Pagina 635 de 2288

It was a lovely morning: the bright, cheerful houses with their

little gardens, the sight of the red-faced, red-armed,

beer-drinking German waitresses, working away merrily, did the

heart good. But the nearer they got to the springs the oftener

they met sick people; and their appearance seemed more pitiable

than ever among the everyday conditions of prosperous German

life. Kitty was no longer struck by this contrast. The bright

sun, the brilliant green of the foliage, the strains of the music

were for her the natural setting of all these familiar faces,

with their changes to greater emaciation or to convalescence, for

which she watched. But to the prince the brightness and gaiety of

the June morning, and the sound of the orchestra playing a gay

waltz then in fashion, and above all, the appearance of the

healthy attendants, seemed something unseemly and monstrous, in

conjunction with these slowly moving, dying figures gathered

together from all parts of Europe.