, Fraulein?"

"But for a little while, Hans, to come back afterwards and tell thee all
I have seen."

"They come not back from the sunshine to the shade," said Hans,
solemnly. "Thou 'It leave not the palace for the peasant's hut; but
think of us, Fraulein; think sometimes, when the soft sirocco is playing
through thy glossy hair; when sounds of music steal over thy senses
among the orange groves, and near the shadows of old temples, think of
this simple Fatherland and its green valleys. Think of them with whom
thou wert so happy, too! Splendor thou mayst have it is thy beauty's
right; but be not proud, Fraulein. Remember what Chamisso tells us, 'Das
Noth lehrt beten,' 'Want teaches Prayer,' and to that must thou come,
however high thy fortune."

"Kate will be our own wherever she be," said Nelly, clasping her sister
affectionately to her side.

"Bethink thee well, Fraulein, in thy wanderings, that the great and the
beautiful are brethren of the good and the simple. The cataract and the
dewdrop are kindred. Think of all that teaches thee to think of home;
and remember well, that when thou losest the love of this humble hearth
thou art in peril. If to any of thy childish toys thou sayest 'Ich Hebe
dich nicht mehr,' then art thou changed indeed." Hans sat down upon his
little bed as he spoke, and covered his face with his hands.

Nelly watched him silently for a few seconds, and then with a gentle
hand closed the door and led Kate away.

CHAPTER XVIII. CARES AND CROSSES

THE lamp in Kate Dalton's chamber was still burning when the morning
dawned, and by its uncertain flicker might be seen the two sisters, who,
clasped in each other's arms, sat upon the low settle-bed. Nelly, pale
and motionless, supported Kate, as, overcome by watching and emotion,
she had fallen into a heavy slumber. Not venturing to stir, lest she
should awaken her, Nelly had leaned against the wall for support, and,
in her unmoved features and deathly pallor, seemed like some monumental
figure of sorrow.

It was not alone the grief of an approaching separation that oppressed
her. Sad as it was to part from one to whom she had been mother and
sister too, her affliction was tinged with a deeper coloring in her
fears for the future. Loving Kate dearer than anything in the world, she
was alive to all the weak traits of her character: her credulity,
her trustfulness, her fondness for approbation, even from those whose
judgments she held light