ng sung, and she could hear
the words. How cruel it was that other people should have so much of
light-hearted joy in the world, but that for her everything should have
been so terribly sad! The wind, as it met her, seemed to penetrate to
her bones. She was very cold! But it was useless to regard that. There
was no place on the face of the earth that would ever be warm for her.

As she passed along the causeway leading to the bridge, a sound with
which she was very familiar met her ears. They were singing vespers
under the shadow of one of the great statues which are placed one over
each arch of the bridge. There was a lay friar standing by a little
table, on which there was a white cloth and a lighted lamp and a small
crucifix; and above the crucifix, supported against the stone-work of
the bridge, there was a picture of the Virgin with her Child, and there
was a tawdry wreath of paper flowers, so that by the light of the lamp
you could see that a little altar had been prepared. And on the table
there was a plate containing kreutzers, into which the faithful who
passed and took a part in the evening psalm of praise, might put an
offering for the honour of the Virgin, and for the benefit of the poor
friar and his brethren in their poor cloisters at home. Nina knew all
about it well. Scores of times had she stood on the same spot upon the
bridge, and sung the vesper hymn, ere she passed on to the Kleinseite.

And now she paused and sang it once again. Around the table upon the
pavement there stood perhaps thirty or forty persons, most of them
children, and the remainder girls perhaps of Nina's age. And the friar
stood close by the table, leaning idly against the bridge, with his eye
wandering from the little plate with the kreutzers to the passers-by
who might possibly contribute. And ever and anon he with drawling
voice would commence some sentence of the hymn, and then the girls and
children would take it up, well knowing the accustomed words; and their
voices as they sang would sound sweetly across the waters, the loud
gurgling of which, as they ran beneath the arch, would be heard during
the pauses.

And Nina stopped and sang. When she was a child she had sung there very
often, and the friar of those days would put his hand upon her head and
bless her, as she brought her small piece of tribute to his plate. Of
late, since she had been at variance with the Church by reason of the
Jew, she had always passed by rapidl