ey could up the stairs, which were thickly
carpeted, into Ludwig's own room. After the heartiest outpourings of
gladness at seeing his old companion again, Ludwig rang the bell, but
immediately cried out, "Oh, Lord, what have I done, wretch that I am!"
putting both his hands before his face. And it was not long before a
snappish creature of a lady's maid came in screeching out to Ludwig in
a horrible, vulgar tone of voice, "Herr Baron, for heaven's sake what
are you doing? You'll kill my lady. She's in spasms now."

"Good gracious! my good Nettie," said Ludwig in a lamentable voice, "I
really forgot all about it. I was so happy. Here is the greatest friend
I have in the world come to see me. We haven't met for years. He's an
old intimate friend of your mistress, too. Go and beg her--implore
her--to let me bring him to her." Ludwig put money into her hand, and
she made her exit with a vixenish "I'll see what I can do."

Euchar, finding himself in presence of a situation which is but too
common in life, and is consequently served up to us _ad nauseam_ in
comedies and novels, had his own particular ideas as to his friend's
domestic happiness. He felt with Ludwig all the painfulness of the
position, and began to talk about indifferent subjects. But Ludwig
would not give in to this, saying that what had been happening to him
since they had been apart had been too remarkable and interesting that
he should delay for a moment to communicate it to Euchar.

"Of course," he began, "you remember that evening when we were all at
Madame Veh's and you told the Story of your friend Edgar's adventures.
And, of course, you remember how Victorine flamed up into jealousy and
showed her heart, which was blazing with passion, without disguise.
Idiot that I was--I fully admit to you that I was an idiot--I fell
desperately in love with that little Spanish dancing girl, and thought
that I could read in her eyes that my love was not without some hope.
Perhaps you noticed that at the finish of her fandango, whim she made
the eggs into a pyramid the apex of that pyramid was directed towards
me. I was sitting just in the centre of the circle behind Madame Veh's
chair. Now could she have expressed more clearly how deep her interest
in me was? I wanted to find the dear little creature out the next
morning, but it was not a part of the mutual interdependence of things
that I should succeed in that. I had almost forgotten all about her
when chance---