sake your beautiful Eva, with her saintly gaze, might easily forget to
pray. It was not you, but she, who drew him to-night to your house. Had
this thought entered my head downstairs in the entry I should probably,
to be honest, have omitted my little fairy tale and let matters take
their course. St. Clare ought to have protected her future votary.
Besides, it pleases the arrogant little lady to show me as plainly as
possible, on every occasion, that I am a horror to her. Let those who
will accept such insults. My Christianity does not go far enough to
offer her the right cheek too. And shall I tell you something? To spoil
her game, I should be capable, in spite of all the life preservers in the
world, of binding Schorlin to me in good earnest."

"Do not!" pleaded Els, raising her clasped hands beseechingly, and added,
as if in explanation: "For the noble Boemund Altrosen's sake, do not."

"To promise that, my darling, is beyond my power," replied Cordula
coolly, "because I myself do not know what I may do or leave undone
tomorrow or the day after. I am like a beech leaf on the stream. Let us
see where the current will carry it. It is certain," and she looked at
her bandaged hands, "that my greatest beauty, my round arms, are
disfigured. Scars adorn a man; on a woman they are ugly and repulsive.
At a dance they can be hidden under tight sleeves, but how hot that would
be in the 'Schwabeln' and 'Rai'! So I had better keep away from these
foolish gaieties in future. A calf turns a countess out of a ballroom!
What do you think of that? New things often happen."

Here she was interrupted; the housekeeper called Els. Sir Seitz
Siebenburg, spite of the untimely hour, had come to speak to her about
an important matter. Her father had gone to rest and sleep. The knight
also enquired sympathisingly about Countess von Montfort and presented