No train of admirers paid court to her. No
strains of merry dance-music entranced her ear. Celebrated actors came
and went; she did not delight in their performances--she had never even
seen a theater. She had no girl friends with whom to exchange
confidences--with whom to make merry over the silly flatterers who paid
court to them; no acquaintances whose envy she could arouse by the
magnificence of her toilets--one of the greatest pleasures in life!
She had no other flatterers but her cats; no other confidantes but her
cats; no other actors but her cats. The world of waves had been her sole
enjoyment. The water had been her theater, balls, concert--the great
world. It was her freedom. The land was a prison.
Again it was the full of the moon, and quite warm. The tulip-formed
blossoms of the luxuriant water-lilies were in bloom along the lake
shore. Ludwig's heart ached with pity for the little maid when he saw
how sorrowfully she gazed from her window on the glittering lake.
"Come, Marie," he said, "fetch your bathing-dress, and let us try the
lake again. I will stay close by you, and take good care that nothing
frightens you.
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