"The he-nurse. Your wife, who's with the crown prince, is the she-nurse, and so they call you the he-nurse."
Hansei laughed with all his might.
"Say, Hansei, what pay does your wife get?" inquired Wastl the weaver.
"I won't tell," replied Hansei, with an air of mystery.
"It's a long while since you had a letter from your wife, isn't it?" inquired the innkeeper.
"No; I'm expecting one any hour." He had scarcely uttered the words, when the letter-carrier entered and said, "So here you are, Hansei; I've been at your house twice to-day. I've got a letter with money in it, for you."
"Let's have it," said Hansei, breaking the five seals with a trembling hand.
"A nice way of treating money," said the innkeeper, picking up a hundred florin note from the floor. "That'll suit me very well. I've use for one, and will give you the change for it."
"All right," said Hansei, leaving the money in the innkeeper's hands. He then read his letter:
"Dear Hansei: This time, I write to you all alone. Here are a hundred florins that the queen has given me for a special present, because you haven't come to see me; but I must tell you all about it so that you can understand it. You've no idea what a good soul the queen is; whenever you pray, pray for her. We often sit together for hours, and she can take down everything on paper beautifully--the trees and all sorts of things, and we talk to each other as if we had gone to school together. But she's Lutheran and is very good and pious, and has such kind thoughts about all things that an ugly word couldn't pass her lips. If she weren't Lutheran, she might become a saint, but she'll get to heaven anyhow. That's my belief, and you can believe it, too; but you needn't tell any one.