oman's honour!

"_Madame est servie!_" cried the epauletted lacquey, and the countess
drawing her arm through Henrietta's, led her into the dining-room, where
the gentlemen already awaited them.

After dinner the humorous young countess entertained Henrietta for a
long time with her amusing chatter. She told her, at the very outset,
things that young wives, as a rule, only confide to their most intimate
friends. She told her, for instance, how very jealous her little
Squirrel was (she called her husband by this pet name) and how he would
never take her to Vienna or Pest, because he suspected that she might
find someone there to interest her. Anything like correspondence on her
part was of course impossible; a wise woman will always have sense
enough never to part with a line of writing. Everything else, she
witnesses, treacherous servants, for instance--can always be disowned;
but there is no defence against a letter which has fallen into the wrong
hands. Oh no! she knew a trick worth two of that. Whenever the Squirrel
went to Vienna, she gave him a list of articles required by her from a
modiste in the town, on this list are set down hats, head-dresses,
muffs, and other similar articles. Squirrel always reads this list over
ten times at least, but finds nothing in it to excite his suspicions.
But it regularly escapes his attention what day is indicated by the date
at the head of the list, for he can never tell for the life of him on
what day of the month such or such a day will fall. Now at the head of
this list stands, instead of the date on which the goods are to be sent,
the date up to which the Squirrel intends to divert himself at Vienna.
This list the Squirrel in person conveys to the modiste, who
communicates with the person whom it most concerns, and the Kengyelesy
_puszta_[8] will not seem the end of the world to whomsoever has a
magnet in his heart to draw him thither.

[Footnote 8: Heath. But also, as in this place, used to designate the
uncut terated land forming part of a nobleman's estate.]

Henrietta was amazed and confounded by this new science, the very
alphabet of which was unknown to her. Even when she lay in bed she
ruminated for a long time how it was possible that certain things which
break the hearts of some people are nevertheless regarded by other
people as mere frolics all their lives.

The next morning everyone arose late. The gentlemen had been up till the
small hours and were hard to w