e upperhand, and is avenging itself cruelly upon both of them.
Of course their means are not great, but what could that matter to two
people who truly loved each other? for we know that happiness is not
dependent on wealth. Is it not precisely in the humble home that the
omnipotence of love is most beautifully made manifest?--And, besides,
who can call these two poor? Has not heaven richly blessed them with
healthy, sturdy children? These--these are their true wealth! And if
their hearts had been filled with true, ideal love, then--then--"

Miss Ludvigsen came to a momentary standstill.

"What then?" asked a courageous young lady.

"Then," continued Miss Ludvigsen, loftily, "then we should certainly
have seen a very different lot in life assigned to them."

The courageous young lady felt ashamed of herself.

There was a pause, during which Miss Ludvigsen's words sank deep
into all hearts. They all felt that this was the truth; any doubt and
uneasiness that might perhaps have lurked here and there vanished away.
All were confirmed in their steadfast and beautiful faith in true, ideal
love; for they were all maiden ladies.

WITHERED LEAVES.

You _may_ tire of looking at a single painting, but you _must_ tire
of looking at many. That is why the eyelids grow so heavy in the great
galleries, and the seats are as closely packed as an omnibus on Sunday.

Happy he who has resolution enough to select from the great multitude a
small number of pictures, to which he can return every day.

In this way you can appropriate--undetected by the custodians--a little
private gallery of your own, distributed through the great halls.
Everything which does not belong to this private collection sinks into
mere canvas and gilding, a decoration you glance at in passing, but
which does not fatigue the eye.

It happens now and then that you discover a picture, hitherto
overlooked, which now, after thorough examination, is admitted as one of
the select few. The assortment thus steadily increases, and it is even
conceivable that by systematically following this method you might make
a whole picture-gallery, in this sense, your private property.

But as a rule there is no time for that. You must rapidly take your
bearings, putting a cross in the catalogue against the pictures you
think of annexing, just as a forester marks his trees as he goes through
the wood.

These private collections, as a matter of course, are of many differe