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

mind to milk the cows, or churn the
butter, or shell the peas, or peal the
potatoes. When she heard the girls OF
Dousenheim, as they were washing
clothes of morning in the stream that
ran through the village, call her the
I" little heathen," 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 heather be.
cause | am prettier than the other
girls" and bursting into laughter, she
" ould 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.
1t is of no good for me to preach to her,
or advise or reprove her; she does
everything cross.ways. The other day
when they 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
she can lay her hands on"
Bremen himself could not but per-
ceive that the child had touch of the
heather in her, and when he heard his
wife calling out from morning till night:
Myrtle, q the wretched child y, she
has run again to gather black-berries ~
he would laugh and say to himself,
Poor Catharine, you are like hen
that has Matched ducks eggs the little
ones are in the water, she flies round
and calls them, but they pay no heed"
Every year after the harvest was over,
Fritz and Myrtle used to spend whole
days far away from the farm, looking
after the cattle. They sang, they whis-
tied, 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 trumpets
made of bark.
These were Myrtle's happiest days.
Seated by the fire, her beautiful
brown head resting on her little hand.
She would remain motionless for hours,
as if lost in profound reveries. Flights
of geese and wild ducks crossing the de-
serted skies seemed to sadden her pro-
foundly. She followed them with a
long, long gaze into the limitless depths
of the skies then suddenly she would
stand up. stretch out her arms and eX-
claim, 81 must run off must-oh ! |
must run away"
Then she would bury her face in her
lap and weep. Fritz stood close beside
her and wept too, and said "Why do
you cry, Myrtle? Who has been un-
kind to you? One of the village boys
Kasper, or William, or Harry? Tell
me. will punish him. Only tell me -
''Nor'
'What makes you cry?"
III don't know"
$40 you want to run up the Fal-
burg?''
"No, that isn't far enough away"
"Where do you want to 60 to, Myr-
tie /"
cover there y Over there ~ and she
pointed far beyond the mountains,
"where the birds 90 -
Fritz opened his eyes and mouth wide
with establishment.
One day they were together at the
edge of the wood the heat was SO
great, the air SO still, that the smoke of
their little fire, instead of rising in
grey column, spread itself out like wa
ter under the dried up briars. 1t was
nearly midday. The grashopper had
stopped its monotonous song; there
was not a hum of an insect, not a wills.
per Of leaf, nor the chirp of bird.
The oxen and COWS, their eyelids closed,
were lying in the shade of a large oak
tree in the middle of the meadow, and
from time to time one of them lowed in
a melancholy way, as if complaining.
Fritz had at first occupied himself
plating the cord of his whip, but he,
too, soon stretched himself out on the
grass and put his hat over his eyes, and
Friedland laid down beside him, yawn-
ing to the very ears.
1t was only Myrtle who did not seem
to feel the overpowering heat. Squatted
close to the fire, her arms round her
knees, in the full blaze Of the sun, there
she remained motionless, gazing with
her large black eyes into the sombre
colonades of the forest.
Time passed slowly. The distant vii
lage clock struck twelve, one, two; still
the gypsy girl did not move. Those
woods, those bare mountain tops, those
rocks and fir trees, seemed to her in.
vested with something profound and
mysterious.
YES" said she to herself, a. have
seen that-it is long time ago--a long
time agoW
All of sudden, noticing that Fritz
was sleeping, she got up quietly and
took to flight. Her feet seemed scarce
ly to touch the grass; on she ran, up
the hill. Friedland turned his head
listlessly, and appeared for moment
to be about to follow her, then stretched
himself out afresh as if overwhelmed
with WEAKNESS.
Tired out, her feet all bruised. her
little red petticoat torn by the BRAN
bles, Myrtle sat down at the foot of an
oak.
For long time she remained notion
less, staring into space, listening to the
moan of the wind among the the tall fir
trees, happy to feel herself alone in the
solitude.
Night was coming on. Myriads of
stars sparkled in the sombre depths of
the sky; the moon rose, and the few
birch trees scattered on the side of the