In fact, he ceased to care how he gave out the letters: all the envelopes seemed to have the same name on them: Marie Truog. Every word which he tried to decipher turned to that; so finally he tried no more, leaving the destination of the letter to be decided by the impulse of the moment. At last he arrived at that quarter of the Kurhaus where Marie held sway. He heard her singing in her pantry. Suddenly she was summoned downstairs by an impatient bellringer, and on her return found Wärli waiting in the passage.
"What a goose you are!" she cried, throwing a letter at him; "you have left the wrong letter at No. 82."
Then some one else rang, and Marie hurried off again. She came back with another letter in her hand, and found Wärli sitting in her pantry.
"The wrong letter left at No. 54," she said, "and Madame in a horrid temper in consequence. What a nuisance you are to-day, Wärli! Can't you read? Here, give the remaining letters to me. I'll sort them."
Wärli took off his little round hat, and wiped his forehead.
"I can't read to-day, Marie," he said; something has gone wrong with me. Every name I look at turns to Marie Truog. I ought to have brought every one of the letters to you. But I knew they could not be all for you, though you have so many admirers. For they would not be likely to write at the same time, to catch the same post."
"It would be very dull if they did," said Marie, who was polishing some water-bottles with more diligence than was usual or even necessary.
"But I am the one who loves you, Mariechen," the little postman said. "I have always loved you ever since I can remember. I am not much to look at, Mariechen: the binding of the book is not beautiful, but the book itself is not a bad book."
Marie went on polishing the water-bottles. Then she held them up to the light to admire their unwonted cleanness.
"I don't plead for myself," continued Wärli. "If you don't love me, that is the end of the matter. But if you do love me, Mariechen, and will marry me, you won't be unhappy. Now I have said all."