the devotion of his own followers sometimes made him ask
himself whether he were worthy of such love.

The following day the papers, which had caused them so much trouble and
anxiety, were safely delivered to Herr Hasenbalg at Salzburg; and then
came one more perfect holiday. In the months that followed, Erica loved
just to shut her eyes and forget a sad or stormy present, to call up
once more the remembrance of that time. To the minutest details she
always remembered it. The start in the early morning, which had seemed
cloudy and unpromising, the long, beautiful drive to Berchtesgaden,
and on beyond to the Konigsee. The perfect and unbroken calm of that
loveliest of lakes, so jealously guarded by its chain of mountains that
only in two places is it possible to effect a landing. The dark pines
and silvery birches clothing the sides of the mountains; the gray
limestone cliffs rising step and sheer from the water, in which their
slim, green skiff glided swiftly on, the oars, which were more like
long, brown spades, pulled by a man and woman, who took it in turns
to sit and stand; the man with gay tie and waistband, Tyrolese hat and
waving feather; the woman wearing a similar hat over a gayly embroidered
head-dress, ample white sleeves, a square-cut bodice, and blue plaid
skirt.

Here and there a group of light-green larches just caught the sunshine,
or a little boat coming in the opposite direction would suddenly glide
round one of the bends in the lake, its oars splashing a wide line of
silvery brightness in the calm water, in vivid contrast to the dark-blue
prow. Then, as they rounded one of the abrupt curves came a glorious
view of snow mountains blue shadows below, and above, in the sunshine,
the most dazzling whiteness, while close to the water from the sheer
precipice of gray rock, sprung here and there a hardy pine.

They landed beside a quaint little church with cupolas, and had an
exquisite walk through the woods just at the foot of the mountains where
the wealth of gentians and other Alpine flowers made Raeburn's felicity
complete.

Presently came the return to the little boat, and a quiet row back to
the landing place where their carriage awaited them. And then followed
the delightful drive home, past the river which tossed its green waters
here and there into snow-like wreaths of foam, over quaint and shaky
wooden bridges, between gray rocks and groves of plane trees whose
trunks were half veiled in golde