Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1907-10-17
Continued

To support mySeu against LAS wall
and a deathlike silence fell upon the
men who filled the hall. l attempted
to 20 to her, but Prince Christian
stood in my way raising his hand and
saying:
What do you want with her?
Then l turned back, and went
again to my room, Johann, and when
the morning dawned, had become
another man. They said indeed, that
I had a heart of stone, but they
knew not how soft it had been.
81 never asked where they laid her
away:-what was it to me? l was
treated like a stranger in the house;
the old aunts came from the convent.
but did not inquire for me; was d
beartless creature; unfeeling as
stone: had allowed her to pine
away, at my side-I had driven her
to death.
"The night before the funeral /
crept into the parlor where she was
laid out. The moon shone brightly
through the window and showed me
the face l loved more than my life,
and which was now fixed in the terri
Bile slumber of death. l wanted to
take the delicate white hands which
rested upon the still bosom, but an
uncomfortable shudder passed over
me: those hands had been faithless;
the whole woman was falsehood:
her love was a cheat and a lie, my
friendship had been received and
lied to; the whole world was an I'M
posture ana lie.
"A half uttered curse burst from
ny lips, and with hasty steps l left
the chamber of death, the slamming
of the door echOing through the quiet
house. Then I whistled to my dogs,
threw my gun across my shoulder,
and went into the night; restless
oh. how restless! Since then, when.
ever I ramble about in the long
nighcs, in the sweet moonlight Of
summer. or the fearful storm and
tempests of autumn, a pale, female
form is always before my eyes.
"In the morning when they bore
her away, such a storm was raging
that the men who carried the coffin
could scarcely stand, and the almost
bare trees bowed tremblingly beneath
the power of the wind: the first flakes
of snow Whirled about in the air, and
scattered their shining little stars
like white flowers on the dark green
of the cypress wreaths with which
Joyce had decorated the coffin.
pressed my brow against the window
of my room, and looked at the ltttl
procession, as it disappeared thrOVgn
the gray tempest, but my neart fol.
nothing, and could cry out and la
ment no more; it was dead. Johann,
as cold and dead as the one in the
coffin.
THE dog whined beside me; that
unreasoning creature indeed felt
what it had lost; and the weeping
and lamentations came up from the
hall below.
When the last man in the funeral
train had disappeared behind the
trees, | reused myself, ordered my
horse to be saddled, and rode to the
castle; but when / desired to speak
with Prince Christian, l was told that
he had gone away very early, no one
knew whittier, but he had left a let
ter for me, which had just been sent.
Il turned away with a scornful
smile upon my lips; that is all right,
said | to myself; faithIess and COW
ardly: that is noble blood!'
But the people whom l met, avoid
ed me, and looked at me almost as If
afraid, indeed l heard little girl
say:
Just look at that man; fifteen
minutes ago his wife was buried, and
now he is riding about as if nothing
dreadful had happened to HIM
Mamma, will never get married.
God keep you from such a dread
full creature answered the woman.
When I got home l opened the let
ter, which ran thus: 1t is best that
nothing be said between us just at
present for you would not bear to
hear the truth. I go away because
do not wish to fight you. l am still
your honest friend
Ton believ that was more tina
could be expected of me.
Years afterwards, accident led me
to Freiderika's grave; it was on the
anniversary of the day on which l
first brought her home. I was wander
ing around more despairing than
ever; was a gloomy, lonely man,
whom people summed; nobody knows
what tales evil tongues had circulated
about me, picturing me as monster
and a desperate. They had buried he
under an ancient oak; ali around was
the rustling of the forest and its
peace; a solemn solitude The
mound of stones was simple and I'M
adorned, and opposite the grave they
had made an opening in the tres so
that the castle of the archduke could
be seen as if framed with green
branches, and its windows shone as
if greeting the lonely grave, and
watching over it with Jealous care.
Even in DEATH I murmured and
turned away, smiling bitterly.
Years went by before Prince
Christian returned home, and l, al
though still young in age, had be.
come an old man in heart. He re-