Katarynka

III.

The barrister's premises consisted of two parts. Four larger rooms had windows facing the street, two smaller ones facing the courtyard. The parade half of the apartment was intended for guests. There were banquets held there, clients were welcomed and relatives or friends of the attorney from the countryside appeared. Mr. Tomasz himself rarely appeared here and only to check whether the floors had been waxed, that the dust had been wiped off and the furniture had not been damaged.All days, as long as he did not chase them behind the house, he spent in the office facing the courtyard. There he read books, wrote letters or looked through the documents of friends who asked him for advice. And when he did not want to strain his eyes, he would sit in an armchair opposite the window and, having lit a cigar, he was lost in thought. He knew that thinking is an important life function that should not be underestimated by a health-conscious person.On the other side of the yard, right in front of Mr. Tomasz's windows, there was a place rented to less wealthy people. An old court clerk lived here for a long time, who, having dropped out of his job, moved to Prague. After him, a tailor rented rooms; but because he liked to get drunk and make noise from time to time, he was reproached for living. Later a pensioner moved in, constantly arguing with her servant.But from St. Jan, an old woman, already very decrepit and not at all wealthy, despite her quarrelsome nature, was taken to the countryside by her relatives, and two ladies with a little, maybe eight-year-old girl moved to the premises.Women made a living from work. One was sewing, the other was making stockings and jackets on the machine. The younger and more handsome girl was called mother, and the older one was called lady.Both at the patron's and at the new tenants' premises, the windows were open all day long. So when Mr. Tomasz sat down on his armchair, he could see perfectly well what was happening at his neighbors.There were poor equipment there. On the tables and chairs, on the sofa and on the chest of drawers, there were fabrics for sewing and balls of cotton for stockings.In the morning, the women were sweeping the apartment by themselves, and around noon the mercenary brought them a rather small lunch. Besides, each of them almost stuck to its rattling machine.The girl usually sat by the window. It was a child with dark hair and a pretty face, but pale and somewhat motionless. Sometimes a girl tied a strip of cotton threads with two knitting needles. Sometimes she played with the doll, which she put on and undressed slowly, as if with difficulty. Sometimes she would do nothing but listen to something while sitting in the window.Mr. Tomasz never saw the child singing it or running around the room, he did not even see a smile on his pale lips and a motionless face."Strange child!" The attorney said to himself, and began to stare at hermore carefully.He noticed once (it was on a Sunday) that her mother had given her a small bouquet. The girl perked up a little. She was spreading and arranging flowers, kissing them. At last she tied it back into a bouquet, put it in a glass of water, and sitting in her window said:- It's true, mother, it's sad here ...The attorney got scandalized. How could it be sad in a house where he had been in a good mood for so many years!One day, the attorney found himself in his office around four. In that hour, the sun was facing the apartment of his neighbors, and it was shining and warming up very much. Mr. Tomasz looked to the other side of the yard and saw something unusual, because he hastily put on his eyeglasses.