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In adjoining rooms two separate companies had gathered. The older

people, grouped about a small table, talked of new ways of

farming, and of the new imperial edicts, which were growing more

and more severe. The Chamberlain discussed the current rumours of

war and based on them conclusions as to politics. The Seneschal's

daughter, putting on blue spectacles, amused the Chamberlain's

wife by telling fortunes with cards. In the other room the

younger men talked over the hunt in a more calm and quiet fashion

than was usually the case; for the Assessor and the Notary, both

mighty orators, the foremost experts on the chase and the best

huntsmen, sat opposite each other glum and angry. Both had set on

their hounds well, both had felt certain of victory, when in the

middle of the field there turned up a patch of unreaped spring

corn belonging to a peasant.