She said this so joyously, and offered her hand to the Chamberlain so kindly, that all thoughts of his dignity were forgotten, and he shook her hand right honestly. The Prince stood before his machine, and thought: "Now is the moment, or never." He read below the simple words, "If a person has devoted himself with honest perseverance to some one thing, it will be a blessing to him throughout his whole life." Then, without any thought of the threatening consequences of his daring, he said: "May I propose an exchange to you? I have bought a small churn; it has a large wheel and a small one for turning, and one can churn as much as one wants each morning. It would be a great pleasure to me if you would accept this."
Ilse thanked him with a bow; and the Prince requested that a servant might at once be sent to his apartment for it. Whilst the Chamberlain was still reflecting with amazement on the strange coincidence, the piece of mechanism was brought into the room. The Prince placed it with his own hands upon a corner of the table, explained the internal arrangements to the company, and was much delighted when Ilse said she had confidence in the invention. He was again the joyous child of the other day, gaily drank his glass of wine, and, with charming grace, proposed the health of the master and mistress of the house, so that the Chamberlain scarcely knew his Telemachus again. On taking leave, he himself packed up the marchpane, and carried it home in his pocket.
CHAPTER XXII.
THREE COUNCILS.
The year of the Rectorate had so changed the household and the current of Ilse's thoughts that she remarked with astonishment to her husband, "I feel as if I had just come from school into the bustle of the world." Her husband's days were engrossed with distracting business: difficult transactions between the University and Government, and vexatious occurences among the students, took up a great portion of his time.
The evening, also, did not pass as in the first year, when Ilse watched the quiet labors of her husband, or listened to his friends; for many were occupied by the sessions of the Senate, and others by large parties, which, as Rector, he could not avoid. When their friends came to tea, the master of the house was often absent.
Ilse had taken her father's lessons to heart; she lived in the present, and avoided distracting thoughts. Her husband took pains to keep from her anything that could disturb her repose of mind, and the intellectual diet which he now gave her did her good. When he again saw her in society in all her health and strength, with color in her cheeks and a cheerful expression in her countenance, he felt it his duty for ever to preserve this soul from the intrusion of conflicting ideas; and he was pleased that, by frequent intercourse with various kinds of men, and by the light bonds of a genial society, she began to feel at home in his circle. It delighted him, too, to find that her ingenuous nature was appreciated; and she was not only treated with distinction by the men, but was also a favorite with the ladies.
Ilse would not, however, allow her private conclave--as she called the hours during which she received her husband's instruction--to be disturbed; she adhered to it with rigid strictness; and if a day was missed, the lost time had to be made up on the following one. But even these lessons took a different course. The Professor now read to her small extracts from old writers, who portrayed, in prose and verse, the attractive beauty of the life of the ancients; her innocent mind entered into the cheerful enjoyment of this strange world, and the impressions which she received agreed perfectly with the way in which she now regulated her own life. The Professor explained to her some of the poems of the Greek anthology and of Theocritus, and a few of the Roman lyrics; and, by way of comparison, he read to her the poems of the great German who, in a remarkable way, had been able to unite Greek beauty with German feeling.
At her reception, Ilse showed all the dignity of her position as the Rector's wife; every room was opened; the apartments were decorated and brilliantly illuminated; the heads of the University and city, with their wives, made their appearance in numbers; and the Prince and his Chamberlain did not fail to be present. Laura assisted gracefully in doing the honors, and quietly gave directions to the servants; cake and wine were passed around; the guests made themselves very agreeable, and separated in the highest spirits. The great evening had passed off happily; the Doctor and Laura had left; Ilse gave her last injunctions to Gabriel, and passed through the rooms once more, with the glad feeling that she had done honor to Felix and herself. She came into her dressing room, and glanced into the mirror.
"You need not examine yourself critically," said the husband, "everything was beautiful; but the most beautiful of all was the Rector's wife."