LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1367, 3 July 1878, Page 3

LITERATURE.

THE COMET. t*‘ Argossy.”] ( Continued .) Old Blasl had not always been the hard, inflexible miser he was now. He used in his younger years t-> be of a jolly, easy disposition, and rather extravagant habits. When quite unexpectedly inheriting a considerable sum of money, he was suddenly seized with love for those shining, sparkling coins—the passionate, jealous love of a miser He loved the coins for themselves, not for the comfort they might have brought into his house; therefore he would not put put them out to interest. lie could not make up his mind to loose his grasp upon them for one minute ; would not trust anyone w>th the sight of them. He dug a deep hole under the boards upon which his bed rested, and therein he hid his treasure, and there from henceforward lay his heart, buried with it He saved and stinted and scraped together in order to hoard up one piece of gold or silver after another with the rest. But his life was a troubled one, and grew more and more so as hia treasure increased. Night and day he could not rest from anxiety lest anyone should discover its hiding place, or lest any kind of danger should befall his cottage, which enclosed the cherished idol. Besides his money, Blasl cherised a daughter, the last remairing one of a numerous family He loved her in hia way ; as the future possessor of his wealth; who would, in her turn —so he hoped—worship it with her who e heart. Ho held her in high respect, but not without keen pangs of jealousy, raised by the thought that he must some day, whether he liked it or not, leave everything to her. These fits of jealousy grew more frequent as' he advanced in age, and poor Maria felt surprised and shocked at the didike to her he evinced at moments without any visible cause. She never guessed the truth ; she did not know the secret of her father’s room. He had not been a hard father to her—far from it, for he had not been a father at all; he never noticed her or cared for her, neither missed her when she was away, nor seemed glad to see her return to him. Still, in spite of all that, in spite of the utter want of parental affection—poor Maria had lost her mother when she was an infant — she had pot been an unhappy child. She had grown up amongst her k ind neighbours. They loved the lonely little girl, who would come to them in search of all the comforts and joys she mitsed at home. A lovely, bright-eyed child was Maria, with an active, helpful spirit; had learnt, either in her own home or for others. She was sure to be on the spot wherever there was anything going on ; and helping her neighbours about the house and garden, in the fields and woods, she learnt to understend all kinds of work. At fifteen, when old servant of the house —a stern, taciturn, uncongenial woman—died, she was able and willing to turn to, and managed to keep her father’s house in the accustomed order, so that the old man scarcely notioed any change. Amongst all those who loved Maria, she had two particular friends. Of one we will speak later; the other was Herr Schmitt, the schoolmaster, who certainly was her very best friend, because the most disinterested. The child’s brightness, her eagerness to learn, soon struck her master; he found in this little girl a mind far superior to that of the usual run of children. He gave her private lessons, walked with her about the woods and fields, and in talking to her found ways and means to impart a great deal of knowledge no one else in the village aspired to. Ho seldom failed to bring her something to read when coming from town, and every Christmas Eve there was sure to be a story book for Maria under the Christmas tree at the schoolmaster’s. Thus the very loneliness of her life was brightened by joys that few other children knew, and which helped her to bear the dulness of her father’s house. A few weeks before our story begins we might have beheld Maria grown up into a handsome blue-eyed lass of eighteen, with a wealth of golden hair, a bright smile, and a merry song on her lips, gladdening one’s sight vyith her appearance of youthful grace, strength, health, and freshness. But now smile and song have died away, and sighs and tears have taken their place. Blasl, Blasl! how could you have the heart ? —oh! but his heart lies m an old iron pot many feet under the ground. When Maria was fire years old she and a neighbour’s son, a few years older than herself, pledged their troth to each other —just as children will do. But in this case the attachment, instead of being lessened or forgotten in the course of years, grew with them, and every year added to its strength. This contributed greatly to Maria’s happiness, and accounts for the brightness of her disposition. Lorenz was a boy of high and buoyant spirits, and the course of their true love seemed to run quite smoothly; for when ho talked to Maria’s father, the latter found no objection to the match, and the [two were solemnly betrothed. They were both rather young to bo married at once, and Blasl had » reason of his own for putting carriage off. He was loth to give to his daughaer her portion, the two thousand florins she had from her —which naturally had remained in his keeping—-not to speak of any dowry on his part, which he never dreamt of being asked for in his lifetime. So fa l " fill went well. But Blasl had given his consent on the ground of an inheritance Lenz expected from his great-uncle, who had promised to make him hie heir. When the latter died, however, no will could bo found. People said it had boon done away with, which was very likely. So the money was

divided between a number of relations, and Lenz’s share became a small one. Bias! brok off the engagement at once ; no tears, no supplications could prevail against his decision. Nay, not satisfied with this, he wanted to force another husband on his daughter, which to the dismay of the whole village, was no other than Steffi -the very last, man people would have thought he would fix upon. It was shocking! They talked of witchcraft, and were not far from the point. Stcfll had bewitched the old man bv a magic power old Blasl could not withstand. Stefan had been a soldier, and bad only returned to the village about a year ago. He was soon considered the plague of the neighbourhood—ruining the boys by inducing them to spend their nights in public-houses, run - ning after every girl, working when he pleased, and scattering his small earnings— Stefil was a regular rake, there was no mistake about it. Amongst the girls he made lore to there was one, a quite, rather weak-minded lassie, who lived with an old aunt of hers in a little hut in the woods. Consequently she did not hear much of the talk in the village. And even if she had heard about Steffi’s loose life, would she have believed it P No, for love is equally deaf and blind, and Lisbeth loved the handsome, dashing visititor who condescended to seek her in her poor home. 1 * Poor Lisbeth! she believed every word Stefan said, and thought herself solemnly engaged to him for life. It pleased Stefan to go on as if he intended to marry her in a very short time, and make her the mistress of the splendid house and all the riches he possessed in some very far-off country. Now, when Steffi heard of Lenz’s changed circumstances, he thought the moment had come to win rich Blasl’s fair daughter for himself. It is not astonishing that he should hare tried for such a prize, bnt that he should have succeeded was most extraordinary. The poorest man in the neighbourhood would have refused his child to a man like Steffi. However, he did succeeed—at least with the father ; he had chosen a sure way to lead him straight to his aim. After having for some time given the old man hints that he was keeping a secret from the villagers, he one day made him a startling confidence. He was concealing a treasure ; yes, a sackful of gold. Neither more nor less than twenty thousand florins, all in gold ! and he behaved like a beggar before the village from fear of being robbed. But how did he get possession of ao much gold f Ah !ho had been a soldier. Everybody knows what i strange fortunes may befall a man in times of war. When bis eight years of service were over he left his regiment instead of taking a re-engagement, as ho had always intended to do, and straightway travelled home with his treasure. Old Blasius listened with every fibre of his gold-thirsty heart. His soul was so full of Steffi’s strange luck that there was no room left for doubt. His consideration for Steffi was great from this moment. The two grew fast friends, to the wonder of the whole village and of poor Maria. They were constantly seen walking together, and Steffi sat for hours and hours, at Blasl's, worrying Maria with his most unwelcome courtship. Blasl, who had never treated his daughter harshly, now behaved with cruelty towards her : he forgot himself so far at times as to strike her, using every means to force Steffi upon her notice. Oh, the miserable life poor Maria now led ! Her father had threatened to kill her if she attempted to see Leuz, who was at present working at some distant farm, and could only come to A on Sundays. Moreover, he locked her np in the house, and he and Steffi kept watch over her always on that day, so that she could not even go to church. And poor Lisbeth, when she found herself forsaken for rich Blast's daughter ? In her despair she ran away, and was seen no more. Her aunt came down to the village to look for her in every house, to ask everybody after her : no one had seen her. One day a little boy, who was crab fishing on the shallow border of the river, found a silk kerchief entangled in the reeds; and people by this knew poor Lisbeth’e fate. They openly reproached Steffi with her death ; but he did not care wbat tKay said, and inwardly reioiced that his good luck had removed the only stone iu his way. ‘ It was very wise of her,’ thus his thoughts ran, ‘ to do herself what I should have boon obliged to do for her, had she meant to come forward and stand in my way.’ {To be continned.)