ly-laced Mrs. Rozycki gave a loud shriek--the man next to her
had tickled her. Her daughter Mariechen dung languishingly to her
neighbour, the [Pg 98] forester's young pupil, with whom she was
already very much in love. They had all been rather stiff and shy when
they entered the ballroom a few hours before, but now they showed that
they could eat, drink, and be merry. Enormous quantities of food
disappeared; Mr. Tiralla alone had eaten a whole duck. The women
especially liked the ice, for they were so very, very hot, and all that
beer and sweet wine had made them still hotter. The men cast ardent
glances at their neighbours; it was immaterial to them now if it
happened to be Sophia Tiralla or anybody else, for they were all nice.
And the glances were returned. The young girls were no longer so shy.

They threw themselves back in their chairs and laughed as they listened
with glistening eyes and red ears to the young men's compliments. The
married people told each other tales; Mr. Tiralla especially excelled
in that. Mrs. Jokisch, the inspector's wife, who sat next to him, gave
him a tap on his mouth; but you couldn't be angry with him, all the
same, she said, however horrid he was. Thereupon he pressed a
resounding kiss on her cheek. And then he kissed the baker's wife, who
was sitting next to him on the other side--otherwise she would have
been offended--and neither of them made any resistance. They evidently
didn't find him so repugnant, thought Mrs. Tiralla, much surprised.

The schoolmaster sat stiff and silent amongst them all. Their mirth
disgusted him. What a party! And he had thought he should meet people
like himself there. Raising a pair of reproachful eyes, he caught a
glance from Mrs. Tiralla. She looked at him for a second, and her face,
that a moment before had been so bright, became more and more serious.
[Pg 99] Then she raised her glass a little, gave him a slight nod, and
emptied it in one draught.

He felt so happy whilst she looked at him, so elated; but only for a
few moments. For Mr. Tiralla, who had noticed his Sophia's nod, now
also wanted to show some politeness to little Boehnke, who walked out so
regularly to see them all, and brought his Sophia books and the latest
news, and sat for hours with the child. It was really very kind of him.
So Mr. Tiralla also raised his glass and bawled at the top of his
voice, so that everybody could hear it, "Your health, little Boehnke.
Have you nothing to