noon
She could not help thinking constantly of the possibility that the Emperor might be present in the procession , and to see her lover again was the goal of her longing . Even in the morning , while the physician permitted her to remain in the open air because the clay was hot and still , the bridal procession was continually in her thoughts . Yet she did not utter a word in allusion to it . At the noon meal she ate so little that Sister Hyacinthe noticed it , and anxiously asked if she felt worse ; but Barbara reassured her and , after a short rest in the house , she asked to be taken out again under the lindens where she had reclined in an armchair that morning . Scarcely had she seated herself when all the bells in the city began to ring , and the heavy ordnance and howitzers shook the air with their thunder . What a festal alarum ! How vividly it reminded her of the brilliant exhibitions and festivities which she had formerly attended !