e stopped, a little confused at finding herself so far
from home; what would everyone think?

"Let us go back," she said.

He withdrew his arm from her waist, and as they turned round they came
face to face, so close together that she felt his breath on her cheek.
They looked into each other's eyes, each seeking to read the other's
soul, and trying to learn its secrets by a determined, penetrating gaze.
What would each be like? What would be the life they were commencing
together? What joys, what disillusions did married life reserve for
them? Suddenly Julien placed his hands on his wife's shoulders, and
pressed on her lips such a kiss as she had never before received, a kiss
which thrilled her whole being, a kiss which gave her such a strange
shock that she almost fell to the ground. She wildly pushed him from
her.

"Let us go back. Let us go back," she stammered out.

He did not make any answer, but took both her hands and held them in his
own, and they walked back to the house in silence.

At dusk a simple dinner was served, but there was a restraint upon the
conversation. The two priests, the mayor, and the four farmers, who had
been invited as witnesses, alone indulged in a little coarse gayety
which generally accompanies a wedding, and when the laughter died away
the mayor would try to revive it with a jest. It was about nine o'clock
when the coffee was served. Out of doors, under the apple-trees, the
open-air ball had just commenced; the tapers which had been hung on the
branches made the leaves look the color of verdigris, and through the
open windows of the dining-room all the revelry could be seen. The
rustics skipped round, howling a dance-tune, accompanied by two violins
and a clarionet, the musicians being perched upon a kitchen table. The
noisy voices of the peasants sometimes entirely drowned the sound of the
instruments, and the thin music sounded as if it was dropping from the
sky in little bits, a few notes being scattered every now and then.

Two big barrels, surrounded by flaming torches, provided drink for the
crowd, and two servants did nothing but rinse glasses and bowls in a
tub, and then hold them, dripping wet, under the taps whence flowed a
crimson stream of wine, or a golden stream of cider. The thirsty dancers
crowded round, stretched out their hands to get hold of any drinking
vessel, and poured the liquid down their dust-filled throats. Bread,
butter, cheese, and sausages were laid o