Natasha was going to her first grand ball.

She had got up at eight that morning and had been in a fever of excitement and activity all day.

All her powers since morning had been concentrated on ensuring that they all--she herself, Mamma, and Sonya--should be as well dressed as possible.

Sonya and her mother put themselves entirely in her hands.

The countess was to wear a claret-colored velvet dress, and the two girls white gauze over pink silk slips, with roses on their bodices and their hair dressed a la grecque.