red from our sight.

"The unhappy bride, who had stretched out her arms to the bridegroom
for whom she had endured so much and worked so hard, uttered a fearful
cry, and threw herself after him into the Theiss.

"My poor mother and I wrung our hands, and called for help, which
brought out the millers from the other side, who hastened down to
their boats, and put off towards us: in a short time they took up
Marcsa, whose wide dress floated on the surface; but they could not
find my brother, and we never saw anything more of him from that hour,
except his wreathed bonnet[37] floating on the water.

[Footnote 37: The Hungarian peasants in some districts wear small
pointed hats, in form like the Tyrolian, always adorned with a wreath
of flowers.]

"Three days afterwards, my mother was struck with apoplexy, and the
poor bride lay insensible in a violent fever. For six weeks she
continued more dead than alive; and when at last she was able to rise,
her beauty was all gone--you could scarcely have recognised her as the
same person.

"For some time we only remarked that she was very sad and thoughtful,
and would sit all day without speaking a word; but by and bye, to our
astonishment, she would go down to the river, and when the miller's
boys came over in their boats, would ask, 'What news from Joska
bacsi?'

"At first we thought this was still only the effect of fever,--for
during her illness she had raved incessantly of Joska; but as time
wore on, and she was always doing stranger things, our eyes began to
open to the melancholy truth. One day she went home, and telling us
she was going to arrange her house, that it might be in order when
Joska bacsi came, she began turning up all the chairs and tables,
whitewashed the house, killed her little poultry one after the other,
and then began cooking and baking to prepare for the wedding. All at
once, however, she became quite distracted: knew no person by name,
would speak aloud in the church, and pray and sing along the roads;
she would do no work, and was indeed quite incapable--entangled all
her yarn, saying she would get more money for it if in that condition,
and set out empty egg-shells for market. At last, the wandering mania
came upon her. One evening she disappeared from her house; and after
searching everywhere for five days, we found her among high reeds by
the river's side--her face disfigured, and her clothes all torn. Since
that time, the poor creature has re