Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1871-08-16


Guard. After the year 1915, he had
married Catharine, his old love, when
she was no longer young, but still bloom
ing and full of charm. With his own
property, his house, four or five acres of
vineyard, and the land which he got
with Catherine, Bremen was one of the
most well-to-do men in Dosenheim; he
might have been Mayor or Deputy
Mayor, or Municipal Councillor, if he
had liked, but he did not care for these
honors, and when he had done his days
work in the fields, his only pleasure was
to take down his gun, whistle to his
dog FrieIand, and so for turn in the
wood.
Now one day, when he came back
lfrOm shooting, he brought with him in
his great game-pouch little Gypsy
girl, lively as a squirrel and brown as a
berry. He had found her at the foot of
Il tree, beside a poor Gypsy woman,
dead from fatigue, and perhaps from
hunger. ,
Catherine cried out and protested
against having the child; but Bremen,
who was quite the master i'll his own
house, simply announced TO his wife
that the little one was to he baptised
and given the name of Susan Frederica
Myrtle, and was to be brought up with
: little Fritz.
OF course all the gossips in the village
came ny turns to look at the little Gyp-
sy, whose grave and thoughtful fare
quite aStonishpd them She is not
, Hike our children, said they. SHE is a
little heathen!-a regular little heather!
You can see lay her black eyes that she
understands everything! She is listen
ling to us now. You had better take
care, Master Christian; GyPsies have
hooked fingers. IF you rear young
weasels you may find one fine morning
p that your cock is throttled and your
eggs all gone.
acct along with you"' exclaimed
Bremen, 'and mind your own business.
know Russians, Spaniards, Italians,
Germans, Jews; some had hooked
noses, some snub noses; and everywhere
yes, amongst all of them, I have found
honest, worthy men,"
"That might be-" said the gOssips,
'but then all those people lived in hous-
es, whereas Gpysies live in the open
air."
Bremen would hear no more, so he
took the women by their shoulders and
pushed gently enough toward the door,
saying as he did so, "Go along, go
along; I don't want any of your advice.
It is time to attend to the farm, to clean
out the stables, and wash the floor.
The gossips were not, however, entire
Iy in the wrong, as unhappily was prov
ed twelve years afterward.
Fritz delighted to feed the cattle, and
to take the horses to water, to go with
his father to the fields to dig, or SOW, or
reap, or tie up the sheaves and then
bring them in triumph to the village.
To Myrtle on the contrary, it was no
pleasure to occupy herself usefully; she
had no mind to milk the COWS, or cburn
the butter, or shell the peas, or peel the
potatoes. When she heard the girls of
Dosenhein, as they were washing
clothes of morning in the stream that
ran through the village, call her the lit
tie heather, she would look at herself
complacently in the water, and seeing
the reflection of her beautiful black
hair, purple lips, and white teeth, she
would smile and murmur to herself,
They call me the little heathen be-
cause am prettier than the other girls,
and bursting into laughter she would
splash about in the water with the tip
of her little foot.
Catherine noticed all these things,
and complained bitterly.
Myrtle, she would say, is of no use
for anything-she will do nothing. tits
of no good for me to preach to her, or
advise or reprove her; she does every
thing crOssways. The other day, when
we were arranging the apples in the
fruit-loft, she took it into her head to
bite all the finest TO see if they were
ripe! She likes to gobble up everything
f she can lay her hand on"
e Bremen himself could not but perceive
e that the child had touch of the heath
: en- in her, and when he heard his wife
q calling out from morning till night,
- Myrtle! where are you? Oh the wretch
: ed child! OFF she has run again to
9 gather blackberriesI he would say to
= himself, Poor Catharine, you are like a
$ hen that has Matched ducks eggs; the
; little ones are in the water, she flies
t around and calls to them, but they pay
t no heed
] Every year, after the harvest was
2 over, Fritz and Myrtle used to spend
=. whole days far away from the farm,
f looking after the cattle. They sang,
4 they whistled, they made fire of dry
stalks of hemp, and baked potatoes in
. the ashes, and when evening came ran
> home down the stony hill, blowing
9 trumpets made of bark.
S These were Myrtle's happiest days
g Seated by the fire, her beautiful brown
head resting on her little hand, she
7, would remain mOtiOnless for hours, as
< if lost in profound reverie. Flights of
e geese and wild ducks crossing the de-
= serted skies seemed to sadden her pro-
foundly. She followed them with q
D long, long gaze into the limitless depths
, of the skies, then suddenly she would
4 stand up, stretch out her arms, and eX-
4 claim, 4 must run off must-oh
must run away
/ Then she would bury her face i'll her