pale. He approved of the education
which she was receiving, but thought that her freshness and strength
should not be sacrificed. He said he had formed a plan to live with
Rautenkron, with whom he intended to practice, and also said that when
once in the quiet forest he would study industriously.

My wife strenuously objected to this course. She maintained that where
there was a will, one could attend to his duty in any position; and
moreover, that at the present time it was not well for Ernst and
Martella to see each other so often.

Martella was of the same opinion; and my wife could hardly find words
to express her delight that Martella was constantly acquiring
gentleness and consideration for others. Although at first she had been
loud and noisy, there was now something graceful and soothing in her
manner. She would arise early in the morning and dress herself in
silence, while my wife would feign sleep in order that Martella might
become confirmed in her gentle manners.

One evening, when Martella had been the subject of protracted
conversation, I returned to my room, and for the first time noticed a
colored lithographic print that had been hanging there. It was the
picture of a danseuse who had been quite famous some years before. It
represented her in a difficult pose, and with long, flowing hair. The
print startled me.

It was wonderfully like Martella; or was it simply self-deception
caused by her having been in our thoughts during the whole evening?

I felt so agitated that I lit the lamp again and took another look at
the picture. The likeness seemed to have vanished.

CHAPTER XII.

Towards the end of November, my wife wrote to me that Ernst had been at
home again, and that, several hours after his arrival, he had, in the
most casual manner, mentioned that he had successfully passed his
examination as forester. When my wife and Martella signified their
pleasure at this piece of news, he declared that he had only passed his
examination in order to prove to us and the rest of his acquaintance,
that he, too, had learned something, but that he was not made to be put
just where the state desired to place him, and that, in the spring, he
and Martella would emigrate to America, as he had already come to an
understanding with Funk in regard to the passage.

When he asked Martella why she had nothing to say on the subject, she
replied:

"You know that I would go to the