Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1908-07-16

She seemed delighted to see me,
and-Gretchen, how shall I paint that
scene? I told her I loved her. In
return. she told me that it was abso-
lutely certain that you were engaged
to The young pastor, though only Sc
cretly. confess that for a moment
came 20 my senses. l stared at her
as if she were raving. But soon
| began TO feel a profound contempt for
| you. | was furious at your breach Of
faith. quite forgetting that also had
| been false. fell into bitter, desper-
| ate mood | would not say another
word of love to the lovely woman
had so ardently longed for, but vented
my wrath in biting sarcasms against
her and you and every one who spoke
| to me.
| Afterwards | saw you at the
table beside the pretended lover and
heard you sing the song you had
sung on the evening I first met you.
rushed away, | could bear no more;
and | stalked about the dark like a
mailman. I cursed all women.
hated Ruth, Hated you still more
and then l met you. can still hear
your trembling, imploring voice as
you called my name. l controlled my
self with a powerful effort-you
should not know how I suffered-and
at first I passed you in silence.
wanted to show you how much I des-
pissed you. Then, after a stormy
scene with my uncle and Bergen. l
rode out into the night like mad
man and Bergen followed me. His
questions and his advice made me
still more furious. Fortunately, there
was a position open as commander,
for several months at Potsdam. Ber-
gen managed to get me appointed,
and he stayed with me till l left. Be
fore l went, I received your letter;
threw it into the fire unopened. Ber-
gen suspected the truth; he asked me
about you, but I would not answe"
him, and I left Gin any thing but an
enviable state of nina.
" 4 had hardly reached Potsdam
when l received a letter from my
cousin; then another came, and an
other; at last began to take pleas
ure in the elegant, capricious little
notes. At first I sent very short ans
wers, then they grew longer and
went regularly, and, at length, the
writer charmed me as much by her
clever chats On paper as she had done
in person. At last these letters grew
to be Iove-letters in all respects. and
! TErhn of cd
| from Potsdam, I knew that a loving
bride awaited me. My uncle and aunt
were greatly pleased, only the Ber-
gems looked distrustfuIly at me-
Hannah carefully avoided me-
g To tell the truth, the thought of
meeting you was painful to me. had
learned that you were not engaged to
! the young pastor, and already it had
| begun to dawn upon me that my beau
tiful bride had told me a falsehood.
But one glance at her slender figure,
at her radiant face, made every
doubt of her vanish. Once neC mar Il
! ing lips let fall --'iu6- other = .esip
about you. that yoUr clerical ,,Usnirer
had sUuhenAy drawn back from his
|
| succession of thoughts in my mind.
thought, first, that perhaps, the young
man had heard Of our former engage
ment, and it was this that had caused
! him to draw back. But then the idea
! came to me like a flash Of light that
! you had refused him. All, Gretchen,
what a problem is the human heart!
| was faithless, I loved another with
all my soul, and yet the mere thought
! that you had refused that other on my
| account, awOke a sensation of hides
cribable bliss in my heart.
| This idea did not fade | listened
eagerly to every word that was said
of you, and, meanwhile, the day which
was to unite me to Ruth forever came
| nearer and nearer. Sometimes l was
in frightful state of excitement
| There were days when I sat for hours
at my writing desk with blank sheets
of paper before me. wanted to write
| to you to tell you how everything
had happened, and to beg you for an
| explanation. and then again it seemed
! impossible for me to do it. l threw the
| pen away and went out among my
comrades. There, where 1 was envied
as the betrothed Of the most beauti-
full of women, where I had to answer
inquiries for the countess, where I
heard the congratulations of the
older officers on my good-luck, and
admiration of Ruth's wonderful
beauty, I called myself a fool and
forced myself to Danish the painful
thoughts and doubts which haunted
me. I forced myself TO appear proud
and happy.
g The next day I rode over to see
my betrothed, and when I saw her
standing before me In all her ex-
quisite beauty and grace 1 thought to
myself for a moment that fate had
cast her costIiest pearl in my lap.
Amid such doubts and struggles the
wedding day came. Now there was
no possibility Of return. The day be-
fore, l was in our apartment, which
was imagined with all imaginable lux
ury. I went into Ruth's boudoir. hung
with blue silk and delicate lace, and
I thought of how different had once
imagined my home would be.
4" I thought of YOU, TOO, Gretel, that