The curtain fell amid thunders of applause from the whole house. Boxes, pit, and gallery unanimously demanded the reappearance of the singer, who, in the finale of the act just concluded, had carried all away with her. The whole audience became excited, and would not be calmed, until, greeted with applause, which broke forth with renewed vigour, overwhelmed with flowers, wreaths, and homage of all kinds, the object of this ovation showed herself, in order to thank the public.

"No " said Captain Almbach. "That cannot be I have to make a confession to you, Ella, at the risk of your showing me to the door." "What have you to confess to me?" asked the astonished Ella. Hugo looked down.

The hot summer day was drawing to its close. The sun had already set; but the rosy flush of evening still lingered on the horizon, casting a radiant glow over the sea, which lay calm, scarce moved by a ripple, reflecting the last splendour of the departing day.

At an early hour on the following morning the Castle guests, most of whom had spent the night beneath its roof, took their departure; only Count Morynski and his daughter remained at Wilicza. As the young proprietor's arrival had surprised them there, courtesy required that they should address to him some words of greeting before leaving his house; the Count, however, considered that, in the utter absence of all intimacy between himself and his nephew, he would be acting with propriety in leaving the latter exclusively to his mother for the first few hours succeeding their meeting, and Wanda...

The border-station lay, as has already been mentioned, only half a league distant from the frontier, in the midst of some of the thickest plantations on the Wilicza land. The building, which was large and even handsome, had been erected by the late Herr Nordeck at no inconsiderable cost; but there was a desolate, decayed look about the place, nothing whatever having been done towards its preservation or repair, either by master or tenant, for the last twenty years.

It was afternoon on a sunny spring day. The profound Sabbath rest and stillness which found no place in the incessant turmoil of the great commercial seaport reigned the more undisturbed around a country house which lay beyond the great sea of buildings near the shore, and whose park-like grounds stretched down to the water.