THE CONJURER.

A TALE..

(Continued from page 246.)

Τ

DEAR FRIEND,

BARON RTO MR. KAFFMAN.

B, Nov. 11, 1772.

IT is with the greatest pleasure I am going to communicate to you a remarkable accident I met with this summer, when at Pyrmont. I would have given you the following account some time ago, if it had not been for some papers which I was obliged to wait for; they are árrived at last, and here I send them, beseeching you to remit them to me as soon as you shall have perused them.

I had been three weeks at Pyrmont, when I one time went to the promenade, in a very beautiful evening, there I happened to meet a gentleman whose features interested me very much, though they were unknown to me: walking slowly on, I soon saw him come after me; he passed me with hasty steps, and turning suddenly, stared me in the face; I did the same, being surprised that I also had attracted the notice of the stranger: he went on, but soon after turned round once more, directing his steps towards me, and staring again at me. I stopped and did the same. He moved his lips as if he wanted to speak to me, just when I was going to ask him whether he wanted something; however, we both remained silent, pursuing our walk. That pantomine we repeated several times, neither of us uttering a word; at length it began to grow dark and I went to my lodgings.

The next morning I awoke with the first ray of the sun, and went again to the promenade, to inhale the salubrious breeze of the morning air, and to hail the rising king of the day, under the canopy of heaven. I was no sooner seated on a bench beneath a majestic beechtree, admiring the greatness of the Creator, so striking in the beautiful scenes of a fine summer's morning, when I once more beheld the stranger who had interested me so much the preceding evening. He came nearer, saluted me, and took a seat on the bench where I was sitting. We both admired in profound silence, the beautiful scene around for a quarter of an hour; every object which surrounded us pronounced the

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greatness of God! Numbers of feathered songsters hailed the rising sun; diamonds and rubies sparkled on the leaves of the trees, loaded with the pearly drops of dew. Now the sun darted his warming chearful rays all around, and the stranger looked at me with an inquisitive eye, "Sir" he at length began, you will excuse me if 1 should be mistaken, I think I have had some years past, the pleasure of being in your company somewhere or other."

It is possible," replied I,

favour me with your name?"

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"that I have had that honour, will you

My name is B......, and I am major in the service of the king of Denmark."

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R......, I think I remember that name; yet I cannot recollect · where I have had the honour of seeing you."

"Perhaps you may," replied he, "will you be so kind as to favour me with your name.'

My name is R...... ?

Did not you return from your travels to Germany in the year

1750"

"I replied in the affirmative."

“Then I am not mistaken", said he smiling, "Don't you remember the adventure at the haunted castle, on the skirts of the Black Forest, and that villainous Necromancer? "I was struck with amazement,

you ?”

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How," exclaimed I, " is it

"Yes, dear friend, it is" he replied, you are not mistaken. How strangely and how unexpectedly do friends meet sometimes in this world! I am at present governor to a young prince who is on his travels: we are here incognito, yet I could not resist the ardent desire of making myself known to you. Did you never wish to get some further intelligence of the mystery of that terrible castle and its strange inhabitants! With the greatest pleasure would I have communicated to you, what came to my knowledge since we parted, had I but known the place of your residence; I travelled on purpose to your native town, as soon as I had finished my recruiting business, but I was told you had been sent by your prince to England on affairs of State."

"Your kindness deserves my warmest acknowledgment, and I am very sorry that I had the misfortune of being absent when you intended to do me the honour of seeing me.

Your absence vexed me very much,” replied he, " because it not only deprived me of the pleasure of seeing once more an old friend, but also prevented me from performing the promise I had given you when we parted this happy meeting affords me, therefore, the greatest pleasure, and if you will favour me with your company at my apartments, I can give you a satisfactory account of several accidents which happened before and after our adventure at the castle, and which are nearly connected with what we have encountered."

I accepted his kind invitation, and went with him to breakfast at his apartments. On the way he enquired after you, and was rejoiced to hear that you are well and happy, blessed with the love of a dear and virtuous wife. He particularly seemed to be pleased with my little narrative of your matrimonial bliss...I forbore to enquire after the reason of it, fearing to renew the pains, which perhaps the recent loss of

a dear beloved object might have inflicted upon him, and gave the conversation another turn till we arrived at his apartments.

After we had breakfasted we seated ourselves by the window, and he began a tale which took an unexpected and most wonderful turn, but the accidents were so various and many, that he could only give me a short sketch, which being interspersed with many episodes, was rather confused he was himself sensible of the defects of his narrative, and promised to send me a written account of those wonderful accidents as soon as he should have finished his travels.

I spent five happy days in his company, and then we parted reluctantly. Two months after he sent me the enclosed continuation of his adventures, which will strike you with astonishment.

Major B...... sends you his best wishes, he longs ardently to see you

once more.

Farewel, and remember your faithful R......

CONTINUATION OF THE ADVENTURES OF

LIEUTENANT B......

I was lost in profound meditation after I had parted with my companions; all the horrid scenes of the adventure at the castle hovered before my imagination; I fancied myself at the inn in the ruinous hall, and then in the cellar, still beholding the Necromancer and the phantoms, seeing the flashes of lightning, and hearing the roaring of the thunder, and the hollow voices of the spectres. My fancy renewed all the horrors which had rushed upon me when shut up in the cellar, as well as the joy I felt, when we had the good fortune to find an outlet from our infernal dungeon; my restless fancy painted all these pictures with the strongest colours, painted them so frightfully, that I sent up to heaven the most fervent thanksgiving for my delivery from that infernal abode.

These horrid dreams vanished at length, giving room to contemplations of a more serious cast....I was every moment reminded of the unhappy fate of my faithful John, and felt an ardent desire to get at the bottom of those mysterious events, that I might be enabled to deliver my poor servant from the clutches of the spirits, or, at least avenge his death: I was however sensible, that I alone should not be equal to it; the peasants of the village I did not think fit for assisting me in my enterprise, and the whole undertaking too hazardous without the assistance and the counsel of an experienced and resolute man: I therefore was determined to search for such a man, and, aided by his counsel and assistance, once more to encounter those nocturnal sportsmen.

This resolution was the result of my meditations on the first morning after my separation from my companions, and I burned with impatient desire to rid myself of that load of incertitude which lay heavy upon my mind. At length I arrived at the place of my destination, and resumed my recruiting business, assisted by two old serjeants.

I hastened to return to the skirts of the Black Forest, and went to F......, where always a number of recruiting officers reside, on account of the great number of journeymen constantly travelling through that town; there I met with Prussian, Austrian, Hessian, and Swedish recruiting officers, and now and then with an old acquaintance of mine.

Amongst others I got acquainted with an old Austrian officer, who was highly respected by every one; when he said any thing, which happened not often, then every body listened with the greatet attention, and when, now and then a quarrel arose, every thing was soon settled by his interference.

A man who thus powerfully could influence a set of people, who admit no law but that of superiority, soon engaged my admiration in the highest degree, and I concluded he would be the fittest person to assist me in the execution of my design, to unfold the mystery of the Haunted Castle, if I could but gain his confidence; yet I was sensible that it would be no easy task to ingratiate myself so far with him, that he should not refuse believing a tale like mine, which bore such glaring marks of fiction: I apprehended an old veteran of so much experience, and so serious a turn of mind would laugh at my narrative, and treat it as a nursery tale.

I was the more inclined to fear this apprehension might prove true when I learned by experience that his curiosity was always guided by cool and just reasoning: his cheerfulness never exceeded the limits of moderated seriousness, and his smile was nothing more than an almost imperceptible unfolding of the wrinkles, which contracted his reverend brow; his mirth bore the resemblance of his carriage, and whoever knew him, trembled at his anger, though none of his acquaintances had ever experienced the least mark of passion in his countenance, and much less had he ever betrayed a symptom of unbridled wrath.

I let slip no opportunity of doing him some little services, and thus endeavoured to gain his favor; however he appeared to take no notice of my unremitted zeal to please him. I treated him with marks of highest veneration, whenever I was in his company, but he seemed not to regard it. All my most anxious endeavours to win that strange man over to my interest, proved abortive, and, at last, I gave over every hope of engaging his attention.

Chance befriended me at length, unexpectedly, and I got by accident what I already had despaired to attain by the most indefatigable endeavours.

The inn where one of the recruiting officers had lodged was reported to be haunted; many strange stories circulated on account of that report, which the then owner of the house endeavoured to laugh off, because he had lived a fortnight in it without perceiving any thing

uncommon.

This subject afforded, one evening, matter for a serious discourse among the officers. The Austrian veteran maintained, contrary to our expectation, that one ought not to treat with ridicule some events of supernatural appearance, and po argument could make him relinquish his opinion. My heart panted for joy, for now I could hope that he would not refuse to credit my wondrous tale.

I was already going to relate the strange events which I had witnessed at the Haunted Castle, when I suddenly was checked by the appre

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hension of drawing upon me the laugh of the company, or that some one or other would offer to encounter with me the nightly sportsmen, without being equal to that hazardous undertaking.

The Austrian spoke with uncommon warmth, his eyes sparkled, and the wrinkles on his brow were contracted closer and closer, and when the company persisted in contradicting his opinion, he offered to enforce his arguments by undeniable facts, which he himself had experienced, requesting to be heard in profound silence, which could not but be granted to a man like him. We expected to hear something very uncommon, and for some time gazed at him in dumb expectation, till he began as follows:

"If I maintain that apparitions of supernatural beings ought not wholly to be rejected, then I must tell you, gentlemen, that I do not only mean that it is merely possible that departed souls, or supernatural beings of another class, can appear when and wherever they please; but think I shall convince you, from what I have myself seen, that there are people who can affect apparitions of that kind, at certain times and under certain conditions." In proof of which he related a most astonishing adventure; and then, with a solemn bow to the company, he left the room. I followed him with hasty steps, and, coming up with him, accosted him respectfully. "You will excuse the liberty I am going to take, to request of you a private hearing, wishing to impart to you something."

"That I will hear to-morrow," interrupted he drily, and went

away.

The night being far advanced I went to my lodging. I awoke with the first dawn of day; I arose, and, having put on my cloaths, waited with impatience till it should strike eight o'clock, at which hour I intended to pay a visit to the Austrian. It was about five o'clock when I got up, and the seeming slow progress of time was very painful to me. At length the wished-for hour arrived, and I went with hasty steps to the veteran's lodging. He received me as he was wont to do, with great kindness, giving me a pipe, and after I had lighted it he asked me what my pleasure was: Speak freely," added he kindly,

I am an honest man."

After some circumlocution I broke the matter to him, giving him a full account of our adventures at the Haunted Castle. He listened with great attention to my tale, and hinting at the conclusion of it, that I wished he would assist me in unfolding that mysterious matter, he looked seriously at me without uttering a single word. Having waited some time for his answer with anxious impatience, he rose, and walked up and down the room in profound meditation.

Friend," said he at last, after a long and painful silence," what reason have you to engage in that dangerous undertaking?" I have no other motive," replied I, than to chastise the impostors,

and to deliver my servant from their clutches."

He shook his head: "Are you certain," resumed he at length, after a short pause, that your servant has not been associated with those nightly sportsmen."

I stared at him, and replied, after having meditated awhile, "No, it is impossible, the fellow was too honest; and what motive...'

You are right," interrupted he, "it cannot have been a preconerted plan, for you have delivered yourself to the power of the spirits."