The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1871-09-22

to crevice carpeted with moss and
ferns, in order to reach the herdsman's
path across the woods.
Her whole soul, her savage nature,
flashed out in her expressions in a
strange way she seemed TRANSPORTED !;
with he little hands she chung to the
ivy, and with her feet to the assures of
the rocks.
She soon set off again down the other
slope of the mountain, running, bound
ing along, sometimes stopping suddenly
and looking at some object-a tree, a
ravine, an isolated spot, patch Of sweet
smelling grass, as if half stupefed.
Although she did not remember hav-
pieces, these heaths, at each turn of the
path she said to herself: knew it !
the tree was here-the rock there-the
torrent below ~
Although a thousand strange remem-
brances, like dreams, came into her
mind, she did not understand them,
could not explain them to herself. She
had not yet said to herself: "What
Fritz ana the rest like | don't; for, at
the village, the meadow, the farm, fruit
trees in the orchard, COWS to give milk,
hens to lay eggs, provisions in the barn
and cellar, and warm room in the
winter, these things make them happy,
but as for me, don't want this for |
am little savage, a regular savage! |
was born in the woods, like the squirrel
on the oak, the hawk on the rock, the
thrush on the fir tree" No,-she had
never reasoned thus, instinct alone
guided her; driven by this strange i'm
pulse, at sunset, she reached the plateau
of the Khole-Platz, which is the place
where the gipsies who are going from
Alsace to Lorraine usually stop to pass
the night, and hang up their pot in the
middle of the heath
Myrtle now disappeared in the midst
of the brambles which skirt the forest.
With one jump she cleared the muddy
ditch in which the solitary frog croaked
among the rushes.
In about twenty minutes she reached
the crest of the hollow rock which over
looks the country of Alsace and the
blue mountain tops of the Vosges.
Then she turned round to look if any
one was following her there was Fritz,
his hat over his eyes, still sleeping in
the middle of the green meadow
Friedland, too and the cattle under the
tree.
Listening attentively, she recognized
the voices; Bremen, Fritz and all the
farm people were in pursuit Of her.
Without moments hesitation, Myr
tie darted deeper into the forest, and
onlv stopped running from time to time
that she might listen again. At last
shouts grew fainter.
Soon she heard nothing but the rapid
beating of her heart, and she slackened
her pace.
At last, very late, when the moon had
set and she was quite worn out with
fatigue, she sank down among the
heather and fell into deep sleep. She
was now twelve miles from Dosenheim,
near the source of the Zinsel. She felt
sure that Bremen would not extend his
search as far as that.
1t was broad daylight when Myrtle
awoke to find herself alone on the Har-
berg under an old fir tree covered with
moss. A thrush was singing over her
head, another was answering it at a long
distance, far off in the valley.
The morning breeze was stirring the
leaves, but the air, already warm, was
laden with thousand perfumes of ivy.
MOSES and wild honeysuckles. The
young gypsy opened her eyes quite
amazed she looked about her, and
then remembering that she could not
hear Catherine calling out, Myrtle
Myrtle where are you, wretched child?'
she smiled and listened to the song Of
the thrush.
She heard the murmuring of spring
close to her. and found she had only to
turn her head to sec the fresh water
rushing along the rock and spreading
itself out on the grass. An arbutas
tree, laden with red berries, hung over
the rock; beneath it grew splendid
aconite, with violet flowers spotted with
white.
Myrtle was thirsty, but she felt so
lazy and contented TO be there listening
to the sound of the water and the sing
ing of the thrush, that she was disin-
clined to disturb the harmony, and let
her pretty brown head fall back again,
and smiling, looked up at the sky
through her halfopen eyelids.
''This is how | shall always be-" she
said to herself. III am lazy, l know |
am. God made me so y
AS she went on dreaming in this way
she pictured to herself the farm, with
its cocks and hens, and then, thinking
of the eggs in the barn hidden under a |
few blades of straw, she said to herself,
IL wish had got two eggs now two
hard boiled ones, like Fritz had in his
sack yesterday, and crust of bread and
salt. But, pshaw! if one hasn't got
eggs, blackberries and whortleberries
are very good, too"
"Ah! | see some there" she ex-
claimed, II see some.''
She was right, there were lots of them
on the heath
In few minutes she noticed that the
thrush had stopped singing, and rails
ing on her elbow she saw the bind peck.
ing one of the berries on the arbutas
tree. She got up to drink some water
out of the hollow of her hand, and she
noticed plenty of cress growing all
about