ith a stiff
reverence.

This reply fully satisfied the Councillor; the title suited the dress.
"He is certainly," thought he, "some village schoolmaster--some queer
old fellow, such as one still often meets with in Jutland."

"This is no locus docendi, it is true," began the clerical gentleman;
"yet I beg you earnestly to let us profit by your learning. Your reading
in the ancients is, sine dubio, of vast extent?"

"Oh yes, I've read something, to be sure," replied the Councillor. "I
like reading all useful works; but I do not on that account despise the
modern ones; 'tis only the unfortunate 'Tales of Every-day Life' that I
cannot bear--we have enough and more than enough such in reality."

"'Tales of Every-day Life?'" said our Bachelor inquiringly.

"I mean those new fangled novels, twisting and writhing themselves in
the dust of commonplace, which also expect to find a reading public."

"Oh," exclaimed the clerical gentleman smiling, "there is much wit in
them; besides they are read at court. The King likes the history of Sir
Iffven and Sir Gaudian particularly, which treats of King Arthur, and
his Knights of the Round Table; he has more than once joked about it
with his high vassals."

"I have not read that novel," said the Councillor; "it must be quite a
new one, that Heiberg has published lately."

"No," answered the theologian of the time of King Hans: "that book is
not written by a Heiberg, but was imprinted by Godfrey von Gehmen."

"Oh, is that the author's name?" said the Councillor. "It is a very
old name, and, as well as I recollect, he was the first printer that
appeared in Denmark."

"Yes, he is our first printer," replied the clerical gentleman hastily.

So far all went on well. Some one of the worthy burghers now spoke of
the dreadful pestilence that had raged in the country a few years back,
meaning that of 1484. The Councillor imagined it was the cholera that
was meant, which people made so much fuss about; and the discourse
passed off satisfactorily enough. The war of the buccaneers of 1490 was
so recent that it could not fail being alluded to; the English
pirates had, they said, most shamefully taken their ships while in the
roadstead; and the Councillor, before whose eyes the Herostratic [*]
event of 1801 still floated vividly, agreed entirely with the others in
abusing the rascally English. With other topics he was not so fortunate;
every moment brought about some new confusion, and thr