“Why not? One must call things by their right names; life is enriched and ennobled thereby. I too have my vices.”

“So Hofrat Behrens is a connoisseur? A charming man.”

“You find him so? Then you have already made his acquaintance?”

“Yes, just now, as we came out. It was almost like a professional visit⁠—but gratis, you know⁠— sine pecunia . He saw at once that I am anaemic. He advised me to follow my cousin’s regimen entirely: to lie out on the balcony a good deal⁠—he even said I should take my temperature.”