Lady Adelheid sent her
compliments and would I go over at once. It may be conceived how my
pulse beat, and also with what a delicious tremor at heart I opened the
door of the room in which I was to find _her_. Lady Adelheid came to
meet me with a joyful smile. The Baroness, already in full dress for
the ball, was sitting in a meditative attitude beside the mysterious
case or box, in which slumbered the music that I was called upon to
awaken. When she rose, her beauty shone upon me with such glorious
splendour that I stood staring at her unable to utter a word. "Come,
Theodore"--(for, according to the kindly custom of the North, which is
found again farther south, she addressed everybody by his or her
Christian name)--"Come, Theodore," she said pleasantly, "here's the
instrument come. Heaven grant it be not altogether unworthy of your
skill!" As I opened the lid I was greeted by the rattling of a score of
broken strings, and when I attempted to strike a chord, the effect was
hideous and abominable, for all the strings which were not broken were
completely out of tune. "I doubt not our friend the organist has been
putting his delicate little hands upon it again," said Lady Adelheid
laughing; but the Baroness was very much annoyed and said, "Oh, it
really is a slice of bad luck! I am doomed, I see, never to have any
pleasure here." I searched in the case of the instrument, and
fortunately found some coils of strings, but no tuning-key anywhere.
Hence fresh laments. "Any key will do if the ward will fit on the
pegs," I explained; then both Lady Adelheid and the Baroness ran
backwards and forwards in gay spirits, and before long a whole magazine
of bright keys lay before me on the sounding-board.

Then I set to work diligently, and both the ladies assisted me all they
could, trying first one peg and then another. At length one of the
tiresome keys fitted, and they exclaimed joyfully, "This will do! it
will do!" But when I had drawn the first creaking string up to just
proper pitch, it suddenly snapped, and the ladies recoiled in alarm.
The Baroness, handling the brittle wires with her delicate little
fingers, gave me the numbers as I wanted them, and carefully held the
coil whilst I unrolled it. Suddenly one of them coiled itself up again
with a whirr, making the Baroness utter an impatient "Oh!" Lady
Adelheid enjoyed a hearty laugh, whilst I pursued the tangled coil to
the corner of the room. After we had all united our ef