“Nothing ever can be repaired,” said my visitor, pensively. “The evil always remains; but one can raise something good by its side that will progress and leave the evil behind it.” “But is there anybody who can do this? We’re not organised, and everybody is so despondent and tired. As long as this is so, nothing will ever happen. It is this that has got to be cured first. I was thinking about it just before you came: in defeat women are always greater than men. If they could only be roused and set going they might restore the faith that everybody seems to have lost.” “I’m already negotiating with the various Catholic women’s institutions,” the Countess said, “and I hope to bring about their unity.” “I don’t want the unity of creeds,” said I; “I want the unity of Hungarians. The forces of Destruction have united in one camp. All its apostles work together. Why shouldn’t the forces of Regeneration unite as well?” “I’m going to begin where I’m rooted,” answered my guest with an enigmatic smile, while taking leave. “You’re like all Hungarians. You want to do everything at once and carry everything before you....” She was right. She had started to work in the right way. CHAPTER VIII _November 12th._ What has happened? In front of one of the big schools sailors were lined up in a row. A company, armed to the teeth, stood in the middle of the road. People looked at each other curiously, anxiously. This school had an evil past. In October the deserters had gathered together here, the armed servants of the Károlyi revolution. It is said that Tisza’s murderers started from this point. “What are they up to now?” “They’re Ladislaus Fényes’s sailors. They’re going to Pressburg against the Czechs,” a lean, fair man said. Somebody sighed “Poor people of Pressburg!” The fair man made a frightened sign to him to keep quiet. Behind his back an officer began to talk excitedly. I could only hear half of what he said, but it was something to the effect that in one of the barracks three thousand soldiers and five hundred officers who were going to the defence of Upper Hungary had been disarmed by the orders of Pogány.