ne smarter and
more agile than the last, entered with a clash of arms, which would
have disturbed the philosophy of any honest peace-loving Bohemian in
Christendom; and instead of seating themselves at the table, as any
other reasonable Christians would have done, they clinked and rattled
about here and there, making jests on the pictures of Cossack feats on
the walls, with their pendants of Spring, Summer, and Winter.

One among them was a singularly handsome youth, with raven hair, and
eyes which flashed like lightning; his pointed dark moustache was
provokingly becoming, and his figure as supple as a young leopard's,
but he was certainly the most unreasonable of the party: he gave no
rest to man or beast, and was the bane of every honest soul with whom
he came in contact. Scarcely had he entered, than he stumbled over
Hanzli, who was gaping in solemn wonder at the new-comers, his back
bent and his neck stretched forward, as if he were trying to personify
the letter S.

"Your servant, nephew!" exclaimed the hussar, thrusting his fingers
among the youth's hair, and making it all stand on end; "well, what
have you been about since we last met?"

As they had never met in their lives before, this question and the
cockatoo _frisure_ so embarrassed Hanzli, that he seized the bottle
which stood before Andras-gazda and raised it to his lips, with as
little ceremony as if that good man had not been sitting behind it.

"Have you lost your senses?" cried Andras-gazda, seizing the tails of
Hanzli's coat.

"Make haste, man!" cried a voice deeper than any bass fiddle; "thunder
and storms! make haste, man, and bring something to drink, or
else"--and then followed a torrent of oaths, which it would be
difficult and highly unbecoming to render into any known language.

The voice proceeded from under the huge moustache of the hussar
sergeant, who had seated himself on the bench with an imposing dignity
that became his rank.

Hanzli disappeared, but in a few minutes he shuffled back, and placed
a brilliantly coloured plate before the sergeant.

"Did I ask for anything to eat, you stork, that you have brought me a
plate instead of a glass?"

Hanzli again disappeared, and returned with a glass of foaming beer,
which he placed before the hussar, handing him a fork at the same
time.

"What the tartar do you take me for?" cried the hussar furiously,
"that you should suppose I am going to drink such confounded stuff, as
never be