Charlie was neither proud nor reserved--only a little shy at first; he had been engaged in many _affaires du coeur_, but a genuine attack of the tender passion was new to him. He soon found himself regularly installed and adopted, an _ami du maison_, with this delightful family at Frankenburg. As an Englishman, his natural love of hunting, shooting, and fishing won him the friendship of the old Count, with whom he drank as many flasks of Rhine wine and jugs of beer as he wished; but he had one blot in the eyes of the latter--he could never take cordially to _saur kraut_. He was a prime favourite with the Countess from his general _bonhommie_ of manner; and with Ernestine--ah! well, with Ernestine--he speedily became more of a favourite than the girl would have dared to acknowledge even to herself. Society at Frankenburg was narrow and monotonous; most of the visitors who came, especially Baron Grünthal and the Justiz-rath, spoke only of politics, of Bismarck's plans, and the coming war, which did not interest the ladies, save in so far as the 95th Thuringians were concerned. The days were devoted to rides and rambles amid the beautiful scenery around the old Schloss; the evenings to music, to singing, and frequently to dancing when the daughters of the Justiz-rath, or those of Baron Rhineberg, were present; and then our two 95th men were always in full uniform, _à la Prussien_; and the ladies were all unanimous that Charlie looked _so_ handsome. Those epaulettes! those epaulettes! To many a young English officer the pride and glory of wearing them was only secondary to the kiss of the first girl he loved; and where are they _now_? So Charlie was proud of his epaulettes. Heinrich had fairly won his lovely cousin--under 'false colours,' certainly; but, nevertheless, he _had_ won her; perhaps, from the girl's peculiar temperament and pride, he might never have done so otherwise; but having so won her, he was compelled to be thankful, for with this odious French war on the _tapis_--a war which, but for his love, he would have hailed with genuine German ardour, and the 95th under 'orders of readiness' for the Rhine--marriage, as Herminia herself had said, was not to be thought of: so they had but to trust to time and wait.