Page:Magdalen by J S Machar.pdf/215

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MAGDALEN
209

with us it was different. The accursed blood is even now coursing through our veins. Our people are wretched, without principle! Here is an example: in his journeys through Austria he had found countrymen in the most distant places, but always in the employ of the police! Shame, shame!

These words produced a strong impression. Captain Knotek shook his head; Vrzal in despair ran his fingers through his hair, which was parted in the middle; merchant Jiskra looked in dismay at the National Gazette, and at the words “Well, Bohemian people, judge for yourselves!” but he was afraid to say anything. The tax collector took long and rapid puffs at his cigar; a sad expression shone in the eyes of the adjuncts. Only Jiří and the doctor were unmoved: they had heard those flourishes at least twenty times before; there was a time when they had been powerfully affected by them, but now they were impervious to them.

Doctor medicinæ universæ Řehák cleaned