The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-01-24

l"if some danger should have happened Il
him." she thought, and she began 10 weep
She rushed to the window, and there outside
was her Iursch standing in the moonlight
his hair looking like fnolyspun silver She
sprang out, was in the saddle in front of hin
in moment, and kissed him AS she claspcC
him in her white arms. Then, between laugh
ing and crying, she said:
"You dear old fellow, now see how your,
going to do everything TO please your LITTLE
wiley. II you like, we'll go to the parson 10
morrow to have the bans published
Yes" said lurlsch, Eve will. BIT just now
my precious, | want you TO bring me two bot
ties OF your oldest mead"
"To drink now" asked the young glrl in
establishment
mo, you little simpleton,n answered the
young man; they're for the governor" He
meant the man IN the MOON but MareiliS
thought he meant his father. So she trippcd
INTO the cellar not at all astonIshed TO find il
light, and brought Iurisch the mead Then
they kissed each other heartily, and Marcilis
sought her couch, while the young man wen,
back to the man in the moon.
All this time the man in the moon had been
staring IN at the ccllar,window and did not see
what else was going on. It's about time for
YOU TO come back again." he said family to
Iurisch.
"Much Obliged" SAID lurisch.
"Not at all ;" answered the man IN the mooR,
strding off, and Iurisch saw he had dropped
the corner of the cloud, because both his
hands were now full.
The next morning Iurisch went to his mas
ter and told him that he wanted to marry
Marcils. The master said it was "all right"
for they were both the children of respectable
people So he had the horse hitchcd up, and
taking Marelis and lurisch drove to the par
sons. The parson took the names of the
young people, and then picking up the East
Prussittn Gazette said to Iurlsch's master:
THAT was strange thing that happened
last night. Did you notice lt?'
Not that know Of" answered the master,
"and my night watcher didn't say anything 10
me about it. What Is there IN the paper
about it,"
Listen" said the parson, and he read: "'At
midnight large number of falling stars were
seem"
II guess | know something about that"
thought lurlsch, and lie remembered how the
sparks leapcd about the Milky Way when Pc
ter rode off quickly. lie said nothing, how
ever, for it was not his business to speak un.
less he was spoken to, The parson continued
reading:
- IL WIS HotlCcu lldl lht MUM SuNicHly
became dark, and it was conjectured that it
had not kept exactly its usual course"
Aha" thought Iurisch, that WAS pretty
good guess"
The parsOn continued:
"About A. NJ. the moon appeared again
and shonc very brightly. DR.. Tictinsglas be
lievcd that he noticed marked unstcadiness
in Its movements What do you say to that?'
asked the parson
The lord of Briolen laughed. zone of those
gentlemen who know 50 much about the hoav.
ems was here recently on hOrse.trade," he
said ale saw Mareils and was half blinded,
and who knows what he may have seen since
AS for the rest the moon must be allowed to
change once in a while" and the lord turned
the conversation on other subjects.
Iurisch was startled. He had taken two
bottles OF old mead to the man in the moon.
This was not too much for Littauer when he
had been shopping horses, but the man in the
moon was not Llttaucr, and he had not been
trading horses He must have emptied both
bottles and gone to sleep in the field, where he
lay till after sunrise instead Of going home.
Oh, if the dear old fellow should get into Il
sCrape over it.
While lursch was listening to the parson,
the chef of the celestial lamp'llghlers was
going along the sky and found the man in the
moon lying asleep near the castle Of Ragnt,
His lantern was burning yet, but his bundle
of moonbeams was undonc and half of them
were missing. This is nice thing" said
the chief, and he dubbed the man in the moon
on the solcs of his feet to wake him up. 1t was
a long time before the old fellow awoke and
winkod slcepily in the broad daylight Put
out your light, pack up your moonbeams and
come along with me- said the chief. The
man in the moon trembled for he was afraid
of losing his position, but he did as he was
told.
"Wcre you sick last night" asked the chief,
sarcastically The man in the moon could
have lied, but he was lover of truth and told
the whole story. The chief shook his head.
"You have lost half your moonbeams, said
he, land you won't easily find them, so you
must do the best you can with what you have
left"
"But what will men say" exclaimed the
man in the moon.
"Oh, we've saved little heavenly light since
they became so enlightened themselves" an
swercd the chief. And now I'll tell you what
you must do. Eight days you come on post as
usual, eight days not at all, and for fourteen
days you'll increase and diminish the light.
so you see it will come out all right after all"
"What not shine for eight days." asked the
man in the moon.
ut can't be helped" answered the chief
you'll have to turn up sometimes during the
day, and if you can pick up any stray beams,
do sO.n
THANK you, kindly" said the man in the
moon, much relieved.
"On your nights of, continued the chief,
"you must take these beams and hammer them
into shane When you've rot as many AS Won
had before, let me know. If men improve
any we may go back to the old order of things.
One thing more. Don't you have anything
more to do with those people down there"
"All right" said the man in the moon. His
head ached SO that he had no desire to taste
earthly beverages again, and he went home
and went to bed.
Iurisch, and Mareilis were married, and the
little wife never left off asking her husband
how it happened that he made the moon shine
in the window that night and as she sat under