Mina accompanied the old lady to the large press which contained the delicate, though somewhat yellow, bed-linen trimmed with fine lace; and that which was necessary was given out for the beds, and the chambers were made ready for their new inhabitants.
CHAPTER V.—THE PRINCESS.
The princess arrived at Barenburg Castle on the evening of the following day. The housekeeper, in her most splendid attire, a violet silk dress and a splendid lace cap, together with the rest of the household, solemnly received her at the foot of the flight of steps leading into the castle. The children witnessed the arrival from the little window of the porter's room, and even the free-minded Fritz felt a reverential throbbing of the heart, as he saw the carriage-step let down, and the princess alight, wholly different in appearance to what he had expected; not a lofty, magnificent lady in a crimson silk dress and a little crown on her head, like Queen Esther or Pharaoh's daughter in the picture Bible, but a somewhat small, slender lady, in a grey silk dress and simple white bonnet, which she took off, as she stood on the castle-steps, gazing with agreeable surprise, as it seemed, on the beautiful ancient structure and its charming surroundings. Her brown hair was simply parted under a small blond cap, and her blue eyes glanced so mildly from the delicate, pale countenance, that the children, seeming to forget that they had expected anything different, Mina whispered softly to Fritz, "But she must be very, very good, though."
Whilst they were watching the princess, the servants assisted two beautiful children from the carriage, who now joyously, and with an exclamation of astonishment, sprang up the castle steps; a boy and a girl, somewhat younger than Fritz and Mina, so richly and so elegantly dressed, that they could not have been mistaken for other than princely children.
"But, mamma, is it not lovely? And shall we live here?" exclaimed the little girl.
"Yes, my child," said the princess, and kissed her on the forehead.
"Are there yet stags in the park," demanded the boy with a princely air from the respectful porter; "and can I have a gun here to shoot them?"
The mother smiled, and seemed half-embarrassed by the commanding tone which her young son assumed.
"There are the park-grounds belonging to the garden," said the revenue-warden of the district, who had come to the castle to receive the princess, "and beyond lies the deer-park; the keeper who lives there will be able to assist the young prince in the shooting of game."