"I believe--nay, I know it must come very soon. The signs of the times
are not deceptive. Our resurrection may be nearer than we imagine; and
until then, Marie, let us endure with patience."

Marie pressed her guardian's hand, and drew a long sigh.

"Yes; we will endure--and wait," she repeated. "And now, give me back my
letter."

"Why do you want it, Marie?"

"I shall keep it, and sometime send it to the proper address--when the
angel of deliverance sounds his trump."

"May God hasten his coming!" fervently appended the count.

But he did not give her the letter.

* * * * *

Count Vavel now rarely ventured beyond the gate of the Nameless Castle.
The weather had become stormy, and a severe frost had robbed the garden
of its beauties. The very elements seemed to have combined against the
dwellers in the castle. Even the lake suddenly began to extend its
limits, overflowing its banks, and inundating meadows and gardens.
Marie's little pleasure-garden suffered with the rest of the flooded
lands, and threatened to become an unsightly swamp.

Count Vavel, knowing how Marie delighted to ramble amid her flowers,
determined to protect the garden from further destruction. Laborers were
easily secured. The numerous families of working-people who had been
rendered homeless by the inundation besieged the castle for assistance
and work, and none were turned empty-handed away. A small army was put
to work to construct an embankment that would prevent further
encroachment upon the garden by the water, while to Herr Mercatoris the
count sent a liberal sum of money to be distributed among the sufferers
by the flood.

This gift renewed the correspondence between the castle and the
parsonage, which had been dropped for several months.

The pastor, in acknowledging the receipt of the money, wrote:

"The flood has made a new survey of the lake necessary, as the evil
cannot be remedied until it has been determined what obstructs the
outlet. Our surveyor made a calculation as to the probable cost of the
work, and found that it would require an enormous sum of money--almost
five thousand guilders! Where was all this money to come from? The
puzzling question was answered by that angel from heaven, Baroness
Landsknechtsschild. When she heard of the sufferings of the poor people
who had been driven from their homes by the inundation, she offered to
supply the entire sum necessary. Now, it seems, somet