Page:Our Grandfather by Vítězslav Hálek (1887).pdf/72

 house pleased him, that he should establish himself there But grandfather answered that after all he could not bear to die anywhere but at home.

And now, too, grandfather could not open his heart to grandmother, who complained of her daughter-in-law perpetually, and since grandfather had always from the beginning taken Terinka under his protection he felt that he must seem to do so still, for the sake of consistency.

And once when seated in the yard he tried to think of anyone to whom he could open out his heart; then, and not till then, he recognised that he was alone, alone.

Thus involuntarily his eyes fell on the grey-haired dog Vorjech, who stood there before him, looking up at his eyes and wagging its tail, for it was long since grandfather had noticed it.

So it occurred to him, as if by accident, how that Terinka had several times compared his head with the grey-haired dog Vorjech, and involuntarily he looked again into Vorjech’s eyes.

Vorjech seemed to understand him. He never stirred, and his eyes seemed to grow bedimmed and moist just as grandfather’s eyes did.

“Dear Vorjech, we are then discrowned,” said grandfather, “we are completely alike.”

And Vorjech whined, sprang up, and finally laid himself down at grandfather’s feet. Thenceforward Vorjech followed at grandfather’s heels. Grandfather had, indeed, sunk very low: not only in mind; even in his dress this was apparent. Hitherto he had had his suit of velveteen clothing new at least at every annual festival, but now it was long past festival time, and grandfather had not yet changed his suit of clothes for a new one.