and her companion had alighted at the park gate, whence they would
proceed on foot up the shorter foot-path to the manor. And thus ended
all the magnificent preparations for the reception!

A servant now came running from the village, his plumed _czako_ in one
hand, and announced that the baroness awaited the dignitaries at the
manor.

This was, to say the least, exasperating! A whole week spent in
preparing--for nothing!

You may be sure every one had something to say about it, audibly and to
themselves, and some one was even heard to mutter:

"This is the _second_ mad person come to live in Fertöszeg."

And then they all betook themselves, a disappointed company, to their
homes.

The baroness, who had preferred to walk the shorter path through the
park to driving around the village in the dust for the sake of receiving
a ceremonious welcome, was a lovely blonde, a true Viennese,
good-humored, and frank as a child. She treated every one with cordial
friendliness. One might easily have seen that everything rural was new
to her. While walking through the park she took off her hat and
decorated it with the wild flowers which grew along the path. In the
farm-yard she caught two or three little chickens, calling them
canaries--a mistake the mother hen sought in the most emphatic manner to
correct. The surly old watch-dog's head was patted. She brushed with her
dainty fingers the hair from the eyes of the gaping farmer children. She