sleet and snow against the pane, we call up before us the almy days of the summer that is past. It had rained for a couple of hours the night before, and therefore the air was so soft and fragrant, scented with the breath of the wild flowers and growing crops, that body and mind felt somehow lifted up from the earth and elevated into an ideal sphere of summer warmth and beauty. In the green shade of the lime avenue the birds were holding such a concert, that one could not go more than few steps without stopping and listening. Theirs were not the oversweetened airs of Italian operas, but nature’s own melodies of endless harmony.
In the bower under the walnut tree Baroness Sály sat with Jenny. The young baroness had the last number of a fashionable ladies’ paper on her lap, which had come with the mid-day post, and both girls looked at and criticized the fashions pictured there. One figure in particular attracted their attention for a considerable time, and they returned to it again and again. They differed slightly about the sort of material which would be most suitable for the dress in question, and in the discussion that ensued the companion’s refined taste evidently gained the upper hand of the baroness. Though Jenny used only the gentlest weapons, it was plain that the baroness did not like it; and feeling piqued at the undeniable victory of her companion and lady’s maid, she threw away the paper, asked her to give her the book she had been reading out of her little work-basket, and pretended to fix her attention on its contents. Jenny took this for a hint that she wished to be alone for some time, so she got up and strolled to the avenue, not even taking her hat or parasol.
She was particularly charming that day. Her dress
