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Once a week there was quartet music．Ears，soul，and thought were filled with the grand
musical poems ofBeethoven and Mozart．It had been a long
time since Peerhad heard good and well-played music．It
was as if a kissof fire traveled down his spine and shot through all hisnerves．His eyes filled with tears．Every musical
eveninghere at home was a festive evening to him，which
made adeeper impression upon him than any opera at the theater，where something always disturbs one or imperfections arerevealed．Sometimes the words do not come out right；theyare
so smoothed dowm in the singing that they are as intelli－gible to a Chinese as to a Greenlander；and
sometimes theeffect is weakened by faults in dramatic expression，and bya full voice sinking in places to the power of a music box
ordrawling out false tones．Lack of truthfulness in
stage set-tings and costumes also is to be observed．All
this was ab-sent from the quartet．The music poems rose
in all theirgrandeur；costly hangings decorated the
walls in the concertroom；here he was in the world of
music，which its mastershad created．
One evening，Beethoven's"Pastoral" Symphony
wasgiven by a great orchestra in the big public music hall．Itwas the andante movement，"the scene
by the brook，"thatparticularly，and with a strange power，stirred and
excitedour young friend．It carried him into the living，freshwoods；the lark and the nightingale
rejoiced，and thecuckoo sang there．What beauty of nature；what a well－spring of refreshment there was！From this
hour he knewwithin himself that it was the picturesque music，in whichnature was reflected and the emotions of human hearts
wereset forth，that struck deepest into his soul．Beethoven andHaydn became his favorite composers．
He often spoke with the singing master about this，and
with each conversation the two became closer friends．How
rich in knowledge this man was，as inexhaustible
asMimir's well．Peer listened to him；just as eagerly as hehad to Grandmother's fairy tales and stories as
a littleboy，he now listened to those of the world of
music，andcame to know what the forest and the sea told，whatsounds in the old giant mounds，what
every bird singswith its bill，and what the flower
silently exhales in fra－grance．
The hour devoted to his singing lesson every morningwas an hour of true delight
for master and pupil；everylittle song was sung with
freshness，expression，and sim－plicity；most charmingly did he sing the
Schubert series ofTravel Songs．Both the melodies and
the words wereheard to their full advantage；they
blended together；theyexalted and illumined one another，as is fitting．Peer wasundeniably a dramatic
singer．His ability showed progresseacn month，each week，day by day．
Our young friend grew in a wholesome，happy way，knowing no want or sorrow．His was a rich and
wonderfullife，with a future full of blessings before
him．His trustin mankind was never deceived；he had a child's souland a man's endurance，and
everywhere he was receivedwith gentle eyes and a kind welcome．Day by day the re-lations between him and the singing master grew
moreheartfelt and confidential；the two were like an
elder anda younger brother，and the younger had all the
fervor andwarmth of a young heart，which was understood
andreturned in full measure by the elder．
The singing master's personality was characterizedby a southern ardor，and one saw at once that this mancould hate vehemently or love
passionately，and，fortu－nately，this last governed in him．He was，moreover，sosituated
by a fortune his father had left him that he didnot need to work，unless it interested and pleased himto do so．Secretly he did a great deal of good in a sensi－ble way，but didn't want people to thank him
or to talkabout it．
"If I have done anything，"he said，"it was becauseI could and should have done it．It was my duty．"
His old servant，"our warden，"as be called him injest，talked only
with half a voice when he gave expres-sion to his opinion about the master of
the house．"I knowwhat he has given away and done
during years and days，and yet I don't know the half！The king ought to givehim a star to wear on his breast．But he would not wearit；he would be furious，if I know him，should he behonored for his
kind deeds．He is happy，more so
thanthe rest of us，in whatever faith he has．He is just like aman out of the Bible．"
And to that the old fellow gave additional emphasis，as
if Peer could have some doubt．
He felt and understood well that the singing masterwas a true Christian in good
deeds，an example for every－one；yet the man never went to church，and when
Peerone day mentioned that the following Sunday he was goingwith his mother and
his grandmother to our"Lord's table"and asked if the singing master
ever did the same，theanswer was，"No！"It seemed as if he wanted to
saysomething more，as if，indeed，he had something to con－fide to Peer，but nothing was said．
One evening he read aloud from the newspaper aboutthe beneficence of a couple
of men，and that led him tospeak of good deeds and their
reward．
"When one does not think of it，it is sure to come．The reward for good deeds is like dates that are spoken ofin the
Talmud；they ripen late and then are sweet．"
"Talmud？"asked Peer．"What
sort of book isthat？"
"A book，"was the answer，"from which more thanone seed of thought has been implanted in
Christianity．"
"Who wrote that book？"
"Wise men in the earliest times，wise men in vari-ous
nations and religions．Here wisdom is preserved in afew
words，as in Solomon's Proverbs．What
kernels oftruth！One reads here that men round about the
wholeearth，in all the centuries，have always been the same．'Your friend has a
friend，and your friend's friend has afriend；be discreet in what you say！'is found here．It isa piece of wisdom for all times．'No one
can jump overhis own shadow！'is here，too，and，'Wear shoes
whenyou walk over thorns！'You ought to read this book．Youwill find in it the proof of culture more clearly than youwill
find it in the layers of the earth．For me，as a Jew，it is，moreover，an inheritance from my fathers．"
"Jew？"said Peer．"Are
you a Jew？"
"Did you not know that？How strange that we
twoshould not have spoken of it before today！"
Mother and Grandmother knew nothing about it，ei-ther；they had never thought anything about it，but
alwayshad known that the singing master was an honorable，wonderful man．It was through God's guidance
that Peerhad met him on his way；next to our Lord he
owed him allhis good fortune．
And now the mother divulged a secret that she hadcarried faithfully a few days
only and that，under thepledge of secrecy，had been told her by the merchant'swife．The
singing master must never know that this wasrevealed；it
was he who had paid for Peer's support andeducation at Herr Gabriel's．From the evening when，atthe merchant's house，he had heard Peer sing the balletSamson，he
alone had been his real friend and benefac-tor，but in
secret．
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