St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1859-09-22

| ~ "aS hoI eAdCtiy eAtOlleu LOT grace
Success is your true beautifier-the
elixir which bestows youth and beau.
ty, and which fails in it's effect only
when the sun of Fortune sets. The
girdle of Good Luck once thrown round
the thickest waist, it becomes to every
beholder as slender as Venus's own
and those whom the blind goddess has
mystified by the bandage of her owr
eyes, are at any time, ready to swea,
black is white, or, as in Johanna's
case, red is yellow.
And amidst all this, Caroline's name
was not heard.
One heart at least was captivated
by this heroine in spite of herself
The big Prussian colonel must have
had his fancy captivated by this close
approximation to the heroic maid oI
his heated brain. Among the toasts
drank to Johanna Stegen, his response
was the loudest, his praise the mos,
broadly expressed.
But--every medal has it's reverse
side--what pity
In the midst of all these rejoicings,
and just as great things were in CON
temptation for Johanna, who seems to
have been regarded as a second Joan
of Arc, just when one may suppose
the Prussian colonel was beginning to
find leisure to prosecute his romantic
suit---lo the French returned and re.
took Luneberg. Dire event which
the poor Lunebergers deplored, and
which was positive ruin to our heroine,
whose temporary elevation had served
to point her out as mark for the ven
geance of the infuriated French sol
diery. Johanna, thrown down from
her lofty pedestal, was, metaphorically
speaking, obliged to grovel in the
mud, and literally, might have beer
tramplcd to death, except for hiding
herself, which she did for many days
in a dark, dismal cellar, indebted fol
sustenance solely to the good offices
of neighbors, and to Caroline, who
brought her in milk from Grimm, and
who unnoticed and unrewarded, was
no doubt much happier than the hero
inc covering in her dismal cellar, ex-
pccting hourly death--or worse.
But this terrible condition, which
lasted many bitter days, was termina
ted at length by the report of large
| body of Prussians advancing on Lune
berg and now, as the French at last
evacuated Luueberg, our heroine once
more emerged from her obscurity, ant
threw herself at the Kings feet.
Her sorrows ended there. lfel
merits We're at once recognized she
was patronized by some of the femal,
connections of her Prussian admirer
Following the army subsequently into
| Prussia, she was at once placed OF
the full pay of colonel, and sent tc
a pension to be educated for her fu
ture rank in Gie--a Prussian noble
mans spouse. Henceforth the life OF
Johanna Stegen became one of unin
terrupted prosperity. At the close ol
the war sue married the man whose
peremptory orders were in reality tkt
cause of her being famous. Histor,
tells us no more of her. Did educa
ton refine her? Did she ever thinl
of Caroline Burger in the latter's oh
scurity, or aid the comrade who sharet
her peril, but not her good fortune
1t is not believed. She whom we hav,
called Caroline lived and died, obscur,
and humble, perhaps not less happy
even her real name was not known by
the old inhabitant of the Schloss Lune
berg, from whose lips this little mar
rative was gathered years ago, ant
who could boast of having both seel
and spoken to, the famous heroine o
Luneberg, Johanna Stegen, by n
means the first, nor in all likelihoo'
the last, to whom fortune has calle,
in a fit of caprice, and loaded with un
merited favors.