Page:The genius - Carl Grosse tr Joseph Trapp 1796.djvu/369

 wholly fraught for friendship. His opinion was, that all my miseries were due to the implacable Cabal, whose destruction he devoutly wished for. He did all he could to dispel the gloominess which had taken possession of my mind, and devoted the first hours of the morning and the latest of the night to the alleviation of my distresses. Caroline was still more eager than himself to rouse my broken spirit. But she seemed to catch the contagion, and I soon concluded, that some molesting secret preyed on her heart. Her husband fortunately did not remark it, but I soon perceived, that she became more cool and negligent in her caresses to my friend, and even began to bestow less care on the tender offspring of their union.

Though our habitual confidence in each other, might have justified on my part the attempt of searching into Caroline's secret, yet my scruples would not permit it. I therefore left all to time. As to my friend, I thought it my duty to talk to him on the subject. He deemed it impossible, that her sadness could be owing to any moral cause. He