The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1884-08-30

Stanley, ana the three StrOnS men planGtu
themselves in the snow, and pulled with
all their might on to the rope Surely
they would be able to hold up Jeni? Ay,
so they would; but, as he moved to try and
raise himself, the rope gave sharp snap
and broke in two, just between Stanley
and Jeni, and, with ringing cry of des-
pair, the guide fell down the unmeasured
depths of the crevasse below.
Details of the next few hours and of the
return of the remaining three to st. Moritz
need not be given 1t was altogether i'm
possible to recover Jeni's body, and in his
icy grave they left him. Maybe, if the
poor fellow could have chosen his own rest
ing place it would have been somewhere a.
mong those mountains he loved but too well.
1t is also unnecessary to enter at length in
to the painful question as to who was to
blame for the accident; primarily, perhaps,
Jeni himself, for a guide should trust to no
one the supervision of anything so impor
tant as the ropes, and certainly in this case
the rope was worn one, which Jenl, If
he had seen, would never have thought of
using; then Stanley was more or less to
blame; he promised Jeni he would see to
everything, and instead of doing so he left
the arrangements to Hardt; and finally, of
course, Hardt was bitterly to blame for tax
ing an unsound rope. He had but fee
BILE excuse to make for himself, a. e., that
he had no better one, and did not like to
put off the whole expedition because the
rope might possibly be trihe rotten.
Stonlo.y xuoe almost indi ffaranf oc ff tho
cause, he was so entirely taken up with
its effect, for he felt altogether frantic at
the thought which never left him, of
pretty Christina and her awful sorrow.
At first he intended to travel down with
out pause to Sargans, and break her the
news himself; then, it seemed to him that
she would better bear to hear it from her
own father, and to him he telegraphed the
facts Schmidt was brave man, with
strong feelings, which he held under all
circumstances in perfect control; and per-
haps he thought his little daughter more
like himself than she was, in her present
weakness Possibly things might have
been different if he, realizing her feeble
ness, had prepared her for the bad news,
before telling it to her in its utter hope,
lessness but he treated her as he would
have preferred being treated himself, With
the telegram in his hand he went into her
room where she sat by her baby's cot, and
said to her.
Christina, your husband is killed !!
And he put the telegram into her lap.
She looked scared for an instant, and then
she said, with sweet pretty smile playing
about her mouth:
"0h, no, he isn't; he is coming home to
me tonight"
"But, my child, he was killed yesterday
on the Piz Bernina p
She turned terribly white, and that hope
less monosyllable, "Dead," escaped from
between her closed lips, whilst, snatching
up the telegram, she read and re-read its
contents and understood its cruel meaning
only too clearly for her reason to bear the
shock it received. Gradually a change
most cruel to watch came over her agonized
face. Again it was lightened by smile
but senseless, feelingless, meaningless
smile-and she said gaily:
"He is coming on the $40 train. We
must go down and meet him, father. y
Good heavens, was she mad?
Ay, mad she was, although her father
could not believe anything so horrible until
the doctor, fetched from Zurich, in his
certainty of the fact, asked what asylum
Schmidt proposed sending her to; then he
said fercely that he would look after his
own daughter himself And he did so,
with the tenderness which belongs to a
strong man, as long as the poor girl need
ed it.
Far more pitiful than any heartbroken
woman was she in her senseless expectancy,
which gave way after day or two to dull
despair. But she continued to insist that
Hans was coming by the $40 train; and
after a while, not content with meeting
that one, she spent nearly the whole of her
time Just outside the station, where she
could see the trains come in and watch who
goes out of them. When Stanley arrived
one evening, in pouring rain, she was stand
refused any interference), her long golden
brown hair streaming over her shoulders on
to her dripping clinging black gown. She
tried to dart towards the train as it drew
up, but her father gently but firmly put
ting his arms round her, kept her near
him. She struggled violently for a mo-
ment and then remained passive. Every
body in the train was watching and plying
her, and, it may be, wondering concerning
her sad story. When she caught sight of
Stanley she fed to some steps which led to
the basement of neighboring house, and
crouching down on them, began twisting
up her hair in desperate haste.
"This is Hans friend" she said, 'who
will tell me why he does not come; but
Hans would like me to be very tidy and
neat to meet the gentleman"
And then, with the impetuosity of mad
ness, she rushed up to Stanley, and falling
on her knees on the wet ground at his
feet, she begged and implored him to send
her husband back to her.
The last time Stanley had seen Christina
she was standing by Jeni's side, holding
his hand and looking proudly and fondly
into his face, her own lightened by happy
realities and happy hopes; and now, with
her wild eyes, her white face, her awful,
terrified, senseless expression, she was plead
ing for the treasure which could never,
never be given her again in this world.
Stanley left her, half maddened by the
sight.
But, mercifully, Death soon claimed her
! for his own; and we trust that the husband
and wife are together again now, in that
dim shadowland beyond the grave, of which
while we know so little, we can hope so
much.
BREEDING FOR HEIFER CALvEs.-The
late John Merryman, of Hayfelds, Balti-
more county, Nd, in his Hereford cat
alogue, issued in 1876, says After hav-
ing had 10 bull calves out of 26 dropped
in 1882, called my friend Mr.. William G.
Wilson's attention to the fact He in