owner of that house, looking down at me from one of the balconies, I
should feel a shame at the bottom of my heart; I should long to dash
that work of mine to pieces from sheer annoyance and disgust. Nothing
of that sort can ever happen to me, for in my works dwells ever the
very purest thing on earth--the noble wine. God's blessing on my
craft!"

"Your encomium," said Spangenberg, "was admirable, and heartily felt on
your part. It is to your honour that you hold your craft in high
esteem. But please be patient with me if I do not leave you in peace
even now. Suppose one of the nobility did actually come and ask you for
your daughter. Sometimes, when a matter really comes very close to one,
much in it begins to assume a different appearance to what one
thought."

"Ah," cried Martin a little warmly, "what could I say, except with a
polite bow, 'Honoured sir, if you were but a clever cooper; but, being
as you are----'"

"Listen further," said Spangenberg. "If some fine morning a handsome
noble were to come on a splendid charger, with a brilliant following
all in grand clothes, and rein up at your door and ask for Rosa for his
helpmate?"

"Hey! hey!" cried Master Martin more impetuously than before; "I should
run as fast as I could and bolt and bar the door. Then I should cry and
shout, 'Ride on your road, your lordship. Roses such as mine do not
bloom for you. I dare say my cellar and my cash-box please you well,
and you think you may have the girl into the bargain. Ride on your
road.'"

Old Spangenberg rose up, his face red as fire. He leaned both hands on
the table and looked down before him. "Well," he began, after a short
silence, "this is my last question, Master Martin. If the young noble
at your door were my own son, if I myself were at your door with him,
would you bar the door? Would you think we had come only for the sake
of your cellar and your cash-box?"

"Most certainly not," answered Master Martin. "My honoured and dear
sir, I should open the door politely to you; everything in my house
should be at your and your son's command. But as regards Rosa, I should
say, 'Had it pleased Heaven that your noble son had been a clever
cooper, no one on earth would have been more welcome to me as a
son-in-law than himself. As it is, however----' But why should you
plague me with all those extraordinary questions, honoured sir? Our
delightful conversation has come to an end, and our glasses are
standing full. Le