Page:The Dial (Volume 73).djvu/711

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THOMAS MANN

609

For you must know that my father was not entirely willing at first, and conditioned quite a long delay. In the first place, he wanted to keep me with him, and he had still other reasons. But . . ."

"But?"

"But I wanted it to happen," she said with a smile, and again the little light-blue vein gave her whole face a distressed and sickly appearance.

"Ah, you wanted it to happen."

"Yes, and I showed a decently steady determination, as you see . . ."

"As I see. Yes."

". . . so that my father finally had to give in."

"And then you left him and his violin, left the old house, the luxuriant garden, the spring and your six girl friends, and went your way with Herr Klöterjahn."

"And went my way . . . You have a strange manner of expressing yourself, Herr Spinell! Almost biblical! Yes, I left the house, since that is Nature's arrangement."

"Yes, that is Nature's arrangement."

"And then, it was a matter of my future happiness."

"Of course. And it came, this happiness . . ."

"It came in the hour, Herr Spinell, when they first brought me little Anton, our little Anton, and when he wailed so powerfully with his sturdy little lungs . . . for he is so strong and healthy . . ."

"I have heard you speak several times of the health of your little Anton. He must be unusually healthy?"

"He certainly is. And he looks so comically like my husband!"

"Ah! . . . Yes, so it all happened that way. And now you are no longer called Eckhof, but something else, and you have a sturdy little Anton, and you are ailing somewhat in the trachea."

"Yes. . . . And you are an out and out enigmatical man, Herr Spinell, I can assure you . . ."

"Yes, heavens knows you are that!" said the Rätin Spatz, who was still at hand.

Herr Klöterjahn's wife often occupied herself deeply with this conversation. As non-committal as it had been, still it had something concealed at bottom which nourished her preoccupations with herself. Was this the harmful influence which was affecting her? Her weakness increased, and often fever set in—a quiet flame