“But, Georges, you are—pardonnez-moi le mot—you are out of your senses. Don’t be a child, pray, and don’t create illusions out of impossibilities. Perhaps you have got hold of that little book—let me see, what is it called? ‘How to live a comfortable married life on fifteen hundred florins.’ ”
“No; I don’t know the book, but fifteen hundred is not two thousand seven hundred florins, and I flatter myself——”
“You flatter yourself! Yes, you will do a lot! Are you a fellow to jog along with a wife from January to December on a wretched couple of thousand gulden? Yes, indeed you will do a lot,” she repeated excitedly, and almost angry, when he wanted to interrupt her, and she rose excitedly from her easy-chair. “I fancy I see you, established in apartments on the second floor, luxuriating on a beefsteak once a week, eh! However, ’tis a life I can’t describe to you. I don’t know anything about it, that I will confess. You are used to good living, Lili also; how are you two going to—? Oh! come, ’tis too absurd. Do be sensible, Georges! I know you too well——”
“It seems you do not quite,” he interrupted in his low voice, which contrasted with her indignant tone. “At all events, I think I have the faculty to be able to regulate my wants in proportion to my means.”
“Maybe you do, but how about your wife? Would you force a young girl, brought up with a certain amount of luxury, also to regulate her wants according to your means? Believe me, Georges, nowadays people do not live on love and moonshine, and young people like yourself, like Lili, must have some luxuries, they must go out——”
“Oh! that eternal going out. I went out when I was a youth; surely one need not always to be going out.”
“Egotist! Therefore, because you as a youth went out as much as you liked, you want to marry and stay at home for economy, and sit with your wife luxuriating over your weekly beefsteak. What a grand prospect for her, to be sure!”
“But, Emilie, why must you lay such a stress on the urgent necessity of going out every evening? I don’t see it myself, I must admit. I base my happiness on something altogether different.”
“Up to this moment you have been as gay a butterfly as any [[127]]one of them—in short, you have gone out. Now you are in love you have had a little poesy infused into your ideas; but believe me, that will wear off, and when you have been married a little while you will find it very sociable indeed to have a pleasant circle of acquaintances.”
“Granted, as far as the circle of acquaintances is concerned; but to give them up is no part of my plan, and it will not cost so very much to keep up their friendship.”