The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1880-02-18

! III seems To me sometimes that all the
ornamental work of the creation has
been expended on Switzerland and the
! Tyrol.
Usually, when in the mountains. I
! ide outside with the driver, or up in
/ the imperial, perched like a leather bon
net on the top of the vehicle. / deter
mined fully to do so at this time.
How capricious is the mind of man, /
| reflected, on entering the little station,
and seeing a young lady in velvet
/ jacket and gray kids buy inside coupe
/ No. ! for Bleiberg In a minute and q
half had changed my mind, and was
I the owner of coupe ticket No. 9.
/ helped my travelling companion to
/ her seat, fixed my own precious baggage
into the box behind, and then pro-
ceeded, naturally enough, to occupy In
side seat No. 2. There was but one
passenger besides myself. In twenty
minutes the Two occupants OF that
mountain diligence were tolerably ac-
/ quainted.
We spoke, of course, in German.
| What struck us both as very singular,
however, was the great similarity of
our German pronunciation. Miss Shell
ton-Miss Margot Shelton, to be more
eXplicit-for had seen her name on the
ticket as passed it to the conductor
was perfectly certain was not aSwiss,
much less an Austrian, and / was
equally confident my fair companion
was not n native to the Alps. Her Ger
man bore too strong an accent for that
afterward learned she had thought my
own little curious. Once, just for the
sport of the thing, / shouted something
to the driver in EnrIish. How aston
ished was to hear Miss Shelton add to
it phrase as English as my own! We
| held breath to explain, and in almost no
! time mt all discovered that we were both
Americans. Strange discoveries fol-
! lowed-they always do. Miss Shelton's
| father had been volunteer captain in
our army, and / myself had been within
a ri lie. shot of him when he fell at Vicks-
burg.
| Her mother, a native OF Bleiberg, took
| this only daughter and returned to her
old home, stopping at the solicitations
of friends, first for months, and now it
had been years. In moment l recalled
what had been puZzling me for an hour.
! had seen the name Shelton before
somewhere.
Who was pensioner 1904 but Elsie
| Shelton--why had l not thought of
at?-wiie of Captc in Shelton. killed at
| Vicksburg in June, 1868. How ex-
tremely singular! we both exclaimed.
| Mrs. Elsie Shelton. ] was soon informed.
was not remarked.
The object of my journey was accom-
plished. might return home at once.
| I did not, however. Besides, Miss Shell
ton insisted that / should go on and
visit pretty Bleiberg, her mother and
herself. Twas easily persuaded.
Why had the consul's letters not been
answered. | asked, as we made a turn
in the road. oh" said Miss Shelton,
mother and | were both coming next
week to l., TO visit relative there,
and so she proposed answering in per-
son. Besides she is not SO poor that
she cares dreadfully whether Uncle
Sam stops the ten dollars or so a month
or not"
BY noon the church steeple of Blei-
burg was in sight, and in an hour the
driver blew a shrill note OF so on his
horn, the villagers hastened to the win
dows OF the houses rs our four painting
ponies passed on "A allop, and the little
old postmaster lifted his blue cap, and
gave US a salute all round. Mrs. Shell
ton was living with friend, then alb
sent, in substantial two-story stone
house not far from the post.
"TEis is Mr." said Miss Shelton,
laughing, as she presented me to her
mother, "a real American; and, Just
think, he has come to ask, mamma, if
you are married" The good-looking,
embarrassed little widow soon un-
raveled the nonsense with which Miss
Margot was seeking to overwhelm us,
and | was welcomed not only as an
American, but as one who had been at
Nicksburg.
When the dinner was over I strolled
out through one of the loveliest situated
villages of the Alps. The view down
the valley we had Just ascended was en-
chanting. Behind the pretty town, and
edged by "a green meadow sloping up
ward, was a forest of tall dark frs, and
above this an alp, angling up the side
of Il steep mountain, known to all tour
lists as the Rigi of the Kernthal.
1t was only the 25th OF February, but
the sun seemed as warm as in midsum-
mer. The grass, so wonderfully green,
was high enough for pasture, and
violets and Uses peeped out every
| where.
1t was dangerously warm, in fact"
mutJered the little postmaster in the
blue cap, as handed him letter to
! post TO the consul at T., saying every
thing was well, but | couldn't possibly
| be back on Saturday" dangerously
warm, because there had not been so
much snow on the mountains in fifty
years as now, and already people began
to hear Of aValanches falling out of
season."
Bleiberg, however, is safe enough, l
thought to myself, as glanced up the
sides of the old peak where, sure enough,
! there were oceans of snow and ice glis-
tening in the sunshine. But it was a
mile away, and between pretty Bleiberg
and it swept, like dark veil, the forest
of tall fir trees.
81 don't like tits too warm-and
be pessimist Of postmaster. al
haven't lived in those regions we'll nigh
to fifty years for nothing. Showing all
winter, and hot sun and daisies in
February, aren't natural. 1t means
aValanches to somebody somewhere"
| 1 hnd alnnnat fnrnnttan that as loft