from its height
and costume, he strove with honest zeal to soothe the little one.

His deep voice, meanwhile, sounded so gentle and friendly, and his
promise to give him a piece of spice cake which he was bringing home
to Ursel to sweeten the disagreeable taste of her medicine produced
so soothing an influence, that little Hans at last looked up at him
trustingly and hopefully.

The cellar man's oldest son, who had violently assaulted the old
gentleman to release his little brother, now stood penitently before
him, and the landlord's boy related, in somewhat confused but perfectly
intelligible words, the object of their coming, and in whose name they
were bringing the roll and yonder little package to old Ursel.

The story sounded humble enough, but as soon as the captain had set
little Hans on his feet and bent curiously over the forerunners of the
dear friend, which had been placed on the little bench by the door,
the three boys dashed down the stairs, and the shrill voice of the
landlord's son shrieked from the lowest step one "Turkey gobbler" and
"Pope's slave" after another.

"Satan's imps!" shouted the old man; but the outer door, which banged
below him, showed that pursuit of the naughty mockers would result to
his disadvantage. Then as, with an angry shake of the head, he drew back
from the banisters, he saw his daughter's playmate.

How dear the latter was to him, and how fully his aged heart had
retained its capacity of feeling, were proved by the reception which he
gave the returning knight. The injury just inflicted seemed to have been
entirely forgotten. With tears in his eyes and a voice tremulous with
deep emotion, he drew Wolf toward him, kissing first his head, which
reached only to his lips, then his cheeks and brow. Then, with youthful
vivacity, he expressed his pleasure in seeing him again, and, without
permitting Wolf to speak, he repeatedly exclaimed:

"And my Wawerl, and Ursel in there! There'll be a jubilee!"

When Wolf had at last succeeded in returning his old friend's greeting
and then expressed a wish, first of all, to clasp the faithful old
maid-servant's hand, the old gentleman's beaming face clouded, and he
said, sighing:

"What has not befallen us here since you went away, my dear Wolf! My
path has been bordered with tombstones as poplars line the highway.
But we will let the dead rest. Nothing can now disturb their peace. Old
Ursel, too, is longing for the end of life, and we o