d the man feel like? He had not shown himself for
days--had he already left? The priest had said "as soon as possible."

They all felt they had never liked the schoolmaster; he had always been
so conceited, so proud of his learning. Here you could plainly see it,
"Pride goeth before a fall."

They knocked at the door. The shutters in front of the schoolmaster's
window were closed. Had he really left, or was it because he felt so
ashamed of himself?

The schoolmaster had indeed left, so the old woman, his landlady, who
lived on the other side of the house, told them. Oh, dear, she
complained, now her lodger had gone, and she had not got another one.
"And what had he done?" she cried, clenching her fists in her fury.
"Let those be struck by lightning who have slandered him. Dear, dear,
how he wept. When I said to him, 'Don't weep, Panje Boehnke, my husband,
the _stas_, also drank himself to death,' he did nothing but repeat,
'Oh my mother, my mother!' and groaned so that he made my heart come
into my mouth. His mother is said to be a schoolmaster's [Pg 279] widow
and very poor. She won't be pleased when her son comes home like that.
God have mercy on us all. Oh, Mr. Boehnke, Mr. Boehnke, what a good
lodger he was." And the old woman began to sigh and weep so for her
former lodger that the men got away as speedily as possible.

How disagreeable everything was, and then the weather was so raw. The
only thing for them to do would be to make themselves comfortable at
the inn. And they did so.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Marianna carried the news to her mistress that the schoolmaster had
been turned out of Starawie['s] in disgrace, in a voice full of malice
and scorn. Pan Boehnke had gone to the devil, what did the Pani say now,
eh? She cast a covert glance at her--what would she look like, pale or
red, happy or sorry?

But Mrs. Tiralla looked quite unconcerned. At any other time she might
perhaps have rejoiced, but now it did not even surprise her. So the
schoolmaster was no longer in her way? Good. She knew that her guardian
angel was keeping his wings spread over her.

She felt so calm at present that she was often surprised at it herself.
Her heart no longer throbbed and ran riot as it had formerly done. She
had been a fool and even a sinner, when she had caught hold of her
guardian angel's arm, and had cut her husband down when he was
dangling; but she felt that the saints had a