Year: 1873

coming on you after another. till it seeml


as if God had forgotten you. "va1 o., Il


The old hero's voice quivered with


emotion, and an unwonted tremor dis.


turbed the placid countenance of his


wife, while even the sunny face Of the


little Fraulein looked strangely sad.


"Well, nnein Herr, we struggled on In


this way for two years longer, hoping


always that our luck would turn, and


putting the best face we could on it


though many time when the children
came to ask me why I never brought
them pretty things now, as used to do


at home, could almost have sat down


and cried. At last the time came when


We could stand against it no longer.


There was q money-lender close by us,


from whom We had borrowed at higher


interest than We could afford, who Was
harder, upon MS than any one (may it
not be laid to his charge hereafter y,
and he, when he saw that We were get
ting behind in our payments, seized our
furniture, and announced a sale Of it by
auction. 1 remember the night before
the sale as if it were yesterday. Ny
boy Wilhelm was very i'll just then, and
no one knew whether he would live or
die and when my wife and I sat by his
bed that night, and looked at each other
and thought of what was to come, 1
really thought my heart would have
broken, All ! my Lisbeth, We have
indeed been In trouble together"


As he uttered the last words the old
man clasped fervently the broad, brown
hand of his wife, who returned the pres
sure with interest, and, after slight
pause, he resumed thus:


"On the morning of the sale good
many people assembled, and among the
rest came the district inspector of police.
He was kind man in his way, and had
given me several little jobs to do when
1 first came over; but he was not very
rich himself, and nobody could blame
him for not helping us when he had his
own family to think of. However, I've
no doubt he came to our sale In perfect
good faith, meaning to give the best
price he could for what he bought.
Well, in he came, and the first thing
that caught his eye was the old bureau,
which stood in corner of the room.
1t seemed to take his fancy, and he
went across to have 9 nearer view Of it.
He began trying the grain of the wood
drawing his inail across one part, rap
ping another with his knuckles-till all
at once saw him stop short, bend his
head down as If listening, and give
another rap against the back of the
bureau. His face lighted up suddenly,
as if he had just found ont something
he wanted to'know; and he beckoned
me to him. DO you know whether this
bureau has secret spring anywhere
about?' asked he for the back seems
to be hollow" said had never no.
ticed anything of the sort-nor. indeed,
had L; for, when we found that the
drawers were empty, we looked no fur
ther. Now, however, he and began to
search in good earnest; and at last the
inspector, who had plenty of practice in
such work since he entered the police,
little iron prong, almost
like q rusty nail, sticking up from one
Of the carved. figures. He pressed it,
and instantly the whole top Of the
bureau few up like the lid Of box.
q deep hollow, in which lay
several packets of bank-notes and
shsres, about q dozen rou-
leau1 Of gold Fredericks, tightly rolled
up in cotton, and two or three jewell
cases, filed with valuable rings and
whole amounting, as We
calculated, to- more than
20, 600 Prussian thalers. '!-s-5-s


"Well. you may think how We felt,
saved as we were in the uttermost strait
by q kind of miracle; and how we
blessed the name Of my old uncle, when
We saw how truly he had spoken. The
inspector (God bless him y refused to
touch a pfennig of the windfsll, saying
that he was sufficiently rewarded by
seeing so many good people made happy;
SO We paid our debts, packed up all that
We had, and came back to our own folk
and our own fatherland, never to leave
it again" ..-.. n. .... co.. sd