But the central point of the festival was the monstrous gigantic hall
which the cardinal had caused to be erected in the centre of the garden
expressly for this occasion. The walls of muslin and flowers were held
together by more than a hundred gilded pillars, the girandoles attached
to each of which diffused a sea of light. Silken carpets covered
the floor, and the plafond of this gigantic hall was formed by the
thousand-starred arch of heaven. Here, also, niches and grottoes
were everywhere to be found; in them one could, in the midst of the
constantly moving and noisy crowd, enjoy quiet and repose.
Only one of these niches was inaccessible, as it appears, to the
company, and yet it was precisely this which excited the curiosity of
all, and which all, whispering, approached, anxious to get a peep behind
the closed thick silken curtains, before which two richly gallooned
servants of the cardinal walked back and forth with solemn earnestness,
but respectfully requesting every one to comply with the cardinal's
wishes and not approach the mysterious drapery, but await his own time
for the solution of the enigma! A few steps led up to this closed and
covered niche; these steps were strewed with roses, that was plainly
seen; but, to what did these steps lead, and what was thus carefully
concealed?
A precious surprise, certainly, for it was the forte of the cardinal
to prepare surprises for the agreeable entertainment of his guests. The
ladies and gentlemen, the cardinals and princes of the Church, crowded
around him begging for an explanation of the mystery, a disclosure of
the secret.
"I am myself uninitiated," said Cardinal Bernis, laughing; "some
divinity may have taken a seat there, or perhaps it is a sphinx which
will from thence give us the solution of her enigma. But let us see what
belated guests are now coming to us."
And the cardinal with zealous precipitation approached the principal
entrance to the hall, the portieres of which had just been drawn
aside, and behind was seen Natalie at the hand of Paulo.
As if blinded by the sudden flood of light, she stood for a moment
still, a purple glow flushing her delicate cheeks, and clinging to
Paulo's arms, she whispered: "Protect me, Paulo, I am so frightened by
this crowd!"
Just at that moment the doorkeeper cried with a loud voice: "Princess
Natalie Tartaroff and Count Paulo!"
At the sound of these strange names all glanced toward the door, and
all flaming, curious, prying eyes were fixed with astonishment and
admiration upon the young maiden.
But Natalie did not remark it. She glanced at Paulo with a glad smile,
and a proud happiness beamed from her features. She had, then, a name;
she was no longer an abandoned, nameless orphan. At length the enigma of
her birth was solved, and what she had so often prayed for, Count Paulo
had vouchsafed her as a surprise to-day.