" Lucifer, being in council one
evening, speaks of the _Lanzknecht_ as a new kind of man; he
describes his refreshing traits of originality, and expresses a desire
to have one. It is agreed that Beelzebub shall repair as a crimp to a
tavern, and lie in wait for this new game. The agent gets behind a
stove, which in Germany would shield from observation even Milton's
Satan, and listens while the _Lanzknechts_ drink. They begin to
tell stories which make his hair stand on end, but they also God-bless
each other so often, at sneezing and hiccupping, that he cannot get a
chance at them. One of them, who had stolen a cock and hung it behind
the stove, asks the landlord to go and fetch the poor devil. Beelzebub,
soundly frightened, beats a hasty retreat, expressing his wonder that
the _Lanzknecht_ should know he was there. He apologizes to
Lucifer for being unable to enrich his cabinet, and assures him that it
would be impossible to live with them; the devils would be eaten out of
house and home, and their bishopric taken from them. Lucifer concludes
on the whole that it is discreet to limit himself to monks, nuns,
lawyers, and the ordinary sinner.
The songs of the _Lanzknecht_ are cheerful, and make little of the
chances of the fight.
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