"That is a long story, young master, and I will tell you. I tell you, if all the drops that are now falling out there were tears, and all were wept for the sake of the poor child--I would say they were not nearly enough. "When Harald made that terrible wager with Baron Barnewitz, they had just been absent together for two or three weeks; I know not where, but I believe they had gone to a large city, far away, and there, I think, they had seen the poor child. Soon afterwards he left again, and this time he stayed two months. At last he wrote he would come back, but not alone. His Aunt Grenwitz, he wrote, would come too, and I was to air the rooms of the late baroness and let the furniture be attended to, and prepare everything for her reception. Now I knew the baron had a great-aunt, his grandfather's sister, but she must be eighty years and more; she had never in her life been at Grenwitz, and had never troubled herself about Harald, nor he about her. I was, therefore, not a little surprised at the strange idea to undertake such a journey at her time of life, for she lived many, many miles from here; but I did as I was ordered. They arrived on the appointed day; I received them and wondered how active the old lady was, though she walked with a crutch and had silver-gray hair and eyebrows. Harald was full of respect for her; he led her on his arm through all the rooms of the castle, and showed her everything very carefully, especially the family portraits in the gallery, where her own was hanging, as a girl of eighteen.--They stopped before it and laughed immoderately, and the old lady began to cough, and Harald slapped her on the back. I did not know why they laughed so--I thought it was because the pretty girl had become such an ugly woman, for then I did not suspect anything of the disgraceful plot. "Early the next day the baron sent for his carriage and he and the aunt drove off. 'We shall be back to-night,' he said, 'though perhaps very late. We shall bring a young lady home, a young companion for Aunt Grenwitz. She is to have the room next door, do you hear?'--'But, master,' I said, 'the baroness died in the red-room, and everything is left there exactly as it was on the day of her death.'--'Then let everything be cleared out,' he said; 'do you hear, everything, and have it put in another room. Put some furniture in it. The young lady must sleep near Aunt Grenwitz.'--'What do you say, dear Harald?' asked the aunt, who was deaf in one ear and did not hear particularly well in the other ear, so that she could never understand me, even when I spoke ever so loud. 'Nothing, nothing, dear aunt,' said the baron, 'all right, Jake!'