He felt the youth’s pulse. ‘H’m!
show me your tongue!’
The lady bent anxiously over him. He smiled still
more ingenuously, raised his eyes to her, and blushed
a little.
It struck Sanin that he was no longer wanted; he went
into the shop. But before he had time to touch
the handle of the street-door, the girl was once more
before him; she stopped him.
‘You are going,’ she began, looking warmly
into his face; ’I will not keep you, but you
must be sure to come to see us this evening: we
are so indebted to you—you, perhaps, saved
my brother’s life, we want to thank you—mother
wants to. You must tell us who you are, you must
rejoice with us ...’
‘But I am leaving for Berlin to-day,’
Sanin faltered out.
‘You will have time though,’ the girl
rejoined eagerly. ’Come to us in an hour’s
time to drink a cup of chocolate with us. You
promise? I must go back to him! You will
come?’
What could Sanin do?
‘I will come,’ he replied.
The beautiful girl pressed his hand, fluttered away,
and he found himself in the street.
When Sanin, an hour and a half later, returned to
the Rosellis’ shop he was received there like
one of the family. Emilio was sitting on the
same sofa, on which he had been rubbed; the doctor
had prescribed him medicine and recommended ’great
discretion in avoiding strong emotions’ as being
a subject of nervous temperament with a tendency to
weakness of the heart. He had previously been
liable to fainting-fits; but never had he lost consciousness
so completely and for so long. However, the doctor
declared that all danger was over. Emil, as was
only suitable for an invalid, was dressed in a comfortable
dressing-gown; his mother wound a blue woollen wrap
round his neck; but he had a cheerful, almost a festive
air; indeed everything had a festive air. Before
the sofa, on a round table, covered with a clean cloth,
towered a huge china coffee-pot, filled with fragrant
chocolate, and encircled by cups, decanters of liqueur,
biscuits and rolls, and even flowers; six slender
wax candles were burning in two old-fashioned silver
chandeliers; on one side of the sofa, a comfortable
lounge-chair offered its soft embraces, and in this
chair they made Sanin sit. All the inhabitants
of the confectioner’s shop, with whom he had
made acquaintance that day, were present, not excluding
the poodle, Tartaglia, and the cat; they all seemed
happy beyond expression; the poodle positively sneezed
with delight, only the cat was coy and blinked sleepily
as before. They made Sanin tell them who he was,
where he came from, and what was his name; when he
said he was a Russian, both the ladies were a little
surprised, uttered ejaculations of wonder, and declared
with one voice that he spoke German splendidly; but
if he preferred to speak French, he might make use
of that language, as they both understood it and spoke
