Then no longer restrain'd they themselves, the girls burst out laughing,

All the boys laugh'd loudly, the old man's sides appear'd splitting.

In my confusion I let my hat fall down, and the titt'ring Lasted all the time the singing and playing continued. Then I hasten'd home ashamed and full of vexation, Hung up my coat in the closet, and put my hair in disorder

With my fingers, and swore ne'er again to cross o'er their threshold.

And I'm sure I was right; for they are all vain and unloving.

And I hear they're so rude as to give me the nickname Tamino.

Then the mother rejoin'd:- "You're wrong, dear Hermann, to harbor

Angry feelings against the chilren, for they are but children,

Minnie's an excellent girl, and has a tenderness for you; Lately she ask'd how you were. Indeed, I wish you

would choose her!"

Then the son thoughtfully answer'd: "I know not why, but the fact is

My annoyance has graven itself in my mind, and here

after

I could not bear at the piano to see her, or list to her singing."

But the father sprang up, and said, in words full of

anger:

"Little comfort you give me, in truth! I always have said it,

When you took pleasure in horses, and cared for nothing but fieldwork;

That which the servants of prosperous people perform as their duty,

You yourself do; meanwhile the father his son must dispense with,

Who in his honor was wont to court the rest of the townsfolk.

Thus with empty hopes your mother early deceived me, When your reading, and writing, and learning at school ne'er succeeded

Like the rest of the boys, and so you were always the lowest.

This all comes from a youth not possessing a due sense of honor,

And not having the spirit to try to raise his position. Had my father but cared for me, as I have for you, sir, Sent me to school betimes, and given me proper instructors,

I should not merely have been the host of the famed Golden Lion.'

But the son arose, and approach'd the doorway in silence,

Slowly, and making no noise; but then the father in dudgeon

After him shouted:-"Be off! I know you're an obstinate fellow!

Go and look after the business; else I shall scold you severely;

But don't fancy I'll ever allow you to bring home in triumph

As my daughter-in-law any boorish impudent hussy. Long have I lived in the world, and know how to manage most people,

Know how to entertain ladies and gentlemen, so that they leave me

In good humor, and know how to flatter a stranger discreetly.

But my daughter-in-law must have useful qualities also, And be able to soften my manifold cares and vexations. She must also play on the piano, that all the best people Here in the town may take pleasure in often coming to see us,

As in the house of our neighbor the merchant happens each Sunday."

Softly the son at these words raised the latch, and left the apartment.

III. THALIA.

THE BURGHERS.

THUS did the prudent son escape from the hot conversation,

But the father continued precisely as he had begun it:"What is not in a man can never come out of him, surely!

Never, I fear, shall I see fulfill'd my dearest of wishes, That my son should be unlike his father, but better. What would be the fate of a house or town, if its inmates

Did not all take pride in preserving, renewing, improving,

As we are taught by the age, and by the wisdom of strangers?

Man is not born to spring out of the ground, just like a mere mushroom,

And to rot away soon in the very place that produced him!

Leaving behind him no trace of what he has done in his lifetime.

One can judge by the look of a house of the taste of its

master,

As on ent'ring a town, one can judge the authorities'

fitness.

For where the towers and walls are falling, where in the ditches

Dirt is collected, and dirt in every street is seen lying, Where the stones come out of their groove, and are not replaced there,

Where the beams are rotting, and vainly the houses are waiting

New supports; that town is sure to be wretchedly managed.

For where order and cleanliness reign not supreme in high places,

Then to dirt and delay the citizens soon get accustom'd, Just as the beggar's accustom'd to wear his clothes full of tatters.

Therefore I often have wish'd that Hermann would start on his travels

Ere he's much older, and visit at any rate Strasburg and Frankfort,

And that pleasant town, Mannheim, so evenly built and so cheerful.

He who has seen such large and cleanly cities rests never Till his own native town, however small he sees better'd. Do not all strangers who visit us praise our wellmended gateways,

And the well-whited tower, the church so neatly repair'd too?

Do not all praise our pavements? Our well-arranged cover'd-in conduits,

Always well furnish'd with water, utility blending with safety,

So that a fire, whenever it happens, is straightway extinguish'd,

Is not this the result of that conflagration so dreadful? Six times in Council I superintended the town's works, receiving

Hearty thanks and assistance from every well-disposed burgher.

How I design'd, follow'd up and ensured the completion of measures

Worthy men had projected, and afterwards left all unfinish'd!

Finally, every man in Council took pleasure in working. All put forth their exertions, and now they have finally settled

That new highway to make, which will join our town with the main road.

But I am greatly afraid that the young generation won't act thus;

Some on the one hand think only of pleasure and trum

pery dresses,

Others won't stir out of doors, and pass all their time by the fireside,

And our Hermann, I fear, will always be one of this last sort."

Forthwith to him replied the excellent sensible mother:Father, you're always unjust whenever you speak of your son, and

That is the least likely way to obtain your wishes' fulfil ment;

For we cannot fashion our children after our fancy. We must have them and love them, as God has given them to us,

Bring them up for the best, and let each do as he listeth. One has one kind of gift, another possesses another, Each one employs them, and each in turn in his separate fashion

Good and happy becomes. My Hermann shall not be upbraided,

For I know that he well deserves the wealth he'll

inherit;

He'll be an excellent landlord, a pattern to burghers and

peasants,

And, as I clearly foresee, by no means the last in the Council.

But with your blame and reproaches, you daily dishearten him sadly,

As you have done just now, and make the poor fellow unhappy."

Then she left the apartment, and after her son hasten'd quickly,

Hoping somewhere to find him, and with her words of affection

Gladden his heart, for he, the excellent son, well deserved it.

Smilingly, when she had closed the door, continued the father:

"What a wonderful race of people are women and children!

All of them fain would do whatever pleases their fancy, And we're only allow'd to praise them and flatter them freely.

Once for all there's truth in the ancient proverb which tells us:

He who moves not forward, goes backward! a capital saying!"