to favoured wife of the man whom she loved, and her strangely
constituted woman's heart filled with resentment against the young
creature below, who had not even attained womanhood, and yet seemed to
gain, without effort, the prize for which she had vainly striven with
painful longing.

She, whose heart had remained free from jealousy of the woman who stood
between her and the man she loved, like a solid bulwark erected by Fate
itself, was now suddenly overmastered by this passion.

Yet she did not turn against the person to whom Lienhard belonged, as he
did to the city, or to his own family, and who was united to him by the
will of Heaven, but against the mysterious young creature at his side,
who changed with every passing moment.

This child--no, this maiden--must be a being of some special nature.
Like the sirens of whom she had heard, she possessed the mysterious,
enviable power of conquering the iron resistance of even the strongest
man.

Like a flash of lightning, Kuni, whose kind heart cherished resentment
against few and wished no one any evil, suddenly felt an ardent desire
to drive the little witch from Lienhard's side, even by force, if
necessary. Had she held a thunderbolt instead of a balance pole, she
would gladly have struck down the treacherous child from her height--not
only because this enchantress had so quickly won that for which she had
vainly yearned, alas! how long, but because it pierced her very heart
to see Frau Katharina's happiness clouded, nay, perhaps destroyed. A
bitterness usually alien to her light, gay nature had taken possession
of her, as, with the last glance she cast at Lienhard, she saw him
bend low over the child and, with fiery ardour, whisper something which
transformed the delicate pink flush in her cheeks to the hue of the
poppy.

Yes, the ropedancer was jealous of the laurel-crowned child. She,
who cared so little for law and duty, virtue and morality, now felt
offended, wounded, tortured by Lienhard's conduct. But there was no
time to ponder over the reason now. She had already delayed too long ere
moving forward.

Yet even calm reflection would not have revealed the right answer to the
problem. How could she have suspected that what stirred her passionate
soul so fiercely was grief at the sight of the man whom she had regarded
as the stronghold of integrity, the possessor of the firmest will, the
soul of inviolable fidelity, succumbing here, before the eyes of all,