broad permitted would-be customers to communicate with 

 the apothecary without entering the shop. Glancing through 

 this window, Jacob pushed to one side the sliding sash, 

 greeted filially the elder of the occupants, and then taking 

 the Lieutenant's arm the two entered the living rooms on 

 the opposite side of the passage. 



Almost at the same moment there emerged from the shop 

 one of the apprentices whose dark eyes and regular features 

 betrayed his Italian parentage; limping slightly he went 

 through the passage towards the laboratory in the court- 

 yard, and noticing a silver spur with a broken buckle on the 

 pavement, he furtively picked it up and concealed it on his 

 person ; as soon as he reached the laboratory he drew forth 

 the spur and noted with a grim smile that the letter "S' r 

 was engraved on it; looking towards the family apartments 

 with a hideous leer of jealous anger that entirely transformed 

 his handsome face, he murmured under his breath two 

 words "Sofie", and "vendetta" ! 



The pharmacy of Christian Horcicky was the best ap- 

 pointed in the Capital of Bohemia and was noted for the 

 purity of its medicines as well as for the accuracy with 

 which the most complex prescriptions were compounded. 

 Persons entering the front shop saw against the walls on 

 two sides a double row ,of drawers, some shallow and some 

 deeper, above which ran wooden counters and shelving reach- 

 ing nearly to the ceiling; on the stone floor stood heavy 

 tables, a mortar mounted on a pedestal made of a tree trunk, 

 and some stools ; across one end, under the window opening 

 into the street, ran a counter on which the work of mixing 

 powders, rolling pills, making salves, and compounding the 

 simpler prescriptions was performed. Above the counter, 

 hanging within convenient reach, were two pair of scales; 

 alongside of the window was a hanging shelf carrying meas- 



145 



