ising almost to frenzy in Roland's thought and
speech, as, tugging at the beast's long mane, he exclaimed:--

"If slaves could not speak, could not pray, they would be happy like
you, and like you, my faithful dogs!"

Manna was becoming uneasy at the unwearying tenor of Roland's thoughts;
she said:--

"You must now remain all the time with our friend Eric, and not leave
him a moment."

"No, not now--not now! Those are no arrows of Apollo, for the pedagogue
to ward off!"

Manna did not understand what Roland was saying; his mind seemed to her
distracted, and he did not explain how it was that the Niobe group rose
before his eyes. At length, after some time, he said:--

"Yes, so it is! The maiden hides in her mother's lap, but the boy holds
up his own hands and wards off the fatal shaft. And at night, when I
was wandering off to Eric, I listened to the story of the laughing
sprite. It takes a long while for an acorn to grow into a tree, and a
cradle to be made out of the tree, and a child that lies in the cradle
to open the door. Don't you hear? he laughs; he must go through his
transformation."

Manna begged him to be quiet, and said:--

"I must go to father."

"And I to mother."

Pranken met them on the steps; he held out his hand to Manna, and she
said:

"I am unspeakably thankful to you for the great loyalty you have shown
to my father."

"Stop a while, I beg of you."

"No, I cannot now--no longer."

The brother and sister separated, and as Roland entered his mother's
room, the latter said:--

"Don't trouble yourself about this Old World, we are going back again
to the New, to your real home."

Roland caught these words as if they came from afar off; and he
exclaimed:--

"That's it! that's it! It is the Delphic oracle!"

"What do you say? I am not learned." Roland did not answer. Something
was beginning to emerge out of the chaos around him, but it sank
quickly out of sight again.

"Wait a moment, it is time to go to dinner," said the mother.

She put on a shawl and went with Roland to the dining-room.

Here, also, were Pranken and Fraeulein Perini; the two were standing
talking together in a low tone.

Roland went for Eric.

"Isn't it dreadful to have to eat again?" he said. "What bits of slaves
do we eat to-day? Ah, Eric! lay your hand upon my forehead. So--so--now
that's good."

They had to wait some time before Sonnenkamp came, and Manna did not
appear until some time afterwards.