{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_77023/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_77023","id":"gutenberg_77023","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/77023","summary":null,"tags":["Bavaria (Germany) -- Juvenile fiction","Category: British Literature","Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Novels","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christian life -- Juvenile fiction","Orphans -- Juvenile fiction","Revenge -- Juvenile fiction","Teenage boys -- Juvenile fiction"],"text":"Transcriber's note: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed.\n\n\n\n[Illustration: A MEAN ACTION.]\n\n\n\n                            [Illustration]\n\n                           STICK TO THE RAFT.\n\n\n                                  BY\n\n                        MRS. GEORGE GLADSTONE\n\n                             _Author of_\n\n             \"WAITING FOR SAILING ORDERS,\" \"NORWEGIAN STORIES,\"\n                                 ETC.\n\n\n                                London:\n                     THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY\n            56, PATERNOSTER ROW; 65, ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD;\n                         AND 164, PICCADILLY.\n        MANCHESTER: CORPORATION STREET. BRIGHTON: WESTERN ROAD.\n\n\n\n                               CONTENTS.\n\nCHAPTER.\n\n    I. THE RAFT\n\n   II. K\u00d6SEN\n\n  III. KARL SCHMIDT\n\n   IV. THE MILLER'S SON\n\n    V. THE MARTYR SPIRIT\n\n   VI. THE PROMISED HOLIDAY\n\n  VII. THE SECRET\n\n VIII. THE SCHUTZEN FEST\n\n   IX. WRONG SET RIGHT\n\n    X. THE INTERVIEW\n\n   XI. THE POOL OF BETHESDA\n\n  XII. SAVED BY THE RAFT\n\n\n\n                            [Illustration]\n\n                          STICK TO THE RAFT.\n\n                            [Illustration]\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nTHE RAFT.\n\nTHE Fichtel-Gebirge, or Fir Mountains, in Bavaria, have been compared\nto the garden of Eden, because four rivers rise in their midst, which\nwere once supposed to be rich in gold, and to abound in precious\nstones. Some of the poor people in this region have been known to\nsearch diligently, hoping to find treasures concealed in the beds of\nthe Maine, Eger, Saale, or Naab, which would enrich them, so that they\nmight dispense with hard labour and dwell in luxury for the remainder\nof their days. But only a few peasants indulged in such dreams. For the\nmost part, the people were, and are, employed in felling the forest\ntrees, laying out new plantations, and burning charcoal.\n\nHans Richter was a wood-cutter and charcoal-burner; he was but a poor\nman, as far as this world's goods were concerned, but he was rich\ntowards God, for he had a large store of faith and earnest trust in\nhis Heavenly Father. In fact, in his simple way, he scarcely knew what\ncare meant, just because he realised these words in their full meaning,\nand not in a halfhearted manner\u2014\"Casting all your care upon Him, for\nHe careth for you.\" He had but little book knowledge, and could with\ndifficulty spell out the words of his Bible, but he could pray: he\ncould talk to his God as he went about his daily work, or as he watched\nthe charcoal smouldering. And he learnt so easily, and had such a good\nmemory that he made many of the rich promises contained in God's Word\nhis own.\n\nRichter was a widower with one son, a lad of fifteen, who was a great\nsolace to him. Young Hans was a tolerable scholar, for during the\nwinter months the forest life was exchanged for a cottage in a little\nvillage, and then he went to school, and applied himself to study so\neagerly that he acquired more information in the five winter months\nthan his fellow-companions who attended the classes regularly all the\nyear round.\n\nWhen our story opens, Hans Richter was suffering from a severe cold.\nThe winter had been a trying one, and money so scarce that very often\nhe could not afford to heat his stove. The long illness of his wife,\nand her subsequent death, exhausted his resources, and incurred some\ndebts which he had only just paid off. In spite of these trials, he\ndid not lose his faith in God, but hoped that the spring and summer\nwork would be plentiful, and that the united efforts of himself and\nson would enable him once more to accumulate a little hoard for future\nneeds.\n\nThe snow had disappeared, and the firs looked green and fresh when\nRichter and his son gave up their room in the village, removed to the\nforest, and erected their hut. It did not take them long to build up\ntheir summer dwelling-house, it was so simply constructed. The shape of\nit was conical, and the poles with which it was made were covered with\nthe bark of the fir-tree. This rude hut served to shelter them from\nstorm and wind. It stood about two miles from the village to which they\nhad to go in order to buy bread and other necessaries.\n\nRichter did not remove all his household goods, though they were few\nenough, to his hut. He left some of his furniture in the care of the\npoor woman with whom he lodged during the cold weather, and only\ncarried to the forest such articles as were absolutely needed.\n\n\"Father,\" said young Hans, some three weeks after the hut was\ncompleted, \"you look very tired this afternoon, and seem so weak; lie\ndown and rest, while I go to work. Carl and Wilhelm will come when they\nhave finished their dinners, and we can get along quite well without\nyour help.\"\n\n\"I am very tired, my boy,\" answered Richter. \"I cannot tell you exactly\nwhy, but I have never been the same since your mother died, and I think\nthe cold of last winter injured me. Your young bones are not so tender\nas mine, for you can run about and warm yourself; my cough prevents me\nfrom taking sharp exercise, and lately it has hurt my chest. But don't\nlook so sad, Hans; if my Heavenly Father wants me home, I am ready to\ngo. And I am not afraid of leaving you alone, for He will not forsake\nthe orphan, but care for you as He has cared for me. I'll have a sleep\nwhile you cut down the branches of your fir; you'll manage to do that\neasily when Carl and Wilhelm come. But wait for me before you set to\nwork on the trunk.\"\n\n\"Is it to go to K\u00f6sen, father?\"\n\n\"Yes; it is the last one we have to fell to complete the order sent\nby the Burgomaster. I shall take you with me to K\u00f6sen so soon as the\nraft is ready. When your mother was living, I did not like to leave her\nalone for so many days, but now I shall be glad of your help. One pair\nof hands cannot guide a large raft through the twists and turns of the\nSaale. You've had good practice in your time, my boy, and I think are\nas clever as your father.\"\n\n\"I want to see K\u00f6sen,\" answered Hans. \"I've never been so far; and I've\nheard it's such a pretty little village.\"\n\n\"It is a town, lad; the people were anxious enough to have it made into\none, thinking they would have more privileges, but all they seem to\nhave gained is having to pay heavier taxes and support a Burgomaster,\nto whom they give a regular annual income.\"\n\n\"There is more to be seen and learnt in a town than in our tiny\nvillage, or among these fir-trees,\" said Hans.\n\n\"Perhaps for you, but not for me. I spent some of my early years at\nLeipzie, yet I was glad when my father accepted the post of head\nforester, and we came to our quiet little village for the winter, and\nlived in the forest during the fine weather.\"\n\n\"But then, father, you had good reason to be glad; you have often told\nme about your early life.\"\n\n\"Yes, lad; I never grow weary of telling you how I learnt to know the\nLord. I was a stranger to Him before, and so was your grandfather.\nYour mother first taught us there was a better world to live for than\nthis. But I needed sorrow to make me think. It was on the day that your\ndarling sister died I prayed my first prayer, and promised to give\nmyself to my Master's service. Ah, lad, such a world of care has been\nmoved off my shoulders since then!\n\n\"How well I remember starting on a raft down the Saale some few days\nafter that blessed hour when I cried, 'I am not my own, Lord, for Thou\nhast redeemed me with Thy precious blood, and I give myself to Thee.'\n\n\"Your mother came to see me off, holding you, who were a baby about a\nyear old, in her arms. Before I unchained the raft, I kissed her and\nsaid, 'Good-bye! Take care of yourself, and our only little one.'\n\n\"'Good-bye, my dear husband,' she replied; 'stick to the raft, and mind\nhow you pass the weir at K\u00f6sen. How glad I am to think that there's\nanother Raft you'll stick to besides this one; a Raft which cannot come\nto any harm, but which will support you in the deepest waters and amid\nthe fiercest storms, when the sun shines, and when the rain falls.'\n\n\"I looked at her in astonishment, for I didn't catch her meaning.\n\n\"But she soon cleared up the mystery, for she added, 'I mean the Lord\nJesus Christ; stick to that Raft, and pray for His Spirit to guide you.'\n\n\"It was a good saying of hers, Hans; I've never forgotten it, and I\nhave ever called out to any one who was guiding a raft, 'Stick to it.'\nAnd what's more, if I have an opportunity, I tell them there is a\nheavenly Raft to stick to as well as fir-stems, and I say, 'Hold on to\nthe Saviour, forget self, and cling to God's promises in Christ.'\n\n\"Hans, lad, as a sinking man would hug his raft if any accident upset\nhim in the river, so I beseech you cling to Jesus. Don't forget my\nwords. Now go to your work, and I will rest.\"\n\nRichter closed his eyes wearily when his son left him. \"Some day soon\nI shall fall into the sleep that knows no waking. But when my summons\ncomes, I shall go gladly, and without fear,\" he murmured. \"O Father,\nfor Christ's sake, make my boy true to Thee.\"\n\nThe sun set, and yet the sick man slept heavily, nor did he rouse up to\ntake his supper.\n\nAfter young Hans had finished his day's work, he watched his father for\nsome time, and then he too fell into a sound slumber. The morning was\nbreaking when the lad was awakened by hearing his name called. He was\nin time to catch his father's last words.\n\n\"I am dying,\" gasped Richter; \"the end has been coming for some time,\nbut I have fast hold of the Raft, Hans; I am not afraid of crossing the\nriver; I hold my Saviour's hand, and He holds mine. I can say truly,\n'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will\nfear no evil, for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort\nme.' Stick to the Raft, my boy; stick to the Raft.\"\n\n                               \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nK\u00d6SEN.\n\nK\u00d6SEN is a charming little city on the Saale. It lies in a valley\nsurrounded by hills which are well-cultivated and finely wooded.\nDuring the summer, the river is thickly studded with rafts made of\nthe trunks of fir-trees, principally cut from the forests about the\nFichtel-Gebirge. These rafts are formed by boring holes at the top\nand bottom of each stem, and fastening them together with twigs. When\ncompleted, they are launched on to the river, and the stream carries\nthem down to their destination.\n\n\"So help me God, I will stick to the Raft,\" said Hans Richter, when he\nleft the village cemetery about a month after his father's funeral.\nHe had been there to plant forest-flowers on his parent's grave, and\nto pray. And with a firm step he took the road which led to his old\nlandlady's house.\n\n\"I have called to bid you good-bye,\" he said as he entered her cottage\nand shook her warmly by the hand. \"I expect not to return to this part\nagain for at least some years to come.\"\n\n\"So I hear,\" she replied. \"You must take a cup of coffee with me this\nafternoon, and tell me why you are so anxious to leave your old home.\nThe last time I saw you I thought you were inclined to stay in these\nparts.\"\n\n\"I am so lonely without my father, and feel I had rather go to some\nplace where I can learn more and see more. I mean to try and get some\nwork to do at K\u00f6sen.\"\n\n\"That is a long way off, over seventy miles as the crow flies, and\nperhaps double the distance by the river. It's my native place; I was\nborn there.\"\n\n\"I know it is a good distance, but I can't help that, for business\ntakes me to K\u00f6sen; I am going to help Wilhelm Andrea. He is appointed\nto take the wood to the Burgomaster, now father's dead. The head\nforester has written to a friend of his who keeps the toll-house, and\nasked him to give me some employment. He says lads are often wanted to\nhelp the rafts over the weir.\"\n\n\"That's true enough, for the weir is full four feet high. I can tell\nyou it needs a good rush of water to enable them to pass it at all.\"\n\n\"I can't quite understand how they get over,\" said Hans.\n\n\"You know what a weir is, I suppose?\"\n\n\"Oh yes.\"\n\n\"Explain it to me.\"\n\n\"Wherever there's a great mill to be worked, there's a weir. It's only\na dam in the river to collect enough water behind it so as to turn the\nmill wheel.\"\n\n\"Quite right. You'll soon see the old flour-mill; it is a very large\none, and grinds nearly all the wheat needed in K\u00f6sen for bread. Now I\nwill tell you how the rafts go over. Every raft, as you know, has a\nman and a boy on it who steer with a fir pole, to which is attached\na boat-hook. So soon as the weir is reached, the master of the\ntoll-house, or his assistant, wades through the water from the shore,\nand stands on the weir. He also holds a long fir pole in his hands,\nwith which he pushes the raft, so as to prevent it from drifting out\nof the middle of the stream and missing the best point to shoot the\nfall. The two on the raft have to stand perfectly still, and balance\nthemselves carefully while they glide down the rapid, and they very\noften get a good shower-bath. I have watched many hundred rafts over\nthe weir at K\u00f6sen, and also under the bridge; for the little town\nboasts a long and very handsome old bridge over the Saale. The moment\nthe raft crosses the weir, there is a deal of steering wanted, for the\nwater is often very shallow under the archways, and it needs some skill\nto escape the buttresses.\"\n\n\"I like to hear all this,\" said Hans, \"but I thought the Saale had\nalways plenty of water in it.\"\n\n\"Not always; I have known it almost dry in some places after a long\ndrought. And I have sometimes seen the river so full in the early\nspring, and the current so rapid that it tore the rafts apart, and\ndashed the stems of the trees against the bridge.\"\n\n\"Father used to say the rafts made a noise when they passed over the\nweir.\"\n\n\"And he was right. I know that I often thought it thundered when\nseveral went over in succession.\"\n\n\"I must be leaving now; we start away early to-morrow morning.\"\n\n\"I only wish I had some friends at K\u00f6sen, for I would speak a good word\nfor you, my dear,\" said the kind landlady. \"But I've been away so long\nthat all my acquaintances have forgotten me. I, like you, Hans, have no\nrelations, for I was an only child.\"\n\n\"Thank you all the same,\" answered the lad. \"I don't feel so lonely as\nI thought I should, for I have been so used to hear father talk to God\nthat since he's been dead, I've begun to talk to Him myself much more\nthan I used to do.\"\n\n\"That's well. Your father was a good man, Hans; do you follow in his\nfootsteps. I am glad Wilhelm is to be your companion; though I hear\nhe does not remain at K\u00f6sen, but is going on to Halle. You'll not be\nlong without finding new friends; only choose those who will raise you\nhigher, and not sink you lower, for we've plenty to pull us down here.\nWe need to have the constant presence of God's Spirit in our hearts if\nwe would live upright and noble lives. Farewell; may God go with you.\"\n\nHans Richter and his companion arrived at K\u00f6sen on a beautiful evening\nin June. The moon was at its full, and shone directly over the weir,\ngiving the rapid a silvery appearance. So exquisite was the scene that\nmany of the townspeople and visitors gathered on the old bridge to\nwatch the effect of the moonlight on the water.\n\nK\u00f6sen is one of the smallest towns in Germany; it is not thickly\npopulated, save in the summer months when its saline waters attract\nmany strangers, as they are considered to be especially beneficial for\nchildren.\n\n\"We will not go so far as the toll-house,\" said Wilhelm Andrea; \"it is\ntoo late to pay duty to-night. We will just moor our raft to a stake.\"\n\nThe raft was soon securely fastened to one of the many stakes which are\nplaced at intervals along the banks of the Saale. And then Hans and his\ncompanion went off in search of a night's lodging.\n\nThey slept soundly in the small double-bedded room which they secured\nat a little inn, nor did they awake until the sun was high in the\nheavens. Hans was the first to rouse up, but Wilhelm was too tired to\nthink of the day's work which lay before him. So the lad determined to\ngo at once to the forester's friend at the toll-house, and ask if he\ncould find him any employment, for he did not wish to lose time; he had\nto win his bread by his own exertions. The bundle which lay on his bed\ncontained his best suit of clothes, a pair of boots, two shirts, and\nhis father's Bible; all besides he had disposed of, and after meeting\noutstanding expenses with the results of the sale he had one thaler, or\nthree shillings, left.\n\nBefore the boy set out, he read the twenty-third Psalm, and thought of\nhis father's dying words; then he knelt in prayer to God, and asked\nfor a blessing to rest on him, and that he might find friends and\nemployment, and be honest, and not afraid of holding on to the right\nin time of temptation. When he had ended his prayer, he rolled his\nBible carefully up in his clothes, then tied the bundle in a large silk\npocket-handkerchief, and went in search of the forester's friend, who\nwas known in K\u00f6sen as Karl Schmidt the toll-master.\n\n                               \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nKARL SCHMIDT.\n\nEVERY raft which passes through K\u00f6sen has to pay duty, and therefore\nthe little four-roomed cottage built on the banks of the Saale just\nabove the weir is inhabited by the toll-master.\n\nKarl Schmidt had served in this capacity at K\u00f6sen for many years. He\nwas a quaint, queer, strange-looking man, rough in his manners, but\nwith a good honest heart beneath a rather unpleasing exterior. He had\nno wife, nor had he ever been married; his neighbours often wondered\nthat he was a single man. He and his God, and one other, knew why he\nchose a bachelor's life, for Karl never talked about his own affairs.\nMany townspeople and strangers were admitted into the pretty parlour,\nwhich commanded a view of the river, where Schmidt transacted his\nbusiness when the weather was too wet or the days too cold to admit of\nhis taking his chair outside the door, but only a few of these were his\nfriends.\n\nHe was known to some in K\u00f6sen as \"Old Karl,\" and yet he was neither\ngrey nor infirm. It is true he had stray white hairs mingling with his\nbrown locks, but he was still in the prime of manhood, so perhaps he\nearned his name because he was quiet in manner and naturally grave in\ndisposition. He was rarely found at a f\u00eate, and certainly never seen\nin the public-house. Yet he filled a great place in K\u00f6sen, for he was\nregarded by many as a friend in need, and his advice was sought after\nand given cheerfully. By a few he was thought proud, but they were\namong the prosperous people in his own class who had never asked for\nhis sympathy.\n\nOn the morning when Hans Richter sought him, he was up betimes, and\nbusy about household matters. First he lighted the stove and put the\nkettle on; then he swept out the little kitchen and dusted and arranged\nthe parlour. Afterwards he went upstairs again and made his bed and set\nhis room in order. This done, he tapped at the door which faced his\nown. A feeble voice answered, \"Come in.\"\n\nKarl entered. On a clean bed lay a sickly woman, his mother, who had\nbeen partially paralysed for some years. She was his great duty in\nlife; for her sake he had never thought of marriage. She had always\nbeen an invalid, and needed many luxuries; and when she grew so ill as\nto be unable to move without assistance, he was doubly thankful to God\nthat he could keep her in tolerable comfort. He loved her intensely; to\nher he showed the gentle nature which lay concealed beneath the rough\nexterior.\n\n\"How have you slept, mother dear?\" he asked, coming to her side and\nkissing her.\n\n\"Much better than usual, Karl,\" she answered, smiling at him fondly. \"I\nmean to get up when Maria comes.\"\n\nMaria was an old woman employed by Karl for a few hours every day to\nattend upon his mother.\n\n\"I am so glad to hear this,\" he answered. \"I'll make coffee at\nonce, and then I must go to business, for I hear the Burgomaster's\nwood arrived late last night, and I know he is in a great hurry to\nbegin building. Besides, that boy will come on the raft who has been\nrecommended to me. I really think I shall try him, for I have been\nobliged to dismiss Robert.\"\n\n\"I am glad he is gone, for your sake, but sorry for his own. He has too\nindulgent a father, and a bad companion in Paul Ebhardt, so that he has\nno one to influence him for good. I did hope he would have turned over\na new leaf. I like the boy, with all his faults, though I fear he will\nbe a constant source of trouble to the miller. You'll read with me as\nusual, Karl, before you go out?\"\n\n\"Certainly, mother. I shouldn't expect a blessing on my day's work if\nwe neglected to read the Bible and pray together morning and night.\"\n\n\"Our daily services have been a great joy and a pleasant duty, my son,\nfor many years. I never understand how people like to go out into the\nturmoil of this world's work without first seeking strength to struggle\nwith any difficulty, danger, or temptation that may arise. I should\nas soon think of going without food as going without prayer; even in\nmy quiet life, Karl, I have my battles to fight. I often feel cross\nand irritable, and, but for God's help, I should tire you with my\ngrumbling.\"\n\n\"Never, mother. I love you too well. I can't fancy you cross or\nirritable. I rarely leave the room but what I say, 'God help me to\nendure trouble as she does.'\"\n\n\"And He will help you when trouble comes, Karl; the back is made to fit\nthe burden. I used to wonder how people who were afflicted could be so\npatient, but I wonder no longer now, if they are the followers of the\nLord Jesus Christ, for I have found that as I have grown weaker and my\nbodily ailments more severe, God has come nearer and nearer. You may\ndepend upon it, the sick ones whom Jesus loves have a closer union with\nHim than those who bustle about the world. When we are ill, we are kept\nquiet by God; His Spirit holds communion with our spirit, and we hail\nthe communion all the more because we have no hope, no help, but in\nHim.\"\n\n\"Oh, mother! How I like to hear you talk!\u2014And it's not mere talk with\nyou. I am ashamed of myself when I see you suffer, for I would fain\nkeep you here, in spite of it all; and yet I know you must long to be\nat rest.\"\n\n\"My son, I am at rest now. This is the rest of faith; the rest of\nheaven will follow in God's good time.\"\n\nThe morning meal was over, and the morning reading and prayer, when\nHans Richter arrived at the toll-house. Karl Schmidt was standing\noutside the door smoking his pipe.\n\n\"If you please, sir,\" said Hans, \"I am the boy that you had a note\nabout. Please can you give me employment?\"\n\n\"What can you do?\"\n\n\"Anything.\"\n\n\"Anything sometimes means nothing. I'd rather know what you are able to\ndo.\"\n\n\"I can cut down trees, sir, make rafts, and since mother died, I've\ncooked for father and tidied the room; and I'm a bit of a carpenter;\nand I want so much to stay here that I'll try very hard and learn to do\nany work you set me.\"\n\n\"I must think over all your qualifications. You seem to me to know a\nlittle about many things, but I hope that does not mean that you are\nsteady to nothing.\"\n\n\"No, sir; I don't think that's a bad fault of mine. But may I tell you\nwhat I want to do most of all?\"\n\n\"Certainly.\"\n\n\"I want to help the rafts over the weir. I heard you always employed a\nlad for that, and I do so wish you would take me.\"\n\n\"Why do you so particularly wish to help the rafts over the weir?\"\n\nHans hesitated, and Karl noted his hesitation.\n\n\"Speak out, boy,\" he said, somewhat sternly. \"If you and I are to come\nto terms, you must tell the truth.\"\n\n\"I never told a lie in my life, sir, and I hope I shall never be\ntempted to tell one. I was only wondering if I dare just talk to you as\nI used to do to my father.\"\n\n\"Try me,\" answered Karl.\n\n\"What I'm going to say has to do with my dead father, sir. The last\nconversation we had was about the rafts, and the last words he said\nwere, 'Stick to the raft.' And I mean to stick to the raft, and that's\nwhy I want to stand on the weir.\"\n\n\"But I don't yet see what standing on the weir has to do with sticking\nto the raft. You only stand on the weir to guide the rafts into the\nright channel.\"\n\n\"I know that, sir. But don't you see I can say to all the lads and men\nas they come over, 'Stick to the raft,' and that'll, maybe, lead to\nfurther conversation?\"\n\n\"What further conversation?\"\n\n\"It's my dead mother's idea, sir. Soon after father gave himself to\nthe Lord, he had to take a raft to a neighbouring village. And when he\nstarted, mother told him to stick to it, and explained that she wanted\nhim to hold on to a Raft which would bear him at all times. She meant\nthe Lord Jesus Christ.\"\n\n\"I like that idea. 'There is a Friend that sticketh closer than a\nbrother.' I'm not a man of many words, but I think I could say to\nstrangers, 'Stick to the raft,' and maybe in some case I could explain\nmy words, and bid them stick to the raft in a spiritual sense. Boy, you\nhave taught me something to-day. I'm a little too much inclined to let\npeople come and go without trying to do them good. But now tell me why\nyou have left your forest life.\"\n\n\"Because I've no parents living, sir, and I'm very lonely. I had to\ncome to K\u00f6sen with the Burgomaster's wood, and I thought I'd rather\nremain than go back, if I could find employment. And I want to get a\nbetter education, for I'm at the top of the village school.\"\n\n\"You'll meet with many temptations here, and with boys who have no\nprinciple to guide them, who will try and lead you into sin. Are you\nstrong enough to refuse to be led away?\"\n\nHans thought for a moment before he answered, \"I hope I am.\"\n\n\"In whose strength shall you resist? Your own?\"\n\n\"No, sir; from a baby I've been taught this, 'Cast all your care on\nGod; He careth for you; and will not suffer you to be tempted beyond\nwhat you are able to bear.' Father had a habit of talking to God about\neverything, and I try to follow his example.\"\n\n\"That's well, Hans. I like the look of you, and my friend gave you a\ngood character, so I'll engage you to help men and boys stick to the\nraft in both senses. But mind, if I find you have only talked fairly,\nand are untrue or dishonest, I shall dismiss you.\"\n\n\"I am quite ready to serve you on those terms, sir. When may I come?\"\n\n\"To-day; this morning, if you like. Where did you sleep last night?\"\n\nHans explained that he and Wilhelm Andrea had found accommodation at a\nlittle inn, and that his companion would soon be coming to pay duty on\nhis raft.\n\n\"I know he wants to start again in good time,\" he added, \"for some of\nthe wood we brought down last night is going on to Halle. It is not all\nfor the Burgomaster. May I go back and help him?\"\n\n\"Certainly. I have only one more question to ask, Where are you going\nto lodge?\"\n\n\"Can't I be with you, sir? It will be so handy for me to be near in\ncase you want my services late at night or early in the morning.\"\n\n\"I've no place for you. But you will have little difficulty in finding\na room in one of the cottages. I will arrange that matter for you.\"\n\nHans left Karl Schmidt with a light heart, and spent the rest of the\nmorning in assisting Wilhelm. There was plenty to do, for the raft\nwas an unusually large and heavy one, and it took some time to break\nit in pieces. Then the stems for the Burgomaster had to be dragged up\nthe bank, and the rest tied together again, so that it was late in the\nafternoon before Wilhelm was ready to leave K\u00f6sen. His raft was now so\nsmall he was quite able to manage it by himself.\n\nHans was waiting, pole in hand, on the weir when Andrea came, and Karl\nwas close behind, ready to give the lad his first lesson. He proved an\napt scholar, and guided the raft skilfully on to the lowest part of the\nweir, crying, \"Stick to it, Wilhelm!\" as it passed over.\n\nWilhelm called back, \"I will stick to the raft, Hans, and I'll remember\nall you mean by those words. Good-bye. I hope you'll be happy at K\u00f6sen.\"\n\n                               \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nTHE MILLER'S SON.\n\nHERR KLEIN, to whom the mill at K\u00f6sen belonged, was a hard-working\nman who had a wife and eight children to support; morning, noon, and\nsometimes far into the night, he was at his business. He was a good\nhusband and an indulgent father. Perhaps it was the easy manner he\nhad of dealing with the faults of his young ones that made his eldest\nand only son Robert so determined to lead an idle life. He was a lad\nof sixteen who had no particular principle to guide him, and liked to\ndo nothing that gave him any trouble. The only thing he excelled in\nwas archery; he had carried off the Burgomaster's prize for two years\nin succession at the Schutzen Fest (shooting festival), and they were\nabout the only prizes he had ever won, or tried after, in his life.\n\nFinding that his son was so averse to work in his mill, Herr Klein\nasked Karl Schmidt to allow him to try his hand at helping the rafts\nover the weir. And as the toll-master was just then without a boy, he\nengaged Robert. But the latter, instead of helping, so often nearly\nbrought both men and rafts into dangerous positions that at last\nSchmidt was compelled to dismiss him, and, as we know, Hans was engaged\nin his stead.\n\nIn all probability Robert would have seen his place filled without\nbeing at all troubled had it not been for a very bad companion of his,\nthe closest and dearest friend he had, one Paul Ebhardt, the son of the\nmaster tailor in K\u00f6sen, who considered that it was an infringement upon\nthe rights of the town for a stranger to come and, as he termed it,\n\"turn out a fellow who was born and bred close to the weir.\"\n\nIt was evident that Herr Klein admired the look and bearing of Hans,\nfor he said to his son soon after the lad came to live with the\ntoll-master, \"I do wish, Robert, you were as steady as Schmidt's new\nboy; I very much dislike seeing you constantly idling about.\"\n\nBut the miller did not enforce obedience, and truly he had no\nconfidence in his first-born, and was afraid of giving him any position\nof trust connected with the mill. He hoped that as he grew older he\nwould be wiser. Nevertheless he did not set before him the miseries\nwhich must accrue from laziness, nor that \"Satan finds some mischief\nstill for idle hands to do.\" He was proud of his son, who was a\nwell-grown, handsome, good-natured lad, but beyond this had nothing\nmuch to commend him.\n\nHans had been in his situation for several weeks, and had given the\ntoll-master so much satisfaction that the latter proposed to his mother\nthat a bed should be placed in the kitchen to accommodate him. \"He is\nso handy at accounts, I shall be glad to have him to help me with the\nbooks,\" said Karl.\n\nFrau Schmidt gave her hearty consent to the arrangement, and added,\n\"He will be a companion for you during the winter. I like the boy very\nmuch, and I think if he is in the house, you can carry on his education\nduring the long evenings.\"\n\nSo a bed was bought, and Hans was installed in his new quarters.\nThe orphan was very happy to be there, and thankful to God that the\ninfluences of his home were such that he would be helped forward in the\npilgrimage of life. He already loved patient Frau Schmidt, and hailed\nthe days when she was well enough to sit up in her easy-chair and chat\nto him.\n\nHans was in the habit of taking off his boots and socks when he stood\nin the water to help the rafts over the weir. He removed them as usual\none morning, and left them on the shore, without giving a thought as to\ntheir safety, while he went, pole in hand, to assist four rafts, which\nhad been waiting for a good supply of water to pass over the weir.\n\nRobert and his friend Paul were sauntering along the banks of the river\nwhen they observed Hans take off his boots and socks.\n\n\"Let's hide them,\" suggested Paul. \"I hate that boy, and should like to\nmake K\u00f6sen too hot for him.\"\n\n\"It's not worth while,\" answered Robert. \"If any one owes him a grudge,\nI do, for he turned me out of my situation. But he's not worth a\nthought.\"\n\n\"That's one reason why I dislike him so much,\" said Paul. And he might\nhave added, \"the chief reasons are that he rather avoids me than seeks\nto know me, and on several occasions when I've invited him to go for\na walk, he has refused to accompany me. And one evening when I was\ndrinking at a public-house, he turned away.\"\n\nThis was true, for Hans had been warned by his master to have no\ncompanionship with Robert or Paul. \"One is idle, and the other bad,\"\nadded Karl Schmidt; \"therefore you had better try to keep clear of\nthem.\"\n\nHans knew this was sound advice, for he had seen Paul behave in such a\nmanner that his own good sense would have told him to avoid Ebhardt if\nhe would cling to the good.\n\n\"Now do let's pay him off,\" urged Paul.\n\n\"Well, just as you like. We'll put his boots and socks under that\nrubbish.\"\n\nAccordingly they were pushed under a nasty heap of refuse, and then the\nboys hid behind the trunk of an old tree, and waited to see how Hans\nwould behave.\n\nIn the meantime, the latter was fully employed. The first raft had only\none man in it, who was accompanied by a favourite dog. The creature\nwhined piteously, and was evidently frightened by the noise of the\nrushing water.\n\n\"Stick to the raft, and mind your dog,\" shouted Hans.\n\nThe stranger, thus admonished, took the animal into his arms, and\nplanting his feet down firmly, passed the weir in safety.\n\n\"Give me a help with your pole until I'm under the bridge,\" called the\nman; \"I'm not strong enough to keep clear of it single-handed, my cough\nis so bad.\"\n\nHans sprang on to the raft, and gave a few vigorous thrusts with his\npole.\n\n\"It's all right now,\" he said. \"I'm afraid you are very ill. It seems\nto me you are not fit to come down alone on this raft.\"\n\n\"I know that as well as you can tell me,\" answered the stranger,\ncurtly, \"but a man must live. Mine will be a short life, and by no\nmeans a merry one.\"\n\n\"You managed to stick well to the raft as you passed over the weir,\"\nreplied Hans; \"and if you'll stick to another kind of Raft, you'll be\nable to meet any sickness that comes.\"\n\n\"What do you mean?\"\n\n\"Why, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ came into the world to save\nus from sin; and if we cling to Him in all our troubles, we shall be\nable to bear them.\"\n\n\"What stuff are you talking to me, boy?\" exclaimed the man, angrily. \"I\nwant no more help, now we are safely under the bridge. Thank you for\nwhat you've done, but let me give you a word of advice: if you use that\nsort of talk to strangers, you'll get a thrashing one of these days.\nThe idea of a child like you setting up to teach grown men!\"\n\nHans felt very sore as he walked quickly back to the weir; he was more\nthan sore, quite cross, and indignant that his words had been received\nin such an uncourteous spirit. But he had no time then to indulge his\nvexation, for the three remaining rafts had to be helped over. He\ndid his best, save only that no words escaped him beyond what he was\ncompelled to say; he did not cry out cheerily, \"Stick to the raft; take\ncare; keep in the current!\"\n\nSo soon as he had completed his morning's work, he prepared to go home,\nbut, to his dismay, he found that his boots and socks were gone.\n\nHans looked about in every direction in vain, and at last relinquished\nthe search, fearing his master would be waiting dinner for him. Paul\nhad no mind to allow his victim to escape thus easily, so he broke into\na derisive laugh. Then, for the first time, Hans discovered that Robert\nand his friend were watching his movements, and he felt sure they had\nplayed him a trick.\n\n\"Where are my boots? You've taken them away,\" he called out.\n\n\"That's like your impudence, young fellow,\" said Paul, coming toward\nhim, followed by Robert; \"it's as good as calling us thieves. Take that\nfor being so impertinent!\" And he struck Hans a violent blow across the\nmouth.\n\nAs we know, Hans was out of temper, not only annoyed at the stranger,\nbut vexed at losing his boots. He sprang on to Paul, and before the\nlatter could defend himself, he was stretched full length on the grass.\n\n\"You coward! How dare you hit me?\" he cried. \"You're in my power now.\nTell me where are my boots, or I will thrash you.\"\n\n\"Help me, help me!\" screamed Paul, \"Robert, he'll kill me.\"\n\n\"No, I shall not,\" answered Hans. \"Give me your hand; I'm sorry I was\nin such a temper.\" For a still small voice whispered, \"Is that sticking\nto the Raft?\"\n\n\"I really call that first-rate behaviour,\" said easy Robert, roused for\nonce to have an opinion of his own. \"He had you down, and no mistake,\nPaul. You'll find your boots under the rubbish heap, Hans.\"\n\n\"You shall answer for this,\" muttered Paul, slowly rising from the\nground. \"I will be revenged on you, Hans Richter. Paul Ebhardt\ngenerally remembers to pay off any grudge he owes. Come along, Robert.\"\n\nHans found his boots and socks, but it took him some minutes to shake\noff the dust and dirt with which they were covered. And thus he was\nfully a quarter of an hour late for dinner.\n\nThe toll-master was busy with a customer, so that he made no comment on\nhis want of punctuality.\n\nThe meal passed almost in silence, for the lad was so busy with\nhimself, and though his master addressed him once or twice he only\nreplied in monosyllables.\n\nIt was Karl Schmidt's habit to spend half-an-hour with his mother after\ndinner, and latterly Hans had been admitted to the conference, and very\nmuch he valued the advice and counsel he received from the sick woman.\nOn this day, a friend came to see Karl, so Hans went up alone to the\ninvalid.\n\n\"Oh, Frau Schmidt, may I tell you all\u2014everything?\" he asked, kneeling\ndown by the side of her arm-chair.\n\n\"What have you to tell me?\" she asked, passing her hands over the\nupturned face. \"There has been something amiss to-day; you have been\ncrying.\"\n\n\"And I'm sure you will say I ought to cry, dear frau, for I have been\nso very wicked. I am a regular hypocrite.\" And Hans poured into her\nears the history of the morning's adventures.\n\n\"Poor boy!\" she said, kindly. \"Yes, you have failed to stick to the\nRaft; you have forgotten to cling to the One who is mighty to save,\nand have allowed self to gain a victory. The hardest battle we have to\nfight in our Christian course is the battle with ourselves. We think we\nare doing great things, and then perhaps a rebuff comes, and, instead\nof searching into our motives and crying out for the Spirit of the\nliving God to show us ourselves and bring us anew to Jesus, we grow\nangry and vexed that we are despised and misunderstood.\"\n\n\"Yes, yes; you are right, dear frau,\" said Hans, the tears coming\nafresh at the words he heard. \"I was so angry with the stranger, and\nwounded because he scolded me.\"\n\n\"The next time you receive a rebuff, contrast your trials with His who\nendured such contradiction of sinners against Himself\u2014who was tempted\nin all points, and yet without sin. Pray for the indwelling of His\nSpirit when you try to do His work, and ever remember that when He was\nreviled, He reviled not again, but was despised and rejected of men,\na man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were\nour faces from Him. We have many lessons to learn, which will only be\nlearnt through tears, but they will be blessed tears, for 'they that\nsow in tears shall reap in joy.'\"\n\nKarl entered the room at this moment, and Hans made his escape, and\nleft Frau Schmidt to explain to his master why he went away so abruptly.\n\n\"I am sorry all this has happened,\" remarked Karl, when he had heard\nthe particulars. \"I do not mean that I am sorry Hans received a\nscolding from the man on the raft, for in the Master's service he\nmust not expect all sunshine. But I am sorry he has provoked Paul\nEbhardt, for that boy will not easily forget that he has for once been\nconquered.\"\n\n                               \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nTHE MARTYR SPIRIT.\n\nHANS never found his days too long; he had lessons to learn when his\nmaster did not require his services, and besides this, he practised\nshooting at the target. The festival was to be held in August, when the\nBurgomaster invited all the boys of K\u00f6sen to enter their names among\nthe lists of competitors for his prize, and Karl Schmidt advised him to\ntry for it, promising to give him instruction in archery.\n\nThe toll-keeper's cottage stood alone in quiet nook, and behind it\na pathway ran up a slope\u2014which was richly carpeted with flowers and\nfurze, with here and there an old tree standing\u2014on to higher ground,\nwhere was a pretty pine-wood with rustic seats placed in all directions\nfor the accommodation of visitors. This spot commanded a delightful\nview of the town of K\u00f6sen and its winding river.\n\nHans was able to set up his target behind the toll-house, and practise\nthere under the superintendence of his master, who had shot well in\nhis youthful days, and who not only gave him lessons in the art, but\nfurnished his pupil with his own bow and arrows. No sort of teaching\ncame amiss to Hans; he was naturally so clever that he soon mastered\ndifficulties, for he gave his whole attention to whatever he undertook.\n\n\"They say that Hans Richter has entered his name on the list of\ncompetitors for the Burgomaster's prize,\" said Paul Ebhardt to his\nfriend Robert. \"Do you mean to let him win it away from you?\"\n\n\"He is not likely to get it,\" answered Robert. \"He is only a raw fellow\nfrom the forest who has had no practice; I'm not afraid of him.\"\n\n\"I say he means to win,\" said Paul. \"I am told he has put his target\non the low ground by the toll-house and that he practises there every\nevening, and Karl Schmidt helps him. My father says Karl knows what he\nis about; some years ago he was the best shot in K\u00f6sen.\"\n\n\"For all that, I'm not afraid,\" replied Robert.\n\n\"Don't be such a dolt!\" exclaimed his friend, angrily. \"I detest Hans,\nand I can't think what you mean by being so careless over your prize. I\nsuppose if he wins it away from you, you will say, Thank you.\"\n\n\"No, indeed I shan't,\" answered Robert, with some spirit. \"But,\" he\nadded, more quietly, \"he'll stand no chance, never fear.\"\n\n\"You don't know how well he shoots. Come with me this evening, and let\nus watch him. And then you will better understand that you will be\nbeaten if you don't take care.\"\n\nAccordingly, that evening Paul and his friend secreted themselves\nbehind a tree which stood very near to the target, where they could\nsee, yet not be seen, without running any risk of being struck by a\nstray arrow.\n\nIt was well that Karl Schmidt was present, otherwise Paul would have\ndone his best to excite his friend to pick a quarrel with Hans. Robert\nfound that the arrows went near the bull's-eye, and even into its\ncentre now and then\u2014showing that Hans had a correct eye, and only\nneeded to persevere in order to equal if not excel him.\n\nEvery time he shot an arrow, Paul whispered triumphantly, \"I told you\nhe would be a match for you.\"\n\nYes, certainly Robert had a rival to fear.\n\nWhen Hans and his master went into the cottage, the friends emerged\nfrom their hiding-place. Paul's face expressed his gladness, for he\nsaw that Robert was more annoyed and vexed than he had ever seen him\nbefore. So, instead of deriding his companion, he changed his tactics\nand began to pity him.\n\n\"Old fellow,\" he said, laying his hand on Robert's shoulder, \"I'm sorry\nfor you. He is sure to win, and you'll lose. It is a great shame that\nthis fellow who is a stranger in K\u00f6sen, should put himself forward and\ngain a prize from our Burgomaster, over one who belongs to our town.\"\n\n\"But he has not won it yet. And what is more, he shall not win it,\"\nsaid Robert\u2014\"that is, if I can beat him.\"\n\n\"You may try, but as sure as my name is Paul Ebhardt, so sure am I\nhe'll win; so make up your mind to lose. His hand is more steady and\nhis eye more correct than yours; he only wants practice.\"\n\n\"He will not win the prize,\" said Robert, confidently.\n\n\"He ought not to, but I am afraid he will succeed. I wish, with all my\nheart, we could contrive some means of preventing him from shooting in\nthe match.\"\n\n\"Shall we go to the Burgomaster and say that he is a stranger here, and\nthat we pray he will only permit our K\u00f6sen boys to compete?\"\n\n\"No; that won't do exactly. The Burgomaster will tell you that he can\nmake no rules of the kind. Perhaps I shall think of some other plan. I\nhave to pay the rascal off for insulting me.\"\n\nPaul felt he had a right to annoy Hans, and he wanted to be revenged on\nhim,\u2014forgetting he had in the first instance thrown down the gauntlet,\nand that, before that unfortunate encounter by the river-side, he had\nno real reason to dislike him.\n\nIt was on Saturday evening when the friends watched Hans Richter shoot;\nwe will see in what spirit they awoke on Sunday morning.\n\nRobert's first thoughts were these: \"I'll lose no time, but practise\nhard, so that I may enter into fair competition with Richter\u2014for, after\nall, he has as much right to try for the Burgomaster's prize as I have,\nbut he is not going to succeed.\" Away from his friend he was more\ninclined to act fairly towards Hans.\n\nPaul Ebhardt's waking thoughts were these: \"That fellow, Richter, shall\nnot have the prize if I can make him lose it. This shall be my revenge\nfor his behaviour to me. I must try and work out some plan to prevent\nhim from winning, for I see he is very anxious to be first. But how\nit's to be done I don't exactly know. There are, fortunately, some days\nbefore the festival.\"\n\nTo Hans, this Sunday morning brought very different feelings. When he\nawoke, he remembered it was God's own day, and that he would hear the\ngospel of Jesus Christ preached in the old church. He would go to a\nBible-class in the afternoon, and the remainder of the day would be\nspent with Frau Schmidt and his master.\n\nThe hours sped along only too quickly for him. And as soon as he had\ntaken afternoon coffee to the invalid and his master, he joined them,\nBible in hand.\n\nFrau Schmidt had been unusually well, and had enjoyed the beautiful\nsummer day from her open window; the air was so still, the sun so\nbright, and the peace and rest of the scene without harmonised so well\nwith the abiding sense of peace and rest which filled her own soul.\nThough she was unable to go beyond her bedroom, she was thankful to be\nable to sit in her comfortable arm-chair and enjoy the pretty landscape.\n\n\"I have something very interesting to read to you,\" said Karl Schmidt,\nas Hans entered the room. \"You will be surprised to hear that it has to\ndo with a f\u00eate and that I mean to give you a holiday to attend it.\"\n\n\"Thank you, sir, but please tell me something about the f\u00eate before you\nbegin to read.\"\n\n\"It is called a 'cherry feast.' The reason why this name is given to\nit, I will explain later.\"\n\n\"Where is it held, sir?\"\n\n\"At Naumburg, a town about five miles from here. Thither many young\nmen and maidens, as well as old folks and children, repair on the 28th\nof July. The name of John Huss, the great reformer, is associated with\nthis f\u00eate. Do you know who he was?\"\n\n\"No, sir.\"\n\n\"I thought, if you approved, mother, I would read Hans an account of\nthis good man, because he will learn from it how much a true Christian\ncan endure, who rests entirely on his Saviour.\"\n\n\"Do, Karl; I shall enjoy listening to it,\" answered Frau Schmidt. \"John\nHuss was a very great man, and above all, great in his abounding love\ntowards God. He cared not for prison, nor chains, nor mockings. His\npersecutors could not hurt his soul, however much they might inflict\npain on his body. Read on, Karl.\"\n\n\"John Huss was born at Hussineez, a town on the borders of Bavaria, in\nJuly, 1369. His parents were poor, and he was early accustomed to do\nhard work and take very sparingly of food. At the age of twenty-seven\nhe entered the university of Prague, and at the close of the 14th\ncentury became confessor to Sophia, Queen of Bohemia, and preacher in\nwhat was called the Bethlehem Chapel, attached to the university.\n\n\"Wycliffe, who has been justly styled the greatest of all reformers\nbefore the Reformation, was at this time creating a formidable\nrevolution in the religious life of England and Scotland by his\npreaching, and writing; nor was it long before this new teaching\npenetrated to the Continent, and spread even into Bohemia, where it\nstirred the spirits of some good men. Among the number was John Huss,\nwho said, when speaking of the effect of these writings of Wycliffe on\nhis mind, 'I am drawn to them by the manner in which they strive to\nlead all men back to Christ.'\n\n\"In the year 1414 Huss was charged with teaching heresy, and summoned\nby the Emperor Sigismund to appear before the Council of Constance. He\nobeyed the summons, and went in the strength of God, having besought\nof his Heavenly Father wisdom to answer his accusers and strength to\nremain firm to his Saviour. The Emperor furnished him with a letter to\nensure his safe-conduct; and, accompanied by several friends, he set\nout to Constance, and reached that town on the 3rd of November.\n\n\"He was permitted to remain unmolested during four weeks; and that time\nhe employed in freely explaining his opinions and entreating to be\nheard publicly. But such was not the intention of his enemies, for on\nthe 28th of November he was thrown into a dungeon; nor did the Emperor\ninterfere, in spite of his promise, beyond procuring poor Huss a more\nairy prison.\n\n\"For seven months he remained in confinement, and during this period\nhis health became greatly impaired from the rigorous treatment he\nreceived at the hands of his tormentors. In the month of June he was\nbrought before the Council, and ordered to abjure errors which he had\nnever believed. Nor was it only on one occasion, for four times did\nHuss appear before these cruel men. 'How can I abjure what I never\nheld?' he asked repeatedly.\n\n\"After his fourth appearance the Council gave him a choice of two\nthings\u2014recantation or death; and sent him back to prison to deliberate\nas to which of the two he would accept.\n\n\"But Huss needed no time for deliberation; he made his choice when he\ndetermined to know only Christ, and Him crucified; and he never proved\nfalse to his Master, though his friends entreated him to save his life\nat any cost. 'I write in prison and chains,' he says in a letter to\nsome friends, 'expecting to-morrow to receive sentence of death, but\nfull of hope in God that I shall not swerve from the truth, nor abjure\nerrors imputed to me by false witnesses.'\n\n\"The sentence of death was soon passed upon John Huss. It was read to\nhim in the presence of the Emperor and Council. The persecuted man fell\non his knees, and cried, 'Lord Jesus, forgive my enemies. Thou knowest\nI have been falsely accused by them; forgive them for the sake of Thy\ngreat mercy.'\n\n\"His persecutors answered this prayer with loud laughter and shouts of\nderision, which followed him even to the place of execution. When he\nwas heavily laden with chains and led to the stake, he exclaimed, 'I\nwillingly wear these for Christ's sake, who bore still more grievous\nones.'\n\n\"Before the fire was kindled he was again besought to recant. 'What\nerror should I recant,' he cried, 'when I am conscious of none? The\nchief aim of my preaching has been to teach men repentance and the\nforgiveness sins, according to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.'\n\n\"So the fire was kindled, and the smoke and flames rose around him; but\nin the midst of it all his voice was heard, and these were his words:\n'Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy on me.'\"\n\nHans drew a deep sigh when Karl closed the little book from which he\nhad been reading.\n\n\"What a grand death to die!\" he said. \"It reminds me of the martyr\nStephen. I've been reading about him to-day. He fell asleep in Jesus\nafter he had cried with a loud voice, 'Lord, lay not this sin to their\ncharge.' I wonder if I could forgive my enemies like that!\"\n\n\"Yes, my dear boy, you could, if you were sticking to the Raft,\"\nsaid Frau Schmidt. \"The law of forgiveness was taught these good men\nby their blessed Master, and they were His followers. Methinks that\nMaster's words were yet ringing in the ears of Stephen, 'Father,\nforgive them, they know not what they do.' He found it no hard task to\npray, as did his Lord, that his cruel tormentors might be forgiven.\"\n\n\"I see it all,\" answered Hans; \"mother's words must be felt in my heart\nif I mean them to come out in my life. I must really 'stick to the\nRaft' so tightly that God's promises will be mine. But, sir, I don't\nquite understand what the death of John Huss has to do with the f\u00eate.\"\n\n\"I am going to tell you now,\" answered Karl; \"I only waited until my\nmother had spoken. In the year 1482, Procopius, the wild leader of\nthe Hussites, came with his army to Naumburg, and besieged the city,\nbecause Bishop Gerhard of that town, who was a member of the Council\nof Constance, was one of the men who condemned the noble Huss to be\nburnt at the stake. He was induced to raise the siege by the entreaties\nof the children who flocked to his camp, and prayed him to depart and\nleave them in peace. So earnestly did these young ones plead that\nProcopius heard them, and promised to withdraw his army. Nor did he\nsend the children away empty, for he gave them a liberal supply of\ncherries; hence this event is commemorated by what is called 'the\ncherry feast.'\"\n\n\"How much I shall like to go! I suppose it is very gay at Naumburg.\nWhat do the people do?\" said Hans.\n\n\"You shall see for yourself,\" replied his master. \"And now come, my\nboy, let us stroll along the river-side this beautiful summer evening.\"\n\n                               \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nTHE PROMISED HOLIDAY.\n\nTHE 28th of July came on the following Thursday. Hans counted the days,\nnay, almost the hours, which must intervene; he longed so much to see\nwhat the cherry feast was like. The special train which left K\u00f6sen at\nmid-day was not to return until late in the evening; for fireworks were\nto conclude the entertainment, and they could not be let off until\nafter nine o'clock.\n\nHans was dressed in a new suit of clothes, a present from his master.\nKarl was growing increasingly fond of him; he had never met his equal\nbefore, and was fast forgetting the relations they bore to one another.\nThe lad was growing to be more like an adopted son than a hired servant.\n\n\"I have come to show myself in my new suit,\" said Hans, after tapping\nat Frau Schmidt's door to ascertain if he might enter. \"Isn't it a nice\none? It fits capitally. Oh, I am so happy, dear frau, I have such a\nkind master; and I love you so much\u2014you seem to help me on my way.\"\n\n[Illustration: HANS IN HIS NEW SUIT.]\n\nThe invalid smiled kindly on the boy. \"I'm glad I help you, my dear,\"\nshe replied; \"it's pleasant for a sick woman to know she is some use\nin God's world. Yes, Hans, even I have my work to do, or my Master\nwould call me hence. Perhaps it is to cheer and strengthen you on in\nyour pilgrimage. But I will not sermonise to-day, but wish that you may\nenjoy yourself, and remember you can do so and yet stick to the Raft.\"\n\nHans reached the railway-station in good time, and before the train\nstarted some hundred and fifty young people, and children, with a\nsprinkling of old folks, were gathered on the platform. Among the\nnumber were Paul Ebhardt and Robert Klein. Hans had not spoken to the\nformer since their quarrel by the river-side, and the latter had only\naddressed him once, and then it was to say, \"How could you attack Paul?\nHe hates you now, and will not forgive you in a hurry.\"\n\nNaumburg is pleasantly situated in the valley of the Saale; it lies in\nthe midst of vine-covered hills: for this is one of the most northerly\nplaces in Europe where the vine is cultivated, though the wine it\nproduces is little better than vinegar. An old wall runs round part\nof the town, which contains some fine streets and handsome public\nbuildings. Just without the wall is a meadow in which the Friedens\nH\u00fcgel, or Hill of Peace, stands, where Procopius pitched his camp, and\nwhere the children flocked to entreat him to spare their beloved city.\n\nThe f\u00eate was unusually well attended. There were sports of all kinds\nwhich lasted through the day and into which the young people entered\nheartily, while their parents sat under the trees and looked on.\n\nHans enjoyed the fun intensely. It was quite a new scene for this\nforest boy. He came across Paul and Robert several times, but they\nseemed quite as anxious as he was to avoid any intercourse; indeed,\nonly Robert returned the nod which Hans gave when he recognised them\non the platform. Nor were refreshments forgotten; various places were\nestablished in different parts of the meadow where a good supper could\nbe had, and cherries abounded. It seemed as if all the old women in\nNaumburg had turned out, so many were there, with baskets full of\ncherries, from which they filled plates and offered them for sale at\nthe rate of an English halfpenny per plate.\n\nHans had money given to him by his master for refreshment, and he very\nsoon settled what he should eat. There was an old man who had taken up\nhis position in a quiet corner, just within the wooden paling that ran\non one side of the meadow; he sold hot sausages, and to him the lad\nrepaired when he felt hungry.\n\nThe old man was bent with age, but looked shrewd and quite competent\nto execute the work he had undertaken. He had a strange sort of\ncooking-stove; he put twelve bricks side by side, on to a wooden table,\nand made a fire on them, so that the gridiron could stand on the hot\nembers and thus keep the sausages simmering; while some rolls and\nhalf-a-dozen plates were ranged round the bricks to be in readiness for\ncustomers.\n\nHans entered into conversation with him, for it so happened no other\ncustomer was waiting to be served. Thus he learnt that the old man\nearned his living by going about the country selling sausages.\n\n\"It's a hard life, young master,\" he said, \"and sometimes I long for a\nroom where I may end my days, but the money doesn't come in fast enough\nfor that. I can just manage to get a living, and that's all. But I\nthank my God for His great mercy to me. If I grow downhearted, I think\nof my dear Jesus, who said, 'Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air\nhave nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head,' and\nthat comforts me.\"\n\n\"You stick to the Raft, I can see,\" answered Hans, and then he\nexplained what he meant by these words.\n\nAfterwards they chatted about the different f\u00eates the old man had in\nprospect, and the latter said he expected to be at the Schutzen Fest,\nand that he went to it every year because he always did a brisk trade\nafter the match was over.\n\n\"The exercise seems to give them all an appetite,\" he added; \"and even\nthose who don't take any part in the shooting, but only look on, get\nvery hungry. Sometimes I stay at K\u00f6sen for several days.\"\n\nOn hearing this, Hans told his new friend his name, where he lived,\nwhat a good master he had, and that he was practising at the target\nevery day, for he meant to try and win the Burgomaster's prize.\n\n\"I shall be sure to find you out at the festival,\" continued the boy,\n\"and I will recommend all the people I know to buy sausages of you, for\nI've taken a great liking to you.\"\n\n\"So have I to you,\" replied the old man, shaking the hand that Richter\nheld out to him. \"Good-bye.\"\n\nJust as Hans was saying the last words, Robert and his friend came up.\n\n\"Has that fellow been eating sausages?\" asked Paul, pointing to Hans,\nand addressing the old man.\n\n\"Yes; and a nice, civil-spoken young lad he is.\"\n\n\"Smooth-tongued enough, I dare say,\" sneered Paul. \"Give me three\nsausages, and my friend wants three.\"\n\nThe old man was so accustomed to hear rough words that he made no\nreply, but busied himself in preparing the sausages, while the boys sat\ndown and watched him.\n\n\"Robert, I've a splendid idea just come into my head\u2014how odd that I\nnever thought of it before! I see how we can pay Hans off,\" said Paul.\n\"I've been worrying and worrying to no purpose, but now I've got it,\nand no mistake. When the fireworks are let off, in the darkness we may\nthrust a squib which is fired into his hand, and that'll give him such\na dose that he won't be able to shoot at the festival.\"\n\n\"But it will hurt him,\" answered Robert; \"and though I want the prize,\nI should be ashamed to be such a coward as to injure another to gain my\nown end. Richter has as good a right to try and win as I have. No, no,\nPaul; I'm not quite such a bad fellow as that.\"\n\n\"I've no patience with you!\" exclaimed Paul, angrily. \"You may go your\nown way, and lose the prize. Here come the sausages; let us eat them\nwhile they are hot.\"\n\nThe old man had not been too much engrossed with his cooking to listen\nto what Paul and Robert said. He noted every word that passed, and\nresolved to look out for Hans and warn him to be careful not to go near\nany boys who had squibs, and also to tell him of the conversation he\nhad overheard. But the customers came so fast that he was too full of\nbusiness to carry out his kind intention, for the shades of evening\nwere falling before the last one was served, and then the fireworks\nbegan, and the old man dared not venture into the crowd which had\ngathered at the lower end of the meadow.\n\nWhen Paul found Robert so averse to his plan of revenge, he determined\nto part company with him, and carry out his scheme alone. So he made\nthe excuse of wishing to see some particular friends, and promised\nto meet him at the station when the fireworks were over. He had been\nso accustomed all his life to do just what pleased him best, without\nheeding if it were right or wrong, that he gloried in the cleverness of\nhis plot, only regretting that he had mentioned it to Robert.\n\n\nThere was a great concourse of people round the ring from whence the\nrockets, wheels, and other pretty devices were let off. And at the same\ntime, a few boys began letting off squibs, though it had been strictly\nforbidden by the authorities.\n\nHans was standing at the edge of the crowd lost in wonder, for he\nhad never seen such a display before, when he felt something thrust\ninto his left hand which exploded almost instantaneously, but in the\nexplosion, he was severely burnt. Just at this moment came the grand\nfinale, which closed the evening's entertainment. And the shouting and\nclapping were so noisy that the report of the squib was not noticed,\nand it fortunately harmed no one else.\n\nIn the first few moments, Hans was bewildered, and scarcely realised\nwhat had happened; he was only conscious of sharp pain in his hand.\nThe crowd dispersed quickly, and he knew the train would start almost\nimmediately, so he wrapped it in his handkerchief, and, trying to bear\nthe pain as he best could, walked to the station and jumped into the\nfirst carriage.\n\nHis condition excited the attention of his fellow-travellers, and\ninduced many questions. Every one had some particular remedy to\nrecommend, but poor Hans paid little heed to their words. He sat still,\nholding his wounded left hand with his right, and suffering too much to\nbe able to enter into conversation.\n\nAt last he reached home, and found his master standing outside the\ntoll-house awaiting his arrival.\n\n\"I've had an accident, sir,\" he said, trying to speak cheerfully. \"I'm\nafraid my hand is very much burnt.\" And then he remembered no more\nuntil he returned to consciousness, and found himself stretched on his\nbed, for thither Karl Schmidt had carried him in a fainting condition.\n\n\"You'll soon be better, my boy. You're a brave fellow to come home\nalone after such an accident,\" said his master. \"I expect the pain was\ntoo much for you to bear. You have a nasty burn. How did it happen? But\nperhaps you had better not tell me until to-morrow, you look so pale.\nI've wrapped your hand in cotton wool; let it stay on until you see the\ndoctor, and be very careful that the air does not get to it.\"\n\n\"I feel quite comfortable now, sir, and able to talk. I wish I could\ntell you how it happened. I only know I felt as if some one forced a\nsquib into my hand which went off directly.\"\n\n\"It must have been a pure accident. I don't think any boy would be\nso cruel as to harm another for amusement,\" remarked Karl. \"The\nauthorities ought to punish the rascals who dare to let off squibs. I\nknow this is not the first time some one has been hurt. You must show\nyour hand to the doctor early to-morrow morning. I am afraid you will\nhave no more shooting for many days to come.\"\n\n\"Won't it soon be well, sir? I did not think that I should lose the\nchance of the prize because of this burn.\"\n\n\"And don't think of it now; but go to sleep, and try to forget you have\nbeen hurt.\"\n\n\nNext day Hans paid an early visit to the doctor, who pronounced that\nthe hand must be put into a sling, it was so much injured, and would\nrequire care for some weeks.\n\nThe boy went slowly home, feeling thoroughly depressed and ill. The\nworld and his prospects looked very gloomy; he could not work\u2014for how\ncould he push rafts over the weir with one hand? And perhaps his master\nwould dismiss him if he did not get well quickly; and last, though not\nleast, there was the shooting match coming on, and he would be unable\nto join in it, and that was a sore disappointment. In the short walk\nfrom the doctor's house to the toll-master's cottage, Hans managed to\nconjure up all kinds of dismal things: so is it that we often make\ntroubles before they really exist.\n\nKarl was in his mother's room when Richter appeared in sight. He called\nhim from the window to come up, for Frau Schmidt was anxious to hear\nthe doctor's opinion.\n\n\"You look as if you had all the cares of the world on your shoulders,\nHans,\" he exclaimed, when he saw the boy's face. \"What's the matter?\"\n\nHans tried to speak in a clear, unconcerned tone, but his voice failed,\nand he burst into tears instead.\n\n\"Come, don't be so downhearted,\" said Karl. \"It will only be a matter\nof a few weeks; you will not learn idle habits in that time. In fact,\nyou can work all the same; we shall only change places: you must take\nthe tolls, and will look after the rafts. Why, I used to do both in\nformer days\u2014levy the duty on the raft, and afterwards help it over the\nweir!\"\n\n\"Then you will keep me on, sir, even if my hand is a long time getting\nwell?\"\n\n\"Certainly. This explains why you look so dismal; you thought I should\nturn you away because you could not work. Why, Hans, I hoped you knew\nme better.\"\n\n\"His faith in you has only failed for the moment,\" said Frau Schmidt.\n\"Hans feels ill, and his depression of body dims his trust in you. My\ndear boy, it is an old, old fault\u2014this want of faith; would that it did\nnot run through our lives. In your walk home from the doctor's, you\nhave lost the Raft, and in losing the Raft you have conjured up doubts\nand difficulties which have no foundation.\"\n\n\"Mother, mother, you are in a higher world than we are,\" replied Karl.\n\"Poor Hans has not reached it, and I am sure I have not; nevertheless,\nwould that we were as patient and trustful as you are. You see the boy\nhas another cause of disappointment which you have not thought of,\nperhaps: he will be unable to shoot at the match.\"\n\n\"And I lose my lessons from you, sir,\" added Hans, in a doleful voice;\n\"and I did so enjoy having them every evening.\"\n\n\"I hope they will be renewed some day. My dear boy, I am a stern\nteacher when I bid you rouse up to see your mercies, and be thankful\nfor your many blessings,\" answered Frau Schmidt. \"Are you only going to\nstick to the Raft when the sun is high and the water smooth? You must\ntake all your disappointments in life as part of the education which is\nto fit you for a higher and better world.\"\n\nHans smiled through his tears as the invalid spoke. He felt ashamed of\nmurmuring over his temporary sickness when he contrasted it with her\ndays, weeks, months, nay, years of continuous suffering. He had only\ntime to say, \"Thank you, dear frau, for your advice,\" for his master\nexclaimed, \"There are a couple of rafts in sight. We had better go\ndown, Hans; the men are pushing along as if they are in a hurry to pay\ntoll and pass over the weir. Can you take the money?\"\n\n\"Oh yes, sir, quite well,\" replied the lad, hurrying away after his\nmaster.\n\n                               \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nTHE SECRET.\n\nAFTER Paul had shaken off his companion, he accomplished, as we know,\nhis cruel purpose, and according to appointment joined Robert after\nthe fireworks were over. He was careful not to run across Hans, as he\ndid not wish to tell his friend what he had done until the following\nmorning; for Paul was sure that he was revenged on Hans when he heard\nthe exclamation of intense pain which escaped him before he had time to\nglide away.\n\n\"Let me see you first thing to-morrow,\" said Paul, when he parted\nfrom Robert, just after they had passed the bridge. \"I've some work\nto finish off, but shall be ready by ten o'clock; I want to tell you\nsomething.\"\n\n\"Tell me now.\"\n\n\"I'm afraid there are too many people about. It's a great secret.\nTo-morrow is time enough. Good night.\"\n\nRobert wondered for a few moments what secret Paul could have to tell\nhim, but he forgot all about it when he reached home, for he had to\ngive an account of his day spent at Naumburg to his mother and sisters,\nwho had not ventured to the f\u00eate.\n\nThe next morning Robert was taking his coffee in the kitchen with the\nrest of the family, except his father, who came in before the meal was\nended.\n\n\"I've been talking to Karl Schmidt,\" he said, \"and didn't know it was\nso late. Did you hear of an accident which happened to young Hans last\nnight?\" he asked his son.\n\n\"No, father.\"\n\n\"He managed to get his left hand badly burnt by a squib; and what is\nvery odd about the accident is that he felt the squib was pushed into\nhis hand, and then it exploded.\"\n\nRobert turned pale, and red. No one was observing him, for all eyes\nwere fixed on the miller, so he had time to regain his self-possession;\nand right glad was he that a customer came to see his father on\nbusiness, and he was able to make his escape.\n\nRobert was not a bad boy at heart, nor would he ever have injured\nanother in the cruel manner in which Paul had injured Hans. He was\nappalled at what he had heard, and all that was noble in his character\nrose up for the moment in judgment against Paul. He walked quickly\naway from the mill, and took the back road into the town, nor did he\nslacken his pace until he reached Herr Ebhardt's house. He found his\nfriend stitching away diligently in a little parlour at the back of his\nfather's shop.\n\n\"You're early, old fellow,\" said Paul, scarcely looking up from\nhis work, \"but I've nearly done, and then we'll go as far as the\nH\u00fcmmel-reich, for I've to take this coat home to a customer who lives\non the way.\"\n\n\"All right; I'll wait outside until you're ready,\" replied Robert.\n\nAs he passed into the street again, he found himself face to face\nwith Hans, who was going to the doctor. He looked pale and ill, very\ndifferent to the bright lad of the previous day.\n\nRobert could not help stopping him, and asking, in a concerned tone,\n\"Is your hand very bad? I heard from my father that you met with an\naccident last night.\"\n\n\"It's very bad,\" answered Hans, \"dreadfully burnt. Good-bye, I'm going\nto see the doctor.\"\n\nRobert was thoroughly unhinged; though he was really innocent, he felt\nin some degree guilty, and he was glad when Paul joined him, for he\nwas most anxious to hear his secret, and was sure that it had some\nconnection with the accident that had befallen Hans.\n\n\"Now for your secret,\" he said to Paul.\n\n\"Wait a bit; let's get up the H\u00fcmmel-reich.\"\n\n\"It will take us a good half-hour to walk there, and I want to hear\nwhat you've got to say,\" urged Robert, impatiently.\n\n\"Gently, old fellow; we've plenty of time before us. It's a jolly\nmorning for an outing. Let us get rid of the coat, and then we'll enjoy\nourselves. You will be right glad to hear what I've got to tell you.\"\n\n\"I know what it is before you speak, and I call it a wicked shame of\nyou to hurt a fellow as you've hurt Hans. I've a great mind to tell of\nyou, that I have!\" burst out Robert.\n\nThe boys were out of the village and walking through a field when he\nspoke thus angrily.\n\n\"What do you mean?\" asked Paul, scowling at his companion.\n\n\"Why, I mean that I've a great mind to tell every one in K\u00f6sen that it\nwas you who put the squib into the hand of poor Hans, and that you did\nit out of revenge.\"\n\nThere was something so resolute in Robert's face, and so different from\nthe idle, careless expression it usually wore, that Paul felt a little\nafraid, for he was a coward at heart.\n\n\"Oh, Robert, how can you be so unkind! It was all for you I did it; and\nnow you find fault with me.\" And his voice trembled as if he were about\nto cry.\n\n\"It wasn't all for me, and you know that, Paul; you hate Hans, and you\nmade up your mind to pay him off after he tripped you up. But you've\ngone too far this time, and what's more, I think you've put me in such\na corner that I can't shoot for the prize this year.\"\n\n\"Not shoot, Robert!\" answered Paul, standing still in his astonishment.\n\"You don't mean what you say. Why, I've made it an easy matter for you.\nNow, old fellow, shake hands, and tell me you're glad I got rid of your\nrival thus. He would certainly have come off conqueror, so you must\nthank me, for I'm a true friend to you. And, really, if I hadn't been\nso fond of you, I shouldn't have interfered, but suffered Hans to win.\"\n\n\"I'm not so sure he would have won; and I declare I'd rather he had\nbeaten than see him look so ill.\"\n\n\"When did you see him?\"\n\n\"A few minutes ago; he was on his way to the doctor's.\"\n\n\"Then he is really hurt?\"\n\n\"How can you ask me that question? You know he is, Paul. It was nothing\nbut revenge that made you push the squib into his hand; I see it in\nyour face, you look so spiteful.\"\n\n\"What's come to you to-day, Robert? I tell you what it is, you may try\nme too far. You're my friend, and I'm your friend, but I can't stand\nbeing preached at. Now, let's forget this little difference; what is\ndone can't be undone. And, remember, if I have acted unkindly to Hans,\nit was all for you, so don't blame me. I'll just run in, and leave this\ncoat at yonder house, and then we'll go on to the H\u00fcmmel-reich, as we\nare so near, and be jolly for the rest of the way.\"\n\nThis pretty spot derives its name from the great beauty of its\nsituation. It merely consists of a little hotel built on a flat\nhill-top, which commands the valley of the Saale at a point where the\nriver makes a bend in the shape of a horse-shoe. On the opposite side\nare the ruins of two old castles, the Rudolsburg and the Saalech;\nwhile, as far as the eye can reach, little villages with their quaint\nold churches lie nestling among the trees of this highly-cultivated\nvalley, and thus add to the picturesqueness of the scene.\n\nRobert was not convinced, but he nevertheless accompanied Paul on to\nthe H\u00fcmmel-reich, which was not thronged with visitors so early in the\nday. The friends spent a couple of hours pleasantly, for there was a\ntarget so that Robert was able to practise for the festival, and Paul\nstood by and praised him. They only left off in time to reach home by\none o'clock, and, as Paul was going out with his father, they parted at\nHerr Ebhardt's door, and made no plans for the evening.\n\n\"Ain't we just as good friends as ever?\" Paul asked Robert, as they\nentered the village.\n\n\"Oh yes,\" he replied.\n\nBut though Robert answered Paul in the affirmative, he was oppressed\nand out of spirit, and could not resist taking a stroll in the\ndirection of the toll-house after dinner; he had no definite object in\nview beyond a sort of restless feeling to see Hans.\n\nThe latter was sitting outside the door with a book on his knee,\nlooking very pale, and with his left arm in a sling. He was so absorbed\nin the contents of his volume that he started when Robert addressed him\nin these words: \"I'm so sorry you're hurt. I am alone this afternoon,\nand thought I would come and see if I could do anything for you.\"\n\nHans was very much surprised, but Robert seemed so thoroughly in\nearnest that he answered: \"Thank you; no one can help me bear the pain,\nbut it is very kind of you to think of me. My master does not mind my\nbeing idle until I am better. It would be much worse if I were thrown\nout of my place.\"\n\n\"What are you reading out of? You seem to have got a queer old book\nthere,\" asked Robert, by way of continuing the conversation.\n\n\"Queer outside, perhaps,\" replied Hans, \"but the inside is all gold.\"\n\n\"Let me see it.\"\n\nHans opened his father's old Bible.\n\n\"Why, it's a Bible!\" exclaimed Robert, in a tone of disappointment. \"I\nthought it was something very particular.\"\n\n\"So it is,\" answered Hans; \"if you will sit down, I will read you a few\nverses that are worth more than thousands of sovereigns.\"\n\nAt another time Robert would have laughed, and jeered, and perhaps run\naway, but he was softened towards Hans, and wanted to show him some\nattention, so he quietly sat down on the door-step by his side.\n\nHans felt sure his master would not be angry at his speaking to Robert\nwhen he told him that he had an opportunity of bidding him stick to\nthe Raft; so he turned over the pages of his Bible to find a suitable\npassage to read, and in that moment he asked God to help him for\nChrist's sake to say something to Robert that would make him think.\n\n\"I declare it is difficult to settle what to read to you, there are\nso many beautiful things in this book; but, of course, you know your\nBible?\" said Hans.\n\n\"I can't say I'm much up to it,\" replied his companion.\n\n\"But you read it, or hear it read, every day, don't you?\"\n\n\"No, I don't; please go on where you were reading when I came up.\"\n\n\"I had just got to these words: 'A new commandment I give unto you,\nThat ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one\nanother.' I will read the chapter through.\"\n\n\"You read splendidly,\" said Robert, at its conclusion. \"Where did you\nlearn?\"\n\n\"In our village, and in the forest. My mother was a very good scholar,\nand I'm so fond of learning. My master gives me lessons every evening.\nAre not those grand words, 'A new commandment I give unto you, That ye\nlove one another'? Oddly enough, you were in my thoughts when I first\nread them\u2014I mean just before you spoke to me.\"\n\n\"I! How?\"\n\n\"I will tell you. I have been practising hard at the target, and meant\nto try for the Burgomaster's prize, which you have won for the last two\nyears. My master said that you had no rival to fear in K\u00f6sen, and that\nthe Burgomaster wished to find another who would compete with you; for\nthough many boys usually entered their names on the list, it was only\nfor the pleasure of being mixed up with the f\u00eate, but with no chance\nof success. My master found I had a steady hand and a correct eye, so\nhe lent me his bow and arrows, and I have been practising regularly\nwith him every evening; and I think I had a fair chance of winning the\nprize. But this morning the doctor said that I should be unable to use\nmy hand for at least three weeks, and, as you know, the Schutzen Fest\ncomes off in eight days. I was very jealous of you this morning, and\ninclined to murmur and rebel because I could not use my hand. But,\nthank God, the feeling is passing away, for it came into my mind that\nif I were to encourage it, I should break Christ's new commandment, and\nshut out love, for love and jealousy cannot live together; and, Robert,\nI had rather stick to the Raft than win the prize.\"\n\nRobert looked his astonishment, and Hans explained his meaning, and\nadded: \"Christ gave Himself for us\u2014that was His love; and He asks us in\nreturn to give ourselves to Him. Will you give yourself to Him? I shall\nbear my pain and disappointment without murmuring if any words which\nI have read out of God's book make you think about Him, for I shall\nremember that you would not have spoken to me if you had not been sorry\nfor my accident, and that it was because you knew I was in pain that\nyou took the trouble to come here to see me.\"\n\nRobert could scarcely bear these words, they made him inclined to tell\nHans the whole truth, but the fear of Paul kept him silent, and right\nglad was he to see Karl Schmidt walking towards them.\n\n\"Your master is coming,\" he said; \"I had better be off. I know he will\nnot care to see me here, so good-bye. I dare say I shall come again\nsoon to hear how you are getting on.\"\n\nAnd Robert walked away in a more thoughtful mood than usual. There was\nsomething so manly and noble about Hans. He was so different to his\nchosen friend Paul. He felt a few pricks of conscience too when he\nrecalled the words which Hans had spoken about the Burgomaster's prize.\n\n\"I wish Paul hadn't interfered,\" he muttered, \"that I do, with all my\nheart. I would rather have been beaten fairly than win and carry about\nthe secret knowledge that if it hadn't been for Ebhardt's cowardly\nbehaviour to Hans, we should have tried our luck together. And to think\nof his saying that he didn't mind the pain if it made me stick to the\nRaft; that beat's all.\"\n\n                               \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nTHE SCHUTZEN FEST.\n\nROBERT could not shake off the impression which Hans had produced upon\nhim, and he did not awake in a very good humour with himself next\nmorning. When he met Paul, he entered at once upon the subject which\nengrossed his thoughts, and ended by saying: \"I've almost made up my\nmind not to shoot. I feel as if I were a great rascal to stand up\nbefore the people of K\u00f6sen and carry away the prize, knowing what I do.\"\n\nPaul was very angry. \"I tell you what it is, Robert,\" he replied, \"I've\nhad enough of this sort of thing. If you don't shoot, I declare I'll\ngo to Hans and tell him you pushed the squib into his hand because you\ndidn't want him to shoot against you.\"\n\n\"You dare not, Paul. But if you were to be so wicked, it would be easy\nfor me to tell the truth about you.\"\n\n\"One against the other, my boy. My word is as good as yours; we are\nknown as close friends in K\u00f6sen. But now, Robert, don't be stupid; I\nshall be all right if you will just shoot for the prize, and win it,\nand that will make an end of the matter. And to show you that I am\nsorry I have vexed you, I promise I will never tease Hans again. Don't\nlet us fall out; we are old chums, and K\u00f6sen boys, and it wouldn't\nsound well if we were to give evidence against one another; nor would\nyour parents, or even mine, care to have this affair made a matter of\ntalk in the town.\"\n\nRobert was afraid to refuse Paul's terms; and so he tried to forget\nthat Hans had been ill-used, nor did he call on him again before the\nSchutzen Fest. Paul felt secretly thankful he had constrained his\nfriend to keep silence; for, bad as he was, he did not relish the\naffair being sifted, so certain was he that if the truth were made\npublic, even he would feel uncomfortable and cowed by the black looks\nwhich he knew his companions and acquaintances would cast upon him. His\nfear was for himself; he was not ashamed of his sin.\n\nThe market-place in K\u00f6sen consists of a clump of green trees which\nstand in the high street, and this was the meeting-place of those who\ncompeted for the Burgomaster's prize.\n\nK\u00f6sen put on its gayest appearance for the f\u00eate; the day was exquisite,\nthe sky blue, and the air still; flags were flying in all directions,\nand parents and children appeared in their holiday attire.\n\nThe shooting began at four o'clock. Long before that hour, there was\nquite a crowd in the market-place waiting for the band to come and\nstrike up the national air, which was a signal for the twenty boys who\ncompeted for the prize to form themselves into a double column. Each of\nthe boys carried his own bow and arrows and wore a scarlet cap wreathed\nwith oak-leaves.\n\nThe marker led the way, dressed in a scarlet tunic, white trousers, and\na cap with a plume of many colours; the band came next, then banners\ncarried by boys, and lastly the twenty competitors for the prize. In\nthis order they proceeded to the Burgomaster's house. He was awaiting\ntheir arrival arrayed in his robes of office; and now he took the lead,\nand marched away in the direction of the bridge. Instead of crossing\nit, the procession turned off to the right, passed the mill, and\nonwards until it reached the Katze\u2014a pretty, elevated spot covered with\ngreen trees, with the Saale running a few feet below. Here many chairs\nand tables were ranged; and there were temporary tents erected where\nrefreshments could be had, for most of the company remained to supper\nafter the shooting was over.\n\nEvery one of the twenty competitors shot twelve arrows, and if the\nbull's-eye were hit, the marker signified the fact by dancing in front\nof the target, flag in hand, while at the same moment a gun fired.\n\nRobert was quite himself; the excitement of the scene made him forget\neverything but his own enjoyment and importance. He did not meet Hans\non the way, so he had nothing to damp his pleasure.\n\nPaul was as close to his friend as the rules permitted, for only those\nwho competed for the prize were allowed to enter the ring.\n\nThe boys shot better than on the previous year, but Robert shot the\nbest, and so to him the prize was awarded. He had to come before the\nBurgomaster, who complimented him on his skill, and crowned him with a\nwreath of laurel-leaves. Afterwards, he presented a drinking-cup to him\nmounted in silver.\n\n[Illustration: ROBERT WINS THE PRIZE.]\n\nWhen this ceremony was concluded, the Burgomaster returned home, and\nRobert became the hero of the evening. At ten o'clock the band left the\norchestra in order to conduct him home, and a large concourse of young\nfriends and acquaintances accompanied him, lighting the way with their\nmany coloured lanterns, and shouting, \"Hoch, Hoch\" (Hurrah).\n\nThe music ceased when the mill was reached, and amid renewed shouts\nRobert entered his father's house, and the rest of his friends\ndispersed to their several homes, save Paul, for Robert could not spare\nhim. He wanted to chat over the events of the day with his friend, and\nto express his surprise at not seeing Hans Richter.\n\nBut even Paul bade him \"Good night\" as soon as he found there was\ncompany in the kitchen, for he did not care to face kind Pastor Hahn\nwho was chatting with the miller and his wife. When he caught sight of\nhim through the open door, he whispered to Robert: \"Good night, old\nfellow. I shall slip off, for I don't care to have a lecture from the\nminister to-night. Come to me in the morning.\"\n\n\"All hail to the conqueror!\" exclaimed the pastor, as Robert entered\nthe kitchen.\n\n\"You shot well, my boy,\" said his father, \"better than usual, I\nthought.\"\n\n\"And you had an easy victory,\" added Pastor Hahn; \"you had no\ncompetitor. I think you would have found your match if Hans Richter\nhad been able to try his skill. Poor fellow! I have been so sorry for\nhim; he set his heart on shooting for the prize. At the same time, I\nmust say I never saw a lad take his disappointment so well. Ah, Robert,\nwould that you had the same strong principle to guide you, that Hans\nhas. It is such a mystery how that lad met with his accident. I confess\nfrom his account it seems to me as if some one had thrust the squib\ninto his hand out of sheer mischief, or even revenge, and\u2014\"\n\n\"Hold up your cup, Robert,\" called out the miller; \"you will drop your\nprize. My boy, you are tired out, you look deadly pale. Now your colour\nis returning: I thought you were going to faint. Get your supper, and\ngo to bed at once.\"\n\n\"I've had enough to eat, thank you, father,\" answered Robert, \"but I\nwill go to bed, for I am very tired, so good night all. Good night,\nPastor Hahn.\"\n\n\"Good night,\" said the pastor, taking the hand Robert stretched out to\nhim, and holding it in his own. \"You have won an earthly prize to-day;\nhow I wish you would be as eager in striving to win a heavenly prize.\nGod has given us many prizes, but the greatest and best is His Son, and\nI fear you despise this prize. The day will come when your Father in\nheaven will ask why you have neglected your Saviour; what answer will\nyou give then?\"\n\n\"The lad is too tired to think to-night, good pastor,\" said the miller;\n\"don't damp his pleasure by a long sermon.\"\n\n\"It seems to me as if it were never the right moment to speak to you\nof those things which make for our everlasting salvation,\" answered\nthe pastor, sadly: for he was rarely permitted to enlarge on the theme\nhe loved so well within those walls. And yet he did not cease his\nvisits, hoping that the seed he dropped from time to time would, by the\nSpirit's blessing, bear fruit at last.\n\nRobert went to bed, but not to sleep. Now that the excitement was over,\nand Paul away from him, he began to be uncomfortable again. He would\nwillingly have relinquished his prize if he could have undone the cruel\ninjury which Paul had inflicted on Hans. He tossed about his bed,\nwondering why he could not sleep, for he never remembered lying awake\nfor five minutes before. But turn as he might, he got no real rest, for\nif he fell asleep, he dreamed of terrible things and was thankful to\nawake and find them unreal. He was very glad to see morning dawn, and\nwatch the sun rise, for he did not feel quite so miserable as during\nthe long hours of the night.\n\n\nHans was not present at the Schutzen Fest, for a very good reason.\nHe and his master had fully determined to go, but at the last moment\nseveral rafts came along, and the men were anxious to pay duty on their\nwood and start forward at once. As soon as they had been attended to,\nanother delay came: a friend from Naumburg called to see Karl; so, as\nhis master was engaged, Hans went quietly upstairs to chat with Frau\nSchmidt.\n\n\"Not gone!\" she said, when he entered her room. \"Surely, dear boy, you\nare not smarting so much under your disappointment that you cannot see\nanother win!\"\n\n\"No, dear frau, but we've been so busy, and now my master's engaged,\nand I feel very tired. There is really no other reason why I do not go.\nI could see Robert win, and not be one bit jealous of him. I have had a\nbattle to fight, nevertheless,\" he added, smiling, \"so don't think me\nbetter than I am. It's sticking to the Raft, dear frau, that enabled me\nto think quietly of Robert's currying off a prize that might have been\nmine. I seem to understand better since this struggle has passed away\nhow easily those who have no Raft to cling to may commit any sin to\ngain their ends.\"\n\n\"You are quite right, Hans; had you encouraged the feeling of jealousy,\nit might have grown so fast that it would have mastered you at last.\nChrist's new commandment carried out into daily life is the best cure\nfor the indulgence of sin.\"\n\n\"There is an old man coming to the fest to-day,\" Hans said, after\na pause, \"in whom I am much interested; he is such a fine, manly\nChristian, and yet so poor. I cannot forget my talk with him, though I\nhave never told you about it.\" And Hans gave Frau Schmidt an account of\nhis conversation with the old man who sold sausages, adding, \"I must\ntry and find him out to-morrow; he told me he intended to spend a few\ndays at K\u00f6sen.\"\n\n\"There is a sort of freemasonry between Christians,\" answered Frau\nSchmidt. \"I hope you may find him; I should like to see him if I am\ntolerably well.\"\n\nHans little thought when he spoke about the old man how much he was\nengrossing the thoughts of the latter. Among the spectators who\nwatched the shooting was Franz Nieper, the seller of sausages. He\narranged his apparatus some little distance from the ring, but in a\ngood position for trade. And when the attention of all was directed\nto the competitors for the Burgomaster's prize, he also joined the\ncrowd and watched the progress of the match. He recognised one face\ninside the ring, and one just without. He would have known Robert and\nPaul anywhere; their countenances were impressed on his memory. He\nlooked about in vain for another face he expected to see\u2014a pleasant\none, which had smiled on him, and given him cheery words. But though\nhe looked again and again at the twenty boys wearing scarlet caps, he\ncould not find it. At length he ventured to make a remark to a pretty,\nbright-looking girl who stood beside him looking on:\n\n\"I thought the lad who lives with the toll-master was going to try his\nluck,\" he said.\n\n\"So he was,\" replied the maiden, who happened to be one of the miller's\ndaughters, \"but he has had an accident and burnt his hand.\"\n\n\"How did it happen?\"\n\n\"He was at the cherry feast at Naumburg, and some of the rough boys\nof the town began letting off squibs, though it is forbidden by the\nauthorities. And in some way, I don't know how, Hans Richter got hold\nof a squib, which went off in his hand and hurt him dreadfully. He's\ngetting better now, but is not well enough to shoot.\"\n\n\"Who's likely to win the day?\"\n\n\"I don't know for certain, but I think my brother, for he's the best\nshot in K\u00f6sen. They do say that if Hans had been able to shoot, Robert\nmight have lost the prize.\"\n\n\"Where is your brother Robert?\"\n\n\"There, standing close to that large tree,\" replied the girl, pointing\nto one of the faces Franz had recognised.\n\n\"And the boy talking to him, who is he?\"\n\n\"That's Paul Ebhardt, his greatest friend.\"\n\n\"Where do you live?\"\n\n\"At the mill.\"\n\n\"And where does Paul Ebhardt live?\"\n\n\"In the town; his father is a master tailor. But why do you ask so many\nquestions, do you want any help? You look so very old, and seem very\npoor.\"\n\n\"Yes, young girl, I am both old and poor,\" replied Franz, \"but I don't\nrequire help, for my Master never forgets me, and He can send me all\nthe help I want. Thank you for answering my questions.\" And the old man\nturned away.\n\nHe walked slowly back to his wooden table, and attended to his fire,\nmuttering, \"Poor lad, poor lad, I'm so sorry for him! I wish I'd left\nmy sausages and found him. Well, well, it can't be helped now, but old\nFranz must try and set wrong right.\"\n\nHe seated himself on his wooden stool, nor did he rise when a great\nnoise of shouting announced that the prize was won. He made no comment\nwhen he heard Robert Klein was the victor, he merely stamped on the\nground impatiently, and then he seemed to remember that such a feeling\nwas wrong, for he said aloud: \"That won't do, Franz; that's not the way\nto set wrong right; be a Christian, and just do the Master's work, and\ncopy Him. Did He ever grow impatient?\"\n\nWhen customers came, the old man was calm as before, and served\nthem with the care he generally exercised. But all the time, he was\nthinking, and the results of his meditations were comprised in these\nwords, which fell from his lips before he lay down upon a heap of straw\nin an out-house: \"To-morrow morning, the first thing you do, Franz,\nmust be to go to the toll-house and ask to see the toll-master.\"\n\n                               \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nWRONG SET RIGHT.\n\nTHE next morning, Hans started off early to make some purchases in the\ntown, and find out if the old man who sold sausages had arrived on the\nprevious day. He had been absent more than an hour when Franz Nieper\nreached the toll-keeper's house.\n\n\"Is Hans Richter at home?\" he asked of Karl Schmidt, who was sitting in\nthe parlour making up his books.\n\n\"No; he is gone over to the town. I expect him back every minute; in\nfact, I can't think why he is so long away. Do you want him?\"\n\n\"I presume my business is with you as much as with him,\" answered\nFranz. \"Did he tell you he bought sausages at Naumburg of an old man?\"\n\n\"Yes, to be sure he did; and one of his errands this morning is to try\nand find him, for he expects he came to K\u00f6sen yesterday.\"\n\n\"I am that old man. I want to greet the lad once more; and I have\nsomething important to say to him, and to you too, for I suppose I'm\nspeaking to the toll-master.\"\n\n\"Yes, I am Karl Schmidt, but I do not quite understand what you have of\nimportance to say to me, seeing we are strangers to one another, and\nHans only knows you because he bought your sausages and had a chat with\nyou while he ate them.\"\n\n\"I wish to set wrong right, master,\" replied old Franz, emphatically.\n\"The lad has been cruelly wronged.\"\n\n\"How?\" asked Karl, feeling and looking sorely puzzled.\n\n\"It's a long story, master, and I am an old man. I can only tell it my\nown way. Will you listen to all I have to say?\"\n\n\"Certainly I will. Sit down, my friend, for you look tired, and don't\nhurry yourself.\"\n\nOld Franz took the chair that Karl offered him, and began his story by\nspeaking first of his interview with Hans, and how much he liked the\nboy. Then he repeated the substance of the conversation which passed\nbetween Paul and Robert, and alluded to his own determination of trying\nto find Hans out in order to tell him to take care of himself; and how\nhis customers came and prevented him from carrying out his intention.\nHe further spoke of missing Hans among the twenty boys with scarlet\ncaps on the previous day, and that he made inquiry of the miller's\ndaughter, and learnt the sad truth.\n\n\"It needs no words of mine to tell you,\" he said, in conclusion, \"how\nthat lad met with his accident, and I really think the boy, or boys,\nwho had to do with it ought to be punished, or some one else will be\nserved in like manner.\"\n\nKarl was extremely angry. \"I thought Paul was a very bad fellow,\" he\nreplied, \"but scarcely so bad as this proves him to be. I wonder if\nRobert was persuaded to be a party to the cowardly action, or whether\nhe maintained his refusal. At any rate, he knew when Hans was hurt that\nit was no accident, but foul play, and certainly he should have refused\nto accept the Burgomaster's prize; an honourable boy would have quietly\nwithdrawn from the contest. I scarcely know how to move in this matter.\"\n\n\"Try and set the wrong right, master,\" reiterated old Franz. \"The prize\nis given now, so I suppose it can't be taken away, but the miller's son\nhas not won it fairly.\"\n\n\"No; for I am almost sure Hans would have come off conqueror had he\nbeen able to take his place. The grave question to be settled now is,\nhow to prove that Paul deliberately thrust the squib into Richter's\nhand. But here comes Hans; he is the one who has the best right to\ndecide what steps we should take. Let us consult with him.\"\n\n\"I'm so glad to see you once more!\" exclaimed the boy, shaking old\nFranz warmly by the hand. \"I've just come from the town, and I looked\nabout for you everywhere. I was sorry to miss seeing you yesterday.\nI have had an accident, and that prevented me from shooting, but I'm\ngetting better, and I hope very soon to be able to use my hand again\nand do all my work.\"\n\n\"Your old friend came to see me about your so-called accident,\" said\nKarl. \"I think we have found out how it happened.\"\n\n\"Yes, young lad. I ought to have saved you from it, but my customers\ncame so quickly I could not leave them to find you. I overheard the\ntailor's son propose to the miller's boy that you should have a fired\nsquib pushed into your hand. I must give credit where credit is due,\nand say that the miller's boy was up in arms when his friend proposed\nthis; but one or both of them did the deed, or your hand would not have\nbeen hurt.\"\n\n\"Paul fired the squib, and thrust it into my hand,\" answered Hans,\nquietly; \"Robert had nothing to do with it.\"\n\n\"How do you know this?\" asked Karl.\n\n\"Because I left Robert half-an-hour ago, and he gave me a full account\nof the whole thing.\"\n\n\"Robert told you all about it!\" exclaimed Karl. \"I wonder he was not\ntoo ashamed for that.\"\n\n\"It is because he is so repentant, master; and he has promised me to\ngive up Paul's friendship and turn over a new leaf.\"\n\n\"He has promised that a hundred times before,\" said Karl.\n\n\"But I believe he is in earnest this time. I am sure if he will keep\naway from Paul's influence, he will be a better fellow.\"\n\n\"Still, I fear it is all talk with him; he is not to be trusted.\"\n\n\"Let us try him once more, master.\"\n\n\"But what did he say to you?\"\n\n\"I should like to tell you, if you will agree not to let his confession\ngo further until we have decided what it is best to do,\" said Hans,\nlooking first at Karl Schmidt, and then at the old man.\n\n\"Certainly, I will keep my counsel,\" replied his master.\n\n\"And so will I; indeed, I only want to set wrong right, my boy. And if\nyou, who are injured, are satisfied, I ought to be,\" remarked Franz.\n\n\"I crossed the river in your boat, master,\" said Hans, smiling at the\nold man, \"and went directly to the mill to order the flour. As I came\nout, I met Robert, so I stopped and asked him how he enjoyed himself\nyesterday, and I congratulated him on winning the prize, adding, 'I\nwas not miserable about it, for I lived down my first feelings of\nvexation; they were nearly gone when you came to see me the day after\nmy accident, so I was able to be glad that the sun shone, and it was so\nstill and bright.' To my astonishment, Robert burst out:\n\n\"'Oh, Hans, don't talk to me like that; I'm the most unhappy fellow\nliving.'\n\n\"'What's the matter?' I asked. And seeing that he looked ready to cry,\nI said, 'Come along with me and have a talk.'\n\n\"So we walked by the side of the river until we found a nook where we\ncould sit down and be quite out of the way of any one who chanced to\npass by.\n\n\"'Now, tell me why you are unhappy,' I asked, 'for I must confess you\nlook wretched and ill; let me be your friend.'\n\n\"When I said this, he gave a great sob, and then he began to laugh, and\nthen he cried, and it was some time before I could get him to speak\nout. At last he told me what it was that weighed on his mind. He said\nthat Paul Ebhardt had disliked me from the very first time he saw me,\nbut since the day we had quarrelled by the river-side, he had hated me,\nand watched for an opportunity of paying me off. Then he spoke of the\nconversation that my old friend there overheard, and he assured me he\nhad no idea Paul would carry out his cruel purpose.\n\n\"'I give you my word,' he continued, 'that, careless as I am, I should\nnever have been such a dastard as to hurt you. I have been wretched\never since I heard that you were injured. I went home miserable after\nyou had spoken to me about sticking to the Raft, and had read to me\nout of the Bible. The next morning I fell out with Paul about you, but\nwe made it up again, and I tried to forget you, because I was afraid\nof him. But last night I could not sleep for thinking, so I made up my\nmind to tell you all about it, and I want you to show that you forgive\nme by taking the prize I won yesterday.'\n\n\"'I am glad you have told me this, but I don't want your prize,' I\nanswered. 'You may be happy again, Robert, for I forgive you entirely,\nthough I scarcely know what I have to forgive; and, now, will you do me\na very great favour?'\n\n\"'What is it?' he asked 'I will do anything to prove to you that I\nwould not have had you injured; and if only you would take my prize, I\nshould think we were quits.'\n\n\"'I don't want to be quits with you in that manner,' I replied; 'we\nshall be quits, and true friends, if you will \"stick to the Raft,\" for\nthen you will learn to love good company, and work, and study. Oh, will\nyou come to Jesus?'\n\n\"'I wish I could, if it would make me as happy as you are, Hans,' he\nanswered; 'but I am bound to Paul, for I am afraid of him. I hardly\ndare think how angry he will be with me when he learns what I have\ndone.'\n\n\"'Avoid him for the present, or at least until I have consulted my\nmaster,' I said. 'Will you begin a new life at once by asking your\nfather to give you work at the mill, and will you pray to God, Robert,\nto help you?'\n\n\"'I never prayed in my life, Hans,' he replied.\n\n\"'Then begin at once, to-day,' I urged. 'There will be no real change\nin you unless you change towards God. He says to you, \"My son, give Me\nthine heart.\" Oh! Do not withhold it from Him.'\n\n\"We parted then. Robert went to the mill, and I made my way to the\nvillage. And all the way, I've been thinking how it will be best to\nact; and really, master, if you do not object, I should like to go and\nsee Paul and try and win him over.\"\n\n\"Well done, my boy!\" exclaimed Franz Nieper. \"That's the way to set\nwrong right; and depend upon it, you are showing the same mercy to Paul\nthat God shows to us. You have hit the nail on the head. It's the Raft\nthat has done this; it is your faith and trust in your Saviour, and\nclinging fast to His teaching, that enables you to love your enemy.\"\n\n\"Yes, Hans,\" remarked his master, \"you have found the best way of\ntaking your revenge on Paul. But whether he will receive your advances\ncordially and be sorry for what he has done, is more than I can tell.\nAt any rate, I wish you God speed on your errand. Go to him at once, my\nboy\u2014that is, if you are not too tired\u2014for it is better for you to see\nhim before he meets Robert. But remember, if you come back and tell me\nthat Paul has refused to hear you, and added insult to injury, I must\nact for you.\"\n\n\"I'll accompany you as far as the village,\" said Franz Nieper, \"for I\nought not to lose a day's trade.\"\n\n\"You must have something to eat first, and then see my mother,\"\nexclaimed Schmidt, adding, \"she will like to thank you for coming here\nwhen I tell her why you paid us a visit.\"\n\nSo Franz Nieper remained at the toll-house, and Hans Richter went alone\nto the master tailor's house in search of Paul.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nTHE INTERVIEW.\n\nPAUL wondered why Robert did not come, and he was on the point of going\nin search of his friend when he saw Hans standing in the doorway of his\nfather's shop. His was the last face in the world he wished to see,\nand to have him there boded no good. Paul would have liked to make his\nescape, but he could not do this very well, for Hans came up close to\nhim and said, \"I want to speak to you.\"\n\n\"What do you want? What have you to say to me?\" he stammered out.\n\n\"A great deal. Let us go into some room where we can talk quietly.\"\n\n\"There's no place in this house. Father has only gone on an errand into\nthe village. He will be back in a few minutes, and then he'll want\nthe parlour for his work. People may come in here at any moment to\ngive orders, so I can't say that we shall be quite alone. But I'm sure\nmother doesn't want us upstairs, so if you have anything to say, you\nmust say it at once, and take the chance of being interrupted.\"\n\n\"Let us go into the fields, or by the river-side beyond the town. I\ndon't mind where we go, so that I can talk to you quietly.\"\n\n\"I suppose you want to fight me again. No, I'm not going into the\nfields or anywhere with you.\"\n\n\"I mean to speak to you, Paul,\" said Hans, firmly. \"And if you will not\ngive me an opportunity of saying what I have to say to you alone, why,\nyou must listen to it in your father's shop, and it's not my fault if\nany one overhears our conversation.\"\n\nPaul began to quake. He felt sure that Richter had something important\nto communicate, for he showed it in his determined manner. But as he\nwould not appear to be afraid, he exclaimed, in a loud, coarse voice,\n\"I can't think what you want with me; I hate you, and you hate me, so\nthe less we have to say to one another the better.\"\n\nHans touched his arm, and replied, \"This hurt of mine was no accident;\nthe squib was pushed into my hand deliberately. You know the name of\nthe boy who did it, and so do I. Let me have a quiet talk with you. If\nyou refuse me, my master will be very angry, and I fear he will tell\nyour father. I am sure it is better for us to be friends than enemies.\nBut if you won't hear me, and persist in treating me so rudely, I shall\nhave to go back home, and I don't know what turn matters will take.\"\n\n\"Let your master come to my father and talk to him, if he likes; I\ndon't care. If Robert has been telling lies of me, he shall be well\npaid off for it, that he shall! I suppose you mean me to understand\nthat I hurt your hand?\"\n\n\"Yes, you did. But oh, Paul, I really am not here to blame you, but\nto forgive you. Don't go on being so wicked, but do remember you must\nstand before God one day, and answer to Him if you persist in living in\nsin. Stop before it is too late, and give up your bad habits, and try\nand live a nobler life.\"\n\n\"What stuff you are talking! Just leave off preaching, and give up the\nname of the fellow who told you I hurt your hand. Do you know I will\nmake you answer for accusing me falsely, for neither you nor any one\nelse can prove that I did it! Name the fellow, I say.\"\n\n\"I shall not,\" answered Hans.\n\n\"Because you dare not. But, just to show you how wrong you are in\nsuspecting me, I will tell you who did the deed. Robert hurt you\nbecause he was afraid you would win the prize away from him.\"\n\n\"Robert did not hurt me, and did not know that you intended to carry\nout your wicked thought; when you proposed to injure me, he refused to\nbe a party to such a cowardly act.\"\n\n\"Robert has told of me,\" said Paul, forgetting in his passion that he\nbetrayed the truth and confessed his guilt. \"He shall smart for this,\nhe shall rue the day that he turned tell-tale. And as for you, I detest\nyou. I can't think of any name to call you which is bad enough to show\nhow much I hate you. Go and tell everybody in K\u00f6sen that I hurt you for\nthe purpose; I don't care. I only wish your hand had been blown off, or\nso bad that you could not use it again.\"\n\nWhat more Paul would have added, it is hard to say. He stopped\nsuddenly, for he saw his father. Herr Ebhardt had listened to nearly\nall the conversation between his son and Hans. He had entered the\nparlour by the back of the house, and hearing voices in the shop had\nopened the door softly, and thus overheard what passed. He now came\nforward, and asked Hans, \"What is all this ado about? Tell me of what\nyou accuse my son.\"\n\n\"I had much rather have spoken to Paul alone,\" answered Hans,\nrespectfully. \"I came to him in the spirit of love, and hoped he would\nhave received me more kindly.\"\n\n\"The spirit of love!\" echoed the master tailor, scornfully. \"None of\nthat cant here, please. What has my son done to you? It sounded to me\nvery much as if he had hurt your hand on purpose. Is that what you\naccuse him of? Answer me at once, yes or no.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said Hans.\n\n\"And you are guilty, Paul. I know it by the last words I heard you\nspeak; your passion got the better of you, young gentleman. You shall\nbe well punished for this. And you, young fellow, had better go home,\nand if you meet any acquaintances by the way, and ask for their pity by\ntelling them how badly you have been treated, say to them that Ebhardt,\nthe master tailor of K\u00f6sen, condemns his son for committing such a\ncowardly act as to stab you in the dark. I go in for fair play, and not\nfoul play. Will it satisfy you to know that that boy of mine has had\nhis reward in the shape of a punishment he will remember as long as he\nlives?\"\n\n\"No, it will not, Herr Ebhardt,\" answered Hans, boldly. \"I did not come\nhere to provoke you to be hard upon your son. I came to forgive him,\nand I ask you to unsay what you have said. I do not wish him to be\npunished and, what is more, if I can help it, he shall go free.\"\n\n\"How can you help it?\"\n\n\"Not by force, because you are stronger than either Paul or I; and\nyou can thrash us both if you like. But will you hear me out without\nsneering at me?\"\n\n\"Yes; speak up, lad. I don't think you are quite such a sneak as I took\nyou for at first.\"\n\n\"I came here to forgive Paul, because I am a follower of the Lord Jesus\nChrist, and as He forgave His enemies, so I wish to forgive mine. If\nI forgive him of my own free will, I don't think you need punish him.\nBut there is one thing I will ask you to obtain for me, that is, his\npromise not to abuse Robert Klein, nor fight him, nor serve him out in\nany way.\"\n\nPaul had stood by in sullen silence, and now his father turned to him,\nand said, \"Do you hear what Hans asks? Give me your word that you will\nnot touch Robert, and I will let you go free.\"\n\nThere was only one person in the world whom Paul feared, that was his\nfather, and he had good reason to be afraid of him. He was a powerful\nman with a violent temper, who was very often partially intoxicated,\nand then he cared for no one, but dealt out his blows freely on whoever\nventured to contradict or offend him.\n\n\"I will promise not to touch Robert, father,\" answered Paul, in a\nvery different way to what he had spoken when addressing Hans. He was\nso glad to escape punishment that he would have pledged his word to\nanything that was required of him.\n\n\"And mind,\" added his father, \"you will keep your promise this time, or\nmy name is not Ebhardt. Do you hear me, sir?\"\n\n\"Yes, I do,\" whimpered Paul.\n\n\"And now I hope you are satisfied. I wish you good morning,\" said the\nmaster tailor, waving his hand as if to dismiss his visitor.\n\nSo Hans was obliged to leave the shop, for he was afraid to make\nanother effort to soften Paul's heart, lest his father should grow\nimpatient and visit his anger on his son in a summary manner.\n\nHe was glad to reach home without meeting any of his acquaintances, for\nhe was in no mood to indulge in every-day chat. He was chafed in spirit\nand disappointed at the rebuff he had received at the hands of Paul,\nand also annoyed at the rough manner in which he had been addressed by\nthe master tailor.\n\nOld Franz had not left the toll-keeper's cottage. He had just come\ndownstairs after seeing Frau Schmidt.\n\n\"Well, what success have you had?\" asked Karl.\n\n\"Poor enough,\" answered Hans, sighing. \"Oh, master, I had such a\nbeautiful plan in my head. Paul was to be so sorry, he was to turn over\na new leaf and promise to reform, but it has all gone to the winds. I\nhave gained nothing by my visit to him, except a promise that he will\nnot fight Robert.\" And Hans gave an account of his interview with Herr\nEbhardt and Paul.\n\n\"Well, well, you've done all you could; you've tried to carry out the\nMaster's new commandment,\" said old Franz. \"You can't make him sorry,\nyou can't change his heart, my boy, but there is One who can. While\nthere is life there is hope; so hope on, and pray that something will\nhappen that will induce the lad to arise and go to his Father and say,\n'I have sinned against heaven, and before Thee.'\"\n\n\"And in the meantime let Robert be your care,\" added Karl; \"for if he\nwill no longer idle his time away, I do not mind his coming here. There\nseems better material to work upon in him, and you may be sure that he\nand Paul will never be friends again. The master tailor will take care\nof that. Depend upon it, this affair will be known in K\u00f6sen; indeed, it\nought to be, and I think I should do well if I went to the Burgomaster,\nfor he is certain to hear a garbled account from some one.\"\n\n\"No, no, sir; please don't do that. Let it rest now,\" said Richter. \"My\nhand will be quite well in another week, and then the affair will die\nout. I shall be so sorry to keep up ill-will between Paul and Robert.\"\n\n\"Then you do not wish me to go and see Herr Ebhardt?\"\n\n\"No, no, sir; it will only make Paul hate me the more; and I do want to\nwin him over to be my friend at last.\"\n\n\"I don't think you will do that, but at any rate, the less said the\nsoonest mended. I think you have right on your side,\" replied Karl.\n\"But you must be prepared to hear more about it, for the miller is not\na man to keep a secret, and he is sure to be told all the facts of the\ncase by Robert. Must you go?\" he added, addressing Franz Nieper, who\nmade a movement towards the door.\n\n\"Yes, I have to say good-bye. I leave K\u00f6sen first thing to-morrow.\nThere is a great fair in Halle soon, and as the weather is warm, I\nmean to take my time and move along slowly, for I did a good trade\nyesterday. I intended to stay longer, but somehow I feel unhinged, and\nmore inclined to push on than to linger here.\"\n\n\"Good-bye,\" said Hans; \"I hope we shall meet again one of these days.\"\n\n\"If we don't meet here, we shall meet yonder,\" replied the old man,\npointing up to the blue sky, \"for we all three have our faces turned\nin one direction. May it be our greatest joy so long as God spares\nour lives to do as yon man is doing who is just coming in sight\u2014you\nsee I have not forgotten our first conversation\u2014'stick to the Raft.'\nFarewell.\"\n\n                               \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nTHE POOL OF BETHESDA.\n\nROBERT went directly to his father after he left Hans. The miller was\nwriting a letter in his counting-house; he looked up with a troubled\nexpression on his face when he saw his son enter, for Robert rarely\ncame there unless he wanted to borrow or beg money, or to tell him of\nsome mischief he had done.\n\n\"What is the matter now?\" he said, impatiently.\n\n\"I am come to ask you to give me some work to do,\" stammered out\nRobert. \"Father, I know you will say that I only bring you into\ntrouble, and lose the business if I have anything to do with it, but I\nreally am in earnest this time. I will tell you why.\" And the boy gave\na detailed account of all that had occurred.\n\n\"Hans Richter is a noble fellow,\" exclaimed the miller. \"I liked that\nboy from the first: he has a fine face, and looks as if he could not do\na mean trick. And if he makes you a better lad, Robert, I shall indeed\nowe him a debt of gratitude.\"\n\n\"I think I've got hold of the secret of his goodness. Father, I'm\nbeginning to believe there is something true in religion, and that it\nis because Hans loves God he is such a noble fellow. I mean to try and\nsee if I can follow his example, and serve my God, too. Why should we\nnot all turn over a new leaf, and go and hear Pastor Hahn preach on\nSunday?\"\n\n\"I can't quite do that, my boy, for I'm satisfied with the life I lead,\nand I don't care to be made gloomy by too much religion. I often think\nPastor Hahn calls me to account without good reason, for I harm no one,\npay my debts, don't drink, and am a good husband and father.\"\n\n\"I fancy Hans would say that was not enough; he told me the other day\nthat I must give myself to Christ, and cling to Him as the men do to\nthe raft when it shoots the weir, for that Christ died on the cross to\nsave us from our sins. But I can't remember all he said, for I know so\nlittle about these things. I will soon know more, though, for Hans will\nteach me; and I mean to go with him to Pastor Hahn's Bible-class. I do\nvery much wish I had read my Bible before this.\"\n\nThe miller felt uncomfortable; he could not but remember that if he had\nbeen a God-fearing man, the Bible would have been an honoured book. As\nit was, neither he nor his wife nor his children cared for its sacred\npages.\n\n\"I'm not going to stop you from going to the Bible-class, or church,\"\nhe answered, hurriedly; \"you may do just as you like. And now tell me,\nRobert,\" he added, more quietly, \"are you really anxious to give up\nyour idle habits, and work?\"\n\n\"Yes, father. I dare say it will be hard at first, but you must bear\nwith me. I don't think really I'm such a very bad fellow at heart.\nBut I've been under Paul; he has managed me, and I have not had pluck\nenough to shake him off.\"\n\n\"This is good hearing for me, and will make your mother very happy. You\nsee, lad\u2014to go back to what you said about our going to hear Pastor\nHahn\u2014we've been very comfortable all these years, and enjoyed our\nSunday holidays right merrily, and I think it would make our neighbours\nchatter if we took to church-going now. As to the Bible, I don't so\nmuch mind hearing it read.\"\n\n\"Let me learn a little more from Hans first, father, and then by\ndegrees we'll begin to read together; now tell me how I can help you.\"\n\n\"There's no lack of work, my boy. Trade has never been better. I wish\nyou would keep my books for me; you write a good hand. But can I depend\nupon your being correct?\"\n\n\"Try me, father. It's no use for me to talk about what I want to do;\njust see if I do it.\"\n\nSo Robert was installed as his father's bookkeeper. And he applied\nhimself so diligently to the task that the miller hoped he really was\ngoing to reform and be a man of business at last. When the rest of the\nmen left off work, Robert made himself neat and clean and set out to\nthe toll-keeper's cottage, for he wanted to know if Hans had seen or\nheard anything of Paul.\n\nHe received a kind welcome from Karl Schmidt, who told him he hoped\nhe would yet be a great comfort to his father. \"But don't trust in\nyourself, Robert,\" he said. \"'Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;\nand lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge\nHim, and He shall direct thy paths.'\"\n\nWhen Hans and Robert were left alone, the former made light of his\ninterview with Herr Ebhardt and his son, save when he spoke of the\npromise Paul had given him.\n\n\"Mind, Robert,\" he said, \"that you never come to an open quarrel with\nyour former friend. If Paul breaks his word, his father will treat him\nso violently that I do not like to think of what the consequences might\nbe; avoid crossing his path, if possible, for the present.\"\n\n\"I will; indeed, I will, Hans. It shall not be my fault if we fall out,\nbut it will be rather difficult to avoid Paul.\"\n\n\"Not so difficult as you think. It is some little distance from the\nmill to the master tailor's house at the far end of the village. If you\nbecome a man of business, you will have no time to idle away, and be\nless likely to meet Paul.\"\n\n\"Hans, I want to ask you a question,\" said Robert: \"is it enough for\nus to live good lives\u2014I mean, is that what you call 'sticking to the\nRaft'?\"\n\n\"No, no, Robert, 'sticking to the Raft' is quite another sort of\nlife. Instead of depending on yourself, you depend on the finished\nwork of your Saviour, who shed His most precious blood on the cross\nfor sinners. You feel how utterly impossible it is to do, or to say,\nor to think anything that is right, so you cast your care on Christ,\nand believe in Him as the only Saviour, and you yield yourself to Him\nbroken-hearted for your sin, and say, 'Lord, I believe; help Thou mine\nunbelief.'\"\n\n\"Oh, Hans, how I wish I had not wasted my life; I am so ignorant,\ncompared with you.\"\n\n\"There is time for you to learn, and to repent; thank God for life and\nhealth, and come to Him at once. Cry to Him for the guidance of the\nHoly Spirit before you lie down to rest.\"\n\n\"When you pray, what do you say, Hans? I don't believe I ever said a\nprayer in all these years!\"\n\n\"Did you ever ask your father for anything that you wanted very much?\"\n\n\"Yes, very often.\"\n\n\"Then just ask God in the same way to forgive your sins for Christ's\nsake. Don't pray with your lips only, for that is no prayer, but let\nyour words come straight from your heart. Now, Robert, I must not stay\nhere any longer, for it is just the time the master and I go to read\nwith Frau Schmidt.\"\n\n\"Do you think I might come too?\"\n\n\"I don't know, but I will ask.\" And Hans ran upstairs to prefer his\nrequest.\n\n\"By all means let Robert join us,\" answered the frau.\n\nAccordingly Hans went to fetch his companion.\n\n\"I like to have you here,\" said the invalid to Robert, when he entered\nher room; \"and I rejoice to know that you come here of your own free\nwill; and I rejoice still more in learning from Hans that you mean, God\nhelping you, to become a respectable member of society. I always felt,\nmy dear boy, that Paul Ebhardt was a very unfortunate friend for you to\nhave chosen. Poor Paul! I only wish we could lead him to pause in his\nunhappy course, and come to Christ.\"\n\n\"I am afraid, mother, he has nothing in his home surroundings to\ninfluence him for good,\" said Karl.\n\n\"Perhaps not, but I always hope on, for with God nothing is impossible.\nI never forget that that mighty Spirit which comes like the wind can\nsoften the heart of stone and turn it into a heart of flesh. And now\nlet us proceed with our evening reading. We are going through St.\nJohn's Gospel, Robert, and our subject to-night is the healing of the\ninfirm man at the Pool of Bethesda. Give Robert a Bible, Hans, that he\nmay follow my son.\"\n\nKarl Schmidt read the first twenty verses of the fifth chapter of St.\nJohn's Gospel in a clear voice. When he closed his Bible, his mother,\nas was her wont, made her comments on the passage he had just finished.\n\n\"It is evident,\" she said, \"that this Pool of Bethesda was endowed with\na miraculous virtue; and what a boon it must have been to the sick\nones! I can picture those five porches filled with the lame, the halt,\nand the maimed; and I know better than any of you here how eagerly they\nwould wait for the troubling of the water. Health was within their\nreach again, and we only understand what a precious gift it is when we\nlose it. Thirty-eight years is a long time to be crippled. It may be\nthe poor man had come to the pool time after time, hoping he would be\nfortunate enough to move the hearts of some strong ones to help him\ninto the water\u2014for evidently he had no power of his own to crawl there.\nHow many times he had come to this pool and gone away disappointed we\nare not told. No one was found to take pity on his infirmities, until\nthe Saviour passed by. The Man of Sorrows marked that wan, careworn\nface, which He had seen lit up with anxious hope when the angel\ntroubled the pool, and then the hope was darkened with despair, for\nagain another had stepped in before him.\n\n\"'Wilt thou be made whole?' asked the Master.\n\n\"Would he be made whole? Ay, that he would; but how was this to be?\n\n\"'Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the\npool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.'\n\n\"Jesus said unto him, 'Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.'\n\n\"There was no questioning, no doubting, no waiting. The infirm man\nbelieved that this God-Physician had almighty power to grant what He\noffered; so he forgot his infirmity of thirty-eight years' standing,\nand arose, rolled up the mat on which he had been lying, and walked. He\nhad faith in the Lord's healing power, else he never had obeyed. Would\nhe have tried to do what he did if one of us had said, 'Rise up'? No;\nhe would have replied, 'You mock me, friend. I am helpless; I have been\ndiseased for more than half my life.'\n\n\"Now tell me, Robert, what was the first thing this poor man did after\nhe was healed. Read the fourteenth verse of the chapter.\"\n\nRobert read: \"'Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto\nhim, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come\nunto thee.'\"\n\n\"Yes; his first step seems to have been to go to the temple. Jesus\nfound him there; perhaps in the fulness of his heart he longed to thank\nGod for His great mercy to him, in His own house. Ah, Robert, the day\nmay come when you, too, will be stricken down with disease, as this\npoor man was, and then you may long in vain to frequent God's temple,\nand sigh that you neglected His service while your limbs were lissom,\nand you could move about at will. I used to pine to hear the Gospel\npreached once more, and the sound of the church bells made me sad\nbecause I knew they did not ring to summon me to the house of prayer\nand praise. But now I thank my God through Christ that the longing to\ndo aught but what He wills has passed away. I realise increasingly that\nmy disease brings my Saviour very near; and the nearer He is to me, the\nmore I am sustained by His almighty power.\n\n   \"'Lord Jesus, as Thou wilt!\n     Oh, may Thy will be mine.\n     Into Thy hand of love\n     I would my all resign.\n     Through sorrow, or through joy,\n     Conduct me as Thine own,\n     And help me still to say,\n     \"My Lord, Thy will be done.\"\n\n   \"'Lord Jesus, as Thou wilt\n     All shall be well for me\n     Each changing future scene\n     I gladly trust with Thee.\n     Straight to my home above\n     I travel calmly on,\n     And sing in life or death,\n     \"My Lord, Thy will be done.\"'\n\n\"Now, Karl, will you offer up prayer?\"\n\nRobert took leave of the little party as soon as the evening prayer\nwas ended. He returned to the mill deeply touched with the simple,\nearnest words he had listened to. Religion felt very real to him when\nhe thought over Frau Schmidt's remarks, and the account of the sick man\nbeing healed by the Master. He felt very sick, sin-sick, weary, and\ntroubled. Oh, if he could but hear the Master's voice speaking to him!\nHe would rise up and obey. When he found himself alone in his room,\nhe knelt in prayer; yes, and there were sobs mingling with his words.\nIt was the cry of a broken spirit going up to heaven and pleading for\nmercy at the throne of grace.\n\n                               \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nSAVED BY THE RAFT.\n\nHERR EBHARDT'S relations towards his son did not improve after the\nscene which took place in his shop with Hans. He grew increasingly\nstern and angry with Paul\u2014found fault with his work, and constantly\nwatched him. Thus the boy's heart hardened towards his father, and\ntowards Robert too, for he looked upon him as the author of all his\nmisery.\n\nWhat provoked the master tailor still more was that the affair oozed\nout in K\u00f6sen, and became the common talk of the townspeople for some\ndays. Hans was exalted up to the skies\u2014and it was well that he knew his\nown shortcomings, else he might have been spoilt by the flattery\u2014while\nPaul came in for his full share of disgrace. In the meantime Robert\nhad his part of the odium to endure. Some said he was as much to blame\nin the business as Paul, and that he ought to have confessed to the\nBurgomaster and refused his prize. Robert was better able to bear these\nremarks because he had Hans for his friend, and this fact disarmed the\noutside chatterers, who argued that if Richter associated with Robert\nKlein, he must be satisfied with the part the latter had played.\n\nRobert offered his prize many, many times to Hans, without being able\nto persuade him to accept it, and at last Frau Schmidt settled the\nquestion by saying, \"Do not ask Hans again to take your prize, Robert;\nhe will never consent to what you wish, and it is foolish to waste more\nwords over it. Keep it where you can see it constantly, for it may\nprevent you from indulging in boastful feelings, and help you to walk\nsoftly by recalling the events connected with an important period in\nyour life.\"\n\nPaul was very angry that Hans and Robert were friends, and he would\nhave liked to quarrel with his former companion, but he dare not,\nfor even he was cowed by his father's violent temper. A crisis came\nat last, which made him take a desperate step. Herr Ebhardt returned\nhome earlier than he was expected one afternoon, and found Paul idling\ninstead of completing some work which had to be done at a given time. A\nstormy scene ensued, and the next morning the lad was missing, and no\none knew in which direction he had gone. His mother wept for him, his\nfather cursed him, but neither of them made any effort to reclaim the\nwanderer.\n\n\"God grant that he may be spared long enough to see the error of his\nways!\" said Hans, when Robert told him of Paul's flight. \"Oh, Robert, I\nwish I'd tried more earnestly to win him to Christ.\"\n\nMany days sped along, and Hans became quite well and strong again.\nThese were happy days for Robert, who kept steadily to his business,\nand tried hard to undo the bad habits of the past. It must not be\nsupposed that he became suddenly changed from a godless, careless boy\nto an earnest, God-fearing boy; no, it was the work of days, weeks,\nand months of struggle with himself against old inclinations and lazy\nfeelings. But he struggled in no strength of his own, but found help\nfor daily needs by seeking aid from heaven. Pastor Hahn became one of\nhis best friends; whereas, he formerly tried to run away, he now sought\nto profit by what the good man said, and delighted in attending his\nSunday class and hearing him preach in the old church of K\u00f6sen.\n\nRobert's influence told on his sisters by degrees, and at last on the\nmiller and his wife, who in the end became too much interested in the\ntruths of the Gospel to think of how their movements would be canvassed\nby their neighbours, for they were more anxious to find peace with God\nthrough Christ than to stand well with man.\n\nThe summer was ended, and autumn set in. It was a very rainy season,\nand the Saale became so full that the rafts had not to wait before\nshooting the weir, for the water fell over in a body and turned the old\nmill wheel merrily. At one time the current ran so swiftly that some of\nthe foresters were afraid to bring their wood down, and Hans required\nall his strength to keep those who ventured over the weir in the right\ncurrent, lest they should be swept across too rapidly.\n\nHe found himself repeatedly crying, \"Stick well to the raft; stick on;\nthe current runs faster than usual.\"\n\n\nAt length the rain ceased, and the last day of October was ushered in\nwith brilliant sunshine. The river presented a busy scene. Karl Schmidt\nand Hans had more business to do than they could well manage, and were\nglad when the shades of evening fell, and thus prevented the raftsmen\nfrom going on their way, and obliged them to rest at K\u00f6sen until the\nfollowing morning. So it came to pass that many rafts were moored above\nand below the old bridge.\n\nSchmidt had gone into the town on business, and Hans was sitting in the\ntoll-house parlour, feeling very weary and sleepy, when Robert entered.\n\n\"I didn't mean to call in this evening,\" he said, \"because I knew you\nwould be tired, but I was obliged to come and tell you the good news.\nSee what I've got!\" And he pointed to a long narrow parcel.\n\n\"What is it?\" asked Hans.\n\n\"Something for you.\"\n\n\"For me?\"\n\n\"Yes, for you, and it's from father. But before you take off the paper,\nyou must let me tell you all about it. You know, Hans, I've never\nbeen quite happy about the Burgomaster's prize, and though I've said\nnothing about it for a long time, I always wanted to make up for it.\nThe other day father offered me money as a reward for being so steady\nat business, and then I told him what I would rather have than all the\nmoney he could give me; and here is what I wanted. Undo it.\"\n\nHans unfastened the long unwieldy parcel, wondering what it contained.\nBut when it was free from its covering, and he lifted up the lid of the\nnarrow box, his eyes sparkled with pleasure, for there was such a bow\nand such arrows as he had never seen the like of before.\n\n\"They are for you,\" exclaimed Robert. \"Your hand is quite well now, and\nnext year we'll shoot as friends for the prize; or I will shoot, and\nyou shall win as easily as I did last time.\"\n\n\"This for me, Robert? How kind of you! It must have cost a lot of\nmoney; why, it's much better than my master's.\"\n\n\"Never mind what it cost, Hans; that's father's business. He ordered\nit from Halle, for we have an uncle there who understands what's what.\nThen you really like it?\"\n\n\"Like it, Robert! Why how can I help liking such a splendid present?\nBut I don't think I ought to take it, for you've denied yourself a good\ndeal to give it me.\"\n\n\"And I wish you would tell me who in the world I should deny myself for\nlike you? I owe you almost everything, Hans, for you taught me to love\nand serve God, and made me first think. You saved me.\"\n\n\"Not I, Robert, but Christ in me,\" answered Hans, reverently. \"If I had\nnot found the treasure first, I should not have known its worth.\"\n\n\"You're right, as you always are. Oh, I'm so happy! But I mustn't stay\ntoo late, for I promised father to cast up some bills we've been too\nbusy to look after during the day. I shall go home as I came, over the\nbridge. It was too dark and foggy and the current too strong to bring\nout the boat.\"\n\n\"Is it foggy?\" exclaimed Hans, moving towards the door. \"I'd no idea of\nit. How suddenly it must have come on; and after such a glorious day\ntoo. The fact is, I'm so tired that unless you'd come in, I should have\nfallen asleep. Why, the mist is so thick you cannot see a few yards\nbefore you,\" he added, looking out. \"You'd better not venture into it;\nyou'll be walking into the river.\"\n\n\"Don't be afraid,\" laughed Robert. \"I know every inch of the road.\"\n\n\"So you may, but in a fog like this it's very easy to make a mistake; I\nonly wish my master was safe at home,\" said Hans, anxiously.\n\nRobert walked away from the toll-house, but he soon had to slacken his\npace. He managed to reach the weir, and now he had a little distance\nto traverse by the river-side before he came to a narrow pathway which\nled him to the foot of the bridge. He had to grope his way carefully\nalong, for at every step he took the fog grew denser. At last, he stood\nstill and wished he had a torch; he would gladly have returned to the\ntoll-house, but it was as difficult to make his way back as to go\nforward.\n\n\"Courage, courage,\" he said to himself. \"I won't be a coward, after\nboasting to Hans that I was not afraid.\"\n\nBut with all his care and knowledge of \"every inch of the road,\" he\ncrept so close to the river's bank, which is steep at this point, that\nhe lost his footing, and though he made a tremendous effort to save\nhimself from falling, he could not regain his balance.\n\nRobert could swim. He was paralysed for a few moments by feeling the\nwaters close round him, then he knew that he was being hurried along\nby the stream. He tried to struggle into smoother water, but failed.\nSo all he could do was to cry, \"Help, help!\" and keep away from the\nbridge. This he just managed to accomplish, but he grew weaker every\nminute. When he was past the bridge, he made a last effort to get clear\nof the current, and this time he succeeded, for as he struck out, he\nclasped something with his hands.\n\nIt was a raft, which had swung round at its moorings. He had only\nstrength enough left to crawl on to it; but he was saved from a watery\ngrave.\n\n\nHans longed for his master to return; he looked out of the door again\nand again, but he heard no sound of approaching footsteps. He felt very\nuneasy, too, on Robert's account, and debated whether it would be well\nto take a light with him and go out, but then he could not leave Frau\nSchmidt alone in the house. At last, he carried a wooden table outside\nthe door and set a lamp upon it, then he went up to the frau's room and\nchatted with her, she meanwhile wondering why her son was so late.\n\nHans did not tell her that he was uneasy at his master's absence\nbecause there was a thick mist over the river; though while he tried\nto amuse her, he was straining every nerve to discover if Herr Schmidt\nwere coming.\n\nAt last they heard his well-known step, and a few moments afterwards,\nhe entered the room.\n\n\"I'm sorry to have kept you awake so much over your usual hour,\nmother,\" he said. \"But when you know why I have been detained, you will\nnot be surprised. It was clever of you, Hans, to put the lamp outside\nto guide me home. Did you suggest it, mother?\"\n\n\"The frau doesn't know about the fog,\" interrupted Hans.\n\n\"Well done, my boy; it was thoughtful of you to save her the anxiety.\nNow, mother, let me explain everything: you may well look as if we were\nspeaking in an unknown tongue. The heavy rains and the hot sun have\nbrought about such a dense mist as I have only seen twice before in my\nlife; it is so dense that if I had not borrowed a torch, I could not\nhave found my way. That good lad kept his anxiety to himself, but set\nup a beacon outside the house for me; he lighted the great lamp and put\nit on a table, or I might have groped about for some time longer, or\nperhaps have done as Robert did, walked into the river. But he's quite\nsafe, now,\" added Karl, \"though he has had a great shock.\"\n\n\"What has happened?\" asked Hans, eagerly. \"He was here this evening,\nand I wanted him so much not to go out in the fog.\"\n\n\"On his way from here, then, it must have been, that he fell in the\nriver. As I was nearing the bridge I heard cries for help, so I made\nmy way to the spot from whence they came as well as I could, and two\nor three others with torches joined me; we had a hard matter to find\nthe lad, and but for the mist lifting just at the right moment, Robert\nmight have laid on the raft until morning. I carried him home and\nwaited until he became conscious.\"\n\n\"Poor fellow!\" said Frau Schmidt. \"He must have missed his way. I thank\nGod he is saved.\"\n\n\"I do thank God,\" added Hans. \"And was he really saved by a raft?\"\n\n\"Yes, saved by a raft,\" reiterated Karl. \"Now, mother, let us have our\nevening reading.\"\n\n\nRobert was so much shaken by his accident, that two days passed before\nhe was permitted to see Hans.\n\nThe friends were delighted to meet again, and had a long and serious\nconversation together, for Robert's heart was full of gratitude to God\nfor his deliverance from death.\n\n\"We have been talking so hard,\" said Hans, just before he left, \"that\nI have not yet asked you how you managed to hold on to the raft as you\ndid, until help came.\"\n\n\"I don't think I held on; I had just enough strength to crawl on to the\ntop, and then I suppose I became unconscious.\"\n\n\"Still you were saved by a raft!\"\n\n\"Yes,\" answered Robert; \"the raft in its double meaning has been my\nbest friend. There is the raft of wood which saved me when strength was\nfast failing; there is that almighty Raft which upholds me day by day,\nand which I can cling to at all times\u2014even the Lord Jesus Christ.\"\n\n\"Old fellow, my mother's words will have a deeper meaning than ever to\nus both after this,\" said Hans, earnestly. \"You and I will indeed feel\nthe truth of what we say when we cry on behalf of ourselves and all\nmen, 'STICK TO THE RAFT.'\"\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n                            \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n                  LONDON: B. K. BURT AND CO., PRINTERS.","title":"Stick to the raft","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":26724}