"
The meekest looking girl gasped, wide eyed at my temerity. But Prof.
Darmstetter's shrewd little eyes twinkled with reassuring good-nature.
"Vell, vell, ve shall see," said he, wagging his head; "maybe I find some
use for you. I vatch you. Maybe I find for you some use t'at you don't
expect, eh? Ve shall see."
So he walked away, shrugging his shoulders and snapping his fingers and
muttering to himself: "Ve shall see; we shall see." And at times
throughout the session he chuckled as if he had heard of an excellent
joke.
"Good gracious!" I whispered to one of the aproned girls that had watched
the encounter--students like myself--"that's an encouraging reception,
isn't it?"
"It is," she gravely replied. "We're all jealous of you. You are evidently
destined to become Prof. Darmstetter's favourite pupil. I know I cried
half the night at the way he greeted me. We were all watching you and you
got off easy. Brought an apron? I can lend you one, if you didn't. It's
pretty mussy here."
"Thank you," I said, "but really I can't get my mind off Prof.
Darmstetter, all in a minute so. What sort of a man is he?"
"Oh, irritating sometimes, but a genius; I suppose his treatment of the
girls is a sample of his Early Teutonic ideas of civility.
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