rs; he managed to make his
cook's mouth water for the stewardess of the 'Beethoven,' a round,
dainty little body, and two years a widow. Greetings were exchanged
between the paper cap and the muslin; but they never spoke together
except for a few minutes a fortnight ago at Cologne, when the 'Lorelei'
and the 'Beethoven' lay side by side. Since that time, the great
Multiplication-table smiled graciously upon the 'Lorelei,' but would
not hear of marriage. His great delight is to get up a nice little dish
that no one should know any thing about; and so one day he prepared a
neat little sucking-pig, that was to be roasted on the morrow. Now, his
captain knew, that the next day, and that is to-day, the two boats
would anchor here together for the night: so he steals the pig, and
hands it to a fellow-captain, who, in turn, delivers it to the widow of
the 'Beethoven,' with directions to serve it up nicely, and something
else with it, which order she obeys with a good will. Then the Captain
invites his steward to supper on board the 'Beethoven;' and, since the
stewardess has furnished the meat, it was but fair that the 'Lorelei'
Multiplication-table should add the wine. They sit down to supper on
board the 'Beethoven,' the stewardess of course, with them, and all
goes on merrily. The Multiplication-table said a pig could not be
better served, and that it was almost as fine a one as his. Then the
trick came out; but they took it in good part, and the upshot of it all
was, that the two were betrothed over the little pig."

The story-teller had got thus far in his tale, when the cooper returned
with the Captain of the 'Lorelei,' who confirmed the whole history. The
merriment became noisy and riotous; and the Captain told how the
newly-betrothed couple were sitting together, and how the same tastes
were in both of them. They collected all the gold they could in the
summer, and now they were sitting and laughing together as they
polished it up with soap-suds.

Eric listened to it all as if he were in another world. There are still
those, then, who can take life lightly: a change for the better must
come in time.

Now the pilot entered, who, as custom required, had been taken on board
the steamer for a little while, to steer it through the part of the
stream he was familiar with. He amazed the company by telling them
that, the night before, in the storm, the Countess von Wolfsgarten and
Herr Sonnenkamp had gone down the river: he