removed Kaspar to Ausbach, and placed him under the care
of Dr. Mayer. It was generally supposed that this was only preparatory
to taking him to England. Ample funds were provided for his maintenance,
but the journey to England was again and again put off; and at last
there were signs that Lord Stanhope was not quite satisfied with his new
plaything. So much had been said about Kaspar's cleverness, that his new
teachers were disappointed to find that his acquirements were about
those of a boy of eight. They accused him of laziness and of deceit; and
he, finding himself suspected and closely questioned as to everything
he did, took refuge in falsehood. At last a government clerkship of the
lowest class was procured for him, but great complaints were made of his
inattention to his duties (mainly copying); he was unhappy, and, when on
a visit to Nuremberg in the summer, made plans for the happy time when
he should be able to come back and live with his friends there. For the
people of Ausbach, though making him one of the shows of the place, do
not seem to have had that perfect belief in him shown by his earlier
friends; while his new guardians expected a great deal too much from
him. His chief friend in Ausbach was the clergyman who had prepared him
for confirmation, who noticed, in November 1833, that he was very much
depressed; but this passed away. On the afternoon of December 14, Kaspar
came to call on the clergyman's wife, and was particularly happy and
bright. Three hours afterwards he staggered into his tutor's house,
holding his hand to his side, gasping out 'Garden--man--stabbed--give
purse--let it drop--come--' and dragged the astonished Dr. Mayer off to
a public garden, where a little purse was found on the ground. In it was
a piece of paper, on which was written backwards in pencil these lines:
'I come from the Bavarian frontier. I will even tell you my name, "M. L.
O."'

Kaspar was taken home and put to bed, when it was discovered that there
was a deep stab in his left side. For some hours he was too ill to be
questioned, but on the 15th he was able to tell his story. On the 14th,
as he was coming out of the government buildings to go home to dinner,
he was accosted by a man who promised to tell him who his parents were,
if he would come to a spot in the public gardens. He refused, as he was
going home to dinner, but made an appointment for that afternoon. After
dinner he called on the clergyman's wife, and t