Sentence:  It would have been a great privilege to be the mistress of an old time-honoured mansion, to call oaks and elms her own, to know that acres of gardens were submitted to her <WSD>caprices</WSD>, to look at herds of cows and oxen, and be aware that they lowed on her own pastures. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An impulsive, seemingly unmotivated action, change of mind, or notion.