Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1871-11-30

tried to run twelve miles within the
hour, because some one said he
couldn't, and has broken down under
the strain Mcin Herr, 1 an sorry t,
have to say it,--hut your countrymt,
alc equally devoid of fear and of reason
There is but one 1n;,n i'll England whom
can truly rcvcrcncr, and his name is
Kerr Carl ylr W
"Mr Carlyle, why, he's an ol,
friend of mine! | saw him the last
time l was in England Pm glal yo'
admire him
"Did you, mcin Herr: did yrr
really ?" says the old MAN, with unmis
taxable interest. "Tcll me all about
him, [ bcsccch you; he is Il great MAJ
worthy to have hcrn born Il German!
And for nearly twenty minutes we
sit III Judgment upon the biographcr o
Frederick the Great, till the strokes o
seven, booming from the town below
warn the professor that it is time to b(
going home.
"You must como with nc, Mcir
Her, says he, rising from his seat
"no excuses, I beg of yvu. It shall
never be said that Justus Wcisscnbart
met with Il friend of tho Herr CARLYLE
without making him welcome; and,
besides, I've got something to show
you which [ think will interest you. ,
Thc old mans hearty manner was not
to be resisted; and q aquarter Of an hour
later l stood before the door of IL tail,
grim looking stone house ut the corner
of the AIarkt-Platz, the curiously carved
front Of which showed that it hasl seen
more than one century. But if It's out.
side was storm and unpromising, its
degree and so thought when fonnt1
myself seated over a substantial Ger.
man supper in the professors little
snuggery, and heard the old gentle
mans chcery voice bidding me fall to
and spare nothing"
While eating, 1 found time to glance
round the room, which (save for it's an.
tique furniture and heavy cross-beams
of dark oak) differed but little from
the countless other laboratories that
had seen in various towns of southern
Germany; but one object arrested my
attention-a human skeleton planted
upright in q corner, presenting pistol
menacingly with it's fcshlcss hand
The professor noticed the direction OF
my eyes, and smiled igniiicantly.
"That's the curiosity I was speaking
Of, said he: cit has u history of it,
own, which is worth hearing. When
VIC have linishcl supper I'll tell it tc
,you.'
And accordingly, as soon as our meal
was ended, Herr Wcisscnbart settIc,
himself comfortably in his great easy
chair, lighted an enormous German
pipe, which the most seasoned "fux ,
ill the University would have found il
hard to smoke ont, and began as fol-
| lOws:-
cat the time that l bought this
house, mcin Herr, I hn.l Just entered
upon the happicst l':liod of my whole
life. I had at length attained the mod.
est competence for which I had long
labored in vain, and could SHY to my.
self, when l sat down i'll my caay -clai,
in the evening and lit my pipe, Now,
Jnstus Weissenbart, thou hast done
all that the earthly and corporeal part
Of thee demands for It's sustenunce
| henceforth thou art free to serve the
cause of science, and, it may he, even
to add Il little grain ofknow|eleo 70 the
sum OF human learning I went to
work with all carncstncss. [ filled
my house with rare plauts, rare fossils,
rare minerals. paid high for curios-
tiles Of every kind, Once I gave Il
handful of thalcrs for the carc;tso of a
donkey which exhibited Il singular NAL
formation of the spinal column. Its
dissection led ME to one OF
the most interesting discoveries
which [ have over made. All, mein
Herr! you who are u man of amuse-
ment anil adventure, cannot fatl,oln
the delight felt in cutting mp that
glorious donkey! But once before in
my whole life did | experience the
samc pleasure, and that was when was
called in, IL little Will after first came
here, to treat Il patient whose case cx-
hibited sulnc very unusual and per-
picking symptoms. I examined him :;
reflected J; the truth flashed upon
me. flung my hat on the ground,
and, embracing tho sick man with
! rapture, cried out, I congratulate you,
my friend you have revived Il disease
which has been unknown for the last
SIX centuries !''
The idea of such consolation being
administered to an invalid WAS too
much for my gravity. In spite of all
my efforts to compose myself laughed
till was fairly exhausted and Herr
Weisscnbart very goo,i-ilumorc>ily
joined in the mcrrim"nt, though cvi-
IDENTIFY without the least suspicion Of
having given cause for it.
"Wcl, mcin lirhrr Herr" he con-
tinued, "you will doubtless have re-
marked il as Il singular law Of nature
that whcna man lives all alone by him
self, in particularly old and shabby
! looking house, he Invariably acquires
the reputation Of bcirg Immensely
rich: Perhaps my paying go high for
fossils and skeletons gave some color to
the myth in my case; but at any rate
I was soon known in Hcidelbesg as
the rich Professor Weissscnbart, and
my friends began to warn me that if l
did not take care ! might some day
chance to get robbed.
"Now, at that time I had but one
servant, who had been with mo many
years, and was beginning to get old
and feeble Every one said that he
was not enough to take care Of the
house by himself, and that I'd better
have younger man to help him but
didn't like to vex poor old Johann by
seeming to think him past work, so I
just let things go on as they were. He
! was capital servant, and did his work
as we'll as man could do; but he had
one failing. Every now and tllcn, when
the chance offered, he would "a sig
nifcant gesture of the professors hand,
as if hitting a glass to his lips, complet-
ed the sentence.
m rather bad fault in man
upon whom the safety of the house de-
pendcd," observed |.
SO [ thought" answered the pro
; fessor; ''and more than once doubted
whether it might not be as we'll to take
my friends advice after all, and engage
IL second servant But l kept putting
it Off and putting it off, till ut last I got
punished for my hesitation, as you
shall hear.
Gone night hal sent Johunn out
to do some marketing, and was expect
ing him back every minute. AS Il rule,
| whenever ne went abroad he took the
house key (of which had tluplicatc)
tapng with him, so that nobody could
get in i'll he came back unless chose
to let them. He WAS vcr' ,tt-
unl on the Wl' but
! this time, tent .-minutes
passed, and there WA 40 sign of him.
began to fear that he mi ght have
taken glass too much, as he some
times did, and was just thinking Of go
ing to look after him, when, all at once,
heard, far down below, Il noise as if