The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1880-03-04
The Elf of HOhenheim.

1t was on a Saturday night on the
Bowery returned on foot at slow pace
from my Office, intent upon the picture
OF busy life and confusion which sur
rounded me, and which for years has
never been SO noisy and bustlipg as now.
Slowly I advanced amid all this hustle.
admiring and in some measure facinated
by this picture, 60 full of coarse but
intense and robust life. All of a
sudden stopped as if struck by
lightning. What was this before
meP A ghost horrid freak of my
imagination or what else?
That ashy pale face, that stopping
figure, creeping along with difficulty
and thrown from side to side by the busy
crowd like a broken reed where had |
seen semblance of them beforeP
This ghastly figure was that of
woman. By the hand she held child,
baby Of some three years of age, who
seemed 80 exhausted thatits legs refused
service entirely 1t did not even scream,
and let ittelf be dragged along by the
woman like lifeless corpse. l turned
round and followed this wretched pair.
soon found out that tie woman's walk
was not purposeless. She staggered
from one ash barrel to another at each
OF these ornaments of our metropol-
ltan thoroughfares she stopped down.
plunged her bare arm into the heap of
refuse and kept it there searching till
she found some remnant of something
which may have one day served as food
to man or beast. This she clutched at
with eager grasp F; the best bits she gave
to the child, the rest she devoured
herself.
Stepping to her side ] touched the
woman's shoulder.
She looked around with q wild and
scared expression, the light of torch
fell full on her face-'Good God is it
possibleT l screamed. Emily +
Her whole frame shook under the
rage which half covered it she drew
back from me, and with a groan OF
irrepressible terror attempted to run
away. l held her fast, however.
Come now,' l said, whoever you may
be, think of your child, it seems to be
dying. Let me give it to eat
She bowed her head in silent obedi-
ence and suffered ne to lead her to a
small hotel in the neighborhood kept by
an hopest old German on whose discre-
tion l could reckon. i engaged room,
ordered supper and bottle of strong
wine, and bidding the woman to wash
and undress herself and the child, 1
went out to purchase in one of the
Bowery stores cheap but decent outfit
for both, which on returning to the
hotel, sent up to her by the
chambermaid. A quarter of an
hour later supper was brought. l
knocked at tho door, feeble voice
answered, Come in, and on entering l
remained two or three seconds standing
motionless, speechless at the door,
staring at the appalilion before me.
The hasty toilet she had made had
wrought an extraordinary change in all
the young woman's appearance. She
sat before mo with the child in her lap
in all her wondrous, delicate, bewitch-
ing beauty-the eli OF Hohenheim, as
We used to call her, but no longer the
wild, wayward elf.left child, but such as
had seen her in my boyish dresms-a
beautiful, fairy-like womsn
Emily Reohberg 7 l whispered, when
the chambermaid had left us. DO you
know mep'
She looked up at me and dropping her
head in both her hands broke irto a
torrent of tears. After soothing and
quietiug her as best ] could, / insisted
on her and the child eating the supper
i had ordered before entering on any
explanations, After the last morsel had