long before the stiff veneer of bourgeoisie which bored me had worn off.  The people emerged in their true selves:  natural, gentle, sparkling with enjoyment, playful.  Playful is, I think, the best word to describe them.  They played with infinite grace and innocence, like kittens, from the old men of sixty to the little boys of thirteen.  Very little wine was drunk.  Each guest had a litre placed before him.  Many did not finish theirs; and for very few was it replenished.  When at last the dessert arrived, and the bride’s comfits had been handed round, they began to sing.  It was very pretty to see a party of three or four friends gathering round some popular beauty, and paying her compliments in verse—­they grouped behind her chair, she sitting back in it and laughing up to them, and joining in the chorus.  The words, ’Brunetta mia simpatica, ti amo sempre piu,’ sung after this fashion to Eustace’s handsome partner, who puffed delicate whiffs from a Russian cigarette, and smiled her thanks, had a peculiar appropriateness.  All the ladies, it may be observed in passing, had by this time lit their cigarettes.  The men were smoking Toscani, Sellas, or Cavours, and the little boys were dancing round the table breathing smoke from their pert nostrils.

The dinner, in fact, was over.  Other relatives of the guests arrived, and then we saw how some of the reserved dishes were to be bestowed.  A side-table was spread at the end of the gallery, and these late-comers were regaled with plenty by their friends.  Meanwhile, the big table at which we had dined was taken to pieces and removed.  The scagliola floor was swept by the waiters.  Musicians came streaming in and took their places.  The ladies resumed their shoes.  Every one prepared to dance.

My friend and I were now at liberty to chat with the men.  He knew some of them by sight, and claimed acquaintance with others.  There was plenty of talk about different boats, gondolas, and sandolos and topos, remarks upon the past season, and inquiries as to chances of engagements in the future.  One young fellow told us how he had been drawn for the army, and should be obliged to give up his trade just when he had begun to make it answer.  He had got a new gondola, and this would have to be hung up during the years of his service.  The warehousing of a boat in these circumstances costs nearly one hundred francs a year, which is a serious tax upon the pockets of a private in the line.  Many questions were put in turn to us, but all of the same tenor.  ’Had we really enjoyed the pranzo?  Now, really, were we amusing ourselves?  And did we think the custom of the wedding un bel costume?’ We could give an unequivocally hearty response to all these interrogations.  The men seemed pleased.  Their interest in our enjoyment was unaffected.  It is noticeable how often the word divertimento is heard upon the lips of the Italians.  They have a notion that it is the function in life of the Signori to amuse themselves.