The Herr Vice-palatine will
remember the case--Rakoncza Jutka, the wife of the robber Satan Laczi?"
"Yes, I remember. She is still in prison," assented the gentleman
referred to.
"Yes. Well, she has a little son. When the mother was taken to prison,
the little lad was turned away from every door, was beaten and abused by
the other children, until at last he fled to the marshes, where he ate
the young shoots of the reeds, and slept in the mire. The nameless count
discovered with his telescope the little outcast, and wrote to me to
have him taken to Frau Schmidt, where he would be well taken care of
until his mother came back."
By this time the tears were running down the baroness's cheeks.
"Poor little lad!" she murmured brokenly. "Your story has affected me
deeply, Herr Pastor."
Then she summoned her steward, and bade him fill a large hamper with
sweets and pasties, and send it to Frau Schmidt for the poor little boy.
"And tell Frau Schmidt," she added, "to send the child to the manor. We
will see to it that he has some suitable clothes. I am delighted,
reverend sir, to learn that my tenant is a true nobleman.
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