“And keeping my word, I say to her in your presence. Do not yield! You are my own sister. Placed in circumstances similar to mine, your life would be as wretched as is mine,” continued Elizabeth, still speaking with that terrible calmness. While papa cried: “Wretched! What an extraordinary expression to use!” And she: “Did I know one stronger, I would adopt it! Nothing is too strong to express the humiliation of knowing the being one looks up to--or rather one should look up to--to be a nonentity; or the hypocrisy of seeming to defer to him one knows to be one’s inferior.” “Pride! pride!” sighed mamma. Her work had fallen on to her lap, she was white as death; and my heart felt how she was suffering, as Elizabeth, merely acknowledging her interruption by a scornful curl of the lips, continued icily: “The moral death it is, and how one despises one’s self for it--but only with penitent humiliation to crawl again under the sacred yoke--that, of course, is understood. Who would make a public scandal of their matrimonial troubles; who seek escape from them; who attempt to drown themselves? Such, I have heard, is done by the vulgar horde who are without religion, or are the poor-spirited descendants of some worthy shoemaker or candlestick-maker, without courage or endurance. We, of the upper ten, are religious, strong to endure, have the blood of heroes in our veins! We know no deserters from our posts! Therefore, Paula, weigh well before you undertake the post. It is a vilely loathsome one.” She turned to our parents: “Dear father and mother, when you say to your child ‘Accept So-and-so, he will give you a good position, splendid castles, a great establishment, well-appointed carriages,’ and the like, you are doubtless doing what is right in your own eyes. But do not say to her, ‘Do it because it will bring you happiness.’ That you have no right to say. Believe me, it is presumptuous.” Only those who heard these words could form any idea of the effect, uttered as they were by Elizabeth, without raising her voice or accompanying them by the slightest gesture. Low and deliberately they dropped like heart’s blood from some deep wound; and as I hearkened to them, there arose in me the burning wish that there were anything on this earth, anything, however great and well-nigh impossible, that I might be privileged to do for my sister. Mamma was petrified. Papa had sunk his arms upon his knees, and was looking down at his clenched fingers. His forehead was deeply furrowed, and for the first time the thought struck me how old he looked. Bernhard broke the silence: “My dear parents, I entreat you if things are thus--it would be my opinion--you understand what I mean----” Oh, it was a blessing to us all, the warm-hearted manner in which he spoke! Papa raising his head, thanked the dear fellow with an approving nod, then looking at mamma inquiringly: “What do you think?” She, trying to answer, could not; could only sigh: “O God! O God!”