By the
morning all the punch was drunk, but the translation also was finished,
to the tune of bacchanalian songs which Margari kept up with great
spirit all night long.
* * * * *
Next day, punctually at the appointed hour, the lawyer, Mr. Sipos,
appeared at the house of the Lapussas, with the necessary documents
neatly tied up with tape, under his arm as usual; he was not like our
modern lawyers who carry their masterpieces in portfolios as if they are
ashamed of them. The only persons in the reception room besides the old
man, were Madame Langai and Mr. John. Henrietta, still an invalid, had
been allowed to take a stroll to the woods near the town in order to
visit her favourite flowers once more and possibly take leave of them
for ever. She had received no invitation-card for this lecture. Why,
indeed, should a bride know anything of her bridegroom's biography
before marriage! The lawyer took his place at the table, untied his pile
of documents and began to read.
It appeared from these documents that the founder of the Hatszegi
family, the great grandfather of the present baron, was one Mustafa, who
had been a Defterdar[2] at Stamboul, and had used his unrivalled
opportunities for making money so well that he found it expedient to fly
from Jassy to Transylvania, where he made haste to get baptized and
naturalized.
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