Page:The grandmother; a story of country life in Bohemia.pdf/135

Rh tears filled my eyes, my heart felt heavy,—for the moment I forgot that it was fifteen years since I had left home and that they were not the same dogs that we had then. In the orchard, I noticed many young trees, the fence was repaired, the barn had a new roof, but the pear tree under which George and I used to sit, had been touched by God's messenger (lightning) and its top was gone. At the cottage near by there was no change; it had been taken by father from the late Widow Novotny for an annuity. She was the woman that made those woolen blankets, and my husband was her son.

"There was a little garden near the cottage, for she always liked to have a bed of parsley, onions, some little corner of sweet balsams, sage, and such herbs as are needed in the household. George made her a fence of wicker work around the garden. That same fence was there still, but the ground had been neglected and allowed to run to grass; only a few onions were still seen. An old dog, half-blind, crawled out of his kennel. 'Old fellow, do you know me?' I said to him, and the brute began to rub himself about my feet. To be recognized and welcomed by this dumb animal touched me so that I burst into tears.

"The children, poor things! looked at me wondering why I wept. I had not told them that we were going to their grandmother's; for I thought that if my parents should be displeased with me, the children must not know it. Caspar, the oldest, asked: 'Why do you cry, mother? shan't we get a night's lodging here? Sit down and rest. We can wait; then I shall carry the bundle for you. We are not hungry.' Both Johanna and Theresa agreed with