suite, who, waiting for her in the antechambers, were secretly and significantly whispering with the Emperor’s servants about the motive of her visit. The Emperor, while waiting for the Countess, had manifested much solicitude, and the young lady’s attendants had noticed in their mistress the same desire to meet the Emperor.
“Do not thank me again, Miss Felsenburk,” said the sovereign, without taking his eyes for a moment from the Countess, who was leaning against an armchair by his side. “You have no reason for doing so, but rather I am grateful to you. It was your letters that called me to Bohemia, informed me of the true state of affairs, the miserable condition of the peasants. I was not aware of the poverty of the people brought on by poor crops and the usury of their heartless masters; I did not know that the nobles had refused to sell grain to their subjects, even for high prices, in the expectation of getting a still higher price the coming year. I was so busy with the question concerning the
