concluded to await the full development of what he believed had just fairly commenced with the letter he had received and the visit of the stranger. “Whatever this may forebode,” said Hans, “it is so very strange that we must wait until the end shall come; yet I hope that my end may not be like that of Frederick Metzel. Let me be spared the terrors that fell to the lot of Karl Keiser’s son, and if the worst should come, let it be no worse than that which happened to the great-grand-daughter of Herr Von Reicher.” These remarkable occurrences, constituting some of the most startling he had stored up in his memory, had been so repeatedly told to his housekeeper, with great embellishments, that she had become perfectly familiar with them. Although Hans did not much like to have dealings with spirits; yet, had he been certain that the mysterious stranger would never afterwards have troubled him, he would gladly have entertained him once more, if assured of a revelation similar to that made to the youthful daughter of Herr Von Reicher’s grand-child. “Yes, yes,” responded the old woman, whose frame trembled violently at the supposition that calamities so terrible could possibly befall them, “heaven avert such fatalities! Surely, Hans, nothing of this kind can happen to us, for you have never had any intercourse with the evil one, nor have you ever been closely allied to any of those poor creatures whose spirits are not even permitted to rest quietly in their graves.” As he had thus, for several days been moved by strange thoughts, it was observed by those whom he happened to meet that a very singular change had suddenly come over him. His actions seemed to be dictated by a variety of conflicting impulses, and the little mind he had once possessed was absent more than half the time. He would make long pauses in his conversation, abruptly change from one topic to another, and occasionally, to the great amazement of those with whom he conversed, he would walk off before he had half completed a sentence. Then, too, he was frequently seen to stop in his solitary walks and engage in earnest conversation with himself, a smile sometimes animating his countenance, whilst at others he appeared very sullen and dejected. On several of these occasions he was overheard to speak audibly of spirits and treasures, which so greatly surprised all who heard him that some even suggested an investigation into his soundness of mind. To those acquainted with the design to play upon his stupid and credulous nature, it was daily becoming more apparent that he believed vast quantities of gold were somewhere concealed in the vicinity, and that he was troubled to know where, and how he could secure them. At length his changed demeanor became the subject of remark throughout the entire neighborhood. Some of the villagers, in their efforts to account for it, expressed the belief that his heart was beginning to soften and that he was relenting of his former penuriousness--a