“He wants so much to be a wood-carver, and has a good deal of talent for it, but the cost of board and instruction together is more than eighty francs.”

“Is that all?” exclaimed the lady in the greatest surprise, “is that all?  Come, my boy,” and she ran to Toni again, “would you really like to become a wood-carver—­better than anything else?”

The joy which shone in Toni’s eyes, when he answered that he would, showed the lady what she had to do.  She had such a longing to help Toni, that she wanted to act immediately that very hour.

“Would you like to learn at once, go to a teacher right away?” she asked him.

Toni gladly replied that he would.

But now came a new thought.  She turned to the doctor.  “Perhaps he ought to recover his health first?”

The doctor replied that he had been already thinking about that.  The mother had told him that she knew a very good master up in Frutigen.  “Now I think,” he went on to say, “that carving is not a strenuous work, and one of the most important things for Toni is to have for some time good, nourishing food.  In Frutigen there is a very good inn, if he only could—­”

“I will undertake that, Doctor, I will undertake that,” interrupted the lady.  “I will go with him.  We will start to-morrow.  In Frutigen I will provide for Toni’s board and lodging and for everything he needs.”  In her great delight the lady shook hands with both the mother and the boy repeatedly, and went out to instruct her maid about preparations for the journey.

When the mother with her boy had been taken to their room, the doctor said with great delight to his wife: 

“We have two recoveries.  Our lady is also cured.  A new interest has come to her, and you will see she will have new life in providing for this young boy.  This has been a beautiful day!”

On the following morning the journey was made to Frutigen, and the little company were so glad and happy together that they reached there before they were aware of it.

At the wood-carver’s the lady was told everything that would be needed for the work, and after he had showed them all kinds of instruments, he thought a fine book with good pictures, from which one could work, would be useful.

After the lady had charged him to teach Toni everything in any way necessary for the future, they went to the inn.  Here the lady engaged a good room with comfortable bed, and herself arranged with the host a bill of fare for every day in the week.  The host promised, with many bows, to follow everything exactly, for he saw very well with whom he had to deal.

Then Toni and his mother had to eat with the lady in the inn, and during the meal she had much more to say.  She was going now, she said, the next day, home to Geneva, where there were large shops, in which nothing was sold but carvings.  There she would immediately arrange for Toni to send all his articles, so he could begin to work with fresh zeal.  Moreover, she insisted that Toni should remain, not two, but three months with the carver, so that he could learn everything from the foundation.  He could go from here to visit his mother on Sundays, or she could come to him.