fellow rushed after Barbara, held out both hands to her in his frank,
cordial way, and cried:

"Thanks, heartfelt thanks, my dear, beautiful young lady! But if you
imagine that this drop of nectar will suffice, you are mistaken. You
have awakened thirst! Now see--and Gombert will thank you too--that it
is quenched with a fuller gift of this drink of the gods."

The Netherlanders found the table spread, and this rehearsal of the
Convivium musicum brought Barbara Blomberg the happiest hours which life
had ever bestowed.

She saw with a throbbing heart that her singing not only pleased, but
deeply stirred the heart of the greatest composer of his time, whose name
had filled her with timid reverence, and that, while listening to her
voice, the eyes of the sturdy Appenzelder, who looked as if his broad
breast was steeled against every soft emotion, glittered with tears.

This had happened during the execution of Josquin de Pres's "Ecce tu
pulchra es'."

Barbara's voice had lent a special charm to this magnificent motet, and,
when she concluded the "Quia amore langueo"--"Because I yearn for love"
--to which she had long given the preference when she felt impelled to
relieve her heart from unsatisfied yearning, she had seen Gombert look at
the choir leader, and understood the "inimitable" which was not intended
for her, but for his fellow-artist.

Hitherto she had done little without pursuing a fixed purpose, but this
time Art, and the lofty desire to serve her well, filled her whole being.