The Antichamber.
Enter Baron.
Bar. Oh! deceitful hope! Thou phantom of future happiness! To thee have I stretched out my arms, and thou hast vanished into air! Wretched Steinfort! The mystery is solved. She is the wife of my friend! I cannot myself be happy; but I may, perhaps, be able to reunite two lovely souls, whom cruel fate has severed. Ha! they are here. I must propose it instantly.
Enter Countess and Mrs. Haller.
Countess. Into the garden, my dear friend! Into the air!
Mrs. H. I am quite well. Do not alarm yourselves on my account.
Bar. Madam, pardon my intrusion; but to lose a moment may be fatal. He means to quit the country to-morrow. We must devise means to reconcile you to—the Stranger.
Mrs. H. How, my lord! You seem acquainted with my history?
Bar. I am. Walbourg has been my friend ever since we were boys. We served together from the rank of cadet. We have been separated seven years. Chance brought us this day together, and his heart was open to me.
Mrs. H. Now do I feel what it is to be in the presence of an honest man, when I dare not meet his eye.