The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-02-17

/
Ah Fritzl everything looks bright ate.
| thirty years; We forget fears, anxieties, and
igues; but the memory of good men and
| happy hours remains with us foreverl
| The veterans. on both sides of the wagons,
with their muskets under their arms, escorted
my twelve pipes. Heitz led the horses, and the
sergeant and walked behind.
| "Well Father MosesW said he laughing, ut
has all gone off well (; are you sstisfedp
"More than l can possibly tell sergeant u
What would have been my ruin will make the
fortune Of my family, and we owe 1t all To
yon"
Go along !" said he, "you are joking"
| He laughed, but felt deeply; to have been
in danger of losing everything, and then to
! regain It all and make profit out OF lit
| makes one feel deeply
Now must tell you about our return to
| Pb alsburg.
You may suppose that my wife and children,
after seeing me take my gun and go away,
| were in @ state of great anxiety. About i've
O'Clock Sorle went out with Zeffen to try to
| learn what was going on, and only then they
heard that had started for Mittelbronn with
| q detachment of veterans.
Imagine their terrorl
The rumor of these extraordinary proceed
| ings had epread torough the city, and quanti'
ties of people we're on the bastion of the ar
tillery barracks looking on from the distance.
| Burguet was there, with the mayor, and other
| peIs,ns of distinction, and number of
| women and children, all trying to see through
! marched with the detachment, but nobody
| wuuid beiieve-it1 aud Barsuet exclaimed 1T
| ia uot possible th at q sensible man like Moses
would go and risk his life fighting Co5sacks-
no, it is not pOts bleW
i'll had been in his place l should have said
| tho same of him. Bat what can you do,
| Fritzf The most prudent of men become
| blind when their property is at stake blind,
| / say, and terrible, for they lose sight Of dan
ger.
This crowd was waiting, as said, aud soon
their large shavls over their heads. They
went up the rampant and stood there, with
/ their feet in the snow, too much frightened to
| speak.
/ learned these things afterward.
Whom Zsffen and her mother went up on
the bastion, it was, perhaps, half past five !;
there was not o star to be seen. just at that
time Sohweyer and his boys ran away, and
| five minutes later the skirmish began.
Burguet told me afterwsrd that, notwith-
standing the darkness and the distance, they
saw the flash Of the muskets around the inn as IS
plainly as if then were hundred PAGES of,
| and everybody was still and listened to hear
the shots, which were repeated by the echoes
of the Bois-de-ohenes and Lutzelburg. When
| they ceased Sorle descended from the
slope, leaning on Zeffen's arm, for she could
not support hersslr. Burguet helped them to
reach the street, and took them into old
Frise's house the corner, where they
| found him warming himself Rloomily by his
/ bearth
" My last day has come !" said Sorle. Zeffen
| wept bitterly.
i have often reproached myself for having &
caused this sorrow, but who can answer for
his own wisdom Has not the wise man him
| self said {: turned myself to behold wisdom
| and madness, and folly and saw that wis
dom exoelieth folly aud myself perceived
that one event happeneth to the wise man and
the fool Wherefore, said in my heart, that
| Weldon also il vanity
| Burguct was going out from father Frise'e
| when Schweyer and his sons came up the pos
tern stairs, crying out that we were surround
ed by C1ssacks and lost. Fortunately my
wife and daughter could not hear them, and
| the mayor soon came along and ordered them
| to stop taking and2go home quickly, if they
did not want 10 be sent to prison.
They obeye but that did not prevent the
people from believing what they said, especi
ally as it was all dark again in the direction
of Mite. bronn.
The crowd came down from the ramparts
and filled the street ; many of item went to
their homes thinking they should never see us
again, " hen just as the clock struck seven
the sentinel OF the outworks called ont, "Who
goes tberei"
| We had reached the gate.
The crowd was soon on the rsmparts again
The squad in front of the sergeant duty
flew TO arms /; they had jast recognized us.
We heard the murmur, without knowing
what itswas. So when, after o reconnaissance CT
the gates were slowly opened to us, and the
two bridges lowered for us to pass, what was
our surprise at hearing the shouts "Hurrat
for Father Moses! Hurrsh for the spirits o.
winew
The tears came to my eyes, And my wagon
rolling heavily under the gates, the soldieI
( preeented arms to us, the great crowd sur
rounding us, shouting "Moses Hey, Moses
are You all right you have not been killed z
the shouts of laughter. the people seizing my
arm to hear me tell about the fght-all these
, things were very pleaeant.
Every body wanted to talk with me, ever
the mayor, and had no time to answer them
Bot ell this was nothing compared with the
: joy felt at seeing Sorle, Zeffen, and little Sa
fel run from Father Frises and throw them
, selves oil at once into my farms, exclaiming
z" He is safe he is safep
Alb, Fritz what are houors by the side o
such lovef What is all the glory of the world
compared with the joy of seeing our beloved
3 onesf The others might have cried out
"Hurrah for Moses ~ q hundred years. and
D would not even have turned my head, but
was terribly moved by the sight of my family
gave Safel my gun, and while the wagons
t escorted by the veterans, went on toward tn
little market, led Z-tfen and Sorle through
y the crowd to old Frlse's, and there, when "
8 were alone, we began to hug each othe
again.
!, Without, the shouts of joy we're redoubled
/, you would have thought that the spirits O
D wine belonged to the whole city. But within
e the room my wife and daughter burst int
: tears when l confessed my imprudence