and there stood Brenner stretching out his arms and
wailing. There! There! Vefela raised her arms, her lips parted, but the
scream died in her mouth: she saw Brenner buried in the waves. Her arms
sank to her side, she bowed her head, folded her hands, and prayed long
for the soul of the lost one. Thus she stood for a long time, fully
knowing that Brenner had died that instant. With a deep sigh she looked
up again, took the bundle, which had fallen from her hand, and went on.

On the hill where the road turns and Rottenburg is displayed to the
eye, stands a chapel. Vefela entered, and prayed long and fervently. On
leaving the chapel again, the long plain before her had the appearance
of a lake: the Neckar had overflown its banks. Vefela went outside of
the town toward Hirschau. Here she met an old acquaintance,--Marem, her
grandfather's Jew adviser. He had a bag strapped across his shoulder,
and was leading a cow toward Hirschau. Who would have supposed that
Marem's sympathy for Vefela drew tears from his eyes? Yet so it was.
Take a village Jew and a peasant of the same degree of intelligence,
and you will find the former more cunning, more on the alert for his
profit, and apparently more cold; but in all purely human misfortune
you will see a warmth and a delicacy of feeling which lift him far
above his ordinary existence. His peculiar lot has deadened his social
feelings, but has concentrated his heart all the more upon that which
is purely human.

Marem tried his utmost to dissuade Vefela from pursuing her aimless
journey. He offered to take her to his own house, and even to raise
money for her. Vefela refused every thing. At Hirschau they both went
into a tavern: Marem had a good soup boiled for Vefela; but after the
first spoonful she got up again to continue her journey. Marem wished
to keep the dog back; but the faithful beast refused to stay behind,
and Vefela departed with a "God reward you."

[Illustration: Nero came running up with a red kerchief in his mouth.]

An hour later, Marem, having sold his cow, went to Tuebingen also. Not
far from Hirschau, Nero came running up to him with a red kerchief in
his mouth. Marem grew pale with fear. Nero ran forward, and he
followed: they came to a spot where the water had overrun the road; the
dog sprang in, and swam on and on, on and on, until he was lost to
sight.

* * * * *

The grandest house in all the village once belonge