“No, Heaven be thanked! no, my beloved Wolf!” cried Charlotte, in eager and tender tones, well aware that she had committed an error, which she wished to repair; “no, toward me you have always been friendly, communicative, and open, and therefore—”
“And therefore, my love,” said he, interrupting her, “therefore you should not have reproached me, undeservedly, in the hour of our reunion.” He arose and took his hat from the table.
“Oh, Wolf!” cried she, anxiously, “you are not going?”
“I must, my dearest! I must first pay a few formal visits, to avoid giving offence. I must call on some friends I expect to meet at the ducal table to-day.”
“Perhaps it was only on this account that you visited me?” said Charlotte, the tears which she could no longer repress, gushing from her eyes. “Wolf, did you visit me solely because you expected to meet me in the ducal palace to-day?”
He regarded her with a look of distress and astonishment. “Charlotte, dear Charlotte, is it possible that so great a change has come over you in two short years?”
She started, and a glowing color suffused itself over her countenance; the poor woman thought of what her mirror had told her but a short time before, and Goethe’s question awakened bitter reflections. “Am I really so changed?” sighed she, and her head sank wearily upon her breast.
“No,” cried he, earnestly, “no, Charlotte, you cannot have changed; it is only that this first moment of reunion after a long separation has affected us strangely. We will soon be restored to each other completely, we will soon be reunited in love and friendship. Charlotte, it is impossible that two years of separation can have torn asunder the holy union of our souls! Let us strive to prevent so unhappy a consummation; it would be a misfortune for me—yes, I may say, a misfortune for you, too! I think we love each other so tenderly that we should both endeavor, with the whole strength of our souls, to ward off misfortune from each other. Let these be my farewell words, darling, and, as I have just learned that you too will dine at court to-day, I can joyfully say—till we meet again!”
He embraced her, and pressed a kiss on her lips, a kiss that wounded her heart more than a cold leave-taking would have done; for this gentle, friendly kiss seemed to her but as the second echo of what her mirror had said! As the door closed behind his loved form, Charlotte sank down on her knees, buried her face in the cushions of the sofa, and wept bitterly.