one's husband under the thumb. We live by rote. Every afternoon I have
to take coffee at some house or other, when all those tiresome women are
not at my own. And what do you suppose they talk about--but invariably?
_Love!_" (With ineffable disdain.) "Nothing else, barring gossip and
scandal; as if they got any good out of _love_! But they are stupid for
the most part and gorged with love novels. They discuss the opera or the
play for the love element only, or the sensual quality of the music. Let
me tell you that although I married to get rid of papa, if I had it to
do over I should accept parental tyranny as the lesser evil. Not that I
am not fond of Karl in a way. He is a dear and would be quite harmless
if he were not in love with me. But garrison society--Gott, how German
wives would rejoice in a war! Think of the freedom of being a Red Cross
nurse, and all the men at the front. Officers would be your fate, too.
Papa would not look at a man who was not in the army. He despises men
who live on their estates. So take my advice while you may. Sit tight,
as the English say. Even German fathers do not live forever. The lime in
our soil sees to that. I notice papa's face gets quite purple after
dinner, and when he is angry. His arteries must have been hardening for
twenty years."

Lili and Elsa were quite aghast at this naked ratiocination, but Gisela
whispered: "We might elope, you know."

"With whom? No Englishman or American ever crosses the threshold, and
Kate has no brothers. The students have no money and no morals, and,
what is worse, no baths. A burgess or a professional would be quite as
intolerable, and no man of our class would consent to an elopement.
Germans may be sentimental but they are not romantic when it comes to
settlements. Now take my advice."