e old convent next to Herr Van der Werff's house, nurse
the sick whole they had lovingly received, and even went with Sister
Gonzaga to the houses of the Catholic citizens, to collect alms for the
little hospital. But all this was done without joyous self-devotion,
sometimes with extravagant zeal, sometimes lazily, and for days not at
all. She had become excessively irritable, but after being unbearably
arrogant one day, would seem sorrowful and ill at ease the next, though
without asking the offended person's pardon.

The young girl now stood behind the closed window, watching Georg, who
with a bold spring dashed at the leathern figure and ran the sword in
his right hand through the phantom's red heart.

The soldiers loudly expressed their admiration. Henrica's eye, also
sparkled approvingly, but suddenly they lost their light, and she
stepped farther back into the room, for Maria came out of the workshops
in the court-yard and, with her gaze fixed on the ground, walked past
the fencers.

The young wife had grown paler, but her clear blue eyes had gained a
more confident, resolute expression. She had learned to go her own way,
and sought and found arduous duties in the service of the city and the
poor. She had remained conqueror in many a severe conflict of the heart,
but the struggle was not yet over; she felt this whenever Georg's
path crossed hers. As far as possible she avoided him, for she did not
conceal from herself, that the attempt to live with him on the footing
of a friend and brother, would mean nothing but the first step on the
road to ruin for him and herself. That he was honestly aiding her by a
strong effort at self-control, she gratefully felt, for she stood heart
to heart with her husband on the ship of life. She wished no other
guide; nay the thought of going to destruction with Peter had no
terror to her. And yet, yet! Georg was like the magnetic mountain, that
attracted her, and which she must avoid to save the vessel from sinking.

To-day she had been asking the different workmen how they fared, and
witnessed scenes of the deepest misery.

The brave men knew that the surrender of the city might put an end to
their distress, but wished to hold out for the sake of liberty and their
religion, and endured their suffering as an inevitable misfortune.

In the entry of the house Maria met Wilhelm's mother, and promised
her she would consult with Frau Van Hout that very day, concerning the
extortion