"Yes."
"But did you never feel the want of a female friend?" cried Helene quickly.
"Never, for I have a mother," replied Elizabeth in a tone of deep feeling.
"Happy child!" she murmured, and drooped her head.
Elizabeth felt that she had unwittingly touched a sore place in Helene's heart. She was sorry, and longed to efface the impression. Herr von Walde seemed to read her thoughts in her face, for, without noticing Helene's emotion, he asked: "And did you desire to live in the Thuringian forest especially?"
"Yes."
"And why?"
"Because I had been told from my earliest childhood that my family had its origin in the Thuringian forest."
"Ah, yes, you belong to the Gnadewitzes."
"My mother's name was Gnadewitz. I am a Ferber," answered Elizabeth, with decision.