th his handkerchief, and
then his eyes.

At this moment he felt a degree of resentment and rancour that was
never afterwards effaced; but the proud Landlady soon resumed her
wonted calmness and composure.

When the maids and the postilion had left the room, the Landlord
said:--

"You know best why you have done this; I have no idea what good it can
do, but I shall not say one word more on the subject."

He persisted in this resolution and maintained entire silence, and let
his wife lament and complain as she thought fit. It had always rather
amused him to see how placid and amiable his wife affected to be in the
world. He almost became now, in reality, the wise man he had hitherto
been considered, for during all the violent speeches of his wife, he
thought--

"It is marvellous what people can arrive at! practice makes
perfection."

The unwise world, however, did not take the sudden downfall of the
Landlord of the Lion so coolly. It rolled like a thunderclap over hill
and valley--the Landlord of the Lion is bankrupt!

It cannot be! it is impossible! who can be sure to stand fast, if the
Landlord of the Lion falls? Even the very Golden Lion itself, on the
sign, seemed to fight against such an idea, and the hooks, by which the
painting was suspended, creaked loudly; but the commissioners of
bankruptcy tame even lions, and do not, in the least, pay respect to
them because they are golden ones. The sign was taken down. The lion
looked very melancholy, one eye being hid by the wall, and the other
seemed dim and sad, as if it wished to be also closed for ever, from
feelings of grief and shame.

There was a great commotion in the village, and a great commotion in
the Morgenhalde also.

Lenz ran down into the village, and then up the hill again to the Lion.

The Landlord was still pacing the public room, looking very grave, and
saying, with an air of dignity:--

"I must bear it like a man."

He very nearly said--"like a man of honour."

The Landlady bewailed and lamented; she had known nothing of it, and
vowed that she would put an end to herself.

"Father-in-law," said Lenz, "may I ask if my money is all lost too?"

"In such a vast heap of money, it is not easy to distinguish to whom
such or such a sum belongs," answered the Landlord, in a sententious
voice. "I intend to arrange my affairs presently. If my creditors grant
me three years, I will pay fifty per cent. Sit down, it's no use
brandishing your hand