Already this change of tone
between them cut Wilhelm to the heart, but almost more still the
contents of Loulou's letter. She spoke a little of the sea, whose
breakers continually sounded in her soul, and her thoughts, which
accompanied them like an orchestra; she seldom mentioned the
delightful time in the mountains of the Black Forest, which
remembrance he carried always with him; but a great deal about the
Promenade, the concerts, the Casino balls, her own charming bathing
and society toilettes, and those of extravagant Parisians, who tried
by incredible mixtures of colors and style to outstrip each other.
She wrote particularly about her acquaintances with celebrated
people, and her personal following, and for the rest she hardly
missed expressing in any of her letters her regret that he was not
with her, and enjoying her varied life. Often in the letter there
was a flower, or a piece of wild thyme, which betrayed an
undercurrent of feeling beneath the shallowness of the words, and
once she sent him her photograph with the words "Loulou to her
dearest Wilhelm." So he gathered from her frivolous letters much
that was unspoken, and through signs and indications believed that
her feeling for him was there and gained strength.
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