renewed. Well, all this is true, but I do not complain, for in other
ways I have the greatest pleasure out of it. I cannot describe to you
how really poetic a walk through these autumn woods is, which I manage
to take almost daily with old Juno, thanks to the permission of the
royal forester, with whom I have made friends.

"And how delightful is the home coming beneath my own roof!

"But you, most prosaic of all mortals, are probably thinking only about
venison steaks or broiled field-fares, and you only know the mood of
the wild huntsman from hearsay.

"But I wanted to tell you how right you were when you declared of
Wolff: '_Hic niger est!_ Be on your guard against this man--he is a
scoundrel!' Perhaps that would be saying too much, but at any rate he
is troublesome. He sent me yesterday a ticket to a concert and wrote on
a bit of paper: 'Seats 38 to 40 taken by the Baumhagen family--I got
No. 37.' Then he added that the Baumhagens were the most distinguished
and the wealthiest of the patricians in the city--evidently those who
play first fiddle there.

"You know what my opinion is concerning millionaires--anything to
escape their neighborhood.

"Well, in short, I was vexed and sent him back the ticket with the
remark that I was the most unmusical person in the world. He has
already made several attacks of that nature on me, so I suppose there
must be a daughter.

"And now to come at length to the aim of this letter--you know that
Wolff has a heavy mortgage on Niendorf, at a very high rate of
interest. I simply cannot pay it, and wish to take up the mortgage;
would your sister be willing to take it at a moderate rate? I am ready
to give you any information.

"And what more shall I tell you? By the way, the old aunt--you did her
great injustice; I never saw a more inoffensive, more contented
creature than this old woman. A niece who comes to Niendorf every year
on a visit, and whom she seems very fond of, her tame goldfinch, and
her artificial flowers make up her whole world. She asked quite
anxiously if I would let her have her room here till she died. I
promised it faithfully. She has been telling me a good many things
about my uncle's last years. He must have been very eccentric. Wolff
was with him every day, playing euchre with him and the schoolmaster.
He died at the card-table, so to speak. The old lady told me in a
sepulchral voice that he actually died with clubs and diamonds in his
hands. He had jus