r final goodbye, perhaps _for ever_, she kissed each of us _twice
over_ and said: Girls, I wish you all the happiness in the world!

January 18th. Hella invited me there to-day, to meet Lajos and Jeno. But
I'm not going, for Jeno does not interest me in the very least. That
was not a _real_ love. I don't care for anyone in the whole world except
her, my one and only! Even Hella can't understand that, in fact she
thinks it _dotty_. Father wanted me to go to Hella's _to change the
current of my thoughts_. Of course I hardly say a word about _her_ to
anyone, for no one understands me. But I never could have believed that
Father would be just like anyone else. It's quite true that I'm getting
thin. I'm so glad that we are not going tobogganing to-day because Dora
has a chill, a _real_ chill this time. So I am going to the church in
Schwindgasse and shall walk up and down in front of _her_ house; perhaps
I shall meet her father or her mother. I wrote to her the day before
yesterday.

January 24th. I am so happy. She wrote to me _by return!_ This is the
second letter I have had from her! At dinner to-day Father said: "Hullo,
Gretel, why are you looking so happy to-day? I have not seen you with
such a sunny face for a long time." So I answered in as few words as
possible: "After dinner I will tell _you_ why." For the others need not
know anything about it. And when I told Father vaguely that Frau Prof.
Th. had written to me, Father said: "Oh, is _that_ what has pleased you
so much. But I have something up my sleeve which will also please you.
February 1st and 2nd are Sunday and Monday, you have 2 days free, and if
you and Hella can get a day off from school on Saturday we might make an
excursion to Mariazell. How does that strike you?" It would be glorious,
if only Hella is allowed to come, for her grandmother imagines that the
sore throat she had before Christmas was due to the tobogganing on the
Anninger, where the sole was torn off her shoe! As if _we_ could help
that. Still, by good luck she may have forgotten it; she is 63 already,
and one forgets a lot when one is that age.

Evening. Hella may come; it will be splendid! Perhaps we shall try a
little skiing. But really Hella is a horrid pig; she said: "All right,
I'll come, if you'll promise not to be continually talking about Frau
Professor Th. I'm very fond of her too, but you are simply crazy about
her." It's really too bad, and I shall never mention _her_ name to
th