Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1890-02-14
HEINRICH AND HIS VIC.
LIN.
BY MARY MORRISON.


Why they wanted to leave their beautiful
land for the wilds of America, | cannot tell.
For gold, perhaps; for to many people gold
is the angel that stands in the sun, and
they follow him to the west as he goes
down, and then they are left in the dark
ness-not all, some live through the night
aud find him again in the moIning-not
many.
Among the passengers stands yonng
man who holds IA little boy by the hand.
Leaning on his arm is his mother, the
grandmother of the child. They all look
anxiously at the city in the mistS.
The fog is "A bad omeu," the old wo-
man croaks ''The new world ought to be
willing to show her face to u.s. and not
hide it behind veil.
Perhaps she'll lift her veil when we get
nearer to her" said the child, and his faith
er patted him on the head and smiled.
At last the pier was gained and the up
roar on shore and on board was something
fearful to the ears of the emigrants used
only to country sounds, like the lowing Of
cattle and the bleating of lambs.
''See! the fog has passed away cried
the child.
But the woman muttered: "She is ugli-
cr without her veil than with it.
They were whirlcd from the ship to the
cars and borne by the rushing steam across
the country to the far west.
"Seems to me We are leaving all the
pretty places, grandmother, said the child,
but she did not answer him, and the boy
wondered-wondered why they did not
stay in one of those handsome houses.
Poor child! he had not learned that there
was no pot Of gold at the rainbOw's end;
and that if there were, it might not be for
him And when his father said they had
not the money to live there, he wondered
why he did not get it then.
1--WE will God helping u.s. his father
said, and as he spoke he pressed his lips
tightly, and looked out far away where
the hills touched the sky.
Beyond the mountains-ah! yes there
is always the land of promise" muttered
his mother as she saw where his eyes
were fixed.
Finally, after many weary days and
nights their travelling was over. The last
part of the way they had been carried in a
huge emigrant wagon. They stopped on
the shore of little lake among the hills.
''It was bit like the father land" Helm
rich's father said. The grandmother curl
ed her lips and was silent, but the boy
knelt by the water and watched the fishes
turn to gold in the sunlight.
Carl Ritter was father. When very
young he had married one of the very
pretty peasant maidens of his OWL village,
and had taken her home to live with him
and his mother. The year Heinrich was
born was hard season. and the landhold
er became cruel and tyrranical, rs the land
yielded less than usual. The sweet young
mother, with her blue eyes and soft brown
hair, tried hard to make the noted two
ends meet, but with the increased train of
care and anxiety, grew i'll and died. Just
then, when everything seemed against
poor Carl, there came a man from Ameri
ca fuii-of glowing reports of the golden
land in the west, and that was the secret
of Carl's voyage His mother opposed the
plan. She would rather lay her bones un
der the flowers of Germany than dwell a
cline lady" in America.
But you know that where tho lambs go,
the sheep will follow; so she but not
without many "A look back-had come
across the sea.
Land was plenty and cheap, and with a
very little money Carl hired several acres
and put up log cabin near the shores of
the lake. Many were the hardships and
triumph over them all. He was as last
able to pay for his land and add small
log shelter for his cattle.
Heinrich loved to follow his father every
where, but better than everything else he
loved, in the long evenings, to sit and list
en- to his violin-the German Hausfreund
(house friend), that followed his fortunes
everywhere.
The old grandmother grew infirm and
more irritable, for with increase of goods
came greater care, and the charge Of the
milk and butter grieved her careful soul
overmuch. She complained to Carl that
the care of the dairy and the vegetable
bed was too much for her. She told him
he must get himself q wife--a woman
young and strong. There was Bertha
Lindhaus, rosy checked, stout ARMED wo-
man-she was just the one But poor
CARTS face would look very sad as she
spoke, and he would say nothing, but take
down his violin and play such soft sweet
strains any one might know he was think
ing of something beyond the earth-even
of Heinrich's mother, who with the angels
One night, when the cattle We're driven
home and he had closed the door for the
night, they sat down for the supper The
old woman was complaining bitterly of
rheumatism. Heinrich was fretting be-
cause his bread was too salt No one not
iced Carls hand tremble, and he ate moth
ing-they were SO taken up with their
own troubles.
After tea he took down his violin, and
Heinrich came and sat down by his side
lie drew his bow across the strings. There
came one low sweet strain of melody, and
the instrument dropped from his hands
Both FASTENED to him, and with difficult
ty helped him on his low bed, and then
the boy went for help.
As his mother bent over her son, he op-
ened his eyes and murniured, "The door!
Open it.' and as the light fell on his bed,
he turned his. The moon was rising over
the distant hills, and making a bridge of
light across the plain. Carl pointed to the
hills. 'Did yon not say, mother, the land
of promise was-beyond those mountains
am going there, Good bye" And before
aid had arrived his spirit had passed over
the shining way beyond the boundary
Heinrich, who had heard all the conver-
sations of the older people, said:
Brother has a young wiie now hasn't
hel"
But his grandmother only sighed
She would that he might have had Bertha.
Ritter had died of heart disease so he
was buried in the graveyard in the valley,
which was already becoming silent vii
lage by itself
And now Heinrich was II years old.
His grandmother was 80, and they were
left with tho cnrn Of liz firm. aud IL 20.