"Granted! every thing granted!" The general jumped up to embrace his wife with youthful activity, in spite of the gout.

"You are a capital wife," he cried, at the same time giving her a loud, smacking kiss upon her cold, gray cheek.

"It was the brightest, cleverest act of my life marrying you, Clotilda." "I might well say the reverse, Emerentius," she replied, complainingly.
"It surely was not sensible for me, a young lady from such a genteel family, and so spoiled, to marry an officer whom the king ennobled upon the battle-field, and who possessed nothing but his captain's pay--a fickle man, and a gambler, too." "Yes, Clotilda, love usurped reason," soothingly replied the general; "love is your excuse." "Nonsense!" cried Madame von Werrig.

"Love is never an excuse; it is folly." "Well, let us suppose, then, that you did not marry for love, only from pure reason, because you found that it was quite time to espouse some one; and that, in spite of your many ancestors and genteel family, no other chance was offered you, unfortunately no one but this captain, whom the king ennobled upon the battle-field of Leuthen on account of his bravery, and who was a very handsome, agreeable officer, expecting still further promotion.

And you were not deceived.