And he again made her a polite bow, and entered his parlor.

"How provokingly familiar he is," thought
she; "but no one can deny that he is handsome."

The bright roguish face of the young girl
haunted Ralph during the whole next week.
He had been in love at least ten times before, of
course; but, like most boys, with young ladies far
older than himself. He found himself frequently
glancing over to her window in the
hope of catching another glimpse of her face;
but the curtain was always drawn down, and
Bertha remained invisible. During the second
week, however, she relented, and they had many
a pleasant chat together. He now volunteered
to write all her exercises, and she made no
objections. He learned that she was the daughter
of a well-to-do peasant in the sea-districts of
Norway (and it gave him quite a shock to hear
it), and that she was going to school in the city,
and boarded with an old lady who kept a pension
in the house adjoining the one in which he lived.

One day in the autumn Ralph was surprised
by the sudden arrival of his father, and the fact
of his failure in the examination could no longer
be kept a secret. The old Colonel flared up at
once when Ralph made his confession; the large
veins upon his forehead swelled; he grew coppery-