about the road.
There were wailing woman, crying children, and cursing men.

"Make way there!" cried the host. He walked on, forcing a passage for
the two men, and Bruno heard some one behind him say: "The handsome
man, with the large mustache, is the king."

"No, he isn't; it's his cousin!" said another.

They had entered the garden. Bruno leaned against the cherry-tree, and
the intendant motioned to the host to allow his comrade to rest for a
little while. Everything seemed to swim before Bruno's eyes. Something
touched him, and he started with fear. It was a dead leaf which had
fallen from the tree above. At last, addressing Schoning in French, he
said:

"What good will it do the dead, if I look at her? And it will harm me
forever, for I shall never be able to banish the sight from my memory!"

"You must go in, my friend. Remember that these people have made every
effort in their power to restore to life one who was a stranger to
them, and they have done this out of pure philanthropy."

"Well, we can give them money for that; but why torment ourselves with
these dead remains?"

But Bruno was, nevertheless, obliged to go in; leaning on his friend's
arm, he entered the house.

Black Esther now lay in the very spot where Hansei had been two days
ago, when thinking of her. Her thick, glossy black hair had fallen over
her face; her mouth was open--the last cry that Irma had heard still
rested there.

"Esther!" cried Bruno, covering his face with his hands.

"It isn't your sister!" said the intendant consolingly. "Come, let us
be off."

Bruno could not move from the spot.

"Yes! sister!" cried the old woman, who now rose up from beside the
corpse; "yes, sister. Didn't I tell you to let her alone, even if she
did help the beautiful lady? didn't I tell you she'd kill herself, if
you beat her again? And now you've had your own way, and here she is,
lying in this house! Oh, this house, this house! The lake will wash it
away yet. Lake! take the whole house! Who are you? What do you want?"
she cried, springing up and seizing Bruno's arm. "Who are you with the
black hands? let me see who you are--it's you, is it? you who didn't
want to see your father die--and what do you want of my Esther? Great
God!--now I see it all. You were the one, you! say you were!--say it--!
Don't shut your eyes, or I'll scratch them out for all. It was
you--I'll drive a nail into your brain, into the cursed brain that
forgot her! Oh, wh