" Every day passed according to program, and on
the third or fourth day they went, as directed, to the National
Gallery, because Dagobert wished to show his cousin the "Isle of the
Blessed." "To be sure, Cousin Effi is on the point of marrying, and
yet it may perhaps be well to have made the acquaintance of the 'Isle
of the Blessed' beforehand." His aunt gave him a slap with her fan,
but accompanied the blow with such a gracious look that he saw no
occasion to change the tone.
These were heavenly days for all three, no less for Cousin Dagobert
than for the ladies, for he was a past master in the art of escorting
and always knew how quickly to compromise little differences. Of the
differences of opinion to be expected between mother and daughter
there was never any lack during the whole time, but fortunately they
never came out in connection with the purchases to be made. Whether
they bought a half dozen or three dozen of a particular thing, Effi
was uniformly satisfied, and when they talked, on the way home, about
the prices of the articles bought, she regularly confounded the
figures. Mrs. von Briest, ordinarily so critical, even toward her own
beloved child, not only took this apparent lack of interest lightly,
she even recognized in it an advantage. "All these things," said she
to herself, "do not mean much to Effi. Effi is unpretentious; she
lives in her own ideas and dreams, and when one of the Hohenzollern
princesses drives by and bows a friendly greeting from her carriage
that means more to Effi than a whole chest full of linen.
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