The Argosy — page 287: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

270 Among the Hungarians. for we had some hours’ journey to the mountains. Countess Erzst (the eldest daughter), as she said this, looked as delighted as her little brothers and sisters, whose faces literally beamed with satis. faction. “Only,” said she, ‘don’t be very difficult to please with your dinner, for I shall be cook.” “You?” said I, looking at the graceful little figure in trailing robes, and the tiny white hands. ‘“ Yes,” she replied ; ‘‘ because, you see, we can’t take the cook, or else what would papa do? He stays at home.” ‘““T should rather think he did,” said her father, knocking the ashes out of his long pipe. ‘Take my advice, Mr. Owen, and stay at home with me. ‘They will poison you with bad food and sour wine, deafen you with their execrable gipsy music, and then, when you are ill and miserable, and want nothing so much as rest, they will insist on your dancing till one in the morning, and afterwards give you such a bad bed that you are obliged to get out of it, and lie on the floor to get any sleep.” “Oh, papa! papa!” was the general chorus. ‘Quite true,” continued the Count; “and if that were only all! But they will drag you up and down the mountains all day long, and make you drive over horrible roads behind wretched, half-blind horses, lame on three legs, and fearful roarers.” “Tf papa would only come just once,” said Erzsi, ‘‘ especially this time.” | “No, no!” returned her father. ‘I don’t want to incapacitate myself for your wedding, my dear, and I prefer to stay at home.” “Tt is news to you, Mr. Owen, that our Erzsi is going to be married,” said the Countess. And then she told me that the engage- ment was by this time some months old, and the wedding would take place next week at Pesth. After congratulations, blushes, and information as to the bride- groom, the ladies left us with the promise of a summons to croquet in an hour ; and the Count, his eldest son (a lad of seventeen), and I, were left to a long discussion on the merits of the different horses entered for the ensuing races at Pesth—their sires, dams, trainers, and jockeys ; and then we went off to look at the stud. Il, THE sun was but just rising next morning, and the bells of the little Wallachian church in the village were pealing out as we began to assemble in the court and on the vine-covered terrace behind the house. ‘The air was delicious, clear, and cool; a heavy dew, the first for many weeks, had fallen during the night, a fresh breeze had sprung up, and light, fleecy clouds were scudding across the sky. Careering round and round the great grass-plot of the yard was a COMIC LIOO; KS, (E00)