nil iilihlhlii ili 
 
 liiiihiiliiluiiliiiiiiihiiiiklllillllillllillliiliiiiiiuliijiii. 
 
Dr. Robert T. Sutherland 
 
M.^./d,^L^ 
 
 
 /^//, 
 
GEORGE EBERS, 
 
The 
 Burgomaster s Wife 
 
 A ROMANCE 
 
 By GEORGE EBERS 
 
 Author of 
 'An Egyptian Princess," "Uarda," "The Bride of the Nile," 
 
 "Homo Sum," etc. • 
 
 Translated by 
 Annie W. Aver and He;i,Kn T. Slats 
 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY, ^ ^ j. 
 ^ ^ j>. PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK 
 
PRESERVATION 
 COPY ADDED 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 BAEONESS SOPHIE VON BRANDENSTEIN, 
 
 NEE EBEKS. 
 
 If 
 
 "Why I should dedicate to you, the only sister of 
 my dead father, a book and this book, of all others, 
 needs no words of explanation from me to you. 
 From my earliest recollection you have been a dear 
 and true friend to me, and you surely have not for- 
 gotten how, as your guest seventeen years ago, I 
 was busily employed in getting together the material 
 that forms the basis of " The Burgomaster's Wife." 
 You took a friendly interest in many an item that 
 seemed to me worthy of notice, curious, or amusing, 
 and when the demands of a serious profession hin- 
 dered me from pursuing in the old way the pleasant 
 study of the history of Holland, the home of my 
 mother, you never wearied in urging me to return 
 to the unused material that had formerly aroused 
 your interest. 
 
 At last I have been permitted to give this 
 material, so long laid aside, its rightful due. A noble 
 
 ivi292449 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 period in the glorious history of Holland is now the 
 
 prop about which cling the tendrils of ray story. 
 
 You have seen them grow and for this reason you 
 
 will regard them with pleasure and indulgence. 
 
 In love and friendship, 
 
 Yours as always, 
 
 Geokg Ebeks. 
 Leipzig, October 30, 1S81, 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 CHAPTEK I. 
 
 In the year of our Lord 1574, sprino^ had made 
 an early aiid joyous entry into the Netherlands. 
 
 The sky was felue, ins.ects darted hither and thither 
 in the sunshine, white butterflies balanced them- 
 selves on the newly opened flowers, and beside one 
 of the many canals which intersected the wide plain 
 stood a stork which snapped at a solemn froc^ ; the 
 poor fellow struggled in the red beak of his enemy. 
 A gulp — the agile leaper disappeared and his mur- 
 derer spread his wings and soared away. Over 
 broad gardens and more modest ones filled with 
 blossoming fruit trees, flower-beds set out with 
 dainty exactness, and gayly painted arbors, over the 
 somber crown of encircling fortresses and towers, 
 over narrow houses with tall painted gables, over 
 tidy streets along whose borders elms, poplars, lin- 
 dens, and willows were taking on the fresh, green 
 liverv of spring — on sped the bird. At last he 
 alighted on a tiled roof. Here on the ridgepole 
 stood his nest, well secured. When he had generously 
 handed over his captive to his brooding mate, he 
 balanced himself on his right leg and gazed thought- 
 fully down upon the town of dazzHng red brick, 
 which rose beneath him on the green carpeted 
 
2 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 meadows. lie had known for many years his beauti- 
 ful Ley den, tlic pride of Holland. 
 
 lie was funiiliar witli every arm and armlet of the 
 Rhine that separated the stately city into countless 
 ishmds, and over which arched as many stone bridges 
 as there are days in live months of the year; but 
 truly, many things had changed since his last Hight 
 to the south. 
 
 Where were the burghers' gayly painted summer 
 houses and orchards, where were the wooden frames 
 upon which the weavers were wont to stretch their 
 somber and many-colored cloths ? 
 
 AV^hatever work of human hands, whatever vege- 
 tation had once risen breast high outside the city 
 walls and towers, breaking the uniformity of the 
 plain, all had vanished from the earth, and, beyond, 
 on the bird's best hunting grounds could be seen 
 brown and blackened circles in the green of the 
 meadows. 
 
 On the last of October of the previous year, 
 shortly after the storks' departure, a Spanish army 
 had set up its camp on this spot, and on the first 
 day of spring, a few hours before the home-coming 
 of the feathered wanderers, the besiegers had gone 
 away, having accomplished nothing. 
 
 Like a blight in the midst of the luxurious growth 
 could be seen their place of encampment, the black- 
 ened embers of their lires. 
 
 The sorely pressed burghers of the rescued citj" 
 gave a sigh of thankfulness. The industrious, easy- 
 going folk had soon forgotten the sufferings they 
 had endured, for early sj)ring is so fair, and never 
 does existence seem so precious as when the delights 
 of spring surround us. 
 
 A new and happier time seemed to have begun, 
 not only for nature but for man as well. The 
 soldiers who had been quartered in the beleaguered 
 
TEE BURGOMASTER' 8 WIFE. 3 
 
 town, and had raised many disturbances, had taken 
 their departure two days before with song and 
 music. The carpenter's ax glittered in the spring 
 sunshine before the red walls, gates, and towers, and 
 cut sharply into the beams out of which new scaffold- 
 ings and frames were to be put together ; cattle 
 grazed peacefully and unafraid outside the town ; 
 in the devastated gardens digging, sowing and 
 planting was busily going on. In streets and houses 
 thousands of liands that had lately borne pikes and 
 arquebuses upon the walls and towers were turned 
 to useful labors, and the old people sat quietly at 
 the doors and warmed their backs in the sunshme 
 of the warm spring day. 
 
 On this eighteenth of April, few discontented 
 faces were to be seen in the streets of Leyden. Of 
 impatient faces, however, there was no lack, and 
 whoever wished to find them had only to go to the 
 high school where noon recess was ap])roacliing and 
 where many boys were looking with much more 
 eagerness out of the open windows of the school- 
 room than at the teacher's face. 
 
 Only in that part of the spacious hall where the 
 larger boys were gathered was no uneasiness notice- 
 able. The spring sunshine shone on tJieir books also, 
 spring was also calling to them, but the words to 
 which they were listening seemed to have a more 
 powerful influence upon their young minds than 
 spring's alluring voice. 
 
 Forty shining eyes were fastened upon the 
 bearded face of the man who was speaking to them 
 in deep tones. 
 
 Even unruly Jan Mulder had dropped the knife 
 with which he had beo-un to carve on his desk a 
 striking likeness of a ham, and was listenmg mtently. 
 
 The noon bell sounded from the neighboring 
 church of St. Peter's, and shortly after, from the 
 
4 TUB BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 tower of the Kathbaus ; the small boys left the room 
 noisily, but — strange to say — tlie patience of the 
 larger ones still held out ; they could not be listen- 
 ing to things that were a part of the lesson. 
 
 Tiie man who stood before them was not the 
 teaclier but the clerk of the council, Van Hout, who 
 was to-day taking the place of his sick friend, 
 Vestroot, master of arts and preacher. During the 
 riniiing: of the bells he had closed the book and now 
 said : 
 
 '' 8uf<pen(lo lectionem. Heh, Jan Mulder, how 
 would you translate suspenclere P^ 
 
 " Ila'ng," answered the lad. 
 
 '' Hang !" laughed Van Hout. " Hang you, per- 
 haps, by the heels, but where can one hang a lesson ? 
 Adrian van der Werff " 
 
 The lad addressed rose quickly, and said : 
 
 " Suspenders lectionem means to end the lesson," 
 
 '' Gootl ; and if we were going to hang Jan Mul- 
 der, what would we call it ?" 
 
 '■'■ Patlhalare^ad patibulumP'' shouted the 
 scholars together. 
 
 Van Hout's face, which had just been smiling, 
 grew grave. He sighed and said : 
 
 " Pat'ibido is a bad Latin word, and your fathers, 
 who used to sit here, did not understand its meaning 
 as well as you do. Now every child in the I^ether- 
 lands knows it, for Alva has impressed it upon us. 
 More than eighteen thousand brave burghers have 
 gone to the gallows through his ad patlhulum P"* 
 
 So saying he drew his short black doublet through 
 his girdle, stopped nearer to the foremost desks, 
 bent his sturdy body forward, and said with ever 
 increasing emotion : 
 
 "This is enough for to-day, bo3'S. It will not 
 matter much if you forget tiie names that you have 
 learned here to-day. But keep one thing in mind : 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 5 
 
 The fatherland above everything ! Leonidas and 
 his three hundred Spartans have not died in vain as 
 long as there are men who are ready to follow their 
 example. Your turn will also come, I am not here 
 to boast, but what is true is true. We Hollanders 
 have offered up fifty times three hundred martyrs 
 for the freedom of our native land. Strong men are 
 always found in stormy times ; boys, too, have stood 
 the test. Ulrich, there at your head, may bear his 
 nickname of Lowing with honor ! ' Ho Persians — ho 
 Greeks !' it used to be — but we shout : ' Ho Nether- 
 lands and ho Spain !' And truly the proud Darius 
 never raged through Hellas as King Philip has 
 through Holland. Yes, boys, many flowers grow in 
 the human breast. Among them is hatred, the 
 poisonous hemlock. Spain has sown it in our breasts, 
 I can feel it growing within me and you feel it too, 
 and ought to feel it. But do not misunderstand me ! 
 ' Ho Spain — ho Netherlands !' is the cry and not : 
 ' Ho Papists and ho Reformers !' Every creed is 
 good in God's sight, as long as men earnestly strive 
 to walk in Christ's footsteps. Before God's throne, 
 the question will not be : Papist, Calvinist, or 
 Lutlieran \ but : What were your thoughts and what 
 were yonr deeds ? Respect every man's belief ; but 
 whosoever makes common cause with the tyrant 
 against tlie freedom of the Fatherland, him you 
 may despise. Now pray silently. There And 
 now go home !" 
 
 The schohirs rose ; Yan Hout wiped the perspira- 
 tion from his high forehead, and while the boys 
 gathered together tlioir bi:)oks, pens and pencils, he 
 said hesitatingly and as tliough he must make ex- 
 cuses to himself for what he had just said : 
 
 " What I have been sajang to you may not belong 
 to the schoolroom ; bat, boys, the straggle is very 
 far from being at an end, and although you may 
 
6 THE B UROOMA STER '8 WIFE. 
 
 have to sit on the school-bench awhile longer, you 
 too will be soldiers in the future. Lowing, you 
 mav remain behind. I have something to say to 
 you." 
 
 The master turned slowly away from the bo3"s, 
 and the latter rushed out into the open. In a cor- 
 ner of the yard of St. Peter's, whicii lay behind the 
 church and was disturbed by few of the passers-by, 
 they halted and their confused shouts resolved 
 themselves into a sort of consultation with which 
 the uro^ent strains of the organ from within the 
 church mingled strangely. 
 
 They were discussing the game they were to play 
 that afternoon. 
 
 That it should be a battle was understood, after 
 Yan Hout's speech. It had not been proposed by 
 any one, but was the supposition upon which the dis- 
 cussion that followed was based. 
 
 It was soon decided that patriots and Spaniards, 
 not Greeks and Persians, were to enter the lists 
 against each other ; but when the burgomaster's 
 fourteen-year-old son, Adrian van der Werff, pro- 
 posed the immediate formation of the parties, and, 
 in his imperious way, attem])ted to make Spaniards 
 of Paul van Swieten and Klaus Dirkson, lie met 
 with violent opposition, and the serious state of 
 affairs was revealed that no one could be induced 
 to impersonate a foreign soldier. Each bo\^ wished 
 to make a Castilian of some one else and fight him- 
 self under the banner of the Netherlands. But 
 friend and foe are necessary for a war, and Holland's 
 heroic spirit required Spaniards in order to prove 
 itself. The youthful tempers began to kindle and 
 the cheeks of the combatants to glow, here and 
 there a fist was raised, and everything indicated 
 that the battle with the country's foe was to be 
 preceded by a hideous civil war. 
 
THE B miGOMASTEB 'S WIFE. 7 
 
 Indeed, these spirited boys were ill-fitted to play 
 the part of Kino; Philip's somber, stiff-necked 
 soldiers. Among the yellow-haired lads few with 
 brown locks were to be seen ; and but one with 
 black hair and dark eyes. This was Adam Baers- 
 dorp, whose father, like Yan der Werff's, was among 
 the leaders of the burghers. When he, too, refused 
 to play the part of a Spaniard, one of the boj^s 
 cried : 
 
 " You won't ? And yet my father says that yours 
 is halt a Glipper* and altogether a Papist." 
 
 At these words 3"oung Baersdorp flung down his 
 books and advanced with clinched fists upon his 
 opponent. Adrian van der Werff, however, stepped 
 hastily between the combatants, 
 
 " For shame, Cornelius !" he cried. " If any one 
 speaks like that again, I'll shut his mouth. Catho- 
 lics are Christians as well as we are. You heard 
 the clerk of the council say so,, and my father says 
 so too. AVill you be a Spaniard, Adam — yes or 
 no?" 
 
 " No !" cried the latter resolutely. " And if 
 any one " 
 
 " You can fight afterward," interrupted Adrian 
 van der Werff, and picking up the books tliat 
 Baersdorp had flung down and good-naturedly hand- 
 ing them to him, he went on : "I will be a Spaniard 
 to-day. AVho else V 
 
 " I, I, I too," cried several of the schoolboys, and 
 the forming of the two parties would have proceeded 
 in the best of order, had not the attention of the 
 boys been diverted from their purpose by something- 
 new. 
 
 A 3'oung gentleman followed by a black servant 
 was coming up the street, and in their direction. 
 
 * A name given to Spanish sympathizers iu Holland. 
 
8 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 He was also a Netherlander, but he had little in 
 common with the schoolboys but age ; a pink and 
 and white complexion, fair hair, and clear, blue 
 eyes that looked ai'rogantly out uj)on the world. 
 
 His every step showed that he considered himself 
 something out of the common, and the gaudily 
 dressed young Moor, who carried several newly made 
 purchases, bore himself in comical imitation of his ^ 
 master. The negro's head was thrown even further * 
 back than his master's, who was prevented by a 
 stiff Spanish ruff from carrying his* handsome head 
 as freely as other mortals. 
 
 " That coxcomb of a Wibisma," said one of the 
 schoolboys, pointing with his finger at the approach- 
 ing youth. 
 
 Tiae eyes of all the boys turned toward the latter, 
 and scornfully surveyed his small velvet hat, 
 adorned with a feather, his quilted doublet of red 
 satin padded over the chest and arms, the wide puffs 
 of his short brown breeches, and the brilliant scarlet 
 of the silken hose that fitted snugly to his shapely 
 legs. 
 
 "The coxcomb," repeated Paul van Swieten. 
 " He's a cardinalist,* that's why he goes about in 
 red." 
 
 "And like a Spaniard, as though he had just 
 came from Madrid," cried a second lad, and a third 
 added : 
 
 "The Wibismas took good care to staty away as 
 long as bread \vas scarce with us." 
 
 " All the AVibismas are Glippers." 
 
 "And now he's strutting ai'ound on a week-day 
 in silk and satin," said Adrian. " Just look at the 
 blackamoor the red-lea-o^ed stork has brought with 
 him to Leyden," 
 
 "OO" 
 
 * An adherent of Cardinal Granville. 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 9 
 
 The schoolboys raised a loud laugh, and when the 
 young noble came up to them, Paul van Swieten 
 drawled through his nose : 
 
 " How do you like running away ? How are 
 things going in Spain, Herr Glipper ?" 
 
 The boy flung back his head still further ; the 
 negro behind him did the same, and both went 
 quietly on, even when Adrian shouted in his ear : 
 
 " Glijyperchen, tell me how many pieces of silver 
 did Judas sell the Master for?" 
 
 Young Matenesse van Wibisma made an impa- 
 tient motion, but controlled himself until Jan Mulder 
 stepped before him, and holding his small cloth cap 
 decorated with a cock's feather under the other's 
 chin, said humbly, as if begging : 
 
 " Give me a groschen to buy absolution for our 
 cat, Herr Grandee ; he stole a leg of veal from the 
 butcher yesterday." 
 
 " Out of my way !" said the lad haughtily and 
 sternly, and strove to push Mulder aside with the 
 back of his hand. 
 
 " Hands off, Glipper !" cried the schoolboy 
 threateningly, raising his fist. 
 
 " Then let me alone," answered Wibisma. " I 
 seek no quarrel, and last of all with you." 
 
 " And why not with us V asked Adrian van der 
 "Werff , angered by the cool and arrogant tone of the 
 last words. 
 
 The lad shrugged his shoulders disdainfully. 
 Adrian went on : 
 
 "Because you like your Spanish dress better than 
 our doublets of Leyden cloth." 
 
 Adrian said no more, for Jan Mulder had crept 
 behind the newcomer and struck at his hat with a 
 book ; and while Nicolas van Wibisma was striving 
 to free his eyes from the head covering, shouted : 
 
 " There, Herr Grandee, the hat is on firmly now. 
 You can keep it on, even before the king." 
 
10 THE B URQ0MA8TER 'S WIFE. 
 
 The negro could not spring to his master's aid, for 
 his arms were tilled with bundles, nor did the young 
 nobleman call to him, for he knew how cowardly 
 his black servant was and he felt strong enough to 
 defend himself. 
 
 An ostrich plume was fastened to his hat by a 
 costly clasp, a gift that he had lately received on 
 his seventeenth birthday, but he paid no heed to it, 
 flung his hat aside placed himself in fighting position, 
 and with flushed cheeks demanded in a loud and 
 imperious voice : 
 
 " Who did that ?" _ 
 
 Jan Mulder had slipped back among his comrades, 
 and instead of stepping forward and proclaiming 
 himself, he cried, laughing : 
 
 " Look for the hat-smasher, Glipper ! Le t us play 
 blind-man's buff." 
 
 The lad, beside himself with rage, repeated his 
 question more imperatively. 
 
 When instead of answering, the schoolbo3's 
 entered into Jan Mulder's jest and shouted noisily : 
 *' Flay blind-man's buff ! Look for the hat-smasher ! 
 You begin, Glipperclien V Nicolas, losing all control 
 of himself, criecl furiously to the laughing group : 
 
 " You cowardly riff-raff !" 
 
 The words had scarcely died aAvay when Paul 
 van Swieten raised his leather-bound grammar and 
 flung it full at Wibisma's breast. Amid loud yells 
 from the boys the grammar Avas followed b}'^ other 
 books, which struck the young noble on the legs 
 and shoulders. Bewildered, and shielding his face 
 with his hands, he fell back toward the Avail of the 
 church. There he came to a standstill and prepared 
 to make a rush upon his enemies. 
 
 The stiff Spanish I'uff no longer confined his hand- 
 some, curly head, lie looked his antagonists freely 
 and boldly in the face, stretched his young limbs 
 
TEE B UROOMASTER 'S WIFE. H 
 
 steeled by many a knightly exercise, and with an 
 unmistakable Ketherland curse, rushed upon the 
 boy who stood nearest to him — Adrian van der 
 Werff. 
 
 After a short struggle the burgomaster's son, his 
 inferior in age and strength, lay stretched upon the 
 ground ; but the other scholars, who h a not ceased 
 to cry, " Glipper, Glipper," now laid hands on the 
 young noble, who was kneehng upon his vanquished 
 foe. 
 
 Nicolas defended himself bravelv, but his enemies 
 were too numerous for him. 
 
 Maddened by rage and shame, he drew his dagger 
 from his belt. 
 
 The boys raised a terrible outcry and two of 
 them flung themselves upon Nicolas to wrest the 
 weapon from him. They soon succeeded ; the 
 dagger fell upon the pavement, but Paul van 
 Swieten sprang back with aery, for the sharp blade 
 had pierced his arm and the blood was flowing 
 upon the ground. 
 
 For several moments the shouts of the boys and 
 the screams of the negro drowned the music that 
 came through the windows of the church. Suddenly 
 the music ceased ; instead of the melodious strains, 
 only the plaintive, dying note of a single pipe could 
 be heard, and a young man ran of the door of the 
 sacristy. He rapidly took in the cause of the uproar 
 that had interrupted him in his practicing. His 
 handsome face, framed by a short, full beard, had 
 looked anxious at first, but soon broke into a smile, 
 although the words of reproof and the thrusts with 
 which he pushed aside the angry boys were earnest 
 enough and did not fail in their eifect. 
 
 The schoolboys knew the musician, Wilhelm 
 Corneliussohn, and made no resistance, for they 
 liked him, and the dozen years' advantage he had 
 
12 THE B UnOOMASTER 'S WIFE. 
 
 over them rendered his authority indisputable. Not 
 a hand was now raised against the 3'oung noble, but 
 the boys surrounded the organist, and, all shouting 
 toiretirer, beiran to accuse Nicolas and defend them- 
 selves. 
 
 Paul van Swie ten's wound was slight. He stood 
 outside the circle of his companions and supported 
 his injured left arm with his right hand. Now and 
 then he blew on the burning wound, which was done 
 up in a handkerchief, but his interest in the result 
 of this entertaining quarrel was stronger than the 
 desire to have his injuries attended to. 
 
 Wlien the peacemaker's task was nearly accom- 
 plished the injured lad suddenly pointed in the 
 direction of the schoolhouse and called warningly 
 to his companions : 
 
 " Here comes Ilerr von Nordwyk ! Let the 
 Glipper go or something Avill happen !" 
 
 Paul van Swieten took his wounded arm in his 
 right hand again and ran quickly around the church. 
 Several other boys followed, but the newcomer, of 
 whom they stood in awe, a young man of thirty, had 
 legs of considerable length and knew how to make 
 good use of them. 
 
 " Stop, boys !", he cried in a far-reaching and 
 authoritative voice. " Stop ! What's going on 
 here ?" 
 
 Every one in Ley den held the learned and brave 
 young nobleman in great respect, and so all the boys 
 who had not at once heeded their injured comrade's 
 shout of warning, halted until Herr von Nordwyk 
 came up to them. 
 
 A merry light sparkled in the man's keen eyes 
 and a si}' smile played about his bearded lips as he 
 called to the musician : 
 
 " What has been going on here, Meister Wilhelra ? 
 Coukin't the shouts of Minerva's followers be made to 
 
THE B URGOMA 8TER 'S WIFE. 1 3 
 
 harmonize with your organ playing? — but, by all the 
 colors of the rainbow, if that isn't Nico Matenesse, 
 young Wibisraa ! And how the young gentleman 
 looks! Brawling in the very shadow of the church 
 — and you here, Adrian, and you too, Meister 
 Wilhelm?" 
 
 " I separated them," answered the musician 
 calmly, readjusting his disordered cuifs. 
 
 "Quietly, but impressively — as you play the 
 organ," laughed the commandant. " Who began 
 the quarrel? You, young man ? or the others?" 
 
 AVhat with excitement, shame and anger, Nicolas 
 could find no coherent words. Adrian, however, 
 stepped forward and said: "We have been wres- 
 tling together. Don't be too hard on us, Herr 
 Janus." 
 
 Nicolas cast a friendly glance at his antagonist. 
 
 Herr von Nordwyk, Jan van der Does, or, as he 
 was fond of calling himself, Janus Dousa, was, how- 
 ever, by no means satisfied with this information. 
 " Patience, patience !" he cried, " you look suspicious 
 enough, Meister Adrian ; come here and tell me, 
 ' atrekeos^ according to the truth, what has been 
 going on here ?" 
 
 The lad obeyed, and told frankly what had hap- 
 pened, without keeping back or excusing anything. 
 
 "H'm," said Dousa, when the lad had finished 
 his story, " A bad business. No one is free from 
 blame. Your cause would be the better one if it 
 were not for the knife, my fine young gentleman, 
 but you, Adrian, and you, you round-cheeked ras- 
 cals — here comes the rector ; if he catches vou, you 
 will certainly see nothing outside of four walls to- 
 day. I should be sorry for that." 
 
 The round-cheeked rascals, and Adrian with them, 
 understood the hint, and like a flock of doves pur- 
 sued by a hawk, fled round the church without 
 stopping to take leave. 
 
14 TEE BURGOMASTEirS WIFE. 
 
 As soon as they had vanished, the commandant 
 approached young Nicolas and said : 
 
 " It's a bad business ! But what is fair for them 
 is fair for you. Go home at once. Are you visiting 
 your cousin ?'' 
 
 " Yes, my lord," answered the lad. 
 
 " Is your father also in the town 2" 
 
 The lad was silent. 
 
 " He does not wish to be seen ?" 
 
 Nicolas nodded in affirmation, and Dousa went 
 on: 
 
 " Leyden is open to every Hollander, and also 
 to you ; but if you go about lilvc one of King Phil- 
 ip's pages, and sliow conteui])t for your equals, you, 
 yourself, must bear the consequences. There lies 
 your dagger, my young friend, and there is your 
 hat: pick them up and remember that such a 
 weapon is no plaything. Man}' a man's whole life 
 has been ruined by a single moment's tiioughtless use 
 of one. The superior number of your assailants may 
 excuse 3'^ou ; but how are you to get to3'our cousin's 
 house in this tattered doublet without disgracing 
 yourself ?" 
 
 "My cloak is in the church," said the musician. 
 "I will give it to the young gentleman." 
 
 " Well done, Meister Wilhelm !" answered Dousa. 
 " AVait here, my young friend, and then go home ; 
 I would the time might come again when my salu- 
 tation would be pleasing to 3'our father. I)o you 
 know why it is no longer agreeable to him?" 
 
 " No, my lord." 
 
 " Then it will tell you. Because he has a liking 
 for Spanish, and I still cling to Dutch." 
 
 " We are Hollanders as well as you," ansAvered 
 Nicolas, with cheeks that were beginning to flame. 
 
 "Scarcely," returned Dousa (luielly, and stroking 
 his lean chin, was about to add a kindlier word to 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 15 
 
 the harsh one, when the youngster cried impet- 
 uously : 
 
 " Herr von Nordwyk, you must take back that 
 ' scarcely,' " 
 
 Dousa looked in surprise at the lad's fearless 
 face, and his lips began to twitch again. Then he 
 said kindly : 
 
 " Herr Nicolas, you please me, and I shall be very 
 glad if you wish to become a true Hollander. Here 
 comes Meister Wilhelm with his cloak. Give me 
 your hand. No, not that one; the other." 
 
 Nicolas hesitated. Janus, however, seized the 
 boy's right hand in both of his, bent his tall figure 
 till he was close to the other's ear and said, so softly 
 that the musician could not hear him : 
 
 " Before we separate take with 3'ou these words 
 from one who means them well. Chains, even golden 
 ones, drag one down, but freedom gives wings. You 
 shine in the glittering splendor, but we strike with 
 our swords at the Spanish fetters, and I glory in 
 our act. Eemember these words and, if you care to, 
 repeat them to your father." 
 
 Janus Dousa turned his back upon the lad, nodded 
 to the musician and went on his way. 
 
16 THE B URGOMASTEIl 'S WIFR 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 YorNG Adrian hastened down the Werffsteg, 
 from which his family had taken its name. He 
 took no notice either of the double row of lindens, 
 in whose tops the first green leaves were beginning 
 to peep from the pointed buds, or of the birds that 
 fiew hither and thither, twittering and building 
 their nests in the hospitable branches of the noble 
 trees, for his one idea was to reach home as soon as 
 possible. 
 
 On the other side of the bridge spanning the 
 Achtergracht he paused irresolutely before a large 
 building. 
 
 On the central door hung the knocker, but he did 
 not venture at once to lift it and let it fall upon the 
 glittering plate beneath, for he did not look forward 
 to a pleasant reception from his family. 
 
 His doublet had suffered in the struggle with his 
 stronger adversary. The torn ruff had been ejected 
 from its rightful place and was obliged to seek retire- 
 ment in a pocket, and the new violet stocking on his 
 right leg, unlucky stocking, had been worn through 
 on the pavement^ and the gaping rent showed more 
 of Adrian's white knee than was agreeable to him. 
 
 The peacock feather in his velvet cap could be 
 easily replaced ; but the doublet was not ripped, but 
 torn, and the stocking was almost beyond repair. 
 
 The bo}' was really sorry, for his father had 
 enjoined him to take good care of his clothes, that 
 the pennies might be saved. Money was scarce in 
 this big house which faced the Werffsteg so proudly 
 
THE B URG0MA8TER 'S WIFE. l"? 
 
 with its three doors, as many gables adorned with 
 finely wrought volutes, and six windows in the 
 lower and upper stories. 
 
 The burgomastership brought in little and his 
 grandfather's trade of dressing chamois-leather, as 
 well as the business in hides, was on the decline, 
 for his father had other things on his mind — things 
 that not only absorbed all his thoughts, time and 
 strength, but every spare heller as well. 
 
 Adrian had nothing pleasant to expoet at home 
 — certainly not from his father, and still less from 
 Frau Barbara, his aunt. 
 
 But the lad feared the anger of both less than a 
 single glance of displeasure from the eyes of the 
 young woman whom he had called " mother " for 
 scarce twelve months and who was but six years 
 his senior. 
 
 She never said an unkind word to him, but his 
 roughness and defiance melted away before her 
 beauty and her quiet and distinguished bearing. 
 Whether he loved her or not, he scarcel}'' knew, but 
 she seemed to him like the good fairy in the fairy 
 tales, and he often thought that she was much too 
 tender and dainty and sweet for her simple, unpre- 
 tentious surroundings. It made him happy to see 
 her smile, and when she looked sad — and it was not 
 seldom — it made his heart ache. Truly, she could 
 not receive him pleasantly when she saw the torn 
 doublet and the ruff that was hidden in his pocket 
 and the unlucky stockings. 
 
 And then ! 
 
 The bells were ringing again. 
 
 The dinner hour was long past and his father 
 waited for no one. Whoever was late had to go 
 hungry unless Aunt Barbara took pity on him in 
 the kitchen. 
 
 But what was the use of reflection and hesitation ? 
 
18 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 Adrian pulled himself together, clinched his teeth, 
 closed his left hand more tightly about the torn ruli 
 in his pocket, and let the knocker fall heavily on the 
 steel plate beneath. 
 
 Trautchen, the elderly maid-servant, opened the 
 door, and in the spacious, dimly lighted hall storeil 
 with closely packed bales of leather, she noticed 
 nothing of the disorder of his outer man. 
 
 He hurried up the stairs. 
 
 The dining-room door stood open and — wonder 
 of wonders ! — the table was still undisturbed. His 
 father must have remained longer than usual at the 
 Eathhaus. 
 
 Adrian bounded up to his little gable-room, 
 dressed himself neatly, and before the master of the 
 house had pronounced the blessing, had joined the 
 family. 
 
 The doublet and hose could be confided to Aunt 
 Barbara's or Trautchen's restoring fingers at some 
 opportune time. 
 
 Adrian fell valiantly upon the smoking dishes ; 
 but he soon began to grow uneasy, for his father 
 did not utter a word and stared before him, as grave 
 and troubled as when distress filled the beleaguered 
 city. 
 
 The boy's young stepmother sat opposite her 
 husband and looked often into Peter van der 
 Werff's grave face to catch a kindly glance from 
 him. 
 
 Each time that she did so without success, she 
 brushed the fine, golden hair from her forehead, 
 threw back her beautiful head, or bit her lips and 
 gazed silently at her plate. 
 
 To Aunt Barbara's questions: "What was done 
 at the council? Have vou raised the monev for 
 the new bell? Is Jakob van Sloten going to lease 
 you the meadow ^" he gave curt, half-evasive 
 ansvvers. 
 
TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 19 
 
 The man who sat so silent and with knitted 
 brows in the midst of his family, and now took a 
 hasty mouthful and now ate nothing at all, did 
 not look like one who abandons him*jelf to idle 
 whims. 
 
 All present, even the men and maid-servants, were 
 still doing justice to the viands, when the master of 
 the house rose suddenly, and, pressing his clasped 
 hands to his head, cried with a groan : 
 
 " I can stand it no longer. You must say grace, 
 Maria. Janche, go to the Rathhaus and see if no 
 messenger has come." 
 
 The man wiped his mouth and obeyed at once. 
 lie was a tall, broad-shouldered Frieslander, but he 
 reached only to his master's forehead. 
 
 Without speaking to any of his household, Peter 
 van der Werff turned away, opened the door that 
 led to his study, pulled it sharply to as soon as he 
 had crossed the threshold, and advanced to his stout, 
 oaken desk upon which lay high piles of papers and 
 letters, held down by rough, leaden weights, and 
 began to turn over the newly arrived documents. 
 For quarter of an hour he strove in vain to fix upon 
 them the attention they required. Then he grasped 
 his study-chair and supported his folded arms on its 
 high carved back. He stared meditatively at the 
 wooden wainscoting of the ceiling. In a few mo- 
 ments he pushed the chair aside with his foot, 
 raised his hand to his mouth, divided his mustache 
 from his thick brown beard, and stepped to the 
 window. The small, round, leaden-framed panes, 
 however brightly they were polished, permitted 
 only a small portion of the street to be seen, but the 
 burgomaster had evidently found what he sought, 
 for he hastily flung up the window and shouted to 
 the serving man who was coming rapidly toward 
 the house ; 
 
20 TBE B URO MASTER '8 WIPE. 
 
 " Here, Janche ; has he come V 
 
 The Frieslander shook his head ; the window 
 banged to, and a few moments later the burgomaster 
 seized bis hat, which, together with a number of 
 horse pistols and a plain, substantial sword, hung 
 under the picture of a young woman on the only 
 wall of the room that was not wholly bare. 
 
 He could no longer endure in the house the cruel 
 unrest that possessed him. 
 
 He would order his horse and ride out to meet 
 the expected messenger. 
 
 Before leaving the room he paused thoughtfully, 
 then returned once more to his desk to sign some 
 papers destined for the Rathhaus, as it might be 
 night before he returned. 
 
 JStill standing, he glanced over two sheets he had 
 spread out before him and reached for the pen. 
 J ust then the door opened softly and the fresh sand 
 strewn over the white boards grated under a light 
 foot. He heard it, but paid no heed. 
 
 His wife stood close behind him. Twenty-four 
 years younger than he, she seemed like a timid girl 
 as she raised her arm and yet did not venture to 
 distract her husband's attention from his work. 
 
 She waited quietly until he had signed the first 
 document, then she sank her pretty head, and blush- 
 ing slightly, said with downcast eyes : 
 
 " It is I, Peter." 
 
 " Very well, my child," he answered briefly, and 
 raised the second paper nearer to his eyes. 
 
 " Peter !" she exclaimed more urgently than 
 before, but still timidly, " I have something to say 
 to you." 
 
 Van der Werff turned his head toward her and 
 gave her a quick, affectionate glance. 
 
 " Now, child ? You see I have work to do and 
 there lies my hat." 
 
THE B URGOMA STER 'S WIFE. 2 1 
 
 " But Peter !" she answered, and something like 
 displeasure shone in her eyes as she went on in 
 a slightly aggrieved tone : " We haven't had a word 
 together to-day. My heart is so full and what I 
 would like to say to you is — must " 
 
 " When I return, Maria, not now," he answered, 
 interrupting her, and his deep voice sounded half 
 impatient, half pleading : " First the town and the 
 state — then love." 
 
 Maria drew up her head proudly at these words 
 and said with trembling lips : 
 
 " That is what you have said ever since the first 
 day of our marriage." 
 
 " And unhappily — unhappily — I must continue to 
 say it, until we have reached the goal," he said 
 firmly. 
 
 The blood rose to her delicate cheeks and, breath- 
 ing more rapidly, she cried in a quick, determined 
 tone : 
 
 " Yes, I have heard those words ever since your 
 wooing, and I am my father's daughter and have 
 never opposed them, but it no longer applies to us 
 two ; it ought to be : ' All for the country and noth- 
 ing for the wife.' " 
 
 Van der Werff laid down his pen and turned full 
 toward his vouno^ wife. 
 
 Her slight figure seemed to have grown taller, 
 and the blue eyes swimming in tears had a proud 
 light in them. God seemed to have created this 
 woman for him and him alone. His heart went out 
 to her. He frankly stretched out both hands to her 
 and said fervently : 
 
 " You know how matters stand ! My heart does 
 not change, and better times are coming." 
 
 "When will they come?" asked Maria gloomily, 
 as though she did not believe in a brighter future. 
 
 " Soon," answered her husband steadfastly. 
 
22 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " Soon, if only each will give willingly what the 
 fatherland demands." 
 
 As he spoke the young wife freed her hands from 
 her husband's ; the door had opened and Frau Bar- 
 bara called from the threshold to her brother : 
 
 " Ilerr Matenesse van AVibisma, the Glipper, is in 
 the hall and wishes to speak with you." 
 
 "Show him up," said the burgomaster reluc- 
 tantly. 
 
 When he was alone with his wife again he asked 
 hurriedly : 
 
 "Will you be indulgent with me, and will you 
 help me ?" 
 
 She nodded assent and tried to smile. 
 
 He saw that she w^as not happy and it grieved 
 him. He stretched out his hand to her again and 
 said : 
 
 " Better days are coming when I can be more to 
 you than I am now. What was it you wanted to 
 sav to me ?" 
 
 " Whether I tell you or not will make little dif- 
 ference to the state." 
 
 " But it will to you. So lift your head again and 
 look at me. Be quick, sweet, for they are already 
 on the stairs." 
 
 "It isn't worth speaking of — a year a^o to-day — 
 we might have celebrated our wedding-day to- 
 day." 
 
 " Our wedding-day !" he cried, striking his hands 
 together. " You are riglit, it is the seventeenth of 
 April and 1 — I had forgotten it !" 
 
 He drew her lovingly to him, the door opened 
 and Adrian conducted the baron into the room. 
 
 Van tier Werff bowed courteously to his unwonted 
 guest, then he called affectionately after his wife, 
 who was retreating, blushing : 
 
 " My congratulaiions ! I will join you shortly. 
 
THE BTTRaOMASTER'S WIFE. 23 
 
 Adrian, we celebrate a great anniversary today-- 
 our wedding-day." 
 
 The lad slipped quickly out of the door, near 
 which he had been standing, for he suspected that 
 the distmguished guest's visit boded him no good. 
 
 He paused in the hall, thinking. Then he sped 
 up tiie staircase, got his featherless cap, and hurried 
 outside the city gates. 
 
 There he saw his comrades, who with sticks and 
 stones were placing themselves in battle array. 
 
 He would have liked to join them and for that 
 reason he did not wish to hear the shouts of tlie 
 combatants, and ran toward the Zylhof until he was 
 out of reach of their voices. 
 
 Then he slackened his pace, and, with bended 
 back and sometimes on his knees, he followed along 
 a little canal that emptied into the Ehine. 
 
 As soon as his cap was filled with the white, blue 
 and yellow spring flowers he had been gathering 
 he seated himself on a boundary stone, and, after 
 arranging them into a brilliant nosegay, he started 
 with it for home. 
 
 On a bench near the gate sat the elderly maid- 
 servant with his little six-year old sister. To the 
 latter lie handed the flowers, which he had hitherto 
 kept hidden behind his back. 
 
 " Take these, Elizabethchen," he said, " and carry 
 them to mamma ; to-day is the anniversay of her 
 wedding-day. I know it is. And carry her a 
 pretty message from us both." 
 
 The little one started up, and the old woman 
 said : 
 
 " You are a good lail, Adrianchen." 
 
 " Do you think so <" he asked, as all the sins of the 
 morning rose before his mind. 
 
 But unfortunately they caused him no remorse; 
 and his lips twitched and a roguish light came into 
 
24 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 his eyes as he patted the old woman's shoulder and 
 whispered softly in her ear : 
 
 " Hair has been flying to-day, Trautchen. Up in 
 my room, under the bed, you will find my doublet 
 and my new hose. No one can mend as well as 
 you." 
 
 The old serving woman shook her finger at him, 
 but he turned swiftly and ran to the Zylthor,* this 
 time to lead the Spaniards against the Netherlanders. 
 
 * Zyl-gate. 
 
TEE BURQ0MASTb:R'8 WIFE. 25 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 The burgomaster had bidden the nobleman to 
 seat himself in his study-chair, but he himself re- 
 mained half leaning, half sitting on the desk, and 
 listened to his distinguished guest, not without 
 im|)atience. 
 
 "Before we speak of more important matters," 
 began Herr Matenesse van Wibisma, " I wish to 
 appeal to you, as a just man, for punishment for the 
 insult offered to my race in this city." 
 
 " Speak on," said the burgomaster, and the noble- 
 man recounted briefly and with unconcealed indig- 
 nation the story of the attack made upon his son 
 near St. Peter's. 
 
 " I shall inform the rector of this unfortunate 
 affair," answered Van der "VVerff, " and the culprits 
 will get their just deserts ; but, forgive me, noble 
 sir, if I ask : Have you inquired as to who began 
 the quarrel?" 
 
 Herr Matenesse van "Wibisma looked at the 
 burgomaster in surprise and answered haughtily : 
 
 " You have heard my son's statement." 
 
 " Both sides must be given a fair hearing," Van 
 der Werff answered quietly. " It is the ancient 
 custom of the Netherlands." 
 
 "My son bears my name and speaks the truth." 
 
 " Our lads are named plain Leendert or Adrian 
 or Gerrit, but they do the same, and so I must ask 
 you to send the young gentleman to the hearing at 
 the school." 
 
26 TUB BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " By no means," answered the the nobleman. " If 
 I had thouf^ht the matter belonged to the rector's 
 province 1 should have gone to him and not to you, 
 Herr Peter. My son has his own instructor and he 
 was not attacked in your school, which he has out- 
 grown, moreover, for he is already seventeen, but in 
 the public streets over whose safety it is your duty 
 as burgomaster to \vatch." 
 
 " Very well, then, make your complaint, bring the 
 young man before the judges, procure witnesses, 
 and let the law take its course. But, my lord," 
 continued Yan der Werff, checking the impatience 
 in his voice, " were you yourself never young? 
 Have 3'^ou completely forgotten the brawls under 
 the citadel ? What pleasure can it afford you if we 
 shut up a few thoughtless wights for a few days this 
 sunny weather ? The rascals will find some way of 
 amusing themselves, shut up or not, and the parents 
 alone will suffer." The last words were spoken in 
 a tone of such friendly good nature that they did 
 not fail in their effect upon the baron. He was a 
 handsome man whose pleasant, well-molded 
 features of true E'etherland type betrayed anything 
 but hardness. 
 
 " If you speak to me in this tone," he answered 
 smiling, " w^e are much more likely to come to an 
 agreement. I will say only this : if the brawl had 
 originated in play or in a boyish quarrel, I would 
 not say a word — l^ut when even cliildren take it 
 upon themselves to attack with insult and violence 
 those whose opinions differ from their own, it ought 
 not to be allowed to pass without punishment. The 
 boys shouted that foolish name after my son " 
 
 " It is indeed an insult," interrupted Van der 
 Werff ; " a very ugly name it is, with which our 
 people designate the enemies of their freedom." 
 
 The baron rose and angrily confronted the other. 
 
THE B UEOOMASTER 'S WIFE. 2 7 
 
 " Who says," he cried, striking his broad padded 
 breast, " wlio says that we grudge Holland her 
 liberty ? We are as eager as yoa to win it back for 
 the States, but in other and straighter ways than 
 Orange." 
 
 " Whether your way is crooked or straight, my 
 lord," retorted Van der Werflf, " is not for me to 
 prove here ; but one thing I know : it is the wrong 
 way." 
 
 " It will lead to the heart of Philip, your king 
 and mine." 
 
 " Yes, if he had what we in Holland call a heart," 
 answered the other with a bitter smile. Wibisma, 
 however, angrily flung back his head and answered 
 reprovingl}'^ : 
 
 " Herr Blirgemeister, you speak of the anointed 
 king to whom I have sworn allegiance." 
 
 " Freiherr Matenesse," answered Van der Werff, 
 drawing himself up to his full height, folding his 
 arms, and looking the nobleman sharply in the face, 
 " 1 speak rather of the despot whose Council of 
 Blood pronounced all bearing the name of a Nether- 
 lander, and you with the rest, criminals deserving of 
 death ; who* through his Alva, his murderous devil, 
 has burned, beheaded, and hanged ten thousand 
 honest burghers and lias robbed of their lands and 
 driven from the country ten thousand more ; I 
 speak of the infamous tyrant " 
 
 "Enough!" cried the nobleman, grasping the hilt 
 of his sword. "Who gives you the right " 
 
 " Who gives me the right to speak such bitter 
 words, you were going to say ?" interrupted Herr 
 Peter, with a somber glance into the other's eyes. 
 " Who gives me the right? There is no need for me 
 to conceal it. This right is given me by the silent 
 lips of my gallant father who was beheaded on ac- 
 count of his belief .; this right is given me by the 
 
28 THE B UROOMASTER 'S WIFE. 
 
 despotic decree that, without form of law, exiled 
 me and mv brothers from the land ; this rierht is 
 given me by the Spaniard's broken faith, the torn 
 charters of this land, the distress of the poor, brave, 
 ill-used people who will go to destruction unless we 
 save them." 
 
 " Tou will not save them," answered AVibisinn, in 
 a calmer tone. " You will pusii into the abyss the 
 people already tottering on the brink, and you, too, 
 will perish with them." 
 
 "We are the pilots. Perhaps we shall rescue 
 them ; perhaps we shall go down with those for 
 whom we are ready to die." 
 
 " You say this, and yet you bind to yours the des- 
 tiny of a beautiful young woman." 
 
 " Herr Baron, you crossed this threshold as com- 
 plainant to the burgomaster, and not as friend or 
 guest." 
 
 " Quite true, but I came with good intentions ; to 
 warn the leader and chief magistrate of this beauti- 
 f ull and unhappy city. You have escaped the tem- 
 pest once, but another and far more terrible one is 
 gathering over your heads." 
 
 " We do not fear it." 
 
 " Not even now V 
 
 "Less now, and with good reason, than ever 
 before." 
 
 " Then you do not know that the prince's 
 brother " 
 
 "On the fourteenth Louis of Nassau met the 
 Spaniards, and our cause looks well." 
 
 " It is true that at first it did look well." 
 
 " The messenger who came last night " 
 
 " Ours came this morning." 
 
 " This morning, you say 't What then ?" 
 
 " The prince's army was defeated on the ]\rooker 
 Haide and completely destroyed. Louis of Nassau 
 himself perished." 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 29 
 
 Yan der Werff pressed his fingers hard against 
 the wood of the writing-desk. The fresh color in 
 his cheeks and lips had given place to an ashen 
 pallor, and as he asked in a low, dull voice: "Louis 
 dead, really dead ?" his lips were drawn with pain. 
 
 " Dead," answered the baron positively, though 
 sadly. " We were opponents, but Louis was a noble 
 youth. I mourn him with you." 
 
 " Dead, William's favorite dead !" murmured the 
 burgomaster to himself as in a dream. Then with 
 an effort he controlled himself, and said steadily : 
 
 " Your pardon, noble sir. The hours fly ; 1 must 
 hasten to the Rathhaus." 
 
 " And in spite of the news I bring, you will con- 
 tinue to speak in favor of revolt ?" 
 
 " Yes, my lord, as surely as I am a Hollander.*' 
 
 " Remember the fate of Haarlem." 
 
 " I think of the resistance of its burghers and of 
 rescued Alkamar." 
 
 " Man, man !" cried the baron. " By all that is 
 sacred, I implore you, let yourself be advised." 
 
 " Enough, Ilerr Baron, I must go to the Rath- 
 haus." 
 
 " No, this one word more, this one word. I know 
 that you call us 'Glippers,' deserters, and not that 
 alone, but as truly as I hope for God's mercy, you 
 judge us falsely. No, Herr Peter, no, I am no 
 traitor ! I love this country and this brave, indus- 
 trious people with as much fervor as you, for their 
 blood flows in my veins likewise. I too, signed the 
 Compromise. Here I stand. Look at me. Do I 
 look like a Judas ? Do I look like a Spaniard ? Can 
 vou blame me for remaining true to the oath that 
 1 made to the king ? Since when have ]N etherland- 
 ers trifled with their oaths? You, the friend of 
 Orange, have just declared that you grudge no man 
 the faith to which he clings, and I do not doubt it. 
 
30 THE BUEOOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 Well, I hold fast to the old Church ; I am a Catholic 
 and shall remain one. But at this hour I admit 
 frankly that I abhor, as you do, the Inquisition and 
 the bloody deeds of Alva. They belong as little to 
 our faith as iconoclasm does to yours. I love as you 
 do the liberties of our land. To win them back is 
 my purpose as well as yours. But how can we, little 
 band that we are ever succeed in resisting for any 
 length of time the strongest power in the world ? 
 Should we win, once, twice, thrice, for every 
 defeated army two new and stronger ones w^ould 
 follow. "We can accomplish nothing by force — but 
 much by wise submission and prudent conduct. 
 Philip's coffers are empty ; he has need of his armies 
 in other lands. Well, then, let us take advantage of 
 his necessities and compel him to ratify again some 
 lost privilege for every rebel town that returns to 
 him. Let us buy from him, with what is left us of 
 the old wealth, the rights that he seized in battle 
 against the insurgents. You will find me and those 
 who think with me waiting with open hands. Your 
 voice has great weight in the Council of this city. 
 You are a friend of Orange, and if you could per- 
 suade him " 
 
 "To what m}-, lord?" 
 
 " To join us. We know that in Madrid his power 
 is appreciated and feared. We will stipulate as a 
 first condition, full formveness for him and his 
 followers. King Philip, I know, will restore him to 
 favor again " 
 
 " To murder him," answered the burgomaster 
 decidedly. " Have you forgotten those other false 
 promises of pardons — have you forgotten the fate of 
 Egmont and Horn, of the noble Montigny and the 
 other seigneurs ? They took the risk and went into 
 the tiger's den. What we bought to-day woukl 
 surely be taken from us to-morrow, for what oath 
 
THE B UROOMASTER 'S WIFE. 31 
 
 would be sacred to Philip ? I am no statesman, but 
 this I know — were he to restore to us all our 
 liberties, the one without which life is worthless he 
 would never grant us." 
 
 "Which, Herr Peter?" 
 
 " The right to believe as our hearts dictate. 
 You mean well, in j^our way, my lord ; but you 
 trust the Spaniard, we do not ; and were we to, we 
 should be deluded children. You have nothing to 
 fear for your faith, but we, everything ; you think 
 that numbers and the power of money will decide 
 the issue in this struggle, we rely on the hope that 
 God will help to victory the good cause of a coura- 
 geous people who are ready to die a thousand deaths 
 for their freedom's sake. This is my belief and I 
 shall defend it in the Kathhaus," 
 
 " No, Meister Peter, no ! You cannot, ought not." 
 
 " What I can do is little, what I ought to do 
 stands written here, and I shall act accordingly." 
 
 "And thus you will be following your grieving 
 heart and not your prudent head, and you will be 
 unable to give others any but bad advice. Eemem- 
 ber, man, on Mooker Heide Orange's last army has 
 been utterly destroyed." 
 
 " True, my lord, and therefore we must use this 
 moment for deeds and not words." 
 
 " I can say the same thing myself, Herr Biirge- 
 meister, for there are many friends of the king in 
 Leyden who must be warned against blindly follow- 
 ing you to the shambles." 
 
 At these words Van der Werff stepped back from 
 the nobleman, and raising his deep voice, said coldly 
 and authoritatively : 
 
 " Then, as guardian of the safety of this city, I 
 
 command you to leave Leyden at once. If you are 
 
 still within these walls after noon to-morrow, I will 
 
 . have the guard conduct you outside the city limits," 
 
32 TEE BUROOMASTER^S WIFE. 
 
 The baron departed without a word of farewell. 
 
 As soon as the door had closed behind him Van 
 der Werff flung himself into an armchair and buried 
 his face in his hands. 
 
 When he raised his head again two big tears 
 glistened on the paper upon which his hands had 
 rested. With a bitter smile he brushed them away 
 with the back of his hand. 
 
 " Dead, dead !" he murmured, and the figure of 
 the brave young hero, the skillful mediator, the 
 favorite of William of Orange, rose before him : he 
 asked himself how this fresh blow would affect the 
 prince whom he revered as the country's savior, 
 and admired and loved as the wisest and most un- 
 selfish of men. William's sorrow affected him as 
 though it were his own, and the blow that the cause 
 of liberty had suffered was severe and perhaps never 
 to be repaired. 
 
 But it was only for a short time that he allowed 
 himself to indulge his sorrow, for now was the time 
 to summon all his strength, to retrieve what had 
 been lost, to avert by fresh deeds the grave conse- 
 quences of Louis' defeat and to think of new 
 means for carrying on the struggle. 
 
 With heavily knitted brows he paced the room, 
 thinking over plans, devising ways and means. 
 
 Ilis ^vife had opened the door and had remained 
 standing on the threshold ; he did not notice her, 
 however, until she spoke his name and came toward 
 him. 
 
 She held in her hand a portion of the flowers tlie 
 lad had brought her, the rest were gayly adorning 
 her bosom. 
 
 " Take them," she said, holding out the little 
 nosegay. " Adrian picked them, the dear bo3% and 
 you know now what they mean." 
 
 He willingly took the messengers of spring, raised 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 33 
 
 them to his face, drew Maria to his breast, pressed a 
 long kiss upon her forehead, and then said gloomily : 
 
 " So this is how we celebrate the first anniversary 
 of our wedding-day ! Poor child ! The Glipper 
 was not so far wrong; perhaps it had been better 
 and wiser in me had I not bound your fate to 
 mine." 
 
 " Peter !" she cried reproachfully, " how can 
 such thoughts have come to you?" 
 
 " Louis of Nassau is dead," he murmured heavily ; 
 " his array is destroyed." 
 
 " Oh ! oh !" she cried, clasping her hands together 
 in dismay ; but he continued : 
 
 "It was the last of our forces. The coffers are 
 empty, and where are we to get fresh means? and 
 what is to happen now ? I beg of you, Maria, leave 
 me to myself ; if we do not make use of these hours, 
 if we do not find the right way now, things will 
 fare ill ; they must fare ill." 
 
 So saying, he fiimg the nosegay upon the table, 
 and hastily taking up a paper, began to scan its con- 
 tents, and without looking at her, motioned her aside. 
 
 Tiie young wife's heart had been full when she 
 entered the room. She had expected so much from 
 this hour, and now she was standing alone in the 
 room, though he shared it with her. Her arms had 
 fallen at her side ; she gazed at him, hurt, humili- 
 ated, and bewildered. 
 
 Maria had grown up in the midst of the struggle 
 for freedom, and knew how to appreciate the gravity 
 of the news he had received. In his wooing he had 
 told her that a life full of danger and unrest awaited 
 her at his side, and yet she had gladly followed to 
 the altar the gallant fighter in the good cause, 
 which had also been her father's, for she had hoped 
 to be the sharer of his cares and struggles. And 
 now — what was she allowed to be to him ? What 
 
34 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 did he accept from her? She was not a weak 
 woman, but what had he been disposed to share 
 with her, on this, the anniversary of their wedding 
 day? 
 
 There she stood, and the heart that had been 
 open to him closed, and kept her from calling out 
 to him and saying that she was as glad to sharo 
 trouble and misfortune with him as honor and 
 success. 
 
 He had found what he sought, and was reaching 
 for his hat, when he caught sight of her. 
 
 How pale and disappointed she looked as she 
 stood there! 
 
 His heart smote him ; he would so gladly have 
 expressed in words the great love he felt for her; 
 but in this hour, with such cares in his breast, ho 
 could not do it ; and so he only held out both hands 
 to her and said affectionately : 
 
 " You know what you are to me, Maria, and if 
 you do not know, I will tell you this evening, I 
 must hasten to the Council now or else a whole dav 
 will be lost, and at such times every second is of 
 importance. Well, Maria ?" 
 
 The young wife looked down. She would gladlv 
 have run to his arms, but her injured pride would 
 not let her, and a secret powder held her hands and 
 kept her from placing them in his. 
 
 " Good-by," she said dully. 
 
 " Maria, truly the time is ill-chosen for pouting," 
 he cried reproachfully. " Come and be my sensible 
 wife." 
 
 But she did not come at once ; he heard the bells 
 ringing for four o'clock, which marked the close of 
 the meeting of the Council, and he left the room 
 without looking at her. 
 
 On the desk still lay the nosegay ; she did not fail 
 to notice it and it was with difficulty that she kept 
 back the tears. 
 
THE BUHQOMASTER'a WIFE. 35 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A CROWD of burghers had assembled before the 
 imposing- Rathhaus. The news of the defeat of 
 Louis of Nassau had soon spread through all eight- 
 een quarters of the city, and every one wished to 
 learn something more definite, and to express to his 
 friends his grief and apprehension, and to hear what 
 measures the council meant to take for the immedi- 
 ate future. 
 
 Two messengers had confirmed only too well the 
 report of Herr Matenesse van Wibisma. Louis was 
 dead, his brother Henry was missing, and his army 
 was completely annihilated. 
 
 The clerk of the Council, Jan van Hout, who had 
 been teaching the boys that morning, now stepped 
 to a window, and, after informing the burghers of 
 the serious blow that the freedom of the country 
 had sustained, called upon them with burning words 
 to devote themselves body and soul to the good 
 cause. 
 
 Loud cheers followed this speech. Colored caps 
 and feathered hats were tossed into the air, sticks 
 and swords were brandished, and the women and 
 children who had pushed in among the men waved 
 their handkerchiefs and drowned the burghers' 
 voices with their shriller tones. 
 
 The members of tlie doughty militia came together 
 to commission their captain to give the assembled 
 council the assurance that the " Schutterig " were 
 resolved to stand by William of Orange with their 
 
36 THE B UROOMA STEM 'S WIVE. 
 
 last penn}'^ and their last drop of blood, and that they 
 would rather die iu Holland's cause than live under 
 Spanish tyranny. In their midst were many grave 
 and deeply troubled faces, for these men, who tilled 
 the ranks of their own free will, were all devoted to 
 Orange ; his sorrow saddened them — and their 
 country's peril grieved them to the heart. As soon 
 as the four burgomasters, the eight aldermen, and 
 the members of the common Council who were 
 present showed themselves at the windows, hundreds 
 took up the Geusenlied *, which had already been 
 started by a few, and when at sunset the volatile 
 folk dispersed and, still singing, made their wa}' 
 singly or in groups toward the taverns to strengthen 
 by a refreshing drink their confidence in happier 
 days and to dispel man}'^ well-founded fears, the 
 market place of Ley den looked as though the news 
 of some great victory had just been read from the 
 Rathhaus. 
 
 The cheers and the Geusenlied had indeed sounded 
 most impressive — but so many hundreds of Dutch 
 throats were capable of shaking the air with might- 
 ier shouts. 
 
 This very observation had been made by three 
 well-dressed burghers who were walking along the 
 broad street, and the eldest of them said to his 
 companions : 
 
 '' They are boasting and shouting now and think 
 themselves very big, but we shall see that things 
 will soon be very ditferent." 
 
 " May God avert the worst !" answered one of his 
 companions, " but tlie Spaniards are sure to return 
 now, and in my quarter I know many who will not 
 vote for resistance this time." 
 
 " They are right, a thousand times right. Reque- 
 
 * The song of the " Beggars." 
 
THBJ B UMOO MASTER 'S WIFE. 37 
 
 sens is no Alva, and if we were voluntarily to com- 
 mend ourselves to the king's mercy " 
 
 " There would be no shedding of blood and all 
 would be well." 
 
 " I would rather be Dutch than Spanish," said the 
 thirdj " but with Mooker Heide, all resistance is at 
 an end. Orange may be a gallant gentleman, but — 
 near is my shirt but nearer is my skin." 
 
 " And after all, it is only for him that we are 
 placing life and property at stake." 
 
 " Exactly what my wife said yesterday." 
 
 " He isn't going to advance trade ; he least of all. 
 Believe me, many think as we do, or the Geusenlied 
 would have sounded louder." 
 
 " There are always five fools to three wise men," 
 said the elder burgher. " 1 took good care not to 
 open my mouth." 
 
 " And what is there so very wonderful behind 
 this cry for liberty ? Alva burned the Bible readers 
 and De la Marc hangs the priests. My wife is fond 
 of going to mass, but when she goes she does it in 
 secret, as though she were committing a crime." 
 
 " AVe also cling to the old faith." 
 
 " It isn't a question of belief," said the third. 
 " We are Calvinists, but I am no longer of a mind 
 to fling my pennies into Orange's maw, nor do I 
 care to tear down again the frames outside the 
 Kuhthor,* where my stuffs are hanging before the 
 wind has fully dried the yarn." 
 
 " Let us only stand together," counseled the 
 eldest. " The people dare not speak their minds as 
 yet, and every ragged beggar may play the hero. 
 But I tell you, there are sensible men enough in 
 every quarter and every guild, and even in the 
 Council and among the burgomasters." 
 
 ♦ Cow-gate. 
 
38 THE BURQ0MASTEIV8 WIFE. 
 
 " Hush !" whispered the second burgher, " here 
 comes Van der Werff with the clerk of the Council 
 and young Ilerr van der Does ; they are tlie worst 
 of them all," 
 
 The three men named came down the broad 
 street, talking in eager but low tones. 
 
 "My uncle was right, Meister Peter," said Jan 
 van der Does, the same tall gentleman who had 
 that morning sent Nicolas van Wibisma home with 
 a piece of good advice. "There is no help for it, 
 you must go to the prince and take counsel with 
 him." 
 
 " I must indeed," answered the burgomaster. " I 
 will start to-morrow." 
 
 " Not to-morrow," Yan Hout broke in, "The 
 prince rides fast and if you do not find him in 
 Delft " 
 
 " You go before me," begged Yan der Werff, " you 
 have the record of our sitting." 
 
 " I cannot ; but you, the prince's friend, are 
 lacking in readiness to-day for the first time." 
 
 " You are right, Jan," cried the burgomaster, 
 " and you shall Ivnow what detains me." 
 
 " If they are things of whicli a friend can relieve 
 you, here he stands," said Herr von Nordwvk. 
 
 Yan der AVerff grasped the hand that the young 
 noble offered him and answered with a smile :' " No, 
 my lord, no. You know my young wife. To-day 
 we ought to have celebrated the first anniversary of 
 our wedding, and I, what with all these troubles, 
 shamelessly forgot it." 
 
 " Hard, hard," said Yan Ilont softly. Then he 
 drew himself erect and added firmly : " And yet ! 
 if I were you, I would go in spite of Frau Maria." 
 
 " You would go to-day ?" 
 
 " To-day, for to-morrow it may be too late. Who 
 knows how soon egress may be debarretl us, and 
 
THE BURGOMASTER' 8 WIFE. 39 
 
 before we again dare the worst, we must know the 
 prince's opinion. He is the head, we are the hands. 
 You, sir, stand closer to him than either of us," 
 
 " And God knows how wilHngly I would carry 
 him a word of cheer in these sad hours, but it can- 
 not be to-day. The messenger has taken m}^ bay." 
 
 " Then take my chestnut ; he is faster than yours 
 besides," said Janus Dousa, and Van der Werff 
 answered quickly : 
 
 " Thank you. To-morrow, early, I will send for 
 him." 
 
 The blood rushed to Yan Hout's head. He 
 thrust his hand impatiently between girdle and 
 doublet and cried : " Send the chestnut to me, my 
 lord, if the Herr Biirgemeister will give me leave of 
 absence." 
 
 " No, send him to me," broke in Peter calmly. 
 " AVhat must be, must be ; I will ride to-night." 
 
 Van Hout's manly features cleared at once, and 
 seizing the burgomaster's hand in both of his, he 
 said joyfully : 
 
 " You have my thanks, Herr Peter. And do not 
 take offense ; you know my hot head. Send your 
 young wife to mine if the time seems long to her." 
 
 " And to mine," added Dousa. " It is a curious 
 thing about the two little words ' wish ' and ' ought.' 
 The freer and better a man is the more he finds that 
 the first is slave to the second." 
 
 "And yet I would wager, Herr Peter, that your 
 wife will confound the two words and will believe 
 that you have taken a wrong view of the 'ought.' 
 These are bad times for ' wish.' " 
 
 Van der Werif nodded ossent and briefly laid be- 
 fore his friends what he proposed to make known to 
 the prince. 
 
 The three men separated in front of his house. 
 
 "Tell the prince," said Van Hout in parting, 
 
40 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " that we are prepared for the worst ; we are ready 
 to suffer and to dare all," 
 
 At these words Janus Dousa measured his two 
 colleagues with a glance, his li))s quivered as they 
 always did when lie was strongly moved, and his 
 keen face shone with joy and confidence as he cried : 
 " We three will endure, we throe will stand firm ; 
 the tyrant can break our necks, but he shall not 
 bend' them. Our bodies and our lives, all that we 
 possess, all that man holds dear and worth the hav- 
 ing, we will give for the greatest of all possessions. 
 
 " Yes," said Van der Werff in a loud and earnest 
 tone, and Van Hout repeated passionately : " Yes, 
 yes, and once more, yes." 
 
 For an instant the hands of the three friends 
 clasped each other in a firm grasp. A silent vow 
 united them at this hour, and as Ilerr von Kordwyk 
 turned one way and Van Hout another, it seemed 
 to the burghers who met them that their tall figures 
 had grown taller during the past hours. 
 
 The burgomaster Avent at once to his wife's room, 
 but she was not there. 
 
 She had gone for a walk with his sister outside 
 the cit}"^ gates. 
 
 The maid carried a light to his room ; he followed 
 her, examined the locks of his pistols, buckled on 
 his sword, placed what he needed in his saddle-bags, 
 and then, drawn to his full height, his mind com- 
 pletely filled with his purpose, he paced the room, 
 lost in meditation. 
 
 Ilerr von Nordwyk's chestnut was standing on 
 the pavement below, and above the roofs rose the 
 evening star. 
 
 The house door opened. 
 
 He stepped into the hall, but he found there not 
 his wife but only Adrian, who had just come home. 
 
 He commiijs-ioned the boy to give a loving message 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 41 
 
 to his mother and to tell her that important matters 
 summoned him to the prince. 
 
 The old serving woman had already undressed 
 and washed the little Elizabetii. She brought him 
 the child wrapped in a coverlet. 
 
 He kissed the sweet little face, which smiled 'at 
 him from the queer mufflings, pressed his lips to 
 Adrian's forehead, enjoined upon him once more to 
 give the message to his mother, and then rode off 
 down the Marendorpstrasse. 
 
 As he reached St. Stephen's cloister two women 
 came toward him from the direction of the Kheins- 
 burgerthor.* He did not notice them, but the 
 younger of them pushed back her hood and gazed 
 after him, and her fingers closed sharply on her 
 companion's wrist as she exclaimed in a low voice : 
 
 " That was Peter !" 
 
 Frau Barbara raised her head. 
 
 " It is well that I am not easily frightened," she 
 answered. " Only let go my arm ! Do you mean 
 the horseman who is jogging past the lane of St. 
 Ursula ?" 
 
 « Yes, it is Peter." 
 
 " ISTonsense, child ! His bay has shorter legs than 
 that camel there ; and Peter never rides out at this 
 hour." 
 
 " But it was he." 
 
 " Nothing of the sort ! At night lindens look like 
 beeches. It would be a tine thing indeed, if ho 
 should not come home to-day." 
 
 These last words had involuntarily escaped Frau 
 Barbara's lips ; for until then she had wisely ap- 
 peared to be unconscious that between Maria and 
 her husband all was not as it should be ; she was, 
 nevertheless, fully aware of what was passing in her 
 sister-in-law's mind. 
 
 * Eheinsburger-gate. 
 
42 THE B URQOMASTER 'S WIFE. 
 
 She was a clever and worldly-wise woman, she by 
 no means underestimated licr brother and his im- 
 portance to the cause of the fatherland ; indeed she 
 went so far as to believe that, aside from the Prince 
 of Orange, no man on earth was more capable than 
 Peter of conducting the cause of freedom to a suc- 
 cessful issue ; but she felt that her brother was not 
 acting as he should toward Maria, and as Barbara 
 was a just woman, she sided silently against the 
 man who was neglecting his wife. 
 
 They walked on in silence for a space. 
 
 At last the widow paused and said : 
 
 " Perhaps the prince has sent for Peter. At such 
 a time, after such a blow, all things are possible. It 
 may be that you saw truly." 
 
 " It was undoubtedly he," answered Maria posi- 
 tively. 
 
 " Poor man !" said the other. " It will be a bitter 
 journey for him ! Many honors bring many cares. 
 There is no reason for you to hang your head. 
 Your husband will be back to-morrow or next day ; 
 but I — look at me, Maria, I go conscientiously 
 through life, doing my duty cheerfully ; my 
 cheeks are red and m}^ appetite is good, and yet I 
 have had to give up what was dearest to me. I 
 have borne my widowhood for ten years ; my 
 Gretchen has married and left me, and Cornelius I 
 sent myself to join the Beggars of the Sea. Any 
 hour may rob me of him, for his life is one of 
 constant danger. What has a widow beside her 
 onl}'- son ? And I gave him up for the country's 
 cause ! It is a harder thing than to see one's hus- 
 band ride away for a few hours on the anniversary 
 of one's wedding-day. He certamly does not do it 
 for his own pleasure!" 
 
 " We have reached home," said Maria, and lifted 
 the knocker. 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 43 
 
 Trautchen opened the door, and, before she crossed 
 the threshold, Barbara asked : 
 
 " Is the master at home?" 
 
 The answer was in the negative, as she herself had 
 come to expect. 
 
 Adrian delivered his message ; Trautchen brought 
 in supper, but the conversation was restricted to 
 " 3^es " and " no." 
 
 When Maria had hurried] y murmured the blessing, 
 she rose, and turning to Barbara said : 
 
 " My head is aching; I think I shall go to bed." 
 
 ''Yes, try to get some rest," replied the widow, 
 " I will sleep in the next room and will leave the 
 door open. With darkness and quiet come melan- 
 chol}'' thoughts." 
 
 Maria kissed her sister-in-law with unaffected 
 warmth and went to her room ; but she could not 
 sleep and tossed about uneasily on her bed till mid- 
 night. 
 
 She heard Barbara cough in the next room, she 
 sat up and asked : 
 
 " Are you asleep ?" 
 
 « No, child. Do you feel ill 2" 
 
 " No, but I am so uneasy— I am tormented by 
 horrible thoughts." 
 
 Barbara lighted a taper, and carrying it into 
 the sleeping-room, seated herself on the edge of the 
 bed. 
 
 It went to her heart to see the sweet, young 
 creature lying there alone and troubled, unable to 
 sleep for bitter heartache. 
 
 She had never seen Maria look so beautiful. Like 
 a sorrowing angel, she lay in her white night-robe 
 on the snowy pillows. 
 
 Barbara could not refrain from stroking the hair 
 from the low forehead and kissing the flushed 
 cheek. 
 
44 TEE B URO0MA8TER '8 WIFE. 
 
 Maria looked gratefully into her small light-blue 
 eyes and said pleadingly : 
 
 I would like to ask you something." 
 
 Well ?" 
 
 But you will tell me the truth?" 
 
 You ask too much." 
 
 I know that you are frank, but ^* 
 
 Come, out with it !" 
 
 Was Peter happy with his first wife ?" 
 
 Yes ; child, yes." 
 
 And you knew it not from him alone, but from 
 Eva herself ?" 
 
 Yes, dear, yes." 
 
 And you cannot be mistaken?" 
 
 No ; in this case, certainly not. But what puts 
 such thoughts into your head ? 'Let the dead bury 
 the dead,' the Scriptures say. Now turn over and 
 try to sleep." 
 
 Barbara returned to her room, but hours passed 
 before Maria found the sleep she sought. 
 
TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 45 
 
 CHAPTEK V. 
 
 The following morning, two mounted retainers 
 in neat liveries drew rein in the Nobelstrasse before 
 a fine house not far from the market place. A 
 third led up and down two piebald horses of ])ow- 
 erful build, and a stable-boy held by the bridle a 
 gayly caparisoned pony. This last was to carry 
 the young negro who was standing in the doorway, 
 keeping off the street arabs who ventured to ap- 
 proach him, by rolling his eyes and gnashing his 
 white teeth at them. 
 
 " What can be keeping them ?" asked one of the 
 two horsemen. " The rain won't be long in coming 
 to-day." 
 
 " It will not, truly," answered the other. " The 
 sky is as gray as my old felt hat, and by the time 
 we reach the wood the storm will be upon us." 
 
 " There's a thick mist already." 
 
 " I dislike such raw weather above all things." 
 
 " It was finer yesterday." 
 
 " Buckle the flaps of "'the holsters tighter. The 
 wallet behind the young lord's saddle is not quite 
 straight. That's right. Did the cook fill your flask 
 for you f 
 
 " With brown Spanish wine. There it is." 
 
 " Then let the rain come if it will. AVhen a man 
 is wet within he can stand a deal of damp without." 
 
 "Bring up the horses to the door; I hear the 
 masters." 
 
46 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 The horseman was not mistaken ; for before his 
 comrade had succeeded in bringing the taller of the 
 animals to a standstill, there came from the wide 
 hail the voices of his master, Herr Matenesse van 
 Wibisma and of the young lord, Nicolas. 
 
 Both were exclianging friendly words of farewell 
 with a young girl, whose voice sounded deeper than 
 that of the half-grown lad. 
 
 The elder noble had begun to twist his hand in 
 the piebald's mane, and had already raised his foot 
 to place it in the stirrup, when the young girl, wlio 
 had remained behind in the hall, stepped out into 
 the street, and laying her hand on Wibisma's arm, 
 said : 
 
 " One word more, uncle ; but with you alone." 
 
 The baron still retained his hold of the horse's 
 mane, but responded with a courteous smile : 
 
 " I only trust that it will not be too heavy for my 
 steed; such a secret from a pretty mouth has its 
 weight." 
 
 With that he bent his head toward his niece ; she, 
 however, seemed to have no thought of whispering, 
 for she came no nearer to him, and said in an under- 
 tone only, though in Italian : 
 
 " Tell my fatber, please, that 1 shall not stay 
 here." 
 
 " But, Ilenrika !" 
 
 " Tell him I will not remain under any circum- 
 stances." 
 
 " Your aunt will not let you go." 
 
 " Once for all, 1 will not remain." 
 
 " I will deliver your message, but in a somewhat 
 milder form, if you Avill allow me." 
 
 " As you choose. Only tell him that I beg him 
 to send for me. If he does not care himself to enter 
 this nest of heretics, for which I do not blame him 
 in the least, let him send me horses or the carriage." 
 
THE BURGOMASrEB'S WIFE. 47 
 
 " And your reasons ?" 
 
 " I will not make your burden heavier. Now go, 
 or your saddle will be wet before you start." 
 
 " Then I am to comfort iloogstraten with the 
 prospect of a letter V 
 
 " No, such things can't be written. Tell my 
 father that I will not stay with my aunt, and wish 
 to go home. Good-by, Nico ! The riding boots 
 and doublet of green cloth are more becoming to 
 you than silken tincry." 
 
 The girl kissed her hand to the young noble w^ho 
 had already swung himself into the saddle, and ran 
 back into the house. Her uncle shrugged his 
 shoulders, mounted his horse, wrapped himself more 
 closely in his dark cloak, beckoned Nicolas to his 
 side, and rode on with him in advance of the 
 servants. 
 
 As long as their way led through the town no 
 word was exchanged between them ; once outside 
 the gate, however, Wibisma said : 
 
 " Henrika finds the time hang heavy in Leyden ; 
 she wishes to return to her father." 
 
 " It cannot be very easy to live with our cousin," 
 answered the lad. 
 
 " She is old and sick, and her life has been a joy- 
 less one." 
 
 " But she was beautiful once. One cannot see 
 many traces of it now, but her eyes are still as they 
 are in her portrait, and besides, she is so rich." 
 
 " That does not bring happiness." 
 
 " But why did she remain single ?" 
 
 The baron shrugged his shoulders and replied : 
 
 " It was no fault of the men." 
 
 " Then why didn't she go into a convent?" 
 
 " Who can tell ? Women's hearts are harder to 
 understand than your Greek books. You will find 
 this out later. What were you saying to your 
 cousin as I came up ?" 
 
48 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " Look," answered the boy, taking the reins in 
 his teeth and pulling off the glove from his left 
 hand; "she placed this ring on my finger." 
 
 "A superb emerald ! She is usually reluctant to 
 part with such things." 
 
 " She offered me another at first and said that 
 she gave it to me to console me for the blows I re- 
 ceived yesterday as a true adherent of the king. 
 Wasn't that strange?" 
 
 " More than that, I should say," 
 
 " It went against the grain for me to take a 
 reward for my black and blue spots, so 1 drew my 
 hand quickly away and said that the burgher lads 
 had carried home some of my giving and that as a 
 reward for that, I would take the circlet." 
 
 " Right, Nico, right." 
 
 " So she said too ; she laid the little ring in the 
 casket again and selected this one, and here it is." 
 
 "A rare gem!" murmured the baron, and then to 
 himself: "This gift is likewise a good omen. He 
 and the Hoogstratens are her nearest heirs, and if 
 the silly girl will not remain with her " 
 
 But he had no time to carry these reflections to a 
 conclusion, for his son broke in upon tliem, saying : 
 
 " The rain is already beginning ! Don't the mists 
 over there on the meadows look like clouds fallen 
 from the sky ? How cold I am !" 
 
 " Draw your cloak closer about you." 
 
 " How it rains and hails ! One would think that 
 winter had come again. The water in the canals 
 looks black, and there — look — what is that?" 
 
 By the roadside stood a tavern, and before it rose 
 a solitary and lofty elm, the trunk of which, straight 
 and bare as a mast, did not separate into branches 
 until it attained the height of a house. Spring had 
 not yet brought any leaves to its boughs, but in the 
 tree's bare top there were many things to be seen. 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 49 
 
 To one branch was fastened a pennon with the 
 colors of the House of Orange, to another hung a 
 huge doll, which from a distance looked like a man 
 clad in black, from a third swung an old hat, and to 
 a fourth was affixed a piece of white parchment on 
 which was written in large black letters already 
 blurred by the rain : 
 
 " Hail to Orange, to the Spaniard death, 
 Thus Peter Quatgelat welcomes his guests." 
 
 This gayly decorated tree presented a by no 
 means attractive appearance in the cold, gray, misty 
 air of that rainy April morning. 
 
 Beside the puppet swayed to and fro by the wind 
 had alighted a number of crows that had mistaken 
 it for an actual body. They must have been birds 
 of small intelligence, for since the Spaniards had 
 ruled in Holland the scaffolds had not been empty 
 for many a year. The crows were cawing as though 
 with disappointment, but they nevertheless remained 
 sitting on the tree which thev doubtless took for a 
 scaffold. The other absurd decorations and the 
 thought of the nimble dare-devil who must have 
 climbed up there to put them in their place were in 
 harsh and unpleasant contrast to this caricature of 
 the gallows. 
 
 Nicolas, however, laughed loudly when he caught 
 sight of the curious objects in the top of the elm, 
 and pointing upward, cried : 
 
 " What strange fruits are hanging there !" 
 
 But the next instant a shudder passed over him, 
 for a crow had fastened upon the black doll and 
 pecked so hard at it with its beak that both it and 
 the bird swayed to and fro like a pendulum. 
 
 " What does this nonsense mean ?" asked the 
 baron, turning to the man who rode behind him. 
 
50 THE BUROOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " It's a sort of tavern-sign," answered the latter. 
 " It looked gay enough yesterday when tlie sun 
 shone upon it, but to-day — b-r-r-r — it makes one 
 creep." 
 
 The nobleman's eyes were not sharp enough to 
 distinguish the inscription on the parchment. 
 When JSTicolas had read it to him he muttered an 
 oath, then turned to the man again, and asked : 
 
 " And does this nonsense bring guests to the ras- 
 cally landlord ?" 
 
 " Yes, my lord; and, by my soul, it looked corai- 
 ca-1 enough yesterday when the crows up there were 
 lacking; you couldn't look at it without laughing. 
 Half Leyden was out here and we let ourselves be 
 drawn out with the crowd. Such goings on on the 
 gra,ss plot there. Doodle-dum — hiibiitt — hi'ibiitt — 
 doodle-dum — the squeaking of fiddles and the squeal- 
 ing of bagpipes never stopped. And the shouts of 
 the wild mob added to the din ; the noise still rings in 
 my ears. There was no end to the music and danc- 
 ino;. The men flung their brown antl red and blue- 
 stockinged legs into the air at the bidding of the 
 fiddles, and with a girl on one arm and a beer mug- 
 held high over their heads, round and round i:hey 
 went with flying coat tails. There was as much 
 shouting and rejoicing as though every buttercup 
 in the grass had turned into a gold gulden. But 
 to-day, holy Florian, what a rain it is !" 
 
 "Just what the things up there need," cried the 
 baron. " The tinder will be wet in such a down- 
 pour, or I would get out the pistols and shoot the 
 shabby liberty hat and the tawdry rags from the 
 tree." 
 
 "The dancing: ground was there," observed the 
 man, and pointed to the trampled grass. 
 
 "The people are ))osscssed, wholly possessed," 
 cried the baron. " Dancing and shouting to-day, and 
 
THE BUR00MA8TEB'8 WIFE. 51 
 
 to-morrow the wind will blow the hat and the pennon 
 from the tree, and instead of the black puppet, they 
 themselves will be hanging from the gallows. 
 Steady, steady ! The hailstones frighten the 
 horses. Unbuckle the wallet, Gerritt, and give your 
 young master his mantle." 
 
 " At once, my lord ! But would it not be better 
 to enter here until the shower passes? Holy 
 Florian ! Look at the hailstone in your horse's 
 mane ! It's as large as a pigeon's egg. There are 
 already two horses standing under the shed and 
 Quatgelat's beer is not bad." 
 
 The nobleman looked questioningly at his son. 
 
 " Let us go in," said the latter ; " we shall get to 
 the Hague early enough. Look how poor Baltha- 
 sar is shivering ! Henrika says that he is a white 
 painted black, but if she could see how well the 
 color holds in this downpour she would take it 
 back." 
 
 Herr van Wibisma turned his dripping and smok- 
 ing horse toward the house, and in a few moments 
 he and his son crossed the threshold of the tavern. 
 
52 TUE B una OM ASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 As THEY entered the large, low room, the travel- 
 ers were met by a rush of warm air laden with the 
 fumes of beer and the smell of food. The room 
 was dimly lighted on two sides by small windows, 
 which deserved scarcely more than the name of 
 portholes. The taproom itself looked like the 
 cabin of a ship. The ceiling and floor, the tables 
 and chairs were all of the same dark-brown wood 
 that covered the walls, along which were ranged 
 beds like bunks. 
 
 The host had advanced with many bows to meet 
 his distinguished guests, and had escorted them to 
 the fireplace, where huge blocks of peat were burn- 
 ing. The glow they sent forth served several pur- 
 jioses. It svarmed ihe air, lighted a portion of the 
 room darkened by the heavy rainstorm, and helped 
 to cook three chickens that were beginning to 
 brown on an iron spit over the fire. 
 
 As the new arrivals approached the fire, the old 
 woman who had been turning the spit thrust a 
 white cat from her lap and stood up. 
 
 The host flung upon a bench the cloaks that had 
 been hung on the backs of two chairs to dry, and 
 hung in their places the cloaks of the baron and his 
 son. 
 
 While the elder Wibisma was ordering warming 
 drinks for himself and his people, Nicolas led the 
 negro to the fire. 
 
 The shivering boy cowered on the floor near the 
 
TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 53 
 
 ashes and thrust out to the flame first his wet feet 
 shod ill red morocco, then his stiffened fingers. 
 
 Father and son seated themselves at a table 
 which the maid had spread with a cloth. The baron 
 was not indisposed to question the landlord, a ser- 
 vile, pock-marked dwarf, whose dress was of the 
 same brown color as the woodwork in his taproom, 
 concerning the tree with its strange decorations; 
 but he refrained, for at a table some distance from 
 his sat two burghers of Leyden, one of whom was 
 well known to him, and he had no desire to pick a 
 quarrel in such a place as this. 
 
 When Nicolas had taken a survey of the room, 
 he touched his father and said in a low voice : 
 
 " Did you notice the men over there ? The 
 younger one — he is just lifting the cover of the 
 tankard — is the organist who rescued me from the 
 boys yesterday and lent me his cloak." 
 
 " That one there ? A handsome young fellow. He 
 might be taken for a painter or something of that 
 sort. Here, landlord, who is the gentleman with 
 the brown hair and large eyes, talking with Herr 
 AUertssohn, the fencing master V 
 
 " It is Herr Wilhelm, with your gracious lord- 
 ship's permission, the younger son of the collector 
 of taxes, Herr Cornelius, a player or a musician, as 
 they call it." 
 
 '' Yes, yes," cried the baron. " His father is one 
 of ray old Leyden acquaintances. He was a brave 
 and most worthy man before this craze for liberty 
 turned the peoj)le's heads. The young man, too, has 
 a face tiuit is good to look at. There is something 
 pure about it — something — -it is hard to tell what — 
 what do you think, Nico ? Does he not look like our 
 holy Saint Sebastian ? Shall I speak to him and 
 thank him for his kindness V 
 
 The baron did not await the answer of his son, 
 
54 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 whom he was fond of treating as a friend and equal 
 in age, but rose to express his kindly feeling toward 
 the musician ; this laudable purpose, however, 
 received an unexpected check. 
 
 The man whom the baron had called Allertssohn 
 had just noticed that the Glippers' cloaks were hang- 
 ing before the tire, while his own and his friend's had 
 been flung upon a bench. This fact seemed to annoy 
 the Leydener deeply, for as the baron rose he pushed 
 his chair back violently, bent his sturdy body 
 forward, leaned his arms on the table before him, 
 and turned his martial face from the landlord to the 
 nobleman and back again. At last he cried in a 
 loud voice : 
 
 "Peter Quatgelat — you — you — if you — you 
 wretched hunchback, who gave you — who gave you 
 the right to throw our cloaks into the corner ?" 
 
 " Yours, captain," stammered the host, " were 
 already " 
 
 " Hold your tongue, cur !" thundered the other in 
 so loud a voice and with such excitement tiiat the 
 flowing gray mustache on his upper lip shook, and 
 the long, thick beard on his chin trembled. " Plold 
 your tongue ! We know better. Gottes Bonner ! 
 You truckle to noblemen's cloaks here ! They are 
 of Spanish cut. They look well on a Glipper ! Good 
 Dutch cloth is flung into a corner. Oho, oho, 
 brother Crooked-legs, we'll settle you !" 
 
 " I beg you, most noble captain " 
 
 " I spit upon your ' most noble,' you most ignoble, 
 you arch scoundrel ! First come, first served ; it is 
 always so in Holland and always has been since the 
 days of Adam and Eve. Listen well, Crooked-legs! 
 If my 'most noble' cloak and Ilerr Wilhelm's are 
 not hanging in their old places before 1 count 
 twenty, something will happen that will not be to 
 your taste. One — two — three " 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 55 
 
 The landlord cast a fearful, questioning glance at 
 the nobleman, and as the latter shrugged his shoul- 
 ders and said audibly : " There is surely room for 
 more than two cloaks before the lire/' Quatgelat 
 took the Leydeners' mantles from the bench, and 
 hung them on two chairs that he had drawn up 
 to the fire. 
 
 While this was being: done the fencinfr-master 
 slowly continued his counting. When he reached 
 twenty, the landlord had completed his task, but the 
 angry captain still gave him no peace, but said : 
 
 " Our reckoning now, man. Wind and rain are 
 not good company, but 1 know of worse. There is 
 room enough at the fire for four cloaks, and in Hol- 
 land for all the animals in jSToah's ark except Span- 
 iards and the friends of Spaniards. The devil! it has 
 stirred up all the gall in my liver. Follow me to 
 the horses, Herr Wilhelm, or there'll be trouble." 
 
 With these last words, the fencing-master turned 
 his starting eyes angrily upon the nobleman. 
 
 The latter appeared not to have heard the chal- 
 lenging words, and as the fencing-master left the 
 room he approached the musician unconcernedl}^, 
 with head erect, and bowing courteously to him, 
 thanked him for the kindness he had shown his son 
 the day before. 
 
 " You are reall}' not indebted to me," answered 
 Wilhelm Corneliussohn. "I went to your son's rescue 
 because it does not look well for a number to attack 
 
 one." 
 
 "Then permit me to express my approval of this 
 opinion," said the baron. 
 
 " Opinion," repeated the musician with a slight 
 smile, beginning to draw a few notes on the table. 
 
 For awhile the baron watched in silence the mov- 
 ing fingers. Then going closer to the young man, 
 he asked : 
 
56 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " ]\[ust political differences enter into every tiling ?" 
 
 " Yes," answered the other eniphaticall}", and 
 turning quickly toward the older man. " Jn these 
 times, yes, a thousand times yes. You are not wise 
 to speaic to me of oi)inions, llerr Matenesse." 
 
 "Every man," answered the nobleman with a 
 shrug, " has his own opinions and thinks them the 
 right ones, but he ought to respect those of others." 
 
 " My lord," broke in the musician, " in these days 
 there can be but one opinion among us. Any man 
 who is of Dutch blood and thinks differently from 
 us, I wish to have naught to do with, not even to 
 drink at the same table with him. Pardon me, my 
 lord ; my traveling companion has a hot temper, as 
 you have unfortunately learned, and does not like 
 to be kept waiting." 
 
 Wilhelm bowed slightly, approached the fireplace, 
 took his and his companion's half-dried cloaks over 
 his arm, ffung a coin on the counter, took up a 
 covered cage tilled with fluttering birds, and left the 
 room. 
 
 The baron looked after him in silence. The 
 plain words and the young man's departure 
 awakened painful sensations in his breast. He be- 
 lieved that he wished for what was right, but at 
 that moment he felt that a stain rested on the cause 
 he supported. 
 
 One can bear to be pursued better than to be 
 avoided, and an expression of deep annoyance 
 rested on the nobleman's kindly features as he re- 
 turned to his son. 
 
 Nicolas had heard every word the organist had 
 said, and the blood left his ruddy cheeks as he saw 
 how this man, whose whole appearance had 
 especially attracted him, turned his back upon his 
 father as upon a criminal to be avoided. 
 
 The words with which Janus Dousa had left him. 
 
TEE BURGOMAbTER'S WIFE. 57 
 
 the day before recurred to him with greater force, 
 and when the baron was once more seated opposite 
 him, tlie boy raised his e\'es and said hesitatingly, 
 but with touching earnestness and frank concern : 
 
 "Father, what did he mean? Father — are they 
 so yery wrong in preferring to be JJutch ratlier 
 than Spanish ?" 
 
 Wibisma looked with surjH'ise and disapproval at 
 his son, and because he had for a moment felt his 
 own convictions waver, and a blustering word is 
 often of use where there is inability or disinclina- 
 tion to contend with argument, he spoke more 
 sharply to him than he had spoken for years. 
 
 " Are you, too, beginning to relish the bait with 
 which Orange lures on the simpletons? Another 
 such word and I will show you how impertinent 
 boys are treated. Here, landlord : what does that 
 foolery on that tree there mean?" 
 
 "The burghers, my. lord, the Leyden fools are to 
 blame for the mischief, your grace, not I. When 
 the soldiers who had been in the city during the 
 siege went off, they decked the tree in that shame- 
 ful fashion. I keep this house as a tenant of the 
 elder Herr van der Does, and can have no opinion 
 of my own, for a man must live, but as truly as I 
 hope to die in peace, I am loyal to King Philip." 
 
 " Until the Leydeners come out here again," 
 answered Wibisma bitterly. " Did you keep open 
 house during the siege ?" 
 
 " Yes, my lord ; their lordships, the Spaniards, 
 had nothing to complain of in me, and if a poor 
 man's services are not too humble, my gracious 
 lord, they are at your disposal." 
 
 "So, so!" muttered the baron and looked atten- 
 tively at the ill-favored features of the host, whose 
 small eyes glittered with cunning. Then he turned 
 to JS^icolas and said: 
 
58 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " Go and look at the blackbirds there in the 
 window for awhile, my son. I have something to 
 say to the landlord." 
 
 The lad rose at once and as, instead of looking at 
 the birds, he stared after the two enthusiastic sup- 
 porters of Holland's liberty, who were riding along 
 the road that led to Delft, he thought of what 
 Janus Dousa had said of the chains that drag men 
 down, and then he thought of the golden chain, the 
 mark of honor, that King Philip had sent his father. 
 Involiintarily, Xicolas looked toward the baron. 
 He was standing whispering earnestly with the 
 landlord. Now^ he even laid his hand upon his 
 shoulder. Was it right in him to treat thus a man 
 whom he must despise from the bottom of his 
 heart? Or was he — he shuddered as he remem- 
 bered the word " traitor," which one of the boys 
 had shouted in his ear during the tight before the 
 church. 
 
 AVhen the rain moderated the travelers left the 
 tavern. The baron permitted the repulsive host to 
 kiss his hand at parting, but the lad would not 
 suffer him to touch his. 
 
 During the remainder of the ride to the Hague 
 few words were exchanged between father and son. 
 
 The musician and the fencing-master 'were less 
 silent on their way to Delft. 
 
 Wilhelm had remonstrated mildly with the other 
 for having given too violent expression to his feel- 
 ings toward the nobleman. 
 
 " Right, quite right," answered Allertssohn, whom 
 his friends called " AUerts" for short. " Quite 
 right! My hot blood— oh, my hot blood! You 
 have no idea, Herr Wilhelm — But let it pass." 
 
 " No, speak on, meister." 
 
 " You will not think better of me, if I do." 
 
 " Well then, let us talk of other things." 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 59 
 
 " No, Wilhelm, I have no reason for being 
 ashamed of it exactly, for no one will call me a 
 coward.'' 
 
 The musician laughed as he exclaimed : "You a 
 coward ! IIow many Spaniards has your Brescian 
 sword there struck down V 
 
 " Run through, sir; run through far oftenerthan 
 struck down," answered the other. "If the devil 
 calls me out, I shall ask him : ' Foils, sir, or Spanish 
 swords V But there is one of whom I am afraid ; he 
 is my best friend and at the same time my worst 
 enemy ; he is a Netherlander like yourself; he is, in 
 short,' he is the man who rides beside you. Yes, 
 when rage seizes me, when my beard begins to 
 tremble, the little sense I have leaves me as rapidly 
 as your doves do you when you let them loose. You 
 do not know me, Wilhelm." 
 
 " Do I not ? How often must one see you in 
 command and visit you at the fencing-school?" 
 
 " Tut, tut — I am as calm then as the water in 
 that canal yonder — but when anything goes against 
 my sense of right, when — but how am I to tell you 
 concisely, without an illustration " 
 
 " Go on." 
 
 " Well, for instance, when I have to look on and 
 see a toady treated as though he were Sir 
 Upright " 
 
 " It makes you very indignant." 
 
 " Indignant ! No. I grow as fierce as a tiger 
 and I must not, I must not. Roland, my fore man, 
 may very well " 
 
 "Meister, meister, your beard is beginning to 
 tremble already." 
 
 " What were the Glippers thinking when they 
 bad their ' noble' cloaks " 
 
 " The landlord took yours and mine from the fire 
 of his own accord." 
 
60 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 "That may be! But the weak-kneed ape did it 
 to honor the Spanish toad-eater. It galled rae. I 
 could not let it pass." 
 
 " Nor did you keep your anger to yourself, and 
 it surprised me to see how patiently tlie baron took 
 your abuse." 
 
 "That's just it!" cried the fencing-master, and 
 his beard began to quiver ominously. " That's 
 what drove me from the tavern, that's why 1 tied 
 from myself. That — that — lioland, my fore man !" 
 
 " 1 do not understand you." 
 
 " You do not ? How should jon ; but I will ex- 
 plain to you. When you are as old as I am, young 
 man, you will find it out too. There are few per- 
 fectlv sound trees in a forest, few horses without 
 defect, few swords without blemish, and there's 
 scarcely a man who has passed forty and has not 
 some worm gnawing at his heart. Some gnaw 
 quietly, others more sharply, and mine — mine — Do 
 you want to take a look here into my heart ^" 
 
 The fencing-master struck his broad breast as he 
 spoke and went on excitedly, witiiout waiting for 
 his companion's reply : 
 
 " You know me and my life, Herr Wilhelm. 
 My calling is a knightly one. My life is based upon 
 the sword. Do you know a better blade or a surer 
 hand than mine ? Do my soldiers obey me? Have 
 I spared my blood in battle before the red walls 
 and towers behind us? No! by my fore man, 
 Roland, no, a thousand times, no !" 
 
 " Who denies it, Meister Allerts ? But tell me, 
 what do you mean by your cry : 'Roland, m}^ fore 
 man ?" 
 
 " Another time, Wilhelm ; you must not interrupt 
 me now. Listen instead while I tell you where the 
 worm gnaws. I repeat then : my calling is a 
 knightly one, and yet, if when a man like Wibisma, 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 61 
 
 who learned from my father how to use a sword, 
 treats me cavalierly and arouses my anger, I were 
 to assume mv rio^hts and challeno-e him, what would 
 he do 'i lie would laugh and ask : ' What will the 
 bout cost, llerr Fencing-Master Allerts ? Have yot* 
 sharpened rapiers also V Perhaps he would say 
 nothing at all — we have just seen how he bore him- 
 self awhile ago. His glance slipped by me like an 
 eel and he had wax in his ears. Whether I rail at 
 him or a cur bark at him, is all the same to him. 
 But if a Renneberg or a Brederode had been in my 
 place how quickly Wibisma would have drawn his 
 sword from its sheath, for he knows how to fight 
 and is no coward. But I — I ? No one likes to be 
 struck in the face, and, as truly as my father was a 
 brave man, the deepest insult is easier to bear than 
 the feeling that one is esteemed too low to be able 
 to offer an insult. You see, Wilhelm, when the 
 Glipper looked past me " 
 
 " The beard lost its composure." 
 
 " It is all very well for you to jest, you do not 
 know " 
 
 " But I do, Herr Allerts ; I quite understand." 
 
 "And you also understand why I tookm^/self and 
 my sword outside so quickly V 
 
 " Thoroughly ; but stop a moment. The pigeons 
 are fluttering so that they must need air." 
 
 The fencing-master brought his horse to a stand- 
 still, and as Wilhelm lifted the dripping cloth from 
 the cage that rested before him on the horse's neck 
 asked : 
 
 " How can a man put up with such tame 
 creatures ? If you wish to steal time from your 
 music to give to feathered folk, why not tame 
 falcons? It is a knightly craft and one that I can 
 teach you." 
 
 " Leave my pigeons in peace," answered Wilhelm. 
 
62 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " They are not as insignificant as you think, and in 
 many' a war, which is surely a knightly pastime, 
 they have proved useful. Remember Haarlem. It 
 ' is beginning to rain again. I wish my cloak were 
 not so short ; I would like to spread it over the 
 pigeons." 
 
 ^ Truly you look like Goliath in David's cloak." 
 
 " It is my scholar's cloak ; my other one 1 gave to 
 young Wibisma yesterday." 
 
 " The Spanish green-finch ?" 
 
 " I have already told you of the braw^l between 
 the boys." 
 
 "• True, true. And the young fool has kept your 
 cloak ?" 
 
 " You came for me and would not w^ait. They 
 doubtless returned it shortly after our departure," 
 
 '^ And their gracious lordships expect your thanks 
 because the young noble accepted it !" 
 
 "^'^o, no ; the baron expressed his thanks to rae." 
 
 " But they won't make 3'our cape any longer. 
 Take my cloak, Wilhelm. I have no pigeons to 
 shelter, and my skin is thicker than yours." 
 
TEE BUBGOMASTEB'8 WIFE. t33 
 
 CHAPTEE YII. 
 
 The first stormy day was followed by a second 
 and a third. 
 
 Whitish mist and gray fog hung over the meadows. 
 The cold, damp northwest wind drove the heavy 
 clouds together and darkened the sky. From the 
 leads on the steep roofs of Leyden, tiny rivulets 
 rushed into the streets below. The water in the 
 canals and ditches grew turbid and rose to the edge 
 of the banks. Dripping and freezing men and 
 women hurried past each other without greeting, 
 while the two storks pressed closer to each other in 
 the nest and thought of the warm south, regretting 
 their premature return to the cold and damp plains 
 of the Netherlands. 
 
 In anxious minds increased the dread of what 
 must come. The rain caused fear to spring up in 
 the hearts of many burgliers as rapidly as it caused 
 the young grain to grow in the fields. In many a 
 taproom were held conversations that sounded any- 
 thing but hopeful — in others men inveighed against 
 resistance as folly, or loudly demanded the deser- 
 tion of the Prince of Orange and of freedom. 
 
 Whoever wished to find a happy face in Leyden 
 in these days would have sought long in vain, and 
 last of all could he hope to find it in the house of 
 Burgomaster van der Werff. 
 
 Three days had elapsed since the departure of 
 Herr Peter; indeed the fourth was half gone, and 
 the burgomaster had not yet returned, nor had hif^ 
 
64 TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 household received any message, any word of ex- 
 planation. 
 
 Frau Maria had donned her gown of pale blue 
 cloth cut square in the neck and adorned with 
 Mechlin lace, for her husband especially liked to 
 see her in this gown, and he would surely return 
 to-day. 
 
 The spray of yellow wall-flower at her breast she 
 had cut from the blossoming plant in her bedroom 
 Avindow, and Barbara had helped her in arranging 
 her heavy hair. 
 
 It still lacked an hour of noon when the young 
 wife entered her husband's room with a white dust 
 cloth in her hand. She went first to the window 
 down which the streaming rain dripped in countless, 
 writhing, snakelike lines, pressed lier forehead to 
 the glass and looked out into the deserted street. 
 
 The water stood between the smooth red bricks 
 of the pavement. A .porter clattered b}^ in heavy 
 wooden shoes, a maid-servant hurried along wrapped 
 in her hooded cloak, a cobbler's apprentice witli a 
 pair of high boots slung across his slioulder sprang 
 from puddle to puddle and carefully avoided the 
 dry places; no horseman appeared. 
 
 It was almost supernaturall}^ still in the house 
 and in the street; she could hear nothing but the 
 splashing of the rain. Until the sound of hools 
 made itself heard Maria could not expect her 
 husband ; nor did she look into the distance, but 
 gazed dreamily into the street and at the ceaseless 
 rain. 
 
 The room was carefully heated for the master's 
 return, but Maria felt a cold draught through the 
 window cracks. She shivered, and as she drew 
 back into the dusky room it seemed to her as though 
 it must always be gloomy like this and that no 
 bright days could ever come again. 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 65 
 
 Minutes passed before she remembered the pur- 
 pose that had brought her here. She began to dust 
 the writing table, the piled-up papers, and the 
 other objects in the room. At hist she came to the 
 pistols, which Peter had not taken with him on his 
 journey. 
 
 Above the weapons hung the picture of her hus- 
 band's first wife. The picture was in far greater 
 need of dusting than the pistols, for until now Maria 
 had always avoided touching it. 
 
 To-day she plucked up courage, placed herself 
 before it, and looked steadfastly at the youthful 
 features of the woman with whom Peter had been 
 happy. She was fascinated by the brown eyes that 
 looked out at her from the pleasant face. 
 
 Yes, the woman up there looked happy — almost 
 insolently happy. 
 
 How much more had Peter given to his first wife 
 than to iier ? 
 
 Tills thought cut her to the quick, and without 
 moving her lips she addressed a succession of ques- 
 tions to the silent portrait, which continued to look 
 down serenely and confidently at her from its plain 
 frame. 
 
 Once it seemed as though the full lips quivered. 
 Once it seemed as though the eyes moved. A cold 
 shudder passed over Maria; she began to be afraid, 
 but she could not tear herself from the picture. 
 
 She gazed ujiward with wide-open eyes. 
 
 Slie did not stir, and her breath came faster. 
 
 Then her glance grew more intent. 
 
 On tlie dead wile's brow lay a shadow. 
 
 Had the painter meant to indicate some care that 
 was pressing upon her, or was what she saw only 
 dust that had settled upon the canvas? 
 
 She drew a chair toward the picture and set her 
 foot upon the seat. Her skirt pulled up as she did 
 
06 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 so. Blushing, as though other than painted eyes 
 were looking upon her, she drew it down over the 
 white stocking, and then with a rapid movement 
 iivounted tlie chair. 
 
 She now stood face to face w^ith the picture. The 
 cloth in Maria's trembling hand passed over Eva's 
 forehead and brushed the shadow from the rosy 
 skin. Then she wiped the dust from the frame and 
 from the canvas and noticed the signature of the 
 artist to whom the picture owed its origin. "Artjen 
 of Leyden," he called himself, and his careful hand 
 had painstakingly reproduced even the smallest de- 
 tails. The silver chain with the blue turquoises on 
 the round neck she knew well. Peter had given 
 this same chain to her as a wedding gift, and she 
 had worn it to the altar, but the little diamond cross 
 that hung from it she had never seen. The gold 
 buckle at Eva's belt had been hers since her last 
 birthday, but it was badly bent and the blunt points 
 could with difficult}^ pierce the heavy ribbon. 
 
 " She had every tiling wliile it was new," she said 
 to herself. " The ornaments ! What do I care for 
 them! But the heart, the heart — how much love 
 has she left for me in Peter's heart?" 
 
 Against her will these words kej)t echoing in her 
 mind, and she was forced to summon all her strength 
 to keep from crying. 
 
 " If he would only come, if he would only come !" 
 was the cry of her sorely troubled soul. 
 
 The door opened un})erceived by her. 
 
 Barbara entered, and spoke her name softly and 
 with kindly reproach. 
 
 Maria started, and Hushing said: 
 
 " Please give me vour hand. I wish to get down. 
 
 have just finished. The dust was something dis- 
 graceful." 
 
 When she was again standing on the floor the 
 widow said to her : # 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 67 
 
 " How red your cheeks are ! Listen, dear child, 
 listen to rae !" 
 
 Barbara was interrupted in the midst of her 
 reproof, for the knocker sounded loudly at the front 
 door and Maria hastened to the window. 
 
 The widow followed her, and after a hasty glance 
 into the street cried : 
 
 " It is Wilhelm Corneliussohn, the musician. He 
 has been to Delft. His mother told me so. Per- 
 haps he brings news of Peter. I Avill send him up 
 to you, but he must first tell me downstairs wliat 
 news he brings. If you need me you will find me 
 with Lieschen. She is hot and her eyes pain her, I 
 am afraid she is going to have a fever." 
 
 Barbara left the room. Maria pressed her hands 
 to her burning cheeks and walked slowly back and 
 forth until there came a knock and the musician 
 entered. 
 
 After the first greetings, the young wife asked 
 eagerly : 
 
 " And did you see ray husband in Delft?" 
 
 " Yes, Frau Biirgeraeisterin," answered "Wilhelm, 
 " night before last." 
 
 " Then tell me " 
 
 " At once, at once ! I bring you a whole budget 
 of messages. First from vour lady mother." 
 
 •'Is she well?" 
 
 "Well and cheerful. "Worthy Doctor Groot is 
 also hale and hearty." 
 
 " And my husband ?" 
 
 "I found hiin w^ith the doctor. Doctor Groot 
 sends all sorts of kind messages to you. Yesterday 
 and the day before we had music at his house. He 
 always has the latest things from Italy, and when 
 we try this motet here " 
 
 " Later, Herr Wilhelm. Tell me first what my 
 husband " 
 
68 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " The Ilerr Biirgemeister came to the doctor witli 
 a commission from the prince. He was in a hurry 
 and could not wait for the singing. It went finely. 
 You need have no concern about the tableture. -" I f 
 you, with your magnificent voice will only " 
 
 " 1 beg of you, Ilerr Wilhelm " 
 
 " No, my dear lady, you must not refuse. Ilerr 
 Groot says that as a girl you sang the soprano 
 parts as no one else could, and if you and Fran 
 von Nordwyk and Ilerr van Aken's eldest 
 daughter " 
 
 " But my dear Ilerr Wilhelm," cried the burgo- 
 master's wife with growing impatience, "I am not 
 asking now about your motets and tabletures but 
 about my husband." 
 
 Wilhelm looked, half amazed, half alarmed, into 
 the young wife's face. Then smiling at his lack of 
 tact, he shook his head and said with good-natured 
 contrition : 
 
 " Forgive rae, please; it is often true that even 
 little things seem all important to us when our souls 
 are filled with them. To your ears, a word about 
 your absent husband must sound sweeter than all 
 my music. I ought to have remembered it sooner. 
 AVell then ; the biirgemeister is well and has con- 
 ferred much with the prince. Before he left for 
 Dortrecht yesterday morning he gave me this letter 
 for you and commissioned me to place it in your 
 hands with most affectionate greetings." 
 
 Tiie musician handed a letter to Maria. She 
 took it quickly and said : 
 
 " Do not be vexed, Ilerr Wilhelm, but we will 
 talk about your motet to-morrow or whenever you 
 wish : but to-dav " 
 
 * An ancient mode of indicating musical sounds by letters 
 instead of notes. 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 69 
 
 " To-day you must give your time to this letter," 
 interrupted Wiliiehn. " It is only natural. The 
 messenger has fullilled his commission and the 
 musician will try his fortune with his music another 
 time,'- 
 
 As soon as the young man had taken his depar- 
 ture Maria retired to her room, seated herself at her 
 window, hurriedly opened her husband's letter and 
 read : 
 
 " My dear and faithful Wife : Meister Wilhelm 
 Corneliussohn, of Leyden, will carr^^ this letter to 
 you. I am well, but it was hard for me to leave 
 you on the anniversary of our wedding day. The 
 w^eather is very bad. I found the prince in deep 
 distress, but we do not give up hope, and if the good 
 Lord aids us, and every man does his duty, all may 
 yet be well. I must go to Dortrecht to-day. What 
 I have to do there is of great importance. You 
 must be patient, for it may be many days before 
 my return. 
 
 " If the messenger of the Council comes, give him 
 the papers that lie on the desk, on the right-hand 
 side, under the smaller weight. Give my love to 
 Barbara and the children. If you need money, ask 
 Yan Ilout in my name for the balance that is due 
 me; he will know. If you are lonely, go and see 
 his wife or Frau von Nordwyk ; they would be 
 glad to see you. Buy as much meal, butter, cheese, 
 and smoked meat as is possible. One cannot tell 
 what may come. Let Barbara advise you. Rely- 
 ing upon your obedience, 
 
 " Your faithful husband, 
 " Peter Adkianssohn van der Weeff." 
 
 Maria read this letter rapidly at first, then a 
 second time more slowly, sentence by sentence, to 
 
70 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 the end. Disappointed, troubled, hurt, she folded 
 it, and witliout herself knowing why, took the 
 spray of wall-flower from her breast and tossed it 
 jiito the peat-basket by the iireplace. Then she 
 took from a chest a pretty carved box, ])hiced it 
 upon the table, opened it, and laid within it her 
 husband's letter. 
 
 Long after it had been placed with other papers 
 Maria stood before the casket and gazed thouglit- 
 fully at its contents. 
 
 At last she laid her hand upon the lid to close it, 
 bu-t she hesitated, and took up a bundle of letters 
 that la}"^ at the bottom of the box, together with 
 some gold and silver coins, gifts of her godfather 
 and godmother, modest trinkets, and a withered 
 rose. 
 
 She drew a chair up to the table, seated herself, 
 and began to read. She knew the letters well. A 
 noble and promising young man had written them 
 to her sister, his affianced wife. They were written 
 from Jena, where he had gone to complete his 
 studies in jurisprudence. In every word spoke the 
 lovers ardent longing, in every line the passion that 
 hail filled the writer's heart. Often the lano-uao-e 
 of the 3'oung scholar, who, as a student under Doctor 
 Groot, had won his bride in Delft wlien she was 
 still scarcely more than a child, rose to a lofty 
 flight. 
 
 As Maria read, she could see Jacoba's sweet 
 face, and the handsome, tlreamy features of her 
 husband. She remembered their joyous wedding, 
 lier brother-in-law's friend, upon whom nature liacl 
 lavished every gift, who had come with him to Hol- 
 land as his groomsman, and who on leaving had 
 given her the rose that lay there in the casket. His 
 voice had blended with hers as no other had, from no 
 other lips had she ever heard such poetic language, 
 
TEE B URO0MA8TER 'S WIFE. 71 
 
 no ej/es as lustrous as this young Thuringian noble- 
 man's had ever looked into hers. 
 
 After the wedding Georg von Dornburg had 
 returned to his home and the young couple had gone 
 to Haarlem. She had never heard anything more 
 of the stranger, and her sister and her husband were 
 soon to be silenced forever. Like the majority of 
 the inhabitants of that noble and ill fated city, they 
 mst their death at the hands of the Spanish cut- 
 throats. Nothing was left her but the loving 
 memory of her beloved sister and the letters that 
 she held in her hand. 
 
 In them spoke love, the true, exalted love that can 
 speak with the tongues of angels and can remove 
 mountains. 
 
 There lay her husband's letter. Pitiful little 
 letter ! She shrank from opening it again as she 
 returned the precious mementoes to the box, and yet 
 her heart rose as she thought of Peter. She knew 
 that she loved him, and that his heart belonged to 
 her. But she was not satisfied, she was not happy, 
 for he had for her only warm affection or fatherly 
 kindness, and she wished to be loved in a very dif 
 ferent way. The pupil, even the friend, of the 
 scholarly Doctor Grout ; the young girl who had 
 grown up in association with learned men ; tlie 
 enthusiastic lover of her country felt that she was 
 able to give her husband far more than he asked of 
 her. 
 
 Sentimental emotions and extravagant phrases 
 she had never expected from the grave man engaged 
 in vigorous action, but slie did expect that he would 
 understand all that was lofty and noble in her, and 
 that he would allow her to participate in his strug- 
 gles and be the sharer of his thoughts and feelings. 
 That things were very different was shown her 
 again by the meager letter she had received to-day. 
 
t^ TIIK BUnaOMASTEIl'S WIFE. 
 
 He had been a stanch friend of her dead fatlien 
 Tier brother-in-law, too, had attached himself with 
 the enthusiasm of youth, to the older and inoi-e 
 experienced champion of liberty. When he had 
 spoken of Peter to JNfaria it had always been in 
 terms of the warmest admiration and affection. 
 Soon after the decease of her father, and the violent 
 death of the young couple, Peter had come to Delft, 
 and when he sympathized with her and strove to 
 c ^fort her, it was in strong, tender words to which 
 she could cling as to an anchor, in the anguish of her 
 soul. The gallant Levdener came more and more 
 often to Delft and was always a guest at the Groots' 
 house. When the men sat together in consultation 
 Maria was permitted to fill their glasses and to be 
 jiresent at their deliberations. Words flew back 
 and forth and often seemed to her to be neither 
 clear nor wise ; but what Yan der Werff said was 
 always sensible and a child could understand his 
 simple, forcible language. lie seemed to her like 
 an oak among swaying willows. She knew of many 
 and perilous journeys that he took in the service of 
 the prince and awaited their outcome Avitli a beating 
 heart, 
 
 More than once had she thought of how sweet it 
 must be to be borne through life in the strong arms 
 of this steadfast man, and when he stretched out 
 these arms to her she came to him as gladly and 
 proudly as a squire when summoned by his king to 
 receive knightliood. She thought of that bygone 
 time, and every hope with which she had followed 
 him to Leyden rose vividly before her. 
 
 Her bridegroom h;i(l promised her not a spring- 
 time but a happy summer and autumn at his side. 
 She could not iielp thinking of this comparison and 
 of how very different from what she had expected 
 her life with him had been. Tumult, anxiety, con- 
 
THB BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 73 
 
 flict, a constant alternation of hard work and ex- 
 haustion — this was the life to which he had called 
 her at his side, without even showing the desire to 
 grant her a share in his cares and troubles. Things 
 must not, could not continue as they were. All 
 that had seemed beautiful and enjoyable to her in 
 her parents' house was wanting here. Music, poetry 
 that had elevated her soul, intellectual conversation 
 that had developed her mind, were not to be found 
 in her new home. Barbara's friendliness could never 
 make up for those lost pleasures ; for her husband's 
 entire love she would have relinquished everything 
 — but what had become of this love? 
 
 With these bitter feelings she replaced the casket 
 in the chest and obeyed the summons to dinner. At 
 the great table she found only Adrian and the serv- 
 ants, for Barbara was watching beside Lieschen. 
 
 Never had she seemed to herself so lonely, so 
 desolate, so useless as to-day. Of what good was 
 she here ? Barbara presided over kitchen and cellar, 
 and she — she only stood in her husband's way in 
 the fulfillment of his duties toward city and state. 
 
 These were her thoughts when the knocker once 
 more sounded at the door. She stepped to the 
 window. It was the doctor. Lieschen had grown 
 worse and she, her mother, had not even asked 
 about the little one. 
 
 "The children, the children !" she murmured ; her 
 listless features grew animated and her heart was 
 lighter, as she said to herself : 
 
 " I promised Peter to care for them as though 
 they were my own, and I will be true to what I 
 took upon myself." 
 
 With glad emotion she went to the darkened 
 sick-room and closed the door sharply behind her. 
 Doctor Boutins looked around at her with an air of 
 reproofs '^^^ Barbara said : 
 
74 TUE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 "Gently, gently! Lieschen has just fallen 
 asleep,'- 
 
 Maria approached the bed. but the physician 
 motioned her away and asked : 
 ^ " Have you had the miliary fever ?'* 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Then 3'ou must not come into the room again. 
 No other help is needed where Frau Barbara is 
 nurse." 
 
 The burgomaster's wife made no reply and went 
 out into tlie hall again. Her heart was very heavv. 
 She felt like a stranger in her husband's house. 
 Some impulse urged her to go out of doors, and when 
 she had wrapped her cloak about her and was de- 
 scending the stairs, the smell of leather which rose 
 from the bales in the storeroom on the ground floor 
 seemed to her intolerable, although she had scarcely 
 noticed it before. She longed to be back with her 
 mother, with her friends in Delft, in her quiet, airy 
 home. For the first time she ventured to call her- 
 self unhappy, and as she walked on through the 
 streets with downcast eyes in the face of the wind, 
 she struggled vainly against a dark, mysterious 
 power that forced her to review minutely every- 
 thing that had resulted differently from her expec- 
 tations. 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 75 
 
 CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 After the musician bad left the burgomaster's 
 wife he betook himself to the house of young 
 Matenesse van Wibisma's aunt to get his cloak, 
 which had not been returned to him. He was not 
 accustomed to think much about his dress, but he 
 was glad, nevertheless, that the rain kept people 
 within doors, for the effect of the outgrown cape on 
 his shoulders was far from pleasing. Will] elm 
 must indeed have looked as if he were in anything 
 but affluent circumstances, for as he entered Friiu- 
 lein van Hoogstraten's spacious and stately hall, he 
 was received by the house steward, Belotti, as con- 
 descendingly as though he were a beggar. 
 
 The Neopolitan, in whose mouth the guttural 
 Dutch sounded like the rasping in the throat of a 
 singer with a cold, soon changed his tone, however, 
 when Wilhelm quietly explained in good Italian the 
 object of his visit. The servant's lofty bearing 
 melted into eager welcome before the beloved 
 sound of his mother tongue. He began to talk with 
 Wilhelm about his native land, but the musician 
 gave him only curt replies and requested him a 
 second time to bring him his cloak. 
 
 Belotti led him politely to a cabinet that opened 
 into the great hall, removed his cloak for him, and 
 went upstairs. As minute after minute and finally 
 a whole quarter of an hour passed and neither serv- 
 ant nor cloak appeared the young man began to 
 lose his patience, and the leaded panes upon which 
 
76 THE BURGOMASTER* S WIFE. 
 
 his fingers were drumming loudly were threatened 
 with imminent destruction, when the door opened. 
 AVilhehii was conscious of it, but he went on drum- 
 ming with redoubled violence, in order to show the 
 Itahiin very phiinly that the time had seemed long 
 to him. But he hastily withdrew his fingers from 
 the glass, for behind him a musical, girlish voice 
 said, in excellent Dutch : 
 
 •'Have you finished your war-song, mein Uerr P 
 Belotti is bringing your cloak." 
 
 Wilhelm had turned and was looking, confused 
 and speechless, into the face of the young noble- 
 woman who stood directly in front of him. The 
 features were not unfamiliar to him, and j^et years 
 do not make even a goddess 3'ounger, and the 
 daughters of man grow taller and not smaller ; but 
 the lady whom he thought to see before him and 
 whom he had known well in Eome and had never 
 forgotten had been older and taller than the young 
 girl who looked so strangely like her and Avho 
 seemed ill pleased by his astonished and searching 
 gaze. She motioned haughtily to the steward and 
 said, in Italian : 
 
 " Give this gentleman his cloak, Belotti, and 
 tell hira that I came to ask his pardon for your for- 
 getfulness," 
 
 Henrika van Iloogstraten turned toward the door 
 as she said this, but Wilhelm followed her with a 
 few quick strides, exclaiming : 
 
 " No, no, friiulein ! It is for me to apologize. 
 But if you have ever been amazed by a resem- 
 blance ■■' 
 
 "Anything but to look like other people I" cried 
 the girl with a gesture of protestation^ 
 
 "Ah, friiulein, and yet " 
 
 " Say no more !" interrupted Henrika with such 
 irritation that the musician looked at her m surprise. 
 
THE BUEGOMASTEB'S WIFE. 77 
 
 i i 
 
 " One sheep looks like another, and out of a hundred 
 peasants twenty have faces alike. All goods by the 
 dozen are cheap." 
 
 As soon as Wilhelm heard some reason given for 
 her anger, he recovered his usual calm bearing and 
 answered quietly : 
 
 "But nature creates the most beautiful things in 
 pairs. Remember the Madonna's eyes." 
 
 " You are a Catholic ?" 
 
 " A Calvinist, fraulein." 
 
 " And devoted to the cause of the prince?" 
 
 " Say rather, to the cause of liberty." 
 
 "That explains your drumming the war-song." 
 
 " It was a quiet gavotte at first, but impatience 
 quickened the time. I am a musician, fraulein." 
 
 " But not a drummer, I presume. The poor 
 window panes !" 
 
 " They are an instrument like any other, and 
 in playing we seek to express what we feel." 
 
 " Let me thank you then, for not having broken 
 the panes to bits." 
 
 " That would have been an ugly thing to do, 
 fraulein, and art ceases where ugliness begins." 
 
 " Do you think that the song that was concealed 
 in your cloak — it fell out and Nico picked it up — 
 beautiful or ugly ?" 
 
 " This one here or the other ?" 
 
 " The " Geusenlied," I mean." 
 
 " It is wild, but no more unlovely than the roar of 
 the tempest." 
 
 " It is repulsive, coarse and revolting." 
 
 " 1 call it strong and masterful." 
 
 " And the other melody ?" 
 
 " Absolve me from passing judgment ; 1 com- 
 posed it myself. You know how to read music, 
 fraulein ?" 
 
 " A little." 
 
78 TUE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " And were you displeased with ray attempt ?" 
 
 " Not displensed, but I find mournful passages in 
 this choral as in all Calvinistic hymns." 
 ^ '• It depends upon how they are executed." 
 
 "In your churches they are intended for the 
 voices of shopkeepers' wives and washerwomen." 
 
 " Every hymn, if it is only sincerely felt, will give 
 wings to the souls of the simple people who sing it; 
 and whatever rises to heaven from the depths of 
 the human heart cannot be ill pleasing to the dear 
 God to whom it is addressed. And then " 
 
 " Well f ' 
 
 " If this anthem is worthy of being preserved, it 
 may be that a matchless choir " 
 
 " Will sing it to you, you mean ?" 
 
 "No, friiulein ; it has fulfilled its destiny if it is 
 given but one fine rendering. 1 should not wish to 
 be absent, but this wish is secondary to the other." 
 
 " How modest !" 
 
 "I think I have had my greatest enjoyment 
 beforehand in its composition." 
 
 Henrika looked sympathetically at the artist and 
 said in a gentler tone : 
 
 "I am sorry for you. Why should I deny that 
 your music pleases me ? It appeals to the heart in 
 many passages, but how it will be distorted in your 
 churches. Your heresy destroys all art. The 
 works of the great masters are an abomination to 
 vou, and it will be no better with the noble music 
 that has sprung up here in the Netherlands." 
 
 " I venture to believe the contrary." 
 
 "You are wrong, wrong, for if your cause 
 triumphs, which the Virgin forbid, there will soon 
 be nothing in Holland but warehouses, workshops, 
 and bare meeting-houses from which even singing 
 and the organ will be banished at last." 
 
 " ^y no means, friiulein. Athens ditl not become 
 
THE BUROOMASFEB'S WIFE, 79 
 
 the home of art until she had won her freedom from 
 
 the Persians." 
 
 " Athens and Leyden !" she answered scornfully. 
 " There are owls on the tower of Pancratius to be 
 sure. But where are we to find Minerva?" 
 
 As Henrika spolie these words laughingly, her 
 name was called for the third time by a shrill female 
 voice. She broke off in the middle of a sentence 
 and said : 
 
 " I must go. I will keep this music." 
 
 " You will be honoring me by accepting it, and 
 will you permit me to bring j^ou more V 
 
 " Henrika !" the voice again called from the stairs, 
 and the young girl answered quickly : 
 
 " You may give Belotti whatever you choose, but 
 soon, for I shall not be here much longer." 
 
 Wilhelm gazed after Henrika. She walked 
 through the wide hall and u]) the stairs no less 
 quickly and composedlv than she had spoken, and 
 again he thought of his friend in Rome. 
 
 The old Italian hatl also followed Henrika with 
 his eyes. When she had disappeared around the 
 last turn of the broad staircase he shrugged his 
 shoulders, turned to the musician, and said with un- 
 affected concern : 
 
 "It is not well with the fraulein. Always in a 
 tumult, always like a loaded pistol, and always 
 these terrible headaches. She was very different 
 when she came here." 
 
 " The fraulein is ill ?" 
 
 " My mistress will not believe it," answered the 
 servant. " But what we see, the camarista and I, 
 we see. Now red, now white, no rest at night, and 
 hardly a wing of chicken and a bit of salad at 
 dinner." 
 
 " Does the doctor share your uneasiness ?" 
 
 " The doctor I Doctor Fleuriel is no longer here. 
 
80 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 When the Spaniards came he moved to Ghent, and 
 since then my mistress will tolerate no one but the 
 barber who bleeds her. The doctors here are all 
 friendly to the Prince of Orange, anti are all here- 
 tics. There, she is calling again; I will send the 
 cloak to your house, and if you should ever feel 
 inclined to speak my language, just knock at the 
 door. This calling, this everlasting calling! It 
 wears upon the friiulein too." 
 
 When Wilhelm stepped out into the street it was 
 raining but slightly. The clouds had begun to 
 scatter, and from a bit of blue sky the sun shone, 
 bright and hot, down on the Kobelstrasse. A rain- 
 bow shimmered above the roofs, but the musician 
 had no eyes for the beautiful spectacle. The daz- 
 zling light in the wet streets did not gladden him. 
 The glaring rays of the sun could last but a short 
 time, for they were "drawing water." All that 
 surrounded him seemed unstable and confused. 
 Beside the beautiful picture that he preserved as the 
 most sacred of his recollections, and only allowed 
 his thoughts to dwell upon in his happiest moments, 
 another picture was forcing itself. His real jewel 
 was in danger of being exchanged for a stone, the 
 value of which he did not know. With the former 
 perfect harmony mingled disturbingly another in a 
 similar but different key. How could he think of 
 Isabella without remembering Henrika ? At least, 
 he had not heard the 3^oung girl sing, and so the 
 memory of Isabella's songs remained undisturbed. 
 He blamed himself for having promised, from an 
 impulse of vanity, to send other music to the 
 haughty young lady of Spanish sympathies. Ho 
 had treated Ilerr Matenesse van Wibisma rudelvou 
 account of his opinions, but upon her who laughed 
 at ail that he held sacred, he was ready to force 
 himself, because she was a woman, and it was sweet 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 81 
 
 to hear one's creations praised by pretty Jips. 
 " Hercules flings aside his club and seats himself at 
 the distaff when Omphale beckons, and the beauti- 
 ful Esther, and Herod's daughter- •" murmured 
 Wilhelm angrily to himself. He felt deeply dis- 
 turbed and betook himself to his quiet little gable- 
 room near the dove-cote. 
 
 "Something- unpleasant must have happened to 
 him in Delft," thought his father. 
 
 "Why doesn't he relish the broiled flounders to- 
 day?" wondered his mother, as they sat together at 
 dinner. Each felt that something was depressing 
 the darling of the house, but neither attempted to 
 inquire into the why or wherefore, for both knew 
 the moods to which he was often subject for half a 
 day at a time. 
 
 When Wilhelm had fed his pigeons he returned 
 to his room. He paced restlessly back and forth at 
 first ; then he seized his violin and wove together 
 all the melodies he had heard from Isabella's lips. 
 Seldom had his playing been so melting, and then 
 again so wild and passionate, and his mother, who 
 heard him from the kitchen, turned the twirling- 
 stick more and more rapidly, and then thrusting it 
 into the firmly knit dough, murmured as she rubbed 
 her hands on her apron : 
 
 " How the thing wails and exults ! Let him play, 
 in heaven's name, if it gives him any relief; but gut 
 is expensive, and he's sure to break two strings." 
 
 Toward evening Wilhelm was obliged to go to 
 the drill of the rifle corps to which he belonged. 
 His little company had been ordered to mount 
 guard at the Hoogewoort Gate. As they marched 
 up the Nobelstrasse he heard through an open win- 
 dow of the Hoogstraten mansion a woman singing 
 in a deep, clear voice. He listened, and as he 
 noticed with a shudder how much Henrika's voice 
 
82 TUE BUltGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 resembled Isabella's, he ordered the drums to be 
 beaten. 
 
 The next morning a servant appeared from the 
 iloogstraten house and handed VVilhelm a note, in 
 which he was briefly requested to be at the Nobel- 
 strasse that afternoon at two, not a moment earlier 
 or later. 
 
 He did not wish to say " yes ;'' he could not say 
 " no," and at the hour appointed he was at the 
 house. 
 
 Henrika awaited him in the cabinet off from the 
 hall. She looked graver than the day before, and 
 the deep shadows under her eyes and the high 
 color in her cheeks reminded Wilhelm of Belotti's 
 fears for her health. After returning his saluta- 
 tion she said quickly and without further ceremony : 
 
 " I have something to say to you. Sit down. To 
 be brief, the way you saluted me yesterday has 
 brought an idea to my mind. I must look very 
 much like some other woman, and you met her in 
 Italy. You may, perhaps, be thinking of some one 
 who is very near to me and of whom I have lost all 
 trace. Answer me frankly, for I am not asking out 
 of mere curiosity. Where did y(Ui meet her?" 
 
 " In Lugano. We drove to Milan with the same 
 mtturino. I met her later in Korae and saw her 
 daily for months." 
 
 "Then you know her well. Do you still think 
 the resemblance striking on seeing me a second 
 time ?" 
 
 " Marvelous in the extreme." 
 
 " Then I must have a double. Is she a native of 
 this country V 
 
 " She called herself an Italian, but she understood 
 Dutch, for she often used to look over my books 
 and used to follow the conversations I carried on 
 with painters who wei'e countrymen of mine. I 
 think she is a German of noble family." 
 
THE BURG0MASTEW8 WIFE. 83 
 
 " An adventuress, then ? And her name ?" 
 
 " Isabella ; but no one would be justified in call- 
 ing her an adventuress." 
 
 " Was she married f 
 
 " There was something matronly in her stately 
 appearance, but she never spoke to me of a husband. 
 The old Italian woman, her duenna, alwavs called 
 her Donna Isabella, but she had little more knowl- 
 edge of her past than I had." 
 
 " Good or bad, you mean ?" 
 
 " None at all." 
 
 " And what was she doing in Rome ?" 
 
 "She was devoting herself to singing, of which 
 art she was mistrsss ; but she still continued her 
 studies and made great progress in Rome. It was 
 my privilege to instruct her in counterpoint." 
 
 "And she appeared in public as a singer ?" 
 
 " Yes and no. A foreign prelate of high stand- 
 ing was her patron and his recommendation opened 
 all doors to her, even the Palestrina's. The princi- 
 pal parts in church music were given to her, and 
 she did not refuse to sing in great houses, but she 
 never appeared for money. 1 know it, as I was the 
 only one she would have accompany her. My 
 playing was agreeable to her and so, through her I 
 gained access to many great houses." 
 
 " Was she rich ?" 
 
 " No, friiulein. She had beautiful clothes and 
 fine jewels, but she was obliged to economize. 
 From time to time money came to her from Flor- 
 ence, but the gold pieces slipped quickly through 
 her fingers, for while she lived modestly and scarcely 
 ate enough for a bird, although her delicate health 
 required more strengthening fare, she^ was extrava- 
 gant to folly whenever she saw a poor artist in dis- 
 tress, and she knew most of them, for she did not 
 hesitate to sit with them over their wine when I was 
 present." 
 
84 TUE n UROOMASTER 'S WIFE. 
 
 " With men devoted to music and art ?" 
 " True artists of noble sentiments. At times she 
 surpassed us all in extravagant spirits " 
 "At times?" 
 
 ^" Yes, at times only, for she had sad, painfully sad 
 hours and days, but as rain and sunshine succeed 
 each other in an April day despair in life and joy in 
 living alternately gained the mastery over her." 
 
 '' A strange character. Do you know what has 
 become of her ?" 
 
 "No, friiulein. One evening she received from 
 Milan a letter that must have contained bad news, 
 and the following she was gone, without saying 
 farewell. 
 
 "And you never attempted to follow her?" 
 Wilhelm reddened and answered constrainedly: 
 "I had not the right to do so. And besides, 
 shortly after her departure I was taken ill— 
 serious] V ill." 
 
 " You loved her ?" 
 
 " Gnddiges Frdulein, I must beg you " 
 
 " You did love her ! And did she return vour 
 affection ?" ^ 
 
 " You and I have known each other only since 
 yesterday, Friiulein van Iloogstraten." 
 
 " Forgive me ! But if you respect my wishes this 
 will not be the last time we shall see each other, 
 although my double is not the lady of whom I was 
 ihm\i.mg~auf wiedei'sehen. You see, the calls for 
 me have begun again. You have aroused my interest 
 in your strange friend, and another time you must 
 tell me more about her. But one thing more: 
 May a modest girl talk with impunity to you about 
 her ?" 
 
 " Most assuredly, if you are not afraid to talk 
 about a noble woman who had no other protector 
 than herself." 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFS. 85 
 
 " And you, don't forget yourself," cried Henrika 
 as she left the room. 
 
 The musician went thoughtfully home. Was Isa- 
 bella a relative of this young girl ? He had told 
 Henrika almost all that he knew of her outward 
 circumstances and they, perhaps, gave him the same 
 right that many others iu Rome had taken, to call 
 her an adventuress. The word wounded him, and 
 Henrika's question, whether he loved the foreigner, 
 disturbed him and impressed him as importunate 
 and unseemly. Yes, he had been seized with a 
 deep passion for Isabella ; it had been hard for him 
 to be nothing more to her than a good comrade and 
 trusty friend. It had cost him a severe struggle to 
 hide his feelings from her, and he knew that but for 
 the fear of a scornful dismissal, he would have 
 yielded and declared his love. The old wounds 
 broke out anew as he thought of the time when she 
 had left Rome suddenly and without taking leave 
 of him. 
 
 After barely recovering from a severe illness, 
 he had returned home pale and broken, and it 
 was many a month before he could again take true 
 pleasure in his work. At first the thought of her 
 contained nothing but bitterness, but after a silent, 
 a persistent struggle he had succeeded if not in 
 forgetting her, at least in separating the bitterness 
 from the pure and sweet delight of remembering 
 her. 
 
 Now the old battle was beginning anew, but 
 he did not mean to yield and he did not cease to 
 call Isabella's image ^ his mind in all its beauty. 
 
 Henrika returned to her aunt in ^.eep excitement. 
 Was the adventuress of whom AVilhelm had spoken 
 the only creature whom she had loved with all the 
 intensity of her ardent nature ? Was Isabella her 
 lost sister ? Many things spoke against it, but it 
 
86 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 was still possible. She tortured herself with ques- 
 tions, and the less peace her aunt gave her, the more 
 unendurable grew the headache, the more plainly 
 she felt that the fever against w^hich she had been 
 struggling for days would conquer her. 
 
THE BUHQOM ASTER'S WIFE 87 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 On the evening of the third day that followed 
 Wilhelra's interview with Henrika, his wa}'- led him 
 through the Nobelstrasse and past the Hoogstraten 
 mansion. 
 
 Before he reached it he saw two gentlemen, pre- 
 ceded by a servant bearing a lantern, cross the cause- 
 way toward the house. 
 
 Wilhelm watched them attentively. The servant 
 raised the knocker and the light from his lantern 
 fell upon the men's faces. Both were known to 
 him. 
 
 The small, dapper old gentleman with the peaked 
 hat and the short black velvet cloak was the Abbe 
 Picard, a lively Parisian, who had come t > Leyden 
 ten years before, and who gave French lessons in 
 the wealthy families of the town. lie had also been 
 Wilhelm's teacher, but the musician's father would 
 have nothing to do with the clever abbe, for it was 
 said that he had left his beloved France on account 
 of some doubtful transactions, and Herr Cornelius 
 suspected him of being a Spanish spy. The other 
 gentleman, a gray-haired man of medium height 
 and unusual stoutness, who required much cloth for 
 his fur-trimmed mantle, was the Antwerp represen- 
 tative of the great Italian mercantile house of 
 Bonvisi, Signer Lamperi, who came every year with 
 the storks and swallows to Leyden for a few weeks 
 on business, and was a welcome guest in every ap- 
 room as an untiring narrator of funny stories. Be- 
 
88 THE B U ROOM A STER '8 WIFE. 
 
 fore the two entered the house they were joined b}' 
 a third gentleman, preceded by two lackeys with 
 lanterns. A wide cloak enveloped his tall figure ; 
 he too was an old ma\ and no r.tranger to AVilhelm, 
 for Monseigneur Gloria, who came frequently to 
 Leyden from Haarlem, was a patron of music, and 
 when the young musician had started on his journey 
 to Italy, luid provided him in spite of his heretical 
 faith, with valuable letters of introduction. 
 
 Wilhelm continued on his way as the house door 
 closed behind the three gentlemen. The steward, 
 Belotti, had told him the day before that the friiu- 
 lein seemed to him very ill, but as the old lady was 
 receiving guests, he concluded that her niece must 
 be feeling better. 
 
 The fil'st story of the Hoogstraten mansion was 
 brilliantly lighted that evening ; in the second story 
 a soft, steady light shone from a single window 
 upon the Nobelstrasse, but the occupant of this room 
 sat with feverish eyes beside a heavy table and 
 pressed her forehead upon its marble top. Henrika 
 was quite alone in the spacious and loft^ apartment 
 which her aunt had assigned her. Behind curtains 
 of faded brocade stood her bedstead, a heavv struc- 
 ture of abnormal width. The rest of the furniture 
 was large and had once been splendid. Every 
 chair, every table looked as though it had been 
 taken from some deserted banqueting-hall. Nothing 
 needful was lacking in this room, yet it was any- 
 thing but home-like and habitable, and no one would 
 have guessed that its occupant was a young girl, 
 had not a great, gilded harj) leaned against the 
 long, hard couch beside the lire})lace. 
 
 Henrika's face was burning, but her feet resting 
 on the uncarpeted floor of colored stone were freez- 
 ing, although she had wrapped a shawl about her 
 lower limbs. 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 89 
 
 Shortly after the three gentlemen had entered the 
 house, a woman's form ascended the stairs that led 
 from the first to the second story. In her over ex- 
 cited state of mind, Henri ka heard the soft tread of 
 the satin shoes and the rustle of the silken train, 
 long before the approaching figure had reached the 
 room, and breathmg more quickly, she drew herself 
 erect. 
 
 A thin hand opened the door without knocking, 
 and old Friiulein Van Iloogstraten advanced straight 
 toward her niece. 
 
 The aged lady had once been beautiful, but her 
 appearance was now strange and unpleasing. 
 
 The bent, haggard form was clad in a long trailing 
 gown of heavy pink silk. The small head almost 
 disappeared in the ruff, a large structure of extraor- 
 dinary height and width. Upon the sallow skin 
 displayed by the low-cut neck of her dress, hung 
 long chains of pearls and sparkling jewels, and on 
 the false, reddish-yellow curls rested a turban of 
 blue velvet adorned with ostrich plumes. A strong 
 odor of perfumes preceded her. She herself must 
 have found it overpowering, for the huge, glittering 
 fan in her hand was in constant motion and was 
 waved with still greater violence when Ilenrika in 
 reply to her sharp : " Be quick, be quick !" returned 
 a decided " No, via tanter 
 
 The old lady, however, did not allow herself to be 
 disturbed by this refusal and only repeated her " Be 
 quick, be quick !" with greater decision, and added 
 impressively in explanation : 
 
 '• Monsigneur has come and wishes to hear you 
 
 sing." 
 
 " I am deeply honored," answered the girl, 
 " deeply honored, but how often must I repeat : 1 
 wilL not come." 
 
 " May J ask why not, my beauty ?" said the old 
 lady, * . 
 
90 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 "Because I am not fit for company," answered 
 Henrika vehemently; " because my head aches and 
 ray eves burn, because I cannot sing to-night, and 
 because— because— because— I implore you to leave 
 
 me in peace." 
 
 Old Friiulein van Hoogstraten let her fan fall 
 and asked coldly : 
 
 " Were you singing two hours ago — ^yes orno?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Then the headache cannot be so bad and Denise 
 will dress you." 
 
 ''If she'^ comes, I will send her away. When I 
 took up the harp awhile ago I did so to drive away 
 the pain by singing. It relieved it for a few mo- 
 ments, but my head is throbbing all the harder 
 now." 
 
 " A mere excuse." 
 
 "Believe what you choose. For the rest— if I 
 felt as well as a squirrel in the woods, I would not 
 go down to your guests. I shall stay here. My 
 word for it, "^and 1 am a Hoogstraten as well as 
 vou." 
 
 Henrika had risen and looked at her oppressor 
 with an unnatural light in her eyes. The old woman 
 waved her fan more rapidly and her prominent chin 
 trembled. Then she said shortly : 
 
 " Your word of honor ! Then you will not? You 
 will not?" 
 
 "Certainly not," cried the girl with undutiful 
 resolution. 
 
 " Every one to his taste," answered the old woman. 
 "But there is sucli a thing as going too far. Your 
 father will not thank you." 
 
 With these words Friiulein van Hoogstraten 
 gathered up her long train and advanced to the 
 door. There she stopped and looked around ques- 
 tioningly at Henrika. The latter did not fail to notice 
 
THE B URGOMASTER 'S WIFE. 91 
 
 her aunt's hesitation, but deliberately turned her 
 back upon her without deigning any reply to the 
 covert threat. 
 
 As soon as the door had closed the girl sank 
 back into her chair, pressed her forehead against 
 the marble top of the table, and let it rest there for 
 a long time. Then she started up as suddenly and 
 violently as though obeying an imperative summons, 
 threw back the lid of her trunk, tossed the stock- 
 ings, bodices, and shoes that were in her way in a 
 circle upon the floor, and did not rise again 
 until she had found some sheets of writing paper, 
 Avhich she had phiced among her other belongings 
 before leaving her father's castle. 
 
 As she rose from her kneeling posture she w^as 
 seized with gidtliness, but she kept on her feet, 
 placed upon the table first the white sheets together 
 with a music book, then a ponderous inkstand which 
 had been in her room for several days, and then 
 seated herself at the table. 
 
 Leaning far back in her chair, she began to write. 
 The book, which served her as a desk, rested upon 
 her knees. The quill pen slowly scratched the 
 large, bold characters on the white surface. ITen- 
 rika was not unskilled in writing, but to-day it must 
 have been unusually hard for her, for her high fore- 
 head grew moist, her lips were drawn Avith pain, 
 and after writing a few lines she would close her 
 eyes or drink eagerly from the goblet of water that 
 stood near her. 
 
 It was very quiet in the great room, but at times 
 the silence was broken by strange sounds and noises 
 that reached her from the dining-hall beneath her 
 chamber. Clinking of glasses, shrill tittering, loud, 
 deep laughter, a measure or two from a light love 
 song, cheers, and then the sharp crash of a wine 
 glass wantonly broken, came up to her in a confused 
 
92 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 medley of sounds. She did not wish to hear it, but 
 she heard it nevertheless and clinched her white 
 teeth angrily. Still the pen did not come altogether 
 to a pause. 
 
 She wrote in broken sentences or in phrases so 
 involved and incoherent as to be incoinprelionsible. 
 Here 3'a\vned omissions, there single words were 
 repeated over and over again. The whole was like 
 a letter written by a madwoman, and yet, in every 
 line, in everj' stroke of the pen, the same wish was 
 expressed with passionate longing: "Away from 
 here ! Away from this woman and from this 
 house !" 
 
 It was addressed to her father. She implored 
 him to free her from this place, to come for her or 
 send for her. " Her uncle, Matenesse van Wibis- 
 ma," she said, "seemed to be a tardy messenger ; 
 to be sure, while here he had taken pleasure in her 
 aunt's evenings, which filled her, Henrika, with 
 loathing. She would follow^ her sister out into the 
 world if her father forced her to remain here," 
 Then she entered upon a description of her aunt 
 and her doings. The picture of the days and nights 
 that she had endured for weeks with her aunt set 
 forth in glaring colors a succession of greater and 
 lesser sufferings, and of demands degrading to both 
 mind and body. 
 
 Onl}' too often did the drinking and tittering go 
 on downstairs as on this evening ; but not that alone 
 — Henrika had always been obliged to associate 
 with her aunt's guests, elderly ?'oues of French or 
 Italian origin and easy morals. As she described 
 these gatherings the blood rose, still chirker, to her 
 flushed cheeks, the long strokes of the pen grew 
 heavier and heavier. What the abbe told and what 
 her aunt laughed at, what the Italian said and 
 monseigneur reproved with a smirk and a slight 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 93 
 
 shake of the head, was so shameful that she would 
 have felt herself contaminated by repeating it. 
 
 Was she a respectable girl or was she not? She 
 would rather go hungry and thirsty than be present 
 again at such carousings. "When the dining-hall 
 was empty other preposterous demands were made 
 upon her, for her aunt, who could not bear to be 
 left alone for a moment, was ill and suffering, and 
 she was obliged to care for her. That she was glad 
 and willing to nurse the sick, she wrote, she had 
 shown suthciently in her care of the village children 
 when they were ill with the small-pox, but if her 
 aunt could not sleep, she had to sit up with her, 
 holding her hand and listening until morning to 
 her laments, her whimperings, her prayers, her 
 curses of herself and of the whole deceitful workl. 
 She, Henrika, had come to this house strong and 
 well, bat so much disgust, anger, and constant self- 
 restraint had ruined her health. 
 
 The girl wrote until midnight. More and more 
 indistinct grew the letters, more and more uneven 
 the lines, and as she wrote the last words : " My 
 head, my poor head ! You will see that I am losing 
 my mind. Oh, please, I implore you, my stern and 
 beloved father, I implore you, take me home. I 
 have heard something more about Anna — " her 
 eyes grew dim, the pen dropped from her hand, 
 and she fell back senseless in her chair. 
 
 Thus she remained, until the last laugh and the 
 clink of glasses had died away in the room beneath, 
 and her aunt's guests had left the house. 
 
 Denise, the camarista^ noticed the light in the 
 young fraulein's room. She entered, and after 
 vainly trying to rouse Henrika, called her mistress. 
 
 The latter followed the maid, and as she ascended 
 the stairs she muttered : 
 
 " Fallen asleep, ennui — nothing more. She would 
 
94 TUE B URO0MA8TER 'S WIFE. 
 
 have been merry with us downstairs, and would 
 have laughed. Slug'gish blood ! ' People of butter ' 
 says King Philip. That mad Lamperi was so 
 wicked to-niglit, and the abbe said things — 
 thmgs " 
 
 The old woman's eyes were bright with wine and 
 she waved her fan rapidly to and fro to cool her 
 cheeks. 
 
 She stood before Henri ka, she called to her, shook 
 her, and sprinkled her with perfumed water from a 
 large pearl, set in gold, that hung from her girdle 
 and served as a smelling-bottle. As her niece only 
 muttered unintelligible words in her reph^she bade 
 the maid bring the medicine chest. 
 
 As Denise left the room the old woman caught 
 sight of Henrika's letter, took it up, and with in- 
 creasing anger read it word for word, flung it down 
 at last, and tried to rouse her niece by shaking her ; 
 but in vain. 
 
 Meanwhile the steward, Belotti,had been informed 
 of Henrika's severe illness, and as he was attached to 
 the young friiulein he sent of his own accord for a 
 doctor and summoned Father Damianus in the place 
 of the banished spiritual adviser of the house. Then 
 he repaired to the sick-room. 
 
 Even before he had crossed the threshold the old 
 woman called to him in the greatest agitation : 
 
 " Belotti, what do you say now, Belotti? Sick- 
 ness in the house, contagious sickness perhaps, per- 
 haps even the plague." 
 
 " It seems to be nothing but a fever," answered 
 the Italian soothingly ; " come, Denise, we will carry 
 the frilulein to the bed. The doctor will soon be 
 here." 
 
 " The doctor !" shrieked the old lady and struck 
 the marble top of the table with her fan," who gave 
 you permission, Belotti " 
 
TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 95 
 
 " "We are Christians," interrupted the servant, not 
 without dignity. 
 
 " Yery well, very well !" she cried. " Do as you 
 please, call whom you )>lease, but Henrika cannot 
 remain here. Infection in the house, the plague, a 
 black notice " 
 
 " Excellenza alarms herself without cause. Let 
 us hear what the doctor saj^s first," 
 
 " I will not listen to him ! I will not have the 
 plague or the small-pox. Go down at once, Belotti, 
 and get the litter ready. The old cavalier's room in 
 the rear building is empt^^" 
 
 " But, excellenza, it is musty and so damp that 
 the north wall is covered with mildew." 
 
 " Then have it cleaned and aired. What does this 
 hesitation mean ? It is for you to obey. Do you 
 understand me, sir V 
 
 " The cavalier's room is not fit for my gracious 
 mistress' sick niece," answered Belotti respectfully 
 but firmly. 
 
 "No? Are you quite sure ?" asked the fraulein 
 scornfully. "Go down, Denise, and have the litter 
 brought up. Have you anything else to sav, 
 Belotti ?" 
 
 " Yes, padrona," answered the Italian in a trem- 
 bling voice. " I beg the excellenza to dismiss me." 
 
 " From my service ?" 
 
 " With excellenza's permission, yes — from her 
 service." 
 
 The old woman started and clutched the fan 
 firmly in her hands. 
 
 " You are sensitive, Belotti." 
 
 " No, excellenza, but I am old and I shrink from 
 the misfortune of beins; ill in this house." 
 
 The friiulein shrugged her shoulders and turning 
 to the cmnarista, cried : 
 
 " The litter, Denise. You are dismissed, Belotti J' 
 
96 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The night that had brought sickness and suffering 
 into the lioogstraten mansion was followed by a 
 beautiful morning. The storks were once more 
 happy in Holland, and with loud and joyous clatter 
 they flew out across the meadows upon which the 
 sun shone brilliantly. It was a day such as the last 
 of April sometimes bestows upon mortals, as though 
 to show them that they pay too great homage to 
 her much lauded successor, May, but altogether too 
 little to her. In her house, April may pride herself, 
 spring is born, and her radiant successor only con- 
 tributes to the strength and unfolds the beauties of 
 her nursling. 
 
 It was Sunday ; and as the bells w^ere ringing, it 
 would seem to one who strolled along the sunny 
 roads, through the flower-dotted meadows of Hol- 
 land, where sleek cattle and fleecy sheep and idle 
 horses were grazing, and met peasants in neat attire, 
 and peasant women with shining gold ornaments 
 under their snowy lace caps, burghers in gay ap- 
 parel, and children released from school, as though 
 nature herself wore a gala dress and made a braver 
 show in brighter green, clearer blu(>, and richer 
 wealth of flowers than on week days. 
 
 A joyous Sunday spirit likewise ]K)ssessed the 
 burfj-hers w^ho were takino: an outing in the countrv 
 on foot, in huge, crowded lumber wagons, or in 
 gayly painted boats on the Rhine, to enjoy country 
 bread, golden butter, and fresh cheesCj milk, and 
 
TUB) BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 0^ 
 
 cool beer, with their wives and children, during the 
 leisure hours of this day of rest. 
 
 Wilhelin had long since finished his organ play- 
 ing in the church, but he had not gone with his 
 companions into the country, for he preferred to use 
 the hours of rest for more distant journeyings where 
 shoe leather played no part. 
 
 They bore him on the wings of the wind over the 
 plains of his native land, across the hills and dales 
 of Germany, over the Alps, and away to Italy. A 
 spot suited to such forgetfuiness of the present, and 
 of his daily surroundings in favor of bygone da\s 
 and a far-away land, awaited him. His brothers, 
 Ulrich and Johannes, who were also musicians, but 
 who had recognized Wilhelm's greater gifts without 
 envy and helped him to improve them, had fitted 
 up for him during his absence in Italy, on the nar- 
 row side of the pointed roof of the house, a nicely 
 furnished room out of which a wide door led upon 
 a little balcony. Here stood a wooden bench where 
 Wilhelm liked to sit and watch tlie flight of his 
 pigeons and gaze dreamily into the distance, or 
 when he was disposed to artistic creation, listened 
 to the harmonies that filled ins soul. 
 
 A beautiful view was to be had from this highest 
 point of the house; indeed, one could see almost as far 
 as from the top of the citadel, the old Roman tower 
 in the center of the cit}'. Like a spider in its web lay 
 Wilhelm's native town amid the countless canals 
 and streams that crossed the meadows. The red- 
 brick cit}" wall with its towers and bastions, and the 
 dark thread of water at its base, encircled the pretty 
 city almost as a fillet encircles a maiden's head, and 
 like a crown of loosely woven thorns, bastions and 
 intrenchments stretched in a wide broken circle 
 about the walls. Between the defenses and the city 
 wall browsed herds of cattle, and near and beyond 
 the defenses rose villages and hamlets. 
 
98 TEE BURG OMASTEIVS WIFE. 
 
 On this clear April day one could see, if one 
 looked to the north, the Haarlem Lake ; to the west, 
 bej'ond the leafy dome of the forest of the Hague 
 vinust lie the dunes whicii nature had piled up al a 
 protection to the country against the importunate 
 waves. The long chain*' of hills offered a sterner 
 and more impregnable front to the assaults of the 
 ocean than the earthworks and redoubts of Alfen, 
 Leyderdorp, and Yol ken burg, the throe forts that 
 lay close to the banks of the Rhine, presented to the 
 hostile armies. The Rhine ! Wilhelm gazed down 
 at the narrow, sluggish stream and com]:>ared it to a 
 dethroned monarch who had lost power and great- 
 ness and who graciously strives to bestow blessings 
 in a limited circle with what remains of his posses- 
 sions. The musician was familiar with the noble 
 German Rhine and often followed it in spii-it to the 
 south, but oftener his dreams carried him with a 
 mighty bound to the lake of Lugano, the pearl of 
 the Western Alps, and when he thought of it and 
 the Mediterranean he saw emerald green and azure 
 blue and golden light ; and at such times all his 
 thoughts w^ere transformed within his breast into 
 music and exquisite harmonies. 
 
 And his journey from Lugano to Milan ! Modest 
 and overcrowded was the carriage that bore him to 
 Leonardo's city, but in it he had found Isabella. And 
 Rome, Rome, the noble, never-to-be-forgotten Rome, 
 Avhere we grow out of ourselves and gain in ])ower 
 and intellectual wealth as long as we remain there 
 and which makes us wretched with longing when 
 it lies behind us ! 
 
 On the banks of the Tiber AVilhelm had first 
 learned the meaning of art, his glorious art ; here, 
 at Isabella's side, a new world had opened out to 
 him, but upon the flowers that had sprung up in his 
 breast in Rome a heavy frost had fallen, and he 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 99 
 
 knew that they were ruined and could never bear 
 fruit — but to-day he succeeded in recalling her to 
 his mind in her youthful beauty and in thinking not 
 of his lost love but of his kind friend, Isabella, and 
 in dreaming of a sky as blue as solid turquoise and 
 delicate cyanite, of slender columns and bubbling 
 fountains, of olive groves and marble statues, of 
 cool churches and gleaming villas, of jDassionate eyes 
 and fiery wine, of superb choirs and of Isabella's 
 singing. 
 
 The pigeons that were cooing and clucking in the 
 cote beside him flew in and out at will, for now 
 that their guardian was not watching them, they 
 could do as they chose. 
 
 Allertssohn, the fencing-master, climbed the 
 ladder to Wilhelm's watchtower, but AVilhelm did 
 not notice him until he stood beside him on the 
 balcony and greeted him in his deep voice. 
 
 "Where have we been, Herr Wilhelmf asked 
 the graybeard. " In this cloth-weaving Leyden \ 
 No ! Probably with the goddess of music herself on 
 Olympus — that is, if she has her lodging there." 
 
 " You have guessed aright," answered Wilhclm, 
 pushing the hair from his forehead Avith both hands. 
 '' I have been to visit her and she sends you her 
 compliments." 
 
 " Then give her mine in return," answered the 
 other, " though she and lare only distant acquaint- 
 ances. My throat is better suited to drinking than 
 singing. Will you allow me ?" 
 
 The fencing-master took up the jug of beer, 
 which Wilhelm's mother filled freshly every day 
 and placed in her darling's room, and took a deep 
 draught. Then lie wiped his mustache and said : 
 
 "That did me good, and I needed it. The men 
 wanted to get out and enjoy themselves instead of 
 drilling, but we forced them to go through with it, 
 
100 TUB BUROOMASTEII'S WIFE. 
 
 Jonker* van Wurmond, Duivenvoorde and T. Who 
 knows how soon we shall be called upon to show 
 what we can do? ^y Roland, my fore man, such 
 fo[ly is like a cudgel, against which Florentine 
 rapiers and skillful tierce and carte avail nothing. 
 Mv wheat is ruined by the hail." f 
 
 " Then let it lie, and see whether the barley and 
 clover will not do better," answered Wilhelm gayly, 
 tossing some grain to a large pigeon that had alighted 
 on the parapet of his watchtower. 
 
 "The creature eats, but what is it good for?" 
 cried AUertssohn as he watched the bird, "llerr 
 van Warinond, a 3'oung man after my own heart, 
 has just brought me two falcons. Do you want to 
 see how I tame them ?" 
 
 " No, captain, I have enough in my pigeons and 
 my music." 
 
 "As you choose. That long-necked one there is 
 a comical knave." 
 
 " What country does he hail from, do you think ? 
 There he goes flying to the others. Watch him 
 awhile and tell me." 
 
 "Ask King Solomon; he was on familiar terms 
 with birds." 
 
 " Watch him and you will soon find out." 
 
 " The fellow has a stiff neck and carries his head 
 unusually high." 
 
 "And his beak?" 
 
 "Curved like a hawk's, almost ! Potz Tausend ! 
 bow the fellow struts about Avith his toes turned 
 out ! Stop, bandit ! He'll peck that little pigeon 
 to death. Upon my soul, the insolent rascal must 
 come from Spain." 
 
 " Quite riglit, it is a Spanish pigeon. He has 
 
 * Jouker, a nobleman. 
 
 t Mir ist der Weizen verhagelt : I am disgusted with things. 
 
THE BURaoMASTER'S WIFE. 101 
 
 come to the cote, but I do not want him ; for I keep 
 only a few pairs of the same breed and I am tryin^^ 
 to have the best. It is useless to try and raise dif- 
 ferent breeds in one cote." 
 
 '' That is something to think about. But I don't 
 think that you have chosen the handsomest breed." 
 
 "No. What you see are a cross between carrier 
 and tumbler, the Antwerp breed of carrier-pigeons. 
 Blue, red, or spotted, the color matters not, but they 
 must have small bodies and large wings with broad 
 quills on their pinion-feathers, and above all, good 
 muscles. That one there — w^ait, I will catch him 
 —is one of my best flj'ers. Try and lift his 
 wing." 
 
 " The little thin^ is strong indeed. How he 
 holds down his wing! Falcons are not much 
 stronger." 
 
 " He's a carrier too and can find his w^ay alone." 
 
 "Why don't you keep some white tumblers? I 
 should think that one could follow them in their 
 flight longer than any others," 
 
 " Because it i^, the same with pigeons as with 
 men. Any one that makes a show and can be seen 
 from a distance is pursued by enemies and envious 
 people, and birds of prey always pounce first upon 
 white pigeons. J tell you, meister, that if one 
 keeps one's eyes open, one can learn in a dove-cote 
 the whole history of the descendants of Adam and 
 Eve." 
 
 " You mean that fighting and love-making goes 
 on here just as it does in Ley den." 
 
 " Exactly, captain. If 1 mate a young pigeon 
 and an old one, it never turns out well. Wiien the 
 male is in love he knows how to pay as pretty com- 
 pliments to his fair one as the finest gallant to his 
 dulcinea. And do you know what the billing and 
 cooing mean? The suitor feeds his darling; that 
 
102 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 is, he strives to win her by fine presents. Then 
 conies the wedding, and they build a nest. If there 
 are young ones, they feed them together in perfect 
 iiarinonv. Tlie best breeds are bad setters and 
 we phice their eggs under birds of a commoner 
 breed." 
 
 " They are the noble ladies who have nurses for 
 their children." 
 
 " Unmated pigeons often make mischief among 
 the mated pigeons." 
 
 "Take warning, young man, and beware of being 
 a bachelor. 1 tlon't say anything against girls who 
 remain unmarried ; I have found many sweet and 
 helpful women among them." 
 
 " So have I, but bad ones too, unfortunately, as 
 here in the cote. On the whole, my charges are 
 happy in their marriages, but if it comes to a sepa- 
 ration " 
 
 " Which of the two is at fault ?" 
 
 " In nine cases out of ten, the female." 
 
 "By Koland, my fore man, just as it is among 
 people," cried the fencing-master, clapping his 
 hands. 
 
 " What is this about your Roland, ITerr Allerts ? 
 You promised me a short time ago — but who is that 
 coming up the ladder ?" 
 
 " I hear your mother." 
 
 " She is bringing a visitor. I know that voice — 
 and yet — Wait. It is Frilulein van Iloogstraten's 
 steward." 
 
 " From Nobelstrasse ? Let me go, Wilhelm. This 
 Glipper crew " 
 
 " Wait a moment, there is room for only one on 
 the ladder," said the musician and held out his hand 
 to Belotti to help him from the last round into the 
 room. 
 
 "Spaniards and friends of Spaniards," muttered 
 
TEE BUllQOMASTEB'S WIFE, 103 
 
 the fencing-master, going to the door, and calling as 
 he began to descend the ladder : " I will wait down 
 here until the air is pure again." 
 
 The steward's handsome face, usually smooth 
 shaven, was covered with a stubble of beard, and 
 the old man looked troubled and worn, as he began 
 to tell AVilhelm what had tai^en place since the 
 previous evening in his mistress' house. 
 
 "A man who has a quick temper," said the 
 Italian, as he went on with his story, " may grow 
 weaker Avith years, but not calmer. I could not 
 look on and see the poor angel, for she's not far 
 from the Virgin's throne, treated like a sick dog that 
 is thrown out into the courtyard, and so I took my 
 leave." 
 
 " It does you honor ; but the time was ill chosen. 
 And did they reall}'^ take the friiulein to the damp 
 room ?" 
 
 "No, sir. Father Damianus came and made the 
 old excellenza understand what the Holy Virgin 
 expects from Chrisiian people, and when the padrona 
 still attempted to have her way, the holy man spoke 
 to her so sharpl}^ and sternly that she submitted. 
 The signorina is lying in her bed with burning 
 cheeks and talking wildly." 
 
 " And who is treating the patient ?" 
 
 " It was about a doctor that I have come to you, 
 my dear sir ; for Doctor de Bont, who lost no time 
 in coming when I sent for him, was treated so badly 
 by the excellenza that he turned his back upon her 
 and declared to me, on leaving, that he would not 
 come again." 
 
 "VVilhelm shook his head, but the Italian went on : 
 
 " There are other doctors in Leyden, to be sure, 
 but Father Damianus says that Doctor de Bont or 
 Bontius, as they call him, is the cleverest and most 
 conscientious of tiiem all, and as the old excellenza 
 
104 TUE nUROOM ASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 herself had a sliock this noon, and cannot leave her 
 bed for a lono;' while, the way is clear, and Father 
 Daniianus says that he, himself, will go for Doctor 
 Bontius if necessary. But as vou are a native of 
 the town, and are not a stranger to the signorina, I 
 wanted to spare tlie Father the refusal which 
 sureh^ awaits him from the enemy of our holy 
 Church. Besides the poor man has enough to bear 
 from the scoffers and good-for-nothing boys when 
 h'"; ;j:oes tiirou<«h the streets with the saci'ament." 
 
 " You know that it is strictly forbidden to disturb 
 him in the performance of his duties." 
 
 " Yet he cannot show himself in the streets with- 
 out being taunted. You and 1 cannot change the 
 world, sir. As long as the Church had the upper 
 hand, she burned and quartered you, and now that 
 you are in power here, our priests are persecuted 
 and derided." 
 
 " In opposition to the law and the decree of the 
 
 )3 
 
 magistrates. 
 
 " You will not restrain the people, and Father 
 Damianus is a lamb who bears all things patiently, 
 and is as good a Christian as inany a saint before 
 whom we burn candles. Do you know the doctor?" 
 
 " Slightly, by sight." 
 
 " Oh, then, go to him, sir, for the frilulein's 
 sake," cried the old man beseechingly. "It is in 
 your power to save a human life — a beautiful, 3'oung, 
 human life." 
 
 The steward's eyes were moist. As Wilhelm laid 
 his hand on the other's arm, and said kindly : "I 
 will try," the fencing-master shouted at the door : 
 " Your conference is too long for me. Good-by 
 until another time." 
 
 "Ko, come in for a moment. This gentleman 
 has come here on account of a poor gii-l wh.o is 
 dangerously ill. The helpless child is now lying 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE, 105 
 
 alone without attendance, for her aunt, the old 
 Fraulein van Hoogstraten has driven Doctor do 
 Bont from the bedside because he is a Calvinist." 
 
 " From the sick girl's bedside ?" 
 
 "It is contemptible enough; but now the old 
 lady is down herself." 
 
 " Bravo, bravo !" cried the fencing-master, clap- 
 ping his hands. " If the devil himself isn't afraid 
 of her and wants to carry her off, I'll pay for the 
 post-horses. But the girl — the sick girlf 
 
 "This gentleman here begs me to induce DeBont 
 to ffo to her a^iin. You are a friend of the doctor ?" 
 
 "I was, Wilhelm, I was; but — last Friday we 
 almost came to blows about the new helmets ; and 
 now the learned demi-god demands an apology 
 from me ; but it isn't like me to sound the 
 retreat " 
 
 " Oh, good sir !" cried Belotti with touching 
 earnestness ; " the poor child is lying in a high fever 
 and without help. If Heaven has blessed you with 
 children " 
 
 "Gently, old man, gentl}''," answered the fencing- 
 master. " My children are no concern of yours, 
 but we will do what we can do for the young lady. 
 Auf wiederseJhjn, gentlemen. Roland, my fore 
 man, what sha'n't we live to see! Ilemp is cheap 
 in Holland, and yet such a monster has lived among 
 us to be as old as a raven." 
 
 With these words he climbed down the ladder. 
 In the street he pondered with a wry face over the 
 apology he was to make to Doctor Bontius, but all 
 the while his eyes and bearded lips were smiling. 
 
 His learned friend made the apology easy for 
 him, and when Belotti returned to the house he 
 found the doctor at the sick girl's bedside. 
 
106 THE BUnaOMASTEB'S WIFE. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Frau Elizabeth vox Nokdwyk and tbe wife of the 
 clerk of the council, Yan Hout, had both asked the 
 burgomaster's wife to go with them into the country 
 to enjoy the beautiful spring day, but, in spite of 
 Barbara's persuasions the young wife could not be 
 induced to accept their invitation. 
 
 Since her husband's departure a week had run its 
 course as slowly as the brackish water in one of the 
 canals that intersected the meadows of Holland 
 crept toward the broad river. 
 
 Sleep loves the couch of youth and it had come to 
 hers again, but with the rising of the sun returned 
 the discontent, uneasiness, and inward distress that 
 sleep had mercifully interrupted. 
 
 She know that it was not right and that her 
 father would have reproached her had he seen 
 her so. 
 
 There are women who are ashamed of red cheeks 
 and unaffected enjoyment of life, and who find a 
 miserable pleasure in suffering. Maria was certainly 
 not one of these. She would have been glad to be 
 happy and she left no means untried to win back 
 her lost peace of mind. Honestly anxious to fulfill 
 her duty she returned to little Lieschen's bedside, 
 but the chikl recovered rapitlly and called for Bar- 
 bara, or Adrian, or Trautchen as soon as she found 
 herself alone with her. 
 
 She tried to read, but the few books that she had 
 brought with her from Delft were all familiar to 
 
TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 107 
 
 her, and before she could become absorbed in them 
 
 her thoughts followed their own course. 
 
 Wilhelin brought her the new motet, and she at- 
 tempted to sing it through ; but music requires com- 
 plete devotion from those who wish to enjoy its 
 gifts, and therefore the phiying on the flute and the 
 singing refused to bring either comfort or pleasure 
 to her whose mind was occupied with other things. 
 
 When she lielped Adrian with his studies her 
 patience was exhausted much sooner than usual. 
 On the first market-day she went out with Ti-autchen 
 to make purchases according to her husband's in- 
 structions, and as she went from the various stands 
 Avhere different commodities were offered for sale — ■ 
 here fish, there meat or vegetables — and mingled 
 wath the motley throng and heartl called from every 
 side : " Frau Blirgemeisterin, here !" and " I'rau 
 Burgemeisterin, I have what you want !" she forgot 
 what was depressing her. 
 
 With newly-awakened self-confidence she sampled 
 flour, pulse and dried fish, and made it a point to 
 bargam carefully. Barbara should see that she un- 
 derstood how to buy. The crowds were dense at 
 every stall, for the city magistrates had issued a 
 proclamation bidding every household, in view of 
 the danger that threatened, to lay in ample stores 
 on all the market da\^s, but even the busy purchasers 
 made room for the burgomaster's pretty young wife, 
 and this too did her heart good. 
 
 With a bright face and happy in having done her 
 best, she returned home and went at once to the 
 kitchen to find Barbara. 
 
 Peter's sister had noticed Maria's depression, and 
 was glad to see her sally forth to make her pur- 
 chases. The choosing and bargaining could not but 
 distract her and bring her thoughts into another 
 channeh To be sure, the careful housekeeper, who 
 
108 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 credited Maria with possessing all good qualities but 
 those of a clever housewife, had bidden Trautchen 
 to see that her mistress was not imposed upon. But 
 when the demand is two or three times as great as 
 the supply prices rise. And so it came about that 
 ■when Maria told what she had paid for this and that 
 Barbara exclaimed in quick succession: "But, child, 
 that is unheard of !" or " It is enough to drive us to 
 beggary !" 
 
 These exclamations, which under the prevailing 
 circuuistances were for the greater part unjust, an- 
 gered Maria, but she was anxious to be at peace 
 with her sister-in-law, and although it was hard for 
 her to be blamed unjustly it was not her nature to 
 express her vexation in violent words. So she said, 
 with only slight excitement: 
 
 " Ask what other ladies paid and then scold me if 
 you think it just." 
 
 With that she left the kitchen. 
 
 "My child, I am not scolding," cried Barbara after 
 her, but Maria would not hear, went quickly upstairs 
 and shut herself into her room. Her happiness had 
 vanished again. 
 
 On Sunday she went to church. After dinner she 
 filled a bag"^ with provisions for Adrian, who was 
 going on a boating excursion with some friends, 
 and then seated herself in her room by the window. 
 Portly gentlemen, among them several members of 
 the council, went by with their wives and children 
 in holiday garb ; young girls with flowers at their 
 bosoms walked arm-in-arm by twos and threes along 
 the footpath beside the canal to dance in the village 
 outside the Zylthor. They walked in silence and 
 with decorously downcast eyes, but more than one 
 cheek flushed and more than one suppressed laugh 
 came from fresh lips when the burgher lads, who 
 were following the demure maidens as closely as 
 
TEE B UROOMASTER 'S WIFE. 109 
 
 sea-gulls a ship, indulged in raillery or whispered 
 words that no third person was supposed to hear. 
 
 Cheerful and free from care seemed the crowds 
 that streamed toward the Zylthor, and one could 
 see in every face the anticipation of pleasant hours 
 in the fresh air and the sunny meadows. AVhat was 
 drawing them out of doors seemed beautifid and 
 desirable even to the burgomaster's wife ; but what 
 had slie, with her heavy heart, alone among stran- 
 gers, to do with happy people ? The shadows of the 
 houses seemed unusually dark to her, the city air 
 heavier than ever before, and it seemed as though 
 spring had come to every one, great and small, young 
 and old, but not to her. 
 
 The trees and houses along the Achtergracht were 
 already casting longer shadows and the golden vapor 
 that floated above the roofs began to mingle with a 
 tender pink, when Maria heard a horse approaching 
 at a trot. She sat erect and rigid, and her heart 
 beat violently. She wished to receive Peter differ- 
 ently from usual. She w^ould be frank with him 
 and show him what was in her mind and that things 
 could not continue as they were ; she already sought 
 for fitting words for what she had to say to him. 
 The horse stopped before the door. She stepped to 
 the window and saw her husband swing himself 
 from the saddle and look gladly up at her room. 
 She did not wave to him, but her heart drew her to 
 him. All her reflections, all her misgivings were 
 forgotten, and with flying feet she ran along the 
 passage to the stairs. In the meanwhile he had 
 entered the hall and she called his name. " Cliild, 
 Maria, is that you !" came his answer, and, active as 
 a boy, he sprang up the stairs, met her on the top- 
 most step, and drew her with overwhelming tender- 
 ness to his heart. 
 
 " At last, at last I have you again !" he cried joy- 
 
1 10 THE B URQOMA STER 'S WIFE. 
 
 fully, and pressed his lips to her eyes and her 
 fragrant hair. She wound her arms tight about his 
 neck, hut he freed himself and holding her hands in 
 his, asked : " Are Barbara and Adrian at home ?" 
 
 She shook her head. 
 
 Then he laughed, bent down, lifted her as he 
 would a child, and bore her to his room. Maria, 
 notwithstanding her long-cherished resolve to receive 
 him coldly, was carried away by his warmth of feel- 
 ing. She*^ rejoiced in having him once more and 
 believed him willingl}'^ when he told her with tender 
 words how painful the separation had been to him, 
 how sorely he had missed her, and how, in spite of 
 his usual inability to recall the faces of those who 
 were absent, her image had ever been distinctly 
 before his eyes. 
 
 How fervently and with what convincing words 
 he knew how to give expression to his love to-day ! 
 She was a happy wife after all, and she showed him 
 unreservedly that she was. 
 
 Barbara and xYdrian returned and there was much 
 to be told at the evening meal. Peter had had 
 many strange adventures on his journey and had 
 gained fresh hope, tJje boy had distinguished him- 
 self at school, and Lieschen's illness could now be 
 reckoned among the dangers that were past. Bar- 
 bara beamed with jo}'-, for between Maria and her 
 brother all seemed well once more. 
 
 The fair summer evening passed happily. 
 
 Maria's heart was light tiie following morning as 
 she braided a black velvet ribbon into her hair, for 
 she had found courage to tell Peter that she longed 
 for a greater share in his troubles, and had received 
 a kindly acquiescence. A nobler, richer life, she 
 lioped, would begin for her from now on. This 
 very day he was to tell her what he had accom- 
 plished with the prince and at Dortrecht, for until 
 now no word on the subject had ])assed his lips. 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. HI 
 
 Barbara, who was bustling about the kitchen and 
 was just on the point of taking three chickens from 
 a coop to kill them, gave them a short respite and 
 even threw them a handful of barley, as she heard 
 her sister-in-law come singing down the stairs. The 
 snatches of Wilhelm's latest madrigal sounded to 
 her as sweet and full of promise as the first note of 
 the nightingale. 
 
 It was spring again in the house, and her kind, 
 round face looked from her great cap, as bright and 
 unclouded as a sunflower from its green sepals. 
 
 "This is one of j^our good days, child; we will 
 melt down the butter and salt the hams." 
 
 Her voice was as joyous as though she were giv- 
 ing her an invitation into paradise, and Maria 
 helped her willingh' about the work, which was 
 begun without delay. When the widow's hands 
 were busy her tongue could not remain idle, and 
 her curiosity was roused not a little by what might 
 have passed between Peter and his young wife. 
 
 She brought the conversation round cleverly 
 enough to her brother, and put with apparent care- 
 lessness the question : 
 
 " Has he made any excuse for his departure on 
 the anniversary of your wedding-day V 
 
 " I know why he went; he was obliged to go." 
 
 " Of course, of course ; but goats will eat what- 
 ever is green. One must not overlook too much in 
 men. Give, but also take." 
 
 " I do not wish to bargain with Peter, and even 
 if certain things did weigh upon me, I have been 
 glad to forget them after such a long separation." 
 
 " Wet hay may destro}-^ the barn, and any one to 
 wh(un a hare runs may catch him. One should not 
 keep one's troubles to one's self, but out with them ; 
 that is what one's tongue is for, and yesterday was 
 the time to make a clean breast of all that was dis- 
 tressing you." 
 
1 13 TUE B UROOMASTEB '8 WIFE. 
 
 " He was in such good spirits when he came ; and 
 besides, wh^y do you think that I am unhappy T 
 
 "Unhappy? 'Who said that you were un- 
 >liappy ?" 
 
 Maria reddened, but the widow seized the knife 
 and opened the chicken coop. 
 
 Trautchen was helping the two ladies, but she 
 was often interrupted in her work, for the knocker 
 on the front door was given no peace that morning, 
 and the visitors must have brought little news that 
 was pleasant to the burgomaster, for his deep, 
 angry voice could be heard at times even in the 
 kitclien. 
 
 He was longest in conference with Van Hout, 
 who had come not only in search of information 
 and to bring him news, but also as complainant. 
 
 It was no common sight when these two men, 
 who far surpassed their townsmen not only in 
 stature but in high purpose and enthusiastic 
 devotion to the cause of freedom, gave in turn utter- 
 ance to their opinions and common expression to 
 their indignation. Van Hout, excitable, restless, 
 and imaginative, was the first speaker, Van der 
 Werff, slow and calm, the second. 
 
 Among the city fathers, the rich nobles, the great 
 weavers and brewers, reigned a bad feeling, for 
 property, life, and position were of more importance 
 to them than religion and freedom, while the poor 
 man, who painfully maintained his family hy the 
 sweat of his brow, was resolved and glad to sacrifice 
 all for the good cause. 
 
 Difficulties upon difficulties were to be overcome. 
 Scaffoldings and sheds, frames and all other wood- 
 work that might serve as a place of concealment, 
 were to be torn down, as all the countr^'^-houses and 
 other buildings near the town had formerly been. 
 Much newly erected woodwork had already been 
 
THE B URQOMASTEB 'S WIFE. 1 13 
 
 removed, but the rich men held out the longest 
 against having the ax put to theirs. Fresh earth- 
 works were being thrown up around the important 
 fort of Vaikenburg; but part of the land where 
 the laborers were obliged to dig belonged to a 
 brevv^er, and he demanded a large sum in compensa- 
 tion for his injured meadow. During the siege that 
 had been raised in March, had been issued paper 
 money, round pieces of pasteboard bearing on one 
 side the lion of the Netherlands with the inscription, 
 " Haec liheHatls ergo " and on the other the arms of 
 the city and the motto, " God protect Leyden." 
 These were to be exchanged for coin or provisions, 
 but rich speculators had bought up a large number 
 of these pieces and were endeavoring to put up 
 their value. Demands of every description poured 
 in upon the burgomaster and, added to all this, he 
 had to think of his own affairs, for soon all com- 
 munication with the outside w^orld might be cut off, 
 and it was necessary for him to settle many things 
 with his business representative in Hamburg. 
 Great losses were threatened, but he left nothing 
 undone in order to save for his family what \vas 
 ■ still to be saved. 
 
 Wife and children he saw but seldom : still he 
 thought that he was fulfilling the promise Maria 
 had exacted from him on the evening of his return, 
 when he answered her questions briefly or made of 
 his own accord such remarks as : " We had a hot 
 time of it at the Kathhaus to-day," or, " The 
 exchange of the paper money is giving more trouble 
 than we expected." 
 
 He felt no need of a confidante, and his first wife 
 had been perfectly contented and happy when in 
 his leisure moments he had sat quietly beside her, 
 called her his darling, taken pleasure in the children, 
 or only praised her waffles and Sunday roasts. 
 
1 1 4 TUR B UROOMASTER 'S WIFE. 
 
 Business and public affairs had been his province, 
 the kitchen and the nursery hers. What they had 
 shareil, was the consciousness of the lovo that each 
 vfelt for the other, the children, the distinction, the 
 honors, the possessions of the household, 
 
 Maria demanded more, and he was willing to 
 grant it to her, but when in the evening she plied 
 the exhausted man with questions tliat he was 
 accustomed to hear only from the lips of men, he 
 put her off with some answer about hap])ier days, 
 or even fell asleep in the n)idst of her inquiries. 
 
 She saw how much was weighing upon him, how 
 untiringly he labored — but why did he not shift a 
 part of the burden upon other shoulders ? 
 
 Once, when the weather was fine, he went with 
 her into the country. She seized the opportunity 
 to impress upon him that he owed it to himself and 
 to her to take more rest. 
 
 He listened patiently, and when she had ended 
 her entreaties and warnings, he took her hand in 
 his and said : 
 
 "You have met Ilerr Marnix St. Aldegronde 
 and know what the cause owes to him. Do you 
 know his motto?"' 
 
 She nodded and answered in a low voice : ^' J2epos 
 ailleursJ^ 
 
 " Where else can we rest ?" he returned stead- 
 fastly. 
 
 A slight shudder seized her, and as she drew her 
 hand away she could not but think : " Where else ? 
 ■ — not here it seems. Rest and happiness have no 
 abiding place here." She did not speak these words 
 aloud, but she could not drive them from her mind. 
 
TEE BUBOOM ASTER'S WIFE. 115 
 
 CHAPTER XII/ 
 
 Tw ALL the quiet Nobelstrasse, the Hoogstraten 
 mansion was the quietest on these May mornings. 
 The street in front of the house was covered witlia 
 mixture of straw and sand in accordance with the 
 orders of Doctor Bontius and the sick lady's 
 attorney. The windows were heavily curtained, 
 and a strip of felt hung between the knocker and 
 the door. The door was ajar and behind it sat a 
 servant ready to warn those who sought admission. 
 
 On a morning early in May, the musician Wilhelm 
 Corneliussohn and Janus Dousa turned into the 
 Nobelstrasse. Both men had been carr3'ing on a 
 lively conversation, but as they approached the 
 straw and sand, their voices were lowered, and 
 finally silenced altogether. 
 
 " The carpet that is spread under the feet of the 
 conqueror Death," said the young noble. " Let us 
 hope that he will lower his torch but once here and 
 show honor to age, however unworth}'^ of honor it 
 may be. Do not stay too long in the infected house, 
 Herr Wilhelm." 
 
 The musician softly opened the door. The 
 servant greeted him in silence and went toward the 
 stairs to call Belotti ; for the musician had already 
 asked more than once for the steward. 
 
 Wilhelm entered the cabinet where he was accus- 
 tomed to wait, and for the first time found there 
 another caller in a somewhat unusual attitude. 
 Erect, but with his head fallen to one side, sat 
 
116 TUE B U ROOM A STER 'S WIPE. 
 
 Father Damianus in an armchair, asleep. The face 
 of the priest, a man at the end of the thirties, was 
 framed by a tliin, light beard, and was pink and 
 white as a child's. Around the large tonsure was a 
 small fringe of thin, light hair ; in the hands that 
 were sunk in the sleeper's lap was a rosary of olive 
 wood. The smile that played about his half-open 
 lips was kind and gentle. 
 
 " This mild saint in woman's garb," thought 
 Wilhelm, " does not look as though he could take 
 hold with energy, and yet his hands j^ro hard and 
 worn with work." 
 
 When JBelotti entered the cabinet and caught 
 sight of the sleeping priest, he carefully placed a 
 pillow under his head and motioned to Wilhelm to 
 follow him into the hall. 
 
 " Let him get a little rest," said the Italian. 
 " From yesterday noon until two hours ago, he has 
 been sitting at tiie padrona's bedside. Usually she 
 knows nothing of what is going on around her, but 
 as soon as consciousness returns she craves religious 
 consolation. She still rejects the sacrament for the 
 (lying, for she will not admit to herself that she 
 may be on the point of death. At times, to be sure, 
 when the pain is worse, she asks in mortal terror 
 whether all is ready, for she dreads to die without 
 extreme unction." 
 
 "And how is Friiulein Henrika 2" 
 
 " A very little better. 
 
 The priest stepped out from the cabinet. Belotti 
 kissed his hand reverently and Wilhelm made a 
 respectful inclination. 
 
 " I had fallen asleep," said Father Damianus 
 simply and naturally, but not in as powerful and 
 deep a voice as one would have expected from his 
 broad chest and tall iigure. " I must read mass now, 
 visit my sick, and then I shall return. Have you 
 thought better of your resolve, Belotti?" 
 
TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 117 
 
 " I cannot, Father, the Virgin knows I cannot. I 
 was given my dismissal on the first of May ; it is 
 now the eighth and I am still here — I haven't left 
 the house because I am a Christian! Now the ladies 
 are attended by a good doctor, Sister Gonzaga is at 
 her post, you yourself are earning a place among 
 the martyrs in paradise by your devotion, and so I 
 can pack up my things without committing a crime." 
 
 " Do not go, Belotti," said the priest earnestly. 
 " And if you still hold to your purpose at least do 
 not call yourself a Christian." 
 
 " You will stay," cried Wilhelm, "if only for the 
 sake of the young frjiulein, toward whom you still 
 feel kindly." 
 
 Belotti shook his head and answered quietly : 
 
 " You can add nothing, young sir, to what his 
 reverence said to me last nio^ht. Mv resolve is taken, 
 I am going; but as I am anxious for the holy 
 father's good opinion and for yours, I beg you to 
 honor me by listening to me. I have passed my 
 sixty-second year, and an old horse and an old serv- 
 ant stand long in the market place before any one 
 buys them. In Brussels there may still be found a 
 place for a Catholic steward who understands his 
 business, but this old heart longs for Naples again — 
 so i)assionately, so passionately ! You have seen our 
 blue bay and our skies, young sir, and I long for 
 them indeed, but still more for smaller things. It 
 is a pleasure to me to be able to speak my 
 language to you, Meister Wilhelm, and you, my 
 Fatiier. But there is a land where every one speaks 
 as i do. At the foot of Vesuvius lies a little town 
 —many a one would be afraid to stay there one half 
 hour, when the mountain rumbles, when ashes come 
 raining down, and burning lava flows in streams. 
 The houses are by no means as well built and the 
 windows do not shine as they do in this country. In- 
 
1 1 8 TUB B UROOMASTER 'S WIFE. 
 
 deed, I fear there are but few window panes in 
 liesina, but the children suffer no more from the 
 cold than they do here. What would a Leyden 
 iiousewife say to our village streets^ Poles with 
 g-rapevines, branches of fig trees, and bright-colored 
 wash on the roofs, at the windows, and on the 
 crooked, sloping balconies. Everything grows to- 
 gether, higgledy-piggledy. And tiie bids in their 
 rag's, which no tailor has mended and Datched, climb 
 among the white walls of the vineyards, and the 
 little girls, whose mothers comb their hair for them 
 on the doorsteps, are not as pink and white and as 
 carefully scrubbed as Dutch ciiildren, but I should 
 like to see the brown-skinned, black-haired 3'oung- 
 sters with their dark eyes once more, and end my 
 days amid all the hubbub in the warm air and 
 witliout care or work, with my nephews and nieces 
 and blood-relations around me." 
 
 The old man's face had flushed as he spoke, and 
 in his black eyes shone a lire that only a short time 
 before had seemed extinguished by the air of the 
 north and his long servitude. As neither tlie priest 
 nor Wilhelni made an immediate reply to his speech, 
 he went on more composedly: 
 
 Monseigneur Gloria is going to Italy and I am to 
 accompany him as courier to Rome ; from there I 
 can easily reach Naples, and on the interest of my 
 savings I ean live there free from care. My future 
 master starts on the fifteenth, and on the twelfth I 
 must be in Antwerp, where I am to meet him." 
 
 The eyes of tiie priest and tiie musician met. 
 Wilhelni had not the heart to dissuade the steward 
 from hib purpose, bat Father Damianus collected 
 himself, laid his han(J on the old man's shoulder, 
 and said : 
 
 " If you wait here a few weeks longer, Belotti, 
 you will find true peace ; I mean the peace of a good 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFK. 119 
 
 conscience. To those who are faithful unto death 
 is promised the crown of life. When these grievous 
 times are over, it will be easy to help you on your 
 way to your native land. We shall meet again at 
 noon, Belotti. Should my assistance be necessary, 
 send for me ; old Ambrosius will know where to 
 find me. God's blessing be with you, and with you, 
 too, Herr Wilhelm, if you will take it from me." 
 
 When the jniest had left the house, the steward 
 said with a sigh : 
 
 " He will force me yet to do his will, lie mis- 
 uses his power over souls. 1 am not a saint, and 
 what he asks of me " 
 
 " Is what is right," said Wilhelm decidedly. 
 
 "But you do not know what it means to throw 
 away, like cast-off shoes, the dearest hope of a long, 
 troubled life. And for whom, I ask you, for whom ? 
 Do you know my padrona ? Oh, sir, I have learned 
 things in this house, things which you in your 
 vouth would not believe even possible. The friiu- 
 lein has made an impression upon you ! Ami right 
 or not ?" 
 
 " You are mistaken, Belotti." 
 
 " Is it true ? I am glad for your sake, for you 
 are a simple musician, and the signorina bears the 
 name of Hoogstraten, and with that all is said. 
 Do you know the friiulein's father?" 
 
 "No, Belotti." 
 
 " What a race ! what a race ! Did you ever hear 
 the story of our signorina's eldest sister f 
 
 " llenrika has an elder sister?" 
 
 " Yes, sir ; and when I think of her — I imagine 
 the signorina, the signorina herself, only taller, more 
 stately, more beautiful." 
 
 "Isabella!" cried the musician ; a suspicion that 
 had arisen in his mind since his talk with Henrika 
 seemed to be confirmed j he grasped the steward's 
 
1 20 TUE D UROOMASTER '8 WIFE. 
 
 arm so suddenly and unexpectedly that the old 
 man drew back. 
 
 '' What do you know of her?" he went on excit- 
 edly. " I beg of you, Belotti, tell me all," 
 
 The servant glanced toward the stairs and 
 answered with a shake of his head : 
 
 " You must be mistaken ; there never was an Isa- 
 bella in this family to my knowledge ; but I shall be 
 glad to place myself at your service, Keturn at 
 dusk, but you must not expect a cheerful story," 
 
 Twilight had scarcelj"^ given way to darkness 
 ■when the musician returned to the Hoogstraten 
 mansion. 
 
 The cabinet was empty, but he had not long to 
 wait for Belotti. 
 
 The old man placed a tray with a flask of wine 
 and a ghiss on the table near the lamp, and after 
 informing Wilhehn of the invalid's condition, led 
 him witli marked politeness to a seat. When the 
 musician asked liiiii why he had not brought a glass 
 for himself, he answered : 
 
 " I drink only water, but allow me to take the 
 liberty of sitting down. The servant who attends 
 to the chambers has left the house, and I have 
 been running up and down stairs all day. It has 
 tired my old legs, and there is little prospect of a 
 quiet night," 
 
 A single taper lighted the room. Belotti, who 
 was leaning far back in his chair, unfolded his 
 clasped hands and began slowly : 
 
 "I was speaking this morning of the Hoogstraten 
 blood. Children of the same parents are often 
 unlike, but in your little country which has its own 
 language and also possesses much that is character- 
 istic — you will not deny it — each ancient family has 
 its peculiar traits, 1 know it, for I have been 
 in. many noble houses in Holland. Each race 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. li>l 
 
 has its peculiar ways. Even where — with your 
 permission — there is insanity in the family, it sel- 
 dom appears in one member alone. My mistress 
 has more of her French motlier's nature. But I 
 was to speak of the signorina and 1 am getting too 
 far from my subject." 
 
 " No, Belotti, by no means ; there is time enough, 
 and I like to listen to you, but you must tlrst answer 
 one question." 
 
 "Eh, sir, how your cheeks burn! Did you hap- 
 pen to meet the signorina in Italy ?" 
 
 " Perhaps, Belotti." 
 
 " Oh, then, yes, to be sure ! Any one who has 
 once seen her does not forget her easily. What is 
 it that you wish to know?" 
 
 " Tlie lady's name, first of all." 
 
 " Anna." 
 
 " And not Isabella also ?" 
 
 " No, sir, she was never called anything but 
 Anna." 
 
 " And when did she leave Holland ?" 
 
 " Wait ; it was — it was four years ago last 
 Easter." 
 
 "' Is she dark or fair ?" 
 
 "I have just said that she looked exactly like 
 Fraulein Ilenrika. But what lady might not be 
 dark or fair? I think we shall get to the point 
 sooner if you will allow me to ask you a question. 
 Did the lady you refer to have a large, semicircular 
 scar just below the hair, in the very middle of her 
 forehead ?" 
 
 " Enough !" cried Wilhelm, rising hastil}'". "When 
 a child she fell on one of her father's weapons." 
 
 " The other way sir, the handle of Jonker van 
 Hoogstraten's pistol fell upon his daughter's fore- 
 head. How horror-stricken you look ! Mein Goft ! 
 I have seen more than that in this house. But it is 
 
122 TUB BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 my turn now : In what city in my native land did 
 you meet the signorina ?" 
 
 "In Rome, alone and under an assumed name. 
 Isabella— a girl of Dutch descent. Go on with your 
 story, Belotti, I entreat you. I will not interrupt 
 you agahi. What had the child done that her own 
 fathe? '^ 
 
 " Of all the mad Iloogstratens, the jonker is the 
 maddest. In Italy you liave perhaps seen men like 
 him, but you might search in vain for such a whirl- 
 wind in tliis country. You must not think him an 
 evilly disposed man on this account, but a word or a 
 look that does not please him drives him to madness 
 and he does things that he regrets as soon as they 
 are done. As for the signorina's scar, she came by 
 it in this wise. She was still a child and had no 
 business to meddle with firearms, but she did so, 
 nevertheless, as often as she could, and one day the 
 pistol went off and the ball struck one of the best 
 hunting-dogs. The jonker heard the report and 
 when he saw the animal lying on the ground and 
 the pistol at the little friiulein's feet, he picked up 
 the weapon and struck her with the sharp-edged 
 handle." 
 
 " A child, his own daughter !" cried Wilhelm 
 angrily. 
 
 "There are different kinds of men," continued 
 Belotti. " Some, and you are one of these, consider 
 carefully before they speak or act ; others consider 
 long, and, when they are done considering, one hears 
 a great many words, but it seldom comes to action ; 
 others still, and at the head of them is the Hoog 
 straten race, i)ile deed upon deed, and if they con- 
 sider at all, it is only after the deed is done. If they 
 find that they have done wrong, their pride prevents 
 tiieir admitting it, repairing it, or recalling it. So 
 one calamity follows upon another, but it does not 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 123 
 
 trouble them and it is soon forgotten, what with wine 
 and plav% the joust and the hunt. Debts there are 
 a plenty, but worrying is left to the creditors, and 
 for the sons to whom no inheritance falls, there can 
 be found a place at court or in the army; for the 
 daughters, if the}'^ belong to our faith, there is no 
 lack of convents, thank God, and for both there is 
 hope of rich aunts and otlier relations dying without 
 issue." 
 
 " You speak forcibly." 
 
 "But trul}', none the less, and every word applies 
 to the jonker ; he, indeed, had no need to make any 
 provision for sons, for his wife did not present him 
 with any. He met his wife at the court in Brussels, 
 and she came from Parma." 
 
 "Did you know her?" 
 
 " She died before I entered the padrona's service. 
 The two young ladies grew up without any mother. 
 You have heard that the jonker could lay violent 
 hands even on them, but he seemed to love them 
 nevertheless, and could never make up his mind to 
 place them in a convent. At times, however, he 
 felt — as he readily admitted in conversations with 
 the excellenza — that there might he a more fittino: 
 place for a young noblewoman to grow up in than 
 his castle, where things were in a bad way, and so at 
 last he sent his eldest daughter to us. My mistress 
 had never been able to endure young girls, but Frau- 
 lein Anna was one of her nearest relatives, and I 
 know that she invited her of her own accord. I can 
 still see before me the 3'oung signorina of sixteen. I 
 have never laid eyes on a sweeter creature, Ilerr 
 Wilhelm, before or since, and yet she was never the 
 same. I have seen her as soft as Flemish velvet, but 
 at other times she could rage and storm like the No- 
 vember 'ijales in vour countrv. She was always as 
 fair as a rose, and since her mother camarista, who 
 
124 THE DUROOMASTER'8 WIFE. 
 
 had brought her up, was from Lugano, and the priest 
 who tanght her was from Pisa and was recog- 
 nized as a fine musician, she spoke my native tongue 
 like a child of Tuscany and was thoroughly familiar 
 with music. You liave doubtltss heard her sing and 
 play on the harp and lute, but you must have know 
 that all the ladies of tlie lloogstraten family, with 
 the exception of my mistress, have a special talent 
 for your art. In the summer we used to live in the 
 fine country house that was torn down — witli little 
 riglit, in m}^ opinion — by your friends, before the 
 siege. Much noble comj^any used to ride out to us. 
 We kept open house, and wherever a good table and 
 a young lady as beautiful as our signorina are to be 
 found cavaliers are not lacking. Among them was 
 a very distinguished gentleman of middle age, the 
 Marquis d'Avennes, to whom the excellenza had 
 given a special invitation. AVe never received any 
 prince with greater attention than we did him. 
 Naturallv, for his mother was a relative of the ex- 
 cellenza.*^ You must know that my mistress is of 
 Norman origin on her mother's side. The Marquis 
 d'Avennes was certainly a line cavalier, but much 
 more elegant than manly, lie was soon inadly in 
 love with Friiulein Anna and sued for her hand in 
 due form. The excellenza favored the marriage and 
 the jonker said simply: ' You must take him.' He 
 would listen to no opposition. Nor do most nobles 
 wait long for their daughters' consent when a fitting 
 suitor appears. So the signorina became the mar- 
 quis' betrothed, but the pa(irona said decidedly that 
 her niece was still too young to be married. At that 
 time she had the jonker completely under her con- 
 trol and made him agree to postpone the wedding 
 until Easter. The outfit was to be prepared during 
 the winter. The condition that he must wait six 
 months was imposed on the marquis and he went 
 
TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 125 
 
 back to France with the ring on his finger. His 
 betrothed shed no tears for him and, as soon as he 
 was gone, she tossed the betrothal ring into her 
 jewel case, in the presence of the camarista, from 
 whom 1 heard it. She dared not oppose her father, 
 but she did not withhold from the excellenza her 
 opinion of the marquis, and her aunt, although she 
 favored the Frenchman's suit, indulged her in it. 
 On the other hand, hot words often passed between 
 the two, and if the padrona had reason for clipping 
 the wings of the wild falcon and for teaching the 
 young girl what was becoming to ladies of noble 
 birth, the signorina was also justified in complaining 
 of many demands with which the excellenza spoiled 
 her pleasure in life. I am sorry, meister, to disturb 
 your youthful confidence, but if a man keeps his 
 eyes open as he grows gray, he meets many people 
 who take pleasure in injuring other people, nay, find 
 it a necessity. At the same time it is a comfort to 
 me that no one is wicked for the sake of being 
 wicked ; indeed, 1 have often found that the worst 
 impulses — how shall I express it? — that the worst 
 impulses often come from the perversion or perhaps 
 only from an excessive exercise of the noblest vir- 
 tues, whose reverse or caricature they are. From 
 laudable ambition comes degrading envy, from 
 honorable emulation contemptible avarice, from 
 tender passion fierce hatred. My mistress, when she 
 was young, knew how to love deeply and truly, but 
 she was shamefully deceived and now she is pos- 
 sessed by hatred not only against one person, but 
 against the whole world, and out of her noble fidel- 
 ity has grown her obstinate clinging to evil desires. 
 What I mean by this and how it has come about, 
 you shall hear, if you will listen to me further. 
 
 " As winter approached, I was ordered to precede 
 the family to Brussels and there to start a new 
 
126 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 establishment on a splendid scale. The ladies 
 followed shorLlv. It was four vears ago. Duke 
 Alva was still ruling as viceroy in Brussels; and 
 tkis great gentleman thought most highly of my 
 mistress and even did us the honor to visit us twice. 
 His most distinguished officers came and went at 
 our house. Among them was Don Luis d'Avila, 
 a nobleman of ancient family and one of the duke's 
 favorites. Like the marquis, he was no longer in 
 his first youth, but he was of very different caliber ; 
 a man whose tall figure seemed cast in steel, a 
 swordsman of invincible strength and skill, and the 
 most dreaded of all duelists, whose passionate eyes 
 and wonderful voice must have had a mysterious 
 fascination for women. \n the servants' hall, stories 
 by the dozen were told of his adventures and half 
 of them approached the truth ; this I learned by 
 experience later on. If you think that this breaker 
 of hearts looked like the gay, curly-haired favorites 
 of fortune to whom young ladies run with their 
 hearts in their hands, you are mistaken ; Don Luis 
 was a grave man with u pale complexion and closely 
 cropped hair ; he never wore anything but dark 
 clothes, and even carried a sword the hilt of which 
 was of some dark metal instead of gold and silver. 
 lie looked fai- more like Death than Love. Perhaps 
 it was this very thing that made him' irresistible, 
 for we are all born for death and no wooer is so 
 sure of victory as he. 
 
 '' The paih'ona was not favorably inclined to him 
 at first, but this soon changed, and by New Years 
 he was invited even to her small evening receptions. 
 He came as often as he was asked, but fur oui- 
 young friiulein he had not a word, a look, scarcely 
 a greeting. Only when the signorina began to 
 sing did he approach her to critjcise sharply what 
 had displeased him in her execution. At times he 
 
THE B URGOMA STEB 'S WIFE. 127 
 
 sang himself and he usually selected the same songs 
 as though to outdo her by his superior skill. 
 
 "So things went on until Carnival. On Shrove 
 Tuesday the padrona gave a grand banquet and as 
 I directed the servants in attendance and was stand- 
 ing behind the signorina and Don Luis, whom the 
 padrona had for some time been in the habit of 
 placing beside her niece, I noticed that their hands 
 had met under the table and remained clasped a 
 long time. My heart was so heavy that it was hard 
 for me to pay the attention necessary on such an 
 occasion — and when I was summond the following- 
 morning to the padrona to render m}^ accounts, I 
 considered it my duty to remark discreetly to her 
 that Don Luis d'Avila's suit did not seem to dis- 
 please the young fraulein in spite of her betrothal. 
 She let me speak, but when I ventured to repeat 
 what was said about the Spaniard, she started 
 up angrily and pointed to the door. A faithful 
 servant hears and sees much more than the masters 
 and mistresses suspect, and I enjoyed the confidence 
 of the padrona's foster-sister, who is now no more ; 
 but at that time Susanna knew all that concerned 
 her mistress. 
 
 " The prospects of the future bridegroom in France 
 were bad, for when the padrona spoke of him it 
 was with a laugh that we knew, and that boded no 
 good ; but she wrote very often notwithstanding, 
 to the marquis and his mother, and many letters 
 came to us from Eochebrun. To be sure, the 
 excellenza also granted more than one secret 
 audience to Don Luis. 
 
 " During Lent came a messenger from the jonker 
 with the news that on Easter day he and the mar- 
 quis would be in Brussels, and on Holy Thursday 
 I received orders to have the private chapel adorned 
 with flowers, to secure post horses, and to do other 
 
128 THE B UROOMASTER \S WIFE. 
 
 things. On Good Friday, the day of our Lord's 
 crucifixion — I would tliat 1 were telling lies — on 
 Good Friday the signorina was decked betimes in 
 her bridal robes. Don Luis appeared clad in black, 
 proud and somber as ever, and before sunrise, by 
 candlelight on a cold and damp morning — it seems 
 as though it had all happened yesterday — the Cas- 
 tilian -vvas married to our young friiulein. The 
 padrona, a Spanish officer, and I were the witnesses. 
 At seven o'clock the carriage drove up and when it 
 was packed Don Luis gave me a small box to place 
 in the carriage. It was heavy and I knew it well; 
 the padrona was accustomed to keep her gold coin 
 in it. On Easter da}^ the whole town knew that 
 Don Luis d'Avilahad carried off the beautiful Anna 
 van Hoogstraten and had killed in a duel at Halle 
 her betrothed, as he was on his way to Brussels, on 
 Holy Thursday — scarcely twenty-four hours be- 
 fore the wedding. 
 
 " I shall never forget how the jonker raged on his 
 arrival. The padrona refused to see him and gave 
 out that she was ill, but she was as well as she 
 could be iu these latter years." 
 
 "And can you explain your mistress' mysterious 
 conduct?" asked Wilhelm. 
 
 " Yes, sir ; her reasons are plain as day. But it 
 is growing late, and I must hurry ; indeed, I know 
 little about the details, for I was still a child myself 
 when it hap})ened. But Susanna has told me much 
 that is Avell worth repeating. The excellenza's 
 mother was a Chevreaux, and my mistress passed 
 the best years of her life with her mother's sister, 
 who spent the winters in Paris. It was at the time 
 of the blessed King Francis, and you know that 
 this great prince was a gallant gentleman and a bold 
 knight, of whom it was said that he had broken as 
 many hearts as lances. My padrona, who was 
 
TBE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 1^9 
 
 beautiful then, was one of the ladies of his court 
 and King Francis distinguished her among many. 
 But the fritulein knew how to guard her honor, for 
 she had early found a cavalier in the gallant Mar- 
 quis d'Avennes, to whom she was devoted and for 
 whom she wept many bitter tears ; for like master 
 like man, and although the marquis wore her colors 
 for five years and paid his decoir to her like a true 
 knight, his eyes and heart wandered constantly 
 from one to another. He always returned to his 
 lady, however, and when the sixth year came round, 
 the Chevreaux urged the marquis to make an end of 
 his trifling and to think of marriage. Mv mistress 
 began to prepare her outfit, and Susanna was a wit- 
 ness of how she consulted wMth the marquis as to 
 whether she sliould sell or keep the properties and 
 castles in the Netherlands. But the marriage still 
 did not come off, for the marquis was obliged to go 
 with the aruiy to Italy and tlie friiulein lived in a 
 state of constant anxiety about him ; at that time it 
 went ill witli the French in my country, and the 
 marcjuis often kept her waiting months for news. 
 At last he came home and found in the Chevreaux's 
 house the friiulein's little cousin grown into a 
 beautiful girl. The remainder you can guess. The 
 bud, Hortense, pleased the marquis better than the 
 full-blown flower. The Chevreaux were noble, but 
 deeply in debt, and the suitor, while he was fighting 
 in Ital}', had fallen heir to his uncle's large property, 
 and so he did not sue in vain. My mistress returned 
 to Holland. The jonker's father challenged the 
 marquis, but no blood was spilled in the duel, and 
 Marquis d'Avennes lived happily with Hortense 
 de Chevreaux. Her son was the signorina's ill- 
 fated betrothed. Do you understand, Herr Wil- 
 helm? During half her life my mistress had 
 cherished this hatred ; to satisfy it her own kin was 
 
130 TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 sacrificed to Don Luis, but in this way she repaid 
 the hated mother, by the death of her only son, for 
 the anguish that she had endured for years through 
 
 The musician rolled into a ball the handkerchief 
 with which he had wipe<l his forehead and asked 
 dully: 
 
 " What else have you heard about Anna?" 
 
 " Little,'' answered Belotti. '' The jonker tore 
 her from his heart and calls Ilenrika his only 
 daughter. Happiness forsakes those upon whom a 
 father's curse rests, and the signorina assuredly has 
 not found it. Don Luis was said to have been 
 degraded to the rank of sub-lieutenant because of 
 some mad escapade. And who knows what has 
 become of the poor, beautiful signorina? The 
 padrona sends her money fi-oni time to time through 
 iSignor Lamperi by way of Florence, but lately I 
 have heard nothing about it." 
 
 " One more question, Belotti," said "Wilhelra. 
 " How could the jonker entrust Henrika to \'our 
 mistress, after what happened to his elder 
 daughter ?" 
 
 " Money, accursed money ! To keep his castle 
 and not to lose the inheritance he gave up his child. 
 The signorina was bargained for as a horse might 
 be, and the jonker did not part with her cheaph'. 
 Drink, sir, for you look ill." 
 
 " It is nothing," answered Wilhelm, " but the 
 fresh air will do me good. My thanks for your 
 story, Belotti.'' 
 
THE B UmOMASTER '8 WIFE. 131 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 On the afternoon of the 16th of May the burgo- 
 master's wife was making an inspection of cup- 
 boards and presses. Her husband had gone to the 
 Rathhaus, but before going he had told her that in 
 the evening the representative of the prince, Herr 
 Dietrich van Bronlchorst, the two seigneurs of 
 Nordwyk, the clerk of the council, Van Hout, and 
 some other prominent men of the city and friends 
 of liberty, were to meet at bis house in secret con- 
 ference. Maria was to provide a generous repast, 
 wine, etc., for the gentlemen's entertainment. 
 
 This request had an enlivening and cheering effect 
 upon the young wife. She was delighted to be able 
 to play the hostess in the sense in which it was re- 
 garded in her parents' house. How long it had been 
 denied her to be present at a discussion of serious 
 and weighty import. She had no lack of visitors — 
 the friends and relatives of her husband's family 
 who called upon her and Barbara begged her often 
 enough to come and see them, but although there 
 were many among them who showed themselves 
 kindly disposed toward her, and whom she could not 
 help respecting for their excellence, there was no 
 one toward whom she was drawn with any degree 
 of affection. Yes, Maria, whose life was not crowded 
 with distractions, shrank from their coming, and 
 when they were there she bore their presence as an 
 unavoidable evil. Tlie worthy matrons w^ere all 
 much older than she, and when they sat over their 
 
132 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 cakes, stewed fruits and mulled wine, spinning, 
 knitting and netting, talked of the evil days of the 
 siege, of the care of children and the worries with 
 sei'vants, of washing and soap-making, or ciiticised 
 severely the many incorapreliensible but never-to-be- 
 sanctioned things that other women liad done, were 
 doing or were about to do, the heart of tiie burgo- 
 master's wife grew heavy, and her solitary room 
 always seemed to her at such times a quiet haven of 
 refuge. 
 
 Only when they spoke of the country's necessity 
 and of the sacred duty of enduring for the cause, a 
 second time if necessary, miseries of every descrij)- 
 tion, did she become talkative and listen gladly to 
 the plain-spoken women who, it was easy to see, 
 were earnest in what thev said : but when idle 
 gossip went on for hours, it caused her actual pain. 
 She could not escape, however, and had to endure 
 it until the last one had departed ; for after she had 
 attempted to withdraw early on several occasions, 
 i3arbara had warned her kindly against it, and did 
 not hide from her that she had found it a difficult 
 task to defend her against the accusation of pride 
 and incivility. 
 
 There was one woman in Leyden of whom the 
 burgomaster's wife was sincerely fond. This was 
 Frau van Hout, wife of the clerk of the council, but 
 she was seldom to be seen, for although she was 
 delicate and distinguished in appearance, she was 
 obliged to bestir herself from morning till night, so 
 as to keep her children and household in good con- 
 dition on a narrow income. 
 
 Happier and brighter than she had been for many 
 days, Maria api)roached the sideboard, where was 
 set out the table service, und the cupboard where 
 the silver was kept. Everything of value that the 
 house possessed was set forth, shining and spotless, 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 133 
 
 on white, lace-trimmed, linen cloths. She selected 
 what she needed, but much of the china and glass 
 did not suit her; for they did not match, had been 
 carelessly replaced, and many pieces were chipped 
 and cracked. 
 
 When her mother had begun to get together her 
 wedding outfit, Peter had expressed the wish that 
 in such hard times the money might be saved and 
 no useless purchases made. Of household articles 
 of every description there was a superfluity in his 
 home, and he w^ould have thought it wrong to pur- 
 chase so much as a plate. In truth, there was 
 nothing lacking on the sideboard or in the cup- 
 boards, but she had not chosen the things herself ; 
 they belonged to her in a waj^ but not altogether, 
 and the worst of it was that her eyes, accustomed to 
 prettier things, could find no pleasure in the dull, 
 marred pewter plates, the jugs, cups, and tankards 
 decorated with crude figures in glaring colors. 
 Neither was the coarse glassware to her taste, and, 
 as she looked it over and selected what w^as 
 necessary, she could not help thinking of her newly 
 married friends who had shown her with shining 
 eyes their brand-new household furnishings with as 
 much pride and happiness as though every article 
 were their own laborious handiwork. But even with 
 what she had, she was able to set out the table 
 prettily and daintily. 
 
 She and Adi'ian had gathered flowers in the 
 garden by the city wall and picked delicate grasses 
 in the meadows outside the gate. These she 
 arranged tastefully in vases, and she was delighted 
 when even the coarsest jars were made to look 
 attractive with the vines that she had entwined 
 about them. Adrian gazed at her in amazement. 
 He would not have been surprised if, under her 
 fingers, the sonib(ir dining-room had been trans- 
 formed into a hail of crystal and pearl. 
 
134 THE BUROOMASTKR'S WIFE. 
 
 When the table was laid Peter came home for a 
 moment. Before his guests arrived he intended to 
 ride out to Valkenburg with Captain Allertssohn, 
 elanus Dousa, and others to take a look at the for- 
 tifications. As he passed through the dining-room 
 he waved his hand to his wife and said, with a 
 glance at the table : 
 
 " These decorations were not necessary, least of 
 all the flowers. AVe are to hold a serious conference 
 and you have decked the table for a wedding-feast." 
 
 He saw that Maria's head sunk and adding 
 pleasantly : " Let it remain as it is, as far as I am 
 concerned," he left the room. 
 
 Maria remained standing irresolutely before her 
 work. Bitter feelings began to stir within her again 
 and she had already stretched out her hand toward 
 one of the most prettily arranged vases, wlien 
 Adrian raised his eyes to hers and said beseecliingly : 
 
 " No, mother, you must not do that ; it looks too 
 beautiful." 
 
 Maria smiled, passed her hand over the lad's curls, 
 and taking two cakes from a dish, gave them to 
 him, saying : 
 
 " One is for you and one for Lieschen ; we will 
 let the flowers stay." 
 
 Adrian ran out with the cakes, but Maria gave 
 another look at the table and thought to iierself : 
 
 "Peter never wants anything but what is 
 necessary ; but surely that is not all, or the dear 
 Lord would have made all birtls with gray feathers." 
 
 When she had helped Barbara in the kitclien, she 
 went to her room. Tliei'e she arranged her hair, 
 put a freshly starched ruff about her neck and care- 
 fully plaited lace in the low neck of her gown, but 
 kept on her house-dress, since her husband dicl not 
 wish to give a festive air to the meeting in his 
 house. 
 
TnE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. I35 
 
 Just as she had placed the last gold pin in her 
 hair and was debating whether the place of honor 
 should be given to Herr van Bronkhorst, as repre- 
 sentative of the prince, or to the venerable Herr von 
 Nordwyk, Trautchen knocked at the door and in- 
 formed her that Doctor Bontius desired to speak 
 with tlie burgomaster on a matter of pressing im- 
 portance. The maid had told the doctor that her 
 master had ridden out of the city, and he had asked 
 to speak with her mistress. 
 
 Maria went at once to Peter's study. The phy- 
 sician was evidentl}'^ in a hurry. Without any other 
 salutation he raised the gokl knob of his walking- 
 stick to his peaked black hat, which was never 
 removed from his head even at the bedside of a 
 patient, and asked shortly and hurriedly : 
 
 " When will Meister Peter return ?" " 
 
 " In an hour," answered Maria. " Sit down, 
 doctor." 
 
 " Another time. T cannot wait for your hus- 
 band. Besides you can come with me without his 
 consent." 
 
 " Doubtless ; but we are expecting guests." 
 
 " True. If I have time I shall come too. The 
 gentlemen can get on very well without me, but 
 you are necessary to the sick person to wliom I wish 
 to take you." 
 
 "I do not know 3^et of whom you are speaking." 
 
 "N"©? Then I will repeat, of one who is suffer- 
 ing, and that ought to be enough for you." 
 
 "And 3^ou think I could " 
 
 " You can do much more than you yourself know. 
 Barbara presides in the kitchen, and I say once 
 more: You can be of comfort to a sufferer," "^ 
 
 " But, Herr Doctor " 
 
 " Quick, I must beg you, for my time is limited. 
 Will you make yourself useful — yes or no 2" 
 
136 THE BUROOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 The door into the dining-room had been left open. 
 Maria looked once more at the table and thought 
 of all that she luul been looking forward to on tliis 
 evening. But as the (hector prepared to take his 
 leave she held him back and said : 
 
 " I will go." 
 
 ]\raria knew the ways of this rough, but noble 
 and unsellish man. Without waiting for an answer 
 she fetched her cloak, and ])receded him down the 
 stairs. As they passed the kitchen Doctor Bontius 
 called to Barbara : 
 
 " Tell Meister Peter that I have talcen his wife to 
 see the sick Fraulein van Hoogstraten on the 
 Nobel strasse." 
 
 Maria could scarcely keep up with the doctor as 
 he strode rapidly ahead of her and had difficulty in 
 understanding him as he told her in abrupt sentences 
 that all tlie Glipper friends of the Hoogstratens had 
 left the city, that the old fraulein was dead, and 
 that the servants had fled from fear of the plague, 
 although there was no danger of that in this case, 
 and llenrika was left alone. She had had a severe 
 fever, but she had been mucli better for some days. 
 " Misfortune has taken up its abode in the Glipper 
 nest," he said. '' Deatii did the old woman a service, 
 when he took her awa^^ The French maid, a weak 
 creature, held out bravely at first, but collapsed 
 after a few nights of watching, and was to have 
 been carried to the Katliarinen Hospital, but tiie 
 Italian stewai'd, who is not a bad fellow, objected 
 and had her taken to the liouse of a Catholic washer- 
 woman. He has gone with her to take care of her. 
 There is no one left in the deserted house to tend 
 the young fraulein but Sister Gonzaga, a good little 
 nun, one of the three who have been permitted to 
 remain in the old convent near you ; but to cap the 
 climax of our misfortunes the good woman scalded 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 137 
 
 her fingers to-day in heating a bath. The Catholic 
 priest has remained unscathed at his post, but what 
 can we men do in caring for the young girl ? You 
 doubtless suspect now why I have brought you. 
 You ought not and cannot be a nurse to this stranger 
 for any length of time, but unless things are to go 
 ill with the friiulein she must have at her bedside a 
 face to which she can become attached, and the 
 dear Lord has endowed you with such a one. Look 
 at the patient, talk to her, and if you are what I 
 take you to be — but here we are at our destination." 
 
 The air in the darkened hall of the Hoogstraten 
 house was heavy with musk. The news of the old 
 fraulein's death had at once been sent to the Rath- 
 haus by Doctor Bontius' representative, and an 
 armed man who was walkino- back and forth in the 
 hall, keeping watch, informed the doctor that the 
 clerk of the council had already been there and had 
 had seals placed on the doors. 
 
 On the stairs Maria laid her hand in alarm on her 
 companion's arm; through an open door on the 
 second story she saw in the dim light an indistinct 
 figure moving hither and thither, up and down, in a 
 peculiar way. Her voice was unsteady as she asked, 
 pointing toward it with her finger : 
 
 " What is that ?" 
 
 The doctor stopped as she did, and when he saw 
 the strange something at which the burgomaster's 
 wife was pointing he himself started back a pace. 
 But he soon perceived the real nature of the spec- 
 tral figure, and going ahead of Maria he cried 
 cheerfully : 
 
 " What in the vrorld are you doing on the floor, 
 Father Damianus?" 
 
 " 1 am scrubbing the boards," was the quiet 
 reply. 
 
 " You are too good for servants' work, Father," 
 
138 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 answered the doctor indignantly, " especially when 
 there is so much money without an owner in the 
 house, and we can tind as many scrub-women as we 
 want to-morrow." 
 
 ^"But not to-da}'', doctor, and nothing will per- 
 suade the fraulein to remain in that room any 
 longer. You yourself prescribed sleep, and Sister 
 Gouzaga says that Fraulein Henrika will not close 
 her eyes in the room next to the one where the 
 body is."" 
 
 "Then the officers of the law should have car- 
 ried her, bed and all, into the old lady's sitting- 
 room." 
 
 " It was sealed, and so were all the good rooms 
 on this floor. The officers were obliging and looked 
 about for charwomen, but the poor creatures are 
 too much in terror of the plague." 
 
 " Such rumors spread like witch-grass," cried the 
 doctor. " No one sows it, but who can root it out 
 once it is there ?" 
 
 " Not you and not I," answered the priest. " The 
 fraulein had to be brought into this room, but it 
 looked dirtv, and so I have been cleanino^ it. It will 
 be better for the patient and the exercise cannot 
 harm me." 
 
 The priest rose and said as he saw Maria : 
 
 "You bring a new nurse? That is right. There 
 is no need for me to praise Sister Gonzaga, for you 
 know her, but I give you my word that Fraulein 
 Henrika will not endure her about her much longer, 
 and as for me, as soon as the funeral is over I shall 
 leave this house." 
 
 " You have done your share ; but what is this 
 about the Sister f cried the doctor impatiently. " I 
 would rather have your old Gonzaga with her 
 scalded hand than — What has happened now T' 
 
 The priest went close to him and whispered, with 
 a (jnick side glance at the burgomaster's wife : 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 139 
 
 " The Sister speaks through her nose, and the 
 frJiulein has told me that it annoys her and asked 
 me to keep her away." 
 
 Doctor Bontius thought a moment and then 
 said : 
 
 " There are eyes that cannot bear a bright light, 
 and it is possible that certain sounds are unendur- 
 able to over-sensitive ears. Frau Biirgemeisterin, 
 you have been kept waiting a long time. Please 
 follow me," 
 
 It had grown dark. The curtains in the sick-room 
 had been drawn and the lamp that was burning be- 
 hind a screen gave but a feeble light. 
 
 The doctor stepped up to the bed, felt Henrika's 
 pulse, prepared her in a low voice for the visitor he 
 had brought, and then took up the lamp to see how 
 his patient looked. 
 
 Maria now saw a pale face,with irregular features 
 and a pair of dark eyes, whose size and brilliancy 
 were in strange contrast to the sunken cheeks. 
 
 When old Gonzaga had returned the lamp to its 
 place the doctor said : 
 
 "Excellent! Go now, Sister, and change the 
 bandage on your arm and then lie down." Then 
 he motioned the burgomaster's wife to approach. 
 
 Uenrika's face had touched Maria strangely. 
 She thought it beautiful, but the large eyes and the 
 tirmly-shut lips impressed her as more unusual than 
 attractive. She obeyed the doctor's signal at once, 
 approached the bed, and said kindly that she had 
 been glad to come to keep her company for awhile 
 and to see if there was anything she desired. 
 
 At these words Henrika raised herself in bed and 
 cried with a sigh of relief : 
 
 " How good that sounds ! Thank you, doctor. 
 A human voice at last ! If you want to make me 
 happy, Frau Biirgemeisterin, go on talking, no 
 
140 THE BURGOMASTER'S WrFB. 
 
 matter about what. Please come and sit down 
 here. With Sister Gonza^^a's hands, your voice, and 
 the doctor's — what shall I call it? — with Doctor 
 Bontius' frankness, it will not be hard to let myself 
 be nnrsed back to health." 
 
 " Good, good," murmured the doctor. " Sister 
 Gonzaga's injui-ies are trifling antl she will stay with 
 you, and when it is time for you to go to sleep, you 
 are to be carried to another room. You, Frau 
 Biii-gemeisterin, may stay here for an hour, and 
 that must be enough for to-day. I will go to your 
 house and send the man with a lantern for you." 
 
 When the ladies w^ere alone, Maria said: 
 
 " You think a great deal of the sound of voices ; 
 I do also and doubtless more than I ought to. To 
 be sure, I have never gone through a severe illness." 
 
 " This is my first," answered Henrika, " but now 
 I know^ what"^it is to be forced to submit to every- 
 thing one does not like and to be doubly sensitive 
 to things that are disagreeable to one. I would 
 rather die than be an invalid." 
 
 " You have lost your aunt," said Maria sympa- 
 thetically. 
 
 " She died early this morning. We had little in 
 common but blood." 
 
 "Are your parents alive?" 
 
 " My father only ; but why do you ask?" 
 
 " He will be glad of your recovery. Doctor 
 Bontius says that you w^ill soon be quite w^ell." 
 
 " I believe so too," answered Henrika confident]3^, 
 and then went on in a low voice without noticing 
 Maria : " There is one nice thing. When I am 
 well again, I shall be able — Are you fond of 
 music?" 
 
 " Yes, dear fraulein." 
 
 " Not merely as a pastime, but because you feel 
 that it is necessary to your life ?" 
 
THE B UROOMA STER'S WIFE. 141 
 
 "You must be quieter, dear fraulein. iVIusic — 
 yes, I think my life would be much poorer than it 
 is without it." 
 
 " You sing ?" 
 
 "I hare not sung much here, but when T was a 
 girl, we used to sing every evening in Delft." 
 
 "You, the soprano, of course." 
 
 " Yes, fraulein." 
 
 " Drop the fraulein and call me Henrika." 
 
 "With all my heart, if you will call me Maria or 
 Frau Maria." 
 
 "I will try. Don't you think that we might 
 practice some songs together ?" 
 
 Just then Sister Gonzaga entered the room 
 and announced that the wife of the collector of 
 taxes, Cornelius, was there and wished to know if 
 she could be of any service. 
 
 " What does this mean ?" asked Henrika impa- 
 tiently. " I don't know her." 
 
 " She is the mother of the musician Wilhelm," 
 said Maria. 
 
 " Oh !" exclaimed Henrika. " Shall I have her 
 come in, Maria ?" 
 
 The burgomaster's wife shook her head and 
 answered decidedly : 
 
 " No, Henrika. More than one caller might hurt 
 you, and then " 
 
 " Then ?" 
 
 " She is a good, kind woman, but I think her 
 brusque manner, her heavy tread, and her loud 
 voice would annoy you. I will go to her for you." 
 
 "Eeceive her kindly and tell her to remember 
 me to her son. I am not very ill, but I see that 
 you understand me ; such ponderous attentions 
 would not agree with me just now." 
 
 When Maria had executed her errand and had 
 been talking for a time to Henrika, the wife of tlie 
 
142 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 clerk of the council was announced. Tier husband, 
 who had been present when the doors of the house 
 of death were sealed, had told her about the for- 
 Siiken girl and she had come to see whether she 
 wanted for anything. 
 
 " You might receive her," said Maria, " for I am 
 sure she would please you; but there is another 
 knock and you have talked enough for to-day. 
 Try to sleep. I will go home with Frau van Ilout 
 and to-morrow I will come again, if you will let 
 
 me." 
 
 " Come, oh, please come !" cried Henrika. " There 
 is something more you would like to say to me ?" 
 
 " There is, indeed, Friiulein Henrika. You ought 
 not to stay in this desolate house. There is plenty 
 of room in ours. Be our guest until vour 
 father " 
 
 " Yes, let me come to you !" cried Henrika with 
 moist eyes. " Take me away from here, take me 
 away — and I will be grateful to you all my life 
 long." 
 
TEE BUBG0MA8TE1CS WIFE. 143 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 It had been weeks since Maria had tripped up- 
 stairs as joyously as she did to-daj. She would 
 have sung if it liad been becoming ; but she was a 
 little uneasy none the less, for perhaps her husband 
 would not be pleased at her having invited upon her 
 own responsibility a stranger, and a sick stranger 
 with Spanish sympathies at that, to be their guest. 
 
 As she passed the dining-room she heard the 
 gentlemen conferrina- together. Then Peter began 
 to speak. She was struck by the pleasing depth of 
 his voice and she said to herself that Ilenrika 
 would like to hear it. A few moments later siie 
 entered the room to welcome her husband's guests. 
 Grlad excitement and the rapid walk in the May 
 evening, that was still warm after the warm day, 
 had flushed her cheeks, and as she crossed the 
 threshold timidly and with a deferential greeting, 
 which showed none the less the pleasure the presence 
 of such guests caused her, she made such a charming 
 picture that no one present was unimpressed by it. 
 The elder Van der Does slapped Peter on the 
 shoulder and then struck the ])alm of his hand with 
 his list, as if to say : " Well done !" Janus Dousa 
 whispered gayly to Van Ilout, who was a good Latin 
 scholar : 
 
 " Oculi stmt in mnore ducesP 
 
 Captain AUertssohn sprang up and raised his hand 
 to his hat in military salute, Van Bronkhorst, tiie 
 representative of the prince, expressed his admiration 
 
144 TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 by a courtly bow, Doctor Bontius smiled contentedly 
 as one who has accomplished his object, and Peter 
 tried proudly and hapjnly to attract his wife's at 
 tQution. But he did not succeed, for IMaria, finding 
 that she was the target for so many glances, droj)])ed 
 her eyes with a blusli and said in a firmer tone tlian 
 one would have expected from her timid manner : 
 
 " Welcome, gentlemen ! My greeting comes late, 
 but truly I would have been glad to offer it earlier." 
 
 " I can testify to that," cried Doctor Bontius rising 
 to shake her hand more heartily than he had ever 
 done before. Then he motioned to Peter and cried 
 to the company around the table : 
 
 " Excuse the burgomaster for a moment." 
 
 And standing apart with the husband and wife 
 near the door, he said : 
 
 " You have invited a new guest to the house, Frau 
 Biirgemeisterin ; 1 will never drink another drop of 
 malmsey if I am wrong." 
 
 " How do you know V asked Maria merrily. 
 
 " I can see it in your face." 
 
 " And the young lady will be most heartily wel- 
 come," added Peter. 
 
 " Then you know ?" asked Maria. 
 
 " The doctor did not keep his suspicions to him- 
 self." 
 
 " Well then, 3'es, the invalid is very ready to come 
 to us and to-morrow " 
 
 " No, I shall send for her to-day," Peter inter- 
 rupted. 
 
 " To-day ? But it is too late ; she may be asleep, 
 our guests are here, and our guest-chamber — " 
 exclaimed Maria, looking disapprovingly and irreso- 
 lutely from the doctor to her husband. " 
 
 " Calm yourself, child," answered Peter. " The 
 doctor has ordered a covered litter from the 
 Katharinen Hospital, Jan and a constable shall carry 
 
TBE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. I45 
 
 it, and Barbara has finished in the kitchen and is 
 now preparing her own room for the young lady." 
 
 " And," broke in the doctor, " the invalid may be 
 able to sleep here. Besides, it will more than please 
 our haughty young lady to be carried through the 
 streets in the dark and unobserved." 
 
 " Yes, yes," said Maria dejectedly, " that may be 
 true ; but I had been thinking — one ought not to be 
 over hasty." 
 
 " Shall you be glad to have the friiulein as a guest ?" 
 asked Peter. 
 
 " Yes, indeed." 
 
 " Then do not let us employ any half measures. 
 Barbara is motioning to us ; the litter has come, 
 doctor. Go and conduct this night procession, but 
 do not keep us waiting long for you." 
 
 The burgomaster returned to his seat and the 
 doctor left the room. 
 
 Maria followed him. In the hall he laid his hand 
 upon her arm and asked : 
 
 "Do you wish to hear again what I think of 
 you ?" 
 
 " No," answered the burgomaster's wife in a tone 
 that sounded gay but which nevertheless betrayed 
 the disappointment that she felt. " No — but you 
 have taught me that you are a man who knows how 
 to spoil one's greatest pleasures." 
 
 " I will provide others in the place of them," 
 retorted the doctor with a laugh, as he went down 
 the stairs. He was Peter's oldest friend and had 
 raised many objections to the burgomaster's mar- 
 riage, in these troublous times, with a woman so much 
 his junior, but to-day he showed himself satisfied 
 with Yan der Werff's choice. 
 
 Maria returned to her guests, filled and handed 
 them their glasses, and then betook herself to her 
 sister-in-law's room, to help her prepare for the 
 
146 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 invalicrs arrival. She did not do it unwillingl}^ but 
 it seemed to her that she would have gone about the 
 work with far greater pleasure on the morning of 
 t-iie following da3^ 
 
 Barbara's roomy apartment overlooked the court- 
 yard. One could hear there nothing of tlie confer- 
 ence that was being held in the dining-room, and 
 yet the meeting was b}' no means a quiet one, for 
 these men, although animated by a common puipose, 
 were often disagreed as to the ways and means of 
 carrying it out successfully. 
 
 There they sat, the courageous sons of a little 
 nation, the noble leaders of a commonwealth poor 
 in numbers and means of defense, who had taken 
 upon themselves to make a stand against tlie greatest 
 power and the strongest armies of their time. They 
 knew that the clouds that had for weeks threatened 
 from a distance were drawing on more and more 
 rapidly, and were about to gather above Leyden 
 and burst in fearful violence, for Van der Wertf had 
 summoned them to his house because a letter from 
 the prince addressed to Van Bronkhorstand himself 
 contained the news that the stadtholder of King 
 Philip of Spain had instructed Del Campo Valdez to 
 besiege Leyden a second time and force it to sur- 
 render. They knew it would be months before 
 William of Orange could raise an armv to relieve 
 the city or divert the hostile troops from their object; 
 they had learned how little was to be expected from 
 the queen of England and from the Protestant 
 princes of German v, and the fate of their more 
 powerful neighbor, Haarlem, rose a hideous warning 
 before their eyes. iJut they knew that they were 
 serving in a good cause, they counted upon the 
 fidelity, the self-sacrifice, and the statesmanship of 
 Orange, they were ready to die rather than become 
 subject body and soul to the Spanish tyrant. Deep 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WTFE. 147 
 
 and earnest was their faith in God's justice, and 
 glad the confidence of each in his own resolute 
 manhood. 
 
 And truly, the men who sat at the flower- decked 
 table and who understood so well how to empty 
 their huge tankards that flask after flask of Peter's 
 malmsey and Rhine wine had to be brought up from 
 the cellar, the men who made such inroads upon the 
 round pastries and the huge roasts, rich and juicy as 
 no other country can suppl}^ — did not look as 
 though fear had brought them together. 
 
 The hat is the emblem of liberty, and the free 
 man keeps his hat on his head. Thus some of the 
 burgomaster's guests sat with covered heads, and 
 how well the high plaited caps of dark-red velv. t, 
 adorned with handsome ostrich plumes became the 
 fresh old face of the elder Plerr von Nordwyk and 
 the keen, scholarly features of his nephew, Janus 
 Dousa ; how well the broad-brimmed hat from which 
 waved ostrich plumes of blue and yellow — the colors 
 of the House of Orange — looked on the cui'ling locks 
 of young Kerr van Warmond, Jan van Duiven- 
 voorde ! How healthful and strongly marked were 
 the faces of the other men ! Fresh color was absent 
 from few of the cheeks, and sturdy enjoyment of 
 life, clear understanding, unshakable resolution, and 
 firmness of purpose flashed from many blue eyes 
 around this table. Even the black-robed senators, 
 whose plaited ruffs and smooth white collars became 
 them well, did not look as if the dust of official docu- 
 ments had injured their health. The mustache or 
 full beard gave them also a manly appearance. 
 They were all willing, even glad to sacrifice them- 
 selves and their all for a great spiritual blessing, and 
 yet they looked as though they took a wholesome 
 pleasure in life ; not a trace of exaltation spoke in 
 their intelligent, sensible faces ; in the eyes of tht 
 
148 TUB BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 voung Herr van Warmond alone shone something 
 of the sort, and Janus Dousa's gaze often seemed 
 turned inward as though seelving there for hidden 
 things; and at such times his clearly cut, irreguhir 
 features were strangely attractive. 
 
 The circle that had gathered about the brightly 
 lighted table presented a gay and brilliant spectacle. 
 Plow well the buff leather doublets and the sashes 
 of colored silk of the Jonker van AVarmond, Colonel 
 Mulder, and Captain Allertssohn, and the scarlet 
 coat of gallant Dirk Smaling stood out against the 
 somber black of the robes worn by the Pastor 
 Verstroot, the burgomaster, Van Ilout, and their 
 associates. Van Eronkhorst's suit of violet and the 
 dark hues of the fur-trimmed mantles of the elder 
 Van der Does and Herr van Montfort mingled 
 agreeably with the lighter and darker shades. All 
 that bore the name of care seemed banished from 
 this circle of color and light. 
 
 But danger stood at the door. Any day the 
 Spanish vanguard might appear before Leyden, 
 J\lany preparations had been made. English allies 
 were to occupy the fortifications of Alfen and 
 defend the Gouda lock ; the works of Valkenburg 
 had been strengthened and entrusted to otiier 
 British soldiers ; the city troops, the burgher guard 
 and the volunteers were thoroughly drilled. There 
 was no desire to bring foreign troops into the town, 
 for during the first leaguer they had proved much 
 more bui Jensome than useful, and there was little 
 fear of the city being taken by storm, protected as 
 it was by water, wall and tower. 
 
 What excited the gentlemen the most was the 
 news Van Hout had brought. The rich Baersdorp, 
 one of the four burgomasters, who was the largest 
 grain dealer in Leytlen, had undertaken to buy up, 
 in the name of the city, large quantities of bread- 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 149 
 
 stuffs. Several ship loads of corn and rye had been 
 delivered bj him the previous evening, but he was 
 still behindhand with three-quarters of what had 
 been ordered. He openly acknowledged that he 
 had given no definite orders for a further supply, as, 
 owing to the good prospect of heavy crops, a fall in 
 the price of corn was expected on the exchanges of 
 Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and there would surely 
 be several weeks before the beleaguering of the city- 
 began anew. 
 
 V'an Hout was full of indignation, especially as 
 two of tlie four burgomasters had sided with their 
 colleague. The elder Von Nordwyk agreed with 
 Van Hout and cried : 
 
 " All due respect to i/our worth, Meister Peter, 
 but your three associates belong to those friends 
 whom one would be glad to exchange for open 
 enemies.'- 
 
 " Herr van Noyelles," interrupted Colonel Mulder, 
 " said the truth about them when he wrote to the 
 prince that the gallows was the place for them." 
 
 " And so it is," broke in Captain Allertssohn, " so 
 long as hangman's rope and traitors' necks are made 
 for each other." 
 
 '•Traitors — no," said Van der Werff decidedly. 
 " Call them cowards, call them selfish and base — but 
 not one of them is a traitor." 
 
 "Kight, Meister Peter, traitors they certainly are 
 not, and perhaps cowardice has nothing to do with 
 their actions," added the elder Von JSTordwyk, 
 "Any one who has eyes to see and ears to hear with 
 knows the opinions of the men of the old city 
 families, who have been brought up from the cradle 
 as future senators ; and I am not speaking of those 
 or Leyden akjne, but of Gouchi and Delft, Rotter- 
 dam and Dortrecht. Among a hundred, sixty 
 would bear the Spanish yoke, even religious re- 
 
150 TUB B URGOMA STER 'S WIFE. 
 
 straint, willini,'-!}^ as long as their liberties and rights 
 were respected. The cities must rule, and in them, 
 the}'' themselves; that is all they wish. Whether 
 there is preaching in the churches or reading of 
 ni'ass, whether a Hollander or a Spaniard rules, is a 
 secondary matter. I except those present, for the\' 
 would not be here if they thought as those of whom 
 I speak." 
 
 " I thank you," said Dirk Smaling, " but with all 
 respect to your judgment, you have drawn too dark 
 a picture. May I ask whether the nobility does not 
 stand for its rights and privileges?" 
 
 "To be sure, Herr Dirk; but their privileges are 
 commonly of an older date than yours," answered 
 the old man. " Look you, the noble needs a ruler. 
 He is a lusterless star if he lacks the light of the 
 sun by which he shines. I, and with me all the 
 nobles who have sworn fidelity to him, believe that 
 our sun can be none other than Orange, who is one 
 of us, who knows us, loves us, understands us; not 
 Philip, who comprehends nothing of wdjat passes 
 within and around us, who is a stranger to us and 
 abhors us. We stand by William with our lives 
 and possessions, for as I have already said, we need 
 a sun, that is, a monarch — the cities, however, be- 
 lieve they have light of their own and wish to sliine 
 as independent planets. True, they feel that in 
 these troubled times they need a leader and that 
 they can find none better and wiser and more de- 
 voted to them than Orange ; but if it comes about 
 — and Heaven grant it may — that the Spanish yoke 
 is shattered, then even William's rule will seem 
 irksome to tliem, for they are themselves too fond 
 of ruling. In short: the cities endure a ruler, the 
 nobility rall}^ about him and need him. Things 
 cannot be well, until noble, buigher, and peasant 
 learn to follow him gladly and join together to do 
 
TnE B UR a OMA STER \S WIFE. 151 
 
 battle under his leadership for the most precious 
 gifts of life." 
 
 "True," said Yan Hout. "The well-disposed 
 nobility may serve as an example to t)ie ruling- 
 classes here and in other cities, but the people, the 
 poor working people, who know what is at stake, 
 have not yet lost, thank God, the true appreciation 
 for what you call the most precious gifts of life. 
 They wish to be Hollanders; ihey curse with honest 
 hatred the Spanish butchers; they wish to serve 
 their God as their consciences dictate and believe as 
 ttieir hearts tell them ; they call the prince their 
 Father William. Wait a little ! As soon as distress 
 is upon us, the poor and lowly will stand firm, when 
 the rich and great vacillate and deny the good 
 cause." 
 
 " They are to be depended upon," said Yan der 
 Wertf, " thoroughly depended upon." 
 
 "And because I know them," cried Yan Hout, 
 " we shall conquer with God's help, come what 
 may." 
 
 Janus Dousa had been staring into his glass. 
 He now raised his head and said with a quick 
 gesture : 
 
 " It is strange that those tliat struggle with their 
 hands for existence, and whose untutored minds 
 only act when the needs of the day require it, are 
 the most willing to sacrifice the little they have for 
 spiritual blessings." 
 
 " Yes," said the pastor. " The kingdom of 
 heaven stands open to the simple of heart. It is a 
 wonderful sight to see how the poor and ignorant 
 respect religion, freedom, and the fatherland far 
 more highly than the proud possessions of this 
 world, ttie golden calf around which the world is 
 pressing." 
 
 "My class is receiving scant praise to-day," 
 
152 TIIE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 answered Dirk Smaling; "but I ask you to kindly 
 remember that we are playin^^ a high and dangerous 
 game, and that the moneyed classes have the lion's 
 share at stake." 
 
 ^" By no means," broke in Yan Ilout. " The 
 highest stake for which the dice are being cast is 
 life, and this has equal worth for rich and ])oor. 
 But those who will hold back — I think I know them 
 — have no simple motto or device, but proud 
 escutcheons above their doors. AVait and see." 
 
 " Yes, wait and see," said Yan der Werff ; " but at 
 present there are things nearer at hand for our con- 
 sideration. Day after to-morrow will be Ascension 
 Day, when the great annual fair is to take place. 
 Yesterday and the day before more than one 
 foreign trader and traveler entered the gates. 
 Shall we allow the booths to be set up, or postpone 
 the fair to another time? If the enemy hurries, 
 there will be great confusion, and we shall be 
 throwing a rich prize into his hands. I ask for 
 your opinion, gentlemen." 
 
 " The traders ought to be protected from loss and 
 the fair postponed," said Dirk van Montfort. 
 
 "No," answered Yan Hout, " for if the prohibi- 
 tion is issued we shall be depriving the small trades- 
 men of their profits and prematurely disheartening 
 them." 
 
 " Let them have their fair," cried Janus Dousa. 
 " There is no need to give coming trouble tlie 
 satisfaction of saddening the happy present. If 
 you wish to act Avisely, follow the advice of 
 Horace." 
 
 "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof, the 
 Scriptures tell us," added the pastor, and Captain 
 Allertssohn cried : 
 
 " By my soul, yes ! My soldiers, the burgher 
 guard and the volunteers must have their parade. 
 
THE B UBOOJfA STER '8 WIFE. 1 53 
 
 The soldier first feels what he is when he is in full 
 uniform, armed and equipped, and fair faces smile 
 at him, old men wave to him, and children run 
 shoutincr before him." 
 
 So it -was decided to let the fair take ]:)lace. 
 While other questions were being- eagerly discussed 
 Henrika found a loving welcome in Barbara's 
 pleasant room. When the sick girl had fallen 
 asleep Maria looked in upon her guests but did not 
 return to the table, for their cheeks were flushed 
 and they no longer spoke in turn, but talked to each 
 other as mclination prompted. 
 
154 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 
 On the day following the sitting of the council 
 Burgomaster van der AVerff, Van llout, a notary, 
 and two constables repaired to the Nobelstrasse to 
 settle the affairs of the old Friiulein van Iloog- 
 straten. The citv fathers had decided to confiscate 
 the deserted houses of the Glippers and use what- 
 ever property was left behind to the best advantage 
 of the common cause. 
 
 The old gentlewoman's opinions were universally 
 known, and as Leyden was forbidden to her next of 
 kin, the Iloogstratens and Matenesse van Wibisraa, 
 it became the duty of the city to represent the heirs. 
 It was to be expected that Glippers only would be 
 remembered in the will, and if this were the case, 
 the revenue from the personal and real estate would 
 revert to the city until the deserters thought better 
 of it and their conduct permitted the authorities to 
 reopen the gates to them. \Vhichever of the heirs 
 continued to favor the Spaniards and work against 
 the cause of freedom, his share of the inheritance 
 would fall to the city. These measures were noth- 
 ing new. King Philip had set the example, for at 
 his pleasure not only the estates of countless victims 
 unjustly executed ; of followers of the new religion 
 banished or gone into exile of their own accord, but 
 also the possessions of good Catholic patriots had 
 been confiscated. When one has been the anvil so 
 many years it is pleasant to play the hammer; and 
 if it "was not always done in a wise and moderate way 
 
TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 155 
 
 there was always the excuse of a hundredfold more 
 cruel treatment at the hands of the Spaniards. It 
 woukl have been unchristian to repay like with like, 
 but in return for mortal blows they gave only hard 
 knocks, and did not seek the Glippers' lives. 
 
 At the door of the house of death the members 
 of the council foniul AVilhelm Corneliussohn and his 
 mother ; they had come to oifer Henrika a welcome 
 to their home. Frau Cornelius, who had at first re- 
 fused to extend her love of her neighbor to the 
 Glipper friiulein, was disappointed to find herself 
 deprived of the opjiortunity of doing a good deed 
 and expressed her feelings in her blunt way. 
 
 In the hall stood Belotti, no longer in the silken 
 hose and satin-trimmed liverv of a house steward, 
 but in simple burgher attire. lie explained to the 
 musician and Peter that in the first place he was 
 staying in Leyden because he could not make up his 
 mind to leave the sick Denise in the kirch ; but 
 other considerations also held him back and princi- 
 pally, althougii he did not like to admit it, the feel- 
 ing, which had been strengthened by long years of 
 service, of being one of the Hoogstraten family. 
 His account books had been found m good order, 
 and the frjiulein's counsel had readily paid him the 
 balance in his favor. His savings were securely in- 
 vested, and, as the frugal old man had never touched 
 the interest, had grown considerably. Nothing 
 kept him in Leyden, but still he could not go until 
 evervthinff had been wound up in the house where 
 
 I/O 1 
 
 he had ruled so long. 
 
 He had inquired daily for the ladies' health, and 
 after the excellenza's death he continued to remain 
 in Leyden, although Denise had begun to improve; 
 he considered it his duty to pay the last honors to 
 his dead mistress. 
 
 The gentlemen were glad to find Belotti in the 
 
156 TUB BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 house. The notary had managed the latter's little 
 fortune and esteemed him as an honest man. lie 
 now aslccd Belotti to act as guide to him and his 
 cpmpanions. It was necessary, above all, to find 
 the dead woman's will. There must be one in 
 existence, for it had been in the notary's keeping 
 until the day following Ilenrika's illness', when tiie 
 old lady had sent for it, as she wished to make some 
 alterations. Of its contents, however, he knew 
 nothing, for his partner, now dead, and to whose 
 business he had succeeded, had been present at its 
 execution. 
 
 The steward first led them into the padrona's 
 sitting-room and boudoir, but though they searched 
 desks, trunks and cupboards, and came upon letters, 
 money and jewels in many boxes and caskets, the 
 document was not to be found. 
 
 The gentlemen thought that it must be in some 
 secret compartment and ordered one of the con- 
 stables to summon a locksmith. Belotti made no 
 objections, but he listened with particular attention 
 to the low sound of singing that came from the 
 sleeping-room where the body lay. There, he knew, 
 the document was most likely to be found, but he 
 wished to let the priest continue undisturbed the 
 consecration of his mistress. As soon as all was 
 quiet in the adjoining room he asked the gentlemen 
 to follow him. 
 
 The lofty apartment into which he led them was 
 filled with'cloudsof incense. A large bedstead above 
 which a ])ointetl canopy of heavy silk reached to 
 the ceiling stood in the background. In the middle 
 of the room was placed the coffin in which lay the 
 dead woman. A linen, lace-trimmed cloth covered 
 the face. The delicate hands were folded and clasped 
 lightly about a much worn rosary. The form was 
 concealed by a costly covering, in the center of 
 which lay a beautifully carved crucifix of ivory. 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 157 
 
 The men bowed mutely before the body. Belotti 
 went nearer, and when he saw the padrona's well- 
 known hands the old man's breast was shaken with 
 convulsive sobs. Then he knelt beside the coffin, 
 pressed his lips to the cold, slender fingers, and a 
 tear, the only one that was shed for this dead woman, 
 fell upon the hands forever folded. 
 
 The burgomaster and his companions did not dis- 
 turb hiui, nor did they when he pressed his forehead 
 against the coffin and offered a short, silent prayer. 
 When he had risen and an elderly priest in full 
 canonicals had left the room, Father Damianus 
 motioned to the acolyte with whom he had been 
 standing in the background, and with his and 
 Belotti's aid placed the lid upon the coffin, then 
 turning to Peter van der Wertf, he said : 
 
 " We intend to bear the f riiulein to her rest at 
 midnight, so tliat no annoyance may be caused." 
 
 '' It is well," answered the burgomaster, " and 
 whatever may come we shall not send you from the 
 city. But if you prefer to join the Spaniards " 
 
 Father Damianus shook his head, and interrupting 
 the burgomaster, said quietly : 
 
 " No ; I was born in Utrecht and I gladly pray 
 for the freedom of Holland." 
 
 " Those are noble words," cried Yan Ilout. 
 " Your hand, Father !" 
 
 " Here it is, and as long as you do not change the 
 ' haeo llbeHatis ergo ' on your money to ' haeo re- 
 ligionis ergo^ those words shall not be unsaid." 
 
 " A free country and freedom of faith for all, for 
 you and yours as well," said the burgomaster, " is 
 wliat we want. Doctor Bontius has spoken of you 
 to me, good Father ; you have cared nobly for this 
 dead woman. Inter her according to the rites of 
 your church; we have come to set in order the 
 worldly goods that she has left behind. Perhaps 
 this box contains the will 
 
158 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " Xo," answered the priest. " When she was 
 taken ill she opened the sealed document in ray 
 presence, and whenever she felt strong enough she 
 added a few words. An hour before her death she 
 gave orders to have the notary called, but before he 
 arrived she was dead. I could not remain constantly 
 with the body, so I placed the parchment in the 
 linen-press. Here is the key." 
 
 They soon found the opened will. The burgo- 
 master unfolded it quietly, and as he read it aloud, 
 Yan Hout and the notary looked over his shoulder. 
 
 Several churches and convents, where masses 
 were to be said for the friiulein's soul, and her 
 nearest of kin were to divide the property. Be- 
 lotti and Denise were remembered with small 
 legacies. 
 
 " It is fortunate," said Yan Hout, " that this paper 
 is a piece of paper and nothing more." 
 
 "The will is invalid," added the notary, "for it 
 was taken from me with the express intention of 
 chaniifino: it. Turn the document over, Meister 
 Peter. There is something more to be read 
 there." 
 
 The task that the men now had before them was 
 no light one, for the sick woman had scribbled on 
 the blank side of the paper, up and down, here and 
 there, short notes, probably as memoranda for the 
 making of a new will. 
 
 At the very top a cross was drawn with an un- 
 steady hand, and underneath : " Pray for us ! All 
 shall be left to the Holy Church." 
 
 Farther down was written: "Nico. The lad 
 pleases me. The castle on the dunes. Ten thou- 
 sand gulden in money. To be secured to him. His 
 father shall not touch it. Expressly to be stated 
 why he is disinherited. He was secretly married 
 to the daughter of Yan Yliet of Haarlem. Under 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 169 
 
 pitiful pretexts he left her to enter into another 
 marriage. If he has forgotten it, I have not, and 
 I will make him suffer for it. Nico shall realize 
 that false love is poison. It has ruined my life — 
 ruined, ruined." 
 
 The last word was repeated several times. 
 
 On the right-hand margin of the sheet were a 
 number of short notes. 
 
 "Anna, ten thousand gulden. Well secured. 
 Otherwise they will fall into the clutches of that 
 bird of prey, D'Avila." 
 
 "Henrika, three times as much. Her father shall 
 pay her the money from the amount he owes me. 
 Where he is to get it is his affair. Our accounts 
 will be evened in this way." 
 
 " Belotti has acted badly. Shall be overlooked." 
 
 " Denise may keep what was given to her." 
 
 In the middle of the document was written in 
 large characters underlined two or three times : 
 
 "The ebony box with the Hoogstraten and 
 D'Avila arms on the lid is to be sent to the widow 
 of the Marquis d'Avennes. She is to be found at 
 Chateau Rochebrun in Normandy." 
 
 The men who had deciphered this sentence to- 
 gether looked at each other in silence, until Yan 
 Hout exclaimed : 
 
 " What a confused mixture of malice and feminine 
 weakness ! ]N"o matter how cold a woman's heart 
 may seem, ice flowers are always to be found 
 there." 
 
 " I am sorry for the young lady at your house, 
 Herr Peter," said the notary, " for it would be easier 
 to draw sparks from rye "bread than such a sum 
 from that poor devil, who is head over ears in debt. 
 The daughter will be injured by the father; that is 
 what I call kinsmanlike treatment," 
 
 " What can be in the casket V asked the notary. 
 
160 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " There it is," cried Yan Hout. 
 
 " Bring it here, 13elotti." 
 ^ " We must o])en it," said the notary, " for per- 
 haps she is trying to get her principal valuables 
 over the border." 
 
 "Open it? Against the dead woman's express 
 wish ?" asked Van der Wertf. 
 
 "Certainly !" cried the notary. "We were sent 
 here to take account of the property. The lid holds 
 firmly. Take the picklock, meister. That will 
 soon open it." 
 
 The city authorities were not to find any treas- 
 ures in the casket, nothing but letters of various 
 dates. There were not many. Those at the bot- 
 tom, and much faded, contained avowrls of love 
 from the Marquis d'Avennes, the more recent ones 
 were short and signed Don Luis d'Avila. Van Hout, 
 who understood Spanish, read them hastily. As he 
 came to the end of the last, he cried with lively 
 indignation : 
 
 " We have here the key to an infamous deed. Do 
 3^ou remember the sensation that was caused four 
 years ago by the duel in which the Marquis 
 d'Avennes fell a victim to a Spanish bully ? In this 
 letter the miserable bravo writes that he has — I 
 will translate it, it is well worth the trouble. The 
 first part is of no consequence ; here : ' Is'ow that it 
 has been granted me to cross swords with the mar- 
 quis and, not without some danger to myself, to kill 
 him, a fate that he seems to have deserved, seeing 
 that he had aroused your displeasure to so great an 
 extent, the condition that you imposed upon me is 
 fulfilled and I hope to-morrow to receive, throi gli 
 3'our favor, the sweetest of rewards. Tell Donna 
 Anna, my adored betrothed, that I will lead her to 
 the altar early to-morrow morning, for the 
 D'Avennes are influential ewd by the following day 
 
TEE B UnaOMASTER 'S WIFE. 161 
 
 ray safety may be imperiled. As regards the rest, 
 I rely upon the generosity of my patroness.' " 
 
 Van Hout flung the letter upon the table and 
 cried : " Look what a dainty hand the bravo writes. 
 And, 'fore God, the ladv to whom this murderous 
 token was to be sent must be the mother of the un- 
 fortunate marquis who was killed by the Spanish 
 cutthroat." 
 
 '' Yes," said Belotti, " I can confirm your suspi- 
 cions. The marquise was the wife of the man who 
 broke faith with Friiulein van Hoogstraten. She 
 Avho lies there saw many suns rise and set, before 
 her revenge was ripe." 
 
 " Into the lire with the thing !" cried Van Hout 
 vehemently. 
 
 " Xo," answered Peter. " We will not send the 
 letters, but you shall keep them in the archives. 
 The mills of the gods grind slowly, and who knows 
 what good puri)ose these letters may yet serve ?" 
 
 Van Hout noihled assent and said as he collected 
 the ])apers : "I think that the dead woman's prop- 
 erty will come in well for the city." 
 
 "The prince will dispose of it," answered Van 
 der Werff. " How long have you served the friiu- 
 lein, Belotti ?" 
 
 " Fifteen years." 
 
 " Then remain in Leyden for the present, for I 
 think that you may hope for the legacy that was 
 originally intended for you. I will advocate your 
 chiini." 
 
 A few hours before the midnight burial of the old 
 friiulein, llerr Matenesse van AVibisma and his son, 
 Nicolas, ap))eared before the city gates, but they 
 were refused achnittance by the gate-keeper, although 
 they both brought forward their rehitive's death as 
 a reason for entering. Ilenrika's father did not 
 appear, as he had gone a few days before to attend 
 a tourney at Cologne. 
 
163 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 At noon on the twenty-sixth of May, the day of 
 the ascension of our Lord, the rinoiiio- of bells an- 
 nounced the opening of the great fair. 
 
 The ancient custom of making the circuit of the 
 parish boundaries had long since given ])lace to a 
 religious festival, but the name of "Ommegang'' 
 continued to be associated with that of the fair, anil, 
 even after the new religion had gained the master}'', 
 all sorts of processions took place at the opening of 
 the fair. 
 
 In Roman Catholic times the cross had been 
 borne through the streets in a solemn procession in 
 which all Leyden was accustomed to take part ; 
 now the banners of the city and standards with the 
 colors of the House of Orange headed the train, 
 and were followed b\'^ the nobles on horseback, the 
 city authorities in robes of state, the clergy in black 
 gowns, the volunteers in full uniform, the guilds 
 with their emblems, and lung, jubilant lines of 
 school children. Even the jioorest invested in 
 something new for their offspring on this day. 
 Never did the mothers braid their little girls' hair 
 more carefully than for this procession. In spite of 
 the hard times, many a stiver fi-om a lean purse 
 was spent for fresh ribbons and new shoes, for caps 
 and gay-colored stockings. The sun might have 
 been reflected in the little girls' smoothly brushed 
 liair, and the big bovs and the little urchins made a 
 braver show than the flowers in llerr van Mont- 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 163 
 
 fort's garden, by which the procession had to pass. 
 Each lad wore in his cap, beside the feather, a green 
 sprig, and the smaller the little man was, the larger 
 must be the sprig of green. There was no lack of 
 loud talking and merry shouting, for as each chikl 
 passed his house, he called to his mother, his grand- 
 parents, and the servants, who had remained at 
 home, and as soon as one raised his voice, others 
 speedily joined him. Nor did the grown people re- 
 main quiet as the procession approached the Rath- 
 haus, the headquarters of the various rifle corps, 
 the guild halls, or the residences of popular men, 
 and the universal rejoicing was increased and 
 encouraged by the ringing of the bells, the huzzas 
 of the sailors on both arms of the Ilhineand on the 
 canals, the playing of the musicians on the street 
 corners, and the reports of mortar and cannon, 
 which the gunner and his assistants were firing 
 from the citadel. It was a merr}^ turmoil in the 
 glad springtime. This jovial throng seemed to be 
 basking in the secure enjoyment of peace and pros- 
 perity. Among the gentlemen of the council alone 
 were grave faces to be seen ; but the children and 
 guilds behind them were not conscious of them, and 
 so the rejoicing went on Avithout interruption until 
 the churches swallowed up the procession and from 
 pulpits sounded words so earnest and full of warn- 
 ing as to make many a man grow thoughtful. 
 
 All three phases of time belong to mankind — to 
 the old man belongs the past ; to the youth tlie 
 future, but to the child the present. What did the 
 lads and lasses of Leyden, released from school 
 during the fair, care for the danger close at hand ? 
 Whoever, on this day, or during the great linen fair 
 on Friday, or on the following days, was given a 
 penny to spend, or whoever had but eyes to see, ears 
 to hear, and nose to smell with, passed with his 
 
164 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 comrades through the rows of booths, paused before 
 the camels and (hmcing-bears, or gazed into the 
 o))cn drinking booths, where to the strains of bag- 
 pipe, chirionet, and violin, danced, not only girls and 
 ybung men, but their merry elders; sampled 
 frinocrbread and other delicacies with the solemnity 
 of connoisseurs, or followed the trum})et-blasts witli 
 which the quack doctor's negro attendant attracted 
 the crowd. 
 
 Adrian, the burgomaster's son, also wandered day 
 after day, alone, or with his companions, among the 
 splendors of the fair, and often clutched with a com- 
 fortable feeling of opulence at the leather purse that 
 huno- at his belt, for it contained several stivers that 
 liad come to him from various sources — from his 
 father, mother, Barbara, and his godmother. Three 
 times had Captain van Duivenvoorde, his particular 
 friend, on whose gallant horse he had often sat, 
 taken him to a wattle stand that he might eat to his 
 heart's content, and thus Adrian's small fortune 
 was but little diminished on the Tuesday following 
 Ascension Day. He intended to buy something big 
 and fine with it ; a knight's sword or a cross-bow, 
 or perhaps — but this thought seemed too great a 
 temptation to him — the huge sheet of gingerbread, 
 plastered with almonds, that was displayed as a show 
 piece in the booth of a Delft baker. lie and Lieschen 
 could nibble for weeks at this giant cake if thev were 
 frugal, and frugality is an admirable virtue. At all 
 events, there must be something left over for 
 " bruderchens," the toothsome, spiced cakes that 
 were baked at many stands before the eyes of the 
 passers-by. 
 
 On Tuesday afternoon his way took him past the 
 famous liotterdani " brnderchen " sho]i. In front 
 of the booth docked with mirrors and gay pictures, 
 in a tall armchair that stood high above its sur- 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE, 165 
 
 roundings, sat a stout, comely woman, in the prime 
 of life, pouring rapidly, and with astonishing skill, 
 upon a heated sheet of iron provided with numerous 
 indentations a fluid batter, which she took from a 
 huge pot. Her assistant quickly turned with a fork 
 the tiny cakes that browned quickly in the hollows 
 of the^ metal surface, and when baked, laid them 
 daintily on small plates. The waiter prepared them 
 for purchasers by placing a large piece of yellow 
 butter on the smoking pile. A delightful odor, 
 which reminded one only too strongly of past 
 delights, rose from the fireplace, and Adrian's 
 fingers were already feeling the contents of his 
 purse, when the negro's trumpet sounded, and the 
 quack doctor's cart drew up directly in front of the 
 " bruderchen " booth. 
 
 The famous Doctor Morpargo was an imposing- 
 looking man, dressed altogether in scarlet and wear- 
 ing a thin, black beard that fell upon his breast. 
 His movements were measured and elegant, the 
 bows and gestures with which he greeted the 
 assembled throng gracious and condescending. As 
 soon as a sufficient number of the curious had 
 assembled about his cart, which was laden with 
 boxes and l)ottles, he began to speak in broken 
 Dutch, interlarded with many foreign words. 
 
 He praised the goodness of the Providence that 
 had created the marvel of the human organism. 
 Everything was arranged in the best and wisest w^ay, 
 but in one respect nature made a poor showing in 
 the presence of experts. 
 
 "Do you know^ where the trouble lies, ladies and 
 gentlemen ?" he asked. 
 
 " In the purse," cried a lusty barber's apprentice ; 
 " it keeps growing thinner every day." 
 
 "Right, my son," answered the quack graciously, 
 " but nature made a mistake in that great cavern 
 
166 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 from which your answer comes. Your teeth are a 
 bungliiifT picee of workmanship. They come with 
 pain, they decay premature!}', and as long as they 
 remain they torment every one who does not treat 
 them with care. But art corrects nature. You see 
 this box—" antl then he launched forth in praise of 
 a tooth-powder invented by him and of a mixture 
 for the cure of toothache. Then he passed to the 
 human head and described in vivid colors the nu- 
 merous ills to which it was subject. But these, too, 
 could be cured, unquestionably cured; it was only 
 necessary to buy his arcanum. It was to be had foV 
 a song, and whoever had it could sweep away, as 
 with a broom, every kind of headache. 
 
 Adrian listened with open mouth to the learned 
 doctor. From the hot stov^e before the " bruder- 
 clien " booth, most enticing odors were wafted to 
 him, and he would have liked exceedingly to treat 
 himself to a plateful of fresh cakes. The baker's 
 comfortable wife even waved her spoon at him, but 
 he closed his hand about his purse and turned his 
 eyes once more toward the quack, whose cart was 
 surrounded by men and women buying tinctures and 
 medicines. 
 
 In his father's house, the strange young lady la}'- 
 ill He had twice been taken in to see her, and the 
 l)eautiful, pale face and the great dark eyes had 
 filled his heart with pity. The clear, deep voice in 
 which she had spoken a few words to him had 
 seemed marvelous and had sunk deej) into his soul. 
 One morning he had awakened to find her there, 
 and since then his mother was seldom to be seen, 
 and the house was even quieter than usual ; for 
 every one walked softly, spoke in a hushed voice, 
 tapped carefully on a window instead of using tlie 
 knocker, and wiienever Lieschen or he laughed 
 aloud, or, in a moment of forgetfulness, ran up or 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE, 167 
 
 down the stairs, Barbara, their mother, or Trautchen 
 would appear and whisper to them : " Softly, 
 children, softly, the friiulein has a headache.*' 
 
 There in the cart stood a number of bottles that 
 promised relief from this malad}^ and tlie famous 
 Morpurgo seemed to be a very sensible man and not 
 a buffoon like other quack doctors, and the wife of 
 the baker, Wilhelm Peterssohn, who stood beside 
 him and whom he knew, was saying to her com- 
 panion that the doctor's remedies were good, for 
 they had cured an intimate friend of hers of a bad 
 attack of erysipelas. 
 
 This remark determined the boy in his resolve. 
 Fleeting visions of sword, cross-bow, gingerbread, 
 and the toothsome " bruderchen " rose before him, 
 but he pushed them resolutely aside, held his breath 
 so that he could not smell the seductive odors, and 
 walked hastily toward the cart. Arrived there, he 
 loosened his purse from his girdle, shook its 
 contents into his hand, showed the money to the 
 doctor, who had fixed his black eyes benevolently 
 on the unusual customer, and asked : " Will that be 
 enough ?" 
 
 " For what ?" 
 
 " For the medicine for headaches." 
 
 The quack sorted with his forefinger the small 
 coins in Adrian's hand and said gravely : " No, my 
 son, but I am always glad to advance the cause of 
 knowledge. There is yet much for you to learn at 
 school and headache will hinder you. Here is the 
 medicine and, as it is you, I will also give you this 
 prescription for still another arcanum." 
 
 Adrian hurriedly wrapped in the printed paper 
 the bottle the quack had given him, and, with his 
 dearly bought treasure in his hand, ran toward 
 home. On the way he was accosted by Captain 
 Allertssohn, who came toward him wHh the 
 musician Wilhelm. 
 
1C8 TUB n UROOMASTER 'S WIFE. 
 
 "Have vou seen mv Andreas, Master Ke'er-do- 
 well ?" lie inquired of the lad. 
 
 " He was listening to the niusicians in the lliipen- 
 burg," said Adrian, and releasing himself from the 
 big man's grasp, (lisa|)i)eare(l in the crowd. 
 
 "A briglit lad," saicl the fencing master. "Mine 
 is with the musicians a^ain. The bov can think of 
 nothing but your art. lie is much fonder of play- 
 ing on his comb than combing his hair with it. lie 
 is always pij)ing on every leaf and reed, he makes 
 himself triangles from broken rapiers, no kitchen- 
 pot is safe from his drumming; in short, his good- 
 for-nothing head is filled with nothing but sing- 
 song ; he wants to be a musician or something of 
 the sort." 
 
 " Quite right, quite right !" answered Wilhelm 
 warmly ; " he has a fine ear and the best voice in the 
 choir." 
 
 " I must consider the matter," answered the cap- 
 tain, " and you, if any one, can tell me what he ma}'- 
 accomplish in your art. If you have time this even- 
 ing,IIerr AVilhelm, come to me while I am on guard. 
 I should like to talk with you. To be sure, you will 
 scarcely find me before ten. There's the catch in 
 my throat again, and on such days — By Eoland, 
 my fore man !" 
 
 The captain cleared his throat loudly and 
 violently, and "Wilhelm said : " I am at your service, 
 for the night is long, but I shall not let you go now, 
 until vou tell me what you mean by your fore man, 
 Koland." 
 
 " Well, then ; there is not much to it, and perhaps 
 you won't understand. Come in here. I can 
 tell it better over a tankard of beer, and one's legs 
 rebel when they are denied rest for four nights in 
 succession." 
 
 When the two men were seated opposite each 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 169 
 
 other in the taproom, the fencing-master brushed 
 his irmstache away from his lips and began : " How 
 long ago was it? — Let us say a good fifteen years, 
 when I rode to Haarlem with the innkeeper 
 Aquanus, who, as you know, is a learned man and 
 occupies himself with Latin writings and all sorts of 
 ancient rubbish. Lie is an interesting man to talk 
 with, and when the conversation turned upon how 
 in life we often meet for the lirst time with things 
 we seem to have met with before, he said that it 
 was easily explained, for the soul was indestructible. 
 As long as we live, it remains with us, and when we 
 die, it soars away to be punished or rewarded 
 according to its deserts, but after centuries, which 
 are no more to the Lord than the moment that I 
 take to empty this mug — one more, Dientje — the 
 merciful Father releases it again, and it seeks an 
 abiding place in some new-born child. This made 
 me laugh ; but my friend was not at all disturbed 
 and went on to tell of an old pagan, a wonderfully 
 wise old fellow, who knew for a certainty that his 
 soul had formerly had its habitation in the body of 
 a mighty hero. This same pagan also remembered 
 exactly where, in his previous existence, he had 
 hung his shield, and told his associates. The latter 
 made search and found the shield and upon it the 
 first letters of the Christian and surnames which 
 had been the wise man's centuries before at the time 
 of his existence as a soldier. This took me aback, 
 for look you, master — and don't laugh — something 
 very like it had once happened to me. I don't 
 think much of books and from childhood have 
 always read one and the same. I have inherited it 
 from' my father, and it is not printed but written. 
 I will show it to you some time — it contains the 
 history of the brave Koland. Often when I have 
 lost myself in this true and beautiful narrative, my 
 
170 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 cheeks have grown as red as fire, and I confess to 
 you as I confessed to Aquanus : I am very much 
 mistaken or I have sat at King- Charlemagne's table, 
 an,d have worn Roland's coat of mail in tourney or 
 battle. I believe 1 have seen the Moorish king, 
 Marsilia, and once as I was reading how, in the 
 valley of Koncesvalles, the dying Roland kept 
 blowing his horn until all was over, I felt a pain in 
 my throat as though it would burst, and it seemed 
 as though I had felt that very pain before. When 
 I told all this faithfuU}'^ to Aquanus, he exclaimed 
 that there was no doubt that my soul had once 
 lived in Roland, or in other words, that in a former 
 life I had been the Knight Roland." 
 
 The musician looked at his companion in surprise 
 and asked : " You can really believe that, 
 captain V^ 
 
 " Why not ?" answered the other. " Nothing is 
 impossible with God. At first, I myself laughed in 
 the man's face, bu>t his words have followed me, 
 and as I read the old story anew, I could not help 
 asking myself — In short, sir, my soul undoubtedly 
 has once lived in Roland and therefore I call him 
 my ' fore man.' In the course of time it has become 
 my habit to swear by him. Folly, j^ou will think, 
 but I know what I know, and now I must leave 
 you. AVe will have another talk to-night, but about 
 other matters. Every one has his hobby, but at 
 least mine does not trouble people much. I show it 
 only to good friends , strangers, who ask me about 
 the fore man Roland, rareh"^ do so a second time. 
 The score, Dientje ! There is the catch in my 
 throat again. I must see that the towers are properly 
 guarded and caution the sentinels to keep their eyes 
 open. If you come prepared for fighting, you may 
 be spared a walk. There is no telling what may 
 happen to-night. You will probably pass by the 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. ill 
 
 new Khine. Stop at my house and tell my wife 
 that she need not wait supper for me. Or, no, I 
 will see to it myself ; there is something in the air 
 to-day, you will see, for I have the Roncesvalles 
 throat again." 
 
178 TUE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 In the great guardhouse, which had been built 
 near the citadel during the siege that had been 
 raised two montlis before, volunteers and city sol- 
 diers were sitting together in groups after sundown, 
 drinking copious draughts of beer and whilingaway 
 the time in playing cards in the feeble light of tal- 
 low candles. 
 
 The recess where the officers' table stood was 
 somewhat better lighted. Wilhelm, who in pursu- 
 ance of his friend's advice had donned his uniform 
 of sub-lieutenant of the burgher guard, seated 
 himself at the empty table shortly after the tower 
 clock had struck ten. As he was ordering: the at- 
 tendant to bring him a mug of beer, Captain AUerts- 
 sohn appeared with the Jonker van Warmond, who 
 had taken part in the conference at Peter van der 
 Werff's and who, two years before, had valiantly 
 won his captain's sash at the taking of Brill. As 
 this member of one of the richest and most distin- 
 guished of the noble families of Holland, whose 
 mother had borne the name of Egmont, entered the 
 recess, he took his hand, encased in a high gauntlet, 
 from the captain's arm and said, countermanding the 
 musician's order! 
 
 "Not so! The little keg from the "Wurzburger 
 Stein cannot be empty yet. We will find the bot- 
 tom of it to-night. What think you, captain V 
 
 " It will lighten the keg and not burden us par- 
 ticularly," answered the other. " Good evening, 
 
TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 173 
 
 Herr "Wilhelm, punctuality becomes a soldier. The 
 men begin to understand what is coming. I have 
 posted them so that they can scan the country in 
 every direction, I shall have them relieved every 
 hour or so, and look after them myself now and 
 then. This is good liquor, jonker. All honor to 
 the man who exchanges his money for such wine. 
 The first glass to the prince's health." 
 
 The three men touched glasses and soon clinked 
 them again to the freedom of Holland, and to the 
 welfare of the good city of Leyden. Tiie talk went 
 on merrily, but duty vi'^as not forgotten, for at the 
 end of the first half hour the captain himself rose 
 to scan the horizon and to urge the guards to greater 
 vigilance. 
 
 When he returned to the recess, Wilhelm and the 
 jonker did not notice him, in the eagerness of their 
 conversation. The musician was talking of Italy 
 and Allertssohn heard him exclaim with great 
 enthusiasm : 
 
 "Any one who has once seen it can never forget 
 it, and when I am sitting on my balcony with my 
 pigeons, mv thoughts only too often fly far away 
 with them and my eyes see nothing of our broad, 
 monotonous plains and our gray, cloudy sky." 
 
 "Ho, Meister Wilhelm !" interrupted the captain, 
 throwing himself into an armchair and stretching 
 out his booted legs. " Ho, ho ! I have found out 
 your hobby now. Italy, always Italy ! I know the 
 country myself, for I have been to Brescia, seeking 
 for swords of good steel for the prince and other 
 seigneurs. Then I crossed the rugged A])ennines 
 and went to Florence, to look for fine pieces of 
 armor ; from Livorno I went by sea to Genoa, and 
 there I bought chased silver and gold work for 
 shoulder belts and sword sheaths. What is true is 
 always true: the brown-skinned rascals can do fine 
 
174 TUE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 work. But the country, the country ! By Boland, 
 my fore man — how a sensible man can prefer it to 
 ours is more than I can understand." 
 
 " IJolhind is our mother," interrupted the jonker. 
 "As good sons, we think her the best of women, 
 but we can athnit without shame that there are 
 others more beautiful in the world." 
 
 "So vou sino- the same tune!" cried the fencing:- 
 master, angrily pushing his glass further upon the 
 table. " Ilave you ever crossed the Alps ?" 
 
 " No ; at the same time " 
 
 " At the same time you believe the color daubers 
 of the artist guild, whose eyes have been caught by 
 a bit of blue in the sky and sea, or the musical 
 gentry who let themselves be carried away by soft 
 voices and sweet music, but you would do well to 
 listen also to a sensible man." 
 
 " Speak on, captain." 
 
 " Very well ; and if any one can catch me in an un- 
 truth, I will pay his score until the Day of Judg- 
 ment. 1 will begin at the beginning. First you 
 cross the dreadful Alps; there you see snow, dreary, 
 barren rocks, and fierce torrents upon which no one 
 dare launch a boat. Instead of watering the 
 meadows, the whirling stream casts stones along its 
 banks. Then j^^ou come to the plains, where many 
 tilings grow, it is true. I was there in tlie month 
 of June, and it amused me to see the tiny fields 
 where stood little trees that served to support the 
 the grapevines. It was not so ugly, but the heat, 
 jonker, the heat destroj'^ed all one's pleasure ! And 
 the dirt in the taverns, the vermin, and what one 
 Ijud to hear about bravos, who shed the blood of 
 honest Christians in the dark for paltry money ! If 
 your throat is dry, there is nothing but warm wine 
 and not a drop of cool beer; and the dust, gentle- 
 men, the dust! All respect to the steel of Brescia. 
 
THE B UROOMA 8TER 'S WIFE. 1 75 
 
 But in the tavern the very feather was stolen from 
 ray hat, and the landlord ate down onions as if 
 they were white bread. May God punish me if 
 ever a bit of honest beef such as my wife sets before 
 me every day— and we do not live like princes — 
 passed between my teeth ; and the butter, jonker, the 
 butter ! We burn oil in our lamps, and grease the 
 hinges of our doors when the}^ creak, but the 
 Italians use it for cooking chickens and fish. Such 
 accursed doings !"' 
 
 "Take care, captain," cried Wilhelm, " or I shall 
 take you at your word and you will have to pay my 
 score for the rest of my life" Olive oil is pure, and 
 pleasant to the taste." '^ 
 
 " For those who like it. Give me Dutch butter. 
 Olive oil may do for polishing steel, but for cooking, 
 butter is the proper thing, and there's an end of it. 
 Suggest to your mother that she do her cooking in 
 oil — how she would stare at you ! But please listen 
 to me further. From Lombardy I went to Bologna 
 and then crossed the Apennines. Sometimes the 
 road went up, then suddenly down again, and it is a 
 curious pleasure, which we are spared in this country, 
 thank God, to sit in the saddle while descending a 
 mountain. To the right and left lofty mountains 
 like walls. You feel oppressed in the narrow 
 valleys, and when you want to look off into the 
 distance — nothing "to be seen, for everywhere the 
 miserable mountains rise before your very nose. I 
 believe that the Lord made these mountains after 
 Adam's fall as a punishment for mankind. On the 
 sixth day of the creation the earth w^asflat. It was 
 in August and when the noon sun was reflected from 
 the rocks, it was enough to kill one ; I only wonder 
 that I am not sitting here beside you browned and 
 baked. The famous blue of the Italian sky ! Always 
 the same. We have it blue here too, but it changes 
 
176 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 with beautiful clouds. There are few things in 
 Holland that please me more than these very clouds 
 of ours. AVhen the Apennines lay behind me at 
 last^ I came to world-renowned Florence." 
 
 " And can you withhold your admiration from 
 this city as well V asked the musician. 
 
 " No, sir, there are many proud and stately palaces 
 and beautiful churches, and there is no lack of silk 
 and velvet, and the manufacture of cloth is in a 
 flourishing condition ; but I was not well, sir, I was 
 not well in Florence, principally on account of the 
 heat, and I found many things different from what 
 I expected. There was the Arno, first of all ! The 
 stream was absurd, absolutely absurd. Do you know 
 what it looks like ? Like the puddles that stand 
 between the fragments and blocks of hewn stone in 
 a stone-cutter's yard after a heavy rainstorm." 
 
 " The score, captain, the score !" 
 
 " I mean the yard of the stone-cutter who does a 
 large business, and puddles of considerable size. 
 Will you still contradict me if I declare that the 
 Arno is a narrow, shallow strip of water just good 
 enough to float a boy's toy ship ? It borders a wide 
 surface of gray pebbles very much as the gold fringe 
 there borders the top of the jonker's gauntlet." 
 
 " You saw it at the end of a hot summer," an- 
 swered Wilhelm. " In spring it is very different." 
 
 " Possibly, but please remember the Rhine and 
 the Maas and our other rivers, even the Marne and 
 the Drecht and whatever the other smaller ones are 
 called. They are full at all times of the year and 
 stately ships can float upon them. In this country 
 things are alwaj's the same and can be depended 
 upon ; in Italy it is one thing one day and another 
 the next. It is the same in the fencing-school." 
 
 " The Italians are dangerous swordsmen," said 
 the jonker. 
 
TEE bvroomastee's wiFm m 
 
 " Quite true, but they keep constantly on the move 
 and lack the proper steadiness. I know what I am 
 saying, for I took up my quarters with my colleague 
 Torelli, the first fencing-master in the city. Of the 
 meals he set before me I will say nothing. Maca- 
 roni to-day, to-morrow macaroni Avith a couple of 
 drumsticks'^ added, and there you are. I have often 
 drawn my belt tighter after dinner. As far as art 
 goes, Torelli is certainly no bungler, but he also 
 has the same antics in his method. One has to keep 
 one's eyes open in a bout with him, but if I once get 
 to my carte, tierce, and seconde, he is at my mercy." 
 
 " A fine series ; I have found it useful." 
 
 " 1 know, I know," answered the captain eagerly. 
 " You silenced that French bully at Namur with it. 
 There's the catch in my throat again. Something 
 is going to happen to-day, gentlemen, something is 
 sure to happen." 
 
 The fencing-master clutched with his left hand at 
 the front of his ruff and with his right set his glass 
 down violently upon the table. He had often done 
 so far more carelessly, but to-day the glass shattered 
 into pieces. 
 
 " That means nothing," cried the jonker. " Here, 
 fellow, another glass for the captain." 
 
 The fancing-master pushed his chair back from 
 the table and as he looked at the fragments of 
 greenish glass, said in an altered tone, more to him- 
 self than to his companions ^ 
 
 " Yes, yes, grave tilings will happen to-day. 
 Broken into a thousand pieces ! As God wills. I 
 know where my place is." 
 
 " Meister," interrupted the jonker in a tone of 
 gentle reproach, as he filled the fresh glass, 
 " Meister, what forebodings are these ? Before the 
 battle of Brill, I stumbled as I jumped from the 
 boat and broke mv sword. I soon found another, 
 
178 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 but I thought to myself : ' It's all over with me to- 
 day.' And here I s'^it and hope to empty many a 
 glass with you yet." 
 
 " 1 am all right now," said the fencing-master, 
 raising his hat and wiping his forehead with the 
 badk of his hand. The hour comes to every man 
 and if mine is approaching — as God wills! My 
 family will not starve. The house on the new 
 Rhine is unencumbered and if I cannot leave them 
 much, I can leave them a good name and true 
 friends. My second lad, the musician, 1 know you 
 will keep your eye on, Wiihelm. Xo man is indis- 
 pensable, and if Ileaven calls me from this command, 
 the Jonker von Nordwyk, Jan van der Does, can 
 take my place. You, *^Ilerr van AVarmond, are 
 exactly where you ought to be, and the good cause 
 will come to a happy issue without me." 
 
 The musician listened with astonishment to the 
 softened ring in the deep voice, but the jonker 
 raised his goblet and cried : 
 
 "Such weighty thoughts for so fragile a glass! 
 You make too much of the matter, captain. Take 
 up your drinking cup again and ])ledge me: Long 
 life'^to the noble art of fencing and to your series — 
 quarte, tierce, and seconde." 
 
 " Long life to them !" answered the captain, 
 " long life to them! Many hundreds of noble gentle- 
 men use the sword in this country, and the man who 
 sits here has taught them to use it according to rule. 
 To how many has my series done good service in 
 the duello, and I, Andreas, its master, have let 
 tierce follow quarte and seconde follow tierce a 
 thousand times, but never without the button on 
 the foil and against padded doublets. Outside 
 the city walls, on the battlefield, not one, let me 
 press the leaders as I would, has stood against 
 me in single combiu This sword of 13rescian steel 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE 179 
 
 has more than once pierced Spanish jerkin, but 
 the art that I teach, gentlemen, the art that I love 
 and to which I have devoted my life, I have never 
 practiced in earnest. It is hard to bear, gentlemen, 
 and if Heaven, before it calls him, is inclined to 
 grant one favor to a poor man who is no worse than 
 most, it will let me cross my sword with another in 
 single combat and let me try my series in a struggle 
 for life or death with a worthy opponent. If the 
 good Lord will grant this to Andreas " 
 
 The fencing-master had not finished his sentence 
 when an armed man threw open the door and 
 shouted into the guardroom : 
 
 " The signal is raised in Lej^lerdorp." 
 
 At these words Allertssohn sprang from his chair 
 as nimbly as a boy, drew himself up to his full 
 height, set his cross-belt straight, pulled down his 
 sash, and cried : 
 
 " To the citadel, bugler, and sound the call to 
 arms. Captain van Duivenvoorde, to your volun- 
 teers ! Place yourself with four companies at the 
 Hohenort Gate, in readiness, should the battle 
 approach the city walls. The gunners must see to 
 the slow-matches. Let the garrisons in tlie towers 
 be doubled. Go, Klass, to the bellringer of St, 
 Pancratius and tell him to sound the tocsin to warn 
 the people at the fair. Your hand, jonker. I know 
 that you will be at your post, and you, JVIeister 
 Wilhelm." 
 
 " I am going with you," said the musician firmly. 
 " Do not refuse me. I have kept quietly to myself 
 long enough ; I shall stifle here." 
 
 Wilhelm's cheeks burned and there was such a 
 somber fire in his eyes that the jonker looked with 
 astonishment at his usually composed friend, while 
 the captain exclaimed : 
 
 " Place yourself in the first company then, beside 
 
180 TUE B URQOMA STEll *S WIFE. 
 
 my ensign. You do not look as though you were in 
 a joking mood, and there will be grave doings to- 
 niglit, grave doings." 
 
 AUertsohn went out with a firm step, addressed 
 his men in a few brief and forcible words, ordered 
 tiie drums to be beaten during the march through 
 the city to rouse the people at the fair, placed him- 
 self at the head of his tried little band, and led them 
 toward the new Rhine. 
 
 The moon shone down briglitly into the silent 
 streets, was reflected in the black surface of tiie 
 river, and shed a silvery gleam on the pointed gables 
 of the narrow houses. In tlie silent night the quick 
 tread of the soldiers was echoed loudlv back from 
 the houses, and the air shaken by tlie rolling of the 
 drums made the windowpanes rattle. 
 
 This time no happy children ran with paper flags 
 and wooden swords before the soldiers, no merry 
 maidens or proud niotliers followed them, nor old 
 men who thought of earlier days when they them- 
 selves had carried arms. As the silent troops 
 neared their captain's house, the tower clock struck 
 twelve with solemn strokes, and immediately after 
 the alarm bell began to clash from the tower of 
 Pancratius. 
 
 A window was thrown up in the first story of the 
 fencing-master's house and at it appeared the face 
 of the captain's wife. The trials of a married life 
 with the peculiar man had prematurely aged Eva's 
 pretty face, but the soft moonlight transfigured the 
 fading features. The beat of the drums of her hus- 
 band's troops was famihar to her, and when she saw 
 him marching by at midnight to the grim call of 
 the tocsin, a great terror seized her, and she could 
 scarcely call down : " Husband, husband ! What is 
 it, Andreas?" 
 
 lie did not hear her, for the roll of the drums, the 
 
THE BUROOM ASTER'S WIFE. 181 
 
 tread of the soldiers' feet upon the pavement, and 
 the ringing of the alarm bell drowned her voice. 
 But he did not fail to see her and a strange feeling 
 came over him. In the moonlight, her face framed 
 by a white kerchief seemed lovelier to him than it 
 had since the days of his wooing, and he himself felt 
 so full of youtli'ful fire and knightly daring on his 
 way to the field of danger that, witli figure drawn 
 up and keeping time to the beat of the drums, he 
 passed behjw her and with his left hand threw her 
 a lover-like kiss and lowered the sword that he held 
 in his rio-ht. 
 
 The beatino- of drums and wavino: of banners had 
 driven all gloomy thoughts from his mind as they 
 went on to the Gansoort. There stood a cart, the 
 home of itinerant traders, wiiom the alarm bell had 
 awakened from sleep and who were now hurriedly 
 gathering together their wares. An old woman, 
 amid many lamentations, was harnessing a lean 
 horse to the shafts, and from a little window came 
 the wailing voice of a child crying: "Mother, 
 mother," and then, "Father," and again, "Father." 
 
 The fencing-master heard the cvj. The smile 
 vanished from his lips and his step grew less elastic. 
 Then he turned about and called loudly to his men, 
 "Forward!" Wilhelm was marching close behind 
 him and approached at a sign from the captain. 
 Allertssohn took the musician's arm and hastening 
 his pace, said in an undertone : 
 
 " You will take the boy and teach him?" 
 
 " Yes, captain." 
 
 " Good ; you will be rewarded for it some day," 
 answered the fencing-master, and waving his sword 
 cried : " Freedom to Holland, death to the Spaniard, 
 long life to Orange !" 
 
 The soldiers joined in heartily and they marched 
 at a quick jjace out through the Hohenort Gate and 
 on toward Ley derdorp. 
 
ISa THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 CHAPTEE XYIII. 
 
 Adrian hurried home with the bottle, and, in his 
 delight at bringing relief to the sick friiulein, he 
 forgot her headache and let the knoclier fall 
 heavily upon the door. Barbara, in consequence, 
 received him with no very kindly words, but he 
 was so full of the pleasure of possessing the dearly 
 won treasure that he fearlessly interrupted his 
 aunt's reproaches : 
 
 "You will see; I have something here for the 
 fraulein; where is mother?" 
 
 Barbara saw by the boy's face that he was the 
 bearer of some good news that absorbed him com- 
 ])letely, and the fresh, happy boyish face was so 
 pleasing that she forgot to scold and said with a 
 good-natured smile : 
 
 " You make me quite curious; what are you in 
 such haste about ?" 
 
 " I have bought something ; is mother up- 
 stairs V 
 
 " Yes, but show me what you have ?" 
 
 " A remedy. An unfailing one, I can tell you ; 
 a remedy for headache." 
 
 "A remedy for headache?" asked the widow in 
 astonishment. " Who palmed that off on you ?" 
 
 " Palmed it off !" repeated the lad, laughing. " I 
 got it for less than its price." 
 
 " Show it me, child," commanded Barbara, reach- 
 ing for the bottle, but Adrian retreated, hid the 
 bottle behind his back, and said : 
 
THE BUJIGO MASTER'S WIFE. 183 
 
 "No, aunt; I want to take it to mother my- 
 self.'' 
 
 "Was ever such a thing heard of!" cried the 
 widow. " An ass tries to dance on the tight rope 
 and schoolboys dabble in medicines. Show me 
 the thing at once ! A quack doctor's wares were 
 the one thing we lacked." 
 
 " Quack doctor's wares I" repeated Adrian indig- 
 nantly. " It cost me all my spending money and it 
 is a good medicine." 
 
 During this little passage at arms, Doctor Bon- 
 tius and the burgomaster's wife had descended the 
 stairs. The doctor had heard tlie lad's last words 
 and asked sternly : 
 
 " Where did you get the stuff ?" 
 
 He seized the hand of the boy, wdio dared not 
 resist, took the bottle and the printed prescription 
 from him, and, when Adrian had answered briefly: 
 "From Doctor Morpurgo," went on angrily: 
 
 " The stuff is good for throwing away and that's 
 all ; but one must take care and not poison the 
 fishes with it ; and the thing cost half a gulden ! 
 You are a wealthy young man, Meister Adrian ! If 
 you have any superfluous capital again, you can 
 lend it to me." 
 
 These words destroyed the lad's innocent pleasure, 
 but they did not convince him and he defiantly 
 turned his back halfway upon the doctor. Barbara 
 understood what was passing in his mind and wlns- 
 pered compassionately to the doctor and to her 
 sister-in-law : 
 
 " All his spending money to help the friiulein." 
 
 The burgomaster's wife at once approached the 
 disappointed child, drew his curly head toward 
 her, and silently kissed his forehead, while the doc- 
 tor read the printed label and then, gravely as ever 
 and without changing a muscle, said : 
 
184 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " Morpurgo cannot be such a fraud ; this medicine 
 may help the friiulein after all." 
 
 Adrian had been on the verge of tears. Now he 
 gave a sigh of relief, but he still held fast to 
 Maria's hand as he turned his face toward the 
 doctor again and listened eagerly as the latter 
 continued : 
 
 " Two parts marsh trefoil, one part peppermint, 
 and half a part valerian. The last especially for 
 women. Steep in boiling water and drink a cupful 
 cold, morning and night. Not bad — really, not 
 bad. You have found a good remedy here, master 
 colleague. I have something else to say to you, 
 moreover. JVIy boys are going to see the English 
 riders this evening and they would like to have you 
 go with them. You can begin with the draught 
 to-night." 
 
 The doctor bowed to the ladies and went toward 
 the door. Barbara followed him into the street and 
 said : 
 
 " Were 5''ou in earnest in 3'our directions ?" 
 
 "Certainly, certainly," answered the doctor, "my 
 grandmother often used this remedy for headache 
 and she was a clever woman. Morning and even- 
 ing, and proper amount of rest." 
 
 llenrika occupied a pretty, cheerfully furnished 
 room. The windows overlooked the shady court 
 upon which opened the chamois-leather workshops. 
 She was allowed to sit up part of the day in a 
 cushioned easy-chair. Her strong constitution was 
 rapidly recovering. She was still weak, to be sure, 
 and the headache spoiled wliole daj's and nights. 
 Maria's gentle, considerate manner was soothing to 
 her and she was glad to have beside her Barbara 
 with her fresh face and her simple, thoughtful, help- 
 ful ways. 
 
 When Maria told her of Adrian's purchase she 
 
TEE BUROOMASTER'S WIFE. 185 
 
 was deeply touched, but when the lad was present 
 she concealed her emotion under teasing words and 
 greeted him with : 
 
 " Come nearer, my preserver, and give me your 
 hand." 
 
 Ever after she called him, " \\\y preserver," or, as 
 she was fond of mingling Italian with her Dutch : 
 " Salvatore," or " Signor Salvatore." Indeed she 
 delighted in having her own names for the people 
 about her, and she called Barbara, whose name she 
 abhorred, ^' Babetta," and the gentle, lovable, little 
 Elizabeth, whom she was especially fond of having 
 Avith her "the elf." The burgomaster's wife alone 
 remained " Frau Maria," and when the latter once 
 asked jestingly the reason for such neglect, Henrika 
 answered that her name suited her and that if she 
 had been called " Martha," she w^ould undoubtly 
 have called her "Maria." 
 
 The convalescent had had a good day, free from 
 pain, and when, toward evening, Adrian went to 
 see the English riders, and the moonlight and the 
 perfume of the blossoming lindens found their way 
 through the open windows into her room, she asked 
 Barbara not to bring a light and begged Maria to 
 sit down beside her and talk to her. 
 
 From Adrian and Lieschen the talk turned upon 
 their own childhood. Henrika had grown up among 
 her fathers boon companions, amid the clinking 
 of drinking cups and hunting cries, Maria in a quiet 
 burgher household, and what each told the other 
 seemed like news from a strange world. 
 
 "It was easy for you to grow into the tall, white 
 lily that you are," said Henrika; " but I must thank 
 the saints that I am no v^'orse than I am, for we 
 grew up like weetls, and if the love for singing had 
 not been inborn in me, and the cha})lain had not 
 been so tine a musician, I might make even a poorer 
 
186 TUB BV ROOM AST I<:R'S WIFE. 
 
 showino^ before voii. When is the doctor ffoinc: to 
 let 1110 hear you sing ?" 
 
 '* Next week ; bat you must not expect too much. 
 
 vMoreover, you have altogether too high an opinion 
 
 of me. Think of the proverb of the still waters. It 
 
 is often far less peaceful in the depths than you 
 
 imagine." 
 
 " But you have learned to keep the surface placid 
 in spite of storm ; and I have not. A strange peace 
 has come over me here. Whether it is owing to my 
 sickness or to the atmos|)here of this house, I cannot 
 say ; but how long will it last ? My soul used to be 
 like the sea when the hissing waves dash into black 
 al)ysses, tlie sea gulls scream, and the fishermen's 
 wives pray on the shore. Now the sea is calm. Do 
 not be too much alarmed if the tempest should 
 begin afresh." 
 
 The bnro:omaster''s wife seized the excited girl's 
 hands and said imploringly : 
 
 " Be calm, be calm, Henrika. You must think 
 only of getting well now. And shall I confess 
 something to you? I think that hard things are 
 easier to bear if one can throw them off impatiently 
 like the sea of which you speak ; with me they pile 
 one on top of another and lie there as though 
 buried under the sand." 
 
 " Until the hurricane comes and sweeps it away. 
 I do not wish to ])rophes3' evil, but some day you 
 will remember what I say. What a wild, careless 
 creature 1 used to be ! Then came a day that 
 altered my whole life." 
 
 "Was it faithless love that changed it?" asked 
 Maria shyly. 
 
 "No, only the wrong done to another by faith- 
 less love," answered llenrika with a bitter smile. 
 " When I was a chikl my inconstant heart beat 
 more quickly, 1 do not know how often. First, I 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 187 
 
 felt much more than respect for the one-eyed 
 cliaplain, our music-master, and every morning used 
 to place fresh flowers in his window, but he never 
 noticed them. Then — 1 may have been fifteen — I 
 returned the ardent glances of a handsome page of 
 Graf Brederode. He tried to be tender once, and 
 got a taste of my riding- whip. Then, \Yhen I was 
 sixteen, came a handsome young noble who wished 
 to marry me, but he was even more in debt than 
 my father and so was sent home again, I did not 
 shed any tears for him and when, two months 
 hiter, I saw at a tourney in Brussels Don Fredrique, 
 the son of the great Alva, I thought I loved him as 
 much as ever a damosel loved her Amadis, although 
 I never got any further than seeing him. Then 
 came the storm of which I spoke and with it all 
 love-making was at an end. I will tell you all 
 about it later; there is no need for me to keep it 
 secret, for everybody knows it. Have you ever 
 heard of m.j sister ? No ? She was older than I — 
 God never* made any one more perfect. And her 
 singing ! She was sent to my aunt and there — but 
 I will not excite myself needlessly — to be brief, the 
 man whom she had loved with all the strength of 
 her heart brought misery upon her, and my father 
 cursed her and would not raise a finger to save her. 
 I never knew mv mother, but thanks to Anna I 
 never missed her. Anna's fate opened my eyes to 
 men. During these last years many have sought 
 me, but I was wanting in faith and even more in 
 love, for that is all over with me." 
 
 "Until it finds its way to you," answered Maria. 
 " It was wrong of me to speak to you about it, for 
 it 3xcites vou and does no good." 
 
 " Go on ; it does do one good to unburden one's 
 heart. Did you never love any one before your 
 husband r 
 
188 THE B UROOMASTER 'S WIFE. 
 
 " Love ? Xo, Ilenrika, I have never really loved 
 any one but liiin." 
 
 " And your heart waited for the burgomaster 
 before it beat faster?" 
 
 "No, it was not always tranquil ; I have grown 
 up among men, 3'oung and old, and of course 1 was 
 fonder of some than of others." 
 
 "And surely one was deai'er than the rest?" 
 
 " I do not deny that. At the time of my sister's 
 wedding my brother-in-law brought a friend with 
 him, a young nobleman from Germany, and he 
 remained several weeks with us. I liked him and 1 
 still think of him with pleasure." 
 
 " Did you never hear from him again ?" 
 
 " No ; and who knows what has become of him ? 
 My brother-in-law expected great things of him ; 
 and, indeed, he was highly gifted, but at the same 
 time he w^as reckless and foolhardy and must have 
 cost his mother many an anxious hour." 
 
 " You must tell me more about him." 
 
 " What good will it do, Ilenrika ?" 
 
 " I don't want to talk any more, but I should like 
 to lie still and breathe in the scent of the lindens 
 and listen, onh' listen." 
 
 " No, you must go to bed now. I will help you 
 and when you have been alone for an hour, I will 
 come back. 
 
 " One learns obedience with you ; but when my 
 preserver comes back, bring him here. He shall 
 tell me about the English riders. There comes 
 Frau Babetta with his drink. You will see that 1 
 take it ])unctually." 
 
 The boy was late in coming home, for he had 
 enjoyed all the delights of the lair with thedoctois 
 sons. The visit that he was allowed to make Hen- 
 rika was cut short. His father he had not seen at 
 all, for he had gone to a night meeting at Y'c.n 
 iironkhorst's. 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 189 
 
 The next morning the holidays would be over, 
 school would begin again, and Adrian had intended 
 to finish his school tasks that evening. But the 
 English riders had interfered and he could not pos- 
 sibly appear before the rector without his exercise. 
 He admitted this frankly to his mother, and she 
 made a place for him at the table at which she was 
 sewing, and helped the young Latin student with 
 many words and rules that she had learned from 
 her dead brother. 
 
 When there lacked but half an hour of midnight, 
 Barbara entered the room, saying : 
 
 "That's enouo'h for to-night: there will be tima 
 to finish to-morrow morning before school." 
 
 Without waiting for Maria's answer, she closed 
 the lad's books and began to collect them. 
 
 As she was doing so the room was shaken by a 
 violent knocking at the house-door. Maria threw 
 aside her sewing and started from her seat, while 
 Barbara cried : 
 
 "In the name of Heaven what is the matter?" 
 
 Adrian ran hastily into his father's room and 
 opened the wandow. 
 
 The ladies hurried after him, and before they 
 could question the intruder a deep voice called np 
 to them : 
 
 " Open ; I must come in." 
 
 " What is the matter ?" asked Barbara, who could 
 see in the moonlight that it was a soldier. " One 
 can't hear one's own voice. Stop that knocking." 
 
 " Call the burgomaster," cried the messenger, who 
 had been knocking without cessation. " Quick, 
 woman, the Spaniards are coming," 
 
 Barbara screamed and clasped her hands. Maria 
 grew pale, but she did not lose her self-control and 
 answered : 
 
 " The burgomaster is not at home, but I will send 
 for him. Quick, Adrian ; go and call your father." 
 
190 TUE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 The bo}' dashed down tlie stairs, and in the hall 
 met the servin<^-man and Trautchen. The old 
 woman, who iiad jumped hastily from her bed, had 
 wrapped a petticoat about her, and was endeavoring 
 with trembling- hands to unfasten the door. The 
 man-servant thrust her aside, and as soon as the door 
 swung- back on its hinges Adrian darted out and ran 
 as for a wager down the street to Van Bronkhorst's 
 house. He reached there before any other messen- 
 ger, pushed through the open door into the dining- 
 room, and cried breathlessly to the men sitting m 
 consultation over their wine : 
 
 " The Spaniards are here !" 
 
 The gentlemen started from their seats. Some 
 wished to hasten to the citadel, others to the Rath- 
 haus, and in the excitement of the moment no sen- 
 sible decision could be arrived at. Peter van der 
 Werff had alone retained his composure, and 
 when Allertssohn's messenger appeared and in- 
 formed him that the captain with his men was on 
 on the way to Le3^derdorp, the burgomaster pointed 
 out that the authorities' entire attention should be 
 devoted to the safety of the people at the fair. He 
 and \^an Hout undertook to see to them, and Adrian 
 was soon standing with his father amid the assem- 
 bling people who had been roused from their sleep 
 by the brazen voice of the alarm bell from the 
 tower of Pancratius. 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE, 191 
 
 CHAPTEK XIX. 
 
 Adrian's activity for the night was not yet over, 
 for his father did not prevent his following him to 
 the Rathliaus. There he commissioned the hid to 
 tell his mother that he would be busy till morning, 
 and that the man-servant should direct all persons 
 who wished to see him after one o'clock to the 
 Holzmarkt on the Rhine. Maria sent the boy 
 back to the Kathhaus to ask his father if he did 
 not want his coat or something to eat. 
 
 The lad executed these commissions with great 
 alacrity, for as he pushed his way through the 
 crowds that thronged the narrow streets, he felt 
 more important than he ever had before ; he had a 
 duty to discharge and that at night, the bedtime of 
 other boys and especially of his companions, who 
 certainly were not allowed out of the house at this 
 hour. In addition, he might look forward to stir- 
 ring times, full of the beating of drums, blaring of 
 trumpets, rattle of musketry, and thunder of cannon. 
 It seemed to him as though the boyish game 
 "Holland against Spain" was about to be continued 
 in earnest and on a large scale. 
 
 The full enjoyment of life peculiar to his years 
 took possession of him, and when he had elbowed 
 his way to less frequented streets, he sped away and 
 shouted into the night as cheerfully as though he 
 had some good tidings to ])roclaim : " They are 
 coming!" "The Spaniards!" or '-'' Hannibal ante 
 jportas r 
 
192 THE B UROOMASTER 'S WIFE. 
 
 "When he learned upon his return to the Rathhaus 
 that his father needed nothinf^ and that if he 
 required anything he Avouhl send a constable, he 
 considered tliat his duties were at an end and that 
 he was at liberty to satisfy his own curiosity. 
 
 He went first to the English riders. The tent in 
 which they had given their performance had 
 vanished from the earth and shouting men and 
 women were folding together huge rolls of canvas, 
 fastening bales, and harnessing hoi-ses amid a shower 
 of oaths. The lurid o-lare of torches minjjled with 
 the light of the moon and showed him, on the 
 narrow steps that led to a large house on wheels, a 
 little girl in shabby burgher dress, crying bitterly. 
 Could that be the rose-colored angel who had seemed 
 like a happy being from another world as she 
 hovered above the back of a milk-white steed ? 
 Then a shrieking old woman lifted the child into 
 the van and he followed the moving crowd and saw 
 mounted on a lean nag Doctor Morpurgo, no longer 
 in scarlet but in sober cloth, riding beside his cart. 
 The negro angrily urged on the mule attached to 
 the vehicle, but his master seemed to have remained 
 in possession of his usual calm. His wares were of 
 little value and the Spaniards had no cause for 
 depriving him of his head, or his tongue, with which 
 he earned more than he needed. 
 
 Adrian followed him to the long row of booths in 
 the wide street and there he saw things that sub- 
 dued his high spirits and made him realize more 
 and more that grave and heartrending events were 
 passing. He could still have laughed as he watched 
 tlie gingerbread bakers and yarn dealers who had 
 come to blows, because, in their first alarm, they 
 had tossed their wares promiscuously into each 
 other's boxes and were now unable to separate thei? 
 belongings; but be was heartily sorry for th^ 
 
TBE B URGOMASTER 'S WIFE. 1 93 
 
 vendor of Delft earthenware, for a wagon from 
 Gouda, loaded with huge bales, had knocked down 
 her frail stand and she was standing wringing her 
 hands over her broken wares, with which she earned 
 a living for herself and her children, while tlie 
 driver, without heeding lier, urged on his horses 
 with resounding blows of the whip. A little girl, 
 who had become separated from her parents and 
 was being led away by a compassionate burgher's 
 wife, filled the air with her cries. A poor rope- 
 dancer, from whom a thief had stolen the little tin 
 box that contained the pennies he had scraped to- 
 gether, was running about wringing his hands and 
 seeking the watchman. A cobbler was cramming 
 riding-boots and ladies' slijipers pellmell into a 
 wooden case with handles of hemp, while his wife, 
 instead of helping him, tore her hair and screamed : 
 " I told you so, you fool, you dolt, 3^ou blockhead ! 
 They are coming and will take everything away 
 from us." 
 
 At the entrance to the street that led past the 
 Assendelft house to the Liebfrauenbriicke, several 
 laden vans had become entans^led, and, in their 
 terror, the drivers, instead of getting down and pro- 
 curing help, began to belabor each other, and in 
 doing so struck the women and children who were 
 seated among the bales. Their screams and shrieks 
 coukl be heard afar ofT, but even they were drowned ; 
 for at the north end a dancing bear had gotten 
 loose and put to flight all who were near him. 
 Shrieking and yelling, the terrified people came 
 rushing down the street, carrying with them others 
 who knew nothing of the cause of their alarm, and 
 led astray by the danger that lay nearest, screamed : 
 "The Spaniards! The Spaniards!" Whatever 
 stood in the way of the panic-stricken mob was 
 overthrown. The child of a sieve-dealer was 
 
194 TUE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 knocked down under the feet of the crowd, beside 
 his father's overturned cart, close to Adrian, who 
 iiad retreated into a doorway. But tlie lad was 
 unable to spring to the child's assistance, as he was 
 liriuly wedged into his place of refuge, and his at- 
 tention was attracted in another direction by the 
 appearance of Janus Dousa mounted on horseback. 
 He was riding toward the terror-stricken mob. 
 Above the cries of, "The Spaniards! The 
 Spaniards !" rose his penetrating voice : " Peace, 
 peace, my friends ! The enemy has not yet 
 come! To the llhine, to the Rhme ! There are 
 ships there, awaiting all strangers. To the Ehine ! 
 There are no Spaniards here, I tell you, no 
 Spaniards !" 
 
 The jonker pulled up close to Adrian, for his 
 horse could advance no furtlier and was snortinic 
 and trembling under his rider. The nobleman's 
 exhortation bore little fruit and it was not until 
 hundreds had rushed past him that the number of 
 affrighted fugitives grew less. The bear before 
 which they had fled had long since been captured 
 by brewers' men and led back to his owner. The 
 city constables now appeared under the burgo- 
 master's command and tlie boy followed them un- 
 noticed to the Holzmarkt on the south bank of the 
 Rhine. There they were met by another crowd, 
 for many traders had hastened hither to place their 
 goods in the shi})s. Men and women were pressing 
 over bales and merchandise that were being rolled 
 down narrow gangplanks into the ships. A 
 woman, a child, and a roj)e-nuiker's cart had been 
 pushed into the water, and it was at this point that 
 the wildest confusion prevailed. But the burgo- 
 master arrived at the right moment, directed the 
 rescue of the drowning woman and child, and set 
 about bringing order out of chaos. The constables 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 195 
 
 were ordered to let the fugitives board only tbose 
 ships that were bound for the places to which they 
 belonged ; from each ship two planks were put out, 
 one for passengers and one for merchandise ; the 
 messengers of the council proclaimed that — as the 
 law directed whenever the tocsin sounded — all 
 burghers were to enter their houses and the streets 
 to be cleared, under pain of a heavy penalty. All 
 the gates were thrown open for the passage of 
 vehicles, exit being alone prohibited from the 
 Hohenort Gate, which led to Leyderolorp. Thus 
 the streets were cleared, order was restored among 
 the crowd, and when Adrian returned at dawn to 
 his home, there was little more stir in the streets 
 than on ordinary nights. 
 
 His mother and Barbara had been anxious about 
 him, but he told them about his father and in what 
 way he had seen him put a stop to the tumult. 
 
 As he was speaking musket shots could be heard 
 in the distance and these filled him with such 
 excitement that he wanted to go out again ; but his 
 mother restrained him and he had to resign himself 
 to going to his room. He did not go to bed, how- 
 ever, but climbed to the upper loft in the gable at 
 the back of the house and looked out from the 
 window, through which the bales of leather were 
 hoisted, toward the east, from whence muskets shots 
 were still to be heard. He could see nothing but 
 the flush of dawn and fleecy clouds of smoke that 
 curled upward, tinged with pink. As nothing else 
 appeared, his eyelids closed and he fell asleep by 
 the open window and dreamed of a blood}' fight and 
 of the English riders. 
 
 His sleep was so deep that he did not hear the 
 rumble of wheels that sounded from the quiet court- 
 yard beneath. The carts from which the sound 
 proceeded belonged to merchants from neighboring 
 
196 THE B URQOM ASTER 'S WIFE. 
 
 towns who preferred to leave their wares in the 
 threatened city to carrying them toward the ap- 
 proaching Spaniards. Meister Peter had given 
 ]iermission to some of these to leave their goods 
 with him. The wagons had to pass through tlie 
 rear buildings where the workshops were, and such 
 wares as might be injured by the weather were to 
 be carried in the course of the day into the spacious 
 garret of his house. 
 
 The burgomaster's wife had gone to Ilenrika's 
 room at midnight in order to quiet her, but the con- 
 valescent betra^'ed no uneasiness, and when she 
 learned that the Spaniards were advancing her eyes 
 lighted up joyously. Maria saw it and turned 
 away from her guest ; but she kept back the sharp 
 words that rose to her lips, wished Henrika good- 
 night, and left the room. 
 
 llenrika looked after her thoughtfully and raised 
 herself in bed, for there could be no further thought 
 of sleep that night. The ringing from the tower of 
 Pancratius never ceased and more than once there 
 was the sound of voices and of opening doors and of 
 distant firing. Many noises, the cause and nature 
 of which she could not determine, reached her ears, 
 and as morning dawned the usually silent courtyard 
 under lier window grew animated. 
 
 There was the rattling of wagons and confused 
 shouting. A deep, masculine voice seemed to be 
 directing what was going on below. Her curiosity 
 and uneasiness increased from minute to minute. 
 She listened with such strained attention that her 
 head began to ache again, but she could hear only 
 occasional words and then indistinctly. Had the city 
 been delivered to the Spaniards? Had the soldiers 
 of King Philip taken u)) their quarters in the burgo- 
 master's iiouse ? Her blood rose angrily as she 
 thought of the triumj)ii of the Castilians and the 
 
TUE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 197 
 
 humiliation of her country, but she was soon filled 
 with the joyous emotion she had first felt, for she 
 saw art re-entering the bare, despoiled churches of 
 Leyden, chanting processions moving through the 
 streets, and holy mass being celebrated by priests in 
 rich vestments in the freshly adorned churches, to 
 the accompaniment of sweet singing, the tinkling of 
 bells, and the odor of incense. She expected to 
 recover at the Spaniards' hands a place where she 
 could pray in her own way and unburden her soul 
 by confession. In her former surroundings her 
 religion had been her one consolation. A worthy 
 priest had been her teacher and had earnestly 
 striven to make her see that the new faith threatened 
 to destroy the mystical sacredness of life, the longing 
 for the beautiful, every ideal emotion of the human 
 soul, and with them all art, and therefore Henrika 
 preferred to see her country Spanish and Catholic 
 rather than free from the foreigners whom she 
 hated, and Calvanistic. 
 
 Gradually it grew quieter in the courtyard but 
 when the first ra\'s of the morning sun touched her 
 window, the stir began anew. Heavy footsteps 
 sounded on the pavement, and among the voices that 
 mingled with those she had heard before she recoo;- 
 nized Maria's and Barbara's. Yes, she was not 
 mistaken. That cry of horror could come onl}'' 
 from the lips of her friend, and it was followed by 
 exclamations of sorrow from bearded lips, and loud 
 sobbing. Bad news must have come to the house 
 of her hosts, and the woman who was weeping so 
 bitterly must be good " Babetta." 
 
 She could no longer stay in bed. On the table 
 near by, amid bottles and glasses, near the candle 
 and tinder box, stood the little bell, at the slightest 
 sound of which one of her nurses invariably appeared. 
 Henrika rang it twice, then again and again, but no 
 
198 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 one carae. Finally, impelled partly b}'- impatience 
 and vexation, partly by curiosity and sympathy'', she 
 slipped into her shoes and her morning gown, crossed 
 to the chair that stood on the platform in the recess, 
 pushed up the window, and looked down at the 
 group immediately below her. 
 
 No one noticed her, for the men who stood sor- 
 row f idly around, and the tearful women, Maria and 
 Barbara among them, listened with every sign of 
 sympathy to the eager recital of a young man and 
 had eyes and ears for no one but him. Ilennka 
 recognized in the speaker the musician, Wilhelm, but 
 only by his voice, for the helmet on his head and the 
 blood-stained coat of mail gave a warlike, indeed an 
 heroic air to the unpretentious musician. 
 
 lie was already well along in his story when 
 Henrika became an unseen listener. 
 
 " Yes, sir," he replied in answer to a question 
 rrom tlie burgomaster, " we followed them, but they 
 disappeared into the village again and all remained 
 quiet. It would have been madness to attempt to 
 storm the houses. So we kept quiet, but about two 
 o'clock we heard firing in the neighborhood of Ley- 
 derdorp. • The Jonker van Warmond must have 
 made a sally,' said the captain, and led us in the 
 •lirection of the firing. This was what the Spaniards 
 wanted, for long before we reached our destination, 
 a company of Castilians with white tunics over their 
 armor rose out of a ditch, flung themselves on their 
 knees, muttered a paternoster, shouted their ' Santi- 
 ago,' and bore down u])on us. We had seen them 
 in time and the halberdiers were able to set their 
 ])ikes, and the musketeers to kneel down and la\' the 
 slow-match to the powder. So we gave the Span- 
 iards a warm reception and four of them fell in the 
 charge. We were superior to them in numbers, and 
 their captain led them back to the ditch in good 
 
TUE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. I99 
 
 order. There they remained, for their purpose was 
 undoubtedly none other than to delay us and then 
 let us be cut off by a larger body. We were too 
 weak to drive thein from their position, but when 
 morning began to dawn and still they would not 
 come out, our captain advanced toward them with 
 a white flag and a drummer, and shouted to them in 
 Italian that he wished their lordships a good morning 
 and that if they had among them an officer with a 
 spark of honor in his body, to let him come out and 
 place himself before a captain who wished to cross 
 swords with him. He gave him his word that his 
 men would look on impassively at the duel, no mat- 
 ter what the result might be. At this moment two 
 shots were fired from the ditch and the balls came 
 very near hitting the poor captain. We called to 
 him to think of his own life, but he did not move 
 and shouted to them that they were cowards and 
 assassins like their king. 
 
 "In the meantime it had grown comparatively 
 light — we heard the sound of arguing in the ditch 
 and just as AUertssohn was about to turn away, an 
 officer sprang out and cried : ' Stand, braggart, and 
 draw.' The captain drew his Brescian sword, bowed 
 to his opponent as though they were in the fencing- 
 room, bent his steel, and measured it with the 
 Castilian's. He was a thin man of imposing height 
 and distinguished bearing, and, as was soon shown, 
 a dangerous swordsman. He circled around the 
 captain like a whirlwind, dodging, thrusting, feint- 
 ing, but AUertssohn kept his head and confined 
 himself at first to skillful parries. Then he got in 
 a beautiful carte, and, as tlie other ])ai'ricd it. he fol- 
 lowed with a tierce, and, tiiis being warded off, 
 quick as lightning with a seconde as he alone could 
 give. The Castilian fell on his knees, for the sword 
 had pierced his lung. In a short time he was dead. 
 
200 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE, 
 
 As soon as he lay stretched upon the grass, the 
 Spaniards fell upon us anew, but we drove them 
 back a<i:ain and took tlie officer's bodv into our 
 midst. 1 have never seen the caj)tain so proud and 
 ha'^ppy as he was then. You, Jonker van Warmond, 
 can readily guess the reason. He had done honor 
 to his series in a real duel with an opponent who 
 was his equal, and he said to me that this was the 
 happiest morning he had ever known. Then he 
 gave orders to make a circuit of the ditch and 
 attack the enem\' on the flank. But hardly had we 
 begun to advance, when the expected trooj)s 
 pressed forward from Leyderdorp. Their cry of 
 ' Santiao'o' echoed far and wide and at the same time 
 our old enemies came out from the ditch and 
 attacked us. Allertssohn rushed forward, but he 
 (lid not reach them. Ah, gentlemen, I shall never 
 ftjrget it— a ball struck him down at my side. It 
 must have penetrated his heart, for all he said was : 
 'Remember the lad!' then his mighty frame stiff 
 ened and he was dead. We wanted to take his body 
 with us, but the numbers pressed too heavily u]wn 
 us, and it was all we could do to come in tolerable 
 order within range of the jonker's volunteers. The 
 Spaniards dared not venture so far. Here we are. 
 The Castilian's body lies in the tower at the 
 Hohenort Gate. Here are the papers that we 
 found in the dead man's doublet, and this is his 
 ring; his escutcheon is a noble one." 
 
 Peter van der Wertf took the dead man's wallet, 
 turned the papers over, and said : " Don Louis d' 
 Avila was his name." 
 
 He said no more, for his wife had caught sight of 
 Henrika's head stretched far out of the window 
 and exclaimed in a startled voice : " Friiulein, in 
 Heaven's name, friiulein — what are you doing f' 
 
TEE BUMGOMASTEB'S WIFE. 201 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The burgomaster's wife had been alarmed about 
 Henrika, but the latter received her with unusual 
 animation and met her gentle reproaches with the 
 assurance that the morning had done her good. 
 Fate was just, she said, and if it were true that con- 
 fidence in recovery aided the doctors, Doctor 
 Bontius would have an easy time with her. The 
 fallen Castilian could be none other than the wretch 
 who had plunged her sister into misery. Maria, 
 amazed but completely reassured, left her and went 
 in search of her husband to tell him how she had 
 found the invalid and the relation in which the 
 Spanish officer killed b}' Allertssohn seemed to 
 have stood to Henrika and her sister. Peter 
 listened with divided attention, and when Barbara 
 brought him a freshly ironed ruff, he interrupted 
 his wife in the midst of her story and handed her 
 the dead man's wallet, saying : 
 
 "There, let her convince herself, and bring it 
 back to me to-nio-ht. I shall hardlv be home to 
 dinner ; during the day you will go and see poor 
 Allertssohn's widow." 
 
 " Yes, indeed," she answered readily. " And whom 
 will you put in his place ?" 
 
 " The prince must decide that." 
 
 "Have you thought of means of keeping com- 
 munication open with Delft?" 
 
 " You are thinking of your mother ?" 
 
 " Not that alone. Rotterdam also lies to the 
 
202 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 south. From ITaarlem and Amsterdam, that is, the 
 north, we can expect nothing, for everytliing there 
 is in the hands of the Spaniards." 
 
 " I shall make a place for you in the council of 
 war. "Where do you get all 3'our wisdom ?" 
 
 " I have my own thoughts, and is it not natural 
 that I would rather follow you into the future with 
 my QjQS open than blindly ? Have you made use 
 of the English regiment to strengthen the works 
 on the old canal? Kaak, too, is an important 
 point." 
 
 Peter looked at his wife in amazement, and he 
 was seized by that uncomfortable feeling that takes 
 possession of an inexperienced writer when some 
 one looks unbidden over his shoulder. She had 
 pointed out a grave error, which might have serious 
 consequences, for which, indeed, he was not alone 
 responsible ; but, as he did not wish to excuse him- 
 self to her, and, perhaps, succeed ill in his justifica- 
 tion, he made no reply other than : " Those are 
 men's affairs ! Good-by until to-night." Then he 
 w'alked past Barbara toward the door. 
 
 Maria did not know how it happened, but before 
 he laid his hand on the latch she had controlled 
 herself sufficiently to call after him : 
 
 "You are going like this, Peter! Is it right? 
 What did you promise me on your return from the 
 prince V 
 
 "1 know, I know," he answered impatiently. 
 " One cannot serve two masters, and in these times 
 I beg of you not to trouble me with questions and 
 thinjrs that don't concern vou. It is for me to di- 
 rect the affairs of the city. You have your invalid 
 guest, the children, the poor. Let that be enough." 
 
 Without waiting for her answer, he left the room, 
 while she stood motionless, staring after him. 
 
 Barbara watched her for several moments ; then 
 
THE B UROOMA 8TER '8 WIFE. 203 
 
 pretending to busy herself with the papers on her 
 brother's desk, she said, as though to herself, but 
 half turned toward Maria: 
 
 " These are bad times. Any one who is not op- 
 pressed by such cares as Peter is may thank the 
 Lord, lie has to bear the responsibility of every- 
 thing, and even those who are nimble of foot cannot 
 dance with hundred-pound weights on their legs, 
 No one has a better heart, and no one means more 
 honestly than he. How the traders at the fair 
 praised his prudence ! In times of storm, people 
 recognize the pilot. And Peter was always greatest 
 when things were at their worst. He knows what 
 he is undertaking, but tiie last weeks have aged him 
 years. We nmst overlook many things in liim, it 
 seems to me." 
 
 Maria nodded, and Barbara left the room. When 
 she returned, a few moments later, she said im- 
 ploringly : 
 
 " You look badly, child ; come and lie down. An 
 hour's sleep is better than three meals. Such a 
 wakeful night as the last does not pass without 
 leaving some trace. The sun was shining so brightly 
 that I have drawn down the curtains. And I have 
 gotten your bed ready. Be sensible, and come." 
 
 As she spoke, she took Maria by the hand and 
 led her away. Maria did not resist, and although 
 her eyes did not remain dry when she was alone, 
 she was soon overcome by sleep. 
 
 Toward noon, refreshed and newly dressed, she 
 betook herself to the captain's house. Eva Peters- 
 tochter, the fencing-masters widow, a quiet, mod- 
 est woman, whom she scarcely knew by sight, was 
 not to be seen. She was sitting alone in her room, 
 weeping; but Maria found in the house the musi- 
 cian, Wilhelm, who was talking comfortingly to his 
 dead friend's son, and had promised to take charge 
 of him and make hira a famous musician. 
 
204 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 The burgomaster's wife left word that she hoped 
 that the widow would receive her on the following 
 day, and then went out with the musician. Every- 
 where groups of burghers, journeymen, and women 
 \\QYQ standing, discussing what had happened and 
 the evil that was to come. While Maria was telling 
 the musician who the fallen Spaniard was, and that 
 Henrika wished to speak to him as soon as possible, 
 she was interrui)ted more than once ; now coni])an- 
 ies of vohmteers or burgher guards marched ])ast 
 on their way to relieve the watch on the towers 
 and walls ; now a cannon blocked the wa3\ Was it 
 the anticipation of coming events, or was it the roll 
 of the di'ums and the blasts of trumpet that agitated 
 her escort so greatly that he often raised his hand 
 to his forehead, and "^ she was obliged to ask him to 
 slacken his pace. There was an unusual, suppressed 
 tone in his voice as, in obedience to her request, he 
 told her that the Spaniards had come by ship up the 
 Amstel, the Drecht, and the Braasem Sea to the 
 Ehine, and had landed at Leyderdorp. 
 
 lie was interrupted by a mounted messenger, 
 wearing the prince's colors, and followed not only 
 by children, but by grown men, who were trying to 
 reach the Rathhaus at the same time as the messen- 
 ger ; and as soon as the crowd had passed, the 
 burgomaster's wife put question after question to 
 her companion. The sounds of war, the distant 
 firing, the bright uniforms that were everywhere to 
 be seen in the [)lace of the sober bui'glier dress, 
 filled her too with lively suspense, and what she 
 heard from Wilhelm was not calculated to lessen it. 
 The main body of the Spanish troops was on the 
 way to the Hague. The investing of the city had 
 already begun, but the enemy would scarcely suc- 
 ceed in his object, for the English allies who were 
 to defend the new fortifications of Yalkenburg, the 
 
THE BUROOM ASTER' 8 WIFE. 205 
 
 village of Alfen, and the Gouda Lock, were to be 
 relied upon. Wilhelni had liimself seen the British 
 soldiers, their commander, Colonel Chester, and 
 Captain Gensforth, and praised tlieir fine equipments 
 and military bearing. 
 
 The burgomaster's wife was about to take leave 
 of her companion at the door of her house, when 
 AVilhelm urgently begged to be allowed to speak 
 with the fhiulein at once, and it was with difficulty 
 that she convinced him that he must be patient 
 until the doctor had given his consent. 
 
 At dinner, Adrian, who was always talkative 
 enough when his father was not present, related all 
 the things he had seen, as well as the news and rumors 
 that he had gathered at school and on the streets, 
 and his loquacity was not a little encouraged by his 
 mother's eager questions. 
 
 A great uneasiness had taken possession of the 
 burgomaster's wife. Her enthusiasm for the cause 
 of liberty, to which her dearest had fallen victims, 
 blazed up brightly, and hatred of the oppressors of 
 her country stirred passionately in her breast. The 
 gentle, retiring young wife, who under ordinary cir- 
 cumstances, was incapable of any harsh or loud 
 expression of feeling, would now have hastened 
 with the men to the ramparts, there, like Kenau 
 Hasselaer of Haarlem, to fight against the foe. 
 
 Wounded pride and everything that had oppressed 
 her heart an hour before gave place to sympathy 
 for her country's cause. Filled with new energy, 
 she went to Ilenrika, and wdien evening came on, 
 seated herself by the lamp to write to her mother, 
 which she had neglected to do since the sick girl's 
 arrival, and communication with Delft might soon 
 be cut off. 
 
 VVhen she read her letter over, she was satisfied 
 with it and herself, for it breathed firm belief in tljc 
 
206 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 triumph of the good cause and expressed plainly and 
 uncoustraiuedly how glad and ready she was to 
 endure the worst. 
 
 Barbara had already gone to bed when Peter 
 finally appeared. He was so exhausted that ho 
 scarcely touched the food that iiad been kept for 
 him. As he ate, he confirmed what Maria had 
 already heard from the musician, and was gentle 
 and kinil in his manner, but she was pained by his 
 appearance, for it reminded her of Barbara's allusion 
 to the heavy burden he had taken upon himself. 
 She noticed to-day, for the first time, two deep lines 
 that trouble had graven from eyes to mouth, and 
 seized with compassion, she stepped behind him, laid 
 a hand on each cheek, and kissed him on the fore- 
 head, lie trembled slightly, and, seizing her right 
 hand so passionately that she started back, raised it 
 first to his lips and then to his ej'es and kept it there 
 for several moments. 
 
 At last he rose, and bidtling her an affectionate 
 good-night, went into the bedroom and lay down to 
 rest. When she herself sought her bed he was 
 breathing heavily. Extreme fatigue had soon over- 
 come him. Little sleep came to either that night, 
 and, whenever she awoke, she heard him sighing 
 and moaning. 8 he lav motionless so as not to dis- 
 turb his much-needed rest, and twice she held her 
 breath, for he was talking to himself. First ho 
 moaned softly : " Hard, too hard," and then, " If I 
 can only bear it !" 
 
 Wlien she awoke the next morning, he had already 
 gone to the Kathhaus. He returned at noon and 
 told her that the Spaniards had taken the Hague 
 and had been welcomed with acclamations by the 
 pitiful adherents of the king. The burghers that 
 were faithful to the cause and the " Be'jri'ars " had 
 fortunately had time to escape to Delft, for thq 
 
THE BURGOMASTHJB'S WIFE. 207 
 
 valiant Nikolas Ruicbhaver had held the enemy in 
 check for a time at the Geestburg. The west was 
 still open and the newly foi-tihed stronghold of 
 Valkenburg, garrisoned by the English, was not easy 
 to storm. To tbe east, at Alfen, still other British 
 allies lay in tbe Spaniards' rear. 
 
 Tbe bnrgomaster told all this nnasked, but not as 
 freely and naturally as in talking witb men. As be 
 spoke, he often glanced down at his ])late and stop- 
 ped hesitatingly. It seemed as tbough he were 
 obliged to place a certain constraint upon himself, 
 in order to speak before tbe women, servants and 
 children of matters tbat he was accustomed to dis- 
 cuss only with men. Maria listened attentively but 
 she kept discreetly silent, encouraging him only 
 by affectionate glances and exclamations of sym- 
 pathy, while Barbara boldly asked question after 
 question. 
 
 The meal was drawing to an end, when the Jon- 
 ker van Warmond entered the room unannounced 
 and begged the burgomaster to accompany him at 
 once, for Colonel Chester was at the White Gate 
 with part of bis troops and was asking admittance 
 into tbe city. 
 
 At this news, Peter dashed his beer mug angrily 
 upon tbe table, started up, and left the room in 
 advance of the nobleman. 
 
 Late in the afternoon, tbe Van der Werff house 
 began to fill The gossi])s came to talk over with 
 Frau Barbara what was passing at the White Gate. 
 The wife of Burgomaster van Swieten had learned 
 from her husband himself that the English without 
 offering any resistance had abandoned the fine, new 
 fort of Valkenburg- and bad taken to their heels at 
 the mere sight of the Spaniards. Tlie enemy had 
 advanced from Haarlem across tlie dunes, by Nord- 
 wyk, and it would have been an easy matter for the 
 Britons to hold so strong a position. 
 
208 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " Fine aid such allies give !" cried Barbara hotl^^ 
 "Queen Elizabeth has kept the men for herself and 
 has sent us the women." 
 
 "^nd yet they are true sons of Anak and bear 
 themselves like smart soldiers," said the wife of 
 Alderman Heemskerk. '' High boots, doublets of 
 fine leather, gay plumes in their helmets and hats, 
 heavy coats of mail, halberds that would kill half a 
 dozen — and all like new." 
 
 " They probably did not want to spoil them and 
 that is why they sought a place of safety so quickl}^ 
 the cowardly braggarts," cried the wife of Church- 
 warden de Haes, who was renowned for her sharp 
 tongue. " You seem to have inspected them closely, 
 Frau Margret." 
 
 " From the wind-mill at the gate," answered the 
 other. " The officer with the flag of truce stopped 
 on the brido;e rioht below us — a handsome man on 
 a fine horse. His trumpeter was also mounted and 
 the large square of velvet on his trumpet was stiff 
 with fine embroidery in gold and pearls. They 
 pleaded well, but the gate remained closed," 
 
 " Kight, right !" cried Frau Heemskerk. " 1 don't 
 like the prince's commissioner, Yan Bronkhorst. 
 What does he care about us as long as the queen 
 keeps in a good humor and continues the subsidies ? 
 He wishes to conciliate Chester and grant him ad- 
 mission, so I have heard." 
 
 " So he may," added Frau van Hout, " but your 
 husband, Frau Maria, and mine — I spoke with him 
 on the way here — are doing all in their j3ower to 
 prevent it. The two Seigneurs van der Does side 
 with them, and so the commissioner may be over- 
 ruled." 
 
 " God grant he may be," cried the harsh voice of 
 Wilhelm's mother. " To-morrow or next day, not 
 a cat will be able to pass the gates, and my husband 
 
THE BTTRGOMASTER'S WIFE. 209 
 
 says that we must begin to be sparing of the 
 provisions.^' 
 
 "Five hundred more mouths in the city to lessen 
 our children's portions! That w^ould be a tine 
 thing !" cried Frau de Haes, throwing herself back 
 in her chair so that it creaked, and beating her 
 knees with her hands. 
 
 " And they are Englishmen, my dear, English- 
 men," Frau Cornelius interrupted Frau Margret. 
 " They don't eat, they devour. We can provide for 
 our own men, but Herr von Nordwyk — the younger, 
 I mean, who was sent by the prince as emissary to 
 the queen — told my Wilhelm what a British glut- 
 ton can do. They eat up your beef like cheese, and 
 our beer is dish-water in comparison with their 
 black brew." 
 
 " One could put up with that," answered Barbara, 
 '- if they were brave fighters. A hundred head of 
 cattle more or less cannot hurt us, and a glutton 
 turns temperate when he's put on short rations. 
 But I wouldn't kill one of Adrian's gray rabbits for 
 these renegades." 
 
 "It would be a pity," said Frau de Haes. " I am 
 going home now and when I see my husband he 
 shall hear what sensible people think of these 
 Englishmen." 
 
 '• Gently, friend, gently," said Burgomaster van 
 Swieten's wife, who had until now been playing 
 silently with the cat. " Believe me, it will not 
 matter in the end whether we let in the allies or 
 not, for before the gooseberries in our gardens are 
 ripe, all resistance will be over." 
 
 At these words, Maria, who was passing, cakes 
 and mulled wine, placed the tray upon the table and 
 asked : 
 
 " Is that your wish, Frau Magtelt?" 
 
 " It is my wish," she answered steadily, " and the 
 
jJlO TUE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 wish of many sensible people also. Resistance is 
 impossible against superior numbers and the sooner 
 we appeal to the king's clemency, the more surely 
 it will be granted." 
 
 The other women listened speechlessly to Frau 
 van Swieten, but Maria went closer to her and said 
 indignantly : 
 
 " Any one who says that had better go at once to 
 the Spaniards ; any one who says that wishes dis- 
 grace to the city and to the country ; any one wh\-» 
 says that " 
 
 Frau Magtelt interrupted Maria with a forced 
 laugh and cried : 
 
 " Are you trying to instruct experienced women, 
 Madam Precocity i Is it usual to attack a visitor 
 in such a way ?" 
 
 " Usual or not," answered the other, " I will never 
 allow such words in my house, and if they came 
 from the lips of ray own sister, I would say : ' You 
 are no longer a friend of mine — go !'" 
 
 Maria's voice trembled and she pointed toward 
 the door with outstretched arm. 
 
 Frau Magtelt struggled for composure, but as 
 she left the room, she could find no other words 
 than : " Never fear — never fear — you shall never 
 
 see mo again." 
 
 Barbara followed the outraged woman and while 
 the others sat looking down at the floor in embar- 
 rassment, "WTihelm's mother cried : 
 
 " Well done, little woman, well done !" 
 
 Kindly Frau van Ilout put her arm about Maria, 
 kissed her on the forehead, and whispered : 
 
 " Turn away from the others and dry your eyes." 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 211 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 We are told of a condemned man who was thrown 
 by his cruel jailers into a cage of ingenious construc- 
 tion. Day by day the walls of this cage grew 
 narrower and narrower, day by day they pressed 
 more closely upon the miserable man, until the 
 dungeon became his tomb. Thus, from hour to 
 hour, the iron barriers of the Spanish regiments 
 drew nearer and nearer together around Leyden, 
 and if they succeeded in overcoming the resistance 
 of their victim, the latter was threatened with an 
 even more cruel and pitiless end than that of the 
 unfortunate prisoner. The circle that Yaldez, King 
 Philip's commander, and his able lieutenant, Don 
 Ayala, had drawn about the city in scarce two 
 days, was almost complete, the carefully strength- 
 ened fortifications of Yalkenburg were in the hands 
 of the enemy and consequently the danger was 
 drawing on more rapidly and with far more irresist- 
 ible force than even the most timid among the 
 inhabitants had feared. If Leyden fell, its houses 
 would be given over to fire and pillage, its men to 
 death, its women to shame. The fate of other 
 conquered cities and the Spanish nature gave ample 
 assurance of this. 
 
 Who could help picturing the guardian angel of 
 the busy city other than with gioom}'^ brow and 
 anxious eyes ? and yet at the White Gate at noon 
 this day, there was as gay and brilliant a scene as 
 though a spring festival were being concluded with 
 
212 TUE nUROOMASTRR'S WIFE. 
 
 a glittering spectacle. Every available place on 
 the walls as far as the Kaliiarinen Tower was 
 occupied by men, women, and children. The old 
 wall looked like a crowded row in an amphitheater, 
 and far into the city could be heard the bum of the 
 curious throng. 
 
 It is kind of fate to enable men to enjoy a brief 
 moment of sunshine in the midst of a terrible storm, 
 and thus the journej'men and apprentices, the 
 women and children on the walls, forgot the im- 
 pending danger and feasted their e^^es on the 
 gorgeously clad English warriors who stared up at 
 them and laughed and nodded boldly at the 3'oung 
 girls, though some awaited with grave faces the 
 result of the negotiations that were being held 
 within the walls. 
 
 At last the portals of the White Gate were 
 thrown open. Commissioner van Bronkhorst, 
 Van der Werff, Van Hout, and other leaders of the 
 community escorted the British colonel and his 
 trumpeter to the bridge. The colonel seemed tilled 
 with passionate indignation, and more than once 
 struck his hand upon the bill of his sword ; the 
 Leyden authorities were expostulating with him and 
 finally took leave of him wath profound salutations, 
 which he answered only with a haughty wave of the 
 hand. Then the burghers returned, the gates 
 clashed together, the old lock creaked, the iron- 
 bound crossbars fell into their places, the rattle of 
 the drawbrido'e chains was distinctlv audible, and 
 then the assembled multitude knew that the 
 Englishmen had been refused admittance into the 
 city. 
 
 Loud cheers intermingled with lively expressions 
 of disapproval were heard. " Long live Orange !" 
 shouted the boys, among whom were Adrian and 
 the son of the dead fencing-master; the women 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 21 
 
 o 
 
 waved their handkerchiefs, and all eyes were turned 
 upon the British. A loud fanfare sounded, the 
 mounted officers spurred toward the colonel and 
 held with him a brief and stormy council of war, 
 and shortly after there came the sound of trumpet 
 calls. Tiiere was a scurrying among the soldiers 
 and many of them shook their lists at the city. The 
 stacked muskets and halberds were seized by their 
 owners, and amid the roll of drums and blare of 
 trumpets order was gradually evolved out of the 
 confusion. Individuals formed into files, files into 
 companies, the gay standards were unfurled, and 
 with loud huzzas the corps marched along the Rhine 
 to the southwest, where lay the Spanish outposts. 
 
 The Leyden lads joined lustily in the Englishmen's 
 cheers. 
 
 Even Andreas, Captain AUertssohn's son, had be- 
 gun to join in the shouts ; but when he saw a tall 
 captain marching proudly at the head of his com- 
 pany his voice failed ami with his hands to his eyes 
 he ran homeward to his mother. 
 
 The other lads did not notice him, for the setting 
 sun was so dazzlingi^y reflected on the helmets and 
 coats of mail, the halberds and the swoi-ds of the 
 soldiers, the fanfares echoed so inspiringly, the 
 officers' steeds pranced so spiritedl}' under tlieir 
 riders, the bright plumes and banners and the smoke 
 from tlie glowing matches took on such brilliant 
 coloring in the rosy glow of the departing sun, that 
 every eye hung spellbound on the spectacle. Then 
 a new occurrence attracted the attention of old and 
 young. 
 
 Six-and-thirty Englishmen, and among them 
 several officers, remained behind the rest and ap- 
 proached the gate. Once more the lock creaked 
 and the chains rattled. The little band was admitted 
 into the city and made welcome by Herr van Bronk- 
 horst and the burgomaster. 
 
2 1 4 THE D URO0MA8TER 'S WIFE. 
 
 Every one on the walls had supposed that a 
 skirmish would take place between the retreatinf^ 
 Britons and the Spaniards. But how mistaken they 
 had been ! For before the vanguard had reached 
 the enemy slow-matches were seen flying into the 
 air, banners lowered, and when night came on and 
 the curious dispersed, they knew tliat the English- 
 men had deserted the good cause and gone over to 
 the Spaniards. 
 
 The six-and-thirty, who had been admitted within 
 the gates, were the only ones who had refused to 
 be accessories to this treason. 
 
 The task of providing quarters for Captain Crom- 
 well and the other Englishmen and Netherlanders 
 who had remained faithful, was allotted to Van 
 Ilout. Van der Werff went home with Plerr van 
 Bronkhorst. Many low but vehement words were 
 exchanged between them. T'he commissioner pro- 
 tested that the prince would be enraged at tiie 
 refusal to admit the Englishmen, for he rightly 
 phiced great weight upon Queen Elizabeth's coun- 
 tenance of the cause of freedom, to which the 
 burgomaster and his friends had done ill service that 
 dav- Van der Werff denied this, for everything 
 depended upon holding Leyden. If Leyden fell 
 Delft, Gouda, and Rotterdam were also lost, and all 
 further attempts to win freedom for Holland would 
 be fruitless. Five hundred more mouths to feed would 
 prematurely exhaust the already insufficient su])- 
 plies. All had been done to give as mild a form as 
 possible to the refusal to admit the Englishmen ; 
 indeed, they had been given leave to encam]> under 
 the cannon of the city, in the shelter of the walls. 
 
 When the two men separated, neither had per- 
 suaded the other, but each was convinced of his 
 comrade's sincerity. 
 
 In parting, Peter said : 
 
THK B UROOMA STER 'S WIFE, 215 
 
 " The clerk of the council shall explain the rea- 
 sons for our conduct to the prince in a clear and 
 convincing- letter, as only he can write, and his 
 excellency will certainly accept them in the end. 
 You may depend upon it." 
 
 " We "shall see," answered the commissioner, " but 
 remember that we shall soon be shut up within 
 these walls, like criminals under lock and key, and 
 that, perhai)s, even by day after to-morrow, no 
 messenger can find a way to him." 
 
 " The clerk of the council is rapid with his pen." 
 
 "And early to-morrow morning let it be pro- 
 claimed that we counsel the women, old men, and 
 children, in short, all who diminish the supplies, 
 and are useless in defending the city, to leave the 
 town. They can reach Delft in safety, for the way 
 thither is still open." 
 
 "Very well," answered Peter. "Indeed, many 
 women have already gone." 
 
 " It is well," cried the commissioner. "We are 
 drifting in a frail bark on the high sea. Had 1 a 
 daughter, I know well what I should do. Avf 
 wiedersehen, meister. How can things be at Alfen ? 
 There is no longer sound of firing.'' 
 
 " The darkness has doubtless interrupted the 
 battle." 
 
 " Then let us hope for the best to-morrow ; and 
 even if all without lay down their arms, we here 
 shall neither waver nor yield." 
 
 " We will stand fast to the end," answered Peter 
 resolutely. 
 
 "To the end, and if God wills, a happy end." 
 
 " Amen !" cried Peter, pressing the commissioner's 
 hand, and continued on his homeward wav. 
 
 He was met on the stairs by Barbara. She was 
 about to call Maria, who was with the frauloin,but 
 he stopped her and began to walk thoughtfully up 
 
210 TllIC BUROOMASTElt'S WIFE. 
 
 and down the room. More than once his lips were 
 dniwn as tiiough he were suffering great pain. 
 AVhen, after a time, he heard his wife's voice in the 
 dining-room, lie pulled himself together with an 
 effort, went to the door, and opened it slowly. 
 
 "Home already!" she cried in surprise; "and 
 here I am sitting quietly spinning." 
 
 " Yes, child. Come to my study ; I want to speak 
 with you." 
 
 " What is the matter, Peter ? How strange your 
 voice sounds, and how pale you are !" 
 
 " I am not ill, but matters are growing serious, 
 very serious." 
 
 " Then it is true, the enemy " 
 
 " They gained great advantage yesterday and 
 again to-day ; but 1 beg you, if you love me, do not 
 interrupt me now, for what I have to say is not 
 easily said. How shall I begin ? How shall I put 
 it, so that you will understand me aright? You 
 know, child, tiiat I took you into my house from a 
 warm nest. What I could offer you was little, and 
 you had doubtless expected to find more. I know 
 you are not happy." 
 
 "But.it would be very easy for you to make me 
 happy." 
 
 "You are mistaken, Maria. In these troubled 
 times, one thing alone occupies me, and anything 
 that diverts my thoughts from that is injurious. 
 But just now one thing is weakening my courage 
 and resolution ; it is anxietj'^ for your fate ; for who 
 knows what ma}' be threatening, and therefore I 
 must saci'ifice my feelings and express a wish — a 
 wish ? Oh, merciful Heaven ! Is there no other 
 word for what I mean ?" 
 
 " Speak, Peter, speak, and do not torture me !" 
 cried Maria, looking with t<'rrified gaze into her 
 husband's face. It could be no light matter that led 
 
TEE BUiiOOMASTEB'S WIFE. 211 
 
 the clear-headed and resolute man to use such con- 
 fused language. 
 
 The bui'gomaster controlled himself with an 
 effort and began anew : 
 
 " You are right ; it is useless to keep back wliat 
 must be said. We have decided at the Hathhaus 
 to-day to request the women to leave the city. The 
 road to Delt't is still open ; day after to-morrow it 
 may not be, and later— what may happen hitei', wIkj 
 can foretell? If no relief comes and the provisions 
 give out, there will be nothing to do but open tiie 
 gates to the enemy, and then, Maria, think of what 
 Avill happen. The Rhine and the canals will be 
 dyed crimson, for much blood will flow into them, 
 and they will serve to reflect a conflagration such 
 as has never been seen before. Woe to the men, 
 but a thousand times more to the women, against 
 whom the fury of the conquerors will be directed. 
 And you — you — the wife of the man who has in- 
 cited thousands to insurrection against King Philip, 
 the wife of the exile who leads the resistance 
 within these walls " 
 
 Maria's eyes had o])ened wide at the last words, 
 and she now interru])ted her husband with the 
 question : " Are you trying to test my courage V 
 
 " No, Maria ; I know that you would endure 
 faithfully, and would look death in the face as un- 
 dauntedly as your sister did ; but I cannot bear the 
 thought of seeing you fall into the hands of our 
 butchers. Anxiety for you will undermine my 
 strength at the decisive moment, and so — — " 
 
 Maria had listened thus far in silence ; she knew 
 what he required of her. Kow she came nearer to 
 him and cut him short in a firm, almost authorita- 
 tive voice. 
 
 " No more, no more, I tell you. I will not bear 
 another word," 
 
2 1 8 TUE B URGOMA STER 'S WIFE. 
 
 " ]\raria !" 
 
 " Silence ! It is my turn now. To escape anxiety 
 
 you mean to drive your wife from the house ; 
 
 anxiet\% you say, would undermine your strength. 
 
 vBut would longing strengthen it? If you love me it 
 
 would not be wanting " 
 
 " If I love you, Maria !" 
 
 " I know, i know. But you have forgotten to 
 consider how this exile would affect me, if I love 
 you in equal measure. I am your wife. We vowed 
 at the altar that nothing should separate us but 
 death. Have you forgotten ? Have your children 
 become mine? Have I taught them to call me 
 mother gladly — 3^es or no?" 
 
 " Yes, Maria ; yes, yes." 
 
 " And you have the heart to abandon me to this 
 cruel longing ? You wish to keep me from fullilling 
 the most sacred of all vows? You can bring your- 
 self to tear me from the children ? You thfnk me 
 too shallow and too weak to suffer want and death 
 for the sacred cause, which is mine as well as yours ! 
 You are fond of calling me child; but I can be 
 strong, too. You are the husband and can command ; 
 I am only the wife and shall obey. Shalllo-o? 
 Shall I stay? I await j-^our answer." 
 
 Her voice was trembling as she said this, and he 
 cried in deep emotion : 
 
 " Stay, Maria, stay ! Come, come, and forerive 
 me !" ^ 
 
 Seizing her hand, he cried again': 
 
 "Come, come!" 
 
 But she released herself, moved away from him, 
 and said imploringl}'^: 
 
 " Let me go, Peter, I cannot ; I need time to re- 
 cover from this." 
 
 He let his arms fall, and looked sadly into her 
 face, but she turned away and left the room in 
 silence. 
 
THE B UROOMA STER 'S WIFE. 219 
 
 He did not follow her, but went quietly to his 
 study, and strove to fix his attention upon his work, 
 but his thouglits turned constantl}' to Maria. His 
 love oppressed him as if it were a crime, and he 
 seemed to liimself like a messenger who stops to 
 pluck the Howers by ihe wayside, and in doing so 
 wastes precious moments and forgets the mission 
 upon which he is sent. His heart was unspeakably 
 sad and heavy, and it was almost a relief to him 
 vvlien sliortly before midnight the bell in the tower 
 of Pancratius raised its warning voice. In danger, 
 he knew he would feel and think of nothing but 
 what duty demantled of him, and so "with renewed 
 strength he took his hat from the peg and left the 
 house with a firm ste]). 
 
 In the street he met tlie Jonker van Duivenvoorde, 
 who had come to summon him to the Hohenort 
 Gate, before which a body of the Englishmen had 
 again made their appearance — a handful of brave 
 men who had held Alfen and the Gouda Lock in a 
 hot and bloody struggle until their powder was ex- 
 hausted and they were conijielled to surrender or 
 seek safety in flight. The burgomaster followed 
 the jonker and ordered the gate to be opened for 
 the brave soldiers. They were some twenty in 
 number and among them the ISTetherland Captain 
 van der Laen and a young German officer. Peter 
 gave instructions that tliey should have shelter for 
 the night in the Rathhaus and the guardhouse at the 
 gate, and on the following morning suitable quarters 
 would be found for them in the houses of the burgh- 
 ers, Janus Dousa asked the captain to accejit his hos- 
 pitality and the German betook himself to Aquanus' 
 inn. All were ordered to report to the burgomaster 
 at noon the next dav that they micrht be assifined 
 their quarters and enrolled in the volunteer regi- 
 ments, 
 
220 TUE BUROOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 The ladies of the Yan der "Werff household were 
 also roused by the alarm bell. Barbara souf^ht 
 Maria, and not until they had been informed of the 
 cause of the rinoing and had reassured Ilenrika. (h'd 
 they return to their rooms. 
 
 The burgomaster's wife could not sleep. Her 
 husband's intention of separating himself from her 
 in the face of threatening danger had roused her 
 whole nature and woundetl her to the quick. She 
 felt herself liumiliated and although not ignored, yet 
 unappreciated by him for whose sake she rejoiced 
 in every noble impulse and lofty aspiration that 
 filled her soul. Of what avail was beauty of form 
 and face to the wife of a blind man ? of what avail 
 was tiie rich treasure hidden in her breast, if he 
 would not see it and make use of it? " Show him, 
 tell him of what you are capable," urged love ; but 
 womanly pride interposed with: " I)o not force 
 upon him what he scorns to seek." 
 
 So the hours passed and brought her neither sleep 
 nor peace, nor the will to forget the humiliation 
 inflicted upon her. 
 
 At last Peter came into the bedroom, carefully 
 and softly, so as not to waken her. She pretended 
 to be asleep, but she could see him through her half- 
 closed lids. The candlelight fell upon his face and 
 the lines that she had noticed before lay like deep 
 shadows between eyes and mouth. They stamped 
 on his features the mark of heavj^care and reminded 
 JVIaria of the " too hard " and " if I can only bear it " 
 that he had muttered in his sleep the "^preceding 
 night. Then he approached her bed and remained 
 standing there a long time : she did not see him, for 
 she kept her eyes tightly closed, but the first loving 
 ghmce with which he had looked down at her had 
 not escaped her. It remained before her eyes, and 
 she seemed to feel that he was looking at her 
 tenderly and praying for her as for a child. 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 221 
 
 Sleep had lon^ since overcome her husband, but 
 she was still lying, wakeful as in broad daylight, 
 watching the coming dawn. For the sake of his 
 love she must forgive him much, but the humiliation 
 she had suffered she could not forget. " A play- 
 thing," she said to herself, " a work of art in which 
 WQ take delight, w^e always wish to place in safety 
 as soon as danger threatens ; the ax and bread, the 
 sword, and the talisman that protects us, in short, 
 what we cannot do without, we do not give up until 
 the end. Necessary, indispensable to him, I am not. 
 Had I done as he wished and left him, then — yes, 
 then " 
 
 Here the current of her thoughts was interrupted, 
 for the first time the question arose in her mind : 
 " Would he really have missed your helping hand, 
 your encouraging word V 
 
 She turned uneasily and her heart beat anxiously 
 as she said to herself that she had done little to 
 smooth his stony path. The vague suspicion that it 
 was not altogether his fault if she had not found 
 perfect hajipiness at his side, rose disturbingly in her 
 mind. Did not her former conduct justify him in 
 expecting from her hindrance rather than comfort 
 and help in the coming days of peril ? 
 
 Filled with an intense longing to gain a clear in- 
 sight into her own heart she propped herself up in 
 bed and let her past life pass in review before her. 
 
 Her mother had been a Catholic in her youth and 
 had often told her how free and light-hearted she 
 had felt when she had confessed everything that can 
 trouble a woman's heart and had received from the 
 servant of God the assurance that she could begin 
 life anew, certain of forgiveness. " It is much, harder 
 for us now," her mother had said to her before her 
 first communion, " for we of the Reformed faith are 
 answerable to ourselves and to God, and we must 
 
222 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 be wlioUy at peace with Ilim and ourselves before 
 we can come to the Lord's table. That is indeed 
 enough, for if we confess openly and unreservedly 
 to the judge within us whatever weighs upon our 
 c($nsciences, be it in thougiit or deed, and honestly 
 repent of it, we may be sui-e of forgiveness for the 
 sake of the blood shed for us by the Saviour." 
 
 To such silent confession Maria now subjected 
 herself and sternly and pitilessly reviewed her con- 
 duct. Yes, she had thought too much of herself, had 
 demanded too much and given too little. She 
 recognized her fault and resolved to make amends. 
 
 Her heart was lighter after this self-examination, 
 and when at last she turned away from the dawn- 
 ing light to seek sleep, she looked forward joyfully 
 to the loving greeting that she would give Peter in 
 the morning ; but she soon fell asleep and when she 
 awoke, he had long since left the house. 
 
 As usual, before beginning any other work, she 
 set Peter's study to rights, and as she did so she 
 cast a friendly glance at the picture of his first wife. 
 On the desk lay the Bible, the only book not con- 
 nected with his business affairs that her husband 
 was in the habit of reading. Barbara also derived 
 comfort from it at times, but she used it as an oracle 
 likewise, for whenever some disputed question arose 
 she would open the book and point to some passage. 
 This usually had a definite meaning and whatever it 
 counseled she was in tiie habit usually, although 
 not always, of doing. That very day she had dis- 
 regarded its advice, for in answer to her question 
 wlujther she might venture to send a box of good 
 things to her son, one of the "Beggars of the Sea," 
 in spite of the Spaniards who surrounded the city, 
 she had received in reply the words of Jeremiah : 
 "Their tents and their flocks shall they take away : 
 they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all 
 
TI7E BURGOMASTER S WIFE. 223 
 
 their vessels and their camels." The box, notwith- 
 standing, had been contided early that morning to a 
 widow, who with lier daughters intended to seek 
 refuge in Delft. The gift might reach Rotterdam 
 after all ; a mother always expects miracles to be 
 performed for her child. 
 
 Before Maria restored the Bible to its place she 
 turned to the thirteenth cha])ter of the first Epistle 
 of St. Paul to the Corinthians, which speaks of love 
 and was especially dear to her. " Love suffereth 
 long, and is kind ; love envieth not," and then, 
 " Love beareth all things, believeth all things, 
 hopeth all things, endureth all things." 
 
 To be long-suffering and kind, to hope all things 
 and endure all things, this was the duty that love 
 imposed upon her. 
 
 When she had closed the Bible and was preparing 
 to go to Henrika, Barbara ushered Janus Dousa into 
 the room. The young noble wore his armor and 
 gorget and looked much more like a soldier than 
 a scholar or a poet. Pie had sought Peter in vain 
 at the Rathhaus and had hoped to find him at home. 
 One of the messengers sent to the prince had re- 
 turned from Dortrecht with a letter which a))pointed 
 Dousa to the post of commanding officer left vacant 
 by AUertssohn's death. He was to command not only 
 the city troops but the entire armed force. He had 
 "accepted the ;ippointment with cheerful alacrity aijd 
 asked Maria to inform her husband of it. 
 
 " Accept my congratulation," said the burgomas- 
 ter's wife ; " but what will now become of your 
 motto : ' Ante 07nma Musm V " 
 
 " I shall change the words a little and say : ' Om- 
 nia ante Musas^ " 
 
 "Do you understand that gibberish, child?" asked 
 Barbara. 
 
 " It means that the Muses are to be given their 
 passports, for the present," answered Maria gayly^ 
 
224 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 Janus was pleased by the ready retort and ex- 
 claimed : " Ilow happy and cheerful you look ! In 
 these dark times untroubled faces are scarce." 
 ^ Maria flushed, for she did not know how to inter- 
 pret the words of the nobleman who knew how to 
 convey reproach with delicate sarcasm, and she 
 answered frankly: "Do not think me frivolous, 
 jonker. I know the gravity of the times, but I have 
 just finished a silent confession and have found 
 much that was bad in me, but also the determination 
 to replace it with something better." 
 
 " 1 knew long ago," answered Janus, " that while 
 in Delft you were on friendlv terms with mv old 
 philosophers. 'Know thyself was the principal 
 teaching of the Greeks, and you are following it 
 wisely. Every silent confession, every desire for 
 inward purification, must begin with the resolve to 
 know ourselves, and if in doing so we stumble 
 against many things that do not redound to the 
 credit of our beloved selves and we have the courage 
 to find them as hideous in ourselves as in 
 others " 
 
 " Disgust follows naturally and we have taken 
 the first step toward improvement." 
 
 "J^To, my dear ladv, we are alreadv standin"- on 
 one of the topmost rounds. After hours of deep 
 thought, do you know what Socrates recognized ?" 
 
 " That he knew nothing. I have come to that 
 conclusion much more rapidly." 
 
 " And the Christian learns that at school," said 
 Barbara, wishing to share in the conversation. " A 11 
 knowledge is imperfect." 
 
 "And we are all sinners," added Janus. "That 
 is easy to say, my dear mathim, and is easy 
 to understand where others are concerned, *■ He 
 is a sinner' is quickly said, but '/am a sinner' 
 is harder to utter, and when we say it to ourselves 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 225 
 
 in anguish, in the quiet of our rooms, the white 
 feathers of angels' wings are already mingling with 
 the black pinions of the devil. Forgive me ! Every- 
 thing that one says and does nowadays is changed 
 into bitter earnest. Mars is here and the cheerful 
 Muses are silent. Give my respects to your husband 
 and tell him also that Captain AUertssohn's body has 
 been brought in and that the funeral is to take place 
 to-morrow." 
 
 The jonker took his leave and Maria, after visiting 
 her patient and Ending lier well and cheerful, sent 
 Adrian and Lieschen into the garden by the city 
 wall to gather flowers and leaves, which she meant 
 with their help to make into wreaths for the brave 
 soldier's coffin. She herself went to the captain's 
 widow. 
 
226 TUE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Shortly before dinner, the burgomaster's Avife 
 returned home and found in front of the house a 
 crowd of bearded soldiers. They were striving to 
 make themselves intelligible in English to some of 
 the constables, and, as the latter saluted Frau Mai-ia 
 respectfully, they also raised their hands to their 
 helmets. 
 
 She nodded pleasantly and entered the hall into 
 which the full light of noonday streamed through 
 the open door, 
 
 Peter had been assigning quarters to the English 
 soldiers outside, and, after consulting with the wqw 
 commandant, Jan van der Does, had a])pointed their 
 otficers. They were doubtless waiting for their 
 comrades, for, as the young woman set her foot ou 
 the first step of tiie stairs and glanced upward, she 
 found that the upper end of the narrow flight was 
 blocked by the tall figure of a soldier. His back 
 was turned to her and lie was showing Lieschen his 
 dark velvet cap, encircled with rectangular points, 
 above which curled a pale blue ostrich feather. The 
 child seemed to have establislied a friendship with 
 the soldier, for although the latter was denying her 
 something, the little one laughed merrily. 
 
 Maria remained standing a moment, irresolute ; 
 but when the child seized the ga_y head-covering 
 and set it on her own curly locks, she felt that she 
 must reprove her, and called up chidingly: "Why, 
 Lieschen, that is no plaything for a child"" 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 227 
 
 The soldier turned, paused a moment in astonish- 
 ment, and then leaped down the stairs with a few 
 rapid bounds. Maria had stepped back in surprise ; 
 he left her no time to reflect, however, but stretched 
 out both hands to her, and, with shining eyes, cried 
 joyously : " Maria, Jungfrau Maria ! You here ? 
 This is what I call a lucky da}' !" 
 
 Maria had recognized the soldier at once, and 
 placed her hand in his readily, though not without 
 some embarrassment. 
 
 The soldier's clear blue eyes sought hers, but she 
 cast them down and said : "I am not what I was ; 
 the voung girl has become the mistress of a house- 
 hokf." 
 
 " The mistress of a household !" he cried. " How 
 dignified that sounds ! And yet ! You are still 
 Jungfrau Maria. You have not changed a bit. 
 That is just the way you bent your head at the 
 wedding at Delft ; the very way you raised your 
 hands ; the way you cast down your eyes ; and that 
 is the selfsame divine blush." 
 
 In the voice that spoke these words with glad, 
 almost childlike, unconstraint, there was an unusual 
 sweetness, which was as pleasing to Maria as the 
 officer's familiar manner was annoying to her. Slie 
 raised her head with a swift movement, looked 
 steadily into the young man's handsome face, and 
 said with dignity : 
 
 " You see only the exterior, Jonker von Dorn- 
 burg ; within, many things have changed in these 
 three years." 
 
 "Jonker von Dornburg!" he repeated, shaking 
 his curly head. '"In Delft I was Jonker Georg. 
 Things have gone very ditferently with us, my dear 
 lady, very differently. For see, my mustache has 
 grown somewhat, although none too thickly. I 
 have grown stouter, and the sun has browned my 
 
228 THE B U ROOM A STER 'S WIFE. 
 
 pink and white boyish face; in short, my outer man 
 has changed for the worse, but the inner man is ex- 
 actl}' as it was three 3'ears ago." 
 
 Maria felt the blood mounting to her cheeks 
 again, but she did not wish to blush, and answered 
 quickly : 
 
 " Standing still is going backward, and so you 
 have lost three good years, Ilerr von Dornburg." 
 
 The officer looked at Maria in surprise, and then 
 said, more gravely than before : 
 
 " Your jest has more truth in it than you 
 suspect: I had hoped to find you again in Delft, 
 but our powder ran short at Alfen, and so the 
 Spaniards will doubtless enter your native city 
 sooner than we shall. And now a kind fate has 
 led me to you here, but let me be quite frank. 
 AVhat I had hoped for and wished for, rises tangibly 
 before my eyes. When I thought of our meeting, 
 I dreamed that you would place both your hands 
 in mine and would not receive me coldly, but would 
 ask the old companion of happy days, Leonhard's 
 best friend : ' l)o you still remember our dead V 
 and when 1 had answered : ' Yes, yes, yes, I have 
 never forgotten them,' then 1 thought the soft light 
 of your eyes — ■ Ah, I thank you ! There are tears 
 in your e3'es. You have not changed as much as 
 you had thought, Frau Maria, and if I hold the 
 past in faithful remembrance, will you reproach 
 me ?" 
 
 " I will not indeed," she answered warmly. 
 "And now that you speak to me like this, I shall 
 be glad to call you Jonker Georg again, and invite 
 you to my house as Leonhard's friend and mine." 
 
 " Ah, that is delightful !'' he cried fervently. 
 " I have so much to ask you, and as concerns my- 
 self — I wish I had less to tell." 
 
 " Have you seen my husband V asked Maria. 
 
TEE BV ROD MASTER'S WIFE. 229 
 
 "I know no one in Leyden," he answered, 
 " except my learned host and the doge of this little 
 Venice, so rich in water and bridges." 
 
 Georg pointed up the stairs. Maria reddened 
 again and said : 
 
 " Burgomaster van der Werff is my husband." 
 
 The nobleman was silent for a moment. Then 
 he said quickly : 
 
 " He received me most kindly. And the pretty 
 little elf up there ?" 
 
 " My husband's child by his first marriage, but 
 mine also now. How did vou happen to call her 
 elf r 
 
 " Because she looks as though she had been born 
 among white flowers, in the moonlight, and because 
 the flush of the morning, before which elves vanish, 
 was in her cheeks when I caught her." 
 
 " She has already been given that name," said 
 Maria. '* Shall I take you to my husband V 
 
 " Not now, Frau Biirgemeisterin, for I must see 
 to the men outside there, but to-morrow if you will 
 permit." 
 
 " I shall tell ray husband who you are. Auf wie- 
 dersehen, Jonker Georg." 
 
 Maria found the dishes smoking on the table. 
 The family had waited for her, and, heated by her 
 rapid noonday walk, excited by the unexpected 
 meeting with the young German, she opened the 
 door of the study and called to her husband : 
 
 " Forgive me ! 1 was detained. It is very 
 late." 
 
 " We were quite willing to wait," he answered 
 pleasantly, approaciiing her. Then she remembered 
 all her good resolutions, and, for the first time since 
 her marriage, she raised her husband's hand to her 
 lips. He drew it away, smiling, kissed her on the 
 forehead, and said : 
 
230 THE BUROOM ASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " It is pleasant to have you still." 
 
 " Is it not V she retorted, shaking her finger 
 gently at him. 
 
 " But we are all here now, and dinner is 
 waiting." 
 
 " Come then," she answered gayly. " Do you 
 know whom I met on the stairs V 
 
 " English soldiers." 
 
 " Yes, but among them Jonker von Dornburg." 
 
 " He has just presented himself to me. A fine, 
 attractive young fellow, a German from the Prot- 
 estant countries." 
 
 "He was Leonhard's best friend. Don't vou re- 
 member? Surely I have told you about him. He 
 was our guest at Jacoba's wedding." 
 
 " To be sure, Jonker Georg. He broke that 
 vicious bay for the prince's equerry." 
 
 "It was a rash performance," said Maria, draw- 
 ing a lono; breath. 
 
 " The bay still goes well," answered Peter. 
 "Leonhard believed that the jonker would turn the 
 world upside down with his gifts and accomplish- 
 ments; I remember well, and now the poor fellow 
 is forced to sit idly here and let himself be fed by 
 us. How did he happen to join the English and 
 take part in the struggle ?" 
 
 " I do not know ; he onlv told me that he had 
 had many adventures." 
 
 " I can quite believe it. He is staying at Aqua- 
 nus' inn, but perhaps we can find a room for him in 
 the winff overlookino- the courtvard. 
 
 "No, Peter," she cried impetuously, " there is no 
 room in readiness." 
 
 " We can see about that later. At all events let 
 us invite him to dinner to-morrow ; he may have 
 somethmg to tell us. He asked me not to let him 
 remain idle, but to put him on duty at once. Jau 
 
TUE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 231 
 
 van der Does will soon find the right place for hira, 
 for the new commandant is a good judge of men." 
 
 Barbara here took a part in the conversation, 
 and, although it was a week day, Peter had a flask 
 of wine brought up instead of the beer, and, what 
 had not happened before for weeks, he remained a 
 full quarter of an hour after the dishes had been 
 removed, sitting at the table with the family and 
 telling them of the Spaniards' rapid advance, tlie 
 fate of the deserting Englishmen, who had been 
 disarmed and sent away in detachments, the des- 
 perate resistance the body of English, to which the 
 Jonker Georg belonged, had made at Alfen, and of 
 another hot engagement in which Don Gaytan, the 
 risrht hand and the best officer of the commander 
 Yaldez, was said to have fallen. Messengers were 
 still going and coming on the Delft road, but by the 
 next day it would doubtless be blocked by the 
 enemy. As he talked, he turned constantly toward 
 Maria except when Barbara questioned him directly, 
 and when he rose at last from the table, he ordered 
 a good roast for the morrow in honor of the guest 
 whom he intended to invite himself. Fardlv had 
 the door to his study closed behind him, when little 
 Elizabeth ran to Maria and clasping her about the 
 knees, cried : 
 
 " Mother, isn't Jonker Georg the big captain with 
 the blue feather who ran downstairs so quickly to 
 meet you ?" 
 
 "Yes, child." 
 
 " And he is coming to dinner to-morrow ! Adrian, 
 he is coming !" 
 
 The little one clapped her hands with delight and 
 then ran to Barbara to cry again : 
 
 "Aunt Barbel, do you hear? He is coming!" 
 
 " And the blue feather too," answered the 
 widow. 
 
232 THE BUROOMASTER'S WIFE, 
 
 " And he has curls, curls as long as Assetidelfl's 
 little Clara's. May I go with you to Cousin lien- 
 rika, mother ?" 
 
 "Later perhaps," answered Maria. "Now go, 
 children, get the tlowers and sojiai'ate thcni nicely 
 from the leaves. Trautchen will bring some hoops 
 and string, and then we will make tiie garlands." 
 
 Jonker Georg's sa\ang, that this was a lucky da}', 
 seemed to be proving true, for Maria found Ilen- 
 rika bright and free from pain. With tlie (Ujctor's 
 permission, she had been walking up and down the 
 room and sitting at tiie open window for a long 
 time. She had relished her chicken, and, as Maria 
 entered she was sitting in the cushioned armchair 
 with the pleasant consciousness of returning 
 strength. 
 
 Maria was delighted with her patient's improved 
 appearance and told her how well she was looking. 
 
 "I can return tlie compliment," replied llenrika. 
 "You look like happiness personified. What pleas- 
 ant thing has hap])ened to you to-day ?" 
 
 " To me ? My husband was in a more cheerful 
 mood than usual, and there was much to tell at 
 dinner. I have only come to see how you are. 
 A i(f wiedersehen. 1 and the children have a sad 
 task to perform." 
 
 " The children ? What have the elf and Signor 
 Salvatore to do with sadness?" 
 
 " Captain Allertssohn is to be buried to-morrow 
 and we are goin"; to make wreaths for the collin." 
 
 " Make wreaths !" cried llenrika. " I can teach 
 you how ! Here, Trautchen, take the plate and 
 send the children to me." 
 
 The maid left the room, but IMaria said anxiously : 
 
 " You are undertaking too much, llenrika." 
 
 "I? 1 shall be singing to-morrow. It is my 
 preserver's cordial ! I tell you, it is doing wonders. 
 Have you flowers and oak leaves enough i" 
 
THE BUROOMASTER'S WIFE. 233 
 
 « I should think so!" 
 
 At that moment the door opened, and Lieschen 
 entered the room cautiously, tiptoed across to 
 Henrika, and when she had allowed herself to be 
 kissed, she said eagerly : 
 
 " Cousin Henrika, do you know Jonker Georg 
 with the blue feather is coming again to-morrow, 
 and is to dine with us," 
 
 "Jonker Georg?" asked the fraulein. 
 
 Maria forestalled the child's reply, and answered 
 in a constrained tone : 
 
 " Herr von Dornburg, an officer who came into 
 the city with the Englishmen I told you about — a 
 German — an old friend. Go, Lieschen, and help 
 Adrian arrange the flowers ; then I will come and 
 help you." 
 
 " But here, with Cousin Henrika," begged the 
 child. 
 
 " Yes, little elf, yes ; and you and I will make the 
 loveliest wreath that ever was seen." 
 
 The child ran out, and this time, in her joy, for- 
 got to close the door softly. 
 
 Maria sat looking out of the window. Henrika 
 watched her in silence for a time and then ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 " What is going on in the courtyard, Frau Maria? 
 And what has become of the gladness in your eyes ? 
 Your house is not overrun with guests ; why did 
 you wait for Lieschen to tell me about the Jonker 
 Georg, the German, the old friend ?" 
 
 " Don't let us talk about it, Henrika." 
 
 " Yes, yes ! Do you know what I think ? The 
 storm of war has blown into your house the young 
 madcap with whom you passed so many pleasant 
 hours at your sister's wedding. Am I right or 
 wrong ? You need not blush so deeply." 
 
 "It is he," answered Maria gravely. "But if 
 
234 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 you love me, forget what 1 told you about him, or 
 deny yourself the idle pleasure of alluding to it, for 
 if you should persist in doing so, you would offend 
 me." 
 v"How should I ? You are the wife of another.'- 
 
 " Of another whom 1 love and honor, who trusts 
 me, and who himself invited the jonker to the 
 house. I have liked the young man, admired his 
 talents, and have been anxious about him when he 
 trifled with his life." 
 
 "And now that you have seen him again, 
 Maria 2" 
 
 " I know what my dut}'' is. See that you do not 
 disturb my inward peace by idle talk." 
 
 "I will not indeed, Maria; but I am curious 
 about this cavalier Georg and his singing. Unfortu- 
 nately we shall not be together much longer. I 
 must go home." 
 
 " The doctor will not let you travel." 
 
 " It does not matter ; I shall go as soon as I feel 
 well enough. My father is refused admission to the 
 city, but your husband can do much. Will you tell 
 him that 1 must speak with him ?" 
 
 "Will you receive him to-morrow?" 
 
 "The sooner the better; and I say again, the 
 ground is burning under my feet." 
 
 " Oh !" said Maria. 
 
 "That sounds quite mournful," cried Henrika. 
 " Do you wnsh me to say how hard it is for me to 
 part with you ? I should not go yet, but my sister 
 Anna, she is a widow now — thank God, I should 
 like to say — and she is in distress and utterly' for- 
 saken. I must talk with my father about her and 
 leave this quiet haven to go out into the storm." 
 
 " My husband shall come to you," said Maria. 
 
 " Very well ! — Come in children ! Put the flowers 
 on the table there. You, little elf, sit down nicely 
 
THE B URGOMASTER 'S WIFE. 235 
 
 on the stool, and you, Salvatore, hand me the 
 flowers. What is this ? I really believe the boy 
 has been putting perfumed oil on his curly head ! 
 In my honor, my preserver? Thank you! We 
 shall not need the hoops until later. We will make 
 bunches first and tiien tie them and the leaves to 
 the hoops. Sing me a song, Maria, as 1 work. 
 The first. I am strong enough to bear it to-day." 
 
236 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 CHAPTEK XXIIL 
 
 Half Leyden followed the coffin of the brave 
 cnptain, tind among tlie soldiers who paid the last 
 lioiiors to the gallant dead was Georg von Dorn- 
 burg. After the funeral, Wilhelm, the musician, 
 took to his own house the son of the good comrade 
 whom so many mourned. Van der Werff had many 
 things to attend to after the funeral, but he kept 
 the noon hour free ; for he was expecting the 
 German to dmner. 
 
 The burgomaster sat, as usual, at the head of the 
 table ; between him and Maria, and opposite Barbara 
 and the ciiildren, sat the jonker. 
 
 The widow was never tired of looking at the 
 young man's fresh, sunny face, for, although her son 
 could not compare with him in good looks, there was 
 an honest expression in the jonker's eyes that 
 reminded her of her Wilhelm. 
 
 Many a question and answer had already been 
 exchanged, many pleasant recollections revived, 
 when Peter, after the dishes had been removed 
 and a fresh flask of wine placed upon the table, 
 filled the jonker's glass anew and then raised his 
 own. 
 
 " Let us drink," he cried, looking at the young 
 nobleman with hearty good will, "let us drink to 
 the triumph of the good cause, in which you have 
 voluntarily drawn your sword. Thank you for 
 pledging me so heartily. Drinking is an art and 
 the Germans are masters of it." 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 2Ti 
 
 " We learn it in many places and not the worst at 
 the University of Jena." 
 
 "All honor to the doctors and professors who 
 bring their pupils to such a state of perfection as my 
 brother-in-law, and you also, to judge from this 
 sample of your prowess." 
 
 " Leonhard was my master in the ars hibendi. 
 How long ago it is !" 
 
 " Youth is not usually easily satisfied," answered 
 Peter, " but when it comes to a question of years, 
 what seems little to older people seems much to 
 them. True, many experiences have doubtless been 
 crowded into the latter years of your life. I can 
 spare an hour or so, and, as we are sitting here so 
 cozily, you might tell us, unless you wish to keep 
 silent in regard to it, how you left your far-away 
 home and your. German and Latin books, to come to 
 Holland under the Eno-lish colors." 
 
 "les," added Maria unaffectedly; "you have 
 told me nothing yet. Say your grace, children, and 
 then go." 
 
 Adrian looked beseechingly from his mother to 
 his father, and as neither forbade his staying he 
 drew his chair close to his sisters, and with their 
 heads together they listened with wide-open eyes 
 as the jonker began his story, quietly at first and 
 then with growing animation. 
 
 " You know that I come from Thuringia, a moun- 
 tainous country in the heart of Germany. Our 
 castle stands in a pleasant valley watered by a clear 
 and winding stream. Wooded mountains, not as 
 vast as those of Switzerland and yet by no means 
 insignificant, border the narrow valley. At the foot 
 of the mountains lie fields and meadows, and higher 
 up rise forests of fir, which, like the huntsman, wear 
 green all the year round. In winter, to be sure, the 
 snow covers them with a mantle of glittering white. 
 
238 THE B UROOMA STER 'S WIFE. 
 
 "When spring awakens, the firs send out young 
 shoots as fresh and full of sap as the budding leaves 
 on your oaks and beeches, and in the meadows by 
 the river the warm air seems filled with snow, for 
 ^the fruit trees blossom close together, and when the 
 wind rises, the tender, white petals float like snow- 
 flakes throuiih the air and fall beside the brioht 
 flowers in the grass and on the clear surface of the 
 river. Naked rock, too, there is in plenty on the 
 higher portions of the mountains, and where they 
 rise most precipitously and inaccessibly my fore- 
 fathers have built their stronghold, to insure them- 
 selves against the attacks of their enemies. Our 
 castle stands on the crest of a mountain in the 
 midst of the valley of the Saale. Here I was born, 
 here I spent my childhood and learned to read and 
 writs. There was plenty of hunting in the forests, 
 we had spirited horses in the stables, and, wild lad 
 that I was, I seldom entered the schoolroom volun- 
 tarily. Our gray-haired master, Lorenz, had to 
 catch me when he wanted me. My sisters and 
 Hans, the 3'oungest child — the lad was only three 
 years younger than I — gave him no trouble. I had 
 an older brother, and yet I did not have him. 
 When his beard was scarcely grown our gracious 
 duke appointed him esquire to Chevalier von Brand, 
 and he was sent to S]xiin to buy Andalusian horses. 
 Johann Friedrich's father had leai'ued their value in 
 Madrid after the battle of Muhlburg-. Ludwio^ was 
 a gay lad when he went away, and there was not a 
 horse but that he could tame. It was hard for our 
 parents to believe him dead, but years passed, and 
 as neither he nor the Clievalier von Brand appeared 
 we were obliged to give him up for lost. Our 
 mother alone did not give up hope, and was alwavs 
 expecting his return. My father called me the 
 future heir and lord of the castle. When I had left 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 239 
 
 boyhood behind me and understood Cicero tolerably 
 well I was sent to the University of Jena to study 
 law, in order to become a councilor of state, as my 
 uncle, the chancellor, desired. 
 
 " Oh, Jena ! beloved Jena ! There are days in 
 May and in June when only 'fleecy clouds fleck the 
 sky, and the leaves and flowers make so brave a 
 show that one cannot help thinking — and they 
 doubtless think so themselves — that they can never 
 wither and die ; like such a day is the time of 
 merry student life in a man's existence. You will 
 believe me, Leonhard has told you enough about 
 Jena. lie knew how to combine work with pleas- 
 ure. As for me, I learned little on the wooden 
 benches, for I seldom troubled them, and the dust 
 of books certainly did not ruin my lungs ; but I 
 read Ariosto over and over again ; I devoted m^yself 
 diligently to singing ; and, when my heart was full 
 of storm and trouble, I used to compose many songs 
 for my own comfort. I learned to use xny sword in 
 Jena, also, and 1 would have liked to cross blades 
 with brave Captain AUertssohn, of whom you have 
 told me. Leonhard was older than I, and when he 
 had wo.i his degree of Master of Arts I was still 
 weak in the Pandects. But we were always close 
 friends, and so I went with him to Holland to be 
 present at his wedding. Ah, those were days ! 
 The theologians at Jena iiave quarreled stoutly over 
 the exact location of the Garden of Eden. At that 
 time I looked u])on them all as fools, and thought : 
 'There is but one Eden, and that lies in Holland, 
 and the fairest roses that were awakened by the 
 dew on that first sunny morning bloom in Delft.' " 
 
 Georg stopped confusedly at these words and 
 shook back his curling locks, but as no one interrupted 
 him, and he saw Barbara's Jitientive face and the 
 children's glowing cheeks, he went on more calmly : 
 
240 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " So I returned to my home, and learned for the 
 first time that in life, also, fair, sunshiny days end 
 too often in storm. I found ni}' father ill, and a 
 few days after ra}' return he closed his eyes forever. 
 J had never seen any one die before, and the first, 
 the very first, was my father." 
 
 Georg paused, and passed his hand over his eyes 
 with deep emotion, 
 
 " Your father," said Barbara, in a tone of hearty 
 sympathy, breal^ing the silence, " to judge of the 
 tree by the fruit, must have been a fine man." 
 
 The jonker raised his head and cried with shining 
 eyes: 
 
 " Think of ever3'thing that is good and noble, and 
 embody it in a tall, handsome man, and you have 
 the picture of my father ; and if I should tell you 
 of my mother " 
 
 "Is she still alive?" asked Peter. 
 
 " God grant she is !" cried the jonker. " I have 
 heard nothing of my family for two months. There 
 are pleasures in every path, and I am fond of my 
 soldier's calling, but it is often hard to hear so sel- 
 dom from home. 
 
 " After my father's death I was the heir, but I 
 could take no pleasure either in hunting or in riding 
 to court, in singing or in the clinking of glasses. I 
 went about as one in a sleep, and it seemed as if I 
 had no right to be happy without my father. Then 
 — it is just two years ago — a messenger brought 
 from Weimar a letter which had come from Italy, 
 with several others, for our most gracious sover- 
 eigns ; it contained nothing less than the news that 
 our lost brother was still alive, and was lying ill 
 and in want at the hospital at Bergamo. A good 
 nun had written for him, and we now learned that 
 on his way from Valencia to Livorno, Ludwig had 
 been taken prisoner by pirates and carried to Tunis. 
 
TBE BURGOMASTER'S WIFM. 241 
 
 What he suffered there, amid what dangers he at 
 last managed to gain his liberty, you shall hear 
 some other time. He had escaped on a Genoese 
 galle}' to Italy. His feet had carried him to Ber- 
 gamo, but he could go no further, and he was now 
 lying ill, perhaps dying, among charitable strangers. 
 I lost no time in starting, and did not spare my 
 horse on the journey to Bergamo ; and, although 
 there was much to be seen on the way that was 
 beautiful and strange, I took but little pleasure in 
 it, for the thought of Ludwig's condition saddened 
 me at every turn. Every running brook hastened 
 my steps, and the lofty mountains seemed like jeal- 
 ous barriers. Once beyond the mighty St. Gotthard, 
 my heart grew lighter, and as I descended from 
 Bellinzona to the Lake of Lugano, and the surface 
 of the sparkling water smiled at me like a great 
 blue eye, I forgot my sorrow for a moment, and, 
 waving my hat, 1 broke into a song. At Bergamo 
 I found my brother, alive, indeed, but feeble in body 
 and mind, languid, and with no desire to bear the 
 burden of life any longer. He was in good hands, 
 and in a few weeks we were able to beo;in our 
 homeward journey — by the Tyrol this time. Lud- 
 wig's bodily strength increased from day to day, 
 but his spirit was broken. For long years he had 
 toiled and borne heavy burdens, with chains on his 
 feet, under a broiling sun. Chevalier Brand had 
 been unable to endure this terrible fate ; but Lud- 
 wig had forgotten in Tunis both how to laugh and 
 to weep — and which of the two can we spare most 
 easily ? 
 
 "Even at the meeting with our mother, he could 
 not shed a tear, and yet his whole body trembled 
 with emotion, and surely his heart was not unmoved. 
 He now rules quietly at the castle. In the very 
 prime of life he is an old man, but he is beginning 
 
242 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 to accommodate himself to the world again, only he 
 cannot bear the sight of a strange face. I had a 
 hard struggle with him, for, as the eldest son, the 
 pastle and estate belonged to him, but he wished to 
 give up his rights and place me in his stead. AVhen 
 he had brought our mother over to liis side, and my 
 uncle and brothers and sisters strove to persuade 
 me to do as he wished, I remained firm. 1 did not 
 care to touch what was not mine, and Hans, the 
 youngest boy, had grown up and could take my 
 place wherever it was necessary. When the l)ray- 
 ers and entreaties grew too much for me, I saddled 
 my horse and went away again. It w^as hard for 
 my mother to let me go, but I had tasted the 
 delio^hts of travel and set out as thouoh on mv way 
 to a wedding. To be quite frank, I must confess 
 that I resigned castle and possessions as 1 would a 
 heavy burden. Free as the air and the cloiuls, I took 
 the same way that I had taken with Leonhard, for 
 in 3'our country a war was going on quite after my 
 own heart, and ray future fortunes were to be 
 dependent upon my sword. At Cologne I took 
 service under Louis of Nassau, and at Mooker 
 Heide I fought until we could hold our ground no 
 longer. My horse had fallen under me, my doublet 
 was torn, my knapsack lost, there was little left me 
 save good spirits and the hope of happier days. 
 Tiiese soon came, for Captain Gensfort pressed me 
 to join his English troops. I became his lieutenant 
 and fought at his side at Alfen until the powder 
 gave out. What took place then, you know." 
 
 " And Captain van tier Laen has told us," inter- 
 rupted Peter, " that he owes his life to you. You 
 fought like a lion " 
 
 "There was hot fighting at the fort, and yet 
 neither I nor mv horse was iniured as nnich as a 
 hair. And this time I even saved my knapsack and 
 
TEE BURGOMASTER' 8 WIFE. 243 
 
 a full purse. Fate loves her troublesome children 
 tlie best, just as mothers do, and so she has brought 
 me to your house, Herr BUrgemeister." 
 
 " And I beo; of vou," answered Peter, " to 
 number yourself among its inmates. We have two 
 pleasant rooms that open upon the courtyard ; they 
 shall be made readv for ^ou if you Avill accept 
 them." 
 
 " With pleasure," answered the jonker, and Peter, 
 giving him his hand, said : 
 
 " My duties call me away, but you may tell the 
 ladies what you need and when you expect to come. 
 The sooner, the better we shall like it. Is it not so, 
 Maria ?" 
 
 " You will be welcome, Jonker Georg. No\v I 
 must go to my patient. Barbara will hear your 
 wishes." 
 
 The young wife took her husband's hand and left 
 the room with him. 
 
 The widow remained alone with the jonker and 
 questioned him as to his needs. Then she followed 
 her sister-in-law, and when she had found her with 
 Henrika, she clapped her hands and exclaimed: 
 
 " There is a man for you ! Fraulein. I tell you 
 that, old woman as I am, I have never met with 
 such a man. Such a heart, such a heart, and so 
 handsome too! Fortune showers benefits upon her 
 favorites, 'and unto him that hath, shall be given!' 
 Those are golden words!" 
 
244 TllE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXiy. 
 
 Peter had promised Henri ka to try and persuade 
 the council to provide her with an escort. 
 
 It was hard for her to leave the burgomaster's 
 house. Maria's open nature had had a good effect 
 upon her ; it seemed as though, in her presence, her 
 respect for her own sex increased. She had also 
 heard Maria sing on the previous day. Her voice 
 was like her character. Each tone was clear and 
 flawless as a bell. She was grieved that she would 
 not be able to join her in her singing. She was also 
 sorry to part from the children. And yet she must 
 go, on Anna's account, for her father was not to be 
 influenced bv letter. If she had written to him, 
 beo:o:inof for forgiveness for the child he had dis- 
 owned, he would scarcely have read the letter to 
 the end. She could accomplish much more by 
 words, at some favorable moment. She must speak 
 to him, but she shrank from the life at the castle, 
 and she had to confess to herself that she was any- 
 thing but necessary to her father. In order to se- 
 cure the inheritance, he had sent her to her aunt 
 and had subjected her to a life of misery ; while she 
 lay at death's door, he had ridden to the tourne}', 
 and the letter she had received from him the day 
 before contained nothing but the information that 
 he was denied admittance into the city, and the 
 command that she should go to the house of Jonker 
 de Ileuter at the Hague. Enclosed she found a let- 
 ter of safe conduct from the commander-in-chief, 
 
TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 245 
 
 Valdez, in which all officers and soldiers were en- 
 joined to provide for her safety. 
 
 The burgomaster proposed to have her carried in 
 a litter and escorted to the Spanish lines by an 
 officer with a flag of truce, and, as the doctor raised 
 no objection to her wish to travel, she hoped to be 
 able to leave that very day. 
 
 She seated herself thoughtfully in the recess and 
 looked out upon the courtyard. Several windows 
 in the eastern wing stood open. Trautchen must 
 have risen early, for she came out of the rooms in- 
 tended for the jonker, followed by a maid carrying 
 brooms and scrubbing brushes. Then Jan appeared 
 with a big armchair held over his head. Lieschen 
 came running after him, crying: 
 
 "Aunt Barbel's grandfather's chair; where is she 
 going to take her afternoon nap, now?" 
 
 Henrika heard the words, and thought first of 
 good old " Babetta" and then of Maria and of the 
 man who was to be quartered in the rooms opposite. 
 Did not some loose threads still remain of the old 
 bond that had existed between the burgomaster's 
 wife and the handsome young officer? A slight 
 shudder ran through her. Poor Meister Peter, 
 poor Maria! Was it right to forsake, at this 
 moment of all others, the woman who had held out 
 a helping hand to her in her distress? Yet her 
 sister stood much nearer to her than this stranger ! 
 Each da}'^ that she remained in the enjoyment of 
 this peaceful retreat seemed stolen from Anna 
 — since she had read in a letter from her sister to 
 her husband, the only one contained in the dead 
 soldier's wallet, that she was ill and she and her 
 child were in want. 
 
 Help was needed here and she was the only one 
 who could give it. 
 
 With Maria's and Barbara's assistance she packed 
 
246 THE B U ROOM A STEM 'S WIFE. 
 
 Iier belongings. At noon all was ready for her 
 departure and she would not be withheld from 
 dininii' for the first time with the family. Peter 
 was unable to be present at dinner, so she took his 
 ^ihice and concealed under affected ga3'ety the 
 sorrow and misgivings that were oppressing her. 
 At twilight the burgomaster's wife and the children 
 followed her into her room, and she had her harp 
 brought and began to sing. At first many notes in 
 the deep voice were weak and uncertain, but like 
 the snow that falls from the mountain heights to 
 the plains, slowlj'', at first, and hesitatingly, then 
 suddenly gathers volume and strength, iier voice 
 gained gradually in fullness and power, and, when 
 at last she leaned her harp against the wall and 
 walked, exhausted, to her chair, Maria seized her 
 hand and said, deeply moved : 
 
 " Stay with us, llenrika." 
 
 " I cannot," answered the other. " Besides you 
 are sufficient to yourselves. Shall I take you with 
 roe, children?" 
 
 Adrian looked down in embarrassment, but 
 Lieschen threw herself into her lap and cried : 
 
 "Where are you going? Why not stay with 
 us ?" 
 
 There came a knock at the door at this moment 
 and Peter entered. His face showed that he 
 brought no good news. His request had been 
 refused at the council. There had been almost 
 unanimous assent to Van Bronkhorst's proposal, 
 that the young lady, as a relative of prominent 
 Spanish sympathizers among the ^Netherland 
 nobility, should be detained in the city. K it came 
 to a surrender, the presence of Friiulein van Iloog- 
 straten, altliough it would scarcely prevent pillage 
 and murder, might phice some restraint upon tiie 
 leaders. Peter's objections had been disregarded; 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 247 
 
 he toid the fniulein honestly of the struggle he 
 had had and begged her to be patient and remain in 
 his house as a welcome guest. 
 
 She interrupted him with many violent exclama- 
 tions of anger and indignation, and when she had 
 grown calmer, cried : 
 
 " I should be glad to stay with you, but you 
 know from what this shameful decision is keeping 
 me. And then, to be made a prisoner, to have to 
 go on for weeks and months without mass and 
 without confession ! But above all — what is to 
 become of my unfortunate sister V 
 
 Maria looked imploringly at Peter and the latter 
 said : 
 
 " If 3^ou desire the consolations of your religion I 
 will send Father Damianus to you and you can hear 
 mass as often as you like at the convent of the Gray 
 Nuns, near by. We are not fighting against your 
 faith, but for the free exercise of all faiths, and the 
 wdiole city is open to you. Your anxiety about your 
 sister, my wife can help you bear better than I can, 
 but I would say that whenever and wherever I can 
 help you 1 will do so, and not with words alone." 
 
 kSo saying, he held out his hand to Henrika. She 
 gave iiim hers and exclaimed : 
 
 " J am much indebted to you, I know, but please 
 leave me now and give me until to-morrow to 
 reHect." 
 
 " There is no chance of the council altering its 
 decision V asked Maria. 
 
 " No, certainly not." 
 
 " Well, then," said the burgomaster's wife 
 earnestly, "you must remain with us. The thought 
 of your sister disturbs my peace as well as yours. 
 Let us think of her first of all. How are the roads 
 to Delft ?" 
 
 " They are blocked and by to-morrow or next day 
 no one can get through." 
 
248 THE B URGOMA STER 'S WIFE. 
 
 " Then compose yourself, Henrika, and let us 
 consider what is to be done." 
 
 Then began questions and counter-questions, and 
 Jlenrika looked in amazement at IMaria, for she led 
 the consultation with unerring decision and keen- 
 ness. It was decided that the best solution was to 
 find that very day a trusty messenger to carry 
 money to Anna d'Avila, and, if ])ossible, bring her 
 to Holland. The burgomaster declared himself 
 ready to advance from his own purse a portion of 
 the sum willed by the dead friiulein to Ilenrika's 
 sister, which legacy would undoubtedly be recog- 
 nized, and received his guest's thanks without 
 contraint. 
 
 But whom could they send ? 
 
 Henrika thought of the musician, Wilhelm ; he 
 was a friend of her sister. 
 
 " But he is in the service,'' answered the burgo- 
 master. "I know him. lie would not leave the 
 city in these times of peril; not even for his own 
 mother." 
 
 " I know the very man," said Maria. " We will 
 send Jonker Georg." 
 
 " That is worth considering," said Peter. " "We 
 shall find him at his lodgings. I must go to Van 
 Hout, who lives near the inn, and 1 will send the 
 young German to you. But my time is limited and 
 pretty women can do much more with such men 
 than a man can. Farewell, friiulein, and once more : 
 we are glad that you are to remain our guest." 
 
 When the burgomaster had left the room, Henrika 
 said : 
 
 "How differently everything has turned out from 
 what I expected ! I am fond of you, I am indebted 
 to you, but to be a prisoner, a prisoner! The walls 
 will press upon me, the ceilings will crush me. I do 
 not know whether to rejoice or despair. You can 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 249 
 
 do much with the jonker. Tell him about Anna, 
 move his heart, and if he were to go it woidd indeed 
 be best for us both." 
 
 " You mean for you and your sistei'," said Maria 
 with a protesting motion of her hand. " There is 
 the lamp. I will see you again wlien the jonker 
 comes. 
 
 Maria went to her room, and, once there, flung 
 herself upon the couch, but soon rose and restlessly 
 paced the room. Then stretching out her claspetl 
 hands, she cried : 
 
 " Oh, if he would onl}" go, if he would only go ! 
 Kind, gracious Father in heaven, grant him every 
 ha])piness, every blessing, but leave me my peace of 
 mind ; let him go and lead him awa}', far away from 
 here." 
 
250 TUE BURGOMASTER' 8 WIFE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 AqUxVnus' tavern stood on the "Breite Strasse," 
 and was an imposing building with a great court- 
 yard, where numerous vehicles were standing. At the 
 left of the entrance was a spacious room devoid of 
 doors, and into which one entered by a lofty arch- 
 way. Here drivers and other folk were sitting 
 over their beer and wine and good-naturedly suffer- 
 ing the landlord's hens to alight upon the benches 
 ami occasionally upon the very tables ; here, before 
 the great hearth, vegetables were being prepared 
 and cooked ; here the sturdy hostess was not seldom 
 obliged to call upon the strapping maid and men- 
 servants for help when the guests came -lo actual 
 blows, or some one drank more than was good for 
 him. Here, too, the new practice of smoking was 
 being indulged in, though only by a few sailors who 
 had served on Spanish ships — but Frau van Aken 
 could not bear the acrid smoke, and kept open the 
 windows where stood blossoming carnations, slender 
 stalUs of balsam, and bird-cages filled with brilliant 
 goldfinches. On the other side of the entrance 
 were two closed rooms. Above the door of the 
 first, were neatlv carved in wood the lines from 
 Horace : 
 
 "/^fc<3 terrarum mihi proeter omnes 
 Angulus ridety^ 
 
 * Of all corners of the earth there is none that suits me 
 better. 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 251 
 
 To this long and narrow room, only a few favored 
 guests found admittance. It was entirely wains- 
 coted with wood, and in the center of the richly 
 carved ceiling wus an extraordinary picture painted 
 in brilliant hues. It rejiresented the master of the 
 iiouse. The worthy man with the smooth face, the 
 firmly closed mouth, and the long nose, which 
 afforded an admirably straight line for its owners' 
 enoravino- tool, was seated on a throne in the cos- 
 tume of a Roman general, while Yulcan and 
 Bacchus, Minerva and Pomona were offering him 
 gifts. Klaus van Aken, or as he preferred to call 
 himself, Nikolaus Aq nanus, w^as an unusual man, 
 who had indeed received favors at the hands of 
 more tlian one inmate of Olympus ; for in addition 
 to his calling, he devoted himself with zeal to 
 science and various arts. He was a skillful silver- 
 smith, a die-cutter, and engraver of great ability, an 
 excellent judge of coins, an industrious scholar, and 
 a collector of antiquities. His little taproom was 
 also a museum ; for on the shelves that lined the 
 entire room stood curios of every description, neatW 
 arrano-ed and in g^reat abundance; old tankards and 
 mugs, small and large coins, gems in carefully' locked 
 glass cases, antique lamps of clay and bronze, stones 
 with Roman inscriptions, Roman and Greek terra- 
 cotta, polished bits of marble that he had found 
 among Italian ruins, the head of a faun, an arm, a 
 foot, and other fragments of pagan art ; a beauti- 
 fully enameled casket of Byzantine work, and 
 another from Limoges ; ]mrt of a Roman coat-of- 
 mail, and a piece of mosaic from a Roman bath 
 were also to be seen here. Among these antiquities 
 stood beautiful bits of Venetian glass, pine cones, 
 and ostrich eggs. Another such taproom was not 
 to be found in all Holland, and the wines that a neat 
 barmaid poured from curiously shaped flagons into 
 
252 THE BUR00MASTE1V8 WIFE. 
 
 goblets of fine workmanship were of unusual excel- 
 lence. In this room Ilerr Aquanus was accustomed 
 to appear in person among his guests, while in the 
 room opposite his wife held sway. 
 
 The " Angulus," as the handsome room was 
 usually called, was but sparsely filled, for the sun 
 had set but a short time before. The candles were 
 already lighted. Tiiey stood in tall, three-branched, 
 iron candelabras. Every part of the latter, the 
 slender central stem as well as the curved and inter- 
 twining branches, had been carefully wrought by 
 Aquanus' own hand. 
 
 Several elderly gentlemen were seated at a table 
 over their wine ; at another sat Captain van der 
 Laen, a gallant Hollander who served under the 
 English colors, and had come into the city with the 
 other defenders of Alfen, the musician, AVilhelm, 
 Jonker Georg, and their host. 
 
 " It is a pleasure to meet men like you, jonker," 
 Aquanus was saying. " You have traveled with 
 your e3^es open, and my curiosity is roused by what 
 vou tell me of Brescia. I should like to have the 
 inscription." 
 
 " I will get it for you," answered the jonker, " for 
 unless the Spaniards send me into another world 
 I shall certainly cross the Alps again. Did you find 
 any of these Roman antiquities in your own 
 country ?" 
 
 " Yes. Near the Koomburg canal, the site of the 
 old Prjetorium perhaps, and near Katwyk. The 
 ancient forum Jladriani doubtless stood in the 
 vicinity of Voorburg. It w^as there that I found the 
 coat-of-mail 3'onder." 
 
 " An old, mold}'^, rust-eaten thing," cried Georg. 
 " And yet ! What thoughts the sight of it calls up ! 
 Did not some Roman armorer forge it perhaps for 
 the wandering emperor ? AYhen I look at this coat- 
 
THE B UBOOMASTER '8 WIFE. 253 
 
 of-raail, Rome and her legions rise before my eyes. 
 Who would not, like you, Herr Wilhelm, visit the 
 Tiber and prolong the short span of the present by 
 meditating upon past centuries?" 
 
 " I should be glad to visit Italy again with you," 
 answered Wilhelm, 
 
 " And I with you." 
 
 " Let us secure our liberty first," returned the 
 musician. " When that is done, a man's time can 
 be his own, and then — why should I conceal it — there 
 will be nothing to keep me in Leyden." 
 
 "And the organ? And 3- our father?" asked 
 Aquarius. 
 
 " My brothers are content to remain at home," 
 answered Wilhelm, " but something urges, drives 
 me " 
 
 '' There are placid waters on the earth," inter- 
 rupted Georg, " the fixed stars remain stationary in 
 the sky, and the planets must continue their wander- 
 ings. Some men are contented with their lot and 
 others are birds of passage like us. I glory in being 
 what we are. There is no need for you to go to 
 Italy to hear fine singing, though. I have just heard 
 a voice, a voice " 
 
 " Where ? I am all eagerness." 
 
 " In the courtyard of Yan der Werff's house." 
 
 " It was the burgomasters wife." 
 
 " Oh, no, her voice is very different." 
 
 During this conversation the captain had risen and 
 was examining the host's curious treasures. Finally 
 he paused before a board upon wdiich the head of 
 an ox was sketched in charcoal with free, bold 
 lines. 
 
 " That is a magnificent specimen of an ox," he 
 remarked to the host. 
 
 " It was drawn by no less a man than Frank 
 Floris," answered Aquanus. "He once came 
 
254 ^'he b u room a ster 'S wife. 
 
 here from Brussels to see Meister Artjen. But the 
 old man luul g-one out. Floris took up a piece of 
 charcoal and made this sketch. When Artjen came 
 home and found the ox's head, he stood before it 
 a long time and at last cried : ' Frank Floris, or the 
 devil!' This story — Ihit tliere comes Ilerr Biirge- 
 meister. Welcome, Meister Peter ! This is, indeed; 
 a rare honor." 
 
 All the guests rose and saluted Yan der Werflf 
 respectfully. Georg too sprang up to offer him his 
 chair. Peter seated himself for a moment and 
 drank a glass of wine, but soon after he beckoned to 
 the jonker and led him out into the street. 
 
 There he briefly requested liim to go to his house 
 as thev had an important communication to make 
 to him tliere. Then he walked away in the direc- 
 tion of the house of the clerk of the council. 
 
 Georg walked on eagerly toward his destina- 
 tion. 
 
 By " they," none other than Maria could be 
 meant. What could she want of him at so late an 
 hour? Perhaps his friends had regretted having 
 offered him shelter beneath their roof. He was to 
 move into his new quarters early the following 
 morning. Perhaps they wished to inform him of 
 their change of mind, before it was too late. Maria's 
 manner toward him was very different from what 
 it had formerly been, there was no doubt of that, 
 but it was quite natural ! He had, indeed, dreamed 
 of a different, a very -different meeting! He had 
 come to Holland to aid the good cause of Orange, 
 but he would certainly have turned his horso, not 
 north, but toward his beloved Italy where a good 
 sword was always in demand, if lie had not hijjied 
 to find in Holland her whom he had never forgotten 
 and for whom he had never ceased to long. iS'ow 
 she was the wife of another man, a num who had 
 
THE BUROOMASTKR'S WIFE. . 255 
 
 been kind to him and who trusted him. To tear his 
 love from his heart was impossible; but he owed it 
 to her husband and to his own honor to remain 
 strong, to suppress every thought of calling her Km 
 own, and to take pleasure only in seeing her ; this 
 he must strive to accomplish. 
 
 He had already said this to himself more than 
 once, but when she met him outside the dining-room 
 and he felt how cold and tremulous was the hand 
 she placed in his, he realized more than ever that 
 he was walking on a narrow path with very uncer- 
 tain steps. 
 
 She preceded him to Henrika's room and he 
 followed silently. Ilenrika welcomed him with 
 a friendly gesture. Both ladies were reluctant to 
 begin the conversation, but the young officer, 
 glancing around him hastily and seeing that he 
 was in the room that overlooked the courtyard, said 
 eagerly : 
 
 '' I was in the courtyard a little before dark, to 
 take a look at my new quarters, and I heard singing 
 in this room, and such singing ! I did not know at 
 first what was coming, for the tones were husky, 
 weak, and tremulous, but then — then they burst 
 forth like a stream of lava through the ashes. One 
 cannot help wishing many sorrows to one who can 
 give such expression to them." 
 
 " You shall become acquainted with the singer," 
 said Maria, pointing to her friend. "Fraulein 
 Henrika van Hoogstraten, an honored guest of 
 
 ours " 
 
 " You were the singer ?" asked Georg. 
 
 " Does it surprise you ?" answered Henrika. " My 
 voice has kept its strength better than my body, 
 weakened by long illness. I know how sunken iny 
 eyes are and how pale 1 must be. Singing relieves 
 suffering, but I have had to do long without my 
 
256 THE BURGOMASTER'S WTFE. 
 
 comforter. Not a note has passed my lips for weeks 
 and now my heart is so lieavv that I would rather 
 weep than sing. ' What is that to me ?' 3'ou say, and 
 yet Maria has given me the courage to make an 
 unparalleled request of ^-ou." 
 
 " ISpeak, speak," said Georg eagerly. " If Frau 
 Maria appeals to me and 1 can serve you, my 
 dear lady, here I stand. Do with me what you 
 will." 
 
 Henrika did not avoid his frank glance as she 
 answered : 
 
 " Hear, first, how great a service we ask of you. 
 At the very beginning you must resign yourself to 
 hear a short story. I am still weak and my strength 
 has been put to a severe test to-daj. Maria will 
 speak for me." 
 
 Maria fulfilled her task quietly and concisely and 
 closed with the words : 
 
 ."• I have myself found the messenger we need. It 
 is you, Jonker Georg." 
 
 Henrika had not once interrupted the burgomas- 
 ter's wife, but she now said warmly : 
 
 "This is the first time I have met you but I trust 
 you perfectly. A few hours ago black would have 
 been my color, but if 3'^ou will be ray knight, I will 
 choose green, for I begin to hope anew. Will you 
 undertake tiie quest for me ?" 
 
 Georg had kept his eyes fixed upon the ground. 
 He now raised his head and said : 
 
 " If I can obtain leave, I will place myself at your 
 disposal; but my lad^^'s color is blue and I may 
 wear no other." 
 
 Henrika's lips trembled slightly, but the jonker 
 went on : 
 
 " Captain van der Laen is my superior officer. I 
 will speak to him at once." 
 
 " And if he says no T asked Maria, 
 
THE BUnaOMASTJER'S WIFJS. 25-? 
 
 Ilenrika interrupted her and answered hauohtily : 
 
 " Then be so kind as to send the musician AVilhelm 
 to me." 
 
 Georg bowed and returned to the inn. 
 
 As soon as the two women were alone, the 
 f riiulein asked : 
 
 "Do you know who Herr von Dorn burg's lady 
 isT 
 
 "How should I?" answered Maria. "You must 
 take some rest, friiulein. As soon as the jonker 
 returns, I will bring liiin to you." 
 
 The young wife went out and seated herself at 
 the spinning-wheel beside Barbara. Georg kept 
 them waiting a long time. He returned at last at 
 midnight, and he did not come alone but with two 
 companions. It had not been in the captain's power 
 to grant liim leave of absence for several weeks — it 
 would require that time to make the journey to 
 Lugano — but the jonker had gone at once to consult 
 witli the musician, and the latter had found the 
 rio'ht messenger, ^^ilhelm had soon come to an 
 agreement with the man and had brought him 
 there without delay : it was the old steward, 
 Belotti. 
 
258 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 The spacious shootino- grounds that lay not far 
 from the White Gate, between the Ilapenbiirg and 
 the city wall, presented an animated scene on the 
 morning of the following day, for, by the decree of 
 the council, all burghers and inhabitants, without 
 exception, rich and poor, high and low, were to 
 take a solemn oath of fidelity to the prince and to 
 the good cause. 
 
 Under a clump of lindens, stood, in robes of state, 
 Commissioner van Bi-onkhorst, J^urgomaster van 
 der Werff, and two aldermen, who were to adminis- 
 ter the oath to the tiiroiig of old men, young men, 
 and boys. The solemn ceremony jjad not yet be- 
 gun. Janus Dousa, in full uniform, his coat-of-mail 
 over his leathern doublet and his helmet on his 
 head, approached ]\[eister Peter and the commis- 
 sioner, arm-in-arm with Van Ilout. 
 
 " It is as I told you !" he said, " There is not one 
 missing from among the humbler classes, but the 
 gentlemen in velvet and fur are but poorly repre- 
 sented." 
 
 " They shall come yet !" cried Van Hout threaten- 
 ingly, 
 
 " What will forced oaths avail us T answered the 
 burgomaster. "He who wishes freedom, must 
 grant freedom. Moreover, this hour will sliow us 
 upon whom we may rel3\" 
 
 " There is not a man of the burgher guard miss- 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WTFM. 259 
 
 ing," said the commissioner. " That is encouraging. 
 Wiiat is that up there in the tree ?" 
 
 The men looked up and discovered Adrian, who 
 had hidden himself in the branches of one of the 
 lindens. 
 
 "The boy must be everywhere!" cried Peter. 
 "Come down, you rascal. You appear at the right 
 time." 
 
 The lad swung himself from a branch to the 
 ground and approached his father with the air of a 
 repentant sinner, which he knew how to assume 
 when occasion required. The burgomaster did not 
 reprove him but bade him go home and tell his 
 mother that there was no possibility of getting 
 Belotti safely through the Spanish lines, and further, 
 that Father Damianus had promised to visit the 
 friiulein in the course of the day. "Hurry, 
 Adrian," he went on, " and you, constables, see 
 that all intruders are kept away from here, for any 
 place where an oath is taken becomes sacred 
 ground. The clergymen have seated themselves 
 yonder near the targets. They have the ]irece- 
 dence. Have the goodness to call them. Van Hout. 
 Dominie Verstroot wishes to make an address and 
 then I would like to speak a few words of exhorta- 
 tion myself to the people." 
 
 Yan Hout moved away, but before he had 
 reached the clergyman, Jonker van Warmond ap- 
 peared and announced that a messenger, a comely 
 lad, had arrived witli a flag of trace. He was 
 waiting at the White Gate and had a letter to 
 deliver. 
 
 "From Valdez?" 
 
 " I do not know ; but the lad is a Hollander and 
 his face is familiar to me." 
 
 " Bring him here ; but do not disturb us until the 
 administration of oaths is over. Let the messeng-er 
 
260 THE B URGOMA STER 'S WIFE. 
 
 tell Vaklez what he has seen and heard. It will be 
 well for ihe Castilian to know from the first what 
 we meari to do." 
 
 ^ The jonker took his departure, and when he re- 
 turned to the shooting grounds with Nicolas van 
 Wibisma — for he was the messenger — Dominie 
 Yerstroot had ended his stirring address. Van der 
 AVerff was still speaking. The sacred fire of enthu- 
 siasm shone in his eyes and, although the few words 
 that he addressed to his assembled fellow combat- 
 ants were simple and unpretending, they found 
 their way to his hearers' hearts. 
 
 Nicolas also listened to the speech with glowing 
 cheeks, and it seemed as though the tall, earnest 
 man under the lindens were s])eaking to him and to 
 him alone when, at the close of his speech, he 
 raised his voice and cried with exaltation : 
 
 " And now, let come what will ! A brave man in 
 your midst said to-day : ' We will not yield as long 
 as we have a hand left to carry bread to our mouths 
 and to hold a sword.' If we all think thus, twenty 
 Spanish armies will find their graves before these 
 walls. Upon Leyden depends the freedom of Hol- 
 land. If we waver and fall, to escape the misery 
 that only threatens us to-day but will o})press and 
 torture us without pity later, our children will say: 
 ' The men of Leyden were blind cowards ; it is their 
 fault tiiat the name of Hollander is no more re- 
 spected than that of a miserable slave!' But if we 
 hold out faithfully and resist tlie grim foreigner to 
 the last man and the last crust of bread, they will 
 think of us with tears and cr}' joyfully : ' It is due 
 to them that our noble, industrious, ha))py people 
 can place itself proudly beside the other nations.' 
 He who loves honor, who is not a degenerate son 
 who betrays his father's house ; he who would 
 rather be a free man than a bondsman, let him cry 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 261 
 
 with me, before raising his hand in a solemn vow 
 to God : ' Long live Orange and free Holland !' " 
 
 " Long shall they live !" shouted hundreds of 
 powerful voices, five, ten, twenty times. The gun- 
 ner discharged the cannon planted near the targets, 
 the air shook with the rolling of drums and the 
 repeated flourish of trumpets, the ringing of bells 
 from ev^ery tower in the city echoed above the 
 heads of the enthusiastic crowd, and the cheering 
 continued, uninterrupted, until the commissioner 
 made a sign and the administration of the oath 
 began. 
 
 The guilds and the armed defenders of the city 
 pressed forward toward the lindens. Hands were 
 raised, now enthusiastically, now^ with dignified 
 composure, now with thoughtful exaltation. One 
 hour and then another passed before all had been 
 sworn, and many who had advanced together to 
 the lindens grasped each other's hands earnestly in. 
 a second, silent vow, 
 
 Nicolas van Wibisma sat silently beside a target 
 opposite the sjiot where the oath was being admin- 
 istered, but painful, bitter thoughts were surging in 
 his breast. How gladly he would have wept aloud 
 and torn his father's letter to fragments! How 
 gladly, when he saw the venerable Herr van Mont- 
 fort advance hand in hand with the gray-haired 
 Seigneur von jSTordwyk, would he have hastened to 
 their side to take the oath and cry to the earnest 
 man under the lindens : 
 
 " I am not a degenerate wretch who betravs his 
 father's house ; I will not be a bondsman, I will not 
 be a Spaniard ; I am a Netherlander like you." 
 
 But he did not go, he did not speak, he remained 
 sitting motionless until the ceremony was ended and 
 the Jonker van AVarmond conducted him to the 
 lindens. The clerk of the council and the two 
 
262 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 Seigneurs van der Does had joined the other 
 magistrates. With a silent bow, Nicohis handed 
 the burgomaster his father's letter. Van der "Werff 
 ^ opened it, and, when he had read it, handed it to the 
 other gentlemen ; then turning to Nicolas, he said : 
 
 " Wait here, jonker. Your father counsels us to 
 surrender the city to the Spaniards and i)i'omises us 
 the king's clemency. You cannot be in doubt as to 
 our answer, after what 3'ou have seen here." 
 
 " There is but one answer," cried Yan Hout as he 
 read, " and that is, to tear the thing up and make 
 no reply." 
 
 " Ride home, now, and God be with you," added 
 Janus Dousa; "but wait, I will give you something 
 for the commander in-chief." 
 
 " Then you will deign no reply to my father's 
 letter?" asked Nicolas. 
 
 " No. jonker. We wish to have no dealings with 
 Baron Matenesse," answered the commissioner. 
 "As for you, you may return or wait here ; just as 
 you choose." 
 
 "Go to your cousin, jonker," said Janus Dousa 
 kindly ; " it will be an hour before I have found 
 paper and ink and sealing wax. Fniulein van 
 lloogstraten will be glad to hear of her father 
 through you." 
 
 " If you choose, young sir, my house stands open 
 to you," added the burgomaster. 
 
 Nicolas hesitated a moment and then said 
 quickly : 
 
 " Yes, take me to my cousin." 
 
 When the lad arrived at the north end in com- 
 pany with Herr van Warmond, who had under- 
 taken to escort him, he asked : 
 
 "You are Jonker van Duivenvoorde, Ilerr van 
 AYarraond ?" 
 
 " I am he." 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFK. 263 
 
 " And you were among the Beggars who took 
 Brill from the Spaniards f 
 
 " 1 had that good fortune." 
 
 " And yet you belong to the old nobility, and 
 there were other nobles among the Beggars, were 
 there not ?" 
 
 " Most assuredly. Do you think it ill becomes us 
 to have some love for the home of our fathers? My 
 ancestors and yours were noble before a single 
 Spaniard trod this soil." 
 
 "But King Philip rules us as rightful sovereign," 
 
 "Unfortunately. And therefore we obey liis 
 stadtholder, the prince, who rules in his name. The 
 perjured tyrant needs a guardian. Question me 
 further ; I shall be glad to answer." 
 
 Nicolas let this invitation pass unheeded and 
 walked on beside his companion in silence until they 
 reached the Achtergracht. Tiiere he stopped, and, 
 seizing the captain's arm, he burst out excitedly : 
 
 "It is breaking my heart. I must tell some one ! 
 I want to be a Netherlander. I hate the Castilians. 
 I have come to know them at Leyderdorp and at the 
 Hague. They pay no heed to me because I am 
 young and the}^ do not know that I understand 
 their language. My eyes have been o])ened. When 
 they speak of us, it is with scorn and contem])t. I 
 know all that Alva and Vargas have done. From 
 the Spaniards' own lips I have heard that they wish 
 to destroy us, exterminate us. If I could only do as 
 I wished, and if it were not for my father, 1 know 
 well what I should do. My head is still in a whirl. 
 The burgomaster's speech is driving me mad. Tell 
 him, jonker, I beg of you, tell him that I hate the 
 Spaniards and that lam proud of being a Nether- 
 lander." 
 
 Both had already resumed their way, and as they 
 drew nearer to the burgomaster's house the captain, 
 
204 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 who had listened to the lad with pleasant surpi-ise, 
 said : 
 
 " There is good stuff in yon, jonker, anil you are 
 on the right road. Keep Ilei-r Peter's speech in 
 mind and remember what you have learned in 
 history. Whose names stand forth in the pages of 
 tlie world's history ? Tlie names of tyrants, their 
 slaves and eye-servers, or the men who liave lived 
 and died for liberty ? Ui) with your head I Tliis 
 struggle will outlive us both, ])erhaps, and you still 
 have plenty of time to place yourself on the right 
 side. Tlie noble should serve his prince, but he 
 should not be the creature of any sovereign, last of 
 all of a foreigner, the enemy of his people. Here 
 we are. I will come for \'ou in an hour. Give 
 me your hand. I should like to call you by your 
 Christian name in future, my brave Nico." 
 
 " Yes, call me so ;" cried the jonker, "and you 
 will not send any one in your place, will 3'ou ? 1 
 should like to talk with you again." 
 
 At the burgomaster's house the jonker was 
 received by Barbara. Henrika could not see him 
 immediately. Father Damianus was with her, so 
 he was obliged to wait in the dining-room until the 
 priest appeared. Nicolas knew him well and had 
 even confessed to him once the year before. When 
 he had saluted the venerable man and had answered 
 his question as to how he had come there, he said 
 without further ceremony : 
 
 "Good father, forgive me; but something is 
 weighing upon my heart. You are a holy man and 
 you must know. Is it a sin for a Hollander to dee 
 up arms against the Spaniards ? is it a sin lor a 
 Hollander to wish to remain what the good Lord 
 himself made him ? I cannot believe it." 
 
 "Nor do I," answered Father Damianus simply. 
 "Whoever holds fast to the holy church, whoever 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 265 
 
 loves his neighbor and strives to do what is right, 
 may safely be on the side of Holland and fight and 
 pray for the freedom of his country.-' 
 " Ah !" said Nicolas with shining eyes. 
 " For look you," went on Father Damianus more 
 vehemently, " they were good Catholics here and 
 prayed devoutly and in a manner pleasing to God, 
 before the Spaniards ever came into the country. 
 "Why should it not be so again ? The Almighty has 
 separated the nations because it is His will that 
 they should lead their own lives and order them to 
 their good and His honor ; but not to give to the 
 stronger nation the right to torture and oppress 
 another. Suppose 3^our father were taking a walk 
 and a Spanish grandee were to spring upon his 
 shoulders and make him taste whip and spur as 
 though he were iiis horse. It would fare ill with 
 the Castilian ! Put Holland in the place of Baron 
 Matenesse and powerful Spain in the place of the 
 grandee and you w^ill know what I mean. Thus 
 there 13 nothing left us to do but to throw off the 
 oppressor. The holy church will suffer no harm 
 thereby. God has established it and it will stand 
 whether King Philip or another reign here. Now 
 you know my opinion. Am I mistaken in believing 
 that the name of Glipper is no longer pleasing to 
 you, my dear jonker V 
 
 "No, Father Damianus! You are right, a 
 thousand times right. It is no sin Lo wish for a 
 free Holland." 
 
 " Who told you that it was ?" 
 " Canon Bermont and our chaplain." 
 " Then I differ with them on this worldly ques- 
 tion. Pender to God wiiat is God's, and remain 
 where the Lord has placed you. If you still wish 
 to fight for Holland when your beard has grown, 
 do so with a clear conscience. For such a sin I 
 would give you absolution gladly." 
 
266 THE BUBO OJf ASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 Ilcnrika was delighted to see her young cousin 
 again. She made Nicolas tell her of her father and 
 of his own family, and how he himself had come to 
 Leyden. When she learned that he meant to set 
 >3ut on his return within an hour, preoccupied as 
 she was with the thought of Belotti's mission, a 
 happy idea occurred to lier. She confided her pur- 
 pose to Nicolas, and implored him to conduct Be- 
 lotti in safety through the Spanish lines to the 
 Hague. The jonker was not only willing to do so, 
 but promised her that when the old man returned 
 he would manage in some way to let her know of it. 
 
 At the end of an hour the jonker bade her fare- 
 well, and as he was again walking along the Achter- 
 gracht Avith II err van Warmond, he asked the 
 latter : 
 
 " How can I get to the Beggars?" 
 
 " You ?" asked the captain in astonishment. 
 
 " Yes, I," answered the lad eagerly, " I shall 
 soon be seventeen, and as soon as I am — Wait, 
 only wait : you shall hear of me yet." 
 
 " Well done, Nicolas, well done," returned the 
 other. " Let us remain Holland nobles and noble 
 Hollanders !" 
 
 Three hours later Jonker Matenesse rode into the 
 Hague with Belotti, of whom he had been fond 
 from childhood. lie brourjht his father nothinir 
 but a carefully folded and sealed letter, which 
 Janus Dousa with a mischievous smile had delivered 
 to him on behalf of the citizens of Leyden for the 
 Commander-in-chief Yaldez, and which contained 
 the lines from Dionysius Cato, written in a delicate 
 hand on a great sheet of paper : 
 
 " J^istula dulce canit volucrem dum decipit ancepsP 
 
 " Sweet are the tones of the flute when the fowler 
 lures the bird to the snare." 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 267 
 
 CHAPTER XXYII. 
 
 The first week in June and the half of the sec- 
 ond had gone, the fine sunny days had come to an 
 end, and in the evening hours many guests sought 
 the " Anf-'ulus" in the inn on the Bvelte ISirasse. It 
 was very cozy there when the wind from the sea 
 howled without ; the rain poured down, and the 
 water fell plashing upon the pavement. The be- 
 leaguering arm}^ encompassed the city like an iron 
 wail. Men regarded each other as fellow prisoners, 
 and drew more closely to those of their own class 
 and opinions. All business was at a standstill ; in- 
 activity and anxiety weighed like lead upon the 
 spirits of all ; and such as wished to relieve their 
 depression, and make the lagging hours pass more 
 quickl}^, resorted to tlie taverns to give expression 
 to their own hopes and fears, and hear what others 
 felt and thoughi in the common distress. 
 
 All the tables in the " Angulus" were filled, and 
 any one who wished to make himself heard by an 
 acquaintance seated at some distance was forced to 
 raise his voice very considerably, for conversations 
 were being carried on at every table. There were 
 also constant calls for the busy barmaid, glasses 
 clinked, and pewter covers clashed upon tankards 
 of solid stoneware. 
 
 At a round table at the lower end of the long 
 room, the talking was louder than at any other. 
 Half a dozen officers had found seats there, and 
 among them Georg von Dornburg. Captain van 
 
268 THE BUROOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 der Laen, who had a brilliant career behind him, 
 was relating in a loud voice his various experiences 
 by land and sea. Colonel Mulder often interrupted 
 him, after some story that seemed liard to believe, 
 and recounted with an air of self-satisfaction some 
 similar but utterly impossible adventure of his own. 
 Captain van Duivenvoorde interposed sootliin<;ly 
 when Yan der Laen. who was conscious of never 
 deviatint^ far from the truth, angrily resented the 
 older man's jest. Lieutenant Cromwell, a grave 
 man with a round head and long, straight hair, who 
 had come to Holland to fight for the Reformed 
 faith, mingled but seldom in the conversation, and 
 then Avith a few scarcely intelligible worcls in 
 Dutch. Georg sat leaning far back in his chair, his 
 legs stretched out before him and his eyes gazing 
 vacantly into space. 
 
 Herr Aquanus went from one table to another 
 and when he came at last to the one where the 
 officers sat, he slopped before the Thuringian and 
 said : 
 
 "Where are your thoughts straying, jonker? 
 One would scarcely know you these last few days. 
 What has come over you ?" 
 
 Georg sat up quickly, stretched himself like one 
 roused from sleep, and answered pleasantly : 
 
 "Idleness sets a man to dreaming." 
 
 "His cage here is growing too narrow for him," 
 broke in Van der Laen. " If things go on like this 
 much longer, we shall all have the staggers, like 
 sheep." 
 
 " And we shall grow as stiff as the brass idol over 
 on the shelf yonder," added Colonel Mulder, 
 
 " There was the same complaint during the first 
 siege." answered the landlord, " but Ilerr von 
 Noyelles drowned his discontent by emptying many 
 a cask of my best wine." 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 269 
 
 "Tell the gentlemen how he paid you," cried 
 Colonel Mulder. 
 
 "There hangs the paper framed and under glass," 
 said Aquanus, laughino-. " Instead of sending me 
 money, he wrote me this : 
 
 " ' Favors many, dear friend, bast thou done me. 
 For which good, hard coin thou gladly wouldst see, 
 But thou wilt find none in my pockets ; so take in parting 
 
 In place of paltry coins 
 
 The finely written lines. 
 For in Leyden paper money's to be had for the asking.' " 
 
 " Admirable !" cried Jonker van Warmond, " and 
 you yourself cut the die for the paper monej^" 
 
 " To be sure ! Herr von ISToyelles' idleness cost 
 me dear. But this time you have already made 
 two sallies." 
 
 " In heaven's name, be silent about the first 
 fiasco!" cried Van Duivenvoorde. " A well-planned 
 undertaking that failed miserably because the 
 leader lay down to sleep like a mole ! Was ever 
 such a thing heard of before f 
 
 " But the second had a better ending," said the 
 landlord. "Three hundred hams, a hundred casks 
 of beer, butter, ammunition, and added to that, the 
 most despicable of all spies ; a fine booty indeed." 
 
 " And yet it was a faikire," cried Captain van der 
 Laen. " We ought to have intercepted all the pro- 
 vision ships on Leyden Lake and brought them in ! 
 And the Kaag ! That that fine fort on the island 
 should be in the hands of the enemy !" 
 
 " But the men held it bravely," said Yan Duiven- 
 voorde. 
 
 " True dare devils there were among them, too," 
 said Van der Laen with a laugh. " One of them 
 struck down a Spaniard, and, in the middle of the 
 
270 TUE BURGOMASTER'S ]VIFE. 
 
 fitrht, took off his victim's red hose and drew them 
 on his own legs." 
 
 "I know the man," added the host. "Yan 
 vKeulen is his name. There he sits yonder, over his 
 beer, telling his companions finmy tales. A fellow 
 with a face like a satyr. But we do not lack con- 
 solation. Think of Chevraux's overthrow and the 
 victory of the Beggars at Vlissingen on the 
 Scheldt." 
 
 " And drink to Boisot, the brave admiral, and the 
 valiant Beggar troops !" cried Captain van der Laen, 
 clinking glasses with Colonel Mulder. The latter 
 turned with uplifted glass toward the Thuringian, 
 and, as the jonker, who had relapsed into his reverie, 
 let the motion pass unheeded, the colonel cried 
 sharply : 
 
 '• Come, Ilerr von Dornburg, you take your time 
 about responding to a pledge." 
 
 Georg started up and answered quickly : 
 
 "A pledge? Quite right. A pledge. I pledge 
 von, colonel." With that, he raised the beaker, 
 em})tied it at a single draught, and placed it on the 
 table again, 
 
 " Bravo !" cried the colonel, and Herr Aquanus 
 said : 
 
 " He learned that at the university ; study makes 
 a man thirsty." As he said this, he cast a friendly 
 but troubled glance at the young German, Then he 
 looked toward the door, through which the musician 
 Wilhelm had just entered. The host advanced to 
 meet him and whispered : 
 
 " I am troubled about the young German noble- 
 man, lie has lost all his gayety. What is the mat- 
 ter with iiim V 
 
 " Homesickness, no news from his family, and 
 the snare into which the fortunes of war have led 
 him in his pursuit of fame and glory. He will soon 
 be himself again," 
 
THE B URGOMASTER 'S WIFE. 271 
 
 " I hope so," answered the host. " Such a healthy 
 young tree quickly rebounds when it is bent to the 
 ground ; give the fine young fellow a helping 
 hand," 
 
 Here a guest called to the landlord, and the 
 musician joined the officers and began with Georg 
 a low conversation that was drowned by the loud 
 confusion of voices. 
 
 Wilhelm had come from the Van derWerff house. 
 He had learned there that the next day but one, the 
 fourteenth of June, would be the burgomaster's 
 birthday. Adrian had told Henrika and she had 
 told him. The master of the house was to be sur- 
 prised with a song on the morning of his natal 
 day. 
 
 " She will acquit herself admirably," interrupted 
 Georg. 
 
 " She will not be alone ; we can also count upon 
 the burgomaster's wife. She objected strongly at 
 first, but when I proposed a pretty madrigal, she 
 consented to take the soprano." 
 
 " The soprano ?" asked the jonker excitedly. " Of 
 course I am at your service. Let us go ; is the 
 music at your house ?" 
 
 " No, Herr von Dornburg, I have just taken it to 
 the ladies ; but to-morrow morning early " 
 
 " We are to practice early to-morrow morning? 
 That tankard is for me, Jungfer Dortchen ! Your 
 health, Colonel Mulder. Ca])tain Duivenvoorde, 
 here's to your new standard and to many aglorions 
 ride at your side." 
 
 Tlie young German's eyes shone once more with 
 a joyous light, and, when Captain van der Laen 
 went on with what he was saying, he exclaimed : 
 " The Beggars of the Sea will yet break the Spanish 
 power. Here's to the sea, gentlemen, the sea! It 
 is best to leave all to chance. To board and capture 
 
272 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 a ship by storm ! To fight man to man, breast to 
 breast on the decks of the enemy's ships! To fight 
 and conquer or go down with the foe !" 
 ^ "To your health, jonker!" cried tiie colonel. 
 '■'' Donner und Wetter/ we have need of such young 
 men !" 
 
 "You are yourself again," said Willielm, turning 
 to his friend. " Drink to your dear ones at home." 
 
 " To the dear ones at home !" cried Georg. " To 
 our fair mistress, to the joys and sorrows of love ! 
 War is joy, love is life ! Let the wounds bleed, let 
 the hearts break into a thousand pieces! Laurels 
 grow on the battlefield, love weaves garlands of 
 roses — roses with thorns, but roses nevertheless ! 
 Away with you ! No one shall ever drink from 
 you again !" 
 
 With flushed cheeks, Georg flung the goblet into 
 one corner of the room, where it crashed into frag- 
 ments. His companions applauded loudly, but 
 Lieutenant Cromwell arose and quietly left the 
 room, while the landlord thoughtfully shook his 
 wise old head. 
 
 It seemed as though fire had been poured into 
 Georg's soul and his spirit had gained wings. The 
 heavy locks curled in disorder about his handsome 
 head, as leaning far back in his chair, with doublet 
 loosened, he joined in the others' sober talk with 
 witty sallies and brilliant metaphors. Wilhelm 
 listened half admiringlv, half uncasilv. A newchvv 
 
 CD ^ ^ « • 
 
 had long since dawned when the musician and his 
 friend left the tavern. Colonel Mulder looked after 
 the young German and cried to those who remained 
 behind : 
 
 '' That fellow has the devil in him." 
 
 The following morning, while the burgomaster 
 wSiS presiding over a meeting at the Ilathhaus, the 
 practicing of the madrigal took place. Georg stood 
 
TME B UROOMA STER '8 WIFE. 2 73 
 
 between Maria and Henrika. As lono^ as, the musi- 
 
 1 1 
 
 Clan had errors to correct and repetitions to order, 
 a spirit of merriment possessed the little choir, and 
 more than once Barbara, in the adjoining room, 
 heard sounds of innocent laughter: but when all 
 had mastered their parts and the madrigal was 
 sung without an error, the ladies grew more and 
 more serious. Maria kept her gaze fixed upon the 
 music, and never had her voice sounded so fault- 
 lessly pure, so full of feeling. Georg adapted his 
 singing to iiers and whenever he lifted his eyes from 
 the notes, they rested upon her face. Henrika con- 
 stantly sought to attract the jonker's glance, but 
 always in vain. She wished to divert his attention 
 from Maria and at the same time it pained her to 
 remain unnoticed. She was seized with an impulse 
 to outdo Maria, and the whole passionate depth of 
 her nature sounded in her voice. Her ardor in- 
 spired the others. Maria's soprano rang out 
 triumphantly above the young German's musical 
 tenor and Henrika's deep voice took up the strain 
 with fierce exultation. The musician rapturously 
 beat the time, and carried away by the deep pathos 
 of Henrika's voice, reveled in thoughts of her 
 sister. 
 
 When the serenade had ended, he cried eagerh' : 
 " Once more !" The rivalry between the singeVs 
 began afresh and with renewed vigor, and this time 
 the jonker's burning eyes met Maria's. She lowered 
 her music suddenly, stepped out of the half circle, 
 and said : 
 
 '• We know the madrigal. Come to-morrow 
 morning early, Meister Wilhelm ; my time is 
 limited." 
 
 ''Ah!" cried the musician regretfully. "You 
 were doing so well and there were only a few more 
 bars." But Maria was already at the door and 
 answered onl? : 
 
2 n THE B UIIGOMASTER 'S WIFE. 
 
 " Until to-morrow." 
 
 The musician enthusiastically expressed hisappre- 
 ciaticm of Ilenrika's singing; Georg politely did the 
 «ame. AVhen both had taken their departure, 
 Henrika began to pace the room with rapid steps 
 and struck her small hands })assionately together. 
 
 On the birthday morning, tlie singers were ready 
 betimes, but Peter had risen before sunrise to draw 
 up, with Van Hout's aid, a motion that had to be 
 completed before the meeting of the council. 
 Nothing lay further from his thoughts than his 
 birthday, and when the trio began in the dining- 
 room, he knocked on the door and said : 
 
 " We are busy. Find another place for your 
 singing." 
 
 The rendering of the madrigal was interrupted for 
 a moment and Barbara cried : 
 
 " People don't think of fishing-nets when they 
 are picking apples. He has forgotten all about 
 his birthday. Send the children in to him first." 
 
 The burgomaster's wife entered the study with 
 Adrian and Lieschen, They cai'ried nosegays in 
 their hands and Maria had (h'essed the little girl so 
 daintily that, in her white frock, she looked like a 
 veritable little elf. 
 
 Peter realized now what the singing iiad meant. 
 He warmly drew the three well-wishers toward 
 him, and when the madrigal began anew, he stood 
 attentively before the trio. The rendering was 
 not half as successful as at the rehearsal, for 
 Maria sang in a low and muffled voice, and, in 
 spite of "VVilhelm's energetic beating of the time, the 
 spirit and fervor of the preceding day would not 
 return. 
 
 "Excellent, most excellent," said Peter when the 
 singers pauscMJ. " Well conceived and executed ; a 
 delighU'ul birthday surprise." Then he shook hands 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 275 
 
 with each with a few hearty words, and as he 
 grasped the jonker's right hand, he said warmly : 
 " You were sent us from the skies just at the 
 right moment, A home in a strange land is 
 always something, and you have found one with 
 us." 
 
 Georg had cast down his eyes, but at the last 
 words he raised them again and fixed them upon the 
 burgomaster. How kindly and frankly the older 
 man looked at him ! A great emotion overcame 
 him, and, without reflecting, without knowing what 
 he did, he laid his hand on Peter's arm and his face 
 upon his shoulder. 
 
 Van der Werff suffered him to do so, stroked the 
 young man's hair, and said with a smile : 
 
 " Like Leonhard, wife, just like our Leonhard ! 
 AVe shall all meet again tiiis noon. You, too, Van 
 Hout, and do not forget your wife." 
 
 Maria arranged the seats at table so that she 
 would not have to look at Georg. He was placed 
 next to Frau van Hout and opposite Henrika and 
 the musician. At first he was quiet and preoccupied. 
 Henrika, however, gave him no peace, and when he 
 had once begun to answer her questions, he was 
 soon carried away by her feverish gayety and gave 
 free rein to his wit. Henrika was not to be out- 
 done, her eyes shone, and in the increasing pleasure 
 of measuring her wit with his, she strove to surpass 
 him in every jest and every retort. She drank no 
 wine, but she was soon intoxicated by her own words 
 and monopolized Georg so completely that he had no 
 time to address a woi'd to the other guests. Once 
 when he tried to do so she interrupted him quickly 
 and compelled him to turn to her again. This per- 
 sistence annoyed the jonker, and, although he 
 struggled against it, a s])irit of wantonness awakened 
 within him and he began to provoke Henrika into 
 
276 THE nURGOMASTEU^S WIFE. 
 
 making unwarrantable assertions and to contradict 
 tiiem with others equall}^ unwarrantable. 
 
 Maria Hstened to Henrika with surprise, and there 
 was something in Georg's bearing toward her 
 friend that annoyed her. Peter took little notice of 
 Henrika; he was talking with Yan Hout about the 
 three letters that had been received from Glippers, 
 advising the surrender of the city, of the uncertain 
 attitude of several members of the council, and the 
 execution of the captured spy. 
 
 Wilhelm, to whom his neighbor had scarcely 
 vouchsafed a word, was now following the conver- 
 sation of the older men and observed that he had 
 known the traitor. He was an innkeeper in whose 
 tavern he had once met Ilerr Mantenesse van 
 AVibisma. 
 
 " Ah, now we have it," interrupted Van Hout. 
 " We found a note in Quatgelat's wallet and the 
 writing looked suspiciously like the baron's. Quat- 
 gelat was to make inquiries as to the amount of 
 ])rovisions in Leyden." 
 
 " They are all alike," cried the burgomaster. " He 
 could have carried only too welcome news to Valdez, 
 unfortunately. The investigation has brought to 
 light little that is cheering ; to be sure, nothing cer- 
 tain has been ascertained yet." 
 
 " We ought to leave that to the women." 
 
 " The women V asked Peter in astonishment. 
 
 " Yes, to us," cried Frau van Hout. " Why 
 should we sit idle, when we can be of use ?" 
 
 " Intrust the work to us," cried Maria. " We 
 are as anxious as you to do something in the service 
 of'the great cause." 
 
 " And believe me," added Frau van Hout, " we 
 shall gain admittance to storerooms and cellars 
 much more readily than tlie constables and guards, 
 whom the housewives fear." 
 
TEE B URG0MA8TER 'S WIFE. 277 
 
 " Women in the service of the city," said Peter 
 thoughtfully. " To be frank — but your proposal is 
 worthy of consideration. Fniulein Henrika is in 
 high spirits to-day." 
 
 Maria looked indignantly at Henrika, who was 
 leaning far across the table. She was showing 
 Georg a ring. 
 
 " Don't you wish to know what it means," she 
 exclaimed with a laugh. "Look, a snake biting its 
 own tail." 
 
 " Aha !" returned the jonker, " the symbol of self- 
 torment." 
 
 "• Very good ! But it has another meaning, too, 
 and you would do well to take note of it. Sir 
 Knight. Do you know the meaning of eternity and 
 eternal constancy ?" 
 
 " No, friiulein. I w^as not taught at Jena to 
 think so deeply." 
 
 "Of course; your teachers were men. Men and 
 constancy — eternal constancy !" 
 
 " Was Delilah, who betrayed Samson to the 
 Philistines, a man or a woman?" asked Van Hout, 
 
 " She was a woman. The exception that proves 
 the rule. Is it not so, Maria ?" 
 
 The burgomaster's wife did not answer, but only 
 nodded silently ; then she impatiently pushed back 
 her chair, and the meal was at an end. 
 
278 THE BUmOMASTEU'S WIFE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXYIII. 
 
 Days and weeks had elapsed, July had been fol- 
 lowed by a hot August, and this, too, was drawing 
 to a close. The Spaniards still surroundetl Leyden, 
 and the city was now altogether like a prison. The 
 soldiers and armed burghers performed their duties 
 wearily and listlessly ; at the Rathliaus there was 
 enough to be done, but the work of tiie authorities 
 was sad and disagreeable ; for no encouiaging mes- 
 sage came from the prince or the Estates, and all 
 that was to be discussed was relative to tiie increas- 
 ing distress and the hideous follower of war, the 
 plague, which made its entry into Leyden hand-in- 
 hand with starvation. Moreover, the number of mal- 
 contents increased from week to week ; the partisans 
 of the old order of things raised tiieir voices more and 
 more loudly, and many a friend of liberty, who saw 
 his dear ones pining away, joined the Spanish 
 sympathizers, and demanded the surrender of the 
 city. The children went to school and assembled 
 on the playgrounds as usual, but there was rarely 
 a sign of the joyous hilarity of former days. And 
 what had become of the boys' red cheeks and the 
 plump arms of the litt\e girls ? The poor drew their 
 belts tighter, and the bit of bread that was appor- 
 tioned to each by the city no longer sufficed to still 
 hunger and support life. 
 
 Jonker Gcorg had been living for a long tnne in 
 the burgomaster's house. 
 
 On the morning of the twenty-ninth of August 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 279 
 
 he was returning from a search for game ; he car- 
 ried a cross-bow in his hand and a bao^ shnie: over 
 liis shoulder. When he reached the house he did 
 not go upstairs at once, but went to the kitchen 
 where Barbara was. The widow received him with 
 a friendly nod ; her blue eyes were as bright as 
 ever, but her round face had grown thinner, and 
 there was a painful quiver about the sunken 
 mouth. 
 
 " What do you bring to-day ?" she asked the 
 jonker. 
 
 Georg felt in the bag answered, smiling : 
 
 " A fat snipe and four larks ; you know already." 
 
 " Poor sparrows ! but what sort of a creature may 
 this be ? No head, no legs, and carefully picked. 
 Jonker, jonker, it looks suspicious." 
 
 "It will look well in the pan, and the name 
 matters not." 
 
 "But it does, it does; no one knows what it has 
 fattened upon, and the good Lord did not make 
 every creature for the human stomach." 
 
 " 1 have already told you what it is. It is a short- 
 billed snipe, a corvus, a real corvus." 
 
 " Corvus ! go along with you ! I am afraid of the 
 creature. The feather under the wing there — 
 Jesus Maria ! It cannot be a crow ?" 
 
 " It is a corvus, as I have told you. Put the bird 
 in vinegar and roast it with some herbs and it will 
 taste like a real snipe. Wild ducks are not as plen- 
 tiful as they were, and the sparrows are growing as 
 rare as roses in winter. Every boy in the town is 
 on the outlook with bow and arrow, and in the 
 courtyards people are trying to catch them with 
 sieves and lime twigs. They are almost extermi- 
 nated, but now and then one makes its escape. How 
 is the little elf ?" 
 
 " Don't call her that !" cried the widow. " Give 
 
iiSO TUB BUnOOM ASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 her her Christian name. She's as white as this 
 cloth and yesterday she refused the milk that we 
 have procured for her every day at such sacrilices. 
 God knows how it will end. Look at tliat cabbage- 
 head. Haifa stiver! And that miserable bone. 
 It would have been too bad to give to a dog once — 
 and now! The whole famil}^ must be satislied with 
 it. For supper we are to have ham-rind cooked in 
 wine and a little flummery besides. And that for a 
 giant like Peter! AVhere he gets his strength, God 
 only knows. But he looks like a shadow of him- 
 self. Maria needs no more than a bird, but Adrian, 
 poor lad, sometimes leaves the table in tears, and 
 3'et he has broken many a bit of bread from his 
 thin slice for Lieschen ; I know it. It is pitiful. 
 And yet the proberb says : ' Cut 3'^our coat ac- 
 cording to your cloth' — ' Necessity knows no law,' 
 and ' Waste not, want not.' Day before yesterday 
 we gave again of what we still possess. To-morrow 
 we must give up everything over and above what 
 is needed for the next two weeks. Peter will not 
 let us keep back as much as a bag of meal, and 
 what is to happen then — merciful Heaven !" The 
 widow sobbed aloud at the last words and went on 
 tearfully : '' And where do you get your strength ? 
 That miserable bit of meat is no more than a drop 
 of water on a burning stone, to one of your age."" 
 
 " llerr van Aken gives me, aside from my ra- 
 tions, what he can spare from his. I shall get 
 through all right, but what horrors I saw to-day at 
 the tailor's, who mends my clothes !" 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "Two of his children have died of hunger." 
 
 " And at the weaver's opposite," added Barbara 
 tearfully. " Such respectable people ! The young 
 wife was confined four davs ago and this mornino; 
 mother and child died of weakness-went out, I tell 
 
THE BURGOMASTEirS WIFE. 281 
 
 you, like a candle that has burned down and must 
 go out. At the cloth maker Petersohn's, the father 
 and all five children have died of the plague. And 
 if that doesn't wring one's lieart " 
 
 "Stop! stop!" said Georg, shuddering. "I must 
 go to the courtyard for the drill." 
 
 "And of what good is that? The Spaniards will 
 not attack us — they will leave the work to Grim 
 Death. Your fencing makes the men hungry and 
 the poor empty wretches can scarcely move their 
 limbs." 
 
 " You are wrong, mother, wrong," answered 
 Georg. " Tiie exercise and motion will keep them 
 up. When Ilerr von Nordwyk asked me to drill 
 them in the place of the dead fencing-master, he 
 knew what he was about." 
 
 " You are thinking of the plowshare that does 
 not rust. Perhaps you are right; but before you 
 go, take a swaHow of wine. We still have plenty 
 of that. If the men have something to do, at least 
 they will not mutiny as the poor fellows among 
 the v^olunteers did day before yesterday. Thank 
 God, they are gone !" 
 
 While the widow was filling a glass, Wil helm's 
 mother entered the kitchen and greeted Barbara 
 and the jonker. She carried a small bundle under 
 her cloak and held it pressed close to her breast. 
 Her breadth was still imposing enough, but the 
 stoutness of which she had hitherto been so proud 
 seenled to have become a burden. 
 
 Taking the package into her right hand, she 
 said : 
 
 " Here is something for your Lieschen. My Wil- 
 lielm, the good lad " 
 
 Here she stopped and thrust the present back 
 into its old place. She had caught sight of the 
 jonker's gift, and went on in another tone: "But I 
 
283 THE B UROOMA STER 'S WIFE. 
 
 see you have a pigeon already — so much the bet- 
 ter! The clerk of the council's little one is also 
 beginning to droop. Until to-morrow, if God 
 , wills." 
 
 She was about to go, but the jonker held' her 
 back and said : " You are mistaken, my dear 
 madam. I shot that bird myself to-dav, and 1 admit 
 now, mother," turning to Barbara, " that my corvus 
 is a miserable crow." 
 
 "Just what I thought," cried Barbara. "Such 
 a horror !" 
 
 Yet she touched the bird's breast with her finger 
 and said thoughtfully : " There's meat on the 
 creature, though." 
 
 " A crow !" cried the collector's wife, clasping her 
 hands. " To be sure, cats and dogs are already 
 hanging on many a spit and have wandered into 
 many a pan. There is the pigeon." 
 
 Barbara unwrapped the pigeon as carefully as 
 though It might break under her fingers and looked 
 at it lovingly as she weighed it in her hand. The 
 musician's mother continued : 
 
 " It is the fourth he has killed and he says it was 
 a good flyer. lie intended it especially for your 
 Lieschen. Stuff it nicely with yellow paste, not too 
 (irm and sweetened a trifle. That will be some- 
 thing to a child's taste. Take the little creature 
 away. When one has known a thing it pains one 
 to see it dead." 
 
 " God will reward you !" cried Barbara, pressing 
 the good woman's hand. " Ah, these dreadful 
 times !" 
 
 " There is always something to be thankful 
 for." 
 
 " To be sure, it must be very much worse in hell," 
 answered the widow. 
 
 " Don't be sacrilegious," said the older woman re- 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 283 
 
 provingly. " You have only one sick person in the 
 house. Is Frau Maria to be seen ?" 
 
 "She is in the workshops, distributing a little of 
 our meat among the people. Are you running 
 short of meal? Cows are still to be seen in the 
 meadows, but the corn seems to have been swept 
 away; there isn't a |)ee!f left in the market. Won't 
 you take a swallow of wine, too, neighbor? Shall 
 I call my sister-in-law?" 
 
 '* I will look for her, myself. The greed of the 
 market people is intolerable. We can do noth- 
 ing more, but she will soon bring them to 
 reason." 
 
 "The market people!" exclaimed the jonker. 
 
 "Yes, Herr von Dornburg, yes. You would not 
 believe what the gentle little woman can do. Day 
 before yesterday, when account was to be taken of 
 the amount of provisions in every house, the people 
 received the other ladies and me very sullenly, and 
 many even showed us the door. But she went to 
 the rudest of them, and as the waves of the sea 
 opened before the people of Israel, the storerooms 
 and cellars opened before her. How^ she does 
 it. Heaven knows, but the people cannot resist 
 her," 
 
 Georg drew a deep breath and left the kitchen. 
 In the courtyard he found several city soldiers, 
 volunteers, and members of the burgher guard, 
 whom he was to drill in fencing. Yan der Werff 
 had placed his courtyard at their disposal, and 
 there was certainly no man in Leyden who could 
 better fill the place of the brave AUertssohn than 
 the German. 
 
 Barbara had not been wrong. His pupils looked 
 wasted and wretched enougii, but many of them 
 had learned in the dead captain's school to wield 
 the sword skillfully, and their hearts were in their 
 work. 
 
284 THE B UROOMA STER '5 WIFE. 
 
 In the middle of the courtyard was placed a 
 figure stuffed with tow and covered with leather, 
 with a piece of red pa]ier in the shape of a heart 
 on the left side. At this tlie most unskilled were 
 ^to thrust in order to train hand and eye ; the others 
 placed themselves opposite each other in couples 
 and fought a bloodless battle with blunt ra})iers, 
 under Georg's direction. 
 
 The jonker had felt very weak when he entered 
 the kitchen, for the greater part of his ration of 
 bread had remained with the tailor's family ; but 
 Barbara's wine had done him good and he pulled 
 himself together and advanced briskly toward his 
 pupils. His doublet was flung upon a bench, his 
 belt was drawn tighter, and he soon stood before 
 the soldiers in his white shirt sleeves. 
 
 At the sound of his first command, the window 
 in Ilenrika's room was drawn sharply to. It had 
 usually been opened when the exercises began and 
 Henrika had not hesitated to clap her hands now and 
 then and to call out a "bravo." But this was some 
 time ago ; for several weeks she had had neither 
 w^ord nor look for the young nobleman. She had 
 never made such advances to any man and she would 
 not have troubled herself so much to gain a prince's 
 favor. And he ? He had treated her coolly from 
 the first and had avoided her more and more 
 assiduously as time w^ent on. Her pride was deeply 
 wounded. Her purpose of drawing him away from 
 Maria had long since been forgotten, and moreover, 
 something — she knew not what — had come between 
 her and tlie burgomaster's wife. Not a day passed 
 but what she met the jonker and she rejoiced in it, 
 because she could show him that she was indifferent 
 to his presence, that it was even distasteful to her. 
 Her imprisonment weighed heavily upon her, she 
 longed unspeakably for the open air, the fields 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 285 
 
 and woods. But she never expressed a wish to 
 leave Ley den, for — Georg was there, and her mind 
 was full of him, waking or dreaming. She loved 
 him one dav, detested him the next, and both with 
 the whole passion of her passionate heart. She 
 thought often of her sister also, and said many 
 prayers for her. That she might escape ennui and 
 gain the favor of Heaven through good works, she 
 helped the Gray Nuns, who lived in a little old 
 convent near the Van der Werff house, to tend the 
 sick whom the}' had tenderly taken in, and went 
 with Sister Gonzaga to the houses of the Catholic 
 burghers to collect alms for the little hospitaL But 
 all this she did without cheerful self-surrender, 
 sometimes with overmuch zeal, again indifferently, 
 and for days not at all. She had become sensitive 
 in the extreme, and when she had been haughty to 
 an unbearable degree one day, she would be sad 
 and depressed the next, though without begging 
 forgiveness from those whom she had wounded. 
 
 She was now standing behind the closed window, 
 looking at Georg, who made a bold lunge at the 
 leather figure and pierced the dummy's red heart. 
 
 The soldiers gave loud expression to their admira- 
 tion. Ilenrilva's eyes also had kindled with ap- 
 proval, but they suddenly lost their brightness, and 
 she stepped back into the room as Maria came out 
 of the workshops into the courtyard and passed the 
 combatants with downcast eyes. 
 
 The young woman had grown paler, but her 
 clear, blue eyes had gained a more confident 
 expression. She had learned to rely upon herself 
 and had soug-ht and found arduous duties in the 
 service of the city and of the poor. She had come 
 out victorious in many a hard contest with her 
 heart, but the struggle was not yet at an end ; she 
 was conscious of this whenever Georg's path crossed 
 
286 TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 hers. She avoided him as often as she could, for 
 she did not conceal from herself tliat an attempt to 
 associate with him as with a friend and brother 
 ^woiild be the lirst step toward destruction for her 
 and for him. lie helped her honestly and with 
 stern self-control. She was grateful for it, for she 
 and lier husband stood side by side upon the ship of 
 life. She wislied to have no other pilot; nay, the 
 thought of perishing with him had no terrors for her. 
 And yet, and yet! Georg was the loadstone 
 mountain that drew her on and which she must 
 avoid if she wished to save the vessel from 
 destruction. 
 
 That day she had been questioning the different 
 workmen about their condition and had listened to 
 tales of the deepest misery. 
 
 The brave men knew that the surrender of the 
 cit}'' might put an end to their sufferings, but they 
 wished to hold out for the sake of freedom and their 
 faith, and bore tiieir misery as an unavoidable mis- 
 fortune. 
 
 In the hall Maria came upon Wilhelm's mother 
 and promised her to consult that very day with Frau 
 van Ilout concerning the greed of the market 
 people. Then slie betook herself to poor Lieschen, 
 who was sitting, pale and listless, in her little chair. 
 Her best doll had been lying untouched in her lap 
 for an hour. The child's tiny hands were too weak 
 to raise the toy. Trautchen brought in a glass of 
 fresh milk. There was not yet an utter dearth of 
 milk, for a goodly number of cows still grazed out- 
 side the city walls, under shelter of the cannon, but 
 the chiUl refused to drink and could only be induced, 
 with tears, to swallow a few drops. 
 
 While Maria was pleading lovingly with the little 
 one, Peter entered the room. This man, who was 
 the ideal of a stately burgher, and who had always 
 
777^ BUROOMASTKR'S WIFE. 287 
 
 bestowed much care upon his outward appearance, 
 now looked uncared for. His brown bair bung 
 down over bis forebead, the thick, closely trimmed 
 mustache now straggled sparsely over bis cheeks, 
 the doublet had grown too large, and the hose did 
 not set smoothly as was their wont, but wrinkled on 
 bis powerful legs. 
 
 He greeted bis wife with a careless wave of the 
 band, approached the child and stood gazing at her 
 long in silence and with deep tenderness. The little 
 one turned her sweet face toward him and tried to 
 welcome him, but the smile died on her lips and she 
 looked down listlessly at the doll again. He bent 
 dow^n to her, lifted her up, called her by name, and 
 brushed her cheek with his lips. Tbecliild touched 
 bis beard lightly and then said faintly : 
 
 " Let me down, father, I am dizzy up here." 
 
 "With moist eyes he set his darling carefully in 
 her chair again. Then be left the room and returned 
 to his study. Maria followed him and asked : 
 " Nothing yet from the prince or the Estates ?" 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders in silence. 
 
 " But they will not, they cannot forget us," cried 
 Maria vehemently. 
 
 " We are perishing and they leave us to die," be 
 said heavily. 
 
 " No, no, they have pierced the dykes ; they will 
 help us, I know it." 
 
 " When it is too late. One thing keeps piling 
 upon another, misfortune follows misfortune ; and 
 upon whom fall the curses of the starving people ? 
 Upon me, me, me alone." 
 
 "You and the prince's commissioner stand to- 
 gether." 
 
 Peter smiled bitterly and said : " He took to bis 
 bed yesterday. The pWue, Bontius says. I, I alone, 
 bear the whole burden." 
 
288 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " We bear it with you," cried Maria. " First 
 poverty and then hunger, as we promised." 
 
 " More than that. The hist grain of wheat was 
 baked to-da3\ Tliere is an end of bread." 
 
 " We still have cattle and horses." 
 
 " We shall come to them day after to-morrow. 
 It was decided to-day : two pounds, with the bones, 
 for every four persons. Bread gone, cows gone, 
 milk gone. What then? What will become of the 
 mothers, the infants, and the sick ? And our 
 Lieschen !" 
 
 The burgomaster pressed his hands to his temples 
 and groaned aloud. But Maria said : " Courage, 
 Peter, courage. Hold fast to one thing, do not let 
 one thing go — hope." 
 
 " Hope, hope !" he answered scornfull3^ 
 
 " To lose hope means to despair. To despair 
 means to throw open the gates, to open the gates 
 means " 
 
 " Who thinks of opening the gates? Who speaks 
 of surrender ?" he interrupted angrily. "AVe will 
 still stand firm. There is the portfolio, take it to 
 the messenger." 
 
TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 289 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 LiESCHEN had eaten a piece of roast pigeon, the 
 first morsel she had tasted for several days. There 
 was as much rejoicing in the Yan der Werff house- 
 hold as though some great good fortune had come 
 to the family. Adrian ran to the workshops and 
 told the workmen, Peter walked with a firmer step 
 to the Rathhaus, and Maria took it upon herself to 
 inform the collector's wife of the good elfect of her 
 son's gift. 
 
 The tears ran down the old woman's flabbv 
 cheeks at Maria's recital. She kissed the burgo- 
 master's wife and cried : 
 
 " Ah, Wilhelm, Wilhehn ! If he were only at 
 home this moment. But I will call his father. 
 2£ein Gott^ he is ]>robably at the Rathhaus too. 
 What (lid I hear then? Listen, Frau Maria, listen 
 — what is that V 
 
 The ringing of bells and the firing of cannon had 
 interrupted the old woman's speech ; she hurriedly 
 flung open the window and cried : 
 
 " FruMi the tower of Pancratins ! It is not an 
 alarm. Something good has happened. We need 
 it indeed! Ulrich, TJlrich ! Come back at once 
 and bring us worci. Dear Father in heaven! Dear 
 Lord ! Send succor. If it were only that!" 
 
 The women waited in great suspense. At last 
 Wilhelm's brother Ulrich returned with the news 
 that the messengers who had been sent to Delft 
 had made their way back through the Spanish lines 
 
290 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE, 
 
 and had brought with them a letter from the 
 Estates. The clerk of the council had read it aloud 
 from the window of the Rathhaus. The representa- 
 tjves of the country praised the behavior and forti- 
 tude of the burghers and informed them that the 
 dykes had been pierced, regardless of the injui-y in- 
 flicted upon thousands of farmers. 
 
 Indeed the water was ah-cady advancing and tlie 
 messengers themselves had seen the ships that were 
 to bring relief to the city. The country surround- 
 inor Levden must soon be flooded and the risino: 
 waters woukl force the Spanish to retire. " Better 
 a ruined than a lost land," was the watchword tliat 
 had be^n decisive in the carrying out of these ex- 
 treme measures, and it was to be expected tliat 
 those who had risked so much would shrink from 
 no sacrifice to save Leyden. 
 
 The two women shook each other joyfully by the 
 hand. The bells continued their jubilant clangor, 
 and report after report of cannon resounded through 
 the rattling windows. 
 
 When night began to fall Maria set out on her 
 homeward way. It was long since her heart had 
 been so light. The black placards on the plague- 
 stricken houses seemed less mournful, the wastetl 
 faces less pitiable, for help was at hand for them. 
 Faithful endurance was to be I'ewarded, the cause 
 of liberty was to be triumphant! 
 
 She turned with i-apid steps into the "Broad 
 Street." Thousands of bui'ghers had assembled 
 there, to see, to hear, and to learn what was to be 
 hoped or what was still to be feared. At the cor- 
 ners of the streets musicians were stationed, play- 
 ing inspiriting airs, the l](;ggars' song mingled with 
 the sound of pipe and trumpet, and the cheers of 
 enthusiastic men. But there were crowds of well- 
 dressed peo])le, men and women, who scoffed aloud 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 291 
 
 at the music, and the simpletons who let themselves 
 be duped by empty promises. Where was the 
 succor ? What could the handful of Beggars, which 
 the prince could at best get together, do against 
 the mighty army that surrounded Leyden ? And 
 the flooding of the country ? The city lay too high 
 for the water ever to reach it. Tlie farmers had 
 been injured without helping the burghers. There 
 was but one means of salvation : to trust to the 
 mercy of the king. 
 
 " What good has liberty done us ?" cried a brewer, 
 who, like all of his fraternity, had been forced to 
 relinquish his grain and abandon the brewing of 
 fresh beer. "What good will liberty do us when 
 we are dead ? Sensible men will go to the Rath- 
 haus and demand surrender before it is too late." 
 
 " Surrender ! The clemency of the king !" shouted 
 some twentv burghers. 
 
 " Life comes first, and then the question whether 
 we shall be independent or Spanish, Calvinist or 
 Papist !" cried a master-weaver. "I will go with 
 you to the Rathhaus." 
 
 "You are in the right, good people," said Burgo- 
 master Baersdorp, who, wrapped in his costly, sable- 
 trimmed mantle, had approached from the direction 
 of the Rathhaus, and had overheard the last speak- 
 er's words. "But be advised! To-day the credu- 
 lous are beginning to hope again, and the time for 
 making your just demand felt is badly chosen. 
 Wait a few days, and then, if succor does not come, 
 present your petition. I will speak in ^!our behalf, 
 and with me many good men in the council. We 
 have nothing but kindness and gentleness to expect 
 from Yaldez. To rise against tiie king was crimi- 
 nal from the first. To fight against famine, the 
 plague, and death is madness and a sin. God be 
 with you, my good people." 
 
292 TUR DURGOMASTEirS WIFE. 
 
 " The burgomaster speaks well," cried a clotb- 
 dyer. 
 
 " Yan Swieten and Norden think as he docs, but 
 Meister Peter rules by the prince's favor. If tlie 
 Spaniards rescue us his neck will be in danger when 
 they enter the city. It matters not who dies, so 
 that he and his have plenty and live on the fat of 
 the land." 
 
 " There goes his wife," said a master-weaver, 
 pointing to Maria. " How happy she looks ! The 
 leather business must be doing well. Ileh, Frau 
 Biirgemeisterin ! Ileh! My compliments to your 
 husband, and tell him that his life may be valuable, 
 but ours are no wisps of straw, either." 
 
 " Tell him further," shouted a cattle-dealer, Avho 
 seemed not to have suffered much as yet from the 
 prevailing misery, " tell him the more cattle he kills 
 the better, but Leyden burghers " 
 
 The cattle-dealer did not bring his speech to an 
 end, for Herr Aquanus had seen from the Angulus 
 what was passing, and had stepped into the street 
 and forced his way into the midst of the malcontents. 
 
 " For shame !" he cried. "To attack an honora 
 ble woman in the streets ! Is this the way of Ley- 
 den burghers? Give me your hand, Frau Maria, 
 and if I hear another angry word I will summon 
 the constables. I know you ! Near the Blue Stone 
 still stands the gallows that Herr van Bronkhorst 
 has had erected for such as you. Which of you 
 wishes to make the first trial of it?" 
 
 The men to whom these words were addressed 
 were not of the bravest, and not a word was spoken 
 aloud as Aquanus conducted Maria to the tavern. 
 The landlord's wife and dau<i:hter received her in 
 their apartments, which were sepai'ated from the 
 public rooms, and begged hor to accept their liospi- 
 talitv until the crowd had dispersed. But Maria 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 293 
 
 was anxious to return home, and when she said that 
 she must go, Aquanus offered her his escort. 
 
 Georix von Dornburo^ Avas standing; in the hall 
 as they passed and he drew back with a respectful 
 salutation, but the landlord called to him and said : 
 
 " I shall have much to do to-day, for many a 
 man will treat himself to a glass of wine after the 
 good news. You wdl excuse me, Frau Biirgemeis- 
 terin, but the jonker will see you home as safely as 
 I could — and you, Herr von Dornburg " 
 
 " I am at your service,'' answe»'ed Georg, and 
 accompanied Maria into the street. 
 
 Both walked on in silence for a time and it seemed 
 to both as though they could hear the beating of 
 each other's hearts. At last the jonker drew a long 
 breath and said : 
 
 " Three long months have elapsed since I came. 
 Have I been good, Maria ?" 
 
 " Yes, Georg." 
 
 "But you cannot guess what it has cost me to 
 keep my heart within bounds, to curb my tongue, 
 and blind my eyes. 1 must say it once, Maria, 
 once " 
 
 " iiever, never," she interrupted pleadingly. " I 
 know that you have struggled honestly ; do not 
 spoil your victory now," 
 
 " Listen to me, Maria ; only this once, listen to 
 me !" 
 
 " What will it avail you to torture me with pas- 
 sionate words? I can hear words of love from but 
 one man, and what I cannot hear, you must not say 
 to me." 
 
 " JSTo ?" he asked reproachfully, and then went on 
 heavily and bitterly : " You are right, entirelv right. 
 Even speech is denied me. M}^ life must flow on 
 like a leaden stream and all that grows and blos- 
 soms on its banks must remain scentless and color- 
 
294 TnE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 less. The golden sunlight has hidden itself behind 
 clouds, all joy has died within me and all that 
 once delighted me has become stale and lost its 
 ^ charm. Do you recognize the jovial young lellow 
 of former 3' ears?" 
 
 " Try to recover your cheerfulness ; try, for ray 
 sake." 
 
 " It is gone, gone," he murmured sadly. " You 
 saw rae in Delft, but you never really knew me. 
 These eyes were like two magic mirrors in which 
 every object is transformed. This heart then em- 
 braced the whole world, and how quickly and joy- 
 ously it beat ! Often I could not contain myself 
 for very happiness, and it seemed as though I must 
 fly to pieces like a rifle barrel that is overcharged. 
 I felt it time and time again at Delft when you were 
 kind to rae. And now, now ? I still have wings, I 
 still might fly, but here I crawl along like a snail — 
 for it is your wish." 
 
 " It is not my wish," answered Maria. " You are 
 dear to me, I may admit so much — and it saddens 
 me to see you so. But now — if you care for me, and 
 I know that you do — cease to torture me so cruelly. 
 You are dear to me. I have said so, and it must be 
 said so, that all may be made clear between us. You 
 are dear to me like the vanished days of ray child- 
 hood, like a blissful dreara, like a beautiful song in 
 which we delight and which refreshes our souls 
 when we hear it or remember it — but you are no 
 more to me than that and can never be. You 
 are dear to me and I wish you to renuiin so, and 
 you can, if you do not break the vow that you have 
 made." 
 
 " Vow ?" asked Georg. '• Yow ?" 
 
 " Yes, vow," answered Maria, slackening her 
 steps, " which you made on Peter's breast — on his 
 birthday morning, after the song. You remember ! 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 295 
 
 You registered a silent vow ; I know it, I know 
 it no less surely than that I vowed fidelity to 
 my husband at the altar. If you can deny it, do so." 
 
 Georg shook his head and answered with increas- 
 ing vehemence: 
 
 " You can read my very soul. Our hearts knew 
 each other like two faithful friends, as the earth 
 knows her moon and the moon her earth. What 
 is one without the other ? Why should they be 
 separated ? Have you ever walked along a forest 
 road ? The tracks of two Avheels run side by side 
 but never touch. The axle keeps them apart as our 
 vows keep us." 
 
 " Say rather, our honor." 
 
 "As our honor. But in the forest one often 
 comes upon a place where the road ends at a char- 
 coal-kiln or a clearing, and there the tracks intersect 
 each other, and in this hour 1 feel that my path 
 has come to an end. I cannot go any further, or 
 the horses will plunge madly into the thicket and 
 the carriage be dashed to atoms against rocks and 
 stones." 
 
 " And with it honor. Not another word. Let 
 us walk more quickly. See the lights in the win- 
 dows. All wish to show their joy at the good news, 
 nor must our house remain in darkness." 
 
 " Do not hurry so. Barbara will see to it, and 
 think how soon we must part. But you said that 1 
 vras dear to you." 
 
 " Do not torture me !" cried the young wife 
 imploringly. 
 
 "I do not wish to torture you, Maria, but you 
 must listen to me. I was in eai-nest, in deadly 
 earnest when I took that silent vow, and I have 
 sought to free myself from it by death. You have 
 heard how I rushed like a madman upon the 
 Spaniards in the storming of the Boschhuizen forti- 
 
296 TUE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 fications, in July. Your token, the blue n'I>lH.M 
 you gave me in Delft, fluttered from my shoulder 
 as I dashed upon the swords and lances. " But 1 was 
 not to (lie and came out unharmed. ()ii, ]\laria, 
 for the sake of this vow, I have borne unheard-of 
 tortures. Absolve me from it, let tell you once 
 fj'eely, only once " 
 
 "Stop, Georg, stop," implored Maria. "I will 
 not, must not hear you — neither to-day nor to- 
 morrow — never, never, throughout all eternit3^" 
 
 "Once, only once, I will tell you that I love you, 
 that I would give up my life and happiness, peace 
 and honor " 
 
 "Not another word, Jonker von Dor n burg. 
 There is our house. You are our guest and if you 
 speak another such word to the wife of your 
 friend " 
 
 " Maria, Maria — oh, do not raise the knocker. 
 How can 3'ou heartlessly destroy a man's whole 
 happiness " 
 
 The door had opened and the burgomaster's wife 
 crossed the threshold. Georg stood opposite 
 her, and, stretching out his hand beseechingly, said : 
 
 " You abandon me to despair and death ! Maria, 
 Maria, whv do vou ti'eat me so?" 
 
 She placed her hand in his and said : 
 
 "That we may remain worthy of each other, 
 Georg." 
 
 Then drawing her cold hand forcibly away, she 
 entered the house : he, however, wandered for 
 hours, like a drunken man, through the lighted 
 streets, and flung himself at last with burning head 
 upon his couch. On the table beside the bed lay a 
 small, loosely bound book. lie seized it and began 
 to write with trembling lingei's. The pen often 
 hesitated, and the writer, sighing heavily, stared 
 vacantly into space. At last he tossed the book 
 aside and restlessly awaited the approach of dawn. 
 
THE B UBG OMAS'l 'EB '8 WIFE. 29 1 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Shortly after sunrise, Georg sprang from his 
 couch, drew out his knapsack, and tilled it with his 
 few belongings. The book alone was not placed 
 with the other articles. 
 
 In the early morning, Wilhelm entered the court- 
 yard as the first workmen were on their way to the 
 workshops. The jonker saw him coming and met 
 him at the door. 
 
 The musician's face bore but slight evidences of 
 the w^ant that all hands endured, but his entire 
 person trembled with excitement and he changed 
 color from moment to moment as he breathlessly 
 told Georg the object of his early visit. 
 
 Shortly after the arrival of the messengers from 
 the Estates, a Spanish envoy had brought letters to 
 Burgomaster van der Werff, One of the letters 
 was from Jonker Nicolas van Wibisma and con- 
 tained the news that Ilenrika's sister had 
 reached Leyderdorp with Belotti and had found 
 shelter in the farmhouse of the elder Freiherr van 
 Wibisma. She was very ill and longed to see her 
 sister. The burgomaster had delivered this letter to 
 Henrika and Ilenrika had hastened at once to 
 Wilhelm to request him to help her out of the city 
 and to accompany her to the Spanish lines. 
 Wilhelm was undergoing a hard struggle. No 
 sacrifice seemed too great to enable him to see 
 Anna again and what the messengers had succeeded 
 in doing, he also might do. But could he abet the 
 
398 TEE BURQOMA STEWS WIFE. 
 
 flight of the young girl held as a hostage by the 
 council, deceive the guards, desert his post? 
 
 tSince Ilenrika's recjuest that Georg should escort 
 her sister from Luirano to Holland, the vounff Ger- 
 man had been informed of the hitter's history and 
 was also aware of the state of Wilhelm's heart. 
 
 " I must, and 3'et I cannot," cried AVilhelra. " I 
 have passed a dreadful night. Imagine yourself in. 
 my position, imagine yourself in the friiulein's." 
 
 " Obtain leave until to-morrow,'- said Georg de- 
 cidedly. " As soon as it is dark I will accompany 
 you and Ilenrika. She must swear to return to the 
 city if it should come to a surrender. As for me, I 
 am no longer bound by oath to the English stand- 
 ard. A month ago we were given the option of 
 entering the service of the Netherlands. All that 
 is needed is a word to Captain van der Laen and I 
 am my own master." 
 
 " Thank you, thank you ; but the fraulein for- 
 bade my asking for vour assistance." 
 
 "Nonsense! I shall go with you and when we 
 have reached our destination, I shall make my way 
 to the Beggars. The council will not be sorry for 
 our departure, for there will be two mouths the less 
 in Leyden, when Henrika and I are gone. The sk}'' 
 is gray ; we shall have a dark night, I hope. Cap- 
 tain van Duivenvoorde is in charge of the watch 
 at the Ilohenort Gate. He knows us both and will 
 let us through. I will speak with him. Is the 
 farmhouse in the village?" 
 
 " No, some distance outside, on the road to Ley- 
 den." 
 
 " Well, then, we will meet again at the inn at 
 four." 
 
 " But the fraulein " 
 
 " It will be time enough when she learns out- 
 side the gate who is to accompany her." 
 
TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 299 
 
 When Georg arrived at the inn at the appointed 
 hour, he learned that Henrika had received another 
 letter from Nicolas. It had been given to the out- 
 posts by the jonker himself and contained only the 
 words: "Until midnight, the Spanish watchword 
 is ' Lepanto? Your father shall learn to-day that 
 Anna is here," 
 
 When the departure from the Hohenort Gate 
 had been arranged for nine o'clock, Georg went to 
 Captain van der Laen and Commandant van der 
 Does and recived from the former the desired dis- 
 charge and from Janus a letter to his frieml, 
 Admiral Boisot. When he announced to his men 
 that he meant to leave the city and join the Beg- 
 gars, they declared that they were ready to follow 
 him and to live and die with him. It was with 
 difficulty that he was able to restrain them. As he 
 passed the liathhaus, he slackened his steps. The 
 burgomaster was always to be found there at that 
 hour. Should ho leave the city without bidding 
 him farewell % No, no ! And yet — since yesterday 
 he had forfeited the right to look him frankly in 
 the eye. He shrank from meeting him and it 
 seemed to him as though they were wholly estranged. 
 So Georg hurried by the Rathhaus and thought 
 defiantly : " What if I do part from him without a 
 farewell ? I am indebted to him for nothing, for I 
 shall have to pay for his kindness with suffering, 
 perhaps with death. Maria loved me before she 
 loved him, and what she is to me and was and will 
 be, she sliall know before I go." 
 
 At dusk he returned to his room, ordered the 
 man-servant to carry his knapsack to Captain van 
 Duivenvoorde at the guardroom at the Hohenort 
 Gate, and then, with the little book thrust into his 
 doublet, repaired to the other part of the house, to 
 take leave of Maria. 
 
300 THE BURGOMASTER '8 WIFE. 
 
 He walked falteringly up the stairs and paused 
 in the upper hall. 
 
 The throbbing of his heart took away his breath. 
 He did not know at which door to knock and a 
 ^ torturing fear overcame him. For several moments 
 he stood like one paralyjicd, then he roused himself, 
 gave himself a shake, and murmured: "You have 
 turned coward." He opened the dcor that led to 
 the dining room, and entered. Adrian was sitting 
 at the empty table, studying by the light of a pine 
 torch. Georg inquired for his mother. 
 
 " She is probably spinning in her room," answered 
 the lad. 
 
 " Call her; I have something important to say to 
 her." 
 
 Adrian left the room and returned with the mes- 
 sage that the jonker should wait in his father's 
 
 study. 
 
 " Where is Barbara?" asked Georg. 
 
 "With Lieschen." 
 
 The German nodded, and as he paced to and fro 
 beside the table, he thought : " 1 cannot go like 
 this! I must unburden my heart. I must hear 
 once, only once that she loves me— I must — I must. 
 It may be dishonorable, it may be despicable. I 
 will atone for it ; I will atone for it with my life." 
 
 AVhile the jonker was pacing the room, Adrian 
 gathered his books together and exclaimed: 
 " B-r-r-r, jonker, how you look to-day ! You 
 frighten one. Mother is*^ already in the study. I 
 hear the rattling of the tinder-box ; she is probably 
 lighting the candles." 
 
 " Are you busy ?" asked Georg. 
 
 "I have finished." 
 
 "Then run to Wilhelm Corneliussohn's and tell 
 him that we shall meet at nine, at nine punctually, 
 as was arranged." 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 301 
 
 " At the inn ?" asked the boy. 
 
 " No, no, he knows already ; hurry, youngster." 
 
 Adrian was about to go, but Georg beckoned to 
 him and asked in a low voice : 
 
 "Can you keep silent?" 
 
 " As a fried sole." 
 
 "I am to leave the city to-night and may never 
 return." 
 
 " You, jonker ? To-night ?" asked the boy. 
 
 " Yes, my dear lad. Come here and give me a 
 farewell kiss. You shall keep this ring as a re- 
 minder of me." 
 
 The lad submitted to the kiss, placed the ring 
 upon his linger, and asked w^ith tearful eyes : " Are 
 you in earnest ? Ah, yes, the famine ! I would go 
 with you if it were not for Lieschen and mother. 
 When will you come back ?" 
 
 " Who can tell, my lad ? Think of me kindly, do 
 you hear? Kindly ! And now go." 
 
 Adrian rushed down the stairs, and a few 
 moments later the jonker was standing before 
 Maria in Peter's room. The blinds were closed 
 and the candelabrum on the table held two lighted 
 candles. 
 
 " Thank you, thank you a thousand times for 
 coming," said Georg. '• You pronounced my sen- 
 tence yesterday and to-day " 
 
 " I know^ what brings you here," she answered 
 gently. "Ilenrikahas bidden me farewell and I 
 ought not to keep her back. She does not wish 
 you to accompany her, but Meister Wilhelm has 
 told me alb You have come to say good-by.' ' 
 
 " Yes, Maria, good-by forever." 
 
 "If God wills, we shall see each other again. I 
 know what drives you away from here. You are 
 good, noble, Georg, and if anything can lessen the 
 pain of parting, it is this : we can think of each 
 
302 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 other without grief or resentment. You will not 
 forget us and — as you know — your memory will be 
 cherished in the hearts of all here." 
 ^ " And in yours too, Maria?" 
 
 "In mine too." 
 
 "Hold fast to it! And when the storm has 
 swept from your path the poor dust that to-day 
 lives and breathes, loves and despairs, grant it a 
 place in your memory." 
 
 Maria "^shuddered, for he looked at her with a 
 somber gh^ani of })ro found despair in his eyes, and, 
 seized with keen apprehension, she cried: "What 
 are you thinking of, Georg — for Christ's sake, what 
 are 3'ou thinking of V 
 
 "Nothing wrong, Maria, nothing wrong," he 
 answered dully, "AH men are not alike, lie who 
 can exist wnth sluggish blood from one decade to 
 another in peace and honor is a fortunate man. 
 My blood runs in a more rapid course. And what 
 my eager soul has once clasped with its polypean 
 arms, it does not relinquish until its death-knell 
 sounds. I am going. I shall not return ; but you 
 and my love I shall take with me into battle, into 
 the grave. 1 go " 
 
 " Not like this, Georg ; you must not go like 
 this." 
 
 " Then say : ' Stay !' Then say : ' Here I am, and 
 I pity you.'' But do not encourage the poor wretch 
 whom you have blinded to open iiis e\'es and delight 
 in the beauties of creation. There you stand trem- 
 bling and quivering, and you have no word for him 
 wiio loves you, for him — him " 
 
 The young man's voice was choked by his deep 
 emotion, and, sighing heavily, he pressed his hand 
 to his forehead. Then he seemed to recollect him- 
 self, and went on sadly : " Here I stand to tell you 
 one last time what is in mv heart. You should hear 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 303 
 
 sweet words, but pain and sorrow would be mingled 
 with all that I could say. Take this book. When- 
 ever my heart dictated, I wrote in verse that for 
 whicli harsh prose has no expression. Read these 
 pages, Maria, and if they awaken an echo in your 
 heart, keep them. The honeysuckle in your garden 
 needs a support that it may grow and put forth 
 flowers ; let these ])oor verses be the prop about 
 which your memory of me may entwine its tendrils 
 and cling lovingl3^ Read, and then say once more : 
 'You are dear to me,' or send me from you." 
 
 " Give them to me,*' said Maria, and she opened 
 the book with a tlirobbing heart. 
 
 He stepped back from her, but his breath came 
 fast, and his eyes followed her as she read. 
 
 She began with the last poem but one. It had 
 been written the previous day, shortly after Georg's 
 return. 
 
 " FrOhlich Ziehen sie dahin, 
 Lichter strahlen (lurch die Scheiben, 
 Und die Strassen aiif und ab 
 Woght eiii vielgeschaft'ges Treiben. 
 O, der froheii Festesnacht; 
 Wenn's doch evvig also bliebe! 
 Ewig! ewig? Arme Pracht! 
 Kiirzes Leuchten, arme Liebe." 
 
 The last poem Georg had written with flying 
 pen the night before. He bemoaned therein his 
 sad lot. She must listen to him once, once, and 
 then he would sing her an unequaled song. She 
 had glanced over the lirst lines in silence, but then 
 her lips began to move, and she read rapidly and in 
 a low but audible voice : 
 
 " Bald sollt' es touen wie dcs Donners Schallen, 
 Bald sauft und flotend durch die Mainacht wallen. 
 Bald wiird's zum Himmel jubelfroh getragen 
 Und schluchzen bald wie Philomelens Klagen. 
 
304 1 HE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 Und dieses Lied, es konnte nie verklingen, 
 Zum Olir dcr ganzen Menschhoit niiisst' es dringen 
 Zur tiefsten Ilolile. in die dunklcii Grlifte, 
 Zum Aethermeer hoch uberm Keicli der Liifte, 
 V AlliiberuU wiird' dann meiii Sang vernoninien, 
 
 Die Scbopfung lauschte sehnsuclilsvoU bekloramen 
 
 Und stimmte ein in vollen Jnbelchoren 
 
 Und bate Dich, den Sanger zu ei-horen. 
 
 Und ob der Epheu langst mein Grab umschlange, 
 
 Sie toiien fort die slissen Zauberkliinge, 
 
 In aller Welt, durcli alle Erdenzonen, 
 
 Gewaltig von Aeonen zur Aeoneu!" 
 
 Her heart beat faster as she read and her breath 
 carae more and more rapidly, and when she reached 
 the last lines, tears were in her e3^es and she raised 
 the book in both hands to fling it aside and to 
 throw her arms about the writer's neck. 
 
 He had been standing spellbound before her, 
 listening rapturously to the noble flight of his own 
 w^ords. Trembling with passion, he mastered him- 
 self until she had flnished, until her eyes were lifted 
 from his verses, and she had raised the book high 
 in the air, then his self-control fled to the winds 
 and, beside himself, he cried: "Maria, sweet, in- 
 comparable woman !" 
 
 "• Woman ! Wife ?" echoed like a w^arning cry 
 within her and an icy hand seemed to clutch at her 
 heart. The delirium vanished, and wlicn she saw 
 him standing before her with glowing eyes and 
 outstretched arms, she recoiled, and an intense hor- 
 ror of him and of her own weakness seized her, and, 
 instead of flinging aside the book and running 
 toward him, she tore it into two pieces and said 
 proudly : " Here are your verses, Jonker von Dorn- 
 burg ; take them with you." Then, maintaining 
 her dignity with an effort, she continueil more 
 gently: " 1 shall remember you without this book. 
 We have both been dreaming ; let us come to our 
 
TSE jBVROOMASTER'S WIPE. 305 
 
 senses now. Farewell ! I shall pray God to pro- 
 tect you. Give me your hand, Georg, and, when 
 you return, we will bid you welcome to our house 
 as a friend." 
 
 With that Maria turned away from the jonker 
 and only nodded silently, when he called after her : 
 * Is it all, ail over 2" 
 
306 : THE B UBOOMASTER '6 WIFE. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXI. 
 
 Georg went down the stairs like one stunned. 
 He had in his hand both halves of the book in 
 wiiich he had written a collection of poems to 
 Maria from the time of the wedding in Delft. 
 
 The firelight from the kitchen illuminated the 
 hall. He followed the light, and, before answering 
 Barbara's friendly greeting, he approached the 
 hearth and tossed the pages into the flames. 
 
 " Oho, jonker !" cried the widow. "A quick fire 
 is not suited to every dish. What are you 
 burning ?" 
 
 " Senseless paper," he answered. " Don't be 
 uneasy. At best it might weep and extinguish the 
 flames. It will be asbes directly. Tiiere go the 
 sparks in orderly rows through the black, charred 
 pages. How pretty it looks ! They come and go 
 — like the torches of a funeral procession on a dark 
 night. Sleep well, poor children — sleep well, dear 
 verses. Look, mother ! See them rolling up tightly, 
 convulsively, as though it hurt them to burn." 
 
 " What nonsensical talk I" interrupted Barbara, 
 pushing the charred book into the fire with the 
 tongs, and, pointing to her own forehead, she con- 
 tinued warningly : " You make a body afraid for 
 you at times. Lofty words like those in the Psalms 
 are not for a kitchen and everyday life. H you 
 belonged to me, 1 should give you a piece of my 
 mind now and then. A steady gait brings one 
 soonest to the goal." 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFF.. 307 
 
 " A good piece of advice for a traveler," answered 
 Georg, holding out his hand to the widow. "Good- 
 by, good mother. I can stand it here no longer. 
 In half an hour I shall have turned my back upon 
 this good city." 
 
 "Nonsense! how can you? Or is the friiulein 
 going to take you in tow ? A nobleman's son and 
 a nobleman's daughter! Birds of a feather — but 
 no ; there has been nothing between you two. She 
 is good at heart, but I should wish you some other 
 wife than that Papist weather vane." 
 
 " Then Henrika has told you " 
 
 "She has just gone. Mein Gott — she has rela- 
 tions outside and we — it is hard to divide a plum 
 into tw^elve pieces ! I bade her godspeed cheerfully ; 
 but you, Georg, you " 
 
 " I am to escort her out of the city and then — 
 you will not blame me — then I shall make my way 
 to the Beggars." 
 
 " To the Beggars! That is quite another thing, 
 that is right of you! You will be in your element 
 there ! Be of good heart, jonker, and go forth 
 boldly. Give me your hand, and if 3'ou meet my 
 boy — he is in command of a ship of his own — Ifein 
 Gott, I have an idea ! You can wait a moment 
 longer. Trautchen, come here. Upstairs in the 
 painted chest are the woolen stockings that I have 
 knitted for him. Be quick and bring them ! He 
 may have use for them on the water in this damp 
 fall weather. You shall take them with you." 
 
 " Willingly, most willingly, and let me thank you 
 too for your kindness. You have been like a 
 mother to me." Georg took the wadow's hand in 
 his and neither attempted to conceal the affection 
 they had come to feel for each other, and their 
 sorrow at parting. Trautchen had placed the 
 woolen stockings in Barbara's hand and while the 
 
;308 THE nVROOMASTER'S WTFE. 
 
 latter was saying the last good-by to the jonker, 
 many tears fell upon them. When Barbara saw 
 that they were already wet before the first rain, 
 she shook them in the air and gave them to the 
 jcxnker. 
 
 The night was dark but still, sultry indeed. The 
 travelers were received at the llohenort Gate by 
 Herr van Duivenvoorde. An old sergeant went 
 before him with a lantern and opened the gate. 
 Tlie captain embraced his comrade, a few words of 
 farewell and godspeed echoed from the walls, and 
 the three were in the open. 
 
 For a time they walked in silence through the 
 gloom. Wilhelm knew the way and walked ahead 
 of the friiuleiii ; tlie jonker kept close at her side. 
 
 All was still, save for the sound of a command 
 from the walls, the striking of a clock, or the bark- 
 ino^ of a doo; from time to time. 
 
 Henrika had recognized Georg in the light of the 
 lantern, and, when Wilhelm stopped to see whether 
 there was water in the ditch across which he 
 intended to lead his companions, she said in a low 
 voice : 
 
 " I had not counted upon your escort, jonker." 
 
 "I know it, but I too wished to leave the city." 
 
 " And wished to avail 3'ourself of our knowledge 
 of the password. Stay with us then." 
 
 "Until 1 know you to be in safety, friiulein." 
 
 " The walls of Leyden already lie between you 
 and the danger from which you are fleeing." 
 
 " I do not understand you." 
 
 " So much the better." 
 
 Wilhehn turned and in a low voice besought his 
 companions to keep silent. They went on without 
 a word until, close by the camp, they reached the 
 highroad, around which they had made a circuit. 
 
 A Spanish sentinel challenged them. 
 
TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 309 
 
 " Lepantor was the answer. 
 
 They continued their way undisturbed through 
 the midst of the camp. A four-horse coach, a box 
 hung between two diminutive front wheels and a 
 ])air of monster hind wheels, drove slowly past 
 them. It was conveying back to the Hague the 
 daughter of a prominent Netherland official, Mag- 
 dalena Moons, who had been paying a visit to her 
 adorer and afterward husband, the commander-in- 
 chief, Yaldez. Ilenrika attracted no attention, for 
 there were plenty of women in the camp. A few 
 poverty-stricken creatures were seated before the 
 tents, mending the soldiers' clothes. In front of an 
 officer's tent some gaudily dressed wenches were 
 drinkino; wine and throwing dice with their com- 
 panions. Behind the commander's tent shone a 
 brighter light. Here, under an awning, were 
 placed a number of confessionals and an altar. 
 Upon the latter candles were burning and above it 
 hung a silv^er lamp. Around it pressed a dark and 
 motionless throng — Castilian warriors, some of 
 whom could be recognized when f he lamp or candle- 
 light touched their helmets or coats of mail. 
 
 The loud carousing of German mercenaries, the 
 neighing and stamping of horses, the laughter of 
 the officers and women drowned the low chanting 
 of the priests and the murmur of those who were 
 praying and confessing; but the sharp tinkle of the 
 bell calling to mass rose from time to time with 
 sharp insistence above the uproar of the camp. 
 Close by Leyderdorp the password again proved 
 effectual and they reached the first houses un- 
 molested. 
 
 " Here we are," said "VVilhelm, drawing a long 
 breath. "Take advantage of the night, jonker, to 
 leave the Spaniards far behind you." 
 
 " No, my friend : you are still here and I wish to 
 
3 10 THE B U ROOM A STER 'S WIFE. 
 
 sliare 3^011 r danger. I shall return to Leyden witli 
 you and then try to make my way to Deift; in the 
 meantime I will remain ou watch below, so as to 
 warn you if need be." 
 
 " " Let us part here, Georg ; it may be hours before 
 I return." 
 
 " I have time enough— too much time. I will wait. 
 The door is being opened." 
 
 The jonker laid his hand on his sword, but his 
 grasp soon relaxed, for it was Belotti who advanced 
 toward them and saluted the signorina. 
 
 Henrika followed him into the house and con- 
 versed with him in a low tone until Georg addressed 
 her. 
 
 " Friiulein van Hoogstraten, I would ask for a 
 short godspeed." 
 
 ''Farewell, Ilerr von Dornburg," she answered 
 coldly, advancing a step toward him. 
 
 Georg also stepped forward and held out his 
 hand. She hesitated an instant, then placed hers in 
 it and said in so low a tone that he alone could hear 
 her : 
 
 " Do 3^ou love Maria ?" 
 
 " I am to confess then ?" 
 
 " Do not refuse my last request as you did my 
 first. If you can be magnanimous, answer without 
 hesitation. I will betray your secret to no one. Do 
 you love Frau van der Werff ?" 
 
 " Yes, f raulein." 
 
 Henrika drew a long breath and then asked : 
 " And you are going out into the world in order to 
 forget her?" 
 
 " No, friiulein." 
 
 " Then tell me why you have fled from Ley- 
 den." 
 
 " To seek an end worthy of a soldier." 
 She came (piite close to iiim and cried so scorn- 
 fully that it cut Georg to the heart: 
 
THE BUROOM ASTER' 8 WIFE. 311 
 
 " You too, then ! It seizes all : knights, maidens, 
 wives, and widows ; it spares none. There is no end 
 to the misery. Farewell, Georg. We ma\' hi ugh at 
 each other or pity each other, just as the fancy lakes 
 us. A heart pierced with seven swords : what a 
 delightful picture ! Let us wear blood-red knots in- 
 stead of green and blue ! Give me your hand once 
 more, and now, God go with you !" 
 
 Ilenrika beckoned to the musician and both fol- 
 lowed Belotti up the steep, narrow stairs. AVilhelm 
 remained behind in a small room. This adjoined a 
 second, where a handsome three-year-old boy was 
 waiting with an old Italian nurse. In a third room, 
 which like all the others in the farmhouse was so low 
 that a tall man could not stand upright, lay Ilen- 
 rika's sister, on a wide bedstead, above which a 
 screen, resembling a flat canopy, was supported by 
 four small columns. Pine torches dimly lighted the 
 long, low room. The ruddy light of their broad 
 flames was lost under the canopy, rendering the 
 sufferer's face scarcely recognizable. 
 
 Ilenrika had given but a luirried greeting to the 
 child and the nurse in the second room. She burst 
 into the third with violent haste, ran to the bed, 
 dropped upon her knees, threw her arras passionately 
 about her sister, and covered her face with burning 
 kisses. 
 
 She said nothing but " Anna " and the sufferer 
 found no other word than "Henrika." Minutes 
 passed. Then the girl sprang up, seized one of the 
 burnino: torches, and let the light fall upon her 
 sister's face. How pale, how wasted it was I But it 
 was still beautiful, still as it used to be. A strange 
 mingling of joy and pain lilled Ilenrika's soul. 
 What had been cold and hard in her grew warm 
 again and melted, and the relief of tears so long 
 denied her I'eturned to her in this hour. 
 
312 TUE EURO OM ASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 Little by little the flood of feeling began to ebb 
 and the confused and broken words of endearment 
 resolved themselves into questions and answers. 
 When Anna learned that the musician had accom- 
 vpanied her sister, she expressed a wish to see him, 
 and, as he entered, she stretched out both hands to 
 him and cried : 
 
 " Meister, meister, in what a condition do you 
 find me! See, Henrika, this is the best of men ; the 
 only disinterested friend I have found in the world." 
 
 The hours that followed were tilled with painful 
 emotions. 
 
 Belotti and the old Italian woman often under- 
 took to speak for the sufferer and gradually unfolded 
 before Henrika and AVilhelm the picture of a life 
 shamefully ruined and worthy of a better fate. 
 Anxiety, care, and agonizing doubt had from the 
 first saddened Anna's life with the unscrupulous 
 gambler and adventurer who had succeeded in 
 ensnaring her inexperienced young heart. A brief 
 period of intoxication was followed by a hideous 
 awakening. Shortly after the birth of her child, Don 
 Luis demanded that she should accompany him to 
 the house of a marchesa of ill repute, in whose no- 
 torious gambling-rooms he had spent his evenings 
 and nights for months. She had angrily refused to 
 comply wnth his command, but he had coolly and 
 threateningly persisted in his will. Then thelloog- 
 straten blood made itself felt and she fled secretly 
 with her child to Lugano. There the bov had been 
 received by her mother's former waitin<»-maid; she, 
 however, had gone to Home, not as an adventuress, 
 but with a fixed and worth}' ])urpose in view. She 
 wished to develop her musical gifts to the full in 
 the new schools of Palestrina and Nanini and enable 
 herself to make her child inde])en(lent of his father 
 and of her people, who had cast her off. She was 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 313 
 
 risking much, but she had very positive hopes in 
 view, for an eminent prelate and lover of music, to 
 whom she had had letters of introduction fi-om 
 Brussels, and who was familiar with her voice, had 
 promised upon her return from Rome to give her 
 the position of instructor in singing to the young- 
 ladies of noble birth who were being educated in a 
 convent at Milan. This convent was under his 
 supervision, and the worthy man took care to 
 provide Anna with letters to his friends in the 
 eternal city. 
 
 Her sudden departure from Rome had been 
 caused by the news that Don Luis had found his 
 son and had carried him off. She could not lose 
 her child, and, as she did not find him in Milan, she 
 followed him and finally found him in Naples. 
 There D'Avila gave her back her child after she had 
 consented to make over to him the income which 
 she still received from her aunt. The long journey, 
 full of anxieties and difficulties, had exhausted her 
 strength, and, sick and broken, she returned to 
 Milan. 
 
 Her patron had taken care to keep the position 
 of singing-teacher open for her, but she could only 
 fill it for a short tii:ie, for her illness increased and 
 a distressing cough ruined her voice. She turned 
 once more to Lugano and tried there bv the sale of 
 her jewels to indemnify her honest friends, but the 
 time soon came when she was forced to live upon 
 the charity of a servant. Until the last six months 
 she had not suffered actual want, but when her 
 benefactors husband died, there arose the anxiety 
 about their daily bread, and a mother's love broke 
 down Anna's pride; she wrote to her father as a re- 
 pentant and heartbroivcn daughter, but she received 
 no answer. At last, when starvation was staring 
 her and her child in the face, the sick woman took 
 
3 14 THE B UROOMASTER 'S WIFE. 
 
 upon herself tlie hardest task of all and implored 
 the man whom she coukl now regard with nothing 
 but loathing and contempt not to let his own son 
 grow up like a beggar's child. The letter contain- 
 "• ing this cry of despair had reached Don Luis in 
 Plolland, shortly before his death. There was no 
 help to come from him. liut JBelotti appeared and 
 now she was in her native land again, her friend 
 and her sister were standing at her bedside, and 
 Ilenrika encouraged her to hope for her fathers 
 forgiveness. 
 
 Midnight was past and Georg was still waiting 
 for his friend's return. The noise and bustle of 
 the camp were beginning to subside, and the lantern, 
 which from the first had but feebly lighted the 
 broad lower room of the farmhouse, was flickering 
 more feebly still. The German shared the room 
 with farming implements, harnesses, and heaped-up 
 stores of grain and vegetables, but he lacked the 
 inclination to cast even a glance at his bizarre sur- 
 roundings. There was nothing cheering for hira in 
 the present or in the future. He felt humiliated, 
 guilty, weary of life. His self-respect lay in the 
 dust, love and happiness were lost by his own folly, 
 before him lay nothing but a colorless and jo3dess 
 future full of bitterness and torment. He wished 
 for nothing but a speedy death. In the midst of 
 this rose the ])leasant ])icture of his home — but it 
 vanished as soon as he remembered the dignified 
 figure of the burgomaster, his own weakness, and 
 the repulse he had received. He was filled with 
 violent anger against himself and he longed with 
 passionate impatience for the clash of swords ami 
 the roar of cannon, for desperate struggle man to 
 man. 
 
 The time slipped by and he did not notice it, but 
 a torturing desire for food began to torment the 
 
THE BUROOMjiSTEirS WIFE. 315 
 
 hungry man. Turnips there were in plenty piled 
 against the walls, and he devoured one after another 
 until he felt the long unknown sensation of satiety. 
 Tiien he seated himself on a kneading-trough and 
 meditated as to how he was to make his way to the 
 Beo-gars. He was unfamiliar with the road, but 
 woe to those who ventured to interfere with him. 
 His arm and his sword were good and there were 
 Spaniards enough near at hand who might feel both. 
 He began to gvow imjiatient, and it was a welcome 
 distraction when he heard steps aj)proach and saw 
 a man's hgure entering the house. lie had stationed 
 himself against the wall, his sword resting in his 
 crossed arms, and challenged the late-comer with a 
 loud "halt." 
 
 The latter drew his sword at once, and, when 
 Georg asked him authoritatively what he sought 
 there, he answered in a boyish, but proud and un- 
 daunted voice : 
 
 "I would ask you that! lam in my father's 
 house." 
 
 " Indeed !" smilingly answered the German, who 
 in the feeble light of the lantern had recognized the 
 speaker's hgui-e. " Put up your sword again. If 
 you are young JMatenesse van Wibisma, you have 
 nothing to fear from me."' 
 
 " I am he. But what are you doing at night on 
 our property with yonr sword under your arm ?" 
 
 " I am warming the wall for my own pleasure, 
 or, if you wish to hear the truth, I am keeping 
 watch." 
 
 " In our house ?" 
 
 " Yes, Ilerr Jonker. There is one upstairs with 
 your cousin who would not wish to be surprised by 
 a Spaniard. Go up without hesitation. I have 
 heard from Captain van Duivenvoorde what a 
 valiant lad you are." 
 
316 THE BURG OMASTEirS WIFE. 
 
 " From Herr van AVarraond ?" asked Nicolas ex- 
 citedly. " Tell me : what brings you here and who 
 may you be ?" 
 
 " One who is fighting for your freedom— a Ger- 
 ^raan, Georg von Dornburg." 
 
 "Then please wait here. I shall l)o hack in a 
 moment. Do you know whether Friiuiein van 
 Hoogstraten " 
 
 " She is up there," answered Georg, pointing to 
 the stairs. 
 
 Nicolas sprang up the staircase, called his cousin, 
 and told her hurriedly that her father had had a 
 severe fall from his horse while hunting and was 
 lying ill. He had flown into a violent passion when 
 Kicolas had spoken of Anna, but shortly after he 
 had voluntarily^ requested Nicolas to tell him about 
 her and had attempted to leave his bed and accom- 
 pany him. He had succeeded in rising, but had 
 fallen back fainting upon the couch. When his 
 father came early the next morning, Nicolas went 
 on, she was to tell him that he begged his for- 
 giveness: he was about to do what he considered 
 his duty. 
 
 He avoided Henrika's questions and only inquired 
 hurriedly as to Anna's condition and about the 
 Leydener of whom Georg had spoken. 
 
 When he heard Wilhelm's name, he begged Hen- 
 rika to warn him to start as soon as possible and in 
 his company. Then he hastily took leave of her 
 and ran down the stairs. 
 
 Wilhelm soon followed him. Henrika accom- 
 panied him to the stairs to see Georg once more, 
 but as soon as she heard his voice she turned defi 
 antly and went back to her sister. 
 
 The musician found Jonker von Dornburg in eager 
 conversation with Nicolas. 
 
 " No, no, my lad," the German was saying ear- 
 nestly, " my way cannoi be yours." 
 
TEE BUBGOMASTElVa WIFE. 317 
 
 "I am seventeen." 
 
 " It is not that, it is not that. You confronted 
 me bravely awhile ago and you have a man's 
 strength of will — but life will bear many flowers 
 for you yet, fair ones, God grant — you are starting 
 out to win with your sword for yourself and your 
 country a worthy lot in freedom and prosperity — 
 but I — give me your hand and promise me " 
 
 " My hand? There it is ; but I must refuse you 
 the promise. With you or without you, I am going 
 to the Beggars." 
 
 Georg looked approvingly at the lad and asked 
 gently : 
 
 " Is your mother living ?'* 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Then come. Doubtless we shall both find what 
 we seek, with the Beggars." 
 
 Nicolas grasped the hand that Georg extended, 
 and Wilhelm approached the jonker and said : 
 
 " I expected this of you when I saw you at St. 
 Peter's Church and at Quatgelat's tavern." 
 
 " You were the first to open my eyes," cried 
 Nicolas. " Come now, we will go directly through 
 the camp ; they all know me." 
 
 The boy kept close to the jonker on the road, and 
 in answer to Georg's remark that he was placing 
 himself in an unfortunate position toward his father, 
 replied : 
 
 "I know it and it makes me so unhappy, so 
 unhappy. But I cannot help it. I cannot let the 
 reproach ' traitor' remain upon our name." 
 
 " Your cousin Matenesse, Herr von Riviere, is 
 also devoted to the good cause." 
 
 " But my father thinks otherwise. He has the 
 courage to expect good from the Spaniards. From 
 the Spaniards I I have come to know them in 
 these months. A brave Leyden lad — vou will know 
 
?, 1 8 TJIE B URGOMASTER 'S WIFE. 
 
 him by his nickname of 'Lowing,' which he truly 
 deserved — was captured by them in a fair fight; 
 and then — it still makes me shudder when I think 
 of it — tliey hung him up with Lis liead downward 
 and tortured him to death. I was there, and not a 
 word of what they said escaped me. If they had 
 their way, all Holland should share the same fate. 
 And such remarks are heard evei-y day. No insult 
 is too deep for us, and the king thinks as his sol- 
 diers do. Let who will be the slave of a master 
 who oppresses and despises us ! My holy religion 
 is eternal and indestructible. .1 do not care whetiier 
 it is hateful to many of the Beggars, if they will 
 only help to break the Spanish chains." 
 
 Talking thus, they walked through the Spanish 
 camp, non' bnried in slumber. Then they came to 
 the German quarters, where carousing was still 
 going on before many a tent. At the outer edge of 
 the camp a sutler and his wife were packing up 
 their remaining wares. 
 
 Wilhehn had walked in silence behind the other 
 two, for his heart was deeply stirred, and pain and 
 joy were dee])ly struggling for the mastery. He 
 was inspired with pure and noble thoughts; but 
 suddenly he stopj)ed before the sutler's stand, and 
 stretched out his hand toward the bread that was 
 gradually disappearing into a chest. 
 
 Hunger had become a stern, only too stern a 
 power in the city yonder, and it was not at all 
 astonishing that Wilhelm approached the sutler,, 
 and, with sparkling eyes, purchased all the ham and 
 bread there was left. 
 
 Nicolas laughed at the package that he carried 
 under his arm, but Georg said : 
 
 " You have not looked want in the face yet, 
 jonker. This bread is medicine for the most terrible 
 disease." 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. ZV.) 
 
 At the Hohenort Gate, Georg caused Captain van 
 Warmond to be roused, and presented JSTicolas to 
 him as a future Beggar. The captain congratulated 
 the lad, and offered him money to provide himself 
 in Delft with whatever he needed, and to defray 
 his expenses during the first few weeks. Nicolas, 
 however, refused the offer, for a purse full of gold 
 pieces hung at his belt. A dealer in precious stones 
 in the Hague had given them to him the day before 
 for old Friiulein van Hoogstraten's emerald ring. 
 
 Nicolas showed his treasure to the captain, and 
 then cried : 
 
 "Forward, now, Jonker von Dornburg. I know 
 where we shall find the Beggars. And you. Cap- 
 tain van Duivenvoorde, tell the burgomaster and 
 Janus Dousa what I have become," 
 
320 TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 '[ CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 A WEEK had elapsed since Henrika's flight and 
 with it a succession of days fraught with privation. 
 Maria had learned from the musician that young 
 Matenesse had followed Georg and that both were 
 on their way to the Beggars. It was as it should 
 be. The leaping brook belonged to the wild, rush- 
 ing, mighty river. She wished him safety, success, 
 and happiness ; but — strange — since the hour in 
 which she had torn his book asunder, the recollec- 
 tion of him had become as vague as in the days 
 before the Spaniards' arrival. Yes, after the hard- 
 won victory over herself and after his departure a 
 rare spirit of happiness had come over the young 
 wife. She had been hard tovrard herself, and the 
 inner light of the pure diamond only shines in its 
 true brillianc}^ after it has borne the torture of the 
 cutter's tool. She now recognized with joyful 
 gratitude that she could look, unafraid, into Peter's 
 eyes, love him, and require love in return. Under 
 the burden of his cares, he seemed scarcely to 
 notice her and her doings, but she felt none the less 
 that he was pleased by much that she said and did 
 for him. The young wife did not sulfer to any 
 extent under the protracted famine, while it told 
 upon Barbara and weakened her strong frame. She 
 often grew despairing before the cold hearth and 
 the empty pots and pans and no longer considered 
 it worth while to flute her great cap and neck-ruflf. 
 It was now for Maria to encourage her and to re- 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. Z'H 
 
 mind her of her son, the Beggar captain, who would 
 soon enter Leyden witli the rescuing army. 
 
 On tlie sixth of September, the burgomaster's 
 wife was returning home from an early walk. An 
 autumn mist darkened the air and the wind from 
 the sea drove a fine, drizzling rain througli the 
 streets. The dripping trees had long been robbed 
 of their leaves, but not by wind and weather, but 
 by children and adults who had prized this food for 
 insects as a precious vegetable. 
 
 Near the Schagensteg, Maria caught sight of 
 Adrian and hurried to overtake him. The boy was 
 walking listlessly along and counting aloud to him- 
 self. Maria called to him and asked him why he 
 was not at school and what he was doing. 
 
 " I am counting," was the answer. " That makes 
 nine." 
 
 "Nine?" 
 
 " Nine bodies that I have met ; the rector sent us 
 all home. Master Dirks is dead and there were 
 only thirteen of us to-day. There, they bring 
 another one." 
 
 Maria drew her cloak closer together and walked 
 on. A tall, narrow house lay at her left. A cob- 
 bler lived there, a jovial fellow over whose door two 
 inscriptions were to be read. One ran as follows: 
 
 " Here are shoes of every kind, 
 Round above and flat below ; 
 If David's foot they do not suit, 
 Goliath's foot they'll fit, I know." 
 
 And the other : 
 
 " When the Israelites wandered through the desert, 
 Full forty years their shoes they wore. 
 If such were still the custom pleasant. 
 Apprentice would ne'er seek cobbler's door." 
 
 On the ridge of the tall house stood the stork's 
 
322 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 nest. It was empty. The red-billed visitors were 
 not in the habit of setting out on their journey to 
 the south so early, and some were still standing, in 
 ^ipparent meditation, on the roofs of Leyden. Wliat 
 had become of the cobblers friendly guests? At 
 noon, the day before, their liost, who was accus- 
 tomed in March to secure with iiis own hand the 
 fortune-bringing nest, had crei)t upon the roof and 
 shot down with his cross-bow first the female and 
 then the male, as he was returning to his nest. It 
 had been hard enough for him to do this and liis 
 wife had wept in the kitchen while the evil deed 
 was being done, but when starvation is at the door 
 and one sees one's dear ones dying, one does not 
 think of old affections and future happiness, but 
 seeks salvation for to-day. 
 
 The storks had been sacrified too late, for the 
 cobbler's son, his growing apprentice, had, on that 
 night, closed his eyes forever. Loud lamentations 
 reached Maria through the oj)en door of the shop 
 and Adrian said : ''Jaco!) is dead and Mabel is 
 dying. The cobbler cursed ine this morning on 
 father's account. It was his fault, he said, if we all 
 went to destruction. Is there no biead again to- 
 day, mother ? Barbel still has some biscuit left 
 and I feel so sick. I cannot swallow any more of 
 that everlasting meat." 
 
 " Perhaps we can find a slice for you to-day. We 
 must be sparing of bread, child." 
 
 In the hall of her house, Maria found a servant 
 clad in black. He had come to announce the death 
 of Commissioner Dietrich van Bronkliorst. On the 
 evening of the ])revious day, Sunday, death had cut 
 short this strong man's life. 
 
 Maria already knew of this heavy loss, which 
 placed upon her husband's shoulders the entire re- 
 sponsibility of all that was to happen. She had 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 323 
 
 also learned that a letter had been received from 
 Commander-in-chief Valdez, and in this letter Val- 
 dez had pledged his word as a nobleman to spare 
 tlie city if it surrendered to the " clemency " of the 
 king, and to grant to her husband, Ilerr van der 
 Does, and the other leaders of the rebelHon, safe 
 conduct through the Spanish lines. The Spaniards 
 should be withdrawn and Leyden garrisoned with 
 only a few German troops. He invited Van der 
 "Werff and the Seigneur of JS'ordwyk to Leyderdorp 
 as intermediaries and promised to send them home 
 under a safe escort, even if the negotiations failed. 
 Finally Maria knew that her husband had sum- 
 moned for that day a great meeting of the council, 
 the aldermen, and the principal men in tlie city, as 
 well as the captains of the burgher-guard — but not 
 a word of all this had come to her ears through 
 Peter himself. She had learned it all from Frau 
 van Hout and the wives of other burghers. 
 
 A great change had taken place in her husband 
 Avithin the last few days. He came and went, pale 
 and gloomy. Silent and consumed by care, he kept 
 aloof from his own family. He repulsed his wife 
 curtly and impatiently whenever, following the 
 impulse of her heart, she approached him with 
 words of encouragement. Night brought him no 
 sleep and he left his bed before morning 
 dawned, to wander restlessly up and down, or look 
 at Lieschen, who would only show by a faint smile 
 that she recognized him. 
 
 When Maria reached home, she went at once to 
 the child and found Doctor Bontius with her. He 
 shook his head as Maria entered, and said that it 
 would soon be over with the frail little thing. Her 
 stomach had been injured during the first months 
 of want and it now refused to act, and it would be 
 folly to hope for recovery. 
 
324 THE DUIIOOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " She must live, she must not die," cried Maria 
 wildly, and yet hopefully, like a true mother who 
 cannot grasp the thought that she can lose her 
 child, even when the little heart ceases to beat and 
 the bright eyes grow dim and close. " Lieschen, 
 Lieschen, look at me! Lieschen, drink this nice 
 milk. Only a few drops ! Lieschen, Lieschen, you 
 must not die !"' 
 
 Peter had entered the room unnoticed and had 
 heard the last words. AVith bated breath he looked 
 down at his darling, and his broad shoulders shook 
 as he said to the doctor in a stifled, faltering voice : 
 "Must she die?" 
 
 " Yes, I fear so ! Bear up, old friend ! There is 
 still much left you. The Van Loos have lost all 
 five by the plague." 
 
 Peter shuddered, and, without noticing Maria, left 
 the room with bowed head. 
 
 Bontius followed him to his stud}'^, laid his hand 
 on his arm, and said : 
 
 " Our short span of life is made bitter for us, 
 Peter. Barbara tells me that they laid a body at 
 your door early this morning." 
 
 " Yes. When I went out, I was greeted by the 
 ghastly face. It was the body of a young man. 
 They hold me responsible for all whom death cuts 
 down. Look where one will — bodies! Go where 
 one will — curses ! Have I authority over so many 
 lives? Day and night, nothing but death and 
 misery before my eyes ; and yet, yet, yet — my 
 God ! save me from madness !" 
 
 Peter clasped his forehead with both hands ; but 
 Bontius had no word of consolation for him and 
 cried : 
 
 "And I, and I? My wife and the little one are 
 down with fever, I on my feet da}' and night, not 
 to cure, but to see people die. All that a man has 
 
THE nUROOM ASTER'S WIFE. 325 
 
 learned by hard study becomes child's play at such 
 a time, and yet the poor wretches give a sigh of 
 hope when I feel their pulses. But things cannot 
 go on like this, they cannot. Seventy deaths day 
 before yesterday, yesterday eighty-six, and among 
 them two of my colleagues." 
 
 " And no prospect of improvement ?" 
 
 "To-morrow the ninety will swell to a hundred, 
 the one before the hundred will be changed to two 
 and three and four and five — until at last there 
 will be one man left whom there will be no one to 
 bury." 
 
 "The infected houses are isolated and we still 
 have cattle and horses.". 
 
 " But the pestilence creeps out through the cracks, 
 and since the last loaf of bread and the last malt 
 cake was distributed and the people have to live 
 upon meat, meat, and nothing but meat — a raiser- 
 able little piece for the whole day — disease piles 
 upon disease in forms that were never heard of and 
 for which no remedies have been discovered. This 
 drawing water with a bottomless jug is beginning 
 to be too much for me. My brain is no stronger 
 than yours. Until to-morrow." 
 
 " To-day, today ! You will be at the meeting at 
 theEathhaus?" 
 
 "Certainly not! Do what you can answer for; 
 I must pursue my calling — which now means to 
 close men's eyes and to hold post-mortem examina- 
 tions. If this goes on much longer practice will 
 soon be at a standstill." 
 
 " In short : in my place, you would treat with 
 Valdez ?" 
 
 " In your place ? I am not you : I am a doctor 
 who has nothinfr to do but to enter the lists ao:ainst 
 sufferino^ and death. Since Bronkhorst's death you 
 are the providence of the city. Add to the meat a 
 
32(j THE BUROO MASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 fiece of bread, if only as big as half my hand, or — 
 love freedom and my country as well as any man 
 
 — or " 
 
 " Or ?" 
 
 " Or — leave death to reap his harvest ; you are 
 no doctor." 
 
 Bontius saluted his friend and left him. Peter, 
 however, passed his hand through his hair and stood 
 staring out of the window until Barbara entered 
 with his robes of office, and, after phicing them on a 
 chair, asked witli feigned composure : 
 
 " May I give Adrian some of the last biscuit? 
 Meat sickens him. He is lying on his bed, writh- 
 ing with pain." 
 
 Peter grew pale and said dully : 
 " Let him have it and send for the doctor." 
 " Maria and Bontius are already with him." 
 The burgomaster changed his dress, and he did so 
 with hatred of every article he put on. The impos- 
 ing robes were as hateful to him to-da^'^as the office 
 that gave him the right to wear them and which, 
 until a few weeks before, he had filled with joyful 
 confidence in himself. 
 
 Before he left the house, he went to Adrian. The 
 boy was lying in Barbara's room, comphiining of 
 violent pains and asking whether he too must die 
 now. Peter shook his head, but Maria kissed the 
 lad and cried : 
 
 " No, no, of course you are not going to die." 
 The burgomaster's time was short, llis wife 
 tried to stop him in the hall, but he hurried down 
 the stairs without hearing what slie called after 
 him. 
 
 Maria returned to Adrian's bedside. As she sat 
 holding his moist hand in hers, she thought fear- 
 fully of the boy's comrades who had died so sud- 
 denly. She thought of Lieschen, she pictured 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 33^ 
 
 Peter at the meeting and heard his powerful voice 
 contending for resistance to the last pound of meat 
 and to the last man ; yes, she might place herself 
 at his side, for she knew what was to come, to en- 
 dure, to endure to the end for freedom's sake, and, 
 if God so willed it, to die a martyr's death, as 
 Jacoba and Leonhard and Peter's noble father had 
 done. 
 
 One anxious hour followed another. 
 
 When Adrian began to feel better, she went to 
 Lieschen, who, pale and listless, seemed to be drift- 
 ing toward death and only raised her tiny linger 
 now and then to play with her parched lips. 
 
 Ah, the sweet human flower that was fading 
 away ! How closel}'' the child had twined herself 
 about Maria's heart, how impossible it seemed to 
 give her up! With tearful eyes, she leaned her 
 forehead upon her clasped hand, which rested on 
 the head-board of the little bed, and ])assionateIy 
 prayed to God to spare this child. She repeated 
 the prayer again and again, but when the dim gaze 
 no longer met hers and her hands fell back into her 
 lap, she thought of Peter, the meeting, the fate of 
 the city, and the words : " Leyden saved. Holland 
 saved ! Leyden lost, all lost !" 
 
 So the hours passed, until the gloomy day was 
 succeeded by twilight and the twilight by evening. 
 Trautchen brought the candles, and, at last, Peter's 
 steps sounded upon the stairs. 
 
 It must be he and yet it could not be, for never 
 had he come upstairs so slowly, so heavily. 
 
 Then the door of the stud}' opened. 
 
 It was he. 
 
 What could have happened to him, what had the 
 burghers decided 'i 
 
 With an anxious heart she bade Trautchen 
 remain with the child, and then she went to her 
 husband. 
 
3;28 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 Peter was sittins: before liis desk, clad in his 
 olKcial robes, liis liat still on his head. His face 
 was buried in his folded arms. 
 
 He saw nothing, heard nothing, and when she 
 sjToke to hiin at last, he spi-ang up and fiuiig his hat 
 violently upon the table. His hair was disordered, 
 his glance unsteady, and, in the faint light of the 
 flickering candles, his cheeks looked ashen. 
 
 " What do you want ?" he asked shortl}' and in a 
 harsh voice, but Maria did not answer him at once. 
 Dread had paralyzed her tongue. 
 
 She found words at last, and there was keen 
 apprehension in her question : 
 
 " What has happened il" 
 
 " The beginning of the end,'' he answered dully. 
 
 " They overruled you ?" cried Maria. " Baersdorp 
 and the other cowards wish to parley ?" 
 
 He drew himself erect and cried in a loud and 
 threatening tone : 
 
 " Be careful of your tongue. He who remains 
 steadfast until his children die and corpses block 
 the way before his very door, he who is answerable 
 for a thousand deaths, who for long weeks has 
 borne revilings and curses, w^ho for more than four 
 months has hoped in vain for rescue — who, wher- 
 ever he may look, sees nothing but unparalleled, 
 ever-increasing misery, and then no longer thrusts 
 aside the eneniv's rescuing hand " 
 
 " Is a coward, a traitor, and breaks the solemn 
 oath that he has made." 
 
 " Maria," thundered Peter, approaching her with 
 threatening looks. 
 
 Breathing quickl}^ and with her figure drawn up 
 to its full height, she awaitetl him, and, pointing at 
 him, cried with a sharp tone in her trembling 
 voice : 
 
 " You, you have sided with the Baersdorps, you, 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 329 
 
 Peter van der Werff ! You have done this thingf, 
 you, the friend ot the prince, the mainstay and 
 protector of this noble city, you, the man who 
 administered the oath to the burghers, the son of a 
 martyr, the champion of liberty " 
 
 " No more !" he interrupted, quivering with 
 shame and emotion. " Do you know what it means 
 to bear before God and mankind the blame of all 
 this awful misery V 
 
 " Yes, yes, a thousand times yes ; it means to 
 place one's iieart upon the rack to save Holland. 
 That is what it means. My God, my God ! You 
 are lost! You are treating with Valdez !" 
 
 " A.nd if I am ?" asked the burgomaster, raising 
 his hand with an angry gesture. 
 
 She looked him steadily in the eye and said 
 resolute]}^ : 
 
 "Then it is my turn to say: Go to Delft; we 
 have need of other men here." 
 
 He grew white and looked down at the floor as 
 she confronted him with fearless bearing. 
 
 The light fell full upon her glowing face, and, 
 when he raised his eyes to hers again, it seemed to 
 him that standing before him was the same Maria 
 who had vowed at the altar to share want and 
 danger with him and to remain at his side, steadfast 
 to the end in the cause of freedom ; he felt that his 
 "child " Maria had grown to his own height and 
 passed him ; he recognized, for the first time, in the 
 proud woman before him his companion in conflict, 
 the noble-minded comrade in dano-er and distress. 
 A longing, stronger and more overpowering than 
 he had ever felt before, surged u[) in him and drove 
 him to her and found expression in the words : 
 
 " Maria, Maria, my wife, my guardian angel ! 
 We have written to Valdez, but there is still time. 
 
330 TUE B URQOM ASTER 'S WIFE. 
 
 Nothing binds me as yet, and with you, with you, I 
 will remain faithful to the end." 
 
 She cried aloud in the fullness of this new, unex- 
 pected, unspeakable happiness, and, running to his 
 ahns, exclaimed : 
 
 "With you, one with you — always, until death, 
 in conflict and in love!" 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 331 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 Peter was animated with fresh hope. Courage 
 and enthusiasm stirred in his breast, constantly in- 
 spired as he was by the confidence of the brave 
 woman at his side. 
 
 Under the pressure of the terrible responsibility 
 that he bore, and importuned by iiis fellow magis- 
 trates, he had consented at the meeting to write to 
 Valdez antl beg for safe conduct for envoys who 
 should appeal to the Estates and the prince to 
 absolve the stricken city from its oath. 
 
 Valdez made every effort to induce the burgo- 
 master to enter into further negotiations, but the 
 latter stood firm and no request for release from 
 the sacred duty of resistance went out from the 
 city. The Seigneurs van der Does, the clerk of the 
 council, Jonker van Warmond, and other resolute 
 men, who had already protested in the great 
 assembly against any dealings with the enemy, 
 sided with him stoutly against his colleagues and 
 the council, which, with the exception of seven 
 members, insisted obstinately and vehemently upon 
 the opening of negotiations. 
 
 Adrian recovered rapidly, but Doctor Bontius' 
 prophecy was hideously fulfilled, for famine and the 
 plague vied with each other in cruel fury and carried 
 off almost half of the inhabitants of the city. Impen- 
 etrable was the gloom and dark the sky, yet in the 
 midst of the awful distress there was many an hour 
 when the sunshine filled all souls and hope unfurled 
 
332 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 her green standard. More radiant than a bride roused 
 on her weddinj^ morning by the songs of her com- 
 panions, did the Leyden burghers rise from their 
 beds, when on the morning of the eleventh of 
 September loud and long-sustained booming of 
 cannon was heard from tlic distance, and the skies 
 were dyed crimson. The villages to the southwest 
 of the city were in flames. Every house, every 
 granary that was reduced to ashes and buried the 
 fortunes of honest men, was a beacon of hope to the 
 despairing burghers. 
 
 The Beggars were on their way ! 
 
 There, where the cannons thundered and the 
 horizon was crimsoned, lay the land-scheiding, the 
 bulwark which for centuries had faithfully protected 
 the plains of Leyden against the onset of the waves 
 and now blocked the advance of the rescuing ships. 
 
 "Fall, sheltering walls; rise, tempest; swallow 
 thy prey, raging sea ; destroy the wealth of the 
 farmers, devastate our fields and meadows, but 
 drown the enemy, or drive hira hence." Thus sang 
 Janus Dousa, and the words found an echo in 
 Peter's soul ; thus prayed Maria and with her 
 thousands of men and women. 
 
 But the glow on the horizon died away, the 
 report of cannon was silenced. A second day 
 passed, a third and fourth, and no messenger 
 arrived, no Beggar ship appeared, and the sea 
 seemed to lie motionless ; but another terrible 
 power increased and moved with secret, stealthy, 
 irresistible might : Death, with his pale com- 
 panions. Starvation and Despair. 
 
 The dead were buried b}^ their friends under cover 
 of night, in order to retain the small portion of 
 food allotted to them. From house to house sped 
 the angel of death and he came to Lieschen also, 
 and, in the silent night, kissed her closed eyes as 
 she slept. 
 
THE B UROOMA STER '8 WIFE. 333 
 
 The Spanish sympathizers and the faint-hearted 
 raised their heads again and formed into bands and 
 even forced their way into the Rathhaus to demand 
 bread. But there was not a crumb to be had and 
 the authorities had nothmg to distribute but a 
 small portion of beef and horse flesh and chopped 
 and salted hides. 
 
 During this period of deepest privation, Yan der 
 Werff was walking down the " broad street." He 
 paid no heed to a crowd of desperate men and 
 women who were following him with threats, but 
 as he was about to turn into Van Hout's house he 
 suddenly found himself surrounded. A pallid 
 woman with her dying cliild in her arms fell on her 
 knees before him, and, holding up the dying infant, 
 cried in hollow tones : " Let this be enough, let it 
 be enough ; it is the third. Let it be enough !" 
 
 " Enough, enough ! Bread, bread ! Give us 
 bread !" was shouted on every side, and stones and 
 weapons w^ere raised threateningly ; a carpenter, 
 whom he knew, and who had hitherto remained 
 faithful to the good cause, came nearer to him ami 
 said quietly : " We can go on no longer. We have 
 borne hunger and suffering patiently for the sake of 
 our Bibles, but it is madness to fight against 
 certain death." 
 
 Pale and shaken, Peter looked at the mother, the 
 child, the brave workman, and the threatening, 
 shrieking wretches. The same misery that crushed 
 them and so many other starving people, oppressed 
 his soul a thousandfold. His heart overflowed 
 with compassion. He longed to take them all to 
 his arms as brothers in misfortune, companions in a 
 future and more worthy existence. With deep 
 emotion, he looked from one to another. Then he 
 pressed his hands to his breast and cried to the mob 
 that surrounded him : 
 
334 THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 " Here I stand. I have sworn to remain stead- 
 fast to the end ; and 3'ou swore to do so with me. 
 I will not break iny oiith, but I can die. If my life 
 can serve you, hero I stand. Bread I have none, 
 but here is my body. Take it ; lay hands on me 
 and tear me to pieces. Here I stand. I will keep 
 my oath !" 
 
 Tlie carpenter bowed his head and said dully : 
 " Come, friends, as God wills ; we have sworn." 
 
 The burgomaster quietly entered his friend's 
 house. Fran van Ilout had seen and heard all, and 
 that very day she told Maria of what had taken 
 ])lace, and her eyes sparkled as she cried : " I never 
 saw a man as noble as he was in that hour ! It is 
 well for us tliat he rules within our walls. Our 
 children and our children's children will never for- 
 get what he has done.'' 
 
 Nor ha^e they ceased to hold him in loving re- 
 membrance. Upon the night of the day on which 
 the burgomaster bore himself so manfully came a 
 letter from the ])rince, full of glad and encouraging 
 news. He had recovered his health, and was mak- 
 ing every effort to save the good city of Leyden. 
 The Beggars had ]>ierced the land-scheiding ; their 
 ships were advancing ; help was at hand ; and the 
 faithful burgher who had brought the letter had 
 seen with his own eyes the rescuing fleet and the 
 champions of freedom glowing with the desire for 
 battle. The Seigneurs van der Does were appointed 
 the prince's commissioners in the place of Van 
 Bronkhorst. Van der Werff no longer stood alone ; 
 and when, on the following morning, ''Father Will- 
 iam's" letter was read aloud and the messenger's 
 report spread abroad, the courage and confidence 
 of the tortured burghers rose like withering grass 
 after a refreshing rain. 
 
 But weeks of anxiety and suffering still lav before 
 them. 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 335 
 
 The last of September they were forced to slaugh- 
 ter the milch cows that had been spared for the 
 infants and mothers ; and then — then? 
 
 Help was near, for the skies were often reddened 
 and the air was shaken b}^ the roar of distant 
 cannon ; but the east wind held and drove back the 
 advancing waters, and the ships needed a steadily 
 mountino- tide in order to reach the citv. 
 
 Kone of the messengers who had been sent out 
 returned ; nothing was certain but the intolerable, 
 ever-increasing suffering. Barbara had now taken 
 to her bed, and complained of weakness and repug- 
 nance for food. 
 
 Maria remembered the roast pigeon, which had 
 done poor little Lieschen so much good, and she 
 went to the musician to ask him whether he could 
 bring himself to sacrifice one more of his pets for 
 her sister-in-law. 
 
 Wilhelm's mother received Maria. She was sit- 
 ting, listless and feeble, in an easy -chair. She could 
 still walk, but a strange trembling, caused by anx- 
 iety and distress, had affected her hands. She shook 
 her head at Maria's request, and said : " Ask him 
 yourself. He has to keep the little creatures shut 
 up, for whenever they show themselves they are 
 shot by the starving people. There are but three 
 left. The others were taken b}' the messengers, and 
 they have not returned. God be praised for it ! 
 The little food Wilhelm still has left for them will 
 do more good in our stomachs than in their crops. 
 Would you believe it? Two weeks ago he gave 
 fifty gulden from his savings for half a bag of peas, 
 and God knows where he found even that. Ullrich, 
 UUricli ! Take the Frau Biirgemeisterin up to 
 Wilhelm. I would like to spare you the climb, but 
 he is waiting for the pigeons that were sent out, and 
 he does not even come down for his meals. Lieber 
 Gott ! It isn't worth the trouble !" 
 
336 TUB BURGOMASTER'^ WIFE. 
 
 The day was clear and sunny. Wilhelm was 
 standing in his balcony and gazing toward the 
 south across the green plain that lay outstretched 
 below him. Behind him sat Andreas, the fencinj""- 
 master's fatherless boy, writing music, but his atten- 
 tion was not fixed on his work and as soon as he had 
 finished aline he too gazed into the distance, watch- 
 ing for the pigeon whose return his master was expect- 
 ing. He did not look especially wasted, for many 
 a grain of the pigeons' food had been added secretly 
 to his small ration of meat. 
 
 Wilhelm showed how surprised and honored he 
 was by the visit of the burgomaster's wife and 
 promised to accede to her request, but it was plain 
 that this consent was not easy for him to give. 
 
 Maria stepped out upon the balcony with him and 
 he showed her in the south, where usually nothing 
 but green met the eye, a wide surface, above which 
 hung a thin mist. The afternoon sun seemed to 
 steep the white va])or with light and entice it up- 
 ward by its burning ra^^s. This was the water 
 flowing in through the pierced dykes, and the long, 
 black lines that were moving at its edge must be 
 the Spanish troops and herds of cattle retreating 
 before the advancing flood, from the outer forts, 
 villages, and hamlets. The land-scheiding itself was 
 not visible, but the Beggars had long since passed 
 it. If the fleet succeeded in reaching the Zoeter- 
 meer Lake, and from there 
 
 Wilhelm was suddenly interrupted in his explana- 
 tions, for Andreas had s])rung up, pushed aside his 
 chair, and cried : 
 
 " It is coming ! The pigeon ! By Roland, my 
 fore man, there it comes !" 
 
 This was the first time that Wilhelm had heard 
 from the boy's lips his father's exclamation, lie 
 must have been greatly excited, and, indeed, he had 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 337 
 
 not been mistaken, for the speck that his keen eye 
 had perceived was no longer a speck but a longish 
 something — a bird — the pigeon ! 
 
 Williehn seized the flag that stood on the balcony, 
 and waved it as joyously as ever conqueror waved 
 his banner after a hard-won fight. There came the 
 pigeon : he lighted, slipped into the cote, and a few 
 moments later the musician appeared with a tiny 
 missive. 
 
 " To the magistrates !" cried Wilhelm. " Take it 
 to your husband at once. Oh, dear lady, dear lady, 
 finish what the pigeon has begun. Thank God ! 
 thank God ! they are already at the Nord-Aa. It 
 will save the poor people from despair. And one 
 thing more : you shall have the pigeon, but take 
 this grain too; a broth of barley will be the best 
 medicine for Barbara ; I have tried it." 
 
 When it had grown dark and the musician had 
 communicated the joyful tidings to his parents, 
 he gave orders that the blue pigeon with the 
 white breast should be caught. " Put an end to it 
 outside," he begged. " I cannot look on and see 
 it done." 
 
 Andreas soon came back with the headless 
 pigeon. His lips were bloody and Wilhelm knew 
 from what, but he did not reprove the starving 
 lad. 
 
 Earl}'^ the following morning, a second pigeon 
 returned. The letters that the winged messengers 
 had brought were read aloud from the window of 
 the Rathhaus, and the courage of the people, pressed 
 to the extreme limit of endurance, revived anew and. 
 helped them to bear the worst. One of the letters 
 was addressed to the magistrates, the other to Janus 
 Dousa; they sounded confident and hopeful. The 
 prince — the dauntlesscham])ion of liberty, the friend 
 and leader of the people — the prince was well again 
 
338 TUE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 and had visited the ships and troops destined for 
 tiie relief of Leyden. Kelief was so near, but the 
 northeast wind would not change and the water 
 did not rise. Upon the citadel and other elevated 
 places stood burghers, soldiers, councilors, and 
 women, in great numbers, gazing into the distance. 
 Thousands of hands Avere i-aised in passionate 
 supplication and all eyes wei-e turned with feverish 
 expectancy toward the south, but the waters did 
 not advance; and, as if in scorn, the sun burst joy- 
 fully through the mists of the autumn morning, im- 
 parted a pleasant warmth to the keen air, and sank 
 to rest, at last, in radiant splendor, shooting out its 
 golden rays far and wide. The cloudless blue of 
 the heavens arched serenely and pitilessly above the 
 city and decked itself at night with myriads of glit- 
 tering stars. Early on the morning of the twenty- 
 ninth, the fog thickened, the grass remained dry, 
 the mists rose, the fresh air grew sultry, and the 
 gray clouds piled one upon another and turned to a 
 soniber black. Then a light breeze sprang up and 
 played in the leafless bi'anches, then a sudden gust 
 of wind passed over the heads of the watching mul- 
 titude. It was followed by a second and a third, 
 and then, without pause or interruption, a shrieking 
 tempest howled through the city, swept the tiles 
 from the roofs, bent the fruit trees in the gardens 
 and the young elms and lindens on many a street, 
 tore down the flags that the boys had planted u)>on 
 the walls in defiance of the Spaniards, lashed the 
 calm waters of the city moat and the quietly flowing 
 canals, and — God does not forsake his own — the 
 weather-vanes turned, the storm came from the 
 northwest, and — no one saw it, but the sailors 
 shouted it aloud and every man echoed it exultingly 
 and carried it fui'tlior— the hurricane drove the 
 tossing waters of the sea into the mouth of the 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 339 
 
 Meiise, and, with fierce assault, forced back the 
 river until it overflowed its banks and hunted it 
 til rough the dykes opened for its reception and tiie 
 gates of the sluices, and drove forward upon the 
 towering crests of the waters the rescuing sliips. 
 
 Fall, rain ; roar, storm ; rage, waves, and destroy 
 the meadows, swallow up the houses and villages ! 
 On the walls and towers of Leyden thousands and 
 thousands of burghers hail your approach. They 
 see in 3'ou the terrible arjiiies of the avenging God 
 and welcome you with shouts of exultation. 
 
 For two successive days, the burgomaster — with 
 Maria and Adrian, the Van der Does and Yan 
 Houts — stationed himself, with brief intervals of 
 rest, in the midst of the crowds on the top of the 
 citadel or on the tow^er at the Kuhthor, and even. 
 Barbara, who had been revived by hope much more 
 than by the barley broth and the lean pigeon, could 
 not be kept at home, but dragged herself up to the 
 musician's lookout, for every one wished to see 
 how the waters advanced, how the earth grew soft, 
 and the moisture crept through the blades of grass 
 and formed into pools, ponds, and at last a broad 
 expanse uj)on which bubbles were formed by the 
 descending rain and soread into ever-widenino- 
 circles. Every one wished to see how the Spaniards 
 ran hither and thither like sheep pursued by a wolf. 
 All wished to hear the thunder of the JBeggars' 
 cannon, the rattle of their arquebuses and muskets; 
 and men and women seemed to find the storm that 
 threatened to blow them from the walls more 
 pleasant than the mildest zejihyr, and preferred the 
 pouring rain that drenched them to the skin to the 
 glittering dew of a spring morning. 
 
 Behind the strong fortification of Lammen, which 
 was defended by several hundred Spanish soldiers, 
 and Schloss Kronenstein, a sharp eye could dis- 
 tinguish the ships of the Beggars. 
 
340 TU/J miiGOMASTER'S WIFE. 
 
 On Thursday and Friday "Wilhelm had looked in 
 vain for a pigeon, but on Saturday his best flyer 
 returned. It brought a letter from Admiral Boisot, 
 who called upon tlie armed forces of the city to 
 attempt a sally on Friday and make an attack 
 upon Lam men. 
 
 The storm had blown the bird out of its course. 
 It had reached the city too late, but on Saturday 
 evening Janus Dousa and Captain van der Laen 
 bestirred tliemselves. Ever}' man who could carry 
 a musket was ordered to appear early Sunday 
 morning. Poor, pale, emaciated troops they were 
 to whom the leaders' orders were issued, but no one 
 thought of failing; every man was ready to lay 
 down his life for the city and his dear ones. 
 
 The storm had subsided, the firing had ceased, 
 and the night was dark and sultry. Few cared to 
 close their eyes, and those who were overpowered 
 for a time by sleep were roused and terrified by 
 mysterious sounds. Wilhelm sat in his watch- 
 tower, looking toward the south. ]S^ow a feeble 
 gust of wind moaned about the tall house, now a 
 call, a cry, a trumpet peal sounded through the 
 silence of tlie night ; then came a crash in the vicin- 
 ity of the Kuhthor, as though an earthquake had 
 shaken a part of the city to its foundations. There 
 was not a star to be seen in the sky, but in the 
 direction of Laramen glowing points of light, like 
 will-o'-the-wisps, were seen moving through the 
 deep gloom. 
 
 In the early morning it was found that a portion 
 of the cit}' wall near the Kuhthor had fallen in, 
 and such rejoicing as had never been heard before 
 arose near the breach that was no longer dangerous, 
 and the joyous outcries spread through ever}' street 
 and alle}', and drew from the houses men and 
 women, old and young, sick and well, who crowded 
 
THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. Zl\ 
 
 to the Kuhthor, from whence the Beggar fleet 
 could be seen approaching. The city carpenter, 
 Thomassohn, and other men tore from the water 
 the piles with which the Spaniards had sought to 
 obstruct the "Vliet," and then the first ship and a 
 second and a third drew up to the walls. Fierce, 
 bearded men with grim, scarred, sunburnt faces, 
 whose cheeks had for years felt no salty moisture 
 other than the water of the sea, smiled at the 
 burgljers and tossed them one loaf of bread after 
 another and many good things that had long been 
 denied them, and wept and sobbed like children, 
 while the poor people ate and ate, and could find no 
 word of thanks. Then came the leaders ; Admiral 
 Boisot embraced Van der Does and Van der Werff ; 
 and the Beggar Captain van Duijkenburg was 
 clasped in the arms of Barbara, his mother, and 
 many a Leydener fell upon the neck of a rescuer 
 whom he had never set eyes on before. Many were 
 the tears that fell, thousands of hearts overflowed, 
 and the Sunday bolls sounded clearer and purer 
 than ever before, as they called to prayer the 
 rescuers and the rescued. The spacious church was 
 too small that day, and when preacher Cornelius- 
 sohn, who took the place of the noble Verstroot, 
 wdio had been taken ill in caring for so many sick, 
 bade the devout congregation to offer up thanks, 
 they had long forestalled his exhortation ; since the 
 first note of the organ the thousands who HUed the 
 church had been animated by the same fervent 
 longing to give expression to their gratitude. 
 
 Father Damianus also returned thanks to God in. 
 the chapel of the Gray Kuns, and, with him, 
 Nicolas van AVibisma and other Catholics to whom 
 freedom and the fatlierhmd were dear. 
 
 When church was over, Adrian, at the head of 
 his companions, his shoes in one hand and a piece 
 
342 THE B UEOOMA STEM 'S WIFE. 
 
 of bi'oad ill tlie other, waded through the submerged, 
 high-lying meadows to Le3alerdorj3 to look at tlio 
 Spaniards' deserted camp. There stood the proud 
 tent of the commander-in-chief, Valdez. Above 
 the general's cot hung a map of the llhine countries 
 which the Netherlander Beeldsnidger had drawn 
 for Valdez, to the injury of his own j)eople. The 
 boys were looking at it, when a Beggar, who had 
 once sat in a counting-room, but now looked like a 
 sea bear, placed himself before the map and said : 
 
 "Look, boys. There is the land-scheiding. 
 We pierced that first, but that was only the begin- 
 ning. There was a tiresome delay at tiie Griinen 
 Weg,* and here at the third dyke — the Vorweg 
 they call it — we found a hard nut to crack and fur- 
 ther progress was impossible. So back we went 
 again in a great circle across the Sagwaert Weg 
 and through this canal where we had a bad time of 
 it, to the ^ord-Aa. The Zoetermeer Lake lay be- 
 hind us now, but the water was too shallow — we 
 could go no further. Llave you seen the great 
 ' Ark of Delft V It is a huge vessel and is moved 
 by paddle wheels instead of oars. You will like to 
 see it. At last the Lord sent the tempest and the 
 spring tide, and the ships had all the water they 
 needed. We had another hot fi"ht at the Kerk- 
 laen,f but day before yesterday we reached Lam- 
 men. Many a brave man had already fallen, but at 
 Lammen we expected to have the first real struggle. 
 We meant to storm it early this morning, but as 
 day dawned all was strangely quiet in tlie place and 
 an unnatural stillness prevailed everywhere. Ley- 
 den has fallen, was our first thought. Starvation 
 has conquered her. But no such thing ! You are 
 made of good stufi" ! And then a lad about as big 
 
 ♦ Green Way. t Kirk Way. 
 
THE BUBGOM ASTER'S WIFE. 343 
 
 as one of you came to our ship and said he had 
 seen in the night a long procession of lights come 
 out of the fort and move away. We would not 
 l)eheve him at first, but the boy was right. Tlie 
 water had proved too much for the rats, and the 
 lights that the boy had seen were the slow 
 matches of the Spaniards. Look, boys, there is 
 Lam men. . . ." 
 
 Here Adrian, who with his companions had gone 
 closer to the map, interrupted the Beggar with a 
 loud burst of laughter. 
 
 " What is it, curly head ?" asked the man, 
 
 " Look, look !" cried the boy. " Tlie great com- 
 mander-in-chief has immortalized himself here, and 
 here is his name, too. Listen, listen ! The rector 
 would hang the placard with the word ' donkey ' 
 round his neck, for here he has written: '■ Castelli 
 ixirvi P ' Vale civitas, valete Castelli jyarvi ; relicti 
 estis i^ropter aquam et non per mm inimicorum /' 
 Oh, what a blockhead ! ' Castelli parvi P ''^ 
 
 " What does it mean ?" asked the Beggar. 
 
 "Farewell, Lej^den, farewell, ye little ' Castelli,^ 
 thou art abandoned because of the waters and not 
 because of the strength of the enemy. ^ Parvi 
 Castelli.'' I must tell mother that." 
 
 On Monday, William of Orange came to Leyden 
 and made his headquarters at the house of ITerr 
 van Montfort. The people received their "Father 
 William" with rejoicings, and amidst the joy and 
 happiness that surrounded him this untiring cham- 
 j)ioii «)t Holland's liberty was active in securing the 
 future welfare of the city. Later on he rewarded 
 the faiihful endurance of her burghers with a 
 magnificent memorial — the University of Leyden. 
 It awakened and kept alive in the busy city, and the 
 country that for long years had bled under cruel 
 wars, that spirit whose "lofty aims and aspirations 
 
344 TUE D UROOMA STER 'S WIFE. 
 
 are its own reward, and which places eternal wel- 
 fare far above worldly prosperity. The tree whose 
 seed was sown amidst tlie deepest suffering, amidst 
 conflict and oppression, has borne for mankind the 
 noblest fruits, and, God willing, will bear them for 
 centuries to come. 
 
 On the twenty-sixth of Jul}'^, 1581, seven years 
 after the deliverance of Levden, Holland and Zea- 
 lanti, whose political independence had already been 
 assured, declared themselves at the Hague inde- 
 pendent of Spain, AVilliam of Orange had hitherto 
 ruled as stadtholder of King Philip and had waged 
 war against him in the king's own name. Even the 
 charter of the university, a document which, 
 drawn up as it was in all seriousness, deserves to be 
 called an unequaled masterpiece of the subtlest 
 political irony, the Prince of Orange attributed to 
 King Philip ; and it is delightful to read that the 
 somber ignoramus in the Escurial, after rij)ely 
 deliberating with his dear and faithful cousin, 
 William of Orange, had resolved to erect a free 
 " public school and university " for reasons which 
 to the king could not but appear detestable. 
 
 On the twentv-fourth of Julv, this farce was 
 brought to an end and Philip was deposed. The 
 prince assumed the sovereign power. 
 
 Three days later tliis glad event was celebrated 
 in the Van der Werff household by a splendid 
 banquet, 
 
 Tlie windows of the dining-room were thrown 
 wide open and the breezes of the summer night 
 fanned the faces of the guests who were assembled 
 about the burgomaster's table. They were the 
 most intimate friends of the family : Janus Dousa, 
 
TEE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE. 345 
 
 Van Hout, the learned Doctor Grotius of Delft- - 
 who to Maria's joy had been summoned to Leyden 
 as professor, and who tliis year iilled the position 
 of rector of the university — the scliolarly innlveeper 
 Aquanus, Doctor Bontius, now professor of medi- 
 cine at the university, and others. 
 
 The musician, Wilhelm, was also there, but he 
 was not alone; at his side sat his beautiful wife, 
 Anna d'Avila, with whom he had just returned 
 from Italy. For some years he had been called 
 Yan Duivenbode (messenger dove), for the city 
 had honored him with this noble name, and with a 
 coat of arms which bore three blue pigeons and two 
 crossed keys upon a silver field. 
 
 With the prince's consent, old Friiulein van Hoog- 
 straten's bequests to her relatives and servants had 
 been recognized and AYilhelm and his wife were 
 now living in a handsome new house, where a dove 
 cote was not lackino^ and where Maria, althouo-h 
 her four children left her little time, took part in 
 many a madrigal. Adrian, grown to a fine young 
 man who had completed his studies at the new 
 university and was soon to be received into the 
 council, had many questions to ask Wilhelm about 
 Rome and his sister-in-law, Ilenrika. Belotti had 
 gone with the latter, after the death of her father 
 who had received Anna and forgiven her, to Italy, 
 and she was living there as the head of a secular 
 order where music was cultivated with special 
 devotion. 
 
 Barbara did not appear among the guests. She 
 had plenty to do in the kitchen. Her cap was now 
 fluted with almost coquettish care, and the assured 
 and contented way in which she ruled over Traut- 
 chen and the two other maids showed that in Peter's 
 househokl and business, all was going as it should. 
 It was worth while making a special eiTort for such 
 
346 THE B URGOMA STER S WIFE. 
 
 guests. Jonker van "Warmond was also amoncr 
 them, and the place of honor between the rector and 
 Janus Dousa, who was now fii-st curator of the uni- 
 versity, was reserved for him, for he had become a 
 great man and an influential statesman ; and had 
 with dilliculty found time to leave the Hague with 
 his young colleague, iS^icolas van Wibisma, to be 
 present at the banquet. Cheerful and merr}^ as ever, 
 he drank to Meister Aquanus and cried: 
 
 " To old times and to our friend Georg von Dorn- 
 burg !" 
 
 " With all my heart !" answered the innkeeper. 
 •' It is long since we have heard of his daring deeds 
 and adventures." 
 
 " It is quite natural! The fermenting wine has 
 gro\yn clear. Dornburg has entered the English 
 service again, and, a month ago, I met him in Lon- 
 don, a member of her majesty's Admiralty. His 
 squadron is now on the way to Venice. lie still 
 thinks fondly of Leyden and he bade me carry 
 affectionate remembrances to you all. But you 
 would not recognize our former favorite in the quiet, 
 cheerful man and dignified commander. How often 
 his extravagant spirits used to carry him bej^ond us 
 all, and then how it made one's heart ache to see 
 him brooding over some secret grief!" 
 
 " 1 saw Jonker von Dornburg in Delft," said Eector 
 Grotius. " Such enthusiastic natures often soar too 
 high and come to grief, but when they bow to the 
 yoke of duty they can move great weights and 
 overcome the greatest obstacles with cheerful 
 ease." 
 
 In the meantime Adrian had risen at a sign from 
 his father, and filled the glasses with the choicest 
 wine. The " hoch " which the burgomaster raised 
 was to the prince's health, and Janus Dousa followed 
 it witii a second to the freedom and independence 
 of the Fatherland. 
 
THE B UROOMA STEB 'S WIFE. 34 1 
 
 Yan Hout dedicated a glass to the days of suffering 
 and to the wonderful rescue of the city. 
 
 Every one pledged him heartily, and when the 
 " hoch '• had died away Aquanus said : 
 
 " Who can help thinking with delight of that 
 beautiful Sunday, the third of October ? But when I 
 think of all tlie misery that preceded it, my heart 
 aches even to this day," 
 
 At these words Peter took Maria's hand, and 
 pressing it tenderly, whispered : 
 
 "And yet, on the saddest day of my life, I found 
 my dearest treasure," 
 
 " And I too," she answered, looking gratefully 
 Into his faithful eyes. 
 
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