Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1870-09-07
We'll. mein Herr, we struggled on in

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ways that our luck would turn, and putting |
the best face we could on it; though many |
a time. when the children came to ask me |
why Inever bought them pretty things now
as [ used to do at home, l could almost |
have sat down and cried. At last the time |
came when we could stand against it no
longer. There was money-lender close
by us, from whom we had borrowed ct high |
er interest than we could afford, who
was harder upon us than any one
(may it not be laid to his charge hereafter):
and he, when he saw that we were getting
behind with our payments, seized our fur
niture, and announced sale Of it by auc-
ton. ! remember the night before the
sale as if it were yesterday. My boy Will
helm was very i'll just then, and no one
knew whether he would live or die; and
when my wife and l sat by his bed that
night, and looked at each other, and
thought of what was to come. I really
thought my heart would have broken. All
my Lisbeth, we have indeed been in
trouble together
Is he uttered the last words, the old
man clasped fervently the brown, broad
hand of his wife, which returned the press
ure with interest; and after slight pause
he resumed thus:
'On the morning of the sale, o good
many people assembled; and among the
rest came the district inspector of police.
He was o kind man in his way, and had
given me several little jobs to do when
first came over but he was not very rich
himself, and nobody could blame him for
not helping us, when he had his own fam
lily TO think of. However. I've no doubt he
came to our sale in perfect good faith,
meaning to give the best price he could
for what he bought. Well, in he came: and
the first thing that caught his eye was the
old bureau, which stood in o corner of the
room. It seemed to take his fancy. and
be went acro4a to have nearer view of it.
He began trying the grain of the wood
drawing his nail across one part, rapping
another with his knuckles-till all at once
| saw him stop short, bend his head down
as it listening, and gave another rap
against the back of the bureau. His face
lighted up suddenly, as if he had just
found cut something he wanted to know;
and he beckoned me to him. "Do you
know whether this bureau Of yours has
secret spring anywhere about?" asked h
'tor the back seems to be hollow" Isaid l
had never noticed anything of the sort
nor, indeed, had /; for when we found that
the drawers We're empty, We looked no
farther. Now, however, he and [ began
to search in good earnest and at last the
inspector, who had had plenty of practice
in such work since he entered the police,
discovered little iron prong, almost like q
rusty nail, sticking up from one of the
carved figures He pressed it, and instant
~ the whole top of the bureau few up like
the lid of box, disclosing a
deep hollow, in which lay several
packets of bank-notes and gov
ernment shares; about dozen
Il L =
np in cotton; and two or three jewel-cases,
filed with valuable rings and bracelets
the whole amounting SIS we afterwards
calculated, to more than 10000 Prussian
thalers
"Well, you may think how we felt, saved
as we were in this uttermost strait by "a
kind of miracle; and how we blessed the
nam Of my old uncle, when we saw how
truly he had spoken. The inspector (God
bless him) refused to touch pfenning of
the windfall. saying that he was sufficiently
rewarded by seeineso many good people
made happy; SO we paid our debts, packed
up all that we had, and came back to our
own folks and our own fatherland, never
to leave it again. Ay mein Herr we have
indeed been wonderfully helped
And almost unconsciouslv, the old man
broke into the opening words of Luther's
grand old psaln-the same which the pi-
GUS old soldiers of Frederick the Great
chanted in the bleak December morning,
when they went forth, one man against
three, to turn to flight the armies of the
alien
tower of strength our God doth stand
trusty shield and weapon.
Too deeply interested to break, by fur
ther conversation, the charm of this noble
romance of real life, 1 took my leave, and
Except a hasty farewell visit two days
later) never saw the Holzmann family
again; but the story which they left me L
have not forgotten, and can never forget,