or government securities, without losing by the
transfer; which would not have been the case
had I chosen the German currency. Business
over, M. Paul Krantz expressed much
hospitable regret that I would absolutely insist on
leaving Kiel that very day. He had hoped, he
said, that I should have been able to stay as a
guest under the family roof for a day or two at
least, that he might have the pleasure of
showing me such humble lions as Holstein could
boast of, and that I should have stayed long
enough to have made acquaintance with his
father, my correspondent, who, his son was good
enough to say, had heard much praise of me
when he met my chiefs in London a year ago.

However, I could not linger; for the journey
by land through the southern part of the Danish
peninsula would, I knew, be slow, and I was
desirous to have time, not only to make the
needful inquiries regarding the much-lauded
investment, but also to explore the museums and
other stock sights of Copenhagen before the
Emma should have completed her unloading
and be ready for her return freight. I had
arranged for the hire of a light carriage, and
had bespoken post-horses, and must really go
northward that afternoon.

"You will lunch with us, at any rate. I will
give Margaret a hint to advance the dinner hour,"
said the young representative of the great firm of
Krantz, who spoke French and English with equal
fluency. Then, suddenly he frowned and started,
exclaiming, " Hundsfoot! What does the fellow
want, staring in after that fashion? Arnold,
Rupert, ask his business, some of you!"

I turned hastily. All I could see was the
fast-vanishing figure of a tall man, wearing one
of those loose rough coats that sailors call
"gregoes," and a red Sclavonian cap, such as
Baltic mariners affect. Not a glimpse of his
face could I catch; but there was something
suspicious in the hurry with which he was
shuffling off. Paul assured me that he saw
the ruffian greedily eyeing the heaps of notes
and silver which the old cashier, Herr Niklas
Frost, had spread upon the desk beside me.
However, Arnold and Rupert, the two
messengers, came back merely to report that the
stranger had made off at a brisk pace in the
direction of the wharfs, and that they thought
him a Russian seaman, by his gait and attire.
M. Paul broke into a cheery latigh, saying:

"I am afraid Mr. Compton will report us
Danes as singularly timorous folks, startled at
shadows, but the face I saw was no pleasant one,
and the way the rogue gloated over the money on
that desk was not encouraging to a merchant.
But come, let me offer you some refreshment,
and introduce you to Madame Krantz."

I was introduced to Madame Krantz, a very
pretty young woman, with the dazzling
complexion and pale gold hair for which many of the
North Jutlandcrs are celebrated, and also to the
two charming little children, Christian and Ellice
(which latter name corresponds to our English
Alice), and I was shown everything worth seeing
in the house and gardens. Such wealth of tulips,
assorted like the patterns of some rich mosaic
pavement and blooming gloriously; such a rose
garden; such wall-fruit, and stocks, and dahlias,
and quaint old-world blossoms, I had never
before beheld. And the pictures choice old
battle-pieces, pretty bits of pastoral scenery,
the work of Dutch masters, or of the best artists
of that Danish school that learned to use the
brush from Dutch example were good and
valuable, and harmonised with the oak panels
and carved cornices, as perfectly as did the
massive furniture of heavy wood and crimson
velvet.

M.Paul and his pretty wife and I parted
with civil regrets that our acquaintance should
terminate thus early. They came out to the door
to see me start, under the guidance of the red-
jacketed postilion who had control over the
caleche and the two heavy Holstein steeds.
Travellers were at that time greater rarities in
Kiel than they have become since the war began,
and quite a knot of people had assembled at
the corner of the street to see the Englishman
drive off. Among those idlers, I recognised
the tall figure in the grego and red cap.

Off I went, clattering and rattling up the
dusty road. The speed was not great, and
neither coaxing nor scolding could induce my
gaily-attired driver to accelerate his pace beyond
the comfortable jog-trot of Holstein journeyings.
His good humour was incapable of being
ruffled; for, however impatiently I might address
him in my scanty stock of German, he did but
turn his broad placid face towards me with a
pleasant smile and a polite " Ja, ja, Meinherr;"
but the stout bay steeds were never much
interfered with. Holstein men and Holstein horses
are proverbially strong, slow, and amiable.

The sun went down long before we had
traversed the sixteen English miles of dusty road
lying between Kiel and Eckernfiord, but there
was a bright full moon that made travelling safe
and easy, as well as cooler and more enjoyable
than the journey by day, so I pushed on as
fast as post-horses could take me, and reached
the city of Schleswig soon after midnight. I
allowed myself only a few hours of sleep at
the quaint little hotel; starting northwards on
the following morning, and so early that the
dew clung in pearly clusters to every blade of
grass in the great meadows to which the
thousands of comely cattle were being slowly driven;
the larks were just beginning to rise and warble
out their morning hymn as the yellow sun
shone level across the meres and meadows. I
found that I really did make more rapid
progress as I advanced towards the north, the
horses being fleeter and less sluggish; the
postilions less apathetic. My hope was to
reach the Nyeborg ferry in time lor the last
steamer across to Seeland, and to sleep at
Ringstad, take the railway on the following day,
and arrive at Copenhagen before noon. To
my vexation, however, while still there were
long miles of road between me and the ferry,
the clouds began to thicken and grow dark to
seaward, while the sultry air was fanned by short