t were a costly
treasure. For the rest of the day, Mechtild's bright form hovered near
him, and the sweet charm of her eyes, so full of soul, continually
worked on his imagination. When he again went into Louise's company,
the grace and innocence of the country girl gained ground in his
esteem. Compared with Mechtild's charming naturalness, Louise's manner
appeared affected, spoiled; through evil influences. The difference in
the expression of their eyes struck him especially. In Louise's eyes
there burned a fierce glow at times, which roused passion and stirred
the senses. Mechtild's neither glowed nor flashed; but from their
limpid depths beamed goodness so genuine and serenity so unclouded,
that Seraphin could compare them to nothing but two heralds of peace
and innocence. Louise's eyes, thought he, flash like two meteors of the
night; Mechtild's beam like two mild suns in a cloudless sky of spring.
As often as he entered the room where the grapes lay concealed, he
would unlock the drawer, examine the fragrant fruit, and handle the
basket which had been carried by her hands. He could not himself help
smiling at this childish action, and yet both great delicacy and deep
earnestness are manifested in honoring objects that have been touched
by pure hands, and in revering places hallowed by the presence of the
good.

Next morning the banker asked his guest to accompany him to the church
of S. Peter, where Hans Shund was to address a large gathering.

"In a church?" Gerlach exclaimed, with amazement.

"Don't get frightened, my good fellow. The church is no longer in the
service of religion. It has been _secularized_ by the state, and is
customarily used as a hall for dancing. There will be quite a crowd,
for several able speakers are to discuss the question of common
schools. The church has been chosen for the meeting on account of the
crowd."

The millionaires drove to the desecrated church. A tumultuous mass
swarmed about the portal. "Let us permit them to push us; we shall get
in most easily by letting them do so," said the banker merrily. Two
officious progressionists, recognizing the banker, opened a passage for
them through the throng. They reached the interior of the church, which
was now an empty space, stripped of every ornament proper to a house of
God. In the sanctuary could yet be seen, as if in mournful abandonment,
a large quadrangular slab, that had been the altar, and attached to one
of the side walls