will come and say: 'Be
firm; be a man; conquer your grief!' And what will the dear souls do
for you? They will give you the alms of sympathy and then leave you in
solitude, while they go their way in search of pleasure. As long as
there is playing, dancing, drinking, they are true and enduring
friends; but no feast will be put off for your sake, nothing will be
changed. If you mean to enjoy the world you must despise mankind. They
merely say to you: 'Be a man'--but be one."

His thoughts worked him into a frenzy. The next few days seemed a
yawning unfathomable abyss staring him in the face. All was empty,
void, hollow, joyless, consuming solitude.

He was at last released, for the servant entered and announced the
intendant.

They had not been great friends, but now Bruno embraced the intendant
as if he were the only friend he had in the world, and lay on his neck
sobbing and begging him not to abandon him to solitude. He raged and
raved and, with a strange mixture of blasphemy and mockery, reviled his
fate. "Oh, the terrible days that await me!" he exclaimed vehemently.

"Time heals all wounds," said the intendant.

"But to pass weeks, aye months, in mourning!" cried Bruno again.

The intendant started. He had received an insight into this man's
character. What grieved him most was the long period during which he
would have to seem to be in mourning.

It could not have happened at a more unfavorable time.

Bruno had entered two of his best horses for the races which were to
come off in a few days. He had intended to ride Zuleika himself in a
trotting match, and, for the great hurdle race, he had carefully
trained Fitz, his groom. The name was really Fritz, but Fitz sounded
better. Fitz, Baum's son, was a thorough rascal, in whom his father
took great pride. His future was assured, for there was no doubt that
if Fitz did not break his limbs, he would be the first jockey in the
stables. He sat his horse like a cat, and it was impossible to throw
him.

The weather was charming. There were just enough clouds to shield one
from the burning rays of the sun, and during the night there had been a
gentle rain which had improved the course. Fitz, in his green and white
suit, would surely win the first prize. Bruno was not a little proud of
Fitz's livery. He had, as it were, divided him in two, from the crown
of his head to his feet his dress was grass-green on the right and
snow-white on the left. What a pity that the