Elizabeth--usually called Bethi--was sixteen, and Stefan was twelve. Both were small but they overran the whole Schloss; no person or thing was sacred to them, and no room escaped invasion.... Bethi was being educated in the Convent of the Sacré Coeur in Budapest, where all disliking her, the nuns advised her mother to have the girl's education completed at home--an advice which we in Schloss K---- could so well understand and sympathise with!... The children were always first in church, occupying the most comfortable chairs in the chancel. Once they actually established themselves in the large velvet chairs placed for the Prince and Princess. Billy could not succeed in dislodging them, and Claire and I, on arrival, had to use force--to the amusement of all the peasant children--which so insulted Stefan that he sulked during Mass till he conceived the brilliant idea of stretching out his foot far enough to trip up an altar boy. The priest stumbled in the "Lavabo inter innocentes manus meas," and the old church servant, who had in earlier days been the village schoolmaster, shot out of the sacristy, as was his custom when the attention of the acolytes wandered, and soundly cuffed the unfortunate altar-boy. Happily the Countess had seen, and Stefan had a very bad quarter of an hour afterwards in the Schloss. IV--DARK DAYS AFTER THE TRAGEDY There were days of tension after the ultimatum went to Serbia. The press was very restrained but clearly uneasy, and did not attempt to justify the extravagant tone of the ultimatum. General opinion as to whether the Serbs would fight or not was not very divided, and there were few who did not agree that Serbia was never intended to fight. She was simply to behave herself in future and Austria was to see that she did it. General T---- was indignant at the ultimatum. "Berchtold again! Soft-headed fool--pooh! There are so many ways of getting what one wants--he must just choose this one! This way may really lead to war, and we are not prepared--no money, no munitions--nothing, nothing! Ach, it's an awful business! Perhaps Serbia won't dare to fight ... if the Russians back her she will!" "You surely can scarcely imagine that any country could take such an ultimatum lying down?" I suggested. "Pooh," he replied, "you can't deny that they've always been a thorn in our flesh. But my country is mad--mad! Nobody seems to realise what this can lead to. The Serbs are good fighters too. If Russia backs them we're done for. Na, I must get back to Vienna now, for Walther will have to go if there's war. Pooh--they're all crazy everywhere." Even the Man of Art grew mournful among his rosebushes. He was Croatian and bitterly anti-Austrian.