The Sentinel. [volume] (Trenton, N.J.) 1880-1882, 1880-12-25
"W,l, l loved the army. l know

deal during this war. There is more
room in it than / knew of, and yet is
always full. will go and take look
at the old village, and the house and the
shop, and will listen to see il can hear
Christine's voice; if don't hear her,
what then ? Well, think / will just
ask my heart about it,
All this time old Hans Hoferdahl had
known very little of what had taken
place in the village they had left behind
them. They had written home to their
old neighbors, but very little informa-
ton had come back to them. They had
heard of old Ecsburger's death, and of
Wilhelm's enlistment in the war, and
that was nearly all. Hans Lad not landed
on the shores of the new world pau
per, and tried to settle down as man
of property and substance, and be
happy.
If poor old Ecsburger were with
me-" he said to Christine, 81 would be
80 happy"
Christine said very little, but her
bright American home became dreary
enough at times, when she shut her
eyes and let her thoughts 60 back to the
old sleepy village. She listened very
silently when her father said:
81 believe Wilhelm behaved himself
well in the army. There's good blood
in the Ecsburgers, and Wilhelm is fine
boy"
| He must be a man by this time, -
said Christine. And then she thought
what very tall, fne-looking man he
must be, and how well he would apr ear
in his uniform.
| But when after while there was
news of peace. and they heard that
the army was going home to be dis
banded, old Hans Hoferiahl grew
strangely thoughtful, and Christine tried
in vain to arouse him. One autumn
morning he said to her:
Cali the other soldiers are going
home. think it is pretty near time for
me to go too"
"To Germany, tatherp" exclaimed
Christine, with a sudden light in her
eyes.
"No," solemnly replied the old man
Germany is not the only fatherland.
am very Old soldier, and think this is
my last campaign"
Christine understood him then. A
few weeks later she found herself sitting
alone in the house, while the chilly wind
that whistled past the windows was
freighted with the first white harbin-
| gers of the winter. To her it seemed a
cold, forlorn and empty sort of world =,
and when her thoughts wandered to the
| village where she was born, she could
! but imagine the old shop as closed
! and the snowhakes beating against the
spiderwebbed windows.
| The door bell rang, but Christine did
not hear it. The servant admitted
somebody. but she did not know it, I'm.
til she was conscious OF heavy step al
most beside her, and then clear, stron o
voice said to her:
Christine! Christine!'
She looked up in the face of q tall,
erect, noble-looking man, who wore
upon his breast medal of honor, and
whose eyes were absolutely radiant.
Christine" he said again, "do you
understand mep have come"
Her heart was overburdened with de.
light and is seemed as it the old German
home had come with him. She arose
and threw her arms aroucd his neck,
and said, with tears in her eyes, +" O
Wilhelm. I'm so happy! so glad you
have GOMEZ"
Some hours later, as they sat by the
Craze in the parlor where the fire burned
warm and cheerily, they exchanged
stories of all That happened tc til EN-.
At length Wilhelm said to her:
",Ah, Christine, did not know nv
self when you went away. 1 did not
know had heart; but soon began to
find it out. One love alter another
seemed to wake up and speak to me, to
tell me it was there, until at last the
biggest love of all came to life, and it
grew and grew till it crowded out al
the others and filled up every thing, and
then l had to come across the ocean tc
find you. But who would have dreamed
that you had kept anything for me
waiting all this time for me to come
l was terribly afraid about that"
"Oh, I don't know" said Christine.
ST don't understand it all. All the
time it has seemed as if / were only
waiting, and that if 1 waited Ions
enough you would surely come"
"And here I am" said Wilhelm
"only l think there's good deal more
of me, somehow, than in those dear old
sleepy days at home"
The scions of the old waite hmakers
| BEGAN happily united, and on Ameri.
can soil grew in prosperous circum
stances, with cheerful thoughts oil
"Vaderland," as it once appeared Il