Alas I how short-sighted are
mortals; little did the corporal imagine that the most untoward event in
his life would be the cause of his being possessed of ease and
competence. The widow received him most graciously, spoke in no measured
terms against Vanslyperken, at which the corporal raised his huge
shoulders, as much as to say, "He is even worse than you think him," was
very violent against Snarleyyow, whom the corporal, aware that it was no
mutiny, made no ceremony in "damning in heaps," as the saying is.
The widow begged that he would feel no uneasiness, as he should remain
with her till the cutter returned; and an hour after the first
introduction, Corporal Van Spitter had breakfasted with, and was
actually sitting, by her request, on the little fubsy sofa, in the very
place of Vanslyperken, with Frau Vandersloosh by his side.
We must pass over the few days during which the cutter was away. Widows
have not that maiden modesty to thwart their wishes, which so often
prevents a true love tale from being told. And all that the widow could
not tell, Babette, duly instructed, told for her, and it was understood,
before the cutter's arrival, that Corporal Van Spitter was the accepted
lover of the Frau Vandersloosh.
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