She wore her hair braided round her head; a bodice, which showed the beauty and shape of her form, of scarlet cloth, attached by threads of gold across the shirt, which was of the softest and most delicate material; the short blue petticoat, which reached some way below the knee, but did not descend so far as to conceal the ankle, the symmetry of which was well-defined by the silk stocking.  The shoe might have stirred the envy of any grisette in Paris—­a class which was, even in those days, supposed to enjoy a monopoly of taste and refinement.  There was a modesty combined with refinement and strength of character in the appearance of Marguerite which would have distinguished her in any crowd.  She was a being for love and sunshine; but one who, at the same time, would have dared much for him she loved.  The kind and generous are ever gallant, and rarely are the beautiful unworthy.

Carl and Krantz were also dressed out in their gayest costumes.  It would have been hard to have decided which was the predominant color in the dresses of these two worthy citizens; they would have rivaled any tulip bed in a Dutch garden, and perfectly dazzled Marguerite when they entered the room.

At length the last touch was given to the toilette, and they sallied forth.  Already the streets were so crowded that it was difficult to move through them; but Carl and Krantz were determined, energetic fellows, and what with their elbows and Marguerite’s bright smiles, after incurring a few risks of some jokes on Carl’s extravagant appearance, they reached the great hall.

The street in front of the Courthouse was lined with the burgher guard, stationed there to keep back the crowd; but Marguerite had an order for admittance at a private entrance, so, escorted by her cavalier, she ascended the staircase.

When she entered the hall she was struck with awe and astonishment.  The whole of that enormous space, with the exception of the portion railed off for the competitors and the dais where the council were sitting, was crowded by a dense mass of people:  along the sides of the vast edifice, and up to the very roof, were arranged all the various productions of national art.  Nothing can be pictured more beautiful than the combination of rich and varied colors, or more curious than the forms which art and genius had given them:  here were dyes which might have rivaled those of Tyre, and fabrics of finer texture than a Penelope could have woven.  At one end, toward which Marguerite’s eyes were most anxiously turned, the models of the clocks were arranged.  Dumiger’s was placed in the center, for it was at the same time the largest model, and contained the most elaborate and complicated machinery; but, alas! the works remained still, while all the others were in motion, and showed in the smallest space the movements of the heavenly bodies, and the progress of time.  If Dumiger’s meant anything more than a confused mass of machinery, it could not for