oke I
must give it up, whatever it may cost me; for it is not possible that
we should all smoke.' After this, we, of course, gave up all idea of
such a thing, for we would rather have had all our teeth drawn than
caused our old master to give up his pipe.

"His excellent wife is now on the road to heaven, and her guardian
angel is no doubt saying to her, 'You have been a worthy woman--few
better in the world. Perhaps you have had your faults; you spoiled your
son considerably, and prevented him travelling to other countries,
which would have done him good, and made him less delicate; but your
thousand good deeds, which no one knew but God, and your never
listening to evil of others, making the best of everything, and reading
the Bible to Petrowitsch, all that will not be forgotten now, and
surely you will have your reward.' And if she is offered any recompense
in heaves, I am sure she will say, 'Give it to my son; and, if there is
any to spare, there is such and such a one who stands in grievous need
of it--help them--I am weary of watching over others.' You could
scarcely believe how little she ate; her husband often laughed at her
for it, but it is sure and certain enough, that seeing others enjoy
their food seemed to satisfy her, and the son is just as good hearted
as the mother was. What a kind heart he has! I would gladly go to the
death for him."

This was the way in which the clockmaker Faller talked, and his deep
bass voice often trembled from emotion. The others, however, did not
let him have all the praise of Lenz to himself. The Proebler declared,
that Lenz was the only one in the whole district, who understood
something more than what had been known here from time immemorial, and
Schilder-David added: "He passes no man without striving to serve him;
every year he repairs the old organ of the blind man at Fuchsberg, and
does it for nothing; he often spends an entire holiday mending it, and
he has helped me too. He came one day to visit me, and saw how hard I
was working to make my wheel revolve properly. He went straight to the
miller, and talked to him, and settled it all, and then came and
fetched me to an upper loft, where he arranged my workshop, and
fastening my wheel to that of the mill, I found I could work three
times as fast and with one half the trouble."

Every one was as eager to contribute his offering in praise of Lenz, as
if he had been an almsbox.

The balancemaker said nothing for some t