"I was born in Leutomischl"[93]--here he let his head fall regretfully on his breast.
[Footnote 93: A Bohemian town. He meant by this that he belonged to Czech officials who had been forced upon Hungary.--TR.]
I with corresponding pantomime replied that that need not make any difference between us.
"My father was"--here with both hands he took aim with an imaginary gun.
It now occurred to me _why_ he made all these gestures. Such is often the way with those who have taught themselves a foreign language without a master, and cannot find quickly enough the word they want. I hastened to his a.s.sistance.
"A forester?"
"Yes, a forester. He had sons"--he lifted up both hands, and then one finger.
"Eleven?"
"Yes, eleven. I myself was"--he held the palm of his hand quite low down towards the floor.
"The youngest?"
"Yes, the youngest."
"My father gave me"--here followed a very suggestive gesture.
"Yes, a _very rigorous_ education."
"But it was all"--he lightly tapped the hollow of his hand, as much as to say "No good!"
"He wanted me to be"--he laid the palms of his hands together as if in prayer.
"A priest?"
"Quite right! I wouldn"t"--a snap of the fingers, and then a lizard-like dart into the palm of the hand.
"You mean to say you took French leave of the Seminary?"
At this we both laughed. The gesture next following--a smack on the palm of the hand ill.u.s.trated by a little equitation on the back of a chair--gave me to understand that my visitor had then become a soldier.
"At four-and-twenty I was a lieutenant. I lay at Cracow for two years. I served in the Hungarian war from beginning to end. I am now thirty-four years old. And still I am only a lieutenant. Curious, isn"t it?"
I agreed with him that it was certainly most surprising.
"My other comrades--no, not _comrades_, that"s a French word."
"_Bajtarsai?_"[94] I suggested.
[Footnote 94: "Your comrades"--the Hungarian equivalent.]
"Yes, of course! my other _bajtarsai_ all became captains and majors, and have got decorations. I"ve nothing! Nothing, I tell you! And I"m pretty plucky too. I"m a good horseman--I"ve never given offence--I understand my duties. What do you think the cause is?"
I really was curious myself to know the cause of this misadventure.
"All through the war I was interned at Temesvar with my squadron. No occasion for displaying valour. Cavalry behind trenches. My comrades all on the battle-field"--he made a swift motion with his hand.
"And fought bravely?" said I, completing the sentence.
"Yes, they fought bravely, whilst we hors.e.m.e.n besieged in the fortress might"--here he put the tips of his thumbs between his teeth and puffed out his cheeks.
"Smoke your pipes?" I suggested.
"Yes, we smoked our pipes."
Here we both gave way to merriment once more. Again I urged upon my visitor to speak in German, and we could then perhaps get along more easily, but he only replied, "_Muszaj!_"[95] Well, if he knows even that _Hungarian_ word, I thought, he _must_ have his own way, that"s all.
[Footnote 95: A corruption of the German _mussen_, but as used in Hungarian it expresses the most emphatic necessity. When all other arguments fail, the word _muszaj_ is supposed to carry everything before it.--TR.]
"Yes, I _must_ speak Hungarian, by command of the highest authority."
"The highest?"
With that he seized the lappets of my coat with both hands.
"Come, now! Do you know who is the greatest tyrant in the whole world?"
"Dionysius of Syracuse."
"Ha! ha! ha! Young blood! "Tis this!"--and with his index finger he tapped himself between his fourth and fifth ribs on the left-hand side.
"The heart, eh?"
"You"re right. The heart. "Tis the greatest tyrant. _It_ commands me to speak Hungarian."
"Then you are in love, eh?"
A gesture with the palm of his hand right up to the chin was the answer.
"Up to the neck, eh?"
"No, over head and ears."
"With a lovely Hungarian damsel?"
He raised his three fingers closely pressed together to his lips, which were pointed as if to receive a kiss, thereby explaining that she was _very_ lovely.
Then he pa.s.sed his extended palms softly over his face, then, joining them together beneath his chin, affirmed, so far as I understood him, that she was also young and charming.
Then he pressed his waist with both hands, which meant "slim as a lily stalk."
After that he cracked his fingers right in front of his eyes, which meant "What eyes!"