eive compensation in another world."

"I truly believe," returned the gracious lady, "that he would wish a
little in advance here below, where it is so ordered that the immortal
must bow himself before the mortal."

"Certainly," replied Otto; "the great men of the age are like mountains;
they it is which cause the land to be seen from afar, and give it
importance, but in themselves they are bare and cold; their heights are
never properly known."

"Very beautiful," said the lady; "you speak like a Jean Paul."

At this moment the door opened, and all were surprised by the entrance
of Miss Sophie, Wilhelm, and the dear mamma. They were not expected
before the following evening. They had travelled the whole day through
Zealand.

"We should have been here to dinner," said Sophie, "but my brother could
not get his business finished in Roeskelde; then he had forgotten to
order horses, and other little misadventures occurred: six whole hours
we remained there. Mamma contracted quite a passion there--she fell
fairly in love with a young girl, the pretty Eva."

"Yes, she is a nice creature!" said the old lady. "Had I not reason, Mr.
Thostrup? You and my Wilhelm had already made her interesting to me. She
has something so noble, so refined, which one so rarely meets with in
the lower class; she deserves to come among educated people."

"Otto, what shall our hearts say," exclaimed Wilhelm, "when my good
mother is thus affected?"

They assembled round the tea-table. Wilhelm addressed Otto with the
confidential "thou" which Otto himself had requested.

"We will drink together in tea and renew our brotherhood."

Otto smiled, but with such a strangely melancholy air, and spoke not a
word.

"He's thinking about the old grandfather," thought Wilhelm, and laid his
hand upon his friend's shoulder. "The Kammerjunker and his ladies greet
thee!" said he. "I believe the Mamsell would willingly lay thee in her
own work-box, were that to be done."

Otto remained quiet, but in his soul there was a strange commotion. It
would be a difficult thing to explain this motive, which belonged to
his peculiarity of mind; it entered among the mysteries of the soul. The
multitude call it in individuals singularity, the psychologist finds a
deeper meaning in it, which the understanding is unable to fathom. We
have examples of men, whose strength of mind and body were well known,
feeling faint at the scent of a rose; others have been thrown into