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 he had gained in Peru, where riches abounded, that wealth he had thoughtlessly wasted before he was aware of its value. In this plan, Mela was placed so far at a distance, that she appeared like a shadow he was destined never to catch; but Frank felt a ray of happiness that she was once more entered as a feature in the picture of his future life, and he walked forward with long strides, as if he thought to reach her the sooner for his haste.

He had regained the frontiers of the Netherlands, when he arrived one evening at sun-set, at a small town, called Rummelsburg, which was afterwards entirely destroyed, during the thirty years war. A number of carriers already occupied the tavern, so that there was no place for him; and the landlord bade him go to the next village: in truth, he took him, on account of his present miserable appearance, for the spy of a gang of thieves, who, he supposed, might be on the watch for the goods of the carriers. Frank was therefore obliged, in spite of his great weariness, to prepare for a farther journey and to resume his bundle.