The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-03-26

/ AIlOlO IHB IOSNS
| round the window, than he threw the
reins to a boy and dashed up the
steps like q mailman. 1t did not take
| him a minute, but Lore was as quick
as he, and had slipped back into her
hiding-place. Still, where was the use
| Of that. when the Frenchman had
seen her and was bent upon finding
her?
II want to see the pretty demOi-
selle," he cried in his broken German,
and he insisted on searching all the
rooms in the house, then the garrets,
and finally the cellar, 1t was useless
! to say him nay, for he al master OF
the situation, and Lorchen's poor
mother followed him down the ceIlor'
stairs trembling.
But, wonder OF all wonders, the nest
was empty, the birdhad flown! Find
ing, therefore, that his search was
vain, the young officer flew into q rage,
and snatching up a little ivory minia-
| ture Of Lore, dashed out OF the house,
vOwing that he would come back next
| with q whole squadron, and stay till
| the girl was found. As soon as he was
gone, Lore's mother sank down in q
chair and burst into tears, feeling ut
terly bewildered and altogether at her
wits end. But she had not wept long
when her neighbor, young Dernau,
made his appearance, and, to her ex-
treme surprise, asked her with all due
form and ceremony to accept him as a
sutton for her daughters hand.
"'Ach!' cried the poor woman,
'Lorchen is ~gone-Clean gone; she is not
in her hiding place; and if | could find
| her to-day, where's the use, when to-
morrow that French villain is coming
to carry her off, I'm a poor, misera-
BILE, helpless woman-what can | do?
Oh, this dreadful war;
But the young man only laughed in
an embarrassed sort OF way, andthen
said:
"Only trust me mother, if l may call
you so, and depend upon it | shall be
able to take good care of Lorchen,
when once l have the right. In the
cellar she is, however, at the present
moment, though not in yours
80 saying, he led the astonished
dame into his house and down ever SO
many stairs, and there sure enough
was the captive in his cellar, doubly a
captive now, and a little shamefaced
and fearful, but still looking very hap
py as she fell on her mothers neck,
and begged her to give her and Karl
her blessing. And SO it came to pass
rnat they were bet"othed in the celler,
andimmediately after all sorts of mys-
FERROUS preparations, were made in
both houses, and at last thegoodpas-
tor himself was called in 10 give his
advice. At IL o'clock that same night
there was enacted one of the strangest
scenes which our peaceful, s~ober-going
little town ever witnessed; for a young
! couple were married in the darkness,
in the old chapel, outside the Martini
gate, and you may imagine my utter
amazement at being mysteriously
sent for at such an hour. and then
finding myself taken to the chapel to
be one of the witnesses to Lore's mar
riage the others being her mother and
Dernau's most intimate friend, Fritz
Berger.
1t seemed uncommonly dismal to a
girl of seventeen, as / was then, with
my head stuffed full, too, Of all sorts
of tragical stories. 1t was a mild,
dark night; the sky was much over
cast; and ever and anon a distant
flash of lightning announced that a
storm was coming up. The feeble
glimmer from the two tapers on the
altar seemed only to make the dark
ness darker, and the flames
1lckered necessarily as the
wind came sweeping in gusts,
and making the boughs of the old lime
tree rattle against the church windows.
1t was enough to make one shudder,
child, / can tell youl The venerable
old paster who had married Lorchen's
father and mother, and baptized Lor-
chen herself, gave only a short adj
dress; but 1t was all the more impress
sive for that, and we were all very
much touched by it. When the cere-
mony was I'VE helped the sobbine
bride to take off her wreath of myrtle
and put on a very large hood, which
was part of the PEASANTS costume,
such as used to be worn about here,
which she was going to wear as a dis.
guise. The poor mother vas speech
less with grief, and seemed quite dazed
at the prospect Of losing her beloved
daughter.
Meantime Karl Dernau, who had
| also dressed himself like a peasant,
| had brought a poor miserable, one
| horsed covered cart TO the door ofthe
chapel, and, after the most heart.
rending leave-takings, Lorchen was
lifted in, weeping bitterly. The night
had grown pitch black by this time
the lightning flashed and the thunder
rolled in the distance; but under cover
OF the darkness, thepair safely effected
their escape across the neighborinl
frontier, to where the French had mol
yet gained s footing, Lorchen passing
for a sick peasantgirl who was being