im speak so."

"Now," said Richard quickly, "I would not hurt your feelings. One may
be a good Christian without believing fables. And the flowers near the
statue. Has Schenck placed them there too?"

"Oh! no--the Angel did that."

"The Angel. Who is that?" said Frank, surprised.

"The Angel of Salingen--Siegwart's angel."

"Ah! angel is Angela, is it not?"

"So she may be called. In Salingen they call her only Angel. And she is
indeed as lovely, good, and beautiful as an angel. She has a heart for
the poor, and she gives with an open hand and a smiling face that does
one good. She is like her father, who gives me as many potatoes as I
want, and seed for my little patch of ground."

"Why does Angela decorate this statue?"

"I do not know; perhaps she does it through devotion."

"The flowers are quite fresh; does she come here every day?"

"Every day during the month of May, and no longer."

"Why no longer?"

"I do not know the reason; she has done so for the last two years,
since she came home from the convent, and she will do so this year."

"As Siegwart is so good to the poor, he must be rich."

"Very rich--you can see from his house. Do you see that fine building
there next to the road? That is the residence of Herr Siegwart."

It was the same building that had arrested Richard's attention as he
passed it some days before, and the sight of which had excited the
ill-humor of his father. Richard returned by a shorter way to
Frankenhoehe. He was serious and meditative. Arrived at home, he wrote
in his diary:

"May 13th.--Well, I have seen her. She exhibits herself as the 'Angel
of Salingen.' She is extremely beautiful. She is full of amiability and
purity of character. And to-day she did not wear that detestable
crinoline. But she will have other foibles in place of it. She
will, in some things at least, yield to the superficial tendencies of
her sex. Isabella was an ideal, until she descended from the height
where my imagination, deceived by her charms, had placed her. The
impression which Angela's appearance produced has rests on the same
foundation--deception. A better acquaintance will soon discover this.
Curious! I long to become better acquainted!

"Religion is not a disease or hallucination, as many think. It is a
power. Religion teaches the poor to bear their hard lot with patience.
It comforts and keeps them from despair. It directs their attention to
an eternal reward, and this hope comp