Page:The Necromancer, or, The Tale of the Black Forest Vol. 1.djvu/137

 rated seriousness, and his smile was nothing more than an almost imperceptible unfolding of the wrinkles, which contracted his reverend brow; his mirth bore the resemblance of his carriage, and whoever knew him, trembled at his anger, though none of his acquaintances had ever experienced the least mark of passion in his countenance, and much less had he ever betrayed a symptom of unbridled wrath.

I let slip no opportunity of doing him some little services, and thus endeavoured to gain his favor; however, he appeared to take no notice of my unremitted zeal to please him. I treated him with marks of the highest veneration, whenever I was in his company, but he seemed not to regard it. All my most anxious endeavours to win that strange man over to my interest, proved abortive, and, at last, I gave over every hope of engaging his attention.