maledictions on the poacher, from which shower of unpropitious
wishes a few drops fell on poor Niels, who, out of fear of his master,
was obliged to swallow his own equally well-meant oaths. As soon as the
first fury of the storm had subsided and given place to common sense, a
plan was devised for immediate and ample vengeance; the daring culprit
should be seized, and, as he could now be easily convicted of
deer-stealing, should be transferred to the hands of justice, and
thence, after all due formalities, to Bremerholm. The difficulty was to
catch him, for if he got but the slightest hint of his danger, he would,
it was reasonable to imagine, instantly take to flight, and leave his
wife and children in the lurch. The lord of the manor, who had been
severely wounded in so tender a part, was for setting forth without a
moment's delay, as so much of the day was left, that before the
appearance of night they might reach the hut of Black Mads. But the
gracious lady, in whose revenge a surer plan and maturer consideration
were always manifest, represented to her impetuous mate, that the
darkness would also favour the culprit's flight; or, if this were
prevented, a desperate defence; it would therefore be better to march
out a little after midnight, so that the whole armed force might invest
and take the hut at break of day. This proposition was unanimously
approved, and the Junker was invited to share in the peril and glory of
the undertaking. The bailiff (who had just entered to announce the
arrival of the new writing-lad, and to show a letter of recommendation
brought by him from the bailiff at Vestervig) received orders to hold
himself in readiness, together with the gardener, the steward, and the
stable-boys, and also to order a peasant-cart to follow the march.

III.--THE NISSE.[12]

Who does not know--at least by name--the Nisse, the being whose
waggeries almost all bear the stamp of good-humoured frolic? Who has not
heard tell of his little rotund figure and his red Jacobin cap, the
symbol of unrestricted liberty? Who knows not that the house he chooses
as a dwelling, is perfectly safe from fire and other calamities? The
Nisse is a true blessing to the habitation that he honours with his
presence; it is secure against fire, storms, and thieves,--who, then,
would take so greatly amiss the little fellow's gambols? If he now and
then takes out one of the horses and rides him till he is white with
sweat, it is merely