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+The Project Gutenberg EBook The Burgomaster's Wife, by Ebers, Complete
+#144 in our series by Georg Ebers
+
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+Title: The Burgomaster's Wife, Complete
+
+Author: Georg Ebers
+
+Release Date: April, 2004  [EBook #5583]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on August 12, 2002]
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+Edition: 10
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+Language: English
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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BURGOMASTER'S WIFE, BY EBERS, ALL ***
+
+
+
+This eBook was produced by David Widger <widger@cecomet.net>
+
+
+
+[NOTE: There is a short list of bookmarks, or pointers, at the end of the
+file for those who may wish to sample the author's ideas before making an
+entire meal of them.  D.W.]
+
+
+
+
+
+THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE, Complete
+
+By Georg Ebers
+
+
+
+Translated from the German by Mary J. Safford
+
+
+
+BARONESS SOPHIE VON BRANDENSTEIN, nee EBERS.
+
+My reason for dedicating a book, and particularly this book, to you, the
+only sister of my dead father, needs no word of explanation between us.
+From early childhood you have been a dear and faithful friend to me, and
+certainly have not forgotten how industriously I labored, while your
+guest seventeen years ago, in arranging the material which constitutes
+the foundation of the "Burgomaster's Wife."  You then took a friendly
+interest in many a note of facts, that had seemed to me extraordinary,
+admirable, or amusing, and when the claims of an arduous profession
+prevented me from pursuing my favorite occupation of studying the history
+of Holland, my mother's home, in the old way, never wearied of reminding
+me of the fallow material, that had previously awakened your sympathy.
+
+At last I have been permitted to give the matter so long laid aside its
+just dues.  A beautiful portion of Holland's glorious history affords the
+espalier, around which the tendrils of my narrative entwine.  You have
+watched them grow, and therefore will view them kindly and indulgently.
+
+In love and friendship,
+
+                              Ever the same,
+
+                                             GEORG EBERS
+
+Leipsic, Oct.  30th, 1881.
+
+
+
+
+THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE.
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+In the year 1574 A. D.  spring made its joyous entry into the Netherlands
+at an unusually early date.
+
+The sky was blue, gnats sported in the sunshine, white butterflies
+alighted on the newly-opened yellow flowers, and beside one of the
+numerous ditches intersecting the wide plain stood a stork, snapping at a
+fine frog; the poor fellow soon writhed in its enemy's red beak.  One
+gulp--the merry jumper vanished, and its murderer, flapping its wings,
+soared high into the air.  On flew the bird over gardens filled with
+blossoming fruit-trees, trimly laid-out flower-beds, and gaily-painted
+arbors, across the frowning circlet of walls and towers that girdled the
+city, over narrow houses with high, pointed gables, and neat streets
+bordered with elm, poplar, linden and willow-trees, decked with the first
+green leaves of spring.  At last it alighted on a lofty gable-roof, on
+whose ridge was its firmly-fastened nest.  After generously giving up its
+prey to the little wife brooding over the eggs, it stood on one leg and
+gazed thoughtfully down upon the city, whose shining red tiles gleamed
+spick and span from the green velvet carpet of the meadows.  The bird had
+known beautiful Leyden, the gem of Holland, for many a year, and was
+familiar with all the branches of the Rhine that divided the stately city
+into numerous islands, and over which arched as many stone bridges as
+there are days in five months of the year; but surely many changes had
+occurred here since the stork's last departure for the south.
+
+Where were the citizens' gay summer-houses and orchards, where the wooden
+frames on which the weavers used to stretch their dark and colored
+cloths?
+
+Whatever plant or work of human hands had risen, outside the city walls
+and towers to the height of a man's breast, thus interrupting the
+uniformity of the plain, had vanished from the earth, and beyond, on the
+bird's best hunting-grounds, brownish spots sown with black circles
+appeared among the green of the meadows.
+
+Late in October of the preceding year, just after the storks left the
+country, a Spanish army had encamped here, and a few hours before the
+return of the winged wanderers in the first opening days of spring, the
+besiegers retired without having accomplished their purpose.
+
+Barren spots amid the luxuriant growth of vegetation marked the places
+where they had pitched their tents, the black cinders of the burnt coals
+their camp-fires.
+
+The sorely-threatened inhabitants of the rescued city, with thankful
+hearts, uttered sighs of relief.  The industrious, volatile populace had
+speedily forgotten the sufferings endured, for early spring is so
+beautiful, and never does a rescued life seem so delicious as when we are
+surrounded by the joys of spring.
+
+A new and happier time appeared to have dawned, not only for Nature but
+for human beings.  The troops quartered in the besieged city, which had
+the day before committed many an annoyance, had been dismissed with song
+and music.  The carpenter's axe flashed in the spring sunlight before the
+red walls, towers and gates, and cut sharply into the beams from which
+new scaffolds and frames were to be erected; noble cattle grazed
+peacefully undisturbed around the city, whose desolated gardens were
+being dug, sowed and planted afresh.  In the streets and houses a
+thousand hands, which but a short time before had guided spears and
+arquebuses on the walls and towers, were busy at useful work, and old
+people sat quietly before their doors to let the warm spring sun shine on
+their backs.
+
+Few discontented faces were to be seen in Leyden on this eighteenth of
+April.  True, there was no lack of impatient ones, and whoever wanted
+to seek them need only go to the principal school, where noon was
+approaching and many boys gazed far more eagerly through the open
+windows of the school-room, than at the teacher's lips.
+
+But in that part of the spacious hall where the older lads received
+instruction, no restlessness prevailed.  True, the spring sun shone on
+their books and exercises too, the spring called them into the open air,
+but even more powerful than its alluring voice seemed the influence
+exerted on their young minds by what they were now hearing.
+
+Forty sparkling eyes were turned towards the bearded man, who addressed
+them in his deep voice.  Even wild Jan Mulder had dropped the knife with
+which he had begun to cut on his desk a well-executed figure of a ham,
+and was listening attentively.
+
+The noon bell now rang from the neighboring church, and soon after was
+heard from the tower of the town-hall, the little boys noisily left the
+room, but--strange-=the patience of the older ones still held out; they
+were surely hearing things that did not exactly belong to their lessons.
+
+The man who stood before them was no teacher in the school, but the
+city clerk, Van Hout, who, to-day filled the place of his sick friend,
+Verstroot, master of arts and preacher.  During the ringing of the bells
+he had closed the book, and now said:
+
+"'Suspendo lectionem.'  Jan Mulder, how would you translate my
+'suspendere'?"
+
+"Hang," replied the boy.
+
+"Hang!"  laughed Van Hout.  "You might be hung from a hook perhaps, but
+where should we hang a lesson?  Adrian Van der Werff."
+
+The lad called rose quickly, saying:
+
+"'Suspendere lectionen' means to break off the lesson."
+
+"Very well; and if we wanted to hang up Jan Mulder, what should we say?"
+
+"Patibulare--ad patibulum!"  cried the scholars.  Van Hout, who had just
+been smiling, grew very grave.  Drawing a long breath, he said:
+
+"Patibulo is a bad Latin word, and your fathers, who formerly sat here,
+understood its meaning far less thoroughly than you.  Now, every child in
+the Netherlands knows it, Alva has impressed it on our minds.  More than
+eighteen thousand worthy citizens have come to the gallows through his
+'ad patibulum.'"
+
+With these words he pulled his short black doublet through his girdle,
+advanced nearer the first desk, and bending his muscular body forward,
+said with constantly increasing emotion:
+
+"'This shall be enough for to-day, boys.  It will do no great harm, if
+you afterwards forget the names earned here.  But always remember one
+thing: your country first of all.  Leonidas and his three hundred
+Spartans did not die in vain, so long as there are men ready to follow
+their example.  Your turn will come too.  It is not my business to boast,
+but truth is truth.  We Hollanders have furnished fifty times three
+hundred men for the freedom of our native soil.  In such stormy times
+there are steadfast men; even boys have shown themselves great.  Ulrich
+yonder, at your head, can bear his nickname of Lowing with honor.
+'Hither Persians--hither Greeks!' was said in ancient times, but we cry:
+'Hither Netherlands, hither Spain!'  And indeed, the proud Darius never
+ravaged Greece as King Philip has devastated Holland.  Ay, my lads,
+many flowers bloom in the breasts of men.  Among them is hatred of the
+poisonous hemlock.  Spain has sowed it in our gardens.  I feel it growing
+within me, and you too feel and ought to feel it.  But don't
+misunderstand me!  'Hither Spain--hither Netherlands!' is the cry, and
+not: 'Hither Catholics and hither Protestants.'  Every faith may be right
+in the Lord's eyes, if only the man strives earnestly to walk in Christ's
+ways.  At the throne of Heaven, it will not be asked:  Are you Papist,
+Calvinist, or Lutheran?  but: What were your intentions and acts?
+Respect every man's belief; but despise him who makes common cause with
+the tyrant against the liberty of our native land.  Now pray silently,
+then you may go home."
+
+The scholars rose; Van Hout wiped the perspiration from his high
+forehead, and while the boys were collecting books, pencils, and pens,
+said slowly, as if apologizing to himself for the words already uttered:
+
+"What I have told you perhaps does not belong to the school-room; but,
+my lads, this battle is still far from being ended, and though you must
+occupy the school-benches for a while, you are the future soldiers.
+Lowing, remain behind, I have something to say to you."
+
+He slowly turned his back to the boys, who rushed out of doors.  In a
+corner of the yard of St. Peter's church, which was behind the building
+and entered by few of the passers-by, they stood still, and from amid the
+wild confusion of exclamations arose a sort of consultation, to which the
+organ-notes echoing from the church formed a strange accompaniment.
+
+They were trying to decide upon the game to be played in the afternoon.
+
+It was a matter of course, after what Van Hout had said, that there
+should be a battle; it had not even been proposed by anybody, but the
+discussion that now arose proceeded from the supposition.
+
+It was soon decided that patriots and Spaniards, not Greeks and
+Persians, were to appear in the lists against each other; but when the
+burgomaster's son, Adrian Van der Werff, a lad of fourteen, proposed to
+form the two parties, and in the imperious way peculiar to him attempted
+to make Paul Van Swieten and Claus Dirkson Spaniards, he encountered
+violent opposition, and the troublesome circumstance was discovered that
+no one was willing to represent a foreign soldier.
+
+Each boy wanted to make somebody else a Castilian, and fight himself
+under the banner of the Netherlands.  But friends and foes are necessary
+for a war, and Holland's heroic courage required Spaniards to prove it.
+The youngsters grew excited, the cheeks of the disputants began to flush,
+here and there clenched fists were raised, and everything indicated that
+a horrible civil war would precede the battle to be given the foes of the
+country.
+
+In truth, these lively boys were ill-suited to play the part of King
+Philip's gloomy, stiff-necked soldiers.  Amid the many fair heads, few
+lads were seen with brown locks, and only one with black hair and dark
+eyes.  This was Adam Baersdorp, whose father, like Van der Werff's, was
+one of the leaders of the citizens.  When he too refused to act a
+Spaniard, one of the boys exclaimed:
+
+"You won't?  Yet my father says your father is half a Glipper,--[The name
+given in Holland to those who sympathized with Spain]--and a whole Papist
+to boot."
+
+At these words young Baersdorp threw his books on the ground, and was
+rushing with upraised fist upon his enemy--but Adrian Van der Werff
+hastily interposed, crying:
+
+"For shame, Cornelius.--I'll stop the mouth of anybody who utters such an
+insult again.  Catholics are Christians, as well as we.  You heard it
+from Van Hout, and my father says so too.  Will you be a Spaniard, Adam,
+yes or no?"
+
+"No!" cried the latter firmly.  "And if anybody else--"
+
+"You can quarrel afterward," said Adrian Van der Werff, interrupting his
+excited companions, then good-naturedly picking up the books Baersdorp
+had flung down, and handing them to him, continued resolutely, "I'll be a
+Spaniard to-day.  Who else?"
+
+"I, I, I too, for aught I care," shouted several of the scholars, and the
+forming of the two parties would have been carried on in the best order
+to the end, if the boys' attention had not been diverted by a fresh
+incident.
+
+A young gentleman, followed by a black servant, came up the street
+directly towards them.  He too was a Netherlander, but had little in
+common with the school-boys except his age, a red and white complexion,
+fair hair, and clear blue eyes, eyes that looked arrogantly out upon the
+world.  Every step showed that he considered himself an important
+personage, and the gaily-costumed negro, who carried a few recently
+purchased articles behind him, imitated this bearing in a most comical
+way.  The negro's head was held still farther back than the young
+noble's, whose stiff Spanish ruff prevented him from moving his handsome
+head as freely as other mortals.
+
+"That ape, Wibisma," said one of the school-boys, pointing to the
+approaching nobleman.
+
+All eyes turned towards him, scornfully scanning his little velvet hat
+decked with a long plume, the quilted red satin garment padded in the
+breast and sleeves, the huge puffs of his short brown breeches, and the
+brilliant scarlet silk stockings that closely fitted his well-formed
+limbs.
+
+"The ape," repeated Paul Van Swieten.  "He wants to be a cardinal, that's
+why he wears so much red."
+
+"And looks as Spanish as if he came straight from Madrid," cried another
+lad, while a third added:
+
+"The Wibismas certainly were not to be found here, so long as bread was
+short with us."
+
+The Wibismas are all Glippers.
+
+"And he struts about on week-days, dressed in velvet and silk," said
+Adrian.  "Just look at the black boy the red-legged stork has brought
+with him to Leyden."
+
+The scholars burst into a loud laugh, and as soon as the youth had
+reached them, Paul Van Swieten snarled in a nasal tone:
+
+"How did deserting suit you?  How are affairs in Spain, master Glipper?"
+
+The young noble raised his head still higher, the negro did the same, and
+both walked quietly on, even when Adrian shouted in his ear:
+
+"Little Glipper, tell me, for how many pieces of silver did Judas sell
+the Saviour?"
+
+Young Matanesse Van Wibisma made an indignant gesture, but controlled
+himself until Jan Mulder stepped in front of him, holding his little
+cloth cap, into which he had thrust a hen's feather, under his chin like
+a beggar, and saying humbly:
+
+"Give me a little shrove-money for our tom-cat, Sir Grandee; he stole a
+leg of veal from the butcher yesterday."
+
+"Out of my way!"  said the youth in a haughty, resolute tone, trying to
+push Mulder aside with the back of his hand.
+
+"Hands off, Glipper!"  cried the school-boys, raising their clenched
+hands threateningly.
+
+"Then let me alone," replied Wibisma, "I want no quarrel, least of all
+with you."
+
+"Why not with us?"  asked Adrian Van der Werff, irritated by the
+supercilious, arrogant tone of the last words.
+
+The youth shrugged his shoulders, but Adrian cried: "Because you like
+your Spanish costume better than our doublets of Leyden cloth."
+
+Here he paused, for Jan Mulder stole behind Wibisma, struck his hat down
+on his head with a book, and while Nicolas Van Wibisma was trying to free
+his eyes from the covering that shaded them, exclaimed:
+
+"There, Sir Grandee, now the little hat sits firm!  You can keep it on,
+even before the king."
+
+The negro could not go to his master's assistance, for his arms were
+filled with parcels, but the young noble did not call him, knowing how
+cowardly his black servant was, and feeling strong enough to help
+himself.
+
+A costly clasp, which he had just received as a gift on his seventeenth
+birthday, confined the plume in his hat; but without a thought he flung
+it aside, stretched out his arms as if for a wrestling-match, and with
+florid cheeks, asked in a loud, resolute tone: "Who did that?"
+
+Jan Mulder had hastily retreated among his companions, and instead of
+coming forward and giving his name, called:
+
+"Look for the hat-fuller, Glipper!  We'll play blindman's buff."
+
+The youth, frantic with rage, repeated his question.  When, instead of
+any other answer, the boys entered into Jan Mulder's jest,  shouting
+gaily: "Yes,  play blind-man's buff!  Look for the hat-fuller.  Come,
+little Glipper, begin."  Nicolas could contain himself no longer, but
+shouted furiously to the laughing throng:
+
+"Cowardly rabble!"
+
+Scarcely had the words been uttered, when Paul Van Swieten raised his
+grammar, bound in hog-skin, and hurled it at Wibisma's breast.
+
+Other books followed, amid loud outcries, striking him on the legs and
+shoulders.  Bewildered, he shielded his face with his hands and retreated
+to the church-yard wall, where he stood still and prepared to rush upon
+his foes.
+
+The stiff, fashionable high Spanish ruff no longer confined his handsome
+head with its floating golden locks.  Freely and boldly he looked his
+enemies in the face, stretched the young limbs hardened by many a
+knightly exercise, and with a true Netherland oath sprang upon Adrian Van
+der Werff, who stood nearest.
+
+After a short struggle, the burgomaster's son, inferior in strength and
+age to his opponent, lay extended on the ground; but the other lads, who
+had not ceased shouting, "Glipper, Glipper," seized the young noble, who
+was kneeling on his vanquished foe.
+
+Nicolas struggled bravely, but his enemies' superior power was too great.
+
+Frantic with fury, wild with rage and shame, he snatched the dagger from
+his belt.
+
+The boys now raised a frightful yell, and two of them rushed upon Nicolas
+to wrest the weapon from him.  This was quickly accomplished; the dagger
+flew on the pavement, but Van Swieten sprang back with a low cry, for the
+sharp blade had struck his arm, and the bright blood streamed on the
+ground.
+
+For several minutes the shouts of the lads and the piteous cries of the
+black page drowned the beautiful melody of the organ, pouring from the
+windows of the church.  Suddenly the music ceased; instead of the
+intricate harmony the slowly-dying note of a single pipe was heard,
+and a young man rushed out of the door of the sacristy of the House of
+God.  He quickly perceived the cause of the wild uproar that had
+interrupted his practising, and a smile flitted over the handsome face
+which, framed by a closely-cut beard, had just looked startled enough,
+though the reproving words and pushes with which he separated the enraged
+lads were earnest enough, and by no means failed to produce their effect.
+
+The boys knew the musician, Wilhelm Corneliussohn, and offered no
+resistance, for they liked him, and his dozen years of seniority gave him
+an undisputed authority among them.  Not a hand was again raised against
+Wibisma, but the boys, all shouting and talking together, crowded around
+the organist to accuse Nicolas and defend themselves.
+
+Paul Van Swieten's wound was slight.  He stood outside the circle of his
+companions, supporting the injured left arm with his right hand.  He
+frequently blew upon the burning spot in his flesh, over which a bit of
+cloth was wrapped, but curiosity concerning the result of this
+entertaining brawl was stronger than the wish to have it bandaged and
+healed.
+
+As the peace-maker's work was already drawing to a close, the wounded
+lad, pointing with his sound hand in the direction of the school,
+suddenly called warningly:
+
+"There comes Herr von Nordwyk.  Let the Glipper go, or there will be
+trouble."
+
+Paul Van Swieten again clasped his wounded arm with his right hand and
+ran swiftly around the church.  Several other boys followed, but the new-
+comer of whom they were afraid, a man scarcely thirty years old, had legs
+of considerable length, and knew how to use them bravely.
+
+"Stop, boys!"  he shouted in an echoing voice of command.  "Stop!  What
+has Happened here?"
+
+Every one in Leyden respected the learned and brave young nobleman, so
+all the lads who had not instantly obeyed Van Swieten's warning shout,
+stood still until Herr von Nordwyk reached them.
+
+A strange, eager light sparkled in this man's clever eyes, and a subtle
+smile hovered around his moustached lip, as he called to the musician:
+
+"What  has  happened  here,  Meister  Wilhelm?  Didn't the clamor of
+Minerva's apprentices harmonize with your organ-playing, or did--but by
+all the colors of Iris, that's surely Nico Matanesse, young Wibisma!  And
+how he looks!  Brawling in the shadow of the church--and you here too,
+Adrian, and you, Meister Wilhelm?"
+
+"I separated  them," replied  the  other  quietly, smoothing his rumpled
+cuffs.
+
+"With perfect calmness, but  impressively--like your organ-music," said
+the commander, laughing.
+
+"Who  began the fight?  You, young sir?  or the others?"
+
+Nicolas, in his excitement, shame, and indignation, could find no
+coherent words, but Adrian came forward saying: "We wrestled together.
+Don't be too much vexed with us, Herr Janus."
+
+Nicolas cast a friendly glance at his foe.
+
+Herr von Nordwyk, Jan Van der Does, or as a learned man he preferred to
+call himself, Janus Dousa, was by no means satisfied with this
+information, but exclaimed:
+
+"Patience, patience!  You look suspicious enough, Meister Adrian; come
+here and tell me, 'atrekeos,' according to the truth, what has been going
+on."
+
+The boy obeyed the command and told his story honestly, without
+concealing or palliating anything that had occurred.
+
+"Hm," said Dousa, after the lad had finished his report.  "A difficult
+case.  No one is to be acquitted.  Your cause would be the better one,
+had it not been for the knife, my fine young nobleman, but you, Adrian,
+and you, you chubby-cheeked rascals, who--There comes the rector--If he
+catches you, you'll certainly see nothing but four walls the rest of this
+beautiful day.  I should be sorry for that."
+
+The chubby-cheeked rascals, and Adrian also, understood this hint, and
+without stopping to take leave scampered around the corner of the church
+like a flock of doves pursued by a hawk.
+
+As soon as they had vanished, the commander approached young Nicolas,
+saying:
+
+"Vexatious business!  What was right to them is just to you.  Go to your
+home.  Are you visiting your aunt?"
+
+"Yes, my lord," replied the young noble.  "Is your father in the city
+too?"  Nicolas was silent.
+
+"He doesn't wish to be seen?"
+
+Nicolas nodded assent, and Dousa continued:
+
+"Leyden stands open to every Netherlander, even to you.  To be sure, if
+you go about like King Philip's page, and show contempt to your equals,
+you must endure the consequences yourself.  There lies the dagger, my
+young friend, and there is your hat.  Pick them up, and remember that
+such a weapon is no toy.  Many a man has spoiled his whole life, by
+thoughtlessly using one a single moment.  The superior numbers that
+pressed upon you may excuse you.  But how will you get to your aunt's
+house in that tattered doublet?"
+
+"My cloak is in the church," said the musician, "I'll give it to the
+young gentleman."
+
+"Bravo, Meister Wilhelm !"  replied Dousa.  "Wait here, my little master,
+and then go home.  I wish the time, when your father would value my
+greeting, might come again.  Do you know why it is no longer pleasant to
+him?"
+
+"No, my lord."
+
+"Then I'll tell you.  Because he is fond of Spain, and I cling to the
+Netherlands."
+
+"We  are Netherlanders as well as you," replied Nicolas with glowing
+cheeks.
+
+"Scarcely," answered Dousa calmly, putting his hand up to his thin chin,
+and intending to add a kinder word to the sharp one, when the youth
+vehemently exclaimed:
+
+"Take back that 'scarcely,' Herr von Nordwyk."  Dousa gazed at the bold
+lad in surprise, and again an expression of amusement hovered about his
+lips.  Then he said kindly:
+
+"I like you, Herr Nicolas; and shall rejoice if you wish to become a true
+Hollander.  There comes Meister Wilhelm with his cloak.  Give me your
+hand.  No, not this one, the other."
+
+Nicolas hesitated, but Janus grasped the boy's right hand in both of his,
+bent his tall figure to the latter's ear, and said in so low a tone that
+the musician could not understand:
+
+"Ere we part, take with you this word of counsel from one who means
+kindly.  Chains, even golden ones, drag us down, but liberty gives wings.
+You shine in the glittering splendor, but we strike the Spanish chains
+with the sword, and I devote myself to our work.  Remember these words,
+and if you choose repeat them to your father."
+
+Janus Dousa turned his back on the boy, waved a farewell to the musician,
+and went away.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+Young Adrian hurried down the Werffsteg, which had given his family its
+name.  He heeded neither the lindens on both sides, amid whose tops the
+first tiny green leaves were forcing their way out of the pointed buds,
+nor the birds that flew hither and thither among the hospitable boughs of
+the stately trees, building their nests and twittering to each other, for
+he had no thought in his mind except to reach home as quickly as
+possible.
+
+Beyond the bridge spanning the Achtergracht, he paused irresolutely
+before a large building.
+
+The knocker hung on the central door, but he did not venture to lift it
+and let it fall on the shining plate beneath, for he could expect no
+pleasant reception from his family.
+
+His doublet had fared ill during his struggle with his stronger enemy.
+The torn neck-ruffles had been removed from their proper place and thrust
+into his pocket, and the new violet stocking on his right leg, luckless
+thing, had been so frayed by rubbing on the pavement, that a large
+yawning rent showed far more of Adrian's white knee than was agreeable to
+him.
+
+The peacock feather in his little velvet cap could easily be replaced,
+but the doublet was torn, not ripped, and the stocking scarcely capable
+of being mended.  The boy was sincerely sorry, for his father had bade
+him take good care of the stuff to save money; during these times there
+were hard shifts in the big house, which with its three doors, triple
+gables adorned with beautifully-arched volutes, and six windows in the
+upper and lower stories, fronted the Werffsteg in a very proud, stately
+guise.
+
+The burgomaster's office did not bring in a large income, and Adrian's
+grandfather's trade of preparing chamois leather, as well as the business
+in skins, was falling off; his father had other matters in his head,
+matters that claimed not only his intellect, strength and time, but also
+every superfluous farthing.
+
+Adrian had nothing pleasant to expect at home--certainly not from his
+father, far less from his aunt Barbara.  Yet the boy dreaded the anger of
+these two far less, than a single disapproving glance from the eyes of
+the young wife, whom he had called "mother" scarcely a twelve month, and
+who was only six years his senior.
+
+She never said an unkind word to him, but his defiance and wildness
+melted before her beauty, her quiet, aristocratic manner.  He scarcely
+knew himself whether he loved her or not, but she appeared like the good
+fairy of whom the fairy tales spoke, and it often seemed as if she were
+far too delicate, dainty and charming for her simple, unpretending home.
+To see her smile rendered the boy happy, and when she looked sad--a thing
+that often happened-it made his heart ache.  Merciful Heavens!  She
+certainly could not receive him kindly when she saw his doublet, the
+ruffles thrust into his pocket, and his unlucky stockings.
+
+And then!
+
+There were the bells ringing again!
+
+The dinner hour had long since passed, and his father waited for no one.
+Whoever came too late must go without, unless Aunt Barbara took
+compassion on him in the kitchen.
+
+But what was the use of pondering and hesitating?  Adrian summoned up all
+his courage, clenched his teeth, clasped his right hand still closer
+around the torn ruffles in his pocket, and struck the knocker loudly on
+the steel plate beneath.
+
+Trautchen, the old maid-servant, opened the door, and in the spacious,
+dusky entrance-hall, where the bales of leather were packed closely
+together, did not notice the dilapidation of his outer man.
+
+He hurried swiftly up the stairs.
+
+The dining-room door was open, and--marvellous--the table was still
+untouched, his father must have remained at the town-hall longer than
+usual.
+
+Adrian rushed with long leaps to his little attic room, dressed himself
+neatly, and entered the presence of his family before the master of the
+house had asked the blessing.
+
+The doublet and stocking could be confided to the hands of Aunt Barbara
+or Trautchen, at some opportune hour.
+
+Adrian sturdily attacked the smoking dishes; but his heart soon grew
+heavy, for his father did not utter a word, and gazed into vacancy as
+gravely and anxiously as at the time when misery entered the beleagured
+city.
+
+The boy's young step-mother sat opposite her husband, and often glanced
+at Peter Van der Werff's grave face to win a loving glance from him.
+
+Whenever she did so in vain, she pushed her soft, golden hair back from
+her forehead, raised her beautiful head higher, or bit her lips and gazed
+silently into her plate.
+
+In reply to Aunt Barbara's questions: "What happened at the council?  Has
+the money for the new bell been collected?  Will Jacob Van Sloten rent
+you the meadow?"  he made curt, evasive replies.
+
+The steadfast man, who sat so silently with frowning brow among his
+family, sometimes attacking the viands on his plate, then leaving them
+untouched, did not look like one who yields to idle whims.
+
+All present, even the men and maid-servants, were still devoting
+themselves to the food, when the master of the house rose, and pressing
+both hands over the back of his head, which was very prominently
+developed, exclaimed groaning:
+
+"I can hold out no longer.  Do you give thanks, Maria.  Go to the town-
+hall, Janche, and ask if no messenger has yet arrived."
+
+The man-servant wiped his mouth and instantly obeyed.  He was a tall,
+broad-shouldered Frieselander, but only reached to his master's forehead.
+
+Peter Van der Werff, without any form of salutation, turned his back on
+his family, opened the door leading into his study, and after crossing
+the threshold, closed it with a bang, approached the big oak writing-
+desk, on which papers and letters lay piled in heaps, secured by rough
+leaden weights, and began to rummage among the newly-arrived documents.
+For fifteen minutes he vainly strove to fix the necessary attention upon
+his task, then grasped his study-chair to rest his folded arms on the
+high, perforated back, adorned with simple carving, and gazed
+thoughtfully at the wooden wainscoting of the ceiling.  After a few
+minutes he pushed the chair aside with his foot, raised his hand to his
+mouth, separated his moustache from his thick brown beard, and went to
+the window.  The small, round, leaden-cased panes, however brightly they
+might be polished, permitted only a narrow portion of the street to be
+seen, but the burgomaster seemed to have found the object for which he
+had been looking.  Hastily opening the window, he called to his servant,
+who was hurriedly approaching the house:
+
+"Is he in, Janche?"
+
+The Frieselander shook his head, the window again closed, and a few
+minutes after the burgomaster seized his hat, which hung, between some
+cavalry pistols and a plain, substantial sword, on the only wall of his
+room not perfectly bare.
+
+The torturing anxiety that filled his mind, would no longer allow him to
+remain in the house.
+
+He would have his horse saddled, and ride to meet the expected messenger.
+
+Ere leaving the room, he paused a moment lost in thought, then approached
+the writing-table to sign some papers intended for the town-hall; for his
+return might be delayed till night.
+
+Still standing, he looked over the two sheets he had spread out before
+him, and seized the pen.  Just at that moment the door of the room gently
+opened, and the fresh sand strewn over the white boards creaked under
+a light foot.  He doubtless heard it, but did not allow himself to be
+interrupted.
+
+His wife was now standing close behind him.  Four and twenty years his
+junior, she seemed like a timid girl, as she raised her arm, yet did not
+venture to divert her husband's attention from his business.
+
+She waited quietly till he had signed the first paper, then turned her
+pretty head aside, and blushing faintly, exclaimed with downcast eyes:
+
+"It is I, Peter!"
+
+"Very well, my child," he answered curtly, raising the second paper
+nearer his eyes.
+
+"Peter!"  she exclaimed a second time, still more eagerly, but with
+timidity.  "I have something to tell you."
+
+Van der Werff turned his head, cast a hasty, affectionate glance at her,
+and said:
+
+"Now, child?  You see I am busy, and there is my hat."
+
+"But Peter!"  she replied, a flash of something like indignation
+sparkling in her eyes, as she continued in a voice pervaded with a
+slightly perceptible tone of complaint: "We haven't said anything to each
+other to-day.  My heart is so full, and what I would fain say to you is,
+must surely--"
+
+"When I come home Maria, not now," he interrupted, his deep voice
+sounding half impatient, half beseeching.  "First the city and the
+country--then love-making."
+
+At these words, Maria raised her head proudly, and answered with
+quivering lips:
+
+"That is what you have said ever since the first day of our marriage."
+
+"And unhappily--unhappily--I must continue to say so until we reach the
+goal," he answered firmly.  The blood mounted into the young wife's
+delicate cheeks, and with quickened breathing, she answered in a hasty,
+resolute tone:
+
+"Yes, indeed, I have known these words ever since your courtship, and as
+I am my father's daughter never opposed them, but now they are no longer
+suited to us, and should be: 'Everything for the country, and nothing at
+all for the wife.'"
+
+Van der Werff laid down his pen and turned full towards her.
+
+Maria's slender figure seemed to have grown taller, and the blue eyes,
+swimming in tears, flashed proudly.  This life-companion seemed to have
+been created by God especially for him.  His heart opened to her, and
+frankly stretching out both hands, he said tenderly:
+
+"You know how matters are!  This heart is changeless, and other days will
+come."
+
+"When?"  asked Maria, in a tone as mournful as if she believed in no
+happier future.
+
+"Soon," replied her husband firmly.  "Soon, if only each one gives
+willingly what our native land demands."
+
+At these words the young wife loosed her hands from her husband's, for
+the door had opened and Barbara called to her brother from the threshold.
+
+"Herr Matanesse Van Wibisma, the Glipper, is in the entry and wants to
+speak to you."
+
+"Show him up," said the burgomaster reluctantly.  When again alone with
+his wife, he asked hastily "Will you be indulgent and help me?"
+
+She nodded assent, trying to smile.
+
+He saw that she was sad and, as this grieved him, held out his hand to
+her again, saying:
+
+"Better days will come, when I shall be permitted to be more to you than
+to-day.  What were you going to say just now?"
+
+"Whether you know it or not--is of no importance to the state."
+
+"But to you.  Then lift up your head again, and look at me.  Quick, love,
+for they are already on the stairs."
+
+"It isn't worth mentioning--a year ago to-day--we might celebrate the
+anniversary of our wedding to-day."
+
+"The anniversary of our wedding-day!"  he cried, striking his hands
+loudly together.  "Yes, this is the seventeenth of April, and I have
+forgotten it."
+
+He drew her tenderly towards him, but just at that moment the door
+opened, and Adrian ushered the baron into the room.
+
+Van der Werff bowed courteously to the infrequent guest, then called to
+his blushing wife, who was retiring: "My congratulations!  I'll come
+later.  Adrian, we are to celebrate a beautiful festival to-day, the
+anniversary of our marriage."
+
+The boy glided swiftly out of the door, which he still held in his hand,
+for he suspected the aristocratic visitor boded him no good.
+
+In the entry he paused to think, then hurried up the stairs, seized his
+plumeless cap, and rushed out of doors.  He saw his school-mates, armed
+with sticks and poles, ranging themselves in battle array, and would have
+liked to join the game of war, but for that very reason preferred not to
+listen to the shouts of the combatants at that moment, and ran towards
+the Zylhof until beyond the sound of their voices.
+
+He now checked his steps, and in a stooping posture, often on his knees,
+followed the windings of a narrow canal that emptied into the Rhine.
+
+As soon as his cap was overflowing with the white, blue, and yellow
+spring flowers he had gathered, he sat down on a boundary stone, and with
+sparkling eyes bound them into a beautiful bouquet, with which he ran
+home.
+
+On the bench beside the gate sat the old maidservant with his little
+sister, a child six years old.  Handing the flowers, which he had kept
+hidden behind his back, to her, he said:
+
+"Take them and carry them to mother, Bessie; this is the anniversary of
+her wedding-day.  Give her warm congratulations too, from us both."
+
+The child rose, and the old servant said, "You are a good boy, Adrian."
+
+"Do you think so?"  he asked, all the sins of the forenoon returning to
+his mind.
+
+But unluckily they caused him no repentance; on the contrary, his eyes
+began to sparkle mischievously, and a smile hovered around his lips, as
+he patted the old woman's shoulder, whispering softly in her ear:
+
+"The hair flew to-day, Trautchen.  My doublet and new stockings are lying
+up in my room under the bed.  Nobody can mend as well as you."
+
+Trautchen shook her finger at him, but he turned hastily back and ran
+towards the Zyl-gate, this time to lead the Spaniards against the
+Netherlanders.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+The burgomaster had pressed the nobleman to sit down in the study-chair,
+while he himself leaned in a half-sitting attitude on the writing-table,
+listening somewhat impatiently to his distinguished guest.
+
+"Before speaking of more important things," Herr Matanesse Van Wibisma
+had begun, "I should like to appeal to you, as a just man, for some
+punishment for the injury my son has sustained in this city."
+
+"Speak," said the burgomaster, and the nobleman now briefly, and with
+unconcealed indignation, related the story of the attack upon his son at
+the church.
+
+"I'll inform the rector of the annoying incident," replied Van der Werff,
+"and the culprits will receive their just dues; but pardon me, noble sir,
+if I ask whether any inquiry has been made concerning the cause of the
+quarrel?"
+
+Herr Matanesse Van Wibisma looked at the burgomaster in surprise and
+answered proudly:
+
+"You know my son's report."
+
+"Both sides must be fairly heard," replied Van der Werff calmly.  "That
+has been the custom of the Netherlands from ancient times."
+
+"My son bears my name and speaks the truth."
+
+"Our boys are called simply Leendert or Adrian or Gerrit, but they do the
+same, so I must beg you to send the young gentleman to the examination at
+the school."
+
+"By no means," answered the knight resolutely.  "If I had thought the
+matter belonged to the rector's department, I should have sought him and
+not you, Herr Peter.  My son has his own tutor, and was not attacked in
+your school, which in any case he has outgrown, for he is seventeen, but
+in the public street, whose security it is the burgomaster's duty to
+guard."
+
+"Very well then, make your complaint, take the youth before the judges,
+summon witnesses and let the law follow its course.  But, sir," continued
+Van der Werff, softening the impatience in his voice, "were you not young
+yourself once?  Have you entirely forgotten the fights under the citadel?
+What pleasure will it afford you, if we lock up a few thoughtless lads
+for two days this sunny weather?  The scamps will find something amusing
+to do indoors, as well as out, and only the parents will be punished."
+
+The last words were uttered so cordially and pleasantly, that they could
+not fail to have their effect upon the baron.  He was a handsome man,
+whose refined, agreeable features, of the true Netherland type, expressed
+anything rather than severity.
+
+"If you speak to me in this tone, we shall come to an agreement more
+easily," he answered, smiling.  "I will only say this.  Had the brawl
+arisen in sport, or from some boyish quarrel, I wouldn't have wasted a
+word on the matter--but that children already venture to assail with
+jeers and violence those who hold different opinions, ought not to be
+permitted to pass without reproof.  The boys shouted after my son the
+absurd word--"
+
+"It  is  certainly an insult," interrupted Van der Werff, "a very
+disagreeable name, that our people bestow on the enemies of their
+liberty."
+
+The baron rose, angrily confronting the other.
+
+"Who tells you," he cried, striking his broad breast, padded with silken
+puffs, "who tells you that we grudge Holland her liberty?  We desire,
+just as earnestly as you, to win it back to the States, but by other,
+straighter paths than Orange--"
+
+"I cannot test here whether your paths are crooked or straight," retorted
+Van der Werff; "but I do know this--they are labyrinths."
+
+"They will lead to the heart of Philip, our king and yours."
+
+"Yes, if he only had what we in Holland call a heart," replied the other,
+smiling bitterly; but Wibisma threw his head back vehemently, exclaiming
+reproachfully:
+
+"Sir Burgomaster, you are speaking of the anointed Prince to whom I have
+sworn fealty."
+
+"Baron Matanesse," replied Van der Werff, in a tone of deep earnestness,
+as he drew himself up to his full height, folded his arms, and looked the
+nobleman sharply in the eye, "I speak rather of the tyrant, whose bloody
+council declared all who bore the Netherland name, and you among us,
+criminals worthy of death; who, through his destroying devil, Alva,
+burned, beheaded, and hung thousands of honest men, robbed and exiled
+from the country thousands of others, I speak of the profligate--"
+
+"Enough!"  cried the knight, clenching the hilt of his sword.  "Who gives
+you the right--"
+
+"Who gives me the right to speak so bitterly, you would ask?"
+interrupted Peter Van der Werff, meeting the nobleman's eyes with a
+gloomy glance.  "Who gives me this right?  I need not conceal it.  It was
+bestowed by the silent lips of my valiant father, beheaded for the sake
+of his faith, by the arbitrary decree, that without form of law, banished
+my brother and myself from the country--by the Spaniards' broken vows,
+the torn charters of this land, the suffering of the poor, ill-treated,
+worthy people that will perish if we do not save them."
+
+"You will not save them," replied Wibisma in a calmer tone.  "You will
+push those tottering on the verge of the abyss completely over the
+precipice, and go to destruction with them."
+
+"We are pilots.  Perhaps we shall bring deliverance, perhaps we shall go
+to ruin with those for whom we are ready to die."
+
+"You say that, and yet a young, blooming wife binds you to life."
+
+"Baron, you have crossed this threshold as complainant to the
+burgomaster, not as guest or friend."
+
+"Quite true, but I came with kind intentions, as monitor to the guiding
+head of this beautiful, hapless city.  You have escaped the storm once,
+but new and far heavier ones are gathering above your heads."
+
+"We do not fear them."
+
+"Not even now?"
+
+"Now, with good reason, far less than ever."
+
+"Then you don't know the Prince's brother--"
+
+"Louis of Nassau was close upon the Spaniards on the 14th, and our cause
+is doing well--"
+
+"It certainly did not fare ill at first."
+
+"The messenger, who yesterday evening--"
+
+"Ours came this morning."
+
+"This morning, you say?  And what more--"
+
+"The Prince's army was defeated and utterly destroyed on Mook Heath.
+Louis of Nassau himself was slain."
+
+Van der Werff pressed his fingers firmly on the wood of the writing-
+table.  The fresh color of his cheeks and lips had yielded to a livid
+pallor, and his mouth quivered painfully as he asked in a low, hollow
+tone, "Louis dead, really dead?"
+
+"Dead," replied the baron firmly, though sorrowfully.  "We were enemies,
+but Louis was a noble youth.  I mourn him with you."
+
+"Dead, William's favorite dead!"  murmured the burgomaster as if in a
+dream.  Then, controlling himself by a violent effort, he said, firmly:
+
+"Pardon me, noble sir.  Time is flying.  I must go to the town-hall."
+
+"And spite of my message, you will continue to uphold rebellion?"
+
+"Yes, my lord, as surely as I am a Hollander."
+
+"Do you remember the fate of Haarlem?"
+
+"I remember her citizens' resistance, and the rescued Alkmaar."
+
+"Man, man!"  cried the baron.  "By all that sacred, I implore you to be
+circumspect."
+
+"Enough, baron, I must go to the town-hall."
+
+"No, only this one more word, this one word.  I know you upbraid us as
+'Glippers,' deserters, but as truly as I hope for God's mercy, you
+misjudge us.  No, Herr Peter, no, I am no traitor!  I love this country
+and this brave, industrious people with the same love as yourself, for
+its blood flows in my veins also.  I signed the compromise.  Here I
+stand, sir.  Look at me.  Do I look like a Judas?  Do I look like a
+Spaniard?  Can you blame me for faithfully keeping the oath I gave the
+king?  When did we of the Netherlands ever trifle with vows?  You, the
+friend of Orange, have just declared that you did not grudge any man the
+faith to which he clung, and I will not doubt it.  Well, I hold firmly to
+the old church, I am a Catholic and shall remain one.  But in this hour I
+frankly confess, that I hate the inquisition and Alva's bloody deeds as
+much as you do.  They have as little connection with our religion as
+iconoclasm had with yours  Like you, I love the freedom of our home.
+To win it back is my endeavor, as well as yours.  But how can a little
+handful like us ever succeed in finally resisting the most powerful
+kingdom in the world?  Though we conquer once, twice, thrice, two
+stronger armies will follow each defeated one.  We shall accomplish
+nothing by force, but may do much by wise concession and prudent deeds.
+Philip's coffers are empty; he needs his armies too in other countries.
+Well then, let us profit by his difficulties, and force him to ratify
+some lost liberty for every revolted city that returns to him.  Let us
+buy from his hands, with what remains of our old wealth, the rights he
+has wrested from us while fighting against the rebels.  You will find
+open hands with me and those who share my opinions.  Your voice weighs
+heavily in the council of this city.  You are the friend of Orange, and
+if you could induce him--"
+
+"To do what, noble sir?"
+
+"To enter into an alliance with us.  We know that those in Madrid
+understand how to estimate his importance and fear him.  Let us
+stipulate, as the first condition, a full pardon for him and his faithful
+followers.  King Philip, I know, will receive him into favor again--"
+
+"In his arms to strangle him," replied the burgomaster resolutely.
+"Have you forgotten the false promises of pardon made in former times,
+the fate of Egmont and Horn, the noble Montigney and other lords?  They
+ventured it and entered the tiger's den.  What we buy to-day will surely
+be taken from us tomorrow, for what oath would be sacred to Philip?  I am
+no statesman, but I know this--if he would restore all our liberties, he
+will never grant the one thing, without which life is valueless."
+
+"What is that, Herr Peter?"
+
+"The privilege of believing according to the dictates of our hearts.  You
+mean fairly, noble sir;--but you trust the Spaniard, we do not; if we
+did, we should be deceived children.  You have nothing to fear for your
+religion, we everything; you believe that the number of troops and power
+of gold will turn the scales in our conflict, we comfort ourselves with
+the hope, that God will give victory to the good cause of a brave people,
+ready to suffer a thousand deaths for liberty.  This is my opinion, and I
+shall defend it in the town-hall."
+
+"No, Meister Peter, no!  You cannot, ought not."
+
+"What I can do is little, what I ought to do is written within, and I
+shall act accordingly."
+
+"And thus obey the sorrowing heart rather than the prudent head, and be
+able to give naught save evil counsel.  Consider, man, Orange's last army
+was destroyed on Mock Heath."
+
+"True, my lord, and for that very reason we will not use the moments for
+words, but deeds."
+
+"I'll take the hint myself, Herr Van der Werf, for many friends of the
+king still dwell in Leyden, who must be taught not to follow you blindly
+to the shambles."
+
+At these words Van der Werff retreated from the nobleman, clenched his
+moustache firmly in his right hand, and raising his deep voice to a
+louder tone, said coldly and imperiously:
+
+"Then, as guardian of the safety of this city, I command you to quit
+Leyden instantly.  If you are found within these walls after noon to-
+morrow, I will have you taken across the frontiers by the city-guard."
+
+The baron withdrew without any form of leave-taking.
+
+As soon as the door had closed behind him, Van der Werff, threw himself
+into his arm-chair and covered his face with his hands.  When he again
+sat erect, two large tear-drops sparkled on the paper which had lain
+under his fingers.  Smiling bitterly, he wiped them from the page with
+the back of his hand.
+
+"Dead, dead," he murmured, and the image of the gallant youth, the clever
+mediator, the favorite of William of Orange, rose before his mind--he
+asked himself how this fresh stroke of fate would affect the Prince, whom
+he revered as the providence of the country, admired and loved as the
+wisest, most unselfish of men.
+
+William's affliction grieved him as sorely as if it had fallen upon
+himself, and the blow that had struck the cause of freedom was a heavy
+one, perhaps never to be overcome.
+
+Yet he only granted himself a short time to indulge in grief, for the
+point in question now was to summon all the nation's strength to repair
+what was lost, avert by vigorous acts the serious consequences which
+threatened to follow Louis's defeat, and devise fresh means to carry on
+the war.
+
+He paced up and down the room with frowning brow, inventing measures and
+pondering over plans.  His wife had opened the door, and now remained
+standing on the threshold, but he did not notice her until she called his
+name and advanced towards him.
+
+In her hand she held part of the flowers the boy had brought, another
+portion adorned her bosom.
+
+"Take it," she said, offering him the bouquet.  "Adrian, dear boy,
+gathered them, and you surely know what they mean."
+
+He willingly took the messengers of spring, raised them to his face, drew
+Maria to his breast, pressed a long kiss upon her brow, and then said
+gloomily:
+
+"So this is the celebration of the first anniversary of our wedding-day.
+Poor wife!  The Glipper was not so far wrong; perhaps it would have been
+wiser and better for me not to bind your fate to mine."
+
+"How can such thoughts enter your mind, Peter!"  she exclaimed
+reproachfully.
+
+"Louis of Nassau has fallen," he murmured in a hollow tone, "his army is
+scattered."
+
+"Oh-oh!"  cried Maria, clasping her hands in horror, but he continued:
+
+"It was our last body of troops.  The coffers are empty, and where we are
+to obtain new means, and what will happen now--this, this--Leave me,
+Maria, I beg you.  If we don't profit by the time now, if we don't find
+the right paths now, we shall not, cannot prosper."
+
+With these words he threw the bouquet on the table, hastily seized a
+paper, looked into it, and, without glancing at her, waved his right
+hand.
+
+The young wife's heart had been full, wide open, when she entered the
+room.  She had expected so much that was beautiful from this hour, and
+now stood alone in the apartment he still shared with her.  Her arms had
+fallen by her side; helpless, mortified, wounded, she gazed at him in
+silence.
+
+Maria had grown up amid the battle for freedom, and knew how to estimate
+the grave importance of the tidings her husband had received.  During his
+wooing he had told her that, by his side, she must expect a life full of
+anxiety and peril, yet she had joyously gone to the altar with the brave
+champion of the good cause, which had been her father's, for she had
+hoped to become the sharer of his cares and struggles.  And now?  What
+was she permitted to be to him?  What did he receive from her?  What had
+he consented to share with her, who could not feel herself a feeble
+woman, on this, the anniversary of their wedding-day.
+
+There she stood, her open heart slowly closing and struggling against her
+longing to cry out to him, and say that she would as gladly bear his
+cares with him and share every danger, as happiness and honor.
+
+The burgomaster, having now found what he sought, seized his hat and
+again looked at his wife.
+
+How pale and disappointed she was!
+
+His heart ached; he would so gladly have given expression in words to the
+great, warm love he felt for her, offered her joyous congratulations; but
+in this hour, amid his grief, with such anxieties burdening his breast,
+he could not do it, so he only held out both hands, saying tenderly:
+
+"You surely know what you are to me, Maria, if you do not, I will tell
+you this evening.  I must meet the members of the council at the town-
+hall, or a whole day will be lost, and at this time we must be avaricious
+even of the moments.  Well, Maria?"
+
+The young wife was gazing at the floor.  She would gladly have flown to
+his breast, but offended pride would not suffer her to do so, and some
+mysterious power bound her hands and did not permit her to lay them in
+his.
+
+"Farewell," she said in a hollow tone.
+
+"Maria!"  he exclaimed reproachfully.  "To-day is no well-chosen time for
+pouting.  Come and be my sensible wife."
+
+She did not move instantly; but he heard the bell ring for the fourth
+hour, the time when the session of the council ended, and left the room
+without looking back at her.
+
+The little bouquet still lay on the writing-table; the young wife saw it,
+and with difficulty restrained her tears.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+Countless citizens had flocked to the stately townhall.  News of Louis of
+Nassau's defeat had spread quickly through all the eighteen wards of the
+city, and each wanted to learn farther particulars, express his grief and
+fears to those who held the same views, and hear what measures the
+council intended to adopt for the immediate future.
+
+Two messengers had only too thoroughly confirmed Baron Matanesse Van
+Wibisma's communication.  Louis was dead, his brother Henry missing, and
+his army completely destroyed.
+
+Jan Van Hout, who had taught the boys that morning, now came to a window,
+informed the citizens what a severe blow the liberty of the country had
+received, and in vigorous words exhorted them to support the good cause
+with body and soul.
+
+Loud cheers followed this speech.  Gay caps and plumed hats were tossed
+in the air, canes and swords were waved, and the women and children, who
+had crowded among the men, fluttered their handkerchiefs, and with their
+shriller voices drowned the shouts of the citizens.
+
+The members of the valiant city-guard assembled, to charge their captain
+to give the council the assurance, that the "Schutterij" was ready to
+support William of Orange to the last penny and drop of their blood, and
+would rather die for the cause of Holland, than live under Spanish
+tyranny.  Among them was seen many a grave, deeply-troubled face; for
+these men, who filled its ranks by their own choice, all loved William of
+Orange: his sorrow hurt them--and their country's distress pierced their
+hearts.  As soon as the four burgomasters, the eight magistrates of the
+city, and the members of the common council appeared at the windows,
+hundreds of voices joined in the Geusenlied,--[Beggars' Song or Hymn.
+Beggar was the name given to the patriots by those who sympathized with
+Spain.]--which had long before been struck up by individuals, and when at
+sunset the volatile populace scattered and, still singing, turned, either
+singly or by twos or threes, towards the taverns, to strengthen their
+confidence in better days and dispel many a well-justified anxiety by
+drink, the market-place of Leyden and its adjoining streets presented no
+different aspect, than if a message of victory had been read from the
+town-hall.
+
+The cheers and Beggars' Song had sounded very powerful--but so many
+hundreds of Dutch throats would doubtless have been capable of shaking
+the air with far mightier tones.
+
+This very remark had been made by the three welldressed citizens, who
+were walking through the wide street, past the blue stone, and the eldest
+said to his companions:
+
+"They boast and shout and seem large to themselves now, but we shall see
+that things will soon be very different."
+
+"May God avert the worst!"  replied the other, "but the Spaniards will
+surely advance again, and I know many in my ward who won't vote for
+resistance this time."
+
+"They are right, a thousand times right.  Requesens is not Alva, and if
+we voluntarily seek the king's pardon--"
+
+"There would be no blood shed and everything would take the best course."
+
+"I have more love for Holland than for Spain," said the third.  "But,
+after Mook-Heath, resistance is a thing of the past.  Orange may be an
+excellent prince, but the shirt is closer than the coat."
+
+"And in fact we risk our lives and fortunes merely for him."
+
+"My wife said so yesterday."
+
+"He'll be the last man to help trade.  Believe me, many think as we do,
+if it were not so, the Beggars' Song would have sounded louder."
+
+"There will always be five fools to three wise men," said the older
+citizen.  "I took good care not to split my mouth."
+
+"And after all, what great thing is there behind this outcry for freedom?
+Alva burnt the Bible-readers, De la Marck hangs the priests.  My wife
+likes to go to Mass, but always does so secretly, as if she were
+committing a crime."
+
+"We, too, cling to the good old faith."
+
+"Never mind faith," said the third.  We are Calvinists, but I take no
+pleasure in throwing my pennies into Orange's maw, nor can it gratify me
+to again tear up the poles before the Cow-gate, ere the wind dries the
+yarn."
+
+"Only let us hold together," advised the older man.  "People don't
+express their real opinions, and any poor ragged devil might play the
+hero.  But I tell you there will be sensible men enough in every ward,
+every guild, nay, even in the council, and among the burgomasters."
+
+"Hush," whispered the second citizen, "there comes Van der Werff with the
+city clerk and young Van der Does; they are the worst of all."
+
+The three persons named came down the broad street, talking eagerly
+together, but in low tones.
+
+"My uncle is right, Meister Peter," said Jan Van der Does, the same tall
+young noble, who, on the morning of that day, had sent Nicolas Van
+Wibisma home with a kindly warning.  "It's no use, you must seek the
+Prince and consult with him."
+
+"I suppose I must," replied the burgomaster.  "I'll go to-morrow
+morning."
+
+"Not to-morrow," replied Van Hout.  "The Prince rides fast, and if you
+don't find him in Delft--"
+
+"Do you go first," urged the burgomaster, "you have the record of our
+session."
+
+"I cannot; but to-day you, the Prince's friend, for the first time lack
+good-will."
+
+"You are right, Jan," exclaimed the burgomaster, "and you shall know what
+holds me back."
+
+"If it is anything a friend can do for you, here he stands," said von
+Nordwyk.
+
+Van der Werff grasped the hand the young nobleman extended, and answered,
+smiling: "No, my lord, no.  You know my young wife.  To-day we should
+have celebrated the first anniversary of our marriage, and amid all these
+anxieties I disgracefully forgot it."
+
+"Hard, hard," said Van Hout, softly.  Then he drew himself up to his full
+height, and added resolutely: "And yet, were I in your place, I would go,
+in spite of her."
+
+"Would you go to-day?"
+
+"To-day, for to-morrow it may be too late.  Who knows how soon egress
+from the city may be stopped and, before again venturing the utmost, we
+must know the Prince's opinion.  You possess more of his confidence than
+any of us."
+
+"And God knows how gladly I would bring him a cheering word in these
+sorrowful hours; but it must not be to-day.  The messenger has ridden off
+on my bay."
+
+"Then take my chestnut, he is faster too," said Janus Dousa and Van der
+Werff answered hastily.
+
+"Thanks, my lord.  I'll send for him early tomorrow morning."
+
+The blood mounted to Van Hout's head and, thrusting his hand angrily
+between his girdle and doublet, he exclaimed: "Send me the chestnut, if
+the burgomaster will give me leave of absence."
+
+"No, send him to me," replied Peter calmly.  "What must be, must be; I'll
+go to-day."
+
+Van Hout's manly features quickly smoothed and, clasping the
+burgomaster's right hand in both his, he said joyously:
+
+"Thanks, Herr Peter.  And no offence; you know my hot temper.  If the
+time seems long to your young wife, send her to mine."
+
+"And mine," added Dousa.  "It's a strange thing about those two little
+words 'wish' and 'ought.'  The freer and better a man becomes, the more
+surely the first becomes the slave of the second.
+
+"And yet, Herr Peter, I'll wager that your wife will confound the two
+words to-day, and think you have sorely transgressed against the 'ought.'
+These are bad times for the 'wish.'"
+
+Van der Werff nodded assent, then briefly and firmly explained to his
+friends what he intended to disclose to the Prince.
+
+The three men separated before the burgomaster's house.
+
+"Tell the Prince," said Van Hout, on parting, "that we are prepared for
+the worst, will endure and dare it."
+
+At these words Janus Dousa measured both his companions with his eyes,
+his lips quivered as they always did when any strong emotion filled his
+heart, and while his shrewd face beamed with joy and confidence, he
+exclaimed: "We three will hold out, we three will stand firm, the tyrant
+may break our necks, but he shall not bend them.  Life, fortune, all that
+is dear and precious and useful to man, we will resign for the highest of
+blessings."
+
+"Ay," said Van der Werff, loudly and earnestly, while Van Hout
+impetuously repeated: "Yes, yes, thrice yes."
+
+The three men, so united in feeling, grasped each other's hands firmly
+for a moment.  A silent vow bound them in this hour, and when Herr von
+Nordwyk and Van Hout turned in opposite directions, the citizens who met
+them thought their tall figures had grown taller still within the last
+few hours.
+
+The burgomaster went to his wife's room without delay, but did not find
+her there.
+
+She had gone out of the gate with his sister.
+
+The maid-servant carried a light into his chamber; he followed her,
+examined the huge locks of his pistols, buckled on his old sword, put
+what he needed into his saddle-bags, then, with his tall figure drawn up
+to its full height, paced up and down the room, entirely absorbed in his
+task.
+
+Herr von Nordwyk's chestnut horse was stamping on the pavement before the
+door, and Hesperus was rising above the roofs.
+
+The door of the house now opened.
+
+He went into the entry and found, not his wife, but Adrian, who had just
+returned home, told the boy to give his most loving remembrances to his
+mother, and say that he was obliged to seek the Prince on important
+business.
+
+Old Trautchen had already washed and undressed little Elizabeth, and now
+brought him the child wrapped in a coverlet.  He kissed the dear little
+face, which smiled at him out of its queer disguise, pressed his lips to
+Adrian's forehead, again told him to give his love to his mother, and
+then rode down Marendorpstrasse.
+
+Two women, coming from the Rheinsburger gate, met him just as he reached
+St. Stephen's cloister.  He did not notice them, but the younger one
+pushed the kerchief back from her head, hastily grasped her companion's
+wrist, and exclaimed in a low tone:
+
+"That was Peter!"
+
+Barbara raised her head higher.
+
+"It's lucky I'm not timid.  Let go of my arm.  Do you mean the horseman
+trotting past St. Ursula alley?"
+
+"Yes, it is Peter."
+
+"Nonsense, child!  The bay has shorter legs than that tall camel; and
+Peter never rides out at this hour."
+
+"But it was he."
+
+"God forbid!  At night a linden looks like a beechtree.  It would be a
+pretty piece of business, if he didn't come home to-day."
+
+The last words had escaped Barbara's lips against her will; for until
+then she had prudently feigned not to suspect that everything between
+Maria and her husband was not exactly as it ought to be, though she
+plainly perceived what was passing in the mind of her young sister-in-
+law.
+
+She was a shrewd woman, with much experience of the world, who certainly
+did not undervalue her brother and his importance to the cause of their
+native land; nay, she went so far as to believe that, with the exception
+of the Prince of Orange, no man on earth would be more skilful than Peter
+in guiding the cause of freedom to a successful end; but she felt that
+her brother was not treating Maria justly, and being a fair-minded woman,
+silently took sides against the husband who neglected his wife.
+
+Both walked side by side for a time in silence.  At last the widow
+paused, saying:
+
+"Perhaps the Prince has sent a messenger for Peter.  In such times, after
+such blows, everything is possible.  You might have seen correctly."
+
+"It was surely he," replied Maria positively.
+
+"Poor fellow!"  said the other.  "It must be a sad ride for him!  Much
+honor, much hardship!  You've no reason to despond, for your husband will
+return tomorrow or the day after; while I--look at me, Maria!  I go
+through life stiff and straight, do my duty cheerfully; my cheeks are
+rosy, my food has a relish, yet I've been obliged to resign what was
+dearest to me.  I have endured my widowhood ten years; my daughter
+Gretchen has married, and I sent Cornelius myself to the Beggars of the
+Sea.  Any hour may rob me of him, for his life is one of constant peril.
+What has a widow except her only son?  And I gave him up for our
+country's cause!  That is harder than to see a husband ride away for a
+few hours on the anniversary of his wedding-day.  He certainly doesn't do
+it for his own pleasure!"
+
+"Here we are at home," said Maria, raising the knocker.
+
+Trautchen opened the door and, even before crossing the threshold,
+Barbara exclaimed:
+
+"Is your master at home?"
+
+The reply was in the negative, as she too now expected.
+
+Adrian gave his message; Trautchen brought up the supper, but the
+conversation would not extend beyond "yes" and "no."
+
+After Maria had hastily asked the blessing, she rose, and turning to
+Barbara, said:
+
+"My head aches, I should like to go to bed."
+
+"Then go to rest," replied the widow.  "I'll sleep in the next room and
+leave the door open.  In darkness and silence--whims come."
+
+Maria kissed her sister-in-law with sincere affection, and lay down in
+bed; but she found no sleep, and tossed restlessly to and fro until near
+midnight.
+
+Hearing Barbara cough in the next room, she sat up and asked:
+
+"Sister-in-law, are you asleep?"
+
+"No, child.  Do you feel ill?"
+
+"Not exactly; but I'm so anxious--horrible thoughts torment me."
+
+Barbara instantly lighted a candle at the night-lamp, entered the chamber
+with it, and sat down on the edge of the bed.
+
+Her heart ached as she gazed at the pretty young creature lying alone,
+full of sorrow, in the wide bed, unable to sleep from bitter grief.
+
+Maria had never seemed to her so beautiful; resting in her white night-
+robes on the snowy pillow, she looked like a sorrowing angel.
+
+Barbara could not refrain from smoothing the hair back from the narrow
+forehead and kissing the flushed cheeks.
+
+Maria gazed gratefully into her small, light-blue eyes and said
+beseechingly:
+
+"I should like to ask you something."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"But you must honestly tell me the truth."
+
+"That is asking a great deal!"
+
+"I know you are sincere, but it is--"
+
+"Speak freely."
+
+"Was Peter happy with his first wife?"
+
+"Yes, child, yes."
+
+"And do you know this not only from him, but also from his dead wife,
+Eva?"
+
+"Yes, sister-in-law, yes."
+
+"And you can't be mistaken?"
+
+"Not in this case certainly!  But what puts such thoughts into your head?
+The Bible says: 'Let the dead bury their dead.'  Now turn over and try
+to sleep."
+
+Barbara went back to her room, but hours elapsed ere Maria found the
+slumber she sought.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+The next morning two horsemen, dressed in neat livery, were waiting
+before the door of a handsome House in Nobelstrasse, near the market-
+place.  A third was leading two sturdy roan steeds up and down, and a
+stable-boy held by the bridle a gaily-bedizened, long maned pony.  This
+was intended for the young negro lad, who stood in the door-way of the
+house and kept off the street-boys, who ventured to approach, by rolling
+his eyes and gnashing his white teeth at them.
+
+"Where can they be?"  said one of the mounted men:  "The rain won't keep
+off long to-day."
+
+"Certainly not," replied the other.  "The sky is as grey as my old felt-
+hat, and, by the time we reach the forest, it will be pouring."
+
+It's misting already."
+
+"Such cold, damp weather is particularly disagreeable to me."
+
+"It was pleasant yesterday."
+
+"Button the flaps tighter over the pistol-holsters!  The portmanteau
+behind the young master's saddle isn't exactly even.  There!  Did the
+cook fill the flask for you?"
+
+"With brown Spanish wine.  There it is."
+
+"Then let it pour.  When a fellow is wet inside, he can bear a great deal
+of moisture without."
+
+"Lead the horses up to the door; I hear the gentlemen."
+
+The man was not mistaken; for before his companion had succeeded in
+stopping the larger roan, the voices of his master, Herr Matanesse Van
+Wibisma, and his son, Nicolas, were heard in the wide entry.
+
+Both were exchanging affectionate farewells with a young girl, whose
+voice sounded deeper than the halfgrown boy's.
+
+As the older gentleman thrust his hand through the roan's mane and was
+already lifting his foot to put it in the stirrup, the young girl, who
+had remained in the entry, came out into the street, laid her hand on
+Wibisma's arm, and said:
+
+"One word more, uncle, but to you alone."
+
+The baron still held his horse's mane in his hand, exclaiming with a
+cordial smile:
+
+"If only it isn't too heavy for the roan.  A secret from beautiful lips
+has its weight."
+
+While speaking, he bent his ear towards his niece, but she did not seem
+to have intended to whisper, for she approached no nearer and merely
+lowered her tone, saying in the Italian language:
+
+"Please tell my father, that I won't stay here."
+
+"Why, Henrica!"
+
+"Tell him I won't do so under any circumstances."
+
+"Your aunt won't let you go."
+
+"In short, I won't stay."
+
+"I'll deliver the message, but in somewhat milder terms, if agreeable to
+you."
+
+"As you choose.  Tell him, too, that I beg him to send for me.  If he
+doesn't wish to enter this heretic's nest himself, for which I don't
+blame him in the least, he need only send horses or the carriage for me."
+
+"And your reasons?"
+
+"I won't weight your baggage still more heavily.  Go, or the saddle will
+be wet before you ride off"
+
+"Then I'm to tell Hoogstraten to expect a letter."
+
+"No.  Such things can't be written.  Besides, it won't be necessary.
+Tell my father I won't stay with aunt, and want to go home.  Good-bye,
+Nico.  Your riding-boots and green cloth doublet are much more becoming
+than those silk fal-lals."
+
+The young lady kissed her hand to the youth, who had already swung
+himself into the saddle, and hurried back to the house.  Her uncle
+shrugged his shoulders, mounted the roan, wrapped the dark cloak closer
+around him, beckoned Nicolas to his side, and rode on with him in advance
+of the servants.
+
+No word was exchanged between them, so long as their way led through the
+city, but outside the gate, Wibisma said:
+
+"Henrica finds the time long in Leyden; she would like to go back to her
+father."
+
+"It can't be very pleasant to stay with aunt," replied the youth.
+
+"She is old and sick, and her life has been a joyless one."
+
+"Yet she was beautiful.  Few traces of it are visible, but her eyes are
+still like those in the portrait, and besides she is so rich."
+
+"That doesn't give happiness."
+
+"But why has she remained unmarried?"  The baron shrugged his shoulders,
+and replied: "It certainly didn't suit the men."
+
+"Then why didn't she go into a convent?"
+
+"Who knows?  Women's hearts are harder to understand than your Greek
+books.  You'll learn that later.  What were you saying to your aunt as
+I came up?"
+
+"Why, just see," replied the boy, putting the bridle in his mouth, and
+drawing the glove from his left hand, "she slipped this ring on my
+finger."
+
+"A splendid emerald!  She doesn't usually like to part with such things."
+
+"She first offered me another, saying she would give it to me to make
+amends for the thumps I received yesterday as a faithful follower of the
+king.  Isn't it comical?"
+
+"More than that, I should think."
+
+"It was contrary to my nature to accept gifts for my bruises, and I
+hastily drew my hand back, saying the burgher lads had taken some home
+from me, and I wouldn't have the ring as a reward for that."
+
+"Right, Nico, right."
+
+"So she said too, put the little ring back in the box, found this one,
+and here it is."
+
+"A valuable gem!"  murmured the baron, thinking: "This gift is a good
+omen.  The Hoogstratens and he are her nearest heirs, and if the silly
+girl doesn't stay with her, it might happen--"
+
+But he found no time to finish these reflections, Nicolas interrupted
+them by saying:
+
+"It's beginning to rain already.  Don't the fogs on the meadows look like
+clouds fallen from the skies?  I am cold."
+
+"Draw your cloak closer."
+
+"How it rains and hails!  One would think it was winter.  The water in
+the canals looks black, and yonder--see--what is that?"
+
+A tavern stood beside the road, and just in front of it a single lofty
+elm towered towards the sky.  Its trunk, bare as a mast, had grown
+straight up without separating into branches until it attained the height
+of a house.  Spring had as yet lured no leaves from the boughs, but there
+were many objects to be seen in the bare top of the tree.  A small flag,
+bearing the colors of the House of Orange, was fastened to one branch,
+from another hung a large doll, which at a distance strongly resembled a
+man dressed in black, an old hat dangled from a third, and a fourth
+supported a piece of white pasteboard, on which might be read in large
+black letters, which the rain was already beginning to efface:
+
+         "Good luck to Orange, to the Spaniard death.
+          So Peter Quatgelat welcomes his guests."
+
+This tree, with its motley adornments, offered a by no means pleasant
+spectacle, seen in the grey, cold, misty atmosphere of the rainy April
+morning.
+
+Ravens had alighted beside the doll swaying to and fro in the wind,
+probably mistaking it for a man.  They must have been by no means
+teachable birds, for during the years the Spaniards had ruled in Holland,
+the places of execution were never empty.  They were screeching as if in
+anger, but still remained perched on the tree, which they probably
+mistook for a gibbet.  The rest of the comical ornaments and the thought
+of the nimble adventurer, who must have climbed up to fasten them, formed
+a glaring and offensive contrast to the caricature of the gallows.
+
+Yet Nicolas laughed loudly, as he perceived the queer objects in the top
+of the elm, and pointing upward, said:
+
+"What kind of fruits are hanging there?"
+
+But the next instant a chill ran down his back, for a raven perched on
+the black doll and pecked so fiercely at it with its hard beak, that bird
+and image swayed to and fro like a pendulum.
+
+"What does this nonsense mean?"  asked the baron, turning to the servant,
+a bold-looking fellow, who rode behind him.
+
+"It's something like a tavern-sign," replied the latter.  "Yesterday,
+when the sun was shining, it looked funny enough--but to-day--b-r-r-r-
+it's horrible."
+
+The nobleman's eyes were not keen enough to read the inscription on the
+placard.  When Nicolas read it aloud to him, he muttered an oath, then
+turned again to the servant, saying:
+
+"And does this nonsense bring guests to the rascally host's tavern?"
+
+"Yes, my lord, and 'pon my soul, it looked very comical yesterday, when
+the ravens were not to be seen; a fellow couldn't look at it without
+laughing.  Half Leyden was there, and we went with the crowd.  There was
+such an uproar on the grass-plot yonder.  Dudeldum--Hubutt, Hubutt--
+Dudeldum--fiddles squeaking and bag-pipes droning as if they never would
+stop.  The crazy throng shouted amidst the din; the noise still rings in
+my ears.  There was no end to the games and dancing.  The lads tossed
+their brown, blue and red-stockinged legs in the air, just as the fiddle
+played--the coat-tails flew and, holding a girl clasped in the right arm
+and a mug of beer high over their heads till the foam spattered, the
+throng of men whirled round and round.  There was as much screaming and
+rejoicing as if every butter-cup in the grass had been changed into a
+gold florin.  But to-day--holy Florian--this is a rain!"
+
+"It will do the things up there good," exclaimed the baron.  "The tinder
+grows damp in such a torrent, or I'd take out my pistols and shoot the
+shabby liberty hat and motley tatters off the tree."
+
+"That was the dancing ground," said the man, pointing to a patch of
+trampled grass.
+
+"The people are possessed, perfectly possessed," cried the baron,
+"dancing and rejoicing to-day, and tomorrow the wind will blow the felt-
+hat and flag from the tree, and instead of the black puppet they
+themselves will come to the gallows.  Steady roan, steady!  The hail
+frightens the beasts.  Unbuckle the portmanteau, Gerrit, and give your
+young master a blanket."
+
+"Yes, my lord.  But wouldn't it be better for you to go in here until the
+shower is over?  Holy Florian!
+
+"Just see that piece of ice in your horse's mane!  It's as large as a
+pigeon's egg.  Two horses are already standing under the shed, and
+Quatgelat's beer isn't bad."  The baron glanced inquiringly at his son.
+
+"Let us go in," replied Nicolas; "we shall get to the Hague early enough.
+See how poor Balthasar is shivering!  Henrica says he's a white boy
+painted; but if she could see how well he keeps his color in this
+weather, she would take it back."
+
+Herr Van Wibisma turned his dripping, smoking steed, frightened by the
+hail-stones, towards the house, and in a few minutes crossed the
+threshold of the inn with his son.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+A current of warm air, redolent of beer and food, met the travellers as
+they entered the large, low room, dimly lighted by the tiny windows,
+scarcely more than loop-holes, pierced in two sides.  The tap-room itself
+looked like the cabin of a ship.  Ceiling and floor, chairs and tables,
+were made of the same dark-brown wood that covered the walls, along which
+beds were ranged like berths.
+
+The host, with many bows, came forward to receive the aristocratic
+guests, and led them to the fire-place, where huge pieces of peat were
+glimmering.  The heat they sent forth answered several purposes at the
+same time.  It warmed the air, lighted a portion of the room, which was
+very dark in rainy weather, and served to cook three fowl that, suspended
+from a thin iron bar over the fire, were already beginning to brown.
+
+As the new guests approached the hearth, an old woman, who had been
+turning the spit, pushed a white cat from her lap and rose.
+
+The landlord tossed on a bench several garments spread over the backs of
+two chairs to dry, and hung in their place the dripping cloaks of the
+baron and his son.
+
+While the elder Wibisma was ordering something hot to drink for himself
+and servants, Nicolas led the black page to the fire.
+
+The shivering boy crouched on the floor beside the ashes, and stretched
+now his soaked feet, shod in red morocco, and now his stiffened fingers
+to the blaze.
+
+The father and son took their seats at a table, over which the maid-
+servant had spread a cloth.  The baron was inclined to enter into
+conversation about the decorated tree with the landlord, an over-civil,
+pock-marked dwarf, whose clothes were precisely the same shade of brown
+as the wood in his tap-room; but refrained from doing so because two
+citizens of Leyden, one of whom was well known to him, sat at a short
+distance from his table, and he did not wish to be drawn into a quarrel
+in a place like this.
+
+After Nicolas had also glanced around the tap-room, he touched his
+father, saying in a low tone:
+
+"Did you notice the men yonder?  The younger one--he's lifting the cover
+of the tankard now--is the organist who released me from the boys and
+gave me his cloak yesterday."
+
+"The one yonder?"  asked the nobleman.  "A handsome young fellow.  He
+might be taken for an artist or something of that kind.  Here, landlord,
+who is the gentleman with brown hair and large eyes, talking to
+Allertssohn, the fencing-master?"
+
+"It's Herr Wilhelm, younger son of old Herr Cornelius, Receiver General,
+a player or musician, as they call them."
+
+"Eh, eh," cried the baron.  "His father is one of my old Leyden
+acquaintances.  He was a worthy, excellent man before the craze for
+liberty turned people's heads.  The youth, too, has a face pleasant to
+look at.
+
+"There is something pure about it--something-it's hard to say, something
+--what do you think, Nico?  Doesn't he look like our Saint Sebastian?
+Shall I speak to him and thank him for his kindness?"
+
+The baron, without waiting for his son, whom he treated as an equal, to
+reply, rose to give expression to his friendly feelings towards the
+musician, but this laudable intention met with an unexpected obstacle.
+
+The man, whom the baron had called the fencing-master Allertssohn, had
+just perceived that the "Glippers" cloaks were hanging by the fire, while
+his friend's and his own were flung on a bench.  This fact seemed to
+greatly irritate the Leyden burgher; for as the baron rose, he pushed his
+own chair violently back, bent his muscular body forward, rested both
+arms on the edge of the table opposite to him and, with a jerking motion,
+turned his soldierly face sometimes towards the baron, and sometimes
+towards the landlord.  At last he shouted loudly:
+
+"Peter Quatgelat--you villain, you!  What ails you, you, miserable
+hunchback!--Who gives you a right to toss our cloaks into a corner?"
+
+"Yours,  Captain,"  stammered  the  host, "were already--"
+
+"Hold your tongue, you fawning knave!"  thundered the other in so loud a
+tone and such excitement, that the long grey moustache on his upper lip
+shook, and the thick beard on his chin trembled.  "Hold your tongue!
+We know better.  Jove's thunder!  Nobleman's cloaks are favored here.
+They're of Spanish cut.  That exactly suits the Glippers' faces.  Good
+Dutch cloth is thrown into the corner.  Ho, ho, Brother Crooklegs, we'll
+put you on parade."
+
+"Pray, most noble Captain--"
+
+"I'll blow away your most noble, you worthless scamp, you arrant rascal!
+First come, first served, is the rule in Holland, and has been ever since
+the days of Adam and Eve.  Prick up your ears, Crooklegs!  If my 'most
+noble' cloak, and Herr Wilhelm's too, are not hanging in their old places
+before I count twenty, something will happen here that won't suit you.
+One-two-three--"
+
+The landlord cast a timid, questioning glance at the nobleman, and as the
+latter shrugged his shoulders and said audibly: "There is probably room
+for more than two cloaks at the fire," Quatgelat took the Leyden guests'
+wraps from the bench and hung them on two chairs, which he pushed up to
+the mantel-piece.
+
+While this was being done, the fencing-master slowly continued to count.
+By the time he reached twenty the landlord had finished his task, yet the
+irate captain still gave him no peace, but said:
+
+"Now our reckoning, man.  Wind and storm are far from pleasant, but I
+know even worse company.  There's room enough at the fire for four
+cloaks, and in Holland for all the animals in Noah's ark, except
+Spaniards and the allies of Spain.  Deuce take it, all the bile in my
+liver is stirred.  Come to the horses with me, Herr Wilhelm, or there'll
+be mischief."
+
+The fencing-master, while uttering the last words, stared angrily
+at the nobleman with his prominent eyes, which even under ordinary
+circumstances, always looked as keen as if they had something marvellous
+to examine.
+
+Wibisma pretended not to hear the provoking words, and, as the fencing-
+master left the room, walked calmly, with head erect, towards the
+musician, bowed courteously, and thanked him for the kindness he had
+shown his son the day before.
+
+"You are not in the least indebted to me," replied Wilhelm Corneliussohn.
+"I helped the young nobleman, because it always has an ill look when
+numbers attack one."
+
+"Then allow me to praise this opinion," replied the baron.
+
+"Opinion," repeated the musician with a subtle smile, drawing a few notes
+on the table.
+
+The baron watched his fingers silently a short time, then advanced nearer
+the young man, asking:
+
+"Must everything now relate to political dissensions?"
+
+"Yes," replied Wilhelm firmly, turning his face with a rapid movement
+towards the older man.  "In these times 'yes,' twenty times 'yes.'  You
+wouldn't do well to discuss opinions with me, Herr Matanesse."
+
+"Every man," replied the nobleman, shrugging his shoulders, "every man of
+course believes his own opinion the right one, yet he ought to respect
+the views of those who think differently."
+
+"No, my lord," cried the musician.  "In these times there is but one
+opinion for us.  I wish to share nothing, not even a drink at the table,
+with any man who has Holland blood, and feels differently.  Excuse me, my
+lord; my travelling companion, as you have unfortunately learned, has an
+impatient temper and doesn't like to wait."
+
+Wilhelm bowed distantly, waved his hand to Nicolas, approached the
+chimney-piece, took the half-dried cloaks on his arm, tossed a coin on
+the table and, holding in his hands a covered cage in which several birds
+were fluttering, left the room.
+
+The baron gazed after him in silence.  The simple words and the young
+man's departure aroused painful emotions.  He believed he desired what
+was right, yet at this moment a feeling stole over him that a stain
+rested on the cause he supported.
+
+It is more endurable to be courted than avoided, and thus an expression
+of deep annoyance rested on the nobleman's pleasant features as he
+returned to his son.
+
+Nicolas had not lost a single word uttered by the organist, and the blood
+left his ruddy cheeks as he was forced to see this man, whose appearance
+had especially won his young heart, turn his back upon his father as if
+he were a dishonorable man to be avoided.
+
+The words, with which Janus Dousa had left him the day before, returned
+to his mind with great force, and when the baron again seated himself
+opposite him, the boy raised his eyes and said hesitatingly, but with
+touching earnestness and sincere anxiety:
+
+"Father, what does that mean?  Father--are they so wholly wrong, if they
+would rather be Hollanders than Spaniards?"
+
+Wibisma looked at his son with surprise and displeasure, and because he
+felt his own firmness wavering, and a blustering word often does good
+service where there is lack of possibility or inclination to contend
+against reasons, he exclaimed more angrily than he had spoken to his son
+for years:
+
+"Are you, too, beginning to relish the bait with which Orange lures
+simpletons?  Another word of that kind, and I'll show you how malapert
+lads are treated.  Here, landlord, what's the meaning of that nonsense on
+yonder tree?"
+
+"The people, my lord, the Leyden fools are to blame for the mischief,
+not I.  They decked the tree out in that ridiculous way, when the troops
+stationed in the city during the siege retired.  I keep this house as a
+tenant of old Herr Van der Does, and dare not have any opinions of my
+own, for people must live, but, as truly as I hope for salvation, I'm
+loyal to King Philip."
+
+"Until the Leyden burghers come out here again," replied Wibisma
+bitterly.  "Did you keep this inn during the siege?"
+
+"Yes, my lord, the Spaniards had no cause to complain of me, and if a
+poor man's services are not too insignificant for you, they are at your
+disposal."
+
+"Ah! ha!"  muttered the baron, gazing attentively at the landlord's
+disagreeable face, whose little eyes glittered very craftily, then
+turning to Nicolas, said:
+
+"Go and watch the blackbirds in the window yonder a little while, my son,
+I have something to say to the host."
+
+The youth instantly obeyed and as, instead of looking at the birds, he
+gazed after the two enthusiastic supporters of Holland's liberty, who
+were riding along the road leading to Delft, remembered the simile of
+fetters that drag men down, and saw rising before his mental vision the
+glitter of the gold chain King Philip had sent his father, Nicolas
+involuntarily glanced towards him as he stood whispering eagerly with the
+landlord.  Now he even laid his hand on his shoulder.  Was it right for
+him to hold intercourse with a man whom he must despise at heart?  Or was
+he--he shuddered, for the word "traitor," which one of the school-boys
+had shouted in his ears during the quarrel before the church, returned to
+his memory.
+
+When the rain grew less violent, the travellers left the inn.  The baron
+allowed the hideous landlord to kiss his hand at parting, but Nicolas
+would not suffer him to touch his.
+
+Few words were exchanged between father and son during the remainder of
+their ride to the Hague, but the musician and the fencing-master were
+less silent on the way to Delft.
+
+Wilhelm had modestly, as beseemed the younger man, suggested that his
+companion had expressed his hostile feelings towards the nobleman too
+openly.
+
+"True, perfectly true," replied Allertssohn, whom his friends called
+"Allerts."  "Very true!  Temper oh! temper!  You don't suspect, Herr
+Wilhelm--But we'll let it pass."
+
+"No, speak, Meister."
+
+"You'll think no better of me, if I do."
+
+"Then let us talk of something else."
+
+"No, Wilhelm.  I needn't be ashamed, no one will take me for a coward."
+
+The musician laughed, exclaiming: "You a coward!  How many Spaniards has
+your Brescian sword killed?"
+
+"Wounded, wounded, sir, far oftener than killed," replied the other.  "If
+the devil challenges me I shall ask: Foils, sir, or Spanish swords?  But
+there's one person I do fear, and that's my best and at the same time my
+worst friend, a Netherlander, like yourself, the man who rides here
+beside you.  Yes, when rage seizes upon me, when my beard begins to
+tremble, my small share of sense flies away as fast as your doves when
+you let them go.  You don't know me, Wilhelm."
+
+"Don't I?  How often must one see you in command and visit you in the
+fencing-room?"
+
+"Pooh, pooh--there I'm as quiet as the water in yonder ditch--but when
+anything goes against the grain, when--how shall I explain it to you,
+without similes?"
+
+"Go on."
+
+"For instance, when I am obliged to see a sycophant treated as if he were
+Sir Upright--"
+
+"So that vexes you greatly?"
+
+"Vexes?  No!  Then I grow as savage as a tiger, and I ought not to be so,
+I ought not.  Roland, my foreman, probably likes--"
+
+"Meister, Meister, your beard is beginning to tremble already!"
+
+"What did the Glippers think, when their aristocratic cloaks--"
+
+The landlord took yours and mine from the fire entirely on his own
+responsibility."
+
+"I don't care!  The crook-legged ape did it to honor the Spanish
+sycophant.  It enraged me, it was intolerable."
+
+"You didn't keep your wrath to yourself, and I was surprised to see how
+patiently the baron bore your insults."
+
+"That's just it, that's it!"  cried the fencing-master, while his beard
+began to twitch violently.  "That's what drove me out of the tavern,
+that's why I took to my heels.  That--that--Roland, my fore man."
+
+"I don't understand you."
+
+"Don't you, don't you?  How should you; but I'll explain.  When you're as
+old as I am, young man, you'll experience it too.  There are few
+perfectly sound trees in the forest, few horses without a blemish, few
+swords without a stain, and scarcely a man who has passed his fortieth
+year that has not a worm in his breast.  Some gnaw slightly, others
+torture with sharp fangs, and mine--mine.--Do you want to cast a glance
+in here?"
+
+The fencing-master struck his broad chest as he uttered these words and,
+without waiting for his companion's reply, continued:
+
+"You know me and my life, Herr Wilhelm.  What do I do, what do I
+practise?  Only chivalrous work.
+
+"My life is based upon the sword.  Do you know a better blade or surer
+hand than mine?  Do my soldiers obey me?  Have I spared my blood in
+fighting before the red walls and towers yonder?  No, by my fore man
+Roland, no, no, a thousand times no."
+
+"Who denies it, Meister Allerts?  But tell me, what do you mean by your
+cry: Roland, my fore man?"
+
+"Another time, Wilhelm; you mustn't interrupt me now.  Hear my story
+about where the worm hides in me.  So once more: What I do, the calling I
+follow, is knightly work, yet when a Wibisma, who learned how to use his
+sword from my father, treats me ill and stirs up my bile, if I should
+presume to challenge him, as would be my just right, what would he do?
+Laugh and ask: 'What will the passado cost, Fencing-master Allerts?  Have
+you polished rapiers?'  Perhaps he wouldn't even answer at all, and we
+saw just now how he acts.  His glance slipped past me like an eel, and he
+had wax in his ears.  Whether I reproach, or a cur yelps at him, is all
+the same to his lordship.  If only a Renneberg or Brederode had been in
+my place just now, how quickly Wibisma's sword would have flown from its
+sheath, for he understands how to fight and is no coward.  But I--I?
+Nobody would willingly allow himself to be struck in the face, yet so
+surely as my father was a brave man, even the worst insult could be more
+easily borne, than the feeling of being held in too slight esteem to be
+able to offer an affront.  You see, Wilhelm, when the Glipper looked past
+me--"
+
+"Your beard lost its calmness."
+
+"It's all very well for you to jest, you don't know--"
+
+"Yes, yes, Herr Allerts; I understand you perfectly."
+
+"And do you also understand, why I took myself and my sword out of doors
+so quickly?"
+
+"Perfectly; but please stop a moment with me now.  The doves are
+fluttering so violently; they want air."  The fencing-master stopped his
+steed, and while Wilhelm was removing the dripping cloth from the little
+cage that rested between him and his horse's neck, said:
+
+"How can a man trouble himself about such gentle little creatures?  If
+you want to diminish, in behalf of feathered folk, the time given to
+music, tame falcons, that's a knightly craft, and I can teach you."
+
+"Let my doves alone," replied Wilhelm.  "They are not so harmless as
+people suppose, and have done good service in many a war, which is
+certainly chivalrous pastime.  Remember Haarlem.  There, it's beginning
+to pour again.  If my cloak were only not so short; I would like to cover
+the doves with it."
+
+"You certainly look like Goliath in David's garments."
+
+"It's my scholar's cloak; I put my other on young Wibisma's shoulders
+yesterday."
+
+"The Spanish green-finch?"
+
+"I told you about the boys' brawl."
+
+"Yes, yes.  And the monkey kept your cloak?"
+
+"You came for me and wouldn't wait.  They probably sent it back soon
+after our departure."
+
+"And their lordships expect thanks because the young nobleman accepted
+it!"
+
+"No, no; the baron expressed his gratitude."
+
+"But that doesn't make your cape any longer.  Take my cloak, Wilhelm.
+I've no doves to shelter, and my skin is thicker than yours."
+
+
+
+
+ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:
+
+A blustering word often does good service
+Held in too slight esteem to be able to offer an affront
+The shirt is closer than the coat
+Those two little words 'wish' and 'ought'
+Wet inside, he can bear a great deal of moisture without
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE
+
+By Georg Ebers
+
+Volume 2.
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+A second and third rainy day followed the first one.  White mists and
+grey fog hung over the meadows.  The cold, damp north-west wind drove
+heavy clouds together and darkened the sky.  Rivulets dashed into the
+streets from the gutters on the steep roofs of Leyden; the water in the
+canals and ditches grew turbid and rose towards the edges of the banks.
+Dripping, freezing men and women hurried past each other without any form
+of greeting, while the pair of storks pressed closer to each other in
+their nest, and thought of the warm south, lamenting their premature
+return to the cold, damp, Netherland plain.
+
+In thoughtful minds the dread of what must inevitably come was
+increasing.  The rain made anxiety grow as rapidly in the hearts of many
+citizens, as the young blades of grain in the fields.  Conversations,
+that sounded anything but hopeful, took place in many tap-rooms--in
+others men were even heard declaring resistance folly, or loudly
+demanding the desertion of the cause of the Prince of Orange and liberty.
+
+Whoever in these days desired to see a happy face in Leyden might have
+searched long in vain, and would probably have least expected to find it
+in the house of Burgomaster Van der Werff.
+
+Three days had now elapsed since Peter's departure, nay the fourth was
+drawing towards noon, yet the burgomaster had not returned, and no
+message, no word of explanation, had reached his family.
+
+Maria had put on her light-blue cloth dress with Mechlin lace in the
+square neck, for her husband particularly liked to see her in this gown
+and he must surely return to-day.
+
+The spray of yellow wall-flowers on her breast had been cut from the
+blooming plant in the window of her room, and Barbara had helped arrange
+her thick hair.
+
+It lacked only an hour of noon, when the young wife's delicate, slender
+figure, carrying a white duster in her hand, entered the burgomaster's
+study.  Here she stationed herself at the window, from which the pouring
+rain streamed in numerous crooked serpentine lines, pressed her forehead
+against the panes, and gazed down into the quiet street.
+
+The water was standing between the smooth red tiles of the pavement.  A
+porter clattered by in heavy wooden shoes, a maid-servant, with a shawl
+wrapped around her head, hurried swiftly past, a shoemaker's boy, with a
+pair of boots hanging on his back, jumped from puddle to puddle,
+carefully avoiding the dry places;--no horseman appeared.
+
+It was almost unnaturally quiet in the house and street; she heard
+nothing except the plashing of the rain.  Maria could not expect her
+husband until the beat of horses' hoofs was audible; she was not even
+gazing into the distance--only dreamily watching the street and the
+ceaseless rain.
+
+The room had been thoughtfully heated for the drenched man, whose return
+was expected, but Maria felt the cold air through the chinks in the
+windows.  She shivered, and as she turned back into the dusky room, it
+seemed as if this twilight atmosphere must always remain, as if no more
+bright days could ever come.
+
+Minutes passed before she remembered for what purpose she had entered the
+room and began to pass the dusting-cloth over the writing-table, the
+piles of papers, and the rest of the contents of the apartment.  At last
+she approached the pistols, which Peter had not taken with him on his
+journey.
+
+The portrait of her husband's first wife hung above the weapons and sadly
+needed dusting, for until now Maria had always shrunk from touching it.
+
+To-day she summoned up her courage, stood opposite to it, and gazed
+steadily at the youthful features of the woman, with whom Peter had been
+happy.  She felt spellbound by the brown eyes that gazed at her from the
+pleasant face.
+
+Yes, the woman up there looked happy, almost insolently happy.  How much
+more had Peter probably given to his first wife than to her?
+
+This thought cut her to the heart, and without moving her lips she
+addressed a series of questions to the silent portrait, which still gazed
+steadily and serenely at her from its plain frame.
+
+Once it seemed as if the full lips of the pictured face quivered, once
+that the eyes moved.  A chill ran through her veins, she began to be
+afraid, yet could not leave the portrait, and stood gazing upward with
+dilated eyes.
+
+She did not stir, but her breath came quicker and quicker, and her eyes
+seemed to grow keener.
+
+A shadow rested on the dead Eva's high forehead.  Had the artist intended
+to depict some oppressive anxiety, or was what she saw only dust, that
+had settled on the colors?
+
+She pushed a chair towards the portrait and put her foot on the seat,
+pushing her dress away in doing so.  Blushing, as if other eyes than the
+painted ones were gazing down upon her, she drew it over the white
+stocking, then with a rapid movement mounted the seat.  She could now
+look directly into the eyes of the portrait.  The cloth in Maria's
+trembling hand passed over Eva's brow, and wiped the shadow from the rosy
+flesh.  She now blew the dust from the frame and canvas, and perceived
+the signature of the artist to whom the picture owed its origin.  "Artjen
+of Leyden," he called himself, and his careful hand had finished even the
+unimportant parts of the work with minute accuracy.  She well knew the
+silver chain with the blue turquoises, that rested on the plump neck.
+Peter had given it to her as a wedding present, and she had worn it to
+the altar; but the little diamond cross suspended from the middle she had
+never seen.  The gold buckle at Eva's belt had belonged to her since her
+last birthday--it was very badly bent, and the dull points would scarcely
+pierce the thick ribbon.
+
+"She had everything when it was new," she said to herself.  "Jewels?
+What do I care for them!  But the heart, the heart--how much love has
+she left in Peter's heart?"
+
+She did not wish to do so, but constantly heard these words ringing in
+her ears, and was obliged to summon up all her self-control, to save
+herself from weeping.
+
+"If he would only come, if he would only come!"  cried a voice in her
+tortured soul.
+
+The door opened, but she did not notice it.
+
+Barbara crossed the threshold, and called her by her name in a tone of
+kindly reproach.
+
+Maria started and blushing deeply, said"
+
+"Please give me your hand; I should like to get down.  I have finished.
+The dust was a disgrace."  When she again stood on the floor, the widow
+said, "What red cheeks you have!  Listen, my dear sister-in-law, listen
+to me, child--!"
+
+Barbara was interrupted in the midst of her admonition, for the knocker
+fell heavily on the door, and Maria hurried to the window.
+
+The widow followed, and after a hasty glance into the street, exclaimed:
+
+"That's Wilhelm Cornieliussohn, the musician.  He has been to Delft.  I
+heard it from his mother.  Perhaps he brings news of Peter.  I'll send
+him up to you, but he must first tell me below what his tidings are.  If
+you want me, you'll find me with Bessie.  She is feverish and her eyes
+ache; she will have some eruption or a fever."
+
+Barbara left the room.  Maria pressed her hands upon her burning cheeks,
+and paced slowly to and fro till the musician knocked and entered.
+
+After the first greeting, the young wife asked eagerly:
+
+"Did you see my husband in Delft?"
+
+"Yes indeed," replied Wilhelm, "the evening of the day before yesterday."
+
+"Then tell me--"
+
+"At once, at once.  I bring you a whole pouch full of messages.  First
+from your mother."
+
+"Is she well?"
+
+"Well and bright.  Worthy Doctor Groot too is hale and hearty."
+
+"And my husband?"
+
+"I found him with the doctor.  Herr Groot sends the kindest remembrances
+to you.  We had musical entertainments at his home yesterday and the day
+be fore.  He always has the latest novelties from Italy, and when we try
+this motet here--"
+
+"Afterwards, Herr Wilhelm!  You must first tell me what my husband--"
+
+"The burgomaster came to the doctor on a message from the Prince.  He was
+in haste, and could not wait for the singing.  It went off admirably.  If
+you, with your magnificent voice, will only--"
+
+"Pray, Meister Wilhelm?"
+
+"No, dear lady, you ought not to refuse.  Doctor Groot says, that when a
+girl in Delft, no one could support the tenor like you, and if you, Frau
+von Nordwyk, and Herr Van Aken's oldest daughter--"
+
+"But, my dear Meister!"  exclaimed the burgomaster's wife with increasing
+impatience, "I'm not asking about your motets and tabulatures, but my
+husband."
+
+Wilhelm gazed at the young wife's face with a half-startled, half-
+astonished look.  Then, smiling at his own awkwardness, he shook his
+head, saying in a tone of good-natured repentance:
+
+"Pray forgive me, little things seem unduly important to us when they
+completely fill our own souls.  One word about your absent husband must
+surely sound sweeter to your ears, than all my music.  I ought to have
+thought of that sooner.  So--the burgomaster is well and has transacted a
+great deal of business with the Prince.  Before he went to Dortrecht
+yesterday morning, he gave me this letter and charged me to place it in
+your hands with the most loving greetings."
+
+With these words the musician gave Maria a letter.  She hastily took it
+from his hand, saying:
+
+"No offence, Herr Wilhelm, but we'll discuss your motet to-morrow, or
+whenever you choose; to-day--"
+
+"To-day your time belongs to this letter," interrupted Wilhelm.  "That is
+only natural.  The messenger has performed his commission, and the music-
+master will try his fortune with you another time."
+
+As soon as the young man had gone, Maria went to her room, sat down at
+the window, hurriedly opened her husband's letter and read:
+
+     "MY DEAR AND FAITHFUL WIFE!
+
+     "Meister Wilhelm Corneliussohn, of Leyden, will bring you this
+     letter.  I am well, but it was hard for me to leave you on the
+     anniversary of our wedding-clay.  The weather is very bad.  I found
+     the Prince in sore affliction, but we don't give up hope, and if God
+     helps us and every man does his duty, all may yet be well.  I am
+     obliged to ride to Dortrecht to-day.  I have an important object to
+     accomplish there.  Have patience, for several days must pass before
+     my return.
+
+     "If the messenger from the council inquires, give him the papers
+     lying on the right-hand side of the writing-table under the smaller
+     leaden weight.  Remember me to Barbara and the children.  If money
+     is needed, ask Van Hout in my name for the rest of the sum due me;
+     he knows about it.  If you feel lonely, visit his wife or Frail von
+     Nordwyk; they would be glad to see you.  Buy as much meal, butter,
+     cheese, and smoked meat, as is possible.  We don't know what may
+     happen.  Take Barbara's advice!  Relying upon your obedience,
+
+                              "Your faithful husband,
+
+                                   "PETER ADRIANSSOHN VAN DER WERFF."
+
+Maria read this letter at first hastily, then slowly, sentence by
+sentence, to the end.  Disappointed, troubled, wounded, she folded it,
+drew the wall-flowers from the bosom of her dress--she knew not why--and
+flung them into the peat-box by the chimney-piece.  Then she opened her
+chest, took out a prettily-carved box, placed it on the table, and laid
+her husband's letter inside.
+
+Long after it had found a place with other papers, Maria still stood
+before the casket, gazing thoughtfully at its contents.
+
+At last she laid her hand on the lid to close it; but hesitated and took
+up a packet of letters that had lain amid several gold and silver coins,
+given by godmothers and godfathers, modest trinkets, and a withered rose.
+
+Drawing a chair up to the table, the young wife seated herself and began
+to read.  She knew these letters well enough.  A noble, promising youth
+had addressed them to her sister, his betrothed bride.  They were dated
+from Jena, whither he had gone to complete his studies in jurisprudence.
+Every word expressed the lover's ardent longing, every line was pervaded
+by the passion that had filled the writer's heart.  Often the prose of
+the young scholar, who as a pupil of Doctor Groot had won his bride in
+Delft, rose to a lofty flight.
+
+While reading, Maria saw in imagination Jacoba's pretty face, and the
+handsome, enthusiastic countenance of her bridegroom.  She remembered
+their gay wedding, her brother-in-law's impetuous friend, so lavishly
+endowed with every gift of nature, who had accompanied him to Holland to
+be his groomsman, and at parting had given her the rose which lay before
+her in the little casket.  No voice had ever suited hers so well; she had
+never heard language so poetical from any other lips, never had eyes that
+sparkled like the young Thuringian noble's looked into hers.
+
+After the wedding Georg von Dornberg returned home and the young couple
+went to Haarlem.  She had heard nothing from the young foreigner, and her
+sister and her husband were soon silenced forever.  Like most of the
+inhabitants of Haarlem, they were put to death by the Spanish destroyers
+at the capture of the noble, hapless city.  Nothing was left of her
+beloved sister except a faithful memory of her, and her betrothed
+bridegroom's letters, which she now held in her hand.
+
+They expressed love, the true, lofty love, that can speak with the
+tongues of angels and move mountains.  There lay her husband's letter.
+Miserable scrawl!  She shrank from opening it again, as she laid the
+beloved mementoes back into the box, yet her breast heaved as she thought
+of Peter.  She knew too that she loved him, and that his faithful heart
+belonged to her.  But she was not satisfied, she was not happy, for he
+showed her only tender affection or paternal kindness, and she wished to
+be loved differently.  The pupil, nay the friend of the learned Groot,
+the young wife who had grown up in the society of highly educated men,
+the enthusiastic patriot, felt that she was capable of being more, far
+more to her husband, than he asked.  She had never expected gushing
+emotions or high-strung phrases from the grave man engaged in vigorous
+action, but believed he would understand all the lofty, noble sentiments
+stirring in her soul, permit her to share his struggles and become the
+partner of his thoughts and feelings.  The meagre letter received to-day
+again taught her that her anticipations were not realized.
+
+He had been a faithful friend of her father, now numbered with the dead.
+Her brother-in-law too had attached himself, with all the enthusiasm of
+youth, to the older, fully-matured champion of liberty, Van der Werff.
+When he had spoken of Peter to Maria, it was always with expressions of
+the warmest admiration and love.  Peter had come to Delft soon after her
+father's death and the violent end of the young wedded pair, and when he
+expressed his sympathy and strove to comfort her, did so in strong,
+tender words, to which she could cling, as if to an anchor, in the misery
+of her heart.  The valient citizen of Leyden came to Delft more and more
+frequently, and was always a guest at Doctor Groot's house.  When the men
+were engaged in consultation, Maria was permitted to fill their glasses
+and be present at their conferences.  Words flew to and fro and often
+seemed to her neither clear nor wise; but what Van der Werff said was
+always sensible, and a child could understand his plain, vigorous speech.
+He appeared to the young girl like an oak-tree among swaying willows.
+She knew of many of his journeys, undertaken at the peril of his life,
+in the service of the Prince and his native land, and awaited their
+result with a throbbing heart.
+
+More than once in those days, the thought had entered her mind that it
+would be delightful to be borne through life in the strong arms of this
+steadfast man.  Then he extended these arms, and she yielded to his wish
+as proudly and happily as a squire summoned by the king to be made a
+knight.  She now remembered this by-gone time, and every hope with which
+she had accompanied him to Leyden rose vividly before her soul.
+
+Her newly-wedded husband had promised her no spring, but a pleasant
+summer and autumn by his side.  She could not help thinking of this
+comparison, and what entirely different things from those she had
+anticipated, the union with him had offered to this day.  Tumult,
+anxiety, conflict, a perpetual alternation of hard work and excessive
+fatigue, this was his life, the life he had summoned her to share at his
+side, without even showing any desire to afford her a part in his cares
+and labors.  Matters ought not, should not go on so.  Everything that had
+seemed to her beautiful and pleasant in her parents' home--was being
+destroyed here.  Music and poetry, that had elevated her soul, clever
+conversation, that had developed her mind, were not to be found here.
+Barbara's kind feelings could never supply the place of these lost
+possessions; for her husband's love she would have resigned them all--
+but what had become of this love?
+
+With bitter emotions, she replaced the casket in the chest and obeyed the
+summons to dinner, but found no one at the great table except Adrian and
+the servants.  Barbara was watching Bessie.
+
+Never had she seemed to herself so desolate, so lonely, so useless as
+to-day.  What could she do here?  Barbara ruled in kitchen and cellar,
+and she--she only stood in the way of her husband's fulfilling his duties
+to the city and state.
+
+Such were her thoughts, when the knocker again struck the door.  She
+approached the window.  It was the doctor.  Bessie had grown worse and
+she, her mother, had not even inquired for the little one.
+
+"The children, the children!"  she murmured; her sorrowful features
+brightened, and her heart grew lighter as she said to herself:
+
+"I promised Peter to treat them as if they were my own, and I will fulfil
+the duties I have undertaken."  Full of joyous excitement, she entered
+the sick-room, hastily closing the door behind her.  Doctor Bontius
+looked at her with a reproving glance, and Barbara said:
+
+"Gently, gently!  Bessie is just sleeping a little."  Maria approached
+the bed, but the physician waved her back, saying:
+
+"Have you had the purple-fever?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Then you ought not to enter this room again.  No other help is needed
+where Frau Barbara nurses."
+
+The burgomaster's wife made no reply, and returned to the entry.  Her
+heart was so heavy, so unutterably heavy.  She felt like a stranger in
+her husband's house.  Some impulse urged her to go out of doors, and as
+she wrapped her mantle around her and went downstairs, the smell of
+leather rising from the bales piled in layers on the lower story, which
+she had scarcely noticed before, seemed unendurable.  She longed for her
+mother, her friends in Delft, and her quiet, cheerful home.  For the
+first time she ventured to call herself unhappy and, while walking
+through the streets with downcast eyes against the wind, struggled vainly
+to resist some mysterious, gloomy power, that compelled her to minutely
+recall everything that had resulted differently from her expectations.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+After the musician had left the burgomaster's house, he went to young
+Herr Matanesse Van Wibisma's aunt to get his cloak, which had not been
+returned to him.  He did not usually give much heed to his dress, yet he
+was glad that the rain kept people in the house, for the outgrown wrap on
+his shoulders was by no means pleasing in appearance.  Wilhelm must
+certainly have looked anything but well-clad, for as he stood in old
+Fraulein Van Hoogstraten's spacious, stately hall, the steward Belotti
+received him as patronizingly as if he were a beggar.
+
+But the Neopolitan, in whose mouth the vigorous Dutch sounded like the
+rattling in the throat of a chilled singer, speedily took a different
+tone when Wilhelm, in excellent Italian, quietly explained the object of
+his visit.  Nay, at the sweet accents of his native tongue, the servant's
+repellent demeanor melted into friendly, eager welcome.  He was beginning
+to speak of his home to Wilhelm, but the musician made him curt replies
+and asked him to get his cloak.
+
+Belotti now led him courteously into a small room at the side of the
+great hall, took off his cloak, and then went upstairs.  As minute after
+minute passed, until at last a whole quarter of an hour elapsed, and
+neither servant nor cloak appeared, the young man lost his patience,
+though it was not easily disturbed, and when the door at last opened
+serious peril threatened the leaden panes on which he was drumming loudly
+with his fingers.  Wilhelm doubtless heard it, yet he drummed with
+redoubled vehemence, to show the Italian that the time was growing long
+to him.  But he hastily withdrew his fingers from the glass, for a girl's
+musical voice said behind him in excellent Dutch:
+
+"Have you finished your war-song, sir?  Belotti is bringing your cloak."
+
+Wilhelm had turned and was gazing in silent bewilderment into the face of
+the young noblewoman, who stood directly in front of him.  These features
+were not unfamiliar, and yet--years do not make even a goddess younger,
+and mortals increase in height and don't grow smaller; but the, lady whom
+he thought he saw before him, whom he had known well in the eternal city
+and never forgotten, had been older and taller than the young girl, who
+so strikingly resembled her and seemed to take little pleasure in the
+young man's surprised yet inquiring glance.  With a haughty gesture she
+beckoned to the steward, saying in Italian:
+
+"Give the gentleman his cloak, Belotti, and tell him I came to beg him to
+pardon your forgetfulness."
+
+With these words Henrica Van Hoogstraten turned towards the door, but
+Wilhelm took two hasty strides after her, exclaiming:
+
+"Not yet, not yet, Fraulein!  I am the one to apologize.  But if you
+have ever been amazed by a resemblance--"
+
+"Anything but looking like other people!"  cried the girl with a
+repellent gesture.
+
+"Ah, Fraulein, yet--"
+
+"Let that pass, let that pass," interrupted Henrica in so irritated a
+tone that the musician looked at her in surprise.  "One sheep looks just
+like another, and among a hundred peasants twenty have the same face.
+All wares sold by the dozen are cheap."
+
+As soon as Wilhelm heard reasons given, the quiet manner peculiar to him
+returned, and he answered modestly:
+
+"But nature also forms the most beautiful things in pairs.  Think of the
+eyes in the Madonna's face."
+
+"Are you a Catholic?"
+
+"A Calvinist, Fraulein."
+
+"And devoted to the Prince's cause?"
+
+"Say rather, the cause of liberty."
+
+"That accounts for the drumming of the war-song."
+
+"It was first a gentle gavotte, but impatience quickened the time.  I am
+a musician, Fraulein."
+
+"But probably no drummer.  The poor panes!"
+
+"They are an instrument like any other, and in playing we seek to express
+what we feel."
+
+"Then accept my thanks for not breaking them to pieces."
+
+"That wouldn't have been beautiful, Fraulein, and art ceases when
+ugliness begins."
+
+"Do you think the song in your cloak--it dropped on the ground and Nico
+picked it up--beautiful or ugly?"
+
+"This one or the other?"
+
+"I mean the Beggar-song."
+
+"It is fierce, but no more ugly than the roaring of the storm."
+
+"It is repulsive, barbarous, revolting."
+
+"I call it strong, overmastering in its power."
+
+"And this other melody?"
+
+"Spare me an answer; I composed it myself.  Can you read notes,
+Fraulein?"
+
+"A little."
+
+"And did my attempt displease you?"
+
+"Not at all, but I find dolorous passages in this choral, as in all the
+Calvinist hymns."
+
+"It depends upon how they are sung."
+
+"They are certainly intended for the voices of the shopkeepers' wives and
+washerwomen in your churches."
+
+"Every hymn, if it is only sincerely felt, will lend wings to the souls
+of the simple folk who sing it; and whatever ascends to Heaven from the
+inmost depths of the heart, can hardly displease the dear God, to whom it
+is addressed.  And then--"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"If these notes are worth being preserved, it may happen that a matchless
+choir--"
+
+"Will sing them to you, you think?"
+
+"No, Fraulein; they have fulfilled their destination if they are once
+nobly rendered.  I would fain not be absent, but that wish is far less
+earnest than the other."
+
+"How modest!"
+
+"I think the best enjoyment in creating is had in anticipation."
+
+Henrica gazed at the artist with a look of sympathy, and said with a
+softer tone in her musical voice:
+
+"I am sorry for you, Meister.  Your music pleases me; why should I deny
+it?  In many passages it appeals to the heart, but how it will be spoiled
+in your churches!  Your heresy destroys every art.  The works of the
+great artists are a horror to you, and the noble music that has unfolded
+here in the Netherlands will soon fare no better."
+
+"I think I may venture to believe the contrary."
+
+"Wrongly,  Meister, wrongly, for if your cause triumphs, which may the
+Virgin forbid, there will soon be nothing in Holland except piles of
+goods, workshops, and bare churches, from which even singing and organ-
+playing will soon be banished."
+
+"By no means, Fraulein.  Little Athens first became the home of the arts,
+after she had secured her liberty in the war against the Persians."
+
+"Athens and Leyden!" she answered scornfully.  "True, there are owls on
+the tower of Pancratius.  But where shall we find the Minerva?"
+
+While Henrica rather laughed than spoke these words, her name was called
+for the third time by a shrill female voice.  She now interrupted herself
+in the middle of a sentence, saying:
+
+"I must go.  I will keep these notes."
+
+"You will honor me by accepting them; perhaps you will allow me to bring
+you others."
+
+"Henrica!"  the voice again called from the stairs, and the young lady
+answered hastily:
+
+"Give Belotti whatever you choose, but soon, for I shan't stay here much
+longer."
+
+Wilhelm gazed after her.  She walked no less quickly and firmly through
+the wide hall and up the stairs, than she had spoken, and again he was
+vividly reminded of his friend in Rome.
+
+The old Italian had also followed Henrica with his eyes.  As she vanished
+at the last bend of the broad steps, he shrugged his shoulders, turned to
+the musician and said, with an expression of honest sympathy:
+
+"The young lady isn't well.  Always in a tumult; always like a loaded
+pistol, and these terrible headaches too!  She was different when she
+came here."
+
+"Is she ill?"
+
+"My mistress won't see it," replied the servant.  "But what the cameriera
+and I see, we see.  Now red--now pale, no rest at night, at table she
+scarcely eats a chicken-wing and a leaf of salad."
+
+"Does the doctor share your anxiety?"
+
+"The doctor?  Doctor Fleuriel isn't here.  He moved to Ghent when the
+Spaniards came, and since then my mistress will have nobody but the
+barber who bleeds her.  The doctors here are devoted to the Prince of
+Orange and are all heretics.  There, she is calling again.  I'll send the
+cloak to your house, and if you ever feel inclined to speak my language,
+just knock here.  That calling--that everlasting calling!  The young lady
+suffers from it too."
+
+When Wilhelm entered the street, it was only raining very slightly.  The
+clouds were beginning to scatter, and from a patch of blue sky the sun
+was shining brightly down on Nobelstrasse.  A rainbow shimmered in
+variegated hues above the roofs, but to-day the musician had no eyes for
+the beautiful spectacle.  The bright light in the wet street did not
+charm him.  The hot rays of the day-star were not lasting, for "they drew
+rain."  All that surrounded him seemed confused and restless.  Beside a
+beautiful image which he treasured in the sanctuary of his memories, only
+allowing his mind to dwell upon it in his happiest hours, sought to
+intrude.  His real diamond was in danger of being exchanged for a stone,
+whose value he did not know.  With the old, pure harmony blended another
+similar one, but in a different key.  How could he still think of
+Isabella, without remembering Henrica!  At least he had not heard the
+young lady sing, so his recollection of Isabella's songs remained
+unclouded.  He blamed himself because, obeying an emotion of vanity, he
+had promised to send new songs to the proud young girl, the friend of
+Spain.  He had treated Herr Matanesse Van Wibisma rudely on account of
+his opinions, but sought to approach her, who laughed at what he prized
+most highly, because she was a woman, and it was sweet to hear his work
+praised by beautiful lips.  "Hercules throws the club aside and sits down
+at the distaff, when Omphale beckons, and the beautiful Esther and the
+daughter of Herodias--" murmured Wilhelm indignantly.  He felt sorely
+troubled, and longed for his quiet attic chamber beside the dove-cote.
+
+"Something unpleasant has happened to him in Delft," thought his father.
+
+"Why doesn't he relish his fried flounders to-day?"  asked his mother,
+when he had left them after dinner.  Each felt that something oppressed
+the pride and favorite of the household, but did not attempt to discover
+the cause; they knew the moods to which he was sometimes subject for half
+a day.
+
+After Wilhelm had fed his doves, he went to his room, where he paced
+restlessly to and fro.  Then he seized his violin and wove all the
+melodies be had heard from Isabella's lips into one.  His music had
+rarely sounded so soft, and then so fierce and passionate, and his
+mother, who heard it in the kitchen, turned the twirling-stick faster and
+faster, then thrust it into the firmly-tied dough, and rubbing her hands
+on her apron, murmured:
+
+"How it wails and exults!  If it relieves his heart, in God's name let
+him do it, but cat-gut is dear and it will cost at least two strings."
+
+Towards evening Wilhelm was obliged to go to the drill of the military
+corps to which he belonged.  His company was ordered to mount guard at
+the Hoogewoort Gate.  As he marched through Nobelstrasse with it, he
+heard the low, clear melody of a woman's voice issuing from an open
+window of the Hoogstraten mansion.  He listened, and noticing with a
+shudder how much Henrica's voice--for the singer must be the young lady
+--resembled Isabella's, ordered the drummer to beat the drum.
+
+The next morning a servant came from the Hoogstraten house and gave
+Wilhelm a note, in which he was briefly requested to come to Nobelstrasse
+at two o'clock in the afternoon, neither earlier nor later.
+
+He did not wish to say "yes"--he could not say "no," and went to the
+house at the appointed hour.  Henrica was awaiting him in the little room
+adjoining the hall.  She looked graver than the day before, while heavier
+shadows under her eyes and the deep flush on her cheeks reminded Wilhelm
+of Belotti's fears for her health.  After returning his greeting, she
+said without circumlocution, and very rapidly:
+
+"I must speak to you.  Sit down.  To be brief, the way you greeted me
+yesterday awakened strange thoughts.  I must strongly resemble some other
+woman, and you met her in Italy.  Perhaps you are reminded of
+some one very near to me, of whom I have lost all trace.  Answer me
+honestly, for I do not ask from idle curiosity.  Where did you meet her?"
+
+"In Lugano.  We drove to Milan with the same vetturino, and afterwards I
+found her again in Rome and saw her daily for months."
+
+Then you know her intimately.  Do you still think the resemblance
+surprising, after having seen me for the second time?"
+
+"Very surprising."
+
+"Then I must have a double.  Is she a native of this country?"
+
+"She called herself an Italian, but she understood Dutch, for she has
+often turned the pages of my books and followed the conversation I had
+with young artists from our home.  I think she is a German lady of noble
+family."
+
+"An adventuress then.  And her name?"
+
+"Isabella--but I think no one would be justified in calling her an
+adventuress."
+
+"Was she married?"
+
+"There was something matronly in her majestic appearance, yet she never
+spoke of a husband.  The old Italian woman, her duenna, always called
+her Donna Isabella, but she possessed little more knowledge of her past
+than I."
+
+"Is that good or evil?"
+
+"Nothing at all, Fraulein."
+
+"And what led her to Rome?"
+
+"She practised the art of singing, of which she was mistress; but did not
+cease studying, and made great progress in Rome.  I was permitted to
+instruct her in counterpoint."
+
+"And did she appear in public as a singer?"
+
+"Yes and no.  A distinguished foreign prelate was her patron, and his
+recommendation opened every door, even the Palestrina's.  So the church
+music at aristocratic weddings was entrusted to her, and she did not
+refuse to sing at noble houses, but never appeared for pay.  I know that,
+for she would not allow any one else to play her accompaniments.  She
+liked my music, and so through her I went into many aristocratic houses."
+
+"Was she rich?"
+
+"No, Fraulein.  She had beautiful dresses and brilliant jewels, but was
+compelled to economize.  Remittances of money came to her at times from
+Florence, but the gold pieces slipped quickly through her fingers, for
+though she lived plainly and eat scarcely enough for a bird, while her
+delicate strength required stronger food, she was lavish to imprudence if
+she saw poor artists in want, and she knew most of them, for she did not
+shrink from sitting with them over their wine in my company."
+
+"With artists and musicians?"
+
+"Mere artists of noble sentiments.  At times she surpassed them all in
+her overflowing mirth."
+
+"At times?"
+
+"Yes, only at times, for she bad also sorrowful, pitiably sorrowful hours
+and days, but as sunshine and shower alternate in an April day, despair
+and extravagant gayety ruled her nature by turns."
+
+"A strange character.  Do you know her end?"
+
+"No, Fraulein.  One evening she received a letter from Milan, which must
+have contained bad news, and the next day vanished without any farewell."
+
+"And you did not try to follow her?"
+
+Wilhelm blushed, and answered in an embarrassed tone:
+
+"I had no right to do so, and just after her departure I fell sick--
+dangerously sick."
+
+"You loved her?"
+
+"Fraulein, I must beg you--"
+
+"You loved her!  And did she return your affection?"
+
+"We have known each other only since yesterday, Fraulein von
+Hoogstraten."
+
+"Pardon me!  But if you value my desire, we shall not have seen each
+other for the last time, though my double is undoubtedly a different
+person from the one I supposed.  Farewell till we meet again.  You hear,
+that calling never ends.  You have aroused an interest in your strange
+friend, and some other time must tell me more about her.  Only this one
+question: Can a modest maiden talk of her with you without disgrace?"
+
+"Certainly, if you do not shrink from speaking of a noble lady who had no
+other protector than herself."
+
+"And you, don't forget yourself!"  cried Henrica, leaving the room.
+
+The musician walked thoughtfully towards home.  Was Isabella a relative
+of this young girl?  He had told Henrica almost all he knew of her
+external circumstances, and this perhaps gave the former the same right
+to call her an adventuress, that many in Rome had assumed.  The word
+wounded him, and Henrica's inquiry whether he loved the stranger
+disturbed him, and appeared intrusive and unseemly.  Yes, he had felt an
+ardent love for her; ay, he had suffered deeply because he was no more
+to her than a pleasant companion and reliable friend.  It had cost him
+struggles enough to conceal his feelings, and he knew, that but for the
+dread of repulse and scorn, he would have yielded and revealed them to
+her.  Old wounds in his heart opened afresh, as he recalled the time she
+suddenly left Rome without a word of farewell.  After barely recovering
+from a severe illness, he had returned home pale and dispirited, and
+months elapsed ere he could again find genuine pleasure in his art.
+At first, the remembrance of her contained nothing save bitterness, but
+now, by quiet, persistent effort, he had succeeded, not in attaining
+forgetfulness, but in being able to separate painful emotions from the
+pure and exquisite joy of remembering her.  To-day the old struggle
+sought to begin afresh, but he was not disposed to yield, and did not
+cease to summon Isabella's image, in all its beauty, before his soul.
+
+Henrica returned to her aunt in a deeply-agitated mood.  Was the
+adventuress of whom Wilhelm had spoken, the only creature whom she loved
+with all the ardor of her passionate soul?  Was Isabella her lost sister?
+Many incidents were opposed to it, yet it was possible.  She tortured
+herself with questions, and the less peace her aunt gave her, the more
+unendurable her headache became, the more plainly she felt that the
+fever, against whose relaxing power she had struggled for days, would
+conquer her.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+On the evening of the third day after Wilhelm's interview with Henrica,
+his way led him through Nobelstrasse past the Hoogstraten mansion.
+
+Ere reaching it, he saw two gentlemen, preceded by a servant carrying a
+lantern, cross the causeway towards it.
+
+Wilhelm's attention was attracted.  The servant now seized the knocker,
+and the light of his lantern fell on the men's faces.  Neither was
+unfamiliar to him.
+
+The small, delicate old man, with the peaked hat and short black velvet
+cloak, was Abbe Picard, a gay Parisian, who had come to Leyden ten years
+before and gave French lessons in the wealthy families of the city.  He
+had been Wilhelm's teacher too, but the musician's father, the Receiver-
+General, would have nothing to do with the witty abbe; for he was said
+to have left his beloved France on account of some questionable
+transactions, and Herr Cornelius scented in him a Spanish spy.  The
+other gentleman, a grey-haired, unusually stout man, of middle height,
+who required a great deal of cloth for his fur-bordered cloak, was Signor
+Lamperi, the representative of the great Italian mercantile house of
+Bonvisi in Antwerp, who was in the habit of annually coming to Leyden on
+business for a few weeks with the storks and swallows, and was a welcome
+guest in every tap-room as the inexhaustible narrator of funny stories.
+Before these two men entered the house, they were joined by a third,
+preceded by two servants carrying lanterns.  A wide cloak enveloped his
+tall figure; he too stood on the threshold of old age and was no stranger
+to Wilhelm, for the Catholic Monseigneur Gloria, who often came to Leyden
+from Haarlem, was a patron of the noble art of music, and when the young
+man set out on his journey to Italy had provided him, spite of his
+heretical faith, with valuable letters of introduction.
+
+Wilhelm, as the door closed behind the three gentlemen, continued his
+way.  Belotti had told him the day before that the young lady seemed very
+ill, but since her aunt was receiving guests, Henrica was doubtless
+better.
+
+The first story in the Hoogstraten mansion was brightly lighted, but in
+the second a faint, steady glow streamed into Nobelstrasse from a single
+window, while she for whom the lamp burned sat beside a table, her eyes
+sparkling with a feverish glitter, as she pressed her forehead against
+the marble top.  Henrica was entirely alone in the wide, lofty room her
+aunt had assigned her.  Behind curtains of thick faded brocade was her
+bedstead, a heavy structure of enormous width.  The other articles of
+furniture were large and shabby, but had once been splendid.  Every
+chair, every table looked as if it had been taken from some deserted
+banqueting-hall.  Nothing really necessary was lacking in the apartment,
+but it was anything but home-like and cosey, and no one would ever have
+supposed a young girl occupied it, had it not been for a large gilt harp
+that leaned against the long, hard couch beside the fireplace.
+
+Henrica's head was burning but, though she had wrapped a shawl around her
+lower limbs, her feet were freezing on the uncarpeted stone floor.
+
+A short time after the three gentlemen had entered her aunt's house, a
+woman's figure ascended the stairs leading from the first to the second
+story.  Henrica's over-excited senses perceived the light tread of the
+satin shoes and the rustle of the silk train, long before the approaching
+form had reached the room, and with quickened breathing, she sat erect.
+
+A thin hand, without any preliminary knock, now opened the door and old
+Fraulein Van Hoogstraten walked up to her niece.
+
+The elderly dame had once been beautiful, now and at this hour she
+presented a strange, unpleasing appearance.
+
+The thin, bent figure was attired in a long trailing robe of heavy pink
+silk.  The little head almost disappeared in the ruff, a large structure
+of immense height and width.  Long chains of pearls and glittering gems
+hung on the sallow skin displayed by the open neck of her dress, and on
+the false, reddish-yellow curls rested a roll of light-blue velvet decked
+with ostrich plumes.  A strong odor of various fragrant essences preceded
+her.  She herself probably found them somewhat overpowering, for her
+large glittering fan was in constant motion and fluttered violently, when
+in answer to her curt: "Quick, quick," Henrica returned a resolute "no,
+'ma tante.'"
+
+The old lady, however, was not at all disconcerted by the refusal, but
+merely repeated her "Quick, quick," more positively, adding as an
+important reason:
+
+"Monseigneur has come and wants to hear you."
+
+"He does me great honor," replied the young girl, "great honor, but how
+often must I repeat: I will not come."
+
+"Is it allowable to ask why not, my fair one?"  said the old lady.
+
+"Because I am not fit for your society," cried Henrica vehemently,
+"because my head aches and my eyes burn, because I can't sing to-day,
+and because--because--because--I entreat you, leave me in peace."
+
+Old Fraulein Van Hoogstraten let her fan sink by her side, and said
+coolly:
+
+"Were you singing two hours ago--yes or no?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then your headache can't be so very bad, and Denise will dress you."
+
+"If she comes, I'll send her away.  When I just took the harp, I did so
+to sing the pain away.  It was relieved for a few minutes, but now my
+temples are throbbing with twofold violence."
+
+"Excuses."
+
+"Believe what you choose.  Besides--even if I felt better at this moment
+than a squirrel in the woods.  I wouldn't go down to see the gentlemen.
+I shall stay here.  I have given my word, and I am a Hoogstraten as well
+as you."
+
+Henrica had risen, and her eyes flashed with a gloomy fire at her
+oppressor.  The old lady waved her fan faster, and her projecting chin
+trembled.  Then she said curtly:
+
+"Your word of honor!  So you won't!  You won't!"
+
+"Certainly not," cried the young girl with undutiful positiveness.
+
+"Everybody must have his way," replied the old lady, turning towards the
+door.  "What is too wilful is too wilful.  Your father won't thank you
+for this."  With these words Fraulein Van Hoogstraten raised her long
+train and approached the door.  There she paused, and again glanced
+enquiringly at Henrica.  The latter doubtless noticed her aunt's
+hesitation, but without heeding the implied threat intentionally turned
+her back.
+
+As soon as the door closed, the young girl sank back into her chair,
+pressed her forehead against the marble slab and let it remain there a
+long time.  Then she rose as suddenly and hastily as if obeying some
+urgent summons, raised the lid of her trunk, tossed the stockings,
+bodices and shoes, that came into her way, out on the floor, and did not
+rise until she had found a few sheets of writing-paper which she had
+laid, before leaving her father's castle, among the rest of her property.
+
+As she rose from her kneeling posture, she was seized with giddiness,
+but still kept her feet, carried to the table first the white sheets and
+a portfolio, then the large inkstand that had already stood several days
+in her room, and seated herself beside it.
+
+Leaning far back in her chair, she began to write.  The book that served
+as a desk lay on her knee, the paper on the book.  Creaking and pausing,
+the goosequill made large, stiff letters on the white surface.  Henrica
+was not skilled in writing, but to-day it must have been unspeakably
+difficult for her; her high forehead became covered with perspiration,
+her mouth was distorted by pain, and whenever she had finished a few
+lines, she closed her eyes or drank greedily from the water-pitcher that
+stood beside her.
+
+The large room was perfectly still, but the peace that surrounded her was
+often disturbed by strange noises and tones, that rose from the dining-
+hall directly under her chamber.  The clinking of glasses, shrill
+tittering, loud, deep laughter, single bars of a dissolute love-song,
+cheers, and then the sharp rattle of a shattered wine glass reached her
+in mingled sounds.  She did not wish to hear it, but could not escape and
+clenched her white teeth indignantly.  Yet meantime the pen did not
+wholly stop.
+
+She wrote in broken, or long, disconnected sentences, almost incoherently
+involved.  Sometimes there were gaps, sometimes the same word was twice
+or thrice repeated.  The whole resembled a letter written by a lunatic,
+yet every line, every stroke of the pen, expressed the same desire
+uttered with passionate longing: "Take me away from here!  Take me away
+from this woman and this house!"
+
+The epistle was addressed to her father.  She implored him to rescue her
+from this place, come or send for her.  "Her uncle, Matanesse Van
+Wibisma," she said, "seemed to be a sluggish messenger; he had probably
+enjoyed the evenings at her aunt's, which filled her, Henrica, with
+loathing.  She would go out into the world after her sister, if her
+father compelled her to stay here."  Then she began a description of her
+aunt and her life.  The picture of the days and nights she had now spent
+for weeks with the old lady, presented in vivid characters a mixture of
+great and petty troubles, external and mental humiliations.
+
+Only too often the same drinking and carousing had gone on below as
+to-day-Henrica had always been compelled to join her aunt's guests,
+elderly dissolute men of French or Italian origin and easy morals.  While
+describing these conventicles, the blood crimsoned her flushed cheeks
+still more deeply, and the long strokes of the pen grew heavier and
+heavier.  What the abbe related and her aunt laughed at, what the Italian
+screamed and Monseigneur smilingly condemned with a slight shake of the
+head, was so shamelessly bold that she would have been defiled by
+repeating the words.  Was she a respectable girl or not?  She would
+rather hunger and thirst, than be present at such a banquet again.  If
+the dining-room was empty, other unprecedented demands were made upon
+Henrica, for then her aunt, who could not endure to be alone a moment,
+was sick and miserable, and she was obliged to nurse her.  That she
+gladly and readily served the suffering, she wrote, she had sufficiently
+proved by her attendance on the village children when they had the
+smallpox, but if her aunt could not sleep she was compelled to watch
+beside her, hold her hand, and listen until morning as she moaned, whined
+and prayed, sometimes cursing herself and sometimes the treacherous
+world.  She, Henrica, had come to the house strong and well, but so much
+disgust and anger, such constant struggling to control herself had robbed
+her of her health.
+
+The young girl had written until midnight.  The letters became more and
+more irregular and indistinct, the lines more crooked, and with the last
+words: "My head, my poor head!  You will see that I am losing my senses.
+I beseech you, I beseech you, my dear, stern father, take me home.
+I have again heard something about Anna--" her eyes grew dim, her pen
+dropped from her hand, and she fell back in the chair unconscious.
+
+There she lay, until the last laugh and sound of rattling glass had died
+away below, and her aunt's guests had left the house.
+
+Denise, the cameriera, noticed the light in the room, entered, and after
+vainly endeavoring to rouse Henrica, called her mistress.
+
+The latter followed the maid, muttering as she ascended the stairs:
+
+"Fallen asleep, found the time hang heavy--that's all!  She might have
+been lively and laughed with us!  Stupid race!  'Men of butter,' King
+Philip says.  That wild Lamperi was really impertinent to-night, and the
+abbe said things--things--"
+
+The old lady's large eyes were sparkling vinously, and her fan waved
+rapidly to and fro to cool the flush on her cheeks.
+
+She now stood opposite to Henrica, called her, shook her and sprinkled
+her with perfumed water from the large shell, set in gold, which hung as
+an essence bottle from her belt.  When her niece only muttered incoherent
+words, she ordered the maid to bring her medicine-chest.
+
+Denise had gone and Fraulein Van Hoogstraten now perceived Henrica's
+letter, raised it close to her eyes, read page after page with increasing
+indignation, and at last tossed it on the floor and tried to shake her
+niece awake; but in vain.
+
+Meantime Belotti had been informed of Henrica's serious illness and, as
+he liked the young girl, sent for a physician on his own responsibility,
+and instead of the family priest summoned Father Damianus.  Then he went
+to the sick girl's chamber.
+
+Even before he crossed the threshold, the old lady in the utmost
+excitement, exclaimed:
+
+"Belotti, what do you say now, Belotti?  Sickness in the house, perhaps
+contagious sickness, perhaps the plague."
+
+"It seems to be only a fever," replied the Italian soothingly.  "Come,
+Denise, we will carry the young lady to the bed.
+
+"The doctor will soon be here."
+
+"The doctor?"  cried the old lady, striking her fan on the marble top of
+the table.  "Who permitted you, Belotti--"
+
+"We are Christians," interrupted the servant, not without dignity.
+
+"Very well, very well," she cried.  "Do what you please, call whom you
+choose, but Henrica can't stay here.  Contagion in the house, the plague,
+a black tablet."
+
+"Excellenza is disturbing herself unnecessarily.  Let us first hear what
+the doctor says."
+
+"I won't hear him; I can't bear the plague and the small-pox.  Go down at
+once, Belotti, and have the sedan-chair prepared.  The old chevalier's
+room in the rear building is empty."
+
+"But, Excellenza, it's gloomy, and so damp that the north wall is covered
+with mould."
+
+"Then let it be aired and cleaned.  What does this delay mean?  You have
+only to obey.  Do you understand?"
+
+"The chevalier's room isn't fit for my mistress's sick niece," replied
+Belotti civilly, but resolutely.
+
+"Isn't it?  And you know exactly?"  asked his mistress scornfully.
+"Go down, Denise, and order the sedan-chair to be brought up.  Have you
+anything more to say, Belotti?"
+
+"Yes, Padrona," replied the Italian, in a trembling voice.  "I beg your
+excellenza to dismiss me."
+
+"Dismiss you from my service?"
+
+"With your excellenza's permission, yes--from your service."
+
+The old woman started, clasped her hands tightly upon her fan, and said:
+
+"You are irritable, Belotti."
+
+"No, Padrona, but I am old and dread the misfortune of being ill in this
+house."
+
+Fraulein Van Hoogstraten shrugged her shoulders and turning to her maid,
+cried:
+
+"The sedan-chair, Denise.  You are dismissed, Belotti."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+The night, on which sorrow and sickness had entered the Hoogstraten
+mansion, was followed by a beautiful morning.  Holland again became
+pleasant to the storks, that with a loud, joyous clatter flew clown into
+the meadows on which the sun was shining.  It was one of those days the
+end of April often bestows on men, as if to show them that they render
+her too little, her successor too much honor.  April can boast that in
+her house is born the spring, whose vigor is only strengthened and beauty
+developed by her blooming heir.
+
+It was Sunday, and whoever on such a day, while the bells are ringing,
+wanders in Holland over sunny paths, through flowery meadows where
+countless cattle, woolly cheep, and idle horses are grazing, meeting
+peasants in neat garments, peasant women with shining gold ornaments
+under snow-white lace caps, citizens in gay attire and children released
+from school, can easily fancy that even nature wears a holiday garb and
+glitters in brighter green, more brilliant blue, and more varied
+ornaments of flowers than on work-days.
+
+A joyous Sunday mood doubtless filled the minds of the burghers, who
+to-day were out of doors on foot, in large over-crowded wooden wagons,
+or gaily-painted boats on the Rhine, to enjoy the leisure hours of the
+day of rest, eat country bread, yellow butter, and fresh cheese, or drink
+milk and cool beer, with their wives and children.
+
+The organist, Wilhelm, had long since finished playing in the church, but
+did not wander out into the fields with companions of his own age, for he
+liked to use such days for longer excursions, in which walking was out of
+the question.
+
+They bore him on the wings of the wind over his native plains, through
+the mountains and valleys of Germany, across the Alps to Italy.  A spot
+propitious for such forgetfulness of the present and his daily
+surroundings, in favor of the past and a distant land, was ready.  His
+brothers, Ulrich and Johannes, also musicians, but who recognized
+Wilhelm's superior talent without envy and helped him develop it, had
+arranged for him, during his stay in Italy, a prettily-furnished room in
+the narrow side of the pointed roof of the house, from which a broad door
+led to a little balcony.  Here stood a wooden bench on which Wilhelm
+liked to sit, watching the flight of his doves, gazing dreamily into the
+distance or, when inclined to artistic creation, listening to the
+melodies that echoed in his soul.
+
+This highest part of the house afforded a beautiful prospect; the view
+was almost as extensive as the one from the top of the citadel, the old
+Roman tower situated in the midst of Leyden.  Like a spider in its web,
+Wilhelm's native city lay in the midst of countless streams and canals
+that intersected the meadows.  The red brick masonry of the city wall,
+with its towers and bastions, washed by a dark strip of water, encircled
+the pretty place as a diadem surrounds a young girl's head; and like a
+chaplet of loosely-bound thorns, forts and redoubts extended in wider,
+frequently broken circles around the walls.  The citizens' herds of
+cattle grazed between the defensive fortifications and the city wall,
+while beside and beyond them appeared villages and hamlets.
+
+On this clear April day, looking towards the north, Haarlem lake was
+visible, and on the west, beyond the leafy coronals of the Hague woods,
+must be the downs which nature had reared for the protection of the
+country against the assaults of the waves.  Their long chain of hillocks
+offered a firmer and more unconquerable resistance to the pressure of the
+sea, than the earthworks and redoubts of Alfen, Leyderdorp and
+Valkenburg, the three forts situated close to the banks of the Rhine,
+presented to hostile armies.  The Rhine!  Wilhelm gazed down at the
+shallow, sluggish river, and compared it to a king deposed from his
+throne, who has lost power and splendor and now kindly endeavors to
+dispense benefits in little circles with the property that remains.  The
+musician was familiar with the noble, undivided German Rhine; and often
+followed it in imagination towards the south but more often still his
+dreams conveyed him with a mighty leap to Lake Lugano, the pearl of the
+Western Alps, and when he thought of it and the Mediterranean, beheld
+rising before his mental vision emerald green, azure blue, and golden
+light; and in such hours all his thoughts were transformed within his
+breast into harmonies and exquisite music.
+
+And his journey from Lugano to Milan!  The conveyance that bore him to
+Leonardo's city was plain and overcrowded, but in it he had found
+Isabella.  And Rome, Rome, eternal, never-to-be-forgotten Rome, where so
+long as we dwell there, we grow out of ourselves, increase in strength
+and intellectual power, and which makes us wretched with longing when it
+lies behind us.
+
+By the Tiber Wilhelm had first thoroughly learned what art, his glorious
+art was; here, near Isabella, a new world had opened to him, but a sharp
+frost had passed over the blossoms of his heart that had unfolded in
+Rome, and he knew they were blighted and could bear no fruit--yet to-day
+he succeeded in recalling her in her youthful beauty, and instead of the
+lost love, thinking of the kind friend Isabella and dreaming of a sky
+blue as turquoise, of slender columns and bubbling fountains, olive
+groves and marble statues, cool churches and gleaming villas, sparkling
+eyes and fiery wine, magnificent choirs and Isabella's singing.
+
+The doves that cooed and clucked, flew away and returned to the cote
+beside him, could now do as they chose, their guardian neither saw nor
+heard them.
+
+Allertssohn, the fencing-master, ascended the ladder to his watch-tower,
+but he did not notice him until he stood on the balcony by his side,
+greeting him with his deep voice.
+
+"Where have we been, Herr Wilhelm?"  asked the old man.  "In this cloth-
+weaving Leyden?  No!  Probably with the goddess of music on Olympus, if
+she has her abode there."
+
+"Rightly guessed," replied Wilhelm, pushing the hair back from his
+forehead with both hands." I have been visiting her, and she sends you a
+friendly greeting."
+
+"Then offer one from me in return," replied the other, "but she usually
+belongs to the least familiar of my acquaintances.  My throat is better
+suited to drinking than singing.  Will you allow me?"
+
+The fencing-master raised the jug of beer which Wilhelm's mother filled
+freshly every day and placed in her darling's room, and took a long pull.
+Then wiping his moustache, he said:
+
+That did me good, and I needed it.  The men wanted to go out pleasuring
+and omit their drill, but we forced them to go through it, Junker von
+Warmond, Duivenvoorde and I.  Who knows how soon it may be necessary to
+show what we can do.  Roland, my fore man, such imprudence is like a
+cudgel, against which one can do nothing with Florentine rapiers, clever
+tierce and quarto.  My wheat is destroyed by the hail."
+
+"Then let it he, and see if the barley and clover don't do better,"
+replied Wilhelm gaily, tossing vetches and grains of wheat to a large
+dove that had alighted on the parapet of his tower.
+
+"It eats, and what use is it?"  cried Allertssohn, looking at the dove.
+"Herr von Warmond, a young man after God's own heart, has just brought me
+two falcons; do you want to see bow I tame them?"
+
+"No, Captain, I have enough to do with my music and my doves."
+
+"That is your affair.  The long-necked one yonder is a queer-looking
+fellow."
+
+"And of what country is he probably a native?  There he goes to join the
+others.  Watch him a little while and then answer me."
+
+"Ask King Soloman that; he was on intimate terms with birds."
+
+"Only watch him, you'll find out presently."
+
+"The fellow has a stiff neck, and holds his head unusually high."
+
+"And his beak?"
+
+"Curved, almost like a hawk's!  Zounds, why does the creature strut about
+with its toes so far apart?  Stop, bandit!  He'll peck that little dove
+to death.  As true as I live, the saucy rascal must be a Spaniard!"
+
+"Right, it is a Spanish dove.  It flew to me, but I can't endure it and
+drive it away; for I keep only a few pairs of the same breed and try to
+get the best birds possible.  Whoever raises many different kinds in the
+same cote, will accomplish nothing."
+
+"That gives food for thought.  But I believe you haven't chosen the
+handsomest species."
+
+"No, sir.  What you see are a cross between the carrier and tumblers, the
+Antwerp breed of carrier pigeons.  Bluish, reddish, spotted birds.
+I don't care for the colors, but they must have small bodies and large
+wings, with broad quills on their flag-feathers, and above all ample
+muscular strength.  The one yonder stop, I'll catch him--is one of my
+best flyers.  Try to lift his pinions."
+
+"Heaven knows the little thing has marrow in its bones!  How the tiny
+wing pinches; the falcons are not much stronger."
+
+"It's a carrier-dove too, that finds its way alone."
+
+"Why do you keep no white tumblers?  I should think they could be watched
+farthest in their flight."
+
+"Because doves fare like men.  Whoever shines very brightly and is seen
+from a distance, is set upon by opponents and envious people, and birds
+of prey pounce upon the white doves first.  I tell you, Captain, whoever
+has eyes in his head, can learn in a dove-cote how things come to pass
+among Adam and Eve's posterity on earth."
+
+"There is quarrelling and kissing up here just as there is in Leyden."
+
+"Yes, exactly the same, Captain.  If I mate an old dove with one much
+younger, it rarely turns out well.  When the male dove is in love, he
+understands how to pay his fair one as many attentions, as the most
+elegant gallant shows the mistress of his heart.  And do you know what
+the kissing means?  The suitor feeds his darling, that is, seeks to win
+her affection by beautiful gifts.  Then the wedding comes, and they build
+a nest.  If there are young birds, they feed them together in perfect
+harmony.  The aristocratic doves brood badly, and we put their eggs under
+birds of more ordinary breed."
+
+"Those are the noble ladies, who have nurses for their infants."
+
+"Unmated doves often make mischief among the mated ones."
+
+"Take warning, young man, and beware of being a bachelor.  I'll say
+nothing against the girls who remain unmarried, for I have found among
+them many sweet, helpful souls."
+
+"So have I, but unfortunately some bad ones too, as well as here in the
+dove-tote.  On the whole my wards lead happy married lives, but if it
+comes to a separation--"
+
+"Which of the two is to blame?"
+
+"Nine times out of ten the little wife."
+
+"Roland, my fore man, exactly as it is among human beings," cried the
+fencing-master, clapping his hands.
+
+"What do you mean by your Roland, Herr Allerts?  You promised me a short
+time ago--but who is coming up the ladder?"
+
+"I hear your mother."
+
+"She is bringing me a visitor.  I know that voice and yet.  Wait.  It's
+old Fraulein Van Hoogstraten's steward."
+
+"From Nobelstrasse?  Let me go, Wilhelm, for this Glipper crew--"
+
+"Wait a little while, there is only room for one on the ladder," said the
+musician, holding out his hand to Belotti to guide him from the last rung
+into his room.
+
+"Spaniards and the allies of Spain," muttered the fencing-master, opened
+the door, and called while descending the ladder: "I'll wait down below
+till the air is pure again."
+
+The steward's handsome face, usually smoothly shaven with the most
+extreme care, was to-day covered with a stubbly beard, and the old man
+looked sad and worn, as he began to tell Wilhelm what had occurred in his
+mistress's house since the evening of the day before.
+
+"Years may make a hot-tempered person weaker, but not calmer," said the
+Italian, continuing his story.  "I can't look on and see the poor angel,
+for she isn't far from the Virgin's throne, treated like a sick dog that
+is flung out into the court-yard, so I got my discharge."
+
+"That does you honor, but was rather out of place just now.  And has the
+young lady really been carried to the damp room?"
+
+"No, sir.  Father Damianus came and made the old excellenza understand
+what the holy Virgin expected of a Christian, and when the padrona still
+tried to carry out her will, the holy man spoke to her in words so harsh
+and stern that she yielded.  The signorina is now lying in bed with
+burning cheeks, raving in delirium."
+
+"And who is attending the patient?"
+
+"I came to you about the physician, my dear sir, for Doctor de Bout, who
+instantly obeyed my summons, was treated so badly by the old excellenza,
+that he turned his back upon her and told me, at the door of the house,
+he wouldn't come again."
+
+Wilhelm shook his head, and the Italian continued, "There are other
+doctors in Leyden, but Father Damianus says de Bont or Bontius, as they
+call him, is the most skilful and learned of them all, and as the old
+excellenza herself had an attack of illness about noon, and certainly
+won't leave her bed very speedily, the way is open, and Father Damianus
+says he'll go to Doctor Bontius himself if necessary.  But as you are a
+native of the city and acquainted with the signorina, I wanted to spare
+him the rebuff he would probably meet from the foe of our holy Church.
+The poor man has enough to suffer from good-for-nothing boys and
+scoffers, when he goes through the city with the sacrament."
+
+"You know people are strictly forbidden to disturb him in the exercise of
+his calling."
+
+"Yet he can't show himself in the street without being jeered.  We two
+cannot change the world, sir.  So long as the Church had the upper hand,
+she burned and quartered you, now you have the power here, our priests
+are persecuted and scorned."
+
+"Against the law and the orders of the magistrates."
+
+"You can't control the people, and Father Damianus is a lamb, who bears
+everything patiently, as good a Christian as many saints before whom we
+burn candles.  Do you know the doctor?"
+
+"A little, by sight."
+
+"Oh, then go to him, sir, for the young lady's sake," cried the old man
+earnestly.  "It is in your power to save a human life, a beautiful young
+life."
+
+The steward's eyes glittered with tears.  As Wilhelm laid his hand on his
+arm, saying kindly: "I will try," the fencing-master called: "Your
+council is lasting too long for me.  I'll come another time."
+
+"No, Meister, come up a minute,  This gentleman is here on account of a
+poor sick girl.  The poor, helpless creature is now lying without any
+care, for her aunt, old Fraulein Van Hoogstraten, has driven Doctor de
+Bont from her bed because he is a Calvinist."
+
+"From the sick girl's bed?"
+
+"It's abominable enough, but the old lady is now ill herself."
+
+"Bravo, bravo!" cried the fencing-master, clapping his hands.  "If the
+devil himself isn't afraid of her and wants to fetch her, I'll pay for
+his post-horses.  But the girl, the sick girl?"
+
+"Herr Belotti begs me to persuade de Bont to visit her again.  Are you on
+friendly terms with the doctor?"
+
+"I was, Wilhelm, I was; but--last Friday we had some sharp words about
+the new morions, and now the learned demi-god demands an apology from me,
+but to sound a retreat isn't written here--"
+
+"Oh, my dear sir," cried Belotti, with touching earnestness.  "The poor
+child is lying helpless in a raging fever.  If Heaven has blessed you
+with children--"
+
+"Be calm, old man, be calm," replied the fencing master, stroking
+Belotti's grey hair kindly.  "My children are nothing to you, but we'll do
+what we can for the young girl.  Farewell till we meet again, gentlemen.
+Roland, my fore man, what shall we live to see!  Hemp is still cheap in
+Holland, and yet such a monster has lived amongst us to be as old as a
+raven."
+
+With these words he went down the ladder.  On reaching the street, he
+pondered over the words in which he should apologize to Doctor Bontius,
+with a face as sour as if he had wormwood in his mouth; but his eyes and
+bearded lips smiled.
+
+His learned friend made the apology easy for him, and when Belotti came
+home, he found the doctor by the sick girl's bed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+Frau Elizabeth von Nordwyk and Frau Van Bout had each asked the
+burgomaster's wife to go into the country with them to enjoy the
+beautiful spring day, but in spite of Barbara's persuasions, Maria
+could not be induced to accept their invitation.
+
+A week had elapsed since her husband's departure, a week whose days had
+run their course from morning to evening as slowly as the brackish water
+in one of the canals, intersecting the meadows of Holland, flowed towards
+the river.
+
+Sleep loves the couches of youth, and had again found hers, but with the
+rising of the sun the dissatisfaction, anxiety and secret grief, that
+slumber had kindly interrupted, once more returned.  She felt that it was
+not right, and her father would have blamed her if he had seen her thus.
+
+There are women who are ashamed of rosy cheeks, unrestrained joy in life,
+to whom the emotion of sorrow affords a mournful pleasure.  To this class
+Maria certainly did not belong.  She would fain have been happy, and left
+untried no means of regaining the lost joy of her heart.  Honestly
+striving to do her duty, she returned to little Bessie; but the child was
+rapidly recovering and called for Barbara, Adrian or Trautchen, as soon
+as she was left alone with her.
+
+She tried to read, but the few books she had brought from Delft were all
+familiar, and her thoughts, ere becoming fixed on the old volumes,
+pursued their own course.
+
+Wilhelm brought her the new motet, and she endeavored to sing it; but
+music demands whole hearts from those who desire to enjoy her gifts, and
+therefore melody and song refused comfort as well as pleasure to her,
+whose mind was engrossed by wholly different things.  If she helped
+Adrian in his work, her patience failed much sooner than usual.  On the
+first market-day, she went out with Trautchen to obey her husband's
+directions and make purchases and, while shopping at the various places
+where different wares were offered--here fish, yonder meat or vegetables,
+amid the motley crowd, hailed on every side by cries of: "Here, Frau
+Burgermeisterin!  I  have  what  you want, Frau Burgermeisterin!" forgot
+the sorrow that oppressed her.
+
+With newly-animated self-reliance, she examined flour, pulse and dried
+fish, making it a point of honor to bargain carefully; Barbara should see
+that she knew how to buy.  The crowd was very great everywhere, for the
+city magistrates had issued a proclamation bidding every household, in
+view of the threatened danger, to supply itself abundantly with
+provisions on all the market-days; but the purchasers made way for
+the burgomaster's pretty young wife, and this too pleased her.
+
+She returned home with a bright face, happy in having done her best, and
+instantly went into the kitchen to see Barbara.
+
+Peter's good-natured sister had plainly perceived how sorely her young
+sister-in-law's heart was troubled, and therefore gladly saw her go out
+to make her purchases.  Choosing and bargaining would surely dispel her
+sorrows and bring other thoughts.  True, the cautious house-keeper, who
+expected everything good from Maria except the capacity of showing
+herself an able, clever mistress of the house, had charged Trautchen to
+warn her mistress against being cheated.  But when in market the demand
+is two or three times greater than the supply, prices rise, and so it
+happened that when Maria told the widow how much she had paid for this or
+that article, Barbara's "My child, that's perfectly unheard--of!"  or,
+"It's enough to drive us to beggary," followed each other in quick
+succession.
+
+These exclamations, which under the circumstances were usually entirely
+unjustifiable, vexed Maria; but she wished to be at peace with her
+sister-in-law, and though it was hard to bear injustice, it was contrary
+to her nature and would have caused her pain to express her indignation
+in violent words.  So she merely said with a little excitement:
+
+"Please ask what other ladies are paying, and then Scold, if you think it
+right."
+
+With these words she left the kitchen.
+
+"My child, I'm not scolding at all," Barbara called after her, but Maria
+would not hear, hastily ascended the stairs and locked herself into her
+room.  Her joyousness had again vanished.
+
+On Sunday she went to church.  After dinner she filled a canvas-bag with
+provisions for Adrian, who was going on a boating excursion with several
+friends, and then sat at the window in her chamber.
+
+Stately men, among them many members of the council, passed by with their
+gaily-dressed wives and children; young girls with flowers in their
+bosoms moved arm in arm, by twos and threes, along the footpath beside
+the canal, to dance in the village outside the Zyl-Gate.  They walked
+quietly forward with eyes discreetly downcast, but many a cheek flushed
+and many an ill-suppressed smile hovered around rosy lips, when the
+youths, who followed the girls moving so decorously along, as gaily and
+swiftly as sea-gulls flutter around a ship, uttered teasing jests, or
+whispered into their ears words that no third party need hear.
+
+All who were going towards the Zyl-Gate seemed gay and careless, every
+face showed what joyous hours in the open air and sunny meadows were
+anticipated.  The object that attracted them appeared beautiful and
+desirable to Maria also, but what should she do among the happy, how
+could she be alone amid strangers with her troubled heart?  The shadows
+of the houses seemed especially dark to-day, the air of the city heavier
+than usual, as if the spring had come to every human being, great and
+small, old and young, except herself.
+
+The buildings and the trees that bordered the Achtergracht were already
+casting longer shadows, and the golden mists hovering over the roofs
+began to be mingled with a faint rosy light, when Maria heard a horseman
+trotting up the street.  She drew herself up.  rigidly and her heart
+throbbed violently.  She would not receive Peter any differently from
+usual, she must be frank to him and show him how she felt, and that
+matters could not go on so, nay she was already trying to find fitting
+words for what she had to say to him.  Just at that moment, the horse
+stopped before the door.  She went to the window; saw her husband swing
+himself from the saddle and look joyously up to the window of her room
+and, though she made no sign of greeting, her heart drew her towards him.
+Every thought, every fancy was forgotten, and with winged steps she flew
+down the corridor to the stairs.  Meantime he had entered, and she called
+his name.  "Maria, child, are you there!"  he shouted, rushed up the
+steps as nimbly as a youth, met her on one of the upper stairs and drew
+her with overflowing tenderness to his heart.
+
+"At last, at last, I have you again!" he cried joyously, pressing his
+lips to her eyes and her fragrant hair.  She had clasped her hands
+closely around his neck, but he released himself, held them in his, and
+asked: "Are Barbara and Adrian at home?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+The burgomaster laughed, stooped, lifted her up like a child, and carried
+her into his room.  As a beautiful tree beside a burning house is seized
+by the neighboring flames, although immediately protected with cold
+water, Maria, in spite of her long-cherished resolve to receive him
+coolly, was overwhelmed by the warmth of her husband's feelings.  She
+cordially rejoiced in having him once more, and willingly believed him,
+as he told her in loving words how painfully he had felt their
+separation, how sorely he had missed her, and how distinctly he, who
+usually lacked the ability to remember an absent person, had had her
+image before his eyes.
+
+How warmly, with what convincing tones he understood how to give
+expression to his love to-day!  She was still a happy wife, and showed
+him that she was without reserve.
+
+Barbara and Adrian returned home, and there was now much to tell at the
+evening meal.  Peter had had many a strange experience on the journey,
+and gained fresh hope, the boy had distinguished himself at school, and
+Bessie's sickness might already be called a danger happily overcome.
+Barbara was radiant with joy, for all seemed well between Maria and her
+brother.
+
+The beautiful April night passed pleasantly away.  When Maria was
+braiding black velvet into her hair the next morning, she was full of
+grateful emotion, for she had found courage to tell Peter that she
+desired to have a larger share in his anxieties than before, and received
+a kind assent.  A worthier, richer life, she hoped, would now begin.  He
+was to tell her this very day what he had discussed and accomplished with
+the Prince and at Dortrecht, for hitherto no word of all this had escaped
+his lips.
+
+Barbara, who was moving about in the kitchen and just on the point of
+catching three chickens to kill them, let them live a little longer, and
+even tossed half a handful of barley into their coop, as she heard her
+sister-in-law come singing down-stairs.  The broken bars of Wilhelm's
+last madrigal sounded as sweet and full of promise as the first notes of
+the nightingale, which the gardener hears at the end of a long winter.
+It was spring again in the house, and her pleasant round face, in its
+large cap, looked as bright and unclouded as a sunflower amid its green
+leaves, as she called to Maria:
+
+"This is a good day for you, child; we'll melt down the butter and salt
+the hams."
+
+The words sounded as joyous as if she had offered her an invitation to
+Paradise, and Maria willingly helped in the work, which began at once.
+When the widow moved her hands, tongues could not remain silent, and the
+conversation that had probably taken place between Peter and his wife
+excited her curiosity not a little.
+
+She turned the conversation upon him cleverly enough, and, as if
+accidentally, asked the question:
+
+"Did he apologize for his departure on the anniversary of your wedding-
+day?"
+
+"I know the reason; he could not stay."
+
+"Of course not, of course not; but whoever is green the goats eat.  We
+mustn't allow the men to go too far.  Give, but take also.  An injustice
+endured is a florin, for which in marriage a calf can be bought."
+
+"I will not bargain with Peter, and if anything weighed heavily on my
+mind, I have willingly forgotten it after so long a separation."
+
+"Wet hay may destroy a barn, and any one to whom the hare runs can catch
+him!  People ought not to keep their troubles to themselves, but tell
+them; that's why they have tongues, and yesterday was the right time to
+make a clean breast of everything that grieves you."
+
+"He was in such a joyous mood when he came home, and then: Why do you
+think I feel unhappy?"
+
+"Unhappy.  Who said so?"
+
+Maria blushed, but the widow seized the knife and opened the hen-coop.
+
+Trautchen was helping the two ladies in the kitchen, but she was
+frequently interrupted in her work, for this morning the knocker on the
+door had no rest, and those who entered must have brought the burgomaster
+no pleasant news, for his deep, angry voice was often audible.
+
+His longest discussion was with Herr Van Hout, who had come to him, not
+only to ask questions and tell what occurred, but also to make
+complaints.
+
+It was no ordinary spectacle, when these two men, who, towering far above
+their fellow-citizens, not only in stature, but moral earnestness and
+enthusiastic devotion to the cause of liberty, declared their opinions
+and expressed their wrath.  The inflammable, restless Van Hout took the
+first part, the slow, steadfast Van der Werff, with mighty
+impressiveness, the second.
+
+A bad disposition ruled among the fathers of the city, the rich men of
+old families, the great weavers and brewers, for to them property, life
+and consideration were more than religion and liberty, while the poor
+men, who laboriously supported their families by the sweat of their
+brows, were joyously determined to sacrifice money and blood for the good
+cause.
+
+There was obstacle after obstacle to conquer.  The scaffolds and barns,
+frames and all other wood-work that could serve to conceal a man, were to
+be levelled to the earth, as all the country-houses and other buildings
+near the city had formerly been.  Much newly-erected woodwork was already
+removed, but the rich longest resisted having the axe put to theirs.  New
+earthworks had been commenced at the important fort of Valkenburg; but
+part of the land, where the workmen were obliged to dig, belonged to a
+brewer, who demanded a large sum in compensation for his damaged meadow.
+When the siege was raised in March, paper-money was restored, round
+pieces of pasteboard, one side of which bore the Netherland lion, with
+the inscription, "Haec libertatis ergo," while the other had the coat-of-
+arms of the city and the motto "God guard Leyden."  These were intended
+to be exchanged for coin or provisions, but rich speculators had obtained
+possession of many pieces, and were trying to raise their value.  Demands
+of every kind pressed upon him, and amid all these claims the burgomaster
+was also compelled to think of his own affairs, for all intercourse with
+the outside world would soon be cut off, and it was necessary to settle
+many things with the representative of his business in Hamburg.  Great
+losses were threatening, but he left no means untried to secure for his
+family what might yet be saved.
+
+He rarely saw wife or children; yet thought he was fulfilling the promise
+Maria had obtained from him the evening after his return, when he briefly
+answered her questions or voluntarily gave her such sentences as "There
+was warm work at the town-hall to-day!"  or, "It is more difficult to
+circulate the paper-money than we expected!"  He did not feel the kindly
+necessity of having a confidante and expressing his feelings, and his
+first wife had been perfectly contented and happy, if he sat silently
+beside her during quiet hours, called her his treasure, petted the
+children, or even praised her cracknels and Sunday roast.  Business and
+public affairs had been his concern, the kitchen and nursery hers.  What
+they had shared, was the consciousness of the love one felt for the
+other, their children, the distinction, honors and possessions of the
+household.
+
+Maria asked more and he was ready to grant it, but when in the evening
+she pressed the wearied man with questions he was accustomed to hear only
+from the lips of men, he put her off for the answers till less busy
+times, or fell asleep in the midst of her inquiries.
+
+She saw how many burdens oppressed him, how unweariedly he toiled--but
+why did he not move a portion of the load to other shoulders?
+
+Once, during the beautiful spring weather, he went out with her into the
+country.  She seized upon the opportunity to represent that it was his
+duty to himself and her to gain more rest.
+
+He listened patiently, and when she had finished her entreaty and
+warnings, took her hand in his, saying:
+
+"You have met Herr Marnix von St. Aldegonde and know what the cause of
+liberty owes him.  Do you know his motto?"
+
+She nodded and answered softly: "Repos ailleurs."
+
+"Where else can we rest," he repeated firmly.
+
+A slight shiver ran through her limbs, and as she withdrew her hands, she
+could not help thinking: "Where else;-so not here.  Rest and happiness
+have no home here."  She did not utter the words, but could not drive
+them from her mind.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+During these May days the Hoogstraten mansion was the quietest of all the
+houses in quiet Nobelstrasse.  By the orders of Doctor Bontius and the
+sick lady's attorney, a mixture of straw and sand lay on the cause-way
+before it.  The windows were closely curtained, and a piece of felt hung
+between the door and the knocker.  The door was ajar, but a servant sat
+close behind it to answer those who sought admission.
+
+On a morning early in May the musician, Wilhelm Corneliussohn, and Janus
+Dousa turned the corner of Nobelstrasse.  Both men were engaged in eager
+conversation, but as they approached the straw and sand, their voices
+became lower and then ceased entirely.
+
+"The carpet we spread under the feet of the conqueror Death," said the
+nobleman.  "I hope he will lower the torch only once here and do honor to
+age, little worthy of respect as it may be.  Don't stay too long in the
+infected house, Herr Wilhelm."
+
+The musician gently opened the door.  The servant silently greeted him
+and turned towards the stairs to call Belotti; for the "player-man" had
+already enquired more than once for the steward.
+
+Wilhelm entered the little room where he usually waited, and for the
+first time found another visitor there, but in a somewhat peculiar
+attitude.  Father Damianus sat bolt upright in an arm-chair, with his
+head drooping on one side, sound asleep.  The face of the priest, a man
+approaching his fortieth year, was as pink and white as a child's, and
+framed by a thin light-brown beard.  A narrow circle of thin light hair
+surrounded his large tonsure, and a heavy dark rosary of olive-wood beads
+hung from the sleeper's hands.  A gentle, kindly smile hovered around his
+half-parted lips.
+
+"This mild saint in long woman's robes doesn't look as if he could grasp
+anything strongly" thought Wilhelm, "yet his hands are callous and have
+toiled hard."
+
+When Belotti entered the room and saw the sleeping priest, he carefully
+pushed a pillow under his head and beckoned to Wilhelm to follow him into
+the entry.
+
+"We won't grudge him a little rest," said the Italian.  "He has sat
+beside the padrona's bed from yesterday noon until two hours ago.
+Usually she doesn't know what is going on around her, but as soon as
+consciousness returns she wants religious consolation.  She still refuses
+to take the sacrament for the dying, for she won't admit that she is
+approaching her end.  Yet often, when the disease attacks her more
+sharply, she asks in mortal terror if everything is ready, for she is
+afraid to die without extreme unction."
+
+"And how is Fraulein Henrica?"
+
+"A very little better."
+
+The priest had now come out of the little room.  Belotti reverently
+kissed his hand and Wilhelm bowed respectfully.
+
+"I had fallen asleep," said Damianus simply and naturally, but in a voice
+less deep and powerful than would have been expected from his broad
+breast and tall figure.  "I will read the mass, visit my sick, and then
+return.  Have you thought better of it, Belotti?"
+
+"It won't do sir, the Virgin knows it won't do.  My dismissal was given
+for the first of May, this is the eighth, and yet I'm still here--I
+haven't left the house because I'm a Christian!  Now the ladies have a
+good physician, Sister Gonzaga is doing her duty, you yourself will earn
+by your nursing a place among the martyrs in Paradise, so, without making
+myself guilty of a sin, I can tie up my bundle."
+
+"You will not go, Belotti," said the priest firmly.  "If you still insist
+on having your own way, at least do not call yourself a Christian."
+
+"You will stay," cried Wilhelm, "if only for the sake of the young lady,
+to whom you still feel kindly."  Belotti shook his head, and answered
+quietly:
+
+"You can add nothing, young sir, to what the holy Father represented to
+me yesterday.  But my mind is made up, I shall go; yet as I value the
+holy Father's good opinion and yours, I beg you to do me the favor to
+listen to me.  I have passed my sixty-second birthday, and an old horse
+or an old servant stands a long time in the market-place before any one
+will buy them.  There might probably be a place in Brussels for a
+Catholic steward, who understands his business, but this old heart longs
+to return to Naples--ardently, ardently, unutterably.  You have seen our
+blue sea and our sky, young sir, and I yearn for them, but even more for
+other, smaller things.  It now seems a joy that I can speak in my native
+language to you, Herr Wilhelm, and you, holy Father.  But there is a
+country where every one uses the same tongue that I do.  There is a
+little village at the foot of Vesuvius--merciful Heavens!  Many a person
+would be afraid to stay there, even half an hour, when the mountain
+quakes, the ashes fall in showers, and the glowing lava pours out in a
+stream.  The houses there are by no means so well built, and the window-
+panes are not so clean as in this country.  I almost fear that there are
+few glass windows in Resina, but the children don't freeze, any more than
+they do here.  What would a Leyden house-keeper say to our village
+streets?  Poles with vines, boughs of fig-trees, and all sorts of under-
+clothing on the roofs, at the windows, and the crooked, sloping
+balconies; orange and lemon-trees with golden fruit grow in the little
+gardens, which have neither straight paths nor symmetrical beds.
+Everything there grows together topsy-turvy.  The boys, who in rags that
+no tailor has darned or mended, clamber over the white vineyard walls,
+the little girls, whose mothers comb their hair before the doors of the
+houses, are not so pink and white, nor so nicely washed as the Holland
+children, but I should like to see again the brown-skinned, black-haired
+little ones with the dark eyes, and end my days amid all the clatter in
+the warm air, among my nephews, nieces and blood-relations."
+
+As he uttered these words, the old man's features had flushed and his
+black eyes sparkled with a fire, that but a short time before the
+northern air and his long years of servitude seemed to have extinguished.
+Since neither the priest nor the musician answered immediately, he
+continued more quietly:
+
+"Monseigneur Gloria is going to Italy now, and I can accompany him to
+Rome as courier.  From thence I can easily reach Naples, and live there
+on the interest of my savings free from care.  My future master will
+leave on the 15th, and on the 12th I must be in Antwerp, where I am to
+meet him."
+
+The eyes of the priest and the musician met.  Wilhelm lacked courage to
+seek to withhold the steward from carrying out his plan, but Damianus
+summoned up his resolution, laid his hand on the old man's shoulder, and
+said:
+
+"If you wait here a few weeks more, Belotti, you will find the true rest,
+the peace of a good conscience.  The crown of life is promised to those,
+who are faithful, unto death.  When these sad days are over, it will be
+easy to smooth the way to your home.  We shall meet again towards noon,
+Belotti.  If my assistance is necessary, send for me; old Ambrosius knows
+where to find me.  May God's blessing rest upon you, and if you will
+accept it from me, on you also, Meister Wilhelm."
+
+After the priest had left the house, Belotti said, sighing:
+
+"He'll yet force me to yield to his will.  He abuses his power over
+souls.  I'm no saint, and what he asks of me--"
+
+"Is right," said Wilhelm firmly.
+
+"But you don't know what it is to throw away, like a pair of worn-out
+shoes, the dearest hope of a long, sad life.  And for whom, I ask you,
+for whom?  Do you know my padrona?  Oh! sir, I have experienced in this
+house things, which your youth does not dream could be possible.  The
+young lady has wounded you.  Am I right or wrong?"
+
+"You are mistaken, Belotti."
+
+"Really?  I am glad for your sake, you are a modest artist, but the
+signorina bears the Hoogstraten name, and that is saying everything.  Do
+you know her father?"
+
+"No, Belotti."
+
+"That's a race-a race!  Have you never heard anything of the story of our
+signorina's older sister?"
+
+"Has Henrica an older sister?"
+
+"Yes, sir, and when I think of her.--Imagine the signorina, exactly like
+our signorina, only taller, more stately, more beautiful."
+
+"Isabella!"  exclaimed the musician.  A conjecture, which had been
+aroused since his conversation with Henrica, appeared to be confirmed;
+he seized the steward's arm so suddenly and unexpectedly, that the latter
+drew back, and continued eagerly: "What do you know of her?  I beseech
+you, Belotti, tell me all."
+
+The servant looked up the stairs, then shaking his head, answered:
+
+"You are probably mistaken.  There has never been an Isabella in this
+house to my knowledge, but I will gladly place myself at your service.
+Come again after sunset, but you must expect to hear no pleasant tale."
+
+Twilight had scarcely yielded to darkness, when the musician again
+entered the Hoogstraten mansion.  The little room was empty, but Belotti
+did not keep him waiting long.
+
+The old man placed a dainty little waiter, bearing a jug of wine and a
+goblet, on the table beside the lamp and, after informing Wilhelm of the
+invalids' condition, courteously offered him a chair.  When the musician
+asked him why he had not brought a cup for himself too, he replied:
+
+"I drink nothing but water, but allow me to take the liberty to sit down.
+The servant who attends to the chambers has left the house, and I've done
+nothing but go up and down stairs all day.  It tries my old legs, and we
+can expect no quiet night."
+
+A single candle lighted the little room.  Belotti, who had leaned far
+back in his chair, opened his clenched hands and slowly began:
+
+"I spoke this morning of the Hoogstraten race.  Children of the same
+parents, it is true, are often very unlike, but in your little country,
+which speaks its own language and has many things peculiar to itself--you
+won't deny that--every old family has its special traits.  I know, for I
+have been in many a noble household in Holland.  Every race has its own
+peculiar blood and ways.  Even where--by your leave--there is a crack in
+the brain, it rarely happens to only one member of a family.  My mistress
+has more of her French mother's nature.  But I intended to speak only of
+the signorina, and am wandering too far from my subject."
+
+"No, Belotti, certainly not, we have plenty of time, and I shall be glad
+to listen to you, but first you must answer one question."
+
+"Why, sir, how your cheeks glow!  Did you meet the signorina in Italy?"
+
+"Perhaps so, Belotti."
+
+"Why, of course, of course!  Whoever has once seen her, doesn't easily
+forget.  What is it you wish to know?"
+
+"First, the lady's name."
+
+"Anna."
+
+"And not Isabella also?"
+
+"No, sir, she was never called anything but Anna."
+
+"And when did she leave Holland?"
+
+"Wait; it was--four years ago last Easter."
+
+"Has she dark, brown or fair hair?"
+
+"I've said already that she looked just like Fraulein Henrica.  But what
+lady might not have fair, brown or dark hair?  I think we shall reach the
+goal sooner, if you will let me ask a question now.  Had the lady you
+mean a large semi-circular scar just under the hair, exactly in the
+middle of her forehead?"
+
+"Enough," cried Wilhelm, rising hastily.  "She fell on one of her
+father's weapons when a child."
+
+"On the contrary, sir, the handle of Junker Van Hoogstraten's weapon fell
+on the forehead of his own daughter.  How horrified you look!  Oh!
+I have witnessed worse things in this house.  Now it is your turn
+again: In what city of my home did you meet the signorina?"
+
+"In Rome, alone and under an assumed name.  Isabella--a Holland girl!
+Pray go on with your story, Belotti; I won't interrupt you again.  What
+had the child done, that her own father--"
+
+"He is the wildest of all the wild Hoogstratens.  Perhaps you may have
+seen men like him in Italy--in this country you might seek long for such
+a hurricane.  You must not think him an evil-disposed man, but a word
+that goes against the grain, a look askance will rob him of his senses,
+and things are done which he repents as soon as they are over.  The
+signorina received her scar in the same way.  She was a mere child, and
+of course ought not to have touched fire-arms, nevertheless she did
+whenever she could, and once a pistol went off and the bullet struck one
+of the best hunting-dogs.  Her father heard the report and, when he saw
+the animal lying on the ground and the pistol at the little girl's feet,
+he seized it and with the sharp-edged handle struck--"
+
+"A child, his own daughter!"  exclaimed Wilhelm indignantly.
+
+"People are differently constituted," Belotti continued.  "Some, the
+class to which you probably belong, cautiously consider before they speak
+or act; the second reflect a long time and, when they are ready, pour
+forth a great many words, but rarely act at all; while the third, and at
+their head the Hoogstraten family, heap deeds on deeds, and if they ever
+think, it is only after the act is accomplished.  If they then find that
+they have committed an injustice, pride comes in and forbids them to
+confess, atone for, or recall it.  So one misfortune follows another;
+but the gentlemen pay no heed and find forgetfulness in drinking and
+gambling, carousing and hunting.  There are plenty of debts, but all
+anxiety concerning them is left to the creditors, and boys who receive no
+inheritance are supplied with a place at court or in the army; for the
+girls, thank God, there is no lack of convents, if they confess our holy
+religion, and both have expectations from rich aunts and other blood
+relations, who die without children."
+
+"You paint in vivid colors."
+
+But they are true, and they all suit the Junker; though to be sure he
+need not keep his property for sons, since his wife gave him none.  He
+met her at court in Brussels, and she came from Parma."
+
+"Did you know her?"
+
+"She died before I came to the padrona's house.  The two young ladies
+grew up without a mother.  You have heard that their father would even
+attack them, yet he doubtless loved them and would never resolve to place
+them in a convent.  True, he often felt--at least he freely admitted it
+in conversations with her excellenza--that there were more suitable
+places for young girls than his castle, where matters went badly enough,
+and so he at last sent his oldest daughter to us.  My mistress usually
+could not endure the society of young girls, but Fraulein Anna was one of
+her nearest relatives, and I know she invited her of her own accord.  I
+can still see in memory the signorina at sixteen; a sweeter creature,
+Herr Wilhelm, my eyes have never beheld before or since, and yet she
+never remained the same.  I have seen her as soft as Flemish velvet, but
+at other times she could rage like a November storm in your country.  She
+was always beautiful as a rose and, as her mother's old cameriera--she
+was a native of Lugano--had brought her up, and the priest who taught her
+came from Pisa and was acknowledged to be an excellent musician, she
+spoke my language like a child of Tuscany and was perfectly familiar with
+music.  You have doubtless heard her singing, her harp and lute-playing,
+but you should know that all the ladies of the Hoogstraten family, with
+the exception of my mistress, possess a special talent for your art.  In
+summer we lived in the beautiful country-house, that was torn down before
+the seige by your friends--with little justice I think.  Many a stately
+guest rode out to visit us.  We kept open house, and where there is a
+good table and a beautiful young lady like our signorina, the gallants
+are not far off.  Among them was a very aristocratic gentleman of middle
+age, the Marquis d'Avennes, whom her excellenza had expressly invited.
+We had never received any prince with so much attention; but this was a
+matter of course, for his mother was a relative of her excellenza.  You
+must know that my mistress; on her mother's side, is descended from a
+family in Normandy.  The Marquis d'Avennes was certainly an elegant
+cavalier, but rather dainty than manly.  He was soon madly in love with
+Fraulein Anna, and asked in due form for her hand.  Her excellenza
+favored the match, and the father said simply: 'You will take him!'
+He would listen to no opposition.  Other gentlemen don't consult their
+daughters when a suitable lover appears.  So the signorina became the
+marquis's betrothed wife, but the padrona said firmly that her niece was
+too young to be married.  She induced Junker Van Hoogstraten, whom she
+held as firmly as a farrier holds a filly, to defer the wedding until
+Easter.  The outfit was to be provided during the winter.  The condition
+that he must wait six months was imposed on the marquis, and he went back
+to France with the ring on his finger.  His betrothed bride did not shed
+a single tear for him, and as soon as he had gone, flung the engagement
+ring into the jewel-cup on her dressing-table, before the eyes of the
+camariera, from whom I heard the story.  She did not venture to oppose
+her father, but did not hesitate to express her opinion of the marquis to
+her excellenza, and her aunt, though she had favored the Frenchman's
+suit, allowed it.  Yet there had often been fierce quarrels between the
+old and young lady, and if the padrona had had reason to clip the wild
+falcon's wings and teach her what is fitting for noble ladies, the
+signorina would have been justified in complaining of many an exaction,
+by which the padrona had spoiled her pleasure in life.  I am sorry to
+destroy the confidence of your youth, but whoever grows grey, with his
+eyes open, will meet persons who rejoice, nay to whom it is a necessity
+to injure others.  Yet it is a consolation, that no one is wicked simply
+for the sake of wickedness, and I have often found--how shall I express
+it?--that the worst impulses arise from the perversion, or even the
+excess of the noblest virtues, whose reverse or caricature they become.
+I have seen base envy proceed from beautiful ambition, contemptible
+avarice from honest emulation, fierce hate from tender love.  My
+mistress, when she was young, knew how to love truly and faithfully, but
+she was shamefully deceived, and now rancor, not against an individual,
+but against life, has taken possession of her, and her noble loyalty has
+become tenacious adherence to bad wishes.  How this has happened you will
+learn, if you will continue to listen.
+
+"When winter came, I was ordered to go to Brussel, and establish the new
+household in splendid style.  The ladies were to follow me.  It was four
+years ago.  The Duke of Alva then lived as viceroy in Brussels, and this
+nobleman held my mistress in high esteem, nay had even twice paid us the
+honor of a visit.  His aristocratic officers also frequented our house,
+among them Don Luis d'Avila, a nobleman of ancient family, who was one of
+the duke's favorites.  Like the Marquis d'Avennes, he was no longer in
+his early youth, but was  a  man of totally different  stamp; tall,
+strong as if hammered from steel, a soldier of invincible strength and
+skill, a most dreaded seeker of quarrels, but a man whose glowing eyes
+and wonderful gift of song must have exerted a mysterious, bewitching
+power over women.  Dozens of adventures, in which he was said to have
+taken part, were told in the servant's hall and half of them had some
+foundation of truth, as I afterwards learned by experience.  If you
+suppose this heart-breaker bore any resemblance to the gay, curly-haired
+minions of fortune, on whom young ladies lavish their love, you are
+mistaken; Don Luis was a grave man with close-cut hair, who never wore
+anything but dark clothes, and even carried a sword, whose hilt, instead
+of gold and silver, consisted of blackened metal.  He resembled death
+much more than blooming love.  Perhaps this very thing made him
+irresistible, since we are all born for death and no suitor is so sure of
+victory as he.
+
+"The padrona had not been favorably disposed to him at first, but this
+mood soon changed, and at New Year's he too was admitted to small evening
+receptions of intimate friends.  He came whenever we invited him, but had
+no word, no look, scarcely a greeting for our young lady.  Only when it
+pleased the signorina to sing, he went near her and sharply criticised
+anything in her execution that chanced to displease him.  He often sang
+himself too, and then usually chose the same songs as Fraulein Anna, as
+if to surpass her by his superior skill.
+
+"So things went on till the time of the carnival.  On Shrove-Tuesday the
+padrona gave a large entertainment, and when I led the servants and stood
+behind the signorina and Don Luis, to whom her excellenza had long been
+in the habit of assigning the seat beside her niece, I noticed that their
+hands met under the table and rested in each other's clasp a long time.
+My heart was so full of anxiety, that it was very hard for me to keep the
+attention so necessary on that evening--and when the next morning, the
+padrona summoned me to settle the accounts, I thought it my duty to
+modestly remark that Don Luis d'Avila's wooing did not seem disagreeable
+to the young lady in spite of her betrothal.  She let me speak, but when
+I ventured to repeat what people said of the Spaniard, angrily started up
+and showed me to the door.  A faithful servant often hears and sees more
+than his employers suspect, and I had the confidence of the padrona's
+foster-sister, who is now dead; but at that time Susanna knew everything
+that concerned her mistress.
+
+"There was a bad prospect for the expectant bridegroom in France, for
+whenever the padrona spoke of him, it was with a laugh we knew, and which
+boded no good; but she still wrote frequently to the marquis and his
+mother, and many a letter from Rochebrun reached our house.  To be sure,
+her excellenza also gave Don Luis more than one secret audience.
+
+"During Lent a messenger from Fraulein Van Hoogstraten's father arrived
+with the news, that at Easter he, himself, would come to Brussels from
+Haarlem, and the marquis from Castle Rochebrun, and on Maundy Thursday
+I received orders to dress the private chapel with flowers, engage
+posthorses, and do several other things.  On Good Friday, the day of our
+Lord's crucifixion--I wish I were telling lies--early in the morning of
+Good Friday the signorina was dressed in all her bridal finery.  Don Luis
+appeared clad in black, proud and gloomy as usual, and by candle-light,
+before sunrise on a cold, damp morning--it seems to me as if it were only
+yesterday--the Castilian was married to our young mistress.  The padrona,
+a Spanish officer and I were the witnesses.  At seven o'clock the
+carriage drove up, and after it was packed Don Luis handed me a little
+box to put in the vehicle.  It was heavy and I knew it well; the padrona
+was in the habit of keeping her gold coin in it.  At Easter the whole
+city learned that Don Luis d'Avila had eloped with the beautiful Anna Van
+Hoogstraten, after killing her betrothed bridegroom in a duel on Maundy-
+Thursday at Hals on his way to Brussels--scarcely twenty-four hours
+before the wedding.
+
+"I shall never forget how Junker Van Hoogstraten raged.  The padrona
+refused to see him and pretended to be ill, but she was as well as only
+she could be during these last few years."
+
+"And do you know how to interpret your mistress's mysterious conduct?"
+asked Wilhelm.
+
+"Yes sir; her reasons are perfectly evident.  But I must hasten, it is
+growing late; besides I cannot tell you minute particulars, for I was
+myself a child when the event happened, though Susanna has told me many
+things that would probably be worth relating.  Her excellenza's mother
+was a Chevreaux, and my mistress spent the best years of her life with
+her mother's sister, who during the winter lived in Paris.  It was in the
+reign of the late King Francis, and you doubtless know that this great
+Prince was a very gallant gentleman, who was said to have broken as many
+hearts as lances.  My padrona, who in those days was very beautiful,
+belonged to the ladies of his court, and King Francis especially
+distinguished her.  But the young lady knew how to guard her honor, for
+she had early found in the gallant Marquis d'Avennes a knight to whom she
+was loyally devoted, and for whom she had wept bitterly many a night.
+Like master, like servant, and though the marquis had worn the young
+lady's color for years and rendered her every service of an obedient
+knight, his eyes and heart often wandered to the right and left.  Yet he
+always returned to his liege-lady, and when the sixth year came, the
+Chevreaux's urged the marquis to put an end to his trifling and think of
+marriage.  My mistress began to make her preparations, and Susanna was a
+witness of her consultation with the marquis about whether she would keep
+or sell the Holland estates and castles.  But the wedding did not take
+place, for the marquis was obliged to go to Italy with the army and her
+excellenza lived in perpetual anxiety about him; at that time the French
+fared ill in my country, and he often left her whole months without news.
+At last he returned and found in the Chevreaux's house his betrothed
+wife's little cousin, who had grown up into a charming young lady.
+
+"You can imagine the rest.  The rose-bud Hortense now pleased the marquis
+far better than the Holland flower of five and twenty.  The Chevreaux's
+were aristocratic but deeply in debt, and the suitor, while fighting in
+Italy, had inherited the whole of his uncle's great estate, so they did
+not suffer him to sue in vain.  My mistress returned to Holland.  Her
+father challenged the marquis, but no blood was spilled in the duel, and
+Monsieur d'Avennes led a happy wedded life with Hortense de Chevreaux.
+Her son was the signorina's hapless lover.  Do you understand, Herr
+Wilhelm?  She had nursed and fostered the old grudge for half a life
+time; for its sake she had sacrificed her own kinswoman to Don Luis, but
+in return she repaid by the death of the only son of a hated mother, the
+sorrow she had suffered for years on her account."
+
+The musician had clenched the handkerchief, with which he had wiped the
+perspiration from his brow, closely in his hand, and asked:
+
+"What more have you heard of Anna?"
+
+"Very little," replied Belotti.  "Her father has torn her from his heart,
+and calls Henrica his only daughter.  Happiness abandons those who are
+burdened by a father's curse, and she certainly did not find it.  Don
+Luis is said to have been degraded to the rank of ensign on account of
+some wild escapades, and who knows what has become of the poor, beautiful
+signorina.  The padrona sometimes sent money to her in Italy, by way of
+Florence, through Signor Lamperi--but I have heard nothing of her during
+the last few months."
+
+"One more question, Belotti," said Wilhelm, "how could Henrica's father
+trust her to your mistress, after what had befallen his older daughter in
+her house?"
+
+"Money--miserable money!  To keep his castle and not lose his
+inheritance, he resigned his child.  Yes, sir, the signorina was
+bargained for, like a horse, and her father didn't sell her cheap.
+Drink some wine, sir, you look ill."
+
+"It is nothing serious," said Wilhelm, "but the fresh air will probably
+do me good.  Thanks for your story, Belotti."
+
+
+
+
+ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:
+
+Art ceases when ugliness begins
+Debts, but all anxiety concerning them is left to the creditors
+Despair and extravagant gayety ruled her nature by turns
+Repos ailleurs
+The best enjoyment in creating is had in anticipation
+To whom the emotion of sorrow affords a mournful pleasure
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE
+
+By Georg Ebers
+
+Volume 3.
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+On the afternoon of the sixteenth of May, Burgomaster Van der Werff's
+wife was examining chests and boxes.  Her husband was at the town-hall,
+but had told her that towards evening, the Prince's commissioner, Herr
+Dietrich Van Bronkhorst, the two Seigneurs von Nordwyk, the city clerk
+Van Hout, and several other heads of municipal affairs and friends of
+freedom would meet at his house for a confidential consultation.  Maria
+had the charge of providing the gentlemen with a nice collation, wine,
+and many similar cares.
+
+This invitation had a very cheering influence on the young wife.  It
+pleased her to be able to play the hostess, according to the meaning of
+the word in her parents' house.  How long she had been debarred from
+hearing any grave, earnest conversation.  True, there had been no lack of
+visitors: the friends and relatives of her husband's family, who called
+upon her and talked with Barbara, often begged her to come to their
+houses; among them were many who showed themselves kindly disposed and
+could not help respecting her worth, but not one to whom she was
+attracted by any warm affection.  Maria, whose life was certainly not
+crowded with amusements, dreaded their coming, and when they did call,
+endured their presence as an unavoidable evil.  The worthy matrons were
+all much older than herself and, while sitting over their cakes, stewed
+fruit, and hippocras, knitting, spinning or netting, talked of the hard
+times during the siege, of the cares of children and servants, washing
+and soap-making, or subjected to a rigid scrutiny the numerous
+incomprehensible and reprehensible acts other women were said to have
+committed, to be committing, or to desire to commit, until Maria's heart
+grew heavy and her lonely room seemed to her a peaceful asylum.
+
+She could find words only when the conversation turned upon the misery of
+the country and the sacred duty of bearing every privation a second time,
+if necessary for the freedom of the nation, and then she gladly listened
+to the sturdy women, who evidently meant what they said; but when the
+hours were filled with idle gossip, it caused her actual pain.  Yet she
+dared not avoid it and was obliged to wait until the departure of the
+last acquaintance; for after she had ventured to retire early several
+times, Barbara kindly warned her against it, not concealing that she had
+had great difficulty in defending her against the reproach of pride and
+incivility.
+
+"Such chat," said the widow, "is pleasant and strengthens the courage,
+and whoever leaves the visitors while they are together, can pray the
+Lord for a favorable report."
+
+One lady in Leyden pleased the burgomaster's wife.  This was the wife of
+Herr Van Hout, the city clerk, but the latter rarely appeared in company,
+for though a delicate, aristocratic-looking woman, she was obliged to be
+busy from morning till night, to keep the children and household in good
+order on a narrow income.
+
+Maria felt brighter and happier than she had done for many days, as she
+stood before the shelf that contained the table-furniture and the
+cupboard where the silver was kept.  All the handsome dishes belonging to
+the house were bright and shining, free from every grain of dust, so too
+were the white linen cloths, trimmed with lace.  She selected what she
+needed, but many of the pewter, glass, and silver articles did not please
+her; for they did not match, and she found scratches and cracks on
+numerous pieces.
+
+When her mother had begun to prepare her wedding-outfit, Peter expressed
+a desire that in these hard times the money should be kept and no useless
+things purchased.  There was an abundance of household articles of every
+kind in his home, and he would have thought it wrong to buy even a plate.
+In fact there was no lack of anything on the shelves and cupboards, but
+she had not selected and bought them herself; they belonged to her, but
+not entirely, and what was worse, her eyes, accustomed to prettier
+things, could find no pleasure in these dull, scratched pewter plates,
+these pitchers, cups and tankards painted in coarse figures with glaring
+colors.  The clumsy glass, too, did not suit her taste, and, while
+looking it over and selecting what was necessary, she could not help
+thinking of her recently-wedded friends, who, with sparkling eyes, had
+showed her their spick-and-span new table-furniture as proudly and
+happily, as if each piece had been their own work.  But, even with the
+articles she possessed, a table could be set very prettily and daintily.
+
+She had gone out with Adrian before dinner to cut some flowers in the
+garden by the city wall, and also gathered some delicate grasses in the
+meadow before the gate.  These gifts of May were now tastefully arranged,
+mixed with peacock-feathers, and placed in vases, and she was delighted
+to see even the clumsiest dishes win a graceful aspect from the garlands
+she twined around them.  Adrian watched her in astonishment.  He would
+not have marvelled if, under her hands, the dark dining-room had been
+transformed into a hall of mother-of-pearl and crystal.
+
+When the table was laid, Peter returned home for a moment.  He was going
+to ride out to Valkenburg with Captain Allertssohn, Janus Dousa, and
+other gentlemen, to inspect the fortifications before his guests
+appeared.  As he passed through the dining-room, he waved his hand
+to his wife and glancing over the table, said:
+
+"This decoration was not necessary, least of all the flowers.  We expect
+to hold a serious consultation, and you have arranged a wedding-banquet."
+
+Perceiving that Maria cast down her eyes, he exclaimed kindly:
+
+"But it can remain so for aught I care," and left the room.
+
+Maria stood irresolutely before her work.  Bitter emotions were again
+beginning to stir in her mind, and she was already extending her hand
+defiantly towards one particularly beautiful vase, when Adrian raised his
+large eyes to her face, exclaiming in a tone of earnest entreaty:
+
+"No, mother, you mustn't do that, it looks quite too pretty."
+
+Maria smiled, passed her hand over the boy's curls, took two cakes from
+a dish, gave them to him, and said:
+
+"One for you, the other for Bessie; our flowers shall stay."
+
+Adrian hurried off with the sweet gifts, but Maria glanced over the table
+once more, saying:
+
+"Peter never wants anything but what is absolutely necessary; yet that
+surely isn't all, or God would have made all the birds with grey
+feathers."
+
+After helping Barbara in the kitchen, she went to her own room.  There
+she arranged her hair, put a fresh, beautifully-starched ruff around her
+neck and carefully-plaited lace in the open bosom of her dress, but wore
+her every-day gown, for her husband did not wish to give the assembly at
+his house a festal aspect.
+
+Just as she had put the last gold pin in her hair, and was considering
+whether the place of honor at the table belonged to Herr Van Bronkhorst,
+as representative of the Prince, or to the older Herr yon Nordwyk,
+Trautchen knocked at the door and informed her, that Doctor Bontius
+wished to see the burgomaster on urgent business.  The maid-servant had
+told the physician that her master had ridden out, but he would not be
+put off, and asked permission to see her mistress.
+
+Maria instantly went to Peter's room.  The doctor seemed to be in haste.
+His only greeting was to point with the gold head of his long staff
+towards the peaked black hat, that never left his head, even beside the
+sickbed, and asked in a curt, hurried tone:
+
+"When will Meister Peter come home?"
+
+"In an hour," replied Maria.  "Sit down, Doctor."
+
+"Another time.  It will keep me too long to wait for your husband.  After
+all, you can come with me even without his consent."
+
+"Certainly; but we are expecting visitors."
+
+"Yes.  If I find time, I shall come too.  The gentlemen can do without
+me, but you are necessary to the sick person to whom I wish to take you."
+
+"I have no idea of whom you are speaking."
+
+"Haven't you?  Then once more, it is of some one who is suffering, and
+that will be enough for you at first."
+
+"And you think I could--"
+
+"You can do far more than you know.  Barbara is attending to affairs in
+the kitchen, and now I tell you again: You must help a sufferer."
+
+"But, Doctor--"
+
+"I must beg you to hurry, for my time is limited.  Do you wish to make
+yourself useful; yes or no?"  The door of the dining-room had remained
+open.  Maria again glanced at the table, and all the pleasures she had
+anticipated this evening passed through her mind.  But as the doctor was
+preparing to go, she stopped him, saying:
+
+"I will come."
+
+The manners of this blunt, but unselfish and clever man were familiar to
+Maria who, without waiting for a reply, brought her shawl, and led the
+way downstairs.  As they passed by the kitchen, Bontius called to
+Barbara:
+
+"Tell Meister Peter, I have taken his wife to see Fraulein Van
+Hoogstraten in Nobelstrasse."
+
+Maria could scarcely keep up with the doctor's rapid strides and had some
+difficulty in understanding him, as in broken sentences he told her that
+all the Glipper friends of the Hoogstraten family had left the city, the
+old Fraulein was dead, the servants had run away from fear of the plague,
+which had no existence, and Henrica was now deserted.  She had been very
+ill with a severe fever, but was much better during the past few days.
+"Misfortune has taken up its abode in the Glipper nest," he added.
+"The scythe-man did the old lady a favor when he took her.  The French
+maid, a feeble nonentity, held out bravely, but after watching a few
+nights broke down entirely and was to have been carried to St.
+Catharine's hospital, but the Italian steward, who is not a bad fellow,
+objected and had her taken to a Catholic laundress.  He has followed to
+nurse her.  No one is left in the deserted house to attend to the young
+lady, except Sister Gonzaga, a good little nun, one of the three who were
+allowed to remain in the old convent near you, but early this morning,
+to cap the climax of misfortune, the kind old woman scalded her fingers
+while heating a bath.  The Catholic priest has faithfully remained at his
+post, but what can we men do in nursing the sick girl!  You doubtless now
+suspect why I brought you with me.  You ought not and cannot become the
+stranger's nurse permanently; but if the young lady is not to sink after
+all, she must now have some face about her which she can love, and God
+has blessed you with one.  Look at the sick girl, talk with her, and if
+you are what I believe you--but here we are."
+
+The air of the dark entrance hall of the Hoogstraten residence was filled
+with a strong odor of musk.  The old lady's death had been instantly
+announced at the town-hall by Doctor Bontius' representative, and an
+armed man was marching up and down in the hall, keeping guard, who told
+the physician that Herr Van Hout had already been here with his men and
+put seals on all the doors.
+
+On the staircase Maria siezed her guide's arm in terror; for through an
+open door-way of the second story, to which she was ascending with her
+companion, she saw in the dusk a shapeless figure, moving strangely
+hither and thither, up and down.  Her tone was by no means confident as,
+pointing towards it with her finger, she asked the doctor:
+
+"What is that?"
+
+The physician had paused with her, and seeing the strange object to which
+the burgomaster's wife pointed, recoiled a step himself.  But the cool-
+headed man quickly perceived the real nature of the ghostly apparition,
+and leading Maria forward exclaimed smiling:
+
+"What in the world are you doing there on the floor, Father Damianus?"
+
+"I am scouring the boards," replied the priest quietly.
+
+"Right is right," cried the doctor indignantly.  "You are too good for
+maid-servant's work, Father Damianus, especially when there is plenty of
+money without an owner here in the house, and we can find as many
+scrubbing-women as we want to-morrow."
+
+"But not to-day, doctor; and the young lady won't stay in yonder room any
+longer.  You ordered her to go to sleep yourself, and Sister Gonzaga says
+she won't close her eyes so long as she is next door to the corpse."
+
+"Then Van Hout's men ought to have carried her on her bed into the old
+lady's beautiful sitting-room."
+
+"That's sealed, and so are all the other handsome chambers on this story.
+The men were obliging and tried to find scrub-women, but the poor things
+are afraid of the plague."
+
+"Such rumors grow like wire-grass," cried the doctor.  Nobody sows it,
+yet who can uproot it when it is once here?"
+
+"Neither you  nor I,"  replied the priest.  "The young lady must be
+brought into this room at once; but it looked neglected, so I've just set
+it to rights.  It will do the invalid good, and the exercise can't hurt
+me."  With these words Father Damianus rose, and seeing Maria, said:
+
+"You have brought a new nurse?  That's right.  I need not praise Sister
+Gonzaga, for you know her; but I assure you Fraulein Henrica won't allow
+her to remain with her long, and I shall leave this house as soon as the
+funeral is over."
+
+"You have done your duty; but what does this news about the Sister mean?"
+cried the physician angrily.  "I'd rather have your old Gonzaga with her
+burnt fingers than--what has happened?"
+
+The priest approached and, hastily casting a side glance at the
+burgomaster's wife, exclaimed:
+
+"She speaks through her nose, and Fraulein Henrica said just now it made
+her ache to hear her talk; I must keep her away."
+
+Doctor Bontius reflected a moment, and then said: "There are eyes that
+cannot endure a glare of light, and perhaps certain tones may seem
+unbearable to irritated ears.  Fran Van der Werff, you have been kept
+waiting a long time, please follow me."
+
+It had grown dark.  The curtains of the sick-room were lowered and a
+small lamp, burning behind a screen, shed but a feeble light.
+
+The doctor approached the bed, felt Henrica's pulse, said a few words in
+a low tone to prepare her for her visitor, and then took the lamp to see
+how the invalid looked.
+
+Maria now beheld a pale face with regular outline, whose dark eyes, in
+their size and lustre, formed a striking contrast to the emaciated cheeks
+and sunken features of the sick girl.
+
+After old Sister Gonzaga had restored the lamp to its former place, the
+physician said:
+
+"Excellent!  Now, Sister, go and change the bandage on your arm and lie
+down."  Then he beckoned Maria to approach.
+
+Henrica's face made a strange impression upon the burgomaster's wife.
+She thought her beautiful, but the large eyes and firmly-shut lips seemed
+peculiar, rather than attractive.  Yet she instantly obeyed the
+physician's summons, approached the bed, said kindly that she had been
+glad to come to stay with her a short time, and asked what she desired.
+
+At these words, Henrica raised herself and with a sigh of relief,
+exclaimed:
+
+"That does me good!  Thanks, Doctor.  That's a human voice again.  If you
+want to please me, Frau Van der Werff keep on talking, no matter what you
+say.  Please come and sit down here.  With Sister Gonzaga's hands, your
+voice, and the doctor's--yes, I will say with Doctor Bontius' candor, it
+won't be difficult to recover entirely."
+
+"Good, good," murmured the physician.  "Kind Sister Gonzaga's injuries
+are not serious and she will stay with you, but when it is time for you
+to sleep, you will be moved elsewhere.  You can remain here an hour,
+Frau Van der Werff, but that will be enough for to-day.  I'll go to your
+house and send the servant for you with a lantern."
+
+When the two ladies were left alone together, Maria said:
+
+"You set great value on the sound of voices; so do I, perhaps more than
+is desirable.  True, I have never had any serious illness--"
+
+"This is my first one too," replied Henrica, "but I know now what it is
+to be compelled to submit to everything we don't like, and feel with two-
+fold keenness everything that is repulsive.  It is better to die than
+suffer."
+
+"Your aunt is dead," said Maria sympathizingly.
+
+"She died early this morning.  We had little in common save the tie of
+blood."
+
+"Are your parents no longer living?"
+
+"Only my father; but what of that?"
+
+He will rejoice over your recovery; Doctor Bontius says you will soon be
+perfectly well."
+
+"I think so too," replied Henrica confidently, and then said softly,
+without heeding Maria's presence: "There is one beautiful thing.  When I
+am well again, I shall once more--Do you practise music?"
+
+"Yes, dear Fraulein."
+
+"Not merely as a pastime, but because you feel you cannot live without
+it?"
+
+"You must keep quiet, Fraulein.  Music;--yes, I think my life would be
+far poorer without it than it is."
+
+"Do you sing?"
+
+"Very seldom here; but when a girl in Delft we sung every day."
+
+"Of course you were the soprano?"
+
+"Yes, Fraulein."
+
+"Let the Fraulein drop, and call me Henrica."
+
+"With all my heart, if you will call me Maria, or Frau Maria."
+
+"I'll try.  Don't you think we could practise many a song together?"
+
+Just as these words were uttered, Sister Gonzaga entered the room, saying
+that the wife of Receiver General Cornelius had called to ask if she
+could do anything for the sick lady.
+
+"What does that mean?"  asked Henrica angrily.  "I don't know the woman."
+
+"She is the mother of Herr Wilhelm, the musician," said the young wife.
+
+"Oh!"  exclaimed Henrica.  "Shall I admit her, Maria?"
+
+The latter shook her head and answered firmly "No, Fraulein Henrica.  It
+is not good for you to have more than one visitor at this hour, and
+besides--"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"She is an excellent woman, but I fear her blunt manner, heavy step, and
+loud voice would not benefit you just now.  Let me go to her and ask what
+she desires."
+
+"Receive her kindly, and tell her to remember me to her son.  I am not
+very delicate, but I see you understand me; such substantial fare would
+hardly suit me just now."
+
+After Maria had performed her errand and talked with Henrica for a time,
+Frau Van Hout was announced.  Her husband, who had been present when the
+doors of the house of death were sealed, had told her about the invalid
+and she came to see if the poor girl needed anything.
+
+"You might receive her," said Maria, "for she would surely please you;
+but the bell is ringing again, and you have talked enough for to-day.
+Try to sleep now.  I'll go home with Fran Van Hout and come again
+tomorrow, if agreeable to you."
+
+"Come, pray come!"  exclaimed the young girl.
+
+"Do you want to say anything more to me?"
+
+"I should like to do so, Fraulein Henrica.  You ought not to stay in this
+sad house.  There is plenty of room in ours.  Will you be our guest until
+your father--"
+
+"Yes, take me home with you!"  cried the invalid, tears sparkling in her
+eyes.  "Take me away from here, only take me away--and I will be grateful
+to you all my life."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+Maria had not mounted the stairs so joyously for weeks as she did to-day.
+She would have sung, had it been seemly, though she felt a little
+anxious; for perhaps her husband would not think she had done right to
+invite, on her own authority, a stranger, especially a sick stranger, who
+was a friend of Spain, to be their guest.
+
+As she passed the dining-room, she heard the gentlemen consulting
+together.  Then Peter began to speak.  She noticed the pleasant depth of
+his voice, and said to herself that Henrica would like to hear it.  A few
+minutes after she entered the apartment, to greet her husband's guests,
+who were also hers.  Joyous excitement and the rapid walk through the air
+of the May evening, which, though the day had been warm, was still cool,
+had flushed her cheeks and, as she modestly crossed the threshold with a
+respectful greeting, which nevertheless plainly revealed the pleasure
+afforded by the visit of such guests, she looked so winning and lovely,
+that not a single person present remained unmoved by the sight.  The
+older Herr Van der Does clapped Peter on the shoulder and then struck the
+palm of his hand with his fist, as if to say: "I won't question that!"
+Janus Dousa whispered gaily to Van Hout, who was a good Latin scholar:
+
+"Oculi sunt in amore duces."
+
+Captain Allertssohn started up and raised his hand to his hat with a
+military salute; Van Bronkhorst, the Prince's Commissioner, gave
+expression to his feelings in a courtly bow, Doctor Bontius smiled
+contentedly, like a person who has successfully accomplished a hazardous
+enterprise, and Peter proudly and happily strove to attract his wife's
+attention to himself.  But this was not to be, for as soon as Maria
+perceived that she was the mark for so many glances, she lowered her eyes
+with a deep blush, and then said far more firmly than would have been
+expected from her timid manner:
+
+"Welcome, gentlemen!  My greeting comes late, but I would have gladly
+offered it earlier."
+
+"I can bear witness to that," cried Doctor Bontius, rising and shaking
+hands with Maria more cordially than ever before.  Then he motioned
+towards Peter, and exclaimed to the assembled guests: "Will you excuse
+the burgomaster for a moment?"
+
+As soon as he stood apart with the husband and wife at the door, he
+began:
+
+"You have invited a new visitor to the house, Frau Van der Werff; I won't
+drink another drop of Malmsey, if I'm mistaken."
+
+"How do you know?"  asked Maria gaily.  "I see it in your face."
+
+"And the young lady shall be cordially welcome to me," added Peter.
+
+"Then you know?"  asked Maria.
+
+The doctor did not conceal his conjecture from me."
+
+"Why yes, the sick girl will be glad to come to us, and to-morrow--"
+
+"No, I'll send for her to-day," interrupted Peter.  "To-day?"  But dear
+me!  It's so late; perhaps she is asleep, the gentlemen are here, and our
+spare bed--" exclaimed Maria, glancing disapprovingly and irresolutely
+from the physician to her husband.
+
+"Calm yourself; child," replied Peter.  "The doctor has ordered a covered
+litter from St. Catharine's hospital, Jan and one of the city-guard will
+carry her, and Barbara has nothing more to do in the kitchen and is now
+preparing her own chamber for her."
+
+"And," chimed in the physician, "perhaps the sick girl may find sleep
+here.  Besides, it will he far more agreeable to her pride to be carried
+through the streets unseen, under cover of the darkness."
+
+"Yes, yes," said Maria sadly, "that may be so; but I had been thinking--
+People ought not to do anything too hastily."
+
+"Will you be glad to receive the young lady as a guest?"  asked Peter.
+
+"Why, certainly."
+
+"Then we won't do things by halves, but show her all the kindness in our
+power.  There is Barbara beckoning; the litter has come, Doctor.  Guide
+the nocturnal procession in God's name, but don't keep us waiting too
+long."
+
+The burgomaster returned to his seat, and Bontius left the room.
+
+Maria followed him.  In the entry, he laid his hand on her arm and asked:
+
+"Will you know next time, what I expect from you?"
+
+"No," replied the burgomaster's wife, in a tone which sounded gay, though
+it revealed the disappointment she felt; "no--but you have taught me that
+you are a man who understands how to spoil one's best pleasures."
+
+"I  will procure you others," replied the doctor laughing and descended
+the stairs.  He was Peter's oldest friend, and had made many objections
+to the burgomaster's marriage with a girl so many years his junior, in
+these evil times, but to-day he showed himself satisfied with Van der
+Werff's choice.
+
+Maria returned to the guests, filled and offered glasses of wine to the
+gentlemen, and then went to her sister-in-law's room, to help her prepare
+everything for the sick girl as well as possible.  She did not do so
+unwillingly, but it seemed as if she would have gone to the work with
+far greater pleasure early the next morning.
+
+Barbara's spacious chamber looked out upon the court-yard.  No sound
+could be heard there of the conversation going on between the gentlemen
+in the dining-room, yet it was by no means quiet among these men who,
+though animated by the same purpose, differed widely about the ways and
+means of bringing it to a successful issue.
+
+There they sat, the brave sons of a little nation, the stately leaders of
+a small community, poor in numbers and means of defence, which had
+undertaken to bid defiance to the mightiest power and finest armies of
+its age.  They knew that the storm-clouds, which had been threatening for
+weeks on the horizon, would rise faster and faster, mass together, and
+burst in a furious tempest over Leyden, for Herr Van der Werff had
+summoned them to his house because a letter addressed to himself and
+Commissioner Van Bronkhorst by the Prince, contained tidings, that the
+Governor of King Philip of Spain had ordered Senor del Campo Valdez to
+besiege Leyden a second time and reduce it to subjection.  They were
+aware, that William of Orange could not raise an army to divert the
+hostile troops from their aim or relieve the city before the lapse of
+several months; they had experienced how little aid was to be expected
+from the Queen of England and the Protestant Princes of Germany, while
+the horrible fate of Haarlem, a neighboring and more powerful city, rose
+as a menacing example before their eyes.  But they were conscious of
+serving a good cause, relied upon the faith, courage and statesmanship of
+Orange, were ready to die rather than allow themselves to be enslaved
+body and soul by the Spanish tyrant.  Their belief in God's justice was
+deep and earnest, and each individual possessed a joyous confidence in
+his own resolute, manly strength.
+
+In truth, the men who sat around the table, so daintily decked with
+flowers by a woman's hand, understood how to empty the large fluted
+goblets so nimbly, that jug after jug of Peter's Malmsey and Rhine
+wine were brought up from the cellar, the men who made breaches in the
+round pies and huge joints of meat, juicier and more nourishing than any
+country except theirs can furnish--did not look as if pallid fear had
+brought them together.
+
+The hat is the sign of liberty, and the free man keeps his hat on.  So
+some of the burgomaster's guests sat at the board with covered heads, and
+how admirably the high plaited cap of dark-red velvet, with its rich
+ornaments of plumes, suited the fresh old face of the senior Seigneur of
+Nordwyk and the clever countenance of his nephew Janus Dousa; how well
+the broad-brimmed hat with blue and orange ostrich-feathers--the colors
+of the House of Orange--became the waving locks of the young Seigneur of
+Warmond, Jan Van Duivenvoorde.  How strongly marked and healthful were
+the faces of the other men assembled here!  Few countenances lacked ruddy
+color, and strong vitality, clear intellect, immovable will and firm
+resolution flashed from many blue eyes around the table.  Even the black-
+robed magistrates, whose plaited ruffs and high white collars were very
+becoming, did not look as if the dust of documents had injured their
+health.  The moustaches and beards on the lips of each, gave them also a
+manly appearance.  They were all joyously ready to sacrifice themselves
+and their property for a great spiritual prize, yet looked as if they had
+a firm foothold in the midst of life; their hale, sensible faces showed
+no traces of enthusiasm; only the young Seigneur of Warmond's eyes
+sparkled with a touch of this feeling, while Janus Dousa's glance often
+seemed turned within, to seek things hidden in his own heart; and at such
+moments his sharply-cut, irregular features possessed a strange charm.
+
+The broad, stout figure of Commissioner Van Bronkhorst occupied a
+great deal of room.  His body was by no means agile, but from the round,
+closely shaven head looked forth a pair of prominent eyes, that expressed
+unyielding resolution.
+
+The brightly-lighted table, around which such guests had gathered,
+presented a gay, magnificent spectacle.  The yellow leather of the
+doublets worn by Junker von Warmond, Colonel Mulder, and Captain
+Allertssohn, the colored silk scarfs that adorned them, and the scarlet
+coat of brave Dirk Smaling contrasted admirably with the deep black robes
+of Pastor Verstroot, the burgomaster, the city clerk, and their
+associates!  The violet of the commissioner's dress and the dark hues of
+the fur-bordered surcoats worn by the elder Herr Van der Does and Herr
+Van Montfort blended pleasantly and harmonized the light and dark shades.
+Everything sorrowful seemed to have been banished far from this
+brilliant, vigorous round table, so words flowed freely and voices
+sounded full and strong enough.
+
+Danger was close at hand.  The Spanish vanguard might appear before
+Leyden any day.  Many preparations were made.  English auxiliaries were
+to garrison the fortifications of Alfen and defend the Gouda lock.  The
+defensive works of Valkenburg had been strengthened and entrusted to
+other British troops, the city soldiers, the militia and volunteers were
+admirably drilled.  They did not wish to admit foreign troops within the
+walls, for during the first siege they had proved far more troublesome
+than useful, and there was little reason to fear that a city guarded by
+water, walls and trees would be taken by storm.
+
+What most excited the gentlemen was the news Van Hout had brought.  Rich
+Herr Baersdorp, one of the four burgomasters, who had the largest grain
+business in Leyden, had undertaken to purchase considerable quantities of
+bread-stuffs in the name of the city.  Several ship loads of wheat and
+rye had been delivered by him the day before, but he was still in arrears
+with three-quarters of what was ordered.  He openly said that he had as
+yet given no positive orders for it, because owing to the prospect of a
+good harvest, a fall in the price of grain was expected in the exchanges
+of Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and he would still have several weeks time
+before the commencement of the new blockade.
+
+Van Hout was full of indignation, especially as two out of the four
+burgomasters sided with their colleague Baersdorp.
+
+The elder Herr von Nordwyk agreed with him, exclaiming:
+
+"With all due respect to your dignity, Herr Peter, your three companions
+in office belong to the ranks of bad friends, who would willingly be
+exchanged for open enemies."
+
+"Herr von Noyelles," said Colonel Mulder, "has written about them to the
+Prince, the good and truthful words, that they ought to be sent to the
+gallows."
+
+"And they will suit them," cried Captain Allertssohn, "so long as
+hangmen's nooses and traitors' necks are made for each other."
+
+"Traitors--no,"  said  Van  der Werff resolutely.  Call them cowards,
+call them selfish and base-minded--but not one of them is a Judas."
+
+"Right, Meister Peter, that they certainly are not, and perhaps even
+cowardice has nothing to do with their conduct," added Herr von Nordwyk.
+"Whoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, knows the views of the
+gentlemen belonging to the old city families, who are reared from infancy
+as future magistrates; and I speak not only of Leyden, but the residents
+of Gouda and Delft, Rotterdam and Dortrecht.  Among a hundred, sixty
+would bear the Spanish yoke, even do violence to conscience, if only
+their liberties and rights were guaranteed.  The cities must rule and
+they themselves in them; that is all they desire.  Whether people preach
+sermons or read mass in the church, whether a Spaniard or a Hollander
+rules, is a matter of secondary importance to them.  I except the present
+company, for you would not be here, gentlemen, if your views were similar
+to those of the men of whom I speak."
+
+"Thanks for those words," said Dirk Smaling, "but with all due honor to
+your opinion, you have painted matters in too dark colors.  May I ask if
+the nobles do not also cling to their rights and liberties?"
+
+"Certainly, Herr Dirk; but they are commonly of longer date than yours,"
+replied Van Bronkhorst.  "The nobleman needs a ruler.  He is a lustreless
+star, if the sun that lends him light is lacking.  I, and with me all the
+nobles who have sworn fealty to him, now believe that our sun must and
+can be no other person than the Prince of Orange, who is one of
+ourselves, knows, loves, and understands us; not Philip, who has no
+comprehension of what is passing within and around us, is a foreigner and
+detests us.  We will uphold William with our fortunes and our lives for,
+as I have already said, we need a sun, that is, a monarch--but the cities
+think they have power to shine and wish to be admired as bright stars
+themselves.  True, they feel that, in these troublous times, the country
+needs a leader, and that they can find no better, wiser and more faithful
+one than Orange; but if it comes to pass--and may God grant it--that the
+Spanish yoke is broken, the noble William's rule will seem wearisome,
+because they enjoy playing sovereign themselves.  In short: the cities
+endure a ruler, the nobles gather round him and need him.  No real good
+will be accomplished until noble, burgher and peasant cheerfully yield to
+him, and unite to battle under his leadership for the highest blessings
+of life."
+
+"Right," said Van  flout.  "The well-disposed nobility may well serve as
+an example to the governing classes here and in the other cities, but the
+people, the poor hard-working people, know what is coming and, thank God,
+have not yet lost a hearty love for what you call the highest blessings
+of life.  They wish to be and remain Hollanders, curse the Spanish
+butchers with eloquent hatred, desire to serve God according to the
+yearning of their own souls, and believe what their own hearts dictate-
+and these men call the Prince their Father William.  Wait a little!  As
+soon as trouble oppresses us, the poor and lowly will stand firm, if the
+rich and great waver and deny the good cause."
+
+"They are to be trusted," said Van der Werff, "firmly trusted."
+
+"And because I know them," cried Van Hout, "we shall conquer, with God's
+assistance, come what may."  Janus Dousa had been looking into his glass.
+Now he raised his head and with a hasty gesture, said:
+
+"Strange that those who toil for existence with their hands, and whose
+uncultured brains only move when their daily needs require it, are most
+ready to sacrifice the little they possess, for spiritual blessings."
+
+"Yes," said the pastor, "the kingdom of heaven stands open to the simple-
+hearted.  It is strange that the poor and unlearned value religion,
+liberty and their native land far more than the perishable gifts of this
+world, the golden calf around which the generations throng."
+
+"My companions are not flattered to-day," replied Dirk Smaling; "but I
+beg you to remember in our favor, that we are playing a great and
+dangerous game, and property-holders must supply the lion's share
+of the stake."
+
+"By no means," retorted Van Hout, "the highest stake for which the die
+will be cast is life, and this has the same value to rich and poor.
+Those who will hold back--I think I know them--have no plain motto or
+sign, but a proud escutcheon over their doors.  Let us wait."
+
+"Yes, let us wait," said Van der Werff; "but there are more important
+matters to be considered now.  Day after to-morrow will be Ascension Day,
+when the bells will ring for the great fair.  More than one foreign
+trader and traveller has passed through the gates yesterday and the day
+before.  Shall we order the booths to be set up, or have the fair
+deferred until some other time?  If the enemy hastens his march, there
+will be great confusion, and we shall perhaps throw a rich prize into his
+hands.  Pray give me your opinion, gentlemen."
+
+"The traders ought to be protected from loss and the fair postponed,"
+said Dirk Smaling.
+
+"No," replied Van Hout, "for if this prohibition is issued, we shall
+deprive the small merchants of considerable profit and prematurely damp
+their courage."
+
+"Let them have their festival," cried Janus Dousa.  "We mustn't do coming
+trouble the favor of spoiling the happy present on its account.  If you
+want to act wisely, follow the advice of Horace."
+
+"The Bible also teaches that 'sufficient unto the day is the evil
+thereof,'" added the pastor, and Captain Allertssohn exclaimed:
+
+"On my life, yes!  My soldiers, the city-guard and volunteers must have
+their parade.  Marching in full uniform, with all their weapons, while
+beautiful eyes smile upon them, the old wave greetings, and children run
+before with exultant shouts, a man learns to feel himself a soldier for
+the first time."
+
+So it was determined to let the fair be held.  While other questions were
+being eagerly discussed, Henrica found a loving welcome in Barbara's
+pleasant room.  When she had fallen asleep, Maria went back to her
+guests, but did not again approach the table; for the gentlemen's cheeks
+were flushed and they were no longer speaking in regular order, but each
+was talking about whatever he choose.  The burgomaster was discussing
+with Van Hout and Van Bronkhorst the means of procuring a supply of grain
+for the city, Janus Dousa and Herr von Warmond were speaking of the poem
+the city clerk had repeated at the last meeting of the poets' club, Herr
+Van der Does senior and the pastor were arguing about the new rules of
+the church, and stout Captain Allertssohn, before whom stood a huge
+drinking-horn drained to the dregs, had leaned his forehead on Colonel
+Mulder's shoulder and, as usual when he felt particularly happy over his
+wine, was shedding tears.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+The next day after the meeting of the council, Burgomaster Van der Werff,
+Herr Van Hout, and a notary, attended by two constables, went to
+Nobelstrasse to set old Fraulein Van Hoogstraten's property in order.
+The fathers of the city had determined to seize the Glippers' abandoned
+dwellings and apply the property found in them to the benefit of the
+common cause.
+
+The old lady's hostility to the patriots was known to all, and as her
+nearest relatives, Herr Van Hoogstraten and Matanesse Van Wibisma, had
+been banished from Leyden, the duty of representing the heirs fell upon
+the city.  It was to be expected that only notorious Glippers would be
+remembered in the dead woman's will, and if this was the case, the
+revenue from the personal and real estate would fall to the city, until
+the deserters mended their ways, and adopted a course of conduct that
+would permit the magistrates to again open their gates to them.  Whoever
+continued to cling to the Spaniards and oppose the cause of liberty,
+would forfeit his share of the inheritance.  This was no new procedure.
+King Philip had taught its practice, nay not only the estates of
+countless innocent persons who had been executed, banished or gone into
+voluntary exile for the sake of the new religion, but also the property
+of good Catholic patriots had been confiscated for his benefit.  After
+being anvil so many years, it is pleasant to play hammer; and if that was
+not always done in a proper and moderate way, people excused themselves
+on the ground of having experienced a hundred-fold harsher and more cruel
+treatment from the Spaniards.  It might have been unchristian to repay in
+the same coin, but they dealt severe blows only in mortal conflict, and
+did not seek the Glippers' lives.
+
+At the door of the house of death, the magistrates met the musician
+Wilhelm Corneliussohn and his mother, who had come to offer Henrica a
+hospitable reception in their house.  The mother, who had at first
+refused to extend her love for her neighbor to the young Glipper girl,
+now found it hard to be deprived of the opportunity to do a good work,
+and gave expression to these feelings in the sturdy fashion peculiar to
+her.
+
+Belotti was standing in the entry, no longer attired in the silk hose and
+satin-bordered cloth garments of the steward, but in a plain burgher
+dress.  He told the musician and Peter, that he remained in Leyden
+principally because he could not bear to leave the sick maid, Denise, in
+the lurch; but other matters also detained him, especially, though he was
+reluctant to acknowledge it, the feeling, strengthened by long years of
+service, that he belonged to the Hoogstraten house.  The dead woman's
+attorney had said that his account books were in good order, and
+willingly paid the balance due him.  His savings had been well invested,
+and as he never touched the interest, but added to the capital, had
+considerably increased.  Nothing detained him in Leyden, yet he could not
+leave it until everything was settled in the house where he had so long
+ruled.
+
+He had daily inquired for the sick lady, and after her death, though
+Denise began to recover, still lingered in Leyden; he thought it his duty
+to show the last honors to the dead by attending her funeral.
+
+The magistrates were glad to find Belotti in the house.  The notary had
+managed his little property, and respected him as an honest man.  He now
+asked him to act as guide to his companions and himself.  The most
+important matter was to find the dead woman's will.  Such a document must
+be in existence, for up to the day after Henrica's illness it had been in
+the lawyer's possession, but was then sent for by the old lady, who
+desired to make some changes in it.  He could give no information about
+its contents, for his dead partner, whose business had fallen to him, had
+assisted in drawing it up.
+
+The steward first conducted the visitors to the padrona's sitting-room
+and boudoir, but though they searched the writing-tables, chests and
+drawers, and discovered many letters, money and valuable jewels in boxes
+and caskets, the document was not found.
+
+The gentlemen thought it was concealed in a secret drawer, and ordered
+one of the constables to call a locksmith.  Belotti allowed this to be
+done, but meantime listened with special attention to the low chanting
+that issued from the bedroom where the old lady's body lay.  He knew that
+the will would most probably be found there, but was anxious to have the
+priest complete the consecration of his mistress undisturbed.  As soon as
+all was still in the death-chamber, he asked the gentlemen to follow him.
+
+The lofty apartment into which he led them, was filled with the odor of
+incense.  A large bedstead, over which a pointed canopy of heavy silk
+rose to the ceiling, stood at the back, the coffin in which the dead
+woman lay had been placed in the middle of the room.  A linen cloth,
+trimmed with lace, covered the face.  The delicate hands, still
+unwrinkled, were folded, and lightly clasped a well-worn rosary.  The
+lifeless form was concealed beneath a costly coverlid, in the centre of
+which lay an exquisitely-carved ivory crucifix.
+
+The visitors bowed mutely before the corpse.  Belotti approached it and,
+as he saw the padrona's well-known hands, a convulsive sob shook the old
+man's breast.  Then he knelt beside the coffin, pressed his lips, to the
+cold, slender fingers, and a warm tear, the only one shed for this dead
+form, fell on the hands now clasped forever.
+
+The burgomaster and his companion did not interrupt him, even when he
+laid his forehead upon the wood of the coffin and uttered a brief, silent
+prayer.  After he had risen, and an elderly priest in the sacerdotal
+robes had left the room, Father Damianus beckoned to the acolytes, with
+whom he had lingered in the background, and aided by them and Belotti put
+the lid on the coffin, then turned to Peter Van der Werff, saying:
+
+"We intend to bury Fraulein Van Hoogstraten at midnight, that no offence
+may be given."
+
+"Very well, sir!"  replied the burgomaster.  "Whatever may happen, we
+shall not expel you from the city.  Of course, if you prefer to go to the
+Spaniards--"
+
+Damianus shook his head and, interrupting the burgomaster, answered
+modestly:
+
+"No, sir; I am a native of Utrecht and will gladly pray for the liberty
+of Holland."
+
+"There, there!"  exclaimed Van Hout.  "Those were good words, admirable
+words!  Your hand, Father."
+
+"There it is; and, so long as you don't change the 'haec libertatis ergo'
+on your coins to 'haec religionis ergo,' not one of those words need be
+altered."
+
+"A free country and in it religious liberty for each individual, even for
+you and your followers," said the burgomaster, "is what we desire.
+Doctor Bontius has spoken of you, worthy man; you have cared well for
+this dead woman.  Bury her according to the customs of your church; we
+have come to arrange the earthly possessions she leaves behind.  Perhaps
+this casket may contain the will."
+
+"No, sir," replied the priest.  "She opened  the sealed paper in my
+presence, when she was first taken sick, and wrote a few words whenever
+she felt stronger.  An hour before her end, she ordered the notary to be
+sent for, but when he came life had departed.  I could not remain
+constantly beside the corpse, so I locked up the paper in the linen
+chest.  There is the key."
+
+The opened will was soon found.  The burgomaster quietly unfolded it,
+and, while reading its contents aloud, the notary and city clerk looked
+over his shoulder.
+
+The property was to be divided among various churches and convents, where
+masses were to be read for her soul, and her nearest blood relations.
+Belotti and Denise received small legacies.
+
+"It is fortunate," exclaimed Van Hout, "that this paper is a piece of
+paper and nothing more."
+
+"The document has no legal value whatever," added the notary, "for it was
+taken from me and opened with the explicit statement, that changes were
+to be made.  Here is a great deal to be read on the back."
+
+The task, that the gentlemen now undertook, was no easy one, for the sick
+woman had scrawled short notes above and below, hither and thither, on
+the blank back of the document, probably to assist her memory while
+composing a new will.
+
+At the very top a crucifix was sketched with an unsteady hand, and below
+it the words: "Pray for us!  Everything shall belong to holy Mother
+Church."
+
+Farther down they read: "Nico, I like the lad.  The castle on the downs.
+Ten thousand gold florins in money.  To be secured exclusively to him.
+His father is not to touch it.  Make the reason for disinheriting him
+conspicuous.  Van Vliet of Haarlem was the gentleman whose daughter my
+cousin secretly wedded.  On some pitiful pretext he deserted her, to form
+another marriage.  If he has forgotten it, I have remembered and would
+fain impress it upon him.  Let Nico pay heed:  False love is poison.  My
+life has been ruined by it--ruined."
+
+The second "ruined" was followed by numerous repetitions of the same
+word.  The last one, at the very end of the sentence, had been ornamented
+with numerous curves and spirals by the sick woman's pen.
+
+On the right-hand margin of the sheet stood a series of short notes
+
+"Ten thousand florins to Anna.  To be secured to herself.  Otherwise they
+will fall into the clutches of that foot-pad, d'Avila.
+
+"Three times as much to Henrica.  Her father will pay her the money--from
+the sum he owes me.  Where he gets it is his affair.  Thus the account
+with him would be settled.
+
+"Belotti has behaved badly.  He shall be passed over.
+
+"Denise may keep what was given her."
+
+In the middle of the paper, written in large characters, twice and thrice
+underlined, was the sentence: "The ebony-casket with  the  Hoogstraten
+and d'Avila arms on the lid is to be sent to the widow of the Marquis
+d'Avennes.  Forward it to Chateau Rochebrun in Normandy."
+
+The men, who had mutually deciphered these words, looked at each other
+silently, until Van Hout exclaimed:
+
+"What a confused mixture of malice and feminine weakness.  Let a woman's
+heart seem ever so cold; glacier flowers will always be found in it."
+
+"I'm sorry for the young lady in  your house, Herr Peter," cried the
+notary, it would be easier to get sparks from rye-bread, than such a sum
+from the debt-laden poor devil.  The daughter's portion will be curtailed
+by the father; that's what I call bargaining between relations."
+
+"What can be in the casket?" asked the notary.  "There it is," cried Van
+Hout.
+
+"Bring it here, Belotti."
+
+"We must open it," said the lawyer, "perhaps she is trying to convey her
+most valuable property across the frontiers."
+
+"Open it?  Contrary to the dead woman's express desire?"  asked Van der
+Werff.
+
+"Certainly!"  cried the notary.  "We were sent here to ascertain the
+amount of the inheritance.  The lid is fastened.  Take the picklock,
+Meister.  There, it is open."  The city magistrates found no valuables in
+the casket, merely letters of different dates.  There were not many.
+Those at the bottom, yellow with age, contained vows of love from the
+Marquis d'Avennes, the more recent ones were brief and, signed Don Louis
+d'Avila.  Van Hout, who understood the Castilian language in which they
+were written, hastily read them.  As he was approaching the end of the
+last one, he exclaimed with lively indignation:
+
+"We have here the key of a rascally trick in our hands!  Do you remember
+the excitement aroused four years ago by the duel, in which the Marquis
+d'Avennes fell a victim to a Spanish brawler?  The miserable bravo writes
+in this letter that he has....It will be worth the trouble; I'll
+translate it for you.  The first part of the note is of no importance;
+but now comes the point: 'And now, after having succeeded in crossing
+swords with the marquis and killing him, not without personal danger, a
+fate he has doubtless deserved, since he aroused your displeasure to such
+a degree, the condition you imposed upon me is fulfilled, and to-morrow I
+hope through your favor to receive the sweetest reward.  Tell Donna Anna,
+my adored betrothed, that I would fain lead her to the altar early
+to-morrow morning, for the d'Avennes are influential and the following
+day my safety will perhaps be imperilled.  As for the rest, I hope I may
+be permitted to rely upon the fairness and generosity of my patroness."
+
+Van Hout flung the letter on the table, exclaiming "See, what a dainty
+hand the bravo writes.  And, Jove's thunder, the lady to whom this
+plotted murder was to have been sent, is doubtless the mother of the
+unfortunate marquis, whom the Spanish assassin slew."
+
+"Yes, Herr Van Hout," said Belotti, "I can confirm your supposition.  The
+marquise was the wife of the man, who broke his plighted faith to the
+young Fraulein Van Hoogstraten.  She, who lies there, saw many suns rise
+and set, ere her vengeance ripened."
+
+"Throw the scrawl into the fire!"  cried Van Hout impetuously.
+
+"No," replied Peter.  "We will not send the letters, but you must keep
+them in the archives.  God's mills grind slowly, and who knows what good
+purpose these sheets may yet serve."
+
+The city clerk nodded assent and folding the papers, said: "I think the
+dead woman's property will be an advantage to the city."
+
+"The Prince will dispose of it," replied Van der Werff.  "How long have
+you served this lady, Belotti?"
+
+"Fifteen years."
+
+"Then remain in Leyden for a time.  I think you may expect the legacy she
+originally left you.  I will urge your claim."
+
+A few hours before the nocturnal burial of old Fraulein Van Hoogstraten,
+Herr Matanesse Van Wibisma and his son Nicolas appeared before the city,
+but were refused admittance by the men who guarded the gates, although
+both appealed to their relative's death.  Henrica's father did not come,
+he had gone several days before to attend a tourney at Cologne.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+Between twelve and one o'clock on the 26th of May, Ascension-Day, the
+ringing of bells announced the opening of the great fair.  The old
+circuit of the boundaries of the fields had long since given place to a
+church festival, but the name of "Ommegang" remained interwoven with that
+of the fair, and even after the new religion had obtained the mastery,
+all sorts of processions took place at the commencement of the fair.
+
+In the days of Catholic rule the cross had been borne through the streets
+in a soleum procession, in which all Leyden took part, now the banners of
+the city and standards bearing the colors of the House of Orange headed
+the train, followed by the nobles on horseback, the city magistrates in
+festal array, the clergy in black robes, the volunteers in magnificent
+uniforms, the guilds with their emblems, and long joyous ranks of school-
+children.  Even the poorest people bought some thing new for their little
+ones on this day.  Never did mothers braid their young daughters' hair
+more carefully, than for the procession at the opening of the fair.
+Spite of the hard times, many a stiver was taken from slender purses for
+fresh ribbons and new shoes, becoming caps and bright-hued stockings.
+The spring sunshine could be reflected from the little girls' shining,
+smoothly-combed hair, and the big boys and little children looked even
+gayer than the flowers in Herr Van Montfort's garden, by which the
+procession was obliged to pass.  Each wore a sprig of green leaves in his
+cap beside the plume, and the smaller the boy, the larger the branch.
+There was no lack of loud talk and merry shouts, for every child that
+passed its home called to its mother, grandparents, and the servants, and
+when one raised its voice many others instantly followed.  The grown
+people too were not silent, and as the procession approached the town-
+hall, head-quarters of military companies, guild-halls or residences of
+popular men, loud cheers arose, mingled with the ringing of bells, the
+shouts of the sailors on both arms of the Rhine and on the canals, the
+playing of the city musicians at the street corners, and the rattle of
+guns and roar of cannon fired by the gunners and their assistants from
+the citadel.  It was a joyous tumult in jocund spring!  These merry
+mortals seemed to lull themselves carelessly in the secure enjoyment of
+peace and prosperity, and how blue the sky was, how warmly and brightly
+the sun shone!  The only grave, anxious faces were among the magistrates;
+but the guilds and the children behind did not see them, so the
+rejoicings continued without interruption until the churches received the
+procession, and words so earnest and full of warning echoed from the
+pulpits, that many grew thoughtful.
+
+All three phases of time belong to man, the past to the graybeard, the
+future to youth, and the present to childhood.  What cared the little
+boys and girls of Leyden, released from school during the fair, for the
+peril close at hand?  Whoever, on the first day and during the great
+linen-fair on Friday and the following days, received spending money from
+parents or godparents, or whoever had eyes to see, ears to hear, and a
+nose to smell, passed through the rows of booths with his or her
+companions, stopped before the camels and dancing-bears, gazed into the
+open taverns, where not only lads and lasses, but merry old people
+whirled in the dance to the music of bagpipes, clarionets and violins--
+examined gingerbread and other dainties with the attention of an expert,
+or obeyed the blasts of the trumpet, by which the quack doctor's negro
+summoned the crowd.
+
+Adrian, the burgomaster's son, also strolled day after day, alone or with
+his companions, through the splendors of the fair, often grasping with
+the secure sense of wealth the leather purse that hung at his belt, for
+it contained several stivers, which had flowed in from various sources;
+his father, his mother, Barbara and his godmother.  Captain Van
+Duivenvoorde, his particular friend, on whose noble horse he had often
+ridden, had taken him three times into a wafer booth, where he eat till
+he was satisfied, and thus, even on the Tuesday after Ascension-Day, his
+little fortune was but slightly diminished.  He intended to buy something
+very big and sensible: a knight's sword or a cross-bow; perhaps even--but
+this thought seemed like an evil temptation--the ginger-cake covered with
+almonds, which was exhibited in the booth of a Delft confectioner.  He
+and Bessie could surely nibble for weeks upon this giant cake, if they
+were economical, and economy is an admirable virtue.  Something must at
+any rate be spared for "little brothers,"--[A kind of griddle or
+pancake.]--the nice spiced cakes which were baked in many booths before
+the eyes of the passers-by.
+
+On Tuesday afternoon his way led him past the famous Rotterdam cake-shop.
+Before the door of the building, made of boards lightly joined together
+and decked with mirrors and gay pictures, a stout, pretty woman, in the
+bloom of youth, sat in a high arm-chair, pouring rapidly, with remarkable
+skill, liquid dough into the hot iron plate, provided with numerous
+indentations, that stood just on a level with her comfortably outspread
+lap.  Her assistant hastily turned with a fork the little cakes, browning
+rapidly in the hollows of the iron, and when baked, laid them neatly on
+small plates.  The waiter prepared them for purchasers by putting a large
+piece of yellow butter on the smoking pile.  A tempting odor, that only
+too vividly recalled former enjoyment, rose from the fireplace, and
+Adrian's fingers were already examining the contents of his purse, when
+the negro's trumpet sounded and the quack doctor's cart stopped directly
+in front of the booth.
+
+The famous Doctor Morpurgo was a fine-looking man, dressed in bright
+scarlet, who had a thin, coalblack beard hanging over his breast.  His
+movements were measured and haughty, the bows and gestures with which he
+saluted the assembled crowd, patronizing and affable.  After a sufficient
+number of curious persons had gathered around his cart, which was stocked
+with boxes and vials, he began to address them in broken Dutch, spiced
+with numerous foreign words.
+
+He praised the goodness of the Providence which had created the marvel of
+human organism.  Everything, he said, was arranged and formed wisely and
+in the best possible manner, but in one respect nature fared badly in the
+presence of adepts.
+
+"Do you know where the error is, ladies and gentlemen?"  he asked.
+
+"In the purse," cried a merry barber's clerk, "it grows prematurely thin
+every day."
+
+"Right, my son," answered the quack graciously.  "But nature also
+provides it with the great door from which your answer has come.  Your
+teeth are a bungling piece of workmanship.  They appear with pain, decay
+with time, and so long as they last torture those who do not
+industriously attend to them.  But art will correct nature.  See this
+box--" and he now began to praise the tooth-powder and cure for toothache
+he had invented.  Next he passed to the head, and described in vivid
+colors, its various pains.  But they too were to be cured, people need
+only buy his arcanum.  It was to be had for a trifle, and whoever bought
+it could sweep away every headache, even the worst, as with a broom.
+
+Adrian listened to the famous doctor with mouth wide open.  Specially
+sweet odors floated over to him from the hot surface of the stove before
+the booth, and he would have gladly allowed himself a plate of fresh
+cakes.  The baker's stout wife even beckoned to him with a spoon, but he
+closed his hand around the purse and again turned his eyes towards the
+quack, whose cart was now surrounded by men and women buying tinctures
+and medicines.
+
+Henrica lay ill in his father's house.  He had been taken into her room
+twice, and the beautiful pale face, with its large dark eyes, had filled
+his heart with pity.  The clear, deep voice in which she addressed a few
+words to him, also seemed wonderful and penetrated the inmost depths of
+his soul:  He was told one morning that she was there, and since that
+time his mother rarely appeared and the house was far more quiet than
+usual; for everybody walked lightly, spoke in subdued tones, rapped
+cautiously at a window instead of using the knocker, and whenever Bessie
+or he laughed aloud or ran up or down-stairs, Barbara, his mother, or
+Trautchen appeared and whispered: "Gently, children, the young lady has a
+headache."
+
+There were many bottles in the cart which were warranted to cure the
+ailment, and the famous Morpurgo seemed to be a very sensible man, no
+buffoon like the other mountebanks.  The wife of the baker, Wilhelm
+Peterssohn, who stood beside him, a woman he knew well, said to her
+companion that the doctor's remedies were good, they had quickly cured
+her godmother of a bad attack of erysipelas.
+
+The words matured the boy's resolution.  Fleeting visions of the sword,
+the cross-bow, the gingerbread and the nice little brothers once more
+rose before his mind, but with a powerful effort of the will he thrust
+them aside, held his breath that he might not smell the alluring odor of
+the cakes, and hastily approached the cart.  Here he unfastened his purse
+from his belt, poured its contents into his hand, showed the coins to the
+doctor, who had fixed his black eyes kindly on the odd customer, and
+asked: "Will this be enough?"
+
+"For what?"
+
+"For the medicine to cure headache."
+
+The quack separated the little coins in Adrian's hand with his
+forefinger, and answered gravely: "No, my son, but I am always glad to
+advance the cause of knowledge.  There is still a great deal for you to
+learn at school, and the headache will prevent it.  Here are the drops
+and, as it's you, I'll give this prescription for another arcanum into
+the bargain."
+
+Adrian hastily wrapped the little vial the quack handed him in the piece
+of printed paper, received his dearly-bought treasure, and ran home.  On
+the way he was stopped by Captain Allertssohn, who came towards him with
+the musician Wilhelm.
+
+"Have you seen my Andreas, Master Good-for-nothing?" he asked.
+
+"He was standing listening to the musicians," replied Adrian, released
+himself from the captain's grasp, and vanished among the crowd.
+
+"A nimble lad," said the fencing-master.  "My boy is standing with the
+musicians again.  He has nothing but your art in  his mind.  He would
+rather blow on a comb than comb his hair with it, he's always tooting on
+every leaf and pipe, makes triangles of broken sword-blades, and not even
+a kitchen pot is sate from his drumming; in short there's nothing but
+singsong in the good-for-nothing fellow's head; he wants to be a musician
+or something of the sort."
+
+"Right, right!"  replied Wilhelm eagerly; "he has a fine ear and the best
+voice in the choir."
+
+"The matter must be duly considered," replied the captain, "and you, if
+anybody, are the person to tell us what he can accomplish in your art.
+If you have time this evening, Herr Wilhelm, come to me at the watch
+house, I should like to speak to you.  To be sure, you'll hardly find me
+before ten o'clock.  I have a stricture in my throat again, and on such
+days--Roland, my fore man!"
+
+The captain cleared his throat loudly and vehemently.  "I am at your
+service," said Wilhelm, "for the night is long, but I won't let you go
+now until I know what you mean by your fore man Roland."
+
+"Very well, it's not much of a story, and perhaps you won't understand.
+Come in here; I can tell it better over a mug of beer, and the legs rebel
+if they're deprived of rest four nights in succession."
+
+When the two men were seated opposite to each other in the tap-room, the
+fencing-master pushed his moustache away from his lips, and began:  "How
+long ago is it-?  We'll say fifteen years, since I was riding to Haarlem
+with the innkeeper Aquarius, who as you know, is a learned man and has
+all sorts of old stuff and Latin manuscripts.  He talks well, and when
+the conversation turned upon our meeting with many things in life that we
+fancy we have already seen, remarked that this could be easily explained,
+for the human soul was an indestructible thing, a bird that never dies.
+So long as we live it remains with us, and when we die flies away and is
+rewarded or punished according to its deserts; but after centuries, which
+are no more to the Lord than the minutes in which I empty this fresh mug
+--one more, bar-maid--the merciful Father releases it again, and it
+nestles in some new born child.  This made me laugh; but he was not at
+all disturbed and told the story of an old Pagan, a wonderfully wise
+chap, who knew positively that his soul had formerly lodged in the body
+of a mighty hero.  This same hero also remembered exactly where, during
+his former life, he had hung his shield, and told his associates.  They
+searched and found the piece of armor, with the initials of the Christian
+and surname which had belonged to the philosopher in his life as a
+soldier, centuries before.  This puzzled me, for you see--now don't
+laugh--something had formerly happened to me very much like the Pagan's
+experience.  I don't care much for books, and from a child have always
+read the same one.  I inherited it from my dead father and the work is
+not printed, but written.  I'll show it to you some time--it contains the
+history of the brave Roland.  Often, when absorbed in these beautiful and
+true stories, my cheeks have grown as red as fire, and I'll confess to
+you, as I did to my travelling-companion:  If I'm not mistaken, I've sat
+with King Charles at the board, or I've worn Roland's chain armor in
+battle and in the tourney.  I believe I have seen the Moorish king,
+Marsilia, and once when reading how the dying Roland wound his horn in
+the valley of the Roncesvalles, I felt such a pain in my throat, that it
+seemed as if it would burst, and fancied I had felt the same pain before.
+When I frankly acknowledged all this, my companion exclaimed that there
+was no doubt my soul had once inhabited Roland's body, or in other words,
+that in a former life I had been the Knight Roland."
+
+The musician looked at the fencing-master in amazement and asked: "Could
+you really believe that, Captain?"
+
+"Why not," replied the other.  "Nothing is impossible to the Highest.  At
+first I laughed in the man's face, but his words followed me; and when I
+read the old stories--I needn't strain my eyes much, for at every line I
+know beforehand what the next will be--I couldn't help asking myself--In
+short, sir, my soul probably once inhabited Roland's body, and that's why
+I call him my 'fore man.'  In the course of years, it has become a habit
+to swear by him.  Folly, you will think, but I know what I know, and now
+I must go.  We will have another talk this evening, but about other
+matters.  Yes, everybody in this world is a little crackbrained, but at
+least I don't bore other people.  I only show my craze to intimate
+friends, and strangers who ask me once about the fore man Roland rarely
+do so a second time.  The score, bar-maid--There it is again.  We must
+see whether the towers are properly garrisoned, and charge the sentinels
+to keep their eyes open.  If you come prepared for battle, you may save
+yourself a walk, I'll answer for nothing to-day.  You will probably pass
+the new Rhine.  Just step into my house, and tell my wife she needn't
+wait supper for me.  Or, no, I'll attend to that myself; there's
+something in the air, you'll see it, for I have the Roncesvalles throat
+again."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+In the big watch-house that had been erected beside the citadel, during
+the siege of the city, raised ten months before, city-guards and
+volunteers sat together in groups after sunset, talking over their beer
+or passing the time in playing cards by the feeble light of thin tallow
+candles.
+
+The embrasure where the officers' table stood was somewhat better
+lighted.  Wilhelm, who, according to his friend's advice, appeared in the
+uniform of an ensign of the city-guards, seated himself at the empty
+board just after the clock in the steeple had struck ten.  While ordering
+the waiter to bring him a mug of beer, Captain Allertssohn appeared with
+Junker von Warmond, who had taken part in the consultation at Peter Van
+der Werff's, and bravely earned his captain's sash two years before at
+the capture of Brill.  As this son of one of the richest and most
+aristocratic families in Holland, a youth whose mother had borne the name
+of Egmont, entered, he drew his hand, encased in a fencing glove, from
+the captain's arm and said, countermanding the musician's order:
+
+"Nothing of that sort, waiter!  The little keg from the Wurzburger Stein
+can't be empty yet.  We'll find the bottom of it this evening.  What do
+you say, Captain?"
+
+"Such an arrangement will lighten the keg and not specially burden us,"
+replied the other.  "Good-evening, Herr Wilhelm, punctuality adorns the
+soldier.  People are beginning to understand how much depends upon it.
+I have posted the men, so that they can overlook the country in every
+direction.  I shall have them relieved from time to time, and at
+intervals look after them myself.  This is good liquor, Junker.  All
+honor to the man who melts his gold into such a fluid.  The first glass
+must be a toast to the Prince."
+
+The three men touched their glasses, and soon after drank to the liberty
+of Holland and the prosperity of the good city of Leyden.  Then the
+conversation took a lively turn, but duty was not forgotten, for at the
+end of half an hour the captain rose to survey the horizon himself and
+urge the sentinels to vigilant watchfulness.
+
+When he returned, Wilhelm and Junker von Warmond were so engaged in eager
+conversation, that they did not notice his entrance.  The musician was
+speaking of Italy, and Allertssohn heard him exclaim impetuously:
+
+"Whoever has once seen that country can never forget it, and when I am
+sitting on the house-top with my doves, my thoughts only too often fly
+far away with them, and my eyes no longer see our broad, monotonous
+plains and grey, misty sky."
+
+"Oh! ho!  Meister Wilhelm," interrupted the captain, throwing himself
+into the arm-chair and stretching out his booted legs.  "Oh! ho!  This
+time I've discovered the crack in your brain.  Italy, always Italy!  I
+know Italy too, for I've been in Brescia, looking for good steel sword-
+blades for the Prince and other nobles, I crossed the rugged Apennines
+and went to Florence to see fine pieces of armor.  From Livorno I went by
+sea to Genoa, where I obtained chased gold and silverwork for shoulder-
+belts and sheaths.  Truth is truth the brown-skinned rascals can do fine
+work.  But the country--the country!  Roland, my fore man--how any
+sensible man can prefer it to ours is more than I understand."
+
+"Holland is our mother," replied von Warmond.  "As good sons we believe
+her the best of women; yet we can admit, without shame, that there are
+more beautiful ones in the world."
+
+"Do you blow that trumpet too?"  exclaimed the fencing-master, pushing
+his glass angrily further upon the table.  Did you ever cross the Alps?"
+
+"No, but--"
+
+"But you believe the color-daubers of the artist guild, whose eyes are
+caught by the blue of the sky and sea, or the musical gentry who allow
+themselves to be deluded by the soft voices and touching melodies there,
+but you would do well to listen to a quiet man too for once."
+
+"Go on, Captain."
+
+"Very well.  And if anybody can get an untruthful word out of me, I'll
+pay his score till the Day of Judgment.  I'll begin the story at the
+commencement.  First you must cross the horrible Alps.  There you see
+barren, dreary rocks, cold snow, wild glacier torrents on which no boat
+can be used.  Instead of watering meadows, the mad waves fling stones on
+their banks.  Then we reach the plains, where it is true many kinds of
+plants grow.  I was there in June, and made my jokes about the tiny
+fields, where small trees stood, serving as props for the vines.  It
+didn't look amiss, but the heat, Junker, the heat spoiled all pleasure.
+And the dirt in the taverns, the vermin, and the talk about bravos, who
+shed the blood of honest Christians in the dark for a little paltry
+money.  If your tongue dries up in your mouth, you'll find nothing but
+hot wine, not a sip of cool beer.  And the dust, gentlemen, the frightful
+dust.  As for the steel in Brescia--it's worthy of all honor.  But the
+feather was stolen from my hat in the tavern, and the landlord devoured
+onions as if they were white bread.  May God punish me if a single piece
+of honest beef, such as my wife can set before me every day--and we don't
+live like princes--ever came between my teeth.
+
+"And the butter, Junker, the butter!  We burn oil in lamps, and grease
+door-hinges with it, when they creak, but the Italians use it to fry
+chickens and fish.  Confound such doings!"
+
+"Beware, Captain," cried Wilhelm, "or I shall take you at your word and
+you'll be obliged to pay my score for life.  Olive-oil is a pure, savory
+seasoning."
+
+"For a man that likes it.  I commend Holland butter.  Olive-oil has its
+value for polishing steel, but butter is the right thing for roasting and
+frying; so that's enough!  But I beg you to hear me farther.  From
+Lombardy I went to Bologna, and then crossed the Apennines.  Sometimes
+the road ascended, then suddenly plunged downward again, and it's a queer
+pleasure, which, thank God, we are spared in this country, to sit in the
+saddle going down a mountain.  On the right and left, lofty cliffs tower
+like walls.  Your breathing becomes oppressed in the narrow valleys, and
+if you want to get a distant view--there's nothing to be seen, for
+everywhere some good-for-nothing mountain thrusts itself directly before
+your nose.  I believe the Lord created those humps for a punishment to
+men after Adam's fall.  On the sixth day of creation the earth was level.
+It was in August, and when the noon sun was reflected from the rocks, the
+heat was enough to kill one; it's a miracle, that I'm not sitting beside
+you dried up and baked.  The famous blue of the Italian sky!  Always the
+same!  We have it here in this country too, but it alternates with
+beautiful clouds.  There are few things in Holland I like better than our
+clouds.  When the rough Apennines at last lay behind me, I reached the
+renowned city of Florence."
+
+"And can you deny it your approval?"  asked the musician.
+
+"No, sir, there are many proud, stately palaces and beautiful churches
+and no lack of silk and velvet everywhere, the trade of cloth-weaving too
+is flourishing; but my health, my health was not good in your Florence,
+principally on account of the heat, and besides I found many things
+different from what I expected.  In the first place, there's the river
+Arno!  The stream is a puddle, nothing but a puddle!  Do you know what
+the water looks like?  Like the pools that stand between the broken
+fragments and square blocks in a stonecutter's yard, after a heavy
+thunder-shower."
+
+"The score, Captain, the score!"
+
+"I mean the yard of a stone-cutter, who does a large business, and pools
+of tolerable width.  Will you still contradict me if I maintain--the Arno
+is a shallow, narrow stream, just fit to sail a boy's bark-boat.  It
+spreads over a wide surface of grey pebbles, very much as the gold fringe
+straggles over the top of Junker von Warmond's fencing-glove."
+
+"You saw it at the end of a hot summer," replied Wilhelm, "it's very
+different in spring."
+
+"Perhaps so; but I beg you to remember the Rhine, the Meuse, and our
+other rivers, even the Marne, Drecht and whatever the smaller streams are
+called.  They remain full and bear stately ships at all seasons of the
+year.  Uniform and reliable is the custom of this country; to-day one
+way, to-morrow another, is the Italian habit.  It's just the same with
+the blades in the fencing-school."
+
+"The Italians wield dangerous weapons," said von Warmond.
+
+"Very true, but they bend to and fro and lack firmness.  I know what I'm
+talking about, for I lodged with my colleague Torelli, the best fencing-
+master in the city.  I'll say nothing of the meals he set before me.
+To-day macaroni, to-morrow macaroni with a couple of chicken drumsticks
+to boot, and so on.  I've often drawn my belt tighter after dinner.  As
+for the art of fencing, Torelli is certainly no bungler, but he too has
+the skipping fashion in his method.  You must keep your eyes open in a
+passado with him, but if I can once get to my quarte, tierce, and side-
+thrust, I have him."
+
+"An excellent series," said Junker von Warmond.  "It has been useful to
+me."
+
+"I know, I know," replied the captain eagerly.  "You silenced the French
+brawler with it at Namur.  There's the catch in my throat again.
+Something will happen to-day, gentlemen, something will surely happen."
+
+The fencing-master grasped the front of his ruff with his left hand and
+set the glass on the table with his right.  He had often done so far more
+carelessly, but to-day the glass shattered into many fragments.
+
+"That's nothing," cried the young nobleman.  "Waiter, another glass for
+Captain Allertssohn."
+
+The fencing-master pushed his chair back from the table, and looking at
+the broken pieces of greenish glass, said in an altered tone, as if
+speaking to himself rather than his companions:
+
+"Yes, yes, something serious will happen to-day.  Shattered into a
+thousand pieces.  As God wills!  I know where my place is."
+
+Von Warmond filled a fresh glass, saying with a slight shade of reproof
+in his tone:  "Why, Captain, Captain, what whims are these?  Before the
+battle of Brill I fell in jumping out of the boat and broke my sword.
+I soon found another, but the idea came into my head: 'you'll meet your
+death to-day.'  Yet here I sit, and hope to empty many a beaker with
+you."
+
+"It has passed already," said the fencing-master, raising his hat and
+wiping the perspiration from his forehead with the back of his hand.
+"Every one must meet his death-hour, and if mine is approaching to-day
+--be it as God wills!  My family won't starve.  The house on the new
+Rhine is free from mortgage, and though they don't inherit much else, I
+shall leave my children an honest name and trustworthy friends.  I know
+you won't lose sight of my second boy, the musician, Wilhelm.  Nobody is
+indispensable, and if Heaven wishes to call me from this command, Junker
+von Nordwyk, Jan Van der Does, can fill my place.  You, Herr von Warmond,
+are in just the right spot, and the good cause will reach a successful
+end even without me."
+
+The musician listened with surprise to the softened tone of the strange
+man's voice, but the young nobleman raised his drinking-cup, exclaiming:
+
+"Such heavy thoughts for a light glass!  You make too much of the matter,
+Captain.  Take your bumper again, and pledge me: Long live the noble art
+of fencing, and your series: quarte, tierce and side-thrust!"
+
+"They'll live," replied Allertssohn, "ay, they'll live.  Many hundreds of
+noble gentlemen use the sword in this country, and the man who sits here
+has taught them to wield it according to the rules.  My series has served
+many in duelling, and I, Andreas, their master, have made tierce follow
+quarte and side-thrust tierce thousands of times, but always with buttons
+on the foils and against padded doublets.  Outside the walls, in the
+battle-field, no one, often as I have pressed upon the leaders, has ever
+stood against me in single combat.  This Brescian sword-blade has more
+than once pierced a Spanish jerkin, but the art I teach, gentlemen, the
+art I love, to which my life has been devoted, I have never practised in
+earnest.  That is hard to bear, gentlemen, and if Heaven is disposed,
+before calling him away from earth, to grant a poor man, who is no worse
+than his neighbors, one favor, I shall be permitted to cross blades once
+in a true, genuine duel, and try my series against an able champion in a
+mortal struggle.  If God would grant Andreas this--"
+
+Before the fencing-master had finished the last sentence, an armed man
+dashed the door open, shouting: "The light is raised at Leyderdorp!"
+
+At these words Allertssohn sprang from his chair as nimbly as a youth,
+drew himself up to his full height, adjusted his shoulder-belt and drew
+down his sash, exclaiming:
+
+"To the citadel, Hornist, and sound the call for assembling the troops.
+To your volunteers, Captain Van Duivenvoorde.  Post yourself with four
+companies at the Hohenort Gate, to be ready to take part, if the battle
+approaches the city-walls.  The gunners must provide matches.  Let the
+garrisons in the towers be doubled.  Klaas, go to the sexton of St.
+Pancratius and tell him to ring the alarm-bell, to warn the people at
+the fair.  Your hand, Junker.  I know you will be at your post, and you,
+Meister Wilhelm."
+
+"I'll go with you," said the musician resolutely.  "Don't reject me.
+I have remained quiet long enough; I shall stifle here."
+
+Wilhelm's cheeks flushed, and his eyes sparkled with a lustre so bright
+and angry, that Junker von Warmond looked at his phlegmatic friend in
+astonishment, while the captain called:
+
+"Then station yourself in the first company beside my ensign.  You don't
+look as if you felt like jesting, and the work will be in earnest now,
+bloody earnest."
+
+Allertssohn walked out of doors with a steady step, addressed his men in
+a few curt, vigorous words, ordered the drummers to beat their drums,
+while marching through the city, to rouse the people at the fair, placed
+himself at the head of his trusty little band, and led them towards the
+new Rhine.
+
+The moon shone brightly down into the quiet streets, was reflected from
+the black surface of the river, and surrounded the tall peaked gables of
+the narrow houses with a silvery lustre.  The rapid tramp of the soldiers
+was echoed loudly back from the houses through the silence of the night,
+and the vibration of the air, shaken by the beating of the drums, made
+the panes rattle.
+
+This time no merry children with paper flags and wooden swords preceded
+the warriors, this time no gay girls and proud mothers followed them, not
+even an old man, who remembered former days, when he himself bore arms.
+As the silent troops reached the neighborhood of Allertssohn's house, the
+clock in the church-steeple slowly struck twelve, and directly after the
+alarm-bell began to sound from the tower of Pancratius.
+
+A window in the second story of the fencing-toaster's house was thrown
+open, and his wife's face appeared.  An anxious married life with her
+strange husband had prematurely aged pretty little Eva's countenance,
+but the mild moonlight transfigured her faded features.  The beat of her
+husband's drums was familiar to her, and when she saw him at midnight
+marching past to the horrible call of the alarm-bell, a terrible dread
+overpowered her and would scarcely allow her to call: "Husband, husband!
+What is the matter, Andreas?"
+
+He did not hear, for the roll of the drums, the tramp of the soldiers'
+feet on the pavement and the ringing of the alarm-bell drowned her voice;
+but he saw her distinctly, and a strange feeling stole over him.  Her
+face, framed in a white kerchief and illumined by the moonlight, seemed
+to him fairer than he had ever seen it since the days of his wooing, and
+he felt so youthful and full of chivalrous daring, on his way to the
+field of danger, that he drew himself up to his full height and marched
+by, keeping most perfect time to the beat of the drums, as in lover-like
+fashion he threw her a kiss with his left hand, while waving his sword in
+the right.
+
+The beating of drums and waving of banners had banished every gloomy
+thought from his mind.  So he marched on to the Gansort.  There stood a
+cart, the home of travelling traders, who had been roused from sleep by
+the alarm-bell, and were hastily collecting their goods.  An old woman,
+amid bitter lamentations, was just harnessing a thin horse to the shafts,
+and from a tiny window a child's wailing voice was heard calling,
+"mother, mother," and then, "father, father."
+
+The fencing-master heard the cry.  The smile faded from his lips, and his
+step grew heavier.  Then he turned and shouted a loud "Forward" to his
+men.  Wilhelm was marching close behind him and at a sign from the
+captain approached; but Allertssohn, quickening his pace, seized the
+musician's arm, saying in a low tone:
+
+"You'll take the boy to teach?"
+
+"Yes, Captain."
+
+"Good; you'll be rewarded for it some day," replied the fencing-master,
+and waving his sword, shouted: "Liberty to Holland, death to the
+Spaniard, long live Orange!"
+
+The soldiers joyously joined in the shout, and marched rapidly with him
+through the Hohenort Gate into the open country and towards Leyderdorp.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+Adrian hurried home with his vial, and in his joy at bringing the sick
+lady relief, forgot her headache and struck the knocker violently against
+the door.  Barbara received him with a by no means flattering greeting,
+but he was so full of the happiness of possessing the dearly-bought
+treasure, that he fearlessly interrupted his aunt's reproving words, by
+exclaiming eagerly, in the consciousness of his good cause:
+
+"You'll see; I have something here for the young lady; where is mother?"
+
+Barbara perceived that the boy was the bearer of some good tidings, which
+engrossed his whole attention, and the fresh happy face pleased her so
+much, that she forgot to scold and said smiling:
+
+"You make me very curious; what is the need of so much hurry?"
+
+"I've bought something; is mother up-stairs?"
+
+"Yes, show me what you have bought."
+
+"A remedy.  Infallible, I tell you; a remedy for headache."
+
+"A remedy for headache?"  asked the widow in astonishment.  "Who told you
+that fib?"
+
+"Fib?"  repeated the boy, laughing.  "I got it below cost."
+
+"Show it to me, boy," said Barbara authoritatively, snatching at the
+vial, but Adrian stepped back, hid the medicine behind him, and replied:
+
+"No, aunt; I shall take it to mother myself."
+
+"Did one ever hear of such a thing!"  cried the widow.  "Donkeys dance on
+ropes, school-boys dabble in doctor's business!  Show me the thing at
+once!  We want no quack wares."
+
+"Quack wares!"  replied Adrian eagerly.  "It cost all my fair money, and
+it's good medicine."
+
+During this little discussion Doctor Bontius came down-stairs with the
+burgomaster's wife.  He had heard the boy's last words and asked sternly:
+
+"Where did you get the stuff?"
+
+With these words, he seized the hand of the lad, who did not venture to
+resist the stern man, took the little vial and printed directions from
+him and, after Adrian had curtly answered: "From Doctor Morpurgo!"
+continued angrily:
+
+"The brew is good to be thrown away; only we must take care not to poison
+the fishes with it, and the thing cost half a florin.  You're a rich
+young man, Meister Adrian!  If you have any superfluous capital again,
+you can lend it to me."
+
+These words spoiled the boy's pleasure, but did not convince him, and he
+defiantly turned half away from the physician.  Barbara understood what
+was passing in his mind, and whispered compassionately to the doctor and
+her sister-in-law:
+
+"All his fair money to help the young lady."
+
+Maria instantly approached the disappointed child, drew his curly head
+towards her and silently kissed his forehead, while the doctor read the
+printed label, then without moving a muscle, said as gravely as ever:
+
+"Morpurgo isn't the worst of quacks, the remedy he prescribes here may do
+the young lady good after all."  Adrian had been nearer crying than
+laughing.  Now he uttered a sigh of relief, but still clasped Maria's
+hand firmly, as he again turned his face towards the doctor, listening
+intently while the latter continued:
+
+"Two parts buckbeans, one part pepper-wort, and half a part valerian.
+The latter specially for women.  Let it steep in boiling water and drink
+a cupful cold every morning and evening!  Not bad--really not bad.  You
+have found a good remedy, my worthy colleague.
+
+"I had something else to say to you, Adrian.  My boys are going to the
+English riders this evening, and would be glad to have you accompany
+them.  You can begin with the decoction to-day."
+
+The physician bowed to the ladies and went on; Barbara followed him into
+the street, asking:
+
+"Are you in earnest about the prescription?"
+
+"Of course, of course," replied the doctor, "my grandmother used this
+remedy for headache, and she was a sensible woman.  Evening and morning,
+and the proper amount of sleep."
+
+Henrica occupied a pretty, tastefully-furnished room.  The windows looked
+out upon the quiet court-yard, planted with trees, adjoining the chamois-
+leather work shops.  She was allowed to sit up part of the day in a
+cushioned arm-chair, supported by pillows.  Her healthy constitution was
+rapidly rallying.  True, she was still weak, and the headache spoiled
+whole days and nights.  Maria's gentle and thoughtful nature exerted a
+beneficial influence upon her, and she cheerfully welcomed Barbara, with
+her fresh face and simple, careful, helpful ways.
+
+When Maria told her about the purchase Adrian had made for her, she was
+moved to tears; but to the boy she concealed her grateful emotion under
+jesting words, and greeted him with the exclamation:
+
+"Come nearer, my preserver, and give me your hand."
+
+Afterwards, she always called him "my preserver" or, as she liked to
+mingle Italian words with her Dutch, "Salvatore" or "Signor Salvatore."
+She was particularly fond of giving the people, with whom she associated,
+names of her own, and so called Barbara, whose Christian name she thought
+frightful, "Babetta," and little slender, pretty Bessie, whose company
+she specially enjoyed, "the elf."  The burgomaster's wife only remained
+"Frau Maria," and when the latter once jestingly asked the cause of such
+neglect, Henrica replied that she suited her name and her name her; had
+she been called Martha, she would probably have named her "Maria."
+
+The invalid had passed a pleasant, painless day, and when towards evening
+Adrian went to see the English riders and the fragrance of the blooming
+lindens and the moonlight found their way through the open windows of her
+room, she begged Barbara not to bring a light, and invited Maria to sit
+down and talk with her.
+
+From Adrian and Bessie the conversation turned upon their own childhood.
+Henrica had grown up among her father's boon companions, amid the
+clinking of glasses and hunting-shouts, Maria in a grave burgher
+household, and what they told each other seemed like tidings from a
+strange world.
+
+"It was easy for you to become the tall, white lily you are now," said
+Henrica, "but I must thank the saints, that I came off as well as I did,
+for we really grew up like weeds, and if I hadn't had a taste for singing
+and the family priest hadn't been such an admirable musician, I might
+stand before you in a still worse guise.  When will the doctor let me
+hear you sing?"
+
+"Next week; but you musn't expect too much.  You have too high an opinion
+of me.  Remember the proverb about still waters.  Here in the depths it
+often looks far less peaceful, than you probably suppose."
+
+"But you have learned to keep the surface calm when it storms; I haven't.
+A strange stillness has stolen over me here.  Whether I owe it to illness
+or to the atmosphere that pervades this house, I can't tell, but how long
+will it last?  My soul used to be like the sea, when the hissing waves
+plunge into black gulfs, the seagulls scream, and the fishermen's wives
+pray on the shore.  Now the sea is calm.  Don't be too much frightened,
+if it begins to rage again."
+
+At these words Maria clasped the excited girl's hands, saying
+beseechingly:
+
+"Be quiet, be quiet, Henrica.  You must think only of your recovery now.
+And shall I confess something?  I believe everything hard can be more
+easily borne, if we can cast it impatiently forth like the sea of which
+you speak; with me one thing is piled on another and remains lying there,
+as if buried under the sand."
+
+"Until the hurricane comes, that sweeps it away.  I don't want to be an
+evil prophet, but you surely remember these words.  What a wild, careless
+thing I was!  Then a day came, that made a complete revolution in my
+whole nature."
+
+"Did a false love wound you?"  asked Maria modestly.
+
+"No, except the false love of another," replied Henrica bitterly.  "When
+I was a child this fluttering heart often throbbed more quickly, I don't
+know how often.  First I felt something more than reverence for the one-
+eyed chaplain, our music-teacher, and every morning placed fresh flowers
+on his window, which he never noticed.  Then--I was probably fifteen--
+I returned the ardent glances of Count Brederode's pretty page.  Once he
+tried to be tender, and received a blow from my riding-whip.  Next came
+a handsome young nobleman, who wanted to marry me when I was barely
+sixteen, but he was even more heavily in debt than my father, so he was
+sent home.  I shed no tears for him, and when, two months after, at a
+tournament in Brussels, I saw Don Frederic, the son of the great Duke of
+Alva, fancied myself as much in love with him as ever any lady worshipped
+her Amadis, though the affair never went beyond looks.  Then the storm,
+of which I have already spoken, burst, and that put an end to love-
+making.  I will tell you more about this at some future time; I need not
+conceal it, for it has been no secret.  Have you ever heard of my sister?
+No?  She was older than I, a creature-God never created anything more
+perfect.  And her singing!  She came to my dead aunt's, and there--But I
+won't excite myself uselessly--in short, the man whom she loved with all
+the strength of her heart thrust her into misery, and my father cursed
+and would not stretch out a finger to aid her.  I never knew my mother,
+but through Anna I never missed her.  My sister's fate opened my eyes to
+men.  During the last few years many have wanted me, but I lacked
+confidence and, still more, love, for I shall never have anything to do
+with that."
+
+"Until it finds you," replied Maria.  "It was wrong to speak of such
+things with you, it excites you, and that is bad."
+
+"Never mind; it will do me good to relieve my heart.  Did you love no one
+before your husband?"
+
+"Love?  No, Henrica, I never really loved any one except him."
+
+"And your heart waited for the burgomaster, ere it beat faster?"
+
+"No, it had not always remained quiet before; I grew up among social
+people, old and young, and of course liked some better than others."
+
+"And surely one best of all."
+
+"I won't deny it.  At my sister's wedding, my brother-in-law's friend,
+a young nobleman, came from Germany and remained several weeks with us.
+I liked him, and remember him kindly even now."
+
+"Have you never heard from him again?"
+
+"No; who knows what has become of him.  My brother-in-law expected great
+things from him, and he possessed many rare gifts, but was reckless,
+fool-hardy, and a source of constant anxiety to his mother."
+
+"You must tell me more about him."
+
+"What is the use, Henrica?"
+
+"I don't want to talk any more, but I should like to be still, inhale the
+fragrance of the lindens, and listen, only listen."
+
+"No, you must go to bed now.  I'll help you undress and, when you have
+been alone an hour, come back again."
+
+"One learns obedience in your house, but when my preserver comes home,
+bring him here.  He must tell me about the English riders.  There comes
+Fran Babetta with his decoction.  You shall see that I take it
+punctually."
+
+The boy returned home late, for he had enjoyed all the glories of the
+fair with the doctor's children.  He was permitted to pay only a short
+visit to Henrica, and did not see his father at all, the latter having
+gone to a night council at Herr Van Bronkhorst's.
+
+The next morning the fair holidays were to end, school would begin and
+Adrian had intended to finish his tasks this evening; but the visit to
+the English riders had interfered, and he could not possibly appear
+before the rector without his exercise.  He frankly told Maria so, and
+she cleared a place for him at the table where she was sewing, and helped
+the young scholar with many a word and rule she had learned with her dead
+brother.
+
+When it lacked only half an hour of midnight, Barbara entered, saying:
+
+"That's enough now.  You can finish the rest early to-morrow morning
+before school."
+
+Without waiting for Maria's reply, she closed the boy's books and pushed
+them together.
+
+While thus occupied, the room shook with rude blows on the door of the
+house.  Maria threw down her sewing and started from her seat, while
+Barbara exclaimed:
+
+"For Heaven's sake, what is it?"  Adrian rushed into his father's room
+and opened the window.
+
+The ladies had hurried after him, and before they could question the
+disturber of the peace, a deep voice called:
+
+"Open, I must come in."
+
+"What is it?"  asked Barbara, who recognized a soldier in the moonlight.
+"We can't hear our own voices; stop that knocking."
+
+"Call the burgomaster!"  shouted the messenger, who had been constantly
+using the knocker.  "Quick, woman; the Spaniards are coming."
+
+Barbara shrieked aloud and beat her hands.  Maria turned pale, but
+without losing her composure, replied: "The burgomaster is not at home,
+but I'll send for him.  Quick, Adrian, call your father."
+
+The boy rushed down-stairs, meeting in the entry the man-servant and
+Trautchen, who had jumped hastily out of bed, throwing on an under-
+petticoat, and was now trying, with trembling hands, to unlock the door.
+The man pushed her aside, and as soon as the door creaked on its hinges,
+Adrian darted out and ran, as if in a race, down the street to the
+commissioner's.  Arriving before any other messenger, he pressed through
+the open door into the dining-hall and called breathlessly to the men,
+who were holding a council over their wine:
+
+"The Spaniards are here!"
+
+The gentlemen hastily rose from their seats.  One wanted to rush to the
+citadel, another to the town-hall and, in the excitement of the moment,
+no sensible reflection was made.  Peter Van der Werff alone maintained
+his composure and, after Allertssohn's messenger had appeared and
+reported that the captain and his men were on the way to Leyderdorp, the
+burgomaster pointed out that the leaders' care should now be devoted to
+the people who had come to the fair.  He and Van Hout undertook to
+provide for them, and Adrian was soon standing with his father and the
+city clerk among the crowds of people, who had been roused from sleep by
+the wailing iron voice from the Tower or Pancratius.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+Adrian's activity for this night was not yet over, for his father did not
+prevent his accompanying him to the town-hall.  There he directed him to
+tell his mother, that he should be busy until morning and the servant
+might send all persons, who desired to speak to him after one o'clock,
+to the timber-market on the Rhine.  Maria sent the boy back to the town-
+hall, to ask his father if he did not want his cloak, wine, a lunch or
+anything of the sort.
+
+The boy fulfilled this commission with great zeal, for he never had felt
+so important as while forcing his way through the crowds that had
+gathered in the narrower streets; he had a duty to perform, and at night,
+the time when other boys were asleep, especially his school-mates, who
+certainly would not be allowed to leave the house now.  Besides, an
+eventful period, full of the beating of drums, the blare of trumpets, the
+rattle of musketry and roar of cannon might be expected.  It seemed as if
+the game "Holland against Spain" was to be continued in earnest, and on a
+grand scale.  All the vivacity of his years seized upon him, and when he
+had forced a way with his elbows to less crowded places, he dashed
+hurriedly along, shouting as merrily as if spreading some joyful news in
+the darkness:
+
+"They are coming!" "the Spaniards!" or "Hannibal ante portas."
+
+After learning on his return to the town-hall, that his father wanted
+nothing and would send a constable if there was need of anything, he
+considered his errand done and felt entitled to satisfy his curiosity.
+
+This drew him first to the English riders.  The tent where they had given
+their performances had disappeared from the earth, and screaming men and
+women were rolling up large pieces of canvas, fastening packs, and
+swearing while they harnessed horses.  The gloomy light of torches
+mingled with the moonbeams and showed him on the narrow steps, that led
+to a large four-wheeled cart, a little girl in shabby clothes, weeping
+bitterly.  Could this be the rosy-cheeked angel who, floating along on
+the snow-white pony, had seemed to him like a happy creature from more
+beautiful worlds?  A scolding old woman now lifted the child into the
+cart, but he followed the crowd and saw Doctor Morpurgo, no longer clad
+in scarlet, but in plain dark cloth, mounted on a lean horse, riding
+beside his cart.  The negro was furiously urging the mule forward, but
+his master seemed to have remained in full possession of the calmness
+peculiar to him.  His wares were of small value, and the Spaniards had
+no reason to take his head and tongue, by which he gained more than he
+needed.
+
+Adrian followed him to the long row of booths in the wide street, and
+there saw things, which put an end to his thoughtlessness and made him
+realize, that the point in question now concerned serious, heart-rending
+matters.  He had still been able to laugh as he saw the ginger-bread
+bakers and cotton-sellers fighting hand to hand, because in the first
+fright they had tossed their packages of wares hap-hazard into each
+other's open chests, and were now unable to separate their property; but
+he felt sincerely sorry for the Delft crockery-dealer on the corner,
+whose light booth had been demolished by a large wagon from Gouda, loaded
+with bales, and who now stood beside her broken wares, by means of which
+she supported herself and children, wringing her hands, while the driver,
+taking no notice of her, urged on his horses with loud cracks of his
+whip.  A little girl, who had lost her parents and was being carried away
+by a compassionate burgher woman, was weeping piteously.  A poor rope-
+dancer, who had been robbed by a thief in the crowd, of the little tin
+box containing he pennies he had collected, was running about, ringing
+his hands and looking for the watchman.  A shoemaker was pounding riding-
+boots and women's shoes in motley confusion into a wooden chest with rope
+handles, while his wife, instead of helping him, tore her hair and
+shrieked: "I told you so, you fool, you simpleton, you blockhead!
+They'll come and rob us of everything."
+
+At the entrance of the street that led past the Assendelft house to the
+Leibfrau Bridge, several loaded wagons had become entangled, and the
+drivers, instead of getting down and procuring help, struck at each other
+in their terror, hitting the women and children seated among the bales.
+Their cries and shrieks echoed a long distance, but were destined to be
+drowned, for a dancing-bear had broken loose and was putting every one
+near him to flight.  The people, who were frightened by the beast, rushed
+down the street, screaming and yelling, dragging with them others who did
+not know the cause of the alarm, and misled by the most imminent fear,
+roared: "The Spaniards!  The Spaniards!"  Whatever came in the way of the
+terrified throngs was overthrown.  A sieve-dealer's child, standing
+beside its father's upset cart, fell beneath the mob close beside Adrian,
+who had stationed himself in the door-way of a house.  But the lad was
+crowded so closely into his hiding-place, that he could not spring to the
+little one's aid, and his attention was attracted to a new sight, as
+Janus Dousa appeared on horseback.  In answer to the cry of "The
+Spaniards!  The Spaniards!" he shouted loudly: "Quiet, people, quiet!
+The enemy hasn't come yet!  To the Rhine!  Vessels are waiting there for
+all strangers.  To the Rhine!  There are no Spaniards there, do you hear,
+no Spaniards!"
+
+The nobleman stopped just before Adrian, for his horse could go no
+farther and stood snorting and trembling under his rider.  The advice
+bore little fruit, and not until hundreds had rushed past him, did the
+frightened crowd diminish.  The bear, from which they fled, had been
+caught by a brewer's apprentice and taken back to its owner long before.
+The city constables now appeared, led by Adrian's father, and the boy
+followed them unobserved to the timber-market on the southern bank of the
+Rhine.  There another crowd met him, for many dealers had hurried thither
+to save their property in the ships.  Men and women pressed past bales
+and wares, that were being rolled down the narrow wooden bridges to the
+vessels.  A woman, a child, and a rope-maker's cart had been pushed into
+the water, and the wildest confusion prevailed around the spot.  But the
+burgomaster reached the place just at the right time, gave directions for
+rescuing the drowning people, and then made every, exertion to bring
+order out of the confusion.
+
+The constables were commanded to admit fugitives only on board the
+vessels bound for the places where they belonged; two planks were laid to
+every ship, One for goods, the other for passengers; the constables
+loudly shouted that--as the law directed when the alarm-bell rang--all
+citizens of Leyden must enter their houses and the streets be cleared, on
+pain of a heavy penalty.  All the city gates were opened for the passage
+of wheeled vehicles, except the Hohenort Gate, which led to Leyderdorp,
+where egress was refused.  Thus the crowd in the streets was lessened,
+order appeared amid the tumult, and when, in the dawn of morning, Adrian
+turned his steps towards home, there was little more bustle in the
+streets than on ordinary nights.
+
+His mother and Barbara had been anxious, but he told them about his
+father and in what manner he had put a stop to the confusion.
+
+While talking, the rattle of musketry was heard in the distance, awaking
+such excitement in Adrian's mind, that he wanted to rush out again; but
+his mother stopped him and he was obliged to mount the stairs to his
+room.  He did not go to sleep, but climbed to the upper loft in the gable
+of the rear building and gazed through the window, to which the bales of
+leather were raised by pulleys, towards the east, from whence the sound
+of firing was still audible.  But he saw nothing except the dawn and
+light clouds of smoke, that assumed a rosy hue as they floated upward.
+As nothing new appeared, his eyes closed, and he fell asleep beside the
+open window where he dreamed of a bloody battle and the English riders.
+His slumber was so sound, that he did not hear the rumble of wheels in
+the quiet courtyard below him.  The carts from which the noise proceeded
+belonged to traders from neighboring cities, who preferred to leave their
+goods in the threatened town, rather than carry them towards the
+advancing Spaniards.  Meister Peter had allowed some of them to store
+their property with him.  The carts were obliged to pass through the
+back-building with the workshops, and the goods liable to be injured by
+the weather, were to be placed in the course of the day in the large
+garrets of his house.
+
+The burgomaster's wife had gone to Henrica at midnight to soothe her
+fears, but the sick girl seemed free from all anxiety, and when she heard
+that the Spaniards were on the march, her eyes sparkled joyously.  Maria
+noticed it and turned away from her guest, but she repressed the harsh
+words that sprang to her lips, wished her good-night, and left the
+chamber.
+
+Henrica gazed thoughtfully after her and then rose, for no sleep was
+possible that night.  The alarm-bell in the Tower of Pancratius rang
+incessantly, and more than once doors opened, voices and shots were
+heard.  Many tones and noises, whose origin and nature she could not
+understand, reached her ears, and when morning dawned, the court-yard
+under her windows, usually so quiet, was full of bustle.  Carts rattled,
+loud tones mingled excitedly, and a deep masculine voice seemed to be
+directing what was going on.  Her curiosity and restlessness increased
+every moment.  She listened so intently that her head began to ache
+again, but could hear only separate words and those very indistinctly.
+Had the city been surrendered to the Spaniards, had King Philip's
+soldiers found quarters in the burgomaster's house?  Her blood boiled
+indignantly, when she thought of the Castilians' triumph and the
+humiliation of her native land, but soon her former joyous excitement
+again filled her mind, as she beheld in imagination art re-enter the bare
+walls of the Leyden churches, now robbed of all their ornaments, chanting
+processions move through the streets, and priests in rich robes
+celebrating mass in the newly-decorated tabernacles, amid beautiful
+music, the odor of incense, and the ringing of bells.  She expected to
+receive from the Spaniards a place where she could pray and free her soul
+by confession.  Amid her former surroundings nothing had afforded her any
+support, except her religion.  A worthy priest, who was also her
+instructor, had zealously striven to prove to her, that the new religion
+threatened to destroy the mystical consecration of life, the yearning for
+the beautiful, every ideal emotion of the human soul, and with them art
+also; so Henrica preferred to see her native land Spanish and Catholic,
+rather than free from the foreigners whom she hated and Calvinistical.
+
+The court-yard gradually became less noisy, but when the first rays of
+morning light streamed into her windows, the bustle again commenced and
+grew louder.  Heavy soles tramped upon the pavement, and amid the voices
+that now mingled with those she had formerly heard, she fancied she
+distinguished Maria's and Barbara's.  Yes, she was not mistaken.  That
+cry of terror must proceed from her friend's mouth, and was followed by
+exclamations of grief from bearded lips and loud sobs.
+
+Evil tidings must have reached her host's house, and the woman weeping so
+impetuously below was probably kind "Babetta."
+
+Anxiety drove her from her bed.  On the little table beside it, amid
+several bottles and glasses, the lamp and the box of matches, stood the
+tiny bell, at whose faint sound one of her nurses invariably hastened in.
+Henrica rang it three times, then again and again, but nobody appeared.
+Then her hot blood boiled, and half from impatience and vexation, half
+from curiosity and sympathy, she slipped into her shoes, threw on a
+morning dress, went to the chair which stood on the platform in the
+niche, opened the window, and looked down at the groups gathered below.
+
+No one noticed her, for the men who stood there sorrowing, and the
+weeping women, among whom were Maria and Barbara, were listening with
+many tokens of sympathy to the eager words of a young man, and had eyes
+and ears for him alone.  Henrica recognized in the speaker the musician
+Wilhelm, but only by his voice, for the morion on his curls and the
+blood-stained coat of mail gave the unassuming artist a martial, nay
+heroic air.
+
+He had advanced a long way in his story, when Henrica unseen became a
+listener.
+
+"Yes, sir," he replied, in answer to a question from the burgomaster,
+"we followed them, but they disappeared in the village and all remained
+still.  To risk storming the houses, would have been madness.  So we kept
+quiet, but towards two o'clock heard firing in the neighborhood of
+Leyderdorp.  'Junker von Warmond has made a sally,' said the captain,
+leading us in the direction of the firing.  This was what the Spaniards
+had wanted, for long before we reached the goal, a company of Castilians,
+with white sheets over their armor, climbed out of a ditch in the dim
+light, threw themselves on their knees, murmured a 'Pater-noster,'
+shouted their San Jago and pressed forward upon us.  We had seen them in
+time for the halberdiers to extend their pikes, and the musketeers to he
+down amid the grass.  So the Spaniards had a warm reception, and four of
+them fell in this attack.  We were superior in numbers, and their captain
+led them back to the ditch in good order.  There they halted, for their
+duty was probably to detain us and then have us cut down by a larger
+body.  We were too weak to drive them from their position, but when the
+east began to brighten and they still did not come forward, the captain
+advanced towards them with the drummer, bearing a white flag, and shouted
+to them in Italian, which he had learned to speak a little in Italy, that
+he wished the Castilian gentlemen good-morning, and if there was any
+officer with a sense of honor among them, let him come forth and meet a
+captain who wished to cross swords with him.  He pledged his word, that
+his men would look on at the duel without taking any share in it, no
+matter what the result might be.  Just at that moment two shots were
+fired from the ditch and the bullets whizzed close by the poor captain.
+We called to him to save his life, but he did not stir, and shouted that
+they were cowards and assassins, like their king.
+
+"Meantime it had grown tolerably light--we heard them calling to and fro
+from the ditch, and just as Allertssohn was turning away, an officer
+sprang into the meadow, exclaiming: 'Stand, braggart, and draw your
+blade.'
+
+"The captain drew his Brescian sword, bowed to his enemy as if he were in
+the fencing-school, bent the steel and closed with the Castilian.  The
+latter was a thin man of stately figure and aristocratic bearing, and as
+it soon appeared, a dangerous foe.  He circled like a whirlwind, round
+the captain with bounds, thrusts and feints, but Allertssohn maintained
+his composure, and at first confined himself to skilful parrying.  Then
+he dealt a magnificent quarte, and when the other parried it, followed
+with the tierce, and this being warded off, gave with the speed of
+lightning a side-thrust such as only he can deal.  The Castilian fell on
+his knees, for the Brescian blade had pierced his lungs.  His death was
+speedy.
+
+"As soon as he lay on the turf, the Spaniards again rushed upon us, but
+we repulsed them and took the officer's body in our midst.  Never have I
+seen the captain so proud and happy.  You, Junker von Warmond, can easily
+guess the cause.  He had now done honor to his series in a genuine duel
+against an enemy of equal rank, and told me this was the happiest morning
+of his life.  Then he ordered us to march round the ditch and attack the
+enemy on the flank.  But scarcely had we begun to move, when the expected
+troops from Leyderdorp pressed forward, their loud San Jago resounding
+far and wide, while at the same time the old enemy rose from the ditch
+and attacked us.  Allertssohn rushed forward, but did not reach them--oh,
+gentlemen!  I shall never forget it, a bullet struck him down at my
+side.  It probably pierced his heart, for he said: nothing but:
+'Remember the boy!' stretched out his powerful frame and died.  We wanted
+to bear his body away with us, but were pressed by superior numbers, and
+it was hard enough to come within range of Junker von Warmond's
+volunteers.  The Spaniards did not venture so far.  Here we are.  The
+Castilian's body is lying in the tower at the Hohenort Gate.  These are
+the papers we found in the dead man's doublet, and this is his ring; he
+has a proud escutcheon."
+
+Peter Van der Werff took the dead man's letter-case in his hand, looked
+through it and said: "His name was Don Luis d Avila."
+
+He said no more, for his wife had seen Henrica's head stretched far out
+of the window, and cried loudly in terror: "Fraulein, for Heaven's sake,
+Fraulein--what are you doing?"
+
+
+
+
+ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:
+
+Hat is the sign of liberty, and the free man keeps his hat on
+Must take care not to poison the fishes with it
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE
+
+By Georg Ebers
+
+Volume 4.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+The burgomaster's wife had been anxious about Henrica, but the latter
+greeted her with special cheerfulness and met her gentle reproaches with
+the assurance that this morning had done her good.  Fate, she said,
+was just, and if it were true that confidence of recovery helped the
+physician, Doctor Bontius would have an easy task with her.  The dead
+Castilian must be the wretch, who had plunged her sister Anna into
+misery.  Maria, surprised, but entirely relieved, left her and sought her
+husband to tell him how she had found the invalid, and in what relation
+the Spanish officer, slain by Allertssohn, seemed to have stood to
+Henrica and her sister.  Peter only half listened to her, and when
+Barbara brought him a freshly-ironed ruff, interrupted his wife in the
+middle of her story, gave her the dead man's letter-case, and said:
+
+"There, let her satisfy herself, and bring it to me again in the evening,
+I shall hardly be able to come to dinner; I suppose you'll see poor
+Allertssohn's widow in the course of the day."
+
+"Certainly," she answered eagerly.  "Whom will you appoint in his place?"
+
+"That is for the Prince to decide."
+
+"Have you thought of any means of keeping the communication with Delft
+free from the enemy?"
+
+"On your mother's account?"
+
+"Not solely.  Rotterdam also lies to the south.  We can expect nothing
+from Haarlem and Amsterdam, that is, from the north, for everything there
+is in the hands of the Spaniards."
+
+"I'll get you a place in the council of war.  Where do you learn your
+wisdom?"
+
+"We have our thoughts, and isn't it natural that I should rather follow
+you into the future with my eyes open, than blindly?  Has the English
+troop been used to secure the fortifications on the old canal?  Kaak too
+is an important point."
+
+Peter gazed at his wife in amazement, and the sense of discomfort
+experienced by an unskilful writer, when some one looks over his
+shoulder, stole over him.  She had pointed out a bad, momentous error,
+which, it is true, did not burden him alone, and as he certainly did not
+wish to defend it to her, and moreover might have found justification
+difficult, he made no reply, saying nothing but: "Men's affairs!  Good-
+bye until evening."  With these words he walked past Barbara, towards the
+door.
+
+Maria did not know how it happened, but before he laid his hand on the
+latch she gained sufficient self-command to call after him:
+
+"Are you going so, Peter!  Is that right?  What did you promise me on
+your return from the journey to the Prince?"
+
+"I know, I know," he answered impatiently.  "We cannot serve two masters,
+and in these times I beg you not to trouble me with questions and matters
+that don't concern you.  To direct the business of the city is my affair;
+you have your invalid, the children, the poor; let that suffice."
+
+Without waiting for her reply he left the room, while she stood
+motionless, gazing after him.
+
+Barbara watched her anxiously for several minutes, then busied herself
+with the papers on her brother's writing-table, saying as if to herself,
+though turning slightly towards her sister-in-law:
+
+"Evil times!  Let every one, who is not oppressed with such burdens as
+Peter, thank the Lord.  He has to bear the responsibility of everything,
+and people can't dance lightly with hundred-pound weights on their legs.
+Nobody has a better heart, and nobody means more honestly.  How the
+traders at the fair praised his caution!  In the storm people know the
+pilot, and Peter was always greatest, when things were going worst.  He
+knows what he is undertaking, but the last few weeks have aged him
+years."
+
+Maria nodded.  Barbara left the room, but returning after a few minutes,
+said beseechingly:
+
+"You look ill, child, come and lie down.  An hour's sleep is better than
+three meals.  At your age, such a night as this last one doesn't pass
+without leaving traces.  The sun is shining so brightly, that I've drawn
+your window-curtains.  I've made your bed, too.  Be sensible and come."
+
+While uttering the last words, she took Maria's hand and drew her away.
+The young wife made no resistance, and though her eyes did not remain dry
+when she was alone, sleep soon overpowered her.
+
+Towards noon, refreshed by slumber, and newly dressed, she went to the
+captain's house.  Her own heart was heavy, and compassion for herself and
+her own fate again had the mastery.  Eva Peterstochter, the fencing-
+master's widow, a quiet, modest woman, whom she scarcely knew by sight,
+did not appear.  She was sitting alone in her room, weeping, but Maria
+found in her house the musician, Wilhelm, who had spoken comforting words
+to his old friend's son, and promised to take charge of him and make him
+a good performer.
+
+The burgomaster's wife sent a message to the widow, begging to see her
+the next day, and then went out into the street with Wilhelm.  Everywhere
+groups of citizens, women, and journeymen were standing together, talking
+about what had happened and the coming trouble.  While Maria was telling
+the musician who the dead Castilian was, and that Henrica desired to
+speak with him, Wilhelm, as soon as possible, she was interrupted more
+than once; for sometimes a company of volunteers or city guards, relieved
+from duty in the towers and on the walls, sometimes a cannon barred their
+way.  Was it the anticipation of coming events, or the beat of drums and
+blare of trumpets, which so excited her companion, that he often pressed
+his hand to his forehead and she was obliged to request him to slacken
+his pace.  There was a strange, constrained tone in his voice as, in
+accordance with her request, he told her that the Spaniards had come by
+ship up the Amstel, the Drecht, and the Brasem See to the Rhine and
+landed at Leyderdorp.
+
+A mounted messenger wearing the Prince's colors, and followed not only by
+children, but by grown persons, who ran after him eager to reach the
+town-hall at the same time, interrupted Wilhelm, and as soon as the crowd
+had passed, the burgomaster's wife asked her companion one question after
+another.  The noise of war, the firing audible in the distance, the gay
+military costumes everywhere to be seen in place of the darker citizens'
+dress, also aroused her eager interest, and what she learned from Wilhelm
+was little calculated to diminish it.  The main body of the Spanish
+troops was on the way to the Hague.  The environment of the city had
+commenced, but the enemy could hardly succeed in his purpose; for the
+English auxiliaries, who were to defend the new fortifications of
+Valkenburg, the village of Alfen, and the Gouda sluice might be trusted.
+Wilhelm had seen the British soldiers, their commander, Colonel Chester,
+and Captain Gensfort, and praised their superb equipments and stately
+bearing.
+
+On reaching her own house, Maria attempted to take leave of her
+companion, but the latter earnestly entreated permission to have an
+interview with Henrica at once, and could scarcely be convinced that
+he must have patience until the doctor had given his consent.
+
+At dinner Adrian, who when his father was not present, talked freely
+enough, related all sorts of things he had seen himself, as well as news
+and rumors heard at school and in the street, his eloquence being no
+little encouraged by his step-mother's eager questions.
+
+Intense anxiety had taken possession of the burgomaster's wife.  Her
+enthusiasm for the cause of liberty, to which her most beloved relatives
+had fallen victims, blazed brightly, and wrath against the oppressors of
+her native land seethed passionately in her breast.  The delicate,
+maidenly, reserved woman, who was utterly incapable of any loud or rude
+expression of feeling in ordinary life, would now have rushed to the
+walls, like Kanau Hasselaer of Haarlem, to fight the foe among the men.
+
+Offended pride, and everything that an hour ago had oppressed her heart,
+yielded to sympathy for her country's cause.  Animated with fresh
+courage, she went to Henrica and, as evening had closed in, sat down by
+the lamp to write to her mother; for she had neglected to do so since the
+invalid's arrival, and communication with Delft might soon be
+interrupted.
+
+When she read over the completed letter, she was satisfied with it and
+herself, for it breathed firm confidence in the victory of the good
+cause, and also distinctly and unconstrainedly expressed her cheerful
+willingness to bear the worst.
+
+Barbara had retired when Peter at last appeared, so weary that he could
+scarcely touch the meal that had been kept ready for him.  While raising
+the food to his lips, he confirmed the news Maria had already heard from
+the musician, and was gentle and kind, but his appearance saddened her,
+for it recalled Barbara's allusion to the heavy burden he had assumed.
+To-day, for the first time, she noticed two deep lines that anxiety had
+furrowed between his eyes and lips, and full of tender compassion, went
+behind him, laid her hands on his cheeks and kissed him on the forehead.
+He trembled slightly, seized her slender right hand so impetuously that
+she shrank back, raised it first to his lips, then to his eyes, and held
+it there for several minutes.
+
+At last he rose, passed before her into his sleeping-room, bade her an
+affectionate good-night, and lay down to rest.  When she too sought her
+bed, he was breathing heavily.  Extreme fatigue had quickly overpowered
+him.  The slumber of both was destined to be frequently interrupted
+during this night, and whenever Maria woke, she heard her husband sigh
+and moan.  She did not stir, that she might not disturb the sleep he
+sought and needed, and twice held her breath, for he was talking to
+himself.  First he murmured softly: "Heavy, too heavy," and then: "If I
+can only bear it."
+
+When she awoke next morning, he had already left the room and gone to the
+town-hall.  At noon he returned home, saying that the Spaniards had taken
+the Hague and been hailed with delight by the pitiful adherents of the
+king.  Fortunately, the well-disposed citizens and Beggars had had time
+to escape to Delft, for brave Nicolas Ruichhaver had held the foe in
+check for a time at Geestburg.  The west was still open, and the newly-
+fortified fort of Valkenburg, garrisoned by the English soldiers, would
+not be so easy to storm.  On the east, other British auxiliaries were
+posted at Alfen in the Spaniards' rear.
+
+The burgomaster told all this unasked, but did not speak as freely and
+naturally as when conversing with men.  While talking, he often looked
+into his plate and hesitated.  It seemed as if he were obliged to impose
+a certain restraint upon himself, in order to speak before women,
+servants, and children, of matters he was in the habit of discussing only
+with men of his own position.  Maria listened attentively, but maintained
+a modest reserve, urging him only by loving looks and sympathizing
+exclamations, while Barbara boldly asked one question after another.
+
+The meal was approaching an end, when Junker von Warmond entered
+unannounced, and requested the burgomaster to accompany him at once, for
+Colonel Chester was standing before the White Gate with a portion of his
+troops, asking admittance to the city.
+
+At these tidings, Peter dashed his mug of beer angrily on the table,
+sprang from his seat, and left the room before the nobleman.
+
+During the late hours of the afternoon, the Van der Werff house was
+crowded with people.  The gossips came to talk over with Barbara the
+events occurring at the White Gate.  Burgomaster Van Swieten's wife had
+heard from her own husband, that the Englishmen, without making any
+resistance, had surrendered the beautiful new fort of Valkenburg and
+taken to their heels, at the mere sight of the Spaniards.  The enemy had
+marched out from Haarlem through the downs above Nordwyk, and it would
+have been an easy matter for the Britons to hold the strong position.
+
+"Fine aid such helpers give!"  cried Barbara indignantly.  "Let Queen
+Elizabeth keep the men on her island for herself, and send us the women."
+
+"Yet they are real sons of Anak, and bear themselves like trim soldiers,"
+said the wife of the magistrate Heemskerk.  "High boots, doublets of fine
+leather, gay plumes in their morions and hats, large coats of mail,
+halberds that would kill half a dozen--and all like new."
+
+"They probably didn't want to spoil them, and so found a place of safety
+as soon as possible, the windy cowards," cried the wife of Church-warden
+de Haes, whose sharp tongue was well known.  "You seem to have looked at
+them very closely, Frau Margret."
+
+"From the wind-mill at the gate," replied the other.  "The envoy stopped
+on the bridge directly under us.  A handsome man on a stately horse.  His
+trumpeter too was mounted, and the velvet cloth on his trumpet bristled
+with beautiful embroidery in gold thread and jewels.  They earnestly
+entreated admittance, but the gate remained closed."
+
+"Right, right!"  cried Frau Heemskerk.  "I don't like the Prince's
+commissioner, Van Bronkhorst.  What does he care for us, if only the
+Queen doesn't get angry and withdraw the subsidies?  I've heard he wants
+to accommodate Chester and grant him admission."
+
+"He would like to do so," added Frau Van Hout.  "But your husband, Frau
+Maria, and mine--I was talking with him on the way here--will make every
+effort to prevent it.  The two Seigneurs of Nordwyk are of their opinion,
+so perhaps the commissioner will be out-voted."
+
+"May God grant it!"  cried the resolute voice of Wilhelm's mother.  "By
+to-morrow or the day after, not even a cat will be allowed to leave the
+gates, and my husband says we must begin to save provisions at once."
+
+"Five hundred more consumers in the city, to lessen our children's
+morsels; that would be fine business!"  cried Frau de Haes, throwing
+herself back in her chair so violently, that it creaked, and beating her
+knees with her hands.
+
+"And they are Englishmen, Frau Margret, Englishmen," said the Receiver-
+General's wife.  "They don't eat, they don't consume, they devour.  We
+supply our troops; but Herr von Nordwyk--I mean the younger one, who has
+been at the Queen's court as the Prince's ambassador, told my Wilhelm
+what a British glutton can gobble.  They'll clear off your beef like
+cheese, and our beer is dish-water compared with their black malt brew."
+
+"All that might be borne," replied Barbara, "if they were stout soldiers.
+We needn't mind a hundred head of cattle more or less, and the glutton
+becomes temperate, when a niggard rules the house.  But I wouldn't take
+one of our Adrian's grey rabbits for these runaways."
+
+"It would be a pity," said Frau de Haes.  "I shall go home now, and if I
+find my husband, he'll learn what sensible people think of the
+Englishmen."
+
+"Gently, my friend, gently," said Burgomaster Van Swieten's wife, who had
+hitherto been playing quietly with the cat.  "Believe me, it will be just
+the same on the whole, whether we admit the auxiliaries or not, for
+before the gooseberries in our gardens are ripe, all resistance will be
+over."
+
+Maria, who was passing cakes and hippocras, set her waiter on the table
+and asked:
+
+"Do you wish that, Frau Magtelt?"
+
+"I do," replied the latter positively, "and many sensible people wish it
+too.  No resistance is possible against such superior force, and the
+sooner we appeal to the King's mercy, the more surely it will be
+granted."
+
+The other women listened to the bold speaker in silence, but Maria
+approached and answered indignantly:
+
+"Whoever says that, can go to the Spaniards at once; whoever says that,
+desires the disgrace of the city and country; whoever says that--"
+
+Frau Magtelt interrupted Maria with a forced laugh, saying:
+
+"Do you want to school experienced women, Madam Early-Wise?  Is it
+customary to attack a visitor?"
+
+"Customary or not," replied the other, "I will never permit such words in
+our house, and if they crossed the lips of my own sister I would say to
+her Go, you are my friend no longer!"
+
+Maria's voice trembled, and she pointed with outstretched arm towards the
+door.
+
+Frau Magtelt struggled for composure, but as she left the room found
+nothing to say, except: "Don't be troubled, don't be troubled--you won't
+see me again."
+
+Barbara followed the offended woman, and while those who remained fixed
+their eyes in embarrassment upon their laps, Wilhelm's mother exclaimed:
+
+"Well said, little woman, well said!"
+
+Herr Van Hout's kind wife threw her arm around Maria, kissed her
+forehead, and whispered:
+
+"Turn away from the other women and dry your eyes."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+A story is told of a condemned man, whom his cruel executioner cast into
+a prison of ingenious structure.  Each day the walls of this cage grew
+narrower and narrower, each day they pressed nearer and nearer to the
+unfortunate prisoner, until in despair he died and the dungeon became his
+coffin.  Even so, league by league, the iron barriers of the Spanish
+regiments drew nearer and nearer Leyden, and, if they succeeded in
+destroying the resistance of their victim, the latter was threatened with
+a still more cruel and pitiless end than that of the unhappy prisoner.
+The girdle Valdez, King Philip's commander, and his skilful lieutenant,
+Don Ayala, had drawn around the city in less than two days, was already
+nearly closed, the fort of Valkenburg, strengthened with the utmost care,
+belonged to the enemy, and the danger had advanced more rapidly and with
+far more irresistible strength, than even the most timid citizens had
+feared.  If Leyden fell, its houses would be delivered to fire and
+pillage, its men to death, its women to disgrace--this was guaranteed by
+the fate of other conquered cities and the Spanish nature.
+
+Who could imagine the guardian angel of the busy city, except under a
+sullen sky, with clouded brow and anxious eyes, and yet it looked as gay
+and bright at the White Gate as if a spring festival was drawing to a
+close with a brilliant exhibition.  Wherever the walls, as far as
+Catherine's Tower, afforded a foothold, they were crowded with men,
+women, and children.  The old masonry looked like the spectators' seats
+in an arena, and the buzzing of the many-headed, curious crowd was heard
+for a long distance in the city.
+
+It is a kind dispensation of Providence, that enables men to enjoy a
+brief glimpse of sunshine amid terrible storms, and thus the journeymen
+and apprentices, women and children, forgot the impending danger and
+feasted their eyes on the beautifully-dressed English soldiers, who were
+looking up at them, nodding and laughing saucily to the young girls,
+though part of them, it is true, were awaiting with thoughtful faces the
+results of the negotiations going on within the walls.
+
+The doors of the White Gate now opened; Commissioner Van Bronkhorst, Van
+der Werff, Van Hout and other leaders of the community accompanied the
+British colonel and his trumpeter to the bridge.  The former seemed to be
+filled with passionate indignation and several times struck his hand on
+the hilt of his sword, the Leyden magistrates were talking to him, and at
+last took leave with low bows, which he answered only with a haughty wave
+of the hand.  The citizens returned, the portals of the gate closed, the
+old lock creaked, the iron-shod beams fell back into their places, the
+chains of the drawbridge rattled audibly, and the assembled throng now
+knew that the Englishmen had been refused admittance to the city.
+
+Loud cheers, mingled with many an expression of displeasure, were heard.
+"Long live Orange!"  shouted the boys, among whom were Adrian and the son
+of the dead fencing-master Allertssohn; the women waved their
+handkerchiefs, and all eyes were fixed on the Britons.  A loud flourish
+of trumpets was heard, the English mounted officers dashed towards the
+colonel and held a short council of war with him, interrupted by hasty
+words from several individuals, and soon after a signal was sounded.  The
+soldiers hurriedly, formed in marching array, many of them shaking their
+fists at the city.  Halberds and muskets, which had been stacked, were
+seized by their owners and, amid the beating of drums and blare of
+trumpets, order arose out of the confusion.  Individuals fell into ranks,
+ranks into companies, gay flags were unfurled and flung to the evening
+breeze, and with loud hurrahs the troops marched along the Rhine towards
+the south-west, where the Spanish outposts were stationed.
+
+The Leyden boys joined loudly in the Englishmen's cheer.
+
+Even Andreas, the fencing-master's son, had begun to shout with them; but
+when he saw a tall captain marching proudly before his company, his voice
+failed and, covering his eyes with his hands, he ran home to his mother.
+
+The other lads did not notice him, for the setting sun flashed so
+brightly on the coats of mail and helmets of the soldiers, the trumpets
+sounded so merrily, the officers' steeds caracoled so proudly under their
+riders, the gay plumes and banners and the smoke of the glimmering
+matches gained such beautiful hues in the roseate light of sunset, that
+eyes and ears seemed spellbound by the spectacle.  But a fresh incident
+now attracted the attention of great and small.
+
+Thirty-six Englishmen, among them several officers, lingered behind the
+others and approached the gate.  Again the lock creaked and the chains
+rattled.  The little band was admitted to the city and welcomed at the
+first houses of the northern end by Herr Van Bronkhorst and the
+burgomaster.
+
+Every one on the walls had expected, that a skirmish between the
+retreating Englishmen and Castilians would now take place before their
+eyes.  But they were greatly mistaken.  Before the first ranks reached
+the enemy, the matches for lighting the cannon flew through the air, the
+banners were lowered, and when darkness came and the curious spectators
+dispersed, they knew that the Englishmen had deserted the good cause and
+gone over to the Spaniards.
+
+The thirty-six men, who had been admitted through the gates, were the
+only ones who refused to be accessory to this treason.
+
+The task of providing quarters for Captain Cromwell and the other
+Englishmen and Netherlanders, who had remained faithful, was assigned to
+Van Hout.  Burgomaster Van der Werff went home with Commissioner Van
+Bronkhorst.  Many a low-voiced but violent word had been exchanged
+between them.  The commissioner protested that the Prince would be highly
+incensed at the refusal to admit the Englishmen, for with good reason he
+set great value on Queen Elizabeth's favorable disposition to the cause
+of freedom, to which the burgomaster and his friends had rendered bad
+service that day.  Van der Werff denied this, for everything depended
+upon holding Leyden.  After the fall of this city, Delft, Rotterdam and
+Gouda would also be lost, and all farther efforts to battle for the
+liberty of Holland useless.  Five hundred consumers would prematurely
+exhaust the already insufficient stock of provisions.  Everything had
+been done to soften their refusal to admit the Englishmen, nay they had
+had free choice to encamp beneath the protection of the walls under the
+cannon of the city.
+
+When the two men parted, neither had convinced the other, but each felt
+sure of his comrade's loyalty.  As Peter took leave, he said:
+
+"Van Hout shall explain the reasons for our conduct to the Prince, in a
+letter as clear and convincing as only he can make it, and his excellency
+will finally approve of it.  Rely upon that."
+
+"We will wait," replied the commissioner, "but don't forget that we shall
+soon be shut within these walls behind bolts and bars, like prisoners,
+and perhaps day after to-morrow no messenger will be able to get to him."
+
+"Van Hout is swift with his pen."
+
+"And let a proclamation be read aloud, early tomorrow morning, advising
+the women, old men and children, in short, all who will diminish the
+stock of provisions and add no strength to the defence, to leave the
+city.  They can reach Delft without danger, for the roads leading to it
+are still open."
+
+"Very well," replied Peter.  "It's said that many girls and women have
+gone to-day in advance of the others."
+
+"That's right," cried the commissioner.  "We are driving in a fragile
+vessel on the high seas.  If I had a daughter in the house, I know what
+I should do.  Farewell till we meet again, Meister.  How are matters at
+Alfen?  The firing is no longer heard."
+
+"Darkness has probably interrupted the battle."
+
+"We'll hope for the best news to-morrow, and even if all the men outside
+succumb, we within the walls will not flinch or yield."
+
+"We will hold out firmly to the end," replied Peter resolutely.
+
+"To the end, and, if God so wills it, a successful end."
+
+"Amen," cried Peter, pressed the commissioner's hand and pursued his way
+home.
+
+Barbara met him on the steps and wanted to call Maria, who was with
+Henrica; but he forbade it and paced thoughtfully to and fro, his lips
+often quivering as if he were suffering great pain.  When, after some
+time, he heard his wife's voice in the dining-room, he controlled himself
+by a violent effort, went to the door, and slowly opened it.
+
+"You are at home already, and I sitting quietly here spinning!"  she
+exclaimed in surprise.
+
+"Yes, child.  Please come in here, I have something to say to you."
+
+"For Heaven's sake!  Peter, tell me what has happened.  How your voice
+sounds, and how pale you look!"
+
+"I'm not ill, but matters are serious, terribly serious, Maria."
+
+"Then it is true that the enemy--"
+
+They gained great advantage to-day and yesterday, but I beg you, if you
+love me, don't interrupt me now; what I have to say is no easy thing, it
+is hard to force the lips to utter it.  Where shall I begin?  How shall I
+speak, that you may not misunderstand me?  You know, child, I took you
+into my house from a warm nest.  What we could offer was very little, and
+you had doubtless expected to find more.  I know you have not been
+happy."
+
+"But it would be so easy for you to make me so."
+
+"You are mistaken, Maria.  In these troublous times but one thing claims
+my thoughts, and whatever diverts them from it is evil.  But just now one
+thing paralyzes my courage and will-anxiety about your fate; for who
+knows what is impending over us, and therefore it must be said, I must
+take my heart to the shambles  and  express  a  wish.--A  wish?  Oh,
+merciful Heaven, is there no other word for what I mean!"
+
+"Speak, Peter, speak, and do not torture me!"  cried Maria, gazing
+anxiously into her husband's face.  It could be no small matter, that
+induced the clear-headed, resolute man to utter such confused language.
+
+The burgomaster summoned up his courage and began again:
+
+"You are right, it is useless to keep back what must be said.  We have
+determined at the town-hall to-day, to request the women and girls to
+leave the city.  The road to Delft is still open; day after to-morrow it
+may no longer be so, afterwards--who can predict what will happen
+afterwards?  If no relief comes and the provisions are consumed, we shall
+be forced to open the gates to the enemy, and then, Maria, imagine what
+will happen!  The Rhine and the canals will grow crimson, for much blood
+will flow into them and they will mirror an unequalled conflagration.
+Woe betide the men, tenfold woe betide the women, against whom the
+conqueror's fury will then be directed.  And you, you--the wife of the
+man who has induced thousands to desert King Philip, the wife of the
+exile, who directs the resistance within these walls."
+
+At the last words Maria had opened her large eyes wider and wider, and
+now interrupted her husband with the question: "Do you wish to try how
+high my courage will rise?"
+
+"No, Maria.  I know you will hold out loyally and would look death in the
+face as fearlessly as your sister did in Haarlem; but I, I cannot endure
+the thought of seeing you fall into the hands of our butchers.  Fear for
+you, terrible fear, will destroy my vigorous strength in the decisive
+hours, so the words must be uttered--"
+
+Maria had hitherto listened to her husband quietly; she knew what he
+desired.  Now she advanced nearer and interrupted him by exclaiming
+firmly, nay imperiously:
+
+"No more, no more, do you hear!  I will not endure another word!"
+
+"Maria!"
+
+"Silence it is my turn now.  To escape fear, you will thrust your wife
+from the house; fear, you say, would undermine your strength.  But will
+longing strengthen it?  If you love me, it will not fail to come--"
+
+"If I love you, Maria!"
+
+"Well, well!  But you have forgotten to consider how I shall feel in
+exile, if I also love you.  I am your wife.  We vowed at the altar, that
+nothing save death should part us.  Have you forgotten it?  Have your
+children become mine?  Have I taught them, rejoiced to call myself their
+mother?  Yes, or no?"
+
+"Yes, Maria, yes, yes, a hundred times yes!"
+
+"And you have the heart to throw me into the arms of this wasting
+longing!  You wish to prevent me from keeping the most sacred of vows?
+You can bring yourself to tear me from the children?  You think me
+too shallow and feeble, to endure suffering and death for the sacred
+cause, which is mine as well as yours!  You are fond of calling me your
+child, but I can be strong, and whatever may come, will not weep.  You
+are the husband and have the right to command, I am only the wife and
+shall obey.  Shall I go?  Shall I stay?  I await your answer."
+
+She had uttered the last words in a trembling voice, but the burgomaster
+exclaimed with deep emotion:
+
+"Stay, stay, Maria!  Come, come, and forgive me!"  Peter seized her hand,
+exclaiming again:
+
+"Come, come!"
+
+But the young wife released herself, retreated a step and said
+beseechingly:
+
+"Let me go, Peter, I cannot; I need time to overcome this."
+
+He let his arms fall and gazed mournfully into her face, but she turned
+away and silently left the room.  Peter Van der Werff did not follow her,
+but went quietly into his study and strove to reflect upon many things,
+that concerned his office, but his thoughts constantly reverted to Maria.
+His love oppressed him as if it were a crime, and he seemed to himself
+like a courier, who gathers flowers by the way-side and in this idling
+squanders time and forgets the object of his mission.  His heart felt
+unspeakably heavy and sad, and it seemed almost like a deliverance when,
+just before midnight, the bell in the Tower of Pancratius raised its
+evilboding voice.  In danger, he knew, he would feel and think of nothing
+except what duty required of him, so with renewed strength he took his
+hat from the hook and left the house with a steady step.
+
+In the street he met Junker Van Duivenvoorde, who summoned him to the
+Hohenort Gate, before which a body of Englishmen had again appeared; a
+few brave soldiers who, in a fierce, bloody combat, had held Alfen and
+the Gouda sluice against the Spaniards until their powder was exhausted
+and necessity compelled them to yield or seek safety in flight.  The
+burgomaster followed the officer and ordered the gates to be opened to
+the brave soldiers.  They were twenty in number, among them the
+Netherland Captain Van der Iaen, and a Young German officer.  Peter
+commanded, that they should have shelter for the night in the town-hall
+and the guard-house at the gate.  The next morning suitable quarters
+would be found for them in the houses of the citizens.  Janus Dousa
+invited the captain to lodge with him, the German went to Aquanus's
+tavern.  All were ordered to report to the burgomaster at noon the next
+day, to be assigned to quarters and enrolled among the volunteer troops.
+
+The ringing of the alarm-bell in the tower also disturbed the night's
+rest of the ladies in the Van der Werff household.  Barbara sought Maria,
+and neither returned to their rooms until they had learned the cause of
+the ringing and soothed Henrica.
+
+Maria could not sleep.  Her husband's purpose of separating from her
+during the impending danger, had stirred her whole soul, wounded her
+to the inmost depths of her heart.  She felt humiliated, and, if not
+misunderstood, at least unappreciated by the man for whose sake she
+rejoiced, whenever she perceived a lofty aspiration or noble emotion in
+her own soul.  What avail is personal loveliness to the beautiful wife of
+a blind man; of what avail to Maria was the rich treasure buried in her
+bosom, if her husband would not see and bring it to the surface!  "Show
+him, tell him how lofty are your feelings," urged love; but womanly pride
+exclaimed: "Do not force upon him what he disdains to seek."
+
+So the hours passed, bringing her neither sleep, peace, nor the desire to
+forget the humiliation inflicted upon her.
+
+At last Peter entered the room, stepping lightly and cautiously, in order
+not to wake her.  She pretended to be asleep, but with half-closed eyes
+could see him distinctly.  The lamp-light fell upon his face, and the
+lines she had formerly perceived looked like deep shadows between his
+eyes and mouth.  They impressed upon his features the stamp of heavy,
+sorrowful anxiety, and reminded Maria of the "too hard" and "if I can
+only bear it," he had murmured in his sleep the night before.  Then he
+approached her bed and stood there a long time; she no longer saw him,
+for she kept her eyes tightly closed, but the first loving glance, with
+which he gazed down upon her, had not escaped her notice.  It continued
+to beam before her mental vision, and she thought she felt that he was
+watching and praying for her as if she were a child.
+
+Sleep had long since overpowered her husband, while Maria lay gazing at
+the glimmering dawn, as wakeful as if it were broad day.  For the sake of
+his love she would forgive much, but she could not forget the humiliation
+she had experienced.  "A toy," she said to herself, "a work of art which
+we enjoy, is placed in security when danger threatens the house; the axe
+and the bread, the sword and the talisman that protects us, in short
+whatever we cannot dispense with while we live, we do not release from
+our hands till death comes.  She was not necessary, indispensable to him.
+If she had obeyed his wish and left him, then--yes, then--"
+
+Here the current of her thoughts was checked, for the first time she
+asked herself the question: "Would he have really missed your helping
+hand, your cheering word?"
+
+She turned restlessly, and her heart throbbed anxiously, as she told
+herself that she had done little to smooth his rugged pathway.  The vague
+feeling, that he had not been entirely to blame, if she had not found
+perfect happiness by his side, alarmed her.  Did not her former conduct
+justify him in expecting hindrance rather than support and help in
+impending days of severest peril?
+
+Filled with deep longing to obtain a clear view of her own heart, she
+raised herself on her pillows and reviewed her whole former life.
+
+Her mother had been a Catholic in her youth, and had often told her how
+free and light-hearted she had felt, when she confided everything that
+can trouble a woman's heart to a silent third person, and received from
+the lips of God's servant the assurance that she might now begin a new
+life, secure of forgiveness.  "It is harder for us now," her mother said
+before her first communion, "for we of the Reformed religion are referred
+to ourselves and our God, and must be wholly at peace with ourselves
+before we approach the Lord's table.  True, that is enough, for if we
+frankly and honestly confess to the judge within our own breasts all that
+troubles our consciences, whether in thought or deed, and sincerely
+repent, we shall be sure of forgiveness for the sake of the Saviour's
+wounds."
+
+Maria now prepared for this silent confession, and sternly and pitilessly
+examined her conduct.  Yes, she had fixed her gaze far too steadily upon
+herself, asked such and given little.  The fault was recognized, and now
+the amendment should begin.
+
+After this self-inspection, her heart grew lighter, and when she at last
+turned away from the morning-light to seek sleep, she looked forward with
+pleasure to the affectionate greeting she meant to offer Peter in the
+morning; but she soon fell asleep and when she woke, her husband had long
+since left the house.
+
+As usual, she set Peter's study in order before proceeding to any other
+task, and while doing so, cast a friendly glance at the dead Eva's
+picture.  On the writing-table lay the bible, the only book not connected
+with his business affairs, that her husband ever read.  Barbara sometimes
+drew comfort and support from the volume, but also used it as an oracle,
+for when undecided low to act she opened it and pointed with her finger
+to certain passage.  This usually had a definite meaning and she
+generally, though not always, acted as it directed.  To-day she had been
+disobedient, for in response to her question whether she might venture to
+send a bag of all sorts of dainties to her son, a Beggar of the Sea, in
+spite of the Spaniards encircling the city, he had received the words of
+Jeremiah: "Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall
+take to themselves their curtains and all their vessels and their
+camels," and yet the bag had been entrusted early that morning to a
+widow, who intended to make her escape to Delft with her young daughter,
+according to the request of the magistrates.  The gift might perhaps reach
+Rotterdam; a mother always hopes for a miracle in behalf of her child.
+
+Before Maria restored the bible to its old place, she opened it at the
+thirteenth chapter of the first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, which
+speaks of love, and was specially dear to her.  There were the words:
+"Charity suffereth long and is kind, charity is not easily provoked;" and
+"Charity beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,
+endureth all things."
+
+To be kind and patient, to hope and endure all things, was the duty love
+imposed upon her.
+
+When she had closed the bible and was preparing to go to Henrica, Barbara
+ushered Janus Dousa into the room.  The young nobleman to-day wore armor
+and gorget, and looked far more like a soldier than a scientist or poet.
+He had sought Peter in vain at the town-hall, and hoped to find him at
+home.  One of the messengers sent to the Prince had returned from
+Dortrecht with a letter, which conferred on Dousa the office made vacant
+by Allertssohn's death.  He was to command not only the city-guard, but
+all the armed force.  He had accepted the appointment with cheerful
+alacrity, and requested Maria to inform her husband.
+
+"Accept my congratulations," said the burgomaster's wife.  "But what will
+now become of your motto: 'Ante omnia Musae?'"
+
+"I shall change the words a little and say: 'Omnia ante Musas."
+
+"Do you understand that jargon, child?"  asked Barbara.
+
+"A passport will be given the Muses," replied Maria gaily.
+
+Janus was pleased with the ready repartee and exclaimed: "How bright and
+happy you look!  Faces free from care are rare birds in these days."
+
+Maria blushed, for she did not know how to interpret the words of the
+nobleman, who understood how to reprove with subtle mockery, and answered
+naively: "Don't think me frivolous, Junker.  I know the seriousness of
+the times, but I have just finished a silent confession and discovered
+many bad traits in my character, but also the desire to replace them with
+more praiseworthy ones."
+
+"There, there," replied Janus.  "I knew long ago that you had formed a
+friendship in the Delft school with my old sage.  'Know thyself,' was the
+Greek's principal lesson, and you wisely obey it.  Every silent
+confession, every desire for inward purification, must begin with the
+purpose of knowing ourselves and, if in so doing we unexpectedly
+encounter things which tend to make our beloved selves uncomely, and have
+the courage to find them just as hideous in ourselves as in others--"
+
+"Abhorrence will come, and we shall have taken the first step towards
+improvement."
+
+"No, dear lady, we shall then stand on one of the higher steps.  After
+hours of long, deep thought, Socrates perceived--do you know what?"
+
+"That he knew nothing at all.  I shall arrive at this perception more
+speedily."
+
+"And the Christian learns it at school," said Barbara, to join in the
+conversation.  "All knowledge is botchwork."
+
+"And we are all sinners," added Janus.  "That's easily said, dear madam,
+and easily understood, when others are concerned.  'He is a sinner' is
+quickly uttered, but 'I am a sinner' escapes the lips with more
+difficulty, and whoever does exclaim it with sorrow, in the stillness of
+his own quiet room, mingles the white feathers of angels' wings with the
+black pinions of the devil.  Pardon me!  In these times everything
+thought and said is transformed into solemn earnest.  Mars is here, and
+the cheerful Muses are silent.  Remember me to your husband, and tell
+him, that Captain Allertssohn's body has been brought in and to-morrow is
+appointed for the funeral."
+
+The nobleman took his leave, and Maria, after visiting her patient and
+finding her well and bright, sent Adrian and Bessie into the garden
+outside the city-wall to gather flowers and foliage, which she intended
+to help them weave into wreaths for the coffin of the brave soldier.  She
+herself went to the captain's widow.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+The burgomaster's wife returned home just before dinner, and found a
+motley throng of bearded warriors assembled in front of the house, they
+were trying to make themselves intelligible in the English language to
+some of the constables, and when the latter respectfully saluted Maria,
+raised their hands to their morions also.
+
+She pleasantly returned the greeting and passed into the entry, where the
+full light of noon streamed in through the open door.
+
+Peter had assigned quarters to the English soldiers outside, and after a
+consultation with the new commandant, Jan Van der Does, gave them
+officers.  They were probably waiting for their comrades, for when the
+young wife had ascended the first steps of the staircase and looked
+upward, she found the top of the narrow flight barred by the tall figure
+of a soldier.  The latter had his back towards her and was showing Bessie
+his dark velvet cap, surrounded by rectangular teeth, above which floated
+a beautiful light-blue ostrich-plume.  The child seemed to have formed a
+close friendship with the soldier, for, although the latter was refusing
+her something, the little girl laughed gaily.
+
+Maria paused irresolutely a moment; but when the child snatched the gay
+cap and put it on her own curls, she thought she must check her and
+exclaimed warningly: "Why, Bessie, that is no plaything for children."
+
+The soldier turned, stood still a moment in astonishment, raised his hand
+to his forehead, and then, with a few hurried bounds, sprang down the
+stairs and rushed up to the burgomaster's wife.  Maria had started back
+in surprise; but he gave her no time to think, for stretching out both
+hands he exclaimed in an eager, joyous tone, with sparkling eyes: "Maria!
+Jungfrau Maria!  You here!  This is what I call a lucky day!"  The young
+wife had instantly recognized the soldier and willingly laid her right
+hand in his, though not without a shade of embarrassment.
+
+The officer's clear, blue eyes sought hers, but she fixed her gaze on the
+floor, saying: "I am no longer what I was, the young girl has become a
+housewife."
+
+"A housewife!"  he exclaimed.  "How dignified that sounds!  And yet!
+Yet!  You are still Jungfrau Maria!  You haven't changed a hair.  That's
+just the way you bent your head at the wedding in Delft, the way you
+raised your hands, lowered your eyes--you blushed too, just as prettily."
+
+There was a rare melody in the voice which uttered these words with
+joyous, almost childlike freedom, which pleased Maria no less than the
+officer's familiar manner annoyed her.  With a hasty movement she raised
+her head, looked steadily into the young man's handsome face and said
+with dignity:
+
+"You see only the exterior, Junker von Dornburg; three years have made
+many changes within."
+
+"Junker von Dornburg," he repeated, shaking his waving locks.  "I was
+Junker Georg in Delft.  Very different things have happened to us, dear
+lady, very different things.  You see I have grown a tolerable, though
+not huge moustache, am stouter, and the sun has bronzed my pink and white
+boyish face--in short: my outer man has changed for the worse, but within
+I am just the same as I was three years ago."
+
+Maria felt the blood again mounting into her cheeks, but she did not wish
+to blush and answered hastily: "Standing still is retrograding, so you
+have lost three beautiful years, Herr von Dornburg."
+
+The officer looked at Maria in perplexity, and then said more gravely
+than before:
+
+"Your jest is more opportune, than you probably suppose; I had hoped to
+find you again in Delft, but powder was short in Alfen, so the Spaniard
+will probably reach your native city sooner than we.  Now a kind fate
+brings me to you here; but let me be honest--What I hope and desire
+stands clearly before my eyes, echoes in my soul, and when I thought of
+our meeting, I dreamed you would lay both hands in mine and, instead of
+greeting me with witty words, ask the old companion of happy hours, your
+brother Leonhard's best friend: 'Do you still remember our dead?'  And
+when I had told you: 'Yes, yes, yes, I have never forgotten him,' then I
+thought the mild lustre of your eyes--Oh, oh, how I thank you!  The dear
+orbs are floating in a mist of tears.  You are not so wholly changed as
+you supposed, Frau Maria, and if I loyally remember the past, will you
+blame me for it?"
+
+"Certainly not," she answered  cordially.  "And now that you speak to me
+so, I will with pleasure again call you Junker Georg, and as Leonhard's
+friend and mine, invite you to our house."
+
+"That will be delightful," he cried cordially.  "I have so much to ask
+you and, as for myself--alas, I wish I had less to tell."
+
+"Have you seen my husband?" asked Maria.
+
+"I know nobody in Leyden," he replied, "except my learned, hospitable
+host, and the doge of this miniature Venice, so rich in water and
+bridges."
+
+Georg pointed up the stair-case.  Maria blushed again as she said:
+
+"Burgomaster Van der Werff is my husband."
+
+The nobleman was silent for a short time, then he said quickly:
+
+"He received me kindly.  And the pretty elf up yonder?"
+
+"His child by his first marriage, but now mine also.  How do you happen
+to call her the elf?"
+
+"Because she looks as if she had been born among white flowers in the
+moonlight, and because the afterglow of the sunrise, from which the elves
+flee, crimsoned her cheeks when I caught her."
+
+"She has already received the name once," said Maria.  "May I take you to
+my husband?"
+
+"Not now, Frau Van der Werff, for I must attend to my men outside, but
+to-morrow, if you will allow me."
+
+Maria found the dishes smoking on the dining-table.  Her family had
+waited for her, and, heated by the rapid walk at noon, excited by her
+unexpected meeting with the young German, she opened the door of the
+study and called to her husband:
+
+"Excuse me!  I was detained.  It is very late."
+
+"We were very willing to wait," he answered kindly, approaching her.
+Then all she had resolved to do returned to her memory and, for the first
+time since her marriage, she raised her husband's hand to her lips.  He
+smilingly withdrew it, kissed her on the forehead, and said:
+
+"It is delightful to have you here."
+
+"Isn't it?"  she asked, gently shaking her finger at him.
+
+"But we are all here now, and dinner is waiting."
+
+"Come then," she answered gaily.  "Do you know whom I met on the stairs?"
+
+"English soldiers."
+
+"Of course, but among them Junker von Dornburg."
+
+"He called on me.  A handsome fellow, whose gayety is very attractive,
+a German from the evangelical countries."
+
+"Leonhard's best friend.  Don't you know?  Surely I've told you about
+him.  Our guest at Jacoba's wedding."
+
+"Oh! yes.  Junker Georg.  He tamed the chestnut horse for the Prince's
+equerry."
+
+"That was a daring act," said Maria, drawing a long breath.
+
+"The chestnut is still an excellent horse," replied Peter.  "Leonhard
+thought the Junker, with his gifts and talents, would lift the world out
+of its grooves; I remember it well, and now the poor fellow must remain
+quietly here and be fed by us.  How did he happen to join the Englishmen
+and take part in the war?"
+
+"I don't know; he only told me that he had had many experiences."
+
+"I can easily believe it.  He is living at the tavern; but perhaps we can
+find a room for him in the side wing, looking out upon the court-yard."
+
+"No, Peter," cried the young wife eagerly.  "There is no room in order
+there."
+
+"That can be arranged later.  At any rate we'll invite him to dinner to-
+morrow, he may have something to tell us.  There is good marrow in the
+young man.  He begged me not to let him remain idle, but make him of use
+in the service.  Jan Van der Does has already put him in the right place,
+the new commandant looks into people's hearts."
+
+Barbara mingled in the conversation, Peter, though it was a week-day,
+ordered a jug of wine to be brought instead of the beer, and an event
+that had not occurred for weeks happened: the master of the house sat at
+least fifteen minutes with his family after the food had been removed,
+and told them of the rapid advance of the Spaniards, the sad fate of the
+fugitive Englishmen, who had been disarmed and led away in sections, the
+brave defence the Britons, to whose corps Georg belonged, had made at
+Alfen, and of another hot combat in which Don Gaytan, the right-hand and
+best officer of Valdez, was said to have fallen.  Messengers still went
+and came on the roads leading to Delft, but to-morrow these also would
+probably be blocked by the enemy.
+
+He always addressed everything he said to Maria, unless Barbara expressly
+questioned him, and when he at last rose from the table, ordered a good
+roast to be prepared the next day for the guest he intended to invite.
+Scarcely had the door of his room closed behind him, when little Bessie
+ran up to Maria, threw her arms around her and asked:
+
+"Mother, isn't Junker Georg the tall captain with the blue feather, who
+ran down-stairs so fast to meet you?"
+
+"Yes, child."
+
+"And he's coming to dinner to-morrow!  He's coming, Adrian."
+
+The child clapped her hands in delight and then ran to Barbara to exclaim
+once more:
+
+"Aunt Barbel, did you hear?  He's coming!"
+
+"With the blue feather," replied the widow.
+
+"And he has curls, curls as long as Assendelft's little Clara.  May I go
+with you to see Cousin Henrica?"
+
+"Afterwards, perhaps," replied Maria.  "Go now, children, get the flowers
+and separate them carefully from the leaves.  Trautchen will bring some
+hoops and strings, and then we'll bind the wreaths."
+
+Junker Georg's remark, that this was a lucky day, seemed to be verified;
+for the young wife found Henrica bright and free from pain.  With the
+doctor's permission, she had walked up and down her room several times,
+sat a longer time at the open window, relished her chicken, and when
+Maria entered, was seated in the softly-cushioned arm-chair, rejoicing in
+the consciousness of increasing strength.
+
+Maria was delighted at her improved appearance, and told her how well she
+looked that day.
+
+"I can return the compliment," replied Henrica.  "You look very happy.
+What has happened to you?"
+
+"To me?  Oh!  my husband was more cheerful than usual, and there was a
+great deal to tell at dinner.  I've only come to enquire for your health.
+I will see you later.  Now I must go with the children to a sorrowful
+task."
+
+"With the children?  What have the little elf and Signor Salvatore to do
+with sorrow?"
+
+"Captain Allertssohn will be buried to-morrow, and we are going to make
+some wreaths for the coffin."
+
+"Make wreaths!"  cried Henrica, "I can teach you that!  There, Trautchen,
+take the plate and call the little ones."
+
+The servant went away, but Maria said anxiously: "You will exert yourself
+too much again, Henrica."
+
+"I?  I shall be singing again to-morrow.  My preserver's potion does
+wonders, I assure you.  Have you flowers and oak-leaves enough?"
+
+"I should think so."
+
+At the last words the door opened and Bessie cautiously entered the room,
+walking on tiptoe as she had been told, went up to Henrica, received a
+kiss from her, and then asked eagerly:
+
+"Cousin Henrica, do you know?  Junker Georg, with the blue feather, is
+coming again to-morrow and will dine with us."
+
+"Junker Georg?"  asked the young lady.
+
+Maria interrupted the child's reply, and answered in an embarrassed tone:
+
+"Herr von Domburg, an officer who came to the city with the Englishmen,
+of whom I spoke to you--a German--an old acquaintance.  Go and arrange
+the flowers with Adrian, Bessie, then I'll come and help you."
+
+"Here, with Cousin Henrica," pleaded the child.
+
+"Yes, little elf, here; and we'll both make the loveliest wreath you ever
+saw."
+
+The child ran out, and this time, in her delight, forgot to shut the door
+gently.
+
+The young wife gazed out of the window.  Henrica watched her silently for
+a time and then exclaimed:
+
+"One word, Frau Maria.  What is going on in the court-yard?  Nothing?
+And what has become of the happy light in your eyes?  Your house isn't
+swarming with guests; why did you wait for Bessie to tell me about Junker
+Georg, the German, the old acquaintance?"
+
+"Let that subject drop, Henrica."
+
+"No, no!  Do you know what I think?  The storm of war has blown to your
+house the young madcap, with whom you spent such happy hours at your
+sister's wedding.  Am I right or wrong?  You needn't blush so deeply."
+
+"It is he," replied Maria gravely.  "But if you love me, forget what I
+told you about him, or deny yourself the idle amusement of alluding to
+it, for if you should still do so, it would offend me."
+
+"Why should I!  You are the wife of another."
+
+"Of another whom I honor and love, who trusts me and himself invited the
+Junker to his house.  I have liked the young man, admired his talents,
+been anxious when he trifled with his life as if it were a paltry leaf,
+which is flung into the river."
+
+"And now that you have seen him again, Maria?"
+
+"Now I know, what my duty is.  Do you see, that my peace here is not
+disturbed by idle gossip."
+
+"Certainly not, Maria; yet I am still curious about this Chevalier Georg
+and his singing.  Unfortunately we shan't be long together.  I want to go
+home."
+
+"The doctor will not allow you to travel yet."
+
+"No matter.  I shall go as soon as I feel well enough.  My father is
+refused admittance, but your husband can do much, and I must speak with
+him."
+
+"Will you receive him to-morrow?"
+
+"The sooner the better, for he is your husband and, I repeat, the ground
+is burning under my feet."
+
+"Oh!"  exclaimed Maria.
+
+"That sounds very sad," cried Henrica.  "Do you want to hear, that I
+shall find it hard to leave you?  I shouldn't go yet; but my sister Anna,
+she is now a widow--Thank God, I should like to say, but she is suffering
+want and utterly deserted.  I must speak to my father about her, and go
+forth from the quiet haven into the storm once more."
+
+"My husband will come to you," said Maria.
+
+"That's right, that's right!  Come in, children!  Put the flowers on the
+table yonder.  You, little elf, sit down on the stool and you, Salvatore,
+shall give me the flowers.  What does this mean?  I really believe the
+scamp has been putting perfumed oil on his curly head.  In honor of me,
+Salvatore?  Thank you!--We shall need the hoops later.  First we'll make
+bouquets, and then bind them with the leaves to the wood.  Sing me a song
+while we are working, Maria.  The first one!  I can bear it to-day."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+Half Leyden had followed the brave captain's coffin, and among the other
+soldiers, who rendered the last honors to the departed, was Georg von
+Dornburg.  After the funeral, the musician Wilhelm led the son of the
+kind comrade, whom so many mourned, to his house.  Van der Werff found
+many things to be done after the burial, but reserved the noon hour; for
+he expected the German to dine.
+
+The burgomaster, as usual, sat at the head of the table; the Junker had
+taken his place between him and Maria, opposite to Barbara and the
+children.
+
+The widow never wearied of gazing at the young man's fresh, bright face,
+for although her son could not compare with him in beauty, there was an
+honest expression in the Junker's eyes, which reminded her of her
+Wilhelm.
+
+Many a question and answer had already been exchanged between those
+assembled round the board, many a pleasant memory recalled, when Peter,
+after the dishes had been removed and a new jug with better wine placed
+on the table, filled the young nobleman's glass again, and raised his
+own.
+
+"Let us drink this bumper," he cried, gazing at Georg with sincere
+pleasure in his eyes, "let us drink to the victory of the good cause,
+for which you too voluntarily draw your sword.  Thanks for the vigorous
+pledge.  Drinking is also an art, and the Germans are masters of it."
+
+"We learn it in various places, and not worst at the University of Jena."
+
+"All honor to the doctors and professors, who bring their pupils up to
+the standard of my dead brother-in-law, and judging from this sample
+drink, you also."
+
+"Leonhard was my teacher in the 'ars bibendi.'  How long ago it is!"
+
+"Youth is not usually content," replied Peter, "but when the point in
+question concerns years, readily calls 'much,' what seems to older people
+'little.' True, many experiences may have been crowded into the last few
+years of your life.  I can still spare an hour, and as we are all sitting
+so cosily together here, you can tell us, unless you wish to keep silence
+on the subject, how you chanced to leave your distant home for Holland,
+and your German and Latin books to enlist under the English standard."
+
+"Yes," added Maria, without any trace of embarrassment.  "You still owe
+me the story.  Give thanks, children, and then go."
+
+Adrian gazed beseechingly first at his mother and then at his father, and
+as neither forbade him to stay, moved his chair close to his sister, and
+both leaned their heads together and listened with wide open eyes, while
+the Junker first quietly, then with increasing vivacity, related the
+following story:
+
+"You know that I am a native of Thuringia, a mountainous country in the
+heart of Germany.  Our castle is situated in a pleasant valley, through
+which a clear river flows in countless windings.  Wooded mountains, not
+so high as the giants in Switzerland, yet by no means contemptible,
+border the narrow boundaries of the valley.  At their feet the fields and
+meadows, at a greater height rise pine forests, which, like the huntsman,
+wear green robes at all seasons of the year.  In winter, it is true, the
+snow cover them with a glimmering white sheet.  When spring comes, the
+pines put forth new shoots, as fresh and full of sap as the budding
+foliage of your oaks and beeches, and in the meadows by the river it
+begins to snow in the warm breezes, for then one fruit-tree blooms beside
+another, and when the wind rises, the delicate white petals flutter
+through the air and fall among the bright blossoms in the grass, and on
+the clear surface of the river.  There are also numerous barren cliffs on
+the higher portions of the mountains, and where they towered in the most
+rugged, inaccessible ridges, our ancestors built their fastnesses, to
+secure themselves from the attacks of their enemies.  Our castle stands
+on a mountain-ridge in the midst of the valley of the Saale.  There I was
+born, there I sported through the years of my boyhood, learned to read
+and guide the pen.  There was plenty of hunting in the forests, we had
+spirited horses in the stable, and, wild lad that I was, I rarely went
+voluntarily into the school-room, the grey-haired teacher, Lorenz, had to
+catch me, if he wanted to get possession of me.  My sisters and Hans, our
+youngest child, the boy was only three years younger than I, kept quiet--
+I had an older brother too, yet did not have him.  When his beard was
+first beginning to grow, he was given by our gracious Duke to Chevalier
+von Brand as his esquire, and sent to Spain, to buy Andalusian horses.
+John Frederick's father had learned their value in Madrid after the
+battle of Muhlburg.  Louis was a merry fellow when he went away, and knew
+how to tame the wildest stallion.  It was hard for our parents to believe
+him dead, but years elapsed, and as neither he nor Chevalier von Brand
+appeared, we were obliged to give him up for lost.  My mother alone could
+not do this, and constantly expected his return.  My father called me the
+future heir and lord of the castle.  When I had passed beyond boyhood and
+understood Cicero tolerably well, I was sent to the University of Jena to
+study law, as my uncle, the chancellor, wished me to become a counsellor
+of state.
+
+"Oh Jena, beloved Jena!  There are blissful days in May and June, when
+only light clouds float in the sky, and all the leaves and flowers are so
+fresh and green, that one would think--they probably think so themselves
+--that they could never fade and wither; such days in human existence are
+the period of joyous German student life.  You can believe it.  Leonhard
+has told you enough of Jena.  He understood how to unite work and
+pleasure; I, on the contrary, learned little on the wooden benches, for I
+rarely occupied them, and the dust of books certainly didn't spoil my
+lungs.  But I read Ariosto again and again, devoted myself to singing,
+and when a storm of feeling seethed within my breast, composed many songs
+for my own pleasure.  We learned to wield the sword too in Jena, and I
+would gladly have crossed blades with the sturdy fencing-master
+Allertssohn, of whom you have just told me.  Leonhard was older than I,
+and when he graduated with honor, I was still very weak in the pandects.
+But we were always one in heart and soul, so I went to Holland with him
+to attend his wedding.  Ah, those were days!  The theologians in Jena
+have actively disputed about the part of the earth, in which the little
+garden of Paradise should be sought.  I considered them all fools, and
+thought: 'There is only one Eden, and that lies in Holland, and the
+fairest roses the dew waked on the first sunny morning, bloom in Delft!'"
+
+At these words Georg shook back his waving locks and hesitated in great
+embarrassment, but as no one interrupted him and he saw Barbara's eager
+face and the children's glowing cheeks, quietly continued:
+
+"So I came home, and was to learn for the first time, that in life also
+beautiful sunny days often end with storms.  I found my father ill, and a
+few days after my return he closed his eyes in death.  I had never seen
+any human being die, and the first, the very first, was he, my father."
+
+Georg paused, and deeply moved, passed his hand over his eyes.
+
+"Your father!"  cried Barbara, in a tone of cordial sympathy, breaking
+the silence.  "If we can judge the tree by the apple, he was surely a
+splendid man."
+
+The Junker again raised his head, exclaiming with sparkling eyes:
+
+"Unite every good and noble quality, and embody them in the form of a
+tall, handsome man, then you will have the image of my father;--and I
+might tell you of my mother--"
+
+"Is she still alive?" asked Peter.
+
+"God grant it!" exclaimed the young man.  "I have heard nothing from my
+family for two months.  That is hard.  Pleasures smile along every path,
+and I like my profession of soldier, but it often grieves me sorely to
+hear so little from home.  Oh! if one were only a bird, a sunbeam, or a
+shooting-star, one might, if only for the twinkling of an eye, learn how
+matters go at home and fill the soul with fresh gratitude, or, if it must
+be--but I will not think of that.  In the valley of the Saale, the trees
+are blossoming and a thousand flowers deck all the meadows, just as they
+do here, and did there two years ago, when I left home for the second
+time.
+
+"After my father's death I was the heir, but neither hunting nor riding
+to court, neither singing nor the clinking of beakers could please me.
+I went about like a sleep-walker, and it seemed as if I had no right to
+live without my father.  Then--it is now just two years ago--a messenger
+brought from Weimar a letter which had come from Italy with several
+others, addressed to our most gracious sovereign; it contained the news
+that our lost brother was still alive, lying sick and wretched in the
+hospital at Bergamo.  A kind nun had written for him, and we now learned
+that on the journey from Valencia to Livorno Louis had been captured by
+corsairs and dragged to Tunis.  How much suffering he endured there, with
+what danger he at last succeeded in obtaining his liberty, you shall
+learn later.  He escaped to Italy on a Genoese galley.  His feet carried
+him as far as Bergamo, but he could go no farther, and now lay ill,
+perhaps dying, among sympathizing strangers.  I set out at once and did
+not spare horseflesh on the way to Bergamo, but though there were many
+strange and beautiful things to be seen on my way, they afforded me
+little pleasure, the thought of Louis, so dangerously ill, saddened my
+joyous spirits.  Every running brook urged me to hasten, and the lofty
+mountains seemed like jealous barriers.  When once beyond St. Gotthard I
+felt less anxious, and as I rode down from Bellinzona to Lake Lugano, and
+the sparkling surface of the water beyond the city smiled at me like a
+blue eye, forgot my grief for a time, waved my hat, and sung a song.  In
+Bergamo I found my brother, alive, but enfeebled in mind and body, weak,
+and without any desire to take up the burden of life again.  He had been
+in good hands, and after a few weeks we were able to travel homeward--
+this time I went through beautiful Tyrol.  Louis's strength daily
+increased, but the wings of his soul had been paralyzed by suffering.
+Alas, for long years he had dug and carried heavy loads, with chains on
+his feet, beneath a broiling sun.  Chevalier von Brand could not long
+endure this hard fate, but Louis, while in Tunis, forgot both how to
+laugh and weep, and which of the two can be most easily spared?
+
+"Even when he saw my mother again, he could not shed a tear, yet his
+whole body--and surely his heart also--trembled with emotion.  Now he
+lives quietly at the castle.  In the prime of manhood he is an old man,
+but he is beginning to accommodate himself to life, only he can't bear
+the sight of a strange face.  I had a hard battle with him, for as the
+eldest son, the castle and estate, according to the law, belong to him,
+but he wanted to resign his rights and put me in his place.  Even when
+he had brought my mother over to his side, and my uncle and brothers and
+sisters tried to persuade me to yield to his wish, I remained resolute.
+I would not touch what did not belong to me, and our youngest boy,
+Wolfgang, has grown up, and can fill my place wherever it is necessary.
+When the entreaties and persuasions became too strong for me, I saddled
+my horse and went away again.  It was hard for my mother to let me go,
+but I had tasted the delight of travelling, and rode off as if to a
+wedding.  If I must be perfectly frank, I'll confess that I resigned
+castle and estates like a troublesome restraint.  Free as the wind and
+clouds, I followed the same road over which I had ridden with Leonhard,
+for in your country a war after my own heart was going on, and my future
+fortune was to be based upon my sword.  In Cologne I enlisted under the
+banner of Louis of Nassau, and fought with him at Mook Heath till every
+one retreated.  My horse had fallen, my doublet was torn, there was
+little left save good spirits and the hope of better days.  These were
+soon found, for Captain Gensfort asked me to join the English troops.  I
+became his ensign, and at Alfen held out beside him till the last grain
+of powder was exhausted.  What happened there, you know."
+
+"And Captain Van der Laen told us," said Peter, "that he owes his life to
+you.  You fought like a lion."
+
+"It was wild work enough at the fortifications, yet neither I nor my
+horse had a hair ruffled, and this time I even saved my knapsack and a
+full purse.  Fate, like mothers, loves troublesome children best, and
+therefore led me to you and your family, Herr Burgomaster."
+
+"And I beg you to consider yourself one of them," replied Peter.  "We
+have two pleasant rooms looking out upon the court-yard; they shall be
+put in order for you, if you would like to occupy them."
+
+"With pleasure," replied the Junker, and Peter, offering him his hand,
+said:
+
+"The duties of my office call me away, but you can tell the ladies what
+you need, and when you mean to move in.  The sooner, the better we shall
+be pleased.  Shall we not, Maria?"
+
+"You will be welcome, Junker Georg.  Now I must look after the invalid we
+are nursing here.  Barbara will ascertain your wishes."
+
+The young wife took her husband's hand and left the room with him.
+
+The widow was left alone with the young nobleman and tried to learn
+everything he desired.  Then she followed her sister-in-law, and finding
+her in Henrica's room, clapped her hands, exclaiming:
+
+"That is a man!  Fraulein,  I  assure you that, though I'm an old woman,
+I never met so fine a young fellow in all my life.  So much heart, and so
+handsome too!  'To whom fortune gives once, it gives by bushels, and unto
+him that hath, shall be given!'  Those are precious words!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+Peter had promised Henrica, to request the council to give her permission
+to leave the city.
+
+It was hard for her to part from the burgomaster's household.  Maria's
+frank nature exerted a beneficial influence; it seemed as if her respect
+for her own sex increased in her society.  The day before she had heard
+her sing.  The young wife's voice was like her character.  Every note
+flawless and clear as a bell, and Henrica grieved that she should be
+forbidden to mingle her own voice with her hostess's.  She was very sorry
+to leave the children too.  Yet she was obliged to go, on Anna's account,
+for her father could not be persuaded by letters to do anything.  Had she
+appealed to him in writing to forgive his rejected child, he would hardly
+have read the epistle to the end.  Something might more easily be won
+from him through words, by taking advantage of a favorable moment.  She
+must have speech with him, yet she dreaded the life in his castle,
+especially as she was forced to acknowledge, that she too was by no means
+necessary to her father.  To secure the inheritance, he had sent her to a
+terrible existence with her aunt; while she lay dangerously ill, he had
+gone to a tournament, and the letter received from him the day before,
+contained nothing but the information that he was refused admittance to
+the city, and a summons for her to go to Junker de Heuter's house at the
+Hague.  Enclosed was a pass from Valdez, enjoining all King Philip's
+soldiers to provide for her safety.
+
+The burgomaster had intended to have her conveyed in a litter,
+accompanied by a flag of truce, as far as the Spanish lines, and the
+doctor no longer opposed her wish to travel.  She hoped to leave that
+day.
+
+Lost in thought, she stationed herself in the baywindow and gazed out
+into the court-yard.  Several windows in the building on the eastern side
+stood open.  Trautchen must have risen early, for she came out of the
+rooms arranged for Georg's occupation, followed by a young assistant
+carrying various scrubbing utensils.  Next Jan appeared with a large arm-
+chair on his head.  Bessie ran after the Frieselander, calling:
+
+"Aunt Barbel's grandfather's chair; where will she take her afternoon
+nap?"
+
+Henrica had heard the words, and thought first of good old "Babetta," who
+could also feel tenderly, then of Maria and the man who was to lodge in
+the rooms opposite.  Were there not some loose threads still remaining of
+the old tie, that had united the burgomaster's wife to the handsome
+nobleman?  A feeling of dread overpowered her.  Poor Meister Peter, poor
+Maria!
+
+Was it right to abandon the young wife, who had held out a saving hand
+in her distress?  Yet how much nearer was her own sister than this
+stranger!  Each day that she allowed herself to linger in this peaceful
+asylum, seemed like a theft from Anna--since she had read in a letter
+from her to her husband, the only one the dead man's pouch contained,
+that she was ill and sunk in poverty with her child.
+
+Help was needed here, and no one save herself could offer it.
+
+With aid from Barbara and Maria, she packed her clothes.  At noon
+everything was ready for her departure, and she would not be withheld
+from eating in the dining-room with the family.  Peter was prevented from
+coming to dinner, Henrica took his seat and, under the mask of loud,
+forced mirth, concealed the grief and anxieties that filled her heart.
+At twilight Maria and the children followed her into her room, and she
+now had the harp brought and sang.  At first her voice failed to reach
+many a note, but as the snow falling from the mountain peaks to the
+plains at first slides slowly, then rapidly increases in bulk and power,
+her tones gradually gained fulness and irresistible might and, when at
+last she rested the harp against the wall and walked to the chair
+exhausted, Maria clasped her hand and said with deep emotion:
+
+"Stay with us, Henrica."
+
+"I ought not," replied the girl.
+
+"You are enough for each other.  Shall I take you with me, children?"
+Adrian lowered his eyes in embarrassment, but Bessie jumped into her lap,
+exclaiming.
+
+"Where are you going?  Stay with us."
+
+Just at that moment some one knocked at the door, and Peter entered.
+It was evident that he brought no good tidings.  His request had been
+refused.  The council had almost unanimously voted an assent to Van
+Bronkhorst's proposition, that the young lady, as a relation of prominent
+friends of Spain among the Netherland nobility, should be kept in the
+city.  Peter's representations were unheeded; he now frankly told Henrica
+what a conflict he had had, and entreated her to have patience and be
+content to remain in his house as a welcome guest.
+
+The young girl interrupted him with many a passionate exclamation of
+indignation, and when she grew calmer, cried:
+
+"Oh, you men, you men!  I would gladly stay with you, but you know from
+what this base deed of violence detains me.  And then: to be a prisoner,
+to live weeks, months, without mass and without confession.  Yet first
+and last-merciful Heavens, what will become of my unfortunate sister?"
+
+Maria gazed beseechingly at Peter, and the latter said:
+
+"If you desire the consolations of your religion, I will send Father
+Damianus to you, and you can hear mass with the Grey Sisters, who live
+beside us, as often as you desire.  We are not fighting against your
+religion, but for the free exercise of every faith, and the whole city
+stands open to you.  My wife will help you bear your anxiety about your
+sister far better than I could do, but let me say this: wherever and
+however I can help you, it shall be done, and not merely in words."
+
+So saying, he held out his hand to Henrica.  She gave him hers,
+exclaiming:
+
+"I have cause to thank you, I know, but please leave me now and give me
+time to think until tomorrow."
+
+"Is there no way of changing the decision of the council?"  Maria asked
+her husband.
+
+"No, certainly not."
+
+"Well, then," said the young wife earnestly, "you must remain our guest.
+Anxiety for your sister does not cloud your pleasure alone, but saddens
+me too.  Let us first of all provide for her.  How are the roads to
+Delft?"
+
+"They are cut, and no one will be able to pass after to-morrow or the day
+after."
+
+"Then calm yourself, Henrica, and let us consider what is to be done."
+
+The questions and counter-questions began, and Henrica gazed in
+astonishment at the delicate young wife, for with unerring resolution and
+keenness, she held the first voice in the consultation.  The surest means
+of gaining information was to seek that very day a reliable messenger,
+by whom to send Anna d'Avila money, and if possible bring her to Holland.
+The burgomaster declared himself ready to advance from his own property,
+a portion of the legacy bequeathed Henrica's sister by Fraulein Van
+Hoogstraten, and accepted his guest's thanks without constraint.
+
+"But whom could they send?"
+
+Henrica thought of Wilhelm; he was her sister's friend.
+
+"But he is in the military service," replied the burgomaster.  "I know
+him.  He will not desert the city in these times of trouble, not even for
+his mother."
+
+"But I know the right messenger," said Maria.  "We'll send Junker Georg."
+
+"That's a good suggestion," said Peter.  "We shall find him in his
+lodgings.  I must go to Van Hout, who lives close by, and will send the
+German to you.  But my time is limited, and with such gentlemen, fair
+women can accomplish more than bearded men.  Farewell, dear Fraulein,
+once more--we rejoice to have you for our guest."
+
+When the burgomaster had left the room, Henrica said:
+
+"How quickly, and how differently from what I expected, all this has
+happened.  I love you.  I am under obligations to you, but to be
+imprisoned, imprisoned.  The walls will press upon me, the ceiling will
+seem like a weight.  I don't know whether I ought to rejoice or despair.
+You have great influence with the Junker.  Tell him about Anna, touch his
+heart, and if he would go, it would really be best for us both."
+
+"You mean for you and your sister," replied Maria with a repellent
+gesture of the hand.  "There is the lamp.  When the Junker comes, we
+shall see each other again."
+
+Maria went to her room and threw herself on the couch, but soon rose and
+paced restlessly to and fro.  Then stretching out her clasped hands, she
+exclaimed:
+
+"Oh, if he would only go, if he would only go!  Merciful God!  Kind,
+gracious Father in Heaven, grant him every happiness, every blessing, but
+save my peace of mind; let him go, and lead him far, far away from here."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+The tavern where Georg von Dornburg lodged stood on the "broad street,"
+and was a fine building with a large court-yard, in which were numerous
+vehicles.  On the left of the entrance was a large open room entered
+through a lofty archway.  Here the drivers and other folk sat over their
+beer and wine, suffering the innkeeper's hens to fly on the benches and
+even sometimes on the table, here vegetables were cleaned, boiled and
+fried, here the stout landlady was frequently obliged to call her sturdy
+maid and men servants to her aid, when her guests came to actual
+fighting, or some one drank more than was good for him.  Here the new
+custom of tobacco-smoking was practised, though only by a few sailors who
+had served on Spanish ships--but Frau Van Aken could not endure the acrid
+smoke and opened the windows, which were filled with blooming pinks,
+slender stalks of balsam, and cages containing bright-plumaged
+goldfinches.  On the side opposite to the entrance were two closed rooms.
+Above the door of one, neatly carved in wood, were the lines from Horace:
+
+              "Ille terrarum mihi praeter omnes.
+               Angulus ridet."
+
+               [Of all the corners of the world,
+               There is none that so charms me.]
+
+Only a few chosen guests found admittance into this long, narrow
+apartment.  It was completely wainscoted with wood, and from the centre
+of the richly-carved ceiling a strange picture gleamed in brilliant hues.
+This represented the landlord.  The worthy man with the smooth face,
+firmly-closed lips, and long nose, which offered an excellent straight
+line to its owner's burin, sat on a throne in the costume of a Roman
+general, while Vulcan and Bacchus, Minerva and Poinona, offered him
+gifts.  Klaus Van Aken, or as he preferred to be called, Nicolaus
+Aquanus, was a singular man, who had received good gifts from more than
+one of the Olympians; for besides his business he zealously devoted
+himself to science and several of the arts.  He was an excellent silver-
+smith, a die-cutter and engraver of great skill, had a remarkable
+knowledge of coins, was an industrious student and collector of
+antiquities.  His little tap-room was also a museum; for on the shelves,
+that surrounded it, stood rare objects of every description, in rich
+abundance and regular order; old jugs and tankards, large and small
+coins, gems in carefully-sealed glass-cases, antique lamps of clay and
+bronze, stones with ancient Roman inscriptions, Roman and Greek terra-
+cotta, polished fragments of marble which he had found in Italy among the
+ruins, the head of a faun, an arm, a foot and other bits of Pagan works
+of art, a beautifully-enamelled casket of Byzantine work, and another
+with enamelled ornamentation from Limoges.  Even half a Roman coat of
+mail and a bit of mosaic from a Roman bath were to be seen here.  Amid
+these antiquities, stood beautiful Venetian glasses, pine-cones and
+ostrich-eggs.  Such another tap-room could scarcely be found in Holland,
+and even the liquor, which a neatly-dressed maid poured for the guests
+from oddly-shaped tankards into exquisitely-wrought goblets, was
+exceptionally fine.  In this room Herr Aquanus himself was in the habit
+of appearing among his guests; in the other, opposite to the entrance,
+his wife held sway.
+
+On this day, the "Angulus," as the beautiful taproom was called, was but
+thinly occupied, for the sun had just set, though the lamps were already
+lighted.  These rested in three-branched iron chandeliers, every portion
+of which, from the slender central shaft to the intricately-carved and
+twisted ornaments, had been carefully wrought by Aquanus with his own
+hand.
+
+Several elderly gentlemen were at one table enjoying their wine, while at
+another were Captain Van der Laen, a brave Hollander, who was receiving
+English pay and had come to the city with the other defenders of Alfen,
+the Musician Wilhelm, Junker Georg, and the landlord.
+
+"It's a pleasure to meet people like you, Junker," said Aquanus.  "You've
+travelled with your eyes open, and what you tell me about Brescia excites
+my curiosity.  I Should have liked to see the inscription."
+
+"I'll get it for you," replied the young man; "for if the Spaniards don't
+send me into another world, I shall certainly cross the Alps again.  Did
+you find any of these Roman antiquities in your own country?"
+
+"Yes.  At the Roomburg Canal, perhaps the site of the old Praetorium, and
+at Katwyk.  The forum Hadriani was probably located near Voorburg.  The
+coat of mail, I showed you, came from there."
+
+"An old, green, half-corroded thing," cried Georg.  And yet!  What
+memories the sight of it awakens!  Did not some Roman armorer forge it
+for the wandering emperor?  When I look at this coat of mail, Rome and
+her legions appear before my eyes.  Who would not, like you, Herr
+Wilhelna, go to the Tiber to increase the short span of the present by
+the long centuries of the past!"
+
+"I should be glad to go to Italy once more with you," replied Wilhelm.
+
+"And I with you."
+
+"Let us first secure our liberty," said the musician.  "When that is
+accomplished, each individual will belong to himself, and then: why
+should I conceal it, nothing will keep me in Leyden."
+
+"And the organ?  Your father?"  asked Aquanus.
+
+"My brothers will remain here, snug in their own nest," answered Wilhelm.
+"But something urges, impels me--"
+
+"There are still waters and rivers on earth," interrupted Georg, "and in
+the sky the fixed stars remain quiet and the planets cannot cease from
+wandering.  So among human beings, there are contented persons, who like
+their own places, and birds of passage like us.  To be sure, you needn't
+go to Italy to hear fine singing.  I just heard a voice, a voice--"
+
+"Where?  You make me eager."
+
+"In the court-yard of Herr Van der Werff's house."
+
+"That was his wife."
+
+"Oh, no!  Her voice sounds differently."
+
+During this conversation, Captain Van der Laen had risen and examined the
+landlord's singular treasures.  He was now standing before a board, on
+which the head of an ox was sketched in charcoal, freely, boldly and with
+perfect fidelity to nature.
+
+"What magnificent piece of beef is this?"  he asked the landlord.
+
+"No less a personage than Frank Floris sketched it," replied Aquanus.
+"He once came here from Brussels and called on Meister Artjen.  The old
+man had gone out, so Floris took a bit of charcoal and drew these lines
+with it.  When Artjen came home and found the ox's head, he stood before
+it a long time and finally exclaimed: 'Frank Floris, or the devil!'  This
+story--But there comes the burgomaster.  Welcome, Meister Peter.  A rare
+honor."
+
+All the guests rose and respectfully greated Van der Werff; Georg started
+up to offer him his chair.  Peter sat down for a short time and drank a
+glass of wine, but soon beckoned to the Junker and went out with him into
+the street.
+
+There he briefly requested him to go to his house, for they had an
+important communication to make, and then went to Van Hout's residence,
+which was close beside the inn.
+
+Georg walked thoughtfully towards the burgomaster's.
+
+The "they" could scarcely have referred to any one except Maria.  What
+could she want of him at so late an hour?  Had his friend regretted
+having offered him lodgings in her own house?  He was to move into his
+new quarters early next morning; perhaps she wished to inform him of this
+change of mind, before it was too late.  Maria treated him differently
+from before, there was no doubt of that, but surely this was natural!
+He had dreamed of a different, far different meeting!  He had come to
+Holland to support the good cause of Orange, yet he would certainly have
+turned his steed towards his beloved Italy, where a good sword was always
+in demand, instead of to the north, had he not hoped to find in Holland
+her, whom he had never forgotten, for whom he had never ceased to long--
+Now she was the wife of another, a man who had shown him kindness, given
+him his confidence.  To tear his love from his heart was impossible; but
+he owed it to her husband and his own honor to be strong, to resolutely
+repress every thought of possessing her, and only rejoice in seeing her;
+and this he must try to accomplish.
+
+He had told himself all these things more than once, but realized that he
+was walking with unsteady steps, upon a narrow pathway, when she met him
+outside the dining-room and he felt how cold and tremulous was the hand
+she laid in his.
+
+Maria led the way, and he silently followed her into Henrica's room.  The
+latter greeted him with a friendly gesture, but both ladies hesitated to
+utter the first word.  The young man turned hastily, noticed that he was
+in the room overlooking the court-yard, and said, eagerly: I was down
+below just before twilight, to look at my new quarters, and heard singing
+from this room, and such singing!  At first I didn't know what was
+coming, for the tones were husky, weak, and broken, but afterwards--
+afterwards the melody burst forth like a stream of lava through the
+ashes.  We ought to wish many sorrows to one, who can lament thus."
+
+"You shall make the singer's acquaintance," said Maria, motioning towards
+the young girl.  "Fraulein Henrica Van Hoogstraten, a beloved guest in
+our house."
+
+"Were you the songstress?"  asked Georg.
+
+"Does that surprise you?"  replied Henrica.  "My voice has certainly
+retained its strength better than my body, wasted by long continued
+suffering.  I feel how deeply my eyes are sunken and how pale I must be.
+Singing certainly lightens pain, and I have been deprived of the
+comforter long enough.  Not a note has passed my lips for weeks, and
+now my heart aches so, that I would far rather weep than sing.  'What
+troubles me?' you will ask, and yet Maria gives me courage to request
+a chivalrous service, almost without parallel, at your hands."
+
+"Speak, speak," Georg eagerly exclaimed.  "If Frau Maria summons me and
+I can serve you, dear lady: here I am, dispose of me."
+
+Henrica did not avoid his frank glance, as she replied:
+
+"First hear what a great service we ask of you.  You must prepare
+yourself to hear a short story.  I am still weak and have put my strength
+to a severe test to-day, Maria must speak for me."
+
+The young wife fulfilled this task quietly and clearly, closing with the
+words:
+
+"The messenger we need, I have found myself.  You must be he, Junker
+Georg."
+
+Henrica had not interrupted the burgomaster's wife; but now said warmly
+
+"I have only made your acquaintance to-day, but I trust you entirely.
+A few hours ago, black would have been my color, but if you will be my
+knight, I'll choose cheerful green, for I now begin to hope again.  Will
+you venture to take the ride for me?"
+
+Hitherto Georg had gazed silently at the floor.  Now he raised his head,
+saying:
+
+"If I can obtain leave of absence, I will place myself at your disposal;
+--but my lady's color is blue, and I am permitted to wear no other."
+
+Henrica's lips quivered slightly, but the young nobleman continued:
+
+"Captain Van der Laen is my superior officer.  I'll speak to him at
+once."
+
+"And if he says no?" asked Maria.
+
+Henrica interrupted her and answered haughtily: "Then I beg you to send
+me Herr Wilhelm, the musician."
+
+Georg bowed and went to the tavern.
+
+As soon as the ladies were alone, the young girl asked:
+
+"Do you know Herr von Dornburg's lady?"
+
+"How should I?"  replied Maria.  "Give yourself a little rest, Fraulein.
+As soon as the Junker comes back, I'll bring him to you."
+
+The young wife left the room and seated herself at the spinning-wheel
+with Barbara.  Georg kept them waiting a long time, but at midnight again
+appeared, accompanied by two companions.  It was not within the limits of
+the captain's authority to grant him a leave of absence for several
+weeks--the journey to Italy would have required that length of time--but
+the Junker had consulted the musician, and the latter had found the right
+man, with whom Wilhelm speedily made the necessary arrangements, and
+brought him without delay: it was the old steward, Belotti.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+On the morning of the following day the spacious shooting-grounds,
+situated not far from the White Gate, between the Rapenburg and the city-
+wall, presented a busy scene, for by a decree of the council the citizens
+and inhabitants, without exception, no matter whether they were poor or
+rich, of noble or plebeian birth, were to take a solemn oath to be loyal
+to the Prince and the good cause.
+
+Commissioner Van Bronkhorst, Burgomaster Van der Werff, and two other
+magistrates, clad in festal attire, stood under a group of beautiful
+linden-trees to receive the oaths of the men and youths, who flocked to
+the spot.  The solemn ceremonial had not yet commenced.  Janus Dousa, in
+full uniform, a coat of mail over his doublet and a helmet on his head,
+arm-in-arm with Van Hout, approached Meister Peter and the commissioner,
+saying: "Here it is again!  Not one of the humbler citizens and workmen
+is absent, but the gentlemen in velvet and fur are but thinly
+represented."
+
+"They shall come yet!"  cried the city clerk menacingly.
+
+"What will formal vows avail?"  replied the burgomaster.  "Whoever
+desires liberty, must grant it.  Besides, this hour will teach us on whom
+we can depend."
+
+"Not a single man of the militia is absent," said the commissioner.
+
+"There is comfort in that.  What is stirring yonder in the linden?"
+
+The men looked up and perceived Adrian, who was swaying in the top of the
+tree, as a concealed listener.  "The boy must be everywhere," exclaimed
+Peter.  "Come down, saucy lad.  You appear at a convenient time."
+
+The boy clung to a limb with his hands, let himself drop to the ground
+and stood before his father with a penitent face, which he knew how to
+assume when occasion required.  The burgomaster uttered no further words
+of reproof, but bade him go home and tell his mother, that he saw no
+possibility of getting Belotti through the Spanish lines in safety, and
+also that Father Damianus had promised to call on the young lady in the
+course of the day.
+
+"Hurry, Adrian, and you, constables, keep all unbidden persons away from
+these trees, for any place where an oath is taken becomes sacred ground--
+The clergymen have seated themselves yonder near the target.  They have
+the precedence.  Have the kindness to summon them, Herr Van Hout.
+Dominie Verstroot wishes to make an address, and then I would like to
+utter a few words of admonition to the citizens myself."
+
+Van Hout withdrew, but before he had reached the preachers Junker von
+Warmond appeared, and reported that a messenger, a handsome young lad,
+had come as an envoy.  He was standing before the White Gate and had a
+letter.
+
+"From Valdez?"
+
+"I don't know; but the young fellow is a Hollander and his face is
+familiar to me."
+
+"Conduct him here; but don't interrupt us until the ceremony of taking
+the oath is over.  The messenger can tell Valdez what he has seen and
+heard here.  It will do the Castilian good, to know in advance what we
+intend."
+
+The Junker withdrew, and when he returned with Nicolas Van Wibisma, who
+was the messenger, Dominie Verstroot had finished his stirring speech.
+Van der Werff was still speaking.  The sacred fire of enthusiasm sparkled
+in his eyes, and though the few words he addressed to his fellow-
+combatants in the deepest chest tones of his powerful voice were plain
+and unadorned, they found their way to the souls of his auditors.
+
+Nicolas also followed the speech with a throbbing heart; it seemed as if
+the tall, earnest man under the linden were speaking directly to him and
+to him alone, when at the close he raised his voice once more and
+exclaimed enthusiastically:
+
+"And now let what will, come!  A brave man from your midst has said
+to-day: 'We will not yield, so long as an arm is left on our bodies, to
+raise food to our lips and wield a sword!' If we all think thus, twenty
+Spanish armies will find their graves before these walls.  On Leyden
+depends the liberty of Holland.  If we waver and fall, to escape the
+misery that only threatens us to-day, but will pitilessly oppress and
+torture us later, our children will say: 'The men of Leyden were blind
+cowards; it is their fault, that the name of Hollander is held in no
+higher esteem, than that of a useless slave.'  But if we faithfully hold
+out and resist the gloomy foreigner to the last man and the last mouthful
+of bread, they will remember us with tears and joyfully exclaim: 'We owe
+it to them, that our noble, industrious, happy people is permitted to
+place itself proudly beside the other nations, and need no longer
+tolerate the miserable cuckoo in its own nest.  Let whoever loves honor,
+whoever is no degenerate wretch, that betrays his parents' house, whoever
+would rather be a free man than a slave, ere raising his hand before God
+to take the oath, exclaim with me: 'Long live our shield, Orange, and a
+free Holland!'"
+
+"They shall live!"  shouted hundreds of powerful voices, five, ten,
+twenty times.  The gunner discharged the cannon planted near the target,
+drums beat, one flourish of trumpets after another filled the air, the
+ringing of bells from all the towers of the city echoed over the heads of
+the enthusiastic crowd, and the cheering continued until the commissioner
+waved his hand and the swearing fealty began.
+
+The guilds and the armed defenders of the city pressed forward in bands
+under the linden.  Now impetuously, now with dignified calmness, now with
+devout exaltation, hands were raised to take the oath, and whoever
+clasped hands did so with fervent warmth.  Two hours elapsed before all
+had sworn loyalty, and many a group that had passed under the linden
+together, warmly grasped each other's hands on the grounds in pledge of a
+second silent vow.
+
+Nicolas Van Wibisma sat silently, with his letter in his lap, beside a
+target opposite the spot where the oath was taken, but sorrowful, bitter
+emotions were seething in his breast.  How gladly he would have wept
+aloud and torn his father's letter!  How gladly, when he saw the
+venerable Herr Van Montfort come hand in hand with the grey-haired Van
+der Does to be sworn, he would have rushed to their side to take the
+oath, and call to the earnest man beneath the linden:
+
+"I am no  degenerate wretch, who betrays his parents' house; I desire to
+be no slave, no Spaniard; I am a Netherlander, like yourself."
+
+But he did not go, did not speak, he remained sitting motionless till the
+ceremony was over and Junker von Warmond conducted him under the linden.
+Van Hout and both the Van der Does had joined the magistrates who had
+administered the oath.  Bowing silently, Nicolas delivered his father's
+letter to the burgomaster.
+
+Van der Werff broke the seal, and after reading it, handed it to the
+other gentlemen, then turning to Nicolas, said:
+
+"Wait here, Junker.  Your father counsels us to yield the city to the
+Spaniards, and promises a pardon from the King.  You cannot doubt the
+answer, after what you have heard in this place."
+
+"There is but one," cried Van Hout, in the midst of reading the letter.
+"Tear the thing up and make no reply."
+
+"Ride home, in God's name," added Janus Dousa.  "But wait, I'll give you
+something more for Valdez."
+
+"Then you will vouchsafe no reply to my father's letter?"  asked Nicolas.
+
+"No, Junker.  We wish to hold no intercourse with Baron Matanesse,"
+replied the commissioner.  "As for you, you can return home or wait here;
+just as you choose."
+
+"Go to your cousin, Junker," said Janus Dousa kindly; "it will probably
+be an hour before I can find paper, pen and sealing wax.  Fraulein Van
+Hoogstraten will be glad to hear, through you, from her father."
+
+"If agreeable to you, young sir," added the burgomaster; "my house stands
+open to you."
+
+Nicolas hesitated a moment, then said quickly: "Yes, take me to her."
+
+When the youth had reached the north end of the city with Herr von
+Warmond, who had undertaken to accompany him, he asked the latter:
+
+"Are you Junker Van Duivenvoorde, Herr von Warmond?"
+
+"I am."
+
+"And you captured Brill, with the Beggars, from the Spaniards?"
+
+"I had that good fortune."
+
+"And yet, you are of a good old family.  And were there not other
+noblemen with the Beggars also?"
+
+"Certainly.  Do you suppose it ill-beseems us, to have a heart for our
+ancestors' home?  My forefathers, as well as yours, were noble before a
+Spaniard ever entered the land."
+
+But King Philip rules us as the lawful sovereign."
+
+"Unhappily.  And therefore we obey his Stadtholder, the Prince, who
+reigns in his name.  The perjured hangman needs a guardian.  Ask on; I'll
+answer willingly."
+
+Nicolas did not heed the request, but walked silently beside his
+companion until they reached the Achtergracht.  There he stood still,
+seized the captain's arm in great excitement, and said hastily in low,
+broken sentences:
+
+"It weighs on my heart.  I must tell some one.  I want to be Dutch.
+I hate the Castilians.  I have learned to know them in Leyderdorp and
+at the Hague.  They don't heed me, because I am young, and they are not
+aware that I understand their language.  So my eyes were opened.  When
+they speak of us, it is with contempt and scorn.  I know all that has
+been done by Alva and Vargas.  I have heard from the Spaniards' own lips,
+that they would like to root us out, exterminate us.  If I could only do
+as I pleased, and were it not for my father, I know what I would do.  My
+head is so confused.  The burgomaster's speech is driving me out of my
+wits.  Tell him, junket, I beseech you, tell him I hate the Spaniards and
+it would be my pride to be a Netherlander."
+
+Both had continued their walk, and as they approached the burgomaster's
+house, the captain, who had listened to the youth with joyful surprise,
+said:
+
+"You're cut from good timber, Junker, and on the way to the right goal.
+Only keep Herr Peter's speech in your mind, and remember what you have
+learned in history.  To whom belong the shining purple pages in the great
+book of national history?  To the tyrants, their slaves and eye-servants,
+or the men who lived and died for liberty?  Hold up your head.  This
+conflict will perhaps outlast both our lives, and you still have a long
+time to put yourself on the right side.  The nobleman must serve his
+Prince, but he need be no slave of a ruler, least of all a foreigner,
+an enemy of his nation.  Here we are; I'll come for you again in an hour.
+Give me your hand.  I should like to call you by your Christian name in
+future, my brave Nico."
+
+"Call me so," exclaimed the youth, "and--you'll send no one else?  I
+should like to talk with you again."
+
+The Junker was received in the burgomaster's house by Barbara.  Henrica
+could not see him immediately, Father Damianus was with her, so he was
+obliged to wait in the dining-room until the priest appeared.  Nicolas
+knew him well, and had even confessed to him once the year before.  After
+greeting the estimable man and answering his inquiry how he had come
+there, he said frankly and hastily:
+
+"Forgive me, Father, but something weighs upon my heart.  You are a holy
+man, and must know.  Is it a crime, if a Hollander fights against the
+Spaniards, is it a sin, if a Hollander wishes to be and remain what God
+made him?  I can't believe it."
+
+"Nor do I," replied Damianus in his simple manner.  "Whoever clings
+firmly to our holy church, whoever loves his neighbor and strives to do
+right, may confidently favor the Dutch, and pray and fight for the
+freedom of his native land."
+
+"Ah!"  exclaimed Nicolas, with sparkling eyes.
+
+"For," continued Damianus more eagerly, "for you see, before the
+Spaniards came into the country, they were good Catholics here and led
+devout lives, pleasing in the sight of God.  Why should it not be so
+again?  The most High has separated men into nations, because He wills,
+that they should lead their own lives and shape them for their salvation
+and His honor; but not to give the stronger nation the right to torture
+and oppress another.  Suppose your father went out to walk and a Spanish
+grandee should jump on his shoulders and make him taste whip and spur, as
+if he were a horse.  It would be bad for the Castilian.  Now substitute
+Holland for Herr Matanesse, and Spain for the grandee, and you will know
+what I mean.  There is nothing left for us to do, except cast off the
+oppressor.  Our holy church will sustain no loss.  God appointed it, and
+it will stand whether King Philip or another rules.  Now you know my
+opinion.  Do I err or not, in thinking that the name of Glipper no longer
+pleases you, dear Junker?"
+
+"No, Father Damianus!--You are right, a thousand times right.  It is no
+sin, to desire a free Holland."
+
+"Who told you it was one?"
+
+"Canon Bermont and our chaplain."
+
+"Then we are of a different opinion concerning this temporal matter.
+Give to God the things that are God's, and remain where the Lord placed
+you.  When your beard grows, if you wish to fight for the liberty of
+Holland, do so confidently.  That is a sin for which I will gladly grant
+you absolution."
+
+Henrica was greatly delighted to see the fresh, happy-looking youth
+again.  Nicolas was obliged to tell her about her father and his, and
+inform her how he had come to Leyden.  When she heard that he intended to
+return in an hour, a bright idea entered her mind, which was wholly
+engrossed by Belotti's mission.  She told Nicolas what she meant to do,
+and begged him to take the steward through the Spanish army to the Hague.
+The Junker was not only ready to fulfil her request, but promised that,
+if the old man wanted to return, he would apprize her of it in some way.
+
+At the end of an hour she bade the boy farewell, and when again walking
+towards the Achtergracht with Herr von Warmond, he asked joyously:
+
+"How shall I get to the Beggars?"
+
+"You?"  asked the captain in astonishment.
+
+"Yes, I!"  replied the Junker eagerly.  "I shall soon be seventeen, and
+when I am--Wait, just wait--you'll hear of me yet."
+
+"Right, Nicolas, right," replied the other.  "Let us be Holland nobles
+and noble Hollanders."
+
+Three hours later, Junker Matanesse Van Wibisma rode into the Hague with
+Belotti, whom he had loved from childhood.  He brought his father nothing
+but a carefully-folded and sealed letter, which Janus Dousa, with a
+mischievous smile, had given him on behalf of the citizens of Leyden for
+General Valdez, and which contained, daintily inscribed on a large sheet,
+the following lines from Dionysius Cato:
+
+          "Fistula dulce canit volucrem dum decipit auceps."
+
+     ["Sweet are the notes of the flute, when the fowler lures the bird
+     to his nest."]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+The first week in June and half the second had passed, the beautiful
+sunny days had drawn to a close, and numerous guests sought the "Angulus"
+in Aquarius's tavern during the evening hours.  It was so cosy there when
+the sea-breeze whistled, the rain poured, and the water fell plashing on
+the pavements.  The Spanish besieging army encompassed the city like an
+iron wall.  Each individual felt that he was a fellow-prisoner of his
+neighbor, and drew closer to companions of his own rank and opinions.
+Business was stagnant, idleness and anxiety weighed like lead on the
+minds of all, and whoever wished to make time pass rapidly and relieve
+his oppressed soul, went to the tavern to give utterance to his own hopes
+and fears, and hear what others were thinking and feeling in the common
+distress.
+
+All the tables in the Angulus were occupied, and whoever wanted to be
+understood by a distant neighbor was forced to raise his voice very loud,
+for special conversations were being carried on at every table.  Here,
+there, and everywhere, people were shouting to the busy bar-maid, glasses
+clinked together, and pewter lids fell on the tops of hard stone-ware
+jugs.
+
+The talk at a round table in the end of the long room was louder than
+anywhere else.  Six officers had seated themselves at it, among them
+Georg von Dornburg.  Captain Van der Laen, his superior officer, whose
+past career had been a truly heroic one, was loudly relating in his deep
+voice, strange and amusing tales of his travels by sea and land, Colonel
+Mulder often interrupted him, and at every somewhat incredible story,
+smilingly told a similar, but perfectly impossible adventure of his own.
+Captain Van Duivenvoorde soothingly interposed, when Van der Laen, who
+was conscious of never deviating far from the truth, angrily repelled the
+old man's jesting insinuations.  Captain Cromwell, a grave man with a
+round head and smooth long hair, who had come to Holland to fight for the
+faith, rarely mingled in the conversation, and then only with a few words
+of scarcely intelligible Dutch.  Georg, leaning far back in his chair,
+stretched his feet out before him and stared silently into vacancy.
+
+Herr Aquanus, the host, walked from one table to another, and when he
+at last reached the one where the officers sat, paused opposite to the
+Thuringian, saying:
+
+"Where are your thoughts, Junker?  One would scarcely know you during the
+last few days.  What has come over you?"
+
+Georg hastily sat erect, stretched himself like a person roused from
+sleep, and answered pleasantly:
+
+"Dreams come in idleness."
+
+"The cage is getting too narrow for him," said Captain Van der Laen.
+"If this state of things lasts long, we shall all get dizzy like the
+sheep."
+
+"And as stiff as the brazen Pagan god on the shelf yonder," added Colonel
+Mulder.
+
+"There was the same complaint during the first siege," replied the host,
+"but Herr von Noyelles drowned his discontent and emptied many a cask of
+my best liquor."
+
+"Tell the gentlemen how he paid you," cried Colonel Mulder.
+
+"There hangs the paper framed," laughed Aquarius.  "Instead of sending
+money, he wrote this:
+
+         'Full many a favor, dear friend, hast thou done me,
+          For which good hard coin glad wouldst thou be to see
+          There's none in my pockets; so for the debt
+               In place of dirty coin,
+               This written sheet so fine;
+          Paper money in Leyden is easy to get.'"
+
+"Excellent!" cried Junker von Warmond, "and besides you made the die for
+the pasteboard coins yourself."
+
+"Of course!  Herr von Noyelles' sitting still, cost me dear.  You have
+already made two expeditions."
+
+"Hush, hush, for God's sake say nothing about the first sally!" cried the
+captain.  "A well-planned enterprise, which was shamefully frustrated,
+because the leader lay down like a mole to sleep!  Where has such a thing
+happened a second time?"
+
+"But the other ended more fortunately," said the host.  "Three hundred
+hams, one hundred casks of beer, butter, ammunition, and the most
+worthless of all spies into the bargain; always an excellent prize."
+
+"And yet a failure!"  cried Captain Van der Laen, "We ought to have
+captured and brought in all the provision ships on the Leyden Lake!  And
+the Kaag!  To think that this fort on the island should be in the hands
+of the enemy."
+
+"But the people have held out bravely," said von Warmond.
+
+"There are real devils among them," replied Van der Laen, laughing.
+"One struck a Spaniard down and, in the midst of the battle, took off
+his red breeches and pulled them on his own legs."
+
+"I know the man," added the landlord, "his name is Van Keulen; there he
+sits yonder over his beer, telling the people all sorts of queer stories.
+A fellow with a face like a satyr.  We have no lack of comfort yet!
+Remember Chevraux' defeat, and the Beggars' victory at Vlissingen on the
+Scheldt."
+
+"To brave Admiral Boisot and the gallant Beggar troops!"  cried Captain
+Van der Laen, touching glasses with Colonel Mulder.  The latter turned
+with upraised beaker towards the Thuringian and, as the Junker who had
+relapsed into his reverie, did not notice the movement, irritably
+exclaimed:
+
+"Well, Herr Dornburg, you require a long time to pledge a man."
+
+Georg started and answered hastily:
+
+"Pledge?  Oh! yes.  Pledge.  I pledge you, Colonel!"  With these words he
+raised the goblet, drained it at a single draught, made the nail test and
+replaced it on the table.
+
+"Well done!"  cried the old man; and Herr Aquanus said:
+
+"He learned that at the University; studying makes people thirsty."
+
+As he uttered the words, he cast a friendly glance of anxiety at the
+young German, and then looked towards the door, through which Wilhelm had
+just entered the Angulus.  The landlord went to meet him and whispered:
+
+"I don't like the German nobleman's appearance.  The singing lark has
+become a mousing night-bird.  What ails him?"
+
+"Home-sickness, no news from his family, and the snare into which the war
+has drawn him in his pursuit of glory and honor.  He'll soon be his old
+self again."
+
+"I hope so," replied the host.  "Such a succulent little tree will
+quickly rebound, when it is pressed to the earth; help the fine young
+fellow."
+
+A guest summoned the landlord, but the musician joined the officers and
+began a low conversation with Georg, which was drowned by the confused
+mingling of loud voices.
+
+Wilhelm came from the Van der Werff house, where he had learned that the
+next day but one, June fourteenth, would be the burgomaster's birthday.
+Adrian had told Henrica, and the latter informed him.  The master of the
+house was to be surprised with a song on the morning of his birthday
+festival.
+
+"Excellent," said Georg, interrupting his friend, "she will manage the
+matter admirably."
+
+"Not she alone; we can depend upon Fran Van der Werff too.  At first she
+wanted to decline, but when I proposed a pretty madrigal, yielded and
+took the soprano."
+
+"The soprano?"  asked the Junker excitedly.  "Of course I'm at your
+service.  Let us go; have you the notes at home?"
+
+"No, Herr von Dornburg, I have just taken them to the ladies; but early
+to-morrow morning--"
+
+"There will be a rehearsal early to-morrow morning!  The jug is for me,
+Jungfer Dortchen!  Your health, Colonel Mulder!  Captain Huivenvoorde,
+I drain this goblet to your new standard and hope to have many a jolly
+ride by your side."
+
+The German's eyes again sparkled with an eager light, and when Captain
+Van der Laen, continuing his conversation, cried enthusiastically: "The
+Beggars of the Sea will yet sink the Spanish power.  The sea, gentlemen.
+the sea!  To base one's cause on nothing, is the best way!  To exult,
+leap and grapple in the storm!  To fight and struggle man to man and
+breast to breast on the deck of the enemy's ship!  To fight and conquer,
+or perish with the foe!"
+
+"To your health, Junker!"  exclaimed the colonel.  "Zounds, we need such
+youths!"
+
+"Now you are your old self again," said Wilhelm, turning to his friend.
+"Touch glasses to your dear ones at home."
+
+"Two glasses for one," cried Georg.  "To the dear ones at home--to the
+joys and sorrows of the heart, to the fair woman we love!  War is
+rapture, love is life!  Let the wounds bleed, let the heart break into a
+thousand pieces.  Laurels grow green on the battle-field, love twines
+garlands of roses-roses with thorns, yet beautiful roses!  Go, beaker!
+No other lips shall drink from you."
+
+Georg's cheeks glowed as he flung the glass goblet into a corner of the
+room, where it shattered into fragments.  His comrades at the table
+cheered loudly, but Captain Cromwell rose quietly to leave the room,
+and the landlord shook his wise head doubtfully.
+
+It seemed as if fire had poured into Georg's soul and his spirit had
+gained wings.  The thick waving locks curled in dishevelled masses around
+his handsome head, as leaning far back in his chair with unfastened
+collar, he mingled clever sallies and brilliant similes with the quiet
+conversation of the others.  Wilhelm listened to his words sometimes with
+admiration, sometimes with anxiety.  It was long past midnight, when the
+musician left the tavern with his friend.  Colonel Mulder looked after
+him and exclaimed to those left behind:
+
+"The fellow is possessed with a devil."
+
+The next morning the madrigal was practised at the burgomaster's house,
+while its master was presiding over a meeting at the town-hall.  Georg
+stood between Henrica and Maria.  So long as the musician found it
+necessary to correct errors and order repetitions, a cheerful mood
+pervaded the little choir, and Barbara, in the adjoining room, often
+heard the sound of innocent laughter; but when each had mastered his or
+her part and the madrigal was faultlessly executed, the ladies grew more
+and more grave.  Maria gazed fixedly at the sheet of music, and rarely
+had her voice sounded so faultlessly pure, so full of feeling.  Georg
+adapted his singing to hers and his eyes, whenever they were raised from
+the notes, rested on her face.  Henrica sought to meet the Junker's
+glance, but always in vain, yet she wished to divert his attention from
+the young wife, and it tortured her to remain unnoticed.  Some impulse
+urged her to surpass Maria, and the whole passionate wealth of her nature
+rang out in her singing.  Her fervor swept the others along.  Maria's
+treble rose exultantly above the German's musical voice, and Henrica's
+tones blended angrily yet triumphantly in the strain.  The delighted and
+inspired musician beat the time and, borne away by the liquid melody of
+Henrica's voice, revelled in sweet recollections of her sister.
+
+When the serenade was finished, he eagerly cried:
+
+"Again!"  The rivalry between the singers commenced with fresh vigor,
+and this time the Junker's beaming gaze met the young wife's eyes.
+She hastily lowered the notes, stepped out of the semicircle, and said:
+
+"We know the madrigal.  Early to-morrow morning, Meister Wilhelm; my time
+is limited."
+
+"Oh, oh!"  cried the musician regretfully.  "It was going on so
+splendidly, and there were only a few bars more."  But Maria was already
+standing at the door and made no reply, except:
+
+"To-morrow."
+
+The musician enthusiastically thanked Henrica for her singing; Georg
+courteously expressed his gratitude.  When both had taken leave, Henrica
+paced rapidly to and fro, passionately striking her clenched fist in the
+palm of her other hand.
+
+The singers were ready early on the birthday morning, but Peter had risen
+before sunrise, for there was a proposition to be arranged with the city
+clerk, which must be completed before the meeting of the council.
+Nothing was farther from his thoughts than his birthday, and when the
+singers in the dining-room commenced their madrigal, he rapped on the
+door, exclaiming:
+
+"We are busy; find another place for your singing."  The melody was
+interrupted for a moment, and Barbara said:
+
+"People picking apples don't think of fishing-nets.  He has no idea it is
+his birthday.  Let the children go in first."
+
+Maria now entered the study with Adrian and Bessie.  They carried
+bouquets in their hands, and the young wife had dressed the little girl
+so prettily that, in her white frock, she really looked like a dainty
+fairy.
+
+Peter now knew the meaning of the singing, warmly embraced the three
+well-wishers, and when the madrigal began again, stood opposite to the
+performers to listen.  True, the execution was not nearly so good as at
+the rehearsal, for Maria sang in a low and somewhat muffled voice, while,
+spite of Wilhelm's vehement beating of time, the warmth and verve of the
+day before would not return.
+
+"Admirable, admirable," cried  Peter, when  the singers ceased.  "Well
+planned and executed, a beautiful birthday surprise."  Then he shook
+hands with each, saying a few cordial words and, as he grasped the
+Junker's right hand, remarked warmly: "You have dropped down on us from
+the skies during these bad days, just at the right time.  It is always
+something to have a home in a foreign land, and you have found one with
+us."
+
+Georg had bent his eyes on the floor, but at the last words raised them
+and met the burgomaster's.  How honestly, how kindly and frankly they
+looked at him!  Deep emotion overpowered him, and without knowing what
+he was doing, he laid his hands on Peter's arms and hid his face on his
+shoulder.
+
+Van der Werff suffered him to do so, stroked the youth's hair, and said
+smiling:
+
+"Like Leonhard, wife, just like our Leonhard.  We will dine together
+to-day.  You, too, Van Hout; and don't forget your wife."
+
+Maria assigned the seats at the table, so that she was not obliged to
+look at Georg.  His place was beside Frau Van Hout and opposite Henrica
+and the musician.  At first he was silent and embarrassed, but Henrica
+gave him no rest, and when he had once begun to answer her questions he
+was soon carried away by her glowing vivacity, and gave free, joyous play
+to his wit.  Henrica did not remain in his debt, her eyes sparkled, and
+in the increasing pleasure of trying the power of her intellect against
+his, she sought to surpass every jest and repartee made by the Junker.
+She drank no wine, but was intoxicated by her own flow of language and so
+completely engrossed Georg's attention, that he found no time to address
+a word to the other guests.  If he attempted to do so, she quickly
+interrupted him and compelled him to turn to her again.  This constraint
+annoyed the young man; while struggling against it his spirit of
+wantonness awoke, and he began to irritate Henrica into making
+unprecedented assertions, which he opposed with equally unwarrantable
+ones of his own.
+
+Maria sometimes listened to the young lady in surprise, and there was
+something in Georg's manner that vexed her.  Peter took little notice of
+Henrica; he was talking with Van Hout about the letters from the Glippers
+asking a surrender, three of which had already been brought into the
+city, of the uncertain disposition of some members of the council and the
+execution of the captured spy.
+
+Wilhelm, who had scarcely vouchsafed his neighbor an answer, was now
+following the conversation of the older men and remarked, that he had
+known the traitor.  He was a tavern-keeper, in whose inn he had once met
+Herr Matanesse Van Wibisma.
+
+"There we have it," said Van Hout.  "A note was found in Quatgelat's
+pouch, and the writing bore a mysterious resemblance to the baron's hand.
+Quatgelat was to enquire about the quantity of provisions in Leyden."
+"All alike!"  exclaimed the burgomaster.  "Unhappily he could have
+brought tidings only too welcome to Valdez.  Little that is cheering has
+resulted from the investigation; though the exact amount has not yet been
+ascertained."
+
+"We must place it during the next few days in charge of the ladies."
+
+"Give it to the women?"  asked Peter in astonishment.
+
+"Yes, to us!"  cried Van Hout's wife.  "Why should we sit idle, when we
+might be of use."
+
+"Give us the  work!"  exclaimed Maria.  "We are as eager as you, to
+render the great cause some service."
+
+"And believe me," added Frau Van Hout, "we shall find admittance to
+store-rooms and cellars much more quickly than constables and guards,
+whom the housewives fear."
+
+"Women in the service of the city," said Peter thoughtfully.  "To be
+honest--but your proposal shall be considered.--The young lady is in good
+spirits today."
+
+Maria glanced indignantly at Henrica, who had leaned far across the
+table.  She was showing Georg a ring, and laughingly exclaimed:
+
+"Don't you wish to know what the device means?  Look, a serpent biting
+its own tail."
+
+"Aha!"  replied the Junker, "the symbol of self-torment."
+
+"Good, good!  But it has another meaning, which you would do well to
+notice, Sir Knight.  Do you know the signification of eternity and
+eternal faith?"
+
+"No, Fraulein, I wasn't taught to think so deeply at Jena."
+
+"Of course.  Your teachers were men.  Men and faith, eternal faith!"
+
+"Was Delilah, who betrayed Samson to the Philistines, a man or a woman?"
+asked Van Hout.
+
+"She was a woman.  The exception, that proves the rule.  Isn't that so,
+Maria?"
+
+The burgomaster's wife made no reply except a silent nod; then
+indignantly pushed back her chair, and the meal was over.
+
+
+
+
+ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:
+
+Drinking is also an art, and the Germans are masters of it
+Here the new custom of tobacco-smoking was practised
+Standing still is retrograding
+To whom fortune gives once, it gives by bushels
+Youth calls 'much,' what seems to older people 'little'
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE
+
+By Georg Ebers
+
+Volume 5.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+Days and weeks had passed, July was followed by sultry August, and that,
+too, was drawing to a close.  The Spaniards still surrounded Leyden, and
+the city now completely resembled a prison.  The soldiers and armed
+citizens did their duty wearily and sullenly, there was business enough
+at the town-hall, but the magistrates' work was sad and disagreeable; for
+no message of hope came from the Prince or the Estates, and everything to
+be considered referred to the increasing distress and the terrible
+follower of war, the plague, which had made its entry into Leyden with
+the famine.  Moreover the number of malcontents weekly increased.  The
+friends of the old order of affairs now raised their voices more and more
+loudly, and many a friend of liberty, who saw his family sickening,
+joined the Spanish sympathizers and demanded the surrender of the city.
+The children went to school and met in the playrounds as before, but
+there was rarely a flash of the merry pertness of former days, and what
+had become of the boys' red cheeks and the round arms of the little
+girls?  The poor drew their belts tighter, and the morsel of bread,
+distributed by the city to each individual, was no longer enough to quiet
+hunger and support life.
+
+Junker Georg had long been living in Burgomaster Van der Werff's house.
+
+On the morning of August 29th he returned home from an expedition,
+carrying a cross-bow in his hand, while a pouch hung over his shoulder.
+This time he did not go up-stairs, but sought Barbara in the kitchen.
+The widow received him with a friendly nod; her grey eyes sparkled as
+brightly as ever, but her round face had grown narrower and there was a
+sorrowful quiver about the sunken mouth.
+
+"What do you bring to-day?"  she asked the Junker.  Georg thrust his hand
+into his game-bag and answered, smiling: "A fat snipe and four larks; you
+know."
+
+"Poor sparrows!  But what sort of a creature can this be?  Headless,
+legless, and carefully plucked!  Junker, Junker, that's suspicious."
+
+"It will do for the pan, and the name is of no consequence."
+
+"Yet, yet; true, nobody knows on what he fattens, but the Lord didn't
+create every animal for the human stomach."
+
+"That's just what I said.  It's a short-billed snipe, a corvus, a real
+corvus."
+
+"Corvus!  Nonsense, I'm afraid of the thing--the little feathers under
+the wings.  Good heavens!  surely it isn't a raven?"
+
+"It's a corvus, as I said.  Put the bird in vinegar, roast it with
+seasoning and it will taste like a real snipe.  Wild ducks are not to be
+found every day, as they were a short time ago, and sparrows are getting
+as scarce as roses in winter.  Every boy is standing about with a cross-
+bow, and in the court-yards people are trying to catch them under sieves
+and with lime-twigs.  They are going to be exterminated, but one or
+another is still spared.  How is the little elf?"
+
+"Don't call her that!"  exclaimed the widow.  "Give her her Christian
+name.  She looks like this cloth, and since yesterday has refused to take
+the milk we daily procure for her at a heavy cost.  Heaven knows what
+the end will be.  Look at that cabbage-stalk.  Half a stiver! and  that
+miserable piece of bone!  Once I should have thought it too poor for the
+dogs--and now!  The whole household must be satisfied with it.  For
+supper I shall boil ham-rind with wine and add a little porridge to it.
+And this for a giant like Peter!  God only knows where he gets his
+strength; but he looks like his own shadow.  Maria doesn't need anything
+more than a bird, but Adrian, poor fellow, often leaves the table with
+tears in his eyes, yet I know he has broken many a bit of bread from his
+thin slice for Bessie.  It is pitiable.  Yet the proverb says: 'Stretch
+yourself towards the ceiling, or your feet will freeze--'Necessity knows
+no law,' and 'Reserve to preserve.'  Day before yesterday, like the rest,
+we again gave of the little we still possessed.  To-morrow, everything
+beyond what is needed for the next fortnight, must be delivered up, and
+Peter won't allow us to keep even a bag of flour, but what will come
+then--merciful Heaven!--"
+
+The widow sobbed aloud as she uttered the last words and continued,
+weeping:  "Where do you get your strength?  At your age this miserable
+scrap of meat is a mere drop of water on a red-hot stone."
+
+"Herr Van Aken gives me what he can, in addition to my ration.  I shall
+get through; but I witnessed a terrible sight to-day at the tailor's, who
+mends my clothes."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Two of his children have starved to death."
+
+"And the weaver's family opposite," added Barbara, weeping.  "Such nice
+people!  The young wife was confined four days ago, and this morning
+mother and child expired of weakness, expired, I tell you, like a lamp
+that has consumed its oil and must go out.  At the cloth-maker
+Peterssohn's, the father and all five children have died of the plague.
+If that isn't pitiful!"
+
+"Stop, stop!"  said Georg, shuddering.  "I must go to the court-yard to
+drill."
+
+"What's the use of that!  The Spaniards don't attack; they leave the work
+to the skeleton death.  Your fencing gives an appetite, and the poor
+hollow herrings can scarcely stir their own limbs."
+
+"Wrong, Frau Barbara, wrong," replied the young man.  "The exercise and
+motion sustains them.  Herr von Nordwyk knew what he was doing, when he
+asked me to drill them in the dead fencing-master's place."
+
+"You're thinking of the ploughshare that doesn't rust.  Perhaps you are
+right; but before you go to work, take a sip of this.  Our wine is still
+the best.  When people have something to do, at least they don't mutiny,
+like those poor fellows among the volunteers day before yesterday.  Thank
+God, they are gone!"
+
+While the widow was filling a glass, Wilhelm's mother came into the
+kitchen and greeted Barbara and the young nobleman.  She carried under
+her shawl a small package clasped tightly to her bosom.  Her breadth was
+still considerable, but the flesh, with which she had moved about so
+briskly a few months ago, now seemed to have become an oppressive burden.
+
+She took the little bundle in her right hand, saying "I have something
+for your Bessie.  My Wilhelm, good fellow--"
+
+Here she paused and restored her gift to its old place.  She had seen the
+Junker's plucked present, and continued in an altered tone: "So you
+already have a pigeon--so much the better!  The city clerk's little girl
+is beginning to droop too.  I'll see you to-morrow, if God wills."
+
+She was about to go, but Georg stopped her, saying: "You are mistaken, my
+good lady.  I shot that bird to-day, I'll confess now, Frau Barbara; my
+corvus is a wretched crow."
+
+"I thought so," cried the widow.  "Such an abomination!"
+
+Yet she thrust her finger into the bird's breast, saying: "But there's
+meat on the creature."
+
+"A crow!"  cried Wilhelm's mother, clasping her hands.  "True, dogs and
+cats are already hanging on many a spit and have wandered into many a
+pan.  There is the pigeon."
+
+Barbara unwrapped the bird as carefully, as if it might crumble under her
+fingers, gazing tenderly at it as she weighed it carefully in her hand;
+but the musician's mother said:
+
+"It's the fourth one Wilhelm has killed, and he said it would have been a
+good flier.  He intended it specially for your Bessie.  Stuff it nicely
+with yellow paste, not too solid and a little sweetened.  That is what
+children like, and it will agree with her, for it is cheerfully given.
+Put the little thing away.  When we have known any creature, we feel
+sorry to see it dead."
+
+"May God reward you!"  cried Barbara, pressing the kind old hand.
+"Oh! these terrible times!"
+
+"Yet there is still something to be thankful for."
+
+"Of course, for it will be even worse in hell," replied the widow.
+
+"Don't fall into sin," said the aged matron:  "You have only one sick
+person in the house.  Can I see Frau Maria?"
+
+"She is in the workshops, taking the people a little meat from our store.
+Are you too so short of flour?  Cows are still to be seen in the
+pastures, but the grain seems to have been actually swept away; there
+wasn't a peck in the market.  Will you take a sip of wine too?  Shall I
+call my sister-in-law?"
+
+"I will seek her myself.  The usury in the market is no longer to be
+endured.  We can do nothing more there, but she is already bringing
+people to reason."
+
+"The traders in the market?" asked Georg.
+
+"Yes, Herr von Dornburg,  yes.  One wouldn't believe how much that
+delicate woman can accomplish.  Day before yesterday, when we went about
+to learn how large a stock of provisions every house contains, people
+treated me and the others very rudely, many even turned us out of doors.
+But she went to the roughest, and the cellars and store-rooms opened
+before her, as the waves of the sea divided before the people of Israel.
+How she does it, Heaven knows, but the people can't refuse her."
+
+Georg drew a long breath and left the kitchen.  In the court-yard he
+found several city soldiers, volunteers and militia-men, with whom be
+went through exercises in fencing.  Van der Werff placed it at his
+disposal for this purpose, and there certainly was no man in Leyden more
+capable than the German of supplying worthy Allertssohn's place.
+
+Barbara was not wrong.  His pupils looked emaciated and miserable enough,
+but many of them had learned, in the dead man's school, to wield the
+sword well, and were heartily devoted to the profession.
+
+In the centre of the court-yard stood a human figure, stuffed with tow
+and covered with leather, which bore on the left breast a bit of red
+paper in the shape of a heart.  The more unskilful were obliged to thrust
+at this figure to train the hand and eye; the others stood face to face
+in pairs and fought under Georg's direction with blunt foils.
+
+The Junker had felt very weak when he entered the kitchen, for the larger
+half of his ration of bread had been left at the unfortunate tailor's;
+but Barbara's wine had revived him and, rousing himself, he stepped
+briskly forth to meet his fencers.  His doublet was quickly flung on a
+bench, his belt drawn tighter, and he soon stood in his white shirt-
+sleeves before the soldiers.
+
+As soon as his first word of command was heard, Henrica's window closed
+with a bang.  Formerly it had often been opened when the fencing drill
+began, and she had not even shrunk from occasionally clapping her hands
+and calling "bravo."  This time had long since passed, it was weeks since
+she had bestowed a word or glance on the young noble.  She had never
+made such advances to any man, would not have striven so hard to win a
+prince's favor!  And he?  At first he had been distant, then more and
+more assiduously avoided her.  Her pride was deeply wounded.  Her purpose
+of diverting his attention from Maria had long been forgotten, and
+moreover something--she knew not what had come between her and the young
+wife.  Not a day elapsed in which he did not meet her, and this was a
+source of pleasure to Henrica, because she could show him that his
+presence was a matter of indifference, nay even unpleasant.  Her
+imprisonment greatly depressed her, and she longed unutterably for the
+open country, the fields and the forest.  Yet she never expressed a wish
+to leave the city, for--Georg was in Leyden, and every waking and
+dreaming thought was associated with him.  She loved him to-day, loathed
+him tomorrow, and did both with all the ardor of her passionate heart.
+She often thought of her sister too, and uttered many prayers for her.
+To win the favor of Heaven by good works and escape ennui, she helped
+the Grey Sisters, who lived in a little old convent next to Herr Van der
+Werff's house, nurse the sick whole they had lovingly received, and even
+went with Sister Gonzaga to the houses of the Catholic citizens, to
+collect alms for the little hospital.  But all this was done without
+joyous self-devotion, sometimes with extravagant zeal, sometimes lazily,
+and for days not at all.  She had become excessively irritable, but after
+being unbearably arrogant one day, would seem sorrowful and ill at ease
+the next, though without asking the offended person's pardon.
+
+The young girl now stood behind the closed window, watching Georg, who
+with a bold spring dashed at the leathern figure and ran the sword in his
+right hand through the phantom's red heart.
+
+The soldiers loudly expressed their admiration.  Henrica's eye, also
+sparkled approvingly, but suddenly they lost their light, and she stepped
+farther back into the room, for Maria came out of the workshops in the
+court-yard and, with her gaze fixed on the ground, walked past the
+fencers.
+
+The young wife had grown paler, but her clear blue eyes had gained a more
+confident, resolute expression.  She had learned to go her own way, and
+sought and found arduous duties in the service of the city and the poor.
+She had remained conqueror in many a severe conflict of the heart, but
+the struggle was not yet over; she felt this whenever Georg's path
+crossed hers.  As far as possible she avoided him, for she did not
+conceal from herself, that the attempt to live with him on the footing
+of a friend and brother, would mean nothing but the first step on the
+road to ruin for him and herself.  That he was honestly aiding her by a
+strong effort at self-control, she gratefully felt, for she stood heart
+to heart with her husband on the ship of life.  She wished no other
+guide; nay the thought of going to destruction with Peter had no terror
+to her.  And yet, yet! Georg was like the magnetic mountain, that
+attracted her, and which she must avoid to save the vessel from sinking.
+
+To-day she had been asking the different workmen how they fared, and
+witnessed scenes of the deepest misery.
+
+The brave men knew that the surrender of the city might put an end to
+their distress, but wished to hold out for the sake of liberty and their
+religion, and endured their suffering as an inevitable misfortune.
+
+In the entry of the house Maria met Wilhelm's mother, and promised her
+she would consult with Frau Van Hout that very day, concerning the
+extortion practised by the market-men.  Then she went to poor Bessie, who
+sat, pale and weak, in a little chair.  Her prettiest doll had been lying
+an hour in the same position on her lap.  The child's little hands and
+will were too feeble to move the toy.  Trautchen brought in a cup of new
+milk.  The citizens were not yet wholly destitute of this, for a goodly
+number of cows still grazed outside the city walls under the protection
+of the cannon, but the child refused to drink and could only be induced,
+amid tears, to swallow a few drops.
+
+While Maria was affectionately coaxing the little one, Peter entered the
+room.  The tall man, the very model of a stately burgher, who paid
+careful heed to his outward appearance, now looked careless of his
+person.  His brown hair hung over his forehead, his thick, closely-
+trimmed moustache straggled in thin lines over his cheeks, his doublet
+had grown too large, and his stockings did not fit snugly as usual, but
+hung in wrinkles on his powerful legs.
+
+Greeting his wife with a careless wave of the hand, he approached the
+child and gazed silently at it a long time with tender affection.  Bessie
+turned her pretty little face towards him and tried to welcome him, but
+the smile died on her lips, and she again gazed listlessly at her doll,
+Peter stooped, raised her in his arms, called her by name and pressed his
+lips to her pale cheeks.  The child gently stroked his beard and then
+said feebly:
+
+"Put me down, dear father, I feel dizzy up here."  The burgomaster, with
+tears in his eyes, put his darling carefully back in her little chair,
+then left the room and went to his study.  Maria followed him and asked
+"Is there no message yet from the Prince or the estates?"
+
+He silently shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"But they will not, dare not forget us?"  cried the young wife eagerly.
+
+"We are perishing and they leave us to die," he answered in a hollow
+tone.
+
+"No, no, they have pierced the dykes; I know they will help us."
+
+"When it is too late.  One thing follows another, misfortune is heaped on
+misfortune, and on whom do the curses of the starving people fall?  On
+me, me, me alone."
+
+"You are acting with the Prince's commissioner."
+
+Peter smiled bitterly, saying: "He took to his bed yesterday.  Bontius
+says it is the plague.  I, I alone bear everything."
+
+"We bear it with you," cried Maria.  "First poverty, then hunger, as we
+promised."
+
+"Better than that.  The last grain was baked today.  The bread is
+exhausted."
+
+"We still have oxen and horses."
+
+"We shall come to them day after to-morrow.  It was determined: Two
+pounds with the bones to every four persons.  Bread gone, cows gone, milk
+gone.  And what will happen then?  Mothers, infants, sick people!  And
+our Bessie!"
+
+The burgomaster pressed his hands on his temples and groaned aloud.  But
+Maria said: "Courage, Peter, courage.  Hold fast to one thing, don't let
+one thing go--hope."
+
+"Hope, hope," he answered scornfully.
+
+"To hope no longer," cried Maria, "means to despair.  To despair means in
+our case to open the gates, to open the gates means--"
+
+"Who is thinking of opening the gates?  Who talks of surrender?"  he
+vehemently interrupted.  "We will still hold firm, still, still----
+There is the portfolio, take it to the messenger."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+Bessie had eaten a piece of roast pigeon, the first morsel for several
+days, and there was as much rejoicing over it in the Van der Werff
+household, as if some great piece of good fortune had befallen the
+family.  Adrian ran to the workshops and told the men, Peter went to the
+town-hall with a more upright bearing, and Maria, who was obliged to go
+out, undertook to tell Wilhelm's mother of the good results produced by
+her son's gift.
+
+Tears ran down the old lady's flabby cheeks at the story and, kissing the
+burgomaster's wife, she exclaimed:
+
+"Yes, Wilhelm, Wilhelm!  If he were only at home now.  But I'll call his
+father.  Dear me, he is probably at the town-hall too.  Hark, Frau Maria,
+hark--what's that?"
+
+The ringing of bells and firing of cannon had interrupted her words; she
+hastily threw open the window, crying:
+
+"From the Tower of Pancratius!  No alarm-bell, firing and merry-ringing.
+Some joyful tidings have come.  We need them!  Ulrich, Ulrich!  Come back
+at once and bring us the news.  Dear Father in Heaven!
+
+"Merciful God!  Send the relief.  If it were only that!"
+
+The two women waited in great suspense.  At last Wilhelm's brother Ulrich
+returned, saying that the messengers sent to Delft had succeeded in
+passing the enemy's ranks and brought with them a letter from the
+estates, which the city-clerk had read from the window of the town-hall.
+The representatives of the country praised the conduct and endurance of
+the citizens, and informed them that, in spite of the damage done to
+thousands of people, the dykes would be cut.
+
+In fact, the water was already pouring over the land, and the messengers
+had seen the vessels appointed to bring relief.  The country surrounding
+Leyden must soon be inundated, and the rising flood would force the
+Spanish army to retreat, "Better a drowned land than a lost land," was a
+saying that had been decisive in the execution of the violent measure
+proposed, and those who had risked so much might be expected to shrink
+from no sacrifice to save Leyden.
+
+The two women joyously shook hands with each other; the bells continued
+to ring merrily, and report after report of cannon made the window-panes
+rattle.
+
+As twilight approached, Maria turned her steps towards home.  It was long
+since her heart had been so light.  The black tablets on the houses
+containing cases of plague did not look so sorrowful to-day, the
+emaciated faces seemed less pitiful than usual, for to them also help was
+approaching.  The faithful endurance was to be rewarded, the cause of
+freedom would conquer.
+
+She entered the "broad street" with winged steps.  Thousands of citizens
+had flocked into it to see, hear, and learn what might be hoped, or what
+still gave cause for fear.  Musicians had been stationed at the corners
+to play lively airs; the Beggars' song mingled with the pipes and
+trumpets and the cheers of enthusiastic men.  But there were also throngs
+of well-dressed citizens and women, who loudly and fearlessly mocked at
+the gay music and exulting simpletons, who allowed themselves to be
+cajoled by empty promises.  Where was the relief?  What could the handful
+of Beggars--which at the utmost were all the troops the Prince could
+bring--do against King Philip's terrible military power, that surrounded
+Leyden?  And the inundation of the country?  The ground on which the city
+stood was too high for the water ever to reach it.  The peasants had been
+injured, without benefitting the citizens.  There was only one means of
+escape--to trust to the King's mercy.
+
+"What is liberty to us?"  shouted a brewer, who, like all his companions
+in business, had long since been deprived of his grain and forbidden to
+manufacture any fresh beer.  "What will liberty be to us, when we're cold
+in death?  Let whoever means well go the town-hall, and demand a
+surrender before it is too late."
+
+"Surrender!  The mercy of the King!"  shouted the citizens.
+
+"Life comes first, and then the question whether it shall be free or
+under Spanish rule, Calvanistical or Popish!"  screamed a master-weaver.
+"I'll march to the town-hall with you."
+
+"You are right, good people," said Burgomaster Baersdorp, who, clad in
+his costly fur-bordered cloak, was coming from the town-hall and had
+heard the last speaker's words.  "But let me set you right.  To-day the
+credulous are beginning to hope again, and the time for pressing your
+just desire is ill-chosen.  Wait a few days and then, if the relief does
+not appear, urge your views.  I'll speak for you, and with me many a
+good man in the magistracy.  We have nothing to expect from Valdez, but
+gentleness and kindness.  To rise against the King was from the first a
+wicked deed--to fight against famine, the plague and death is sin and
+madness.  May God be with you, men!"
+
+"The burgomaster is sensible," cried a cloth-dyer.
+
+"Van Swieten and Norden think as he does, but Meister Peter rules through
+the Prince's favor.  If the Spaniards rescue us, his neck will be in
+danger, when they make their entrance into the city  So no matter who
+dies; he and his are living on the fat of the land and have plenty."
+
+"There goes his wife," said a master-weaver, pointing to Maria.  "How
+happy she looks!  The leather business must be doing well.  Holloa--Frau
+Van der Werff!  Holloa!  Remember me to your husband and tell him, his
+life may be valuable; but ours are not wisps of straw."
+
+"Tell him, too," cried a cattle-dealer, who did not yet seem to have been
+specially injured by the general distress, "tell him oxen can be
+slaughtered, the more the better; but Leyden citizens--"
+
+The cattle-dealer did not finish his sentence, for Herr Aquanus had seen
+from the Angulus what was happening to the burgomaster's wife, came out
+of the tavern into the street, and stepped into the midst of the
+malcontents.
+
+"For shame!"  he cried.  "To assail a respectable lady in the street!
+Are these Leyden manners?  Give me your hand, Frau Maria, and if I hear a
+single reviling word, I'll call the constables.  I know you.  The gallows
+Herr Van Bronkhorst had erected for men like you, is still standing by
+the Blue Stone.  Which of you wants to inaugurate them?"
+
+The men, to whom these words were addressed, were not the bravest of
+mortals, and not a syllable was heard, as Aquanus led the young wife into
+the tavern.  The landlord's wife and daughter received her in their own
+rooms, which were separated from those occupied by guests of the inn,
+and begged her to make herself comfortable there until the crowd had
+dispersed.  But Maria longed to reach home, and when she said she must
+go, Aquanus offered his company.
+
+Georg von Dornburg was standing in the entry and stepped back with a
+respectful bow, but the innkeeper called to him, saying:
+
+"There is much to be done to-day, for many a man will doubtless indulge
+himself in a glass of liquor after the good news.  No offence, Frau Van
+der Werft; but the Junker will escort you home as safely as I--and you,
+Herr von Dornburg--"
+
+"I am at your service," replied Georg, and went out into the street with
+the young wife.
+
+For a time both walked side by side in silence, each fancying he or she
+could hear the beating of the other's heart.  At last Georg, drawing a
+long breath, said:
+
+"Three long, long months have passed since my arrival here.  Have I been
+brave, Maria?"
+
+"Yes, Georg."
+
+"But you cannot imagine what it has cost me to fetter this poor heart,
+stifle my words, and blind my eyes.  Maria, it must once be said--"
+
+"Never, never," she interrupted in a tone of earnest entreaty.  "I know
+that you have struggled honestly, do not rob yourself of the victory
+now."
+
+"Oh!  hear me, Maria, this once hear me."
+
+"What will it avail, if you oppress my soul with ardent words?  I must
+not hear from any man that he loves me, and what I must not hear, you
+must not speak."
+
+"Must not?"  he asked in a tone of gentle reproach, then in a gloomy,
+bitter mood, continued: "You are right, perfectly right.  Even speech is
+denied me.  So life may run on like a leaden stream, and everything that
+grows and blossoms on its banks remain scentless and grey.  The golden
+sunshine has hidden itself behind a mist, joy lies fainting in my heart,
+and all that once pleased me has grown stale and charmless.  Do you
+recognize the happy youth of former days?"
+
+"Seek cheerfulness again, seek it for my sake."
+
+"Gone, gone," he murmured sadly.  "You saw me in Delft, but you did not
+know me thoroughly.  These eyes were like two mirrors of fortune in which
+every object was charmingly transfigured, and they were rewarded; for
+wherever they looked they met only friendly glances.  This heart then
+embraced the whole world, and beat so quickly and joyously!  I often did
+not know what to do with myself from sheer mirth and vivacity, and it
+seemed as if I must burst into a thousand pieces like an over-loaded
+firelock, only instead of scattering far and wide, mount straight up to
+Heaven.  Those days were so happy, and yet so sad--I felt it ten times
+as much in Delft, when you were kind to me.  And now, now?  I still have
+wings, I still might fly, but here I creep like a snail--because it is
+your will."
+
+"It is not my wish," replied Maria.  "You are dear to me, that I may be
+permitted to confess--and to see you thus fills me with grief.  But now--
+if I am dear to you, and I know you care for me--cease to torture me so
+cruelly.  You are dear to me.  I have said it, and it must be spoken,
+that everything may be clearly understood between us.  You are dear to
+me, like the beautiful by-gone days of my youth, like pleasant dreams,
+like a noble song, in which we take delight, and which refreshes our
+souls, whenever we hear or remember it--but more you are not, more you
+can never be.  You are dear to me, and I wish you to remain so, but that
+you can only do by not breaking the oath you have sworn."
+
+"Sworn?"  asked Georg.  "Sworn?"
+
+"Yes, sworn," interrupted Maria, checking her steps.  "On Peter's breast,
+on the morning of his birthday--after the singing.  You remember it well.
+At the time you took a solemn vow; I know it, know it no less surely,
+than that I myself swore faith to my husband at the altar.  If you can
+give me the lie, do so."
+
+Georg shook his head, and answered with increasing warmth:
+
+"You read my soul.  Our hearts know each other like two faithful friends,
+as the earth knows her moon, the moon her earth.  What is one without the
+other?  Why must they be separated?  Did you ever walk along a forest
+path?  The tracks of two wheels run side by side and never touch.  The
+axle holds them asunder, as our oath parts us."
+
+"Say rather--our honor."
+
+"As our honor parts us.  But often in the woods we find a place where the
+road ends in a field or hill, and there the tracks cross and intersect
+each other, and in this hour I feel that my path has come to an end.  I
+can go no farther, I cannot, or the horses will plunge into the thicket
+and the vehicle be shattered on the roots and stones."
+
+"And honor with it.  Not a word more.  Let us walk faster.  See the
+lights in the windows.  Everyone wants to show that he rejoices in the
+good news.  Our house mustn't remain dark either."
+
+"Don't hurry so.  Barbara will attend to it, and how soon we must part!
+Yet you said that I was dear to you."
+
+"Don't torture me," cried the young wife, with pathetic entreaty.
+
+"I will not torture you, Maria, but you must hear me.  I was in earnest,
+terrible earnest in the mute vow I swore, and have sought to release
+myself from it by death.  You have heard how I rushed like a madman among
+the Spaniards, at the storming of the Boschhuizen fortification in July.
+Your bow, the blue bow from Delft, the knot of ribbons the color of the
+sky, fluttered on my left shoulder as I dashed upon swords and lances.
+I was not to die, and came out of the confusion uninjured.  Oh!  Maria,
+for the sake of this oath I have suffered unequalled torments.  Release
+me from it, Maria, let me once, only once, freely confess--"
+
+"Stop, Georg, stop," pleaded the young wife.  "I will not, must not hear
+you-neither to-day, nor tomorrow, never, never, to all eternity!"
+
+"Once, only once, I will, I must say to you, that I love you, that life
+and happiness, peace and honor--"
+
+"Not one word more, Junker von Dornburg.  There is our house.  You are
+our guest, and if you address a single word like the last ones to your
+friend's wife--"
+
+"Maria, Maria--oh, don't touch the knocker.  How can you so unfeelingly
+destroy the whole happiness of a human being--"
+
+The door had opened, and the burgomaster's wife crossed the threshold.
+Georg stood opposite to her, held out his hand as if beseeching aid, and
+murmured in a hollow tone:
+
+"Cast forth to death and despair!  Maria, Maria, why do you treat me
+thus?"
+
+She laid her right hand in his, saying:
+
+"That we may remain worthy of each other, Georg."
+
+She forcibly withdrew her icy hand and entered the house; but he wandered
+for hours through the lighted streets like a drunken man, and at last
+threw himself, with a burning brain, upon his couch.  A small volume,
+lightly stitched together, lay on a little table beside the bed.  He
+seized it, and with trembling fingers wrote on its pages.  The pencil
+often paused, and he frequently drew a long breath and gazed with dilated
+eyes into vacancy.  At last he threw the book aside and watched anxiously
+for the morning.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+Just before sunrise Georg sprang from his couch, drew out his knapsack,
+and filled it with his few possessions; but this time the little book
+found no place with the other articles.
+
+The musician Wilhelm also entered the court-yard at a very early-hour,
+just as the first workmen were going to the shops.  The Junker saw him
+coming, and met him at the door.
+
+The artist's face revealed few traces of the want he had endured, but
+his whole frame was trembling with excitement and his face changed color
+every moment, as he instantly, and in the utmost haste, told Georg the
+purpose of his early visit.
+
+Shortly after the arrival of the city messengers, a Spanish envoy had
+brought Burgomaster Van der Werff a letter written by Junker Nicolas
+Matanesse, containing nothing but the tidings, that Henrica's sister had
+reached Leyderdorp with Belotti and found shelter in the elder Baron
+Matanesse's farm-house.  She was very ill, and longed to see her sister.
+The burgomaster had given this letter to the young lady, and Henrica
+hastened to the musician without delay, to entreat him to help her escape
+from the city and guide her to the Spanish lines.  Wilhelm was undergoing
+a severe struggle.  No sacrifice seemed too great to see Anna again, and
+what the messenger had accomplished, he too might succeed in doing.  But
+ought he to aid the flight of the young girl detained as hostage by the
+council, deceive the sentinels at the gate, desert his post?
+
+Since Henrica's request that Georg would escort her sister from Lugano
+to Holland, the young man had known everything that concerned the latter,
+and was also aware of the state of the musician's heart.
+
+"I must, and yet I ought not," cried Wilhelm.  "I have passed a terrible
+night; imagine yourself in my place, in the young lady's."
+
+"Get a leave of absence until to-morrow," said Georg resolutely.  "When
+it grows dark, I'll accompany Henrica with you.  She must swear to return
+to the city in case of a surrender.  As for me, I am no longer bound by
+any oath to serve the English flag.  A month ago we received permission
+to enter the service of the Netherlands.  It will only cost me a word
+with Captain Van der Laen, to be my own master."
+
+"Thanks, thanks; but the young lady forbade me to ask your assistance."
+
+"Folly, I shall go with you, and when our goal is reached, fight my way
+through to the Beggars.  Our departure will not trouble the council, for,
+when Henrica and I are outside, there will be two eaters less in Leyden.
+The sky is grey; I hope we shall have a dark night.  Captain Van
+Duivenvoorde commands the guard at the Hohenort Gate.  He knows us both,
+and will let us pass.  I'll speak to him.  Is the farm-house far inside
+the village?"
+
+"No, outside on the road to Leyden."
+
+"Well then, we'll meet at Aquanus's tavern at four o'clock."
+
+"But the young lady--"
+
+"It will be time enough, if she learns at the gate who is to accompany
+her."
+
+When Georg came to the tavern at the appointed hour, he learned that
+Henrica had received another letter from Nicolas.  It had been given to
+the outposts by the Junker himself, and contained only the words "Until
+midnight, the Spanish watch-word is 'Lepanto.' Your father shall know to-
+day, that Anna is here."
+
+After the departure from the Hohenort Gate had been fixed for nine
+o'clock in the evening, Georg went to Captain Van der Laen and the
+commandant Van der Does, received from the former the discharge he
+requested, and from Janus a letter to his friend, Admiral Boisot.  When
+he informed his men, that he intended to leave the city and make his way
+to the Beggars, they declared they would follow, and live or die with
+him.  It was with difficulty that he succeeded in restraining them.
+Before the town-hall he slackened his pace.  The burgomaster was always
+to be found there at this hour.  Should he quit the city without taking
+leave of him?  No, no!  And yet--since yesterday he had forfeited the
+right to look frankly into his eyes.  He was afraid to meet him, it
+seemed as if he were completely estranged from him.  So Georg rushed past
+the town-hall, and said defiantly: "Even if I leave him without a
+farewell, I owe him nothing; for I must pay for his kindness with cruel
+suffering, perhaps death.  Maria loved me first, and what she is, and
+was, and ever will be to me, she shall know before I go."
+
+He returned to his room at twilight, asked the manservant to carry his
+knapsack to Captain Van Duivenvoorde at the Hohenort Gate, and then went,
+with his little book in his doublet, to the main building to take leave
+of Maria.  He ascended the staircase slowly and paused in the upper
+entry.
+
+The beating of his heart almost stopped his breath.  He did not know at
+which door to knock, and a torturing dread overpowered him, so that he
+stood for several minutes as if paralyzed.  Then he summoned up his
+courage, shook himself, and muttered: "Have I become a coward!"  With
+these words he opened the door leading into the dining-room and entered.
+Adrian was sitting at the empty table, beside a burning torch, with some
+books.  Georg asked for his mother.
+
+"She is probably spinning in her room," replied the boy.
+
+"Call her, I have something important to tell her."  Adrian went away,
+returning with the answer that the Junker might wait in his father's
+study.
+
+"Where is Barbara?"  asked Georg.
+
+"With Bessie."
+
+The German nodded, and while pacing up and down beside the dining-room,
+thought, "I can't go so.  It must come from the heart; once, once more
+I will hear her say, that she loves me, I will--I will--Let it be
+dishonorable, let it be worthy of execration, I will atone for it;
+I will atone for it with my life!"
+
+While Georg was pacing up and down the room, Adrian gathered his books
+together, saying: "B-r-r-r, Junker, how you look to-day!  One might be
+afraid of you.  Mother is in there already.  The tinder-box is rattling;
+she is probably lighting the lamp."
+
+"Are you busy?"  asked Georg.  "I've finished."
+
+"Then run over to Wilhelm Corneliussohn and tell him it is settled: we'll
+meet at nine, punctually at nine."
+
+"At Aquarius's tavern?"  asked the boy.
+
+"No, no, he knows; make haste, my lad."
+
+Adrian was going, but Georg beckoned to him, and said in a low tone:
+"Can you be silent?"
+
+"As a fried sole."
+
+"I shall slip out of the city to-day, and perhaps may never return."
+
+"You, Junker?  To-day?"  asked the boy.
+
+"Yes, dear lad.  Come here, give me a farewell kiss.  You must keep this
+little ring to remember me."  The boy submitted to the kiss, put the ring
+on his finger, and said with tearful eyes:  "Are you in earnest?  Yes,
+the famine!  God knows I'd run after you, if it were not for Bessie and
+mother.  When will you come back again?"
+
+"Who knows, my lad!  Remember me kindly, do you hear?  Kindly!  And now
+run."
+
+Adrian rushed down the stairs, and a few minutes after the Junker was
+standing in Peter's study, face to face with Maria.  The shutters were
+closed, and the sconce on the table had two lighted candles.
+
+"Thanks, a  thousand thanks  for coming," said Georg.  "You pronounced my
+sentence yesterday, and to-day--"
+
+"I know what brings you to me," she answered gently.  "Henrica has bidden
+me farewell, and I must not keep her.  She doesn't wish to have you
+accompany her, but Meister Wilhelm betrayed the secret to me.  You have
+come to say farewell."
+
+"Yes, Maria, farewell forever."
+
+"If it is God's will, we shall see each other again.  I know what is
+driving you away from here.  You are good and noble, Georg, and if there
+is one thing that lightens the parting, it is this: We can now think of
+each other without sorrow and anger.  You will not forget us, and--you
+know that the remembrance of you will be cherished here by old and young
+--in the hearts of all--"
+
+"And in yours also, Maria?"
+
+"In mine also."
+
+"Hold it firmly.  And when the storm has blown out of your path the poor
+dust, which to-day lives and breathes, loves and despairs, grant it a
+place in your memory."
+
+Maria shuddered, for deep despair looked forth with a sullen glow from
+the eyes that met hers.  Seized with an anxious foreboding, she
+exclaimed: "What are you thinking of, Georg? for Christ's sake! tell me
+what is in your mind."
+
+"Nothing wrong, Maria, nothing wrong.  We birds now sing differently.
+Whoever can saunter, with lukewarm blood and lukewarm pleasures, from one
+decade to another in peace and honor, is fortunate.  My blood flows in a
+swifter course, and what my eager soul has once clasped with its polyp
+arms, it will never release until the death-hour comes.  I am going,
+never to return; but I shall take you and my love with me to battle, to
+the grave.--I go, I go--"
+
+"Not so, Georg, you must not part from me thus."  Then cry: 'Stay!' Then
+say: 'I am here and pity you!'  But don't expect the miserable wretch,
+whom you have blinded, to open his eyes, behold and enjoy the beauties of
+the world.  "Here you stand, trembling and shaking, without a word for
+him who loves you, for him--him--"
+
+The youth's voice faltered with emotion and sighing heavily, he pressed
+his hand to his brow.  Then he seemed to recollect himself and continued
+in a low, sad tone: "Here I stand, to tell you for the last time the
+state of my heart.  You should hear sweet words, but grief and pain will
+pour bitter drops into everything I say.  I have uttered in the language
+of poetry, when my heart impelled me, that for which dry prose possesses
+no power of expression.  Read these pages, Maria, and if they wake an
+echo in your soul, oh! treasure it.  The honeysuckle in your garden needs
+a support, that it may grow and put forth flowers; let these poor songs
+be the espalier around which your memory of the absent one can twine its
+tendrils and cling lovingly.  Read, oh! read, and then say once more:
+'You are dear to me,' or send me from you."
+
+"Give it to me," said Maria, opening the volume with a throbbing heart.
+
+He stepped back from her, but his breath came quickly and his eyes
+followed hers while she was reading.  She began with the last poem but
+one.  It had been written just after Georg's return the day before, and
+ran as follows:
+
+                   "Joyously they march along,
+                    Lights are flashing through the panes,
+                    In the streets a busy throng
+                    Curiosity enchains.
+                    Oh!  the merry festal night;
+                    Would that it might last for aye!
+                    For aye!  Alas!  Love, splendor, light,
+                    All, all have passed away."
+
+The last lines Georg had written with a rapid pen the night before.  In
+them he bewailed his hard fate.  She must hear him once, then he would
+sing her a peerless song.  Maria had followed the first verses silently
+with her eyes, but now her lips began to move and in a low, rapid tone,
+but audibly she read:
+
+              "Sometimes it echoes like the thunder's peal,
+               Then soft and low through the May night doth steal;
+               Sometimes, on joyous wing, to Heaven it soars,
+               Sometimes, like Philomel, its woes deplores.
+               For, oh!  this a song that ne'er can die,
+               It seeks the heart of all humanity.
+               In the deep cavern and the darksome lair,
+               The sea of ether o'er the realm of air,
+               In every nook my song shall still be heard,
+               And all creation, with sad yearning stirred,
+               United in a full, exultant choir,
+               Pray thee to grant the singer's fond desire.
+               E'en when the ivy o'er my grave hath grown,
+               Still will ring on each sweet, enchanting tone,
+               Through the whole world and every earthly zone,
+               Resounding on in aeons yet to come."
+
+Maria read on, her heart beating more and more violently, her breath
+coming quicker and quicker, and when she had reached the last verse,
+tears burst from her eyes, and she raised the book with both hands to
+hurl it from her and throw her arms around the writer's neck.
+
+He had been standing opposite to her, as if spellbound, listening
+blissfully to the lofty flight of his own words.  Trembling with
+passionate emotion, he yet restrained himself until she had raised her
+eyes from his lines and lifted the book, then his power of resistance
+flew to the winds and, fairly beside himself, he exclaimed:  "Maria, my
+sweet wife!"
+
+"Wife?"  echoed in her breast like a cry of warning, and it seemed as if
+an icy hand clutched her heart.  The intoxication passed away, and as she
+saw him standing before her with out-stretched arms and sparkling eyes,
+she shrank back, a feeling of intense loathing of him and her own
+weakness seized upon her and, instead of throwing the book aside and
+rushing to meet him, she tore it in halves, saying proudly: "Here are
+your verses, Junker von Dornburg; take them with you."  Then, maintaining
+her dignity by a strong effort, she continued in a lower, more gentle
+tone, "I shall remember you without this book.  We have both dreamed;
+let us now wake.  Farewell!  I will pray that God may guard you.  Give me
+your hand, Georg, and when you return, we will bid you welcome to our
+house as a friend."
+
+With these words Maria turned away from the Junker and only nodded
+silently, when he exclaimed: "Past!  All past!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+Georg descended the stairs in a state of bewilderment.  Both halves of
+the book, in which ever since the wedding at Delft he had written a
+succession of verses to Maria, lay in his hand.
+
+The light of the kitchen-fire streamed into the entry.  He followed it,
+and before answering Barbara's kind greeting, went to the hearth and
+flung into the fire the sheets, which contained the pure, sweet fragrance
+of a beautiful flower of youth.
+
+"Oho! Junker!" cried the widow.  "A quick fire doesn't suit every kind of
+food.  What is burning there?"
+
+"Foolish paper!" he answered.  "Have no fear.  At the utmost it might
+weep and put out the flames.  It will be ashes directly.  There go the
+sparks, flying in regular rows through the black, charred pages.  How
+pretty it looks!  They appear, leap forth and vanish--like a funeral
+procession with torches in a pitch-dark night.  Good-night, poor
+children--good-night, dear songs!  Look, Frau Barbara!  They are rolling
+themselves up tightly, convulsively, as if it hurt them to burn."
+
+"What sort of talk is that?"  replied Barbara, thrusting the charred book
+deeper into the fire with the tongs.  Then pointing to her own forehead,
+she continued: "One often feels anxious about you.  High-sounding words,
+such as we find in the Psalms, are not meant for every-day life and our
+kitchen.  If you were my own son, you'd often have something to listen
+to.  People who travel at a steady pace reach their goal soonest."
+
+"That's good advice for a journey," replied Georg, holding out his hand
+to the widow.  "Farewell, dear mother.  I can't bear it here any longer.
+In half an hour I shall turn my back on this good city."
+
+"Go then--just as you choose--Or is the young lady taking you in tow?
+Nobleman's son and nobleman's daughter!  Like to like--Yet, no; there has
+been nothing between you.  Her heart is good, but I should wish you
+another wife than that Popish Everyday-different."
+
+"So Henrica has told you--"
+
+"She has just gone.  Dear me-she has her relatives outside; and we--it's
+hard to divide a plum into twelve pieces.  I said farewell to her
+cheerfully; but you, Georg, you--"
+
+"I shall take her out of the city, and then--you won't blame me for it--
+then I shall make my way through to the Beggars."
+
+"The Beggars!  That's a different matter, that's right.  You'll be in
+your proper place there!  Cheer up, Junker, and go forth boldly?  Give me
+your hand, and if you meet my boy--he commands a ship of his own.--Dear
+me, I remember something.  You can wait a moment longer.  Come here,
+Trautchen.  The woollen stockings I knit for him are up in the painted
+chest.  Make haste and fetch them.  He may need them on the water in the
+damp autumn weather.  You'll take them with you?"
+
+"Willingly, most willingly; and now let me thank you for all your
+kindness.  You have been like an own mother to me."  Georg clasped the
+widow's hand, and neither attempted to conceal how dear each had become
+to the other and how hard it was to part.  Trautchen had given Barbara
+the stockings, and many tears fell upon them, while the widow was bidding
+the Junker farewell.  When she noticed they were actually wet, she waved
+them in the air and handed them to the young man.
+
+The night was dark but still, even sultry.  The travellers were received
+at the Hohenort Gate by Captain Van Duivenvoorde, preceded by an old
+sergeant, carrying a lantern, who opened the gate.  The captain embraced
+his brave, beloved comrade, Dornburg; a few farewell words and god-speeds
+echoed softly from the fortification walls, and the trio stepped forth
+into the open country.
+
+For a time they walked silently through the darkness.  Wilhelm knew the
+way and strode in front of Henrica; the Junker kept close at her side.
+
+All was still, except from time to time they heard a word of command from
+the walls, the striking of a clock, or the barking of a dog.
+
+Henrica had recognized Georg by the light of the lantern, and when
+Wilhelm stopped to ascertain whether there was any water in the ditch
+over which he intended to guide his companions, she said, under her
+breath:
+
+"I did not expect your escort, Junker."
+
+"I know it, but I, too, desired to leave the city."
+
+"And wish to avail yourself of our knowledge of the watchword.  Then stay
+with us."
+
+"Until I know you are safe, Fraulein."
+
+"The walls of Leyden already lie between you and the peril from which you
+fly."
+
+"I don't understand you."
+
+"So much the better."
+
+Wilhelm turned and, in a muffled voice, requested his companions to keep
+silence.  They now walked noiselessly on, until just outside the camp
+they reached the broad road around which they had made a circuit.  A
+Spanish sentinel challenged them.
+
+"Lepanto!"  was the answer, and they passed on through the camp
+unmolested.  A coach drawn by four horses, a mere box hung between two
+tiny fore-wheels and a pair of gigantic hind-wheels, drove slowly past
+them.  It was conveying Magdalena Moons, the daughter of an aristocratic
+Holland family, distinguished among the magistracy, back to the Hague
+from a visit to her lover and future husband, Valdez.  No one noticed
+Henrica, for there were plenty of women in the camp.  Several poorly-clad
+ones sat before the tents, mending the soldiers' clothes.  Some gaily-
+bedizened wenches were drinking wine and throwing dice with their male
+companions in front of an officer's tent.  A brighter light glowed from
+behind the general's quarters, where, under a sort of shed, several
+confessionals and an altar had been erected.  Upon this altar candles
+were burning, and over it hung a silver lamp; a dark, motionless stream
+pressed towards it; Castilian soldiers, among whom individuals could be
+recognized only when the candle-light flashed upon a helmet or coat of
+mail.
+
+The loud singing of carousing German mercenaries, the neighing and
+stamping of the horses, and the laughter of the officers and girls,
+drowned the low chanting of the priests and the murmur of the penitents,
+but the shrill sounding of the bell calling to mass from time to time
+pierced, with its swift vibrations, through the noise of the camp.  Just
+outside the village the watch-word was again used, and they reached the
+first house unmolested.
+
+"Here we are," said Wilhelm, with a sigh of relief.  "Profit by the
+darkness, Junker, and keep on till you have the Spaniards behind you."
+
+"No, my friend; you will remain here.  I wish to share your danger.
+I shall return with you to Leyden and from thence try to reach Delft;
+meantime I'll keep watch and give you warning, if necessary."
+
+"Let us bid each other farewell now, Georg; hours may pass before I
+return."
+
+"I have time, a horrible amount of time.  I'll wait.  There goes the
+door."
+
+The Junker grasped his sword, but soon removed his hand from the hilt,
+for it was Belotti, who came out and greeted the signorina.
+
+Henrica followed him into the house and there talked with him in a low
+tone, until Georg called her, saying:
+
+"Fraulein Van Hoogstraten, may I ask for a word of farewell?"
+
+"Farewell, Herr von Dornburg!"  she answered distantly, but advanced a
+step towards him.
+
+Georg had also approached, and now held out his hand.  She hesitated a
+moment, then placed hers in it, and said so softly, that only he could
+hear:
+
+"Do you love Maria?"
+
+"So I am to confess?"
+
+"Don't refuse my last request, as you did the first.  If you can be
+generous, answer me fearlessly.  I'll not betray your secret to any one.
+Do you love Frau Van der Werff?"
+
+"Yes, Fraulein."
+
+Henrica drew a long breath, then continued: "And now you are rushing out
+into the world to forget her?"
+
+"No, Fraulein."
+
+"Then tell me why you have fled from Leyden?"
+
+"To find an end that becomes a soldier."
+
+Henrica advanced close to his side, exclaiming so scornfully, that it cut
+Georg to the heart:
+
+"So it has grasped you too!  It seizes all: Knights, maidens, wives and
+widows; not one is spared.  Never ending sorrow!  Farewell, Georg!  We
+can laugh at or pity each other, just as we choose.  A heart pierced with
+seven swords: what an exquisite picture!  Let us wear blood-red knots of
+ribbon, instead of green and blue ones.  Give me your hand once more, now
+farewell."
+
+Henrica beckoned to the musician and both followed Belotti up the steep,
+narrow stairs.  Wilhelm remained behind in a little room, adjoining a
+second one, where a beautiful boy, about three years old, was being
+tended by an Italian woman.  In a third chamber, which like all the other
+rooms in the farm-house, was so low that a tall man could scarcely stand
+erect, Henrica's sister lay on a wide bedstead, over which a screen,
+supported by four columns, spread like a canopy.  Links dimly lighted the
+long narrow room.  The reddish-yellow rays of their broad flames were
+darkened by the canopy, and scarcely revealed the invalid's face.
+
+Henrica had given the Italian woman and the child in the second room but
+a hasty greeting, and now impetuously pressed forward into the third,
+rushed to the bed, threw herself on her knees, clasped her arms
+passionately around her sister, and covered her face with owing kisses.
+
+She said nothing but "Anna," and the sick woman and no other word than
+"Henrica."  Minutes elapsed, then the young girl started up, seized one
+of the torches A cast its light on her regained sister's face.  How pale,
+how emaciated it looked!  But it was still beautiful, still the same as
+before.  Strangely-blended emotions of joy and grief took possession of
+Henrica's soul.  Her cold hard feelings grew warm and melted, and in this
+hour the comfort of tears, of which she had been so long deprived, once
+more became hers.
+
+Gradually the flood tide of emotion began to ebb, and the confusion of
+loving exclamations and incoherent words gained some order and separated
+into question and answer.  When Anna learned that the musician had
+accompanied her sister, she wished to see him, and when he entered, held
+out both hands, exclaiming:
+
+"Meister, Meister, in what a condition you find me again!  Henrica, this
+is the best of men; the only unselfish friend I have found on earth."
+
+The succeeding hours were full of sorrowful agitation.
+
+Belotti and the old Italian woman often undertook to speak for the
+invalid, and gradually the image of a basely-destroyed life, that had
+been worthy of a better fate, appeared before Henrica and Wilhelm.  Fear,
+anxiety and torturing doubt had from the first saddened Anna's existence
+with the unprincipled adventurer and gambler, who had succeeded in
+beguiling her young, experienced heart.  A short period of intoxication
+was followed by an unexampled awakening.  She was clasping her first
+child to her breast, when the unprecedented outrage occurred--Don Luis
+demanded that she should move with him into the house of a notorious
+Marchesa, in whose ill-famed gambling-rooms he had spent his evenings and
+nights for months.  She indignantly refused, but he coldly and
+threateningly persisted in having his will.  Then the Hoogstraten blood
+asserted itself, and without a word of farewell she fled with her child
+to Lugano.  There the boy was received by his mother's former waiting-
+maid, while she herself went to Rome, not as an adventuress, but with a
+fixed, praiseworthy object in view.  She intended to fully perfect her
+musical talents in the new schools of Palestrina and Nanini, and thus
+obtain the ability, by means of her art, to support her child
+independently of his father and hers.  She risked much, but very definite
+hopes hovered before her eyes, for a distinguished prelate and lover of
+music, to whom she had letters of introduction from Brussels, and who
+knew her voice, had promised that after her return from her musical
+studies he would give her the place of singing-mistress to a young girl
+of noble birth, who had been educated in a convent at Milan.  She was
+under his guardianship, and the worthy man took care to provide Anna,
+before her departure, with letters to his friends in the eternal city.
+
+Her hasty flight from Rome had been caused by the news, that Don Luis had
+found and abducted his son.  She could not lose her child, and when she
+did not find the boy in Milan, followed and at last discovered him in
+Naples.  There d'Avila restored the child, after she had declared her
+willingness to make over to him the income she still received from her
+aunt.  The long journey, so full of excitement and fatigue, exhausted her
+strength, and she returned to Milan feeble and broken in health.
+
+Her patron had been anxious to keep the place of singing-mistress open
+for her, but she could only fulfil for a short time the duties to which
+the superior of the convent kindly summoned her, for her sickness was
+increasing and a terrible cough spoiled her voice.  She now returned to
+Lugano, and there sought to compensate her poor honest friend by the sale
+of her ornaments, but the time soon came when the generous artist was
+forced to submit to be supported by the charity of a servant.  Until the
+last six months she had not suffered actual want, but when her maid's
+husband died, anxiety about the means of procuring daily bread arose, and
+now maternal love broke down Anna's pride: she wrote to her father as a
+repentant daughter, bowed down by misfortune, but received no reply.  At
+last, reduced to starvation with her child, she undertook the hardest
+possible task, and besought the man, of whom she could only think with
+contempt and loathing, not to let his son grow up like a beggar's child.
+The letter, which contained this cry of distress, had reached Don Luis
+just before his death.  No help was to come to her from him.  But Belotti
+appeared, and now she was once more at home, her friend and sister were
+standing beside her bed, and Henrica encouraged her to hope for her
+father's forgiveness.
+
+It was past midnight, yet Georg still awaited his friend's return.  The
+noise and bustle of the camp began to die away and the lantern, which at
+first had but feebly lighted the spacious lower-room of the farmhouse,
+burned still more dimly.  The German shared this apartment with
+agricultural implements, harnesses, and many kinds of grain and
+vegetables heaped in piles against the walls, but he lacked inclination
+to cast even a glance at his motley surroundings.  There was nothing
+pleasant to him in the present or future.  He felt humiliated, guilty,
+weary of life.  His self-respect was trampled under foot, love and
+happiness were forfeited, there was naught before him save a colorless,
+charmless future, full of bitterness and mental anguish.  Nothing seemed
+desirable save a speedy death.  At times the fair image of his home rose
+before his memory--but it vanished as soon as he recalled the
+burgomaster's dignified figure, his own miserable weakness and the
+repulse he had experienced.  He was full of fierce indignation against
+himself, and longed with passionate impatience for the clash of swords
+and roar of cannon, the savage struggle man to man.
+
+Time passed without his perceiving it, but a torturing desire for food
+began to torment the starving man.  There were plenty of turnips piled
+against the wall, and he eat one after another, until he experienced the
+feeling of satiety he had so long lacked.  Then he sat down on a
+kneading-trough and considered how he could best get to the Beggars.  He
+did not know his way, but woe betide those who ventured to oppose him.
+His arm and sword were good, and there were Spaniards enough at hand whom
+he could make feel the weight of both.  His impatience began to rise, and
+it seemed like a welcome diversion, when he heard steps approaching and a
+man's figure entered the house.  He had stationed himself by the wall
+with his sword between his folded arms, and now shouted a loud "halt" to
+the new-comer.
+
+The latter instantly drew his sword, and when Georg imperiously demanded
+what he wanted, replied in a boyish voice, but a proud, resolute tone:
+
+"I ask you that question!  I am in my father's house."
+
+"Indeed!"  replied the German smiling, for he had now recognized the
+speaker's figure by the dim light.  I Put up your sword.  If you are
+young Matanesse Van Wibisma, you have nothing to fear from me."
+
+"I am.  But what are you doing on our premises at night, sword in hand?"
+
+"I'm warming the wall to my own satisfaction, or, if you want to know the
+truth, mounting guard."
+
+"In our house?"
+
+"Yes, Junker.  There is some one up-stairs with your cousins, who
+wouldn't like to be surprised by the Spaniards.  Go up.  I know from
+Captain Van Duivenvoorde what a gallant young fellow you are."
+
+"From Herr von Warmond?"  asked Nicolas eagerly.  "Tell me!  what brings
+you here, and who are you?"
+
+"One who is fighting for your liberty, a German, Georg von Dornburg."
+
+"Oh, wait here, I entreat you.  I'll come back directly.  Do you know
+whether Fraulein Van Hoogstraten--"
+
+"Up there," replied Georg, pointing towards the ceiling.
+
+Nicolas sprang up the stairs in two or three bounds, called his cousin,
+and hastily told her that her father had had a severe fall from his horse
+while hunting, and was lying dangerously ill.  When Nicolas spoke of Anna
+he had at first burst into a furious passion, but afterwards voluntarily
+requested him to tell him about her, and attempted to leave his bed to
+accompany him.  He succeeded in doing so, but fell back fainting.  When
+his father came early the next morning, she might tell him that he,
+Nicolas, begged his forgiveness; he was about to do what he believed to
+be his duty.
+
+He evaded Henrica's questions, and merely hastily enquired about Anna's
+health and the Leyden citizen, whom Georg had mentioned.
+
+When he heard the name of the musician Wilhelm, he begged her to warn him
+to depart in good time, and if possible in his company, then bade her a
+hurried farewell and ran down-stairs.
+
+Wilhelm soon followed.  Henrica accompanied him to the stairs to see
+Georg once more, but as soon as she heard his voice, turned defiantly
+away and went back to her sister.
+
+The musician found Junker von Dornburg engaged in an eager conversation
+with Nicolas.
+
+"No, no, my boy," said the German cordially, "my way cannot be yours."
+
+"I am seventeen years old."
+
+"That's not it; you've just confronted me bravely, and you have a man's
+strength of will--but life ought still to bear flowers for you, if such
+is God's will--you are going forth to fight sword-in-hand to win a worthy
+destiny of peace and prosperity, for yourself and your native land, in
+freedom--but I, I--give me your hand and promise--"
+
+"My hand?  There it is; but I must refuse the promise.  With or without
+you--I shall go to the Beggars!"
+
+Georg gazed at the brave boy in delight, and asked gently:
+
+"Is your mother living?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Then come.  We shall probably both find what we seek with the Beggars."
+
+Nicolas clasped the hand Georg offered, but Wilhelm approached the
+Junker, saying:
+
+"I expected this from you, after what I saw at St. Peter's church and
+Quatgelat's tavern."
+
+"You first opened my eyes," replied Nicolas.  "Now come, we'll go
+directly through the camp; they all know me."
+
+In the road the boy pressed close to Georg, and in answer to his remark
+that he would be in a hard position towards his father, replied:
+
+"I know it, and it causes me such pain--such pain.--But I can't help it.
+I won't suffer the word 'traitor' to cling to our name."
+
+"Your cousin Matanesse, Herr von Riviere, is also devoted to the good
+cause."
+
+"But my father thinks differently.  He has the courage to expect good
+deeds from the Spaniards.  From the Spaniards!  I've learned to know them
+during the last few months.  A brave lad from Leyden, you knew him
+probably by his nickname, Lowing, which he really deserved, was captured
+by them in fair fight, and then--it makes me shudder even now when I
+think of it--they hung him up head downward, and tortured him to death.
+I was present, and not one word of theirs escaped my ears.  Such ought to
+be the fate of all Holland, country and people, that was what they
+wanted.  And remarks like these can be heard every day.  No abuse of us
+is too bad for them, and the King thinks like his soldiers.  Let some one
+else endure to be the slave of a master, who tortures and despises us!
+My holy religion is eternal and indestructible.  Even if it is hateful
+to many of the Beggars, that shall not trouble me--if only they will help
+break the Spanish chains."  Amid such conversation they walked through
+the Castilian camp, where all lay buried in sleep.  Then they reached
+that of the German troops, and here gay carousing was going on under many
+a tent.  At the end of the encampment a sutler and his wife were
+collecting together the wares that remained unsold.
+
+Wilhelm had walked silently behind the other two, for his heart was
+deeply stirred, joy and sorrow were striving for the mastery.  He felt
+intoxicated with lofty, pure emotions, but suddenly checked his steps
+before the sutler's stand and pointed to the pastry gradually
+disappearing in a chest.
+
+Hunger had become a serious, nay only too serious and mighty power, in
+the city beyond, and it was not at all surprising that Wilhelm approached
+the venders, and with sparkling eyes bought their last ham and as much
+bread as they had left.
+
+Nicolas laughed at the bundle he carried under his arm, but Georg said:
+
+"You haven't yet looked want in the face, Junker.  This bread is a remedy
+for the most terrible disease."  At the Hohenort Gate Georg ordered
+Captain von Warmond to be waked, and introduced Nicolas to him as a
+future Beggar.  The captain congratulated the boy and offered him money
+to supply himself in Delft with whatever he needed, and defray his
+expenses during the first few weeks; but Nicolas rejected his wealthy
+friend's offer, for a purse filled with gold coins hung at his girdle.
+A jeweller in the Hague had given them to him yesterday in payment for
+Fraulein Van Hoogstraten's emerald ring.
+
+Nicolas showed the captain his treasure, and then exclaimed:
+
+"Now forward, Junker von Dornburg, I  know where we shall find them; and
+you, Captain Van Duivenvoorde, tell the burgomaster and Janus Dousa what
+has become of me."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+A week had elapsed since Henrica's flight, and with it a series of days
+of severe privation.  Maria knew from the musician, that young Matanesse
+had accompanied Georg, and that the latter was on his way to the Beggars.
+This was the right plan.  The bubbling brook belonged to the wild,
+rushing, mighty river.  She wished him happiness, life and pleasure; but
+--strange--since the hour that she tore his verses, the remembrance of
+him had receded as far as in the day: before the approach of the
+Spaniards.  Nay, after her hard-won conquest of herself and his
+departure, a rare sense of happiness, amid all her cares and troubles,
+had taken possession of the young wife's heart.  She had been cruel to
+herself, and the inner light of the clear diamond first gleams forth with
+the right brilliancy, after it has endured the torture of polishing.  She
+now felt with joyous gratitude, that she could look Peter frankly in the
+eye, grant him love, and ask love in return.  He scarcely seemed to
+notice her and her management under the burden of his cares, but she
+felt, that many things she said and could do for him pleased him.  The
+young wife did not suffer specially from the long famine, while it caused
+Barbara pain and unstrung her vigorous frame.  Amid so much suffering,
+she often sunk into despair before the cold hearth and empty pots, and no
+longer thought it worth while to plait her large cap and ruffs.  It was
+now Maria's turn to speak words of comfort, and remind her of her son,
+the Beggar captain, who would soon enter Leyden.
+
+On the sixth of September the burgomaster's wife was returning home from
+an early walk.  Autumn mists darkened the air, and the sea-breeze drove a
+fine, drizzling spray through the streets.  The dripping trees had long
+since been robbed of their leaves, not by wind and storm, but by children
+and adults, who had carried the caterpillars' food to their kitchens as
+precious vegetables.
+
+At the Schagensteg Maria saw Adrian, and overtook him.  The boy was
+sauntering idly along, counting aloud.  The burgomaster's wife called to
+him, and asked why he was not at school and what he was doing there.
+
+"I'm counting," was the reply.  "Now there are nine."
+
+"Nine?"
+
+"I've met nine dead bodies so far; the rector sent us home.  Master Dirks
+is dead, and there were only thirteen of us to-day.  There are some
+people bringing another one."
+
+Maria drew her kerchief tighter and walked on.  At her left hand stood a
+tall, narrow house, in which lived a cobbler, a jovial man, over whose
+door were two inscriptions.  One ran as follows:
+
+              "Here are shoes for sale,
+               Round above and flat below;
+               If David's foot they will not fit,
+               Goliath's sure they'll suit, I know."
+
+The other was:
+
+              "When through the desert roved the Jews,
+               Their shoes for forty years they wore,
+               Were the same custom now in use,
+               'Prentice would ne'er seek cobbler's door."
+
+On the ridge of the lofty house was the stork's nest, now empty.  The
+red-billed guests did not usually set out on their journey to the south
+so early, and some were still in Leyden, standing on the roofs as if lost
+in thought.  What could have become of the cobbler's beloved lodgers?  At
+noon the day before, their host, who in March usually fastened the luck-
+bringing nest firmly with his own hands, had stolen up to the roof, and
+with his cross-bow shot first the little wife and then the husband.  It
+was a hard task, and his wife sat weeping in the kitchen while the evil
+deed was done, but whoever is tormented by the fierce pangs of hunger and
+sees his clear ones dying of want, doesn't think of old affection and
+future good fortune, but seeks deliverance at the present time.
+
+The storks had been sacrificed too late, for the cobbler's son, his
+growing apprentice, had closed his eyes the night before for his eternal
+sleep.  Loud lamentations reached Maria's ear from the open door of the
+shop, and Adrian said: "Jacob is dead, and Mabel is very sick.  This
+morning their father cursed me on father's account, saying it was his
+fault that everything was going to destruction.  Will there be no bread
+again to-day, mother?  Barbara has some biscuit, and I feel so sick.  I
+can't swallow the everlasting meal any longer."
+
+"Perhaps there will be a slice.  We must save the baked food, child."
+
+In the entry of her house Maria found a man-servant, clad in black.  He
+had come to announce the death of Commissioner Dietrich Van Bronkhorst.
+The plague had ended the strong man's life on the evening of the day
+before, Sunday.
+
+Maria already knew of this heavy loss, which threw the whole
+responsibility of everything, that now happened, upon her husband's
+shoulders.  She had also learned that a letter had been received from
+Valdez, in which he had pledged his word of honor as a nobleman, to
+spare the city, if it would surrender itself to the king's "mercy," and
+especially to grant Burgomaster Van der Werff, Herr Van der Does, and the
+other supporters of the rebellion, free passage through the Spanish
+lines.  The Castilians would retire and Leyden should be garrisoned only
+by a few German troops.  He invited Van der Werff and Herr von Nordwyk to
+come to Leyderdorp as ambassadors, and in any case, even if the
+negotiations failed, agreed to send them home uninjured under a safe
+escort.  Maria knew that her husband had appointed that day for a great
+assembly of the council, the magistrates, and all the principal men in
+the city, as well as the captains of the city-guard--but not a word of
+all this had reached her ears from Peter.  She had heard the news from
+Frail Van Hout and the wives of other citizens.
+
+During the last few days a great change had taken place in her husband.
+He went out and returned with a pallid, gloomy face.  Taciturn and
+wasting away with anxiety, he withdrew from the members of his family
+even when at home, repelling his wife curtly and impatiently when,
+yielding to the impulse of her heart, she approached him with encouraging
+words.  Night brought him no sleep, and he left his couch before morning
+dawned, to pace restlessly to and fro, or gaze at Bessie, who to him
+alone still tried to show recognition by a faint smile.
+
+When Maria returned home, she instantly went to the child and found
+Doctor Bontius with her.  The physician shook his head at her appearance,
+and said the delicate little creature's life would soon be over.  Her
+stomach had been injured during the first months of want; now it refused
+to do its office, and to hope for recovery would be folly.
+
+"She must live, she must not die!"  cried Maria, frantic with grief and
+yet fall of hope, like a true mother, who cannot grasp the thought that
+she is condemned to lose her child, even when the little heart is already
+ceasing to beat and the bright eyes are growing dim and closing.
+"Bessie, Bessie, look at me!  Bessie, take this nice milk.  Only a few
+drops!  Bessie, Bessie, you must not die."
+
+Peter had entered the room unobserved and heard the last words.  Holding
+his breath, he gazed down at his darling, his broad shoulders shook, and
+in a stifled, faltering voice he asked the physician: "Must she die?"
+
+"Yes, old friend; I think so!  Hold up your head!  You have much still
+left you.  All five of Van Loo's children have died of the plague."
+
+Peter shuddered, and without taking any notice of Maria, passed from the
+room with drooping head.  Bontius followed him into his study, laid his
+hand on his arm, and said:
+
+"Our little remnant of life is made bitter to us, Peter.  Barbara says a
+corpse was laid before your door early this morning."
+
+"Yes.  When I went out, the livid face offered me a morning greeting.
+It was a young person.  All whom death mows down, the people lay to my
+charge.  Wherever one looks--corpses!  Whatever one hears--curses!  Have
+I authority over so many lives?  Day and night nothing but sorrow and
+death before my eyes;--and yet, yet, yet--oh God! save me from madness!"
+
+Peter clasped both hands over his brow; but Bontius found no word of
+comfort, and merely exclaimed: "And I, and I?  My wife and child ill with
+a fever, day and night on my feet, not to cure, but to see people die.
+What has been learned by hard study becomes childish folly in these days,
+and yet the poor creatures utter a sigh of hope when I feel their pulses.
+But this can't go on, this can't go on.  Day before yesterday seventy,
+yesterday eighty-six deaths, and among them two of my colleagues."
+
+"And no prospect of improvement?"
+
+"To-morrow the ninety will become a hundred--the one hundred will become
+two, three, four, five, until at last one individual will be left, for
+whom there will be no grave-digger."
+
+"The pest-houses are closed, and we still have cattle and horses."
+
+"But the pestilence creeps through the joints, and since the last loaf of
+bread and the last malt-cake have been divided, and there is nothing for
+the people to eat except meat, meat, and nothing else--one tiny piece
+for the whole day--disease is piled on disease in forms utterly
+unprecedented, of which no book speaks, for which no remedy has yet been
+discovered.  This drawing water with a bottomless pitcher is beginning to
+be too much for me.  My brain is no stronger than yours.  Farewell until
+to-morrow."
+
+"To-day, to-day!  You are coming to the meeting at the town-hall?"
+
+"Certainly not!  Do what you can justify; I shall practise my profession,
+which now means the same thing as saying: 'I shall continue to close eyes
+and hold coroner's inquests.'  If things go on so, there will soon be an
+end to practice."
+
+"Once for all: if you were in my place, you would treat with Valdez?"
+
+"In your place?  I am not you; I am a physician, one who has nothing to
+do except to take the field against suffering and death.  You, since
+Bronkhorst's death, are the providence of the city.  Supply a bit of
+bread, if only as large as my hand, in addition to the meat, or--I love
+my native land and liberty as well as any one--or--"
+
+"Or?"
+
+"Or--leave Death to reap his harvest, you are no physician."
+
+Bontius bade his friend farewell and left him, but Peter thrust his hand
+through his hair and stood gazing out of the window, until Barbara
+entered, laid his official costume on a chair and asked with feigned
+carelessness:
+
+"May I give Adrian some of the last biscuit?  Meat is repulsive to him.
+He's lying on the bed, writhing in pain."
+
+Peter turned pale, and said in a hollow tone: "Give it to him and call
+the doctor.  Maria and Bontius are already with him."  The burgomaster
+changed his clothing, feeling a thrill of fierce indignation against
+every article he put on.  To-day the superb costume was as hateful to him
+as the office, which gave him the right to wear it, and which, until a
+few weeks ago, he had occupied with a joyous sense of confidence in
+himself.
+
+Before leaving the house, he sought Adrian.  The boy was lying in
+Barbara's room, complaining of violent pains, and asking if he must
+die too.
+
+Peter shook his head, but Maria kissed him, exclaiming:
+
+"No, certainly not."
+
+The burgomaster's time was limited.  His wife stopped him in the entry,
+but he hurried down-stairs without hearing what she called after him.
+
+The young wife returned to Adrian's bedside, thinking anxiously of the
+speedy death of many comrades of the dear boy, whose damp hand rested in
+hers.  She thought of Bessie, followed Peter in imagination to the town-
+hall, and heard his powerful voice contending for resistance to the last
+man and the last pound of meat; nay, she could place herself by his side,
+for she knew what was to come: To stand fast, stand fast for liberty, and
+if God so willed, die a martyr's death for it like Jacoba, Leonhard, and
+Peter's noble father.
+
+One anxious hour followed another.
+
+When Adrian began to feel better, she went to Bessie, who pale and
+inanimate, seemed to be gently fading away, and only now and then raised
+her little finger to play with her dry lips.
+
+Oh, the pretty, withering human flower!  How closely the little girl had
+grown into her heart, how impossible it seemed to give her up!  With
+tearful eyes, she pressed her forehead on her clasped hands, which rested
+on the head-board of the little bed, and fervently implored God to spare
+and save this child.  Again and again she repeated the prayer, but when
+Bessie's dim eyes no longer met hers and her hands fell into her lap, she
+could not help thinking of Peter, the assembly, the fate of the city, and
+the words: "Leyden saved, Holland saved!  Leyden lost, all is lost!"
+
+So the hours passed until the gloomy day were away into twilight, and
+twilight was followed by evening.  Trautchen brought in the lamp, and at
+last Peter's step was heard on the stairs.
+
+It must be he, and yet it was not, for he never came up with such slow
+and dragging feet.
+
+Then the study door opened.
+
+It was he!
+
+What could have happened, what had the citizens determined?
+
+With an anxious heart, she told Trautchen to stay with the child, and
+then went to her husband.
+
+Peter sat at the writing-table in full official uniform, with his hat
+still on his head.  His face lay buried on his folded arms, beside the
+sconce.
+
+He saw nothing, heard nothing, and when she at last called him, started,
+sprang up and flung his hat violently on the table.  His hair was
+dishevelled, his glance restless, and in the faint light of the
+glimmering candles his cheeks looked deadly pale.
+
+"What do you want?"  he asked curtly, in a harsh voice; but for a time
+Maria made no reply, fear paralyzed her tongue.
+
+At last she found words, and deep anxiety was apparent in her question:
+
+"What has happened?"
+
+"The beginning of the end," he answered in a hollow tone.
+
+"They have out-voted you?"  cried the young wife.  "Baersdorp and the
+other cowards want to negotiate?"
+
+Peter drew himself up to his full height, and exclaimed in a loud,
+threatening tone:
+
+"Guard your tongue!  He who remains steadfast until his children die
+and corpses bar the way in front of his own house, he who bears the
+responsibility of a thousand deaths, endures curses and imprecations
+through long weeks, and has vainly hoped for deliverance during more
+than a third of a year--he who, wherever he looks, sees nothing save
+unprecedented, constantly increasing misery and then no longer repels the
+saving hand of the foe--"
+
+"Is a coward, a traitor, who breaks the sacred oath he has sworn."
+
+"Maria," cried Peter angrily, approaching with a threatening gesture.
+
+She drew her slender figure up to its full height and with quickened
+breath awaited him, pointing her finger at him, as she exclaimed with a
+sharp tone perceptible through the slight tremor in her voice:
+
+"You, you have voted with the Baersdorps, you, Peter Van der Werff!
+You have done this thing, you, the friend of the Prince, the shield and
+providence of this brave city, you, the man who received the oaths of the
+citizens, the martyr's son, the servant of liberty--"
+
+"No more!"  he interrupted, trembling with shame and rage.  "Do you know
+what it is to bear the guilt of this most terrible suffering before God
+and men?"
+
+"Yes, yes, thrice yes; it is laying one's heart on the rack, to save
+Holland and liberty.  That is what it means!  Oh, God, my God!  You are
+lost!  You intend to negotiate with Valdez!"
+
+"And suppose I do?"  asked the burgomaster, with an angry gesture.
+
+Maria looked him sternly in the eye, and exclaimed in a loud, resolute
+tone:
+
+"Then it will be my turn to say: Go to Delft; we need different men
+here."
+
+The burgomaster turned pale and bent his eyes on the floor, while she
+fearlessly confronted him with a steady glance.
+
+The light fell full upon her glowing face, and when Peter again raised
+his eyes, it seemed as if the same Maria stood before him, who as a bride
+had vowed to share trouble and peril with him, remain steadfast in the
+struggle for liberty to the end; he felt that his "child" Maria had grown
+to his own height and above him, recognized for the first time in the
+proud woman before him his companion in conflict, his high-hearted helper
+in distress and danger.  An overmastering yearning, mightier than any
+emotion ever experienced before, surged through his soul, impelled him
+towards her, and found utterance in the words:
+
+"Maria, Maria, my wife, my guardian angel!  We have written to Valdez,
+but there is still time,--nothing binds me yet, and with you, with you
+I will stand firm to the end."
+
+Then, in the midst of these days of woe, she threw herself on his breast,
+crying aloud in the abundance of this new, unexpected, unutterable
+happiness:
+
+"With you, one with you--forever, unto death, in conflict and in love!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+Peter felt animated with new life.  A fresh store of courage and
+enthusiasm filled his breast, for he constantly received a new supply
+from the stout-hearted woman by his side.
+
+Under the pressure of the terrible responsibility he endured, and urged
+by his fellow-magistrates, he had consented, at the meeting of the
+council, to write to Valdez and ask him to give free passage to
+embassadors, who were to entreat the estates and the Prince of Orange
+to release the tortured city from her oath.
+
+Valdez made every effort to induce the burgomaster to enter into farther
+negotiations, but the latter remained firm, and no petition for release
+from the sacred duty of resistance left the city.  The two Van der Does,
+Van Hout, Junker von Warmond, and other resolute men, who had already, in
+the great assembly, denounced any intercourse with the enemy, now
+valiantly supported him against his fellow-magistrates and the council,
+that with the exception of seven of its members, persistently and
+vehemently urged the commencement of negotiations.
+
+Adrian rapidly recovered, but Doctor Bontius's prediction was terribly
+fulfilled, for famine and pestilence vied with each other in horrible
+fury, and destroyed almost half of all the inhabitants of the flourishing
+city.  Intense was the gloom, dark the sky, yet even amidst the cruel woe
+there was many an hour in which bright sunshine illumined souls, and hope
+unfurled her green banner.  The citizens of Leyden rose from their
+couches more joyously, than a bride roused by the singing of her
+companions on her wedding-day, when on the morning of September eleventh
+loud and long-continued cannonading was heard from the distance, and the
+sky became suffused with a crimson glow.  The villages southwest of the
+city were burning.  Every house, every barn that sunk into ashes, burying
+the property of honest men, was a bonfire to the despairing citizens.
+
+The Beggars were approaching!
+
+Yonder, where the cannon thundered and the horizon glowed, lay the Land-
+scheiding, the bulwark which for centuries had guarded the plains
+surrounding Leyden from the assaults of the waves, and now barred the way
+of the fleet bringing assistance.
+
+"Fall, protecting walls, rise, tempest, swallow thy prey, raging sea,
+destroy the property of the husbandman, ruin our fields and meadows, but
+drown the foe or drive him hence."  So sang Janus Dousa, so rang a voice
+in Peter's soul, so prayed Maria, and with her thousands of men and
+women.
+
+But the glow in the horizon died away, the firing ceased.  A second day
+elapsed, a third and fourth, but no messenger arrived, no Beggar ship
+appeared, and the sea seemed to be calm; but another terrible power
+increased, moving with mysterious, stealthy, irresistible might; Death,
+with his pale companions, Despair and Famine.
+
+The dead were borne secretly to their graves under cover of the darkness
+of night, to save their scanty ration for the survivors, in the division
+of food.  The angel of death flew from house to house, touched pretty
+little Bessie's heart, and kissed her closed eyes while she slumbered
+in the quiet night.
+
+The faint-hearted and the Spanish sympathizers raised their heads and
+assembled in bands, one of which forced a passage into the council-
+chamber and demanded bread.  But not a crumb remained, and the
+magistrates had nothing more to distribute except a small portion of cow
+and horse-flesh, and boiled and salted hides.
+
+During this period of the sorest distress, Van der Werff was passing down
+the "broad street."  He did not notice that a throng of desperate men and
+women were pursuing him with threats; but as he turned to enter Van
+Hout's house, suddenly found himself surrounded.  A pallid woman, with
+her dying child in her arms, threw herself before him, held out the
+expiring infant, and cried in hollow tones: "Let this be enough, let this
+be enough--see here, see this; it is the third.  Let this be enough!"
+
+"Enough, enough!  Bread, bread!  Give us bread!"  was shrieked and
+shouted around him, and threatening weapons and stones were raised; but a
+carpenter, whom he knew, and who had hitherto faithfully upheld the good
+cause, advanced saying in measured accents, in his deep voice: "This can
+go on no longer.  We have patiently borne hunger and distress in fighting
+against the Spaniards and for our Bible, but to struggle against certain
+death is madness."
+
+Peter, pale and agitated, gazed at the mother, the child, the sturdy
+workman and the threatening, shrieking mob.  The common distress, which
+afflicted them and so many starving people, oppressed his soul with a
+thousand-fold greater power.  He would fain have drawn them all to his
+heart, as brothers in misfortune, companions of a future, worthier
+existence.  With deep emotion, he looked from one to the other, then
+pressed his hand upon his breast and called to the crowd, which thronged
+around him:
+
+"Here I stand.  I have sworn to faithfully endure to the end; and you did
+so with me.  I will not break my oath, but I can die.  If my life will
+serve you, here I am!  I have no bread, but here, here is my body.  Take
+it, lay hands on me, tear me to pieces.  Here I stand, here I stand.
+I will keep my oath."
+
+The carpenter bent his head, and said in a hollow tone: "Come, people,
+let God's will be done; we have sworn."
+
+The burgomaster quietly entered his friend's house.  Fran Van Hout had
+seen and heard all this, and on the very same day told the story to
+Maria, her eyes sparkling brightly as she exclaimed: "Never did I see any
+man so noble as he was in that hour!  It is well for us, that he rules
+within these walls.  Never will our children and children's children
+forget this deed."
+
+They have treasured it in their memories, and during the night succeeding
+the day on which the burgomaster acted so manly a part, a letter arrived
+from the Prince, full of joyous and encouraging news.  The noble man had
+recovered, and was striving with all his power to rescue brave Leyden.
+The Beggars had cut the Landscheiding, their vessels were pressing
+onward--help was approaching, and the faithful citizen who brought the
+letter, had seen with his own eyes the fleet bringing relief and the
+champions of freedom, glowing with martial ardor.  The two Van der Does,
+by the same letter, were appointed the Prince's commissioners in place of
+the late Herr Van Bronkhorst.  Van der Werff no longer stood alone, and
+when the next morning "Father William's" letter was read aloud and the
+messenger's news spread abroad, the courage and confidence of the
+tortured citizens rose like withering grass after a refreshing rain.
+
+But they were still condemned to long weeks of anxiety and suffering.
+
+During the last days of September they were forced to slaughter the cows
+hitherto spared for the infants and young mothers, and then, then?
+
+Help was close at hand, for the sky often reddened, and the air was
+shaken by the roar of distant cannon; but the east wind continued to
+prevail, driving back the water let in upon the land, and the vessels
+needed a rising flood to approach the city.
+
+Not one of all the messengers, who had been sent out, returned; there was
+nothing certain, save the cruelly increasing unendurable suffering.  Even
+Barbara had succumbed, and complained of weakness and loathing of the
+ordinary food.
+
+Maria thought of the roast-pigeon, which had agreed with Bessie so well,
+and went to the musician, to ask if he could sacrifice another of his
+pets for her sister-in-law.
+
+Wilhelm's mother received the burgomaster's wife.  The old lady was
+sitting wearily in an arm-chair; she could still walk, but amid her
+anxiety and distress a strange twitching had affected her hands.  When
+Maria made her request, she shook her head, saying: "Ask him yourself.
+He's obliged to keep the little creatures shut up, for whenever they
+appear, the poor starving people shoot at them.  There are only three
+left.  The messengers took the others, and they haven't returned.
+
+"Thank God for it; the little food he still has, will do more good in
+dishes, than in their crops.  Would you believe it?  A fortnight ago he
+paid fifty florins out of his savings for half a sack of peas, and Heaven
+knows where he found them.  Ulrich, Ulrich!  Take Frau Van der Werff up
+to Wilhelm.  I'd willingly spare you the climb, but he's watching for the
+carrier-pigeons that have been sent out, and won't even come down to his
+meals.  To be sure, they would hardly be worth the trouble!"
+
+It was a clear, sunny day.  Wilhelm was standing in his look-out, gazing
+over the green, watery plain, that lay out-spread below him, towards the
+south.  Behind him sat Andreas, the fencing-master's fatherless boy;
+writing notes, but his attention was not fixed on his work; for as soon
+as he had finished a line he too gazed towards the horizon, watching for
+the pigeon his teacher expected.  He did not look particularly emaciated,
+for many a grain of the doves' food had been secretly added to his scanty
+ration of meat.
+
+Wilhelm showed that he felt both surprised and honored by Frau Van der
+Werff's visit, and even promised to grant her request, though it was
+evident that the "saying yes" was by no means easy for him.
+
+The young wife went out on the balcony with him, and he showed her in
+the south, where usually nothing but a green plain met the eye, a wide
+expanse over which a light mist was hovering.  The noon sun seemed to
+steep the white vapor with light, and lure it upward by its ardent rays.
+This was the water streaming through the broken dyke, and the black
+oblong specks moving along its edges were the Spanish troops and herds of
+cattle, that had retreated before the advancing flood from the outer
+fortifications, villages and hamlets.  The Land-scheiding itself was not
+visible, but the Beggars had already passed it.  If the fleet succeeded
+in reaching the Zoetermere Lake and from thence.
+
+Wilhelm suddenly interrupted his explanation, for Andreas had suddenly
+started up, upsetting his stool, and exclaimed:
+
+"It's coming!  The dove!  Roland, my fore man, there it comes!"
+
+For the first time Wilhelm heard the boy's lips utter his father's
+exclamation.  Some great emotion must have stirred his heart, and in
+truth he was not mistaken; the speck piercing the air, which his keen eye
+had discovered, was no longer a mere spot, but an oblong something--a
+bird, the pigeon!
+
+Wilhelm seized the flag on the balcony, and waved it as joyously as ever
+conqueror unfurled his banner after a hard-won fight.  The dove came
+nearer--alighted, slipped into the cote, and a few minutes after the
+musician appeared with a tiny letter.
+
+"To the magistrates!"  cried Wilhelm.  "Take it to your husband at once.
+Oh! dear lady, dear lady, finish what the dove has begun.  Thank God!
+thank God!  they are already at North-Aa.  This will save the poor
+people from despair!  And now one thing more!  You shall have the roasted
+bird, but take this grain too; a barley-porridge is the best medicine for
+Barbara's condition; I've tried it!"
+
+When evening came, and the musician had told his parents the joyful news,
+he ordered the blue dove with the white breast to be caught.  "Kill it
+outside the house," said he, "I can't bear to see it."
+
+Andreas soon came back with the beheaded pigeon.
+
+His lips were bloody, Wilhelm knew from what, yet he did not reprove the
+hungry boy, but merely said:
+
+"Fie, you pole-cat!"
+
+Early the next morning a second dove returned.  The letters the winged
+messengers had brought were read aloud from the windows of the town-hall,
+and the courage of the populace, pressed to the extremest limits of
+endurance, flickered up anew and helped them bear their misery.  One of
+the letters were addressed to the magistrates, the other to Janus Dousa;
+they sounded confident and hopeful, and the Prince, the faithful shield
+of liberty, the friend and guide of the people, had recovered from his
+sickness and visited the vessels and troops intended for the relief of
+Leyden.  Rescue was so near, but the north-east wind would not change,
+and the water did not rise.  Great numbers of citizens, soldiers,
+magistrates and women stood on the citadel and other elevated places,
+gazing into the distance.
+
+A thousand hands were clasped in fervent prayer, and the eyes of all were
+turned in feverish expectation and eager yearning towards the south, but
+the boundary line of the waves did not move; and the sun, as if in
+mockery, burst cheerily through the mists of the autumn morning, imparted
+a pleasant warmth to the keen air, and in the evening sank towards the
+west in the midst of radiant light, diffusing its golden rays far and
+wide.  The cloudless blue sky arched pitilessly over the city, and at
+night glittered with thousands of twinkling stars.  Early on the morning
+of the twenty-ninth the mists grew denser, the grass remained dry, the
+fogs lifted, the cool air changed to a sultry atmosphere, the grey clouds
+piled in masses on each other, and grew black and threatening.  A light
+breeze rose, stirring the leafless branches of the trees, then a sudden
+gust of wind swept over the heads of the throngs watching the distant
+horizon.  A second and third followed, then a howling tempest roared and
+hissed without cessation through the city, wrenching tiles from the
+roofs, twisting the fruit-trees in the gardens and the young elms and
+lindens in many a street, tearing away the flags the boys had fastened on
+the walls in defiance of the Spaniards, lashing the still waters of the
+city moat and quiet canals, and--the Lord does not abandon His own--and
+the vanes turned, the storm came from the north-west.  No one saw the
+result, but the sailors shouted the tidings, and each individual caught
+up the words and bore them exultantly on--the hurricane drove the sea
+into the mouth of the Meuse, forcing back the waves of the river by its
+fierce assault, driving them over its banks through the gaps opened in
+the dykes, and the gates of the sluices, and bearing forward on their
+towering crests the vessels bringing deliverance.
+
+Roar, roar, thou storm, stream, stream, rushing rain, rage, waves, and
+destroy the meadows, swallow up houses and villages!  Thousands and
+thousands of people on the walls and towers of Leyden hail your approach,
+behold in you the terrible armies of the avenging God, exult and shout a
+joyous welcome!
+
+For two successive days the burgomaster, Maria and Adrian, the Van der
+Does and Van Houts stood with brief intervals of rest among the throng on
+the citadel or the tower at the Cow-Gate; even Barbara, far more
+strengthened by hope than by the barley-porridge or the lean carrier-
+pigeon, would not stay at home, but dragged herself to the musician's
+look-out, for every one wanted to see the rising water, the earth
+softening, the moisture creeping between the blades of grass, then
+spreading into pools and ponds, until at last there was a wide expanse of
+water, on which bubbles rose, burst under the descending rain, and formed
+ever-widening circles.  Every one wanted to watch the Spaniards, hurrying
+hither and thither like sheep pursued by a wolf.  Every one wanted to
+hear the thunder of the Beggars' cannon, the rattle of their arquebuses
+and muskets; men and women thought the tempest that threatened to sweep
+them away, pleasanter than the softest breeze, and the pouring rain,
+which drenched them, preferable to spring dew-drops mirroring the
+sunshine.
+
+Behind the strong fort of Lammen, defended by several hundred Spanish
+soldiers, and the Castle of Cronenstein, a keen eye could distinguish the
+Beggars' vessels.
+
+During Thursday and Friday Wilhelm watched in vain for a dove, but on
+Saturday his best flier returned, bringing a letter from Admiral Boisot,
+who called upon the armed forces of the city to sally out on Friday and
+attack Lammen.
+
+The storm had blown the pigeon away.  It had reached the city too late,
+but on Saturday evening Janus Dousa and Captain Van der Laen were
+actively engaged, summoning every one capable of bearing arms to appear
+early Sunday morning.  Poor, pale, emaciated troops were those who obeyed
+the leaders' call, but not a man was absent and each stood ready to give
+his life for the deliverance of the city and his family.
+
+The tempest had moderated, the firing had ceased, and the night was dark
+and sultry.  No eyes wished to sleep, and those whose slumber overpowered
+for a short time, were startled and terrified by strange, mysterious
+noises.  Wilhelm sat in his look-out, gazing towards the south and
+listening intently.  Sometimes a light gust of wind whistled around the
+lofty house, sometimes a shout, a scream, or the blast of a trumpet
+echoed through the stillness of the night; then a crashing noise, as if
+an earthquake had shaken part of the city to its foundations, arose near
+the Cow-Gate.  Not a star was visible in the sky, but bright spots, like
+will-o'-the-wisps, moved through the dense gloom in regular order near
+Lanimen.  It was a horrible, anxious night.
+
+Early next morning the citizens saw that a part of the city-wall near the
+Cow-Gate had fallen, and then unexampled rejoicing arose at the breach,
+no longer dangerous; exultant cries echoed through every street and
+alley, drawing from the houses men and women, grey-beards and children,
+the sick and the well, one after another thronging to the Cow-Gate, where
+the Beggars' fleet was seen approaching.  The city-carpenter, Thomassohn,
+and other men, tore out of the water the posts by which the Spaniards had
+attempted to bar the vessels' advance, then the first ship, followed by a
+second and third, arrived at the walls.  Stern, bearded men, with fierce,
+scarred, weather-beaten faces, whose cheeks for years had been touched by
+no salt moisture, save the sea-spray, smiled kindly at the citizens,
+flung them one loaf of bread after another, and many other good things of
+which they had long been deprived, weeping and sobbing with emotion like
+children, while the poor people eat and eat, unable to utter a word of
+thanks.  Then the leaders came, Admiral Boisot embraced the Van der Does
+and Burgomaster Van der Werff, the Beggar captain Van Duijkenburg was
+clasped in the arms of his mother, Barbara, and many a Leyden man hugged
+a liberator, on whom his eyes now rested for the first time.  Many, many
+tears fell, thousands of hearts overflowed, and the Sunday bells,
+sounding so much clearer and gayer than usual, summoned rescuers and
+rescued to the churches to pray.  The spacious sanctuary was too small
+for the worshippers, and when the pastor, Corneliussohn, who filled the
+place of the good Verstroot, now ill from caring for so many sufferers,
+called upon the congregation to give thanks, his exhortation had long
+since been anticipated; from the first notes of the organ, the thousands
+who poured into the church had been filled with the same eager longing,
+to utter thanks, thanks, fervent thanks.
+
+In the Grey Sisters' chapel Father Damianus also thanked the Lord, and
+with him Nicolas Van Wibisma and other Catholics, who loved their native
+land and liberty.
+
+After church Adrian, holding a piece of bread in one hand and his shoes
+in the other, waded at the head of his school-mates through the higher
+meadows to Leyderdorp, to see the Spaniards' deserted camp.  There stood
+the superb tent of General Valdez, in which, over the bed, hung a map of
+the Rhine country, drawn by the Netherlander Beeldsnijder to injure his
+own nation.  The boys looked at it, and a Beggar, who had formerly been
+in a writing-school and now looked like a sea-bear, said:
+
+"Look here, my lads.  There is the Land-scheiding.
+
+"We first pierced that, but more was to be done.  The green path had many
+obstacles, and here at the third dyke--they call it the Front-way--there
+were hard nuts to crack, and farther progress was impossible.  We now 45
+returned, made a wide circuit across the Segwaertway, and through this
+canal here, where there was hard fighting, to North-Aa.  The Zoetermeer
+Lake now lay behind us, but the water became too shallow and we could get
+no farther.  Have you seen the great Ark of Delft?  It's a huge vessel,
+moved by wheels, by which the water is thrust aside.  You'll be delighted
+with it.  At last the Lord gave us the storm and the spring-tide.  Then
+the vessels had the right depth of water.  There was warm work again at
+the Kirk-way, but the day before yesterday we reached Lammen.  Many a
+brave man has fallen on both sides, but at Lammen every one expected the
+worst struggle to take place.  We were going to attack it early this
+morning, but when day dawned everything was unnaturally quiet in the den,
+and moreover, a strange stillness prevailed.  Then we thought: Leyden has
+surrendered; starvation conquered her.  But it was nothing of the sort!
+You are people of the right stamp, and soon after a lad about as large as
+one of you, came to our vessel and told us he had seen a long procession
+of lights move out of the fort during the night and march away.  At first
+we wouldn't believe him, but the boy was right.  The water had grown too
+hot for the crabs, and the lights the lad saw were the Spaniards' lunts.
+Look, children, there is Lammen--"
+
+Adrian had gone close to the map with his companions and now interrupted
+the Beggar by laughing loudly.
+
+"What is it, curly-head?"  asked the latter.
+
+Look, look!"  cried the boy, "the great General Valdez has immortalized
+himself here, and there is his name too.  Listen, listen!  The rector
+would hang a placard with the word donkey round his neck, for he has
+written: "Castelli parvi!  Vale civitas, valete castelli parvi; relicti
+estis propter aquam et non per vim inimicorum!'  Oh! the donkey 'Castelli
+parvi!'"
+
+"What does it mean?"  asked the Beggar.
+
+"Farewell, Leyden, farewell, ye little 'Castelli;' ye are abandoned
+on account of the waves, and not of the power of the enemy.
+'Parvi Castelli!' I must tell mother that!"
+
+On Monday, William of Orange entered Leyden, and went to Herr von
+Montfort's house.  The people received their Father William with joy, and
+the unwearied champion of liberty, in the midst of the exultation and
+rejoicing that surrounded him, labored for the future prosperity of the
+city.  At a later period he rewarded the faithful endurance of the people
+with a peerless memorial: the University of Leyden.  This awakened and
+kept alive in the busy city and the country bleeding for years in severe
+conflicts, that lofty aspiration and effort, which is its own reward,
+and places eternal welfare far above mere temporal prosperity.  The tree,
+whose seed was planted amid the deepest misery, conflict and calamity,
+has borne the noblest fruits for humanity, still bears them, and if it is
+the will of God will continue to bear them for centuries.
+
+                    .......................
+
+On the twenty-sixth of July, 1581, seven years after the rescue of
+Leyden, Holland and Zealand, whose political independence had already
+been established for six years, proclaimed themselves at the Hague free
+from Spain.  Hitherto, William of Orange had ruled as King Philip's
+"stadtholder," and even the war against the monarch had been carried on
+in his name.  Nay, the document establishing the University, a paper,
+which with all the earnestness that dictated it, deserves to be called
+an unsurpassed masterpiece of the subtlest political irony, purported
+to issue from King Philip's mouth, and it sounds amusing enough to read
+in this paper, that the gloomy dunce in the Escurial, after mature
+deliberation with his dear and faithful cousin, William of Orange,
+has determined to found a freeschool and university, from motives,
+which could not fail to seem abominable to the King.
+
+On the twenty-fourth of July this game ceased, allegiance to Philip was
+renounced, and the Prince assumed sovereign authority.
+
+Three days after, these joyful events were celebrated by a splendid
+banquet at Herr Van der Werff's house.  The windows of the dining-room
+were thrown wide open, and the fresh breeze of the summer night fanned
+the brows of the guests, who had assembled around the burgomaster's
+table.  They were the most intimate friends of the family: Janus Dousa,
+Van Hout, the learned Doctor Grotius of Delft, who to Maria's delight had
+been invited to Leyden as a professor, and this very year filled the
+office of President of the new University, the learned tavern-keeper
+Aquarius, Doctor Bontius, now professor of medicine at the University,
+and many others.
+
+The musician Wilhelm was also present, but no longer alone; beside him
+sat his beautiful, delicate wife, Anna d'Avila, with whom he had recently
+returned from Italy.  He had borne for several years the name of Van
+Duivenbode (messenger-dove), which the city had bestowed on him, together
+with a coat of arms bearing three blue doves on a silver field and two
+crossed keys.
+
+With the Prince's consent the legacies bequeathed by old Fraulein Van
+Hoogstraten to her relatives and servants, had been paid, and Wilhelm now
+occupied with his wife a beautiful new house, that did not lack a
+dovecote, and where Maria, though her four children gave her little time,
+took part in many a madrigal.  The musician had much to say about Rome
+and his beautiful sister-in-law Henrica, to Adrian, now a fine young man,
+who had graduated at the University and was soon to be admitted to the
+council.  Belotti, after the death of the young girl's father, who had
+seen and blessed Anna again, went to Italy with her, where she lived as
+superior of a secular institution, where music was cultivated with
+special devotion.
+
+Barbara did not appear among the guests.  She had plenty to do in the
+kitchen.  Her white caps were now plaited with almost coquettish skill
+and care, and the firm, contented manner in which she ruled Trautchen and
+the two under maid-servants showed that everything was going on well in
+Peter's house and business.  It was worth while to do a great deal for
+the guests upstairs.  Junker von Warmond was among them, and had been
+given the seat of honor between Doctor Grotius and Janus Dousa, the first
+trustee of the University, for he had become a great nobleman and
+influential statesman, who found much difficulty in getting time to leave
+the Hague and attend the banquet with his young assistant, Nicolas Van
+Wibisma.  He drank to Meister Aquanus as eagerly and gaily as ever,
+exclaiming:
+
+"To old times and our friend, Georg von Dornburg."
+
+"With all my heart," replied the landlord.  "We haven't heard of his bold
+deeds and expeditions for a long time."
+
+"Of course!  The fermenting wine is now clear.  Dornburg is in the
+English service, and four weeks ago I met him as a member of her British
+Majesty's navy in London.  His squadron is now on the way to Venice.
+He still cherishes an affectionate memory of Leyden, and sends kind
+remembrances to you, but you would never recognize in the dignified
+commander and quiet, cheerful man, our favorite in former days.  How
+often his enthusiastic temperament carried him far beyond us all, and how
+it would make the heart ache to see him brooding mournfully over his
+secret grief."
+
+"I met the Junker in Delft," said Doctor Grotius.  "Such enthusiastic
+natures easily soar too high and then get a fall, but when they yoke
+themselves to the chariot of work and duty, their strength moves vast
+burdens, and with cheerful superiority conquers the hardest obstacles."
+
+Meantime Adrian, at a sign from his father, had risen and filled the
+glasses with the best wine.  The "hurrah," led by the Burgomaster, was
+given to the Prince, and Janus Dousa followed it by a toast to the
+independence and liberty of their native land.
+
+Van Hout devoted a glass to the memory of the days of trouble, and the
+city's marvellous deliverance.  All joined in the toast, and after the
+cheers had died away, Aquanus said:
+
+"Who would not gladly recall the exquisite Sunday of October third; but
+when I think of the misery that preceded it, my heart contracts, even at
+the present day."
+
+At these words Peter clasped Maria's hand, pressed it tenderly, and
+whispered:
+
+"And yet, on the saddest day of my life, I found my best treasure."
+
+"So did I!"  she replied, gazing gratefully into his faithful eyes.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS FOR THE ENTIRE "BURGOMASTER'S WIFE":
+
+A blustering word often does good service
+Art ceases when ugliness begins
+Debts, but all anxiety concerning them is left to the creditors
+Despair and extravagant gayety ruled her nature by turns
+Drinking is also an art, and the Germans are masters of it
+Hat is the sign of liberty, and the free man keeps his hat on
+Held in too slight esteem to be able to offer an affront
+Here the new custom of tobacco-smoking was practised
+Must take care not to poison the fishes with it
+Repos ailleurs
+Standing still is retrograding
+The shirt is closer than the coat
+The best enjoyment in creating is had in anticipation
+Those two little words 'wish' and 'ought'
+To whom fortune gives once, it gives by bushels
+To whom the emotion of sorrow affords a mournful pleasure
+Wet inside, he can bear a great deal of moisture without
+Youth calls 'much,' what seems to older people 'little'
+
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BURGOMASTER'S WIFE, BY EBERS, ALL ***
+
+*********** This file should be named g144v10.txt or g144v10.zip ***********
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