walks in and finds himself face to face with the
Emperor, who is unattended. The door closes and the petitioner
may say to the Emperor what he likes.

"There is no chamberlain or secretary to intimidate him. The
Emperor stands in a plainly furnished study, in undress uniform,
without a star or grand cordon, and greets everybody with an
engaging smile and a good-natured gesture of the hand which
seems to say: 'There is no ceremony here. Tell me your business,
and if I can help you I will.'

"There is nothing petty or evasive in him. He is a monarch who
replies by 'Yes' or 'No,' but always with so much courtesy that
the humblest of his subjects receives from him at departing the
same bow as he vouchsafes to ambassadors. A most lovable trait
in him is that whenever he sees anybody nervous at his presence
he makes the audience last until, by his kind endeavors, the
nervousness has been completely dispelled."

There is nothing like this elsewhere in royal courts, nor anything
like their religious observances, which will probably astonish my
readers. The following statement appears to be authentic, and was
given in the _Sun_:

On Holy Thursday the Emperor and Empress of Austria, in the
presence of their whole court, of the Privy Council, the
Diplomatic Corps, and the superior officers of the Vienna
garrison, washed the feet of twenty-four poor old men and women,
having previously served these venerable paupers with a
plentiful meal, placing the several dishes before them with
their own hands. After the old people had partaken of the good
things provided for them by the imperial bounty, the tables were
cleared by imperial archdukes and ladies of honor. Subsequently
a purse containing thirty pieces of silver was presented by the
Emperor to each of the old men, and by the Empress to each of
the venerable dames, one of whom had all but attained her
hundredth year, while the youngest of the twelve was a hearty
octogenarian.

This religious rite is rarely seen in this country. It was
celebrated on the twenty-first of August by the Primitive
Baptists of Hillsville, Va., a mountainous region of South West
Va. There were about 800 present, some coming from hundreds of
miles. "The preliminary exercises were singing and exhortation
or discussion, the speaker first announcing some point of