dark hour when the dying son had been carried into
his father's presence, the baron had never left his room. His small
measure of remaining strength had been broken; grief consumed mind and
body. He would sit silently brooding throughout the livelong day, and
neither the entreaties of Lenore nor the companionship of his wife
availed to rouse him. When the fatal tidings were first communicated to
the baroness, Anton had feared that the fragile thread that bound her to
the earth would burst, and for weeks Lenore never left her side; but, to
the astonishment of all, she rallied, her husband's state so claiming
her care that her own sorrows and weakness seemed to pass away. She
appeared stronger than before, and solely occupied with tending her
husband: she was able to sit up for hours beside his chair. It is true
that the doctor used to shake his head privately, and to tell Anton that
this sudden improvement was not be trusted. As for Lenore, for the first
few weeks after her brother's death she was invisible to all; and now,
whenever she emerged from the sick-room, it was to answer inquiries for
the invalids, or to send, through Anton, messages to the doctor.

Meanwhile, beyond the walls, a stormy spring had passed, succeeded by an
unsettled summer. True, the property had no longer to dread the horrors
of civil war, but the burdens that the times imposed fell heavy on the
establishment. Daily the blast of trumpet and beat of drum was
heard--castle and village alike had their complement of soldiers to
support, and these were frequently exchanged. Anton had enough to do to
provide for man and horse. The slender resources of the estate were soon
exhausted, and, but for Fink's laborers, they never could have got on.
Then there were all manner of interruptions to the work of the farm.
More than one acre had been trodden down at the time of the siege. The
men had become bewildered by passing events, and had lost their relish
for regular employment. But, on the whole, order was maintained, and the
plans laid down early in the spring were being carried out. The
irrigation of the meadow-land prospered still better; the number of gray
jackets went on increasing; and this body-guard of Herr von Fink were
acknowledged throughout the district as a stout set, with whom it was
well to be on good terms. Fink himself was often away. Having made and
renewed the acquaintance of several officers, he threw himself heart and
soul into military