Page:Magdalen by J S Machar.pdf/123

 always kneels in the church, before the miracle-working image.

Three months, or half a year later, a change suddenly comes over her: the braids disappear, the hair over her forehead is clipped; her gown is made according to the latest fashion; she gives her holy pictures to her younger relatives; on Sunday she still goes to the church of the Virgin, but it is only from habit. She finds new friends to whom, after two weeks’ acquaintance, she vows eternal friendship, though it only lasts a month.

She keeps a diary, in which she writes every occurrence. An itinerant dancing master initiates her in his art, and once a year, during carnival-time, she goes with her mother to Prague, to attend the Students’ Ball. She is fond of reading, and her mother, who does not want her to forget her convent knowledge, subscribes for the Gartenlaube. She often weeps over her reading, and she devours Mrs. Werner