A silence followed the reading of this letter, and the emotions that it had roused among the members of the little family, were plainly to be seen in their faces. The twins who had not been able to understand it but who felt that it had brought some grave news, looked first at their father and then at their mother. Carl watched Mr. Lambert, and Elise’s plump, rosy face was solemn; but Jane, as if she were pierced by an understanding of the pathos that was magnified by the very clumsy illiterateness of the letter, sat perfectly still; her vivid face contracted with a look of genuine pain.
Mrs. Lambert was weeping. Then, suddenly, old Grandmother Winkler, who had not said a word, got up, took her son’s letter out of Mr. Lambert’s hand, and leaning on her cane, went out of the room.
The astonishment and awkwardness depicted in Mr. Lambert’s face showed that he had not guessed that the letter would produce such an effect.
After a moment or two, he cleared his throat, and said in a gentle but somewhat unctuous tone to his wife:
“My dear, we must not be impatient under our afflictions. This is very sad; but it is the will of heaven, and we should learn to endure our sorrows—er—uncomplainingly. Furthermore, Providence has seen fit to soften this blow by—er—that is after all, you have not seen Franz in ten years or more.”
“Yes, Peter. Of course,” answered Mrs. Lambert, meekly wiping her eyes on her napkin. “But when I think of poor Franz—all alone—and the boy—that poor child—”
“Of course my dear, your brother may have deceived himself. Come, he may be on the road to health at this moment. Let us hope for the best. Let us prepare to welcome our nephew, and perhaps,—who knows, Franz himself may be spared to us.”
Mrs. Lambert’s face brightened. She was naturally optimistic, and eagerly grasped this ray of hope. Moreover, while she had been very fond of her brother, in years of absence his features had somewhat faded from her memory. She was not fond of sorrow or melancholy, and was ready to exchange grief for hope, and tears for sanguine smiles the moment she saw a possibility of the future setting her fears at nothing.
“Yes, yes. What you say is quite true, Peter. After all Franz may recover completely.”
“Certainly,” said Mr. Lambert, briskly. “And now my dear, let us consider.”