The old mayoress, the doctor's mother, who sat at the tea-table eating her oatmeal porridge, had a great fancy for Lenz. He was made to sit close beside her and raise his voice very loud in order that she might hear. She had been a playmate of his mother when a girl, and liked to tell of the gay times they used to have together, especially on their Shrove-tide sleighing parties, which now were given up with many other of the old sports. Marie was always the merriest of the company. The old mayoress inquired about Franzl, listened with interest to Lenz's account of his visit to her,--he omitting, of course, all mention of the money she had offered him,--rejoiced at hearing of Katharine's prosperity and beneficence, and sympathized with her desire to adopt a child.
The whole company listened with polite attention. Poor Lenz, so long accustomed to being contradicted in all he said, or interrupted by exclamations of "O, what is that to me!" looked from one to another in amazement.
The old mayoress urged him to come often and bring his wife, adding: "I hear a great deal said of her goodness and cleverness. Give my greetings to her and your children." Lenz hardly knew how to respond to such unwonted words. He would have thought she was mocking at him, had her manner been less sincerely cordial. It must be that nothing but good was spoken of others in this house, and therefore she had heard only the good of Annele.
"Just as you arrived," said the old lady, "we were speaking of your father and my dear husband. A clock-dealer from Prussia had been saying that our clocks were not so good as they used to be when your father and my husband were alive; that they did not keep so good time. I told him I did not agree with him; that, with all respect to the dead, I was sure the clocks were just as exact now as in old times, but that the men who used them were more particular. Was I not right, Lenz? You are an honest man; tell me if I was not right."
Lenz assured her she was perfectly right, and thanked her for not extolling the old times at the expense of the new.
The engineer cited railways and telegraphs as proofs of the superior exactness of the present day.
When the conversation became general, the doctor drew Lenz aside and said to him, "Lenz, you will not be offended at what I have to say to you?" Lenz's heart sank within him. So the doctor, too, was going to speak of the ruin in his house.
"What is it?" he said, with difficulty.
"I wanted to propose, if it were not distasteful to you, and I really do not see why you should object--but what need of so much preparation? I want you to be director in the clock manufactory which my son and son-in-law have set up here. Your knowledge will be of service to them, and you shall receive in time a share of the profits besides your regular salary."
Here was a hand stretched out from heaven to save him. "I should be very glad to undertake it, certainly," returned Lenz, turning red and hot; "but you know, doctor, it has always been my endeavor to form an association of all the clockmakers of our district. Various circumstances have thus far prevented my accomplishing this plan, but I still cherish it, and therefore can only join this enterprise on condition that your two sons promise to connect the manufactory with the association, perhaps in time even to make it a part of the property of the association."