ole round earth!" pursued Master
Janos, confidently.

The nailsmith hesitated, scratched his nose, scratched his ear,
scratched his whole head, and, finally, cried out, "Success to Master
Slimak!"

The vice-jailer shuddered at this public demonstration. It was quite
clear that this Master Slimak was some gunpowder-sworn
commander-in-chief--there was no doubt of it, and, without any further
ado, he seized the nailsmith by the collar, and, _brevi manu_,
escorted him to the town-hall, where he dragged him into a narrow,
ominous-looking chamber, before a stout, red-faced gentleman.

"This man is a suspicious character," he exclaimed. "In the first
place, he has the audacity to fear war; in the next place, he sat from
seven o'clock until half-past nine, two whole hours and a half,
without opening his lips; and, finally, he was impious enough to give
a public toast to a certain Master Slimak, who is probably quite as
suspicious a character as himself."

"Who is this Master Slimak?" asked the stout, red-faced gentleman,
sternly.

"Nobody, indeed," replied the trembling Viennese, "but my former
master, an honest nailsmith, whom I served four years, and would be
serving still, had his wife not beaten me."

"Impossible!" ejaculated the fat, red-faced gentleman. "It is not
customary to give public toasts to such personages."

"But I don't know what the custom is here."

"If you wished to give a toast, why did you not drink to
constitutional liberty, to the upper and lower Danube armies, or to
freedom of the press, and such toasts?"

"Hyay, sir! I could not learn all that in a month!"

"But in three months I daresay you will be able to learn it well
enough. Master Janos, take that man into custody."

The humane Master Janos again seized the delinquent by the collar, _ut
supra_, and escorted him to the place appropriated to such
malefactors, where he had time to consider why he was put there.

* * * * *

The three months passed slowly enough to the nailsmith. It was now the
middle of March.

Master Janos punctually released his prisoner, and the honest man, in
order to prove the reform in his sentiments, and thereby rise in
Master Janos's opinion, greeted him with, "Success to liberty, and the
Hungarian arms!"

Master Janos stumbled against the wall in speechless horror, and as
soon as he had regained his equilibrium, he seized the astonished
nailsmith, who, when he had recovered h