Paulus held
forth the laced kerchief, and the Italian was striking wailing tones
from his lute.

All this to-do, at any other time would, for a certainty, have made
sport for me, but now laughing was far from me, and I had no eyes but
for Ann in her little court, and for my brother.

At first she feigned as though she saw him not; and whereas the Junker
still held her hand, she hit his fingers with a pink, albeit she was
never apt to use such unseemly freedom.

Then she first marked my lord the duke, and rose to greet him with a
courteous reverence, and not till she had bowed coldly and curtly to
Tetzel and his daughter did she seem to be aware that Herdegen was of
the company. At that moment I minded me of the morning when Love had
thrown her into his arms, and it was with pain and wonder that I marked
her further demeanor. In truth it outdid all I could have dreamed of:
she held out her hand with an inviting smile, bid him welcome home and
to the forest, reproved him for staying so long away from me, his dear
little sister, and our good cousin, and then turned her back upon him to
desire the Junker to place her cushions aright. Therewith she gave
this young gentleman her hand to support her to her seat, and asked
him whether, in his country, they did not do service and devoir to the
divine Dame Musica? And whereas he replied that verily they did, that in
his own land he had heard many a sweet ditty sung by noble ladies to the
harp and lute, that the children would ever sing at their sports, and
that he, too, had oftentimes uplifted his voice in singing of madrigals,
she besought him that he would make proof of some ballad or song. The
rest of the company joining in her entreaties she left him no peace
till he gave way to her desire, and after that he had protested that his
singing was no better than the twitter of a starling or a bullfinch, and
his ditty only such as he remembered from his boyhood's time, he sang
the song "It rained on the bridge and I was wet" in a voice neither loud
nor fine, but purely, and with great modesty.

Ann highly lauded this simple and right childish ditty, and said that
she felt certain that she, by her teaching, could make a fine singer of
the Junker.

The others were of the same opinion, and Herdegen, meanwhile, who was
standing somewhat apart, with Ursula, looked on, marvelling greatly as
though he could not believe what his ear heard and his eye beheld.

Then, inasmuch as my lo