h one too often pays with the peace of a whole life.

He forgot the wishes of his parents, their plans for his future, and his
quiet, warm attachment for his youth's playfellow, Regine. He had eyes
no longer for the simple woodland flower, which yet bloomed young and
fresh for him; but, inhaling the fragrance of the strange and beautiful
exotic, all else sank into insignificance. In an unguarded hour he threw
himself at her feet, and told her of his love.

Strangely enough, Zalika returned his affection. Perhaps it was
according to the old adage of extremes meeting, for this man was, in
every particular, her opposite; perhaps it flattered her to see that a
word, a glance from her, could so powerfully effect this earnest, quiet
officer, who, even then, had a touch of melancholy in his disposition.
Enough, she accepted him, and with joy he clasped his affianced bride in
his arms.

The news of their betrothal aroused a storm in the family circle. From
all sides came objections and warnings. Zalika's mother and step-father
were sorely opposed to it, but resistance only increased the ardor of
the young lovers. The engagement, in spite of kinsfolk, was soon an
established fact, and six months later Falkenried took his young bride
to his own house.

But the voices which had foretold unhappiness from this marriage were
prophetic.

It was not long before the brief intoxication of joy was followed by
bitter disenchantment. It had been a fatal error to believe a woman like
Zalika Rojanow, who had grown up in the unrestrained freedom of a
disorderly, extravagant Bojar family, could accommodate herself to the
rules and restrictions of a settled German household.

The only life she had ever known, and the only life which suited her
temper, was one of excitement and outward splendor. A house full of
guests, horses, cards, hunting, racing, and the utmost liberty of
conversation with the men of her acquaintance; this was the life she had
led in her Roumanian home.

She had no notion of duty and no understanding for the obligations and
requirements of her new position. And this was the wife who must adapt
herself to the narrow life of a little German garrison town, and direct
the household of a young officer with but limited means at his command.
That it was impossible for her to do so, was shown within the first few
weeks. Zalika began at once; regardless of all prudent considerations,
to order her house after the same fashion a