Sanin went back to the White Swan (he had left his things there in the
public hall) in a rather confused frame of mind. All the talk he had
had in French, German, and Italian was ringing in his ears.

'Engaged!' he whispered as he lay in bed, in the modest apartment
assigned to him. 'And what a beauty! But what did I stay for?'

Next day he sent a letter to his friend in Berlin.




VIII


He had not finished dressing, when a waiter announced the arrival
of two gentlemen. One of them turned out to be Emil; the other, a
good-looking and well-grown young man, with a handsome face, was Herr
Karl Klueber, the betrothed of the lovely Gemma.

One may safely assume that at that time in all Frankfort, there was
not in a single shop a manager as civil, as decorous, as dignified,
and as affable as Herr Klueber. The irreproachable perfection of his
get-up was on a level with the dignity of his deportment, with the
elegance--a little affected and stiff, it is true, in the English
style (he had spent two years in England)--but still fascinating,
elegance of his manners! It was clear from the first glance that this
handsome, rather severe, excellently brought-up and superbly washed
young man was accustomed to obey his superior and to command his