Even now she was the first to rise in the morning and the last to go to bed; had the best appetite at table; and, in her occasional walks, was the least tired.
Her late husband--Herr F.A.Brohl, of the firm of Brohl, Son & Co .-- had been one of the largest ship-brokers in Stettin.

They had lived together for a quarter of a century in peace and happiness, and her eyes filled with tears when she remembered that part of her life.
It was a beautiful time, much too good for a sinful human being.

They had a house to themselves, with large high rooms, and every day she received visits from the richest women of the town, and visited them in return.

There was never a betrothal, marriage, or christening in a well-known family to which she was not invited; every child in the street knew her and smiled at her; and the suppers in her hospitable house were renowned as far as Russia and Sweden.
The marriage was blessed by one daughter, who grew up to be a rather pretty, well-mannered, and well-grown girl.

Her horizon stretched from the storeroom to the linen-press, and from the flatiron to her book of songs.