"Mademoiselle met me with a radiant smile, and her wedding dress of
white silk, made her look perfectly charming. Her lips were caressing,
her eyes melting, but all at once, as she looked at me, I saw the color
all fade out of the rosy lips of the lady; and from the great dark eyes
darted the lurid flash. A chill, like that of death smote me, I know
not why, but I suppressed my emotion. In ten minutes, I was standing
before the excellent clergyman, the young lady's cold hand in mine--and
we were duly declared man and wife.
"All my forebodings and strange shrinkings were completely dissipated
at this instant. I was overwhelmed with happiness, and would not have
envied a king upon his throne. With the hand of the lovely creature in
my own, and her eyes fixed upon me with an expression of the deepest
love, I experienced but one emotion--that of full, complete, unalloyed
happiness.
"Let me hasten on. The storm is coming, my dear Surry. I linger on the
threshold of the tragedy, and recoil even now, with a sort of shudder
from the terrible scenes which succeeded my marriage. _Tragedy_ is a
mild word, as you will perceive, for the drama. It was going to surpass
Aeschylus--and preserve the Greek 'unities' with frightful precision!
"Half an hour after the ceremony, I led madam to my chariot; followed
her into the vehicle, and making a last sign of greeting to the good
parson, directed the driver to proceed to Fonthill.
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