And, to her own surprise, when her first bewilderment was over,
Christian really did feel happy. Her artistic temperament rejoiced in
the mere beauty of the scene before her--a scene to be found nowhere
out of Avonsbridge--lofty, grand old rooms, resplendent with
innumerable wax-lights; filled, but not too full, with an ever-moving,
gorgeously-colored crowd. Quite different from that of ordinary
soir?es, where the coup d'oeil is that of a bed of variegated flowers,
with a tribe of black emmets posed on their hind legs inserted between.
Here the gentlemen made as goodly a show as the ladies, or more so,
many of them being in such picturesque costumes that they might have
just stepped down from the old pictures which covered the walls. In-
numerable flowing gowns, of all shapes and colors, marked the college
dons; then there were the gayly-clad gentlemen commoners, and two or
three young noblemen, equally fine; while, painfully near the door, a
few meek-looking undergraduates struggled under the high honor of the
vice chancellor's hospitality.
As to the women, few were young, and none particularly lovely yet
Christian enjoyed looking at them. Actually, for the first time in her
life, did she behold "full dress"--the sparkle of diamonds, the delicate
beauty of old point lace, the rustle of gorgeous silks and satins.
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