Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-03-21

than a touch of adventuresome spirit, some
ingrained and by circumstances repressed
romanticness, which caused me to heave
gentle sigh.
I was, generally speaking, and consider
ing my age, just %, an extremely sensible
person. Carefully brought up by the best
of mothers, and accustomed from youth up
to well-ordered circumstances, | had had
precious little opportunity er nonsense OF
any kind; and my tastes, to tell the truth,
lay not in that direction. | had passed
my examina" without much difficulty,
and after a few years of study at Berlin,
had taken charge of my fathers landed
property. which, up to that time since her
early widowhood, had been looked after by
my mother Ny vocation suited me well
my mother was for me the highest ideal o.
a woman, reached by no other, in my eyes,
as vet; and myself was, | think, tolera-
bly, good, though not a specially interest
ing, but, as already said an uncommonly
sensible person. As a natural consequence
nv mother treated me more like her dear
est friend than son; we consulted together
on all matters, and were, SO to say, OF one
mind, and heart, and soul.
On my twenty-ffth birthday, then, the
question of my eventual marriage had also
been talked over together by us. | valued
the society Of women, but, having fallen,
at 49, in love with my cousin, who, three
years after, had died, | ever since MAIN
tanned that for me love was henceforth
chimera; and though | strongly doubt, at
this time, the sensibleness of that notion,
it was then, indeed, my positive convic
ton. To this idea-an absurd one,sI now
acknowledgements was joined soon after
another, about which, confess, had
some scruples from the very first. 1t
was this. In my hours of leisure |
got into the habit of dreaming of inn
mense, of truly fabulous happiness, which
showed itself to my mind under ever
varying guises; and, though fully con-
WINGED Of its impossibility-for, was my
heart not dead Fl yet pictured it to me
in glowing colors. This day-dreaming, |
Judge, must have taken firm hold of me-
for on said birthday of mine, when talk
ing about the probabilities of my marry
ing, my mothers announcement that she,
in that case, had cast her eye with special
favor upon a certain young lady, fairly
startled me. | felt, all at once, as if my
mother, ger orally SO .considerate and gem
tie toward me, was trying to do me griev-
Gus harm. | did not know that young
lady, to be sure, nor was there anything in
her name-Else Won Dellwang-
could object to, but somehow the thought
,of her impressed me disagreeably.
"She is the daughter of my dearest
schoolmate; was born in the United States,
where her father acquired considerable
fortune, and has come back with her
mother this spring to Hamburg. If you
love anybody else, then, of course, we will
drop that matter; but if, as | understand,
your heart is still entirely Free you might
pay visit to my friend, or / could invite
her to me. We have always correspondent
together, and l have no doubt she would
come" This proposition had thoroughly
spoiled the pleasure of my birthday cele-
bration, for which latter, by the way, my
mother had made elaborate preparations.
| felt truly incredible aversion against
this Miss Else Won Dellwang, with
out cherishing, however, a shadow of
affection for any other young lady
was acquainted with. Well, my heart was
dead anyhow rather bold assertion,
admit, on the part of healthy person of
twenty-five, which |, however, ventured to
make For some time after no mention
was made of Miss Else between me and
my mother, till one day when | discovered
a new and remarkably pretty face among
the photographs in my mothers album.
"Who is that ~ inquired, after having,
in one day, on three severals occasions,
taken a secret look at the picture, whereby
my good opinion concerning the original
had been successfully strengthened.
My mother, who merely. cast a sidelong
glance at the picture, remarked, quite in
passing, that it was Else Won Dellwang
l naturally made no reply and since
then the affair was dropped again.
| came to Reinerz to get completely rid
of the consequences Of severe cold which
had taken last winter. This visit my
mother considered as imperative, though
neither myself nor the family doctor shared
her opinion. And now suddenly my mother
in her letter mentioned again Else Won
Dellwang, who, she SAID, was travelling with
her mother, and had written her a charm
ing letter, and" added my mother, {"
am resolved to invite the ladies, whether
you like it or not"
This letter | had in my pocket while
sitting here in the shady woods looking at
the butterflies; and that aforesaid gentle
sigh, translated into words, might read like
this: Why should / not be at liberty to
look out for my happiness myself? Why,
indeed, does not that happiness once present
itself to me, suddenly and in such fairy
like splendor as | have dreamed of it?
Why is the world so incredibly common
place and stupid that there will, after ALL
no choice be left me but to marry that
pretty, rich and, in all probability, quite
amiable Else-all in order to CRAFTY the
hearts desire of my dearest MAP
was just in the best train to take that
unfortunate perspective greatly to heart
and thus fatty to contradict my compla-
cent assertion of being a tolerably sensible
person, when my roaming eyes were Of a
sudden arrested by a form, that all at once
was standing on the opposite side of the
little mountain rill, and who was trying to
put the daintiest foot that | have ever
seen, upon one of the dripping stones
which formed sort of bridge across. She
drew that little foot, however, back again,
for the stone had turned and was now fully
covered by the water.
But | haven't told you yet to whose per-
sonal property that foot belonged. All,
well, at that time didn't know it myself
All | saw was young lady standing sud-
denly before me in the deep seclusion of
the woods; could not tell whether she
had walked or flown there, or grown from
the earth and though the first SUPPOSE
ton was the more reasonable one, | verify
believe | should have given her credit for
the other exploits, too-she was so fairy
like. Her bewitchingly beautiful, large
dark, and lustrous eyes were looking ut me
as if inviting my aid
/ Jumped up-with what alacrity need
not tell | improvised little bridge of
stones; offered her as support my hand,
which she accepted with smile. Oh,
what smile it was, that smile of hers !
and minute later she was by my side,
thanking me- and asking for the nearest
road that led to Reinerz
4 road? Nothing of the kind, in fact,
existed, for the spot could be reached only
by going through wood and underbrush,
and mere accident had made me stumble