the glad conviction that he had done his best for the woman he loved,
and yet had not forfeited the favour of the influential man to whom he
owed a debt of gratitude, whose active mind he admired, and who had,
moreover, won his affection, he went to the neighbouring Grieb.

The favour which the Emperor showed Barbara seemed to him not only a
piece of great good fortune for her, but also for himself. He knew
Charles's delicate appreciation of music, and could confidently
anticipate that her voice would satisfy him and win his interest. But if
this occurred, and the sovereign learned that Wolf wished to marry the
singer to whom their Majesties owed such great pleasure, it would be an
easy matter for the Emperor to place him in a position which could not
fail to content the just desire of the girl whom he loved for an
existence free from want. The interview with the monarch, to which he was
to lead Barbara at once, therefore seemed to him like a bridge to her
consent, and when he met at the Ark the court musician, Massi, followed
by a servant carrying his violin case, he called to him: "Just look at
the shining stars up above us, Massi! They are friendly to me, and, if
they keep their promise, the journey here will be blessed."

"Amen!" replied the other as he pressed his hand cordially and asked for
further particulars; but Wolf put him off until the next day, exclaim
ing: "Jungfrau Blomberg, whose voice and execution bewitched you also, is
now to sing before his Majesty. Wish her the best luck, for on her
success depend many things for her, and perhaps for your friend also.
Once more, uphold us!"

He turned toward the Grieb as he spoke, and the longing for Barbara
quickened his pace.

The fear that the gouty monarch could cherish any other wishes concerning
the young girl than to enjoy her singing was farthest from his thoughts.

Who would ever have seen an aspirant for woman's favour in the suffering
Emperor, bowed during the last few years by the heaviest political cares,
and whose comparative youthfulness was easily overlooked?

At the main entrance of the Grieb Wolf was accosted by the master of the
house.

The wife of this obedient husband, Frau Lerch, known throughout all
Ratisbon as "Lerch, the mantuamaker," had told him to keep watch, and
impressed it upon him to let no one, no matter who it might be, enter her
rooms on the ground floor except the cantor knight, as she called Wolf.

Barbara had had little