ime, but he nodded approvingly;
but he is the wisest of them however, for at last he says, that all
that has been stated is true, but that enough has not been said, and
that he knows something more. "There is no workman better than Lenz to
work for; everything must indeed be very neat and properly finished,
but then you not only get your full wages, but kind and honest words
into the bargain, which is best of all."

Faller now left the group, and turned along the mountain path to
his house, and the others also dispersed in different directions,
after each had taken a pinch out of the Proebler's birch snuffbox.
Schilder-David went on alone with his stout staff farther up the
valley, for he lived a good way on the other side of the country, and
was the only one of his parish who had crossed the valley to attend the
funeral.

CHAPTER II.
THE MOURNER AND HIS COMPANION.

A small footpath leads from the village to a solitary thatched house,
which is not visible till after a good quarter of an hour's quick
climbing. The path leads past the back of the church, at first between
hedges, then through unenclosed green meadows, where the rustling of
the fir plantation can be distinctly heard, that covers all the steep
hill. Behind this hill--called Spannreute--others rise perpendicularly;
the declivity is so steep, that, though cultivated, the crops on the
table-land, even to this day, can only be conveyed down to the valley
by means of sledges.

Two men were walking along singly on this footpath between the hedges:
the one in front was a little old man, most respectably dressed; he had
a staff in his hand, and, by way of precaution, had twisted the tassel
of the handle round his wrist. The old man stepped along stoutly, and
his face, which was a mass of wrinkles, moved up and down in a singular
fashion, for he was chewing a lump of white sugar, and took a fresh
piece from time to time out of his pocket. The sandy red eyebrows of
the old man were coarse and bushy, and clear sharp blue eyes looked out
from under them.

The young man walking behind his old companion was tall and slight; he
wore a long blue coat, and had crape on his arm and his hat. He was
looking down at the ground, and occasionally shaking his head
mournfully. At last he raised his head, and a fresh coloured face, and
a light beard became visible, but the eyelids of his blue eyes were red
and swollen.