"He is not my ideal of manliness! I like men such as William Tell, powerful, plain and sterling; he has such a soft, dreamy expression in his face, at the same time such a superior, polite smile, and a pair of eyes which no one can make out; now they look as if they had disappeared; then again gleam diabolically, now small, now large; eyes, as to the nature of which no one can form a decision. Yet, I have read somewhere that girls like that. What success Don Juan had, mamma! His register that Leporello unrolls is longer than the _menu_ at the largest hotel! But it is not that alone, believe me, mamma; it is being a nobleman! The influence which rank exercises upon love is very great! Those who have nothing particular about them, excepting being noblemen--and it does prepossess people--have married the most beautiful girls. How often have I not already said that papa ought to have himself ennobled! With his money and his connexions it would be a trifle; but you do absolutely nothing to smoothe my path through life--to assist me to success. Some portion would fall to your share, too; you would like to be _gnädige_ Frau, and it is impossible to give that to oneself." While Salomon told his troubles to his mother, and as he added would try his luck with Eva once more, another rival of Blanden's had arrived unexpectedly, and was present at this forest-party, the young poet Schöner, who for a short time at least had applied for a place in Eva's heart, and had striven to be successful in obtaining it. But since that encounter with the singer, Eva had renounced him so completely that she treated him with conspicuous coldness. Had he not accompanied the admired _virtuoso_, on the whole of her tour, back to the capital, and only left her when she made a trip into the country with a female friend, to Lithuania or Masuren, and forbade the young poet to escort her farther? Schöner easily recovered all these slights and resigned himself to the existing state of affairs; he hoped soon to reconquer the lost position; he sunned himself with such self-satisfaction in the glory of an easily-gained, doubtful fame, that he was less susceptible of smaller defeats. In addition, his spirits, like his poetry, were still sparkling champagne, and a certain youthful unripeness did not become him badly; his nature owned tokens of genius which promised that he would overcome it.