The old colonel was silent, the breath came choking from his bosom.
“I have grown to be an old man,” he went on falteringly—“I have seen men lying on the field of battle—men on whose faces stood written distress and despair—such heart sorrow as I saw in the face of this child I have never seen before or since—never—never—”
A deep stillness took possession of the wine-room where we were sitting. As the old colonel became silent and spoke no word more, the waiter rose softly from his corner and lit the gas-jet that hung over our heads; it had grown quite dark.
I took up the wine bottle once more, but it was now almost empty—just one tear still crept slowly out—one last drop of the good blood.
FOOTNOTES:
[6] The title conferred in Prussia on the candidate who has passed the first of the two examinations held before appointment as judge.
[7] “Die Bollen,” a term of dislike among the Berlin cadets.
DELIVERANCE
BY MAX SIMON NORDAU
