played very softly, and the clergyman
repeated the texts he had chosen for the candidates in a low voice to
the accompaniment of its gentle tones:

"Revelation, 21st chapter, 4th verse. _And God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither
sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the
former things are passed away._"

Ah, that was for Kullrich. He raised his face, that was wet
with tears and so red and hot, to receive the comforting words. But
now, now--Wolfgang stopped breathing--now _his_ text was coming. What
kind of a text would he get, what would he say to _him_?

"Hebrews, 13th chapter, 14th verse. _For here have we no continuing
city, but we seek one to come._"

That was to be for him--that? What was the meaning of it? A terrible
disappointment came over Wolfgang, for--had he not waited for the text
as for a revelation? The text was to be a judgment of God. It was to
tell him what was true--or what was not true. And now?

_Here have we no continuing city, we seek one to come._ That did not
tell him anything.

He got up from the steps mechanically, deceived in all his hopes. He
did not see that his mother's eyes sent him a covert greeting, that his
father was surreptitiously nodding to him with a friendly expression on
his face; he felt quite disillusioned, quite bewildered by this
disappointment.

If only it had been over now. How tiring it was to sit quiet for so
long. Wolfgang was pale and yawned covertly; the long night during
which he had not slept made itself felt, he could hardly keep himself
from falling asleep. At last, at last the "Amen" was said, at last, at
last the final hymn pealed from the organ.

The enormous crowd poured out of the church like a never-ending
flood. Each child joined its parents and passed through the church
porch between its father and mother.

Wolfgang walked like that, too, as he had done before. He saw
Kullrich in front of him--with his father only; both of them still wore
the broad mourning-band. Then he left his father and mother and hurried
after Kullrich. He had never been on specially friendly terms with him,
but he took hold of his hand now and pressed and shook it in
silence, without a word, and then went back again quickly.

Her boy's impulsive sympathy touched Kate greatly; altogether she
was very much moved that day. When Wolfgang walked beside her again,
she looked at him sideways the whole time