Page:H.M. The Patrioteer.djvu/126

118

"Away—with your altar candles!" declaimed Jadassohn. "That sort of thing is for my friend Zillich. Now that he has finished his siesta, we can clear off."

They found the Pastor drinking coffee. He wanted immediately to send his wife and daughter out of the room, but Jadassohn gallantly detained the mistress of the house. He also tried to kiss the young lady's hand, but she turned her back on him. Diederich, who was rather tight, begged the ladies most urgently to stay and they did so. He explained to them that after Berlin Netzig seemed remarkably quiet. "The ladies are rather behind the times. I give you my word of honour, gnadiges Fratdein, you are the first person I have seen here who could easily stroll Unter den Linden without any one noticing that you were from Netzig." Then he learned that she had really been once in Berlin, and had even been to Ronacher's. Diederich profited by the occasion to recall a song he had heard there, but which he could only whisper into her ear.

"Unsre lieben siissen Dam'n, Zeigen alles, was sie ham'n."

As she gave him a bold glance he kissed her lightly on the neck. She looked at him beseechingly, whereupon he assured her with the utmost frankness that she was a nice little girl. With downcast eyes she fled to her mother who had been watching the entire proceedings. The Pastor was in earnest conversation with Jadassohn. He was complaining that church attendance in Netzig had fallen off terribly.

"On the third Sunday after Easter, just think of it! On the third Sunday after Easter, I had to preach to the sexton and three old ladies from the home for decayed gentlewomen. Everybody else had influenza."

Jadassohn replied: "In view of the lukewarm, not to mention hostile, attitude which the party in power adopts towards