"The Prince," continued the Court Chaplain, "is a beautiful soul 'manqué,' which means spoilt. His sister, the Princess Isoline von Isenberg-Wertheim, is such a soul. She has joined herself to a company of pious people who have taken an old manor-house belonging to the Prince on the farther side of the palace gardens, where they devote themselves to prayer, to good works, and to the manufacture of half-silk stuffs, by which they maintain themselves and give to the poor. The Prince himself knows something of such feelings. He indeed knows the way of piety, though he does not follow it. He acknowledges the grace of refinement which piety gives, even to the most highly bred. He is particularly desirous that his children should possess this supreme touch. Something that I told him of thee pleased his fancy. Thy strange way of keeping school seemed to him very new; more especially was he delighted with that infancy story of thee and old Father Stalher. The old man, I told the Prince, came into thy father's for his new coat and found thee reading. Reading, in any one, seemed to Father Stalher little short of miraculous; but in a child of eight it was more--it was elfish. "'What are you doing there, child?' said Father Stalher. "'I am reading.' "'Canst thou read already?' "'That is a foolish question, for I am a human being,' said the child, and began to read with ease, proper emphasis, and due distinction. "Stalher was amazed, and said: "'The devil fetch me, I have never seen the like in all my life.' "Then little Mark jumped up and looked timidly and carefully round the room. When he saw that the devil did not come, he went down on his knees in the middle of the floor and said: "'O God! how gracious art thou.' "Then, standing up boldly before old Stalher, he said: "'Man, hast thou ever seen Satan?' "'No.' "'Then call upon him no more.' "And the child went quietly into another room. "And I told the Prince what thy old grandfather used to say to me. "'The lad is soaring away from us; we must pray that God will guide him by His good Spirit.' "When I told all this to the Prince, he said: "'I will have this boy. He shall teach my children as he does the village ones. None can teach children as can such a child as this.'" The little schoolmaster had been looking before him all the time the Chaplain had been speaking, as though in something of a maze. He evidently saw nothing to wonder at in the story of himself and old Stalher. It seemed to him commonplace and obvious enough. "I shall send up a tailor from Joyeuse to-morrow," said the Chaplain; "a court tailor, such as thou never saw'st, nor thy father either. He must measure thee for a court-suit of black. Then we will go together, and I will present thee to the Prince." II.