Page:Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag, Volume 2.djvu/65

Rh for them on his little breast, and a cocked hat, with a forest of feathers, in which he extinguished himself at intervals. How his tiny boots shone, his tawny mustache bristled with importance, and his golden epaulettes glittered as he shrugged and pranced! His honored papa and mamma were both tall, portly people, beside whom the manikin looked like a child. Livy quite longed to see Madame Clomadoc take little Jules on her knee, and amuse him with bonbons when he got impatient at the delay of the carriage.

The three peeped out of windows, and over the banisters, and got fine glimpses of the splendors below. Flocks of elegant ladies went sailing up the narrow stairs. Gentlemen with orders, dandies wonderful to behold, and a few children (to play with the bridegroom, as Livy wickedly said), adorned the hall and salon. Every one talked at the top of his or her voice. Shrieks of rapture, groans of despair, greeted a fine toilette or a torn glove. Peals of laughter from the gentlemen, and shrill cries from the infants, echoed through the once peaceful halls. As Françoise said, "It was truly divine."