The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1903-12-03

TEaMs saesRs1 81 Months zsss J; ,a sssss. advance
and gold and silver if the Wisbyans
did not wish to be totally exterminated
and their city an ash heap. Be it
known, moreover, these casks had
diameter of ten feet. It may readily
be seen what a treasure was loaded on
the kings ships which arrived on the
following day in the harbor, to say
nothing of the jewels and other spoils
ksecreted on every adventurer, or OPEN
ly displayed by boasting soldiers of
fortune. 1t was quoted in those days,
the spoils of the sacking of Wisby
would amount to two hundred million
crowns (about sixty-six million dol
lars.) Was it a wonder then Walde-
mar and his followers were in hurry
for home and glory, without first reck-
oning with the gods? But, as those
old legends will tell you, being sung to
this day, that was the greatest mistake
of humans, delirious with success in
arms, and calamity never to be for
gotten.
For the gods stirred up the waters,
and the waters rushed the ships to the
bottom of the sea just south of the is
land, and there, times innumerable,
sailors and fishermen have seen the
glitter of the sunken treasure. And
to show the faith these worthy folk
still possess in the tale every few
years some company employs divers,
dredges and wrecking boats in the hope
of recovering some of this elusive
wealth. Some has indeed been found,
but the most, undoubtedly, has been
carried to different and more secure
hiding places by the action of storms,
sand and undertow-there being no ebb
or tide in this part Of the Baltic.
The king barely escaped watery
grave with few followers and with
only magnificent carbuncle Ito this
day famous in the Royal House of
Denmark) to show for his ill-planned
venture. After days of hardships and
petty adventures he at last arrived on
his own shores, and there since he new
er again ventured back to this island,
we will leave Eim-and may his bones
rest in peace!
But as to the city as it stands today,
there is still much to say. The island
yet retains all the primeval beauty
with which nature 80 singularly blessed
it when in the days of viking domin-
ance it was the battle ground of rival
chiefs who priced the waters of its ex-
haustless springs and rivulets. 1t is
likely that no single locality on earth has
contributed so many preserved ruins,
so many relics, so many unaltered leg
gends or such an Interchangeable appear
ance as this very little city of Wisby.
Great indeed must their builders have
been to leave the stonemasonry stand
ing intact since the Middle Ages, some
of it two feet in height. There are
dwelling houses still in use which are
more than one thousand years old.
Think of that for relic-hunter! The
church Of St. Maria is still the only
place of worship for the Inhabitants,
and if perchance you should proceed as
far as the altar, you may see for your
self the Crowned Infant, and the gold
en- nimbus round his sacred head
studded with jewels of untold value.
Leaving Stockholm late in the even
ing you arrive at Wisby the next
morning. The best place to behold it
is surely on the deck of a steamer, for
it includes panorama of the entire
city. Built on slanting hill you can
see the wall encircling it and note the
promising spots worthy of holding
your eyes for longer space. The
beautiful botanical garden, which has
no equal in the world, lunless it should
be Shaw's Garden in st. Louis) looms
up like a red cross nurse in train
wreck. It is shaded by public prom
made.
It is with impatience you set foot ina
city where the peoples of the world have
hustled and trafficked, that has been
a great mart and cosmopolis and now
lis neither. If you want good guide
get acquainted with high schoolboy
they are marvels. What they don't
know about the ruins, the underground
passages, the history Of the wall and
the legends about its towers, you can
not learn from other sources.
ABA DAB.