The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-08-30
AN ALPINE BRIDE.

Chstina Schmidt was married to
Hans Jeni when she was only eighteen.
They were both natives of the village
of Sargans, name some English trav-
GERS may remember noticing on the
line from Coire to Zurich, though it is
very unlikely that they ever spent a
longer time there than the two minutes
that the train waits at the station, for
there is nothing to tempt them to do so.
1t is q commonplace Swiss village, in
valley only fertile enough to support
about half of its population, and oblig-
ing the rest to travel to the cities or to
emigrate to other lands.
Christina S father was one of the rich
est and most important men in the
place. He lived next door to the inn,
in good-sized, imposing looking white
house, part of the ground floor of which
he used as a bake-house-for he was
himself the baker-and the other part
of it as the shop to sell his bread in
Before she married, Christina had tried
for little while to manage the shop;
but she did not like having to stay in it
all day long, just in case any one should
come in and want to be served; and as
she was an only and motherless girl,
and her father had INDUCED her all her
life, he soon engaged middle-aged
woman for the business of the shop,
and allowed Christina liberty to do as
she pleased. She generally spent part
of her mornings in the bake house, not
where the big ovens were and it was
hot and her father too busy putting in
the loaves to notice her, but in cool
clubhouse, where her father mixed the
dough and left it to rise She liked to
watch him handle it so cleverly, and
she generally persuaded him, when all
the black bread for the village was
done, to make her few delicious white
rolls, such as she had tasted once at a
hotel in Zurich. She knew exactly when
the said white rolls would be baked;
and. after working in the house and
getting the dinner ready (Which being
a true Swiss maiden, was a pleasure to
herr, she would trot down again to the
bakehouse Just when her father was
taking them out of the oven, and would
sit on the steps of the front door and
eat them. For Christina was rather
proud Of showing how she was spoilt
and petted in having white rolls made
on purpose for her.
Her lover, Hans Jeni, MANY and
many a time came to her as she sat
there, and, accepting one of her prof
fcred rolls, lcant against a door post
and looked down at her, enjoying his
view of her small round figure and
sweet, innocent young face. She was a
brown-eycd, brown-sGinned girl, with
masses OF soft hair of a golden-brown
shade, growing artistically round her
low forehead. She might have passed
unnOticed in q crowd, because she was
small and pretending; but she was
undoubtedly the belle OF Sargans; and
perhaps many larger place has not
Boosted such popular one, because
Christina twas kind as she was fair"
Her fortunate lover, Hans Jeni, was
twelve years her senior, and had known
and loved her ever since she was a lit
tie girl tOddiing at her fathers side.
He was an orphan, brought up by his
grandmother to follow his uncle's call
ing: that is, in the winter time he lived
at Sargans and carved wood. but the
summer months he spent in the high
Engadine valley rs guide, coming
down from thence in the autur T., with
a pocket full of money and a splendid
stock of health and spirits. He had
sent his first summer in the mountains
when he was fifteen, going up with his
uncle, Peter Jeni. who was we'll
known Engadine guide, and with him
doing some of the easier ascents, carry
ing knapsacks and provisions to the
foot of the mountains and learning the
first principles of glacier climbing His
uncle was well pleased with him. and
told him that his head was as steady as
a rock, that he had unlimited nerve,
pluck and energy, and that there was
IN him the making of first-rate guide.
When Hans heard that he made up his
mind that he would not waste his capa-
bllities. by the time he was five-and-
twenty he had been up every peak in
the Engadine, and most of those in the
Tyrol, and by the time he was thirty
Peter Jeni would proudly point out to
strangers his nephew and pupil as the
best guide in the east of Switzerland,
and such he probably was. He was a
splendidly-made man, tall and strong,
with regular features, keen gray eyes,
and fair skin sunburnt and Christina
answered her own question with an en-
phatic negative, when she asked her
self If there was a better sight in the
world than Hans presented as he
started for the mountains the year be-
fore they married, in his suit of strong
gray homespun, his knapsack made of
chamois skin on his back, the rope
coiled round and hung over his left
shoulder, his ice-ax in his hand.