particular request, and he often consoled himself with the thought that he was not driven out of the house, because he helped to supply the table with drink and victuals. And how sedately Terinka always invited him to seat himself with them! It was enough to move his goodness when he scarcely knew whether he was to sit among them or not.
But he sat with them still.
And then when the relations went home, they could scarcely carry all the presents with which Terinka loaded them. Once a maid-servant allowed herself to play a very untimely joke. Her mistress dispatched her for a carpet-bag in which to pack something for the Lord knows which of her uncles, and the maid brought a regular sack, saying she could not find anything else.
But beside all this there were other things to be observed in our young mistress.
When some one or other of her female relations paid her a visit the servants soon perceived that this relation wore a dress which no long time before their mistress had on new, and that when this aunt or cousin departed she invariably forgot that she had on her hostess’ gown.
Uncle John paid no attention to these littlenesses, he always acted according to grandfather’s wishes, and the instant our young mistress desired it he bade put to the horses afresh, that he might drive with her to the town where she laid in a fresh stock of things to be distributed at home.
They quite understood at the farm what driving to the town meant.
And Novak?
This worthy, when he came to the farm, behaved as though he were part lord and master. To grandfather he scarce paid any attention at all, and merely said a few words to him, though grandfather would gladly have continued the conversation.
On the other hand he listened to our young mistress a full hour, while she related to him how she managed everything, what a torment the old folks were to her, and similar matters.
It would have seemed that Terinka certainly needed no one to establish her in household management, for she already gave evidence of her excellent capacities. But still the advice which Novak gave her was by no means to be despised.
Whenever Novak gave advice he took pains fully to express his meaning. He set down the old folk as dotards, who were already unsuited to the new times, and he complimented Terinka
