Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1901-03-21

into the room next mine"
Come, cousin-I am no rose-chaf-
fer"
"Oh. Annellese, he will be offended
he has planned it all so nicely for
you"
That is a matter of Indifference to
me! If have to live in this house,
want to live among my old things and
with them" And ran down the
stairs to the bare, desOlate rooms in
which they had put our old furniture
in confusion, rs If it were worthless
rubbish But how deXterously the
old lady's hands helped me, how her
eyes CLEANED, Notwithstanding the
fact that her face wore grave air,
and how COzily we two settled our
selves in the two rooms, far from all
the grandeur and magniiicence up
stairs, | preferred sitting in the old
armchair by the stove and dreaming
Of times gone by; and in the evening
when the cousin brought her spinning
wheel, she succeeded in arousing me
from my sad thoughts by few kind
words or stories of her youth.
Once in the course of her conversa-
ton she grew more talkative than she
had ever been. She spoke Of Robert
Nordmann she had not forgotten that
once | had inquired for him with a
certain interest.
HE was a good boy, Anneliese, and
Hannchen chung to him as If he were
her own--but he, he! Well, he could
not bear the boys mother either.
Roberts mother was Hannchen's sis
ter, Caroline, you know, and the two
sisters together inherited the mill.
But Caroline's husband was school
teacher and did not wish to give up his
position, nor would he have done for
a miller, and Wollmeyer who at the
time was in possession of the mill as
HannChen's husband, was to pay up.
The sisters agreed upon this. But
Wollmeyer had his sister-in-law's por-
iton as a mortgage upon the mill-and
as it came about, h'm,-the Nord-
manns one day wished to raise a small
sum, they had bought house, and
so, you see, so Wollmeyer had to go
into bankruptcy. Mrs. Nordmann
took this so to heart that she was at
tackled by fever, and within three
days she was dead, her husband"
THE husband, cousin?"
Him! 1t was wrong of him-yes,
yos--but in his anger ne uttered an
accusation against Wollmeyer, the
latter took offence at it and it got into
court, then Nordmann was condemned
for malicious Islander, and"
why, cousin!"
yes, yes Then he was imprisoned
and when he was released, he had lost
his position; he then went away, so
ashamed was he"
with the back of her hand the old
lady wiped tear from her eyes and
wet the flax with her fingers. stole
over to her and stroked her cheeks.
How sad" said |, softly.
IF that were but the worst" she
continued hoarsely. But, see here,
Annclicse, there came a morning when
the writ lay upon the table at the
mill, and Hannchen with folded hands
stared at it, herself as white as the
paper. Then, as she did not stir and
gave me no answer, | looked over
her shoulder and thought | should
faint when | read there: Warrant
Schoolmaster Nordmann suspected of
embezzIing the maternal fortune of
his son, minor-Nordmann but re-
Gently released from the prison at H
his description and the demand of the
authorities to aid them in capturing
him. All, God, Anneliese---" the old
lady's foot stopped upon the treadle of
her spinning. and she raised her
Old, bony hands to her face. as if she
wore ashamed.
And was it SO, cousin, was it so?"
| cried in agitation.
She let her hands fail and continued
to spin, God will reveal the truth.
she murmured.
Cousin, do you believe it,"
"I?" She laughed shrilly. u believe
it? Believe that Nordmann stole
from his child the paltry two thou
sand marks? No father ever left his
child with a heavier heart, that
know. He would have taken the boy
with him, had he himself had a spot in
the wide world upon which he could
have laid is head. There is no just