beer. Finally, when the national cause seemed to have thrown up all that it was capable of producing, Mayor Scheffelweis arrived amidst cheers. He quite frankly allowed a red ticket to be thrust into his hand, and when he returned from casting his vote it was plain he was agreeably moved. "At last!" he said, pressing Diederich's hand: "We have this day conquered the dragon." Diederich's reply was merciless. "You, Mr. Mayor? Why, you are still halfway down its throat. Mind it doesn't take you with it when it dies! " As Dr. Scheffelweis paled, another cheer arose. Wulckow!…
Five thousand odd votes for Fischer! Heuteufel, with barely three thousand, was swept aside by the patriotic tide, and the Social Democrat went to the Reichstag. The "Netzig Journal" insisted upon a victory for the "Emperor's Party," for thanks to the latter, a fortress of Liberalism had fallen. With this, however, Rothgroschen aroused neither great satisfaction nor definite contradiction. Every one found the accomplished fact natural but uninteresting. After the uproar of election time it was now a question of making some more money. The Emperor William Monument, only yesterday the centre of a civil war, no longer aroused the slightest excitement. Old Kühlemann had left the town six hundred thousand marks, for public purposes; very decent. An asylum or a monument, that was the same as sponges and tooth-brushes to Gottlieb Hornung. At the decisive meeting of the town councillors it turned out that the Social Democrats were in favour of the monument; well and good. Somebody proposed that a committee be formed at once, and that the honorary chairmanship be offered to Governor von Wulckow. Here Heuteufel, who was probably annoyed, after all, by his defeat, got up and expressed a doubt as to whether the Governor, who was mixed up in a certain property deal, would himself think it fitting that he should vote for the site on which the monument was to stand. There were grins and winks, and Diederich had a cold shiver down his spine as he waited to see if the scandal would
