Hedwig, followed, chatting gayly. The teacher was now firmly convinced
that there is such a thing as conversing a great deal even without
having read books.

Near the "Cat's Well," from which the nurses are said to fetch little
children when they are born, the party seated themselves upon a bank
and sang. Hedwig had a beautiful contralto voice, and Thaddie sang a
good accompaniment. The teacher greatly regretted his limited knowledge
of the songs of the people: his musical education, however, enabled him
readily to catch the simple melodies and to improvise a tolerable bass.
With beaming eyes, Hedwig nodded her approbation. Often he was brought
to a sudden pause by an unexpected turn in the air, introduced for the
purpose of bridging a gap in the story or of smoothing the ruggedness
of the rhythm. At such times Hedwig's encouraging look would say, "Sing
on, if it does go wrong a little."

[Illustration: He united his voice to those of the villagers.]

Thus he united his voice to those of the villagers. He had come so far
that, where he furnished nothing but the tune, the peasants supplied
the words and the meaning:--

"I mow by the Neckar,
I mow by the Rhine;
My sweetheart is peevish,
My sweetheart is mine.

"What use is my mowing?
My sickle's not free;
What use is my sweetheart?
She won't stay with me.

"And mowing by Neckar,
And mowing by Rhine,
I'll throw in the ring that
She gave me for mine.

"The ring in the water
Is nabb'd by the fish;
The fish shall be brought to
The king in a dish.

"The king he shall wonder
Whose ring it might be;
Then out speaks my sweetheart:--
'It belongeth to me.'

"Up hill and down valley
My sweetheart shall spring;
And find me a-mowing
And give me the ring.

"You may mow by the Neckar,
Or mow by the Rhine,
If you throw in the ring that
I gave you of mine."

After a while, Thaddie drew Agnes closer to him, and they sang:--

"Lassie, c