The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-10-12
IT

The very next Monday the baron made good his intentions. Both hlm- self and Corporal Fritz assumed milI- tary full dress. They wore three-cor- nered hats. with silver buckles; huge riding boots, the folds of which oVer- lapped each other; heavy spurs and cavalry sabers. Every bit of metal per- taining to their uniforms or their horses harness had been rubbed into pfeternatural brightness by Corporal FritZ's exertions. In trot they came across the bridge that spanned the wide trench. In the courtyard they dismounted, Fritz sta tioning himself and taking charge of the horses.
 ''What!' cried tho lady, very much agitated, ''is he coming to see me, that dreadful man2 Oh, the brutality of the male seX!"
 Coming he was, with that vehement impetuosity that had made him the terror of foes in battle; making his way toward My Lady's apartments. leaping the broad stairs. two or three at time. What, with the clanking of his spurs, the humping of the heavy saber, the
 
 making an unearthly noise, sufficient to alarm any solitary and undefended wo- man.
 The baron knocked at the heavy oak en door, projected himself into the room, made a bod of elephantine state Illness and attempted to kiss her lady ships hand. In this he was unsuccess- full He gave a little laugh of good- natured assent and plunged down upon a low bench. Fortunately it had been stoutly built.
 Great felicity, great felicity" began the baron, smiling with utmost bon home. Seems too good to be true to | look once again upon your ladyship. l Often have thought of you in battle ah!" Here he attempted what was meant to be tender sigh. | Pray" said the lady in her coolest and most distant way, "don't mention the subject. I particularly loathe it. That disgusting, awful, horrid war! Let's not talk about it.'
 | "Ahem!" the baron coughed. ''Sor- ry," he laboriously essayed a change of 1 subject, "on my return to find the coun- | try so run down. Our poor peasantry! It will take years of wise management and laborious industry to get back to where we have been"
 | Pray" drowned the lady in voice scornfully freezing, "don't mention that l subject. It is specially distasteful to me. Those low, abominable, ungrate- full people!"
 The baron looked blank. For mo- l ly,,o ho ha oP less bewilderment. Then, bravely re- calling the scattered forces of his brain, he ventured upon another attack.
 Sorry, my lady, you weren't at church yesterday. What a noble man this, our pastor; simple, plain spoken, preaching the true gospel. Don't mind telling the truth.'
 | "Pray," began the lady in her slow est and most deliberate manner of studied and impressive haughtiness, ! ''don't touch on that subject. It is ab- | horrent to met That coarse, arrogant. | ill-bred man! On no account will | submit to have his name mentioned in my house!"
 This sally proved too much. It fin- ished the baron. A look of blank dis | | followed by a suspicious hue of deepest purple. The old war dogs temper was rising, slowly but surely; a temper of tempestuous vehemence once it broke | out.
 Leaping from his seat he landed in l the middle of the floor. The boots squeaked the spurs rattled, the saber 1 dumped against the furniture. The whacking of his big hat by the irate man against the stone slab of table added to the impressiveness of the scene.
 Madame" thundered the baron, "in the names of blazes-what are We what are we-I say, what are we-to l talk about?'
 "Heavens.' screamed the lady. 'Leave me, sir-leave me! Help!
 Elizabeth! Never, never again dare to come into my presence"
 III.
 How the baron made his escape, so he afterward avowed. he never knew He did not feel safe, he alleged, till he knew himself mounted and galloping. the faithful Fritz by his side, toward his castle. His blood was up.
 Fritz he clustered, its a. case of war Very well-war it shall be. Oh, she can outsneer man, and make you feel like an earthworm in the soft mud, or as if you wanted to sink through the floor. Didn't she have me, though, on the spit turning every side of me to the fire? Verify, she did me brown! But a man is a man-we'll fight her needle stabs with howitzer thunder"
 A few weeks rolled by. One morn ing, at sunrise my lady was awakened by peaIs of cannon thunder and tu- multuous uproar of many voices.
 She and Elizabeth leaped from their beds in terror and hastened to a win dow. The cause of the tumult a once | became apparent. The baron and Fritz had procured some old field pieces and ammunition, and had marshaled the yeomanry of the estate into opposing hosts. Gayly galloping about in their cavalry costume, they were setting afoot quite ambitious manoeuvres; drilling the yokels, marching them backward and forward, and evidently intensely enjoying the sport. Some men had been engaged to handle the howitZers; these busted themselves in touching them off at regular intervals
 "It will drive me crazy" moaned the lady. That infamous man! But l