Черный тюльпан
Master and Pupil
”
“Afterhavingchosenthesoil,and,ifitbenecessary,modifiedit,wewilldivideourthreebulbs;youwilltakeoneandplantit,onthedaythatIwilltellyou,inthesoilchosenbyme.Itissuretoflower,ifyoutenditaccordingtomydirections.”
“Iwillnotlosesightofitforaminute.”
“Youwillgivemeanother,whichIwilltrytogrowhereinmycell,andwhichwillhelpmetobeguilethoselongwearyhourswhenIcannotseeyou.IconfesstoyouIhaveverylittlehopeforthelatterone,andIlookbeforehandonthisunfortunatebulbassacrificedtomyselfishness.However,thesunsometimesvisitsme.Iwill,besides,trytoconverteverythingintoanartificialhelp,eventheheatandtheashesofmypipe,andlastly,we,orratheryou,willkeepinreservethethirdsuckerasourlastresource,incaseourfirsttwoexperimentsshouldproveafailure.Inthismanner,mydearRosa,itisimpossiblethatweshouldnotsucceedingainingthehundredthousandguildersforyourmarriageportion;andhowdearlyshallweenjoythatsupremehappinessofseeingourworkbroughttoasuccessfulissue!”
“Iknowitallnow,”saidRosa.“Iwillbringyouthesoilto-morrow,andyouwillchooseitforyourbulbandformine.Astothatinwhichyoursistogrow,Ishallhaveseveraljourneystoconveyittoyou,asIcannotbringmuchatatime.”
“Thereisnohurryforit,dearRosa;ourtulipsneednotbeputintothegroundforamonthatleast.Soyouseewehaveplentyoftimebeforeus.OnlyIhopethat,inplantingyourbulb,youwillstrictlyfollowallmyinstructions.
