When the roast appeared he raised his glass for a
serious toast:
"To our beloved fatherland. Vivat! To our revered king. Vivat! To our
adored queen. Vivat!"
Count Vavel promptly responded, as did also the ladies. Then the count
refilled the glasses, and, raising his own above his head, cried:
"And now, another vivat to _my_ queen! Long may she reign, and
gloriously! And," he added, with sudden fierceness, "may all who are her
enemies perish miserably!"
"Ludwig, for heaven's sake!" ejaculated Marie, in terror. "Look at
Katharina; she is ill."
And, indeed, the baroness's lovely face was pallid as that of a corpse.
Her eyes were closed; her head had fallen back against her chair.
Ludwig and Marie sprang to her side, the young girl exclaiming
reproachfully:
"See how you have terrified her."
"Don't be frightened," returned Ludwig, assuringly; "it is only a
passing illness, and will soon be over."
He had restored the fair woman to consciousness on another occasion; he
knew, therefore, what to do now. After a few minutes the baroness opened
her eyes again. She forced a smile to her lips, shivered once or twice,
then whispered to Ludwig, who was bending over her with a glass of
water:
"I don't need any water.
Pages:
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297