nd packages.

The reverend gentleman now produced cold meat and bread and butter,
which had all been carefully wrapped in paper, and took from a case
several bottles of wine and a silver goblet, gilt inside, which he
filled, tasted first himself, then smelled, tasted again, and finally
presented to each of us in turn. The students sat bolt upright on
their casks, and only sipped a little, so great was their awe. The
girl, too, just dipped her little beak in the goblet, glancing shyly
first at me and then at the students; but the oftener she looked at us
the bolder she grew.

At last she informed the reverend gentleman that she was leaving her
home for the first time, to go into service at a certain castle, and
as she spoke I blushed all over, for the castle she mentioned was
that of the Lady fair. "Then she is my future lady's maid!" I thought,
staring at her, and feeling almost giddy. "There is soon to be a grand
wedding at the castle," said his reverence. "Yes," replied the girl,
who would have liked to learn more of the matter; "they say it is an
old secret attachment, but that the Countess could never be brought to
give her consent." His reverence replied only by "hm! hm!" refilling
his goblet, and sipping from it with a thoughtful air. I leaned
forward with both elbows on the table, that I might lose no word of
the conversation. His reverence observed it. "Let me tell you," he
began again, "that both Countesses sent me forth to discover whether
the bridegroom be not in the country hereabouts. A lady wrote from
Rome that he left there some time ago." When he began about the
lady in Rome I blushed again. "Is your reverence acquainted with the
bridegroom?" I asked, in confusion. "No," replied the old gentleman;
"but they say he is a gay bird." "Oh, yes," said I, hastily, "a bird
that escapes as soon as it can from every cage, and sings gaily when
it regains its freedom." "And wanders about in foreign countries," the
old gentleman continued, composedly, "goes everywhere at night,
and sleeps on door-steps in the daytime." That vexed me extremely.
"Reverend sir," I exclaimed, with some heat, "you have been falsely
informed. The bridegroom is a slender, moral, promising youth, who has
been living in luxury in an old castle in Italy, and has associated
solely with Countesses, famous painters, and lady's-maids, who knows
perfectly well how to take care of his money, if he had any, who--"
"Come, come, I had no idea that yo