"And was it no blessing that some trace of the repose I had won by so fierce a conflict seemed to calm the soul of the despairing young wife, that she--which in such a situation is everything--found time to regain her self-control, to remember what she had once possessed, to ask herself whether she might not possess it again if she desired. I can still see the look with which she extended her hand as she bade me farewell, the earnest, expressive glance in which a gleam of hope still sparkled. I can still hear her sweet voice utter the words which were the richest reward to me for all I had done and suffered, the words: 'I thank you, my friend.'"
"And I thank you," said Gotthold, seizing the hand of the deeply-agitated man, and pressing it warmly, "thank you with all my heart, for you have acted according to your sincere conviction, and what can a man do more? But you did not save my poor mother from dying of a broken heart."
Wollnow looked gloomily at the floor. Gotthold, smiling sadly, continued:
"To be sure, it is better to die so, to die young, than to live on with a broken heart, to the torment instead of the joy of one's self and others, as was the fate of my poor father. And he cannot have become reconciled to my mother's shade. Else why, when he pushed me from him in anger, did his pale lips murmur: 'You are just like your mother'? No, no, my friend, I honor your wisdom, but I think one must be born wise--it is not to be learned."
"At least in one lesson," said Wollnow, with grave kindness, "and this has lasted long enough--too long, when I consider the condition of the pupil."
Gotthold protested against this decision; he felt perfectly well, and strong enough to continue the argument a long time; besides, the subject had a demoniacal charm for him.
"And for that very reason we will drop it," replied Wollnow, "and instead, if you are really strong enough, I will request you to answer a few questions in relation to your unlucky drive. I will confess that I put them partly at the desire of a prominent magistrate. At least, Justizrath von Zadenig declares that no farther steps can be taken in this disagreeable matter without your deposition, and has begged me to take it down in a legal form."
Gotthold looked up in astonishment--"What is the point in question?"
"It concerns, in the first place, the lost money, which must, if possible, be recovered," replied Wollnow.
"Poor Sellien! I am sorry for him," said Gotthold; "but I don't see how your questions and my answers can aid in its recovery."