The Sauk Centre herald., 1910-07-07
CHAPTER XxXIll.
The Story of Helena Won Ritz.

The Story of Helena Won Ritz.
There is in every true woman's heart
a spark of heavenly fire. which beams
and blazes in the dark hours of adver-
sity.-Washington Irving.
"But madam; but madam" tried
to begin. At last, after moments
which seemed to me ages long,
broke out: But once, at least, you
promised to tell me- who and what you
are. Will you do that now?"
"Yes yes!" she said "Now shall
finish the clearing of my soul. You,
after all, shall be my confessor."
We heard again faltering football
in the hallway. 1 raised an eyebrow
in query.
"It is my father. Yes, but let him
come He also must hear. He is in
deed the author of my story, such as
it is.
Father" she added, "come, sit you
here. l have something to say to Mr..
Trist"
She seated herself now on one of
the low couches, her hands clasped
across it's arm, her eyes looking far
away out of the little window, beyond
which could be seen the hills across
the wide Potomac.
I'VE are foreigners" she went on,
"as you can tell. I speak your Ian
guage better than my father does, be-
cause was younger when l learned,
It is quite true he is my father. He
is an Austrian nobleman, of one of the
old families. He was educated in Ger
many, and of late has lived there"
81 could have told most of that Of
you both," I said.
She bowed and resumed.
"My father was always a student.
AS a young man in the university, he
was devoted to certain theories of his
own N est-ce pas vrai, mon drole?"
she asked, turning to pu: her arm on
her fathers shoulder as he dropped
weakly on the couch beside her.
He nodded Eyes, wass student"
he said. 81 wass not content with the
ways of my people"
$50, my father, you will see," said
she, smiling at him, being much de-
termined on anything which he at
tempted, decided, with five others, to
make certain experiment. 1t was
the strangest experiment, 1 presume,
ever made in the interest of what is
called science. 1t was wholly the
most curious and the most cruel thing
ever DONE"
She hesitated now. All 1 could do
was to look from one to the other,
wonderingly.
"This dear old dreamer, my father,
then, and five others"
'1 name them!" he interrupted.
There were Karl Won Goertz, Al
brecht Hardman, Adolph zu Stern
! bern, Karl Won Starnack, and Rudolph
Won Wardberg We were all friends"
eyes," she said softly, "all friends,
and all fools. Sometimes l think of
my mother
"My dear, your mother!
But I must tell this as it was!
Then, sir, these six, all Heidelberg
| men, all we'll born, men of fortune, all
men devoted to science, and interested
in the study of the hopelessness of the
average human being in central Eu-
rope-these fools, or heroes, / say not
which-they decided to do something
in the interest of science They were
OF the belief that human beings were
becoming poor in type. So they de-
termined to marry"
Naturally" said I, seeking to re-
| Geve delicate situation-"they
scorned the marriage of convenience
they came to our American way of
thinking, that they would marry for
love-"
You do them too much credit"
said she slowly. THAT would have
! meant no sacrifice on either side.
They married with the deliberate in
tention of improving individuals of the
human species! Father, is it not so?"
Some speech stumbled on his
tongue; but she raised her hand.
Listen to me. will be fair to you,
father, fairer than you were either to
yourself or to my mother.
"Yes, these six concluded to i'm
prove the grade of human animals!
They resolved to marry among the
easantry-because thus they could
select finer specimens of womankind,
younger, stronger, more fit to bring
children into the world. Is not that
the truth, my father?"
"It wass the way we thought" he
whispered. "It wass the way we
thought wass WISE"
"And perhaps it was wise. 1t was
selection. So now they selected. Two
of them married German working girls,
and those two are dead, but there is
no child of them alive. Two married
in Austria, and of these one died, and
the other is in a madhouse. One mar
ried young Galician girl, and so
fond of her did he become that she
took him down from his station to
hers, and he was lost. The other"
"Yes;, it was my father" she said,
at length. There he sits NV father.