The male gardeners appeared in their aprons, carrying spades, rakes, and
the other implements of their trade; the female supporting baskets on
their heads filled with rich flowers, vegetables, and fruits. When in
front of the bailiff, the young men formed a sort of fasces of their
several implements, with a readiness that denoted much study while the
girls arranged their baskets in a circle at its foot. Then, joining hands,
the whole whirled around, filling the air with a song peculiar to their
pursuits.
During the whole of the preparations of the morning, Adelheid had looked
on with a vacant eye, as if her feelings had little connexion with that
which was passing before her face. It is scarcely necessary to say, that
her mind, in spite of herself, wandered to other scenes, and that her
truant thoughts were busy with interests very different from those which
were here presented to the senses. But, by the time the group of gardeners
had passed dancing away, her feelings began to enlist with those who were
so evidently pleased with themselves and all around them, and her father,
for the first time that morning, was rewarded for the deep attention with
which he watched the play of her features, by an affectionate and natural
smile.
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