Pagina 139 di 788

Through all the rooms there reigned a mighty bustle; they were

carrying about platters, plates of food and bottles; the men,

just as they had come in, in their green suits, walked about the

rooms with plates and glasses, and ate and drank; or, leaning

against the window casements, they talked of guns, hounds, and

hares. The Chamberlain and his family and the Judge were seated

at the table; in a corner the young ladies whispered together;

there was no such order as is observed at dinners and suppers. In

this old-fashioned Polish household this was a new custom; at

breakfasts the Judge, though loth, permitted such disorder, but

he did not commend it.