ding among the peasants,
whose attention he was diverting because they were all constantly
looking up from their hymnals and glancing at his star. The aristocratic
gentleman wanted to share a hymn book with some one of the peasants, in
order to join in the singing, but since each one of them, as soon as the
gentleman drew near to him, respectfully stepped aside, he was unable to
accomplish his purpose, and succeeded only in causing an almost general
unrest. For when he sat down in one of the pews, every one of the
peasants seated in it moved along to the extreme farther end, and when
he moved along toward them they finally deserted the pew altogether.
This moving along and getting up was repeated in three or four pews, so
that the aristocratic gentleman, who was attending this little country
service with the best of intentions, was finally obliged to give up the
idea of taking an active part in it. He had business in the region, and
did not want to miss an opportunity of winning, by means of
condescension, the hearts of these country people for the throne to
which he felt himself so near. For that reason, as soon as he heard of
the peasant wedding, the idea of attending it affably from beginning to
end immediately occurred to him.

The sight of the gentleman did not make a pleasant impression on the
Pastor, who knew him to be a member of one of the brilliant social
circles in the capital. He knew what a peculiar custom would follow the
sermon and feared the gentleman's ridicule. For that reason his thoughts
lost some of their usual clearness, his feelings were somewhat
concealed, and the more he talked the further he digressed from the
subject. His distraction increased when he noticed that the gentleman
was casting appreciative glances at him and occasionally nodding his
head in approval; this last happened usually when the speaker was most
dissatisfied with what he was saying. He consequently cut short certain
parts of the nuptial address and hurried along to the formal ceremony.

The bridal pair were kneeling, and the fateful questions were being put
to them. Then something happened which gave the aristocratic stranger a
violent shock. For, looking to the right and left and before and behind
him, he saw men and women, girls and youths drawing out thick clubs of
twisted sack-cloth. Everybody was standing up and whispering and looking
around, as it seemed to him, with wild and malicious glances. As it was
impossible f