Page:Halek's Stories and Evensongs.pdf/185

 yonder in the distance there was not something better still. He felt weariness, why should he not soothe himself with rest?

In the two months’ holiday during which he had not seen Lidunka, how she had changed! It was no longer a girl, it was a young lady. Her mother spoke the truth when she said that her daughter was growing up very fast.

Since they had not seen each other for so long their greeting might well be somewhat heartier than mere formality demanded, and even good breeding required that Vojtech should inquire what had been the occupations and amusements of Lidunka. And then he lingered in her presence and looked at her a long time to make acquaintance with her fuller and as it seemed to him almost metamorphosed figure. But yet even a second and a third day Vojtech came after the holidays and could not yet quite recall all the differences in her appearance. He greeted her as heretofore, questioned her and tried to reconcile his mind to her new appearance. By the time that her mother again began to be present at the lessons it seemed to him that they had greeted one another sufficiently often and yet perhaps he had not quite reconciled his memory with her new appearance.

How greatly Lidunka had developed during that short time Vojtech soon recognized from his own sensations. Whenever, before the holidays, he had addressed her directly, he called her simply Lidunka. Now he did not indeed call her anything else but he always hesitated so much before the word that he pronounced it indistinctly and thereupon looked into her eyes to see whether that simple appellation yet belonged to her.

Once lessons had ended under the following circumstances. All the tasks had been disposed of. Outside it was bad weather, it did nothing but pour from heavy clouds and they were forced to while away the time until the day improved.

A master of the French language waited in company with Vojtech, and this master the children had ironically nicknamed “godfather”. This “godfather” was very fond of talking and told them all about a great event in his life which happened during a shower at which the children laughed. He told them how frightened he once felt as he went home after dark, and how the wind blew his hat off at every corner and then he told them all about a certain young lady (he meant by this Lidunka), how when she was quite little she once lost her garter and cried a long time for it. Lidunka was angry with “godfather” for telling about these things and it seemed to Vojtech as though he must