The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1898-09-08
Where They Found Her
ATae OF thr Wesfphalian
Geixtsrhehers.
By JOSEPHINE CLIFFORD.
SEPHlNE CLIFFORD.

w boasts of men who possess tie
gift of second sig.t; though Levin
Schucking. in his book, "Das Roman
,ische Westphalen," says that these men
are dying out, and TIE power to fore
see is growing very rare in old West
phalia.
1t is not a source Of pleasure to the
men themselves, this strange gift to
foretell the death and burial OF their
fellowmen, and they would willingly
dispense with it If they might. In my
earliest youth saw ore Of these spoken
kicker or seistersehcr and remember
him very we'll. \ tall. ungainly man.
was old Nolte; with grayish hair. kind
expression on his fac, with lightblue.
melancholy eyes, that stood out of mis-
head with terror, people said, when he
had ore of his visions, called vorgesicht
Ike was a baker by trade. and his ap-
prentices said that they had seen him.
in the middle of the night. leave the
kneading-troush without a moments
warning, and with glazed eyes walk
through the house t. the street and
the darkness. moaning and wringing
his hands as in deepest grief. Pres
emily he would begin to count: ''One.
two, three"-sometimes up to ten, and
more.
It was then that he counted the num-
and he knew who they were, too; but
he never could be made to tell lie
would tell the sexton, who was the
grave digger, to prepare grave. either
for child or grown person. as the
case might be; he would tell the color
of the horses that drew the wagon with
the coffin; but, if he knew. he never told
who was inside the dread casket
l must explain 'nat Petershagen.
only Il small village :tself, contained the
parish church and graveyard: and the
country people Of ;he other villages.
Eldagsen, Dotenhaussn and MaasIngen,
had to bring their dead here to bury
rural districts. the coffin was loaded on
to an open wagon, and the mourners
walked behind it on foot: and as there
were not many streets in Petershagen,
the road to the church and graveyard
ran directly past old Notes house.
The ancient castle at Pctershagen,
on the Weser, partly renovated in the
beginning of this century, had been
assigned as residence to my father
after he had quilted the army
at the close of the Napoleonic
wars. lie had entered. civil service in
Prussia, and as surveyor and civil en-
gineer. was engaged in retransferring
into German measurement the land
which during Napoieon's occupancy
had been divided and cut up as best
suited the French. 1t was labor of
many years, and father had large
staff of field help and Office clerks,
skilled geometricians and chainbear-
ers; and part of the old building was
used for offices and bureaus, by them.
1t was in the nature of fathers occu-
patton that he should be guest to-day
at castle or manor house of the proud
est baron in the land, while the next
day would find him at the hof of some
descent than the nobieman on his edel-
sltz. For there men, though we call
them peasants, slightingly. and who
wear the dress of the peasant-of finest
cloth, with buttons Of silver. to be sure
are as proud, and prouder, than titled
nobility: and their estates. or bauer
hofe. are often in better condition and
OF greater money value than those of
their more aristocratic neighbors.
For myself, have very pleasant rec
objections of tn. bauerhof at Eldaesen.
where | spent ore whole happy day in
my earliest childhood. 1t happened one
morning that father, rumbling along
IN our old caieche e,ertook Yette. the
nurse maid, with his TWO youngest in
charge, and l, the olGest of the two,