rt, and awakened in her a
measure of wholesome ambition. Satisfied as he was with her docility and
her progress, Herr Carovius referred to her at times as the coming
female Paganini, and pictured himself in the role of a demoniacal
impresario.

But the thing about Dorothea that struck him most forcibly and filled
him with such astonishment was her relation to mirrors.

A mirror exercised a tremendous influence on her. If she passed by one,
her face became coloured with a charming blush of desire; if she stood
before one and saw her picture reflected in it, she was filled, first
with sexual unrest, and then with retreating uncertainty. In the
brightness of her eyes there was always a longing for the mirror. Her
gait and her gestures seemed to have duties imposed on them by the
mirror; it seemed to be their task to prepare surprises. Her whole body
seemed to live in common with a spectral mirror sister, and to catch
sight of this beloved sister was her first wish, fulfilment of which she
effected as often as possible.

VIII

Dorothea had succeeded in making it clear to her father that it would be
highly advantageous to her, as the nearest relative, to show Herr
Carovius every conceivable favour. Andreas Doederlein baulked at first;
but he could not refuse recognition to the far-seeing penetration of his
daughter.

When she told him of her appearance in the baronial residence, and
mentioned the enormous sum Herr Carovius had collected with the mien of
an undaunted victor, Doederlein became serious; he stared into space and
did some hard thinking. Recalling the now superannuated feud, he
preserved the appearance of inapproachability, and said: "We will not
debase ourselves for the sake of Mammon."

A few days later, however, he said, quite of his own free will, sighing
like a man who has gone through some great moral struggle and come out
of it victorious, "Well, do as you think best, my child, but don't let
me know anything about it."

His argument, had he expressed it in so many words, would have been
something like the following: We are poor; we are living from hand to
mouth. The negligible dowry Herr Carovius gave his sister has been used
up. Marguerite would have been perfectly justified in putting in her
claim for thirty thousand marks, but Herr Carovius settled with her for
only twelve thousand, and there was no possibility of redress. For Herr
Carovius had wheedled his sis