t he
HIMSELF was of Dutch descent on his mother's side! He would say no more,
but confidently leave them in possession of the tremendous significance
of this until-then-unknown fact! He sat down, with the forgotten verb
still in his pocket, but the applause that followed this perfectly
conclusive, satisfying, and logical climax convinced him of his success.
His hand was grasped eagerly by successive warriors; the general turned
and embraced him before the breathless assembly; there were tears in the
consul's eyes.

As the festivities progressed, however, he found to his surprise that
Karl had not only become the fashion as a military page, but that his
naive stupidity and sublime simplicity was the wondering theme and
inexhaustible delight of the whole barracks. Stories were told of his
genius for blundering which rivaled Handy Andy's; old stories of fatuous
ignorance were rearranged and fitted to "our Karl." It was "our Karl"
who, on receiving a tip of two marks from the hands of a young lady to
whom he had brought the bouquet of a gallant lieutenant, exhibited some
hesitation, and finally said, "Yes, but, gnadiges Fraulein, that COST us
nine marks!" It was "our Karl" who, interrupting the regrets of another
lady that she was unable to accept his master's invitation, said
politely, "Ah! what matter, Gnadigste? I have still a letter for
Fraulein Kopp [her rival], and I was told that I must not invite you
both." It was "our Karl" who astonished the hostess to whom he was sent
at the last moment with apologies from an officer, unexpectedly detained
at barrack duty, by suggesting that he should bring that unfortunate
officer his dinner from the just served table. Nor were these charming
infelicities confined to his social and domestic service. Although
ready, mechanical, and invariably docile in the manual and physical
duties of a soldier,--which endeared him to the German drill-master,--he
was still invincibly ignorant as to its purport, or even the meaning
and structure of the military instruments he handled or vacantly
looked upon. It was "our Karl" who suggested to his instructors that in
field-firing it was quicker and easier to load his musket to the
muzzle at once, and get rid of its death-dealing contents at a single
discharge, than to load and fire consecutively. It was "our Karl" who
nearly killed the instructor at sentry drill by adhering to the letter
of his instructions when that instructor had forgotten the p