de Siza. The poet sat
beside Aunt Zsuzsi, and Menyhert beside Mrs. Tallyai. Soup was served,
and the spoon being an innocent weapon, nothing particular took place
during its requisition, except that Sandor, observing Kalman hold his
spoon between his first finger and thumb, tried to imitate him, and at
the first experiment emptied the soup over his coat. Afterwards, when
the knives and forks came into requisition, and the first glass of
wine began to inspire courage, Menyhert related his own heroic deeds
of 1809--a period which Berkessy, on the other hand, did not exactly
wish to recall. Kalman began eating with his left hand, and Sandor,
desirous of following his example, pitched the meat off his fork into
his neighbour's lap. Aunt Zsuzsi then talked of the want of principle
in the young men of the capital, on which Kalman asked her if she had
seen _Janesi Parlagi_;[15] and then again incurred her wrath by
pouring out a glass of water backwards, on which the good lady
declared that the next time he did so, she would not drink it.

[Footnote 15: _Janesi Parlagi_, a popular play. The question was asked
in derision of the "country bumpkin."]

Sandor having been desired by his mother not to refuse anything, lest
it might offend the young lady of the house, ate and drank of
everything that came in his way. The good Eger wine seemed only to
renew his vigour in attacking the dishes, inspiring him at the same
time with as much confidence as if he were sitting among his Juratus
colleagues, opposite the golden flask. He laughed and jested, stumbled
into everybody's conversation, played on the bottles and glasses, and
threw about balls of bread. At last, in the height of his merriment,
he stretched his limbs under the table, and, having reached a little
foot opposite, which he took for Lina's, began to press it gently with
his own. The foot happened, however, to be Karely's, who, being deeply
engaged in conversation with his neighbour, allowed this tender
_quiproquo_ to go on unnoticed.

Towards the end of dinner, when hearts and mouths were ever opening
wider, that amiable confusion began in which everybody speaks at once,
and nobody can hear himself, though he understands his neighbour. As
one anecdote gave rise to another, the company laughed till the tears
ran down their cheeks; and the ladies entreated the gentlemen not to
make them laugh more, as they were already quite fatigued; while the
young people laughed too, prete