Year: 1875

any YJnlIS OUT Vi Guc Olulhel OOuIHe
of things; and would have passed, l
suppose, to something else, if my at
tention had not been arrested by the
sudden appearance of man whose
countenance was the most forbidding
l ever laid eyes on. l should know
that face thousand years hence, if
l might live so long. 1t seemed to
me that he had watched the move
ments of the old man and his wife,
before l had observed him; and that
this sight of the gold had madden
ed him. His face wore the express
sion of a fend of hell; and, while l
seemed to know his intent, l had no
power to speak, or even to give
warning to his doomed victims by
the utterance of any sound whatever.
Even motion was taken from me,
and could give no sort of signal to
the unconscious pair of the dread
fate which Inow knew awaited them.
How the rufian entered the house /
cannot tell. He seemed to be there
Just as naturally as l was able to see
whatever occurred therefor the
doors and windows were, in vision,
still secure. l do not understand
this, but so it was. At last the evil
faced man drew his knife, and whet-
ting it noiselessly upon the fleshy
part of his left hand, rushed into the
bedroom and struck a furious blow
with his weapon at the wife, who
was nearest the door. The wound,
though CHASTITY enough, was not at
the moment mortal; for the shrieks
of the poor woman in her endeavOT
to alarm her husband and call him to
her side, still ring in my ear. The
old mans fate was at once decided;
for, though he made a bold front
against the villain, the cruel knife
entered his heart at the first blow,
and after a bound like that of 4 lus-
ty youth, he fell lifeless upon the
floor. The cries of the woman now
becoming weaker from loss of blood
were then quickly stopped, for the
demon, as he seemed to be, plunged
his knife, with bitter curses, again
and again into her vitals. Why, oh!
why! could neither speak nor movef
AS soon as he was made sure that
both his victims were dead, the mon
ster pushed aside the chest of draw
ers, drew forth and counted the mon
ey, Just as the old couple bad done
so shortly before, grinned horribly
and replaced everything. 1t seemed
to me but a moment more when the
bodies were taken to the well-side in
the garden, and both thrown into the
water; the stones from the little wall
around the well thrown in too, and a
mound of earth, in which shrubs and
flowers had taken root, and were
fourishing as if they had always
been there, had risen above them
all"


Such, in substance, was the recital
which Kasper Graetz made to his
wife of the dream which had so
greatly disturbed him. 1t was Gin
deed a wonderful dream" thought
the good woman; but how her hus-
band could have kept himself so qui-
ct through such exciting scenes,
while she would have made things
ring again, was, in her estimation,
more wonderful still.


But the nine days usually allotted
for the lifetime of admiration soon
passed, aud his household had we'll
nigh forgotten, amid the cares and
concerns of their rustic life, what
was so lately the continuous theme
of their thoughts and of their simple
talk. Besides, Fritz, the eldest son,
had begun to speak of matrimony;
for how, pleads he, can he properly
manage the farm without a wife? To
be sure, he does not yet know-not
he-where he will go to find one;
and then it is suddenly remembered
that, for months past, he has been
making evening visits to Koerholz-
not, he persists, because Katherine,
his old schoolmate, lives thereof!
no-but because her father would
bargain for wool, to be delivered at
the next shearing; and every one
knows there was no better a weaver
than Albrecht Stein to be found any
where. All! sly young Fritz! its of
no use that you thus beat about the
bush. In due course a wedding comes
off, and Fritz is married to Katheri-
ma hard and fast as Mother Church
can tie them; every one is happy
with them at this Christmas-time-
for so fair and loving a young pair
it is very good to see. And they
will m anage the farm notably be-
tween them, never Tear.


The winter soon becomes of the
past, and the circling year rushes in
that sweet season.


L When wheat is grain, when hawthorn


buds appear


and Kasper, at the solicitation of his
friend Stein, who has new and ur-
gent business there, centemplates his
first visit to the Capital Solemn
leave is at length taken Of the dear
ones at home,-for this is a great
journey they are about to undertake,
and who knows what perils may be-
set these travellers Setting forth at
early dawn, they approach the city
while the sun is yet high in heaven,
for the long days are now upon
them and, as they enser a suburb,
Graetz is surprised to find himself
among objects which he feels are
not entirely new. This or that
house, or that green plat, he had
seen before, and yet he had never
been in Vienna! Astonishment for
4 while banished speech; but as the
scenes grow more and more familiar,
,he dream reeurs to Kasper's memo
Dry, and Stein listens to the repeti- |
.iou of-sa narrative which is, this ,
lime, uttered with all the earnest
hess of settled conviction.


The Gdst-hduS is soon reached and |
recognized. Thither the two friends |
enter, and wine is called for. While
he attendant places the liquor, Kas-
oar's eyes wander in search of the
rood host, whom he at last sees en-.
gagged in distant part of the room.
md almost wonders that he does