when a girl, and liked to
tell of the gay times they used to have together, especially on their
Shrove-tide sleighing parties, which now were given up with many other
of the old sports. Marie was always the merriest of the company. The
old mayoress inquired about Franzl, listened with interest to Lenz's
account of his visit to her,--he omitting, of course, all mention of
the money she had offered him,--rejoiced at hearing of Katharine's
prosperity and beneficence, and sympathized with her desire to adopt a
child.

The whole company listened with polite attention. Poor Lenz, so long
accustomed to being contradicted in all he said, or interrupted by
exclamations of "O, what is that to me!" looked from one to another in
amazement.

The old mayoress urged him to come often and bring his wife, adding: "I
hear a great deal said of her goodness and cleverness. Give my
greetings to her and your children." Lenz hardly knew how to respond to
such unwonted words. He would have thought she was mocking at him, had
her manner been less sincerely cordial. It must be that nothing but
good was spoken of others in this house, and therefore she had heard
only the good of Annele.

"Just as you arrived," said the old lady, "we were speaking of your
father and my dear husband. A clock-dealer from Prussia had been saying
that our clocks were not so good as they used to be when your father
and my husband were alive; that they did not keep so good time. I told
him I did not agree with him; that, with all respect to the dead, I was
sure the clocks were just as exact now as in old times, but that the
men who used them were more particular. Was I not right, Lenz? You are
an honest man; tell me if I was not right."

Lenz assured her she was perfectly right, and thanked her for not
extolling the old times at the expense of the new.

The engineer cited railways and telegraphs as proofs of the superior
exactness of the present day.

When the conversation became general, the doctor drew Lenz aside and
said to him, "Lenz, you will not be offended at what I have to say to
you?" Lenz's heart sank within him. So the doctor, too, was going to
speak of the ruin in his house.

"What is it?" he said, with difficulty.

"I wanted to propose, if it were not distasteful to you, and I really
do not see why you should object--but what need of so much preparation?
I want you to be director in the clock manufactory which my son and
son-in-law have set up h