la, as if he had received a personal favor; he looked at
the chairs as if he would enjoin them to seat right comfortably their
occupants. He extended his hand to Eric as to a son; he had become
thoroughly attached to him, and now he complained to him, with the tone
of a child who has eaten dainties by stealth, that he had allowed
himself to be enticed; for, wishing to see for himself whether the
workmen at the castle had good food to eat, he had made trial of it,
and it tasted so unexpectedly good, that he had completely satisfied
his appetite.

Eric comforted him with the suggestion, that the nice dishes might yet
perhaps find some spare room.

The Major nodded; he said, to Joseph the magic word, "Allasch." Joseph
understood. At a small side-table he poured out from a bottle
surrounded by little glasses; the Major drank off the tonic.

"That's a quartermaster;" then he nodded to Eric, and his face laughed
all over, as Eric responded:--

"Of course, the spirit orders the vulgar mass to give way."

Frau Ceres did not come to dinner. They had hardly taken their seats,
before the physician was called away; he immediately rose. Sonnenkamp
entreated him to remain, but Clodwig said in a very decided tone, that
he would like to urge him to obey the summons, for if one placed
himself in the situation of those who were expecting the physician, it
would appear a cruel thing to be detaining him here meanwhile for one's
own enjoyment.

"That is a nobleman, a genuine nobleman!" said the Major to Eric, and
Roland, on hearing it, looked round as if somebody had suddenly seized
hold of him. Is his father, then, not noble, for desiring the contrary?

Eric had a feeling of what was passing in the boy's mind, and said to
the Major, so that Roland could not but hear him,--

"Herr Sonnenkamp spoke on the very just supposition, that the country
people very often exaggerate the danger, and needlessly hurry the
physician."

"That's true. I've made a mistake,--I thank you, comrade."

Roland drew a long breath, he gave Eric a smile; he would have liked to
embrace and to kiss him.

Eric understood this smile. The table seemed disturbed, for the
physician, who had easily and briskly led the conversation, left a gap
by his departure; and as they were obliged to sit more closely together
bodily, in order to fill up this vacant space, so it seemed as if they
must now also for the first time draw nearer together spiritually. And
the call