second is, increase your allowance five hundred thalers,
without letting the general know it, and pay it to me."

"It is impossible," cried Ebenstreit, terrified. "You mistake me for a
Croesus, whose wealth is inexhaustible. If this expenditure and demand
increase, my colossal fortune will be entirely wasted, and--"

"You exaggerate," interrupted Marie, with a peculiar brilliancy in her
eyes. "Such wealth as yours is never-ending, and the banking business,
which you are still engaged in under another name, is an inexhaustible
source of wealth. I beg you to accept these conditions, that we may at
last be at peace."

"Very well," said Ebenstreit, to whom the words of Marie sounded as the
sweetest music. "I will then accord your wishes, and you shall have the
five hundred thalers for yourself."

"For me alone?"

"Yes, for yourself alone, Frau von Werrig."

"Who vouches for the fulfilment of your promise?"

"My word, Frau von Werrig."

"I have no confidence but in a written promise."

"Then I will have it made out, and bring you the document to-morrow
morning."

"Then our business is finished, and I can go.--Farewell, baroness;
this is my last word to you. I cursed you from the moment you came into
being. If you had been a son, the rich estate in trust of my family
would have passed to you, of which I was the natural heir. As it was,
it went to a distant relative, and we received nothing. Therefore your
parents could not rejoice at your birth, and we only pardoned you
when you married a rich man, who could free us from want, and now
the separation is no grief to us. You have always been a disagreeable
burden, and I am only quit of a discomfort, and renounce forever the
sight of you.--Give me your arm, my son, and accompany me at least
to the threshold of your house, that you may be able to say to this
cold-hearted viper, that she is forever rid of the sight of her mother,
who will never think of her but with chilling contempt." She seized
Ebenstreit by the arm, who had not the courage to resist her, and drew
him along with her, casting a look of supreme disgust at old Trude, who
stood pale and sad near the door.

CHAPTER XXXIV. BEHIND THE MASK.

As the door closed, and Marie found herself alone with her old friend
and nurse, a peculiar change was visible in her sad face; something of
its former sunny radiance brightened its usually sorrowful expression,
and she turned to greet Trude with the smile of