ted my eyes on a more magnificent chest, a more splendidly
developed skull, straighter legs and brighter eyes. All his senses are
sharp; the lad hears like a lynx, sees like a falcon, smells like a
stag, feels--well, I've been told that he is already up in arms against
the slightest corporal punishment. It is only his taste that is not so
finely developed as yet--the boy eats everything. However, this is
again a new proof to me of his very great physical superiority,
for, ladies and gentlemen"--at this point the doctor gave a jovial
wink--"who does not agree with me? a good stomach that can stand
everything is the greatest gift a kind Providence can give us on our
journey through life. The boy is a favourite of fortune. A favourite of
fortune in the two-fold meaning of the word for not only is he
perfectly happy in himself, but his entry on the scene has also brought
happiness to those around him. Our dear hostess, for example, have we
ever seen her like this before? So young with those who are young, so
happy with those who are happy? And our honoured friend here--nobody
could imagine that he had climbed to the middle of the forties--he is
as full of energy, of plans and enterprise as a man of twenty. And at
the same time he has the beautiful calm, the comfortable appearance of
the happy father who has had his desires gratified. And this fortunate
boy is the cause of it all. Therefore thanks be to the hour that gave
him, the wind that brought him here. From whence----?"

The doctor, who had a small vein of malice in his nature, here made
a pause intentionally, cleared his throat and straightened his
waistcoat, for he saw many curious eyes fixed on him full of
expectation. But he also saw the quick perturbed look the husband and
wife exchanged, saw that Frau Schlieben had grown pale and was hanging
anxiously, almost imploringly, on his lips, so he continued hastily
with a good-natured laugh: "From whence, ladies--only have patience.
I'll tell you now: he fell from the skies. Just as the falling star
falls to earth on a summer night. And our dear hostess, who was just
going for a walk, held out her apron and carried him home to her house.
And so he has become the star of this house, and we all and I
especially--even if I have become superfluous here in my capacity
of doctor--are pleased with him without asking from whence he came.
All good gifts come from above--we learnt that already in our
childhood--so here's to the h