St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-04-22
How the Gallant Fire Fighters of
Gotham do their Work.
The New York Fire Department. and
Hew 1t Is COnducted-An Another Of
Captain Toms Stories of Child
Life Among SavaSes How
Youngsters Live i'm the Land
of Ice and SnOw-Tom
Lafiin's Voyage and
What Came of 1t.


door and said:
'.Ah, poor children, SO dull it is when it
rains. But come nit me to the garnet up de
stairs, dere have some play toys 1 bring
from Germany, and will make out for you
NIT dem, and we will have some fun
She was so pleasant that she made us all
cheerful at once, and we followed her up into
the garrett of the hotel. Such great room
high in the middle and sloping down on all
sides.
There were all sorts of boxes and bundles
there, trunks and old furniture and know
not what else, and from one corner Bertha
drew two-handled basket.
large table stood under the skylight. and
she placed chairs for us to sit upon, and
from the basket took out, first number of
wooden soldiers, cannon, dried peas and
little white tents, which she gave to the boys,
saying:
"Play now you have battle.' Then she
sat down between Edith and myself, and
said, "Now see, here are houses, some peo-
pies, some animals some trees I build for
you village, and we must make out it is all
real. 1t is de village where was born. My
home place. 1t has a German name, but you
know not German, and will call it de Village
of Peace.
"In the middle is lake, see, dis will be the
lake. From her pocket she took little
brass backed hand-mirror, about as big as the
top of a tumbler.
"De lake is here,' she said, "Oh, it is
lovely, so sweet and placid, and all around it
stands dose linden trees-see, dey reflect
themselves in de water and the shadows are
here. so soft and sweet. upon de ground
She placed the stiff little chip trees around
the mirror, and somehow it began to seem as
If a lake really lay before us, and all around it
delicate green trees, the branches waving in
the breeze.
"Ah! How beautiful!" whispered Bertha,
and we also whispered, show beautiful"
"Dose trees stand also along de wide
road" said Bertha, "see but not so near
togedder. Here put de carriages, NIT in
dem de fine ladies, and dere go gentlemen on
horseback. Dey ride up to de great houses
on the hill, and smile and bow at each
odder.
''Dis is de Herr Councillors house, in dis
house lives de mayor, and Madame de Bar
oness in dis castle. The poor people stand
and courtesy as dey pass de fine folks-so.
But now, down here we come and build de
village, my home village. In dis little yellow
house we live. My ladder makes shoes and
mends dem, my moder spins, my old grand
moder knits stockings. If de door could be
opened you would see dem all.''
eyes" said Edith, 81 see your father has
white hair, but your mothers is like yours,
and the old lady, she has cap on
49," said Bertha, call is clean, everything
shines. De soup boils on de little furnace,
in dat press is plenty Of linen, we are not so
poor. There are geraniums on de window
SHELF
elbow pretty" said. We both saw that
interior, and it was plain that Bertha saw it
herself.
"In dis yellow house lives de mole catcher
she said, che has seen fairies while he looked
for moles, and the old troll under the bridge
Dis crack in the table is the river. At night
he tells u.s. and we are frightened. And here
are COWS, and fence. Dis makes de dairy
mans yard, and here is milk-maid. Dis
we will call Gretchen, his daughter milking
de cows. Dis blue house shall be his. Here
is de church, at present the pastor hears de
children DER catechism in de parsonage. We
call dis de parsonage, for it is white like de
church. Afterwards his wife, so good lady,
gives dem seed-cake to take home''
"I like her face, she is SO sweet" said
Edith.
'sThe pastor is so kind and benevolent, too,
I love him. said.
1t was all there before US. We had gone in
at the door and saw the little yellow-haired
children standing before the old man.
'Dere is carpet on de room," said Bertha,
sand piano, the frau pastorin plays beauti-
fully
We fancied we could see it all. And now
she went on building the village, telling us
who lived here, and who lived there. who
drove the cart with wood, who carried the
basket with fish. We believed that we saw it
all, knew them all. They were no longer
wooden houses, wooden people without much
shape, they were as much alive as we were.
Now we looked upon the Village of Peace,
sweet and beautiful in its quiet valley, with
the castle on the hill, the great folks driving
on the road, and the COWS lowing in the dairy
mans enclosure.
The mole-catcher looked out of his window,
and he knew that the troll lay laughing under
the bridge.
'But all this while where are you, Bertha?'
I asked. She smiled.
"Where am I p she said "Ah, it is now
evening, work is over, see, de moon rises.
am down beside de lake, NIT my Hans" She
took from the basket two little wooden fig
ures and placed them under the trees. A
girl like a pump in red a man like clothes
pin in blue.
eve walk hand in hand, me and my
Hans, she said, "and we are very glad, very
happy Up -" a. ,,oor :, a. ,,,o o
and young man. The girl looked no longer
like a pump, she was Bertha. The man no
more resembled miniature clothespin, he
was very handsome. We sat and stared at
them, so did Bertha.
"Ah, my Hans" she whispered
"Hullo," cried Will, from the other end Of the
table, "we've conquered the enemy and we
are now going to FIRE on the village" A
volley of dried pease ratified down on the
village. The church toppled over, the castle
lay on its side, the bridge was down, the
aristocracy were in the dust, the dairy-man's
daughter dead; but worst of all, poor, blue
clad Hans, lay on his face under the lindens,
near the lake, and Bertha, in her red gown,
stood beside him, broken-hearted.
"Stopp I screamed. "Stop, you cruel
wretches''
wicked soldiers you have killed nv Hans
then kill me also sobbed red Bertha. Then
she began to laugh merrily.
81 have made out so true dat we all believe
it, even me, she said, shut praise to Heaven
it is not SO at all. Desc are only play-toys.
Next year my Hans Games over the sea to
marry me, and we are glad again"
And then We all came to our senses, and
saw before US only some wooden houses and
queer little figures trees of curled chip, and
q handful of dried .pease shot from the can
non of tin army The Village of Peace and
its inhabitants had vanished forever.
MARY KYLE DALLAS.