The bridal trousseau was spread out before
them, and upon chairs and couches lay dresses of marvellous fabric
and beauty,--muslins and shawls of India and Cashmere, and the
finest products of the looms of France and Holland. It was a
trousseau fit for a queen, and an evidence at once of the wealth of
the Lady de Tilly and of her unbounded love for her niece, Amelie.
The gifts of Pierre were not mingled with the rest, nor as yet had
they been shown to her bridesmaids,--Amelie kept them for a pretty
surprise upon another day.
Upon the table stood a golden casket of Venetian workmanship, the
carvings of which represented the marriage at Cana in Galilee. It
was stored with priceless jewels which dazzled the sight and
presented a constellation of starry gems, the like of which had
never been seen in the New World. It was the gift of the Bourgeois
Philibert, who gave this splendid token of his affection and utter
contentment with Amelie as the bride of his son and heir.
The girls were startled in the midst of their preparations by the
sudden dashing past of a horseman, who rode in a cloud of dust,
followed by a wild, strange cry, as of many people shouting together
in lamentation and anger.
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