The Dolores star., 1904-02-19

melancholy eyes, that food out of mis-
/ head with terror. people said, when he
' had ore of his sisious- called vorgesicht.
He was q baker by trade. and his ap-
,rentices said that ilIey bad seen him.
/ IN the middle OF the night, leave the
kneading-trough without a moments
warning. and with glazed eyes walk
/ through the house q the street, and
there with straihlng eyes peer through
, the darkness, moaning and wringing
his hands as in deepest grief. Pres
entity he would begin TO count; "One.
two, three"-sometimes up to ten, and
more.
II was then that he counted the num-
Der of mourners who followed the dead;
, and he knew who they were. too; but
be never could be made 10 tell. He
would tell the sexton. who was the
grave digger, 10 prepare grave, either
for child or a grown person, as the
case might be: ne would tell the color
of the horses that drew the wagon with
the coffin: but. ii he knew, he never told
VINO was inside the dread casket.
must explain that Petershagen,
| only small village itself. contained the
parish church and graveyard: and the
country people of the other villages,
Eldagsen. .Dotenhauscna and Maaslingen,
had to bring their dead here to bury
them. As there were no hearses in the
rural districts, the coffin was loaded on
10 an open wagon. and the mourners
walked behind il on foot; and as there
were not many streets in Petershagen,
the road to the church and graveyard
ran directly past old Nolteis house.
The ancient castle at Petershagen,
on the Weser, partly renovated in the
beginning of this century, had been
assigned 'as residence TO my father,
after he had quilted the army
at the close of the Napoleonic
wars He had enterrG civil service in
Prussia, and as surveyor and civil en-
yineer, was engaged IN refransferring
into German measurement the land
which during Napuieon's occupancy
had been divided ard cut up as best
suited the French. II was a labor of
staff of field help and office clerks,
skilled geometricians and chainbepr
ers; and part Of the old building was
used for offices and bureaus, by them.
1t was in the nature of fathers occu-
patton that he should be guest to-day
at castle or manor house of the proud
est baron in the land, while the next
day would find him at the hof Of some
Bauer, no less proud OF his estate and
descent than the pobleman on his edel-
sitz. For there men, though we call
them peasants, slightingly, and who
wear the dress Of the peasant-of finest
cloth, with buttons of silver, 10 be sure
are us proud, and prouder, than titled
nobility; and their estates, or bauer
hofe, are often in better condition and
of greater money value than those of
their more aristocrttic neighbors.
For myself, I have very pleasant rec
objections of til. bauerhof al Eldagsen,
where / spent one whole happy day in
my earliest childhood. IT happened one
morning that father, rumbling along
in our old caleche. overlook Sette. the
nurse maid, with his Two youngest in
charge, and !, the nlEest of the two,
set up howl TO be taken along to
EldagSen. Of course, the bauer and his
sister paid me every possible attention,
and ] was fed and petted al day long.
The sister had face like an apple
blossom pink and whi,e, and her name
was Louise-which is abbreviated to
Wieschen. in Low German dialect, and
pronounced Neeshen-and the last
thing / could remember that night was
that as Neeshen laid me. fast asleep.
into the old calche her long, tiaxcn
braids swept my face as she stopped
over me.
Perhaps the only living soul in the
whole country who had no faith in old
Nolte and his weird power, was n
young man on fathers staff, skilled
trician, who laughed at every
| thing he did not understand He was
with father almost constantly, though
he did not belong 20 Westphalia. He
| came from the Rhine. and held lighter
views of life than the dull though hon
est people on the Weser. He gave
| more particular offense to the old sex,
ton, who swore that IN every instance
the old baker had been correct in his
prophecy.
In the castle grounds, below the ter
race, there was an avenue defendu-at
least In summer time. when the berries
we're ripe. 1t was long walk, bordered
| by hedges of gooseberries, currants
and raspberries and the female serv,
ants of the family knew well enough
that while they kept my mouth and
that of my little sister filed with ber-
ries, my mother would never discover
that 1t was here they came for their
| gossiping, They met here one after-
| noon, Wilmina, Marie and Yette: and
the subject they were discussing must
have been of absorbing interest, for
they forgot that little pitchers have
long ears.
Busy MS was with the Danish goose.
berries, i heard the name of my dear
friend Wieschen mentioned; but 1t puZ.
zled me what they meant when they
added: "She had written that II he
| i - L., ~