“Well, then, I will have you driven to the Hôtel du Nord. My sister-in-law has been there for two days and she will look after you.”
Half an hour later his carriage arrived and he took us to the Hôtel du Nord, after driving a long way around to show us the city. But at that time I did not admire anything belonging to the Germans.
On arriving at the Hôtel du Nord, he introduced us to his sister-in-law, a fair-haired young woman, pretty, but too tall and too big for my taste. I must say, though, that she was very sweet and affable. She engaged two bedrooms for us near her own rooms. She had a flat on the ground floor, and she invited us to dinner, which was served in her drawing-room. Her brother-in-law joined us in the evening. The charming woman was very musical. She played to us from Berlioz, Gounod, and even Auber. I thoroughly appreciated the delicacy of this woman, in letting us hear only French composers. I asked her to play something from Mozart and Wagner. At that name she turned to me and exclaimed: “Do you like Wagner!”
“I like his music,” I replied, “but I detest the man.”
Mlle. Soubise whispered to me: “Ask her to play Liszt.”
She overheard, and complied with infinite graciousness. I must own that I spent a delicious evening there.
At ten o’clock the station master (whose name I have very stupidly forgotten, and I cannot find it in any of my notes) told me he would call for us at eight the following morning, and then took leave of us. I fell asleep, lulled by Mozart, Gounod, etc.
At eight o’clock the next morning, a servant came to tell me that the carriage was waiting for us. There was a gentle knock at my door, and our pretty hostess of the previous evening said sweetly: “Come, you must start!” I was really very much touched by the delicacy of this pretty German woman.
It was such a fine day that I asked her if we should have time to walk and, on her reply in the affirmative, we all three started for the station, which is not far from the hotel. An engaged carriage had been reserved for us, and we installed ourselves in it as comfortably as possible. The brother and sister shook hands with us and wished us a pleasant journey.
When the train had started, I discovered, in one of the corners, a bouquet of forget-me-nots with the sister’s card, and a box of chocolates from the station master.