Ludwig Tieck

“ Also, the work which had been so highly praised the previous day was no longer to be seen, and Karl's surmise that his mother's despotic whim would see that it remained under lock and key appeared to be borne out. There were prolonged silences at the dinner table; Karl's stories, and still less the jokes and anecdotes Kronenberg risked, met with neither approval nor encouragement. When they got up from the table, Lady Wildhausen departed immediately; the old man followed her with downcast eyes, and as he was passing Kronenberg, he nudged him and whispered:
— Come to my room in fifteen minutes! ”

“ Karl was delighted when Kronenberg handed him the money he had received from his father. It was decided to use this sum to keep the most pressing of his creditors quiet for the time being, if not actually to pay them off, should his uncle not want to get involved in any of his affairs. But failing this, the money could be forwarded to Kronenberg.
After dinner the two friends stayed up late into the night; but there was still no sign of Christoph with news of the wallet and missing passport. ”

“ I first thought of giving you my equipage — but there are — in short, I give you a splendid, well-ridden horse which is somewhat too spirited for me. For a young man in robust health, like yourself, this is the pleasantest mode of transport. ”

“ There you will find a family comprising the most offensive members that only imagination could conceive. But the most odious of them all is the daughter; she has no principles, she is vain, flirtatious and averse to everything that is good, especially all German sentiments. ”

“ Father, mother, son and daughter together constitute a nest of confirmed atheists, amongst whom no one is more highly esteemed than Voltaire, Diderot and that wretched society of free spirits who are now all but obsolete. ”