A "guide" on female charm and etiquette once made this "suggestion."
On the eve of Saint Andrew's Day, an unmarried girl should ask a widow for an Apple without thanking her. Then she should cut the Apple in half, eat one half before midnight and the other after midnight. If she did so, she would see her future husband in her dreams.
Saint Andrew was considered Scotland's patron saint and one of the first apostles. November 30 each year was Scotland's Saint Andrew's Day, a festival filled with celebration, delicious food, and Kerry dances.
So it could also be understood this way: girls hoped to receive a revelation in their dreams and see what their future husbands looked like. Then they would search for their "dream lovers" at the ball, dance together to cheerful music, fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after, just like in fairy tales.
If eating one Apple did not bring a dream, then they would keep eating until they dreamed. The girls would not be so obedient as to ask a widow for one each time. It was impolite to ask others for things without thanking them every time, so they would ask for a whole basket at once and eat until the Apples went bad or until Saint Andrew's Eve arrived.
This "guide" had not been written in Latin, but in German. After Martin Luther's Reformation, many Latin books were translated into German. Once printing appeared, German spread even more widely.
In other words, it was a very "secular" read. Georgiana did not understand German, but she summoned the staff officer from yesterday to translate for her. Then he joined in the sorting.
As for that guide to etiquette and charm, it was categorized under "miscellaneous studies," the largest of the several