The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1896-06-25

my friend Smith to spend week or
two with him at his castle of Hoen-
ugwaldergrabenstein and so OF last
1 journeycd across the North Sea, to.
f1d out how the son of the American
lumber baron was getting along i'll
the stronghold Of IN old German rob
Der baron.
Smith wrote me that his castle
stood ab;'ut six miles from the Rhine,
but was not visible from that cele-
DRAFTED river. He told me at which spot
tc leave the steamer, ard said that it
! would let him know on what day
and on y lat boa. I would arriva he
would be at the landing to meet me,
as otherwise I might haze some ditfi
Guilty in finding HcenzugMa' dergr:lb-
enstein. I thought by this hat Smith
was hedging, ard that his boosted
castle would be a very small affair,
otherwise the guidc-book must have
had something to say about it.
On inquiring. fourd that the boat
stopped in mid-stream, and that [
would have to be taken off in a small
boat. AS we approached the place,
the captain said to lDe-.for his eyes
were sharper than mine, sDd he could
see distinctly objects ahead on the
shore which were practically invisible
to ME:
There's that mad American and
Lis gang
.In what does his madness con
sist?' asked, for I suspected he was
referring to my friend Smith.
"Uh, he is tremendously rich," he
said, ''and has boughta castle some.
Where in the back country He
dresses his rctainers, as he calls them,
III style of the fourteenth century,
and he wants to revive the old fcudal
system III Germany. They say he ex-
Reets to establish his right as a rob
Der baron to come down to the Rhine
and stop any boat that passes. footing
it's contents if it 50 pleases him.
Imagine he will have the Emperor
| William down upon him before he
knows where he is, and then he will
wish he were somewhere else; for the
emperor is not a man to be trihed
| with. and allows no man to swagger
| around Germany except himself"
| Saying which the captain bowed low,
as every official s bound to do on the
| mention OF the emperor's name
/ Have you ever met the mailman ~
Z asked.
"Hush-sh-sh!' whispered the cap
tain. s'You must not allude to the
emperor in that way"
@st My dear captain I said, 81 was
abiding to the owner Of Hoenzugwal-
| ergrabenstein.''
ssAh. quite so,'' answered the cap
tain, evidently much relieved. eyes,
he has been on my boat i number Of
times, and only the other day ~,
asked me what I would do if | ran
the nose oe my boat against Il chain
stretched across the Rhine I told
lin would &C back to the next town
and send on the police
| Then the young man replied, I
shall probably be 20 npelled to 20 to
| the expense Of two chains, one Of
which will be sunk ID the river until
| the steamboat passes ovec it; ,ben we
can pull it taut, so we can have the
beat in trap, as it We're He sighed
as he said this, and he added: That
is tie trouble with modern inveli-
tons. Steam gives you the power of
turning around and .:oing back,
which the men in the oluca DAYS
could not have done -
| Don't you think" I said to the cap
tain, that he was joking with YOU p
| oh, no." ans Wered the captain, Who
was a very serious man. 1.-The trou.
bic with him is that he is merely
crazy, that's ALL
| BY this time the captains attention,
was taken up with slowing and stop
ping the steamer. A small boat
manned by two rowers threw q line