Henrietta begged the old man to leave his labour and come to her.
"It cannot be, your ladyship; his lordship has forbidden me to appear in
his courts."
"Why?"
"I am always a nuisance."
"How so?"
"Because I am always on some begging errand. At one time the wind
carries off the roof of the church; at another, something is broken in
the belfry. It is a year ago now since the school was burnt down, and
since then the walls have become overgrown with thistles; the
schoolmaster too has gone away, and there is nobody to teach the
children, so that they grow up louts and robbers, to the great hurt and
harm of the gentry."
"But why is not all this put to rights?"
"Because the poor folks are lazy and drunken, and his lordship is
stingy."
Henrietta was astonished at the old man's words.
"Yes, stingy, that's the word," continued the priest. "I do not pick my
words, for I am a priest and used to hunger. And he who is used to
hunger is free from the yoke of servility. I told his lordship that to
his face, and that was why he forbade me the castle."
Henrietta could not continue the conversation, so upset was she at the
idea of Hatszegi's stinginess. What! the man who raked in hundreds of
thousands at a time with the greatest ease, and no doubt scattered them
as recklessly, could shut his door in the face of a poor priest who
begged for the house of God and the education of the people! She hastily
wished the priest good-night and returned to the castle.
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