During the drive to Loby he could not help thinking of the time
when he and Glory Goldie had called upon their rich relatives. This
time, however, it was all so different! Who was great and respected
now? and who was conferring an honour upon his kinsfolk by seeking
them out?

As the carriages drew up in turn before the house of mourning, the
occupants stepped out and were conducted into the large waiting-room
on the ground floor where they removed their wraps. Two neighbours
of the Hindricksons, who acted as host and hostess, then invited
the more prominent persons among the guests to step upstairs, where
dinner was served.

It was a difficult task having to single out those who were to sit
at the first table. For at so large a funeral gathering it was
impossible to make room for all the guests at one sitting. The
table had to be cleared and set three or four times.

Some people would have regarded it as an inexcusable oversight had
they not been asked to sit at the first table. As for him who had
risen to the exalted station of Emperor, he could be exceedingly
obliging in many ways, but to be allowed to sit at the first table
was a right which he must not forgo; otherwise folks might think he
did not know it was his prerogative to come before all others. It
did not matter so much his not being among the very first to be
requested to step upstairs. It was self-evident that he should dine
with the pastor and the gentry; so he felt no uneasiness on that
score.