knight with shield and armor, and out of his breast grew the many-branched
tree with its shields and names. Probably it had been bought, with other
rubbish, at some auction, and now at Christmas, when every hole and
corner was rummaged for whatever could be converted into fun or
earnest, it had been brought out for the Christmas tree. The cousin
read the following verse:--
"Art thou not noble?--then it in far better;
This tree unto thy father is not debtor;
Thyself alone is thy ancestral crown.
From thee shall spring forth branches of renown,
And if thou come where blood gives honor's place,
This tree shall prove thee first of all thy race!
From this hour forth thy soul high rank hath won her,
Not will forget thy knighthood and thy honor."

"I congratulate you," said Wilhelm, laughing. "Now you will have to
pay the nobility-tax!"

Several of the ladies who stood near him, smiling, also offered a
kind of congratulation. Sophie alone remained silent, and examined
the present of another lady--a pretty pincushion in the form of a
gay butterfly.

The first row now rose to examine more nearly how beautifully the
Christmas tree was adorned. Sophie drew one of the ladies away with
her.

"Let us look at the beautiful statues," said she; "the Shepherd-boy
and the Mercury."