I'll go up and have a look at
her, and then I must return to Mr. Sipos's house. But I shall be here
again in an hour or so."

And with that the old man had to be content.

During the whole course of Henrietta's illness he sent to enquire after
his grandchild every hour. Clementina and an old maid-servant took it in
turns to watch by her bedside. It was strictly forbidden to leave
Henrietta alone for an instant, and Mr. Demetrius gave special orders
that her brother Koloman was not to be allowed to approach within six
paces of her bed because he was sure to bring cold air into the room, or
convey to her surreptitiously something which she ought not to have and
behave like a blockhead generally. So he was obliged to keep his
distance.

At last when weeks and weeks had flown by, God and blessed nature
helped the doctor to triumph over the effects of the poison. Henrietta
slowly began to mend. She was still very weak, but the doctor assured
them that she was quite out of danger and that the little capricious
fancies of convalescence might now be safely humoured.

Madame Langai, in the doctor's presence, asked the sick girl whether
there was anything in particular she would like, any food she fancied,
any pastime she preferred.

The pale, delicate-looking child languidly cast down her eyes as if she
would say: "I should like to lie in the grave--deep, deep, down." But
what she really did say was: "I should like to read something. I feel so
dull."

"That I cannot allow," said the doctor, "it would make your head ache,
but I have no objection to someone reading to you some nice, amusing
novel, Dickens's "Pickwick Papers," for instance, or a story of
Marryat's, something light and amusing, I mean, which will not excite
you too much."

"I should like that," said Henrietta and the choice fell on the
"Pickwick Papers." But as the English governess complained that she
could never read aloud for ten minutes at a time without growing hoarse
and Clementina's eyes were too weak for any such office, it was
suggested that Margari should be asked to submit to this extra
sacrifice, and Clementina succeeded in persuading him to do so by
promising him a liberal reward. So she brought him back with her and
seated him behind a curtain so that he could not see the invalid (that
would have been scarcely proper), and put the book into his hand.

But scarcely had Margari struggled through a few lines when Henrietta
again became fidgety