Yet, as
already said, a contract was entered into, and a happier one was never
closed. The Schroeder girl was a treasure, and when my mother came home
six weeks later she said: "You did well to take her, Louis; disfigured
as she is, her eyes have been spared, and they tell one that she is
faithful and reliable. And she is safe from love affairs, and we with
her. With her we shall have only pleasant experiences."
And so it proved. So long as we remained in Swinemuende the Schroeder
girl remained in our house, loved and respected by old and young, not
least of all by my father, who gave her particular credit for her
sense of justice and her candor, in spite of the fact that he
occasionally had to suffer severely because of these two qualities.
She was always waging war against him. In the first place, out of love
for my mother, for whom she came to be an eloquent advocate, in spite
of the fact that my mother was thoroughly able to defend herself, in
accordance with her maxim, "The best defense is a blow." In the second
place, she was the mistress of the pantry, which was intrusted to her
with most plenary powers, and my father was always undertaking
pillaging expeditions against it, not only to satisfy his own personal
wants, which she might have tolerated, even though he was capable of
consuming half a veal roast for his breakfast, without thinking
anything about it; but she objected strenuously to his raids for the
benefit of his pet chickens, dogs, and cats.
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