, 1886-08-03

poor Germany. h French conquered
us, and the king and our beautiful Queen
Louisa had to fly with their children,
and it seemed as if we should all become
French subjects. 1t was a bad time for
us in our little town, for the authorities
favored the enemy and we were disturbed
by the sounds of fighting all around us.
Ali it was terribly sad; for all prosperity
was at an end. and we spent our days in
misery and anxiety. Poor Lorchen had.
too, n special trouble of her own; for &C
counts of the wild doings of the French
reached US from all sides, and it was said
that they had a very rough-and-ready
way of counting, for if a German girl
took their fancy they just sent their
soldiers to carry her off, and then took
her away with them to the war. We
were constantly hearing Of deeds OF VOL
ence and robbery; and the laws, being
administered either by the French or
their adherents, afforded us no redress
or protection whatever. What could we
do? People hid their v~aluables, so far as
they could, in hollow trees, behind walls,
or in the ground, and whenever any
Frenchmen were known to be in the
neighborhood they hid their wives and
daughters as well. Poor Lorchen had
the hardest time of all, for her mother
was 30 nervous that she was always see
ing danger, and she insisted on the poor
girl spending the greater part of the day
down in the cellar, and many an after
noon l spent there. too, keeping her com
pany.
Look said l, on ono of these occa-
sions. you can see straight into neighbor
Dernau's garden through this little win
dow"
But Lorchen blushed and turned her
head without answering. One Whitsun
Eve, a lovely May day, just like to-day,
a number OF the enemy's troops passed
through the town, and, of course, Lore
had to sit in the cellar and get through
the time as best she might. AS soon as
the terrible "P%arlevouhs," as we
called them, had all gone through and
out of the town gate, the captive was let
out, and what must the silly girl do but
go to the sitting-room window and lean
out. After being in prison 30 long she
enjoyed the spring air doubly, and it
amused her to watch what was going on
in the street. But misfortune never
slumbers, and, as it fell out. a young
French officer came past leading his
horse by the bride and looking for a
blacksmith, as the animal had cast a
shoe. He had no sooner caught sight of
the lovely little head among the roses
which clustered round the windows than
he threw the reins to a boy and dashed
up the steps like a mailman. 1t did not
take him n minute, but Lore was as
quiet as he, and had slipped pack into
her hiding place. Still, where was the
use of that, when the Frenchman had
seen her and was bent upon finding her.
Il want to see the pretty demoiselle."
he cried, in his broken German. and he
insisted on searching first all the rooms
in the house, then the garrets, and fin
ally the cellarl 1t was useless to say to
him nay. for he was master of the situa-
ton, and Lorchen's poor mother follow
ed him down the cellar-stairs trembling.
But, wonder of all wonders, the nest
was empty, the bird had fownl Find
and, snatching up a little ivory minia-
ing, therefore, that his search was vain
the young officer flew into a rage,
ture of Lore, dashed out the house, vow-
ing he would come back next day with
a whole squadron and stay till the girl
was found. AS soon as he was gone
Lore's mother sank down in a chair and
burst into tears, feeling utterly bewild-
cred and altogether at her wits enc
Butt she had not wept long, when her
neighbor, young Dernau, made his APP
pearance, and, to her extreme surprise,
asked her with all due form and cere-
mony to accept him as a sutton for her
daughters hand.
"Achl" cried the poor woman, "Lor-
chen is gone-clean gone, she is not in
her hiding place, and, if l could find her
to-day, where's the use, when tomorrow
the French villain is coming to carry
her off! In a poor, miserable, helpless
woman-what car l do? Oh. this ter
rible war;
But the young man only laughed in an
embarrassed sort of way, and then 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 | have the right. In the cellar she
is, however, at the present momens
though not in yours."
So 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 looking very happy as she fell
on her mothers neck and begged her to
give her and Karl her blessing. And so
it came to pass that they were betrothed
in the cellar, and Immediately after all
sorts of mysterious preparations were
made in both houses, and at last the
good pastor himself was called in to give
his advice. At IL o'clock that same
night there was enacted one of the
strangest scenes which our peaceful,
sober-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 find
ing myself taken to the chapel to be one
Of the witnesses to my Lore's marriage,
the others being her mother and Der
nau's most intimate friend, Fritz Berger.
1t seemed uncommonly dismal to a
girl of II, as l was then, with my head
stuffed full, too, of all sorts of tragical
stories. 1t was a wild, dark night; the
sky was much overcast, and ever and
anon a distant flash Of lightning an
nounced that q storm was coming up.
The feeble glimmer from the two tapers
on the altar seemed only to make the
darkness darker. and the flames tiickered
necessarily as the wind came sweeping
in in gusts and making the bough Of the
old ime-tree rattle against the church
windows. 1t was enough to make one
shudder, child, can tell you'll The VEN
cradle old pastor, who had married Lor-