Kalman

“ Saying which, he left the room, shaking his head and muttering.
"The old fellow has hit the mark," said Kalman. "You are in no danger of losing Vilma's love. You have no cause for sorrow."
"Nor do I grieve on that account," replied Akosh, energetically; "Vilma's love is not so lightly lost as all that. But I am anxious in my mind because I'm uncertain about her future and mine."
"You're not accustomed to lie in bed. It makes you fanciful," said Kalman.
"No, I tell you, no! Never was man more inclined to look at the bright side of things than I am. I beat Vandory hollow ”

“ You are her daughter, and you will live worthy of her. Kalman, come hither. Irma, you will care for your brother. He is young. He is a boy. He will need care. Kalman, heart of my life!"
"He does not understand Russian," said Paulina. "Speak in Galician." ”

“ What Kalman said was to him worse than blasphemy; and unbounded were the disgust and scorn expressed in all his features, when he saw Janosh, radiant with joy, notifying his unqualified assent to, and approbation of, the jokes of young Kishlaki.
"Now is there a single grain of sense in all the doings of the homœopathists?" said he at length. "Suppose a man is ill. Suppose he has eaten a large quantity of Tarhonya, and he can't digest it. Now what does a homœopathist give him? On my honour and conscience, what else but the millionth part of a drop of camomile oil? ”

“ Vilmosh set up a deafening shout of "Eljen!" and directed their steps to the garden, while old Kishlaki wept with [Pg 130] joy, and muttered: "Hej! it is a fine thing to be so popular!"
Akosh and Kalman were close to the house when they met Kishlaki with all the Cortes at his heels. The old man had just time to embrace his son, and to cry out, "Do you hear it, Kalman? This is meant for you, my boy!" The very next moment they were surrounded by the men of St. Vilmosh. Their shout of "Eljen Kalman Kishlaki! Etelka Rety!" put a stop to all further conversation. The two young men were astonished. ”

“ Susi kissed Kalman's hand, and hastened away; while he, with the happy consciousness of a good deed, hastened to the steward's [Pg 195] house, where he found nothing but clamour and confusion. Masters, servants, Pandurs, and peasants, with torches, candles, and lamps, ran in every direction, hallooing and screaming. Every one took his turn at the cell; and everybody declared, what everybody was aware of, that the prisoner had escaped through the ceiling ”

“ To make people reasonable is a difficult thing at all times; but there are cases in which it is not less difficult to make them unreasonable. Kalman Kishlaki was doomed to learn the truth of this maxim, for all his endeavours to induce Mr. Skinner to drink away the niggardly allowance of sense with which Nature had provided that individual, proved abortive. As for Mr. Catspaw, we need not mention him, for he was one of those wretches who are always sober. To intoxicate him was a thing that Kalman never dreamed of. ”

“ Kalman clapped his hands with joy, and Völgyeshy himself commended the arrangement and its details; but he remarked that there were a thousand chances for or against its execution.
"Never mind," said Janosh; "if you put Viola into that loft, and the key of the granary into my hands, I'll be hanged if we don't do them! There's no window to the loft, consequently no one can look in from without; and when they're once asleep, we have it all to ourselves."
"But what will you do with the sentinels? And besides, there's the steward close by you. ”

“ Mutual love is enough for bliss; but for that quiet happiness which we look for in marriage, a great deal more is wanted than two mere loving hearts."
[Pg 259] "I don't deny it," said Kalman; "but time works wonders, let me tell you. At present the old people have indeed a cordial, ay, a fraternal hate against each other. Only think; when the Jew told Tengelyi that his papers were gone, the notary was at once struck with the curious coincidence (for curious it was) of his noble descent being put in question at the very moment of the theft. ”

“ Hej!" added he, laughing; "did you ever hear of the adventures of the famous Baron Trenck?"
"Thanks, old Janosh!" cried Kalman, shaking his hand; "do as you please in the house! manage it all your own way, and throw the blame upon me!"
"Very well! very well indeed!" said the hussar, twisting his moustache; "old Janosh isn't half so dull as people fancy, and, terrem tette! an old soldier has had capital schooling in these things. But you must go to dinner, for unless you do, they'll fancy [Pg 155] we are mustering our forces, as indeed we are. ”

“ Whenever we make a brilliant cure, they say that Nature has done it. But we know better! Why, on my word and honour, of what use would our studies at Pesth have been, if we did not know so much as that?"
"Certainly!" said Akosh. "What's the use of learning so many things if you know no more than anybody else?"
"True, sir; and catch a homœopathist with a bad case!" cried Sherer. "What does he do? He calls in an allopathist, as happened in the case of the old advocate at Dustbury."
"He died three days after he had fallen into the hands of the county physician," said Kalman. ”

“ Wherein is evidently shown that no matter howsoever hard a man's heart may be there are times and occasions When, ruled by a Higher Power, he is moved to do a kindly act. Written originally in the Magyar language by Kálmán Mikszáth, and translated by Wm. ”

“ He died at exactly nine o’clock, the very moment when the train entered his village. So his soul went journeying away with it.
Outside a storm began to rage. It uprooted trees, unroofed houses, the lightning struck apart, like a sword of God, the great bell in the tower and destroyed one of the small station houses. The reapers of Paul Rediki saw bloody rain drops falling upon the grass. That’s what always happens when man tempts the mercy of God. ”

“ Young men jumped up from the banquet, and stately matrons, and charming maids, bearded old men, and stripling youths who were not bearded, began to dance and beat time, so that it was something amazing to see. The heels of their new boots rattled; trained, silken gowns twisted and hissed like serpents, and the marble floor groaned with dancing feet.
A little round, red-cheeked woman of some thirty years, who wore a lofty, powdered, 18th century coiffure, covered with a coquettish, jeweled butterfly cap, and a gown of sky blue satin, danced up to Zahrada. ”

“ She is provided with all that her longing can desire, yet she is the poorest being in the world, for she lacks health, and something else—love.
That love that burned within her for husband is naught to the love that warms the heart, the filial love for parents, and she never felt as cold as now. ”

“ It’s a shame the way the wine merchants carry on. If I were the King I’d hang them all.”
“That’s just what I’ll do,” whispered Morus— “if you’ll only give me your covering.”
“You’d like to trick me, would you, you rascal?” ”

“ The cold weather, the bitter wind and the ragged dress are not favorable to such sleep. Only they can sleep as these do, who are exhausted. Their faces, especially that of the child, are already blue from cold and the tiny limbs tremble like frozen jelly. ”

“ The long coaches with their rows of little windows, fastened together in a long line, looked to them like a village of small and diminutive houses.
In the meantime the invited gentry had assembled. They climbed on to the coaches and the huge, foolish machine began to puff and snort and blow like a wild horse, while the smoke poured forth and spread out across the pleasant fields. A whistle, and the long line of little Polish houses moved with a noise like thunder, and the more they moved, the faster, until it was just like an arrow shot from the bow. ”

“ The wagon with the body, by some accident, was driven to the station for Vienna, and placed in a car attached to that train. So poor Paul Rediki, after his death, traveled the length and breadth of Austria for an entire week.
That is the reason that I insist that it is better to die at home, but it is a good deal better still, not to die at all. ”

“ Fancy any one coming all the way from Besztercebánya to Bábaszék to buy an umbrella! How proud he was it had happened under his mayorship! He nudged Galba:
"Do you hear?" he said.
"This is only a small village shop, sir," answered Rosália. "We don't keep umbrellas."
"Pity enough!" muttered Mravucsán, biting savagely at his mustache. ”

“ But for all that, wisdom has never yet dried our tears.
Sztolarik said all he could think of to console Gyuri, but the young lawyer was quite cast down at the thought that his dreams would never now be realized; his whole life was before him, dark and threatening. But the world was the same as of old, and everything went just the same as though Widow Adamecz had never burned the handle of the umbrella. ”

“ He ran up and down the shore, looking behind all the bushes.
“Where are my clothes? Who has stolen them? It could not have been a man. Do you hear, Earth? If you have swallowed them, I will tear up all the trees and grass in my realm.” ”

“ Neither Kabul nor Niles knew the King.
“Ungrateful men!” he raged. “Where is the mistress? Where is Florilla? She will recognize me.”
At this moment the herald of the King came out. Upon his lifted spear he bore a head—the head of Florilla.
She could recognize him no more. She was silent forever. The golden hair fluttered about the beautiful head, and covered part of the long spear. The people shouted with joy. The King sorrowfully demanded who had done this. ”

“ But all this seemed to produce no impression on old Filcsik. Yet had he been but just to her, he could have helped not only his own lot, but he could have secured forever the prosperity of the noble village itself. ”

“ A shrewd observer, with a strong satirical bent and an ardent love of letters, the young advocate made his début as an author, at the age of twenty-five, with a volume of short stories, which failed, however, to catch the public taste. ”

“ Szliminszky. "Unbutton your coat, Wladin!"
Wladin heaved a sigh of relief, and undid his coat.
Veronica returned to the subject of the butterflies.
"I think butterfly catching must be the same to me as hunting is to a man."
"I am very fond of butterflies," answered Gyuri, "because they only love once." ”

“ The girl looked at him coldly, her eyes were like two bits of ice.
"Leave me alone," she said, "what do you want with me?"
The young man caught hold of her hand, and Veronica did her best to free herself from his grasp, but he would not let go her hand till he had forced a ring on to her finger.
"That is what I want," he said.
"That is what you want, is it?" laughed the girl bitterly. "And this is what I want!" And she tore off the ring and threw it away, across the meadow, into the grass. Poor Gyuri fell back a few steps. ”

“ No king drinks such precious liquid as he did—if the story be true.
The legend of the holy umbrella is still believed in in those parts. Mr. Sztolarik, who was fond of a gossip, certainly told his version of the story, how old Müncz the Jew had made a present to Christianity of a holy relic, and so on; but the old belief was strongly rooted, and he was only laughed at when he told his tale. And after all, there was something mystic and strange in the whole affair, and the umbrella had brought worldly goods to every one, Gyuri included, for it had given him the dearest little wife in the world. ”

“ Gyuri fell back against the wall, the kitchen and everything in it swam before his eyes, the plates and basins seemed to be dancing a waltz together; a tongue of fire arose from the fireplace, bringing with it the third demon, who exclaimed: "There is nothing here!"
But all at once he felt a hand laid on his arm. It was Sztolarik.
"It was, and is no more," he said. "But never mind, Fate intended it to be so. For the future you will not, at all events, run after a shadow, you will be yourself again, and that is worth a good deal, after all." ”

“ Within the palace all were wondering where the King was going. The Minister whispered to his son: “He is carrying someone’s head in his pocket.”
Rogus, frightened, felt for his own head. He found it just where it always was, upon his neck, between his two shoulders.
He spoke at once to the watchman who stood by the garden gate:
“Here is a purse of gold. Exchange clothes with me, and let me into the garden.”
The watchman refused. “I can not. The King would cut my head off when he returns.”
“You are an ass,” replied Rogus. “The King can not kill you until he comes back. ”

“ Here is the death sentence.”
“With the seal of the Minister?”
“Of course.”
“A shabby trick in my father,” thought Rogus.
“Bring it up to me in an hour,” whispered Florilla.
“Within the hour I will put all my serving women to sleep.”
An hour was a long time for a King who was in love to wait. The evening was hot. An odor of heat arose from the earth. There was no breeze and the Nile was smooth as a mirror. A conceited bee swam boldly upon a rose leaf, without fear of shipwreck. The King looked long at the enticing water, until a desire arose in him. ”

“ Among plants, as among people, there are some which are only pleasant and agreeable [Pg 236] to others after their death. What a difference there is in the various kinds of plants! There is the gladiolus, the most important part of which is the bulb it hides under the earth; whoever eats it dreams of the future. ”