The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1888-08-29
NORDEN'S RESOLVE.
BY MARY E. MoFrAr.


yer down from rock Il rock of a precipit-
Gus descent. On either side, upon pla-
tedufs of natures forming, grape gardens
had been planted. Even now the vines
were laden with heavy purple clusters,
but they were being rapidly despoiled,
FOR the master of the great house of the
neighborhood was tonight to give a
fee to celebrate his only sons coming of
age.
A young man, with his a~lpenstock in
hand, evidently fresh from the descent
of the mountain, made his appearance
on the opposite side of the brawling
stream. Catching sight OF the figure stand
ing before the vines, he called across,
cheerily
Save a cluster for me, good Katrina.
! will soon be beside you."
Suiting bis action to his words, he step
ped lightly from stone to stone and, Don
reached the spot. What was his surprise
to find himself face to face with a young
girl instead of Katrina. He hastily doff-
ed his students cap, and stood, his fair
curly head barred to the breeze, and with
a look of such ardent admiration in his
frank blue eyes, that the young girls
dropped before them in sudden confu-
sion.
:" beg your pardon" he said. |" re-
ally thought it was Katrina. And you
may l ask who you arr? I"
The girls cheeks flushed as she raised
her clear, dark-fringed eyes to his face.
Then she dropped a rustic courtesy.
81 am Bromhilda Laurenz-Katrina's
niece
What! little Hilda CT the glen, whom
my mother used to have up at the castle
50 often before she died? Why, you are
as tall as-as my shoulder! and you
were then the least, wee mite of a
thing"
True" said Hilda, raising one tiny
brown hand a short distance from the
ground and you were so high"
Norden Friedholf laughed a merry,
boyish laugh.
Yes, | forgot. Time brings changes
alike to all. Well, give me the incest
cluster in your basket as a token that
you forgive me for forgetting you.p And
Norden threw himself upon a bank of
velyety grass, and held out his hand with
an air of lazy gooG-nature.
With as much seriousness as though it
were an affair of great importance, Hill
da searched until she found a luscious
dewey-purple bunch. As she gave them,
she said:
" You will please excase me for going
IN with my work, young master for these
must all be picked and sent to the house
for your party tonight"
Say rather my fathers party for if
there is anything | hate it is TO have to
play the agreeable to lots of people /
don't care as much for as-as that stone"
with a careless flip of a pebble into the
water; then, as a thought struck him, he
said
"If you will bring the grapes up your
self. / will give you a present with my
own hands for your service and will prom
Use you the first dance at the ball which is
TO be given tomorrow to my fathers ten
ants"
Hiida's face grew grave, and her inno-
cent child-eyes clouded up as she an
swered:
Katrina sends me not to the castle.
She says it is not well for me to 60 /; /
know not why"
As Norden looked at her, and noted
the refined, delicate beauty of her feat
ures-the wide level-browed forehead the
short, arching upper lip, its mate, full,
pouting, and red, but finely cut the
straight nose with its transparent, trem-
uIous ~nostrils the full but graceful fig
ure, all crowned with a golden glory of
curling, silken hair-it came to him that
the old aunt was right. Such a dover of
loneliness might bring the child into
danger should she not becarefully guard
ed and shielded from notice of the gay
gay g~allants that visited at his fathers
Count Triedhoffs home.
"Ah, / see" he said. you are a Lit
tie Red Riding Hood. and Katrina is a
wise old grandmother. She's on the watch
to keep the wolf away. Well. perhaps it's
best"
Replacing his capon his curly head, he
waved an adieu, and was soon out If
sight. Hilda watched until she could see
him no longer. Then she turned to her
work again, murmuring through her smil-
ing lips
"Ah, but he is beautiful ! So tall and
broad-shouldered. with such bright eyes
and white teeth And such pleasant ways.
Happy viii be the girl he loves"
And all day long, and indeed for many
succeeding ones, the girls mind was
haunted by the memory of that hand
some, animated face.
Norden, too, found himself irresistibly
drawn to the spot rendereds so u~naecount-