Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1880-03-11

4 / helped my travelling companion to
her seat, fixed my own precious baggage
into the box behind, and then proceeded,
naturally enough, to occupy inside sea:
No.2 There was but one passenger be-
side myself. In twenty minutes the two
occupants Of that mountain diligence
were tolerably acquainted
We spoke, OF course, in German
What struck us both as very singular,
however. was the great similarity Of our
German pronunciation. Miss Shelton
Miss Margot Shelton, to be more explic-
it-for had seen her name on the ticket
M passed it to the conductor-was per-
fectly certain / was not Swiss, much
less an Austrian, and / was equally con-
tident my fair companion WAS not ma
tive to the Alps. Her German bore too
strong an accent for that. / afterwards
learned she had thought my own a little
curious Once, just for the sport of the
thing, / shouted something to the driver
in English How astOnished I was to
hear Miss Shelton add to it phrase as
| English as my own We held breath to
explain, and in almost no time ut all dis
covered that we were both Americans
| Strange discoveries followed-they al
ways do. Miss Shelton's father had been
a volunteer captain in our army, and
myself had been within rifleshot of
him when he fell Mt Vicksburg.
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 recalled
what had been puzzling me for ar hour.
had seen the name Shelton before
I somewhere.
Who was pensioner 1,0O4 but Elsie
Shelton--why had l not thought of
that wife of Captain Shelton, killed at
Vicksburg in June, 1863. How ex-
! tremely singular we both exclaimed.
Mrs. Elsie Shelton, was soon informed,
was not remarked.
The object of my journey was accom-
plished l might return home at once.
did not, however. Besides, Miss Shell
ton insisted that should go on and visit
pretty Bleiburg. her mother and herself.
| was easily persuaded.
Why had the consuls letters not been
answered? | asked, as we made turn
in the road "Oh," said Miss Shelton,
"mother and / were both coming next
week to L, to visit relative there,
and 80 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 month or
not"
BY noon the church steeple of Blei-
burg was III sight, and in an hour the
Il .,t,
horn, the villagers fastened to the win
dows of the houses as our four painting
ponies passed on gallop, and the little
old postmaster lifted his blue cap, and
gave us salute all round. Mrs Shell
ton was living with friend, then absent,
i'll substantial two-story stone house
not far from the post.
This il Mr.. said Miss Shelton,
laughing, as she presented me to her
mother, ga real American, and, Just
think, he has come to ask, mamma, If
you are married" The good-loOking,
embarrassed little widow soon unraveled
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 Vicksburg.
w Htu tLt WuS oNtI btIOlltu
out through one of the loveliest situated
villages of the Alps. The view down the
valley we had just assembled was enchaut-
ing. Behind the pretty town, and edged
by IA green meadow sloping upward, was
forest of tall dark frs, and above this
an alp, angling up the side of a steep
mountain, known to all tourists as the
/ Rigi of the Kernthal.
/ 1t was only the 18th of February, but
I the sun seemed as warm as in midsum-
mer. The grass. so wonderfully green,
was high enough for pasture, and violets
and daisies peeped out everywhere.
/ 1t was dangerously warm, in fact,
muttered the little postmaster in the
blue cap, rs | handed him letter to
post to the consul ut 4, saying every
thing was well, but / couldn't possibly
be back on Saturday. dangerously
warm, because there had not been 80
much snow on the mountains in fifty
years rs now and already people began
to hear of avalanches falling ont of
season.
Bleiberg, however, is safe enough, |
thought to myself, rs | glanced up the
sides of the old peak where, sure enough,
there were oceans of snow and ice glis-
tening in the sunshine. But ii was
mile away and between pretty Bleiberg
and it swept, Ike dark veil, the forest
Of tall fir trees.
q don't like tits too warm --and
there's no telling" continued my would
be pessimist of postmaster. 81
haN emit lived in those regions well nigh
to fifty years for nothing. Showing all