The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-11-07
PART 1.


same curtailment! The reason or my
making this philosophic reflection VIII
appear as the present story is develop
ed.
This is not a study of character, an
analysis of motives. an autopsy OF
ideas. 1t is simply narrative, string
ing together of incidents, OF rapid
changes and of swift happenings, in
the order in which they occurred.
Furthermore, every word, every lota
of what ! have here set down, IS the
truth. the bare and naked truth. Some
of these Incidents may appear, 10 'he
urosaic and humdrum reader, as some
what startling, as being inlprobabie.
and inclinng toward the supernatural.
Startling and fantastic they may De.
improbable they may seem. nut noio
that they are in every sense strict
ly possible and that they follow eNactiy
and in every particular the immutapie
laws of nature.
1t came about in this manner: was
travelling in Germany two or three
months ago, and, in an evil hour, IL
came into my head to so hundred
miles or thorcabouts out of nay way, 10
make II cali on an old college friehu
of mine., whom ! had not seen III sew
oral years, That man was Jack jenkins.
In some romantic way he had become
acquainted with and married German
girl of noble birth a certain Frau'en
Hilda Won Waideck. 1t was this insane
idea OF renewing an old friendship, ana
this particular idea always is insane.
which submerged me in tue sea OF
troubles from which l barely escaped
with life and honor.
Jenkins was the United States con
sui at Oidcndorf, the residence town or
the petty principality Of Andel
Schwarizburg. 1t was at Oldendort
that Jack met and married his wife.
After the wedding, the fair but obsti-
nate Hilda declined TO leave the place
of her birth. and my friend made the
hest of it, secured his appointment as
consul and settled down in this sleepy
old German city.
Well, | arrived al uldendorf after IL
roundabout and tedious journey, and
lack, who expected me. was at the
station and gave me what seemed n
hearty welcome. For a few minutes
thought him the same frank, rough
sud-ready, iovial chap whom l had al
Ways known: but | soon began to no
tice something of a change in him.
There seemed. at times, to he a sort of
restraint in his manner: there was. 1t
struck me, often a false note i'll his
discourse. He was more Subdued ana
he seemed to have grown ten years
older than he should have grown in the
space Of time since | had seen him last.
Ills talk. like the letters he had writ
ten me. was all of I1lda. II was Hilda
This and IIilda that; there was never IL
creature like her and / must go
Ntraightway with him and see her.
Now. | was not particularly interested
i'll Hilda. excepting as l naturally
would he in something which belonged
10 u friend of mine My benedict ac-
uuaintances have often bored me by
detailing the perfectiOns of their wives,
and ! suppose l have shown that | was
bored and have been considered very
unsympathetic and british; but what
is fellow to do. when he knows that
these dotards, like the ancient mariner,
speak from cOmDulSion. and that sew
,n-eights Of what they say is false
hood or only imaginary? I came there
10 see him. to talk with him about the
old times, ten years before, when we
huuked together. and | did not care a
fiG about Hilda; but ofcourse | couldn't
iell him 50, aud therefore he had his
way and dragged me off at once to his
house to meet his wife.
[ shall say very little of Frau Hilda
Nnn Waldeck jenkins, for the reason
that she figures quite slightly in my
tale. She was tall and not half bad
looking. and ] could easily see how Il
man of my friends yielding and en-
thusastic nature might imagine her
to be an angel. | say imagine, because,
of course. YOU know. she wasn't: none
of them are. and some of them are quite
ne reverse.
50 much for her appearance. As to
her character. well, | will only say that
scarce ten minutes had ELAPSED e'er |
felt the most hearty cOmmiseration for
John jenkins. The fact was that he
was comletely under petticoat rule.
lie gave no opinion, made no assertion
without meanwhile glancing toward
her for signs of her APPROVAL. The fact
ia
hreathed only because he thought that
Il was her pleasure for him to do So
Almost Immediately after the first
words of greeting, after the first or
dinary and necessary remarks and
questions. my bachelor position was
assaulted by my treacherous friend; !;
and in this he was ably seconded by his
wife. He would have it that l must
marry at once, and he cited their own
beatific condition as an unanswerable
ana irresistible argument. Would that
he could have seen the irony of it.
Not content with extracting a prom
iso from me to the effect that | would
think the matter over they descended
TO the details and produced from their
recollectiOns the names of divers and
numerous German beauties. any one of
whom would be n proper incumbrance
FOR me. The whole assortment, proper
ly arranged and labeled. was to be
shown me upon the following after
noon.
Not il train leaves Oldendorf to-
morrow morning" said I. to myself.
After tea l gladly accepted Jacks in
vitation to go down to the market place
and see balloon ascension.
You will not be long. love-" said
Frau Hilda, in a caressing tone, but
with peculiar glance in her eyes.
'OnIy an hour, dearest" answered
After leaving the house Jack seemed
to resume something of his old hearty
Inanller. and / began to think that
would be able to take some comfort
with him. We threaded a labyrinth of
marrow, ancient and crooked streets
and at length emerged upon the mar
ket place. which was almost filed with
the people of the town, anxious, like
ourselves, to see the balloon go up.
1t was about seven o'clock of an Au-
gust evening. The air was balmy and
the dusk was beginning to settle down.
] thought it strange, at first. that any
one should make an ascension at this
hour. but it was not strange at all, for
the balloonist was in the employ of the
military authorities, and he purposed
TO make some experiments with electric
searchlight or some other kind Of light
or burn some kind of fire, the result of
which might be found useful in the
military operations Of the empire.
When We arrived they had about
finished initiating the balloon, which was
swaying back and forth above the heads
of the people. in about the center OF
the square. We gradually pushed Oui
way through the crowd until we came
quite near to il, and l saw that it was
rather small and capable of bearing
aloft but one person. After delay OF
fifteen or twenty minutes the aeronaut
appeared and signiied his readiness tc