The marriage of Alete, for a while, however, diverted him from his moody thoughts.  The pastor and M. de Vermondans wished the marriage to be contracted according to the custom of the country.  Invitations had already been given to many in the neighborhood, to the friends of the pastor and of the two families.  At the appointed time, a great number of carriages had collected at the house of M. de Vermondans.  Beds had been made in every room.  The house was full of guests, the stable of horses, not to remain a few hours, for a wedding in Sweden lasts a whole week.  M. de Vermondans, assisted by Eric and Ireneus, did the honors of the house.  Ebba dressed her sister, and this alone was not a trifling task, for in Sweden brides are richly decked, and the daughter of the humblest peasant borrows or hires jewels to dress her like a lady.

The toilet, according to the old usage of the country, was at last finished, under the inspection of the matrons of the village.  Alete entered the drawing-room in a dress of rose-colored silk, covered with flounces, rosettes, a mass of ribbons, etc., and with a girdle, suspended to which were many ornaments of different devices, all of silver, and which, as she walked, rang like bells.  Nothing can be more ungraceful than such a dress, which, however, Alete wore with grace.  When she appeared, a cry of admiration escaped from every mouth, and the spectators’ eyes turned involuntarily to Eric to congratulate him.

Alete took her father’s arm to walk to the church, and the guests followed her.  At the head of the procession were musicians, playing the flute and violin; next came about thirty young girls, two by two, in their richest dresses; then the guests and the women and children of the village.

After the ceremony, the young girls stood on each side of the altar; the bridegroom advanced to the altar; then the bride was led thither by her father, who handed her to Eric, and withdrew a few paces, as if he thus transferred to another all his own rights.  The old pastor then, with an earnest voice and with tears in his eyes, pronounced the nuptial benediction, and gave his children a touching exhortation.  A religious chant terminated the ceremonies, and the couple left the church amid the sound of horns and the firing of guns.  On their return home, M. de Vermondans, after an old custom, handed each a glass of beer, which they drank at the same time, as if to show that thenceforth all was common between them.

Dinner was soon served.  The newly-married people sat side by side under a canopy, prepared as if to shelter their happiness.  At the end of the repast a carpet was spread representing the nuptial bed.  The two knelt together, and the company sang a hymn.  Then the priest, speaking to the company, invoked every blessing on the couple about to enter a new walk of life, and bespoke the kind wishes of all their friends.  He asked every guest to give them some token of sympathy,