Then they separated to meet again at eight o'clock. As there was a
considerable number of young people from the neighboring towns, and as
there were not beds enough for everybody, each invited guest among the
women of the village shared her bed with two or three friends, while the
young men lay pell-mell on the hay in the loft at the farm. You can
imagine that there was not much sleep there, for they thought of nothing
but teasing, and playing tricks on one another and telling amusing
stories. At all weddings, there are three sleepless nights, which no one
regrets.
At the hour appointed for setting out, after they had eaten their soup
_au lait_ seasoned with a strong dose of pepper to give them an
appetite, for the wedding-banquet bade fair to be abundant, they
assembled in the farm-yard. Our parish church being suppressed, they
were obliged to go half a league away to receive the nuptial
benediction. It was a lovely, cool day; but, as the roads were very bad,
every man had provided himself with a horse, and took _en croupe_ a
female companion, young or old. Germain was mounted upon Grise, who,
being well groomed, newly shod, and decked out in ribbons, pranced and
capered and breathed fire through her nostrils. He went to the cabin for
his fiancee, accompanied by his brother-in-law Jacques, who was mounted
on old Grise and took Mere Guillette _en croupe_, while Germain returned
triumphantly to the farm-yard with his dear little wife.
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