hes on, he looks a
perfect picture!"

Von Barwig was compelled to leave an hour before the time appointed for
the dinner, in order to escape from the congratulations of his friends.
That night, for the first time in his life, he begged for a position.
He had failed at composing, at teaching, at playing, but surely he
could still conduct an orchestra. The desire for success grew on him
again. Van Praag seemed convinced, and at the end of the dinner, after
taking his address, he promised Von Barwig he would do what he could;
but he must consult the director first, etc., etc.

Von Barwig went home that night almost happy. A pint of champagne at
dinner, with a liqueur afterward, had completely aroused his spirit;
and for the first time in many years he felt quite jovial. He went to
bed but couldn't go to sleep, so he rose and awakened Pinac and Fico
out of their slumbers to tell them the good news, adding that he
intended to engage them for his orchestra. Poons, hearing the sound of
voices in the room next to his, came in, and the men sat talking over
their prospects. Their hopes, their ambitions were about to be
realised, and they talked and smoked the cigars Von Barwig had brought
home with him until sleep was out of the question; they were too
excited to go to bed again. Twice did Miss Husted send up to beg them
to make less noise, as the second floor front, Mrs. Mangenborn, had
complained that her slumbers were being rudely disturbed. So the men
dressed themselves and went down into Von Barwig's rooms, where they
sat till daylight, talking and smoking; after which they all went out
to breakfast at Galazatti's.

As the weeks went by and Von Barwig received no word from Van Praag the
certainty of the engagement died out and became merely a hope. Finally
Von Barwig came to the conclusion that Van Praag had forgotten, and
wrote to him reminding him of his promise. He received no answer to
his letter, and even the hope of getting the engagement died out some
few months after its birth.

Chapter Ten

The winter had now fairly set in and it was remembered by New Yorkers
as the hardest in many years. Miss Husted declared it was the coldest
in her experience, for the plumber's presence was constantly required
to thaw out the frozen pipes. Certainly Von Barwig remembered it
because he had to wrap blankets around him to keep warm while he was
copying music at a few cents a page. He had other uses for the m