tion; he is indeed
a singular person! I have been told that all courts had formerly an
attendant of this description, and that they could not do without one.
Matthias is supposed to be stupid and devoid of reason, but he judges of
everything with an accuracy and precision that is truly wonderful; his
bonmots are inimitable. None of the courtiers have so many privileges as
he has, for he alone may speak the truth without adornment or softening.
The courtiers call him the fool, but we call him our little Matthias; he
certainly does not deserve the nickname he has received.

We have, besides, six young ladies of noble families, who live in the
castle, and are under madame's charge. Then there are two dwarfs; one is
at least forty years old, and is about the size of a child of four: he
is dressed in the Turkish fashion. The other is eighteen, and has a
charming figure: he wears the costume of a Cossack. My father often
permits him to mount upon the dining table during dinner, and he walks
among the plates and dishes as if he were in a garden.

I think I mentioned that the courtiers had no salaries; nearly all of
them belong to rich, or at least to independent families. They acquire
fine manners at our court, and their training serves as a passport to
all civil and military employments. They receive food for their horses,
and two florins a week for their grooms. They have also a servant to
wait upon them; this domestic is usually dressed in the Hungarian or
Cossack costume. Nothing amuses me more than to watch their faces while
they stand behind their masters' chairs; their eyes are fixed upon the
plates during the whole of the dinner hour; surely not an unnatural
proceeding, as their sole nourishment consists in what is left upon
their masters' plates. Our little Matthias is never tired of ridiculing
them, and makes us nearly die with laughter.

The major part of our household, however, receive salaries, and do not
sit at the table with us, except the chaplain, the physician, and the
secretary. The steward and butler are on their feet all the time we are
dining; they walk about and watch if the table be properly served; they
pour out the wine for the master of the castle and for the visitors. The
courtiers are served with wine only on Sundays and festival days. The
purveyor, the treasurer, the master of the horse, and the arm offerer
(renkodajny), whose business it is to offer his arm to the master or
mistress of the cast