it struck him that he had
already seen them somewhere else. After some moments he remembered the
pictures of St. Cassius and his friends in the chapel on Kreuzberg.
There was no doubt the three holy martyrs stood in person before him.

Our good peasant was so much awed at this discovery that he could not
utter a word, but on a sign from his mysterious visitors, he followed
them at a respectful distance.

They marched towards the Sternthor, straight into the building, the
walls of which were as thick as the rooms were long in the peasant's
humble little cottage. In the middle of a high vault there was a table
covered with sparkling gold.

At this unusual sight the peasant opened his eyes very widely indeed;
but his astonishment changed into keen delight when one of his ghostly
visitors filled his left pocket and another his right with the
glittering metal. Meanwhile the third man took a tumbler from the
middle of the table, and presented it to him with an encouraging
smile.

He thought their language was very much like that which the vicar of
the village church used in reading the service. Though the simple man
could not understand a word of their conversation, he interpreted the
kind invitation quite correctly, and shouting out a merry, "Vivat!" as
a salute to his hosts, he emptied the tumbler at one big draught.

The whole building resounded with the echo, "Vivat!" The three
warriors looked pleased and answered in a cheerful voice, "Vivat,
Vivat!"

All at once it seemed to the peasant as if the vault was filled with a
multitude of Roman soldiers who all called out to him, "Vivat!" as if
happy to hear a sound of their native language in the country of the
north.

The man from Dransdorf became quite high-spirited, and kept on
shouting, "Vivat, Vivat!" Suddenly startled by the noise he made, he
awoke and found himself lying on the floor of the Roman tower in the
Sterngasse.

The events of the night only seemed to him like a strange dream. But
when he felt in his pockets he found them stuffed with real golden
coins of a strange ancient stamp.

Our friend's joy became quite uproarious. After having sent up a
heartfelt thanksgiving to St. Cassius, he gave vent to his delight by
shouting through the quiet streets at the top of his voice, "Vivat,
Vivat!"

A watchman stood on duty by the Sternthor, when the jocund peasant
passed by. He made a step forward and, reaching out his arm, he gave
the merry man a rude k