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^ I do not know whether I am doing well in inter-^ esting you in the study of singing, for if you become devoted to the profesnon of a ringer you may, perhaps, sacrifice higher fitculties which ^you possess. Let me look at your comporitions. In qpite of my long and severe study of counterpoint with so great a

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master as Porpoia, what I have learned only helps me to understand the creations of genius, and I should not have the time, even if I had the boldness, to i' compose works of much importance. But if you I have creative genius, you ought to follow that path, and to consider singing and the study of instruments only as subsidiary means.**

Since Haydn had met Consuelo, it is true that he had no longer thought of anything but becoming a singer. To accompainy her or to live near her, to meet her everywhere in her nomadic life, such had

' been his dream for some dajrs. He heatated, there-I fore, to show her his last manuscript, although he had 1 it with him, and had finished composing it on his way

, to Pilsen. He felt equal fear of appearing commonplace to her in this branch of art, and of exhibiting to her a talent which might induce her to combat I his desire to become a singer.

, He yielded, however, and half willing, half unwilling, allowed the mysterious score to be taken from him. It was a little piano sonata, which he intended for his young pupils. Consuelo began by reading it with her eyes, and Joseph was amazed to see her grasp it as perfectly by simply reading it as if she had heard it performed. Then she n^e him try difier-; ent passages upon his violin, and sang herself those

which were possible for the voice. I do not know whether Consuelo divined from this spark the future composer of the ''Creation" and so many other immortal worksy but it is certain that she foresaw a good

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^ Courage, Beppol Yon are a distinguished artist, and 70a can be a great composer if 70Q will woiIl Yon have ideas, that b certauu Wtdi ideas and knowledge, one can accomplidi rnodu So acquire knowledge, and let os trinmph orer Poipoia's ill* humor; he is the master that 70a need. But think no more of the footKghts; your place is elsewhere, and your commander's staff b jour pen. You oug^ not to obey, but to direct. When one can be the sod of a woik, how can he think of taking hb place among the machines? Come, my budding maestro^ j^ve up studying trifls and cadenxas with your throat.

Learn where to place them, and not how to make them; that concerns your very humble senrant and subordinate, who bespeaks the first part wluch you write for a mezzo-soprana**

** O Consuelo de mi alma 1 ** cried Joseph, transported with joy and h(q>e; ^ to write for you, to be understood and interpreted by you I What {^ory, what ambitions, you suggest! But no^ it b a dreams-madness! Teach me to rii^ I would rather devote myself to rendering, according to your heart and fai-telligence, the ideas of others, than place upon your divine lips accents unwoiAy of you.**

''Coine, come,** said Consuelo, «*a trace to ceremony! Tiy to improvise, sometimes on your vioHn, sometimes with your voice. It b tiius that the soul comes to the lips and die fingers. I shall know 1

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whether you have the divioe afSatot or are onlj a clever scholar filled with reminiacencet."

Haydn obeyed her. She remarked with pleasure that he was not learned^ and that there were the freshness and simplicity of youth in his first ideas. She encouraged him more and more, and never thereafter would teach him to sfaig, except to show him, as she said, the proper method of employing .the voice. After that they amused themselves singing together little Italian duets which she taught him, and which he learned by heait. . .

^If our money gives out before the end of our journey,*' she said to him, <« we shall have to sing in the streets. 'Besides, the police might put our talents to the test, if it takes us for wandering cut-purses, as so many are who dbhonor the profession—the wretches! So let us be ready for any event. My voice can pass for that of a young boy before breaking, if I use the contralto range altogether. And you must learn

to accompany me on the violin in a few songs. You will j/ see that it is not a bad study. These popular airs are

fiill of life and original feeling; and as for my old Spanish airs, they are pure genius, virgin gold. Profit by them, maestro; ideas b^et ideas."

These studies were delicious for Haydn. It is there, perhaps, that he found the ideas of those childish and dainty compositions which he made in later years for the marionettes of the little Esterhazy princes.

Consuelo disfdayed such gajrety and grace, such animation and cleverness, in these lessons, that

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made repasu in the open air which seemed to them

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ihe good young man, recalled to the sprightfineM pt and careless happiness of youth, forgot hb thoughts ^''

of love, his privations and his anxieties, and wished that this wandering education might never end.

We will not pretend to give the details of Consuek>*3 i| U

journey with Haydn. Unfamiliar with the paths of the Boehmerwald, we should perhaps give inexact directions if we were to follow their footsteps from the confused recollections which have been transmitted to us. It is enou^ to say that the first half of the journey was more agreeaUe than painful, up to the ||f time of an event which we cannot help narrating.

They had followed the west bank of the Moklau from its source, because that had seemed to them the less frequented and the more pictures qu e. . They therefore descended for a whole day the rocky gorge which stretches down in the same direction as the Danube; but when they had got as fiir as Schenan, seeing the mountains sinking into the plain, they regretted that they had not followed the other bank of the river, and consequently the other spur of the chain, which stretched away towards Bavaria. These wooded mountains would afibrd more natural shelterr and picturesque dtuations than the valleys of Bohemia. In the resu which they took during the day in the —

forests, they amused themselves by catching little , birds with bird-lime and nooses; and when, after jj, their siesta, they found their snares fiOed with tUs ii small game, they cooked it with dead 'branches, and ]\ I

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samptaoiu. They spared only nighringilei^ on the groand that these musical Uids were thdr fellows.

Our poor children were looking for a fold, and find-/' ing none; the river was rapid, deep and swelled by

the rain of the preceding days. They came at last to a landing where was moored a little ddfl^ kept by a lad. They hesitated to approach it, as they saw several people go up to it before them, and bargain for a passage. These men separated after bidding each other farewell Three prepared to f<dlow the west bank of the Moldau, while two others got into the boat. This circumstance decided Consnda

^ On the right or on the left we shall meet some-body,** she said to Joseph. ^We may as well go 'I across^ as that was our intention:'*

^< Haydn hesitated still, and insisted that tl^ people had evO looks, spoke loud and had brutal manners; when one of them, who seemed to wish to give the lie to this unfavorable opinion, stopped the boatman, and speaking to Consndo^ said in German, as he motioned to her good-naturedly,—

^Here, my child, come onl The boat is not heavfly loaded, and you can cross with us, if you wiA.-

^Thank you, »r,^ replied Haydn; ''we will profit by your permission.**

"Come, my children,** returned the one who had already spoken, and whom his compamon called I Mayer, "come, jump aboard 1**

Joseph was hardly seated in the boat when he

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nodced that the two stnmgen were looking aker-natdy at himself and Coosodo with mndi attention and coriofitj. Still, Herr Majer^t bee exjMreiied 00I7 gentlenes and gajre^; hit Yoice was agreeable, hb nuamen poGte, and Coosodo took co n fi de nc e bom his grizzled hair and btheify looL

*Yoa are a musician, my bqjr?** he said to her afteraHtde.

*At jroor service^ my good gendemen,** repBed Joseph.

^'Yoo, too?** said Herr Mayer to Joseph; then, pointing to Consnek)^ he added, ^ your broker, no doubt?"

^No;, sir, he is my friend,** said Joseph; ''we are not of the same natkm, and he understands rery litde German.**

^ Of what country b he?** continued Herr Mayer, stin looking at Conmdo. :

'^ Italy, sir,** replied Haydn.

''Venetian, Genoese, Roman, Neapolitan or Cah-brian?** asked Herr Mayer, articulating each of diese denominadons in the dialect which belongs to it, with admirable bcili^.

" Oh, sir, I see that you can talk to all sorts of Italians,**

repliedConsudo at last, fearing to attrao" attention by a prolonged

silenoe; "I am from Venice-**

"Ah, it is a fine countryl** repfied Herr Mayer, immediatdy using the dialect which was fiiw*iK^ to Consudo. "Is it a k)og time since you left it?**

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^And yoa go aboot the country pUjing the Tiofin?-

^ No, he accompaniet me,** said Consoelo^ pointing to Haydn; «I ling." LV ''Andyoacannot play any instnimenty either hant-boy, flute or tambourine? ^ * No, I hare no need of it** ''But if you are a good musidan, you could easily learn, could you not?** "Oh, certainly, if neceisaiy.^ * '^ But you do not care to? ** ''No, I prefer to ring.**

"And you are right. Still, you wQl be forced to W] come to that, or to change your professions^ at least

for a certain time.** "Whyso^sir?"

" Because your voice will soon change, if it has not begun already.

How old are you? Fourteen, fifteen at most?**' "About that**

"Well, within a year you will nng like a little frog; and it is not certain that you will become a }\ ni^tingale again. It b a doubtful matter for boys^

\\\ thb passing from childhood to youth. Sometimes

\ \ when the beard come% the Toice goes. In your ii) place, I should kam to play the fife; cme can always make a Evii^ with that.** " I win see about it, when that haiq>ens.**

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speaking to Joseph in German, ^can yoa only play the violin?**

M Pardon me, sir/* replied Joseph, guning confidence in his torn when he saw that the good Mayer did not cause Consaelo any embarrassment, ^ I play a litde on several instruments.**

««WMch, for instance ? **

<<The piano, the harp, the flute—a little of everything when I find an occasion to learn iL**

<<With such talents^ you are very wrong to wander about as you do; it is a hard life. I see that your companion, who b even younger and more delicate than you, is almost worn, out, for be limps.**

^Did you nodce that?'* said Joseph, who had noticed it but too well himself altlMxigh hb companion would not admit how swollen and painful her feet were* 1 •.•■.► .

^I saw him dragging himself painfully to the boat,** replied Mayer.

^ Ah! what would you have, sir? *' said Haydn, concealing his sorrow under an air of phQosopIucal indifference ; «' one is not bom to take his ease, and when he must sufier, he suffers.**. .

** But when he could live more happily and honestly by settling down? I do not like to see intelligent and gentle children as you seem to be plying the trade of vagabonds. Believe a good man whohas children himself and who probably wiD never see you again, my litde friends. You will kill and cor-

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\\\ nipt yoursdves in a life of adventures. Remember what I have told yon."

** Thank you for your good advice, sir/' said Con-suelo, Mrith an affectionate smile; ** perhaps we may profit by it** -

** God grant it, my litde gondolier!" replied Heir Mayer to Consuelo, who had taken an oar, and had begun to row mechanically, and from a 'thoroughly Venetian habit.

The boat reached the shore after making rather a long slant on account of the current, which was swift. Herr Mayer bade a friendly fiuewell to the young artists, wishing them a pleasant journey, and his silent companion prevented them from paying their share of the fare. After thanking them fittingly, Consueb and Joseph entered a path which led towards the mountains, while the two strangers fdlowed the level bank of the river in the same direc-tion. '••'-'

<<This Herr Mayer seems an honest man,** said Consuelo^ turning about for the last time upon an eminence as she lost sight of him; ^ I am sure that he is a good fiither of a fiimily.'*

'^ He is curious and talkative," said Joseph, ** and I am very fjoA to have rid you of his questions.*'

^ He is fond of talking, like all persons who have travelled much. He is a cosmopolitan, I should judge, from the facility with which he pronounces i) various dialects. Of what country can he be? '*

*< He has a Saxon accent, although he speaks Low-

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Austrian well I think he is from the North of Ger <^J

many,—a Prussian, perhaps."

^So modi the worse; I do not like Prussians^ and King Frederick less than all hb nation, from what I heard aboat him at the Castle of the Giants.** | (

**\n that case, yon will please at Vioma; that « f warrior-and-philosopher king has no partisans at court or in the dty.**

Conversing in this way, they reached the thick woods, and followed paths which were sometimes j|t]

lost among the firs, and sometimes skirted an am J li phitheatre of ragged mountains. Consaelo thoui^ ^ \f\\ these Hyrdnio-Carpathian mountains more agreeable than sublime; having crossed the Alps many times^ she did not feel the same delight as Joseph, who had never seen such mijestic peaks. The impresnons of the latter, therefore, produced enthusiasm in him, while his companion fek more inclined to reverie. Moreover, Consuelo was extremely fiitigued that day, and was making great efforts to conceal it, that she might not distress Joseph, who was only too mudi distressed already. sV^i

They slept for several hours, and after their repast f <, and some music, set forth again at sunset But soon _ ^ ''

Consuelo, though she had bathed her tender feet for a long time hi the ciystal waters of a spring, after the

manner of idyllic heroines, fek her heels wounded by \\\ the stones, and was compelled to confess that she could not accomplish her nighdy journey. Unfortunately the country was altogether deserted in that

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J' Ic > direction; there was not a cabin, not a monastery,

'/;,j ' J not a hut, on the dope of the Moklaa, Joseph was in despair. The night was too cold for them to rest in the open air. At last, through the opening of two hills, they saw lights at the loot of the opposite dope. This valley, into which they were descending, was in 11 W Bavaria, but the town which they saw was further off than they thought; it seemed to the disconsolate Joseph that it receded as they advanced* To add to their misfortunes, the sky became clouded in every ll ; direction, and 80(m a fine, cold rain began to M. In a few moments it thickened the atmos^iere so much that the lights disappeared, and our travellen, who had arrived at the bottom of the mountain not without difficulty and danger, did not know in what direction to go. They were, however, on a fiuriy smooth road, and they were continuing to drag themselves along it, when they heard the noise of a carriage coming towards them. Joseph did not hesitate to apim>ach it and to ask information concerning the country and the possibility of finding a resting-place.

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Jj j **\Vho goes there?"* replied a strong voice^ and at the same time they heard the click of a pistol lock. ** Be off, or I will blow your brains out 1 **

^We are not very dangerous,^ replied Joseph,

without being disconcerted. ''See! we are two chfl-dren, and we only adc for information.''

''Hillo!*' cried another voice, whidi Consueto

\ immediately recognised as the honest Herr Mayer^s; r

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** they are mj .t#o little scamps of this morning; I recognize the accent of the eldest Are 70a there, too, gondolier?** he added in Venetian, addresnng Consaela

"This is I," she repHed in the same dialect "We are lost, and ask you, good sir, where we can find a palace or a stable in which to take refbge. Tdl ns, if yon know.**

" Why, my poor chiMren,** returned Herr Mayer, " you are at least two miles from any kind of dwelling. You will not find even a kennel in these mountains. But I will take pity on you; get into my carriage; I can give you two seats without crowdii^. Come, no ceremony, get in 1 **

"You are a thousand times too kind, sir,** said Consuelo, touched by the good man*s hospitality; "but you are going towards the nordi^

and we towards Austria.**

"No, I am going towards the west In an hour at most I will set you down at Biberek. You can spend the night there, and to-morrow you can get into Austria. It will even shorten yotir'road. Com^ make up your minds, if you do not ei^oy getting wet and keeping us waiting.**

"Wen, courage and confidence!** whispered Consuelo to Joseph, and they got into the carriage.

They noticed that there were three persons in it,— two on the front seat, one of whom drove; the other, who was Herr Meyer, behind.

Consuelo took one comer, and Joseph the middle. The carriage was a

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dx-idUcd chidie, stxoi^ and roomy.- The kige, pcm^ erfiil hone, whipped up hj a yigoiont hand, resumed hb trot and jangM the b^

00 hi$ coDar as he phook hb head impatientlf•

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^What did I ten jcfaf*" cried Herr Mayer, le-saming tbe convenatioQ

where he had left off fai the monung; **\m diere a more imcomibrtabk tnd trying trade than yoan? When die son shines, it all seems beautiful; bat the son does not ahrays shine, and your destiny is as changeful as die weadier.**

*< What destiny is there whidi is not changeful and unceitain?** said Consodo. "When the sky ii stormy, Prondence places kindly soub upon one*i r6ad; it is certainly not at this moment that we are inclined to find fiuilt with ft"

*< You hare a ready wi^ my young Mend,** repBed Mayer. ** You are fiom a country where every one has that But believe me, neither your wit iKNr your fine voice win prevent your dying of hunger in these dreary Austrian provinces. In your place, I should go and seek my fiutune iii a rich and civilized country, under the protectioii of a great prince."*

"What country?** said'Consuek), surjprised at tUs

"^dh, I don't kiiow; there are several**

"But b not the Queen of Hungary a great

princess?'* said HaydiL "la one not equaUy weB

protected in her dominions?" > "Yes, no doubt,** rejdied Mayer; "but do yoa

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not know that Her Majesty Maria Theresa detests music, and strollers still more, and that you win be driven out of Vienna if you appear in the streets as troubadours, such as you are now? **

At that moment Consuelo saw, a little way off, at the bottom of the dark dedivity beneath the road, the lights which she had perceived, and she informed Joseph of her obsenrations. He immediately expressed to Herr Mayer their desire to get out, and seek this resting-place, nearer than the town of KbereL

**Tho«e?" replied Herr Mayer; "you take those for lights? They are lights, indeed, but they illumine no other resting-places than

dangerous swamps where many a traveller has been lost and swallowed up. Have you never seen will-o'-the-wisps?'*

** Often, on the lagoons of Venice," said Consuelo, « and also on the little lakes of Bohemia."

''Wen, my children, those lights which you see are nothing else." -

Herr Mayer continued to speak for a long while to our young friends about the necessity for settling down, and about the few resources which they woukl find at Vienna, without, however, de»gnating the place to which he would advise their going. At first, Joseph was struck by his persistency, and feared that he had discovered die sex of his companion; but the frankness with which he spoke to her, as if to a boy^ (going so fiir as to ten her that she woukl do better to embrace a mOitaiy career when she was oki

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enooghy than to wander abont the highways), lejts-sured hira on this point, and he decided that the good Mayer was one of those weak-minded people with fixed ideas, who repeat throughout the whole day the first thought which comes into their heads on awaking.

Consnelo, on her part, took hira for a schoolmaster or a Ph>testant minister, who thought of nothing but education, good morab and pros-elytism.

An hour later, when they arrived at Biberek^ the night was so dark that they coukl see absolutely nothing. The chaise drew up in the courtyard of an inn, and Herr Mayer was immediately joined by two men, who drew him aside to speak to him. When they entered the kitchen, where Consuelo and Joseph were drymg and warming themselves before the fire, Joseph recognized in these two men the same who had parted from Herr Mayer at the crossing of the

Moldau, when he passed over it, leaving them upon the left bank.

One of them was one-eyed, and the other, though he had both eyes, was of a hardly more agreeable countenance. The one who had crossed the river with Herr Mayer, and whom our two young travellers had found in the carriage, came in and joined them, but the fourth did not appear. They spoke to each other in a tongue which was unintelligible even to Consuelo, who knew so many. Herr Mayer appeared to exercise a certam authori^ over them, or at least to influence their decisions, fbr after a somewhat animated discussion in an under*

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^|it ' tone, tbey all retired, except the one whom Consodo^

in designating him to Joseph, had caDed ''The Silent Man,'* and who had never left Herr Majei;

Haydn was preparing to have his own and his companion's frugal sapper served on one end of the kitchen table, when Herr Mayer, coming back to them, invited them to share his repast, and insisted with so much good nature that they did not dare to refuse. He took them into the dining-room, where they found a veriuUe feast; at least it appeared such to two poor children iriio had been deprived of eveiy comfort of the kind during five days of a somewhat trying journey.

Nevertheless^ Consuelo partook but moderately; the good cheer which Herr Mayer made, the xeal with which the servants appeared to serve him, and the quantity of wine which he and his silent companion absorbed forced her to lower some* ' what the high opinion which she had formed of the

ascetic virtues of her amphitryon. She was especially disgusted at die desire Which he showed to make Joseph and even herself drink more than they required, and the very vulgar playfulness with which he prevented their putting water in their wine. She saw with still greater uneasiness that, either from thought-lessness or from a desire to repair his strength, Joseph was yielding^ and was beginning to become more communicative and animated than she liked. Finally die became a little irritated when she found her companion insensible to the nudges which she gave him to stop his frequent Ubattoos^ and said, as she drew

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away his glass just as Herr Mayer was about to fill k again,—

** No, sir, no 1 permit us not to imitate you; itbnot fitting for us.**

^^ You are droll musicians! *' cried Mayer, wiA Ms frank and careless air; '' musicians who do not drink t You are the first of the class I ever met.**

''And you, sir, are you a musician? ** asked Joseph. ** I would wager that you are. May thedevil flyaway with me if you are not the chapel-master of some Saxoa principality!"

''Perhaps," replied Mayer with a smile; ** and that is why I take an interest in you, my children.**

"If you are a master, sir,** returned Consudo^ " there is too great a distance between your tsknt and that of poor street:singers like us for us to interest jroa greaUy."

"There are street-dngers who have more talent than people think,"

said Mayer, ** and there are very great musicians, even chapel-masters of the greatest sovereigns in the world, who began by singing in die streets. Suppose I were to tell you that this mornings between nine and ten o'clock, up in the mountains on the left bank of the Moldan, I heard two charming voices singing a pretty Italian duet with an agreeabk and even learned accompaniment upon the violin?

Well, that happened to me whOe I was breakfiutii^ upon a hiUside, with my friends. And yet when I saw the musicians who had charmed me going down the hill, I was surprised to find them two poor children ;

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one dressed like a little peasant, the other genteel, umple, bat apparently not very rich. Do not be ashamed or surprised at the friendship which I show yon, my little friends, and do me the kindness to drink to the Muses, our commcm and divine patronI ^Sir, maestro!** cried Joseph, joyous and quite won over, ^ I wish to drink your own health. Oh, j you are a true musician, I am sure, ance you admired

. I the talent of—of SignorBertoni,mycomradel**

, ( ** No, you will not drink any more, nor I either,''

said Consuek), impatiently, snatching away his glass, and pushing adde her own; ''we have no means of livelihood but our voices, maestro, and wine ruins the voice. You ought to encourage us to leniain sober instead of tempting us.**

''Wen, you speak sensibly,** said Mayer, placing the decanter in the middle of the table. " Yes, you are right; take care of your voices. You have more wisdom than belongs to your age, friend Bertom, and I am glad to have this proof of your good conduct You will be successful; I see it as much from your prudence as your talent. You will be successfrd, and I shall have the honor and the merit of contributing to it**

Then the pretended professor, assuming an easy attitude, and speaking with an air of extreme kindness and honesty, offered to take them with him to Dresden, where he would procure for them lessons from the celebrated Hasse, and the special protection of Digitized by

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the Queen of Poland^ the Electoral Princett of Saxoox*

This princess, the wife of Augustus IIL, King of Poland, was a pupil of P6rponu It was a rivalry be-tween that composer and ** JX

Sassone ^^ for the &vor of this music-loving sovereign which had been the first cause of their enmity. Even if Consuelo had been disposed to seek her fortune in the north of Germany, she would not have chosen to make her debut at this courts where she would have found herself opposed by the school and the clique iriiich had triumphed over her master. She had heard enough from Pofw pora, in his moments of bitterness and resentment, to be little tempted to follow Professor Mayer's advice under any circumstances.

With Joseph the situation was very different. His brain was heated by the supper, and he fimded that he had met a powerful protector and the promoter of his future fortune. He never thought of leaving Consuelo to follow this new friend; but, a little intoxicated as he was, he indulged the hope of meeting him at a later day. He had confidence in his benevolence, and thanked him warmly. In his joy, he took his violin, and played all out of tune. Herr flayer applauded him only the more, either because he did not wish to pain him by pointing out his fidse notes» or, as Consuelo believed, because he was a very poor muddan himseUl The error into which he had really

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Men oonceming her tex^ •Ithwigh he had heid her sing, proved douiy that he coold not have a very calthrated ear^nnce he alloired himself to be impoied upon like a Tillage piper, or like a teacher of die tnunpet*

Meanwhile, Herr Mayer was still insisting on their aOowing him to take them to Dresden. While he re* fiued the offers, Joseph appeared so dazzled by them, and made so many promises to go there as soon as possible^ that Consiielofi)imd herself obliged tomide* ceive Herr Mayer concerning the possibility of this arrangement.

*< We cannot think of it at pfesent,** said she very firmly. ''Joseph, you know very well that it is not possible^ and that you have odier plans.** 'Mayer renewed his tempting offers^ and was surprised to find her steadfittt, and Joseph also^ whose reason returned as soon as Signor Bertoni began to speak.

At this moment the silent traveller, who had only appeared Cor a short time at saiq>er, came to caO Herr Mayer, who went oat with him. Consoelo seized this opportuniqr to scold Joseph fiur the readi*

ness with which he trusted to the fine speeches of strangers and the inqnrations of good wine.

''Did I say too nroch?** asked Joseph firig^tened.

"No^** she replied, "but it is an impradence even to be so long with strangers. They may perceive or siiq)ect that I am not a boy, if they see me too often. It was nsdess Cor me to mb my hands with pencil to Uacken them, and to keep diem nnder die table as Digitized by

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much as possible; these men could not have helped noticing hov weak the/ are, if they had not forta* nately been absorbed, one by die

bottle and the other by his own chatter. Now the most prudent thing would be for us to slip away and sleep in another inn, for I am not at ease with these new acquaintances^ who seem to wish to attach themselves to us.**

^ What 1 ** said Joseph, ^go away disgracefully like ungrateful creatures, without thanking this honest man, this illustrious maestro^ perhaps? Who knows but it was the great Hasse himself with whom we have just been conversing? *'

^ I can assure you that it was not; and if your head had been clear, you would have noticed a quantity of vulgar, commonplace remarks which he made about music. A master does not speak in this way. He is some musician in the lowest ranks of the orchestra, -— good-natured, very talkative, and something of a tippler. I do not know iriiy, but it seems to me that I can see from his fitce that he has always blown in brass, and from his udelong look that he has always had one eye on the leader of his orchestra.'

^ A horn or a second darmet I ^ cried Josefdi, widi a peal of laughter; ^still, he is an agreeable table compani<m.**

^That is more than you are,''said Consudo, a little irritated; <<come, get sober, and we will take leave; only let us get away.**

^The rain is £UUng in torrents; hear how it beats against the glass J**

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''I hope that yod are not going to deep upon thb taUe,'* sdd, Consuelo^ shaking him to awaken him.

Herr Mayer came in at that moment

''This is pleasant! ** he exdaimed gayly« ** I ex-n ] f pected to be able to deep here and leave to-morrow for Chamb, but my friends insist on my retracing my steps, because they say that my presence is necessary for some business which they have at Passau. I have to submit. Really^ my children, if you take my ad-v^ce, you will profit by the chance, since I must give up the hope of taking you t9 Dresden. I have still two seats for you in my chaise, as these gentlemen have their own* We shall be in Passau, six miles firom here, to-morrow morning. There I can bid you forewelL You will be near the frontier of Austria, and you can even descend the Danube to Vienna in a boat, at little cost and without fatigue.**

Joseph thought the plan admirable to rest Con-suelb's poor feet The opportunity seemed favorable indeed, and the ssul down the Danube was a resource

» , . of which they had not thought Consuelo accepted, therefore, especially as she saw that Joseph would not be able to take the precautions necessary for the safety of their rest that night In the dark, at the back of the carriage, she had nothing to fear from the observadons of her travelling companions, and Herr Mayer said that they would reach Passau before daybreak. Nevertheless, Consuelo felt a strange repugnance, and the appearance of Herr Mayer's friends

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diq>letsed her more and more. She asked him if they were masidana.

** AH, more or less,*' he replied laconically..

They found the carriage ready, the drivers in thdr places, and the inn servants, well satisfied with Herr Mayer's liberality, pressing about him to serve him up to the last moment. In an interval of silence,

.anudst all this bustle, Consuelo heard a groan which seemed to proceed firom the middle of the court. She turned towards Joseph, who had heard nothing, and when die groan was repeated, she felt a chill run through her veins. No one, however, appeared to notice anything, and she attributed it to some dog, weary of hb chain. But do what she would to forget it, it made a gloomy impression on her.

This stifled cry amid the darknett, the wind and the rain, proceeding from a group of animated or indifferent people, filled her with terror and sadness, whether it was a human voice or an imaginary sound.

At once she thought of Albert, and, as if she believed that she shared in the mysterious second sight with which he seemed gifted, she was frightened at some danger which, she felt, must be hanging over his head or her own.

But the carriage had already started. A new horse, more powerful than the first, drew it rapidly along. The other carriage, equally swift, travelled sometimes before, sometimes behind it. Joseph was chatting anew with Herr Mayer, and Consuelo tried to go to sleep, pretending to be already dozing, to have an excuse for remaining silent.

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Her weariness at last got the better of her sorrow and anxie^, and she fell into.a profound shunber. When she awoke, Joseph was also asleep, and Herr Mayer was silent at last The nun had ceased, \\ the sky was dear and the day was beginning to break.

The country appeared entirely strange to Consueb, but she saw from time to time against the horizon the tops of a chain of mountains which resembled the I Boehmerwald.

[ As die shook off her drowsiness, Consuelo was surj !. prised to see the position of these mountains, which

[ should have been upon her left, but which were upon Y ber right The stars had disappeared, and the sun,

. (r which die expected to see rising before her, had not

|, yet aiq)eared. She thought that the mountains which It she saw could not be the BoehmerwakL Herr Mayer j /: ^ was snoring^ and she did not dare to ^dress the

' j driver, the only person awake.

'I The horse fell into a walk at the foot of a steep hill, I j' and the sound of the wheeb was deadened by the

\ , damp sand of the ruts. Then Consuelo heard veiy distinctly the same dull, sad sob which she had heard in the courtyard of the inn at Biberek. This voice

' I seemed to come from behind her. She turned about

)' mechanically, and saw only the leathern back against which she was leaning. She thought herself the vicI tim of an hallucination; and, her thoughts recurring to Albert, she became convinced that at this very i ^ moment he was dying, and that thanks to the incomI prehensible power of this strange man*s love, she was Digitized by

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healing the mournful and harrowing iound of hb last sij^ This bxtcf so took possession of her brain that she felt herself fainting; and fearing to soffocate altogether, she asked the driver, who had stopped to breathe his horse half-way up the hiO, for permission to walk up the remainder. He consented, and alighting himself walked whistling beside hb horse.

This man was too well dressed to be a wagoner bjr trade. In a movement which he made, Consudo thought she saw pistob at hb girdle. Thb precaution was not surprising, in a country so deserted as

that in which they were; and besides, the shape of the chaise, which Consuelo examined as she walked beside the wheel, showed that it carried merchandise. It was so deep that there must be, behind the back ieat, a double box, like those in which treasures and de*

spatches are carried. Still, it did not seem very heavily loaded, for a single horse could draw it easily. An observation which struck Consuelo much UKMne forcibly was to see her shadow retreating before her; and when she turned around, she saw the sun above the horizon opposite where it should have been, if they had been going towards Fassan.

^ In what direction are we travelling? '* she asked the driver, going hurriedly up to him; ^we are turning our backs upon Austria.**

**Yes, for half an hour," he replied very quietly. ^ We are retradng our steps, because the bridge over the river which we have to cross b broken, and we have to make a circuit of half a mile to find anodier.

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Consudo, somewhat relieved, got into the carriage again, exchanged a few indifferent words with Herr Mayer, who had waked up, and who soon went to sleep again (Joseph had not interrupted his nap for a moment), and they reached the top of the hiU. Con-suelo saw spread out before her a long, steep, winding road, and the river of which the driver Had spoken appeared at the bottom of a gorge; but as far as the eye could reach, no bridge could be seen, and they were still travelling towards the north. Consuelo^ anxious and surprised, could not get to sleep again.

A new acclivity was soon reached, and the horse seemed very tired.

All the travellers alighted except Consudo, whose feet were still painfuL Then the groaning again fell upon her ears, but so distinctly and so many different times that she could no longer attribute it to an illusion of her senses. The noise came^ without doubt, from the double bade of the carriage. She examined it carefully, and found, in the comer where Herr Mayer had always remained, a little leather window like a wicket, which communicated with, this double back.

She tried to open it, but could not. There was a lock, the key of which was probably in the pocket of the pretended professor.

Consudo, ardent and courageous in such adventure^ drew from her pocket a knife with a strong, sharp blade, winch she had taken when she set out, perhaps from an inspiration of modesty, and with a vague dread of dangers from which suidde can always deliver a courageous woman. She took advantage of a

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moment when all the traveOen were ahead on the road, eren the driver, who had nodiing to fear from the qnritof his horse; and enhiging, with « qukk, bold hand, die narrow crack between the shatter and the bade, she succeeded in forcing it far enough aside to place her eye to It, and see into the interior of this mysterious box.

What were her surprise and honor when she saw, in this narrow and dark ceD, which received air and fight only from a slit in the top^ a man of athletic figar^ gagged, covered with blood, his hands and feet tightly bonnd, with his body bent over, in a horrible ccmdition of constraint and suffer* ing! Tlie part of his fiice which cookl be seen was of Uvid paleness, and he seemed to be in the convuk sions of death* . ',

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> CHAPTER Xm.

Chilled widi hoiror, Consaelo sprang to the procmdy and coming beside Joseph, she steadily pressed his arm, to draw him away from the group. When they were a few paces in advance, she said to him in a low Toice^--*

^ We are lost if we do not fly at once; these people are robbers and assanini. Let us hurry ahead and cut across country, kft they have thdr reasons for decetvii^ us in this way.**

j I Joseph thought that a bad dream had disturbed hb companion's imaginarion. He hardly understood what she said.

He himself was oppressed by an unwonted languor, and the cramps which he felt in his stomach caused him to believe that the wine he had drank the night before had been tampered with. It is certain that he had not made a great enouj^ infraction of his habitual sobrie^ for him to fed heavy and worn out as he did.

^Dear signora,** he replied, <<you have had a nightmare, and I think I have one myself as I listen to you. Even if these good people were bandits, what rich capture could they hope for if they should seize iqxxius?**

*< I do not know, but I am afraid; and if you had

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seen, as I did, a man assasanated in the rerf caniage in which we are travelling ** —

Joseph coald not help laughing, for this last affirmation of Consaelo*s had, indeed, altogether the appear* anceof a vision.

«*Well, bat do yon not at least see that thqr are leading ns astray? *'

she said hotly; ** that thqr are taking ns towards the north, while Passan and the Danube are behind ns? Look where the son is, and see what a desert we are traversing, instead of 9^ proaching a large town! **

The justness of these observations struck Joseph, and began to dissipate the somewhat lethargic security in which he was plunged.

''Well,'* said he, *< let us go on; and if they appear to wish to restrain us against our wiH, we shall under* stand their intentions.'*

** And if we cannot escape from them at once, be cool, Joseph, do you understand? We must out-wit them, and escape some other time.**

Then she drew him on by the arm, limping even more than her suffering obliged her, but n^ver* theless gaining ground. But they could not make ten steps in this way without being recalled by Herr Mayer, at first in a friendly tone, then with a severer accent, and finally, as they paid no at« tention to it, by the energetic oaths of the others* Joseph turned his head and saw with terror a pistol pointed at them by the driver, who was running after them.

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'<They will kill us,'* he said to Cpnsuelo, shcken-inghispace.

''Are we out of nmge?'' she said to him coolly, still drawing him on, and beginning to run*

"I do not know/' said Joseph, trying to stop her; ''believe me, the moment has not come; they will fire at us."

L, " Stop, or I will fire r* cried the driver, who ran filter than they and kept them within range of his pistoL ''

"Now we must brazen it out,*' said Omsuelo; ^Joseph, do and speak as I do. Ah I upon my word,'* she said aloud, as she turned around, laughing with the self-possession of a good actress, ".if my feet did not hurt too much for me to run further, I would .... show yon that your jest did not succeed."

t { 1 And looking at Joseph, who was pale as death, she laughed loudly, as she pointed out his terrified fitce to the other travellers, who had come up to them.

" He believed it 1" she cried, with perfectly emulated gayety. " My poor comrade believed it I Ah, Beppo, I did not think you such a coward I Look, professor, just see Beppo, who really believed that the gentleman was about to shoot at him! *'

Consuelo spoke Venetian, thus holding in check by her gayety the man with the pistol, who could not understand a word of what she said. Herr Mayer pretended to laugh also. Then turning to the driver,

"What was this stupid joke?** he asked, not widiout Digitized by. VjOOQIC

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a wink which Consiielo law vciy distinctly; « why did ' \\ Ij |

yoa frighten these poor chUdra?^ ' ./

** I wished to see if they were brave," replied the '\ \, other, putting his pistol back in his girdle. li

^Alasy" said Consueb slyly, <<the gentleman will W

have a poor opinion of yon now, friend Joseph. As : >«

for me, I was not afraid; admit that, Mr. RstoL" , 1 \A

«Yoa are a brave fellow," replied Mayer; «<yoa / If 11

would make a fine drummer, and you would beat the charge at the head of a regiment without filtering before the grape-shot"

'<Ah, I cannot tell about thatl" she replied; ''perhaps I should have been afraid if I had thought the gentleman really wished to kill me.

But we Venetians are accustomed to all sorts of jokes^ and we are not to be caught like that."

*'Never mind, the joke was not in good taste."

Then, speaking to the driver, he pretended to scokl him a little; but Consuelo was not deceived, and saw from the intonation of their dialogue that they were having an explanation, from which it resulted that they believed themselves mistaken concerning the intended flight of our young traveDers. —

Consuelo, having gone back into the carriage widi the others, said laughingly to Herr Mayer, ** You must • / |j

confess that your driver with the pistols is a queer fellow 1 I shall call him Sgnor Pistola in future.

Yet you must admit, professor, that that was not a !

very new trick." il , .

*«It is a German joke," said Herr Mayer; «'they ''

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h\ \ I , I have more cleverness than that m Venice, have thef

^ not?*»

''Oh, do joo know what ItaHans would have done in your place to play a good joke on ns? They would have driven the carriage into the first thidcet they came to^ and hidden themselves. Then, when we tamed round, not seeing anything, and believing that the devQ had flown away with everybody, who would have been finely caught? I, especially, who can hardly walk, and Joseph, who is as cowardly as a cow of the Boehmerwald, and who would have be-lieved himself abandoned in this deserL**

Herr Mayer laughed at her childish jests^ ndiich he translated to Signor Pistols, who was not less amused than he by the simplicity of

^ the gondolier.*' ** Oh, you are altogether too clever 1 ** rqdied Herr Mayer; ''they win not attempt to play any more tricks upon yon.^ And Consuelo, who at last saw the profound irony which lay beneath his pretended good nature and his jovial and fiuherly air, continued for her part to play the role of a fool who thinks himself clever,— a familiar character in every melodrama*

It is certain that their adventure was a pret^ serious one; and, while she continued to play her part adroitly, Consuelo fidt that she was in a fever. Fortunately, it is in a fisver that cme acts, and in a stupor that one succumbs.

From this time she showed herself as gay as she had been reserved, and Joseph, who had recovere d an his wits^ seconded her admirably. Never appear-Digitized by