girl. The yellow-robed woman,
the queen of jealousy in the cards, was some one else. She placed her
pointing fingers to the green-robed--that queen of melancholy. And
Lorand remarked that Czipra had long been wearing a green robe, like the
green-robed lady in the fortune-telling cards.

Czipra suddenly mixed the cards together:

"Let us try once more. Cut three times in succession. That is right."

She placed the cards out again in packs.

Lorand noticed that as the cards came side by side, Czipra's face
suddenly flushed; her eyes began to blaze with unwonted fire.

"See, the queen of melancholy is just beside you, on the far side the
murderer. The queen of jealousy and the queen of hearts are in the
opposite corner. On the other side the old lady. Above your head a
burning house. Beware of some great misfortune. Some one wishes to cause
you great sorrow, but some one will defend you."

Lorand did not wish to embitter the poor girl by laughing in her face at
her simplicity.

"Get up now, Czipra, enough of this play."

Czipra gathered the cards up sadly. But she did not accept Lorand's
proffered hand, she rose alone.

"Well, what shall I do, when I don't understand anything else?"

"Come, play my favorite air for me on the czimbalom. It is such a long
time since I heard it."

Czipra was accustomed to acquiesce: she immediately took her seat beside
her instrument, and began to beat out upon it that lowland reverie, of
which so many had wonderingly said that a poet's and an artist's soul
had blended therein.

At the sound of music Topandy and Melanie came in from the adjoining
rooms. Melanie stood behind Czipra; Topandy drew a chair beside her, and
smoked furiously.

Czipra struck the responsive strings and meantime remarked that Lorand
all the while fixed his eyes in happy rapture upon the place where she
sat; though not upon her face, but beyond, above, upon the face of that
girl standing behind her. Suddenly the czimbalom-sticks fell from her
hand. She covered her face with her two hands and said panting:

"Ah--this pipe-smoke is killing me."

For answer Topandy blew a long mouthful playfully into the girl's
face.--She must accustom herself to it: and then he hinted to Lorand
that they should leave that room and go where unlimited freedom ruled.

But Czipra began to put the strings of the czimbalom out of tune with
her tuning-key.

"Why did you do that?" inquired Melanie.

"Because I shall never p