might be expected at Klarenburg in a few weeks, perhaps days.
The little fat man on receiving this information made a movement very like a frog when about to take a leap, and rushing up to me—though not without shattering his pipe into a hundred pieces against the railing—got hold of both my hands,—expressed his delight in meeting with the intimate friend of dear Mrs Milbirn’s dear grandson,—led me up to the group which I had rightly judged to be his own family,—pressed me to join their circle,—desired Dinah, one of his daughters, to attend to me,—waddled away to fetch my goblet of Kalte Schale,—introduced himself, on his return, as Mr Zwicker, one of the officers of excise,—poured out a torrent of words in eulogy of their dear, and ever to be lamented friend, Mrs Milbirn,—and finally concluded his harangue, by inviting me in the most pressing manner, to live with him during my stay at Klarenburg, and to consider myself entirely at home in his house.
I declined the officious little man’s kindness politely but peremptorily, remembering the Recorder’s narrative, and being quite satisfied in my own mind what the secret motives were which prompted such an overflow of kindness in the present instance. Mr Zwicker, however, was not to be so easily repulsed. “I could never forgive myself,” he screamed out, “if I allowed the intimate friend of dear Mr Blum to lodge any where in Klarenburg except under my roof. His dear old grandmother—I am not ashamed to confess it, for when I first entered on office, I had not a penny in my pocket, and even after my promotion had, heaven knows, enough to do to get through with my family of eleven children—but dear Mrs Milbirn, as soon as she heard of my difficulties, sent my children to school at her own expense, sent my wife a weekly cart-load of viands from her own farm, and regularly as Christmas came round equipped the whole of my children in fine new dresses, and supplied them with every thing which they needed to cope in appearance with their
