Her brown eyes had said to his black ones, "May this be a year of happiness for us," and the black eyes had understood the brown ones in their flight and thanked them.

The gay tumult lasted for several minutes, the buzz of talking, the clatter of glasses, and the coming and going of servants.

Then suddenly an invisible hand seemed to lay hold of the general disorder, ruling and directing it, dissolving groups who had chanced together, here driving them forward, there arranging them backward.

According to some fixed law, without delaying or waiting, an orderly procession was formed into the dining-room.

The invisible spirit hand which possessed all this power was thrice-holy etiquette; the law which brought order out of confusion, and gave to everyone his place, was that of precedence.