“Come, girls, assist me to arrange the tea things; we will not, however, employ Mr. Hamilton to make tea this time, but he may help to carry the long table out of the next room for us.”
Hamilton and Major Stultz carried in the table, and everything was soon arranged for the expected guests.
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE CHRISTMAS-TREE, AND MIDNIGHT MASS.
The Hoffmanns arrived, and with them Count Raimund. Hamilton watched Hildegarde’s reception of the latter, and forgetting the three weeks he had passed at Edelhof, was surprised to find that she met her cousin without the slightest embarrassment; he perceived, too, that Raimund had contrived to ingratiate himself with Madame Rosenberg; she greeted him with a familiar nod, as he entered, and the children’s manner (no bad test of intimacy) convinced him that Raimund’s visits must have been numerous during his absence. Fritz smiled saucily, and raised his hand to his forehead in military salute; Gustle, with his usual rudeness, seized his coat, and began to swing himself backwards and forwards by it: while Peppy took possession of the unbuckled sword, and rode round the room upon it, until his mother, irritated by the noise, forcibly took it from him, and shoving him with his brother Gustle into the next room, declared that if they were so ill-behaved, the infant Christ would pass by their house, and they would get neither Christmas-boxes nor bon-bons. “Do you know,” she said, turning to Count Raimund, “that Mr. Hamilton is quite shocked at my telling the children such stories? He says——” but the entrance of the Bergers and Madame Lustig gave her thoughts another direction. The latter was a red-faced, stout, jolly-looking widow of at least fifty years of age; her nose was extremely thick, and her forehead extremely low; she seemed very glad to see everybody, and made tremendously low curtsies in all directions. Madame Berger immediately took possession of Hamilton, saying that she had a lot of messages to deliver from Theodor Biedermann.
“I hope he intends to come here to-morrow; I shall be glad to see him, and commence my studies again.”
“If we may believe him,” said Madame Berger, laughing, “Hildegarde has made great progress during your absence; he says she writes German as well as French now, and that is saying a good deal; but he complained bitterly of the noise which the children made while he was giving his lessons, and regretted the tranquillity of your room. Of course, I reminded him of the day I found you fencing!”
“Our lesson was over when you arrived; I assure you we were always exceedingly attentive and well-behaved.”
“And Hildegarde sitting there reading, as if she were quite alone. By-the-by, have you begun your English studies with her again?”
“Not yet; but I am quite ready, if she feels disposed.”