rents of water, till I reached the spot which the poor woman described as likely to contain her infant, dead or alive. I had no sooner entered the apartment than I beheld a cradle standing untouched, as if preserved by a special interference of providence, amid burning embers, and within it lay the little sleeper all unconscious of the horrible fate which threatened it. I snatched up the infant in my arms, and bore it safely out from the centre of the smoking pile, amid the shouts of the spectators. Joanna received it from my arms, and placed it in the embraces of its mother.
I now threw myself on my horse, having been drenched by the engines, and hastened home. Far more praise had been bestowed upon my exploit that it deserved, for I could not conceal the truth from myself, that the desire of winning Joanna’s esteem had a far greater share in exciting me to the action I had just performed, than any purer feeling. So deceitful are the foundations on which many a temple to Virtue is reared! Joanna had not exchanged a single word with me, but the look of heavenly rapture with which she received the child from my arms, spoke far more forcibly than any words the anxiety she had felt on witnessing me rush into the flames, and her happiness at seeing me return uninjured with my precious charge.
In the afternoon I received a note from Mr Wilmar, the Inspector of Forests at Blumenwalde. After an introduction in which he gave great praise to my seemingly virtuous and heroic action, and apologised for being prevented by an attack of the gout from waiting on me to express personally his thanks and those of his daughter, he begged the honour of seeing me, if possible, that very evening, understanding that I was a friend of Mr Blum, and wishing to consult with me about the best means of procuring aid and shelter for the unhappy villagers who had lost their houses, that I might write to my friend about the matter.
