CHAPTER VIII.

The Devil.

“The Prince of Darkness is a gentleman.”

--_Shakespeare._

“Tis a history Handed from ages down; a nurse’s tale, Which children open-eyed and mouth’d devour, And thus, as garrulous ignorance relates, We learn it, and believe.”

Various allusions to his Satanic Majesty have already appeared in these pages. He has left his footprints on various rocks; he carried away bodily Jean Vivian, Vavasseur de St. Michel; he fought with St. Patrick at the Hougue Patris; and he enticed Duke Richard in the form of a beautiful woman. He is of course head of the fraternity of wizards and witches, and many references to him occur in all the legends dealing with witchcraft, but there are a few stories dealing with him “in propriâ personâ,” and these are collected in the following chapter.

It may be as well to state that his usual manifestation is believed to be in the form of a huge black cat. He takes this shape apparently when he wishes to pass incognito. Black cats in general are looked upon with a suspicious eye, but if seen in the house of anyone supposed to be addicted to magical arts, there is no doubt of their being imps of Satan.

SATAN OUTWITTED.

It was Midsummer Day, the sun was shining brightly, and the country people were hastening in their holiday apparel to the spot where the militia were ordered to muster for a review, when an unfortunate country girl was ordered by her master to weed a large field of parsnips. He promised her that when her task was accomplished she should be allowed the rest of the day to amuse herself; but she soon discovered that this promise meant nothing, for that her utmost exertions would not suffice to finish the allotted work before the evening should close in. She commenced her task with a heavy heart, and often lifted her head as she heard the joyous laugh of the groups of lads and lasses as they passed along the high road on their way to the place of rendezvous. One party followed another, and as they became less frequent, the poor girl lost patience. Her hopes of taking any share in the amusements of the day were nearly at an end. At last she gave utterance to her thoughts, and wished aloud for assistance, were it even from the Devil himself.

Scarcely had she expressed this unhallowed wish, when she thought she heard a slight noise behind her, and, on looking round, saw a gentleman dressed entirely in black, who in the kindest manner immediately addressed her and enquired why she looked so sad, and how it was she was not merry-making with her companions.

“Alas!” she answered, “I must weed the whole of this field before I am released.”

“Oh,” said he, “is that all? Only promise me the first knot you tie to-morrow morning and I will get your task performed.”

The girl easily agreed to these terms, and the gentleman departed.

She resumed her work, but was astonished to perceive that invisible hands were employed in every part of the field, tearing up the weeds and gathering them in bundles. In a very short time the ground was clear, and she went to announce it to her master, who, astonished at the rapidity with which she had executed his orders, gave her permission to spend the rest of the day in amusement.

She went accordingly to the review, and from thence to the “Son,”[136] where she danced the greater part of the evening. As night came on, however, she began to reflect on the adventures of the morning, and to consider that the assistance which she had accepted was most probably not of a very holy nature, and that something more might be meant by the promise which she had made than the mere words implied. She returned home and retired to her bed, but was unable to compose herself to sleep. The more she thought of what she had done the more uneasy did she feel.

At last, in her perplexity, she resolved to rise immediately and seek advice from the Rector of the parish. The worthy clergyman was much alarmed at this open attack made by Satan on one of his flock, but bade her fear nothing, but put her trust in Heaven, go home, and spend the remainder of the night in prayer and repentance, and as soon as morning dawned, before she fastened a single knot, to go to the barn, taking her Bible with her, and, praying without ceasing, there bind up a sheaf of barley straw.

The girl did as she was advised, and scarcely had she knotted the wisp of straw, when the gentleman in black stood at her side. His looks and voice were no longer so mild and prepossessing as they had been the day before, and the poor maiden, no longer doubting as to the infernal character of the stranger, was near fainting from fright. She was soon reassured, however, when she saw the good minister enter the barn, who, in God’s name, bade Satan avaunt. The Devil was not proof against this solemn adjuration, but disappeared with a loud noise, and the poor girl, full of gratitude for her miraculous escape, made a solemn vow to avoid for the future all those places of resort and merry-makings, by which Satan endeavours to tempt the unwary into sin, and to live contentedly thenceforward in that station of life which Providence had allotted to her.[137]

[136] The old name for the village dances, generally held in some tavern to the sound of that obsolete instrument, the “chifournie.”

[137] From Miss Louisa Lane.

In the tales of this nature related in Lower Brittany, the soul that is sold to the evil one is always rescued by the advice or intercession of a holy hermit or priest, see Luzel’s _Veillies Bretonnes_, p. 132.

“Quand le diable paraît, il est généralement vêtu de couleur sombre, et souvent il ressemblerait exactement à une “manière de monsieur” ou à un gros fermier, si on ne regardait ses pieds, dont l’un au moins est déformé et semblable à un sabot de cheval. Parfois aussi il a des gants de cuir ou des griffes pointues. On lui prête aussi un habillement tout rouge, et le cheval qu’il monte est tout noir.”--_Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute Bretagne_, Tome I., p. 179.

SATAN AND THE SCHOOLMASTER.

It is good to possess knowledge, but, like all other possessions, the benefit to be derived from it depends on the uses to which it is applied, and there is no doubt that it exposes the possessor to temptations which the more ignorant and simple-minded escape--to say nothing of the envy and calumny which often follow the man who by his superior acquirements, rises above the vulgar herd.

In the past century, the parish of St. Michel du Valle was fortunate in having secured the services of a man of more than ordinary attainments as its schoolmaster. Pallot was no common character, and his studious and retiring habits were but little appreciated by the surrounding farmers. They wondered at his superior knowledge, but could not understand his shutting himself up in his schoolroom after the labours of the day were over. In their opinion it would have been far more wise and natural for him to follow the example of his scholars, and throw aside his books until the next day. It was known that his studies were often prolonged far into the night, and, little by little, it came to be whispered about that these studies were of a nature that could not bear the light of day, and, in short, that the schoolmaster was in league with the powers of darkness. Pallot felt hurt at the imputation, but at the same time somewhat flattered at the deference paid him by his ignorant neighbours.

“Knowledge puffeth up,” and of all pride the pride of intellect is the most dangerous, and exposes the man who gives way to it to the greatest temptation. Satan knows well how to make use of the opportunities which are afforded him to extend his empire and work the ruin of souls. The schoolmaster--one whose influence over the youth of the parish was so great--was a prize worth securing, and the great enemy of mankind laid siege to him in due form. His approaches were made with skill, but with little or no success. At last he determined on a desperate expedient--that of a personal interview. The conference lasted for some hours, the most tempting offers were made, but Pallot, now thoroughly on his guard, was firm, and had grace to resist. He had too much regard for his soul to yield in anything to the enemy, and Satan, out of patience, rushed out of the schoolroom, carrying off with him the gate of the inclosure, which was found next morning on a large hawthorn bush on the summit of the Hougue Juas.

The thorn, which was previously green and flourishing, was blasted as if struck by lightning, and, although not killed, never recovered its former beauty, but retained for ever afterwards the same scathed and withered look.[138]

[138] From Miss Harriet Chepmell.

ANOTHER VERSION OF “SATAN AND THE SCHOOLMASTER.”

It is related that in days long past there lived in the vicinity of the Roque Balan, at L’Ancresse, a man of very superior acquirements. It is true that he was commonly suspected of knowing more than was altogether lawful, but as he ostensibly gained his living by instructing the youth of the parish, and as there was no doubt that his scholars profited by his teaching, the neighbouring farmers made no hesitation in sending their sons to him. Among his pupils was one lad of whom he was justly proud, for a prying curiosity and love of acquiring knowledge, joined to a retentive memory and a sharp intellect, had made the boy, in the opinion of many, almost a match for his master. Curiosity and a love of acquiring knowledge may be good in themselves, but they can be carried too far, and this proved to be the case with the young scholar.

He had noticed some old-looking tomes which his preceptor kept always carefully locked up in an old carved oak chest, and had long felt most anxious to pry into their contents. The clearest hints he could give, and even the openly-expressed wish to be allowed to peruse the hidden volumes, met with no response on the part of his teacher. He determined to watch his opportunity, and to get a sight, by hook or by crook, of the contents of the mysterious books, and one day, when the master had been called away suddenly to make the will of a dying man, and had inadvertently left his keys behind him, the youth seized on them, and, as soon as his back was turned, proceeded to examine the contents of the chest. He lifted one of the ponderous tomes, opened it at hazard, and commenced to read out aloud the first passage which met his eye. Unfortunately this proved to be the spell by which the Prince of Darkness can be summoned to this upper world to do the bidding of his votaries. Great was the terror of the indiscreet youngster when a sudden violent storm arose, which went on increasing in intensity, and Satan in person appeared before him and demanded what he wanted of him. The unfortunate boy knew not what answer to make, nor what task to impose on the demon to get rid of him at least for a time, until the return of the master. Pallot, who was already at some distance from home, hastened back, and entered the house just at the moment when Satan, tired of waiting and enraged at having been unnecessarily called up, had seized on the inquisitive scholar and was on the point of flying off with him. The master, at a glance, perceived how matters stood, and, uttering a hasty spell, arrested the demon in his course. He then proceeded to set him a task, promising him that if he succeeded in accomplishing it before sunset he should be at liberty to carry off his prey.

The Devil made some difficulty in acceding to these terms, but the schoolmaster, determined, if possible, to save his unfortunate pupil, was firm, and not to be influenced either by the threats or cajoleries of the arch-fiend. He caught up a peck-measure containing peas, and scattered them on the floor, handing at the same time a three-pronged pitch-fork to the Devil, and ordering him with that instrument to throw the peas over the door-hatch into the court-yard.

Satan took the fork and set to work with right good will, but soon found that it was labour in vain. Not one pea could he raise from the floor. The sun was fast sinking below the horizon. As the last portion of its orb disappeared beneath the western wave, the enraged and disappointed demon wrenched the door-hatch off its hinges and cast it far away in the direction of Les Landes. There it was found the next morning on a thorn-bush, which had been green and flourishing the day before, but which, since that time, is blasted and flattened almost to the level of the ground, though it still lives and is pointed out as a proof of the truth of this history.[139]

[139] From Sieur Henry Bisson.

This incident is found in a Breton legend, as told by Dr. Alfred Fouquet in his work _Légendes, Contes, et Chansons Populaires du Morbihan_, apropos of the first occupant of the lands on which the Château de Herlean was afterwards built. Satan undertook to be the servant of a peasant as long as work could be found for him to do. He accomplished the most difficult tasks with the greatest ease. At last the peasant emptied a sack of millet into the court-yard and ordered Satan to pitch it up to him in the granary with a hay-fork. He acknowledged his inability and was ignominiously dismissed.

A somewhat similar story is also told in _Notes and Queries_. The Vicar of a certain Devonshire parish was a diligent student of the black art, and possessed a large collection of mysterious books and MSS. During his absence at church, one of his servants entered his study, and, finding a large volume open on the desk, imprudently began to read it aloud. He had scarcely read half a page when the sky became dark and a great wind shook the house violently. Still he read on, and in the midst of the storm the doors flew open and a black hen and chickens came into the room. They were of the ordinary size when they first appeared, but gradually became larger and larger, until the hen was of the bigness of a good-size ox. At this point, the Vicar (in the church) suddenly closed his discourse and dismissed his congregation, saying he was wanted at home and hoped he might arrive there in time. When he entered the chamber, the hen was already touching the ceiling. But he threw down a bag of rice which stood ready in the corner, and, whilst the hen and chickens were busily picking up the grains, the Vicar had time to reverse the spell.

EDITOR’S NOTE.--This story is still believed. It was told me by Miss Falla in 1896.

THE DEVIL AND THE TAILOR.

The race of journeymen tailors and shoemakers, hired by the day to make up, at the houses of their employers, the materials that have been provided beforehand, or to patch and mend the clothes and shoes requiring repairs, is not yet quite extinct in the rural districts of Guernsey; although the facility of access to the town of St. Peter Port, afforded by the excellent roads which intersect the island in all directions, and the superior make and fashion of the articles supplied by the tradesmen in town,--to say nothing of the ready-made clothing so generally used in the present day--have had the effect of considerably diminishing the number of men who gain their living in this way. Although we have no knowledge that the journeyman tailor was ever the important character here that he is in Brittany and even in Normandy, where he is sometimes employed in the delicate office of negotiating marriages between the families of distant hamlets, and where he is often the sole means of circulating the news of the outer world, or carrying the gossiping tales of one village to another, yet even here his presence for a day or two in a house is looked forward to with pleasure as a break in the monotony of the daily family routine; and if he should chance to be what the French call “un farceur,” or teller of good stories, he is doubly welcome.

It must be acknowledged that, as a rule, this class of men are not supposed to be very particular as to the exact truth of the stories they put in circulation, and that some of them would be better members of society, if, on quitting their work, they were to go straight home, without thinking it a part of their duty to turn into every house where drink is sold, that they may chance to fall in with on their way.

The hero of the following adventure, if fame does not belie him, is one of this sort, and, although he affirms the truth of the story, there is no corroborative evidence that it is anything more than the dream of a drunken man.

It appeared in a letter from a correspondent to the _Gazette de Guernesey_ of the 22nd December, 1873, and is translated literally, omitting only the writer’s sensible remarks on the folly and simplicity of those who could give credence to such an invention, and on the superstition which, in spite of education, is still so prevalent among the lower orders. There is no doubt that the story was widely spread and believed in the country, and that the tailor, when questioned about it, asserts it to be true.

He is an inhabitant of the parish of Torteval, and a Guernseyman born and bred, although bearing a name which shews that his family came originally from another country. One evening, as he was returning from his work, a certain tailor, who shall be nameless, and who bears but an indifferent character, met with an adventure which was far from being agreeable. A man, dressed entirely in black, of a sinister aspect, and mounted on a black horse, met him on his way. This strange looking individual stopped the tailor, and the following conversation took place:

“Hallo, you’re a tailor, aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir, at your service,” answered the tailor, somewhat alarmed.

“Then I wish you to make me a pair of trousers, which I will come and fetch at your house to-morrow at noon.” And, so saying, the stranger went on his way.

“But, sir,” cried the tailor, running after him, “You’ve forgotten to let me take your measure.”

“Bah! what does that matter?”

“But, sir, I shall never be able to fit you if I’ve not got your measure.”

“Well then, take it,” said the gentleman in black, dismounting from his horse. “There!”

But imagine the poor tailor’s dismay! There were no legs to be seen. Do what he would, it was impossible to take a proper measure for trousers under such circumstances. A horrible suspicion flashed through his mind.

“It must be the Devil,” thought he to himself. “How shall I get rid of him?”

Alarmed, horrified, trembling in all his limbs, feeling his legs giving way under him, our poor tailor only got out of the scrape by stammering out these few words--

“Well, sir, your trousers shall be ready to-morrow at noon.”

“Look to yourself if they are not ready. I shall come and fetch them at your house,” answered the dark-visaged and black-coated individual, leaping on his horse and going on his way.

Seized with uncontrollable fear, it is said that the tailor went straight to the Rector of his parish, and told him the whole of his adventure. The good parson advised him to make the trousers, and promised him that he would not fail to be with him the next day to be witness to the delivery of them. Accordingly, the next day, at the hour appointed, and, but a few minutes after the arrival of the clergyman, who was beforehand with him, the Devil knocked at the tailor’s door to claim the trousers; and the hero of our tale, in delivering them, heard his Satanic Majesty utter these words--

“If a man of God had not been present in this house, I would have carried you off also.”

RECENT APPEARANCE OF THE DEVIL.

Whatever may be the spread of rationalism in other places, a belief in the personality of Satan still holds its ground firmly in the minds of our peasantry. How can it be otherwise when there are those who, within the last two or three years, have had the rare chance of seeing him “in propriâ personâ;” and this in a locality which, one might suppose, would be about the very last that he would be inclined to honour with his presence? The neighbourhood of L’Erée, it is true, has never borne a very high character. Everyone knows that from time immemorial the hill of Catiauroc and the beach of Rocquaine have been the favourite resort of witches and warlocks, and that their infernal master holds his court there every Friday night, and, seated in state on the cromlech which is called “Le Trépied,” receives the homage of his deluded votaries. But who could suppose that he would leave this time-honoured haunt to become the inmate of a Methodist Chapel? Such, however, if we can attach any credit to the statements of the fishermen and others who inhabit this coast, is undoubtedly the case.

Within the last few years the Wesleyans have erected several small chapels in various parts of the island, and, among others, one near a place called “Les Adams.” Shortly after the chapel was finished it began to be whispered about that lights were seen in it at hours of the night when it was well known that no one was likely to be there. The light is described by some who had seen it from a distance as if illuminating the whole of the interior, but some fishermen who were bold enough to draw near and look in at the windows could see nothing but a small subdued flame in one corner, which seemed to sink downwards into the earth. A gentleman of strict veracity, formerly residing about a mile from the spot, declared that he had frequently seen the mysterious light. He described it as being of a pale blue colour, and was convinced that it did not proceed from either candle or lamp. He had seen it from various points, from the rising ground inland, to the east of the chapel, and from the low lands lying along the sea-shore to the west. It seemed to occupy a particular spot in the building, for the light appeared brightest through one of the windows, and fainter through all the others. He had observed it on many occasions immediately after dusk, and at hours when it was most unlikely that any person would be in the chapel for any improper purpose. On drawing near, the light always disappeared. The state of the weather or of the moon seemed to make no difference in it. Curiosity, thus excited, had to be appeased, and, at last, some of the fishermen ventured to approach the chapel and peep in at the windows. What they saw they described as “Le Dain,” the name by which his Satanic Majesty is designated when it is thought proper to avoid the more offensive appellation of “Le Guyablle.” Sparks of fire issued from his mouth and nostrils, the traditional horns and tail seem to have been discerned, but the cloven feet were hidden by long boots covering the knees, and which, according to some accounts, were red.

His occupation was as difficult to be accounted for as his presence in so unusual a place. It was that of dancing and leaping with all his might and main! Whether the fishermen really saw anything which their fears magnified into a vision of the wicked one, or whether, for reasons of their own, they wished to impose upon the credulity of their neighbours, it is impossible to say. One thing is certain, and that is that persons of the highest respectability, living in that part of the country, vouch for the fact of the lights having frequently been seen in the chapel at hours of the night when it ought not to have been occupied. It does not seem to have occurred to them that many of the mariners on this part of the coast are employed at times in carrying off packages of tobacco to the English and French boats engaged in smuggling, and that, as a temporary depôt may be sometimes required for these goods, the chapel may have been selected for the purpose, in preference to a dwelling house or other private property, the owner of which, in case of detection, might be subjected to much inconvenience. But the neighbouring peasants have their own method of explaining these supernatural appearances.

Some say that they are a judgment on the original founders of the chapel, who, as it is believed and reported, after having collected ample subscriptions towards the building, pretended that the funds were insufficient, and defrauded the workmen whom they had employed of their just dues. Others say that the original proprietor of the land on which the chapel is built, was importuned by his wife to make a free gift of the site, but, being strongly averse to dissent in all forms, could never be brought by her to consent to the alienation; but that immediately on the death of the old man, the widow, who, after a youth spent in frivolity and pleasure, had turned wonderfully pious in her declining years, took measures to make over the ground to the dissenters, and, not content with this, squandered on them large sums of money which ought rightly to have been reserved for her late husband’s children by a former marriage. The spirit of the departed could not brook such disregard of his wishes, and such disrespect for his memory, and manifests his displeasure by haunting the spot of which his children ought never to have been deprived.

EDITOR’S NOTE.--When in Sark in 1896 I was told by one of the old Sark men, how a Sark fisherman defeated the Devil. This fisherman was supposed to be given to witchcraft, and one day he succeeded in raising the Devil, when Satan appeared and asked him what commands he had for him. The fisherman had nothing to say. Finally he said, “You must carry me where I tell you.” They were then on the far end of Little Sark. So the Devil consented, but on the understanding that when they reached their destination, the man, in his turn, should do what Satan commanded. So the man mounted on Satan’s back, and first was carried across the Coupée. “_Allez plus loin_,” (Go farther) said the man. Then they went on to the Carrefour, near where the Bel Air Hotel now is. “_Allez plus loin_,” said the man when Satan stopped for a rest. Then they reached the Port du Moulin, where the fisherman’s cottage stood. “_Au nom du Grand Dieu--Arrêtez!_” (In God’s name--Stop!) At that the Devil had to put him down and fly away shrieking, “for,” as the old man concluded his story, “he is powerless when God’s name is said.”