Page 29 - The She-Bear

ut when he had said, again and
again, this and a great deal more,
and still saw that all his words were thrown
away, he took to his bed, and had such a
desperate fit that the doctors prognosticated
badly of his case. Then his mother, who had no
other joy in the world, sat down by his bedside,
and said to him, "My son, whence comes all
this grief? What melancholy humour has seized
you? You are young, you are loved, you are
great, you are rich--what then is it you want,
my son? Speak; a bashful beggar carries an
empty bag. If you want a wife, only choose, and
I will bring the match about; do you take, and
I'll pay. Do you not see that your illness is an
illness to me? Your pulse beats with fever in
your veins, and my heart beats with illness in
my brain, for I have no other support of my old
_____
29