you married Lenz, that your father was ruined?"

"Must I tell the honest truth?"

"Yes."

"Then I solemnly swear that this was the state of the case.--I knew
that my father was no longer a rich man, but still I considered him
perfectly independent. I liked Lenz truly while we were still wealthy,
but, at that time, my mother would not listen to a word on the subject.
My mother was always very ambitious for us, and moreover, she never
wished me to enter any family where I should have a mother-in-law."

"You would then have married me while my mother was alive," said Lenz,
"and yet Pilgrim declared that you said you never would have done so."

"When he said so, he told the truth. As a girl I used to say many
foolish things, merely to make people stare, and because they laughed
at my smart repartees."

Lenz fixed his eyes intently on Annele,--but Petrowitsch said:--

"Pray don't say any more, till I ask you to speak. You were both
persuaded that you married each other out of pure love and tenderness,
and yet each believed the other to be rich; and when this proved not to
be the case, then all sorts of suspicions, and bad feeling, arose
within your hearts. Say, honestly, Lenz; did you not believe that
Annele was rich?"

"Yes, I did; but, uncle, the misery that consumes me--that makes my
heart bleed, and my head burn,--does not arise from that; you know that
to be true, I am sure, Annele?"

"I never valued my cleverness much," said Annele, "but at all events, I
had both more quickness, and more experience than he had, and a better
idea of managing our affairs--and if he had yielded to my wishes and
settled in an inn, as I wished, we would not be now in this wretched
state, and death, too probably, staring us in the face."

"And what means did you use to persuade him to fulfil your wishes?"

"I showed him that he was good for nothing but to knock in stupid pegs.
I don't deny it. I did not spare him, and was resolved to break his
will, so I said whatever came uppermost, and the more it seemed to hurt
his feelings the more I was pleased."

"Annele, do you believe in eternal punishments?"

"I cannot do otherwise, for I suffer so cruelly now in the power of you
both, nothing hereafter can be worse. You can both torment me as you
please; I cannot defend myself, I am a weak woman."

"A weak woman!" shouted Petrowitsch, at the pitch of his voice. "A weak
woman! A capital idea! You are so hard and stubborn, that the v