he thought struck me. Who is freeing
the serfs and the slaves? Pure humanity is unloosing their chains."

Again the thought flashed through Roland's mind: Is not that the same
thing that he himself had already thought of--and Manna too? The
youth's eyes opened wide, as Eric now answered:--

"I am far away from what is called the church, but the doctrine of
Christ is still a root of that humanity which is now fast ripening into
maturity."

"You are like Herr Weidmann, who also----" exclaimed the Prince. He
could not finish the sentence, for the Doctor entered.

"Where is Roland?" he also inquired, after the greeting was over.

He too got the answer that Roland wished to be alone, and the Doctor
said,--

"I approve of that. Is he very much agitated? Mind, days will come when
he will fall into dulness and apathy; let it have its course with him,
and at the same time have the greatest patience with him. The noblest
gift of nature is stupor; it is part of the soul's sleep; the simpleton
and the brute have it constantly; they consequently never reach that
pitch of intense excitement that endangers all existence; and nature,
too, takes pity on the sensitive man, and gives him stupor. In the
first place, when he begins to give way under his grief, then, I beg of
you, give Roland to understand then the affair is not so terrible as it
seems; there is a good deal of depravity right under, our very eyes;
and where is it that this depravity does not exist! Do you remember my
asking you when you came here first, how long since you had been a
believer in depravity?"

Eric said he did.

The Doctor continued in a cheerful tone:--

"Now that evil is here, don't lose heart; you have done nobly so long
as you have put faith in human purity; I hope, now that you have become
a convert to the new faith, you will still remain equally strong. Yes,
Captain, we think we are teachers when we are only pupils. Do you know
what vexed me most in the publication of this story?"

"How could I?"

"I was indignant that the sated, self-sufficient portion of the
community, pluming itself upon its external white-wash of decency,
should now give itself a treat. Each person looks at himself: Ah, I am
a magnificent being, compared with this monster. And still the vileness
of the slave trade is only more notorious than that of a thousand other
occupations. In the Jockey Club the 'Jeunesse doree' are railing at the
monster Sonnenkamp, and what are t