“You have the bond, then, Nat?”
“Yes, sir! here it is.”
“Have you received the benefits of its conditions?”
“The only benefit I received was one jug of beer. As for the bacon, that was devoured by the flames.”
“There is a line, which appears as an afterthought, added to the bond, namely, guaranteeing the security of the blessings wished for during a period of seven years. Do you now say, Nat, that you have not participated in the benefits of the wishes during the seven years?”
“I declare, sir, in the most solemn manner, that the only benefit I had was the jug of ale already referred to.”
“Now, Nat, I think I can help you out of your difficulty, and I will pray Heaven to succour and assist you in the terrible encounter awaiting you. But to insure success you must observe to the letter my directions. Will you promise me?”
“Most solemnly I promise to obey you to the letter.”
“You must fulfil your engagement with the enemy, and if he insists on your carrying out the condition of the bond, then tell him to his face that you will not do so, unless he will first carry out his conditions about the seven years. If he refuses, then demand another wish, and as you have received no benefit from the previous ones, he will, I think, concede the point. If so, then let your wish be that something terrible might happen to him.”
Now, said the parson to me, I can proceed no further with my tale. Every moment I am anxiously waiting news, or the return of Nat. If he comes you shall hear the rest of the story from his own lips,—whereupon Nat entered, and throwing up his hat to the top of the room, cried out, “He is conquered! he is conquered! Hurrah for Parson Jones! Hurrah for the good Vicar of Llan! before whom both witches and devils flee.” At last Nat became calm and composed, when he proceeded to complete the tale, which I tell in his own words:—