spoke of your case, too, to the doctor. He is a skillful man, and
told us one of two things would happen: either you would go off, or
sleep through it. If he sleeps throughout the day,' said he, 'he will
get over it. It's a serious crisis. Such things will happen
sometimes'--'To us porters,' chimed in the old man. And so it was that
we got him out of his bed; and he was very cheerful. But I was anxious
all day long, and never left him. At noon all was nearly lost when the
farmer came in to speak to me. Luckily, though, the forester had locked
the yard door, and so he went out and gave the farmer a hint. As soon as
the latter came in, my father called out, 'What day is it, comrade?'
'Thursday,' said the farmer, 'the 14th;' at which my father's whole face
broke out into a laugh, and he cried, 'Now it's certain; now I believe
it.' However, he slept at the forester's that night too, that we might
get the birth-day well over.

"The next day I took my father to the farm-yard, to the room next mine.
I had had it hastily furnished for him. Herr von Fink, who knew all
about it, sent some good stout things from the castle; I had his old
Blucher hung up, let in some robin-redbreasts, and put in a joiner's
bench and a few tools, that he might feel comfortable. So I said, 'This
is your room, father; you must stay with me now.' 'No,' said he; 'that
will never do, my manikin.' 'There is no help for it,' I replied; 'Herr
von Fink will have it so, Mr. Wohlfart will have it so, Mr. Schroeter
will have it so; you must give way. We won't part again as long as we
are on earth.' And then drew my hand out of its bandages, and gave him
such a fine lecture about his unhealthy way of life, and his fancies,
that he got quite soft, and said all manner of kind things to me. Next
came Herr von Fink, and welcomed him in his own merry way; and in the
afternoon our young lady brought the baron in. The poor blind gentleman
was quite delighted with my father; he liked his voice much, felt him
all over, and as he went away, called him a man after his own heart; and
so he must be, for the baron has come every afternoon since to my
father's little room, and listened to his sawing and hammering.

"My father is still a good deal perplexed at all he sees here, and he is
not quite clear about that day he is said to have slept, though he must
be up to it too, for ever since he often catches me by the head, and
calls me a rascal. This word now replaces 'dwarf' an