t deal more noise over the laying of an egg than her
wild sisters? No female of all the wild birds of the forest sings; the
hen is the only one. Do look at the grass; how beautifully green it is,
and the hedgerows there! The green leaves and buds would like to pop
out all of a sudden and cry, Here we are!"

So he chattered on, like a grateful child.

Only a little at a time could the studies be resumed. Eric observed a
certain depression in his mother, which might be the result of her
anxiety for Roland, whose illness naturally recalled to her that of her
own son, or of her constant care for the poor in the neighborhood,
whose calls for help were increasing as their winter stores were
getting exhausted. Roland was desirous of sharing these cares with her,
and of being allowed to take some of the gifts himself; but the mother
would not permit it. He was not ready for that yet, she said; he must
first come to be a strong man himself, able to carry out his own great
lifework.

Roland complained that he did not see the need of so many having to
suffer want, when there was enough in the world to satisfy everybody.
Eric and his mother had to reason with him, or he would have cursed
wealth as a misfortune and an injustice. But the elasticity of youth
came to their aid, and the boy soon forgot how much misery there was in
the world, and contented himself with the objects immediately about
him.

Sonnenkamp was very happy, too, for Eric and Roland took an active
interest in the cultivation of the trees, and he could be their
teacher.

"You will experience, as I have," he often said, "that the greatest
pleasure in the world, is to watch the growth of a tree of your own
planting."

The buds were swelling in the garden, while across the river, and over
the fields, floated an aromatic breath of spring, a fragrance as if the
air had blown over vast, invisible beds of violets. Within the house
was a cheerfulness that had never been known there before. Even Frau
Ceres could not escape its influence, for Roland shed about him a
constant atmosphere of joy, that infected all who came in contact with
him. He had, moreover, now, as he confided to the Professorin, a
project in his head, of which he would not betray, even to her, the
exact nature. On the anniversary of his birthday, which was also that
of Eric's arrival, he meant to prepare for everybody such a joyful
surprise as they never would guess.

The grass and the blossoms ha