Page:Popular Tales and Romances of the Northern Nations (Volume 2).djvu/96

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84
The Spectre Barber.

member me, and order three masses to be said for the repose of my soul on every anniversary of this day. Farewell; I now depart hence, never to return.”

With these words the spectre vanished, having sufficiently justified, by his talkativeness, his assumption of the character of barber of the castle of Rummelsburg, and left his deliverer full of astonishment at this strange adventure. For a long while he stood motionless, doubting whether the event had really happened, or whether he had been dreaming, but his bald head soon convinced him of the reality of the fact. After wasting some time in reflection, he returned to bed and slept till mid-day.

The waggish landlord had watched from the earliest dawn for the appearance of his guest; he was ready, anticipating the bald head, to receive him with apparent astonishment, but secret laughter, at his nightly adventure. But, when mid-day came, and Frank did not appear, he began to be uneasy and afraid that the ghost might have treated his new guest somewhat roughly, might perhaps have throt-