Presently, another devil entered,
pushing to the front a man. "Here is a fine messenger," he said, "who
wandering the other night in his old neighbourhood above, saw a thief
stealing a stallion, but could not help him even to catch the foal
without showing himself; and the thief, when he saw him, abandoned that
career for ever." "Begging the court's pardon," said the man, "if the
thief's child was endowed with power from above to see me, could I help
that? Moreover, this is only a single case; 't is not a hundred years
since that day which put an end to all my hopes for ever, and how many of
my own family and of my neighbours have I enticed here after me in that
time? Perdition hold me, if I am not as dutiful to my trade as the best
of you, but the wisest is sometimes at fault." Then said Lucifer:
"Throw him into the school of the fairies, who are still under
castigation for their mischievous tricks in days gone by, when they were
wont to strangle and threaten their neighbours, and so awaken them from
their torpor; for their fear probably had more influence upon them than
forty sermons."
Then came four constables, an accuser, and fifteen of the damned,
dragging forward two devils.
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