Page:Magdalen by J S Machar.pdf/132

 the air was even hotter than in the open. The mothers took pears and candy out of their bags. The gallants brought water from a nearby well. Brows and faces were shining with perspiration. Jiří, too, brought a glass of water. Lucy drank it. The old lady handed her children some cold pigeon. They ate. The elder ladies seated themselves also. Only the burgomistress was walking about among the young pecple, and she called out in a loud voice:

“Frau von Fischmeister, please, take these young people under your wing!”

The alderman’s wife, Frau von Fischmeister, arose,—she was a dried-up woman, with masculine features,—she called the young ladies and the gentlemen together into a circle, and gave them a short talk on the game of “secretary.” Then they began to play. They sat around in the grass, and each one wrote a statement on a small slip. Frau von Fischmeister led the game. Lucy could not be persuaded to take part in it, but sat