Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1901-02-04
CHAPTER II.

The town councillor moved in with
a chaos of modern furniture and solid,
old fashioned household goods, with
which his wife did not want to part.
At first he occupied the ground floor,
but he told every one that when Major
Won Sternberg was transferred, he
would take possession of the first floor
We had, be it said, only one-half of
this floor, and the smaller half at that;
the ball room, the ancestral hall and
the armory were superfuous rooms for
us, and Herr Wollmeyer might have
lived in them. However, for the pres
ent he settled in the lower floor;
Hannchen would not hear of mounting
the stairs, and her doctor encouraged
her in her resolution. Herr Wollmeyer
did not wish to gain the reputation OF
being an inconsiderate husband; he
rather spoke with affectionate compass
sion of his good" wife, and so the
furniture covered with Powered ma
terial was displayed on the ground
floor of the Castle" as it had been in
the house on Water street, and the
town councillor contented himself with
receiving his guests in the tastefully
furnished study, and with emphasize
ing with a wink of his eye the fact that
Hannchen, good soul, chung to old
customs,-he did not desire to grieve
her!
The relations between landlord and
tenants were very odd; the town coun-
ciIlor courted the "Major"-as long as
it cost him nothing, of course. With
regard to worn-out heating apparatus
or any urgent repairs he would not
commit himself; on the other hand he
delighted in seeing my fathers stately
form pass through his door, and still
more did he delight in seeing him
seated at his board when he invited
the quality of the town to dinner; my
fathers adjutant was likewise well
treated. But the town councillors
manner towards my mother was espe-
cially attentive, for she was looked
upon by the entire town as the model
of refined lady, and honored and ad-
mired as such.
My father returned all this with a
reserve as icy as possible. II would
rather have the old lady's little finger
than her husbands whole body" he
would say, and towards her he was as
courteous as if she had been . lady
born.
My mother was affable to both; that
is, with an affaSility which drew a
wide line between her and the person
to whom it was shown,-a line I'M
needed by the town councillor, but
carefully respected by Hannchen and
her cousin. 80.
My father held the latter in great
esteem. 'You see, Lenchen, she is a
woman of ,--e old stamp; she is as
resolute as a grenadier and as tender
as a true woman. Wheresoever she
leads all will be we'll, the washing will
be as white as snow, and the food pal
atable; there man and beast will get
be forthcoming in time of trial and
sorrow. / know, Lenchen, why you
laugh, but I tell you her wretched
German is more musical to me than
the finest language of the drawing
room. Old WrangeI did not speak cor
rectly, either. For practical life there
is no better! She and the Countess
with all due respect,-are a good team,
Lehchen!"
l probably never weighed these
words more, never acknowledged their
truth more than upon those sorrowfu1
days when the light of my mothers
and of my life was suddenly extin-
guished, and the darkness of night
Hooded our souls; when my father |
died after an illness of scarcely two
days. 1t was at this period that for
the first time l became conscious of
She fact. that the old, insignificant
SSnusin was an angel, guardian angel,
and mine at that. When my head
rested upon her heaving breast, and
06r voice T0uu0T0u Au0hy Wy sup
pressed weeping, said in the poor Ger
man so often ridiculed: You have
lost a great deal, Anneliese; cry all
you can, or your heart will break.
When my Hannchen died was just
as you are, and I was only myself
again after a good cry fancied
felt the invisible angels pinions fold
about me, tenderly and consolatory, SO
that my wild grief found vent in tears.
AS gently and affectionately as
mother did she treat the widow. My
mother was then still young, but two
and-thirty, and her poor, confused
brain could not realize that the sup
port of her life, the great love OF her
life, had vanished. For nights Base"
sat by the bedside of the feverish,
agonized wife, who constantly be-
sought God to take her too, for she