Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-07-20
[From Lesiie's Illustrated News.1
CHRISTIANA.
BY ELLA WHEELER.

A mdn-an American you cOulQ see at
a glance-sat on projecting rock on the
side of mountain in Germany, one
summer day, and looked down upon a
rural scene below.
A little cottage stuck like birds nest
IN the mountain side; an open door; a
slender woman's form at wheel, the
sun shining down upon her golden
braids of hair that fell almost to the
ground; a man near her in a chair, smok-
ing his pipe.
ga pretty picture" unused the Amer
ican-Carl Westoven, of New York.
<sWhat difference between the life of
that woman and some of our society
danes. [ wonder if she is young?"
And having nothing better to do, our
friend sauntered, or rather scrambled,
down the mountain side, and presented
himself at the door of the cottage. In
very good German he begged for a
drink of water.
The horid-faced, kindly-eyed man in
the chair took his pipe out of his mouth
and called ont in his native tongue to
the girl-for she was young-at the
wheel.
Bring the gentleman a glass of wa
ter, Christians" and then to Carl
you are foreigner, eh, from the no.
tel vonder?"
Carl responded in the affirmative.
Yes, from the hotel, and he had
been rambling about the mountains all
day, until he had grown tired and
thirsty" Just then Christiana returned
with glass of water, which she handed
to the stranger, her eyes modestly cast
down.
He took it, bowed, drank, with his
eyes on her face, and found her both
young and fair. A lovely complexion,
wonderful hair, long curling eyelashes,
and q mouth like grieved child. When
she lifted the dropped lids, as he
thanked her and returned the glass, he
saw that her eyes were 'deeply, darby,
beautifully blue" with look in their
depths that correspondent with the droop
of her mouth.
SIS Longing for something better than
she has known" quoted Carl. "No
doubt she is signing for the great world
which I am so weary of. How lovely
she isl"
"Would you not sit down and rest %
mine host continued, as Christiana re-
turned to her wheel, and Carl seemed
about to move on. And glad of a few
moments longer, during which he might
sit facing the blonde maiden, he took
the profered chair and fell into converse
with mine host, who very soon gave him
a brief history of himself and family, in
response to Carl's queryif this mountain
nook had always been his home.
eyes. and the home of ny father be-
fore me. This house is the same I was
born in, and I played a child in this
yard, even as my daughter Christiana
yonder did. But that bit of pasture
land and the field beyond-both mine
now-I have added to my Inheritance
MY father had only this house and few
sheep when he died, and left me to care
for my aged mother. And she, too, died
a few years later, and then I married
Marguerite, who used to watch her sheep
beside her own when was boy. And
now we have many herds Of sheep and
both those fields yonder, and not debt
IN the world; and we are growing old,
and there will be NO one but Christiana
to inherit all we possess. But Chris
tiana is good girl, and a frugal girl,
and will not waste it unless she marries
some spendthrift rascal who will waste
it for her."
'sBut she will not do that" Carl ven
lures, to encourage his companion to
proceed, for he was still at her wheel,
her eyes cast down and the sun glinting on
her hair
:sOh, I do not know. One can never
tell what a girl may do. Christiana
seems in no hurry to wed-she has re-
fused the finest young fellow for miles
about, Hassan Oronof, who has the fat
test sheep in the whole country. I
would gladly have seen her marry him,
and told him so; but Christiana, she
would none of him. And so I worry
sometimes about her, for it is the girls
who are too particular who pick up the
crooked stick at last. But there is Frau
Marguerite calling us to supper, and will
you not come IN and share it with us ?
1t is long walk back to your hotel, and
you will need something to refrsh you
before you set forth, even if it is only the
plain fare of a mountaineer.
And Carl accepted, first informing his
kind host that his name was Carl West
oven, and that he was an American
tourist.
''And mine is Hans Scuiegel, at your
service, sir, u mine host responded. "But
you cannot be all a foreigner if your
name is Carl? That is German name,
as well as Hans"
Carl laughed.
eyes," he said, "my mother was an
American born German. I learned to
speak the language from her, and I love
the land and its people.
And an hour later our friend was chat
ting very socially with the blonde maiden
whom he had watched from his seat on
the mountain side, while he wondered il
she was young.
He found to his surprise and delight
that she spoke English very correctly,
and with only charming accent. She
read it, too, very readily.
':How is p he queried. "Have you
been to an English school? ''
No, she had not been at school, but