_The Fête Champêtre.--A Grand Carnival.--The Disappointed Married Lover.--A Vain Request.--Unmasked!--A Shrewd Caterer and his Humiliating Demands.--An Indignant Deacon.--Don Pedro taken to Peru in a Man-of-War, where he is Convicted and Sentenced to Fifteen Years' Imprisonment.--But the Donna manages to Satisfy her Affections in a quiet way in New York._ To the great delight of hundreds of people in Gloster, Wednesday morning revealed all the indications of a pleasant day, and by noon the weather was so lovely that nothing could have been more auspicious for the grand occasion. As the hour approached for the departure of the steamer, carriage after carriage drew up at the dock to discharge its load of brilliantly-dressed and masked ladies and gentlemen. The only person who was not completely protected from recognition was Monsieur Lesparre, who stood at the gangway to receive the guests, and wore a plain evening dress, with no mask. In order to prevent the attendance of persons who had not been invited, each guest was required to present his or her invitation, and, as there were, as usual, many who had forgotten to bring their cards, Lesparre remained at hand to pass them on board, on leaving their names. When the hour of departure arrived, the boat swung out into the stream, amid the laughter and merry shouts of the gay revelers that crowded her decks, as the band flooded the air with music. At first there was some embarrassment and reserve in the intercourse between the masqueraders, owing to the novelty of their situation, and the fact that the ladies at first clung closely to their own little parties, with whom they had come and to whom they were known; but soon this feeling wore off. They began to enter into the merry spirit of revelry which characterizes such entertainments in the cities of the Old World. The idea of personal identity began to be lost in the gayety of the moment, and in its place was substituted an identification of each person with the character which that person represented. The balmy airs of a perfect spring day wafted to them the sounds of country life along the shores of the river, and gave sensations both novel and pleasing to the gay denizens of the city, who rarely experienced any change from their routine of fashionable entertainments. During the trip by steamer there was much speculation as to the disguises worn by the Don and Donna, and though several persons were suspected of being the host and hostess, there was no sufficient way of identifying them. [Illustration: _The Fête Champêtre.--Page--_]