"It would be rather a pity if Bermann were to," said Frau Ehrenberg, without taking any notice of George's discretion. "I certainly think that young people take these matters either too lightly or too seriously."
Else followed up the idea: "Yes, it is strange, all you men are either cleverer or much sillier in these matters than in any other, although really it is just in such crucial moments of one's life, that one ought as far as possible to be one's ordinary self."
"My dear Else," said George casually, "once one's passions are set going——"
"Yes, when they are set going," emphasised Frau Ehrenberg.
"Passions!" exclaimed Else. "I believe that like all other great things in the world, they are really something quite rare."
"What do you know, my child?" said Frau Ehrenberg.
"At any rate I've never so far seen anything of that kind in my immediate environment," explained Else.
"Who knows if you would discover it," remarked George, "even though it did come once in a way quite near you? Viewed from outside a flirtation and a life's tragedy may sometimes look quite the same."
"That is certainly not true," said Else. "Passion is something that is bound to betray itself."
"How do you manage to know that, Else?" objected Frau Ehrenberg. "Passions can often conceal themselves deeper than any ordinary trumpery little emotion, for the very reason that there is usually more at stake."