"No; it will never come to that."
"Why not? Are you ashamed to confess that you love a beautiful young lady? That is childish and simple. There is no place here for shame. You want a noble, virtuous wife. You have Angela in view. Woo her; do not be a bashful boy."
"Bashfulness might be overcome, but not the conviction that I am unworthy of her."
"Unworthy! Why, then? Shall I praise you? Shall I exhibit your noble qualities, and convince you why you are worth more than any young man that I know? You have not Angela's religious tone; but the strong influence of the wife on the husband is well known. In two or three years I shall not recognize in the ultramontane Richard Frank the former materialist." And the doctor laughed heartily.
"It is questionable," said the young man, "whether Angela's inclination corresponds to mine."
"The talk of every true lover," said the doctor pleasantly. "Pluck the stars of Bethlehem, like Faust's Grethe, with the refrain, 'She loves, she loves not—she loves.' But you are no bashful maiden; you are a man. Propose to her. Angela's answer will show you clearly how she feels."
The doctor was scarcely in his room when Richard's father entered.
"All as you foretold," said Klingenberg. "Your son is cured of his hatred of women by Angela. The materialistic studies were not in earnest; they were only a shield held up against the coming passion. The love question is so absorbing, and the sentiment so strong, that Richard left me near Frankenhöhe to hasten over there. I expect from your sound sense that you will place no obstacles in the way of your son's happiness."
"I regret," said Frank coldly, "that I cannot be of the same opinion with you and Richard in this affair."
"Make your son unhappy?" said Klingenberg. "Do you consider the possible consequences of your opposition?"