ommon laborer. The common need is the compelling power which plants
the vine on the steep mountain side, clears the forest, steers the
ship, and drives the plough. Where this common need unites itself with
the ideal, and this may be in every sphere of life, _there_ is noble
human activity. A nobleman, who busies himself in the world, has the
good fortune to be the inheritor of an idea,--the idea of honor."

Pranken nodded approvingly, but with a slightly scornful expression, as
much as to say, "This man to have the audacity to seek justification
for the nobility! Nobility and faith need not be proved; they are facts
of history not to be questioned!"

Again they were silent, and each asked himself what was to come of this
unexpected blending of their paths in life. As fellow-soldiers they had
been only remotely connected; it might be very different for the
future.

The valleys already lay in shadow, though the sun shone brightly on the
mountain-tops. They drove through a village where all was in joyous and
tumultuous movement,--in the streets, maidens walking arm in arm; young
men standing singly or in groups, exchanging merry greetings and jokes
and laughing jests; the old people sitting at the doors; the fountain
splashing, and along the high-road by the river, gay voices singing
together.

"O how full of refreshment is our German life!" cried Eric; "the
active, industrious people enjoy themselves in the evening, which
brings coolness and shade to the treeless vineyards."

They continued their journey in silence, when suddenly Pranken started
convulsively, for there came before him, as if in a dream, a vision of
himself, pistol in hand, confronting in a duel the man now seated by
his side. Whence came the vision? He could not tell. And yet, was it
meant to be a prophetic warning?

He forced himself to talk. A prominent trait of his character, which
belonged to him by nature and education was a social disposition, a
desire to please all with whom he came in contact. To drive away the
vision, and in obedience to this social impulse, he began to tell Eric
where he had been. By the advice of his brother-in-law, Count Clodwig
von Wolfsgarten, he had just paid a visit to a much respected landed
proprietor in the neighborhood, in order to enter upon a course of
instruction, if the arrangement should prove mutually agreeable.

The land-holder Weidmann,--who was often called the March-minister,
because as a pioneer to h