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 Hardly had Barka fully arranged her new household, when she thought of Vambeřice. She was of the opinion that her planet poured fortune on her only because her mother had offered her in sacrifice at Vambeřice.

Matýsek could hardly wait till she returned from the pilgrimage. Even the first day he ran to the window every little while to see if she were already coming back. In order to have the time go more rapidly, he kept pushing the clock ahead and made marks on the door to indicate how many days she had been gone and how soon she was certain to return.

“Too much is too much,” he grumbled, impatiently, returning alone to his room. During all that time, he never touched the cards, pipe or glasses, and even refused to look at his brooms. The tenant could not suit him by a single glance or act. Barka had arranged for her to cook for Matýsek in her absence, but he found fault with everything that she prepared and brought to the table.

The children, however, fared the worst of all. They barely crossed his path when he started after them with a switch and drove them out. If they were not around him, he went looking for them with a rod, inquiring why they were not at hand to do his bidding. So it went constantly just as in a comedy. The sun was still high, when he would cry out to the tenant, “Have those children say their prayers and put them to bed so there would be some peace!” She had hardly heard