os de
Naples dress, taking it between her fingers, which, when they touched
mine, were cold as death itself. The upper end of the table was
covered with green cloth, the lower end with a yellow silk
table-cloth, embroidered with many-colored flowers. At this end every
one laughed, talked, sang noisy songs; while at the top the psalms
were intoned and the antiphon was sung. Both sounded horrible in my
ears. The dishes contained cooked hazel-hens and roast pheasants, with
the feathers sticking in their heads; sparkling wine filled the cups.
I was pressed to eat and drink, but neither the food nor the liquor
had any taste. Once the bride, my cousin, as is the custom with very
young girls, offered me the spur of the pheasant's breast, saying,
jokingly, 'Break this spur with me, and we shall see which of us two
gets a husband first.' I seized hold of my end of the spur; I tugged
and tugged, and at last broke it. The largest half remained in my
hand. The bride laughed. 'Theudelinde shall be the first married!' she
cried. I blushed; it seemed to me something terrible that the spirits
of my dead ancestors should be so frivolous."

The worthy pastor said nothing. Nevertheless, he was minded to agree
with his penitent. He could not imagine why blessed souls, or even
condemned ones, should occupy themselves breaking pheasant bones with
an old maid, of all people in the world.

"What gave me most offence," continued Theudelinde, "was the
outrageous behavior of my uncle Ladislaus. One minute he shrieked,
then laughed loudly, sang horrid songs. Again he broke out into
fearful curses, scorned the saints, the pope, the sacraments, made
witticisms that brought a blush to the faces of the ladies, and blew
all his tobacco-smoke over me. I shook the skirt of my green silk to
prevent the horrid smell sticking to it, but I felt this precaution
was of little use. My uncle Ladislaus began then to tease me, and said
I had concealed the prophetic bone in the pocket of my green dress. My
face glowed with shame, for it was true. I denied it, however,
whereupon he began to swear in his heathenish way, and to thump with
his fists on the table until the vault resounded with his blows. My
cousins put their hands over his mouth. Then he spoke through his
empty eye-sockets. It was terrible! He cursed all the saints in the
calendar and the emperor. My great-uncle, the archbishop, stretched
out his hands and damned him; my grandfather, the chancellor, s