St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1884-06-28

! sight OF Liam he is now virtually spot
| less; how stands he in the sight of God?
It is this question that troubles me, for
[ can not believe him innocent, know
ing all I know; yet if guilty, how came
Matthews and Folkshausen to swear that
they witnessed the drawing out and
signing of the will. Can Jacob have
bribed them to perjure themselves also?
If so, a crushing weight of guilt hangs
| over him. That was an awful speech:
If am not swearing Gods truth may
my body never molder in the grave
might, indeed, have damaged his cause,
but was the Rath, not one of the wit
nesses."
The nextentry was dated two years
later.
"1753. It is almost two years and
three months since the trial. Jacob
Winterwerb's first act on gaining pos
session of Herman's wealth was to turn
his nephew out of doors. Nothing was
heard of the unfortunate youth until six
months afterwards, when he came to
my dwelling late one night, worn
to shadow. His clothes were
threadbare, but the sadlest change
was in his pinched, sunken face
the once handsome face that his Uncle
Herman had so loved and admired
'He had been living in miserable
garnet upon the money he had sayei
during his prosperity, and the sale of
his uncle's various gifts; but this store
was spent to the last kreutZer, and for
the last two days he had been starving.
Another year, he said, would see him
through the university, aud fit him for
q profession, and he implored me to
give him some copying to do,
or assist him in some other way to
make little money. Do it, he urged,
for my uncle's sake! was, indeed,
most willing to belriend him for the
sake of my Nettie, his mother, my own
early love. So he came to live with us,
and he and Franz attended lectures to-
gether. Jacob never forgaye me for
harboring the lad whom he hated, as
bad men will always hate the injured;
he had kept up a semblance of neigh
borliness till then, but at that period
our final rupture took place Gustel
got on well: he is now a Pfarrer in
Zeigelhausen, useful and respected.
Jacobs strange curse is haunting
me to-day. l have only just returned
from his funeral, and ere sleep must
conclude this memoir. Perhaps when
the last word is written I may be able
to forget.
Jacobs end came very suddenly.
fear me his SON was no gentle nurse
during the one week of his illness.
"A vast concourse of his townsmen
+c Ia 4 i'll e, 1o1 l.,
the row of yew-trees called the Seven
Sisters, in our cemetery outside the
Thor. It is there the rich
men of Gottingen all lie, each in his
narrow house, underneath his marble
1.-The tallest yew has Jacobs tomb
in shadow. There stands the hoary
sister, gaunt and grim, stretching her
black arms over the white urn, wherein
she shed her crimson berries in autumn,
the marble like drops Of blood.
and weeping icy tears the winter !
through, which gradually wash out the I
stains.
ooh, Jacob, Jacob! is that marble
urn and your gorgeous coffin all that is
left to you of your wealth. Farewell;
am not your judge. You have en-
tered the presence of higher Judge,
INTO whose hands we must all fall at
Last.'
'sDu lieber Himmelr' muttered Rath
lingering the yellow
tenderlY; this man should
nave been a preacher; he was thrown
away upon the magistracy."
There was note at the foot of the
page in a different handwriting, to the
,ffect that Franz Folkshausen had found
he above among his late fathers pa
'ers, and had placed it with the annals
If the courthouse for the year 1853.
Rath Marquardsen sat meditating be-
ide his stove, but his delight with the
rs. was fast changing into
Keeping, grisly terror, such { as
le had never experienced in all
lis life before. Jacobs strange curse
lad taken full possession of his imagi-
iation, and he was afraid to look up
est he should see the old mans Gov
tuous, cruel eyes fixed upon him. He
ad horrid idea that if he turned
cund he might find him at his elbow,
I peeping at him from behind the win
ow-curtain, which was certainly NOV
az slightly.
In his unreasoning trepidity the Rath
OF up and made an undignifed retreat
1to his bedroom, looking behind him
t every step. He tumbled into bed
fter but short toilet operations, feeling
afe only when he drew the eider-down ..
Juneau over his head.
But wicked old Jacob followed him
1ere, and tormented him all night in
reams. He dreamt that he proceeded
} the cemetery at Friedrich Thor, got
le sexton to open the grave, and found /
acob's body undecayed in its velvet ,