Ludwig Tieck

“ Kronenberg felt embarrassed because he could not conceive how he had come to deserve this privilege; but life had never been so good to him. The junior officer approached them too and spoke kindly to Kronenberg, as if he had known him for many years. Cecilia seized the first opportunity to leave. When the musician joined the conversation and spoke acrimoniously of the members of the family, Kronenberg became uneasy and begged to be excused. ”

“ The Countess, busy with her work, was talking with a musician, a friend of the family, who often came to visit and, being a witty friend, who had become almost necessary to the family, especially in these troubled times. Her husband was walking back and forth, and often spoke with a quiet young man, a distant relative of the family, to whom Cecilia also paid much attention, whilst the musician often gazed at him askance with a wry look. ”

“ Naturally, everyone congratulated the convalescent, and the many thanks and emotions which he had to reciprocate, the many concerns he had to acknowledge, even of the complete strangers, all this so exhausted him that he could barely muster the energy necessary for the effort. They did not consider that the greatest courtesy they could pay the enfeebled man would be to allow him to rest. ”