Neither could Eric and Roland be of any assistance here.
On the way home, Roland seized Eric's hand and said:—
"Money! money! How speedily it can ruin people!" Eric made no reply, and Roland continued:—"I never heard that there were any lotteries in America. You see, Eric, this is something that we have wholly to ourselves."
In silence, inwardly disturbed, they reached the villa. There seemed to be some ghost stalking abroad, for they could not shake off the remembrance that the demon of sudden riches had ruined two families; and immediately on waking the next morning, Roland said:—
"I should like to know how Claus and Sevenpiper will feel this morning, when they wake up."
A messenger was sent to the village, and they were gratified to hear that the two families were getting along comfortably again; but the eldest daughter of Sevenpiper had left her parents' house, and had gone to the field-guard's.
CHAPTER VII.
THE FIRST RIDE.
Manna was extremely gracious towards everybody, and no one would have suspected that this graciousness had pride for its basis. Every one appeared to her so poor, so forlorn, so trammelled! Whenever she was spoken to, her thought of the speaker was, "You, who say this, are but a child of the world;" and whenever she took part in any pleasure excursion, there was the perpetually recurring suggestion, "You yourself are not here, you only seem to be here, you are in a wholly different world, yonder, far above."
Every one was charmed with her friendliness, her gentleness, her attentive listening, and yet only a part of herself was really taken up with all this; she was elsewhere, and occupied with other interests.