, 1889-01-09

larly. / was a riddle TO myself; how
ever, ] mnde the firm resolve 10 fine
out by tomorrow some particular
about this new street acquaintance.
A few hours later / sat with a mum
Der Of pleasant friends in one of tn,
best restaurants under the lindens
The conversation was lively and cheer
full, and there were many ladies anC
gentlemen continually going in anC
out
In the neighborhood of the table a
which we sat and made ourselves
merry was gathered a large party,
joyous and gay like ours.
Some young girlish faces before us
having attracted me- / involuntarily
looked around for my Unknown, but
there-yes, certainly, there he was
next 10 the little blonde coquette, with
the seductive little snub nose, and the
snowy white felt hat-the officer OF
Lutzower street, the same before whom
my little friend had taken flight, for
although / had no foundation for the
the idea, since we hhl met many other
men IN that street, / could not help
thinking of the large, snowy, hand.
some, but utterly blase and ~insolent
looking lieutenant of infantry in con
nection with her.
WHO is that pale omcer9" asked ]
of my friend Erich.
"Where7'
l indicated the direction to him.
1.-THE one with the black beard, next
to the little blonde lady"
"HeH" said Erich, and laughed.
why, he is the lately betrothed, the
handsome Paumwolf. l thought you
surely must know him"
mo, no; but what is the story about
him7" l inquired.
well, nothing more than that yon-
der blonde has-with much trouble, II
must be admitted-captured him for
life, after he has caused nearly ninety
nine others to dream Of the same
happy fate. For myself, l
could have attained such an elegiac
calm, after breaking off n love affair.
But he has been unfortunate. Young
ladies with and without pedigree,
with and without money bags, bow
down TO him, after he has devoted
himself to them for half an hour, en-
tirely conquered by his irresistible
Vaccinations. And It is just the same
with the old ones. Many, to be sure,
allege, indeed, that behind hat titanic
brow there is nothing but a cornfeld,
and that a thrashed out onel"
While Erich had been speaking my
eyes had wandered away from Paum-
wolf. His pale face, framed in by
curling black beard and hair, remind
ed me, in fact, of the Zeus of Otricoli.
To me it was in the highest degree re-
pugnant.
Enough tears have recently been
flowing from beautiful eyes, since his
betrothal with Fraulein Josepha Maier
has appeared in The Gazette
"Maier1" l Involuntary asked.
Yes, yes" laughed Erich; simply
Maier with an al but passably pretty
and immensely rich, of course. And
since Fraulein Josepha does not look
Jewish, Paumwolf can endure that his
father-in-law in p should have
formerly been a cloth merchant in
Trankfort-on-the-Main.
Tho conversation having once turned
on the handsome Paumwolf, it did not
leave the subject. On the other
side of u table the people were whis-
about him, and one said:
1T is quito incomprehensible to me
that he did not rather take little Gerds-
hof, whom he SO recently courted.
The girl is of altogether different stock
from the Maiers, and she seems to be
head over heels in love with him."
Yes, but the money-the money!"
cried another.
"Well, at all events, this one is a
blonde, too, and n very rude one" re-
marked n third. An idea suddenly
seized me.
Where does Fraulein Gerdshof
liver asked l of Erich.
He looked at me q moment without
speaking, and then laughed aloud. 4.
well you certainly are amusing
this evening with your abrupt ques-
tons. Besides being called Won Gerds-
hof, of old Margravite nobility, her
father is n pensioned general, but
where she lives / do not know. Do
you wish to console her for the loss of
Paumwolf, old .boy1"
l throw him q glance full of rage.
A young assessor who sat at our table
and seemed to have heard our dia-
logue called out to me: 81 can give
you the address, Baron - Kur-
prinzen street, No. 85."
Ali that was the very dwelling of
my Unknown. 1 felt all the blood
rush to my heart; then thanking him
for the information, took my hat and
stick, and without turning to reply to
the jesting remarks of those remain
ing at the table, left the place to saun-
ter, without aim or object through
the moonlit streets.
How, after long wandering hither
and thither, 1 finally found myself
before the much thought of house in
k%mrprinzen street, 1 surely cannot
tell. 1 went on the opposite side of
the street and looked at the house
standing before me in the clear moon
light. In the midst Of blooming gar
dens the dainty villa rose, with its
antique, vine covered and many col
umned gallery in front, like the en-
chanted castles in story books. And
the little fay who wandered about
thereini Was she still awake, shell
tered behind the one single window of
the gable end, which was still lighted;
growing, perhaps, about the unfaith-
full Paumwolf7 With pity, scorn and
yes, l will confess it-burning jeal-
ousy in my heart, I at length turned
my steps homeward to my quiet lodg-