etween her hands and shook
it, saying, "He is a fine fellow, every inch of him. May I kiss him
now, Hedwig?"

"Yes, with all my heart."

Availing himself of the permission, the teacher immediately turned to
Thaddie and said, extending his hand, "Let us be friends too."

When he took his leave, Thaddie went with him to the door and said, on
the steps, "Mr. Teacher, I want to ask a favor of you, and maybe I can
do you another some day. I can read very well: won't you lend me one of
your storybooks?"

"With the greatest pleasure," said the teacher, shaking hands warmly at
parting.

Besides the happy change in his feelings which the love of Hedwig had
effected, it was attended with a further consequence; for he was one of
those sensitive natures in which the thirst for union and harmony
brings all thoughts into very near juxtaposition and allows the
electric spark of association to combine them with rare frequency.

The words that fell from Hedwig's lips were so sweet as to imbue with
their charm even the harsh dialect in which they were spoken. He now
determined to devote his particular study to this idiom, and, if
possible, to make it the basis of the instruction of his pupils. He
asked the old teacher to help him to some of the works written in the
Upper Suabian dialect, and received that old gentleman's favorite
work,--indeed, almost the only one he read,--Sebastian Sailer's poems.

With all his new predilections, it was some time before he could read
these effusions with pleasure. The entire absence of what is ordinarily
called refinement in the character of these people--that spirit which
cannot deal even with the most sacred things save in a vein of blunt
good-humor akin to burlesque--is here presented with overpowering
truthfulness. The poet--a spiritual one, by-the-by--represents God the
Father in the character of a village squire, and keeps up the _role_
for many pages.

The old teacher explained that all this had not in the least affected
the sanctity of religion. "In those days," said he, "when people's
piety was in their hearts and not on their tongues, they could crack a
dozen jokes, and yet their hearts remained the same: nowadays they're
afraid of the snuffers coming near the candle, for they know it will
take very little to put it out, and they must trim it all the time to
keep it alive. I used to play jigs on the organ whenever I had a mind
to."

Our friend, while admitting the force of this ar