And the shirts stood out from the chests likecuirasses！ Everyone had just had his hair cut； ears stood out from the heads； theyhad been close-shaved； a few， even， who had had to get up before daybreak， andnot been able to see to shave， had diagonal gashes under their noses or cutsthe size of a three-franc piece along the jaws， which the fresh air en routehad enflamed， so that the great white beaming faces were mottled here and therewith red dabs.
The mairie was a mile and a half from thefarm， and they went thither on foot， returning in the same way after theceremony in the church. The procession， first united like one long colouredscarf that undulated across the fields， along the narrow path winding amid thegreen corn， soon lengthened out， and broke up into different groups thatloitered to talk. The fiddler walked in front with his violin， gay. withribbons at its pegs. Then came the married pair， the relations， the friends，all following pell-mell； the children stayed behind amusing themselves pluckingthe bell-flowers from oat-ears， or playing amongst themselves unseen. Emma's dress， too long， trailed a little on the ground； from time to timeshe stopped to pull it up， and then delicately， with her gloved hands， shepicked off the coarse grass and the thistledowns， while Charles， empty handed，waited till she had finished. Old Rouault， with a new silk hat and the cuffs ofhis black coat coveting his hands up to the nails， gave his arm to MadameBovary senior. As to Monsieur Bovary senior， who， heartily despising all thesefolk， had come simply in a frock-coat of military cut with one row ofbuttons-he was passing compliments of the bar to a fair young peasant. Shebowed， blushed， and did not know what to say. The other wedding guests talkedof their business or played tricks behind each other'sbacks， egging one another on in advance to be jolly. Those who listened could alwayscatch the squeaking of the fiddler， who went on playing across the fields. Whenhe saw that the rest were far behind he stopped to take breath， slowly rosinedhis bow， so that the strings should sound more shrilly， then set off again， byturns lowering and raising his neck， the better to mark time for himself. Thenoise of the instrument drove away the little birds from afar.
The table was laid under the cart-shed. On itwere four sirloins， six chicken fricassees， stewed veal， three legs of mutton，and in the middle a fine roast suckling pig， flanked by four chitterlings withsorrel. At the corners were decanters of brandy. Sweet bottled-cider frothedround the corks， and all the glasses had been filled to the brim with winebeforehand. Large dishes of yellow cream， that trembled with the least shake ofthe table， had designed on their smooth surface the initials of the newlywedded pair in nonpareil arabesques. A confectioner of Yvetot had beenintrusted with the tarts and sweets. As he had only just set up on the place，he had taken a lot of trouble， and at dessert he himself brought in a set dishthat evoked loud cries of wonderment. To begin with， at its base there was asquare of blue cardboard， representing a temple with porticoes， colonnades， andstucco statuettes all round， and in the niches constellations of gilt paperstars； then on the second stage was a dungeon of Savoy cake， surrounded by manyfortifications in candied angelica， almonds， raisins， and quarters of oranges；and finally， on the upper platform a green field with rocks set in lakes ofjam， nutshell boats， and a small Cupid balancing himself in a chocolate swingwhose two uprights ended in real roses for balls at the top.
Until night they ate. When any of them weretoo tired of sitting， they went out for a stroll in the yard， or for a gamewith corks in the granary， and then returned to table. Some towards the finishwent to sleep and snored. But with the coffee everyone woke up. Then they begansongs， showed off tricks， raised heavy weights， performed feats with theirfingers， then tried lifting carts on their shoulders， made broad jokes， kissedthe women. At night when they left， the horses， stuffed up to the nostrils withoats， could hardly be got into the shafts； they kicked， reared， the harnessbroke， their masters laughed or swore； and all night in the light of the moonalong country roads there were runaway carts at full gallop plunging into theditches， jumping over yard after yard of stones， clambering up the hills， withwomen leaning out from the tilt to catch hold of the reins.
Those who stayed at the Bertaux spent thenight drinking in the kitchen. The children had fallen asleep under the seats.
The bride had begged her father to be sparedthe usual marriage pleasantries. However， a fishmonger， one of their cousins(who had even brought a pair of soles for his wedding present)， began to squirtwater from his mouth through the keyhole， when old Rouault came up just in timeto stop him， and explain to him that the distinguished position of hisson-in-law would not allow of such liberties. The cousin all the same did notgive in to these reasons readily. In his heart he accused old Rouault of beingproud， and he joined four or five other guests in a corner， who having， throughmere chance， been several times running served with the worst helps of meat，also were of opinion they had been badly used， and were whispering about theirhost， and with covered hints hoping he would ruin himself.
Madame Bovary， senior， had not opened her mouthall day. She had been consulted neither as to the dress of her daughter-in-lawnor as to the arrangement of the feast； she went to bed early. Her husband，instead of following her， sent to Saint-Victor for some cigars， and smoked tilldaybreak， drinking kirsch-punch， a mixture unknown to the company. This addedgreatly to the consideration in which he was held.
Charles， who was not of a facetious turn， didnot shine at the wedding. He answered feebly to the puns， doubles entendres，compliments， and chaff that it was felt a duty to let off at him as soon as thesoup appeared.
The next day， on the other hand， he seemedanother man. It was he who might rather have been taken for the virgin of theevening before， whilst the bride gave no sign that revealed anything. Theshrewdest did not know what to make of it， and they looked at her when shepassed near them with an unbounded concentration of mind. But Charles concealednothing. He called her “my wife”， tutoéd her， asked for her of everyone，looked for her everywhere， and often he dragged her into the yards， where hecould be seen from far between the trees， putting his arm around her waist， andwalking half-bending over her， ruffling the chemisette of her bodice with hishead.
Two days after the wedding the married pairleft. Charles， on account of his patients， could not be away longer. OldRouault had them driven back in his cart， and himself accompanied them as faras Vassonville. Here he embraced his daughter for the last time， got down， andwent his way. When he had gone about a hundred paces he stopped， and as he sawthe cart disappearing， its wheels turning in the dust， he gave a deep sigh.Then he remembered his wedding， the old times， the first pregnancy of his wife；he， too， had been very happy the day when he had taken her from her father tohis home， and had carried her off on a pillion， trotting through the snow， forit was near Christmas-time， and the country was all white. She held him by onearm， her basket hanging from the other； the wind blew the long lace of herCauchois headdress so that it sometimes flapped across his mouth， and when hetumed his head he saw near him， on his shoulder， her little rosy face， smilingsilently under the gold bands of her cap. To warm her hands she put them fromtime to time in his breast. How long ago it all was！ Their son would have beenthirty by now. Then he looked back and saw nothing on the road. He felt drearyas an empty house； and tender memories mingling with the sad thoughts in hisbrain， addled by the fumes of the feast， he felt inclined for a moment to takea turn towards the church. As he was afraid， however， that this sight wouldmake him yet more sad， he went right away home.
Monsieur and Madame Charles arrived at Tostesabout six o'clock. The neighbors came to the windows tosee their doctor's new wife.
The old servant presented herself， curtsiedto her， apologised for not having dinner ready， and suggested that madame， inthe meantime， should look over her house.