第55章

"Without 'excellency,'" replied his wife, dryly. "I have not even this pleasure to be called 'excellency.' It would have been a slight compensation for my sad, miserable existence, and vexed many of the female friends of my youth if they had been obliged to call me 'excellency.' But my marriage brought me only cares, not even a title.""Do not forget a lovely daughter, Clotilda. Our Marie is beautiful, wise, and good, and through her you will yet have tranquil happiness. For you say the king has granted all we wish.""Every thing!" repeated the wife, with emphasis. "We have at last finished with want and care, and can count upon an independent, quiet old age, for God has been gracious, and forced you, from the gout, to give up gambling, and we are freed from the misery which has so often threatened us from your unhappy passion.""At the beginning, I played from passion; afterward, I only played to win back what I had lost.""And in that manner played away all we possessed, and played upon your word of honor, so that for years the half of our pension went to pay your gambling-debts. Heaven be thanked, the king did not know it, or we would have experienced still worse!""I pray you, beloved Clotilda, do not fret yourself needlessly about the past; it is all over, and, as you say, I am unfortunately a prisoner in the house from the gout, which shields me from the temptation.""I did not say unfortunately; I said 'Heaven be praised, the gout had put an end to your fickle life.'""Then, thank Heaven, my dear; we will not quarrel about it. It is past, and, as the king has granted all, we shall have a pleasant life now.""We will soon receive from our son-in-law a yearly pension, which will be paid to me, and I shall spend it."The general sighed. "In that case I fear that I shall not get much of it.""At any rate, more than I have ever received from your pension.""There is but one thing wanting," replied the general, evasively, "Marie's consent."Madame von Werrig gave a short, gruff laugh, which did not in the least brighten her sullen face. "We will not ask her consent, but command it."The general remarked, timidly, shrugging his shoulders, "Marie had a very decided character, and--""What do you hesitate to speak out for? What--and--""I think she still loves the Conrector Moritz."A second laugh, somewhat menacing, sounded like a challenge. "The schoolmaster!" she cried, contemptuously.

"Let her dare to tell me again she loves the schoolmaster; she the daughter of a general, and a native-born countess of the empire!""My dear, it was your fault--the only fault you ever committed, perhaps. How could you let such a young, handsome, and agreeable man come to the house as teacher to our daughter?""How could I suppose my daughter was so degenerated as to love a common schoolmaster, and wish to marry him?""It is truly unheard of, and it would make any one angry, my dear wife, for she insists upon loving him.""She will not insist, she will do what she is commanded to do--my word for it! But why talk about it? It is better to decide the matter at once."So Frau von Werrig rose with a determined manner, and rang the small brass bell which was upon the sofa-table. But a few seconds elapsed before a little, crooked servant appeared at the side-door, with her dirty apron put aside by tucking the corner in her belt. "Go to my daughter, and tell her to come down immediately!"The servant, instead of hastening to obey the order, remained standing upon the threshold. "I dare not go," said she, in a hoarse, croaking voice. "Fraulein told me not to disturb her to-day, for she has still two bouquets of flowers to arrange, and two lessons to give, and she is so busy that she is not at home to visitors. She torments herself from morning till night.""I order you to tell Fraulein to come down at once; we have something important to tell her. No contradiction! go, Trude!"The servant understood the cold, commanding tone of the mother, and dared not disobey.