Page:Selected Czech tales - 1925.djvu/35

being blood-relations, as our Church does not forbid such marriages. But I do dread your both being of the same temperament. Vendulka won’t give in once she takes a thing into her head; she would sooner see the world in ashes. She has an iron will in everything, not only in love. And you, my dear boy, so far as I know, you are not an angel of patience either when you have set your heart on a thing. I fear that when your two hard heads knock against each other, you will see stars and not know where in the world you are; and then things will go badly, very badly indeed.—Now you know everything, you have got it all out of me to the last word; now leave me alone or else your wooing will put me under the earth. See how the sweat is running from my forehead. I want to have peace from you; your love affair has cost me trouble enough. For the short space of time that is left me, I want to have peace to prepare myself worthily for the grave time of reckoning and my meeting God. So I am telling you beforehand, don’t come to me with your complaints. I don’t want to have my life embittered any more by your affairs. If you should not get on together—I don’t want to know anything about it, any more than you