SCHOOL-CHAT IN PLAY-HOURS. 193

 

Church rises above the trees, as a conspicuous
landmark.

Furst Fisherman. Yes, yes, Mr. Adler, you speak
English as well as German; but here am I, twenty
years out of Hamburg, and yet everybody notices the
burr on my tongue.

Second Fisherman, Fritz, you talk plainer now than
when you used to take the bottle with you in the boat.
I wondered, sometimes, whether the black-fish under-
stood German, for we didn’t take half so many as we
do in these temperance days.

Adler, Let us forget past faults. Our old friend
Fritz has repented of his evil ways. I will sing a
hymn which he remembers.

Carl then poured out, in his clear manly voice, the
Seaman’s Evening Hymn :—

‘‘ Thanks be to thee, Almighty God,
Whose arm has been our guard,’* &c.

The two men listened with admiration, and the old
German occasionally added his voice to the familiar
tune, though he could not always hit the words ; but
he understood and felt them, and frequently put up
his red sleeve to wipe the falling drops.

First Fisherman, Thank you, sir; it brings all the
old days back fresh upon me. But do tell me, Master
Adler, have you got the whole hymn-book by heart ?

* Dank sey dir, O du starker Gott,

Dess Schutz uns heut umfangen.

100) 18