PPERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE EARLY EUROPEAN IMMIGRANT.
THE HUNGARIANS.(con't}
for an armful. "Plenty hot" was the next remark. I again agreed.
"House" she suggested; and again we were quite in accord; so we went
into the house which was nice and cool. Here were two children, a boy
and a girl, who had taken refuge on a big trunk of European make, where
they sat quietly. The woman put bread and butter, a pitcher of milk,
and a heavy glass tumbler with a foot to it before me. The glass, like
the trunk had evidently been brought from Hungary. Then she excused
herself and went back to the stack, leaving me with the two children, of
whom the boy might have been nine, and the girl seven. I tried to talk,
but not a sound could I get from them; they just stared at the stranger.
It began to dawn on me that these people were short of necessaries. The
previous harvest had not amounted to much; this year's harvest had not
been realised on. Every mouthful counted. I found I had only a five
dollar bill on me. To give that to the children was preposterous, but yet
how could I leave without making some acknowledgment. Then all at
once the light came. I had a white handled jack-knife. I showed it to
the boy. Would he like to have it. His eyes said he would. I gave it to
him. Instantly the two children were off the trunk and racing for the
stack. As I was driving away I saw the boy holding the knife up to the
man on the stack, doubtless his father, who was wearing a big slouch hat.
As I went past on the trail the man on the stack lifted his big hat, and I
vow he made me the most sweeping and courtly bow that I have ever
seen, on the stage or off it. It was his expression of thanks on behalf
of his boy for the gift of the knife. After all these years I have only two
real memories of the Hungarian colony. One is the Barratt girl's music,
the other is the magnificent and the grateful, and the more than graceful
bow of the man on the stack.
Bibliography follows:
Next Page
