He
was not quite clear, however, on one point, To whom should he make
his proposal? To Frau Brohl? That would be the most practicable way,
no doubt, as the bent, pale old lady, with the soft, sighing voice,
ruled everything in the house, and if she promised the hand of her
grand-daughter, she would certainly keep her word. But it went
against the grain to put any constraint on the girl, and he felt
that he would be ashamed to answer "No," if Frau Brohl were to ask
him if he had already spoken to Malvine. Then if he were to go in a
straightforward way to Malvine, and say, "I can no longer hide from
you that I love you, and that I want you to be my wife, will you
consent?" there was a great deal of risk in that, for if she
misjudged her own feelings, and said that she loved some one else,
and so could not listen to him, the rupture between them would be
accomplished, and it would be no use to him if later she found out
that she had been mistaken in her feelings. There could be no secure
step for him, on that he was quite decided.
If he could approach neither Frau Brohl nor Malvine, there was one
way clearly open to him, and he took it without further delay.
One sunny afternoon in May, a few weeks after the Labor meeting at
the Tivoli, Paul came to see Wilhelm, and asked him to go for a walk
with him in the Thiergarten.
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