!" His boots
drowned what his head said to him of the unavoidable consequences of
his extravagance, of his descent in the general esteem. It seemed to
him that everything would be just as it had been, once his brother was
away. Looking ahead, he even believed in his extraordinary magnanimity
in forgiving his brother for having been there. He stood before his
brother in all his old greatness, in which he confronted the intruder
as the sole head of the business; with his most condescending laugh he
waved to his brother the assurance that he would manage to get the old
man in the blue coat to consent; he himself must send Apollonius away.

The young wife felt as if her angel were about to leave her. She felt
that she was safer from him when near him than when he was at a
distance; for all the charm that forbade her desires to be sinful fell
upon her from his honest eyes.

Apollonius had also told the councilman of his decision. It hurt him
that the good man--who usually approved of everything that Apollonius
wanted to do, in advance, as if the latter could not do anything that
he would not be obliged to approve--received his news with odd,
wondering, monosyllabic coldness. He pressed him to tell him the
reason for this change. The two good men understood each other easily.
After recovering from his surprise at finding Apollonius in ignorance
of it, the councilman told him what he knew of his brother's mode of
life and expressed the opinion that his father's house and business
could not exist without Apollonius' aid. He promised to make further
inquiries about the matter, and was soon able to enlighten Apollonius
as to the details. Here and there in the town his brother owed not
inconsiderable sums; the slate business, particularly of late, had
been so carelessly and unconscientiously carried on that some
customers of many years' standing had already withdrawn their
patronage, and others were about to do so. Apollonius was frightened.
He thought of his father, of his sister-in-law and of her children. He
thought of himself too, but it was just his own strong sense of honor
that made him first imagine what the proud, upright, blind old man
would have to suffer under the disgrace of a possible bankruptcy. He
would be able to earn his bread; but his brother's wife and children?
And they were not accustomed to hardship. He had heard that
Christiane's inheritance from her parents had been considerable. He
took heart. Perhaps t