Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-09-27

ana J9co8 ". N oets s6s " -" 49, ~.
booms heavily. At that moment the
angel strikes the quarters and the figure
| near him reyerses his hour-glass. The
forms that, in childhood, youth, man
hood, and old sge, typify the four quar-
tiers, pass in review before the skeleton
who strikes the hour, the heather deity
Of tho day advances, Christ steps for
ward and receives the jerky bows OF his
twelve disciples, and - Peter passes
the cock on . neighboring pinnacle
flaps his wings, projects his head, and
delivers q clear, melodious crow that
echoes through the aisles and along the
roof. The spectators laugh when the
mechanical bird has crowed his croy'
and they are then politely shown to the
door by attendants, as the cathedral is
closed at noon. BY crossing the hand
of major gepersl-sortof-person with
silver we were enabled to stay behind
when the crowd went flocking out, and
10 enjoy the majesty Of the building
without interruption. The major-gen-
eral graciously pointed out the win
dow glazed with painted parch-
ment and as brilliant and trsnspa-
rent as stained glass; he showed
US where the bombs wrought
havoc, and he demonstrated the useful
ness Of sundry little plaster images
hung up in the chapels IS atoning for
the sins Of those who placed them there.
It's noble picture that the sculptured
walls and glowing windows Of the In
terror present, and one that the element
of color enters more freely than it does
in many cathedrals. But while the
major.general was beaming down on us
from bis commanding height Of six and
q half feet, and laboring to wiring our
small change from us by the eloquence
of his explanations, whereof we UNI
derstood not the hall, found the SUBJ
iect for contemplation in little scene
behind the chancel-rail. On the COM
pletion of the routine performance OF
the clock and the evacuation Of the
building by all the sight-seers, except
us three, the organ began to discourse,
apparently by itself. Solemn chords
and dreamy measures swept along the
aisles and died in shadowy arches. An
approach to the instrument showed that
on the bench before it were two figures.
one a slight and girlish form, the other
1.-THE and manly one. They sat close
beside each other, and in the pauses Of
the music talked low together. After
a time they left the organ and passed
out. still conversing intimately, and |
saw that the girl was young and pretty,
while the man was gallant in his bear
ing toward her, young, handsome, and
a priest! They passed out without
seeing me. and as ! watched them de-
parting with slow steps and faces
turned toward each other, thought Of
Abelard and Heloise, and wondered if
a romance similar to theirs was here
eDacting.
Finding bookstore near the cathe-
dral, we asked a guide there to wrap
up our gude-books for mailing back to
London, as we had seen all Of the
Rhenish provinces that our time per-
mitted. and wished to travel as lightly
equipped as possible. When he had
done so he gave us dreadful shock by
refusing to accept pay for the service.
1t was the only time in our European
trip that such thing had happened to
us. The Undaunted and McFlatter
went back to the hotel, while Ipursued
my investigations among the old
churches and quaint streets until it was
nearly time for the train to start that
was to take us to Appenweier. Ny
guide book was in the post-ofiice, and |
therefore had no map of the city to
travel by in attempting to reach the
station, but l thought | knew the way.
After some rapid walking | was sur
prised at finding the cathedral spire in
a part of the sky where. to my think
ing, it did not belong. Then brought
up on the brink of the river III and
missed the floating laundries that
were there on the previous night.
The non-existence Of an old church
that had also been in that neighborhood
convinced me that | was lost, AID to be
lost in the crooked streets Of strange
city, within twenty-five minutes Of
train time, with bills to settle and traps
to collect. at a hotel mile away,
washing to call for and tickets to buy,
is not pleasant. | saw an aged police
man on the embankment Of the river,
and asked him the whereabouts of the
station.
"To which road-ysrd 60 you?"
"The head road-yard."
"Oh, God You are all wrong 60
ing. Go you the river over and that
cathedral by. Before the cathedral
are three streets. Go you left and
there over will you the head road find.
In how much hour go you herefrom "
"In twenty minutes"
"Och Then you hasten must"
And hasten | did. Fortunately the
cathedral spire, being 465 feet high, is
visible from nearly all parts Of the city
and once in front of that knew my
course. At the hotel my companions
were eating ice-cream--a thimblefull
for twenty cents-and specializing on
the chances of my arrival. Our bust
ness with the hotel people was speedily
settled and few minutes later we left
Strassburg. At Appenweier we ate up
the last of our German money. That
is, we didn't eat small silver and
nickels, but pooling our issues
we procured with them a respecta.
BILE dinner. Appenweier being but q
small place, though an important rail.
road junction, and the natives beins
somewhat too curious about us, we pa
in the hour and half that elapsed be-
fore the departure Of south-bount
train in wandering about the fields anC
stealing green apples. The natives made
themselves obnoxious by grinning aftel
us and repeating with tiresome FIRE
, quency "All right" that being tn
only English that they knew. o.
taking the train another specimen
Of German-English was brought fort
, for our benefit. 1t took this horribl
shape;
My grandvater's CLOCK
Vas doc larch for de zhelf
D SO II stood ninedy years.