Page:The grandmother; a story of country life in Bohemia.pdf/153

Rh from. That is the place where they make those beautiful hats from rice straw. There rice and corn grow, and sweet chestnuts and olives are found in the woods. One can see groves of cypress and laurel, beautiful flowers, and a blue, unclouded sky."

"Oh, I know!" exclaimed Barunka, "that is the city you have painted in your room, is it not, Miss Hortense? In the middle is a wide river, and above the river, on a high hill, is built the city. O Grandma, such beautiful houses and churches! On one side are so many small houses and gardens; by one of those houses a little girl is playing; by her side sits an old lady,--they are Miss Hortense and her nurse; isn't it so? You told us that while we were at the castle," asked Barunka turning to the Countess.

The Countess did not reply at once; she was buried in deep thought and her hands lay motionless upon her lap. At last she said with a deep sigh: "Oh bella patria! Oh cara amica!" and her eyes filled with tears.

"What did you say, Miss Hortense?" asked the inquisitive Adelka, lovingly leaning to the young lady.

Hortense bent her head upon the head of the child, and did not try to restrain the tears that fell down her cheeks into her lap.

"Miss Hortense thinks of her home and her relatives, said Grandmother; you children do not know what it is to leave the home of your childhood. However one may prosper elsewhere one can never forget it. You, too, will sometime learn to understand this. Has your Ladyship any relatives in Florence?"