Page:The grandmother; a story of country life in Bohemia.pdf/194

188 that without speaking; I really can't say whether Tomesh ever told me that he liked me, and yet we are very fond of each other, and the wedding day has been set."

"When will it be?"

"Father wants to give us the homestead and go to live in the new house he is building. When the house is finished, we shall be married; that will be about St. Katherine's. It would be very pleasant if you and I could have our wedding the same day."

"O, go away! You talk as if the arm were already in the sleeve, and yet all is still behind the mountains."

"If it is not, it can very easily be. Jacob Milo's folks would be very glad to have him marry into your business, and your father could not get a better son; no one could suit him better. As to yourself, why, there is no question. No one can deny that he is the handsomest fellow in the village, and I think the squire's daughter, Lucina, would mourn for him."

"You see, that is another stone in our path," sighed Christina.

"Indeed, there is more than one stone, for Lucina is solid enough herself, and to her weight her father will add a bag of Rhine dollars."

"So much the worse!"

"But do not worry your precious head about that. If her father is the squire, he is not the Lord, and Lucina, with all her dollars, cannot hold a candle up to you, and Milo has good eyes."

"But if they all go against him, if he does not get that place on the manor farm, and if he is taken into the army?"