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Updated: June 13, 2025
His agonizing look sought Schrotter's, who answered in a hushed voice, "He is dead." Then his tears broke out, and his trembling fingers had hardly strength to close the lids over his friend's eyes, those eyes which looked so strangely quiet and peaceful as if they now knew the answer to the Great Secret.
Since then he had become a frequent guest at Dr. Schrotter's dinner table, and a companion to Wilhelm, in his afternoon walks. Dorfling was the most wonderful listener that any one could wish to have, though he himself was rather silent.
They had discovered that Madame la Comtesse injected herself secretly with morphine, pricked herself, Auguste said, and two Sisters of Mercy had to watch her day and night to prevent it. Schrotter judged it unnecessary to inform Wilhelm of the contents of this letter. Schrotter's visit had had an extremely salutary effect on Wilhelm.
The other half of the income was at Schrotter's disposal, who put it, of course, to the same use. In his capacity as member of the deputation for the poor, and also as parish doctor, he came in contact with much poverty and misery, and was able to direct Wilhelm's charity into the right channels.
They had reached Schrotter's door by this time, and were on the point of entering, when a policeman stepped up to them, and touching Wilhelm's arm, said: "Gentlemen, you will have to come with me." "Why, what do you mean?" they exclaimed, very much taken aback.
A familiar voice answered. "Come in!" and the next moment he was in Schrotter's arms. The first greetings over, Schrotter gave his young friend a long and penetrating look from under the half-closed lids, and remarked "I suppose you are surprised that I did not wait till April, but dropped down upon you unawares like this?"
He made none now, complained only in a general way of the emptiness of his life, to which neither desire nor hope bound him any more; especially that he had no future, and looked forward to each new day with horror and shrinking. Schrotter's answer was, as usual, full of faithful affection and wise encouragement.
"I will not leave you to guess anything," Wilhelm returned, and pressed Schrotter's hand. "I will tell you all; it is an absolute necessity to me, and will, at the same time, be a kind of atonement."
He went on in this style for about half an hour, during which time the words came out in a constant stream without a moment's pause. Schrotter's expression became sad, while Paul banged the table with his mug and cried "Bravo" at every grammatical mistake, or every false analogy.
Go home, and ponder my words." So saying, she walked back to her seat. But seeing that Von Schrotter's lips were parted as if in an attempt to say something, she snatched her bell, and rang it so loud that in its clang his words were lost. "Counsellor Von Schrotter is dismissed," said she to the page. "Open the doors, that he may pass."
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