h
Sophia, which grew the more dry, the more transcendent he endeavoured
to make it. They were interrupted, to the comfort of both, by the
appearance of old Eulenboeck, whose brown-red visage peered oddly out of
a pea-green waistcoat and whitish frock, he being, as is often the case
with decidedly ugly men, fond of dressing in glaring colours. The young
folks could hardly stifle a laugh at seeing him wheel awkwardly in, pay
his respects with a grimace, and stumble in an unsuccessful attempt at
politeness, while his gestures rendered his wry face, little sharp
eyes, and twisted nose, the more conspicuous in their oddity. The
stranger made the company wait for him a long while, and Sophia again
rallied his presumption in playing the man of consequence, till at last
he appeared, plainly dressed, and enabled the party to proceed to the
dining-room, where they found Erich, who had been hanging a picture
there which the stranger and the painters were to inspect. Sophia sat
between Erich and the stranger, though Dietrich had made an unavailing
attempt to wedge himself in by her side. Eulenboeck, who observed every
thing, and was never so well pleased as when he could wrap his malice
in the disguise of good-nature, squeezed the young man's hand, and
thanked him with seeming emotion for having cruised about so long
merely to sit by the side of an old man who, it was true, also loved
and practised the art, but still with his declining powers could no
longer emulate the flight of the new school, though its enthusiasm
rekindled his old fire, and warmed his chilled spirits. Dietrich, who
was yet young enough to take all this in earnest, did not know how to
express gratitude enough, nor to put forth modesty sufficient to
counterbalance this humility. The old rogue was delighted with
the success of his irony, and continued to open the heart of the
good-natured youth, who already fancied he saw a scholar of his own in
this old tyro, and thereupon began secretly to calculate how he should
employ his practical knowledge for higher ends, without letting the
veteran perceive that his new teacher was at the same time his scholar.

While these two were thus trying to deceive each other, the
conversation of the stranger and his host had fallen, accidentally on
the one side, and by judicious management on the other, on the topic of
matrimony; for old Walther seldom let slip an opportunity of delivering
his sentiments on that subject. "I have ne