Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1883-12-20

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eff only Christine would come, he
said to himself, "and call old Franz
home to dinner
! But she did not come and the silence
and loneliness grew more and more
1 irksome; and so when, by and by, a
good customer opportunely made his
appearance. Conard Midburger almost
( gladly closed with his offer to pur-
chase the shop and the house. He
sold too, everything else that his
/ father had left him, except the old
mans pipe and sword, and the medal
his father before him had won in the
old wars with the French. Neither did
/ Conrad. any more than Franz Hofer-
dahl, tell any of his neighbors how
great or how small was the golden
store he found himself possessed Of (;
the Midburgers had been a careful,
saving and close-mouthed race for
generations.
And when the sales were all com
pleted. and the transfers duly made,
and Conrad stood in the moonlight,
or fine spring evening, and gazing
at he home that was no longer his, he
said to himself
II think / could almost break my
heart now, after all, for ! did love
/ that house, and ! did love that shop;
/ but | could not stay there with the
empty places. There were too many
voices that did mot speak. That was it.
But what shall | do now4'
Conraa's question was answered for
him BY the great French emperor and
By bis king, for Napoleon had deter
mined that he must tightthe Germans,
and so a great many quiet people had
to march away from their homes to
be shot at. without the wisest man in
the village being able to give them q
good reason
1t was a sad thing to many, but
Conrad Midburger felt as if he was
almost glad to 90 He was sure he
loved his 'vaderland, in every bone
in his body; and if the king called for
him he was ready. Still, as they
marched away from the sleepy village
Conrad said to himself:
There are the old house and the
shop, and the church steeple, ana the .
trees, and the graves IN the church F.
yard did not know that my heart /
was so big, for I'm sure | love almost /
everything | see
lie could not see anything very
clearly just then, however, for his
eyes were strangely dim. No doubt
the sun was in them, and the CLINT
and glitter of the bayonets; but, if
any one had looked in the young
mans face, he might have said:
1T is a very thoughtful face, and
there are lines of strength beginning
10 show in it.. "
And then there followed swift
comfortless camping, all
kinds of severe and trying soldier
work, and a good deal of very hard
fighting. Whatever the newspapers
and reports might say about it, Con
rad Midburger and his comrades
learned that the Frenchmen were
brave fellows. and that the glory of
beating them was never very cheaply
won
Reing big and strong and brave, a
good sWordsman, and every day
growing more and more intelligent,
Conrad himself won glory-that is, /
there or four slight wounds, a medal,
promotion from the ranks, the com
pliments of his commanding officer,
and the envy ofhis comrades,
Being a man of property, Of re-
spectacle parentage, Of fair education
Conrad might have looked forward to
almost anything attaina5le in the
German army by man of less than
noble blood, if the war had not been
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