feeling that he had
lived in every fiber of his being, and that his time had been
marvelously well employed. He could have stayed for several hours
longer, and was quite astonished when toward four o'clock the tireless
young people's parents put an end to the evening by their departure.

As Wilhelm came up to Loulou she had ceased to look cross. Near her
stood the hero of the cotillion, the lieutenant of the Guards, covered
with the little favors the ladies had given him. But that did not
prevent her saying in quite a tender voice, "I shall see you soon
again, shall I not?" and Wilhelm pressed her little hand warmly.

In the hall Wilhelm and Paul had to distribute gratuities to the
waiting servants, a custom (unknown in France and England) which
dishonors German hospitality, and a minute later they found themselves
outside in the starlit night. It blew icy cold over the Thiergarten;
across the darkness the snow-laden trees and the closely-cropped grass
looked feebly white. Wilhelm, shivering, wrapped himself in his fur
coat. Paul, on the other hand, did not seem to mind the cold; he was
still too hot with the excitement of the evening. The waltz rang so
clearly in his ears that he could have danced over the snow-covered
pavement, and the lights and mirrors of the ballroom shone so clearly
before his eyes, and enveloped the dancers with such reality that the
desert of the silent, faintly-lit Koniggratzer Strasse was alive as if
by ghosts. He recalled to his mind the whole evening, and in the
fullness of his heart exclaimed, "Wilhelm, I hope never to forget this
New Year's Eve." Wilhelm looked at him astonished. "I do not share in
your feelings. How can a glance at such vanity in thinking men give one
any feeling except that of pity?"

"I am not hurt at the hardness of your judgment, because you don't
understand what I am saying. You know very well I am not frivolous, and
that I have learned long ago the seriousness of life. But at the same
time I value the entree into the best society of Berlin for what it is
worth. Now the opportunity has come, and I shall make it useful."

"Paul, you grieve me. A tuft-hunter talks like that."

"What do you call a tuft-hunter?--if you mean a man who does not want
to hide his light under a bushel, I say yes, I am one, and I think that
is entirely honorable. I don't want to get on by means of any false
pretenses, but by honest work. What is the use of capability if no one
notices it?