LEGENDS 
 
 OF 
 
 NUMBER NIP. 
 
LONDON : 
 BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. 
 
LEGENDS 
 
 OF 
 
 -* 
 
 NUMBER NIP 
 
 BY 
 
 
 MARK LEMON. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY CHARLES KEENE. 
 
 MACMILLAN AND CO. 
 1864. 
 
■ 
 
 < . i 
 
 
 . 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 INTRODUCTION vii 
 
 LEGEND I. 
 
 THE GNOME KING AND THE PRINCESS OF SILESIA . . I 
 
 LEGEND II. 
 
 THE GNOME AND THE TAILOR 35 
 
 LEGEND III. 
 
 THE GNOME AND HIS DEBTOR 59 
 
 LEGEND IV. 
 
 NUMBER NIP AND THE GLASS-SELLER . . • • 79 
 
 LEGEND V. 
 
 THE HEADLESS ROGUE AND THE COUNTESS . . . 102 
 
 f'< £~>-^3 •"*:-" b, 'W *■> 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 " We find in most countries," says the Fairy 
 Historian, Mr. Keightley, " a popular belief in 
 different classes of beings, distinct from men and 
 from the higher orders of divinities. These beings 
 are usually believed to inhabit, in the caverns of the 
 earth, or the depths of the waters, a region of their 
 own. They generally excel mankind in power 
 and in knowledge, and, like them, are subject to 
 the inevitable laws of death, though after a more 
 prolonged period of existence." Many circum- 
 stances of late years have combined to destroy the 
 popular belief in Fairies, Fays, Elves, Trolls, and 
 Dwarfs, although few persons can honestly de- 
 clare that they have ceased to have an interest in 
 the stories wherein the Good People play the prin- 
 
viii Introduction. 
 
 cipal parts. Practical as the age is said to be, and 
 devoted more to the cultivation of material posses- 
 sions that any which have preceded it, human 
 nature is in reality unchanged, and the love of the 
 imaginative displays itself in many ways, even 
 when that elevating faculty is disowned by its pos- 
 sessor. Music is now heard in almost every home, 
 the painter's art endeavours to embody the poet's 
 thought, or the historian's chronicle ; the beautiful 
 in form is sought to be realized in every thing 
 that we employ for use, comfort, or display, thus 
 paying homage to the Imaginative whilst profes- 
 sing to consider the Material as omnipotent. No, 
 we have not parted with the Fairies ; nor are we 
 willing to cast away the works of those who have 
 recorded their exploits in the wonderful Fairy-land, 
 or in the no less beautiful world around us ; and 
 they will live on to amaze and delight as they have 
 done for hundreds of years. 
 
 All lovers of fairy-lore know how deeply they 
 
Introduction. ix 
 
 are indebted to such laborious and learned searchers 
 into the archives of Elf-Land as Thiele, Jacob 
 Grimm, and his brother, Hans Andersen, Thomas 
 Keightley, Crofton Croker, and others who have 
 thought it worthy of their wisdom to read and 
 write about the Good People and their marvellous 
 doings. 
 
 Among the earlier collectors of Fairy stories, 
 Johann Karl Musaeus stands foremost, and his 
 " Volksmarchen der Deutschen, or Popular Le- 
 gends of Germany," have made his name a house- 
 hold word in his own country until this day. 
 These stories are what they profess to be, nar- 
 ratives and legends collected from old women 
 at the spinning-wheels, and even from children 
 in the street. He has not, therefore, a claim to 
 the invention of the stories, but the charm of 
 the style in which he has given them to his 
 countrymen is entirely his own, and will always 
 ensure an immense popularity. 
 
x Introduction. 
 
 Musasus was the author of other works ; 
 u Grandison the Second," a parody on Richard- 
 son's celebrated novel, which, at the time of its 
 first publication, was greatly admired by the Ger- 
 mans ; " Physiognomical Travels" — the work which 
 first made its author famous, — and some other com- 
 positions, which were popular in their day. A sort 
 of literary "Dance of Death" was his last pro- 
 duction. 
 
 He was called " the good Musaeus." To the 
 epithet so bestowed " few have had a better claim 
 than Musaeus," says a writer in the " English 
 Encyclopaedia of Biography." " A mild philosophy, 
 of which his own life furnished a practical example, 
 together with shrewd good sense and quiet humour, 
 pervades all his writings." 
 
 The five "Legends of Number Nip" contained 
 in the present volume, are compiled from a transla- 
 tion of Musasus' works, published in London 
 shortly after his death. It is doubtful whether 
 
Introduction. xi 
 
 the stories then obtained the popularity they 
 deserved on their own merits, as the translator 
 had introduced much that was extraneous, and 
 more that was very objectionable. Those errors 
 have been carefully avoided in the present volume. 
 
 Mark Lemon. 
 
: 
 
 LEGENDS OF NUMBER NIP. 
 
 LEGEND I. 
 
 THE GNOME KING AND THE PRINCESS OF 
 
 SILESIA. 
 
 On the lofty Parnassus of Silesia there dwells, 
 besides Apollo and his nine Muses, the far-famed 
 Elfin Lord of the Mountain, commonly called 
 Number Nip. The Sprite, though he maintains 
 a perfectly good understanding with the deities of 
 song, has contributed more, if one may confess 
 the truth without giving offence, to the celebrity 
 of the Giant Mountains, than the whole vociferous 
 choir of Siksian poets, with their divine patrons 
 into the bargain. This mighty ruler of the gnomes 
 has, however, no extensive territory on the surface 
 of the earth j his domain is but a few miles in 
 
 B 
 
« t » k • », • I • 
 
 « •:.•••*.•• • • 
 
 •••••••••••• . •. ' • 
 
 2 Legends of Nurnber Nip. 
 
 circumference, lying within a single chain of hills : 
 and he shares even this little territory with two 
 potent monarchs, who do not even acknowledge 
 his partnership in power. A few fathoms, how- 
 ever, below the vegetable soil, begins his undis- 
 puted sovereign sway, which is not liable to be 
 infringed by any partition treaty : it extends four 
 thousand miles in depth, as far as the very centre 
 of the globe. 
 
 Our subterraneous potentate sometimes takes 
 his pleasure in gliding through the strata and rocks 
 which form his spacious dominions ; here he sur- 
 veys his inexhaustible treasures of mineral wealth, 
 summons his troops of gnomes, and assigns to each 
 his proper task : some are bid to curb, by dykes 
 and dams, the furious torrents of subterraneous 
 lava, others are employed to catch mineral streams, 
 and impregnate the barren rock, till it is converted, 
 by the rich metallic damps, into precious ore. The 
 monarch of the abyss, sometimes laying aside the 
 reins of subterranean government, ascends for 
 recreation to the glimpses of the moon, and holds 
 
The Gnome King and the Princess. 3 
 
 his court on the summit of the Giant Mountains,* 
 where he sports with the children of men as un- 
 feelingly as a mischievous boy, who diverts himself 
 with tickling his playfellow into convulsions. 
 
 Number Nip is shrewd, whimsical and fickle, 
 petulant and rude, proud and vain, and so in- 
 constant, that he will be to-day your warmest 
 friend, and not acknowledge you to-morrow : the 
 distressed have sometimes found him kind, p-ene- 
 rous, and feeling j but he is at such perpetual 
 variance with himself, that he is frank or reserved, 
 mulish or pliant, almost at the same moment of 
 time. 
 
 In days of yore, Number Nip, as he traversed 
 the barren heaths and rugged hills, practised his 
 frolics upon the beasts of the forest or the field ; 
 he would sometimes set bears and buffaloes by 
 the ears, or scare whole herds of timorous deer, 
 so that, in their fright, they would tumble head- 
 long down cliffs and precipices. Weary at length 
 of such diversions, he dived into the regions of 
 
 * Riesen-ge-biirge, well-known mountains in Germany. 
 
 B 2 
 
4 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 the lower world, and remained in the earth, for 
 several centuries, till he felt a desire to bask 
 himself again in the sun, and survey the works 
 of external creation. But how great was his 
 astonishment when, from his station on the snowy 
 summit of the Giant Mountains, he beheld a total 
 change in the surrounding scenery ! The gloom 
 of impenetrable forests had disappeared ; they 
 were converted into arable land, over which waved 
 profuse crops of golden grain. From the bosom 
 of blooming orchards he could see the thatched 
 roofs of many a well-peopled village just peeping 
 out, and comfortable wreaths of smoke issuing 
 from the chimneys into the unruffled atmosphere. 
 Here and there, on the brow of a hill, stood a 
 solitary watch-tower, intended for the security of 
 the land ; sheep and cattle were pasturing in the 
 flowery meadows below, and melodious sounds 
 proceeded from beneath the refreshing shade of 
 the spreading oaks. 
 
 The novelty and repose of the landscape so 
 agreeably affected the lord of the domain, that he 
 
TJie Gnome King and the Princess. 5 
 
 felt no displeasure at those who had presumed 
 to take possession without waiting for his leave ; 
 nor had he the least wish to disturb them in 
 their occupations ; but, like the good-natured 
 housewife who allows the social swallow, and 
 the twittering sparrow, a lodging under her roof, 
 so the Sprite, in his placid mood, surrendered the 
 territory they had seized. He was even inclined 
 to acquaint himself with their manners and dis- 
 positions ; and he accordingly assumed the form 
 of a sturdy ploughman, and hired himself to the 
 first farmer he met. Whatever he did prospered 
 under his hand, and Franz (as he was called) the 
 ploughman was soon accounted the best work- 
 man in the village ; but his master was an idler 
 and drunkard ; he squandered away the profits 
 derived from the toil of his faithful labourer, and 
 showed small gratitude for his services. Franz 
 therefore left him, and went to his neighbour, from 
 whom he received the charge of the flock, which 
 he carefully tended, and drove it to distant wilds 
 and (what seemed, to others) inaccessible steeps, 
 
6 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 abounding in wholesome herbage. The flock in- 
 creased and multiplied under its shepherd's care ; 
 not a sheep tumbled over the precipice, nor was a 
 lamb ever destroyed by the wolf. But his master 
 was mean and niggardly ; instead of rewarding his 
 shepherd as he ought, he himself stole the best 
 wether out of the flock, and stopped part of his 
 man's wages on the plea of negligence ; Franz, 
 therefore, quitted the knave, and entered into 
 the judge's service. Here he became the scourge 
 of thieves, and the unwearied promoter of justice ; 
 but the judge was an unjust man ; he warped the 
 law, and decided according to favour and affection. 
 As Franz disdained to be the instrument of wrong 
 and of oppression, he gave the judge warning to 
 quit his service, and for which he was thrown into 
 prison, whence he easily escaped through the key- 
 hole, the common " way out " for spirits. 
 
 This first essay to learn the ways of man could 
 not possibly have the effect of warming his heart 
 to philanthropy ; he returned in disgust to the 
 summit of a rock, and, as he surveyed from that 
 
The Gnome King and the Princess. 7 
 
 station, the smiling fields, he silently wondered 
 that Mother Earth should thus have lavished her 
 gifts on such an ungrateful brood. He, however, 
 resolved to make one other excursion for the 
 purpose of studying mankind. He now glided 
 invisible into the vale, and lay concealed among 
 the trees and bushes ; there, as he kept a sharp 
 look-out, he perceived reposing the form of a 
 damsel, lovely to behold as the Medicean Venus. 
 Grouped around her upon the grass, beside a 
 waterfall that gushed from the rocks, and was 
 received into a natural basin, her companions 
 were sporting and chatting with their mistress 
 in the gaiety of innocence. This scene affected 
 the spirit of the rocks so powerfully, that he 
 was willing once again to share the uncertain lot 
 of humanity. But the essences of spirits are too 
 delicate to be susceptible of any firm and lasting 
 impression, and the Gnome felt that he required 
 a body properly to appreciate the beauty which 
 he saw before him. He therefore transmuted 
 himself into a jet-black raven, but his expedient 
 
8 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 did not answer : he beheld everything with the 
 eyes of a raven, and his feelings were those of a 
 raven, and a nest of field-mice had now more 
 attraction for him than the fairest maiden ; so 
 he concluded that the soul, in its thoughts and 
 desires, acts in correspondence with the body that 
 encloses it. 
 
 This psychological remark was no sooner made 
 than the mistake was corrected ; the raven flew into 
 the thicket, and put on the shape of a youth in the 
 prime of life. New sentiments arose in his breast, 
 of which he had never dreamed during all the ages 
 of his existence. An irresistible impulse drew 
 him mechanically towards the group of maidens, 
 and at the same time he felt an equally powerful 
 repugnance to approach them. 
 
 The most beautiful object before him was the 
 daughter of the King of Silesia, who then reigned 
 in the neighbourhood of the Giant Mountains : 
 she was wont to frequent the woods and thickets 
 around the palace with her train of attendant maids 
 in search of sweet-scented flowers, or to gather 
 
The Gnome King and the Princess. 9 
 
 such was the frugality of the age — a basket of wild 
 strawberries or mushrooms for her father's table. 
 Often in sultry weather she would seek refresh- 
 ment in the shade beside the cascade, and play 
 with the cool water in the basin. 
 
 When the Princess and her maids had departed, 
 the Gnome came from the thicket and looked 
 after them with feelings new and strange. He 
 felt he could not quit the spot, and he never left 
 it for a moment during the interval between the 
 departure of the Princess and her return, which 
 was not until many days. 
 
 At length, one sultry summer's noon, the 
 Princess with her companions sought the cooling 
 shade beside the waterfall. But what was their 
 astonishment on seeing the place entirely changed ! 
 the rugged rocks were covered with marble and 
 alabaster ; the water no longer dashed in a wild 
 stream from the steep precipice, but descended 
 down a flight of steps, and diffused itself with a 
 gentle murmur into a capacious basin of marble : 
 from the middle of which ascended a jet that 
 
J Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 dispersed itself in a shower of large drops, which 
 a gentle breeze scattered about like diamond rain. 
 Daisies, heart's-ease, and forget-me-not, bloomed 
 around the brink ; and rosebushes, interwoven 
 with jessamine and woodbine, encircled the retreat. 
 At the back of the cascade appeared the mouth of 
 a grotto, whose sides and arches glistened with 
 many-coloured ores, mountain crystals and spar, 
 all so bright and sparkling that the eye was dazzled 
 as it beheld them. 
 
 The Princess was wrapped in silent admiration ; 
 she knew not how to believe her eyes, and hesi- 
 tated whether or not to fly from the enchanted 
 spot. But she was a genuine daughter of mother 
 Eve, and, yielding to temptation, she ventured into 
 the grotto, and tasted of the delicious fruit which 
 seemed to be placed there on purpose for her. 
 As soon as she had gratified her curiosity, and 
 examined every corner of the grotto, she felt 
 an irresistible desire to bathe in the basin ; but 
 scarcely had the lovely Princess crossed its smooth 
 margin, than she began to sink, through the 
 
The Gnome King and the Princess. 1 1 
 
 deceitful pebbles that glistened below in a shallow- 
 place, so as to remove all suspicion of danger. 
 Before her attendants could seize the auburn locks 
 of their mistress, the treacherous waters swallowed 
 her up, and the affrighted train uttered a loud 
 shriek as the Princess vanished from their sight. 
 
 In vain did they wring their snow-white hands 
 — in vain invoke the assistance of the Naiads — 
 in vain run half distracted round the edge of the 
 marble basin ; — they only got a sprinkling from the 
 jet, as if it had been played upon them in sport. 
 No one dared to venture in after her, except her 
 favourite Brinhilda, who did not hesitate to plunge 
 into the bottomless pool, in expectation of sharing 
 the fate of her beloved mistress. But she was 
 borne, like a dry cork, on the surface, nor could 
 she dive into the water notwithstanding all her 
 efforts. There was, therefore, no resource but to 
 carry the doleful tidings to the King. The dejected 
 train met him with sighs and tears, just as he 
 returned from a meeting with his nobles. The 
 monarch rent his robe in sorrow and consternation : 
 
12 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 he took the golden diadem from his head, and hid 
 his visage in his purple robe, as he sorrowed aloud 
 for the loss of the beautiful Princess. 
 
 As soon as he had paid the first tribute of tears 
 to parental affection, he hastened to the cascade, in 
 order to examine into the cause of the accident. 
 But the charm was gone ! all appeared in native 
 wildness ; there was neither grotto, nor basin, nor 
 a circle of rose-trees, nor a sprig of jessamine. 
 The King was amazed, but as stranger occurrences 
 had taken place in the Giant Mountains, he soon 
 became reconciled to his loss, trusting that time 
 would restore his daughter. 
 
 Meanwhile, the beautiful Princess found herself 
 with her spirit lover, who had conducted her by 
 a subterranean passage to a magnificent palace, that 
 put her father's homely residence to shame. When 
 the spirits of the Princess were recruited, she dis- 
 covered herself seated on an easy couch, clad in a 
 robe of rose-coloured satin, and girt with a sash of 
 azure-blue silk, that seemed to have been stolen 
 from the wardrobe of the goddess of love. A young 
 
The Gnome King and the Princess. 13 
 
 man of engaging countenance lay stretched at her 
 feet, making the warmest avowal of love, which 
 she received with the becoming blush of modesty. 
 The enraptured Gnome gave her an account of 
 his state and origin, described the subterraneous 
 regions that were subject to his sway, conducted 
 her through the apartments of the palace, and 
 showed her all its riches and splendour. A noble 
 lawn surrounded the castle on all sides : the 
 refreshing shade which continually rested on the 
 turf, particularly charmed the Princess ; her eye 
 was delighted by the fruit-trees, which bore ruddy 
 gold-streaked apples, and the bushes swarmed with 
 birds of song, whose thousand voices united to 
 perform their native melodies. The look of the 
 admiring spirit by her side was fixed intently upon 
 her face, and his ear greedily drank up the sounds 
 that issued from her rosy mouth, and every word 
 glided into his heart. Such rapturous hours as he 
 now owed to his first love, he had never enjoyed 
 during his life of past ages. 
 
 The charming Princess did not sympathise with 
 
14. Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 his transports ; heaviness hung on her brow ; that 
 soft melancholy, that melting languor, which gives 
 such bewitching grace to the female form, betrayed 
 some ungratified wish that lay concealed in her 
 heart, some feelings that did not fully correspond 
 with those of her lover. He soon made this dis- 
 covery, and strove by a thousand caresses to dis- 
 perse the clouds, and cheer the dejected damsel, 
 but in vain. " Man," he thought, when he found 
 his efforts unavailing, " like the ant and the bee, 
 is a social animal : the beautiful mortal languishes 
 for want of society." He immediately flew to the 
 field, plucked a dozen of turnips, put them in an 
 eleo-antly woven basket, and presented it to the 
 beautiful Princess, whom he found unconsciously 
 stripping the leaves off a rose. 
 
 " Fairest among the daughters of earth, banish 
 all sadness from thy soul ; thou shalt no longer 
 remain a lonely mourner in my dwelling ! This 
 basket contains everything thou needest to make 
 thy residence agreeable. Take this party-co- 
 loured wand, touch the vegetables in this basket, 
 
The Gnome King and the Princess. 15 
 
 and they shall assume whatever form thou 
 choosest." 
 
 He then quitted the Princess ; nor did she delay 
 a moment to follow his instructions. " Brinhilda, 
 my dear Brinhilda," she cried, " appear ! " 
 
 Instantly Brinhilda was prostrate before her, 
 tenderly embracing her mistress's knees, and 
 bedewing her hand with tears of joy. The de- 
 ception was so complete, that the Princess was 
 startled at what she saw ; she was uncertain 
 whether she had enchanted the true Brinhilda to 
 her presence, or whether her eye was mocked by a 
 phantom. She, nevertheless, gave way to the 
 sensations of joy ; she walked arm-in-arm up and 
 down the garden with her best-beloved companion, 
 and then led her through all the apartments of the 
 palace, till they came to her wardrobe, where the 
 female spirit of contemplation found so much 
 employment, that they remained until all the veils, 
 sashes, dresses, ear-rings, and necklaces, were 
 exhibited and tried on. The fictitious Brinhilda 
 conducted herself with such address, and showed 
 
1 6 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 so much taste in the choice and disposition of 
 the female ornaments, that if she was essentially 
 nothing better than a turnip, no one could deny 
 that she was the queen of her race. The watchful 
 Gnome congratulated himself on the penetration 
 which he supposed he had shown in diving into the 
 heart of a woman ; nor did he fail to flatter himself 
 with the idea of the progress he had made in the 
 science of man ; his beloved now seemed to him 
 more beautiful and interesting than ever. 
 
 She, on her part, lost not a moment in animating 
 her whole stock of turnips ; with the help of her 
 enchanted wand, she converted nine of them into 
 the semblance of her attendant virgins ; and of the 
 remaining two one she formed into a Cyprus cat, 
 and the other into a monkey. She now re-esta- 
 blished her court, assigned each maid her portion 
 of work, and never was mistress better served. 
 The whole household anticipated her wishes ; a 
 nod was sufficient, and every order was executed 
 without demur. She enjoyed for several weeks the 
 uninterrupted pleasures of society ; dances, song, 
 
The Gnome King and the Princess. ij 
 
 and music, succeeded each other from morning till 
 night in the Gnome's palace ; but at length the 
 Princess remarked that the freshness of her com- 
 panions' cheeks began to fade. The glass in the 
 marble saloon first forced the observation upon 
 her. She was surprised to find that she alone con- 
 tinued blooming as a rose-bud, while her beloved 
 Brinhilda and the other maidens, were shrunk like 
 so many withered flowers. They nevertheless all 
 assured her they were perfectly well ; and although 
 the liberal Gnome profusely supplied his table, yet 
 they visibly decayed ; their spirits drooped from 
 day to day, and all the fire of youth was extin- 
 guished. 
 
 One fine morning, the youthful Princess, re- 
 freshed by sleep, tripped lightly into the breakfast 
 parlour ; but she recoiled with horror, as a com- 
 pany of helpless old women tottered to salute her ! 
 They were supported by crutches, oppressed with 
 asthma and rheumatism, and were unable to hold 
 themselves upright. The monkey, once so frolic- 
 some, lay stretched out stiff upon the ground ; and 
 
1 8 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 the coaxing Cyprus cat could scarcely creep along. 
 The Princess ran out of the chamber, frightened at 
 the hideous company, and from the tower over the 
 gateway she called aloud upon the Gnome. He 
 soon, in obedience to the summons, appeared in an 
 humble attitude. 
 
 " Malicious Sprite," said she, in an angry tone, 
 " why dost thou envy me the society of the 
 shadows of my former companions — the only con- 
 solation of my afflicted life ? Is it not enough to 
 be torn from my indulgent parents, that thou 
 shouldst turn this solitude into a lazar-house ? 
 Immediately restore health and youth to my maids, 
 or hatred and contempt shall avenge thy audacity." 
 
 " Fairest of the daughters of men," replied the 
 Gnome, " let not thy wrath exceed the measure of 
 my offence ; whatever lies within the sphere of 
 my power is at thy command, but do not require 
 what is impossible. The forces of Nature are under 
 my control, but her immutable laws deride my 
 efforts. As long as there was any vegetative 
 energy in the turnips, the magic rod could trans- 
 
 
The Gnome King and the Princess. 19 
 
 form the principle of life according to thy will ; 
 but their juices are now dried up, and they are 
 upon the eve of dissolution, for the elementary 
 spirit that animated them is fled. This, however, 
 need give thee no concern ; another basketful 
 will easily repair the loss. Thou canst again call 
 up every form thou mayest desire. Now, there- 
 fore, give back mother Nature her own ; they 
 have served thee long enough. Thou wilt find 
 more agreeable companions awaiting thee in the 
 garden." 
 
 The Gnome then departed. The Princess took 
 the party-coloured wand, touched her decrepit 
 attendants, and they shrank into withered turnips ; 
 and having gathered them up, she did as children 
 tired of a plaything, or princes of a favourite, are 
 wont to do — she threw the rubbish away, and 
 thought no more about it. 
 
 She now tripped lightly over the verdant lawn to 
 find the basket, but she could nowhere see it ; 
 she walked up and down the garden, looking care- 
 fully around, but no basket appeared in view. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 At the vine-walk, the Gnome approached her in 
 such evident perplexity, that she could discern his 
 state of mind at the distance they were asunder. 
 
 " Thou hast deceived me," said she ; " where is 
 the basket ? I have been seeking for it this hour 
 in vain." 
 
 " Gracious mistress of my heart," replied the 
 spirit, " I have promised more than I can perform. 
 Wilt thou forgive my heedlessness ? I have 
 traversed the country in search of turnips, but 
 they have been long gathered. The fields are in 
 mourning ; below in the vale, winter reigns uncon- 
 trolled. Thy presence alone has enchained spring 
 to these rocks, and compelled flowers to sprout 
 beneath thy footsteps. Have patience only for 
 three changes of the moon ; thou shalt then always 
 have puppets at thy command." 
 
 Before the Gnome had finished his apology, his 
 mistress had turned away from him in displeasure. 
 She retired to her closet without deigning him a 
 word in reply. 
 
 He repaired to the nearest market-town in his 
 
The Gnome King and the Princess. 21 
 
 dominions, put on the form of a huckster, bought 
 an ass, and loaded it with seed, with which he 
 sowed a whole acre of ground. He then gave one 
 of his attendant spirits the charge of the field, 
 charging him to kindle a subterraneous fire, and to 
 ripen the plants with a kindly heat. 
 
 The turnip field came up finely, and promised 
 a plentiful crop in a short time. He took the 
 Princess daily to view its progress : she found 
 more pleasure in the young turnips than in the 
 golden apples, though these seemed to have been 
 transplanted from the garden of the Hesperides. 
 But wearisomeness and discontent had clouded her 
 azure eyes : and her favourite retreat was a planta- 
 tion of gloomy firs, beside a brook, that discharged 
 its crystal stream into the valley. The Gnome 
 perceived that in spite of his constant endeavours 
 to gain the heart of the beautiful Princess, no 
 progress was yet made. Nevertheless, his loving 
 perseverance was not to be wearied ; he continued 
 to fulfil her wishes in the most punctual manner, 
 hoping at last to win her. His inexperience in love 
 
22 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 affairs was such, that he imagined the difficulties 
 he encountered might be an essential part of the ro- 
 mance of earthly love ; for he remarked, with great 
 truth and acuteness, that the resistance was not 
 without its secret charm, and that it would infallibly 
 add to the glory of the future triumph. But, as an 
 utter novice in the science of female nature, he had 
 not an idea of the cause that rendered the heart of 
 the sovereign of his affections so impregnable. He 
 supposed it was still as free as his own, and firmly 
 believed the vacant spot was his rightful property, 
 as being the first occupant. 
 
 This, however, was a wide mistake. Prince 
 Ratibon, a young neighbour of the King of Sardinia, 
 whose dominions lay on the banks of the Oder, 
 had already won the affection of the Princess. The 
 happy pair were looking fondly forward to the 
 day of the consummation of their mutual vows, 
 when the bride all of a sudden disappeared. On 
 hearing these painful tidings, the love-sick Ratibon 
 quitted his residence, retired to the woods, that he 
 might avoid the hateful face of man, told the tale 
 
The Gnome King and the Princess. 23 
 
 of his misery to the rocks, and committed every 
 folly becoming a despairing lover. His faithful 
 Princess, meanwhile immured in her delightful 
 prison, gave vent to her sorrow in sighs ; but so 
 closely did she conceal her feelings, that the vigilant 
 and sagacious Gnome was a perfect stranger to her 
 regrets. The Princess had long been considering 
 how she might deceive her enamoured gaoler, so 
 as to escape from her wearisome captivity. After 
 many a sleepless night, she hit upon a scheme that 
 seemed worthy of trial. 
 
 The spring was now returning to the valleys of 
 the mountain ; the Gnome suffered his subter- 
 raneous fire to go out, and the turnips, not having 
 been checked by the frosts of winter, were grow- 
 ing ripe apace. The Princess gathered a few every 
 day, and, for experiment's sake, transmuted them 
 into a variety of forms. The elf supposed it to be 
 mere amusement, but the Princess had other views. 
 One day she transformed a small turnip into a bee, 
 which she instantly dispatched in search of tidings 
 of her beloved Ratibon. 
 
24 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 " Fly," she cried, " dear insect, towards the 
 west ; find out Ratibon, the prince of the land, and 
 hum gently in his ear that I still live, and live for 
 him ; but that I am a slave to the Prince of the 
 Gnomes, who resides on this mountain : lose not 
 a word of this salutation, and bring me back news 
 of my love." 
 
 The bee immediately set forward from the finger 
 of its mistress, in obedience to her orders ; but it 
 had scarce got upon wing, when a hungiy swallow 
 darted at it, and to the great affliction of the young 
 lady, consumed the insect courier to her love with 
 all his dispatches ; she then, by the help of the 
 magic wand, created a grasshopper, and instructed 
 it to bear the same message and salutation. 
 
 " Hop, little grasshopper, over the mountain, till 
 thou comest to Ratibon, the Prince of the land, and 
 chirp in his ear that I long for emancipation from 
 my bonds by his powerful arm." The grasshopper 
 hopped and fluttered as nimbly as it could, in order 
 to execute its commission : but a loncr-W^ed stork 
 
 ' D CO 
 
 happening to cross the road, seized it with its 
 
The Gnome King and the Princess. 25 
 
 pointed beak, and instantly buried it in the charnel- 
 house of his capacious craw. 
 
 These failures did not discourage the persevering 
 Princess from a new attempt ; she bestowed on a 
 third turnip the shape of a magpie : " Fly hence," 
 said she, " loquacious bird, from tree to tree, till 
 thou discoverest Ratibon, my beloved ; acquaint 
 him with my imprisonment, and appoint him to wait 
 three days hence at the extremity of the mountain, 
 for the prisoner that dares to break her bonds, and 
 desires his protection." 
 
 The party-coloured bird obeyed ; she flitted from 
 one resting place to another, and the anxious Prin- 
 cess accompanied her motions as far as the eye 
 could reach. The afflicted Ratibon was still wan- 
 dering, in his melancholy mood, among the woods ; 
 the return of spring, and the revival of nature 
 served but to augment his affliction. He was 
 sitting under a shady oak, brooding over his 
 loss, when a deep-drawn sigh broke forth, and an 
 unknown voice pronounced, " Ratibon ! " He 
 listened attentively, but seeing no human figure 
 
26 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 near, he concluded it was an illusion of his fancy ; 
 when, wonderful ! he heard the same sound re- 
 peated. He was soon aware of a magpie shifting 
 from bough to bough ; and again listening atten- 
 tively, he heard the bird repeat his name. " Trou- 
 blesome chatterer ! " he exclaimed, " who has 
 taught thee to pronounce the name of a wretch 
 who heartily wishes to be forgotten by all the 
 world ? " As he uttered this ejaculation, he took 
 a stone to throw at the bird, but the Prince's arm 
 sunk nerveless to his side. 
 
 The speaker on the tree now delivered his 
 message, with the fluency peculiar to the magpie 
 race. No sooner did Ratibon hear the joyful 
 tidings than the clouds of sorrow dispersed ; the 
 melancholy that preyed upon him was dissipated ; 
 he recovered his powers of thought and reflection ; 
 and began to make more particular inquiries con- 
 cerning the fate of the beautiful Princess. But the 
 messenger, however talkative, could only repeat its 
 lesson mechanically over and over again, and at 
 length away it flew. Ratibon hastened from the 
 
 
See pout -27. 
 
The Gnome King and the Princess. 27 
 
 wood, and repaired to his castle, where he equipped 
 a. squadron of horse, and set out in loving expecta- 
 tion of what was to happen. 
 
 Meanwhile the Princess had prepared everything 
 for the execution of her purpose. She had ceased 
 to mortify the patient Gnome with her coyness ; 
 her eye promised hope, and her inflexibility seemed 
 to be giving way. No pining lover would easily 
 suffer such favourable appearances to remain 
 unimproved ; and the Gnome, by virtue of his 
 finer nature, was soon sensible of the alteration 
 in the conduct of his hitherto unkind mistress. 
 He soon grew bolder, renewed his protestations of 
 love, which now only met with a bashful refusal. 
 In a short time, however, the preliminaries were 
 as good as signed, and the Princess only requested 
 a day to consider, — a condition which was gladly 
 accepted by the enraptured Gnome. 
 
 Soon after sunrise the following morning, the 
 beautiful Princess appeared in the dress of an 
 Eastern bride ; she was loaded with all her orna- 
 ments ; her auburn hair was collected in a knot 
 
28 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 and crowned with a myrtle garland ; the trimming 
 of her dress sparkled with jewels. 
 
 As the Gnome approached her on the great 
 terrace, she modestly covered her face with her 
 veil. 
 
 " Angelic maiden," he cried, " uncover thy face, 
 and suffer me to drink love from thy eyes ; refuse 
 me no longer the hand that will make me the 
 happiest being upon whom the morning sun ever 
 shed its rays." Here he attempted to obtain a 
 sight of her countenance, eager to read his fate in 
 her eyes. But the Princess concealed her beauty 
 in a thicker cloud of veil, and thus modestly 
 replied — 
 
 " How may a mortal deny thee, sovereign of my 
 heart. Thy perseverance has prevailed. Receive 
 the confession from my lips ; but let me hide my 
 blushes and my tears." 
 
 " Wherefore tears, my beloved ? " said the 
 Gnome. " Every tear of thine falls like burning 
 lava on my heart. I desire love for love and not 
 sacrifice." 
 
The Gnome King and the Princess. 29 
 
 " Alas ! " returned the Princess. " Why dost 
 thou misinterpret my tears ? My heart returns 
 thy tenderness j but it is nevertheless distracted 
 by gloomy forebodings. Thou never changest, 
 whereas all earthly beauty is only a flower that 
 fades. How shall I be sure, that after our union 
 thou wilt continue the tenderness and affection 
 which have distinguished our courtship ? " 
 " Demand/' he replied, " some proof of my 
 faithfulness, and of my eagerness to fulfil thy 
 commands ; set my patience to the test, and 
 judge by that of the violence of my unalterable 
 love." 
 
 " So it shall be," concluded the bewitching 
 girl. " I require this proof of thy compliance -, 
 go immediately, and number all the turnips in the 
 field ; my marriage shall not be celebrated without 
 witnesses. I will animate them all, and they shall 
 attend as the bridal train. But beware of deceiving 
 me, and see thou dost not miscount by a single 
 turnip, for that is the test by which I will judge of 
 thy truth." 
 
30 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 However unwilling the Gnome might feel to 
 quit his lovely bride, he yet obeyed without hesi- 
 tation. He immediately set about his task, and 
 soon finished the calculation, but to make certain 
 of his correctness, he went over the operation a 
 second time, and, to his sore vexation, discovered 
 a difference, that obliged him to count the turnips 
 a third time. Another variation ! a circumstance 
 which casts no imputation upon the Gnome's 
 arithmetical acquisitions, for the thought of a 
 lovely Princess may easily confuse the clearest 
 head. 
 
 The crafty Princess had no sooner lost sight of 
 her admirer, than she made preparation for her 
 flight. She had a juicy, well fed turnip in readi- 
 ness, which, by help of the magic wand, she 
 immediately converted into a fiery steed, properly 
 accoutred. She hastily mounted, and rapidly tra- 
 versed the heaths and wilds of the mountain, and 
 soon reached the place of rendezvous, where she 
 found her beloved Ratibon anxiously expecting her 
 arrival ; and her maiden reserve was so overpowered 
 
TJie Gnome King and the Princess. 31 
 
 between joy for her escape and the ardour of 
 affection, that she did not hesitate to rush into 
 his arms. 
 
 At last the Gnome succeeded in ascertaining the 
 real number of turnips in the field, large and small. 
 He now hastened joyfully back to the mistress of 
 his heart, in order to convince her, by this punc- 
 tual performance of her commands, that he should 
 prove the most complaisant and devoted of hus- 
 bands. He entered the garden with great self- 
 complacency, but did not find her whom he was 
 seeking ; he traversed all the covered walks and 
 alleys, but in neither did he meet with the object 
 of his search ; he hurried to the palace, examined 
 every part, called upon the beloved name of the 
 Princess, which was echoed only by the lonely 
 apartments ; he begged but one word from her 
 charming lips, but there came no answer back. 
 This alarmed him •> he began to suspect foul play ; 
 he immediately threw aside the cumbersome invest- 
 ment of his body, and mounted high in the air, 
 and saw the beloved fugitive afar off, at the 
 
32 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 moment her nimble steed was crossing the con- 
 fines of his territory. The enraged sprite hastily 
 seized a couple of clouds that were sailing 
 peaceably along, rolled them up into a ball, and 
 hurled it, in the form of a dreadful thunder- 
 bolt, after the fugitive. The bolt split an oak 
 that had grown upon the border for a thousand 
 years ; but beyond this, his rage was impotent, 
 and the fire was seen to be dissipated in harmless 
 vapour. 
 
 He now rose into the upper regions of the 
 air, and in his despair, uttering complaints to 
 the winds of heaven ! When he had given vent 
 to his furious passion, he returned spiritless and 
 dejected to his palace, glided through every 
 chamber, and filled it with sighs and lamentations. 
 He afterwards visited his pleasure-grounds once 
 more ; but the magic creation had no longer any 
 charms for him : a single footstep of his faithless 
 mistress, which he found upon the sand, occupied 
 his attention more than all the glories of his own 
 creation. Every spot where she had walked or 
 
The Gnome King and the Princess. 33 
 
 rested, awakened the image of some past pleasure ; 
 every shrub from which she had plucked a flower, 
 tortured him with bitter recollections. After he 
 had thus duly solemnised the funeral rites of his 
 first love, he proudly resolved to abandon the study 
 of mankind, and, stamping thrice upon the ground, 
 the enchanted palace, with all its glory, disap- 
 peared. An abyss opened its capacious jaws, and 
 the Gnome darted down into the deep, nor did 
 he stop till he arrived at the centre of the earth, 
 the opposite boundary of his realms, whither he 
 carried malevolence, and a rooted aversion to 
 mankind. 
 
 During this catastrophe in the mountain, Prince 
 Ratibon was more agreeably employed in conveying 
 the rescued one to a place of safety. He bore the 
 lovely Princess with great triumph back to her 
 father's palace, where the youthful pair were soon 
 afterwards united. The Prince shared with his 
 bride his hereditary throne : and he built a city, 
 to which he gave his name, and which is so called 
 even unto this day. The strange and extraordi- 
 
34 
 
 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 nary adventure of the Princess, her resolution, and 
 fortunate escape, became the tale of the country 
 round, and it has been handed down from gene- 
 ration to generation, 
 
LEGEND II. 
 
 THE GNOME AND THE TAILOR. 
 
 After his loss of the fair Princess, Number 
 Nip left the world with a resolution never more to 
 behold the light of day ; but the lenient hand of 
 time by degrees obliterated the traces of sorrow : 
 although the operation required no less than nine 
 hundred and ninety-nine years, so slowly did the 
 wounds of his heart heal. At length, being in a 
 very listless mood, and oppressed by ennui, his 
 favourite Gnome, the court buffoon, proposed a 
 party of pleasure to the Giant Mountains. The 
 proposition was readily accepted by Number Nip, 
 and it required not above a minute of time to 
 perform the distant journey. The lord of mines 
 and metals found himself on the site of his once 
 verdant lawn, and to which he restored its ancient 
 
 L> 2 
 
36 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 form, though it still remained invisible to mortal 
 eyes. The traveller, who missed his way as he 
 crossed the mountain, perceived only a frightful 
 wilderness. 
 
 The sight of the objects he had beheld during 
 the period of his love, recalled all that he had hoped 
 and suffered for the beautiful Princess, until he 
 could no longer conceal his anger and hatred of the 
 human race. It seemed to him as if the affair of 
 the beautiful Princess had happened but yesterday : 
 her image was as distinct in his mind as if she stood 
 at that instant before him ; but the recollection of 
 the manner in which she had outwitted him revived 
 his anger against the whole race of man. " Vile 
 earthworms!" he cried, as he lifted up his eyes, and 
 beheld from the lofty pinnacle of the rock the 
 spires of churches and cloisters rising from the 
 bosom of many a city ; " Ye still crawl, I see, in 
 the vale below. Your craft and cunning has once 
 made a mock of me ; now ye shall pay for your 
 triumph ; I will pinch and plague until ye quake 
 at the mention of the Mountain Spirit." 
 
The Gnome and the Tailor. 37 
 
 He had scarce uttered these words, when his ear 
 caught the sound of human voices at a distance. 
 Three young men were chatting as they crossed 
 the mountain, the boldest of them crying out in- 
 cessantly — u Number Nip, come down ! Number 
 Nip, thou thief, that stealest helpless girls ! " 
 
 The chroniclers had faithfully preserved the love 
 affair of the spirit ; and as it had passed from mouth 
 to mouth, it had gained, as is usually the case, a 
 number of false additions, and every traveller that 
 passed the mountain entertained his fellow with the 
 particulars. A thousand stories of apparitions had 
 been invented, to the great terror and dismay of the 
 faint-hearted wanderer, though they were totally 
 groundless. It had never been known that any of 
 these insults had been revenged by the patient and 
 long-suffering spirit ; and no wonder, for he could 
 not hear a word of them in the depths of the earth 
 where he held his court. He was now the more 
 struck at hearing the tale of his love so compre- 
 hensively repeated ; and down he came roaring like 
 a whirlwind through the gloomy forest of firs, with 
 
38 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 a full intention to strangle the poor wretch on the 
 spot, for making so free with his history, though 
 uttered without any design to give offence ; but he 
 seasonably bethought himself that so exemplary and 
 open a correction would raise a great alarm and 
 outcry in the country, which might deter travellers 
 from passing the mountain, whereby he would lose 
 all opportunity of obtaining his projected revenge 
 upon mankind. He therefore suffered the insolent 
 bawler and his companions to pass quietly along for 
 the present, resolved, however, not to allow him to 
 call upon him in vain. 
 
 At the next cross-road the story-teller parted 
 from his messmates, and for this time arrived at 
 Hirschberg with a sound skin ; but an invisible at- 
 tendant followed him to his inn, that he might 
 know where to find him in due season. 
 
 Number Nip returned to the mountain, thinking 
 all the while upon the means of gratifying his 
 revenge. On the road he chanced to meet a rich 
 Israelite, travelling also towards Hirschberg, whom 
 he immediately determined to employ as the in- 
 
The Gnome and the Tailor. 39 
 
 strument of his vengeance. Number Nip therefore 
 joined the Jew in the shape of the young man that 
 had insulted him, and entered into a friendly con- 
 versation with the stranger, at the same time 
 leading him astray. When they were at last in the 
 depth of the thicket, the Jew was alarmed by his 
 companion seizing him by the beard, and then, after 
 tying his hands and feet, robbing him of a purse 
 full of gold and jewels. Having, moreover, by way 
 of a farewell benediction, bestowed a shower of 
 blows and kicks upon him. 
 
 When the Jew had a little recovered from his 
 fright, he began to call aloud for help, for he was 
 afraid of being starved to death in that remote 
 wilderness. His outcries soon brought to the spot 
 where he lay, a respectable, grave-looking personage, 
 in appearance a burgess of one of the neighbouring 
 towns, and who, having inquired into the cause of 
 his distress and how he came so far out of the road, 
 kindly took the cords from his hands and feet, and 
 performed all the offices of humanity, which the 
 good Samaritan showed to the man who had fallen 
 
49 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 among thieves. He recruited his spirits with an 
 exhilarating cordial, which he, by good luck, 
 happened to have in his pocket, and accompanied 
 him back to the door of the inn at Hirschberg ; 
 where, after giving him a piece of money for his 
 immediate necessities, he took his leave. How was 
 the Jew thunderstruck at seeing, on his entrance, 
 the very ruffian who had robbed and bound him 
 sitting at table in the kitchen, as cool and uncon- 
 cerned as if his conscience had been burdened with 
 no crime ! He had before him a flask of the 
 country wine, and was cracking his jokes with a 
 set of jovial companions ; beside him lay the very 
 wallet in which he had seen his purse stowed. The 
 astonished descendant of Abraham was doubtful at 
 first whether he should trust his eyes. He thought 
 he could not possibly have mistaken the person, so 
 he passed out unobserved at the door, and carried 
 his information straight to the bailiff of the town. 
 
 The Hirschberg corporation had, in those days, 
 the character of administering justice speedily, and 
 the beadles having well armed themselves with 
 
The Gnome and the Tailor. 41 
 
 prongs and clubs, surrounded the inn, seized the 
 innocent culprit, and carried him before the mayor 
 of the town. 
 
 " Who art thou ? " demanded the magistrate ; 
 " and whence comest thou ? " 
 
 The young man answered openly and unterrified 
 — " I am an honest tailor by trade ; my name is 
 Benedick ; I come from Liebenaw, and work 
 journey-work here for my master." 
 
 " Hast thou not fallen upon this Jew in the 
 wood with a design to murder him ? didst thou 
 not maltreat him and take his purse ? " 
 
 " I never beheld this Jew with my eyes before ; 
 I have neither struck, nor bound, nor robbed him 
 of his purse ; I am an honest handicraftsman, and 
 no highway robber." 
 
 " How canst thou prove thy honesty ? ' 
 
 " By the contents of my wallet, and the testi- 
 mony of my clear conscience." 
 
 " Open the wallet, and let us see what it contains." 
 
 Benedick set about opening his package in great 
 confidence, being well assured that it contained 
 
42 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 nothing but his own honestly acquired property. 
 But as he was turning over his linen, behold, 
 something jingled like gold. The beadles imme- 
 diately commenced a search, and drew forth a heavy 
 purse, which the overjoyed Jew claimed as his pro- 
 perty. The poor culprit was thunderstruck at the 
 discovery : he was ready to drop down with fear ; he 
 turned pale ; his lips quivered ; his knees trembled ; 
 and he was unable to utter a word in his defence. 
 
 " How now, villain ! " cried the magistrate, 
 " hast thou still confidence to deny the robbery ? " 
 
 " Mercy ! good Mr. Mayor," cried the weeping 
 criminal, as he dropped on his knees and lifted up 
 his hands ; " I call all the saints in heaven to 
 witness that I am innocent of the robbery." 
 
 " All denial is now vain — thou art clearly con- 
 victed," proceeded the mayor ; " the purse is suf- 
 ficient proof of thy guilt : therefore freely confess 
 before the rack comes to extort an acknowledgment 
 of thy crime." 
 
 Benedick, quite overpowered by these suspicious 
 circumstances, could only make protestations of 
 
The Gnome and the Tailor. 43 
 
 his innocence: but he spoke to the deaf; he was 
 set down for a hardened ragamuffin, that wanted 
 but to swear his neck out of the halter. The 
 inquisitorial machinery was called in to persuade 
 him, by the rhetoric of iron arguments, to confess 
 away his own life. At the terrible appearance of 
 the new orator, the calmness proceeding from his 
 purity of conscience deserted the poor tailor : he 
 started back at the idea of the sufferings that 
 awaited him. As the officer was going to fix the 
 thumb-screws, having considered that the operation 
 would render him ever afterwards unfit to ply the 
 needle with any credit, he thought it better to avoid 
 the pain altogether, and rather than be a ruined 
 man for life, to confess to a crime of which he was 
 innocent. The trial was brought to a speedy 
 issue, the convict was unanimously sentenced, 
 without prorogation of the court, to be hanged ; 
 and, to keep up the credit of a speedy administra- 
 tion of justice, as well as for the sake of saving the 
 cost of maintenance, the sentence was ordered to 
 be executed early the next morning. 
 
44 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 The crowd of spectators all applauded the 
 sentence of the court as just and upright ; yet 
 none were observed to commend the integrity of 
 the judge so loudly as the tender-hearted Samari- 
 tan, who had forced his way among the rest into 
 court. He could not sufficiently express his admi- 
 ration of the love of justice which distinguished 
 the worshipful mayor of Hirschberg. In fact, no 
 one was more interested in the issue of the affair 
 than this same philanthropist, for it was he whose 
 invisible hand stuffed the Jew's purse into the 
 tailor's knapsack, and was, in fact, no other than 
 Number Nip himself. Early next morning he 
 perched in the form of a raven on the gallows, in 
 expectation of the cart that was to convey thither 
 the victim of his vengeance — but for this time he 
 waited for his prey in vain. A pious friend found 
 the prisoner so ignorant of religious matters, that 
 he solicited a respite of three days, and obtained it, 
 though not without great difficulty. Number Nip 
 hearing of this delay, flew away to his mountain, 
 there to abide the term of the respite. 
 
The Gnome and the Tailor. 45 
 
 During the interval, he amused himself by tra- 
 versing his woods according to custom. In one 
 of his excursions, he espied a young maiden sitting 
 under a spreading beech. From time to time she 
 wiped away a tear that stole down her cheek, and 
 deep sighs issued from her heaving bosom. The 
 Gnome had formerly felt the powerful influence of 
 a maiden's tears ; he was again so touched by them 
 as to make the first deviation from his determina- 
 tion to plague every descendant of Adam, whose 
 ill-fortune should lead him to cross the mountain ; 
 he even acknowledged the sentiment of compassion 
 to be a kindly feeling, and was irresistibly bent 
 upon consoling the afflicted beauty. He put on 
 the appearance of a reputable burgher, and advan- 
 cing towards her, inquired — 
 
 " Why art thou sitting here alone, my girl, in 
 this melancholy mood ? Do not hide the occasion 
 of thy sorrow from me, that I may consider if 
 there be any method of relieving it." 
 
 The maiden, who had been quite absorbed in 
 grief, started on hearing a voice so near her, and 
 
46 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 lifted up her downcast face. Ah ! what a lovely 
 pair of blue eyes peeped from under her hat ! In 
 each a bright tear-drop sparkled like a diamond, but 
 the face was expressive of the deepest affliction. 
 Seeing that it was a respectable-looking person who 
 addressed her, she said — . 
 
 " Why should you trouble yourself to inquire 
 about my sorrow, good sir, since there is no help 
 for me ? I am an unhappy, guilty girl, no better 
 than a murderess ; for have I not murdered the 
 man of my heart ? But I will never cease to 
 mourn my fault ; sighs and tears shall be my 
 portion, till death ends my grief." 
 
 The grave personage looked amazement. 
 
 " Thou a murderess ! with that heavenly face ! 
 Impossible ! Mankind are, indeed, capable of all 
 deceit and wickedness, that I well know : but here 
 I am puzzled." 
 
 " I will solve the riddle," returned the afflicted 
 maiden, " if you have any desire to hear an 
 explanation." 
 
 " Say on." 
 
See page 46. 
 
The Gnome and the Tailor. 47 
 
 " I had for a playfellow, from my youth up, 
 the son of a virtuous widow, my neighbour. He 
 chose me for his sweetheart as he grew older — 
 he was so good and kind, so honest and faithful, 
 loved me so constantly and dearly, that he stole 
 away my heart, and I vowed everlasting fidelity to 
 him. Alas ! I have made him forget the good 
 lessons of his virtuous mother, and induced him 
 to commit a deed, for which he has forfeited his 
 life to the law ! " 
 
 " Thou ! " cried the Gnome, emphatically. 
 
 " Yes, sir, I am his murderess ! I instigated 
 him to commit a robbery : he plundered a poor 
 Jew ; the gentlemen of Hirschberg have appre- 
 hended, convicted, and condemned him ; and to- 
 morrow, alas ! he is to suffer." 
 
 " And hast thou been guilty of this crime ? ' 
 cried the astonished Sprite. 
 
 " Yes, sir, I feel his young blood is upon my 
 head." 
 
 " How so ? " 
 
 " He went to seek for work beyond the 
 
4 8 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 mountain ; at setting out, as he had his arms 
 clasped round my neck, and was bidding me fare- 
 well, ' My dearest girl,' he said, ' remember and 
 be true to me ; when the apples are in blossom, 
 the third season from this, and the swallow is 
 loaded with a burden of straws for her nest, expect 
 me back to fetch thee home, that I may make thee 
 my bride,' — and such I promised him to be by a 
 solemn oath. Now, when the apples were in 
 blossom, and the swallow was building her nest 
 the third time, back came Benedick, to remind 
 me of my promise, and make me his wedded 
 bride. But I laughed and jeered at him, as heedless 
 girls often do. c Thy wife,' I said, ' I cannot be ; 
 thou hast neither roof nor hearth ; get thyself first 
 some sterling crowns, and then come and ask again.' 
 The poor young man's heart shrunk within him 
 at this speech. ' Ah ! Kristine,' said he, sighing 
 deeply, while the tears stood in his eyes, c doth thy 
 heart lust after wealth and riches ? then thou art 
 no longer a sincere and loving girl. Didst thou 
 not strike the bargain in my hand the time thou 
 
The Gnome and the Tailor. 49 
 
 sworest to be true to me ? and what had I more 
 than that selfsame hand to maintain thee ? whence 
 come thy pride and scorn ? Ah ! Kristine, I 
 understand thee. Some richer rival hath stolen 
 away thy heart from me. Is it thus thou repayest 
 me, faithless girl ? For those three years have I 
 lived in hopes that a good day would come. I 
 counted every hour till the moment I set out to 
 fetch thee home. How light and nimble did love 
 and joy make my feet as I crossed the mountains ! 
 and now thou dost scorn me ! ' He begged and 
 prayed, but I remained obdurate. ' My heart doth 
 not scorn thee, Benedick, I only withhold my 
 hand for the present. Go abroad, get money, then 
 come back, and I will share thy lot with thee, with 
 all my heart.' c If such be thy resolution,' replied 
 he, c I will go again into the wide world, where I 
 will beg, and hoard ; and never shalt thou see me 
 again till I have the dross with which I am to buy 
 thee. Farewell ! I go : adieu ! ' In this manner 
 did I torture my poor Benedick. He went away 
 in great vexation; then his good angel forsook him, 
 
50 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 and he did a deed that was not right, and which his 
 heart surely abhorred." 
 
 At this recital the venerable person shook his 
 head in great apparent concern ; and, after a con- 
 siderable pause, exclaimed, with a thoughtful coun- 
 tenance — 
 
 " Surprising, this ! " He then turned towards 
 the young woman — " But why," said he, " dost 
 thou fill the lonely wood with thy lamentation, 
 which can neither help thee nor thy sweetheart ? " 
 
 " I was on my way to Hirschberg : as I was 
 going along sorrow fell heavy upon my heart, so I 
 stopped under this tree." 
 
 " And what wilt thou do at Hirschberg ? ' 
 
 " I will cast myself at the judge's feet, fill the 
 streets with my outcries, and pray the daughters of 
 the town to entreat mercy. The magistrates may 
 take pity upon the innocent, and spare his life j 
 but, if I do not succeed in saving my lover from a 
 shameful death, I will cheerfully die with him." 
 The Sprite was so moved at this speech, that he 
 renounced all thoughts of vengeance from that 
 
The Gnome and the Tailor. 51 
 
 moment, and determined to restore her guiltless 
 lover. 
 
 " Dry up thy tears," said he, in a sympathising 
 voice, " and let thy sorrow pass away. Thy lover 
 shall be as free as the birds of the air before the sun 
 goes down. Listen, and be attentive. To-morrow 
 at the first crowing of the cock, when thou hearest 
 a tapping at thy window, make haste, open the 
 chamber door, for it will be Benedick that knocks. 
 Take care that thou dost not make him mad again 
 by thy caprice. Know, also, that it was not he 
 who committed the crime of which thou supposest 
 him guilty ; nor can any blame be imputed to thee, 
 for he did not suffer himself to be instigated by thy 
 capriciousness to this evil deed." 
 
 The girl, in astonishment at this information, 
 looked her comforter full in the face, and not being 
 able to discern any trace of deceit, she placed con- 
 fidence in his words. " Good sir, if you be not 
 mocking me," she said, cc and it be even as you say, 
 you must be either a seer, or my sweetheart's good 
 angel." 
 
 e 2 
 
52 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 " His good angel ! " returned the Gnome, a good 
 deal disconcerted at the idea ; " no, in truth, that I 
 am not ! but his good friend I will be, as thou shalt 
 find. I am a burgher of Hirschberg ; when the 
 poor criminal was condemned I sat at council ; but 
 his innocence has since been brought to light; fear 
 not for his safety, I will go and take off his fetters, 
 for I have much authority in the town. Be of 
 good cheer, therefore, and return home in peace. " 
 
 The damsel arose and obeyed, though fear and 
 hope still struggled in her bosom. 
 
 During the three days of respite, the good father 
 had wrestled hard to bring the delinquent into a 
 proper frame of mind ; and (as he thought) for the 
 last time, bade him good-night. As the friar was 
 going out at the gaol door, Number Nip in an in- 
 visible form met him. He had not yet fixed upon 
 any plan for emancipating the criminal, but on that 
 instant a scheme exactly suited to his taste sug- 
 gested itself. He slipped after the friar into the 
 monastery, took a gown out of the wardrobe, and 
 proceeded in the similitude of the good Brother to 
 
The Gnome and the Tailor. 5 3 
 
 the prison, which was respectfully opened to him 
 by the keeper. 
 
 "I have returned," said Number Nip, "to ask 
 thee, my son, if thou hast any commands for 
 Kristine ? " Benedick was confounded at his 
 sweetheart's name ; the thoughts of her which he 
 had conscientiously been labouring to stifle, revived 
 with so much vehemence, that he began to sob 
 aloud without being able to utter a single syllable in 
 reply. This heart-breaking scene affected the 
 compassionate priest so much that he resolved to 
 finish it abruptly : 
 
 " Poor Benedick," said he, " cease thy sorrow, 
 thou shalt not die : I have learned that thou art, 
 indeed, innocent of the robbery, and that thou hast 
 not defiled thy conscience with any crime ; I am 
 therefore come to break thy bonds, and release thee 
 out of prison." Then drawing a key out of his 
 pocket — " Let us see if it will fit." The experi- 
 ment succeeded : the unfettered Benedick stood 
 at liberty before him — the irons fell from his hands 
 and feet. Then the benevolent priest exchanged 
 
54 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 clothes with him, and said, " Go quietly out, 
 imitate the reverend pace of a monk as thou 
 passest by the sentinel, and along the streets ; 
 but when thou hast passed Weichbild, step briskly 
 forward to the mountains ; and see thou dost not 
 stop to fetch breath till thou standest before 
 Kristine's door in Liebenaw. There tap gently 
 at the window ; thy repentant Kristine is waiting 
 for thee ! " 
 
 The good Benedick, conceiving all that passed 
 to be a dream, rubbed his eyes, pinched his arms 
 and legs, in order to be satisfied whether he was 
 awake ; and when convinced there was no illusion, 
 he dropped down at his deliverer's feet, and clasped 
 his knees, trying to stammer out his thanks ; but 
 such was his ecstasy of joy that his tongue refused 
 its office. The benevolent priest at length thrust 
 him out by main force, and gave him, moreover, a 
 crust of bread and a black pudding to eat by the 
 way. 
 
 During these transactions Kristine was sitting 
 alone in her chamber, listening to every breeze, 
 
The Gnome and the Tailor. 55 
 
 and trembling at the tread of every foot that 
 passed. She often imagined something stirred at 
 the window-shutter, or that the bell at the door 
 jingled ; she leaped up twenty times, and looked 
 with a palpitating heart through the latch-hole — 
 but it was fancy. The neighbouring cocks were 
 already uttering their first cry to proclaim the 
 dawning day. The bell at the monastery was 
 ringing for matins ; but to her the sound was 
 as a passing bell. The watchman had blown his 
 horn for the last time, and called the snoring bake- 
 house maids to their early task. Kristine's lamp 
 burned dim for want of oil, her apprehensions were 
 increasing every instant, so that she overlooked the 
 favourable omen of a rose which had gathered at 
 the top of the glimmering wick. She was seated 
 on her bed-side, weeping and sighing bitterly, 
 " Benedick, Benedick ! ah, what a sorrowful day 
 is now dawning ! ' She ran precipitately to the 
 window ; but alas ! the sky towards Hirschberg 
 was blood-red ; except where dark clouds hung 
 over the horizon like so many shrouds. Her spirits 
 
56 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 shrunk back at this ominous prospect ; she fell 
 down helpless on the floor, and a deadly silence 
 prevailed around her. 
 
 Then there came three gentle taps against her 
 window. A thrill of joy ran through her frame 
 at these sounds. Up she sprang, uttering a loud 
 cry. Then a voice whispered through the key- 
 hole — " Sweetheart ! Kristine, my love ! art thou 
 awake ? " She darted like an arrow to the door. 
 
 " Ah, Benedick ! is it thou ? " 
 
 But seeing a priest enter instead of Benedick, 
 she sank back, and swooned away. Benedick 
 flung his arm around her ; and a kiss of love 
 soon brought her to her senses. 
 
 And then Benedick began to relate his wonderful 
 deliverance out of the dreary dungeon : but his 
 tongue clave to the roof of his mouth from thirst 
 and weariness. Kristine went for a draught of 
 fresh water ; and when he had quenched his 
 thirst, he felt hungry. She had nothing to offer 
 him but salt and bread. But Benedick bethought 
 him of his black pudding. As he drew it out 
 
See page 57. 
 
The Gnome and the Tailor. 57 
 
 of his pocket, he secretly wondered at its prodi- 
 gious weight, for it was heavier than a horse-shoe. 
 As he broke it asunder, behold ! a shower of gold 
 tumbled out ; whereupon a shuddering fit seized 
 Kristine, as she feared it was part of the Jew's 
 plunder. But the guileless journeyman protested 
 that it was not so, and thought, probably, the pious 
 Friar had secretly lent him the sum for a marriage 
 portion. 
 
 Kristine believed his words, and then gratefully 
 blessed their generous benefactor. They quitted 
 their native town, and journeyed to Prague, where 
 Benedick lived long and happily with his wife, as 
 a reputable tradesman, and was blessed with a 
 numerous progeny. 
 
 Early on the same morning that Kristine heard 
 with trembling joy her sweetheart tapping at her 
 window, a knocking was also heard at the door of 
 the prison in Hirschberg. It was the Friar, who 
 having been kept awake by his zeal, could hardly 
 wait for the break of day. Number Nip, having 
 once taken up the part of the delinquent was 
 
58 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 determined to act it out for the honour of the 
 Hirschberg judicature. He seemed well prepared 
 to die, which gave the holy monk great satisfaction. 
 The criminal was carted to the place of execu- 
 tion, and submitted peaceably to all the formalities 
 of the ceremony. Next morning nothing was 
 found but a wisp of straw covered with old rags, 
 just like a mawkin suspended among peas to scare 
 away the sparrows. This discovery excited great 
 astonishment among the authorities of Hirschberg ; 
 they, however, had the man of straw quietly taken 
 down ; and reported that a high wind in the night 
 had wafted the slender tailor away from the 
 gallows. 
 
LEGEND III. 
 
 THE GNOME AND HIS DEBTOR. 
 
 The mischief practised by Number Nip was 
 often the result of mere wantonness, giving him- 
 self little concern whether the object of his attack 
 was a knave or an honest man. He would fre- 
 quently join company with a solitary traveller and 
 offer to show him the road, and when he had led 
 his companion far astray, he would vanish, and 
 leave the stranger aghast on the edge of a precipice, 
 or entangled in brushwood. He would sometimes 
 terrify the timorous market-women, by appearing 
 in the shape of some fanciful animal. The fabu- 
 lous beast called the Rysow, and resembling the 
 leopard, that has sometimes been seen in the Giant 
 Mountains, is but a phantom of Number Nip. He 
 has often been known to lame a horse, break a 
 
60 Legends of Nutnber Nip. 
 
 waggon-wheel or axle-tree, or roll the fragment of 
 a huge rock, before the eyes of the driver, into a 
 hollow way, just as the team entered it, on purpose 
 to give the poor fellow the labour of removing it 
 before he could proceed. An invisible hand has 
 often held an empty waggon so fast, that six sturdy 
 horses could not move it. If the waggoner gave 
 any intimation that it was a trick of Number Nip's, 
 or broke out into any invective against the moun- 
 tain sprite, he had to expect a shower of stones, or 
 a liberal drubbing. 
 
 But though it was easy to offend Number Nip, 
 it was not very difficult to please him. 
 
 A litigious neighbour had forced a poor country- 
 man in the hundred of Riechenberg, to spend all 
 his goods and chattels upon a law-suit. The 
 clutches of the law having seized upon his last 
 cow, he had left only a broken-hearted wife, and 
 half-a-dozen small children. He had indeed still 
 remaining a pair of lusty arms, but they were not 
 sufficient for the maintenance of his family. It 
 touched him to the heart when the young ravens 
 
The Gnome and his Debtor. 6 1 
 
 called for food, and he had nothing to satisfy their 
 hunger. 
 
 " A hundred dollars," said he to his wife in 
 their distress, " would set us up again, and we 
 might establish our household at a distance from 
 this vexatious neighbour. You have rich relations 
 on the other side of the mountain ; I'll go and lay 
 our piteous case before them : one of them, per- 
 haps, will have compassion, and kindly lend us 
 upon interest what money we want." His discon- 
 solate wife agreed to the proposal, with faint hopes 
 of a favourable issue \ but she knew of no better 
 scheme. The husband rose betimes, and as he 
 quitted his wife and children, he bade them be of 
 good cheer : " My heart tells me I shall find a 
 benefactor who will help us more than the 
 lawyers, to whom I have made so many vain 
 journeys." So saying, he put a crust in his pocket 
 for provision by the way, and set forward on his 
 journey. Towards night he arrived, weary and 
 footsore, at the village where the rich relations 
 lived — but none would own him, nonj would 
 
62 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 lodge him. He told his tale and shed tears ; 
 but the hard-hearted misers cared not for his 
 affliction, and mocked his distress with harsh re- 
 proaches and insolent proverbs — " Pride will have 
 a fall," said one : " Every one forges his own 
 fortune," said another. In this manner did they 
 insult the poor man's distress ; and at last fairly 
 thrust him out at the door, calling him an idler and 
 a spendthrift. The unfortunate Franz was not 
 prepared for such a reception from the rich rela- 
 tions of his wife ; he slunk silent and sorrowful 
 out of the village, and as he had no money to pro- 
 cure a lodging at the inn, he was forced to lie 
 under a haystack in the open field, where he 
 waited without rest for the lingering dawn to light 
 him on his way. By the time he had reached the 
 mountain, the hand of trouble and affliction pressed 
 so hard upon him, that he was near sinking into 
 absolute despair. " Two days' wages lost ! " 
 thought he to himself, weary in body, and faint 
 with hunger, without hope or comfort in his 
 jnind — " When you get home, and your six poor 
 
The Gnome and his Debtor. 63 
 
 famished darlings come running to you, lifting up 
 their little hands for food, and you must offer them 
 a stone instead of a morsel of bread ! Heart of a 
 father, how can it endure this ? Burst asunder, 
 dear heart, before you feel this uttermost distress ! " 
 In his agitation of mind a thousand abortive 
 schemes suggested themselves to the inconsolable 
 countryman ; he at last fell upon the idea of having 
 recourse in his distress to the spirit of the moun- 
 tain. He had heard a number of romantic stories 
 concerning him — how it was his practice to plague 
 weary travellers, frequently doing them essential 
 injury; but sometimes showing them kindness and 
 favour. He knew that the Spirit never suffered 
 himself to be called by his nickname with impunity ; 
 however, he could not tell by what other to invoke 
 him ; he therefore resolved to risk a pummelling, 
 and bawled amain — " Number Nip ! Number 
 Nip ! " 
 
 Immediately at the call appeared the figure of a 
 sooty collier, with a beard as red as a fox's tail, 
 hanging down to his middle : he had large fiery 
 
64 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 eyes, and in his hand he held a pole like a weaver's 
 beam, which he raised with a design to crush the 
 insolent bawler. "Great Spirit, stop one moment," 
 cried Franz, " if I have not given you your right 
 title I am sorry for it, pray forgive me ; only listen 
 a moment, and then use your pleasure." This 
 bold address, and the sorrowful countenance of the 
 man, which betokened neither insolence nor imper- 
 tinent curiosity, somewhat appeased the Gnome's 
 rage ; cc Earthworm," said he, " what impels you 
 to disturb my repose ? Know that your wretched 
 carcase must pay for this temerity." " Sir," replied 
 Franz, u necessity drives me to you, I have a small 
 favour to ask, which you can easily grant. Pray 
 lend me a hundred dollars : as I am an honest man, 
 I'll return them in three years, with lawful inte- 
 rest." " Am I an usurer," returned the spirit, 
 " that I should lend money upon interest ? Go to 
 your brethren and borrow what you need, but let 
 me alone." "Alas !" cried Franz, "with brother- 
 hood among men it is all over : no kindred is 
 acknowledged when a man is in poverty." There- 
 
See page 04. 
 
The Gnome and his Debtor* 65 
 
 upon he told his history at length, and the picture 
 of his wretchedness was so moving, that the 
 Gnome could not refuse his request. Had the 
 poor man been less deserving of compassion, the 
 notion of borrowing money of him appeared so 
 new and singular, that he was inclined, merely on 
 account of the confidence he placed in him, to 
 close with the proposals. 
 
 " Come, follow me," said he; which Franz did 
 far through the wood, till they came to a retired 
 valley, overlooked by a bold precipice, thick beset 
 with bushes, and at whose foot was the mouth of a 
 dark cavern. The heart of Franz sank within 
 him, while he groped his way along ; one cold fit 
 succeeded another, and his hair stood on end. 
 u Number Nip has misled many a man," thought 
 he ; " who knows what precipice lies before me, 
 down which I shall topple at the next step ? ' 
 Then he heard the fearful roar as of waters 
 tumbling headlong into a deep pit. The further 
 he went, the more his heart was overwhelmed 
 with terror and apprehension. But he was soon, 
 
 F 
 
66 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 to his great joy, aware of a blue flame dancing 
 before them : the vault immediately expanded into 
 a spacious apartment ; the flame burned brightly, 
 and now appeared to be suspended from the centre 
 of the dome. On the floor he was struck with the 
 sight of a large copper full of bright dollars up to 
 the very brim. At this sight all his fear vanished, 
 and his heart bounded for joy. " Take," said the 
 spirit, " what you require, only draw me up a note 
 of hand for the sum, if you can write." The 
 borrower scrupulously counted out one hundred 
 dollars and no more. The spirit appeared to pay 
 no regard to the business of counting, but turned 
 aside, and went away in quest of materials for 
 writing. Franz wrote the note of hand in as 
 binding terms as he could. The Gnome locked 
 it up in an iron box, and said, by way of farewell, 
 " Now, go your way, my friend, and make an 
 industrious use of the money ; do not forget that 
 you are my debtor ; but take good notice of the 
 entrance into this valley, and the cleft in the rock. 
 On the expiration of the third year you are to pay 
 
The Gnome and his Debtor. 67 
 
 me the capital with interest ; I am a rigid creditor : 
 if you do not keep your word, I shall demand my 
 due very rudely." Franz promised to be punctual 
 to the day, and gave him his honest hand upon the 
 bargain. He then parted from his creditor with a 
 grateful heart, and easily found his way out of the 
 cavern. 
 
 The hundred pieces had such a mighty effect 
 upon his body and mind, that he felt upon coming 
 into broad day-light, as if he had inhaled new life 
 in the cavern. He strode along- to his home full 
 of joy, and strengthened in every limb. The day 
 had begun to fall before he stepped into his 
 wretched hut. As soon as the hungry children 
 espied him, they cried out with one voice — 
 " Bread ! father, a bit of bread ! We are ready to 
 faint with hunger, you have let us starve so long." 
 His downcast wife sat in a corner, weeping, and 
 fearing the worst, as the faint-hearted are wont to 
 do. She expected her husband would begin a 
 mournful story ; but he cheerfully shook her by 
 the hand, and bid her kindle a fire upon the hearth- 
 
 f 2 
 
68 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 stone, " For I have brought," added he, " a peck 
 of oatmeal from Reichenbach in my wallet, with 
 which you shall make a hasty-pudding, stiff 
 enough for a spoon to stand upright in." 
 
 He then gave her an account of the good success 
 of his undertaking. " Your relations," said he, 
 " are good kind of people ; they did not refuse 
 to acknowledge me — never once threw my poverty 
 in my teeth, nor offered to thrust me rudely out of 
 the door : they entertained me like a prince with 
 open heart and hand ; and, what is the best part 
 of the story, counted out the hundred dollars at 
 once upon the table before me." 
 
 Then rolled a heavy weight from off the good 
 woman's heart, where it had lain long. cc Ay," 
 said she, " had we gone at once to the right smith, 
 we might have saved ourselves a deal of trouble." 
 She then fell to boast of her kindred, on whom she 
 had before placed as little reliance, and was quite 
 elated at the thought of the generosity of their 
 rich relations. The husband, after what she had 
 undergone, gladly left her in a mistake so pleasing 
 
The Gnome and his Debtor. 69 
 
 to her vanity. However, as she harped upon the 
 same string day after day, Franz grew tired of the 
 tune, and said to her, " Do you know, when I had 
 found out the right shop, what an excellent lesson 
 the master smith gave me ? " 
 
 " No," she replied ; " how should I ? What 
 was it ? " 
 
 " Why, every man, he told me, forged his own 
 fortune ; and you must strike while the iron is hot ; 
 therefore, let us now bestir ourselves, and mind 
 our business, that we may get enough in three 
 years to pay capital and interest, and so be easy 
 and out of debt." 
 
 He soon afterwards purchased a patch of ground 
 for the plough, and another for hay, and then 
 another and another, and at length a whole hide 
 of land : there was a blessing attending Number 
 Nip's gold, as though there had been a decoy 
 dollar among- the hundred. Franz sowed and 
 reaped, and began to be acknowledged a thriving 
 man in the village. The third spring he took a 
 large farm, in addition to his hide of land, and 
 
70 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 this brought him in great profit : he was, in short, 
 a man with whom every undertaking prospered. 
 
 The time of payment now approached, and 
 Franz had saved so much that he could take 
 up his note without inconvenience. On the 
 appointed day he rose early, and having care- 
 fully counted out the sum, waked his wife and 
 all the children, and bade them wash themselves 
 clean, comb their hair, and put on their Sunday 
 clothes, also their new shoes and new scarlet bibs 
 and waistcoats. He himself fetched his Sabbath- 
 day coat, and called from the window to Jan to 
 put the horses to. 
 
 " What ails you, father ? " asked his wife ; 
 " to-day is neither saint's day nor holiday — what 
 makes you in such good humour ? What is 
 the meaning of all this that you have prepared, 
 and where do you mean to take us ? " 
 
 " To visit the rich relations beyond the moun- 
 tains, and to pay the creditor who helped me up 
 again in the world his interest and principal, for 
 this is the pay-day." 
 
The Gnome and his Debtor. 71 
 
 Margaret was right glad to hear this. She 
 dressed herself and the children in all their finery ; 
 and that the rich relations might have a good reason 
 to own and not be ashamed of her, she tied a neck- 
 lace of crooked ducats round her own neck. 
 Franz took his weighty purse, and when everything 
 was ready, mounted with his wife and children on 
 the waggon. Jan smacked his whip, and the four 
 horses stepped briskly forward over the level 
 towards the Giant Mountains. Just before they 
 came to a steep hollow way, the master made the 
 waggon halt, got down, and told the rest to do the 
 same. He then said to his man — 
 
 " Jan, drive quietly up the steep ; above at the 
 three oaks you can wait for us ; and if we tarry 
 awhile, do not be impatient, but let the horses take 
 a mouthful of grass. I know a footpath here- 
 abouts ; it is a little round, but very pleasant — we 
 will walk." 
 
 He then went straight forward into the wood, 
 attended by his family. The bushes were very 
 thick, and Margaret, seeing her husband look 
 
72 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 about here and there, thought he had missed his 
 way, and advised him to turn back and follow the 
 high road. But he stopped of a sudden, made his 
 six children form a ring round him, and said — 
 
 " You fancy, my dear Margaret, that we are 
 going to your relations, but that is not my design 
 at present. Your rich friends are pitiless, hard- 
 hearted misers. When I went formerly in my 
 distress, to seek assistance from them, they insulted 
 and drove me haughtily from their doors. Here 
 lives the rich relation to whom we are indebted for 
 our good circumstances, and who, on my note of 
 hand, lent me the money that has multiplied so fast 
 with me. He appointed me to come hither this 
 day, to pay up interest and principal. Can you 
 now guess who our creditor is ? It is no other 
 than the Lord of the Hill, nicknamed Number 
 Nip." 
 
 At this speech the good woman was violently 
 alarmed ; she crossed herself ; the children trembled 
 and nestled close together, for fear their father 
 should take them to Number Nip. They had 
 
The Gnome and his Debtor. 73 
 
 heard of many fearful accounts of him in long 
 winter nights ; how he was a hideous giant and a 
 cannibal, eating men up alive. Franz related the 
 whole of his adventure, in what manner, at his 
 call, the spirit had appeared to him in the shape of 
 a collier, and the rest of the transactions in the 
 cavern. He praised his beneficence with a 
 thankful heart ; and so deep-felt was his sense 
 of gratitude, that the tears rolled apace down his 
 sun-burnt cheeks. " Wait here," he concluded, 
 u and I will go into the cave to finish my business. 
 Fear nothing ; I shall not be long gone, and if I can 
 obtain the favour, I will bring the Lord of the Hill 
 to see you. Do not be afraid, children, of taking 
 him kindly by the hand, though it should be black 
 and sooty ; he will do nothing to hurt you, but 
 will rejoice at the good effects of his own kind 
 deed, and receive your thanks with pleasure." 
 
 Though the timid wife had much to object 
 against Franz entering the cavern, and the children 
 cried and screamed unmercifully, collecting them- 
 selves in a body round their father, and laying hold 
 
74 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 of his skirts as he passed by them, he tore himself 
 away by force, and arrived at the well-known rock. 
 He recognised all the marks of the place, which he 
 had so well fixed in his memory : the old half- 
 decayed oak, at whose root was the mouth of the 
 cavern, stood just as it had stood three years before ; 
 but of the hole not a trace was to be seen. Franz 
 tried every method to gain admittance into the rock ; 
 he lifted up a stone and knocked aloud, imagining 
 it would be opened ; he drew out the heavy purse 
 of gold, rattled the dollars, and cried out as loud as 
 he could, " Spirit of the Mountain, come and take 
 what is your due ! " but no spirit was to be seen or 
 heard. The honest debtor was therefore obliged 
 to turn back with his money. As soon as his wife 
 and children espied him at a distance, they hastened 
 joyfully to meet him ; but he was much troubled at 
 not being able to make his payment punctually. 
 He therefore sat himself down upon the grass, and 
 began to consider what was to be done. He 
 recollected the particulars of his former bold ad- 
 venture : " I'll call him," said he, " by his nick- 
 
The Gnome and his Debtor. 75 
 
 name, as I did before ; if it displease him, let him 
 pinch and pummel me black and blue ; he'll 
 certainly hear my call — Number Nip ! what ho ! 
 Number Nip ! " His terrified wife entreated him 
 to hold his tongue ; she put her hand before his 
 mouth : he, however, would not be stopped, but 
 called the louder. Of a sudden the youngest 
 boy ran up to his mother, and clasping her fast, 
 cried out, " Oh the sooty man ! " Franz coolly 
 inquired, " Where ? " " There, there he lurks 
 behind that tree ! " and all the children crowded 
 together, shaking with fear, and bellowing aloud. 
 The father looked that way but could see nothing, 
 so he supposed it to be only the child's fear j and 
 in short Number Nip could not be roused, and all 
 his calling was in vain. 
 
 The family now returned the way they came, 
 and Father Franz was much dispirited and 
 chagrined. As they passed along, they heard in 
 the wood a gentle rustling among the trees ; the 
 slender birch waved his pliant boughs, the tremu- 
 lous foliage of the aspen quivered ; the murmur 
 
76 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 approached nearer and nearer, the wind shaking the 
 wide-spread branches of the oaks that grew out of 
 the face of the precipice ; the dry leaves and straw 
 flitted from place to place along the road, and 
 little whirlwinds carried them up into the air. The 
 children, who had by this time forgotten their fears 
 of Number Nip, pursued the dancing foliage, much 
 diverted with the spectacle, and constantly catching 
 at the dry leaves, as they were lifted by the playful 
 breeze. Among the flying materials a leaf of paper 
 was blown across the road, and to which the little 
 boy, that had seen the spirit in the wood, gave 
 chase ; but when he came near enough to make a 
 grasp, the wind whirled it a little further beyond his ' 
 reach. He then tried to stop it with his hat, and 
 after several fruitless attempts at last was success- 
 ful. Seeing it was a clean white sheet, and his 
 economical father having been accustomed to turn 
 everything to account in his house-keeping, the boy 
 carried the paper to him, in hopes of being patted 
 and called a good child. The father opening the 
 folded sheet to examine it, was astonished to find 
 
The Gnome and his Debtor. 77 
 
 the very security he had given to the Lord of the 
 Hill ! It was torn from top to bottom, and there 
 stood written below — tc Received in full. Number 
 Nip." 
 
 At this sight Franz was deeply affected : he 
 cried out in a transport of joy, " Rejoice, my dear 
 wife, and you my little ones be joyful ; he has 
 seen us, our kind benefactor has heard our thanks- 
 giving ; he hovered over us unseen, and knows his 
 debtor to be a man of his word. I am free from 
 my obligation ; now let us return home with glad- 
 ness in our hearts." The parents and children 
 went on, shedding tears of gratitude and joy, till at 
 last they came up to the waggon ; but Margaret 
 had an earnest desire to pay her kinsfolk a visit j 
 she wished to shame the unfeeling niggards ; so 
 instead of turning back, they rolled cheerfully down 
 the mountain in the waggon, and by evening arrived 
 in the village. They stopped at the same farm- 
 house from which Franz had been thrust three 
 years before. This time he knocked boldly, and 
 inquired for the master. But a strange person 
 
78 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 came to the door, who was not of his wife's 
 kindred. Of him Franz learned that the rich rela- 
 tions had all left the village. One had become bank- 
 rupt, another was dead, a third had removed, and 
 their place was nowhere found among the people. 
 Franz and his family spent the night with the 
 hospitable farmer, who gave him and his wife a 
 fuller account of everything that had happened to 
 his cousins. Next day they returned home. 
 Franz went on increasing in riches, and, under 
 the blessing attendant on honest industry, flourished 
 all the days of his life. 
 
LEGEND IV. 
 
 NUMBER NIP AND THE GLASS-SELLER. 
 
 Though the favourite of the Gnome had been 
 scrupulously careful to conceal the true origin of 
 his good fortune, lest others should annoy his 
 patron by importunate applications of the same 
 kind, the affair, nevertheless, became the country's 
 talk ; for when the husband's secret hovers between 
 the wife's lips, the slightest breath will blow it 
 abroad. Margaret communicated it to a discreet 
 neighbour ; she to her gossip, the village barber ; 
 and he of course to all his customers ; so it was 
 noised about in the village, and afterwards through 
 the whole parish. 
 
 The broken housekeepers, the idlers, and the 
 spendthrifts, repaired in troops to the mountain, 
 insolently invoking and importuning the Gnome. 
 
80 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 They were joined by gold-finders and gipsies, who 
 crossed the mountain and dug holes in every spot, 
 in hopes of finding the copper of dollars. Number 
 Nip let them carry on their operations without 
 molestation, not thinking it worth while to be 
 seriously angry with such vagabonds. Sometimes 
 he would amuse himself by causing a blue flame to 
 dance about in the night, and then allow the gold- 
 seekers to dig up a large pot seemingly full of gold, 
 which they carried home in great triumph, and 
 kept nine days without saying a word, or touch- 
 ing ; but when they came to examine the prize, 
 they found only potsherds and pebbles. At last 
 the spirit grew angry, and drove the worthless crew 
 out of his domains by severe hail-storms, and 
 became himself so fretful that no wanderer ven- 
 tured upon the mountain without apprehension. 
 Scarce any escaped without a scourging. One day, 
 as the spirit lay basking by the hedge of his garden, 
 he espied walking along a poor woman, whose 
 appearance and accompaniments arrested his atten- 
 tion. She had a child at her breast, another rode 
 
Number Nip and the Glass-seller. 81 
 
 on her back, a third she led by the hand, and a 
 fourth carried a basket with a rake, for she had 
 come for a basket of leaves for her cattle at home. 
 " Truly a mother," thought Number Nip ; " must 
 be a kind, affectionate creature. See how this 
 woman, without a murmur, drags herself along 
 with a load of four children. This is in faith buy- 
 ing connubial felicity at a high price." These re- 
 flections put him in great good humour, and he felt 
 inclined to converse with the poor woman. She 
 sat her children down upon the turf, and commenced 
 stripping the leaves from the bushes, but the little 
 ones soon began to squall unmercifully. The 
 mother immediately quitted her employment to play 
 with the children, tossing one and dandling another, 
 until they were all quieted, and then she returned 
 to her work. Soon after the flies bit the little 
 sleepers, and they began to cry anew. The 
 mother, however, showed no signs of impatience, 
 but ran to the wood to gather black-berries and bil- 
 berries to distribute among them. 
 
 This maternal proceeding delighted the Gnome 
 
 G 
 
82 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 exceedingly. But the younger one that had rode 
 upon his mother's back was not to be appeased : 
 he was an obstinate capricious child, and threw 
 away the bilberries his affectionate mother had 
 given him, crying all the while. This was too 
 much for her patience, so she called out, " Number 
 Nip ! Number Nip ! come and take this naughty 
 child ! ' That moment the spirit appeared in his 
 collier's dress, and approaching the woman, said, 
 " Here am I, what is your will ? ' The appa- 
 rition threw her into great consternation for a 
 moment, but, taking courage, she replied, " I 
 called thee only to quiet the children, and now 
 they have done crying I have no further occasion 
 for thee." " Dost thou not know," returned the 
 Gnome, " that no one takes such a liberty with 
 me without paying for it ? I will have thee at thy 
 word : Give me the child that cried, and I will eat 
 it ? " So saying, he stretched out his sooty arms 
 towards the infant. The woman clasped the little 
 one to her bosom, exclaiming, " Monster ! thou 
 should'st take my life before I would part with my 
 
See page 82. 
 
Number Nip and the Glass-seller. 83 
 
 child. Come no nearer, or I will strike thee with 
 my rake ! " 
 
 Number Nip was not prepared for such a 
 resolute refusal, and he started back as if afraid : 
 " There is no occasion for this passion," said 
 he, with a friendly smile, " I am no cannibal, 
 as thou imaginest, neither will I do thee or thy 
 children the least harm ; but give me the boy. I 
 have taken a fancy to him ; I will bring him up to 
 be a gentleman, and he shall be able to assist his 
 father and brothers hereafter. Here are five golden 
 crowns for him." 
 
 " I would not sell this boy for all the money 
 upon earth," replied the mother, hugging her child 
 closer to her bosom. 
 
 " Fool ! hast thou not three children besides ? 
 Are they not enough to load and plague thee ? 
 Thou must labour hard to maintain them," said 
 Number Nip. 
 
 " That is very true, but I am their mother. I 
 must do my duty by them. Children bring sorrow 
 and trouble, but they bring much comfort also ! " 
 
 G 2 
 
84 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 " Comfort, indeed ! To watch them night and 
 day, to bear with all their ill temper and caprice ! 
 To starve thyself to feed them !" said the Gnome, 
 sneeringly. 
 
 " Truly, sir, you little understand a mother's 
 feelings ! A single loving look, the sweet smiles 
 and lispings of the little ones repay all labour, 
 trouble, and privation. Look now at this little 
 angel how he clings to me, the coaxer ! He is 
 no longer the same boy who cried and screamed 
 so but now. Ah ! that I had a hundred hands 
 to labour for my darlings." She knelt down, and 
 gathering her children in her arms, kissed them 
 fondly. 
 
 " So then ! has thy husband no hands to 
 work ? " 
 
 " Hands ! yes, indeed," replied the woman ; 
 " stirring hands too, as I feel sometimes." 
 
 " How ! can a husband find it in his heart to 
 lift his hand against such a wife ? " 
 
 " The men are a naughty set," said the woman, 
 with a smile. "' After marriage comes sorrow,' 
 
Number Nip and the Glass-seller. 85 
 
 runs the adage — but I must e'en submit to it, 
 since I have vowed to take Stephen for better or 
 
 worse." 
 
 " If thou wert sure the men were so naughty 
 before hand, it was but a foolish bargain to take 
 one for better or for worse." 
 
 " Perhaps so ! But Stephen was a brisk, hand- 
 some young man, with a good trade ; as for me, 
 I was but a poor simple girl, without a penny 
 for my portion. So he came to me with a dollar 
 earnest, and the bargain was struck. Afterwards, 
 indeed, he took away the dollar, and I have the 
 wild man still left ! " 
 
 The spirit smiled and said, " But perhaps it is 
 thou that provokest him by thy perverseness." 
 
 " Oh ! he has long driven that evil spirit out of 
 me. Stephen is fond of money, and when I ask 
 him for a few groschen he blusters in the house, 
 worse than you do at times in the mountain. 
 Then he taunts me with my poverty, and I must 
 needs hold my tongue. Had I but brought him a 
 portion, I should know how to silence him ! ' 
 
86 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 " What is thy husband's trade ? " asked the 
 Gnome. 
 
 " He is a glass-seller : he earns his bread hardly 
 enough, poor fellow ! He is obliged to carry a 
 heavy burden from Bohemia hither every year, 
 and if he breaks a glass by the way, wife and 
 children must pay for it ! no matter : c love's blows 
 breaks no bones.' " 
 
 " And thou can'st love the man who plays the 
 game of wedlock so foully with thee ? ' 
 
 " Why not ? is he not the father of my children ? 
 They will make all good again, and reward us for 
 all when they grow up ! " 
 
 " Poor consolation : I doubt. Children, forsooth, 
 never fail to return mighty thanks for their parents' 
 care and trouble ! Thy boys will squeeze the last 
 farthing out of thy pocket, when the conscription 
 claims them, or they will be marched off to be 
 slaughtered by the Turks." 
 
 " That gives me small concern," replied the 
 woman, " if they are killed, they will die in the 
 service of their king and their country, but they 
 
Number Nip and the Glass-seller. 87 
 
 may bring home prize-money, and be a comfort to 
 their aged parents." 
 
 The spirit now renewed his proposals for the 
 boy ; but the mother only shook her head as she 
 raked up the leaves and stuffed them into the 
 basket, on the top of which she tied her infant by 
 his leading strings. Number Nip turned away as if 
 to depart : but the woman, finding the burden too 
 heavy to lift, called him back. 
 
 " I called you once," she said, " and you came ; 
 be so good as to come again and help me up with 
 this load ; and if you will do me any further 
 favour, give the boy which pleases you a Whit- 
 suntide gift to buy him a cake. His father comes 
 home to-morrow, and will bring us some white 
 bread out of Bohemia." 
 
 The spirit answered, u I will help you up with 
 your burden with all my heart, but unless thou 
 wilt give me the boy, he shall have no gift from 
 me. 
 
 " You have had my answer," replied the woman, 
 and went her way. The farther she walked the 
 
88 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 heavier grew her basket, and at last she almost 
 fainted under the load. This seemed extremely 
 odd, and made her fancy all was not right. She 
 imagined that Number Nip had played her some 
 trick ; so she sat the basket on a large stone, and 
 turned it over to ascertain if he had not slipped 
 some stones into it unobserved. Nothing, how- 
 ever, but leaves fell out ; she therefore filled it 
 again only half full. But the burden soon became 
 too heavy for her again, and she was obliged to 
 empty it once more. All this much surprised the 
 good woman, for she was strong, and had been 
 used to carry great burdens of fodder, without any 
 difficulty. When she arrived at her cottage, not- 
 withstanding her fatigue, she carried the leaves to 
 the goat and the young kids, gave the children 
 their supper and put them to bed, said her even- 
 ing prayers, and went to sleep with a light and 
 contented heart. The dawn of day and the wake- 
 ful infant who impatiently demanded his breakfast, 
 roused the industrious housekeeper out of a sound 
 slumber, to her daily labours. She went as usual 
 
Number Nip and the Glass-seller. 89 
 
 to the goat house with her milk pail ! But what a 
 dreadful sight ! the poor old milch goat and her 
 kids were dead ! The poor woman sank down 
 overpowered with grief on a bundle of straw, 
 exclaiming, " Unfortunate woman that I am ! 
 what shall I do now ? And what will my sour 
 husband say when he comes home ? Alas ! God's 
 blessing has forsaken me." At the same instant 
 she condemned herself for the profane thought. 
 " If the poor goats be all the blessing God has 
 given thee in this world, what is Stephen, and 
 what thy children ? Still thou hast them ! The 
 fountain of milk for the poor suckling is not dried 
 up, and, for the other three, there is water in the 
 well. Suppose Stephen should be angry, and give 
 thee a few hard blows, what is that but a passing 
 storm ? My heart acquits me of any fault ; I 
 have been guilty of no neglect ; harvest is coming 
 on apace : I can then go reaping : and in winter I 
 will spin till midnight. A goat will soon be got 
 some way or other ! " These reflections revived 
 her drooping spirits, and she wiped away her tears. 
 
90 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 Casting her eyes on the ground she saw a leaf at 
 her feet, that glittered like virgin gold. She 
 picked it up, and behold, it was as heavy as gold. 
 She hurried instantly to her neighbour the Jewess, 
 and with great eagerness showed her the windfall. 
 The Jewess declared it to be pure gold, and, after 
 a little haggling, gave her in exchange two dollars 
 for the leaf. All her sorrow was now forgotten. 
 The poor woman had never possessed so much 
 sterling coin in her life. She ran to the bakehouse 
 and bought bread and cakes for the children, and a 
 pig's pudding, which she dressed for Stephen, when 
 he should come home tired and hungry from his 
 journey in the evening. How the children jumped 
 about or clung to their happy mother as she dis- 
 played this unusual breakfast, and then freely dis- 
 tributed it amongst them. Her next care was to 
 remove the goats, with the intention of concealing 
 her calamity from her husband as long as she 
 could, but how was she astonished, on looking 
 into the feeding trough, to see a whole heap of 
 o-olden leaves glittering in it ! The cause of her 
 
Number Nip and the Glass-seller. 91 
 
 goats' deaths was now explained, and she saw no 
 end to her riches ; but in taking possession of 
 them, she also inherited the heavy' cares attending 
 upon wealth : she became uneasy and fearful : she 
 knew not whether she should lock up their treasure 
 in the chest, or bury it in the cellar, as she was 
 alarmed for fear of thieves. She firmly resolved 
 not to let her husband know all at once, very 
 justly fearing that the demon of avarice might 
 instigate him to take all, and leave her and her 
 children as destitute as ever. She considered long 
 how she should act for the best, but without 
 coming to any determination, until she thought of 
 the parish priest, who was the counsellor and 
 defender of all maltreated wives. She therefore 
 went in her present difficulty to the good priest, 
 and gave him a faithful account of her adventure 
 with Number Nip, and told in what manner he 
 had helped her to the great riches she was now so 
 anxious to secure, authenticating her story by pro- 
 ducing the whole stock of gold. The priest 
 began crossing himself with great earnestness at 
 
g2 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 this extraordinary narrative, though he was all the 
 while sincerely rejoiced at the good fortune of the 
 poor woman. After a long deliberation he said, 
 u Hearken to me, my daughter. I have thought 
 of a plan to aid thee. Weigh out all thy gold to 
 me, that I may keep it faithfully for thee ; then 
 I will write a letter in Italian to this effect, 
 that thy brother who went abroad several years 
 ago, had sailed for the East Indies in the 
 Venetian service, that he died there, first having 
 made a will, leaving thee all his property, under 
 condition that the priest of the parish should 
 be thy trustee, in order that his legacy might be 
 applied to no other person." Then the good 
 priest having conscientiously weighed the gold in 
 her presence, and put it into the church coffer, 
 his spiritual daughter returned home with a joyful 
 heart. 
 
 As Number Nip was as much displeased with 
 the savage Stephen as he had been gratified by 
 the behaviour and sentiments of his patient wife, 
 he therefore resolved, for the wife's sake, to 
 
Number Nip and the Glass-seller. 93 
 
 play him some trick that should subdue his 
 surly nature. The heavily laden Stephen had 
 nearly climbed the last hill that lay between 
 him and his home. He was forced to pause 
 more than once before he gained the top, resting 
 the crate of glass he carried each time upon his 
 knotty crab stick, in order to ease its oppressive 
 weight, and to wipe away the big drops of sweat 
 that broke out upon his forehead. At last he 
 reached the summit, and then a smooth even path 
 led to the descent. Midway there lay a fir-tree 
 that had been lately felled, and that part of the 
 bole which remained in the earth formed a natural 
 table, round which grew a luxuriant bed of dark 
 green grass. The place so tempted the weary 
 glassman, that he immediately rested his crate 
 upon the upright log, and threw himself down upon 
 the luxuriant grass. Here he began to consider 
 what profit his stock would produce, and upon 
 calculation he found that if he did not spend a 
 single penny at home, but made the industrious 
 hand of his wife provide for the family, he should 
 
94 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 just be able to buy an ass at Friedburg fair. The 
 idea of transferring the load from his own back 
 and walking at his ease, so delighted his fancy for 
 the moment, when his shoulders were raw and 
 sore, that he could not help continuing his agreeable 
 reverie. 
 
 " When once I have the ass," he thought, " I 
 shall soon change that for a horse ; and when I 
 have got that in the stable, an acre of ground to 
 grow oats will come of course. One acre will 
 soon grow to two, two to four, and so on, until I 
 get a good farm." 
 
 He had got so far in his day-dream when 
 Number Nip sent forth a roaring whirlwind, and 
 overset the crate with such violence, that all the 
 brittle contents were broken into a thousand pieces. 
 A loud horse-laugh was heard at a distance, and 
 when Stephen looked around him, and saw that 
 the log and fir-tree had all disappeared, he had no 
 difficulty in guessing who was the author of the 
 mischief. " Scoundrel Number Nip," he cried, 
 " thou envious and wicked Sprite ! what have I 
 
Number Nip and the Glass-seller. 95 
 
 done that thou should'st snatch my morsel of 
 bread from my lips, the hard-earned fruit of my 
 sweat and toil ? Alas ! ruined man that I am, now 
 thou hast taken away all I have in the world, 
 come and kill me ! " Indeed, at that instant, he 
 had no more value for his life than for one of his 
 broken glasses. The bankrupt Stephen, having 
 picked up the fragments that he might change 
 them for a couple of beer-glasses at the glass- 
 house, towards raising a new stock, descended the 
 mountain with a thousand dismal thoughts, mingled 
 however with various speculations as to the 
 manner in which he might begin to trade again. 
 Among other things, his wife's goats came across 
 his imagination ; but she loved them almost as well 
 as her children ; and by fair means, he knew, there 
 was no possibility of inducing her to part with 
 them. After mature deliberation, he therefore 
 determined not to mention his misfortune at home, 
 not even to return thither by day, but to steal at 
 midnight into the house, drive the goats to Fried- 
 burg market, and, with what they would sell for, 
 
96 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 purchase more glass-ware. Having resolved upon 
 this notable scheme, the unfortunate collector of 
 fragments concealed himself in a copse near the 
 village, awaiting the hour of midnight, that he 
 might rob himself. When the clock struck 
 twelve he set out on his thief's errand ; climbing 
 over the low passage door, he stole softly to the 
 goat-house, fearing all the time that his wife would 
 hear him. Contrary to custom, he found the goat- 
 house door wide open, a circumstance which 
 agreeably surprised him, for he discovered in this 
 neglect an opportunity to conceal his own villainy. 
 But in the goat-house all was silent ; he could 
 neither hear nor feel anything that had life, neither 
 goat nor kid. In his first alarm he thought that 
 he had been anticipated by some more fortunate 
 thief, for misfortunes, he remembered, seldom come 
 singly. He sank down dispirited upon the straw, 
 and felt himself to be an utterly ruined man. 
 Jane, his wife, in the mean time, had, on her 
 return from the priest, put her house in order to 
 receive her husband, and prepared a savoury meal, 
 
Number Nip and the Glass-seller. 97 
 
 to which she had invited the good priest, and 
 who had promised to bring a bottle of table wine, 
 intending to give Stephen, when the good cheer 
 had warmed his heart, an account of his wife's 
 windfall, and to explain the conditions under which 
 he should be allowed to partake. 
 
 Towards evening she looked repeatedly from 
 the window, and then, in her impatience, ran out 
 beyond the village, wondering at her husband's 
 long delay. As night advanced, she became 
 alarmed, and her fears expelled all thoughts of 
 supper. Not a wink of sleep closed her tear- 
 swollen eyes till morning, when she fell into a 
 restless slumber. Stephen in the goat-house did 
 not feel a whit more comfortable ; he thought the 
 nisht would never be at an end, and became so low 
 
 o 
 
 and crest-fallen, that he had not the heart to 
 knock at his own door. At length, however, he 
 stole out, rapped very gently, and said in a faint- 
 hearted voice, " Pray rise, dear wife, and open the 
 door to thy husband." Jane no sooner heard 
 the sound of his voice, than she started up, 
 
 H 
 
98 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 unfastened the door, and joyfully clasped her 
 husband in her arms : but he returned her loving 
 caresses with great coldness, and having put down 
 his basket, threw himself upon the bench. His 
 sorrowful figure, and his evident distress, pierced 
 his faithful wife to the heart. " What grieves 
 thee, my dear Stephen ? what is the matter with 
 thee ? art thou not well ? " He made no reply to 
 her affectionate inquiry but by sighs and groans. 
 She soon, however drew from him the cause of 
 his grief, for adversity having softened his heart, 
 he could not any longer conceal the fatal accident 
 from his tender-hearted wife. Hearing that 
 Number Nip had practised this unlucky prank, 
 she immediately guessed the kind intention of the 
 spirit, and could not refrain from bursting out 
 into a loud laugh — a liberty which would have 
 been severely resented in Stephen's more manful 
 mood. But now he suffered her levity to pass 
 unchastised, and only inquired anxiously after the 
 goat and kids. "Why dost thou trouble thyself 
 about my goats ? " said she \ " thou hast nut 
 
Number Nip and the Glass-seller. 99 
 
 asked one question about the poor children. The 
 goat and kids are yonder in the pasture, and 
 will not run away. As for Number Nip's prank, 
 do not take it so much to heart : who knows how 
 soon he or another may make us rich ? " 
 
 " Ay, thou mayest wait long enough for that," 
 said the desponding husband. 
 
 " Little looked for often comes at last," retorted 
 the merryhearted wife. " Do not despair : though 
 thou hast no glass and I no goat, yet we have four 
 fine children : and four stout arms to maintain them 
 and ourselves : Surely that is wealth enough ? ' 
 
 u If the cattle are gone," cried Stephen, in abso- 
 lute despondency, cc go and drown your four brats, 
 for to maintain them is what I cannot pretend to 
 do." 
 
 " Why then I will provide for them," rejoined 
 Jane. 
 
 As she spoke the friendly priest came in. He 
 had listened without and heard the whole con- 
 versation, so he took up the word and read a 
 
 long sermon upon the text, " Money is the root 
 
 h 2 
 
100 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 of all evil." He then drew the Italian letter out 
 of his pocket, and interpreted to Stephen that the 
 parish priest for the time being was the appointed 
 executor of the will, and that he had already re- 
 ceived the legacy of the departed brother-in-law. 
 Stephen stood up all the while, nodding his head 
 from time to time like a Chinese idol. When 
 he had recovered from the effects of the priest's 
 communication he earnestly embraced his faithful 
 wife, and made her a second declaration of love, 
 not less warm than the first : and though it 
 arose now from very different motives, Jane 
 received it with equal kindness. From this mo- 
 ment he became the most pliant of husbands, 
 a tender father to his children, and withal 
 an industrious house-keeper, for idleness had 
 never been his failing. The honest priest by 
 degrees exchanged the gold for sterling money, 
 and purchased a large farm on which Stephen and 
 Jane lived out their lives. The surplus he lent 
 at interest, and managed the capital of his ghostly 
 daughter as conscientiously as if it had been the 
 

 
 
 Number Nip and the Glass-seller. 101 
 
 Church money, for which service he received no 
 other recompense than a surplice presented by- 
 Jane, and which she caused to be made so rich 
 and sumptuous, that no Archbishop would have 
 been ashamed to wear it. The affectionate mother 
 in her old age had great joy from her children. 
 Number Nip's favourite became a brave fellow, 
 and practised the virtuous lessons his mother dic- 
 tated, in the unlettered integrity of her heart. 
 
1 < ' , ' < - 
 
 , ' , 1 r , . • I 
 
 LEGEND V. 
 
 THE HEADLESS ROGUE AND THE COUNTESS. 
 
 After the last adventure of Number Nip, he 
 appeared no more for a long time. The common 
 people amused themselves with absurd stories, 
 which in winter evenings they span out as long as 
 the thread from their distaffs : but they were all idle 
 inventions, and served but to pass the time away. 
 For one authentic story of the Giant Mountains 
 there were a hundred lying reports, among the 
 vulgar, concerning Number Nip. The Countess 
 Cecilia, was the last person whom the tricksy 
 spirit visited before he dived into the world below 
 never to appear upon earth.* This lady, a victim 
 to all the fashionable aches and pains of her time, 
 
 * Washington Irving seems to have remembered this tale 
 when he wrote the " Legend of Sleepy Hollow." — Ed. 
 
See pacje 103. 
 
Thd Headless Rogue and the Countess. 103 
 
 was on a journey with two healthy blooming 
 daughters, to Carlsbad. The mother was so im- 
 patient to try the virtues of the spring, and her 
 daughters to enjoy the company and diversions of 
 the place, that they travelled day and night, without 
 stopping for repose. It so happened that they entered 
 the Giant Mountains on a serene summer evening 
 when not a breath of air was stirring ; the noctur- 
 nal sky was thickly studded with stars, the bright 
 crescent whose silvery light relieved the swarthy 
 shades of the lofty pines, and a thousand phos- 
 phorescent insects that sported among the bushes, 
 like so many sparks of fire, combined to illuminate 
 the forest scene, though the company in the coach 
 enjoyed it but drowsily, as the easy motion of the 
 carriage ascending the hill had lulled mother and 
 daughters into a gentle slumber. But the wakeful 
 Fritz, who was mounted upon the lofty watch 
 tower of the coach box, felt no inclination to sleep : 
 all the stories of Number Nip which he had 
 formerly devoured with such eager attention, arose 
 at once to his mind, now that he was traversing 
 
104 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 those haunted mountains, where the adventures had 
 happened, and he heartily wished he had never 
 listened to them. From time to time he cast 
 around a timid look from his half closed eyes and 
 when he espied any suspicious object a cold 
 shudder stole down his back, and his hair grew 
 stiff as bristles. He would sometimes commu- 
 nicate his suspicions to the postilion, and ask with 
 great emotion if any spirit had been lately seen in 
 the mountain, and although the postilion assured 
 him to the contrary, his heart misgave him. After 
 a long pause in the conversation, the postilion 
 stopped the horses, muttered something between 
 his teeth, and then went on again — then stopped — 
 and continued to do so several times. Fritz, who 
 had now shut his eyes fast from fear, inferred 
 nothing good from these performances. Peeping 
 up cautiously he saw to his utter confusion, stalking 
 on about a stone's throw from the horses' heads, a 
 jet black figure, of a size exceeding that of man, 
 wearing a large Spanish cloak, but the most re- 
 markable circumstance of all was this — the stranger 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 105 
 
 was without a head ! If the coach halted, the 
 figure halted also, when the postilion drove on it 
 proceeded also. " Comrade, dost thou see any- 
 thing," cried the dovehearted Fritz from the coach- 
 box, with a faltering voice and upstanding hair. 
 
 " I do indeed see something," answered the 
 other in a low tone ; " but keep silence, as I am 
 afraid we shall miss our way." 
 
 Fritz fortified himself by repeating all the prayers 
 against evil spirits which he knew, reeking all the 
 time with cold perspiration. When he could bear 
 this state of doubt no longer, he leaned back and 
 tapped at the window of the carriage to arouse 
 his sleeping mistress. The yawning Countess, out 
 of humour at being disturbed from her comfortable 
 nap, sharply demanded, " Who's there ? what do 
 you want ? " 
 
 " Your ladyship," replied Fritz, with a trem- 
 bling tone, u be so good as to look out of the 
 window : for there walks a man without a head 
 close beside us ! " 
 
 " Blockhead," replied the Countess, " of what 
 
io6 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 is thy vulgar imagination dreaming?" and then con- 
 tinued in a tone of raillery, " a man without a 
 head is no rarity ; there are plenty in Breslau to 
 my knowledge." 
 
 The young ladies could not relish the wit of 
 their honoured mother at such a moment, and they 
 pressed closely to the old lady, trembling and 
 crying out, " Oh ! if it should be Number Nip, the 
 Mountain Spirit." 
 
 The old lady (whose opinions differed greatly 
 from her daughters' concerning the invisible world) 
 believed in no spirits, and chiding the girls for 
 entertaining such vulgar fancies, proceeded to 
 prove that all stories of ghosts and apparitions 
 were the creations of a disordered imagination : 
 
 O 
 
 or were traceable to natural causes. Her elo- 
 quence was producing but little effect, when the 
 black figure that had disappeared for a few mo- 
 ments out of sight, emerged from among the 
 bushes, and advanced down the road. It was 
 now evident that Fritz had been mistaken — the 
 man on foot had a head, only he did not wear 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 107 
 
 it, according to the usual fashion, between his 
 shoulders, but carried it under his arm as if it had 
 been a lap-dog. This monstrous figure only three 
 paces off", excited great consternation both within 
 and without the coach. The young ladies screamed 
 aloud, and let down the silk curtains to avoid 
 seeing the figure, thus hiding their heads, like the 
 ostrich when it is run down by the hunters. 
 The Countess clasped her hands in silent agony, 
 and this movement might have excused the infer- 
 ence that she was silently recanting her confident 
 assertions as to the non-existence of spirits. Fritz, 
 against whom the formidable fio-ure in black seemed 
 to be meditating some design, began, in the anguish 
 of his heart, a repetition of his prayers, but, before 
 he could half finish, the monster took his head 
 from under his arm, and hurled it at Fritz, striking: 
 him in the centre of his forehead so severely, that 
 he tumbled headlong from the box over the fore- 
 wheel, and in the same instant the postilion was 
 stretched in the dust by a severe blow from a club. 
 The Phantom then uttered these words in a solemn 
 
108 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 tone, " Take that from Number Nip, the Warden 
 of the March." Upon this the apparition mounted 
 into the saddle, and began to dash the horses up 
 hill and down — over stock and stone — so, between 
 the rattling of the wheels and the clatter of the 
 horses' hoofs, the ladies' screams were entirely lost. 
 In a moment the number of the company was 
 increased by the addition of a man on horseback, 
 who passed the driver, without seeming to take the 
 smallest notice of his wanting a head, and then rode 
 on before the coach, as if he had been hired for 
 that purpose. The black figure did not seem to 
 relish the society of the new comer, and he turned 
 the horses into another road. The horseman did 
 the same : and, however often the driver changed 
 his course, his troublesome companion followed his 
 example, as if he had been tethered to the coach. 
 This surprised the headless one very much, espe- 
 cially as he remarked, that the rider's steed wanted 
 a leg ! The headless driver began to grow a little 
 uneasy : he was apprehensive that the real Number 
 Nip had himself entered upon the scene. After 
 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 109 
 
 some time the rider, turning his horse, rode close 
 up to the driver, and asked in a tone of confidence, 
 " Whither away, friend, without a head ? ' 
 
 " Whither away ! whither should one go but 
 after his nose ? " retorted the driver in a voice of 
 timid defiance. 
 
 " Very well," replied the horseman, cc let us see, 
 comrade, which way thy nose points," so saying, 
 he seized the rein, took the black figure by the 
 middle, and dashed him to the ground with such 
 force, that every bone in his body rattled again, 
 for the apparition had flesh and bones, as appa- 
 ritions commonly have. His mask and Spanish 
 cloak were presently stripped away, and out there 
 came a well-proportioned curly pated fellow, a 
 mere ordinary man. 
 
 The knave, finding himself detected, and appre- 
 hensive of his adversary's anger (for he doubted 
 not that the horseman was Number Nip, whom 
 he had ventured to personate), surrendered at dis- 
 cretion, and begged piteously for his life. " My 
 good lord of the Mountain," said he, " have com- 
 
HO Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 passion on a wretch who has been the shuttle- 
 cock of fortune all his days : who could never be 
 what he would, but was always compelled to be 
 something else, and now that the world has ignored 
 his existence, cannot even figure as a ghost." 
 
 This speech was not lost upon the Gnome, and 
 his curiosity being excited, he desired to hear the 
 adventures of the pretender. " Get up, comrade," 
 said he, " and do as thou art bid." He then, 
 having first drawn out his horse's fourth leg from 
 between his ribs, made up to the coach door, and 
 opened it with the intention of saluting the com- 
 pany, but terror had so overcome the party, that 
 the ladies lay in a deep swoon. The horseman, 
 however, was at no loss what to do, but filling his 
 hat full of water from the rivulet which ran mur- 
 muring near, sprinkled the faces of the ladies, and 
 soon restored them to life. They opened their 
 eyes one after another, and beheld at the coach 
 door a well-made man of gentlemanly appearance, 
 and whose manner soon gained their confidence. 
 
 "I am very sorry, ladies," said he, addressing 
 
The Headless Rop-ue and the Countess. ill 
 
 <5 
 
 them politely, " that you should have suffered such 
 an insult within my domains from a rascal in disguise, 
 who no doubt intended to rob you, but you are now 
 perfectly safe : I am Lord Giantdale : allow me to 
 attend you to my house, which is close at hand." 
 
 The Countess with many thanks accepted this 
 seasonable invitation, and Curly Pate, being ordered 
 to drive on, obeyed with tremulous servility. In 
 order to give the ladies time to recover from their 
 fright, the Cavalier joined the driver, directing him 
 the way he should go, and occasionally calling to 
 him some of the bats that were darting about, 
 and giving them secret orders, a proceeding that 
 added not a little to the apprehensions of Curly 
 Pate. In about an hour a light appeared at a 
 distance, then a party of horsemen came up bear- 
 ing lighted torches, and who said they had been 
 anxiously seeking their master since sun-down. 
 The Countess by this time had recovered her 
 composure, and finding herself out of danger, she 
 bethought her of Fritz the coachman and Carl 
 the postilion, wondering what had been their fate. 
 
H2 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 She communicated her anxiety to her protector, 
 who immediately dispatched two of his huntsmen 
 to seek the absent domestics, and bring them to 
 their mistress. The coach now rolled under the 
 dusky arch of a castle gate into a spacious court, 
 and stopped before a stately building that was illu- 
 minated throughout. The Cavalier politely offered 
 the Countess his arm, and led her into the drawing- 
 room, where he introduced her and the young 
 ladies to a numerous company, briefly narrating 
 the adventures to which he was indebted for the 
 honour of their visit. After the usual formalities 
 had been exchanged, the company formed into 
 little groups, some sitting down to play, and others 
 amusing themselves with conversation. The ad- 
 venture of the Countess was the principal topic, 
 and, as generally happens in the relations of past 
 dangers, lost nothing by repetition. Not long 
 after their arrival the polite host introduced a 
 physician, who having made certain inquiries of 
 the Countess and the young ladies, prescribed them 
 a draught of aromatic wine, which had the effect 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 1 13 
 
 of putting them all into excellent spirits. Imme- 
 diately afterwards the supper was announced, and a 
 sumptuous banquet served. The side tables were 
 decorated with plate up to the very cornice, and 
 music in an adjoining apartment gave additional 
 zest to the rare viands and generous wines. After 
 the dishes were removed, the major-domo arranged 
 the parti-coloured dessert, consisting of rocks and 
 mountains of sweetmeats, and gum tragacanth, 
 and the happy wit of the confectioner had repre- 
 sented the Countess's adventure in little wax 
 figures. The Countess observed this costly enter- 
 tainment in silent admiration. She, turning to a 
 gentleman who sat next to her (and who, accord- 
 ing to his own account, was a Bohemian noble- 
 man), eagerly inquired the reason of this great 
 feast. He replied that " there was nothing extra- 
 ordinary, it was only a social meal for a party of 
 old acquaintances, who had met here by accident." 
 She was much surprised, especially as she had never 
 heard a word of the rich and hospitable Lord 
 Giantdale, either in Breslau or any other place ; 
 
H4 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 and though well versed in the pedigrees of the 
 nobility, she could not recollect any such title. 
 At last she attempted to get from the host himself 
 a solution of her difficulty, but he evaded her 
 inquiries so adroitly, that she remained in igno- 
 rance of her entertainer. 
 
 The conversation having turned to the spiritual 
 world, a full-fed Canon related many surprising 
 stories of Number Nip, the truth of which was 
 by some denied and by some supported. The 
 Countess was just in her element whenever she 
 could combat superstitious prejudices, and she 
 therefore placed herself at the head of the philo- 
 sophical party. " My own story," continued the 
 lady, " is evident proof that everything reported of 
 the celebrated spirit is imaginary. Did he abide in 
 these mountains, and had he the noble qualities 
 ascribed to him by idle story-tellers, he would never 
 have allowed a rascal to molest us at the expense 
 of his own reputation ; but, poor ideal spirit ! how 
 could he preserve his honour ? Had it not been 
 for the generous assistance of my lord Giantdale, 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 115 
 
 the audacious villain who assailed my people might 
 have executed his design of robbing us without any 
 impediment." 
 
 The master of the house, who had hitherto taken 
 an inconsiderable part in the philosophical debates, 
 now engaged in the conversation, and observed, 
 that the Countess had entirely depopulated the 
 world of spirits. The whole creation of fancy 
 had disappeared before her arguments, like a mist 
 before the rising sun. cc You have in particular," 
 said Lord Giantdale, " sought to prove the non- 
 existence of this Number Nip ; yet I think 
 something might be urged against your last obser- 
 vations. How if this fabulous spirit had really 
 a share in rescuing you from the hands of the 
 robber in disguise ? How if my fairy neighbour, 
 when he undertook to bring you into a place of 
 safety, had chosen to assume my appearance in 
 order to avoid giving you any alarm ? And suppose 
 I should tell you that I have not stirred a step from 
 this good company, as, being master of the house, 
 
 I could not in common politeness to-night ? That 
 
 1 2 
 
Il6 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 you were brought to my residence by a stranger, 
 who is nowhere to be found ? In this manner it 
 seems possible that the neighbouring spirit might 
 have saved his honour ; and hence it would follow, 
 that he is not the mere creature of the brain that 
 you would make him." 
 
 This address a little disconcerted the philo- 
 sophical Countess. Her fair daughters looked stead- 
 fastly at their host, in order to read in his eyes 
 whether this was said in jest or was seriously in- 
 tended. A stricter examination of the problem was 
 precluded by the arrival of the recovered servant 
 and postilion : the latter of whom testified no less 
 joy at the sight of his four horses in the stable, than 
 did the former on being shown into the dining-room 
 and there beholding his mistress and her daughters 
 safe, and in such distinguished company. In the 
 exultation of his heart he drew the chief instrument 
 of mischief from beneath his coat, namely the ugly 
 head of the figure in black, which had felled him 
 to the ground. The examination of the head was 
 committed to the Physician, who was present, and 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 117 
 
 he, without subjecting it to his anatomical knife, 
 instantly recognised it as a huge hollow gourd filled 
 with sand and stones, and worked up into a very- 
 grotesque head by the addition of a wooden nose 
 and a flaxen beard. 
 
 The company did not break up until the morning 
 was beginning to dawn. The ladies were conducted 
 to state beds with superb hangings and delicate 
 counterpanes : and they had no sooner stretched 
 themselves upon the down, than a sound and 
 dreamless sleep fell upon them. It was far into 
 the day when the Countess awoke ; she immediately 
 rang for her maid, and roused the young ladies, 
 and so anxious were they to try the powers of 
 the Carlsbad waters, that they could not be induced 
 by the most pressing invitation of their hospitable 
 entertainer to stop another day. They therefore 
 prepared for setting off" immediately after break- 
 fast, promising Lord Giantdale, who accompanied 
 them to the extremity of his domains, to pay their 
 respects to him on their return. 
 
 No sooner had the Gnome returned to his 
 
Ii8 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 castle, than he summoned the curly-pated impostor 
 to an examination. The delinquent had been fur- 
 nished with lodgings in a subterraneous dungeon, 
 and had spent the night in fearful expectation or 
 his morning's punishment. 
 
 " Vile miscreant/' said the indignant spirit, as he 
 was brought in, " what should hinder me from 
 trampling thee to death in my anger, for attempting 
 in my territories, a piece of villainy, calculated to 
 throw so much obloquy upon my name ? Thy hide, 
 be assured, shall pay for thy audacity.'" 
 
 " High and Mighty Regent of the Mountains," 
 answered the delinquent, very coolly, " however 
 exclusive may be your pretension to this domain 
 (and I by no means presume to question it), tell me, 
 I pray, where I may find the code of laws which 
 it seems I have unfortunately transgressed. It is 
 surely due to your nice sense of justice to grant me 
 a fair trial before you condemn me." 
 
 This answer and the self-possession with which 
 he made it, prognosticated no common character. 
 In this expectation the rigorous judge abated some- 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 119 
 
 what of his resentment, and replied, " My laws are 
 no other than those which Nature has already in- 
 scribed on thy heart, but that thou mayest not 
 complain of being condemned unheard, proceed, and 
 freely confess who thou art, and what induced thee 
 to come hither to rob, as a spectre, on my mountain. 
 So shall I judge thee as I find thee." This the 
 culprit was right glad to hear, and hoped by a 
 faithful relation of his adventures, to turn away 
 the threatened vengeance of the Sprite, or at least 
 to mitigate the punishment for his audacity. 
 
 " Once," he began, " in my early days, I went 
 by the name of Poor Rosen ; and was by occupa- 
 tion an honest purse-maker in a country town. 
 I gained a miserable livelihood : for there is no 
 profession that keeps a man so low as honesty. 
 Although my purses had a ready sale (because the 
 report went abroad that they kept the money well, 
 as the maker being a seventh son had a lucky hand), 
 my own continued as empty as a conscientious 
 stomach on a fast day : and if my customers found 
 their gold to keep well in the purses they bought 
 
120 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 from me, neither the lucky hand of the maker, nor 
 the goodness of the work were anyway concerned 
 in the matter : I impute the advantage solely to my 
 purses being made all of leather ; for you must 
 know, sir, that your leather purse always holds 
 money faster than an open one made of silk. The 
 man that is satisfied with a leather purse is rarely 
 a spendthrift, but one who knows how to keep his 
 purse-strings tight. Now, your transparent purses 
 of silk or gold twist are never out of the fingers of 
 your prodigals, and then they wonder that the money 
 runs like wine out of a leaky cask, at a hundred 
 holes ? My father earnestly inculcated in all his 
 seven lads this maxim : ' Children, whatever you 
 do, do it in earnest/ So I followed my trade with 
 great zeal and perseverance, but without bettering 
 my condition. There came a dear time ; war, 
 trouble, and counterfeit coin into the country. 
 My brother purse-makers thought, c Base coin, 
 base goods:' but I said to myself, 'Honesty is 
 always the best policy :' so I parted with true 
 wares for false money. I laboured hard till I 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 121 
 
 brought myself to the beggar's crutch : was expelled 
 from the guild, cast into the debtors' prison ; and 
 when my creditors refused to maintain me any 
 longer, was banished out of the country. On my 
 pilgrimage of misery and hunger, I was met by one 
 of my old customers mounted on a stately steed : he 
 called out, in an insulting tone, ' Thou cobbler ! 
 thou bundle of rags ! thou hast, I see, but half 
 learned thy trade ; thou canst make the pot, but 
 not cook in it ; thou hast leather, but never a last ; 
 thou makest capital purses, but hast not a stiver 
 to put in them.' 
 
 " c Hearken, comrade,' replied I, ' thou art a bad 
 marksman ; none of thy arrows hit the mark. Dost 
 thou not know that there are many things in the 
 world that agree, and yet are not always together ? 
 Many a man hath a stable but no horse : a barn 
 floor and no corn to thrash : a pantry and no bread : 
 a cellar and no beer ; and so, according to the 
 proverb, one has the purse, and another the gold.' 
 
 " 'Ay, but they would be better together,' quoth 
 he ; 'if thou wilt come 'prentice to me, I will put 
 
122 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 the finishing hand to thee, and as thou already 
 understandest so well the making of purses, I'll teach 
 thee how to fill them, for I am a money-maker by 
 trade, and as both professions agree so well, they 
 should go hand in hand.' 
 
 " c Very well,' said I, c I accept your offer, pro- 
 vided you have the management of the lawful mint 
 where the money is coined for the use of a free 
 city or a sovereign state ; but if you coin on your 
 own account, it is neck-breaking work, and com- 
 monly ends at the gallows — so I decline your offer/ 
 
 " c Faint heart never won fair lady,' said he ; c he 
 that sits by the meat and never helps himself, de- 
 serves to starve. What, pr'ythee, is the difference 
 whether thou diest by hunger or suffocation ? 
 Every man must die at last/ 
 
 " c The difference/ I answered, ' is, that in one 
 case vou die like an honest man, and in the other 
 like a malefactor/ 
 
 " c Mere prejudice/ exclaimed he: c what harm 
 can there be in stamping a mark upon a piece of 
 metal ? Ephraim, the mint-master, has stamped 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 123 
 
 plenty with the same mark as our own : what is 
 lawful for one man to do, can be no sin in another/ 
 " In short the man's arguments were so persua- 
 sive, that I could not help accepting his proposals. 
 I soon became expert at the business, and, in obe- 
 dience to my father's injunctions, drove it on with 
 spirit while I was at it. The making of money I 
 found far more profitable than the making of 
 purses. But while we were coining with all pos- 
 sible success, the jealousy of trade was awakened. 
 Ephraim, the mint-master, raised a persecution 
 against his brethren of the craft, and as I and my 
 partner had overlooked, until we were detected, the 
 trivial circumstance that we were not free of the 
 trade, like Master Ephraim, we were sentenced to 
 hard labour at the fortifications for life. There I 
 lived some years after the rules of the order of 
 the penitential brotherhood ; till a good angel who 
 happened to cross the country in order to set all 
 stout healthy prisoners free, opened the prison door 
 to me. This good angel was no other than a re- 
 cruiting officer, who called me to the noble avoca- 
 
124 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 tion of fighting for my sovereign instead of trundling 
 wheel-barrows in his service — I was happy in the 
 exchange : and, resolved to become a soldier in 
 earnest. I was always foremost in the assault, and 
 in case of a defeat, the nimbleness of my heels 
 prevented the enemy from overtaking me. For- 
 tune now seemed to smile ; I was soon advanced 
 to the head of a troop of horse, and was in great 
 hopes of higher promotion. But being one day sent 
 out foraging, I followed my orders with such 
 scrupulous punctuality, that I emptied not only 
 granaries and barns, but the chests and coffers of 
 both houses and churches that fell in my way. 
 Unluckily it was a friend's country, so it occasioned 
 a great outcry, and as malicious people went so far 
 as to call it a marauding expedition, I was brought 
 to a court martial, and sentenced to run the gauntlet 
 through a lane of fifteen hundred men. Having 
 thus been discharged from the honourable pro- 
 fession in which I had hoped to have made my 
 fortune, I could think of no resource but to return 
 to my first occupation. 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 125 
 
 " I had neither money to purchase a stock 
 of leather nor inclination to work, and as I con- 
 sidered myself to have an undoubted property in 
 my own goods — seeing I sold them under their 
 value — I resolved to recover them, and that with- 
 out dispute or altercation : so I began to sound 
 people's pockets, and judging all the purses I could 
 feel to be of my own manufacture, I condemned 
 them as lawful prizes ; and though they were now 
 a little the worse for wear, they in some measure 
 made up my losses. I had, moreover, by these 
 means, an opportunity of recovering some part of 
 my own money, for although it had been cried 
 down, it still passed current. 
 
 " My occupation throve for a time. I visited 
 markets and fairs in different capacities, sometimes 
 as a cavalier, sometimes as a merchant, sometimes 
 as a gipsy. This mode of life suited me exceed- 
 ingly : I found myself in good case, and resolved 
 to go on ; but the caprice of my stars never suffered 
 me to be what I wished. I had studied my parts 
 so well, and my hand was become so nimble and 
 
126 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 certain, that I never made a false move, until one 
 Frankfort fair, when I fell in love with a rich 
 corn-factor's purse. From the heaviness of the 
 bag, my hand failed ; I was caught in the fact, 
 secured and brought to trial, under the odious 
 character of a cut-purse, though I by no means 
 deserved that title in a dishonourable sense. I had 
 formerly, in truth, cut purses enough, but never cut 
 away any man's money-bag, as the accusation ran ; 
 but all that I had taken came into my hand of its 
 own accord, as if it were returning to its rightful 
 owner. These distinctions, however just, availed 
 me nothing. I was set in the stocks, and my 
 ill stars decreed that I should be a second time 
 flogged out of my vocation. I, however, watched 
 my opportunity, slipped quietly out of prison, and 
 so avoided the ceremony. I was now quite unde- 
 termined to what I should betake myself to satisfy 
 hunger : I failed in my first attempt to become 
 beggar, for scarcely had I assumed that character, 
 than the police in Leibnitz took me under its wing, 
 and on the pretext of providing for me, forced me 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 127 
 
 to an occupation that went against my inclinations. 
 With some hazard and difficulty I escaped from 
 their rigid jurisdiction, which undertakes to keep 
 the whole world in pupilage : for my rule has 
 always been, Never get into a scrape with the 
 police. I therefore avoided cities and roved about 
 the country, as a citizen of the world at large. 
 
 " It happened that the Countess passed through 
 the very village where I had taken up my abode ; 
 somewhat about the coach was broken, and had 
 to be mended before the company could proceed. 
 I joined the curious crowd collected to gape at the 
 strange gentry, and formed an acquaintance with 
 the sheepish servant, who, in the simplicity of his 
 heart, entrusted me with his apprehensions on your 
 account, Most Noble Number Nip. As they could 
 not cross the mountain that night, in consequence 
 of the delay occasioned by the accident, the idea 
 suggested itself to me of turning to advantage the 
 cowardice of the party, and trying my talents in the 
 capacity of an apparition. I slipped into the dwelling- 
 house of my landlord and patron the Parish Clerk, 
 
128 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 who happened just then to be absent. I first laid 
 hold of the black gown, his robe of office, and at 
 the same time the gourd, which acted as ornament 
 to the cupboard, attracted my notice. Thus ac- 
 coutred, and provided with a sturdy cudgel besides, 
 I betook myself to the wood, and there fitted up 
 my head. What use I made of it you already 
 know. I should happily have executed this master- 
 stroke but for your interference ; the game indeed 
 was already won. After getting rid of the two 
 cowardly louts, my intention was to have driven the 
 carriage into the wood, and there, without doing 
 the ladies the smallest injury, have opened a little 
 emporium for the exchange of the black gown, 
 which, considering the service it had rendered me, 
 was of no trivial value, for the Countess's purse 
 and trinkets : and then, having wished the company 
 a safe journey, taken a polite farewell. To say the 
 truth, sir, my fears of you were the least of my 
 thoughts. The world has arrived at such a pitch 
 of infidelity, that one cannot quiet children now-a- 
 days with your name : and if a faint heart like the 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 129 
 
 Countess's servant, or an old woman behind the 
 spinning-wheel did not now and then talk of you, 
 the world would have lost Ions; ago all remembrance 
 of such a noble personage, I am now indeed better 
 informed, and find myself in your power ; but as 
 I have surrendered at discretion, I am in hopes that 
 my sincere confession will somewhat mitigate your 
 anger. It were a small matter, noble sir, for you 
 to make an honest man of me. Were you but to 
 dismiss me with a viaticum out of your brewer's 
 coppers — or pluck me a score of sloes from your 
 garden hedge, as you did for the hungry traveller, 
 who though he bit away one of his teeth at your 
 fruit, found all the sloes metamorphosed into little 
 balls of gold — or if you would make me a present 
 of one of the bright golden skittles you have left 
 since you gave the nine to the students from 
 Prague for beating you at bowls — or only your 
 milk-pan, which changes curds into gold — or if I 
 deserve punishment, beat me, as you did the shoe- 
 maker with a golden rod, as the lads of the last 
 tell whilst hammering soles, and then give it to me 
 
 K 
 
130 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 as a memorial of the adventure, my fortune were 
 made at once. Truly, noble sir, could you but 
 feel human necessities, you would acknowledge it 
 to be a very hard matter to be honest when you are 
 in want of all things." 
 
 " Get thee gone, vagabond ! " exclaimed the 
 Gnome, when Curly Pate had ended, " as far as 
 thy feet can carry thee, and ascend the gallows, 
 the summit of thy fortune ! " 
 
 Upon this he discharged the prisoner with a 
 lusty kick. The latter rejoiced at escaping so 
 easily, and applauding his powers of persuasion, 
 which, as he supposed, had for this time extricated 
 him from a very ticklish situation, he made a 
 forced march to get out of the reach of the vigorous 
 sovereign of the mountain, and in his haste left his 
 black gown behind him. With all his speed, 
 however, it seemed as if he made no progress : he 
 had constantly the same landscape in view, except- 
 ing that the castle where he had been confined had 
 vanished. Weary with continual running round in 
 the same circle, he stretched himself under the 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 131 
 
 shadow of a tree to take a little repose, and wait 
 for some traveller who might show him the way. 
 He fell into a sound sleep, and when he awaked 
 thick darkness encompassed him on all sides. He 
 recollected perfectly that he had gone to sleep 
 under an oak-tree, but he could hear now no 
 whispering of the wind among the leaves, nor 
 could he perceive any star twinkling above his 
 head, nor discern the faintest glimmering of light. 
 He started up in alarm, but an unknown power 
 held him fast, and the motion he made produced a 
 noise like the rattling of chains ! 
 
 He now perceived that he was in irons, and 
 imagining himself to be in Number Nip's do- 
 minions, many thousand fathoms underground, 
 the idea threw him into a violent consternation. 
 In a few hours there was some appearance of day, 
 but the light shone very faintly through an iron 
 grate in a wall. Without exactly knowing where 
 he was, the place did not seem perfectly new to 
 him, and he was in hopes that the gaoler would 
 come to him, but in vain. One tedious hour 
 
132 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 succeeded another : hunger and thirst tortured the 
 captive : he began to make a noise, rattling his 
 chains, knocking against the wall, and crying out 
 piteously for help : he heard human voices close at 
 hand, but no one would open the door of his cell. 
 At length the gaoler having uttered a prayer 
 against ghosts, undid the door, crossing himself 
 devoutly, and immediately recognised his runaway 
 prisoner the cut-purse, the unfortunate Curly Pate, 
 who once more saluted his old friend the gaoler 
 of Leibnitz. It was now evident that Number 
 Nip had taken advantage of his nap to transport 
 him to his old lodgings. 
 
 " So friend," said the gaoler, " are you caught 
 again in your old cage ? How, in the name of 
 wonder, didst thou contrive to get here ? " 
 
 " Why, by the door, to be sure, man," replied 
 the gaol-bird, cc I'm tired of rambling ; so I 
 thought I would e'en return to this quiet lodging. 
 I trust you will allow me to occupy my old 
 quarters ? " 
 
 As it was impossible to explain how the prisoner 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 133 
 
 had got back into his cell, or who had fastened the 
 irons upon him, Curly Pate (feeling no desire to 
 make public his adventure on the mountain) con- 
 tinued boldly to maintain he had returned of his 
 own accord, havino- the °;ift of goino; out and 
 coming in to places, and putting on or off his 
 fetters at his pleasure. The magistrates were 
 moved by this seeming submission to forgive 
 him the flogging that was his due ; they only 
 imposed upon him the task of trundling a 
 wheel-barrow for the benefit of the state, until 
 he should think proper again to dispense with 
 his irons. It is not recorded that he ever 
 made use of the kind permission to emancipate 
 his legs. 
 
 The Countess in the meantime arrived safely at 
 Carlsbad. The first thing she did was to call in 
 the Physician of the Wells, in order to hold a con- 
 sultation with him on the state of her health, and 
 to settle the plan for taking the waters. It was 
 not long before the once-renowned Dr. Springs- 
 feld, entered the apartment, — he who would not 
 
134 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 have exchanged the golden spring of Carlsbad for 
 Pison, the river of Paradise. 
 
 " Good gracious," exclaimed the Countess, " the 
 gentleman we met -at Lord Giantdale's ! Why did 
 you not tell us then, you naughty man, that you 
 were the Physician of the Wells." 
 
 The doctor started in surprise, then paused to 
 consider : but could not recollect having ever seen 
 the ladies before. " You must doubtless," he 
 replied with a simper, " mistake me for some one 
 else, my lady. I really have not the honour of 
 being personally known to you. My Lord 
 Giantdale is not amongst my acquaintances, and 
 during the season I never on any account stir 
 from this place." 
 
 The Countess was at a loss to conceive the 
 meaning of the doctor's denial of himself, and at 
 last she concluded it must be with an intention 
 very contrary to the practice of his colleagues — to 
 decline his fee for the services he had rendered 
 them at the Castle : so she proceeded with a smile, 
 " Indeed, doctor, your delicacy is excessive : but it 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 135 
 
 shall not prevent me from considering myself your 
 debtor, and acknowledging my obligations for your 
 kind assistance." She then forced a gold snuff- 
 box upon him, which the physician would only 
 receive as a fee in advance, and, lest he should 
 disoblige a good patient, he no longer contradicted 
 her. He moreover easily solved the riddle to his 
 own satisfaction, by supposing the whole family to 
 be affected by a species of vapours, when strange 
 and incomprehensible flights of the imagination are 
 by no means uncommon, and he prescribed 
 accordingly. 
 
 Dr. Springsfeld was none of your heavy help- 
 less physicians, who possess no other talent for 
 conciliating their patients than praising their own 
 pills and electuaries. He was well versed in the 
 art of exhilarating the spirits by a number of little 
 anecdotes, and could retail the news of the day 
 with infinite address. In going his round of visits 
 after he had parted with the Countess, he re- 
 counted wherever he went the singular interview 
 with his new patient. The story improved upon 
 
136 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 repetition, and he sometimes represented the Coun- 
 tess as disordered, sometimes as a person gifted 
 with second sight. The company at the Wells 
 were most desirous to become acquainted with so 
 extraordinary a character, and the Countess Cecilia 
 became the talk of the day. The first time she 
 made her appearance at the rooms with her beauti- 
 ful daughters, all the world crowded to have a 
 sight of her. But how were the ladies astonished 
 to find all the persons there were the same as those 
 to whom they had been introduced so lately at the 
 castle of Lord Giantdale, and they expressed their 
 satisfaction at being spared the ceremony of intro- 
 duction, as there was not a single unknown face in 
 the room. The affable old lady addressed herself 
 first to one and then to the other, calling them by 
 their proper names and titles. She talked much of 
 my Lord Giantdale, and frequently referred to the 
 conversation they had carried on at his hospitable 
 board : but was confounded at the cold behaviour 
 of those who but a little time before had behaved 
 to her with so much cordiality. She very naturally 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 137 
 
 fell upon the idea that it was a concerted scheme, 
 and that my lord himself would end the joke by 
 unexpectedly making his appearance. However, 
 she was determined he should not enjoy the 
 triumph of a victory over her sagacity, so she 
 pleasantly proposed to the Bohemian nobleman to 
 bring their host from his hiding-place. 
 
 This proposition, in the opinion of the whole 
 company, afforded undeniable evidence of a dis- 
 ordered imagination. They all expressed their 
 compassion for her, unanimously agreeing, how- 
 ever, that she was a sensible woman, without any- 
 thing extravagant in her ideas except when her 
 fancy took the road over the Giant Mountains. 
 The Countess was for a time slightly disconcerted 
 by the nodding and winking of the company, and 
 she thought at length the best way to remove any 
 injurious opinion which might exist was to relate 
 her adventure upon the Silesian borders. She was 
 heard with the attention usually bestowed upon a 
 tale that entertains, but of which not a syllable is 
 believed. 
 
138 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 " Strange indeed," exclaimed the whole company 
 with one voice, at the same time casting a signifi- 
 cant look towards Dr. Springsfeld ; who secretly 
 shrugged up his shoulders, and vowed in his own 
 mind not to dismiss the patient under his care until 
 the waters should have washed every trace of the 
 Giant Mountain out of the Countess's recollec- 
 tion. The spring in the meantime performed all 
 the doctor or the patient expected from it. The 
 Countess, perceiving that her story met with small 
 credit among the visitors of Carlsbad, and even 
 rendered the soundness of her understanding pro- 
 blematical, dropped the subject, and Dr. Springs- 
 feld did not fail to ascribe this remarkable effect to 
 the waters. 
 
 The old lady being thus happily recovered, and 
 the young ones having tired of the cotillons and 
 minuets, mother and daughters returned with one 
 consent to Breslau. They did not fail to take 
 the road over the Giant Mountains, as they had 
 promised their hospitable entertainer in Giant- 
 dale, from whom the Countess hoped to receive 
 
The Headless Rogue and the Countess. 139 
 
 a satisfactory solution of the riddle which had 
 puzzled her so much at Carlsbad. But nobody 
 could direct them to my Lord Giantdale's seat, 
 nor was the name known to any one on either 
 side of the mountain. So at length the lady 
 was unwillingly convinced that the stranger who 
 had rescued her and entertained her was no other 
 than Number Nip, the mountain spirit, him- 
 self. She owned that he had practised the 
 rights of hospitality in a very generous manner, 
 forgave him his frolic respecting the Carlsbad 
 company, and from that time forward sincerely 
 believed in the existence of spirits, though she 
 was cautious how she made public declaration of 
 her faith. 
 
 Since Number Nip's manifestation to the Coun- 
 tess Cecilia, nothing further has been heard of 
 him. He returned to his subterraneous abode, 
 and as the great earthquake which destroyed 
 Lisbon and Guatemala occurred soon afterwards, 
 and has been continually advancing nearer and 
 nearer, so as to threaten the pillars of the Giant 
 
140 Legends of Number Nip. 
 
 Mountains themselves, the spirits of the earth 
 have found so much work underground, that they 
 have not had leisure to appear upon the surface of 
 the earth. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 BRADI'.URY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIAKS. 
 

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