Page:The grandmother; a story of country life in Bohemia.pdf/352

346 room, joined hands, put the groom in the circle, and sang:

The bride now belonged to the groom. The money which the women received for her was spent the next day in feasting, when they came "to make the bed," at which ceremony there was again much singing and joking. The spokesman declared that a well-ordered wedding ought to last eight days, and this was usually the case with grand weddings. The weaving of the wreaths before the wedding, the wedding itself, the making of the bed, the reunion at the home of the bride's parents, a second reunion at the groom's house, the meeting at the inn of all the young friends: thus the whole week was spent before the newly married couple had any rest, before they could say: "Now we are alone."

A few weeks after Christina's wedding, Mrs. Proshek received a letter from the first chambermaid, who wrote that Countess Hortense was to celebrate her marriage with a certain artist, her former teacher, that she was perfectly happy, that she was again like a rose, and that the Princess rejoiced at her happiness.

Grandmother hearing this good news, nodded her head saying: "Thank God; all has turned out well."

It is not the purpose of this little book to describe the life of the young people that grew up around