Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1882-11-02
LEGEND OF ANOERNACH.

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"There was once q poor old woman
in Andernach, whose name was Frau
Martha, and she lived all alone in a
house by herself, and loved all the
saints and blessed the virgin, and was
good as an angel, and sold tarts down
the Rheinkrahn. But her house was
very old, end the rooftiles were broken
and she was too poor to get new ones,
and the rain kept coming IN, and no
Christian soul in Andernach would
help her. But the Frau Martha was
a good woman, and never did anybody
any harm, but went to mass every
morning, and sold tarts by the Rhein-
khran. Now, one dark, windy night,
when all good Christians IN Andernach
were asleep in the feathers, Frau Mar
tina, who lay under the roof, heard a
great noise overhead and in her cham
Der, drip! drip! drip! as if the rain were
dripping down through the broken tiles.
Dear soul. and sure enough it was.
And then there was a pounding and a
hammering overhead, as if somebody
were at work or the roof, and she
thought ii was PelZ Nickel tearing the
tiles off because she had not been to
mass often enough. So she began to
pray, and the faster she said her Pater
Noster and Ave Maria, the faster Pelz-
Nickel pounded and pulled, and dripl
drip! drip! it went all round in the
dark chamber, till the poor woman
vas frightened out of her wits, and ran
to the window 60 call for help, then in
. moment all was still, death STILL But
she saw d light streaming through the
mist and air, and 8 great shadow on
the house opposite. And then some
house by ladder, and had lantern in
his hand, and he took the ladder on his
shoulder and passed down the street.
But she could not see clearly because
the window was streaked with rain.
And in the morning the old broken
tiles were found scattered about the
street, and there were new ones on the
roof, and the old house has never
leaked to this blessed day.
''As soon rs mass was over Frau
Martha told the priest what had
happened, and said it was not Pelz-
Nickel, but without doubt ST. Castor or
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and told Frau Bridget all about it, and
Frau Bridget said that two nights be
fore Hans Claus, the cooper, had heard
q great pounding in his shop, and in
the morning found new hoops on all
his hogsheads, and that man with a
lantern and ladder had been seen rid
ing out of town at midnight on q don
key; and that the same night the old
windmill at Kloster St. Thomas had
been mended, and the old gate in the
churchyard at Feldkirche made as good
rs new, though nobody knew how the
man got across tina river. Then Frau
Martha went down to the Rheinkrahn
and told all these stories over again,
and the old Ferryman of Fahr said he
could tell something about it, for the
very night the churChyard gate was
mended he was lying awake In his bed
because he could not sleep, and he heard
q loud knocking at the door, and some
body calling him toget up and set him
over the river. And when he got up he
saw a man down by the river with q
lantern and q ladder; but IS he was
going down to him the man blew out
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not see who he was; and his bOad was
old and leaky; and he was afraid to set
him over In the dark, but the man said
he must be in Andernach that night,
and SO he set him over. And after they
had crossed the river he watched
the man till he came to an image of
the Holy Virgin, and he saw him put
bis ladder against the wall and light
his lamp, and then walk along the
street. And in the morning he found
his old long boat all calked and
painted rcd, and he could not tell for
his blessed life who did it, unless it was
the man with the lantern. Dear soul!
How strange 1t was! And so it went
on for some time, and whenever the
man with the lantern had been seen
walking through the street at night, so
sure rs the morning came some work
had been done for the sake of some
good soul; and everybody knew he did
It, and yet nobody could find out who
he wag, nor where he lived; for when
anybody came near him he blew out
his light and turned down another
street, and suddenly disappeared, no.
body could tell how. And some said it
was Ru5enzahl, and some Pelz Nickel,
and some St. Anthony on the Heart.
Now, one stormy night, a poor sinful
creature was wandering about the
streets with her babe in her arms, and
she was hungry and cold, and no soul
IN Andernach would take her in. And
when she came to the church where
the great crucifx stood she saw no
light in the little chapel at the corner,
but she sat down on stone at the foot
Of the cross and began to pray, and
prayed till she fell asleep, with her
poor little babe on her BOSOM. But
she did not sleep long, for bright
light shown full in her face, and when
she opened her eyes and saw pale
man with a lantern standing right be-
fore her. He was almost naked, and
there was blood upon his hands and
body, ana great tears in his beautiful
eyes, and his face was like the face of
the Savior on the cross. Not a single
word did he say to the poor woman,
but looked at her compassionately, and
gave her loaf of bread, and took the
little babe up In Lis arms and kissed it.
Then the mother looked up to the
great crucifx, but there was no image
there and She shrieked and fell down
as if she were dead. And there she
was found with her child; and few
days after they both died, and were
buried together in one grave. And
nobody would have believed her story
If q woman who lived at the corner
had not gone to the window when she
heard the scream, and seen the figure
hang the lantern UP in It's place, and
then set the ladder against the wall