Ludwig lived quite alone. His sisters had married, his mother was dead. Ludwig was still a bachelor, and so was my ancestor at this time. "You have not yet put your neck under the yoke it appears," said my relative to his friend, in allusion to the conjugal tie. "Not I," replied his friend. "At least, not yet." "I understand," said Fritz; "not married, but '_verlobt_'." "No, nor that either." "No? _Verliebt_, then, perhaps." "No, neither '_verlobt_' nor '_verliebt_'." "What!" exclaimed the Englishman, "not even that! Nevertheless, if I remember rightly, the student Ludwig Engstein was not once averse to the fair sex." "Oh, recall not the follies of the past, my friend, or I may retaliate," answered the German. "True, true," said the Englishman. "We all have our weaknesses, and youth is the season in which they mostly flourish, but now we have both grown into sober-minded _Philister_,[4] and are more wary." "Yes, yes," rejoined his friend; "we are not to be caught now by a pair of blue eyes, flaxen tresses, and a jimp waist, however well these charms may be set off with the allurements of dress. When men get to our advanced age, they want 'geist,' and look out for a good housewife who can cook them a dish of 'sauer kraut' or a 'pfankuchen' when '_das moos_'[5] is wanting, which is another very useful accessory we desire to have thrown in." Here he made a significant gesture with his finger and thumb, intended to express the counting of money. "I hope, my friend, you have not become so worldly as to look upon marriage in the light of bettering yourself," said my relative. "_Ach! lieber freund_," replied Ludwig. "It is all very well for you rich milords who have '_loewen_'[6] to talk in that style, but we '_armer teufeln_' are bound to take even that into consideration." "This is what the world makes of noble fellows when it has once got them in its grasp!" sighed my ancestor to himself, and he hastened to change the conversation. They then discoursed on various other topics, sitting up to a late hour of night, until wearied with incessant talking, each retired to rest. Early the next morning both were dressed and ready to start on their journey. They reached ----dorf towards evening, and having fixed their quarters at the very same inn they had put up at on their memorable tour, they beguiled the time until the morrow by discoursing with the townspeople about the mysterious murder. The body, it seems, was not yet underground, but was to be buried the next day. They accordingly both resolved to examine it. "The head has not been found yet?" asked Ludwig after supper of the landlord of the inn, who had come in for a gossip. "No, sir, not yet," replied their host. "Ah, there are some strange rumours in the town about that same murder." "Indeed!" cried Fritz; "what do the people say?" "Some say one thing, and some another, but all seem to agree that there is something supernatural about the murder of the Henker."