Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1908-04-30


night and storm, and the gods had
smiled down from above on her. Vive
la joie-how the joy mad vanished! 1t
had shrunk away when the black fig
ure had invaded its realm. How tickle
is happiness!
What can have happened? asked
Bergen. Why was not the death an
nounced by letter? 1t is very strange,
don't you think so, Fraulein Gretchen?
! know nothing about it, l re-
piled. But l feel frightened. l had a
presentiment that something dreadful
was going to happen. 1t is true Herr
Won Eberhardt laughed me out of it
Yes, and l smile still at all sorts
OF presentiments. l am not supersti-
tious, he declared.
linen Hannah came to us, and
bursting into tears, threw herself into
the arms of her betrothed.
q" She is almost out of her mind.
she moaned. The only thing we have
been able to set out of he. is that he
fell in a duel, and that she rushed
away from his bleeding body into
carriage and set off instantly. She has
hardly eaten anything. and has not
slept during the entire journey. OF
what dreadful day it isl
"A dreadful day-yes. dreadful In
deed! Eberhardt's most loving words
could not sooth me. I shook as IL
had an ague fit, and I could not sleen
till morning beside Hannah, who cried
in her sleep. I was pursued by dread
full dreams, in which Katharine and
Ruth were carrying on extraordinary
conversations; and then l heard Fber
hardts voice again: How pretty Won
look today, my sweet
CHAPTER V.
Il never knew exactly what had
happened in Vienna / only managed
to piece together the following scraps
of information that came to me here
and there. The lovely countess was
Weakened one morning by an unusual
noise ard tumult in the palace. She
got up, and throwing on a light
dressing gown, she had rung for her
maid; the latter rushed in, pale with
horror, and through the open door
Ruth had beheld a bier on which rest
ed her husbands cold, lifeIess form
She had thrown herself upon him i'm
despair: she was told that he had fall
en- in a duel with Herr Won T. know
nothing about the cause Of THIS terri
BILE event; no allusiOn was ever made
to it in Bendeleben. | only learned
afterward that when the young wild
ow, late in the afternoon of the same
day, went to her mother-in-law's
rooms, the maid informed her that the
gracious countess would not see TIN
wife of her dead son. Then the youL
widow had thrown herself at ono
into her travelling carriage, and hau
fled to her parents.
who can say why the old countess
would not receive her daughter-in
law whom she had once almost wor
shipped; whether she believed that
she was to blame for the duel, or
whether their relations had become
strained before that time? The news
paper only published a short report Of
the fatal history; the cause of the
quarrel between the two gentlemen
who had been friends, was not known.
it said
The baron did not go to Vienna to
the funeral; many letters were OK
changed, and Ruth remained with her
parents. Frau Won bendeleben looked
greatly depressed, and her eyes some
times rested on the young widow
The baron's cheerfulness had vanish
ed; he looked for the most part cross
and out of sorts; the loss of a son-in
law is indeed a great trouble, and
cause sufficient for banishing merrf
ment for a long time from the
house. A strange oppression seemed
to have come over the whole house
with the sudden return of the widow
ed daughter; merry words were heard
no more, no songs were required OF
me. Everything went on quietly and
apparently in the same old way, and
yet all life and pleasure seemed to
have departed: even the servants only
spoke in whispers to one another. and
Frau Won Bendeleben seemed to have
lost all hpr elasticity