The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1881-11-11
Select Story.
THE VOLTS DEN.
PA RT |.

They called us the Wolves, we three
brothers, we, and our old father, Baron
Wolfang Won Wolf. They say that we
look like the animal which desolates the
fold of the shepherd and carries n terror
to the heart of the wandering boy or
girl Certainly we all ad.rather sharp
teeth, except my brother Ludwig, who
had inherited the beauty of my mother,
and her melancholy blue eyes, fine, high
sculptured nose, and small, even white
teeth, not at all like VOLTS.
We lived in great castle, near to
Szegszard on the river Saryis, south of
Pesth, and not far from the Danube, with
view from our windows which had not
its equal in the world for picturesque
beauty. No. there are no such hills,
such skies as those. My mother was a
Roumanian, and differed from my father
in religion. She had died when was
born. | have nothing of her but her
picture, a tress of her long, golden hair,
and her book of prayers.
Some great tragedy had happened,
some terrible misfortune, to my father,
we never knew what. Gloom and sever.
ity were his two inseparable companions
He used the whip freely upon us, as boys
and upon all his servants and laborers
He was feared and hated as few have
been, and the women ran when they
saw him, for they said that he had killed
his own wife and would blight their chill
dren. lie had, however, an old monk tC
teach us to read and write, a most excel
lent man called Frere Franz, who taught
us Greek and Latin and mathematics, anG
how to paint and to draw, for he could
illuminate his Breviary like Fra Angel
co. Frere Franz took us to church anC
taught us to pray before the image of the
Blessed Virgin. We owed to this mal
everything, and particularly that he USED
in summer to take us to his convent
which was near that lovely neighborhood
where the spurs of the mountain chain
descending from. Transylvania,unite will
the great Alfold plain. There with thu
holy monks we stayed in comfort, being
allowed to ride at will over the greer
basin of prairie, once an inland sea, ,wher,
there were no roads, having for the time
the inestimable boon of liberty and tn
privilege of getting lost, so dear to boy
hood, yet always bringing up at night a
some village or market town. sometime
going even to Erdoszegh (where Erns
found his romance, and where we all hat
some wild adventures Yet we Away
found ourselves, and got back to the hol,
calm of the convent and the serene com
panionship of those monks, who had beel
noblemen and soldiers in their day. AM
seemed to love us we'll Frere Fran
was the great blessing of ourselves, nit
eating the troubles and the popularity O
a destiny which we could not understand
for we were noble but poor, our onl
wealth the uncertain yield of vineyards
which gave usually roughish red, spir
tuous, fruty tasted wine. There was
better hillside vineyard (seldom satisfat
tory, which we had heard belonged t
Ludwig. This yielded white wine, wit
a fresh, cool taste, and pleasant faint bou
quet, but we made very little of that, ex
cept in good years, One old woman
called Felehaza, who had black mus
tache and severe features, was our cook an
nurse, the only woman whom we ever sa
in our house. Our table was served wit
heavy soups, big joints, and fish from tn
Sarvis, aud vegetables in great bowl
My father ate like wolf; we were NJ
far behind, and we all drank of the heay
red wine-my brother Ernst too much,S
that he was first silly, then quarrelsom
and then slecpy-eyery day at Dime
Ludwig was not so easily excited, III
when he was made angry he and Ern
fought horribly, and my father would G
the whip to separate them, like two a
CRY dogs. | was not as strong as N
brothers, nor could eat and drink
they did Some tenderness always seen
ed to follow me, as child whose moth
had died, and old Felehaza had ever a /
of kid boiled for me, or Frere Franz ga,
me some of his lentil soup on fast day
OF my father told Ludwig to pour wat
in my wine, when ! could not attack Il
heavy dinners which the other Woly
ate. liked to study and read, and pa
ticularly to paint with Ludwig, who hi
great room in the north turret of Il
castle, where he had roll of canvt
some oil paints, and who had covered &
walls with fresco,
Often wondered where he got |
= sanity women's faces and his bcastil
fancies, The peasant girls with who
we flirted at the village fairs, the hig
born ladies whom we sometimes saw
church, none of them looked like the "
men in Ludwigs pictures, and he, gr,
handsome fellow that he was, never see
ed to care for women, either Ernst a
| were the Lotharios of the family, |
Ludwig was sombrc and gloomy, a