lp me
heaven! if it had not been for my little bit of sound sense, which
showed me my folly in time, I might have become a regular learned lady,
another--what do you call her?--Madame de Stael! But when I married the
late Suur I determined to give up all that foolishness, and do honour to
the baking; and now I have quite let my little talent slip away from me,
so that it is as good as buried. But on that account I am, to be sure,
no fitting company for the Franks--think only!--and shall be only less
and less so, if they are always climbing higher and higher."

"Let them climb as high as they will, I don't intend to make obeisances
before them, that I can promise them! that I absolutely will not! It
vexes me enough that Annette is so mad after them. Before one is aware
of it, they will be taking her away from me, skin and hair; and that's
my thanks for all I have lavished upon her! But I'll tell the gentry
that I'm positively determined to make no compliments to them or to
their Excellencies, and that one person is just as good as another!
Positively I'll tell them that!"

CHAPTER XIV.

THE EVENING BEFORE THE WEDDING.

"God bless the little ones! But when one considers how little of a
rarity children are in this world, one has only to open one's mouth to
say so, and people are all up in arms and make such a stir and such an
ado about their little ones! Heart's-dearest! People may call them
angels as much as ever they will, but I would willingly have my knees
free from them! But worst of all is it with the first child in a family!
Oh, it is a happiness and a miracle, and cannot be enough overloaded
with caresses and presents from father and mother, and aunts and
cousins, and all the world. Does it scream and roar--then it is a
budding genius; is it silent--then it is a philosopher in its cradle;
and scarcely is it eight days old but it understands Swedish and almost
German also! And--it bites, the sweet angel!--it has got a tooth! It
bites properly. Ah, it is divine! Then comes the second child:--it is by
far less wonderful already; its cry and its teeth are not half so
extraordinary. The third comes;--it is all over with miracles now! the
aunts begin to shake their heads, and say, 'no lack of heirs in the
house! Nay, nay, may there be only enough to feed them all.' After this
comes a fourth, and a fifth, and a sixth--yes, then people's wits are
set in full play! The parents resign themselves, but the friends