Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1904-11-30

to share our hearts. Then for very
mischief l used to sing bits of broken
melody and soft, grooming lullabys-
things the south wind breathes to the
baby pines-just to tease Elsa and send
the blood rushing to her cheeks, and
made Carl laugh aloud in sheer hap
piness, at which Elsa would come and
lay her soft forehead on my brown
side, hiding her face on Carl's should
er.
While we were all so happy, like
bolt of lightning across the Jungfrau
the trouble came. 1t happened on
wet night coming from the theater.
Carl was hurrying to get home, as
he always did, and in crossing the
street his foot slipped. He fell, and the
wheels of a dray passed over his left
one as he lay PROSTATE on the pave
ment. In the drugstore where they
carried him the doctor, looking first
at Carl and then at me (for my case
had burst OPEN, cried out suddenly,
in voice that shook with emotion
''Mein Colt. it is the little violinist
of the OdeOn, Carl Schilling. The poor
Except for the injury to his arm,
Carl was not hurt, and although the
surgeons did not cut it off, as they
at first declared must be done, yet in
spite of all their electrical appliances
it hung limp at his side, and the ia
nous specialist the Herr Director of
the Odeon brought from Berlin only
shook mis- gray beard and muttered
''incurable" when he examined it.
Things got pretty bad for us in the
little home, for Carl could Go no work
of any sort with his useless arm. The
pupils dropped away one by one, and
soon, very soon, our small savings
were all eaten up. Carl was far too
proud to allow any of his friends to
help him, and indeed they were all
poor enough themselves, having ali
they could do to manage to fight their
own battles; but then, l think he con-
! cealed the real state of affairs so we'll
that nobody but me realized how very
bad they were. There was not always
food, and to make matters worse, Elsa
began to droOp, and her pretty face
became sharp and drawn. Wine and
other nouriShing things were out of
the question and at last Carl, tor
| tured by seeing his wife fading be-
fore his very eyes, declared he was
going to sell me; but Elsa begged him
to wait. The good God will not for
sake us. my husband" she said, brave
| ly. "He is trying our faith in him.
Trust him just a little while longer,
my Carl; surely he does not mean for
you to part with either of your sweet
hearts. for he, is not cruel
! Carl put me back in the box again
but the next night the end came, and
the greatest sorrow l have ever known
overwhelmed me. I heard Carls STEP
on the stair-lagging now, and not
quick and bounding as of old. and nc
| merry whistle on his lips. He came
into the quiet room, and all at once
| there burst from his lips such cry OF
| anguish and bitter despair that all my
strings shivered in dread and terror
1 heard him calling to Elsa like :
mailman to speak, to look at him, tC
answer, or he should Gle.
Presently land words cannot tell yor
what a relief it was to mel | heard hei
dear voice. Very faint and weak i
was-so low it was impossible for ne
to understand the words-but l knew
Carl was sobbing, and accusing him
self of being selfish and heartless, ant
after a little while he rushed to the
door and called Frau Weller, the land
lady; then he snatched me up, and on
into the street We went.
Well, the rest is soon told Carl solo
me to a violin-collector who was very
rich, but not a musician at all, fOl
which l was thankful in dull sort O.
way; for although l was willing ant
glad to help Carl, my heart was deaC
within me at parting from him, and
could no more have sung under an
other mans touch than a miserable
two-forin imitation Of myself can in
terpret Handel's Largo.
Carl laid his chin On me to say
good-by, and l tried my best to com
fort and tell aim that I understoo,
and not to mind me-that loved hin
and was proud to help him-and
think he knew, for when he lifted hi
face two great tears were glistenin:
!, on my brown body. My new owne
carried me to Munich and placed ne il
the museum.
One day-Gott in Himmel. what
day!-I dreamed l saw Elsa's ghost
She came and stood in front of my cas-
for long time, and looked at memo
as l had seen her last, pale and thin
with an awful look in her eyes, blu
young and fresh and fair, as she ha,
looked the day Carl first saw hel
standing under the linden trees.
1t was on a rainy afternoon tn
vision came to me- The museum wa
deserted, and 1 was running over il
my mind a solo in the first violin par
Of the Messiah, For Unto Us a Chill
: is Born" pretending TO browse to es
| cape the senile whimperings of the oil
Amati. All at once she was standin