s hand in silence,
then threw his arms around his neck, hastily released him again, and
Franzelius stumbled down the stairs, like a man whose head is heavy or
whose eyes are closed.

"He's obeying his evil genius!" said Edwin, shaking his head. "I've
seen the fit coming and vainly endeavored to stay it. But water will
flow down hill."

[Illustration: Balder's farewell to Franzelius in the stairwell.]

"It will soon come to a level and remain stagnant for some time,"
muttered Mohr. "I'm sorry for the poor fellow! Believe me, Edwin, it
was always disagreeable to me to be continually compelled to make fun
of him. At heart I not only respected, but liked him. He has exactly
what I lack, and because he is not ambitious of distinction, he is
indifferent to his own worth. He takes himself just as he is--I believe
if he thought he was a superior person liable to be admired in society,
he would indignantly ostracise himself."

Balder re-entered the room and they talked of other things; Mohr
inquired about the private lessons Edwin was giving the young
hedge-princess, as Leah was called in the "tun." But Edwin, whose
thoughts were entirely engrossed with the confession his mysterious
friend had promised to make on the morrow, gave very absent replies: he
was explaining the history of philosophy from his own books. He told
her without any oratorical flourishes, how the secret of the universe
had been differently reflected in various human brains, how thoughtful
minds had endeavored to interpret it and expressed the inexpressible in
formulas more and more profound. "I have now come to ideology," he
concluded, "which to one who possesses so deep an intellect as this
girl, can afford a great deal of pleasure, and be comprehended without
much difficulty. I'm amazed to see what progress she makes in
Aristotle. Yet, after all, it only confirms the proposition that where
a real need exists, the organs for it are formed, as the feeling of
hunger always asserts itself when a creature possesses a stomach. It's
a pleasure to see this girl listen. She has long languished for
knowledge, now she fairly revives like a thirsty plant in the summer
rain."

"Congratulate the Frau Doctorin," laughed Mohr.

The brothers' eyes involuntarily met.

"We're now just coming to Plato," Edwin forced himself to answer in a
jesting tone. "Whether my pupil, in spite of her studies of hedges and
lagunes, has sufficiently elevated thoughts to develop a ta