In fair Silesia

Chapter I. Leaving Schellerhaus

“ A RE you tired, Joseph ?”

r\ The speaker was a poorly-dressed girl of about eleven years of age, her brother two years older.

They had walked from the village of Schellerhaus, at the foot of the chain of mountains between Silesia and Bohemia, noted for its glass-cutting, and each carried a small bundle of clothing.

“No, Helena, it would take more than a twohour’s walk to tire me, but I am thinking.”

“What of, Joseph?”

“What else, but leaving our mother and Schellerhaus ; I do not expect to be ever so contented again, now we have left our home.”

“I cannot keep from crying, Joseph, when I

In Fair Silesia.

think of it,” said Helena, her eyes filling with tears, “mother is crying yet, I know.”

“ But she told us that we would fare better with our uncle in Beiclienstein than it was possible with her. We would have bread and butter instead of oatmeal,” said Joseph, cheerfully. “ Uncle Ruckert carries a silver watch in his oocket, and has a clock that strikes the time in his office.”

“Yes, but will he be glad to see us? Mother did not seem sure of it, she only said she hoped he would let us stay with him ; and the farther we get from home the more anxious I feel. Suppose he won’t have us ; what will we do ? ”

“ Oh ! I am sure he won’t turn us away,” comforted Joseph, “mother said he gets good wages as spinning-master in Herr Lauderman’s factory, and has no wife or children. She must know that he will take us in, or she wouldn’t have sent us.”

“ She had to send us,” persisted Helena, “ our piece of oat-cake kept getting smaller, and it distressed our mother, though she tried to keep us from knowing it. I heard her in the night crying, and praying to the dear God for help, and then she made up her mind to send us away.”

“ If uncle is only kind and good like mother, we will be all right,” commented her brother, “but sometimes brothers and sisters are not one bit alike in disposition.”

“ Is that the case with us? ”

“ You have a better disposition than I have, mother always said that; more than this, she says I am so easily influenced that she dreads for me to go where people are not pious, for I would follow in their ways, and by the advice she gave us, I am sure uncle is not religious.”

“But she always told us to think the best we could of people, and if uncle is wicked, we are old enough to know better than to copy after him.”

“ She seemed afraid that he would not want us, and she was nearly crying all the time she was writing that long, kind letter to him. I think the letter and the beautiful cut-glass cup with his and mother’s names upon it will please him, and he cannot help liking the purse you knit for him ; the silk in it cost five groschen.”

In Fair Silesia.

“ If he will only keep us until I can get a place as nurse for children, and you get something to do where you can go to school. But look, Joseph, there is the church steeple of Warmbrunn; when we get there we are only three miles from Reichenstein, mother said, and she said we could stop there a little while/’

It was summer, in the height of the bathing season at Warmbrunn, and the place was filled with guests, gay parties of apparently care-free people, walking and driving out, chatting merrily, as if there was not such things as poverty and trouble in the world. Booths containing toys, sweetmeats and fruits were dotted thickly about, and street peddlers were offering their wares, which were temptingly displayed in baskets and upon trays.

“Just look at the money-purses, Joseph,” said Helena, “they are far prettier than the one I knit for uncle, I am sure if he sees these he won’t be pleased with mine.”

“But, sister, he will know that you could not afford to buy silver, and gilt-beads and rings ; he ought to be pleased with it because you knit it and gave it to him, not for its price.”

“Yes, but mine looks so poor beside these, and I thought it so beautiful before we left Schellerhaus.”

“ But these are only for rich people who have gold to put in them; uncle is better off than we are, but I am sure one that is made for silver and copper will suit him much better. Silver and gold beads tarnish and rust if not carefully used. Besides, the silk is so fine in these purses that silver or copper would cut through and be lost, so you see the strong, coarse silk you used is far better for uncle.”

Helena was comforted by this wise reasoning, and her dissatisfaction was forgotten in viewing a tray of ribbons and embroideries, while Joseph was equally delighted with a large cage of canaries that were singing merrily, happily unconscious that they might be sold to some girl or boy who would neglect the helpless little creatures, and allow them to suffer for food or drink, or f^om heat or cold.

At length they came to a booth where books and pictures were sold, and Joseph was so

In Fair Silesia.

charmed that he could not take his eyes away from them, until the ill-tempered salesman brought his hand down roughly upon the shoulder of the startled boy.

“ Stand back, country blockhead ! ” said he, “ can’t you see you are keeping buyers away ?”

Joseph stepped back quickly, and he and Helena hurried away. This man was the first rude person they had met upon their travels, and they were not sorry to part from him ; but, fortunately, they determined to forget annoyances in the many pleasant incidents constantly passing before them, and the next booth they stopped to inspect contained white and colored glassware of many beautiful designs.

It was now Joseph’s turn to be somewhat dissatisfied with the present they were taking to their uncle.

Oh ! Helena, look at the splendid pitchers and cups; what will uncle think of the poor little affair we all thought so beautiful ? ”

At that moment a fashionably-dressed lady stepped to the stand and priced a vase for flowers.

“ Seven dollars, lady, and very cheap at that price,” said the salesman, politely, for like other naturally coarse-minded people he let his manners suit the occasion, and had ordered the children to stand back in the same tone adopted by the book-seller.

“ Seven dollars for a vase to hold flowers!’ said Helena, in astonishment, “ when poor mother, with her steadiest work, can only make twenty, or, at most, twenty-two groschens a week, out of which must come the rent of her home and the support of her two children.” But both agreed that the vase was very beauful, and resolving not to be cast down by the contrast between it and the present for their uncle, they passed on. The strains of sweet music from a string-band restored their spirits, and they hurried to the spot where it was stationed.

Their knowledge of music was limited to the performance of the old schoolmaster of Schellerhaus upon the violin, and that of a glasscutter who played a few airs upon the flute. Besides these the only sounds that they had heard were the shepherd’s horn and the night watchman’s whistle. Therefore, the concert,

In Fair Silesia.

which was no novelty to the guests at Warmbrunn, was appreciated with open-mouthed delight by these simple-minded mountain children, who listened without speaking a word until the sounds died away. It is doubtful if they would have thought of moving on had not the music ceased, but that fact recalled to their minds that they had three miles yet to walk ; so they left the attractive place, talking as they went of the curious instruments and the skill with which they were handled

“I am hungry and tired,” said Helena; “we had something left of our dinner ; let us sit down somewhere and eat it.”

“I see a brook and shade further on; let us rest there,” replied Joseph; and, still talking of the wonders of Warmbrunn, they reached a shady bank, where they ate the remainder of the simple fare that their mother had provided.

They had just finished, and had taken a refreshing drink of cool water from the brook, when they heard the sound of wheels, and, glancing back toward the road, they saw a fine carriage, in which sat a lady, a boy, and a girl.

A sullen-looking coachman drove the pair of handsome horses, but the footman’s seat back of the carriage was empty.

“Bun, Lenchen!” cried Joseph, catching her hand; “we can jump up on the footman’s seat and ride part of the way.”

They soon caught up with the carriage, which was slowly ascending a hill, sprang up without any trouble, and were seated comfortably, to their great delight, and without any thought that they were seen. The coachman waited until the carriage reached the top of the hill, when, rising from the box, he gave a cut with his whip across the top of the carriage. Joseph received it on the back of his neck, and the end of the lash struck Helena upon the cheek. A cry went up from the startled children, and they dropped quickly to the ground.

“What do you think of that?” said Joseph, as they saw the carriage rolling rapidly away.

“I think the driver struck as if he wished to hurt us,” was her reply, as she rubbed her tingling cheek.

“We could always ride in an empty wood-

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cart or sand-wagon at home,” said Joseph. “ What would our mother say if she knew how we were treated?”

“It would make her sorry, so we will not tell her; she has enough trouble about us.”

“Your cheek is as red as fire where the lash hit you.”

“And your neck has a red welt upon it; does it smart, Joseph?”

“ I should say it does. I am glad I have not a temper like that man.’

“You may well say that,” remarked a halfgrown boy, who had been resting under the shade of a great tree near the roadside. “I saw him stand to strike you, and I thought to myself, ‘Like master, like man.’ I know who the people in the carriage are, for I worked in their factory, and saw them often : they are the wife and son and daughter of Herr Laudermann, of Eeichenstein. He owns a clotli-mill, and has gotten rich by oppressing his work-people. Everybody dislikes him, and all say that his riches will bring no blessing to him.’

“Oh, dear!” said Helena, half-aloud.

“Does your cheek pain you?” inquired the boy. “When we reach the next stream you can bathe it ; that will ease the pain.”

“My sister is not troubled about that,” said Joseph, “but we are on our way to Reichenstein to stay with the brother of our mother, who is spinning-master in Herr Laudermann’s factory ; and she is sorry to know that the mill-owner is a person of that kind, for we both hope to get work in his factory.”

“What is your name?”

“Joseph Eckhardt, and my sister’s name is Helena.”

“Was your mother too poor to keep you at home?”

“ Yes, she thought we could live better if we came here.”

“Well, I am sorry for you. Laudermann is greedy and hard-hearted, and your Uncle Ruckert is rough-tempered and drinks too much beer. I am sorry if I have discouraged you, but you might as well know the truth first as last. But my main reason for telling you is, that I wish to tell you of somebody in Reichenstein who will be a good friend to you if you need a friend, and I am pretty sure you will.

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His name is Herr Caspar Krown, and he is the schoolmaster of Reichenstein. He has a goodsized house, and his school is in one part of it. He is a good Christian, helps everybody who needs help, and everybody loves him and respects his opinions. And now our roads part here. Good-bye, and keep up good hearts.”

The boy trudged away, and Helena burst into tears.

“ Oh, if mother had known all this she would never have let us come,” sobbed she.

“Oh, Lenchen, we are tired and hungry, and all looks gloomy to us. Maybe uncle will be kind and if we find that we cannot live with him, we can go back to Schellerhaus. Mother said it might be hard for us at first, but that, if we trust in God, all would come out right.”

“But every person was kind to us in Schellerhaus,” said Helena. “The only trouble we had was, that there was nothing for us to do to earn money, and it worried mother that she could not earn enough to keep us in food and clothes. I wish that we were at home again. I am so tired, I feel that I cannot walk any further.”

“ But we must, Helena ; we cannot sleep on the grouud.”

This thought put new energy into the girl; she walked faster, and in a short time they came in sight of a great building with many windows and a tall chimney. They knew that it was the factory ; and while they gazed a bell rang, then they heard a shrill whistle, and men, women, boys, and girls swarmed through the doors, and hurried to their homes.

Not far from the factory was a handsome dwelling with beautiful grounds, and the children were right in believing it to be the home of Herr Laudermann. The carriage that they had seen was at the gate, and the boy Adolph was feeding the horses with blades of grass that he plucked from the lawn.

“Does the spinning-master Buckert live here and work in this factory?” inquired Joseph of a boy who was passing him on his way to his home.

“Yes!”

“ Is he within, and can I see him ? ”

“He is within, but whether you can see him is another question ; it will be just as he chooses.

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You go up these steps, turn to the right, and you will see a door with ‘‘Office” over it. You can knock, and maybe he will let you in, and maybe he won’t.”

With heavy hearts the children followed these directions, and knocked timidly at the office-door, then waited to be asked to enter.

Chapter II. Uncle Ruckert

A CCUSTOMED to the pure mountain air of Schellerliaus, the smell of the factory was extremely disagreeable to Helena and Joseph, but they had a much greater concern upon their minds, that being the meeting with their uncle, and all other annoyances were trifles.

There was no response to Joseph’s knock, so Helena doubled her fist and gave several thumps upon the door. Then Joseph knocked again, and after waiting a few minutes they opened the door and went in, finding no one there.

The office faced the road and the setting sun, was large, cheerful and in perfect order, but was not so pleasant to the children as the poor little home of their mother. Canaries, evidently well cared for, hung in gilded cages in the broad windows, a desk with two stools stood between them, a wide sofa used as a 21

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sleeping place, and having a snow-white pillow and spread, was at the back of the room, a table covered with pamphlets and other papers was in the centre, and in one corner a clock in a tall, polished case.

The children had time to take note of all these things, and to begin to feel anxious, when a step was heard in the corridor, the door opened, and a thick-set, burley looking, red-faced man came in.

He stopped at the door and looked at the children in surprise.

“Who are you?” inquired he, “ and what are you doing in my office? ”

Joseph tried to explain, but words failed him, and taking his mother’s letter from his pocket he put it in his uncle’s hand, who opened and read it, his face growing darker and more forbidding with each line. When finished, he threw it angrily upon the table.

“My sister took a great deal upon herself when she sent her two children to me to provide for. I have no use for you and will not have the bother; you must go straight back to Schellerhaus.”

Uncle Ruckert.

Herr Ruckert went to the window and looked out, his anger increasing as he considered the affair, while the children stood looking at each other, not knowing what to say or do.

At length Helena thought of the glass cup which her mother had sent, and taking it from the bundle, she gave it into Joseph’s hand to present.

“ Uncle,” said he, “our mother sent you this present; see it has her name and yours upon it; she sent it with her love.”

“And here is a purse I knit for you, Uncle Ruckert, it is good and strong, and will hold silver and copper.”

“ What do I want of such trifles ? ” exclaimed Ruckert, contemptuously, “all I want is for you to leave here as quickly as possible.”

“ Let us go, Helena, he won’t let us stay,” said Joseph, in a low tone.

“ Where shall we go ? It is too late to walk back to our home; besides, I am almost sick for rest, and we would have no place to sleep.”

“It is yet summer, and not cold; we can sleep near a straw stack. But wait, Lenchen.

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What is the name of the person that the boy told ns to call npon if we needed a friend ? It was something about a king, but I don’t remember what it was.”

“ I remember,” replied his sister, cheerfully ; “it was Krown; the boy said he is a schoolmaster. Let us go to him.”

At these words Ruckert turned quickly from the window and came to them.

“What is Krown to you?” said he, roughly. “ What do you want of him ? ”

“We were told by one who knows him that he is liked by everybody, and that he helps all who need help, because he is a good Christian. We are in trouble and need help, so we are going to him.”

“Krown has no business to get mixed up with this,” said Ruckert, flushing angrily; “he is a person I despise; you shall not go to him.”

“ Put the cup and purse in the bundle, Helena; we must go somewhere before it is night,” said Joseph.

“Wait, don’t be in such a rush, until I see what I can do. Have you had any supper?” inquired Ruckert, harshly.

Uncle Rucker t.

The children hesitated ; then Helena, at a nod from Joseph, spoke:

“ Our mother gave us an oat-meal cake to eat on the way ; we ate the last of it after we left Warmbrunn.”

With a frown of impatience, their uncle took a loaf of bread from a box in one corner, cut off two thick slices, and, putting with each a piece of cheese, gave it to them without a word.

“Can we have a drink, uncle? We are very thirsty,” quoth Helena.

“I wonder what next you will ask for. Do you suppose that I have nothing else to do but to wait upon you? There is a tank in that corner, and a cup beside it ; go and help yourselves.”

They went, but soon came back to the sofa near the desk, where their uncle had taken a seat.

“Did you drink?” questioned he.

“No; it is water we want; that is beer.”

“Well, what is the matter with beer?”

“Our mother does not allow us to drink it.”

“Why not? Is she trying to set you up as being better than other people ? ”

Joseph said nothing, but Helena spoke up bravely :

“If you will be so good as to tell us where to get water, we will not trouble you any more, uncle.”

“There is a pump out in the mill-yard, and here is a pitcher. Now let me have a little peace, will you?”

A few minutes later Joseph came in with a pitcher of pure, cool water, and Ruckert, handing them two tin cups, returned to his writing.

God had blessed these children with cheerful, self-reliant dispositions, and their mother had taught them to take the brightest possible view of what life offered. So, sitting by each other upon the sofa, they forgot all discomtort caused by Ruckert’s rudeness, and enjoyed the good bread and cheese as only those can to whom such fare is a luxury.

They had not finished when Ruckert arose, and going to the beer can, drank a quantity that astonished the children, then went out into the factory yard where he met the millowner’s coachman.

“ Hans,” said he, “ who do you think I have

Uncle Ruckert.

quartered upon me? Who, but the two children of my sister ; I who have no home except the factory, and have no liking for children. I don’t know where to put them for even the one night they will have to stay. You know I sleep in the office on the sofa, will you let them sleep in the stable upon the hay ? ”

“ I would like to oblige you, Ruckert, but it would put me out of my place. Herr Laudermann would discharge me ; he wouldn’t let man, woman or child sleep in his out-buildings, fearing they had matches about them and would set the place on fire.”

“These children could be searched,” said Ruckert, “though I am sure they have no matches about them. It would be a great favor to me to get a place for them to sleep.”

“It won’t be in the stables, ’ r replied Hans, stoutly, “ certainly there is some place in the factory to put them.”

“My sister deserves a beating for sending her children to worry the life out of me. They have walked all the way from Schellerhaus since morning.”

“A boy and a girl?” questioned the coach-

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man,” I suspect they are the very children that jumped up on the footman’s board, and I gave them a stroke from my whip which sent them off faster than they came. Did they tell you of it ? ”

“No, but the girl has a red mark on her cheek and the boy a welt on the back of his neck, no doubt they are the ones; you didn’t give them any more than they deserved, and I wish it had scared them off from coming here.’’

He returned to the office, and set about trying to arrange places for his unwelcome guests, and not all their evident attempts to conciliate him could chase away his displeasure. He collected several sacks of wool which were standing about and arranged them in a corner of his office for Joseph, and placed several more in an adjoining room for Helena, gave each an old blanket, and told them to be in bed and out of the way before he came back, with which advice he left the office.

“If our mother could know how uncle received us, wouldn’t she worry?” said Helena, as she arose to go to the place allotted her.

“She stands a fair chance of knowing very

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soon, for I think uncle is meaning to send us back to Schellerhaus in the morning,” replied the brother.

“Poor mother will be so worried, for she cannot give us the food that she says we ought to have to make us grow strong.”

“Well, we will stay here as long as we can, I for one am thankful that he did not turn us out to-night. More than that, we have schoolmaster Krown.”

“ Oh ! yes ; I almost forgot that ; if uncle says we must leave here we will go to see him. Oh ! I am so glad we know of him. Good-night, Joseph, I am so sleepy I can scarcely keep my eyes open.”

“I could drop down anywhere and sleep,” answered her brother, “and these wool sacks are certainly soft and comfortable. Good-night, Lenchen, mother told us not to forget our prayers.”

CHAPTEE III.

THEY TAKE A WALK.

T OSEPH was awakened the next morning by I a clashing, rolling, rumbling sound, which alarmed him so much that he sprang from his bed and ran to Helena’s door to awaken her, thinking that the factory was on fire.

His Uncle Euckert had left the office, and the children had no one to ask as to the terrible noise. They dressed hastily, and went to the place from whence the most of it seemed to proceed, opened a door, and saw a huge black object in what seemed to them the bottomless pit, and which shook the floor upon which they were standing, and, in truth, the whole factory resounded with the noise of machinery which it was keeping in motion.

That which they had thought to be a great fire was only the factory, set, several hours before, in working order for the day ; and, closing the office-door, they went out in search of their uncle. They met many men and women with 30

They Take a Walk.

baskets of wool, most of which was already spun, and at length they saw the spinning-master.

“Well, sleepy-heads ! ” said he, “I suppose you would have slept until noon if you had not gotten hungry. What brings you out here? Are you hunting your breakfast ? ”

“We were frightened at the noise; we thought that the factory was on fire,” said Joseph.

“Go back to the office, and I will give you something to eat.”

The children obeyed, and in a few minutes the spinning-master, having finished his duties for the time, which had called him from his office, came in, gave them their allowance of bread and choese, and pointed to the watercan.

“Can you read and write?” questioned he of Joseph, when their breakfast was finished.

“Yes; I am twelve years old and a few months over, and have been to school for four years.”

“Good!” responded Euckert. “Here is a column that I wish you to add up, and here is pen, paper, and ruler. Now do it right, or you

In Fair Silesia. f will be sorry for it. And the girl, what can you do ? ” turning to Helena.

“I can sew, and spin flax, and cook.”

“Cook!” echoed her uncle, sneeringly ; “ I suppose all that amounts to is the making of gruel, and boiling potatoes in their jackets. But I will see what you can do at sewing. Here is a vest that needs mending and several buttons ; I expect you to do it well, and to darn these stockings neatly ; but first give the canaries their seed and fill their cups with fresh water. I will keep you both for two days, although I do not thank your mother for putting two such millstones about my neck.”

These words dampened the gratitude that the children had felt for the good bread and cheese ; they looked at each other and remained silent ; and Kuckert, locking the desk as though afraid to trust them so long with its contents, left the room.

“ The poor birds, how shamefully they are treated ! ” said Lenchen, glancing at the neglected cages. “ I am glad he told me to attend to them, for it worries me to see the helpless little things trying to take their baths

They Take a Walk.

in their drinking cups, in which there is but a few drops of water, anything but fresh. How can they be happy and sing in such a place?”

While talking she was busily engaged in preparing a cage for thorough cleansing. The wx>rk for all the birds was done thoroughly, fresh water and seed given, then taking a piece of paper in her hand she went out for the fino, white sand she had seen the evening before near the pump.

She had secured it, when hearing a pleasant voice address her, she turned, and saw the girl whom she had noticed in the carriage the day before, the daughter of Herr Laudermann. She had a handsome glass pitcher in her hand, and passing it to Helena, asked her to fill it.

“ Oh ! it came near being broken,” said Helena, in a startled tone, as she loosed her grasp upon it too soon when passing it filled to the girl, who fortunately caught it, I would have been very sorry, for it is so beautiful.”

“We have far prettier ones than this, and yesterday we bought a lot of glassware at Warmbrunn, so there was no need for you to 3

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turn pale with fright thinking you were letting this one fall. What is your name? Mine is Toska Laudermann, and what made that red mark on your cheek ? ”

“ Helena Eckliardt, and your coachman struck me with his whip.”

“Was it you who got up behind our carriage yesterday?” inquired Toska, reddening. “It was my brother Adolph’s fault, for he told Hans you were there. Was it your brother who was with you, and did he get hurt?”