LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1891, 16 March 1880, Page 3

LITERATURE.

ABOUT A PLUCKY GIRL. [From "Truth.", ' So you won't go to .chnrch this evening, Malchen ?' said Otto von Polheim to hia eldest daughter one Sunday in December, aa he and the rest of his family vere setting out for the market town to hear Pastor Knopps preaoh an Advent sermon. 1 No, father, Dorothea can go in my stead, and I will keep the house.' ' Keep the house alone ? No, I will leave Hans to protect thee and the manse too.' * I would rather not have Hans,' said Malchen, with a little pout, aa she glanced at an ugly gawk who was her father's head servant.

' Then thou shalt not have Karl,'grumbled old Polheim, speaking rather to himself than to the girl, and wrapping his ancient blue cloak tightly round him, he struck his iron tipped staff two or three times on the flags of the hall to intimate to the members of his household that it was time to be off.

They came clattering down stairs and trudging out of different doors—a large and rather noisy troop. Otto von Polheim was a landowner on a small scale—what would be called in England a gentleman farmer—and he had -a family of ten sons and daughters, without counting two servant wenches and a couple of labourers whom he treated as children.

The eldest of these two labourers, a tall, rosy-cheeked, fair-haired, blue-eyed fellow named Karl, had shown signs of late of being "a bit Eoft" about Fraulein Malchen, and this displeased her f-.ther, for thongh he was a kind master he had a squire's pride, and would have kicked Karl straightway out of his houso if he had suspected Malchen of cherishing any regard for him. At least this is what he had once said to Karl with more bluntnesa than prudence, for worldly wisdom would, perhaps, have suggested that he should begin by turning off Karl before Malchen's setiments ,towards him had ripened into affection. •Now, come, come, let's be off,' repeated old Polheim, impatiently. 'Come, wife,and you, Bertha, Frida, and Gretchen ; you, Hans, take one of the lanterns, and you, Karl, lead the way with the other.' Karl slunk out looking rather sheepish, but scarcely had he got into the opon air than the candle in hia lantern was blown out, and he ran back to get another. Malchen was standing in the hall, and struck a match for him. She strnck a Eecond and a third, for somehow the phosphroas would not act, and the operation of lighting was delayed a little. When Karl took the lantern his hand touched Malchen's, and the girl blushed, 'lt's a cruelly cold night to go out in,' faltered she.

' And I don't like leaving yon alone,' whispered Karl. ' I think I shall steal out of church and come back to see if yon are safe.'

'Oh, no, the door will be barred,' exclaimed Malchen in a flutter.

' Then I'll climb over the orchard wall,' answered Karl, nothing daunted, and he executed a wink as he went forth into the cold.

' How very audacious he is becoming,' muttered Malchen to herself, but she apparently thought that it was of no nse to bar the door if Karl meant to get over the garden wall, so she simply shut it, and turned back to spend her evening in the kitchen.

Herr von Polhelm's farm stood in a lonely part of the country, about two miles from R , in Bavaria. The kitchen, which served as the ordinary sitting-room to the family of an evening, was made comfortable by some screens, which shut ont the draughts, and by the large fires which roared in the immense chimney all day long. There were two arm chairs nnder the bulging mantel of this chimney on either side of the andirons, and in one of these Malchen took her seat. She began to kn't; but soon her work subsided into her lap, and she began to stare at the fire in a soft reverie. There were faces, of coarse, in the red embers of the crumbling pine-legs, and Karl's was chief among them. Malchen, who was a pretty, sentimental young lady of eighteen, but somewhat cautious, as beseems the daughter of a gentleman who can prefix a Von to bis name, asked herself if she liked Karl? After fencing a little with her conscience, the damsel decided that she did not quite know what she ought to thick about him ; but that he was a very bold and not-to-be-easily-put-down young man she admitted to herself frankly enough in her quaint German phraseology. Malchen, from being romantic, was a bold girl, snd felt no fear at being alone in the big house on a winter's evening. The soughing of the wind through the bare trees outside; thenaiseof draughts shaking doors that wers loose on their hinges; the monotonous tick-tack of the kitchen clock, did not disturb her composure. She sat listening for footsteps, and conned over in her mind what sharp thing she should say to dismiss Karl if he had the impertinence to present herself before her. The worst of it was that Karl was just suoh a young man as might be indifferent to sharp things. His boldness really exceeded belief. Why, that very evening in touching her fingers he had actually squeezed . But here Malchen gave a slight start, for she heard footsteps, aad fancied that it was the never-to-be-suflHciently-blamed Karl, who had played truant from church, faithful to his impudent promise. She rose and stood coyly in the middle of th» kitchen, her cheeks pink and her bosom heaving; she thought she would take to flight as soon as Karl's heavy tread should resound in the passage ; bnt she waited two or three minutes without hearing the door open, yet there were steps outside, and. mow that her ears were strained, she heard voices; her relatives had n>t been gone an hour, so it was not likely they could have returned so soon ; whose, then, could these steps and voices be ? The kitchen had a high window seven feet above the floor, and it was closed with shutters; but in the shutters lozenge apertures were cut; Malchen climbed on to the dresser under the window and looked out; what she saw would have made most timid girls jump down squealing and run away half dead with terror; nine men — not one less—with black masks on their facea and housebreaking implements in hand, had entered the farmyard, and were evidently holding a council as to how they should commence their attack on the house; they stood in a group, and some of them painted to the apertures in the kitchen shutters, where light was visible, as if they were taking note of the fa-t that the farm was not quite abandoned. Malchen remembered having heard that brigands hnd baen infestiDg some of the districti in an adjoining province, and she saw that if she hesitated to act she would be lost. There hung over the mantelshelf two double-b'rrel'ed fowling-pieces and a horsepistol, which were always kept loaded for the protection of the farm against wolves in winter, and for the intimidation of poachers and tramps at other seasons of the year. Malchen had the same horror of firearms as most other girls ; bnt at this moment her Wood revolted at the idea of leaving the farm to bs plundered without striking a blow for it. Her von Polheim owned a good deal of silver plate, and was accustomed to keep pretty large sums of money within the oaken chest in his bedroom. .Amongst other reflections which rushed through Malc'ien's mind was this, that if her father were robbed of all his cash he would get into a vile humour, which would make its effects felt at the farm for weeks, and render the plaoe uninhabitable. Now Malchen stood in great terror of her father when he was angry. She ran to the chimney and unhooked the arms, then swiftly climled on to the table The little lattices outBide the apertures in the shutters were open, si Malchen cou'd throat out the barrels of her weapons and fire at the malefactors.

Before doing so, however, she pat a coin into her mouth to alter the ring of her voice, and making a horn of both hands, shouted in a tone which sounded like a man's—'"Who goes there V No answer.

The burglars stared at one another in astonishment, and were fairly dismayed when they heard the next exclamation, which conveyed the ide» that the person who had first spoken was not alone, but had several men under his orders.

1 Now then, my men; when I give the word, fire sharp and aim straight. Fire !' Two reports instantly followed this command ; and then came two others. When the smote had cleared away, Malchen, who looked out with haggard eyes, her heart thumping awfully the while, saw four men stretched on the *now, and nothing else. The other five members of the band had taken to flight. 'The gnns were loaded with slugs ; perhaps I have killed them ail,' ejaculated Malchen in terror ; for her combative ardour abated of a sudden now that so easy a victory had been won. 'Oh, dear, what shall I do?' She had taken up the horse pistol, and glanced out to see if there was another shot to be fired. There waß a choking sensation at her throat, and she began to whimper. It was all too dreadfnl; she could njt bear the eight of those dead men, all killed by her hand. But one of them suddenly moved and tried to rise to his knees Immediately the sentimental Malchen aimed her pistol to give him his quietus; but, luckily for himself the man rosred ont—' Oh, Malchen, Malchen I help ! 'Tis I—Karl.'

'Karl!' exclaimed the girl, as her voice seemed to expire in her throat, whilst her heart turned to ioe ; ' Karl, is it thou V ' Yes, and I am wounded; lam dying,' sobbed the luckless fellow ; * and it's all for thee.'

Malchen tattered, and might have fallen off the table had there been anyone present to catch her in his arms. As it was she scrambled down somehow, and made for the door, still holding her pistol. One moment's hesitation as she touched the door handle ; but she surmounted it and went out. In another moment she could judge with her own eyes of the murderous effects of her volley. Three men lay on the snow stone dead ; as for Karl, a slug had clean sliced off a part of his right ear and cheek, so that he bled .like a pig, but he was otherwise unhurt.

' Oh, Karl, Kail, how earnest thou hither in such company ?' exclaimed Malchen, as •he tore off her apron to staunch hia wound. • 'Mein Gott, it wa3 for thee,' snivelled the unhappy Karl ; ' these men are my friends. We had all come for a lark, and. meant to carry thee off, for I hoped thy too obstinate father would consent of necessity to onr marriage. Oh, oh, my ear !' _ ' Peace, Karl; but oh, how foolish of thee,' sighed Malchen. ' How couldest thou think that nine men were required to carry me off?'

_ * Mein Gott, I thought thon wast romantic,' was all that Karl could say between two squeaks caused by the anguish in his ear. » * » * *

One is sorry to say that the tribunals of Bavaria took a one-eyed view of the affair, and wanted to sentence Karl for burglary, but the attitude of poor Malchen had been so heroioal that King Louis II sent for her to Munich, and having decorated her with the Cross of Civil Merit, asked ner what he could do to please her. ' Pardon my Karl, and give him a dower to marry me,' prayed the faithful maiden, Bobbing. His majesty pulled a slightly wry face at the mention of dower, but courtiers were present, so he gave his royal promise. ' Thou wouldst marry a man with one ear, then ?' added he, laughing. 'Sirs, he lost his other for me,' responded Malchen, drying her eyes. 'Well, this is a queer story,' said the King, amused. 'We will have it made into a libretto, and my friend Wagner here ehall set it to music.' The composer of the future bent his head as if this happy thought had already occurred to him.