decided to come here that the whole world was to be made
acquainted with your plans? I thought they were to be kept private, that
the world was to think we were your friends----"

"And so you are."

"--your guests----"

"Oh, more than guests--this is home."

"Home! Home! Always that word----" And she burst into a fresh torrent of
tears.

Anna stood helpless. What she said appeared only to aggravate Frau von
Treumann's sorrow and rage--for surely there was anger as well as
sorrow? She was at a complete loss for the reason of this outburst. Had
not every detail been discussed in the correspondence? Had not that
correspondence been exhaustive even to boredom?

"You have told your servants----"

"My servants?"

"You have told them that we are objects of charity----"

"I----" began Anna, and then was silent.

"It is not true--I have come here from very different motives--but they
think me an object of charity. I rang the bell--I cannot unstrap my
trunks--I never have been expected to unstrap trunks." The sobs here
interfered for a moment with further speech. "After a long while--your
servant came--she was insolent--the trunks are there still
unstrapped--you see them--she knows--everything."

"She shall go to-morrow."

"The others think the same thing."

"They shall go to-morrow--that is, have they been rude to you?"

"Not yet, but they will be."

"When they are, they shall go."

"I went into the corridor to seek other assistance, and I met--I
met----"

"Who?"

"Oh, to have fallen so low!" cried Frau von Treumann, clasping her
hands, and raising her streaming eyes to the ceiling.

"But who did you meet?"

"I met--I met the Penheim."

"The Penheim? Do you mean Princess Ludwig?"

"You never said she was here----"

"I did not know that it would interest you."

"--living on charity--she was always shameless--I was at school with
her. Oh, I would not have come for any inducement if I had known she was
here! She holds nothing sacred, she will boast of her own degradation,
she will write to all her friends that I am here too--I told them I was
coming only on a visit to you--they knew I knew your uncle--but the
Penheim--the Penheim----" and Frau von Treumann threw herself into a
chair and covered her face with her hands to shut out the horrid vision.

The corners of Anna's mouth began to take the upward direction that
would end in a smile; and feeling how ill-placed such a contortion would
be in th