But the pronotary himself sent his heyduke to go and find Mr. Mathias Ráby, and tell him, with his compliments, that he would expect him to dinner the next day. * * * * * Ráby was meantime interviewing some of the high officials of Pesth. The first one he visited was the lord-lieutenant of the city. For this visit he had to put on court dress, as that official was a direct representative of the Emperor. His Excellency was an unpopular person, disliked by everyone. He was a hard man whom nothing softened. He sympathized with no one, and he was in nobody's good graces. Yet he was a personality everyone had to reckon with. His very appearance bespoke the man. The copper-coloured complexion and ill-shaven face, with its deep frowning eyebrows, heightened the natural defect of his neck, which was twisted towards the right shoulder. His hair was lank and reddish; his dress a cross between the Hungarian and Austrian mode, slovenly and dirty, and stained with snuff, while the order of St. Stephen, which he wore round his neck, was defaced and half torn away. His voice had a repellent snarl about it. He spoke German with everybody, but it was a vile patois. When Ráby was ushered into his presence, his Excellency was drinking his coffee, and his visitor had to stand till he had finished. When he had set his cup down, he got up, and turning abruptly to Ráby, asked him if he were a count? His visitor could not imagine what prompted this question, but he answered that he was only an untitled gentleman of good family. Thereupon his Excellency pointed to Ráby's silk vest, and snapped: "Well, then, what do you mean by this? According to the prescription of the 'dress regulations,' no one under the rank of a count may wear embroidery." And in fact there was at this time a "dress regulation" in force to this effect. Kaiser Joseph carried his paternal interest in his subjects so far as to lay down rules as to how they should dress. Fashions and ornaments which were permitted to the count, were not allowed the baron. In this way, you could specify at first sight what rank a man held, for even his hat revealed it. Only for princes and princesses was it permitted to wear both black and white feathers; counts wore white alone, barons black, and so forth down the scale. These sumptuary laws even affected walking-sticks which had their mountings differentiated according to the rank of the possessor. That was why Ráby had offended the lord-lieutenant. As a simple gentleman, he had no right to either gold or silver embroidery. "This is the dress usually worn by the secretary of the imperial cabinet," was the only explanation Ráby offered. "Ah, that is another thing. But I don't approve of these concessions being allowed to those who are not men of rank."