Wilhelm was in very bad odor with
the police authorities, who would not believe that he was not a
Socialist, and that he did not afford that party valuable support in
the shape of money.
Some three weeks after Schrotter's visit to Hamburg another letter
came from Auguste. He was surprised, he said, that Monsieur le
Docteur had not answered, and proceeded to inform him of a new turn
in the affair. 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.
His self-torture grew less poignant, the memory of Paris receded
into the background, and in proportion as it paled the red returned
to his cheeks and the light to his dull eyes. He still held aloof
from the busy turmoil of the world, and was still dominated by a
profound consciousness of the aimlessness of his life, and yet, for
the first time for years, perhaps since he took his degree, he
entertained a desire, a hope, that he might be permitted to return
to Berlin.
On the last Sunday in April Wilhelm was spending the afternoon at
the Uhlenhorst.
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