
she had let her lay -figure fall from her
bands. Our two looks crossed with an
eqSubaletsaTtreetched forth a finger, I aid the
same; her lips moved, I moved mine ;
she heaved a deep sigh and leant upon
her elbow, I rested in the same way.
How frightful the enacting of this
scene was 1 cannot describe; it was
made tip of delirium, bewilderment, mad-
ness. It was a struggle between two
wills, two intelligences, two souls, one of
which sought to crush the other, and in
this struggle I had the adaantage.1 The
dead were on my side.
After having for some seconds imitat-
ed all the movements of Fledermausse, I
drew a cord from the folds of my pettie
coat and tied it to the iron stanchion of
the signboard. •
The old woman watched me with open
mouth. I passed the cord round my
neck. Her tawny eyeballs glittered.;
her features beSime convulsed—
no !" she cried, in a hissing tone;
I proceeded. with the impassibility of a
hangman.
Then Fleclermausse was seized with
rage.
" You're, mad. 1 you're mad 1" she
cried, springing up and clutching wild-
ly at the sill ef the window; " you're
mti 0,
fat
Ve
k
I gave her no time to continue. Sud-
denly blowing out my light, I stooped.
like a man preparing to make a vigorous
spring, then seizing my lay figure, slip-
ped the cord about it a neck and hurled
it into the air.
A terrible shriek resounded through
the street ; then all was silent again.
Perspiration bathed, my forehead. I
listeoeda. long time. At the end of an
hour, I heard. far off—very far off—thecry of the watchman, announcing to the
inhabitants. of Nuremberg that naidnight
had struck.
" Juetice is at last done," I -murmured
to myself; " the three victims are
avenged. leaven forgive me a'
This was five minutes after I had beard.
the cry of the last watchman. and when
I had seen the old witch, drawn by the -
likeness of herself, a cord about her neck,
hanging from the iron. starichion project-
ing from Iler house. I saw the thrill a
death run throu.gh her limbs, and the
moon, calm and silent, rose above the
edge of the roof, and shed ad cold pale
rays upon her dishevelled heal
As I had seen the poor young student
of Heidelberg, I now saw Fleclermausse.
I Neat day _all Nuremberg knew that
- "the Bat" had hung herself. It was
t the last event of tha kind in the Rue des
Mi unesangers.
I should be doing myself a much
worse oue," I replied.
Giving ray parcel to the servant girl, I
went and seated myself provisionally
among the gueats who were thinking and
ernolung.
For a long time I had not felt more
calm, more happy to be in the world.
Alter so much anxiety, I was approach-
ing my end—the horizon seemed to grow
lighter. I know not by what formid.able
power -I esra,s being led on. I lit my pipe,
and with my elbow on the table and. a
jug of wine before mei listened to the
hunting chorus from "Der Freischutz,"
played. by a band. of Zigeuners from
Schmertz- Wald. 'The trumpet, the
hunting -horn, the hautbois, by turns,
plunged me into vague reverie ; and
soinetimes rousing myself to look at the
woman's house, I seriously asked. myself
whether all that had happened to
me was more than a dream. But when
the watchman earne, to request us to va-
cate the room, graver thoughts took pos-
session of my mind, and I followed, in
meditative mood, the little servant -girl
who proceeded me with a candle in her
hand.
ill:
We mounted theWiading flight of
stairs to the third story ; arrived there,
she placed the candle in my hand and
pointed to a door.
"That's it," she said, and hurried
back down the stairs as fast as sbe could
go.
I opened the door. The green cham-
ber was like all other inn bedchambers ;
the ceiling was low, the bed was high.
After casting a glance round the room, I
stepped across to the window.
Nothing was yet noticeable in Flectr-
inausse's house'with the exception of a
light, which shone at the back of a deep
obscure bedchamber, — nightlight,
doubtless.
"So much the better," I said to my-
self, as I reclosed the window -curtains.
a shall have plenty of time"
[opened. my parcel, and from its con-
tents put on a woman's cap with. a broad.
frilled. border ; - then, with a piece of
pointed charcoal, in front of the glass, I
markedmy forehead with a number of
wrinkles. This took me a full hour to
• do ; but after I had put on a gown and
large shawl, was afraid of myself;
Fledermausse hertelf was looking at me
from the depths of the glass!
At that mament the watchman an-
nounced the hour of eleven. I rapidly
dressed the lay -figure I had -brought
with me like the one prepared by the old
witch. I then drew apart the window
curtains.
Certainly, after all I had seen of the
old woman --her infernal cunning, her I
ence, and her address — nothing
t to have surprised even me ; yet I
positiyely terrified.
e light, which I had observed at
ack of her room, now cast its yel-
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BREAXFAST. —Eras's COCOA. —allATE-
FUL A7ND UOMFORTINO.—` By &thorough
knowledge of the natural laws which
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nutrition, and byl a careful application of
the fine propertiea of well -selected cootie,
Mr. Epps has provided our breakfast ta-
bles -with a delicately flavoured beverage
which may save us many heavy doctors'
bills."—Catit Service Gazette. Made
siniaily with Boiling Water oa Milk.
Each packet is labelled—Jaeres Ears &
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11.0.ZUFACTURE OF COCOA._" We will
now give an account of the process adopt-
ed by Messrs. James Epps & Co., man-
ufacturers of dietetic articles at their
,works in the Easton Road, London" —
'Cassell's Bousehold Guide.
HOW THE OLD AND INFIRM. ARE
SUPPORTED BY FELLOWS' COM-
POUND SYRUP OF HYPOPTIOS-
PHITES.
During the vigor of youth the expend-
iture of the power of the mind {whieh is
the real seat of man's strength) 118 bale °
anced by activity of the nutritive func-
tions, v ithont the aid of science.
But time, the everlasting dissipater of
reason as of events, sets a limit to his
power, and. it is at this epoch that sci-
ence may render to man the desired as- '
sistanee and restore the drain upon his
wasted. energies.
Each effort of the mind, every_ act of
the body, will extract a volume of ner-
vous element in proportion to the magni-
tude of the thought or action, and since '
this Ilypophosphites combinatiori really
supplies the vi 4 eitce to the body, it must
support the human mechanism success-
ful!) - after the vigor of youth is past.
Thomas' Ecleetric Oil,
WOIall TEN:FLUES ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD- DO YOU
KNOW ANYTHING' OF IT ? IF NOT, IT IS
TINE YOU DID.
There are but few preparations of medicine
which have withstood the impartial judgment of
the people for any great length of time. One of
these is TuomAS' Nixon= OIL, purely a prepar-
ation of six of some of the best oils that are known,
each one possessing virtues of its own. Scientific
physicians know that medicines may be formed of
several ingredients in certain fixed proportions of
greater power, and producing effects which coiald
never result from the use of an3- one of them, or in
different cambluations. Thus in the preparation
of this oil a chemical change takes place, forming
a compound which could not by any possibility be
made from any other combination or proportions
of the same ingredients, or any other ingredients,
and entirely different from anything ever before
made, one which produces the most astonishing re-
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than any medicine ever before discovered. It con-
tains no aleoliol or other volatile liquids, conse-
quently loses nothing by evaporation. Wherever
applied you get the benefit of et -cry drop ; whereas
with other preparations nearly all the•aleohol is
ost in that way, and 3ton get only the small quan-
it3- of oils which they may contain.
8. N. THOMAS, PHELPS, N. Y.
And NORTHROP & LYMAN, Newcastle, Ont.,
Sole Agents for the Dominion.
NorE.--Electaic—Selected and Eleetrized.
Sobi in Sesiorth by E. Hickson Co. and R.
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e
DEe. 27,
Th
GAIETIES.
The, Most striking difference 1,
tween a fool 'and a lookinga]8,
that the fool speaks without reflec
ing, and the looking -glass eflee
Iv i th'?1,ID"eln'e'takyioTremember the lie.
-word in your lesson 3 It's the woi
after cheese. -What c9roes aftm
ch ees,ke:-wag` "`:krIsmeseienga
l" t -numpuah' ea: dnt '
exclaimed .the puzzled p
_ u .1
. -
dition it had h ug for some time, 6
pt .
nearly tiff its .. linges, in which co
br—buAng'rnan recently broke -off
11
skeirnzd stlionaltewohtnenitiTt lradidfallentaai
von pro ,
marriage because the lady did -
possess good conversational pow ex
A friend told him he should ha,
married her, and then refused her
new bonnet, to have developed hi
P°7--eA"nftal
Irisk-
hman passing throu
a village near Chester, Penn., sa
crowd approaching, which made h
inquire what was the matter.
was answered : a A man is going
be buried." 44 -Oh," replied he, "
top to see that, for we carry th
in the -old country."
—A good story is told of a cle
man in a Massachusetts ilOWD1 NV
forgot his notes on a Sabbath na
ing, as it was too late to ten
them ; he said to his audience,
way of apology, that this morm
he should _have to depend upon
Lord for what he might say, ba
the afternoon he would come bet
prepared. -
---r---A. leap -year proposal was
made : Mary—" Well, my ,dea
father thought I had better see
and propose,--" Eli—a Ob„ Aar
one, 1 lim thine I Take me, rie
mind father : take me as T* .
Take—'1' Mary ---“ -But, Eli,_ le
explain- They...T, wanted me
you and thank you for your
kindames, and propose that
don't eorne here any more
Freshest Mettnings.
A lode of cinnabar has bee
COVe3,ed in Washington Territor
--Louisville has a newly in
ed steam ear on trial upon her
rail
l—waTquarrel 'over a twenty
-cent bet resulted in a mar
Richmorel, Ky., lately_
"—The editor of the- Lon
,Sittqa,r Bowl bas started the
ana Cotton, Boll.
--Abington, Mass., has for
more than three -carriages in Cat
funeral processions.
—A brother and sister. LAO
lost in a snow -storm on a Mime
prairie and wer: frozen to deat
—Mr. Shott, of Staunton,
:was shot at Manassew eleven
ago, and has:just got the shot
his leg- .
—A $100 rooster, at the
Haven Poultry -Show, fell
while the judges were exa
his good puints.
—Shelbyville, Ky., has
who prove themselves capab
facing monuments in the p
cemetery.
, —An old lady in Boston imp
the other day foi the Congregat
Iron eompany. -Corn rigated
the proper word.
.=---A London -Coroner- says
3,000 infants are smothered to A
in England a year by sleeping
their motheis.
—Since March 1,209 vessels
been stranded on the great
twenty-one have foundered, el
have been- totally lost,
A. workman bt the How
ing Machine Company, Bi id
the other des stepped into a k
of boiling soda,
..-----A guileless Danbury man
a beautiful chromo advertise
fifty cents,' and sent on the n
and received the jack of clubs.
'ff'5"o'ort—ohl.elt.n1°W1:11:PerriliaCialie)Igi Vi4117s0ixitilhyatehtlek
the interest now amounting
—About 2,000 men and 400
will be emploped in the
Mississipi pineries this seasot
of logs will be out
is es timted that 1M,000,000
—Tom Mr. A. DuImage, agent
Hudson's Bay Company, a enntem
learns that the hunters and
, have, up to -date, been more than
successfna The furs are quite ,
as those of laet season, denoting
bability of e• severe ana long
year,
_ NiTilLe letxtatirekeptrosispeelotesvelaet tal
and of eeime generally the same
:3 )reeesTe hn at : V e ale° been unneualfy ple
—The Manitoba Free Prewpsa_,
one result of the rapid growth ot
peg the Presley teriae Cher& le
be enlarged. An addition of
chureh, from being A mission, :
feetpaying
otallyiei;:f'aialaSepnitol liell neib:teliThisaktoiennteepittisonl,e1L6t
—It is statedF22 Iti gi gtSr: le.f - SV1 I :4
teivett private, but positive infe
that Mr. Brielges'engegement as
in Director of the {and Trunk,
termiaates on the Met of Decent
not be renewed. The truth of t.
are inclined to doubt.
—A young farmer in the towus
Southevold, 'Comity of Elgin, got
a, few Aays ago, and on the evening