Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1908-03-19

sleep and dreamed the most wonder
full dreams, SO that Hannah whose
coming l did not hear, asked me anx-
iously if We're i'll, 1 was talking such
extraordinary nonsense.
The next few days 1 had hardly
time TO remember these things, for
after Count Satewski's departure
there was a great deal to do Ruth's
trousseau was arranged for by Frau
Won Bendeleben with all a happy
mothers pride, and We were not al
lowed to be idle.
The great chests in the linen clos
ct were opened and whole pieces of
! the finest linen were cut up. In one
great room, six seamstresses We're at
work, and we had to help, with an
occasional remark that you may learn
something by it.
For a long time we drove into the
| city every day, going about from shop
to shop and coming home with enor-
| nous packages. In our little turret-
| room lay heaps of fine stuffs, and Han
| nah and l sat in the midst doing our
! best to make the finest stitches. Out
! side, the spring was growing more
! beautiful every day, and our eyes
| looked longingly out over the park,
which was clothed in living green. At
one side lay the village, and the
: houses cleaned out from among the
poisoning fruit trees, as if from out
of sea of snow. I sang and hummed
at my work like bird; but when the
weather was too lovely we slipped in
to our riding-habits and flew out over
| the f1Owery meadows.
| $50 the time drew near which had
| been appointed for the wedding. The
! huge chests and boxes had been al
ready sent off. To my great delight,
! Hannah had tried on her wedding
gown and looked charming in it; and
on a lovely May morning l stood on
the terrace waving my handkerchief,
! and from the travelIing-carriage
! drawn by four horses, handkerchiefs
were waved in return as it rolled
quickly down the high road. 1 looked
after them till the trees hid them
from my sight, then l dried the tears
| which the parting from Hannah had
called to my eyes, and went sadly
/ back to my room 1t seemed very
strange to me to be so alone, to have
no one to talk to. And as all the COM
| forting things that l said to myself
! that a fortnight was such a short
! time, and that Hannah had promised
always to be thinking of me-did no
good and the tears kept coming into
my eyes, took my straw hat and
went to my fathers house.
81 had seldom been there during the
past few weeks; the thought of meet
| ing the young pastor had been painful
to me- did not even so to church on
| the Sunday when he was solemnly
| installed as pastor, by which l incur
red Katharine's serious anger, and l
j had much difficulty in pacifying her
again.
"The real parsonage stood opposite
my fathers house. l was quite aston
! ished when | looked across at it, it
was so changed l should hardly have
known it. 1t was freshly painted and
the new clear panes of glass SHIN
mered behind sunny curtains, and
pretty poisoning plants. Under the
old linden-tree in the little strip of
garden stood a white table, with a
bench, and the lock on the black old
! door shone and sparkled in the sun. It
all looked so homelike that l stopped
involuntariIy and looked at it. As
did so, an old woman put her head out
from behind the flowers and a pair Of
good-natured blue eyes met mine for
a moment; then the head was drawn
back and I saw only the top of white
cap.
"As I turned to our own house 1t
seemed to me more hideOus than ever
the windows so dim, and without
curtains, the plaster on the walls so
fallen and broken, the old door with
it's deep cracks. l went into the hail;
the door in the parIor was open, and
Katharine was down on her knees
scrubbing the floor.
To be continued.