The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-02-27


might have said
at is a very thoughtful face, and there
are lines of strength beginning to show In
it."
And there followed swift marching, COM
fortress camping, all kinds Of severe and
trying soldier work, and good deal Of very
hard fighting. Whatever the newspapers
and reports might say about 1t, Conrad Md
burger and his comrads learned that the
Frenchmen were brave fellows. and that
the glory of beating them was never very
cheaply won.
Being big and strong and brave, a good
swordsman, and every day growing more
and more intelligent, Conrad himself won
glory-that is, three or four slight wounds,
a medal promotion from the ranks, the
compliments of his commanding officer,
and the envy of his comrades.
Being man of property, of respectable
parentage, of fair education, Conrad might
have looked forward to almost anything at
tainable in the German army by a man of
less than noble blood, if the war had not
been so very brief, and ifthe corps to which
he belonged had not been among the first
to be ordered home. Before great while
| he found himself almost his own master
| again, though still within the scope and con-
| troll of army regulations, for no German of
| Conrads age is ever beyond them, and he
said to himself: swell, l loved the army,
1 almost loved fighting. I know could
love glory with all my heart. know l am
ten times as much soldier as that little
white mustached ape of a baron that COM
manded my company. That is it. l think
l could love country where there are no
barons. Let me see. think my heart
must have been growing a good deal dur
l Ill., -
than knew of, and yet it is always full.
/ think there are some things in it that /
never saw there in the old times. l will go
and take look at the village first, and the
heuse, and the shop, and will listen again
to see it can hear Christine call her faith
err home to dinner. Then, if don't hear
her, what then? Well, I think will just
ask my heart about it,.
Now, all this time, old Franz Hofendahl
and his daughter had known very little
what had taken place in the village they left
behind them. They had found their pill
grimage long and weary enough, and they
had written homo to their old neighbors, as
all Germans do, but very little information
had come back to them. They knew that
old Gottelb Midburger was dead, and that
Conrad had given up the home and the shop,
and that he had gone to the great war with
the French, and that was nearly all.
Franz ;iofendaol had not landed on the
shores of the New World pauper in any
thing hut youth and strength, and he
found friends readily enough to take the
place of the old ones as far as mighl be, and
after he had got over the first daze and be-
wilderment and became somewhat accus-
toned to the racking changes in all his hab-
its and ways of life, he tried to settle down
as a man of property and substance, and be
happy.
"If only old Gottleib Midburger were
with me" he said to Christine, 81 think
could do it, would give a good deal just
to see the old fellow lay down his pipe and
look into a dirty watch"
Christine said very little, and her bright
American hume became dreay enough al
times, when she shut her eyes and let her
thoughts go back to the old, sleepy German
village. She read all the accounts Of the
great war, too, wondering if any of her old
neighbors had been in this battle or that
and she listened very silently when hei
father said:
eff Conrad Midburger was in any of thai
fighting, I'll be bound he behaved himself
well. There's good blood IN the Midburg
ers, and Conrad is fine boy"
''He must be man by this time" sale
Christine.
And then she thought what very tall
fne-looking man he must be, and how wei
he would appear in his uniform.
But when, after while, there was new
ofpeace, and they heard that the army wal
going home to be disbanded, old Franz Hof
erdahl grew strangely thoughtful, and Chris
tine tried all in vain to arouse him, until
: one autumn morning, he said to her
"Ail the other old soldiers are goinl
home think it is pretty near time for m
to go, too"
; ITO Germany father2" exclaimed Chris
! tine, with sudden light in her eyes. &C
father!'
mo, Christine" solemnly replied the oil,
man; Germany is not the only fatherland
am very old soldier, and l think this j
my last campaign"
Christine understood him, then, but all il
a dreamy and unreal sort of way, until
few weeks later, she found herself sittin
alone in the house, while the chilling win
that whistled by the windows was freighte
with the first white harborings of the winter
1t seemed cold, forlorD, and empty sort @
a world to Christine, and, when she tried t
g think of the village where she was born
that too, seemed empty and deserted. an
!, she imagined the old shop shut up, and tn
d. i. snow flakes beating against the spider-web
bed windows.
The door-bell rang, but Christine did nc
!. hear it, nor did she know the servant ha
. admitted anybody, until she was consciou
Il of heavy step almost beside her, and
deep, clear voice, full of manly strength
u but that trembled in thrilling musical way
= said to her:
u "Christine Christine!"
!; She looked up then in the face-a seal
red and war-bronzed face--of tall, cree
!, noble looking man, who wore a medal {
u honor on his breast.
"Christine," he said again, edo you III
= cerstand me2 l have come"
:, "He had GOMEZ" she thought, for on
y y brief, burning moment, and it seemed as
light and life, and happiness and strength
!" and the old German home itself, had com
=, with him. She now had an odd, quick far
u cy that the door of the old shop opened an
. the sun began to shine, and she could sc
y the two old men at work, but she arose an
- threw her arms around his neck, and onl
,, said between her sobs, go Conrad, I'm
- happy so glad you have come"
- 1t was a sober day and a sober meetin,
"a after all, but, some hours later, as they 81
~ by the CRATE in the parlor, where the fiji
burned warm and CHEEKY, while the fir
y merry new fakes of the opening winter I'll
IA ted softly by the windows, and they e.
~ changed stories of all that had happened
u them, Conrad said to her:
- "Ah, Christine, did not know myse
T. when you went away. l did not know
y had found that it was a great big heart, to
. with wonderful things in it. One love aft
=, another seemed to wake up and speak
- - me, to tell me it was there, until at last Il
~ biggest love of all came to lite, and it gre
AZ and grew till it crowded out all the OF
20 ers and filled up everything, and then hi
81 to come across the ocean to find you. Is
u who would have dreamed that you had Ike
re anything for me, waiting all this time f
u me to Gomez" / was terribly afraid abo
:" that"
III