“Many thanks, you good soul,” she said to Martha. “Now the boy is
asleep, I will tell you all. He is soon asleep. How gentle and sweet he looks
as he lies there with his eyes closed! He does not know how his mother has
suffered; and Heaven grant he never may know it. I was in service at the
counsellor’s, the father of the mayor, and it happened that the youngest of
his sons, the student, came home. I was a young wild girl then, but honest;
that I can declare in the sight of Heaven. The student was merry and gay,
brave and affectionate; every drop of blood in him was good and honorable;
a better man never lived on earth. He was the son of the house, and I was
only a maid; but he loved me truly and honorably, and he told his mother of
it. She was to him as an angel upon earth; she was so wise and loving. He
went to travel, and before he started he placed a gold ring on my finger; and
as soon as he was out of the house, my mistress sent for me. Gently and
earnestly she drew me to her, and spake as if an angel were speaking. She
showed me clearly, in spirit and in truth, the difference there was between
him and me. ‘He is pleased now,’ she said, ‘with your pretty face; but good
looks do not last long. You have not been educated like he has. You are not
equals in mind and rank, and therein lies the misfortune. I esteem the poor,’
she added. ‘In the sight of God, they may occupy a higher place than many
of the rich; but here upon earth we must beware of entering upon a false
track, lest we are overturned in our plans, like a carriage that travels by a
dangerous road. I know a worthy man, an artisan, who wishes to marry you.
I mean Eric, the glovemaker. He is a widower, without children, and in a
good position. Will you think it over?’ Every word she said pierced my
heart like a knife; but I knew she was right, and the thought pressed heavily
upon me. I kissed her hand, and wept bitter tears, and I wept still more
when I went to my room, and threw myself on the bed. I passed through a
dreadful night; God knows what I suffered, and how I struggled. The
following Sunday I went to the house of God to pray for light to direct my
path. It seemed like a providence that as I stepped out of church Eric came
towards me; and then there remained not a doubt in my mind. We were
suited to each other in rank and circumstances. He was, even then, a man of
good means. I went up to him, and took his hand, and said, ‘Do you still
