more time for her that evening, and that, in the second place, she
would do well to go home at a proper hour and spare herself the
reproaches of her mother.

"Oh, my little mother, my little mother," she wailed. "How shall I
ever present myself to her sight again? Keep me, my beloved! I can
never approach my, mother again."

He rang for his hat and gloves.

When she saw that he was serious she wept a few more perfunctory tears
and went.

Her visits repeated themselves and didn't become any more delightful.
On the contrary ... the heart-broken maiden gave him to understand
that her lost honour could be restored only by the means of a speedy
marriage. This exhausted his patience. He saw that he had been
thoroughly taken in and so, observing all necessary considerateness,
he sent her definitely about her business.

Next day the "little mother" appeared on the scene. She was a
dignified woman of fifty, equipped as the Genius of Vengeance,
exceedingly glib of tongue and by no means sentimental.

As she belonged to one of the first families of Posen, it was her duty
to lay particular stress upon the honour of her daughter whom he had
lured to his house and there wickedly seduced. ... She was prepared to
repel any overtures toward a compromise. She belonged to one of the
best families of Posen and was not prepared to sell her daughter's
virtue. The only possible way of adjusting the matter was an