ions,--low, but clear knockings of vanity at her heart, to which
every object around contributed its aid. The apartment was splendid;
not in that gorgeous taste of modern decoration of which she had seen so
much already, but in a more stately fashion, recalling the grandeur of
a past age, and exhibiting traces of a long line of princely occupants.
The very portraits along the walls had a proud and haughty bearing, and
the massive chairs glittered in all the blaze of heraldry. If she
looked out, it was the towers of the "Hoff Bourg"--the Home of the
Hapsburgs--met her eye. If she listened, it was the clank of a soldier's
salute broke the stillness; while the dull roll of wheels beneath
the arched gateway told of the tide of visitors who came to pay their
homage.

If Kate's heart had been less bound up with anxiety to see her brother,
the scene beneath her window would have afforded her some interest, as
equipage after equipage succeeded,--now the quiet splendor of a court
chariot, now the more glaring magnificence of a cardinal's carriage.
Here came the lumbering old vehicle of an archhishop, the reverential
salute of the crowd indicating the rank of its occupant Then the quick
"present arms" of the sentry told of some general officer; while, at
intervals, the "turn out" of the whole guard denoted the arrival of a
royal prince. Ambassadors and ministers, chamberlains and chancellors,
the dignitaries of the realm, the "Hautes Charges" of the Court,--all
came in crowds to present their respects to the Graefin, for by this
brief designation was she known from one end of Europe to the other.

Madame de Heidendorf held a levee, and none would absent themselves from
so interesting an occasion.

It was the eve of a wonderful moment in Europe--it was the little lull
that preceded the most terrific storm that ever overturned thrones and
scattered dynasties--as these illustrious personages were met together,
to interchange compliments, to lisp soft phrases of flattery, and
discuss the high claims of some aspirant for a ribbon or a cross, a "Red
Eagle," or a "Black" one. A few, more far-sighted than the rest, saw the
cloud, not bigger than a man's hand, in the distance. A few could hear
the low rumblings that denoted the brooding hurricane; but even they
thought "the thing would last their time." And thus, with many a
pleasant jest, they chatted over the events of the hour, praised the
wisdom of kings, and laughed to scorn those