neighbouring county, and set
down before a strange house half dead with terror and fatigue!

Kalman had been accustomed to visit Julia every day on horseback, and
on these occasions the fair lady used to feed the horse with sugar
from her own delicate hands, so that when he passed up that street the
animal would frequently carry his master perforce into the court of
Julia's house, and now, having been six days absent, he had
consequently been six days without sugar, and, naturally enough,
finding himself unchecked, set off, and never stopped till he arrived
in the court of Julia's house, where he stood still, and began
neighing for the sugar.

This is the most natural way of explaining the psychology of the
circumstance, at least as far as we are capable of comprehending the
ideas of a horse.

Sandor tumbled off the horse's back as soon as it stopped, and
tottered towards the wall with aching and distorted limbs: presently,
he crept up to the door with great difficulty, just as Julia with her
maid had appeared on the staircase to see who was there.

"Who are you?--what do you want?--how did you come here?" were the
first questions put to the unhappy stranger.

"Don't ask me anything," groaned the horseman. "I am lost--I am
dying--my back is broken--put me to bed and call a surgeon. I am just
going to die!"

Julia saw with real sympathy that the youth was in great suffering,
and, sending her servant immediately in search of medical and surgical
aid, she put the tortured adventurer to bed, and bestowed every
possible attention which female tenderness could suggest. At last the
arrival of the doctors relieved her as to the state of the
invalid--assuring her that the young man was only saddle-sick, and
that a few hours of rest would put all to rights.

* * * * *

At Gabor Berkessy's, matters became more serious every hour. Mrs.
Gulyasi would let nobody draw breath till she had turned out the whole
household in search of her son, while she herself wandered about
distracted, asking every new comer what they had done with her son! At
last she was seized with violent cramps, and was obliged to go to bed
to tea and warming-pans.

Poor Lina and Mrs. Tallyai kept watch by her bedside, and never closed
their eyes all night; while Menyhert slumbered with a calm conscience
in the next room, snoring so loudly that they were obliged to rouse
him once in each five minutes for fear of disturbin