The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-11-28

take his hand into her own-for she
was q gentle, womanly creature, after
alf, and loved her father dearly-the
young man who was the cause OF all
her trouble plucked the old baron toone
side and hastily suggested that nothing
further should be said at present, but
that they should meet again tomorrow
and lookat the situation calmly.
.sBut remember this, = said Heinrich,
with return of frmness, .sas sure as
there IS law in Germany have your
master in my power. You know now
what / really want I love the princess
with all my sonl and she loves me-, anal
VIII risk everything have to winzher:
That done, care for nothing else 5s-
sides. =
Saying this, he gave one passionate
glanoe In thedirection Of the now weep
inx Gertrude, and walking rapidly
down the long hall passed out at the
farther door
The thought flashed into the old min
ister,smind- as he watched the retreat
ing figure-that just as they had bought
Oh the tai1or's bills with diploma Of
nobility they might now be obliged to
buy of his new anC extraordinary
claims by the hand of the princess Alas
for the glory Of the old house Of Wolf
steinbergi 60
It is not necessary to give a full &C
count of the aalxious conference that
took place that same evening between
the haarthoken duke and his crafty
minister. They both commenced BY de-
claring emphatically that Heinrich's
claims were preposterous and absurd
But then there was an unpleasant look
Of reality in them nevertheless. Certain
twas that the grand ducal schloss stood
uron the land on which Fritz Muller,
several hundred years ago, slew the
three wolves. There was the wolf stone
still standing to prove the fact. And
certain it was, too, that the land would
have passed into the possession OF FEitz
and his descendants If only he had pos
sessed the rights Of nobility, and now,
By the very terms Of the patent which
the duke had shat day signed, not only
Heinrich Muller, but all his ancestors
in the direct line were ennobled 1t
might be argued that this posthumous
nobility could not carry absolute rights
back with it; but, ON the other hand, it
was notorious that the very object OF
enncbling ancestors was that In law
they might be held to be the owners OF
some rights at least which the children
could not enjoy unless their ancestors
had enjoyed them. Altogether the sltu-
alton was grave
Then, if the land belonged to Helm
rich, all that was built upon itwas Ger
tainly his, and if the margravate had
been attached by the Emperor Conrad
to the present schloss the feudal law
would certainly vest the margravate in
the present owner Of the schloss- On
the other hand, however, they felt pref
ty sure that the grand dukedom, which
had been conferred on the present grand
dukes father by Napoleon ], was prob
ably safe, seeing that it was not crea-
tion Of feudal law at all, but what was
the value Of the title Of grand duke If
everything else were lost:
Then it was that the grand duke be-
gan to thank heaven that he had a
daughter. He sent for her to come to
him a. once, and before she left him 1t
was agreed that, if she could induce
Heinrich to relinquish all claims upon
the property and the title Of the grand
duke, he might have her hand Fur
thermore, for the honor Of the family,
he should be created a count, and the
old and long disused castle of Hammers
dorf should be handed over to him and
his bride and their descendants forever.
That very evening Heinrich was clos
eted once more with the grand duke
Documents were drawn up and signed
and sealed, ard the next day the little
world of Wolfsteinberg was electrified
by the news that their fellow townsman,
the rich tailor, had been created Graf
Won Muller and was shortly to be mar.
ried to the only daughter Of the grand
duke. The diplomatic old prime minis
ter went about to all his friends, ex-
planning to them that, in the grand du-
cal archives, secret instructions had
been found in the handwriting Of sue
cessive margraves Of Wolfsteinberg to
the effect that the great deed Of Fritz,
the miller, was never to be forgotten by
the family, and that if ever his ineal
descendant and heir should distinguish
himself in arms or letters he was forth
with to be ennobled and to be married
to a princess of the reigning house, see
ing that his great ancestor had saved
the life of a princess The old baron
was certainly clever at fiction, If at
nothing else
And so everything was amicably set
tied, and the rich young tailor had the
old castle Of Hammersdorf prepared for
his bride in the lovely valley near the
Rhine. In due course the wedding was
celebrated in the grand ducal schloss by
the prince archbishop Of Mayence with
much pomp and ceremony. Great was
the interest all through Germany, and