Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1873-04-26
GRETCHEN.


evening when the drinkers came out
from the brewery of "The Swan"
Theodore, with the others, walked
down the silent village. Windows
were being shut in the distance, and
the voices of the women could be
heard in the night air as they closed
their shutters. Good night, Or
chellp' "Good night, Gretchenw
"Sleep well !"
Then all was silent, and Theodore
was alone in the quiet street; the in
Vulnerable stars over his head, the
gently moving trees at each side,
all along the way looking, listening
and dreaming. When he looked up
to the sky, the words of Conrad, the
weaver, came to his memory:
"Guard thy soull guard thy SOUL"
But when he looked on the earth,
when he breathed the sweet per-
fumes of the autumn, the breath of
the new hay, the faint odor of the
dying leaves, then he dreamed of
Gretchen, the pretty Gretchen, so
fresh, so beautiful, with lips so
sweet and red, with great blue eyes
so merry and clear, with laughter
so frank and childlike. He trem-
bled in thinking of the young girl.
She seemed so near to him that he
counted every thread in her dress,
every stitch in her collar, every line
in her rosy, dimpled smile. Not q
shadow escaped him. He looked at
the stars and saw Gretchen; he lis
tened to the breeze and heard the
voice of Gretchen; he thought of the
world, and Gretchen was there, al
ways there, listening to his thought,
replying to it. o love! love! who
art thou Whence comest thou?
Theodore wandered thus in the
luminous night; behind the village,
along the village, along the bushes,
walking in the little paths bordered
with fences, and the fields freshly
moved: looking at the irregularly
constructed little houses, with their
outside stairs, their wormeaten rail-
ings, their farm yards, their great
spreading roofs, all berdered with
dark, mysterious shadows. At the
end of his long winding way, he
found himself again before the
house of Teebstock. He stopped
under Gretchen's windew, and look
ing at the shutter, with the round
hole in the top that gave light to
the interior of the little room, he
said to himself, "She is there" And
thinking that she was there, his
gaze became so fixed, so absorbed
that to see him you would have
supposed he saw something strange
something curious. But he saw
nothing. He thought, "She il
thereI'
And from high up in heaven the
moon whitened his forehead, shonC
on his eyes, silvered his light beard
and streamed over his artistic cos
tune, which was loose and flowing
full of free and picturesque ele'
gance. In his left hand he held hi
large gray hat, whose plume SWEEP
the ground, and with his right HAND
he sent his love to Gretchen in /:
kiss.
"Ah," thought he, ''if Gretchen
should come out for an instant. L
1 could see her now 1 would have
the courage to say to her, Gretchen
l love thee p"
He had dreamed in this way fol
an hour, not being able to decide Il
go away, when he heard singular
noise outside the building. Theo.
dore listened. 1t sounded like Z
smacking of the lips, such as any
one would make if he was drinking
the best Johannisberg in the world
1t was soft, rich, oily.
"What is that?" said the artist
and he stepped cautiously into the
yard. There the sound was r. peat
| ed three times. Theodore looked
everywhere, but saw nothing. Fl
nally he pushed aside the branches
of tree loaded with red fruit, anC
saw at the foot of the wall the idiot
Kasper Nuss. He was sitting OF
the grass, his legs stretched out anC
his ragged hat between his knees
full of excellent grapes which b,
had doubtless stolen from some
where in the neighborhood. TIL,
poor fellow seemed as happy as
thrush; his head bent down, hi
idiotic face shining with satisfac
ton. 1t was he who was smackin,
his lips. He raised the large bunch
es of fruit and held them over hi
mouth, which was stretched wild
open. His fat throat swelled con
tentedly. "Hsl hap said be
chuckling to himself. Tall weed
bent over towards him in the shad
ow Of the wall, and sundry DIR,
thistles kept watch at his feet.
"Ah, you rascal" said Theodor
to him, ais this the way you spent
your nights?"
The idiot turned his head care
lessly, partly shutting his eyes wit
q mocking air, and without takinI
his lips from the grapes.
"Who gave them to you?"
Kasper stretched out his han
and said, 'Down there. There
plenty of them there"
'sWhat, there? You have stole
them, then, from ReebstOck's gaI
den?''
eyes, Theodore" replied the otl
er, simply"
'And If l tell of it?"
'TYou won't do that"
'FWhy not?"
"You would have to say wins
time of the night it was when 70
! saw me-"
AS Kaspar said this, he winked
5 an odd fashion and laughed at IL
artist, who hastily recrossing II
U yard, murmured, eyes, yes, IL
> fool is right"
But as he passed, Moss seized hol
of his coat and cried, 'Stop, stoI