ith the
flaming sword, in a white, ruffled robe--with a golden girdle, two
immense wings suspended from his back, a rose behind each ear, and a
flaming wooden sword covered with gold-leaf in his hand. In this
costume he sat behind a little table, on which stood an earthenware
beer-mug, and greeted the late guest with a sly and hearty nod of his
elegantly-dressed head, at the same time showing his long white teeth
and bestowing a self-satisfied look upon his costume. Felix stood at
his side convulsed with laughter and full of admiration at the success
of the disguise.

Herr Rosenbusch had provided him with this beautiful dress, remarked
the old fellow, evidently much flattered at the notice taken of him.
But how handsomely the Herr Baron was dressed, and how glad he was that
he had brought Homo with him! It was right that such an animal should
know what carnival-time was like. This time it was unusually merry
inside there. Each member had been allowed to invite a friend, and he
in his turn to bring a lady; there were fifty or sixty present, to put
it at the lowest figure. But he enjoyed himself best outside here, for
the beer kept cooler, and he could take a look in from time to time,
especially now when it was probable no one else would come, except a
lady whom Herr Rosenbusch was still expecting.

Felix completed the paradisiacal mood of the good old man by forcing a
very considerable present into his hand as a parting gift, for he was
not going to visit the studio again. Then he escaped as quickly as
possible from his thanks, and entered the large central hall of
"Paradise," where the dancing was going on, the regular meeting-room
having been transformed on this occasion into a supper-room.

It took him some time before he could separate the different groups and
distinguish his friends, in the general whirl and confusion. Looking
over the heads of the dancers, he saw half a dozen strange creatures
mounted on a raised platform--gigantic tree-toads, a brown salamander,
and a bat, who, playing upon two or three fiddles, a clarionet, a horn,
and a bass-viol, composed the orchestra. Some of these amphibious
beings, overpowered by the heat, had taken off their heads and fastened
them on their backs, thus presenting a still more fantastic appearance
by the contrast between their bearded, flushed, and very prosaic human
faces and their reptile skins. This feature of the ball was also the
work of the battle-painter, who, ha