very common occurrence. Herr Kienast, however, stopped a moment in silent admiration. Frau Hessling wondered if he was really gazing at the goose or, under cover of its delicious steam, at Magda's open-work blouse. Then he recalled himself and raised his glass. "And now to the Hessling family, to the respected mother and head of the household and her charming daughters." Magda's bosom swelled to make the charm more noticeable, and Emma looked all the more suppressed. It was Magda's glass which Mr. Kienast touched first.
Diederich answered the toast. "We are a German family. The guest we take into our home we also take to our hearts." He had tears in his eyes, while Magda blushed once more. "And even if our house is modest, our hearts are true." He wished the visitor long life, and the latter, in his turn, declared that he had always been in favour of modesty, "specially in families where there are young girls."
Frau Hessling intervened. "Isn't that so? How otherwise would a young man have the courage to—? My daughters make all their own clothes." Herr Kienast took this as his cue to bend over Magda's blouse on the pretext of making a detailed examination.
At dessert she peeled an orange for him and in his honour took a taste of Tokay. When they went into the sitting-room Diederich stopped in the doorway with his arms around his two sisters. "Yes, indeed, Herr Kienast," he said in a deep voice, "this is family happiness, Herr Kienast, look at it!" Magda nestled against his shoulder, all submission, but Emma tried to break away from him and received a blow from the rear. "We are always like this," continued Diederich. "All day long I work for my family, and the evening sees us united here beneath the shade of the lamp. The outside world and the cliques of our so-called Society we avoid as much as possible. We have enough in ourselves."
At this point Emma succeeded in breaking loose, and she
