Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1875-05-19
fellows, and that the glory Of beating them

mcnts of his commanding officer, and the
envy of his comrades
Beng Il man of property, of respectable
parentage, and of fair education. Conrad
might have looked forward to almost any
thing att;unable in the German army by a
man of less than noble blood, if the war
had not been so very brief; and if the corps
to which he belonged had not been among
the first to he ordered home. Before a
gaeat while he found himself almost his
own master again, though still within the
scope and control of army regulations, for
no German of Conrad's AGE is ever be-
yond them, and he said to himself: " Well
| loved the army; I always loved fighting,
| know l could love glory with all my
heart. | know am ten times rs much of
4 soldier rs that little white nous
tached ape of Il baron that commanded my
company. That is it. l think l could
love country where there We're no barons.
Let me see. | think my heart has been
growing a good deal during this war.
There is more room in it than | know of,
and yet 1t is always full. | think there
are some things in it that | never saw
there in the cid times. Will 90 and tax,
a look at the village first. and the house
and the shop. and will hasten again to
see if | can hear Christine call her father
home to dinner. Them if don t hear her,
what then? Well. think l will just ask
my heart about it
Now, ail this time old Franz Uofcrdahl
and his daughter had known very little of
what had taken place in the village they
had left behind them. They had found
;heir pilgrimage long and weary enough,
and they had reached Il residing place at
l.. 81 H., 81
old ntighbors. As all Germans do, but very
| little information had come back to them
| They knew that old Gottleib Midburger
the home and the shop and that he had
gone To the great war with the French ::
| AMI that WAS nearly all.
Franz IIofcr,Iahl had not landed on the
shores of the New World Il ptuper in any
thing but youth and strength. and he found
friends ready enou IN to take the place of
the old ones rs far Is might be; and after
he had got over the first daze and bcwil-
drrmcnI, and became somewhat accus-
toned to the rtcking changes in all habits
and ways of life, he tried to settle down as
4 man of property and substance, and be
happy.
. If only old Gottleib Mldburscr were
with me, he said to Christine. . would
give Il good deal Ist 10 see the old fellow
lay down his pipe and look into a dirty
watch.
Christine said very little, but her bright
American home became drcary enough at
times when She shut her eyes and let hel
thoughts 20 back to the old sleepy German
village She read all the accounts of the
great war. too, wondering if any of her
old nrighbors had been in this battle or
that, and She listened very silently when
her father said:
IF Conrad Midburger was in any Of
that fighting, III be bound he behaved
himself well. There's good blood in tho
MidburgcrS, and Conrad is a fine boy
" He must be a man by this time. said
Christine.
And then She thought what very tail
tine looking man he must be. and how
we'll he would appear in his uniform.
But when. after Il while, there was new:
Of eacc, and they heard that the army
was going home to he dsbanded, old
Franz IIotcrlahl grew less thoughtful, ant
Christine tried in vain to arouse him, OF
, amuSe h1m, until one autumn morning he
said to her;
$ And the other soldiers are going home
| think it is pretty netr time for me to g
! too
l. ITO Germany. ftthcr?" eXclamc,
i Christine, with Il sudden light in her eyes
% 30 father"
NO, Christine" >olcmnlv replied tn
: old man; " Germany Is not the only ia
i therland Lam Il very old soldier, and
h think this is my last campaign
n Christine understood him then. bat a
in Il dreamy and unreal sort of wa. unit
Z l.. h, l,,r. ..lf .-t-
i tine alone in the house, while the chillin
I wind that wl>tlel by the window WA
if frcirhted with the first white harbin@ers {
y the winter.
# seemed cold, forlorn and empty Sol
4 of IL world to Chritinc, and when She trio
to think of the village where She was borl
:, that too. seemed empty and deserted. an
! She imagined the old shop shut up, and II
!. snow flakes hcating against the spld'
, wcbhcd windows.
# Tie doorbcll rang. but Christine did n
. hear it, nor did she know that the serval
i had admitted ANYBODY until she was con
a >cious of Il heavier step almost beside he
f and deep, clear voice, full OF man
. STRENGTH hut that t'emhtd in 4 tlrillin,
/ musical way. said TO her:
.Chri>tnr Christiue.
90 She looked up then in the tAce-t >s'u
k red and war bionZed tlcc-ot Il tall cree
= noble-looking. man. who wore 4 medal
| honor on his breast and whose dark pen
-, tratinc eyes were absolutely radiant
i. they looked down into her own.
~ .:Christinr." he said again. - do you II
70 derStand me-? | have come"
lie had come" She thought, for OF
J.. brief, turning moment, and it seemed as
-. light and happiness and strength and Il
- lni,I German home itself had come wi
ir him. She now had an Old. quick FAM
f that the door of the old shop opened. al
u the sun bpran to shine and She could s
- the two cid men at their work. but 81
arose and threw her arms about his nee
! and only said between her sobS, 80, Co
u rad. I'm 50 htppy, SO glad You ha'
o. ctmV.
~ Ii was Il sober dtv and :, sober meetii
after all, but some hours later, as they :
IF hv the crate i'll the parlor, where the ii
al burned warm and chccrllr, while the I'll
~ merry snow flakes Of the opening Wlnt
- lifted softly by the windows, and they e
,t changed s. orics Of all that had happen
to them. Conrad said to h 7:
m "Ah, Christine did not know mys
no when Won went away. dld not hho"
=; had a art. but | soon began to find
:. out fUunu II Wa> Sle'tl ple il''i L u
,n with wonderful things IN 1t. One love
nt ter another seemed to wake up and spe
,ro to me, to tell me it WAS there. until t
- hiroe,t love of all came to life, and
"a Grew till it crowded out all the others a
to filled up everything, and then had
=, come across the ocean to find you,
r who would have dreamed that you Ii
w. kept waiting for me, waiting all the tn
Sn for me to come? | was terribly air.
NJ about that.
II "Oh. l don't know" said Christi ii
~ Il don't understand it, at all. All I
~ while it has seemed a, if | We're on
,ot waiting-waiting -and that, II L wait
ire long enough you would surely come.
"And here | am,' said Conrad " OF
rlv think there good deal more OF
80 somehow than in those dear old slee
in days at home.