more than that. She is only twenty-one--poor little Gretchen!' and,
leaning back in his chair, Arthur seemed to be lost in recollections of
the past.

Not pleasant, all of them, it would seem, for there was a moisture in
his eyes when he at last looked up in response to his brother's
questioning.

'Who did you say Gretchen was?'

Instantly the expression of the eye changed to one of weariness and
caution, as Arthur replied:

'I did not say who she was, but you will soon know. I saw by the
time-table that the train which passes here at eleven does not stop, but
the three o'clock does, and you will please see that John goes with the
carriage. I may be occupied with the carpenters, Burchard and Belknap,
who were coming to talk with me about the changes I purpose to make, and
which I wish commenced immediately. It is a rule of mine that when I am
to do a thing, to do it at once. So I shall employ at least twenty men,
and before Christmas everything will be finished, and I will show you
rooms worthy of a palace. It is of Gretchen I am thinking, more than of
myself. Poor little Gretchen!'

Arthur's voice was inexpressibly sad and pitiful as he said 'Poor
Gretchen,' while his eyes again grew soft and tender, with a far-away
look in them, as if they were seeing things in the past rather than in
the future.

There was not a particle of sentiment in Frank's nature, and Gretchen