Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1867-02-21

memhered the night betOre--asl was going
out. stopped to question him. Did he
know any thing of two fair-haired women
who had been at vespers last evening? IL
described them. He stared at me and shook
his head. In the crowds who came there
daily how could he tell whom meant !
left him, and entered q humble little gast-
haus hard by, where, for afew groschen, l
broke my fast. Here made. the same in
uuiries. | even essayed to tell my story
but saw that, like the soldiers, the people
thought me wandering in my Wits They
told me, rather derisively, that l had bet
ter tell my story to the police. But how
could / hope to be believed, unsupported
as nv extraordinary statement was by any
proof whatsoever If could not test the
reality of these events to my own absolute
satisfaction, was it likely that others would
regard them as anything but the creations
of an excited imagination - ..
y wandered fora couple Of hours through
the city, trying to find my way to the
house, the exterior of which | felt certain
]. should recognize Il could not even trace
the road had taken, and at last gave it
up.-T The conviction slowly and reluctant
" grew up in me that i was suffering
from the effects OF a vivid nightmare.
Its impression remained painfully strong
on nv mind for many days Il left Cologne.
the same afternoon); and, indeed, for some
weeks [ never fell asleep without living
over again those terrible hours. But no
i'll dreams disturbed my rest;o and Since
the ZefIectIof all things must Jwear out i'll
time, as months rolled on the memory Of
my night in Cologne became to me no
more than remarkable experience of the,
strange phantasnhagoria which the mind
may conjure up, andginYest with every APP
pearance of reality, when yoliti0n is re-
moved. drew over and over again, IN my
sketclirbook, the heads Of thoselt two sisters
as they appeared to me, and / wrote down,
with. extreme particularly, every word
| they had said, and every small circumstance
Of my dream. ~ ?, '''2 y JIM 2 W. sra
tohOne winters evening in the following
year again, passed through Cologne on
| my road home [ was a richer man chan
had been eighteen months ago; my foot
| was5on The first rJiflg of the ladder,j for |
had painted picture which had sold well.
1t WAS no longer. necessary for me to carry
about my worldly possessions on my back
or to seek out the poorest gasthaas. The
steamer landed me, with other passengers
on the quay, hard by a handsome hotel. /
resolved to patronize It, The evening was
cold but along the quay, outside the ho-
| tel, in the courtyard, groups OF people
| were standing, and talking with slow,
heavy power of .speeehs betokening that
the native. mind was moved by some topic
Of more than common interest. / caught
a word here and there which reused my
curiosity asked the kelner who showed
me to my room what the subject of such
general public interest was An execu-
| ton, he replied adding that executions
| were rare events there now, and that un-
usual interest had been excited by this one,
from the fact that the persons who had suf-
fered the extreme penalty of the law were
taoo sisters, 0aatr0er6sses, whose crimes had
long escaped undetected.e TaB g9dtcaa
II i must have turned white instantly,
| for the man looked at me with some SUR
prise. 81, st~.;t. ..3,.... ...rrse-.
"Did you ever. see these women" | man
aged at last TO stammer out. a"1 inHt j.,
d "No, mein Herr. could not leave. the
hotel, to attend either the trial or execu-
| tion But there is an officer in the Speise-
saal who can tell you everything about
them, for he saw them. in prison, and
commanded the troops in the Platz to-day"
| I said no more to the man but went
down to the coffee-room few minutes
hand. At one of the small round tables a
middle-aged Prussan officer was having
his supper Without more ado, accosted
him. i. >1
"Sir, you will forgive strangers intru-
sion, hope. / am an Englishman just
arrived in Cologne / understand that you
were present, in an official capacity, this
| day. at the execution Of two women. You
will oblige me greatly by giving me what
| information you can respecting them. The
motive that prompts me to ask this favor
| is something beyond common curiosity, as
| you shall presently learn"
"Be seated, sir, said the officer, politely,
pointing to the. chair opposite. will
| tell you all know concerning the sisters
Strauss You are acquainted with the ma
ture of the crime of which they were con-
| victed? 1t was the murder of one Haus-
| man, young peddler. Not for the sake
of his money, for he was poor enough, but
| for his hair and teeth" Ct shuddered, but
said nothing. He continued "This was
| by no means their first crime. They were
| discovered to have been driving their hor-
rible trade for two or three years past. 1t
is supposed that they murdered upwards
of twenty persons men, women, and child
rem Numbers who disappeared misteri-
ously are now said to have been made with
| by the sisters Strauss. Their victims were
all strangers or friendless, to whom they
offered hospitality, and touching whose
disappearance no inquiries were likely to
be made Some few had money, perhaps !;
| the generality were poor; but several
watches and considerable sum of money
were found secreted in the house
cit had garden,p / said, as though
saw it all again. garden walled round,
with postern at the the, the farther end
In the house were three rooms" ~
10 "Just SO. All the world has been visit
ing that house during the last few days. A
great number of skeletons have been found
in the garden. The popular ,execration
was so great that it was feared the women
would he torn to pieceson their way tothe
galgen (gallows) to-day. Had it not been
for The strong guard that commanded,
and that their terrible sentence,-one rare
| ly pronounced now-would, twas known,
be carried out to the very letter, they
would assuredly have fallen preyrto thefury
of the mob. As it was the savage satisfac-
ton at the prospect Of seeing them broken
on the wheel-pV 81 39HsnHg gUoy ~
NJ 9, Broken on the Wheel, Good Heavens,
sir, you surely don't mean to say that this
sentence qc0s carried out pm 2" -f'
Ii "Yes9qIt is, as have said, very unusual,
now, for this punishment to be even re-
corded much less enforced. But, in cases
Of very rare atrocity, nothing short Of it
seems to satisfy the public.i'io L saw even
women, to-day, looking on unmoved !;
though |, a soldier, who have seen a good
many bloody battle-fields in the great war,
would fain have ridden away when ] heard
q cal. 4 IL