While he was balancing between these two feelings, he was determined
by the counsels of Frau Ilsy, who advised him to take advantage of the
truant absence of the youngster, and shut the door upon him for ever.
At the hour of bed-time, therefore, when it was supposed the recreant
disciple would seek his old quarters, every thing was prepared for his
reception. Dolph, having talked his mother into a state of
tranquillity, sought the mansion of his quondam master, and raised the
knocker with a faltering hand. Scarcely, however, had it given a
dubious rap, when the doctor's head, in a red night-cap, popped out of
one window, and the housekeeper's, in a white night-cap, out of
another. He was now greeted with a tremendous volley of hard names and
hard language, mingled with invaluable pieces of advice, such as are
seldom ventured to be given excepting to a friend in distress, or a
culprit at the bar. In a few moments, not a window in the street but
had its particular night-cap, listening to the shrill treble of Frau
Ilsy, and the guttural croaking of Dr. Knipperhausen; and the word
went from window to window, "Ah! here's Dolph Heyliger come back, and
at his old pranks again." In short, poor Dolph found he was likely to
get nothing from the doctor but good advice--a commodity so abundant
as even to be thrown out of the window; so he was fain to beat a
retreat, and take up his quarters for the night under the lowly roof
of honest Peter de Groodt.
Pages:
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568