Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1888-05-23
CONRAD'S LUCK.
How It Was He That Made the
Family Fortune.

On inc Veran uan OF Trim llttle
cottage in one of the larger towns of
Mecklenburg sat a family group
Joseph and Conrad Lindau. the widow
Lindau, and the young wife of the
elder brother, Joseph. Conrad had
fair waving hair and finely-cut feat
ures, while in his dark blue eyes
lowered the indefinite. dreamy look
that so often characterizes the man of
genius and rich fancy, and SO often,
too. is the unmistakable sign of dis
ordered mind. He was perhaps thirty
years of age Joseph resembled his
mother; his features expressed in.
domitable energy and stern perse-
verance. His age was five or six and
thirty.
Twill tell the story of this family as
Joseph told it to me. The father had
been in his lifetime musician,
mechanic, an inventor, an itinerant
photographer, and withall bit
of a poet and dramatist. He
was loved by his wife as a
universal genius is always loved by
woman. especially when his brilliant
qualities are accompanied by univers.
al misfortune. During the months
that he wandered through Denmark
and Norway taking daguerreotypes,
he left his family to live from hand to
mouth, while every week brought q
letter expressing the most sanguine
hopes for tho future. He had scarce
ly entered town and established
himself in some sky-parlor than he
wrote to his wife, bidding her be ready
at any time TO come to him with the
boys. Tho prospect was never so
bright" he wrote, land in few
weeks l shall be able to provide q
home for you here. will send you a
draft to settle all debts and cover the
expenses of the journey. Pray do not
take in any more sewing, and let
Joseph and Conrad give their whole
time to their studies" And yet the
draft never came, and the poor mother
laid away each letter with q hopeful
smile and a patient little sigh, and
went on taking in sewing. while the
boys ran errands and did any odd Job
that would bring in another gros chen.
Conrad grew up in the likeness of his
father; the same changeable, SAN
guine, fantastic traits showed them
selves in the lad. And after the father
had died in a distant town in Norway,
where he was buried without even the
bereaved wife being present. the
widows affections conferred themselves
on this youthful i'm age of her lost
husband. The genius which in the
father had failed Of being appreciated
would, she fondly hoped. attain to
honors and success in the son.
"As for me-" said Joseph, as he told
me the story, Il am like my mother;
whatever cleverness and skill possess
comes from her. So it was quite in
the nature of things that should take
the second place. How could she
take delight in me when all that I had
to offer her was what she had herself
given mep Besides. l was good bit
nearer her in age than Conrad; l was
rather a younger brother than a son;
in me she saw a fellow-laborer in the
struggle for existance, whom she
esteemed without really making q
place for him in her heart. 1t
was Conrad's light careless. in
constant temperament that brought
little beauty into our plodding
life. One could not bat love him
while upbraidng him for all his heed
less, tickle conduct When he was
fifteen years old he became involved
in love affair with our landlord S
daughter and we had to seek change
of abode. really believe that mother
was disappointed that it did not prove
to be deep, tragic attachment in
stead of passing off in week"
At this time Conrad was employed
in the warehouse of wholesale
grocer 1t had cut the mother to the
heart that he could not receive an
education. but she was partly recon.
ciled when she saw the zest with which
the lad entered on his work he pict-
ured himself already successful bus
mess man and imagined, with his
mother. that he held in his hand the
family fortune. To have heard him
talk one would have supposed the
packing and sending of box of nut
megs was the first step toward becom-
ing million aire. But somehow every
one in the store seemed to like him
not that he was especially con-
scientious OF trustworthy. His
employer exclaimed again and
again In a fit Of good
natured impatience that IL was no
use, he should have TO discharge that
young rattlepatc of Lindau And
still he was not discharged, and, what
was more, he received a present of
one hundred thalers when Christmas