there, tarried at every hospitable tavern, desiring the obsequious master to set before him of the best. As he approached towards Ellrich, he was joined by a young man of smart appearance, but whose countenance was marked with grief. Our merry pilgrim struck by the stranger's appearance, enquired of him, "Young Sir, whither art thou bound?" To which the other his whole soul being intent upon the brazen chest alone, out of which he loaded himself as quickly as possible. In the meanwhile, however, every thing succeeded to his wish; he neither saw nor heard any evil spirit; only the iron door closed to again with an awful sound, as soon as he set his foot out of the vaulted chamber. In his hurry, the alarmed treasure-seeker forgot the invaluable talisman, the spring-replied with a sigh, “I am journeying root, which he had laid out of his hand, when occupied in scraping up the gold, on which account it was impossible for him to return for another freight; yet this circumstance did not cause much affliction to the worthy Master Peter, his desires being by no means immoderate, and he having too, on this occasion, not spared his back in the first instance; and when he was disposed so to do, he could shew himself a sturdy labourer. After he had performed every thing precisely according to the instructions of old Martin, and closed up the aperture of the cave, he departed, considering how he could best secure the prize he had obtained, and live comfortably upon it at home, without exciting idle curiosity or malignant suspicion. It was also very desirable that his shrew of a wife should know nothing of the treasure of the Harz king, else he feared that she would never desist from harassing him until he had surrendered up to her the fruits of his toils. She should, therefore, partake of the stream, but remain quite ignorant of its source. The first point was easily accomplished, the other caused him to belabour his brains greatly without determining any thing. Having securely packed them up, he transported his riches to the nearest village; here he purchased a wheelbarrow, and ordered a cooper to make a tub with a double bottom; in the centre of this he deposited his treasure, filling up the false bottom, at either end, with nails. With this load he returned home very leisurely; and, as he was in no great hurry to arrive through the wide world, my good father, or perhaps out of the world-any where, in short, where my feet carry me." "And wherefore should it be out of the world?" kindly asked the compassionate Peter. "What has the world done to offend thee so grievously?" "To me the world has done nothing, neither have I done aught amiss to the world, and yet, methinks, we do not agree well together." Our good-natured traveller of the wheelbarrow, who, when things went well with himself, always delighted in seeing others in equally good spirits, exerted himself to cheer the desponding youth; but finding, at length, that his powers of eloquence were of no avail, he suspected that his gloomy mood might be occasioned chiefly by a vacancy in the region of his stomach, and that neither the head or the heart of the patient, was affected. He according ly invited him to enter an inn, promising not to call upon him for his share of the reckoning, a proposal which his melancholy companion did not refuse. They here found a mirthful set of revellers, in whose society Peter soon found himself quite in his element; and, by degrees, waxed so full of joyous glee, and so liberal withal, that he insisted that no one but himself should have the honour of discharging the landlord's bill. This proposition tended by no means to throw a damp on these choice spirits; on the contrary, they in return became most liberal of jests and repartees, so that it was doubtful whether the number of good things that went into their mouths was not exceeded by that of those which proceeded out of them.. Peter's young companion was the only one present who seemed insensible to the wit and gaiety round him; he sat in a corner of the room with his eyes fixed on the floor, so coy too did he appear with his glass, that he but rarely saluted it with his lips, and even then he did it in most maidenly guise. Perceiving him so inaccessible to all social mirth, it now occurred to the good Peter that some heavy affliction, which was gnawing at his heart, was the real cause of the poor youth's despondency. His curiosity therefore became equally excited with his sion. compas My good lad," enquired he the following morning, "what is it that disturbs thee so greatly? Acquaint me with the cause of thy uneasiness?" "Alas, my worthy father," returned the youth," what can it avail me, should I disclose the cause of my sorrow? You can serve me neither by your pity nor your advice.' "Who knows how that may be ? the old proverb says: Comfort travelleth with no outrider." Peter was now so urgent with him to disclose the cause of his disquietude, that the cheerless youth was at length fain to comply. "It is no trifle, no boyish misfortune," said he, "that causes my distress, but the calamitous, unpropitious destiny of virtuous affection. I am the forrester and born vassal of Count Oettingen, who took me into his house when a child, and bestowed such pains on my education, that the good-natured world whispered that I was his son. A painter lately offered him for sale a number of pictures to decorate his new castle; among the rest was one representing a damsel of most extraordinary beauty, the original of which, the artist said, was a young girl, whose portrait he had sketched surreptitiously, she being too reserved to sit to him for that purpose. Never could I satisfy myself with gazing on this charming figure; I always found myself in the apartment where it hung, so that, at length, with continually devouring its beauties, my heart was inflamed to such a degree, that I could no longer find either rest or tranquillity. One day, therefore, I called the painter aside, and conjured him to inform me where was to be found the maiden who had served as the model for this exquisite work; promising him no inconsideraboon if he would but declare to me the truth. The artist laughed at my simplicity and at the warmth of my imagination, but revealed to me all that I had sought. The fair maiden," said he, dwells at Rotenburgh, in which place her father was once a noted cook. You may, if you please, try your luck with her; but, I can assure you, the dame is both prudish and proud. I now requested permission of the Count to quit his service, but this he denied me; one night, therefore, I departed without either permit or permission, and, having arrived at Rotenburg, soon traced out my enamorata. Still Ï found that my efforts to gain access to her were in vain. She lives under a mother who is a very dragon in watchfulness; and suffers her to appear neither at door nor window, but keeps her so closely confined from the profane gaze of men, as if she were the inhabitant of a nunnery. "his caused me no small uneasiness, and I determined, therefore, to accomplish my aim by stratagem: I put on female apparel, concealed my face in a hood, and thus attired, knocked at the door. On her opening it, I was so struck with her loveliness as to be near discovering myself, yet quickly recovering from my emotion, I gave her an order for a carpet, for you must know, she is one of the most skilful embroiderers in the whole country. I had now free access to her every day, under the pretence of coming to see how the work proceeded; and enjoyed the pleasure of gazing upon my beloved, and chatting with her for hours each time. I soon perceived that my company was far from being disagreeable to the damsel, so well did I perform the character of an honest matron. At length, one day, when the mother was absent, I ventured to discover myself to the charming creature, when, starting up from her work, she attempted to flee; I prevailed upon her, however, not to make any alarm, pledging to her my honour, that I came with fair designs, and for the purpose of wooing her as a fair suitor. I then explained to her the whole plan, and the singular manner in which I had become fascinated by her charms. She chided my rashness for having so slightly quitted my patron, and inquired in what manner I intended to support a wife? This perplexing question quite stopped my mouth, for, although I had a pair of strong arms, I cared not to reply that these were able to support us, fearing that a poor labourer would seem unworthy so lovely a creature. "Casting upon me a look full of the kindest sympathy, she said: "We must part; never must we meet again in this suspicious manner. My virtue is irreproachable, yet is my heart weak. Thou hast taught me how easy it is for the seducer to pass through bolted doors. My father destines me for a convent, and I hasten to comply with his desires; and for this purpose am anxious to earn, by my needle, a sum sufficient to place me there. Adieu, and remove to such a distance, that no suspicious tongues may raise evil reports concerning us." "I was obliged to comply, and tear myself from her; this was indeed a bitter cup. I departed almost in despair; abandoned myself to my forlorn destiny, continually weeping and lamenting, both day and night. A hundred times a day did I walk up and down the street where she resided; and whenever a bell rung for mass, I instantly hurried away in the hope of meeting her, and enjoying the consolation of beholding her once again. But in vain! she was no more revealed to my anxious gaze. Three times did I prepare to quit the town; yet could not tear myself away, for it seemed to me like departing into banishment. Once more did I seek to gain admission into the house in my former disguise, for the purpose of bidding her eternally adieu. I knocked at the door with the most anxious solicitude: the mother put her head out of the casement, and, on seeing me, began to load me with reproaches, taxing me with having attempted to defraud her daughter of the sum we had agreed upon. I instantly perceived what reason the prudent Gertrude had assigned to her mother for the abrupt manner in which my visits were discontinued. I now resigned all hope of again beholding the lovely maiden; and quitted the town, and am now wandering about the country in the hope that my grief may speedily devour my heart.” Master Peter listened with extreme attention to the plain and candid narrative of his companion. highly overjoyed at the lucky coincidence which had brought him acquainted with one who was able to give him some well authenticated tidings of his home during his absence. "Your history," said he, " is a strange one enough; there is one point however which I do not comprehend: you spoke of the father of your mistress why did you not address yourself to him? He would hardly have rejected such an honest suitor to his daughter, as you appear to be." "Ah," replied Frederick, little weening whom he was speaking to, "the father is naught;-he is a sottish, idle fellow, who has left his wife and child, nor does any one know what has become of him. Yet, I do not much blame the poor wight for having run off from such a cross-grained vixen as his wife is but, then, to desert his sweet child!-she is so mild, and meekly tempered, and who, even now, always takes his part, and still speaks of him with the kindest affection !—were he here I could pluck his beard for him.” At hearing this unexpected eulogium upon himself, Master Peter redoubled his attention, and was surprised to learn how minutely his companion was ac quainted with all his family secrets, without, however, being offended at the indignation expressed against him. He thought, on the contrary, that Frederick would serve his designs most admirably; that he could make him the depository of his wealth, so as thereby to avoid all inquisitive curiosity as to the sudden change in his affairs, and, at the same time, conceal his treasure from the greediness of his wife. "My good friend," said he," shew me thy hand, and let me see what luck thy stars destine for thee." "What should they forbode, save evil?" returned the hopeless lover. Nevertheless the pretended dealer in chiromancy would not be so put off, and his companion did not care for such a trifle, to offend one who had treated him so generously, he reached out his hand to him. Mustering up a look of profound sagacity, Master Peter considered all the lines very attentively, shook his head occasionally in the mean while, and, after he had carried on the game for a sufficient time, 'said:"Friend! he who has luck has also the bride! To-morrow, as soon as the sun rises, hie thee with all speed to Rottenburg. The maiden is faithful, and well inclined towards thee, nor will she fail to receive thee with affection. A rich inheritance will shortly fall to thee from an old relation, of whom thou little dreamest; and thou wilt then have wherewith to support a wife handsomely!" "Comrade," returned the youth, supposing that the prophet was making himself merry at his expense, "methinks it becomes you but ill to jeer the unfortunate. Seek some one on whom you can play your tricks, for I am not your you of the truth of my words by the most satisfactory evidence." At hearing his friend, the dealer in iron, speak of his gold, in a tone of such confidence, the youth's cheek burned with the glow of joy and sudden astonishment; nor did he know whether he was dreaming or awake, when, following his mysterious companion, he beheld him, after having secured the door, display the contents of his cask,-a golden yolk within an iron shell. Master Peter now discovered himself to the lover of Gertrude, and confided to him the mystery of the treasure, and also his intention of letting him support the character of a wealthy suitor, while he, on the contrary, would enjoy himself more snugly. The deep melancholy of the youth now altogether disappeared: he could find no words to express his gratitude for being thus suddenly rendered the most happy of all mortals. The following morning both the travellers set out for Ellrich, where the young one equipped himself in all the bravery of a noble gallant. Master Peter paid him in advance a considerable portion of the promised inheritance, and agreed with him that he should privately let him know of the success of his undertaking, in order that he might dispatch a load of costly furniture, befitting the station and character he had to support. At their parting with each other the presumptive father-in-law made the youth a present of a piece of advice: "Take good heed to thy tongue, and disclose our secret to no one, save the discreet Gertrude, when she becomes thy bride." Master Peter now enjoyed the golden fruit of his trip to the Harz Mountain, yet wisely forebore to entertain the public with any description of it; and possessed so much wealth, that he hardly knew its amount. Frederick, however, was supposed to be the source of this sudden prosperity, and, as honour follows on the heels of riches, he soon attained the highest dignities which the town of Rottenburg could bestow on so worthy a citizen. From this time it has become a proverb there, which still remains in vogue, when the people of Rottenburg wish to describe a person in prosperous circumstances, to say, that he is as rich as the son-in-law of Peter Block, the cook. THE DEAD MEN OF PEST; A Hungarian Legend. Tales of Northern Nations. The following tale is built upon one of the most extraordinary events recorded in the annals of the human mind. Not a century ago, all the circumstances which form this romance, with the addition of many others, were not only firmly believed by the Sclavonian villagers, among whom they were supposed to have happened, but were received as truths, and seriously reasoned upon by learned divines and physicians of the surrounding provinces. A superstition somewhat similar appears to have prevailed in Bohemia and Silesia previous to the days of Dr. Henry More, who details several of the stories to which it gave rise in his Philosophical Works. The Gentleman's Magazine for some of the years between 1740 and 50, contains several curious particulars of the same nature. I left the chalky clifts of old England, And paced through many a country fair to see, |