, 1886-08-03
LOVE IN A CELLAR.

dow, and now, sitting in the broad win
dow-seat, / was enjoying the scent of
the great syringa bush, which grew so
close to the house that 1t pushed its
branches inside whenever it had the OPP
p%ortunity, so that sitting in the window
was almost like being in an arbor. l
was in Germany, Of course, for guillotine
windows, as we call them, are still the
fashion in England. l hear.
Yes; l was in Germany, and it was
the day before Whit-Sunday-a lovely
May day-and l was just 10.
/ am a good deal more than 10 now,
but still, often when the syringa is in
blossom, and the delicious fragrance
comes floating round me, the whole
scene rises again before my eyes, and l
nee the old-fashioned garden, with its
qu%aintly-cut yews and box-hedges. and
apple trees loaded with blossoms; the
wainscoted room, with the faded red
carpet and ~antiquated furniture and
ornaments; and, looking through the
folding doors into the dining-room be-
yond. / see the long table decked for
some festal occasion. two chairs wreath
ed with flowers, anil before them, on the
table, two bouquets composed of sprays
of myrtle.
II see, too, sitting opposite me in a ca
pacious armchair, my grandmother, a
little old lady in a white lace cap, with a
prayer-book on her knees. which she was
reading here at home because she could
not get as far as the chapel beyond the
town gate.
l had been there myself hat morning,
all in a hurry, just to see how it looked
before l brought Granny to the house,
and ! had seen that it was beautifully
decked with flowers, and that there were
wax tapers enough to dazzle one.
After that l had come to the wedding
house" and waited, for l could not leave
Granny quite alone; and while l waited
I puzzled myself to make III why Uncle
Dernau, as we all called him, and his
wife should have chosen to celebrate
their golden wedding in the little
try chapel instead Of in the large town
church, which seemed SO much more ap-
p%ropriate.
Then. too, l wondered what could be
the meaning of sundry mysterious allu-
sions which l had heard made in the
course Of the evening before. They had
seemed to amuse the rest very much, but
l could make nothing of them.
Uncle Dernau's little wife was a favor
lite little woman, with bright eyes, brown
hair without a touch of gray in it, and
very small hands and feet. How we had
all admired her the night before, when,
for "the very last time" as she said, she
had danced the charming minuet which
had been arranged in her honorl l can
see her now in her old-fashioned, mar
velously short-waisted dress of silk, with
u -three-cornered fichu crossed over the
chest, little shoes without heels, wide
ribbon sandals and embroidered stock
ings. Uncle Dernau himself was her
partner, and at the close of the dance he
made her a low bow, saying with a
CLEAN of fun and mischief in his eyes:
Madame, you dance like a French
woman, and l believe I made a mistake
after all in carrying you off from the
French monsieur"
Every IL laughed at this, and Aunt
Dernau blushed like a young girl. What
did it all mean? Could l ask Granny, l
wondered? She had told me once that
Aunt Dernau was her oldest and her dear
est friend, and that some day she would
tell me her history. Could l remind her
of her promise now?
As | looked at her she took Oft her
spectacles and closed her prayer-book,
and, slipping down from my throne in
the window, l seated myself on a stool
at her feet.
Granny" said coaxingly, couldn't
you tell me your friends story now ?
You know you promised, and it is just
the right day for it. They won't be back
for a couple of hours yet. What with
the service first and her the wedding,
INC a long sc4mon, and all the congratu-
l%ations, 80 we nave plenty of time"
Just then we caught the sound of dis
tant church bells, by which we knew
that the bridal procession must be get
ting near the chapel.
All! child. said my grandmother, it
was a beautiful time when we two were
young, Lorchen and 1; you never saw
such a little wild thing as she was. They
called her The Bird" because she was so
quick and graceful and had such bright
eyes in her pretty little head. There
was not a prettier girl far or near. and
there was something about her 80 differ
ent from other girls that one could
hardly take ones eyes off her; she was so
dainty and distingue.
And Lorchen herself was well aware
of the fact that she was a perfect little
despot. All the men, old and young,
did her homage, and many a one did his
best to catch and keep the little bird.
But this was not SO easy, for Lorchen
was obstinate, and her greatest delight
was to tease and torment her admirers
whenever she had the opportunity. l
often used to scold her for it; for, being
her most intimate friend, l acted as con-
fessor, and she always honestly told me
her misdeeds. Sometimes we really got
angry with one another after u ball or a
picnic, when her list of confessions was
unusually long. But where was the use?
She knew that l could not help "forgiv-
ing" her, as she said directly she asked
me, little fondling puss that she was, and
she knew, too, that all the young men
she had fooled and tormented would be
at her feet again directly. But you
mustn't thinks so badly of her for all
that. She was a dear, sweet little thipS,
and in spite of all her %follies, she had a
good, honest heart. AS l said. she was
universally admired, and so it seemed
strange that young Dernau, the mer-
chant, who was a next-door neighbor of
hers, should be so stiff and cold, and
take no notice at all Of her. Sometimes
/ twitted her with the fact that he had
never nee danced with her, and was
always made her angry, and she would
pout her rosy lips and say: rim sure l
don't want him, Christel. he's a bearlr