ould, running off at once with her booty, to show it
off and display her good fortune among the rest of the servants.

At last Ottilie succeeded in packing everything carefully into its
place. She then opened a secret compartment which was contrived in the
lid, where she kept a number of notes and letters from Edward, many
dried flowers, the mementos of their early walks together, a lock of his
hair, and various other little matters. She now added one more to them,
her father's portrait, and then locked it all up, and hung the delicate
key by a gold chain about her neck, against her heart.

In the meantime, her friends had now in their hearts begun to entertain
the best hopes for her. Charlotte was convinced that she would one day
begin to speak again. She had latterly seen signs about her which
implied that she was engaged in secret about something; a look of
cheerful self-satisfaction, a smile like that which hangs about the face
of persons who have something pleasant and delightful which they are
keeping concealed from those whom they love. No one knew that she spent
many hours in extreme exhaustion, and that only at rare intervals, when
she appeared in public through the power of her will, she was able to
rouse herself.

Mittler had latterly been a frequent visitor, and when he came he staid
longer than he usually did at other times. This strong-willed, resolute
person was only too well aware that there is a certain moment in which
alone it will answer to smite the iron. Ottilie's silence and reserve he
interpreted according to his own wishes; no steps had as yet been taken
toward a separation of the husband and wife. He hoped to be able to
determine the fortunes of the poor girl in some not undesirable way. He
listened; he allowed himself to seem convinced; he was discreet and
unobtrusive, and conducted himself in his own way with sufficient
prudence. There was but one occasion on which he uniformly forgot
himself--when he found an opportunity for giving his opinion upon
subjects to which he attached a great importance. He lived much within
himself, and when he was with others, his only relation to them
generally was in active employment on their behalf; but if once, when
among friends, his tongue broke fairly loose, as on more than one
occasion we have already seen, he rolled out his words in utter
recklessness, whether they wounded or whether they pleased, whether they
did evil or whether they did good.

The