sat on his left hand.
He observed the company who, beside those we have already mentioned,
consisted of several ladies and gentlemen whom he did not know. One
chair was empty, but it was soon occupied; a young girl, quiet in her
attire, and dressed like Louise, entered.

"Why do you come so late?" asked Sophie, smiling.

"That is only known to Eva and me!" said Louise, and smiled at the young
girl.

Eva seated herself. It was, perhaps, the complete resemblance of their
dress which induced Otto to observe both her and Louise so closely, and
even against his own will to draw comparisons. Both wore a simple dark
brown dress, a small sea-green handkerchief round the neck. Louise
seemed to him enchanting--pretty one could not call her: Eva, on the
contrary, was ideal; there lay something in her appearance which made
him think of the pale pink hyacinth. Every human being has his invisible
angel, says the mythos; both are different and yet resemble each other.
Eva was the angel; Louise, on the contrary, the human being in all its
purity. Otto's eyes encountered those of Sophie--they were both directed
to the same point. "What power! what beauty!" thought he. Her mind is
far above that of Louise, and in beauty she is a gorgeous flower, and
not, like Eva, a fine, delicate hyacinth. He drew eloquence from these
eyes, and became interesting like the cousin, although he had not been
in Paris.

The Kammerjunker spoke of sucking-pigs, but that also was interesting;
perhaps be drew his inspiration out of the same source as Otto. He spoke
of the power of green buckwheat, and how the swine which eat it become
mad. From this doubtless originated the legend of the devil entering
into the swine. It is only coal-black pigs which can digest green
buckwheat; if they have a single white speck upon them, they become ill
at eating. "This is extraordinary," exclaimed he.

In his enthusiasm his discourse became almost a cry, which caused Miss
Jakoba to say that one might almost think that he himself had eaten
green buckwheat.

Otto meantime cut out of the green melon-peel a man, and made him ride
on the edge of his glass; that withdrew Sophie's attention from the
Kammerjunker. The whole company found that this little cut-out figure
was very pretty; and the Mamsell begged that she might have it--it
should lie in her work-box.

Toward evening all were in preparation for the approaching tableaux.

Eva must represent Hero. With a torch in he