"No, sir." It struck twelve -- I waited till the time-piece had
concluded its silver chime, and the clock its hoarse, vibrating
stroke, and then I proceeded.
"All day yesterday I was very busy, and very happy in my ceaseless
bustle; for I am not, as you seem to think, troubled by any haunting
fears about the new sphere, et cetera: I think it a glorious
thing to have the hope of living with you, because I love you. No,
sir, don't caress me now -- let me talk undisturbed. Yesterday I
trusted well in Providence, and believed that events were working
together for your good and mine: it was a fine day, if you recollect
-- the calmness of the air and sky forbade apprehensions respecting
your safety or comfort on your journey. I walked a little while
on the pavement after tea, thinking of you; and I beheld you in
imagination so near me, I scarcely missed your actual presence.
I thought of the life that lay before me -- YOUR life, sir -- an
existence more expansive and stirring than my own: as much more
so as the depths of the sea to which the brook runs are than the
shallows of its own strait channel. I wondered why moralists call
this world a dreary wilderness: for me it blossomed like a rose.
Just at sunset, the air turned cold and the sky cloudy: I went in,
Sophie called me upstairs to look at my wedding-dress, which they
had just brought; and under it in the box I found your present --
the veil which, in your princely extravagance, you sent for from
London: resolved, I suppose, since I would not have jewels, to
cheat me into accepting something as costly. I smiled as I unfolded
it, and devised how I would tease you about your aristocratic tastes,
and your efforts to masque your plebeian bride in the attributes
of a peeress. I though how I would carry down to you the square
of unembroidered blond I had myself prepared as a covering for my
low-born head, and ask if that was not good enough for a woman who
could bring her husband neither fortune, beauty, nor connections.
I saw plainly how you would look; and heard your impetuous republican
answers, and your haughty disavowal of any necessity on your part
to augment your wealth, or elevate your standing, by marrying either
a purse or a coronet."
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