The wife began to weep yet more bitterly, and the children screamed for bread. Faustus gave the Devil a sign, and he called to his servant, who presently afterwards brought into the room a heavy coffer. Faustus unlocked it, and flung a large bag of gold upon the table; which being opened, and the yellow coin appearing, a lively flush of joy was instantly diffused over the melancholy countenances of the family. He then took out magnificent clothes and jewels, which he delivered to his wife. Her tears vanished, and vanity at once dried them up, as the sun-rays dry
up the morning dew. The Devil smiled, and Faustus muttered to himself, “O magic of gold and of vanity! I may now go to the antipodes, and no other tears than those of hypocrisy will be shed.” Then, aloud, “Well, wife, these are the fruits of my journey, reaped in advance. Is not this better than staying at home with you and starving?”
But the wife heard him not; for she stood with her rich robes and jewels before the looking-glass to see how they became her. The little girls frolicked around her, took up the clothes and ornaments she had laid aside, and aped the mother. In the mean time a servant brought in a substantial breakfast, the children fell upon it, cried and shouted with joy; but the mother had, in the mean time, forgotten her hunger.
The old father took Faustus aside, and said, “If thou hast obtained all these things by honourable means, let us thank God, my son, and enjoy his bounty; but for some nights past I have had horrible dreams, although I hope they were merely caused by our necessities.”
This remark of the old man sank deep into the heart of Faustus; but the pleasure of seeing his children eat so heartily, and of observing with what love and thankfulness his eldest son and favourite looked at him; the thought of having relieved them from their misery; and, above all, an inward longing for pleasure,—considerably damped the impression. The Devil added a large sum to the money in the bag, presented the young wife with a costly necklace, gave each of the children a trifle, and assured the family that he would bring back Faustus to them safe, sound, and wealthy at no very distant period.
Faustus, attended by the Devil, now went to see a friend, whom he found much dejected. He asked him the cause of his unhappiness, and the other replied:
“This afternoon the law-suit which you have often heard me speak of is to be determined; and I am certain of losing it, although justice is on my side. In short, Master Faustus, nothing remains for me to do but to beg, or drown myself in the deepest part of the Rhine.”
Faustus. How can you be certain that you will lose your cause, if justice is for you, as you say it is?
Friend. But the five hundred gold guilders which my opponent has given the Judge are against me; and if I cannot outbid him, I must fall to the ground.
Faustus. Pooh! does it merely depend on that? Come, lead me to the Judge. I have a friend here who willingly assists people out of such difficulties.