speak of the remaining three. But by the way, let me tell you,—not that the girl is my niece, my brother-german’s daughter, my near relative,—but you really should get a sight of her,—ascertain yourself what sort of a girl she is,—and then you will allow, that if your friend, the councillor, has eyes in his head at all, he would choose her in preference to any girl in Germany. For my own part, I am but a poor Recorder, and neither hope to get married, nor care for womankind; but that girl forces admiration even from such a withered chip as myself,—she has something so very genteel,—something so lady-like, so noble about her,—she looks as if she were born to be the wife of a councillor,—and besides all that, I can further assure you, she was that dear old woman, Mrs Milbirn’s greatest favourite. ‘Mr Sander,’ she has said to me a hundred times, ‘Mr Sander, your niece, Charlotte, is a treasure of a girl,—a real jewel,—he who gets her for a wife may well think himself a happy man.’ And as for my brother, poor man, he has got twelve children to support on a militia lieutenant’s pay. So you may guess how much he stands in need of a rich son-in-law.”
At this moment we were interrupted by the sudden appearance of the waiter, announcing that the coach was just about to start, and could not wait a moment longer.
Mr Sander rushed out of the room at this intelligence, leaving me aghast at his precipitation. I instantly resolved, however, that Charlotte Sander I would not marry, and solaced myself with the thought that my ten louis d’ors would be well-spent if the information I had now received should prove the means of delivering me from a father and mother-in-law, eleven brothers and sisters-in-law, and an insufferable bore of an uncle-in-law. So this was one at any rate struck off the list.
I had called hastily after my loquacious friend to beware not to reveal my name and mission to any one; but notwithstanding his nod of acquiescence, I clearly perceived that his fellow-travellers were already acquainted with the Recorder’s
