Suddenly, however, he drew himself up to his full height, and a gleam of intense joy burst forth from his eyes. “I am free!” he exclaimed, loudly and in a tone of exultation. “Yes, I am free! My life and the world belong to me again. All women are mine again, Cupid and all the gods of love will boldly flit toward me, for they need not conceal themselves any longer from the face of a husband strolling on forbidden grounds, nor from the spying eyes of a jealous wife. Life is mine again, and I will enjoy it; yes I enjoy it. I will enjoy it like fragrant wine pressed to our lips in a golden goblet, sparkling with diamonds. Ah, how they are hammering and battering in the anteroom! Every stroke of theirs is a note of the glorious song of my liberty. The furniture of my household is gone; the pictures and looking-glasses are all gone—gone. The past and every thing reminding me thereof shall disappear from these rooms. I will have new furniture—furniture of gold and velvet, large Venetian mirrors, and splendid paintings. Oh, my rooms shall look as glorious and magnificent as those of a prince, and all Berlin shall speak of the splendor and luxury of Frederick Gentz. And to whom shall I be indebted for it? Not to any wife’s dower, but to myself—to myself alone, to my talents, to my genius! Oh, in regard to this at least, poor Julia shall not have been mistaken. I shall gain fame, and glory, and honors; my name shall become a household word throughout all Europe; it shall reecho in every cabinet; every minister shall have recourse to me, and—hark! What’s that?” he suddenly interrupted himself. “I really believe they are quarrelling in the anteroom.”
Indeed, a violent altercation was heard outside. Suddenly the door was pushed open, and a vigorous, broad-shouldered man, with a flushed and angry face, appeared on the threshold.
“Well,” he exclaimed, with a bitter sneer, turning to the footman who stood behind him, “was I not right when I told you that Mr. Counsellor Gentz was at home? You would not announce me, because your master had ordered you not to admit any visitors of my class. But I want to be admitted. I will not permit myself to be shown out of the anteroom like a fool, while the counsellor here is snugly sitting on his sofa laughing at me.”
“You see, my dear Mr. Werner, I am neither sitting on my sofa nor laughing at you,” said Gentz, slowly approaching his angry visitor. “And now let me ask you what you want of me.”
“What I want of you?” replied the stranger, with a sneer. “Sir, you know very well what I want of you. I want my money! I want the five hundred dollars you have been owing me for the last twelve months. I trusted your word and your name; I furnished you my best wines—my choicest champagne and the most exquisite delicacies for your dinner parties. You have treated your friends; that was all right enough, but it should have been done at your expense, and not at mine. For that reason I am here, and you must pay me. For the hundredth and last time, I demand my money!”
“And if I now tell you for the hundredth, but not the last time, that I have not got any money?”
“Then I shall go to the war department and attach your salary.”
“Ah, my dear friend, there you would be altogether too late,” exclaimed Gentz, laughing. “My honorable landlord has outstripped you as far as that is concerned; he has attached my salary for a whole year, and I believe it is even insufficient to cover what I owe him.”
“But in the d—l’s name, sir, you must find some other means of satisfying my claim, for I tell you I shall not leave this room without getting my money.”
“My dear Mr. Werner, pray do not shout so dreadfully,” said Gentz, anxiously; “my ears are very sensitive, and such shouting terrifies me as much as a thunderstorm. I am quite willing to pay you, only point out to me a way to do it!”