第1章

SOMEOPINIONSANDAWEDDING

I，Bertram，takethee，Billy，’chantedthewhite-robedclergyman。

`I，Bertram，takethee，Billy，’’echoedthetallyoungbridegroom，hiseyesgravelytender。

Tomyweddedwife。’

`Tomyweddedwife。’’Thebridegroom’svoiceshookalittle。

Tohaveandtoholdfromthisdayforward。’

`Tohaveandtoholdfromthisdayforward。’’Nowtheyoungvoicerangwithtriumph。Ithadgrownstrongandsteady。

Forbetterforworse。’

`Forbetterforworse。’’

Forricherforpoorer，’dronedtheclergyman，withthewearinessofuncountedrepetitions。

`Forricherforpoorer，’’avowedthebridegroom，withthedecisiveemphasisofonetowhomthewordsarenewandsignificant。

Insicknessandinhealth。’

`Insicknessandinhealth。’’

Toloveandtocherish。’

`Toloveandtocherish。’’Theyoungervoicecarriedinfinitetendernessnow。

Tilldeathusdopart。’

`Tilldeathusdopart，’’repeatedthebridegroom’slips；buteverybodyknewthatwhathisheartsaidwas：Now，andthroughalleternity。’

AccordingtoGod’sholyordinance。’

`AccordingtoGod’sholyordinance。’’

AndtheretoIplighttheemytroth。’

`AndtheretoIplighttheemytroth。’’

Therewasafaintstirintheroom。Inonecornerawhite-hairedwomanblinkedtear-weteyesandpulledafleecywhiteshawlmorecloselyabouthershoulders。Thentheminister’svoicesoundedagain。

I，Billy，takethee，Bertram。’

`I，Billy，takethee，Bertram。’’

Thistimetheechoingvoicewasafeminineone，lowandsweet，butclearlydistinct，andvibrantwithjoyousconfidence，onthroughoneafteranotheroftheeverfamiliar，buteverimpressivephrasesoftheservicethatgivesintothehandsofonemanandofonewomanthefuturehappiness，eachoftheother。

Theweddingwasatnoon。ThateveningMrs。

KateHartwell，sisterofthebridegroom，wrotethefollowingletter：

BOSTON，July15th。

MYDEARHUSBAND：——Well，it’salloverwith，andthey’remarried。Icouldn’tdoonethingtopreventit。MuchaseverastheywouldevenlistentowhatIhadtosay——andwhentheyknewhowIhadhurriedEasttosayit，too，withonlytwohours’notice!

Butthen，whatcanyouexpect？Fromtimeimmemorialloversneverdidhaveanysense；

andwhenthoseloversaresuchirresponsibleflutterbudgetsasBillyandBertram——!

Andsuchawedding!Icouldn’tdoanythingwith_that_，either，thoughItriedhard。TheyhaditinBilly’sliving-roomatnoon，withnothingbutthesunforlight。Therewasnomaidofhonor，nobridesmaids，noweddingcake，noweddingveil，nopresents(exceptfromthefamily，andfromthatridiculousChinesecookofbrotherWilliam’s，DingDong，orwhateverhisnameis。Hetoreinjustbeforetheweddingceremony，andinsisteduponseeingBillytogiveherawretchedlittlegreenstoneidol，whichhedeclaredwouldbringher`heapplentyvellygoodluckee’ifshereceiveditbeforeshe`gotmarried。’Iwouldn’thavethehideous，grinningthingaround，butWilliamsaysit’srealjade，andveryvaluable，andofcourseBillywascrazyoverit——orpretendedtobe)。Therewasnotrousseau，either，andnoreception。Therewasnoanythingbutthebridegroom；

andwhenItellyouthatBillyactuallydeclaredthatwasallshewanted，youwillunderstandhowabsurdlyinlovesheis——inspiteofallthoseweeksandweeksofbrokenengagementwhenI，atleast，supposedshehadcometohersenses，untilIgotthatcrazynotefromBertramaweekagosayingtheyweretobemarriedtoday。

Ican’tsaythatI’vegotanyreallysatisfactoryexplanationofthematter。Everythinghasbeeninsuchahubbub，andthosetworidiculouschildrenhavebeensoafraidtheywouldn’tbetogethereveryminutepossible，thatanyreallyrationalconversationwitheitherofthemwasoutofthequestion。WhenBillybroketheengagementlastspringnoneofusknewwhyshehaddoneit，asyouknow；andIfancyweshallbealmostasmuchinthedarkastowhyshehas——er——mendeditnow，asyoumightsay。AsnearasI

canmakeout，however，shethoughthedidn’twanther，andhethoughtshedidn’twanthim。I

believematterswerestillfurthercomplicatedbyagirlBertramwaspainting，andayoungfellowthatusedtosingwithBilly——aMr。Arkwright。

Anyhow，thingscametoaheadlastspring，BillybroketheengagementandfledtopartsunknownwithAuntHannah，leavingBertramhereinBostontoalternatebetweenstonydespairandrecklessgayety，accordingtoWilliam；anditwaswhilehewasinthelattermoodthathehadthatawfulautomobileaccidentandbrokehisarm——

andalmosthisneck。Hewaswildlydelirious，andcalledcontinuallyforBilly。

Well，itseemsBillydidn’tknowallthis；

butaweekagoshecamehome，andinsomewayfoundoutaboutit，IthinkthroughPete——William’soldbutler，youknow。JustexactlywhathappenedIcan’tsay，butIdoknowthatshedraggedpooroldAuntHannahdowntoBertram’satsomeunearthlyhour，andintherain；

andAuntHannahcouldn’tdoathingwithher。

AllBillywouldsay，was，`Bertramwantsme。’

AndAuntHannahtoldmethatifIcouldhaveseenBilly’sfaceI’dhaveknownthatshe’dhavegonetoBertramthenifhe’dbeenatthetopoftheHimalayaMountains，oratthebottomoftheChinaSea。Soperhapsit’sjustaswell——forAuntHannah’ssake，atleast——thathewasinnoworseplacethanonhisowncouchathome。

Anyhow，shewent，andinhalfanhourtheyblandlyinformedAuntHannahthattheyweregoingtobemarriedto-day。

AuntHannahsaidshetriedtostopthat，andgetthemtoputitofftillOctober(theoriginaldate，youknow)，butBertramwasobdurate。

Andwhenhedeclaredhe’dmarryherthenextdayifitwasn’tforthenewlicenselaw，AuntHannahsaidshegaveupforfearhe’dgetaspecialdispensation，orgototheGovernororthePresident，ordosomeotherdreadfulthing。(WhatafunnyoldsoulAuntHannahis!)Bertramtold_me_thatheshouldneverfeelsafetillBillywasreallyhis；thatshe’dreadsomething，orhearsomething，orthinksomething，orgetaletterfromme(asifanything_I_couldsaywoulddoanygood-orharm!)，andsobreaktheengagementagain。

Well，she’shisnow，soIsupposehe’ssatisfied；though，formypart，Ihaven’tchangedmymindatall。Istillsaythattheyarenotonebitsuitedtoeachother，andthatmatrimonywillsimplyruinhiscareer。Bertramneverhaslovedandneverwillloveanygirllong——excepttopaint。Butifhesimply_would_getmarried，whycouldn’thehavetakenanice，sensibledomesticgirlthatwouldhavekepthimfedandmended？

NotbutthatI’mveryfondofBilly，asyouknow，dear；butimagineBillyasawife——worseyet，amother!Billy’sadeargirl，butsheknowsaboutasmuchofreallifeanditsproblemsas——

asourlittleKate。Amoreimpulsive，irresponsible，regardless-of-consequencesyoungwomanI

neversaw。Shecanplaydivinely，andwritedelightfulsongs，I’llacknowledge；butwhatisthatwhenamanishungry，orhaslostabutton？

Billyhashadherownway，andhadeverythingshewantedforyearsnow——aratherdangerouspreparationformarriage，especiallymarriagetoafellowlikeBertramwhohashad_his_

ownwayandeverything_he’s_wantedforyears。

Pray，what’sgoingtohappenwhenthosewaysconflict，andneitheronegetsthethingwanted？

Andthinkofherignoranceofcooking——but，there!What’stheuse？They’remarriednow，anditcan’tbehelped。

Mercy，whataletterI’vewritten!ButI，hadtotalktosomeone；besides，I’dpromisedI

toletyouknowhowmattersstoodassoonasI

could。Asyousee，though，mytripEasthasbeenpracticallyuseless。Isawthewedding，tobesure，butIdidn’tpreventit，orevenpostponeit——thoughImeanttodooneortheother，elseIshouldneverhavemadethattiresomejourneyhalfacrossthecontinentattwohours’notice。

However，weshallseewhatweshallsee。Asforme，I’mdeadtired。Goodnight。

Affectionatelyyours，KATE。’

Quitenaturally，Mrs。KateHartwellwasnottheonlyonewhowasthinkingthateveningofthewedding。InthehomeofBertram’sbrotherCyril，Cyrilhimselfwasatthepiano，butwherehisthoughtswerewasplaintobeseen——orrather，heard；forfromunderhisfingerstherecametheLohengrinweddingmarchuntilalltheroomseemedfilledwiththescentoforangeblossoms，themistinessoffloatingveils，andtheechoingpealsoffar-awayorgansheraldingtheFairBrideandGroom。’

Overbythetableintheglowingcircleoftheshadedlamp，satMarie，Cyril’swife，adaintysewing-basketbyherside。Herhands，however，layidlyacrossthestockinginherlap。

Asthemusicceased，shedrewalongsigh。

Whataperfectlybeautifulweddingthatwas!shebreathed。

Cyrilwhirledaboutonthepianostool。

Itwasaverysensiblewedding，’hesaidwithemphasis。

Theylookedsohappy——bothofthem，’

wentonMarie，dreamily；so——sosortofaboveandbeyondeverythingaboutthem，asifnothingever，evercouldtroublethem——_now_。’

Cyrilliftedhiseyebrows。

Humph!Well，asIsaidbefore，itwasavery_sensible_wedding，’hedeclared。

ThistimeMarienoticedtheemphasis。Shelaughed，thoughhereyeslookedalittletroubled。

Iknow，dear，ofcourse，whatyoumean。_I_

thoughtourweddingwasbeautiful；butIwouldhavemadeitsimplerifI’drealizedintimehowyou——you——’

HowIabhorredpinkteasandpurplepageants，’hefinishedforher，withafrowningsmile。Oh，well，Istoodit——forthesakeofwhatitbroughtme。’Hisfaceshowednowonlythesmile；thefrownhadvanished。Foramanknownforyearstohisfriendsasahaterofwomenandallotherconfusion，’CyrilHenshawwaslookingremarkablywell-pleasedwithhimself。

Hiswifeoflessthanayearcoloredasshemethisgaze。Hurriedlyshepickedupherneedle。

Themanlaughedhappilyatherconfusion。

Whatareyoudoing？Isthatmystocking？’

hedemanded。

Alook，halfpain，halfreproach，crossedherface。

Why，Cyril，ofcoursenot!You——youtoldmenotto，longago。Yousaidmydarnsmade——

bunches。

Ho!ImeantIdidn’twantto_wear_them，’

retortedtheman，uponwhomthetragicwretchednessofthathalf-sobbedbunches’hadbeenquitelost。Ilovetoseeyou_mending_them，’

hefinished，withanapprovingglanceattheprettylittlepictureofdomesticitybeforehim。

ApeculiarexpressioncametoMarie’seyes。

Why，Cyril，youmeanyou_like_tohavememendthemjustfor——forthesakeofseeingmedoit，whenyou_know_youwon’teverwearthem？’

Sure!’noddedtheman，imperturbably。

Then，withasuddenlaugh，heasked：Iwondernow，doesBillylovetomendsocks？’

Mariesmiled，butshesighed，too，andshookherhead。

I’mafraidnot，Cyril。’

Norcook？’

Marielaughedoutrightthistime。ThevaguelytroubledlookhadfledfromhereyesOh，Billy’shelpedmebeateggsandbuttersometimes，butIneverknewhertocookathingorwanttocookathing，butonce；thenshespentnearlytwoweekstryingtolearntomakepuddings——foryou。’

For_me!_’

Mariepuckeredherlipsqueerly。

Well，Isupposedtheywereforyouatthetime。Atalleventsshewastryingtomakethemforsomeoneofyouboys；probablyitwasreallyforBertram，though。’

Humph!’gruntedCyril。Then，afteraminute，heobserved：IjudgeKatethinksBilly’llnevermakethem——foranybody。I’mafraidSisterKateisn’tpleased。’

Oh，butMrs。Hartwellwas——wasdisappointedinthewedding，’apologizedMarie，quickly。Youknowshewanteditputoffanyway，andshedidn’tlikesuchasimpleone。

Hm-m；asusualSisterKateforgotitwasn’therfuneral——Imean，herwedding，’retortedCyril，dryly。Kateisneverhappy，youknow，unlessshe’smanagingthings。’

Yes，Iknow，’noddedMarie，withafrowningsmileofrecollectionatcertainfeaturesofherownwedding。

Shedoesn’tapproveofBilly’stasteinguests，either，’remarkedCyril，afteramoment’ssilence。

Ithoughtherguestswerelovely，’spokeupMarie，inquickdefense。Ofcourse，mostofhersocialfriendsareaway——inJuly；butBillyisneverasocietygirl，youknow，inspiteofthewaySocietyisalwaystryingtolionizeherandBertram。’

Oh，ofcourseKateknowsthat；butshesaysitseemsasifBillyneedn’thavegoneoutandgatheredinthelameandthehaltandtheblind。’

Nonsense!’criedMarie，withunusualsharpnessforher。IsupposeshesaidthatjustbecauseofMrs。Greggory’sandTommyDunn’scrutches。’

Well，theydidn’tmakearealfestive-lookingweddingparty，youmustadmit，’laughedCyril；

whatwiththebridegroom’sownarminasling，too!Butwhoweretheyall，anyway？’