United States or Ukraine ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Directly after lunch Nika and Agnes had to hurry off to school again and the mother had to supervise Trina's work, so Mux was entrusted with the task of entertaining Cornelli for a little while. That suited him exactly. "Now, I'll show you that Agnes has really broken a man on the wheel," he said triumphantly. "But I don't believe it, Mux. And why should the man have held still?" asked Cornelli.
On the 15th they emerged from this gloomy region and entered a country which, from the contrast, appeared to them remarkably beautiful. Here they encamped for a brief rest. Nika brought in word that he had killed two buffaloes, and wished to have a couple of horses sent to bring in the meat. A party of five was sent out, led by M. Moranget, who was a rash and irritable man.
During this time the emperor and his consort with a few members of the senate shut themselves up in the palace and remained quietly there. Now the watch-word which the populace passed around to one another was Nika , and the insurrection has been called by this name up to the present time.
Cornelli was filled with admiration for Nika and for everything she did. She could not understand how Nika, who was so lovely and could do such wonderful things, could have a sorrow. She had never forgotten about it, because she had often noticed that the young girl suffered from some grief. Even Agnes often stopped laughing quite suddenly.
Nika sat brooding and staring in front of her, for Agnes had interpreted to her their little brother's words. She swallowed very hard on every mouthful, because she had to swallow a great deal more besides. Agnes was frowning so that her whole forehead was like one huge wrinkle. The mother, too, was busy with deep thoughts, as one could see from her worried expression.
It was old Katja, Sonya Valesky's servant, whom she had left with Nika in her little hut. What had brought the old woman to Petrograd? In reality Nona knew without asking the question. It was Katja's devotion to Sonya. The old woman was speaking a queer jumble of languages, Russian and the few words of English she had learned while the American girl was living in the same house.
We are told in one case that Nikâ, the mother of Esarhaddon, the king of Assyria, is sick. She sees the hand of the goddess Nanâ of Uruk laid heavily upon her.... Is it ordained that this hand will be lifted off from the sufferer? The occasions, it is evident, were exceedingly numerous when the Assyrian rulers appealed to the priests for oracles.
Only a few moments were required to pack her own belongings, since the little house and everything inside it had been fumigated as soon as Sonya reached a state of convalescence. Nona's time had been spent in trying to comfort Sonya's servants, old Katja and Nika, and also in trying to acquire some information from them. In neither effort was she successful.
For answer the father nodded and lay back in his chair smiling contentedly. Nika, too, was completely changed. No shadows dimmed her eyes, for she could wander about all day with her paint box from one lovely spot to another, up to the beech wood or to the hill where the big oak tree stood.
Nika and I can only keep on one year more, and then everything is over. Then she can't paint any more and I can't have any more music lessons, for we shall have to become dressmakers. We won't even have time to go through the higher classes in school. I would a thousand times rather travel through the world and sing in front of the houses for pennies yes, I'll do that!"
Word Of The Day