New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1878-08-14

will not be long before it will be thoroughly
explored by the lovers of wild scenery.
The interior Of "Boots'' Van Steenberg's
hut is dressed with zsevergreen ands.lsnrel.
Above thaa chimne piece isss AM elaborate
frame that was once gilded. Within it is
the picture, now very much faded, Of Jenny
Lind. This is the key to "Boots'' history.
sWhensonl % years of age Steenberg visited
this city..qsHest had considerable sum of
money with him land he became fascinated
with city life.s Ono evening id Septenabef,
1850, in Tripler hall, he heard Jenny Lind
/ sing. He became infatuated with her, in
the one hundred and fifty concerts, the ex-
tent of her tsewith slBasnumy.s he
listened to hernightly. He expende nearly
81 600 in bouquets of choice flowers for her.
These he threw to her himself from his seat
in the pitt ,g-
After this she sang in Castle Garden.
While standing at the stage door Fof this
theatre one night after the play, as was his
custom, in hopes TO catch glimpse Of Jenny
Lind, Boots felt light hand touch his
arm: It was the songstre herself. She
! had recognized the young man as he who
had nightly thrown her flowers from the pit.
She handed him nsr card. Boots says:
s'She was ivingshear the Bowling Green.
went to see hef. She treated me very
politely. asked her to marry me. She
said she'd think about it. I went to the
house every day. hung about the place
every night. Sometimes she would see me,
and sometimes send word that she was not
we'll. I thought of her while awake, and
dreannt Of her while: asleep. Ny existence
was wrapt up in her. . At length when Iwas
sure of winning her, q man named Otto
Goldschmidt arrived from Europe. This
man seemed to havesa supernatural power
over her. She discardedg me. The smile
from her sweet lips that usually greeted me
as sat directly nnder the footlightss was
turned into a, cold STARE, s'ss.ss
II AS he said this, 4 Boots ysseemed overcome
with emotion. Teara trickled down. his
weather beaten facesssEhes train Of his
tthoughts seemed lost in chaos, and hes.
|spsared to be no more . reasoning being. SHe
mad sent to her nativescity, Stockholm, fora
large picture Of her, and had his picture en-
graved and copies sent to her. In all, He
had expended over $1,OO0 on Jenny Lind,
and soon found his moneys we'll nigh ae1-
pended. Soon he heard*ofzher marriage to
Goldschmidt in Boston, The anxiety, the
heart burnings that had rent his pastoral
breast for months, then eliminated hin. "a
severe mental shock, and his reason was de-
throned. He returned to his home ON the
Hudson, and endeaYored8 to raise money
wherewith to follow Mr. and Mrs. Cold
schmidtsto Charleston, whittier they were
about to journey. He was unsuccessful rat
first first, 5but' at lenath becoming possessed with
the notion that he had money in the King
ston Savings bank, he went there. drew a
check for $500, and presented it. It, was
signed with his full NAME. Strange to say, a
distant relative bearing the same name hap
:pened to have an account at the bank, and
E"Boots" signature was,a very similarsssA
former teller of the bank, in conversation
with reporter for the Sun at Saugenrtties,
last week, said: 4 ss,sss
''He had no difficulty in identifying him
self as Tobias Steenberg,, and through ex-
IRENE carelessness the check was paid 1t
was sometime before the mistake was dis
covered. Then Boots was found, but he
had spent the money. and it being ascer-
tanned that he was non co2,lpos 7aezatss, and
innocent of an intentional crime, nothing
was done about it, and the bank was held
responsible for it's error.'' The story Of the
check is still current in Kingston and its
environs.
With the money thus obtained "Boots'' re-
turned to New York, purchased hand or
gan, and took the same steamship as did the
songstress and her husband. He set the
organ up in the cabin in front of her state
| room, and ground it by the hour. He con-
! sidered this serenade It became nui-
sance Boots mental condition become
known to the officers, and his organ was
locked up until Charleston was reached.
Boots followed the newly married pair
from Charleston to Columbia, and thence to
New Orleans. He ascertained the situation
of the room of the songstress, and then
played in the street as near it as possible. In
! Charleston he played in the hallway Of the
hotel: but this was soon forbidden by tn
I proprietor. t5sS. % H A.si2ti5{
| After several months, tsBoots'' becan3
Thoroughly exhausted mentally and phys
cally, and found his way back to his hom
at Kingston. This was in 1851. Since the
he has wandered from town to town wit
children at his heels. He always trea3
them kindly, and is a. favorite. He attend
nearly all the shows in the villages, and
invariably admitted free. In the Collins
wood Opera House in aPoughkeepsie. especI
ally he is a favorite. He visited the center
NAL exhibition, travelling the entire distand
on foot. He attempted to make pe triots
speech from the platform erected for I'll
ononinr oYoroiaaa Ho thouuht bx ~