Plymouth Weekly Democrat, Volume 14, Number 38, Plymouth, Marshall County, 27 May 1869 — Page 1

PLYMOUTH WEEKLY DEMOCRAT.

VOLUME XIV. PLYMOUTH, INDIANA. THURSDAY, MAY 27, I860. NUMBER 3K.

Poetry.

MT LITTLE OXES. BT B. BOOTY. Never h nmee my litt'c one? make. Pattering through the hall: Never bit of trouble they take. Ahmi within my call My little one are, ana" oh I to good. Gathered ahont my knee. Harry would he a man, if he could. Though he Is only three. Benny, my eldest, my first-born, S 111 Hitting on my lap. Though he now dreams of the college hour, A ud hoists h ready cap. These are my little ones, ah ! so sweet ! And yt one more He nfcr has tried his little feet. Never beyond the door Nerle1 close in my heart uro all My quiet little ones; Ever within my whispered call, My noiseless little sons. They play at ball on U.e oaken floor. Many a time and oft : r steal behind through the optn 1oor To kiss me soft. My little one? in memory livr. All so quiet and stdl ; Never a bit of trouble they give. Thr-y come and go at will. Come and go about my home So oft und Mill : Id mv brain mv li'tle ones roam. My heart they fill. All about in happy places Are my little ones : But none may see the angel fac s Of my little sons. Hearth and Home. Selected Ifltsccllanj). Queries. The Boston Commercial Bulletin proSounds the following questions for the usical Committee of the Poace Festival : Is a cat-o'-nine tails a " stringed instrument f When a vocalist sings bass, what will be the tenor of his remarks f Jfi twenty the score of the opera ! Is snoring sheet music f Is there to be any dew ate at the performance: and if not, will it be much mis-.- ! ? Are twenty-four sheets of music necessary f)r a musical choir? Do the ineffectual efforts of man to lift a barrel of sugar come 'Inder the name of sweet strains? Is a musical argument good sound reasoning? What docs the musical scale weigh ? Is an applicant who com is to sing once better acquainted with the b:s than one who has been to Sing Sing twice ? Speaking of ages, would you call the piano forty ? Is there any reason to expect that because you go to Singer fr a sewing machine, you could go to Sc '."er for a singing machine ! Will not the moat popular air with young ladies and gentlemen .t the performance be the heir to a large fortune ! Are fingers hand organs? Among the military music will you introduce a " quad " drill for printers ! Ought l lay tin to be made a great handle of in reseni.ng the programme of sacred music ? Ami finally, will ladies with "band" boxes, and apothecaries who are willing to give a vial in so low that everybody can have one, be admitted tree? i Encounter Between a Sword Fish and a Sperm Whale. A correspondent of the Petaluma JourMl and Argus, of April 15th, relates the following singular incident : A novel sight was witnessed a few days since by Mr. Gafft ny, who lives near Rdoga Hay. While plowing near the coast, his attention was directed to an unusual commotion in the water, nearly a mile from shore, which proved to be a conflict between five swordfish and a sperm whale. The ocean was quite calm, and as they neared the shore theii movements could be plainly seen. The whale was no match for his antagonists, who seemed to understand his only means of defense, and displayed considerable knowledge of tactics in parrying with their formidable adversary. In making their thrusts into his sides they would keep clear of his tail, one blow of which would have been fatal to them. With maddened fury the huge monster of the deep would strike right and left, causing the water to boil by the force of the blow and then he would dive deep to escape the relentless fury r his tormentors, b it he was followed and soon brought to the surface. Deep gashes could be seen in his side, and the blood flowing freely. The fight was witnessed for nearly an hour, when the whale, in the agony of despair, started for the shore, flinging himself upon some low rocks, and soon died from the effects of bis wounds. Gashes two feet deep and six feet long were made in his sides. Many in this city went to sec him. Hi was between fifty and sixty feet long. ; The third day the tide rose high enough to float him from the rocks, and he floated out to sea. The Largest Lump of (Void Ever Found. Accounts from Australia report the finding by a miner of the biggest golden nug- ' get on record. It was unearthed at a claim in Dunolly, where big nuggets have been found betör. Two men were working for over a year at the place, and had found a couple of nuggets weighing respectively 108 and 36 ounces In February last they surcceeded in opening up the largest nug get the world ever saw. One of the men in following the cla-m and working round the roots of a tree in his path, struck some hard substance with his pick, and, not supposing it, was gold, exclaimed, " I wish it was a nugget and had broken my pick." n unearthing the impediment the nugget was found, though the pick sustained no damage. It weighed 210 pounds troy, and yielded MM ounces and 10 pen nyweights of pure gold. It in a mine in itself, worth nearly $37,000 in coin, and about $17,000 in greenbacks. The largest nuggets previously found in Australia were as follows; The Welcome nJt, found at Ballarat, at the depth of 1 feet, and weighing 184 pounds 9 ounces ; the Blanche Barly, found at a depth of ak K Ät Kin?owe1'. nd weighing 145 ponds I ounces ; a nugget at Canadian gully, Bailarat, weighing 134 pounds 11 ounces, at a depth of sixty feet ; the pounds m WeiRhing ninety-eight -A gigantic plant of therunt species has recently been noticed in Nicaragua. It produces but one leaf, nearly 14 feet in length, supported on a stalk ten feet lone The stem of the flower is a foot in circumference, the spathe or flower two feet lonir ''"l"'ou um vvwi, WifcU a DO Wer fill carrion like odor.

THE VOW. A Talc of Life in Switzerland. I vs traveling in the Switcr Oberland. The 6un was ju9t going down behind the towering Alps, shedding as it were an avalanche of variegated colors over the surrounding landscape cattle lowing in the distance, seeking their homes ; sheep bleating and wandering to their folds ; birds returning to their n St. No human beings in view ; no home where I might rest that night, and prepare for further explorations of the won derful country. My horse began to slacken his pace. At. last I saw between the wide spreading firs what seemed to me a chalet. Smoke issuing from a chimney is sure indication f human life existing. 1 rode on and on. Mv horse, knowing perhaps the locality, certainly better than I, seemed to hurry his pace. A thatched roof came in view. After a while I perceived a gate, and soon dismounted to seek a shelter for the night It was a secluded spot, certainly. The " chalet " was built with care, heavy stones protecting its roof from being torn up by a passing hurricane. The door was ajar, a faint light glimmering through the opening. I dismounted, fastened my tired horse, approached the door, gently tapping, and with a kind of nervous anxiety waiting for the answer. The door was opened by a sturdy woman, facing me with the steady look of the real M mountaineer," knowing no fear, and withal ready to do any service when needed. ' (.' in I rest here this night " I a?kol. in as good a Berne accent as I could master. " You can," was the answer. 4 Wilhelm, take the ? -ntleman's horse to the table;" and a boy of some twelve years obfved the summons, took my horse, and U d it to the plaee of rest, giving it such rare as those who know the value of horses learn to bestow. " Sit down and rest yourself," said the state'y matron, showing me to a larr a arm-chair, curiously carved, and occupy ing one side of the fire-place. "It used to be my Wilhelm's chair," she continued. " But he is g me ; I am a lonely widow now. and keep it for the stranger who happens to pass this way. You are welcome to it, sir, very welcome. Rest yourself; at' cr a while I shall have supper ready." Bo sayir.ir. she went away, and while I indulged in the luxnry of a warming tire, feated in 44 Wilhelm's chair," I heard the clattering of pans and dishes, tokens of the realization of the promised supper. I was just philosophizing on the blessedness of primitive country life, when I heard a groan from an adjoining apartment: 44 Karl, Knrl ! do come! do come!" And after a while it was again, 44 Do come ! do come f There was an urgenev, a pleading earnestness in the words whieh I cannot express. 44 Komme ' oh komme " was the request. Then followed a groan, a pause, and agin the pleading voire said : 44 Karl, kommt ! oh, komme " The matron entered with a supper, substantial though simple. While placing the dishes on the table, the groan, aad following, 44 Komme ! oh, komme " sounded again. She instantly went through a side door, and then I heard her chiding softly : 41 Leibes kind, mi deck weine. Dear child, be sensible. Karl is far off, Karl may soon come. Re sensible, dear child." But the pleading voice repeated : 44 Karl. do come. Mother, have the room in rcadl ness Mother, I have waited long. So long! so lone! Mother, I cannot wait longer. When he comes, mother, all will be well. My heart is sick, mother. Come to me, mother kiss me, mother. Why does Karl not corav f And so it went on till at. last the sufferer seemed to be exhausted and in the arms of sleep. The mother then came out aud said : " Excue me, sir, my daughter is ill; very ill. The doctors have given her up. She cannot live. No, she cannot live !" And then her strong nature gave way, and she wept bitterly. 44 What is the matter f said I, when she recovered from her deep emotion. 44 Pining away, sir," she answered, 41 pining away. Four years ago her betrothed, a brave and handsome voung nun, siid to her 1 Trudehen, I am off for Anieri at There I can make a fortune, and then come hsck to marry thee Here it is misery andj mdlcss lab r.' ' Karl,' said Trud ehen, 4 better poor with thee, than rich wiihout thee. We have c ws and goats, and we can make a livmg. Why leave me and risk thy life and mine. For, truly, Karl. I love thee, and without thee I cannot live.' But the youn man was stubborn, sir, as most of our young mountaineers are ; he laughed, and said within four years he would be back and marry her. The four years are up this very day. For a month she has been fading and f iding away. A slow fever seems to undermine her. and only one thought keeps her alive 4 Karl is coming ! He said four years! Karl is coming!'" 44 And it is to day just four years since he left?'' 1 asked, touched by the mother's woe. " Just four years," said she. "The first year we received letters. Then he said l.e was going on a great venture, and we might not hear from him for some time Nor did we. No tiding9 from him since our last letter." And the poor widow broke out in tear. But a deep groan from the inner chamber roused her at, onee ; she went in, and I heard the girl saying : "Mother, mother Karl is coming, coming. Er kommt .' er kommt?" While the mother was soothing her suffering daughter I heard far away, as it seemed to me, a sound like the tinkling of a cow-bell. But it increased in strength, and going to the door I listened attentively, and sure enough it. WHS a church bell. The mothd'a familiar c ir had caught the sound, and rushing q the door she listened awhile. "No alarm! no tire!" said she. "What can it be? It is the church bell of Wctterbrunner." 44 How far from here?" 1 asked. 44 Two miles," she answered ; "but it takes long to get there through the windings of the mountain passes." The bell still continued ringing, and through the open door the sound reached the ear of the sufferer. " Hear ! Hear !" she cried, 14 the bell rings! Er kommt ! tr kommt!" The mother and myself were standing in the door listening to h" sound, and, as it were, lost in our own thoughts. What, were hers I do not know. Tears streamed down her furrowed cheeks, and at last she said, with the acouut of deepest grief ' lieber Herr Gott erbarme dich unser." ('O Lord God have mercy on us.") But all at onee we heard voices singing, shouting, huzzaing; then again, as the road went behind some mountain, thse

grew faint, and nothing was heard but the distant ringing of the Wctterbrunner belL " Hurrah !" it sounded suddenly, where th road came direct upon the ehalet. " Hurrah for Karl. Long live Karl! Long live Tru;lchen !" I looked at ihe mother j she staggered. I uight her in my arms, but recovering immediately the brave woman said : "Karl, sir; Karl is coming !" and she went to the bed-chamber. She knelt down before the couch whereon lay her daughter, seemingly asleep, her eyes closed, her hands clasp ed over her breast. She knelt down and wept. I stood in anxious expectation. The voices became louder and louder. I could boar the tramping of horses and footsteps 9 ooa I saw a mass of men approaching the gate. Stopping, they gave a hearty "Hurrah for Karl! Hurrah for Trud chen !" I sw a young man shaking hands, with words of thanks to all, then lifting the gate latch and hastily walking up to 'lie door. He saw me, greeted politely, went into the house, and eaid with a voice thick wit h emotion : " Mother ! mother !" The mother stood in the door, put her finger on her lips, opened her arms, and what an embrace ! What a long, long embrace ! That bronzed face of the young Switzer quivered, tears rolled down; and the mother! shall I ever forget the expression of thankful hope and grateful love ! " Trudchcn ?" asked Karl, at last. 44 All yours, my Karl, my boy ; all yours, but ill and weak. Look in." Thus saying she led him to the bedchamber, where Trudchcn lay seemingly asleep. Karl trembled all over with emotion. He apnroachei, knelt down, tk one of the clasped hands, kissed it, then rose and softly left the room. Though not a physician, I knew enough to see that there was a case which, unless handled with care, might turn into death, or worse even lunacy. " Be careful," said I. N Do not try to awaken your daughter. Watch her. She may sleep on the whole night. Sray with her. When she wakes to consciousness be guarded. Violent emotion might kill her." The mother thanked me. 1 weut out to t he gate, and told the assembled friends the state of affairs. I begged them to leave quietly, and to send up the physician from Wetterbrunner. In the meantime Karl told his story. It was that of many o'hers. After a year of toil in the new world, he heard ot the California gold mines, made up his mind, w nt to work bravelv, kept sober and steady, made what in Berne Oberland might be cal'ed a "good pile," and hastened to return so as to keep his word with his betrothed. On his arrival at Wetterbrunner he generously treated his numerous friends, who, in their enthusiasm, began to ring the church bell, and accompanied him to his future home. It was deep in the night when the physician came an elderly man, not only the physician of the villagers, but their friend and real benefactor. He knew of Trudchen's faithful love and enduring expectation. During the third vear of Karl's ab sencc she began to be quiet and thoughtful ; then languid and listless ; then there wouM be now and then a rosy tint on her cheeks once so full, hut now wan ; then, when she gave the doctor her little hand, he felt it feverish, and looked serious. 44 Mother,"' he said to old Magdalen, " mother, be very careful. No night air, no dreaming to the stars, no listening to the far-off breeze when it rushes to the big pine forest Take her out, mother; visit neighbor Wortheim, your kinsman ; go anywhere, mother, and give her ( hange. 1'erhaps she may fall in with s line of our sturdy mountaineer, who may replace what seems to be lost." And the mother did as she was told, but Trudchen remained thoughtful and listless, and at last se jmed unable to help her dear old mother in the household duties. Thus the old doctor knew his patient. He approached the couch carefully, looked awhile on the beautiful sleeper, took tenderly her hand, and felt the pulse. 44 No puWe," said he. 44 No puis-," repeated he after a long pause. "What is this? It seems I hear her breathing," said he, leaning over her. " Yes, I hear it distinctly, but slow ; very slow. What is this? and no pulse?" 44 Karl," he said to the auxious lover, " be careful not to be near her, should she awake. Very weak, very weak. I should say ou the brink of eternal sleep. If she awakes from this, be not there. Break it s ftly to her. Her life hangs on a thread as line as spider ever wove. Good mother of God, be merciful, be mcr eiful !" The good doctor was a pious Catholic, and kept up wdh BUM and confession at least, as well as with the current literature of the healing art. 44 The mother or God," said Karl, with a deep emphasis, which struck me, listening with anxious svmpathy, "the mother of God, Herr Doctor, can avail us noth ing. She is, or was, a creature like you and I ; but her Eternal Son, yes, He can heal now as he He did when on earth. Mav he have mercy!" The doctor looked pu.r.led ; feeling once more the pulse, he said, afur a while : 44 No pulse, no pulse. Karl make a vow, make a vow ; perhaps there will be mercy from the mother, or else from the Son." And the pious, good old doctor erossed himself while Bayiug this. 44 My vow is made long sine ;," said Karl, with the same emphatic tone ; 41 long befon I came. I shall add uothing to it ; but keep it I shall," add id he, the tears breaking forth; 4' yea, I shall keep it, whatever may happen." And then there was a long pauce. At length said Karl, 44 He knows best." I am sure the doctor felt curious about the vow. So did I. Rut we both kept silence, and watched that long night with intense anxiety. At length the morning came. The breathing h.d hOOOSM slower and slower. The hands were clammy ld, the feet were cold, and toward noon the doctor said : "God's wid be done! Trudchen is in Paradise. For surely, such as she deserve no other place." It came not unexpectedly. It was fore seen. The mother's eye had watched so iong that she was prepared for the bitter loss. Yet bitter, very bitter, was the cup to drink for mother's love Very bitter for him whoe soul seemed absorbed in the contemplation of what remained of her whom he I vel fogg, so well ; for whom he had toiled and suffered, and whom to make happy was the life of his soul. Long tliey gazed upon the lovely being, lovely in her sleep, a sweet smile resting on her stdl rosy lips an image of ralm repose, of blisslul expectation. At length the matron was the first to rally from the

stupor wherein they both seemed to have fallen. " Karl," said she, " thou earnest in time. She went loving thee. She is happy, Karl," she said, putting her arm with motherly tenderness around his neck; M thou couldst not have made her happier. Let us ask God to give us strength to bear this stroke," and then bursting out in tears, she knelt beide the couch. The young man knelt, the doctor knelt, I myself knelt down. Soft and steady rose the voice of the matron. What simplicity of language ! What real coming to God ! What subdued praying for strength ! What tender remembrance of Trudchen's love and du tiful piety. And when she ceased the young man in deep guttcral tones, said, " Thou knowest, Lord, what I vowed. Happy she is, for with Thee she is ; 1 thank Thee ; even so, for it was Thy will. I shall do it, Lord, I shall do it." After a while the neighbors came, add ing their mite of consolation ; and then

they busied themselves with the last affectionate care to be bestowed upon the re mains of one whom all seemed to love 1 remained yet a few hours, and in the afternoon took my leave of the sorrowing mother and the mourning betrothed. I cast one more glance upon the beautiful form which had contained the spirit of 1 rudchen, and mounting my horse, waved a last aalen to my newlv-madc friends. Three years had elapsed, and to re cruit from severe duties, I was again on the road up the Rhine to Basle ; thence to Berne. My trusty horse, the very same I had before, trotted nimbly over the steep and rocky pathway that led to the home of ray friends of Wetterbrunner. Xo, I had not forgotten them. Often I had thought of them tnought of the brave matron, of the sturdy Karl, of the angel form laid out for the silent grave. And when in sight of the snow-capped mountains, 1 could not help hastening toward 'he spot where I had left so much sorrow, aud so much true, simple-hearted truet in Ood. It was noon when I i cached the little village, a true specimen of ancient Swiss neatness and thrifty industry. I alighted at the only inn, but, which bore the impressive sign of Tell's Hoff. The Hostler who took charge of my horse seemed preoccupied. It was a week day, yet he had evidently his Sunday suit. He was polite as ever, ami said while I got off : "Ach der Herr kommt zum feste f" (" Ah, my Lord comes to the festival !") A little astonished, I asked : What 44 festival ?" 44 Ach jt " said he in a hurry, 44 you are a stranger? 1 forgot ;" and off he went. I entered the large apartment which served as a common reception-room, in America called a 41 bar-room," but there very different. Clean and well ventilated, the smooth floor sli htly sanded, the windows adorned with pretty flower-pots, here and there a picture of Tell's memorable performance, the central part occupied by the stately ha iv tcirth, serving wine and beer to the neat and rather pretty-looking waiting girls, as the guests called for them ; two or three yoüng men, neatly dressed in their Oberland c tstume, carrying oft" the plates and glasses, now and then sweeping a corner clean ; men and women, in festival dress, seated here and there at small oaken-wood tables; children running to and fro, and playing hide-and-seek; outside a crowd of young men and women sitting at small tables, and pouring now and then a glass of foaming beer : such were the principal features which struck me on entering. It was evidently a gala-day, a fest tag, as they call it. " What Saint's day is this V" I asked of a young damsel who smilingly tripped up to me. with the usual question : " Mit was kan er l'h dienen f 44 No Saint's day," said she, laughing ; 44 but. a great day, I assure you, sir stranger." 44 What then?" said L 44 You must have come from far not to know," answered she; 44 from where?" 44 From Interlachen," said I. "Ah, that is far indeed Well, this is the Orphans' festival; Ath, Oott ! you come just in time ! And did not know it?" 44 No," said L " Tell me what is the Orphans festival ?" 44 Ach der fremder " she cried, with amazement. 44 Knowest nothing of it? Well ! since a month we spoke Of not hing else. The Herr Lemd Amman has built a large and beautiful house, where all the 0 pbans are received who can be found in the Oberland. A beautiful house it is! And what a crowd of boys and girls, neatly dressed, and fed, and taught by Ifarrer Linden ! And to-day there is a uTtat feast ; it is the birth day of the Amman' wife. A dear lady she is ! And all and every one is invited ! Only think ! By three o'clock we shut up house and hoff and go all there. Not a soul will be here, Herr strauger. So thou must go with us." I said I would, and soon perceived, all around me, that the topic of conversation was the festival, the beautiful house, the generous, liberal Amman, who became so rich in foreign lands, and was not proud, but just as kind and friendly as before. When the appointed time approached 1 looked around for a conveyance; for my hard-ridden horse I would not uso, as the following day I had a long journey before me. But not an animal could be had ; all were engaged. 44 Welcome to a scat in my wagon, stranger," said an elderly man who perceived my need." 44 Welcome, and honor to me." With these words he reached me his broad and callous hand, smiling with the pleasure it afforded him to take a stranger up to the festival. I . uraped into the proffered seat, and soon we were winding our way through the passes and glens of this magnificent wilderness. Visitors before us, visitors behind, we formed a long file, and a joyful party we were. Now and then a song would be started in one conveyance, and the chorus taken up by the whole line. Then there was a distant conversation, such as only mountaineers can hold, accustomed to hail one another a mile's distance, from mountain side to mountain tide. And the subject ot the conversation ? The Herr Land Amnvin ; his riches; his ki)ulues ; his Tiudchen how sweet, how careful of the aged and poor Trudelten ! I heard the name but once. For ad the while it was the Frau Land Am viannin. But one said : 4 Oh, how he loves Trudchen I how he would do anything for her P I oaancl expreM the feeling which tin gbd thn.ugh my whole being, when I heard that name ' Trudchen, the sweet, pttiort sufferer, whom I had seen stretched out on he - la-t couch an image; of sweet reposing love, sleeping in the arms of ten rest ! "Irudcten F" I was going to ask my

kind conductor ; but an exe'amation of genera', joyful surprise witheld me. "Ach wie hon " ("Ah, how beauti ful !") And beautiful it was! The narrow mountain pass opened at once upon a soft sloping plain, covered with sweet smelling turf, through which nicely graveled pathways curved in all directions, enclosing the most lovely groups of evergreens, roses, lilies, anemones and an endless variety of blooming flowers. Far in the distance, slighly elevated, there came in view a large and spacious d welling it might be called a villa. Its light colored walls were adorned with climbing plants ; its windows with tasteful balconies, surrounded with flowers ; while behind the villa loomed a high mountain peak, sheltering it from the northern winds. In front of the dwelling, on a large, neatly-trimmed grass plot, some fifty little boys and girls were playing, shout in:y laugning, running, jumping, and evidently in highest glee. The view was so really magnificent, so sudden, so like fairyland, that I could not help gazing around ; and before I knew it

the wagon stopped, my conductor alighted, offered me his strong hand to get out, and having performed the same service to those who were with us, drove off; leaving me surrounded by people coming and c iming, talking, admiring, exclaiming, and evidently too much engaged with things around them to allow me to ask them any questions concerning that which had preoccun'ed me since I heard the name of Trudchen. I followed the stream of guests which soon arrived at the villa for such" it seemed and dispersed in its spacious halls and rooms, with that freedom and gayety, that decorum and respect of persons and things, which characterize the people. In the corner of the large hall, which we would call the reception room, I saw a comfortable seat, inviting enough for one who felt physically and morally fatigued to rest awhile. I did so, and was looking around upon the increasing crowd of joyful Switzers, when a gentleman came to me, whom I soon recognized as the good old doctor, whose acquaintance I made under sorrowful circumstances. Ach. sind sie da " he cried, with hearty joy "Sind sie irurkiich dt f (Arc you trulv here?) Is it possible! That is herrlich .' herrlich " And he pressed me, Switzer fashion, in his arms. When I recovered from the confusion which these hearty and impetuous demonstrations always occasion, to me at least, I said : 44 And Karl how is he ?" " Karl ?" said he, 44 Karl ?" and as if his memorv had received a sudden jerk 44 Ah, the Herr Land -Amman, you mean ! Ah, he is very well ; very well, indeed ! Soon be here." 44 Tell me," said I, with an emotion which I tried in vain to conceal, 44 who is his wife f "His wife? Well, friend, thou ought to know, to be sure; well Trudchen, sweet Trudchen." " Trudchen P I exclaimed ; 44 what Trudchen ?" " Well, friend, thou art beside thyself ! Thou knowest Trudchen, I think ! But, upon ray word, perhaps thou knowest nothing of all that happened ! True enough thou art a stranger, though thou speakest our mountain talk almost as well as one born here, Thou must live far awav not to have heard of it P " My good friend," said I, with a slight tone of impatience, "I know nothing; I live hundreds of miles from here. Tell me, tell me." " And so I shall," said the doctor, pressing my hand and drawing a chair near mine. 44 You left us when Trudchen was dead, and laid out to be buried is it not so? Well, we loved her so much; we went so often to take a look at her I came the day before the one appointed for her funeral, to sec her once more. I sat down beside her. I felt her hands ; her cheeks, which had yet a blush on them ; it was all cold but not so cold, it seemed to me, as corpses generally are. I put my hand under her back ; It was warm ! I called Magdalen ; I felt bewildered. I said : 4 Magdalen, postpone the funeral, if it is but one day.' " 4 Herr doctor,' said she, ' that cannot be ; all the people are invited, and come from afar.' " 4 She must not be buried to-morrow,' said I: 'decidedly not. Postpone the funeral for two, for three days.' Magdalen looked at me with amazement. But, as I spoke with great determination, shesent at. once a messenger to give due warn ing of the delay of two days. I rode way, ha -me many visits to make butretarned that night, and resumed my investigations. There was no change. I slept that night at Magdalen's. In the morning, no change. 1 went out, and re turned at evening. No change. Only the hands seemed to me less cold. I watched anxiously. I felt the heart, the pulse. I thought t perceived a very slight motion ! I called Migdalen ; I called Karl. Both came looking at me with a sort of bewilderment. So help me God f sai 1 I, in a whisper, as if she might hear me, 'there is life, life; I tell you, lite ! " That whole night I watched her. The pulsations, though very slow, seemed to increase in strength ; and toward morning, just when the sun began to rise above the Alps, I thought I could perceive a twitching motion repeated at intervals. " Magdalen,' said I, ' stay thou here ; Karl, go thou in the next room. When I say, peak f say in thy natural voice at the open door : " h Trudchen uxü .'" and repeat it slowly.' "When the sunbeams began to dart through the cottage window, the twitching increased, the pulsations increased, the warmth increased. At my warning, Karl said in his deep guttural voice: 44 F Irudchen weU P repeating it at intervals some three or four times. There was a sort of a convulsive effort visible in the whole frame, the lips trembled, the hands opened and closed ; then a minute of perfect stillnes ; then I heard, like a faint whisper : 4 Karl ist kommen. Karl int kommen,' and the whisper di d away, succeeded by stillness again. When the voice of Karl repeated : ' Is Trudchen well T the eyelids opened a little, the head began to turn in the direction of the voice, and there came a clear utterance i ' Mutter, Mutter, Karl ist kommen' "The mother, pale with anxiety, ap proached, knelt down, took her hand, kissed it, kissed her half open lips, and sobbed : 4 Trudchen ! Trudchen !' "'Mother,' she then said, slowly and scarcely audibly, ' where is Karl ? Mother I heard the bells ring 1 at.d then she iset mcd to sleep again. After a few minutes her breathing became louder, strong er ; and opening her eyes fully, she heaved a deep sigh, looked upon her mother, smiled, and aaid ! 1 Not yet to bed, mother ? It must bo late,' Then pereoiving the

sunlight, she said: 'Is it day, mother; methinks I heard the bell ring ? How is it, mother ?' "We had already removed all appearance of the last tokens of love bestowed upon her, and said she had been very ill, but was better now. And by degrees I informed her that Karl was coming ; then, t hat he had come ; then, that ne was there . and toward noon she begged so hard to see him, that I gave permission. "And now, my dear friend, you know all about Trudchen ; and if I have been long, forgive the medical man, and the old man Here he was interrupted by two strong arms which clasped him tight from be-; hind, while a well-remembered voice said, "Du lieber, Herr Doctor ; what a happy day ; what a happy day P The doctor arose at once, and grasping the speakers hand said, pointing tome: "An old friend. Herr Land Amman." Three years had made some change in Karl's appearance. Yet I recognized easly in the dignified magistrate the weatherbeaten Karl, conducted home by his numerous friends. He, too, remembered me, and &aid, with a smile of inward satisfaction : 44 Welcome, welcome, mein Herr, welcome to the happiest day of my life P "Herr Amman, said I, smiling, 44 was

there not one even happier than this ?" " That was a day of God sent bliss, my friend,'' said he, with a solemn tone ; " yes, of God-sent bliss f and he looked up with his dark hazel eyes, as if his glance went straight to God. 44 That was ein sevenstag," (" a day of blessing,") continued he M Happiness does not eome up to what I felt then, my friend. Ah, the doctor told thee f" " He did," said I ; 41 but left it to you to explain the change I see; the whole of this ; all, all my dear friend." 44 Easy enough," said he, seating himself, and holding my hand in both of his. "I went to America to make my for tune. " I know it," said L " I heard of California ; it was in 1848. I went straight to the mining region ; it was easier work then ; I accumulated in one week more gold than I had seen in my whole life. One night, half bewildered by my success, I thought of Pastor Liebing's parting words : ' Karl, ehre Gott! (honor God) ; ' and rose from my rough couch, and said : lDu lieber Oott, if Thou blesseth me with gold, and allowest me to see Trudchen alive, a tenth I shall give to build an Orphan Home for the Berner Oberland.' Month after month I worked and hoarded, and within two years I ret med to New York, thence to my home. Good friends, more knowing about business than I, had taken charge of my fortune. I came; and thou knowest what happened. And when I received Trudchen again (here his voice becams thick, and he mastered his emotion with some difficulty). I set to work, bought this land, built the house, gathered the orphans and there they are ; a small token of thakfulness to the Almighty Lord of life and death." He stopped unable to speak ; and I was myself not a little moved. After a while I said : And so you are Land-Amman" He smiled : " Money does many things, my friend. In this country, among the poor, hard-working mountaineers, 1 am rich. They always liked me, not less since I am rich and so I am Herr LandAmman. But there I see my Trudchen coming, leading the orphan girls; come, let me introduce you to her. Overland Montfdyfor May. Splitting a Knotty Stick. ( ne day there was a great thumping in my cellar, and if you had gone down there you would have seen that one of the windows had been opened, and that sticks of wood, some square, some round, some three-cornered, big and little, knotty and clear, all sawn the right length for the stove, were pouring in through that window ; and every stick as it came down seemed to say, " Stand clear, or you'll get hurt." So 1 stood clear, and let the workers have it all their own way. I suppose the one who sent it thought that splitting it would be good exercise for the minister, and he thought so too. So I went at it. But pretty soon a big stick turned up, full of hard knots on every side. I fancied that one of these knots looked like an eye, and that it kept watching me as I picked up one stick after another, and left it untouched. In fact, it almost seemed to say, " Split little sticks, if you have a mind, but I dare you to touch me." It was a great annoy a no . to see it there every day ; but the question was how to pet rid of it. It was too good to be thrown away, and it was too big to go into the stove. My only course was to try to split it. So one day when I felt strong in my bones, I laid it on the block with the eye up. Then putting all my strength into my arms, I sent my ax fair across the eye, and through it went To my surprise, the old stick split more easily than many others liefore it. And then I could not help thinking how true this is all through life. How often do men and boys fancy that some duty is very hard, and work all around it, and fear to touch it, hanging back until they can do so no longer, and then make a good effort, and find that it is real easy, and that they have had all their troublesome fears for nothing. Boys, remember that knotty stick. When you have any work to do, don't stop to think how hard it is, but take hold at once bravely ; hit it fairly in the eye, and, ten to one, you will be through before you know it. a t0 A kksipent of Odiawa, Canada, has invented an improved velocipede, which, it is claimed, far surpasses all others in speed. The gearing is so arranged that with one motion of the foot tho front wheel will make two revolutions ; another brake will throw the machinery into gear, so that the foot will move twice to one revolution of the wheel adapted for ascending hills ; a third adaptation will throw the cranks off the wheel, and Urns the velocipede will roll down the hill without the feet moving; a fourth ar ranffemont will convert the whole into an on! i nary bycicle. It is furnished with a brake to check the speed of the machine. When put to its full speed it can be driven a mile in two minutes. A subscription paper, circulated for some ehnritable purpose, was presented to a wealthy French manufacturer, who subscribed twenty francs. " Twenty francs 1" Haid the lady who presented the list to him ; " wny, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Your son has subscribed fifty irancs." 44 That is all very well," replied the manufac'urer ; "my son has a rich father, and can afford to give more than I, who Bhall not inherit anything."

FACTS A XI) FIGURES. Lamartine charged ten d liars to write his name in a set of bis woiks. The editor of the Gettysburg Sentinel has filled that position fifty-one years. There were 8JM births, 4,694 marriages and 5,760 deaths in Boston last year. Six of the eight principal colleges of Indiana admit young ladies as students. Mr Beruh has caused the arrest of a man in Yorkville for skinning a dog alive. Three co operative stores have failed in St Louis during the past eighteen months. There are about sixty five thousand students at the universities on the continent of Europe. Gov. Geary, of Pennsylvania, signed 1,596 bills during the recent session of the Legislature. There are nineteen bookstores in Constantinople, mostly kept by Germans and Frenchmen. A man has been sentenced to six months' imprisonment in England for stealing 50,000 feet of gas. The Boston TraveUr says that "A Marblehead seedsman recently paid fortysix dollars for a single potato." Two hundred and fiftv thousand pounds

of chickory have been imported into San Francisco within six months. Professor Eastman, of Poughkeepsie has expended twenty thousand dollars in trying to invent a writing machine. ViCTOl Hcoo gets $40,000 for his story, " Th'. Man who Laughs." This some mathematical chap has computed, is just $1.3d a line. A seventy five-year old goose is still living in Kent county, Maryland. 8be has raised goslings annually until within three years. An English gentleman has bought between 3.000 and 4,000 acres of land in Nelson countv, Va , on which he intends to settle 800 English families. A nttmber of Buffalo business establishments have signs in plain view : "No beggars or insurance agents arc allowed within these premises." A hundred thousand herring were recently cast ashore by the tide in Kataya Bay, Martha's Vineyard, and they were carried off and salted. In Brieg, 8ilesia, recently, a young married couple committed suicide because the doctor had decided that the young husband's leg must be amputated. The best time ever made on a velocipede was accomplished at the Cleveland rink a few davs ago, Mr. Fred Hawlev, of Rochester, N. Y., making fifty miles in three hours, fourteen minutes and thirtynine seconds, actual running time. An echo in Woodstock park, Oxford shire, England, repeats seventeen sylla bles by day, and twenty by night ; but the most remaraable echo known is one on the north side of Shipley Church, in Sussex, which distinctly repeats twenty -one syllables. Last winter, Boston was visited by thirty-two snow storms, and the aggregate depth of the fall of snow was 6 feet 11inches. In the past twenty-six years, tne only winters during which the total fall of snow was greater were those of IS IS -4 and 1853-4. Not long ago, in tearing down an old English house, the workmen came across a secret cupboard, in which were found a quantity of diamonds and jewelry to the value of several hundred pounds. It is believed that the articles had not before seen light for centuries. Oliver Dalrymple, of Minnesota, is said to be the largest wheat grower in the United States. In addition to his other crops, he has sown 2,000 acres of wheat this season. Last season Mr. Dalrymple employed 100 men and 100 horses in harvesting and threshing his crop. A young lady of J efferson, ) , mistook a bottle of violet ink for perfumery, in the darkness the other evening, and put some upon her handkerchief, which she used to wipe her face, and, hastening to church immediately after, she created an immense sensation. The Chronicle states that it is a very low estimate to calculate that the people of San Francisco ppent 200.0H) in celebrating May-day. Upwards of 25,000 persons went into the country, while the Cliff Houss, the sea beach and the countty around the city were thronged. The famous maelstrom, on the coast of Norway is so little feared that the fishermen pass and repass it in their sail vessels at all states of the tide, except at certain times in the winter when the greatest rate of the tide does not exceed six miles an hour. The Yale University crew average in weight 172 pounds each, the only one heavier than that being the stroke, George W. Drew, of New Haven, a native of Maine, who weighs 180. Their boat is of Spanish cedar. .R.i feet long, 20 inches wide, and weighs 170 pounds. They row 42 strokes to the minute. To ascend a staircase eighteen feet high requires thirty-six times the force that is required to walk eighteen feet on level ground ; and would, theref Te, be equal to a level walk of three hundred and twentyfour feet. So then, a person shut up in the house and in need of exercise, can walk his mile b going up these stairs say sixteen timea The following is an exact copy of a promiwory note dated at Concord, Nov. 20, 1793 : " For an old horse which I have bought of Mr. Isaac Dow, I promise to pay him three dollars in wheat or flour at cash price ; but if the horse does not live to get to Lebanon, and three days after he gets there, I am to give but two dollars for the horse. Witness my hand." At orpino to Chinese writers, the great bell of Canton was cast five centuries ago. At first no person was bold enough to strike it. Afterward, however, one of the officials ordered it to be struck, where upon upward of one thousand infants, male and female, died throughout the city. On this account young children, both boys and girls, were made to wear clothing with fringes, to which small ilvrr bells were attached, as a charm to ward off the evil influence. A man in San Joaquin, Cai , has in bis possessi n a surveyor s instrument, on the front lens of which there is plainly neen a beautiful landscape, with all the varied hues of nature. Some fifteen years ago, according to the owner's account, the in slrument had been in use, and was left standing for a time, on the plain, in a scorching mid-day's sun, fronting a woodland. Wher again brought into use, a correct picSare of the fronting woodland, with all th'. various colors of the landscape, was photographed on t he lens, and has remained unchangeable to the present time.

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