Hearing that, I forgot all else, and without hat I rushed forth, and in a quarter of an hour brought a doctor from the Straubinger hotel. The doctor went to see Aniela, and I remained with my aunt on the veranda. I asked her what had happened to Aniela. "Half an hour ago," said my aunt, "Aniela came back with such a feverishly burning face that both Celina and I asked whether anything had happened to her. She replied, 'Nothing, nothing,' almost impatiently; and when Celina insisted upon knowing what was the matter with her, Aniela, for the first time since I have known her, lost her temper and cried out, 'Why are you all bent upon tormenting me?' Then she became quite hysterical, and laughed and cried. We were terribly frightened, and then I came and asked you to fetch the doctor. Thank God, she is calmer now. How she wept, poor child, and asked us to forgive her for having spoken unkindly to us." I remained silent; my heart was too full for words. My aunt paced up and down the veranda, and presently, her arms akimbo, stopped before me and said,-- "Do you know, my boy, what I am thinking? It is this: We somehow do not like Kromitzki,--even Celina is not fond of him; and Aniela sees it, and it hurts her feelings. It is a strange thing; he does his best to make himself pleasant, and yet he always seems like an outsider. It is not right, and it grieves Aniela." "Do you think, aunty, that she loves him so very much?" "I did not say very much. He is her husband, and so she loves him, and feels hurt that we treat him badly." "But who treats him badly? I think she is not happy with him,--that is all." "God forbid that you should be right. I do not say but she might have done better; but after all there is nothing to be said against him. He evidently loves her very much. Celina cannot quite forgive him the sale of Gluchow; but as to Aniela, she defends him, and does not allow anybody to say a word against him." "Perhaps against her own conviction?" "It proves all the more that she loves him. As to his affairs, the worst is that nobody knows how he stands; and this is a great source of trouble to Celina. But after all, wealth is not everything; besides, as I told you before, I will not forget to provide for Aniela, and you agree with me, do you not? We both owe her a kind of duty, not to mention that she is a dear, affectionate creature, and deserves everything we can do for her." "With all my heart, dear aunt; she will be always as a sister to me, and shall not be in want of anything as long as I live." "I count upon my dear boy, and can die in peace." Thereupon she embraced me. The doctor, coming towards us, interrupted our conversation. In a few words he set our minds at rest,-- "A little nervous agitation; it often appears after the first baths. Leave off bathing for a few days, plenty of air and exercise,--that is all that is wanted. The constitution is sound; strengthen the system, and all will be well."