The preliminaries had been conducted
with proper punctilio. The young people were betrothed without
seeing each other, and the time was appointed for the marriage
ceremony. The young Count Von Altenburg had been recalled from
the army for the purpose, and was actually on his way to the
baron's to receive his bride. Missives had even been received
from him from Wurtzburg, where he was accidentally detained,
mentioning the day and hour when he might be expected to arrive.
The castle was in a tumult of preparation to give him a suitable
welcome. The fair bride had been decked out with uncommon care.
The two aunts had superintended her toilet, and quarrelled the
whole morning about every article of her dress. The young lady
had taken advantage of their contest to follow the bent of her
own taste; and fortunately it was a good one. She looked as
lovely as youthful bridegroom could desire, and the flutter of
expectation heightened the lustre of her charms.
The suffusions that mantled her face and neck, the gentle heaving
of the bosom, the eye now and then lost in reverie, all betrayed
the soft tumult that was going on in her little heart. The aunts
were continually hovering around her, for maiden aunts are apt to
take great interest in affairs of this nature.
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