Before he reached the Melani Palace the first part of the
entertainment had come to an end. The "Toy Symphony" had been
played, the grotesque dance performed, amid universal laughter;
and now the guests were, for the most part, fortifying themselves
in the Arcadian bowers for new dances, in which all persons
present were expected to take part. The Marquis Melani had, with
characteristic oddity, divided his two classical
refreshment-rooms into what he termed the Light and Heavy
Departments. Fruit, pastry, sweetmeats, salads, and harmless
drinks were included under the first head, and all the
stimulating liquors and solid eatables under the last. The thirty
shepherdesses had been, according to the marquis's order, equally
divided at the outset of the evening between the two rooms. But
as the company began to crowd more and more resolutely in the
direction of the Heavy Department, ten of the shepherdesses
attached to the Light Department were told off to assist in
attending on the hungry and thirsty majority of guests who were
not to be appeased by pastry and lemonade. Among the five girls
who were left behind in the room for the light refreshments was
Nanina. The steward soon discovered that the novelty of her
situation made her really nervous, and he wisely concluded that
if he trusted her where the crowd was greatest and the noise
loudest, she would not only be utterly useless, but also very
much in the way of her more confident and experienced companions.
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