Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1862-09-10
W0ttester Aailp spp
The Bitter Wedding.

hatlFe Nnlage, ana Where he designed to be
an unknown and silent guest at the dancing
and feshvity of certain merry makers.
"Ah, heavens" sighed he, sit will be a
butter wedding Had died last spring it had
been better with me now"
Fiddle, fadde!" exclaimed a snarling
voice from the roadside. Fiddle, faddle
Where Master Almerich touches his strings,
there goes it merrily-there is the hurly bur-
ly, dlrlng the bottoms out of the tubs and
pitchers! Good morning, my child Come,
cheer up my hearty, and let us trudge on to-
gether in good neighborship!'
The young herdsman had stopped when he
heard such frog croak of a voice, and now he
could not speak for laughing An odd-look-
ing, dwartish figure, mounted upon one leg
and a half, and propped upon a crutch, with
a nose as long as ones thumb, came hobbing
up quite out of breath, and making half a
dozen wry faces, from foot-path on the left
side of the road. Behind him he trailed an
enormous fiddle, on which lay large wallet
-appurtenances which seemed to be attached
to such little odd figure by way of ballast
lest the rush of the wind down the valley
should sweep it away.
''Good morning!" Berthol at last roared
out 'You are merry fellow, Master Fid-
dler, and will prove hearts ease to me o-day
In spite of my misfortunes L could not help
laughing at the sight of you and your hugeous
fiddle. Pray take it not amiss; a laugh has
been rare thing with me for many day."
''Has it, indeed!" rejoined the dwarf, ''and
yet so young! Perhaps you are heart-sick,
my SOM"
eyes, if you choose to call it So" replied
the herdsman. 'Here in our mountains and
valleys, you will find a great many clouts of
fellows who will be fancying themselves in
love, while they are all the time eating drink
ing and sleeping, as sound as any marmot,
and in one years time can as easily pass from
Margaret to Rosamond, as L from this town
to the other. That is>all mockery; would
much rather die than to forget Slegelind-
though for me all rest and joy are forever
vanished
''Aye, ave." replied Master Almerich, 81
thought you were going to the dance, my
hearty. L heard you crying out of bitter
wedding, and l thought to myself, AHA, he
does not get the right one-that Hildebrand !!
will tell you the whole matter, Master AL
merich, as you seem to be going the same
way, if am right"
"Ah, yes, good heavens I" sighed the dwarf !;
''surely, surely, would be going to the we'd
ding if had only pair of stout legs, but
look you here, my dear child, what misera-
Bile stump is this for crawling down the noun
tain! am asthmatic too, and my goitre has
been enlarged these last fifty years-and that
wallet has CALLED my back sore all yesterday
in climbing over the rough hills. Heaven
knows when 1 shall get to the wedding !!
There was such a talking about it on the 9TH
er side of the mountain, that thought to my
self, will away to the wedding also and make
some money; so | took my fiddle and began
to crawl up the ascent-yesterday became
quite eXhausted-and now l must lay me
down here by the side of the road and sub
NIT to fate. Tell me all about the wedding
when you return, child-if the wolves have
not swallowed or hunger killed me before that
time"
With these words the dwarf, apparently ex-
hausted, sunk down with deep and melan-
choly sigh on the nearest stone, threw his bun
die on the grass, and stretched out his bony
hand as if to take last farewell Of young
Berthold, who stood leaning upon his staff,
and gazing upon the fiddler, quite unable to
comprehend what allied him.
"Master, began the herdsman, chow droop-
ing! You have left all your gay spirits at
home! Although it is a weary journey for
me as well as you, will yet endeavor to car
ry your wallet and fiddle, so l may enjoy your
company ON the road. You must really hear
what presses upon my soul-perhaps l may
obtain some relief in speaking it out, and you
will have some pithy word of comfort for me. -
The dwarf accepted the kind Offer and
quickly transferred his wallet and fiddle to
the stout shoulders of the young herdsman
then taking his crutch, he whistled a merry
tune, and trudged gaily on by the side Of
Berthold.
''It is long story, this wedding" begun
the herdsman; shut | will be as brief as pos
sible, for it still grieves me to the heart when
l think about it, and whoever can understand
1t at all, understands it soon; as for me my
suferings will never be at an end, though /
should talk the whole day about it.
''In the village there, below us, old Bern
hard has pretty sweet girl of a daughter
Siegelind; ne has lived for many years, and
his wife, Gertrude, with him, in a nice little
cottage close by the stream, where the road
strikes off into the wood. Their trade is to
make wooden spoons for the herdsmen, by
which, and the help of goat and couple of
sheep, they gain their livelihood.
"Last winter, having got some ashen spoons
and cups nicely cut, thought with myself;
now, as my father is getting old, and sends
me with the cattle to the mountains in spring,
i'll only behave there as becomes herdsman,
what is there to prevent me coming down in
autumn and marrying Siegelind?
"Ah, Master Almerich, my words do poor
justice to my heart; my feelings always get
the start of them, and reason comes Hmpine
after.
81 beheld Siegelind, you see, moving &C.
lively about-wearing a merry face late and
early, all goodness and discretion from top to
toe, and pretty too verfowing with CAV
spirits, and merry songs without number; ali
this my eye, my ear, and my heart, drunk in
smoothly,-she was satisfied, and the old peo.
pie too,-so in summer | was to go to the
mountains, and at harvest home to the we'd
ding, and in the meantime she gave me this
waistcoat to wear on the hills in remembrance
of her.
"Od Bernhard went to the forest in spring
to choose the finest stems, and to provide us
with nice furniture against the wedding.
$50 one morning as he was ascending the
mountains through those ravines where there
are some marvellously fine trees, a little mar
in an old sort of dress, FASTENED to meet him
screaming violently, and reckoning and cal
ling him so earnestly that he could not but &C
with him. They soon reached barn, where
he found the strangers wife lying sick and il
extremity. Her he relieved and cured; bu
for mcbride, peace, and happiness were los
from that hour.
''Ah, good heavens !" exclaimed Almerch
'you are talking bravely, whilst l am almos
starving-hop, hop hop-we are trudging on
and my stomach is as empty as a bagpipe
Yesterday evening nothing this morning.
nothing Oh that brave wedding dance; tn
fiddle runs off, and Master Almerch is starv
ing here!"
Now, now, the deuce, then" bawled tn
herdsman, ''what have you got in this curse
wallet? Here am l toilng on with tbi
plagued bag, rubbing the verv sk;, or 49,