Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1901-01-24
CHAPTER l.


beings with long, fair hair light raj
ment and beautiful white wings, be-
ings who invsibly hover over those
entrusted TO their protection, and op.
portunely prevent them falling In
to some abyss. This belief Is, how
ever common only In early youth
later on one sees this guardian angel
In It's true form which has nothing su-
pcrnatIral about It.
When Frau WolImeyer died and with
my mother, | stood beside her coffin,
placed In the hall and surrounded by
all the solemn pOmp imaginable, ! Ger.
talnly did not suspect that she, too,
had been an angel upon earth, II guar
dian angel At this time such II
thought would have struck me as com
zeal, Notwithstanding the gravity Of the
OccasiOn. only later did ! learn how
faithfully she had ruled, only then did
| become sensible Of the fact that an
angelic exterior is but incidental to
tins craft
Good soul, IIannchcn WOllmeyer, nee
Ilmmcl She now lies In Trinity
churchyard. Did tho widowcr who, In
his emotion, blow his nose so violently
that II seemed TO mo he was trying
to awaken tho dead by his blasts, did
Town Councillor WOllmcycr have any
idea Of what he had lost In her? This
question was undecided 70 cousin
Himmel, Il cousin Of the deceased, vino
for years had lived as dependent in
tho Wollmcyer household, this was
clear, for she wiped her eyes upon n
corner Of her apron and said What
will become of him now? IIanno was
his good gonius!"
No more eloquent Grafton, no higher
praise was uttered over her remains
than these few words contained.
Since then year had flown. | sat
with my mother at the window of the
sitting room at the close Of an autumn
evening, Her indl atrious hands were
folded idly, she Was looking down upon
the court | was attempting to recall
WV ''''tlH'N uA Nll' ltNl bifll III nv
In appearance Frau ITannchcn Woll-
meyer boro little resemblance to her
cousin, the latter was slender por-
son with serious, almost austcrc roa-
lures, usually silent and reserved
lIannchon was round and stout, always
ready for tears and speeches, always
In nervous dread of her licgc lord. But
both possessed in common the pocuIi.
Hrty of naive, incorrupt natures, sym,
pathy with the SORROWS and the toys
OF othors, tho longing to fulnll to the
uttcrmost that which duty required of
them, which was not always easily
done! They rescmblcd each other in
another particulars they both loved mo
dearly "lIannchou was very fond of
You the cousin often said,
An, yes, | was aware Of IT. 10 hor
Kindness | owed many Of those trlning
aud yet great pleasures Of my child
hood and girIhood. She had had a
child and had buried It, so she layishcd
a melancholy tenderness upon stern.
wa - ~ l'''l' hNlI'Il'h' tUllUIIN on
wintor afternoons she brought out her
lost darling's dolls and toys for my
amusement | learned to spin on her
dead chld's distalf, and today spin
ming is ono of my rayorltc OCCUPATIONS.
AS spun she taught mo tho Old
mournml rok.songs peculiar, to the
Thuringon Forest Tho older grew
the moro did Frau uannchcn become
attached to mo. Il hcliovo my little
one would have been MS tail as this now
too, cousin, she said.
Worthy IIannchcu Wolmcycr, She
died SO gladly Ilor cousin asserted
it, and she likewise spoke of 1t herself
q few days before her death to my
mother. as for tho last time she sat
In the warm sun and gaz1d upon the
old, magnificent garden
Il shall so willingly. madam; | have
finished with life. 1t Is very hard to
sit in rollIng.chair. to he unable to