de our preparations. Luigi had nearly eight
hundred francs saved, and I had about four hundred. We spent about three
hundred in getting our furniture and linen and so on, and Luigi took an
apartment in the Borgo Santo Jacopo. I chose the house because it is
directly opposite the Albergo della Stella, and I knew that I should
feel happier if I could look across the river to the hotel lights and
think that my Luigi was there. We were married on the morning of the
30th of August, and when we had been _promessi sposi_ for six months.
The religious marriage was just after the early mass [five o'clock], and
we all walked over together to the church. I felt quite calm,--not
frightened at all; but when, four hours later, we had to go over to the
Palazzo Vecchio for the civil marriage, I was all tears and trembling.
However, that passed, like other things. We had quite a fine wedding
breakfast. Marc Antonio had brought a friend of his, a nice, quiet man,
who was a very good cook. He was out of place just then, and he had
offered to cook for us if we would give him his breakfast. We had a
mixed fry, and macaroni, and _ravaioli_, and a melon, one course after
another, just like signori. Everybody had a good appetite, except Luigi
and me, and La Mamma said that it did her soul good to hear the sound of
frying in the house. _Poverina!_ she did not often hear it. Well, after
breakfast we all took a walk in the country, and when we came home again
Flavia began to prepare supper, but Luigi said no, _we_ must go home,
that our supper was waiting for us there. So I put my bonnet on, and
then, when we were ready to say good-by, every one burst into tears,--La
Mamma, and Flavia, and Fausta, and Marc Antonio and his wife, and I, and
even Luigi, though he said afterward he was sure he did not know why.
And how we all embraced! The signora would have thought that we were
going over the sea, instead of just across the Ponte Vecchio. At last we
went away arm in arm, and when we got to our own home there I found that
Luigi had arranged the table so nicely, just as he used to do at the
_albergo_, and had put a bunch of flowers in the centre. So we sat down
to supper, and pretended to be signori just for that one evening.

The next day, being Sunday, we all went to high mass at the Duomo, and I
wore my new wedding-gown of black cashmere. In the afternoon we went
out to Certosa; and that was the end of my wedding-journey, for the next
morning Luigi