earted and pretty, but will you always be the
same in his eyes? You have not been educated as he has been;
intellectually you cannot rise to his level. I honor the poor,' she
continued, 'and I know that in the kingdom of heaven many a poor man
will sit in a higher seat than the rich; but that is no reason for
breaking the ranks in this world, and you two, left to yourselves, would
drive your carriage full tilt against all obstacles till it toppled over
with you both. I know that a good honest handicraftsman, Erik, the
glove-maker, has been your suitor; he is a widower without children, he
is well off; think whether you cannot be content with him.' Every word
my mistress spoke went like a knife through my heart, but I knew she was
right; I kissed her hand, and shed such bitter tears! But bitterer tears
still came when I went into my chamber and lay upon my bed. O, the long,
dreary night that followed! Our Lord alone knows what I suffered. Not
till I went to church on Sunday did a light break upon my darkness. It
seemed providential that as I came out of church I met Erik the
glove-maker. There were no more doubts in my mind; he was a good man,
and of my own rank. I went straight to him, took his hand, and asked,
'Art thou still in the same mind toward me?'--'Yes, and I shall never be
otherwise minded,' he replied.--'Dost thou care to have a girl who likes
and honors thee, but does not love thee?'--'I believe love will come,'
he said, and so he took my hand. I went home to my mistress; the gold
ring that her son had given to me, that I wore all day next my heart,
and on my finger at night in bed, I now drew forth; I kissed it till my
mouth bled, I gave it to my mistress, and said that next week the bans
would be read for me and the glove-maker. My mistress took me in her
arms and kissed me; she did not tell me I was good-for-nothing; I was
good for something then, it seems, before I had known so much trouble.
The wedding was at Candlemastide, and our first year all went well; my
husband had apprentices, and you, Maren, helped me in the housework."

"O, and you were such a good mistress!" exclaimed Maren. "Never shall I
forget how kind you and your husband were to me."

"Ah, you were with us during our good times! We had no children then.
The student I never saw again--yes, once I saw him, but he did not see
me. He came to his mother's funeral; I saw him standing by her grave,
looking so sad, so ashy pale--but all for his