Page:The Dial (Volume 73).djvu/322

270 countering some of Katharina's relatives, who supposed the young girl to be visiting an out-of-town friend. One day while they were still at table Boehlinger appeared; after preliminary scruples about admitting him Doctor Graesler was all the more satisfied that he had done so, as the attorney rendered his friend's charming companion every imaginable courtesy, addressed her as "gnädige Frau," and, after cursorily discussing the business transaction which had brought him there, kissed Katharina's hand lightly and took his leave with the self-possession of a man of the world. After this Graesler was filled with an increased tenderness for Katharina, who could bear up as well in company as she had as a housewife.