ner, that the old man, quite delighted,
thanked him heartily for the pleasure and surprise which he had afforded
him.

The duke, however, seated himself by the little lady of honor.
"Thusnelda, you are an incomparable creature, and quite calculated to
be the ancestress of all the Germans. I declare myself your cavalier for
the evening, and will devote myself to you as your most humble servant,
and will not quit your side for a moment."

"Very beautiful it will be, my dear duke, a most charming idyl; in true
Watteau style, I will be the sweet shepherdess, and lead your highness
by a little ribbon. But where is my present--my surprise?"

"You must not be impatient, Thusnelda, but wait what time will produce.
You will have it; if not to-day, to-morrow. Every day brings its own
care and sorrow."

"Ah, duke, instead of giving me my surprise, you beat me with doggerels.
That comes from having a Goethe for companion and friend. Crazy tricks,
like chicken-pox, are contagious, and the latter you have caught,
duke. It is a new kind of genius distemper. Very fortunately, our dear
Countess Werther has another malady, or she might be infected. Perhaps
she has it already, Count Werther--how is it?'

"I do not know, Fraulein," replied the count, startled from reverie. "I
really do not know! My wife is quite ill, for that reason has gone to
our estate to recover her peace and quiet. It is unfortunately quite
impossible for me to visit her there; but my dear, faithful friend,
Baron von Einsiedel, will drive over to-morrow at my request, my
commission--"

"To set the fox to keep the geese," interrupted Thusnelda in her lively
manner.

"No, not that, Fraulein," said Count Werther, quite confused, as the
duke burst into a merry laugh, calling Thusnelda a witty Kobold, and as
her faithful Celadon offered her his arm to conduct her to his mother,
the Duchess Amelia.

The company were all in a very happy frame of mind. Goethe's charming
impromptu had kindled wit and humor upon every lip. He himself was the
happiest of all, for Charlotte was by his side, gazing upon him with her
large, thoughtful eyes, and permitting him to be her cavalier for the
evening.

The duke also devoted himself to Fraulein von Goechhausen, who was this
evening unsurpassably witty and caustic, delighting him, and making the
Duchess Amelia laugh, and the Duchess Louisa sometimes to slightly shrug
her shoulders and shake her head with disapproval.

In the m