New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-11-13

upon his shoulders, and displayed his
broadcloth jacket trimmed with green
passementerle, and his broad white
shirt collar fresh and shining from the
laundry, set on fire the hearts OF all the
pretty girls in the country. "a carbonate,
indeed, how the people would laugh
behind her back!
And who else do you suppose was
another one who had made soft eyes at
Cencia? No less a parsonage than an
officer of the cara6i1aieri, who with the
excuse of taking fresh air, often came
to sit in front of the tavern kept by
her Uncle Rocco, and who while sip
ping his wine, used to cast sly chances
at the girl. who / know for fact was
not at all displeased on that account.
and when she heard him talk, she
stood still in open-mouthed wonder and
admiration, although she could not
understand syllable of what he was
saying, for the officer was a Floren-
tine, and in our part of the country a
Florentine could easily pass for
Turk or an Indian. She was enamour-
ed, not SO much with his face, (Which
by the way of parenthesis was not the
most beautiful in the world), but with
his soft and winning voice, with his
noble and gallant bearing, and his
long mustache waxed and twisted in
to a point at each end, and finally with
the superb tuft of red feathers which
he wore in his hat. AS to his person,
he was tall and thin, with long ears
and a red nose freely sprinkled with
freckles at the end.
But why did not the brigadiere, if he
really felt so much sympathy for her,
(and those chances were certainly a
proof of it), why did he not ask her
father for her hand in marriage?,
What happiness that would be to ar
ry 6rlg0diere! man SO highly re-
spected and used to all kinds of hon
or; d friend of the mayor, to whose
house he was often invited to dine,
and to whom was granted the honor
enjoyed by but few, of sitting on the
right hand OF the mayors wife, and
would not all the girls in town burst
with envy at seeing her upon his arm?
The day on which she learned that
it was forbidden to soldiers to marry
until after they had served their time,
and that not before four years would
he be free, Cencia was very sad and
shed some bitter tears.
What a pity! She could not then
marry the brigadiere, and little by lit
| tie she drove from her mind the mem
DRY of the tuft of red feathers that had
{ made her heart palpitate SO wildly.
One day she went down to the shore
of the river, the Pictrone, which takes
| it's name from the little town, to do her
washing at the spring, and after hav-
ing spread the clothes to dry upon the
branches of some willow trees, she,
feeling very tired, threw herself upon
| the ground to rest. Laying her head
| upon an overturned olive tree, with
| her hands clasped behind her neck,
and her eyes closed as if asleep, she
said:
''The first one that going by comes to
kiss me, even though it were dog, I
will marry him, and if ] do not keep
| my word may there be no salvation for
my soul"
And many of the fine young fellows
of the town passed by on their way
from the fields to their midday meal;
but no one paid any attention to Cencia,
who with her eyes partly closed saw
them file by, with their spades on their
shoulders, and their faces shining with
| perspiration. One of them, noticing
her. said, turning to his companion:
''Oh, see! there is Cencia, she sleeps
like a dormouse.''
''She is dreaming of a husband,n
replied the other one.
''Oh,' broke in maliciously third,
tof the red feathers of the brigadiere. y
And SO they went on, gossiping and
amusing themselves at her expense,
who hearing them, fairly foamed at
the mouth with rage. Until this time
she had been only pretending to sleep,
but half-hour later, overcome by
fatigue, she was asleep in fact; whilst
the July sun darted his rays of light
upon the ripe harvest fields, aud the
crickets chirped in chorus in the null
berry trees. At this moment, young
man, tall and of fine figure, but whose
black face indicated but little intimacy
with water, appeared at the top of
the winding path leading down to the
river. He approached softly to the
place where Cencia lay, and when he
was but a step away from her he
leaned over, and without any cere-
mony gave her a rousing smack upon
the lips. She awoke with a sudden
! movement of fright and cast arounl