us, 'Thank God! Is the gracious one unhurt?'

Certainly poor August had had the worst of it.

Now it is most unlikely that the bath-guests of Putbus will ever enjoy
themselves quite so much again. Their suppers all grew cold while they
crowded round to see and listen. August, in his relief, was a changed
creature. He was voluble and loud as I never could have believed.
Jumping off his box to turn the horses round and help me out of the
cart, he explained to me and to all and any who chose to listen how he
had driven on and on through Putbus, straight round the circus to the
continuation of the road on the north side, where sign-posts revealed to
him that he was heading for Bergen, more and more surprised at receiving
no orders, more and more struck by the extreme silence behind him. 'The
gracious one,' he amplified for the benefit of the deeply-interested
tourists, 'exchanges occasional observations with Fraeulein'--the
tourists gazed at Gertrud--'and the cessation of these became by degrees
noticeable. Yet it is not permissible that a well-trained coachman
should turn to look, or interfere with a _Herrschaft_ that chooses to be
silent----'

'Let us get on, August,' I interrupted, much embarrassed by all this.

'The luggage must be seen to--the strain of the rapid driving----'

A dozen helpful hands stretched out with offers of string.

'Finally,' continued August, not to be stopped in his excited account,
manipulating the string and my hold-all with shaking fingers--' finally
by the mercy of Providence the map used by the gracious one fell out'--I
knew it would--'as a peasant was passing. He called to me, he pointed to
the road, I pulled up, I turned round, and what did I see? What I then
saw I shall never--no, never forget--no, not if my life should continue
to a hundred.' He put his hand on his heart and gasped. The crowd waited
breathless. 'I turned round,' continued August, 'and I saw nothing.'

'But you said you would never forget what you saw,' objected a
dissatisfied-looking man.

'Never, never shall I forget it.'

'Yet you saw nothing at all.'

'Nothing, nothing. Never will I forget it.'

'If you saw nothing you cannot forget it,' persisted the dissatisfied
man.

'I say I cannot--it is what I say.'

'That will do, August,' I said; 'I wish to drive on.'

The surly youth had been listening with his chin on his hand. He now
removed his chin, stretched his hand across to me sitting safely among
m