Arizona silver belt., 1884-01-26
\ ROMANCE OF ras RHINE.
The Daughter of ,a Hudson Home Adorninx the Home of German NObleman.


 Aderninx the Home of German Correspondent of the Albany Evening Journal.l
 SAuGRRrIEs, January 4.-Nestling on the banks of the Esopus Creek, at its confluence with the Hudson, its ''long dock" cleaving the shallows of the river for half a mile, and Saugerties Light standing like faithful sentinel at its water gate, beautiful for situa- tion in its environment of mountain, valley and river, and the joy ot many loving and loyal heart, old Sauger- ties presents an inviting field for in- vestigation alike to the lover of natu. ral beauty, the antiquarlan and the bustling utiitarian, intent only upon the excitement and business of the present day. Here the storied Cats kills, with lordly curve, sweep nearest to the Hudson; here are the foot hills, miniature mountains, forest crowned and beautiful; here are lovely reaches, where for many miles the eye may see the flashing river with it's ever chang ing panorama, and here does our own Esopus finger at our feet in its jour ney from its far away mountain home. And what wealth of antiquarian relic and lore may not be found in the low browed and broad-beamed old stone mansions that so plcntifully abound, relics of the old colonial days, the birth places and homes of the ances- tors of many of our present inhabi- tants, around whose memories are woven many wierd and fanciful tale of romance. adventure and danger. Stories of the dark and bloody days when our beautiful borders were the coverts and lurking places of savage beasts and still more savage tribes, and when every mans house was in reality his castle, where, when occasion required, he could from within the stout looped walls repel an attack, and defend his dear ones. In these old hospitRble homes dwelt the kiersteps, the Ovsrbaughts, the Mynderses, and the Schoonmakers. Some old Holland CTS from the Zuyder Zee, some of Ger man descent, some refugees from the Rhine tpd Palatinates, with here and there q sturdy Hesslan hireling who, finding it Impossible to conquer the new country, found it a pleasant place to so settle in; these and many others found homes in tho shadows of our mountains and by the side of cur river, and their descendants form a large and influential portion of our population to-day. A receF eysnt. in the Schoonmaker family has directed attention to the fact that its accom- plished daughter, Miss Leda M. Schoon- maker had welded distinguished German nobleman, and become Coun- tess of Crockow. It may interest your readers to hear the romantic story of this young American girl, who, inn pelled by desire for greater educa- tional advantages and culture than her own home afforded, crossed the ocean, entered school for the educa- tion of young ladies under the patron age of the Empress of Germany, who became her friend and favored her with an autograph letter of womanly sympathy. In time she became the p"otege of the Countess of Crockow, a lady of wealth and high position, who wished to adopt her as her own; but the young girl yearned for her own friends and her pleasant home on the Hudson, and returned, enriched by her experience of foreign travel, to win distinguished honors in the liter ary world, becoming the center of a large and admiring circle of friends, a regular attendant of the church of her ancestors and faithful teacher in the Sunday school. After the death of the Countess, and the appropriate period of mourning had expired, the bereaved nobleman longed for the sympathy and companionship of the young American, and offered to share with her his rank and fortune, an offer to which she did not lend deaf ear. and so the piquant, graceful and agreeable Saugerties girl is now Coun- tess of Crockew, with all the honors and dignities which the name implies.
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