The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1850-10-16


not avoid awkward habits. Now, Hans had a
strange habit of sticking his needles on his
breaches knees as he sat at work, and sometimes
he would have half dozen on each knee for a
half dozen days His wife often told him to
take them out when he came down from his
board, and often took them out herself; but it was
of no use. He was Just in this case one day as
he rode out to take measure of gentleman, a
bout five miles off. The ass, to his thinking,
was in a remarkably brisk mood. OFF it went,
without whip or spur, at good active trot, and
not satisfied with trotting, soon fairly proceeded
to a gallop. Hans was full of wonder at the
beast. Commonly it tried his arm worse with
thrashing it during his hours ride, than the
ercise of his goose and sleeve-board did for
whole day; but now he was fain to pull it in
1t was to purpose, faster than every it dashed
on, prancing, running sideways, wnclng, and
beginning to show a most ugly temper. What,
in the name of all Balaams, could possess the
animal he could not for his life conceive! The
only chance Of safety appeared to lie in cinging
with both arms and legs to it, like aboa-constric-
tor to its victim, when, shy! away it flew, if
it were diven by legion of devils. In another
moment, it stopped; down went its head; up went
it's Internal heels, and Hans found himself some
ten yards off, in the middle of pool. He escap-
ed drowning, but the cap gone; he had been
foolish enough to stitch dollars, in hard
cash, recently received, into it along with his
paper, and they sunk it past re covery. He
came home, dripping like drowned mouse, with
most deplorable tale; but with no more knowl-
edge of the cause of his disaster than the man in
the moon, till he tore his fingers the needles in
abstracting his wet clothes Fortune now seem
ed to have said, as plainly as she could speak,
"Hans, confide in your wife. You see all your
schemes without her fail. Open your heart to
her-deal fairly, generously, and you will reap
the merits of If - was all in yain-hc had not
yet come to his senses. Obstinate mule-hc
determined to try once more. But good bye to
the ass! The only thing he resolved to mount
was his shop board-that bore him well, and
brought him continued good, could he only con-
tinue to keep it.
His wife, | sad came from the mountains;
she, therefore, liked the sight of trees. Now,
in Hans back yard there was neither tree nor
turf, 50 she got some tubs, and in them she plan
ted veriety Of fir-trces, which made pleasant
appearance, and gave a help to her imagination
of the noble frs of her native scenes. In one
of these tubs Hans conceived the singular des On
of depositing his treasure "Nobody will NEEDLE
with thcm,' he thought, so accordingly from
| week to week, he concealed in one Of them his
acquisitions. 1t had gone on long time. He
had been out one day, collecting some Of his
debts-he had succeeded beyond his hopes, and
came back exulting. The sum saved; and,
in the gladness Of his heart, he bought his wife
a new gown. He bounded into the house with
| the ightness of seventeen. Ills wife was not
there-hc looked into the back yard. Saint and
angels! what is that He beheld his wife busy
with the tubs. The trees uProoted and
laid on the ground and every particle Of soil was
thrown out of the tubs. In the dcllrium of con-
sternation he flew to ask what she had been
doing.
"Oh! the trees, poor things, did not flourish;
they looked sickly and pining; she determined
to give them some soil more suitable to their
natures; she had thrown the earth into the river
at the bottom Of the yard
sAnd you have thrown into the river ex-
claimed Hans, frantcally, "thc boarding of three
years, the money which had cost me many
weary day-many an anxious night. The mo-
ney which would have made fortunes-in
short, that would have made me Burgermcister
of Rapps.'' Completely thrown off his guard,
| he betrayed his secret.
"Good gracious! cried his wife, exceedingly
Hans, frantically, "the boarding Of three years;
the money when had cost me many weary
day-many anxious night. The money
which would have made our fortunes-ln short,
that would have made me burgcrmlstcr of Rapps.
Completely thrown off his guard, he betrayed
his secret.
"Good gracous?' cried his wife, exceedingly
alarmed, "why did you not tell me of it!
cay, that is the question: said he And 1t
was question; for spite of himself it had occur
red to his mind some dozens of times; and now
it came 50 overwhelmingly, that even when ne
thought he treated it with contempt, it had fixed
itself upon his better reason, and never lett HIM
till it had worked a most fortunate revolution
He said to himself, sIIad told my wife of it at
the first it could not possibly have happened
worse; and it is very likely it would have hap
pened better. For the future, then, be 1t So.
Thereupon, he unfolded to her the whole his
tory and mystery Of his troubles, and his hopes
Now, Mrs. ,iuns Nadeltreiber has great cause
to feel herself offended, most grievously offend
ed; but she was not at all of a touchy temporal
ment. She was sweet tender, patient, loving
creature, who desired her husbands honor and
prosperity beyond any thing; SO she safe down
and in most mild, yet acute and able manner,
laid down to him plan of operations, and pronls-
ed him such aids and succors, that, struck at
once with shame, contrition and admiration, he
sprung up, clasped her to his heart, called her
the very gem Of wonanhood, and skipped two
or three times across the floor like man gone
out of his senses. The truth IS, however, he was
but just come into them.
From this day new life was begun in Han
house There he sat at his work; there sat his
wife by his side aiding and contrlvlng with a
awomans wit, wonans love, and woman : a.
droitness. She worth ten journcymen. Work
never came in faster; never gave such satlstac-
ton; never brought IN so much money; nor, be-
sides this, was there such harmony in the
house, nor had they ever held such delectable
discourse together. There was nothing to con-
ceal. Han S thoughts flowed like great stream;
and when they grew little wild and visionary,
as they were apt to do, his wife smoothed and
reduced them to sobriety, with such delicate
touch, that, so far from feeling offended, he was
delighted beyond expression with her prudence.
The fifty dollars were raised in almost no time;
and if prognostic Of its becoming the seed OF
a fortune it came in most oppertunely for pur.
chasing lot of cloth, which more than trebled
it's COST and gave infinite satisfaction to his Gus
toners. Hans saw that the tide rapidly rls-
ing with him, and his wife urged him to push
on with it; to take larger house; to get more
hands; and to cut such figure as should at once
eclipse his rival. The thing was done; but as
their capital was still found scanty enough for
such an undertaking, Mrs. Nadeltreibcr resolved
to try what she could do to ncreas it.
Should have informed the reader, had not the
current of Hans disasters ran too str ong for me,
that his wife $ parents were dead, and had died
without giving her any token of reconciliation
a circumstance which, although it cut her to the
| 4 barI ou,n fool in n