The Ellrichs walked straight to the table where he was
sitting, and in a moment Wilhelm was greeting his lovely
acquaintance with a low bow. Her quick eyes had already recognized
him from the doorway. She returned his greeting smiling and
blushing, and as her father nodded kindly, the ice was broken.
Wilhelm introduced himself, and the councilor gave him the tips of
his fingers and said: "If you have no objection we will sit at your
table." His wife, who gazed at Wilhelm through a gold "pince-nez"
with hardly concealed surprise, took her place next to him; on the
other side sat her husband, and opposite the daughter's face smiled
at him.
The councilor was a well-preserved man of about fifty, of good
height, dressed in a well-made gray traveling suit, with a light
gray silk tie adorned with a pin of black pearl. His closely-cut
hair was very thin, and had almost disappeared from the top of his
head. His chin was clean-shaven, but his well-brushed whiskers and
closely-cut mustache showed signs of gray. His light blue eyes were
cold and rather tired-looking, at the corners of the mouth were
evident signs of indolence, and his whole appearance gave an
impression of self-consciousness mixed with indifference toward the
rest of mankind; his wife, stout, blooming, and tranquil, appeared
to be a kindly soul.
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