tter nor roll up. But when
Wilhelm's funeral monument was to be dedicated, she put aside Paul's
banner and coat-of-arms, upon which she was engaged, and wove a wreath
of wire and black and white and lilac beads, a yard and a half in
diameter, on which, between laurel leaves, were Wilhelm's name and the
date of his death, and the words: "Eternal gratitude." Nothing the
least like it had ever been seen in Hamburg before, and it was much
admired on the occasion of the ceremony.

Paul showed himself throughout as a man of feeling and character. When
his patent of nobility was signed, and he came to Berlin to be admitted
to the emperor, to thank him for the honor accorded to him, he went to
Schrotter, and begged him, as a personal favor, to accept his
invitation to the festivity which should take place on his estate on
the first of May. "I look upon you as Wilhelm's substitute here on
earth," he said, "and our friend must not be absent from my side on
this joyful occasion. I owe everything to him. He laid the foundation
of my prosperity, and preserved my heir to me, for whom alone I am
working and striving. If Wilhelm were with us now, he would not refuse
my request, and with that thought before you, Herr Doctor, you will not
pain me by refusing." The words came from Paul's heart, and showed that
he felt keenly the desire to do homage, in his way, to Wilhelm's
memory. Schrotter could not but accept.

To all outward appearances he had recovered from the terrible shock of
his friend's death, in reality, however, he was all the less likely to
have got over his loss, owing to the circumstance that he was often
busied with the management of Wilhelm's affairs, and thus the wound was
inevitably kept open.

Wilhelm left no will. After much inquiry, it was discovered that he had
a very distant relative living at Lowenhagen, near Konigsberg, married
to a poor village smith, and lavishly endowed with children. The house
in the Kochstrasse went to her--a very windfall, for which the honest
wife and mother was too thankful to be able to simulate grief at the
death of the relative she had never known. She generously handed over
all Wilhelm's papers to Schrotter, after having assured herself by
inquiries in various quarters that they would only fetch the value of
their weight. Schrotter gave them to the young man whom he and Wilhelm
had supported in his studies out of the Dorfling legacy. The recipient
was clever and shrewd, and justifi