The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1859-10-05
Rifllmain gispattt,
WEDNESDAY MORNING. OCT. 8, isss
MY GERMAN futon
fcoscLupKp,l

81 saw her very rarely. II was SONNY. ~
a,ger,s only daughter. do NOT kno. ~
utss, nn.a that loved her, worshipped hef,
~ tnnat the least glimpse Of her FACE, .he
So tonch Of her dress, ~ she passed me-
asa MA fremble with a JOY that was Almost
.mfsr,nr. j do net know either hew she
s.sa !, ant or how first began TO think II
I..,a mai sse-she--might love me. too
All This happened in the time past, ana mere
seems fs.holniess gulf between fhtn ana note
Rut do remember the day on which we
.o,ke OF love; IL was under the iime-trees, on
the evening OF the kings 5sfs, whea there were
fire. works and iiium,nations in the town
There was a crowd OF people, and we were
separated from her PARENTS and when asked
her II she was frightened she looked up and
said: "Not with you" Then l found words
te tell her how l loved her, and she listened;
and w forget the crowd, and her parents,
and all but the wide paradise OF love IN which
We two seemed to stand alone, hand in hand
Bat Frau Radger came ap, and scoided so
phie for leaving her, and the dream was over.
The next day took courage, and went Doiuiy
TO her father. and told him all ne lis.ene. -
without spea king: and when at last asked II
he would give Gle any hope that In si., n,
when could support wife, sophie i mIh5.an
mine, he answered very quietly Sa
Hermann Sophie is my only cniia- ',ne
will nossass at my DEATH all nave IN tae
world; and her mother and are agreed sns'
we will not interfere with her choice Oh nus
hand provided he is n worthy man ahu can
br;ns aroofs of honesty and industry. Now,
nt your age had made five thousand thaiers
when YOU have made rs much, come pack anu
speak 10 me again on this sublech ana may
listen TO YOU" Now. this was like my DEATH
warrant How could make five thousand
thalers when nj! the work of my life was only
sufficient 10 keep me alivei l looked al MN,
aud saw he was laughing. 20, my God, Herr
Rudiger'' cried, do not jest with me! lou
know you might as well ask me for crown
for Sophie. Let me work for you as l have
done, and when my translation is finished
give me nothing FOR il but Sophie"
tIn y.ln nv, w
and storraed; accused me of ingratitude, de-
ception, audacity, / know not how many
crimes and turned me from tho door. Ihat
evening / received from him small balance
OF money that he owed me- together with
letter ofintrcducton 10 bookseller at vienna,
and few sharp sarcastic words, recommend
ing me- 70 ehange the air, Tor that decideaS
that of Berlin did not agree with my health
believe. when | read these lines, the devil en-
tered into me- aud has never left me since. l
.ore his letter into a thousand pieces, as he had
torn the hopes. the aim, the object of my life,
into useless fragments; but since he cast me
OF. [ resolved 10 show him was At least free
TO come or go as pleased. Instead of leaving
Berlin, 1 beset Herr Rudiger's house by day
and night hoping TO catch look or word
from Sophie but never saw her again. At
last Lisa, the cook, taking pity on my despair,
told me that Frau Rudiger had gone with her
10 the country, l know not where that So
phie had cried very much and was i'll when
she went away, but that she, Lisa, heard
nothing said about their return. 1t was then
that | wrote TO yon !; the devil was so busy in
my heart and brain that felt i should go mad
if / stayed in Berlin and l had no friend, no
hope. no means of living elsewhere. Your
kind letter. the delicacy with which you avoid
ed All inquiry into the cause of my sorrow,
and the friendly goodness of your proposals,
seemed like a new life to me; and for a time,
in the interest awakened by my occupation
here, and the pleasure of feeling that was
useful To You, my kind friend, almost forgot
my grief, and tried to hope. But by and by
the thought of Sophie and our eternal separa-
ton revived. and the devil woke up again
within me. What have suffered how / have
struggled, none can ever tell, and rs 1t has all
been IN vain, IL Is useless to talk OF II; but be-
lieve me- Smith, never thought of a Crime-l
only siroye to fight with my devil, and keep
him down, so that he should not interfere with
the duties l owed to You; and l should have
done so but for that fatal money. And now
come to The only part OF my story which you
can care 10 hear. Last night, after the boys had
gone To bed, and while l was writing in my
room, the sudden thought came over me that
there in The room below, was all the money
wanted to gain Sophie, and be a happy man,
lying in the drawer, with no one to defend il,
and that had only to put forth my hand and
make it mine. Now, the devil rose stronger
than ever; instead OF being within Inc, l felt
him by my side, showing me Sophie, as l saw
her in the one happy evening OF my life,
smiling and looking up in my face with soft
blush in her own. 1t would be her happiness l
should make AS we'll as my own, with this
money which belonged Ia one who would be
Just rs we'll without it, and which would be
life, and love- and happiness, TO me.
81 resisted long took out my pistol, and
loaded ii, and told the devil plainly that l
would sooner shoot myself than do this thing.
But he only laughed, and asked who would
be the better for that; and felt that he would
get my sonl, and that was what he wanted: SO
i resolved to disappoint him. AT last, how
ever, he conquered. went to the library,
and broke open the drawer, and took out all
the notes. When l saw the broken drawer, 1
wondered how l could have been so foolish
when the thing must be discovered at once;
but the devil was prepared for this, too, and
advised Inc to set fire to the room. This
pleased me, for thought that my room would
burn also, and then no one would believe that
l was guilty of such folly, for l did not think
OF the wickedness at the time. So l removed
your books and then put the broken chips of
the drawer into basket full of torn papers,
which stood under the table and set fire to
them. / remember now that l threw the
matches into the CRATE; but if l had
thought about it at all at the time, / should
have felt that all would have burnt
together. and no trace be left. So l stood
and watched the fire till l was sure it
was burning WELL and then went up stairs,
ana sat IN nay room, and counted over the
balk-nofes. / put them in II parcel with IL
letter 10 a friend of mine, Johann Strauss, in
ltindon, who Is in a merchants office, and
begged him to send them to Herr Rudiger, at
Berlin Then began 10 write to Sophie; but
my brain whirled, and my eyes were dim, and
L saw smoke stealing up through the boards
ana then l ran 10 the servants rooms, and
gave the alarm OF fire. 1t seems strange that
from that moment till the time when it was
All over, and Mr.. -- arrived, and said we
must telegraph to you, and raved and swore
ABOUT me dukes money, had forgotten an
about the notes, and did not know or care
whether they were burned or not. however,
when came 20 this room, found my open
desk, with the parcel lying upon II, ana an
the things that had left on my table. 30,
when / went to the station 10 meet you; l
sook my letter 10 Strauss. and pat IL In the
post; but after L had done TINS, could not
rest. The devil ragged in me worse IMAM ever,
and when you sent TO take some repose,
/ SAT down and wrote, first TO Sophie, and
then to you, for determined that you should
know all after was gone"
"And why did yon not make your escape at
once !'' / inquired, shuddeTing; for saw thar,
mad or not--and l firmly believed he ras mad
poor Schwarz must be Appreciated for the
crime of which he so calmly confessed himself
guilty.
Il hare made my escape" he answered, with
strange smile.
II am glad TO hear it." said thinking il best
to humor hifa 'then you will have no obiec
tion To remain quietly where you are for the
present: rest Will be good for you"
VERY; It's resi- that require, he answered
languidly, leaning back in his chair. while /
fastened 10 Tel! Inspec tor Park of the sad dis
covers had made
Il thought as much,'' was all could elicit
from the imperturbabIe detective. sand now,
If You please, sir, / must take the gent iato
custody, and be- on"
''oh. surely yon will not take him away in
such a state.''
Best on all accounts" he replied ssIie
hadn't ought 10 be left alone for q minute or
he'll be likely enough 70 do himself a mis-
chief''
Suddenly the thought struck me that some
meaning Of This kind might Turk in the words
useG hy poor hermann but few minute be-
lore, ana rushed mp stairs. He had not
moved, bur was sitting precisely in the same
position, except thar his head was sunk a lit
tie forwards, and yet his attitude was not one
of despair.
"Hermann,r said l. sorrowfullv. hut no did
not speak. eanght sight of little phial held
fast in his fingers which wa. ans ,,,a,. ,s