just suited his taste, and
Aunt Therese was unquestionably a ridiculous figure. He raised his
glass and invited his wife and daughter to join him in a toast. After
dinner, when some of the handsomest purchases were unpacked and laid
before him for his judgment, he betrayed a great deal of interest,
which still remained alive, or, at least did not die out entirely,
even after he had glanced over the bills. "A little bit dear, or let
us say, rather, very dear; however, it makes no difference. Everything
has so much style about it, I might almost say, so much inspiration,
that I feel in my bones, if you give me a trunk like that and a
traveling rug like this for Christmas, I shall be ready to take our
wedding journey after a delay of eighteen years, and we, too, shall be
in Rome for Easter. What do you think, Luise? Shall we make up what we
are behind? Better late than never."

Mrs. von Briest made a motion with her hand, as if to say:
"Incorrigible," and then left him to his own humiliation, which,
however, was not very deep.

* * * * *

The end of August had come, the wedding day (October the 3d) was
drawing nearer, and in the manor house, as well as at the parsonage
and the schoolhouse, all hands were incessantly occupied with the
preparations for the pre-nuptial eve. Jahnke, faithful to his passion
for Fritz Reuter, had fancied it would be particularly "ingenious" to
have Bertha and Hertha appear as Lining and Mining, speaking Low
German, of course, whereas Hulda was to present the elder-tree scene
of _Kaethchen von Heilbronn_, with Lieutenant Engelbrecht of the
Hussars as Wetter vom Strahl. Niemeyer, who by rights was the father
of the idea, had felt no hesitation to compose additional lines
containing a modest application to Innstetten and Effi. He himself was
satisfied with his effort and at the end of the first rehearsal heard
only very favorable criticisms of it, with one exception, to be sure,
viz., that of his patron lord, and old friend, Briest, who, when he
had heard the admixture of Kleist and Niemeyer, protested vigorously,
though not on literary grounds. "High Lord, and over and over, High
Lord--what does that mean? That is misleading and it distorts the
whole situation. Innstetten is unquestionably a fine specimen of the
race, a man of character and energy, but, when it comes to that, the
Briests are not of base parentage either. We are indisputably a
historic family--le