The minister, in his excitement, took one pinch of snuff after the other. Then he sought unavailingly for the few remaining particles, closed his box, put it in his pocket, and said: "Conrad, listen quietly to me a few minutes. I think I can tell you something of which you have, perhaps, not so earnestly thought. Whether you are wrong in regard to your brother and the maiden--whom I to-day first learned to know, and who appears to be a good, brave girl--or not, I will not decide, nor will I examine into the matter. I have never been married, nor, so far as I know, in love, but once, and that so long ago that it may well be that I do not understand such things. But, Conrad, there are brothers whom we cannot renounce. There are father's houses which must be sacred to us under all circumstances. In the one case we are of the same lineage; in the other it is our home-land. On this account, to us driven away and thrust out--to us pressed down and shaken together by strangers in a strange land--must those relatives who are still left--must the country of our new home, be twice and thrice holy. And there is nothing, Conrad, that can release us from this duty; no strife with a brother, no wish to have a wife, no rights as to mine and thine, for here there is no mine and thine, but only _our_, as in the prayer we offer to God in whom we all believe. I know well, Conrad, that this feeling of holy duty has not died out of your heart; that, on the other hand, you will in your own way satisfy it. But, Conrad, your way is not a good one, even were you determined, as we all suppose, to sacrifice your life. I tell you, Conrad, God will not accept the offering. He will reject it, as he did Cain's sacrifice, and your precious blood will run down into the sand useless and unhonored." The minister's deep voice had an unusually solemn tone, in this forest stillness; and as he now, on account of his emotion, which beautifully illuminated his plain face, was silent a few moments, it roared through the branches of the giant pines as if God himself and not a man had spoken. So at least it seemed to good Aunt Ursul, and the same feeling was able also to touch the wild and perverse heart of Conrad. His broad breast rose and fell powerfully; his face had a peculiar, constrained expression; his eyes were fixed on the ground, and his strong hands, which grasped the barrel of his gun, trembled.