He realised that they
had come to the parting of the ways, but he would have liked to delay
it, prevent it, if possible. He showed her in great living pictures
the functioning of the colossal gigantic machinery of the State, he
tried to explain to her the working of the wheels, the multifarious
transmissions, regulators and detents, unreliable pendulums and
untrustworthy safety valves.
She was interested at first, but after a while her interest waned.
Conscious of her mental inferiority, her insignificance, she devoted
herself entirely to her baby, anxious to demonstrate to her husband
that she yet had a value as a model mother. But her husband did not
appreciate this value. He had married her for the sake of companionship,
and he found in her an excellent nurse for his child. But how could it
be helped now? Who could have foreseen such a thing?
The house was always full of members of Parliament, and politics was
the subject of conversation at dinner. The hostess merely took care
that no fault could be found with the cooking. The Baron never omitted
to have one or two men amongst his guests who could talk to his wife
about music and the drama, but the Baroness wanted to discuss nothing
but the nursery and the bringing up of children.
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