"Nevertheless," continued the Magister, impelled by the determination of his judges, "as doubts have been raised of its genuineness, the parchment may have lost some of its value for the dealer. But if I should succeed in being of service to you, I respectfully entreat you not to bear any malice against me for the unfortunate share which, without any fault on my part, I have had in this sad business. It has grieved me much the whole time; and since the criticism of Professor Werner has been printed, I have daily lamented that I ever set eyes on the parchment. I should sink into an abyss of misery if I were to lose my respected patrons." These words excited the compassion of his judges, and Mrs. Struvelius said, kindly: "We believe you, for it is a dreadful feeling to have deceived others, even unintentionally." But Laura, who had established herself as president of the council, decided shortly: "I beg that all who have taken part in this will meet here to-morrow at the same hour. I give you to that time, Magister Knips, to procure the parchment. After the expiration of this respite our house will be closed to you, our washing withdrawn, and notice given to the Hahn family. See, therefore, that we come to an amicable settlement." The Magister approached the table, drew with one finger the gold pieces into the palm of his hand, which he modestly held under the edge of the table, made three low bows, and took leave of the ladies. Ilse related the adventure to her husband, and Felix listened with astonishment at the role which the learned factotum had played in the tragedy. On the following morning the Magister made his appearance before the Professor. Breathless he drew out of his pocket the unfortunate strip of parchment, and carried it with bowed head and outstretched hand, bending lower and lower, humbly and imploringly, from the door to the writing-table of the Professor. "I venture to bring this to you, rather than encounter the ladies for a second time. Perhaps you will graciously deign to deliver this through your wife into the hands of its new possessor." When the Professor examined him severely, he began a statement in defence of himself. What he said was not improbable. The name of the doubtful trader was known to the Professor. He was aware that he had been staying in the town during the course of the last few weeks, and from the numerous communications that Knips had had with this man in the interest of his patrons, there was nothing extraordinary in their intimacy. The Professor examined the parchment carefully. If there had been a forgery here, it had been carried out in a masterly way; but Knips produced a microscope from his waistcoat pocket, and pointed out how, by means of the magnifying glass, one could discover that sometimes the shadowy characters of the apparently very ancient handwriting had been introduced _over_ the words of the church prayers, and had therefore been painted on at a later period.