"
"The cats are her only companions--that much we know from the servants,"
affirmed the justice.
The laurels which his clerk had won made the vice-palatine jealous.
"Audiat," he said, in a reproving tone, "you ought to learn that a young
person should speak only when spoken to; indeed,--as the learned
Professor Hatvani says,--even then it is not necessary to answer all
questions."
But the company around the dinner-table did not share these views. The
clerk was assailed on all sides--very much as would have been an
aeronaut who had just alighted from a montgolfier--to relate all that he
had seen in those regions not yet penetrated by man. What sort of gown
did the mysterious lady wear? Was he certain that she had no cap on? Was
she really no older than fifteen years?
The vice-palatine at last put an end to his clerk's triumph.
"Tut, tut! what can you expect to learn from a mere lad like him?--when
he saw her only for an instant! Just wait; _I_ will find out all about
this nameless gentleman and lady."
"Pray how do you propose to accomplish that?" queried the baroness, who
had returned to her former seat.
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