"Hush!" hastily whispered the justice; "the servants might hear you."

"Oh, it is n't anything scandalous. All that the bridegroom heard was
that the baroness was a Lutheran; and as the _matrimonia mixta_ are
forbidden in Vienna and in Bavaria, the bridegroom withdrew from the
engagement. In her grief over the affair, the _sposa repudiata_ said
farewell to the world, and determined to wear the_parta_[2] for the
remainder of her days. That is why she chose this remote region as a
residence."

[Footnote 2: A head-covering worn only by Hungarian maidens.]

Here the bell in the church tower began to ring. It was followed by a
roar from the mortars on the hilltop.

The gypsy band began to play Biharis's "Vierzigmann Marsch"; a cloud of
dust rose from the highway; and soon afterward there appeared an
outrider with three ostrich-plumes in his hat. He was followed by a
four-horse coach, with coachman and footman on the box.

The committee of reception came forth from the shade of the beech and
ranged themselves underneath the arch. The clergyman for the last time
took his little black book from his pocket, and satisfied himself that
his speech was still in it. The coach stopped, and it was discovered
that no one occupied it; only the discarded shawl and traveling-wraps
told that women had been riding in the conveyance.

The general consternation which ensued was ended by the agent from
Vienna, who drove up in a second vehicle. He explained that the baroness