now sacrifice. You would then perceive how much you have given
me, and that I have received everything, even what was perhaps somewhat
above my comprehension, with the most eager and honest purpose. At
least I must tell you that presentiment and the incompleteness of my
knowledge will never torture me in the future, as they have done in the
past, now that I know there are clear judgments, and that even an
untutored, simple girl, if she collects her thoughts and has the right
guide, can at least advance far enough to comprehend the grandeur of
the task, and exercise her powers upon it._

"_Farewell, honored Herr Doctor. Be kind enough to accept the little
memento I venture to send, and hold an indulgent memory of your
sincerely grateful pupil,_

"L. K."

CHAPTER VIII.

It was high noon when Edwin turned the last page of this confession,
and meantime the maid-servant had brought his dinner, which stood
untouched on the little table. Even now he sat motionless at the window
for a long time, with the book on his knees and his hands crossed on
it, as we place them on a chafing dish by whose feeble glow we try to
warm ourselves.

When he rose, his eyes sparkled with a light as strong and brilliant as
if the slow work of his convalescence had suddenly been completed. He
extended his arms toward the blue March sky, and drew a long breath,
like a person who feels strong enough to cope with anything that may
come. "If I could only speak of it to Balder!" he said to himself; then
he carefully locked the book up in his desk and went out into the
street.

Once more life seemed dear and pleasant, the motley throng of people as
delightful as the swarming of bees in midsummer, the faces he met kind
and dignified. He paused before the shop windows, entered a
confectioner's more to look at the dainties and the human beings who
were eating them, than to enjoy them himself, and visited several of
his intimate acquaintances, whose thresholds he had not crossed since
the autumn. All congratulated him on his recovery, and said the
sickness had rejuvenated him. At last, when he had walked till he was
tired and remembered Marquard's threats if he attempted too much at
first, he went to Mohr's rooms and would not be deterred from entering
when told he was not at home. A strange, joyous restlessness urged him
to see all sorts of strange people a