height, and clad in civilian's dress. He shook
his head impatiently at his companion's last observation. He appeared
insignificant when compared with the strong, well-built officer near
him; but his pale, sharply cut face wore a look of cold, superior
repose, and the sarcastic expression around the thin lips, together with
his aristocratic air and bearing, suggested a hidden strength behind a
feeble exterior.

"You take life too hard, Falkenried," he said reprovingly. "You have
changed strangely in the last few years. Who would recognize in you now,
the gay young officer of other days? And what's the reason of it all?
The shadow which once darkened your life has long since disappeared. You
are a soldier, heart and soul, and have repeatedly distinguished
yourself in your profession. A high position awaits you in the future,
and the thing above all others is--you have your son."

Falkenried did not answer; he folded his arms and looked out again into
the mist, while the other continued: "The boy has grown handsome as a
god in the last few years. I was quite overcome with surprise when I
saw him again, and you yourself, told me that he was unusually gifted
and in many things showed great talent."

"I would that Hartmut had fewer talents and more character," said
Falkenried, in an almost acrid tone. "He can make verses quick enough,
and to learn a language is child's play to him, but as soon as he tries
some earnest science, he's behind all the others, and in military
tactics I can make nothing of him at all. You cannot comprehend,
Wallmoden, what iron severity I am constantly compelled to employ."

"I fear you accomplish little by this same severity," interrupted
Wallmoden. "You should take my advice and leave your son to his studies.
He has not the qualifications for a soldier. You must see that for
yourself by this time."

"He shall and must acquire those qualifications. It is the only possible
career for such an intractable nature as his, which revolts at every
restraint and to which every duty is a burden. The life of a student at
the university would give him unrestrained liberty; only the iron
dicipline of the service will force him to bend."

"The only question is, how long will you be able to force him to do your
will? You should not deceive yourself; there are inherited tendencies
which will not allow themselves to be repressed or eradicated. Hartmut,
now, is in appearance the counterpart of his mother; he h