The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-05-14
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gracious sir" answers the agent, with the
| lroncai humility which Germans of his class
and rellglon (for Herr Fischer is q Jew w)much
anect I'd their dealings with the patrician or,
der, whom they cordially hate: 81 follow a
business which is quite lawful, and if you find
me mere, II Is because have been summon
ed. "Summonedp echoes the Prince, throw
lns Keen glance at old Michael, and this
venerable tenant quite cowed by the glance.
! Iuos MS Withered hands ruefuy down the
seams oil his leather breeches. II remains for
MS son WIiheim TO give an explanation, and.
nudged thereto by his wife, this sturdy fel-
low goes to a drawer and pulls out a letter
with American postmarks, and a bundle of
newspapers: "We received these from Mis-
souri,, sir, where my wile's brother emigrated
five years ago and has farm now with 200
head OF cattle. We have nothing but thanks
to give you tor your kindness to us; but we
are large family, and should like to better
ourselves, so after reading these papers we
wrote to Lubbock for information. and this
gentleman came down to u.s."
Wilhelm voice breaks into a stammer, and
the Prince, coldy taking up the newspapers,
runs his eye over them. They are German
Journals printed in st. Louis for wide c;rcula-
tion in the Vaterand ard full of glowing ac-
counts OF the prosperous condition of Ger
man colonists in the United States They
also .eem with appeals TO Germans at home
TO shake off the degrading slavery Of military
service and caste ruje.n ard thew come over
in envelopes, for the Post OffiLe authorities
| have orders 10 seize them when they arrive
| openly. The Princes features grow so stern
as he peruses these dangerous sheets that
Herr Fischer deems il prudent to slip out and
taste the fresh air. Wlhem's younger chill
dIen, too. catch up their satchels aud are
packed of by their mother to school, both
shyly munching the remnants of their black
bread as they go.The young girl Mslchen, who
has complexion like oses hereon obeys a
signal from her mother, and timidy advances
towards the Prince rush-bottomed chair
which she dusts with her apron. saving.
''Will the Herr Prince do US The honor 10
rest and refresh himself?" THANKS, Nal
chen, bring me glass Of milk" replies Herr
Won Schwertstock; then, beckoning to old
Michael, he lays hand on his sleeve, and
say. in that tone, halt authoritative, hait-fa-
miliar, but wholly kind, of which old Prds-
sian noblemen have the secret" "My good
Michael, your fathers and mine have lived
and been buried under the shadows of the
same trees; they worked and fought as you
and / and our children have done. that our
country might be great and are you going to
| leave the Vaterland now that the lono-ex-
| pectad harves. is coming in? You cannot
expect to be happier in a strange land than
| you are here;'' and he looks round the cot
tage, which is not sor1id howell but clean
and cozy habitation in which peasants might
| well be content to live. The bed in the cor
ner and the dresser on ore side are of old
brown oak, the pewter plates and gobIets
shine like silver, the shelves are filed with
books; a fiddle and some flutes are hung on
| the walls. and over the manteIshelf sst in
frames, ale the medals ab;eh wilhelm earn.
| ed at Sadowa. and which his eldest son. Frie-
drich. got after the war AGAINST fbe Fencb-
| Nevertheless. old Michael and Wilhelm and
WiIhel.n's three flaxen-headed sons. Friedrich
| Otto and Karl. hang their heads. for their
resolve to emigrate is not a purpose born of
| YESTERDAY. They have been broodlno over il
| roany a winter evening. with neigbbors gath
| cred round their fire to hear those 81. Louis
| papers read aloud. and to comment ON them
| till at length America has become to them all
| as the Promised Land. They are not TO be
argued odt of their illusions by sentiment.
The Prince soon discovers this. When the
idea of emigration has got settled in a Ger
man peasant's head. he can discuss all the
advantages of it with A stolid sbrewdness far
beyond the power of peasants in other coun-
| tries, where rustic education is scarce and
| bad When the Prince reminds Michael of
the pleasant summer evenings, when the vii.
| layers congregate out of doors to play music
| when the young men compete for " mnastic.
| prizes and the girls sing aud dance, be is told
that all these things will be found in America
where the Germans are not thrown among
aliens, hut settle together by hundreds or
| thousands, His remark that German peas-
ants are well fed and clothed is met with the
| reply that in America they grow rich and can
rise to any position of dignity, there being
no princes or barons there; and when,
alluding 10 Friedrich, Otto, and
Karl, he says that the young men owe
| military service to the country which has
taught and nurtured them, it is not one of
the men who answers him, but Wilheim's
wife, MY eldest son was killed at Sedan.
| gracious sir, and my husbands brother fell at
konlggratz There is not family in the
Vlilage put mas iost man in the last ten
years wars, and why should my younger
children stay behind to get killed when so
many others go away?' She whimpers as
| she says THIS, and then the Prince wakes
wroth: 1T you, Michael and Wilhelm, like
| to emlgrate with your wives, l cannot stop
| you; but Friedrich is in the reserve, and
| Otto and Karl Lave not served at all. can
stop them from deserting, and will.'' And
with TINS he drinks his MIX and stalks out
| flashing anger from his soldierly eyes. One
cannot oiame MIN. Setting aside his bitter
| chagrln that the best slnews OF the country
| should be gong TO till and strengthen foreign
soils when they are more than ever needed
to guard the fruits ot conquest at home, what
shall he do-he landowner--if he hires
laborers from the cities he must pay them
as they pay town artisans, and get a worth
| less collection OF men into the bargain
| priggish citizens, corrupt with all the cant of
| liberalism, Socialists, and scoffers So he is
i'll grim earnest as he travels to Berlin that
same afternoon, intent on asking the Polit-
zel-Prasldent that the names of Friedrich,
| Otto and Karl Kornbrod NAV be teIeorapbed
to all the German norts in order that these
| youths may be stopped from ''deserting,u aud
! he has the further purpose of PRAYING the
| Emperor that all young men below twenty
| five may be forbidden to emigrae unless they
can find substantial sureties in money thai
they will be forthcoming when their time of
| service arrives. He medltates parliament-
| ary bill TO that effect; and yet he knows that
| stringent measures will do little good
Won Schwertstock has rot been three days in
Doini, o1'o.e h'o St.Mdru tele9iapn 10 say
e sn"o o,hn. 1nu 'nleu youns AornDLods, Wild d1z-