The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-05-02
Translated from the Germany

/ Luu"lS hdnSa, the young judge, was
more than in love with his fiancee. He
was in love with his love- He worshiped
his owh infatuation as though 1t were a
newly discovered deity whose seat was
| in his soul. He not only congratulated
! himself upon being the accepted sweet
| heart of Wilhelmina Steinbach, but a'sa
/ upon the good luck and the good sense
| he had had in falling In love with her.
Il might have passed her with my heart
untouched he said to himself in his
fever of happiness. Somebody else
might have become enamored of her"
| He beheld that young man declaring his
| feeling to Wilhelmina and then the two
! locked in mutual embrace and in his
overheated imagination he felt himself so
wretched that he began pacing the floor
in real earnest. But the next minute it
| daWned upon him that that execrab BILE
young man had not proposed to Wilhel-
nina, and that the two had not flown
into mutual embrace; and at this his
face frightened and his bosom heaved a
deep sigh of relief.
Wilhelmina was almost as jealous as he
was, and this was source Of JOY to the
young judge. He was so true to her
that once when a bit of landscape sent
a thrill through his Iove-rldden heart. he
said to himself that It was wrong to love
the islet on the lake unless she was by
his side, and true to his word, he turned
away from the spot When he reported
the incident to her she merely nodded
assent, and said In the most matter-of-
fact way:
And I saw a lawn covered with the
daintiest lilies OF the valley this morning.
You know how 1 love lilies of the valley.
Yet this morning as 1 looked at them,
they did not interest me. Nv heart is
full OF you, Ludwig" Whereupon the
judge said he was aware of his inferior
ity and that he did not deserve to look
at her angelic face, etc, etc, etc.
You should have seen him in court! A
sterner judge the district had never had.
The prisoners trembled at sight of him +;
| the lawyers We're nervous; the court at
tendants did their duty; the police officers
| looked tame. To be sure, some of It was
put on" as the old court officers whis-
| pered among themselves. Many a young
! ensign gives himself airs and is harsh
| upon his subordinates. But Ludwig was
a man OF character. Among his college
CHuIHS ne enjoyed the reputation of a
! smart fellow, anything but a coward and
more capable of drinking wine than Of
! shedding tears" but on the latter point
! his classmates were mistaken He pa
! raded his hard-heartedness a. he did his
! dark mustache, but on the sly he was
/ the most sentimental fellow of his set.
One day as he entered the vestibuIe Of
! large house, inhabited by merchants
| and government officials, he found the
iror tI,ta,,
! ting some OF the letters into the mail
boxes which were nailed to the wall near
| the front staircase. Somehow Hansa
! caught a glimpse of one of the letters.
! The address struck him as being in a
familiar handwriting, and no sooner had
| the Janitor dropped the letter into one Of
the boxes than It flashed upon him that
! it was Wilhelmina's. A wild feeling of
curiosity took hold Of Hansa lis sweet
heart had never told him she knew any
body in this remote part of the city,
! much less that she was in correspondence
with resilient of this house. Who could
| 1t be? Why did she keep the matter
| from him? Or, was he mistaken? Was
1t merely an accidental similarity of
handwritings? He burned to see the let
ter once more, and as his eyes met the
janitors he asked involuntarily:
Whose box is it?"
"A young gentleman's. He has lived
here since Christmas. He IS a young
painter. He is single, yet he occupies d
large apaI tment. He's rich and hand
some, said the janitor with obsequioue
! garruIity.
Ludwig's Heart sank within him. At
the same time he was overcome with a
keen sense of his standardization at dis
GUESSING gentleman with janitor
you are not asked to tell all this, -
he said gruffiy and betOok himself to the
house Of his uncle, the old town hall
clerk, on the third floor, rear staircase.
That evening Hansa said to W3Ihel-
nina:
AS 1 passed through X street this
| morning | met an old chum of mine
! whom ] had not seen for three years
| and as he spoke he watched her closely
| to see the effect which the mention of
the street would have on her. She blush
ed, sure enough! The blood rushed 10 his
face, then back to his heart, and ne felt
! held TO the spot. Was he mistaken? IL
he was, why did she not even ask what
he had been doing on k street? At
! all events, he repeated the name again
/ ana again, staring her full in the face.
| She did not exactly blush, but her eyes
! certainly had an unsteady look in them
She seemed to be painfully embarrassed.
What's the matter Wilhelmina?' he
asked
| NOLHiu2.
Are you unWell:"
What's got into your"
But you look-er-I thought-er-you
| Observation-Disclosures
She burst out laughing, and he cOuIdn't
| help joining in, but in the depths Of his
heart lay trouble which was growing
more excruciating every minute. If lie
| could only ask her and have done with it,
| But this he had not the heart to do In.
| deed, she might take offense and return
! mis- engagement ring. The Judge sllud-
| dered to think of it.
The next day he went to his uncle's. As
| he passed the painters letter box he
| took a look at the peepholes in the door.
There were no letters within.
| Ills curiosity kept growing and with IL
his wretchedness
what were you laughing at the other
| day, Wilhelmina?" he inquired
| "When?" she asked with a blank face.
! when I was telling you about k
street"
* street" she echoed "Where is
K street,"
'Can it be that she does not remen-
Der the way she burst out laughing that
| day or is she acting a part?' he asked
| himself. She certainly heard me speak
| of k street"
| why, told you I met friend whom
I had not seen for three years. and
| THAT I remember, but what has that
/ got tG do with K street, she demard-
Cd. rather testify.
Simply this" he answered. moroseIy,
that 1 told you how my friend and
| had met on k street"
But what of it? What difference does
1 it make whether it was X street or