y name, and taking them into a
corner apart.

Wherever a soldier appeared, he was looked at as a character in a
masquerade; many avoided him; many, Germans and Poles alike, made more
of him than ever. In the taverns, the people from the German villages
sat apart, and the Poles on Herr von Tarow's estate drank and bought
more than they were wont to do. The tenant of the new farm had been
unable, last market-day, to find a new scythe any where in the town, and
the forester had complained to Anton that he could not in any shop get
powder enough to last him more than a week. Something was in the wind,
but no one would say what it was.

It was market-day again at Rosmin, and Anton drove thither, accompanied
by a servant. It was one of the first spring days, and the sun shone
brightly, reminding him how gay the gardens must now be with early
flowers, and that he and the ladies in the castle would see none this
year, save a few, perhaps, from the little farm garden behind the barn.
But, indeed, it was no time to care much for flowers; everywhere men's
hearts were restless and excited, and much that had stood firm for years
now seemed to totter. A political hurricane was blowing over wide
districts; every day the newspapers related something unexpected and
alarming; a time of commotion and universal insecurity seemed impending.
Anton thought of the baron's circumstances, and what a misfortune it
would be to him should land fall in value, and money rise. He thought of
the firm, of the place in the office which he secretly still considered
his own, and of the letter written by Mr. Baumann, telling him how
gloomy the principal looked, and how quarrelsome the clerks had become.

He was roused out of his sorrowful reverie by a noise on the road. A
number of gentlemen's carriages drove past him, Herr von Tarowski
occupying the first, and politely bowing as he passed. Anton was
surprised to see that his huntsman sat on the box as if they were going
to the chase. Three other carriages followed, heavily laden with
gentlemen; and behind came a whole troop of mounted men, Von Tarow's
German steward among them.

"Jasch," cried Anton to the servant who drove him, "what was it that the
gentlemen in the second carriage were so careful to hide as they drove
by?"

"Guns," said Jasch, shaking his head.

This sunny day, after so long a period of snow and rain, naturally
attracted people from all sides of the town. Parties of them hurried