gone through with this abominable work in this place.
I know I have lost her now. I shall soon die of grief for her. But I
cannot help it. I must go back to my own glorious Art, to my own dear
master, Johannes Holzschuer, whom I deserted so basely."

Master Martin's eyes shone like flaming tapers. Scarce able to
articulate for anger, he stammered out--

"What! you too! lies and cheatery! impose on _me_--talk of a 'miserable
handicraft!' Out of my sight, you shameless scoundrel--get out from
here!" with which he took Friedrich by the shoulders and chucked him
out of the workshop.

The derisive laughter of the other journeymen and the apprentices
followed him. But old Valentine folded his hands, looked thoughtfully
at the ground, and said, "I always saw that good fellow had something
very different in his head from casks."

Frau Martha cried a great deal, and her children lamented over
Friedrich, who used to play with them, and bring them many a nice piece
of sweet-stuff.

CONCLUSION.

Notwithstanding Master Martin's anger with Reinhold and Friedrich, he
could not but admit that, with them, all happiness and joy had fled
from the workshop. His new journeymen caused him nothing but vexation
and annoyance every day. He had to give himself trouble over every
trifling detail of the work, and had difficulty in getting the very
smallest matter done as he wished it. Wholly worn out with the worries
of the day, he would often sigh, "Ah, Reinhold! ah, Friedrich! how I
wish you had not deceived me so shamefully! Oh that you had only gone
on being doughty coopers, and not turned out to be something else!"
This went so far, that he often thought of giving up business
altogether.

He was sitting one evening in a gloomy frame of mind of this
description, when Herr Jacobus Paumgartner, and with him Master
Johannes Holzschuer, came in unexpectedly. He felt sure their visit
related to Friedrich, and in fact Paumgartner soon led the conversation
to the subject of him, and Master Holzschuer began to extol him in
every possible way, stating his opinion that with Friedrich's talents
and diligence he would not only become a first-class goldsmith, but
actually tread in Peter Fischer's footsteps as a modeller of eminence.
Then Herr Paumgartner set to work to vehemently inveigh against the
undeserved treatment that the poor fellow had received from Master
Martin, and they both of them urged the latter tha