"There is an answer required to the note."
As soon as he was alone he tore open the envelope, took out the half-sheet on which Marion had copied a beautiful extract from Schiller, laid it without reading on his knee, and then, slowly adjusting his glasses on his forehead, began to read.
"After all," he said to himself, "I needn't have dreaded it so much. I was unnecessarily alarmed. I thought she meant to bring another sledgehammer to bear on my conscience. Yes, I'll go and see our mutual friend. I wonder who it is."
He took up the other paper and read,—
Dear Friend,—
I came across these "words of strength" from our favorite
Schiller's poems, and thought of you while reading them.
That they may prove real words of strength to you is the earnest
prayer of an attached friend.