A MARRIAGE.
Doctor Ravenel was delighted when Lillie, blushing monstrously and with
one arm around his neck, and her face at first a little behind his
shoulder, confided to him the new revelation which had made her life
doubly precious.
"I never was more happy since I came into the world, my dear," he said.
"I am entirely satisfied. I do most heartily return thanks for this. I
believe that now your happiness and well-being are assured, so far as
they can be by any human circumstance. He is the noblest young man that
I ever knew."
"Shall I send him to you to implore your consent?" she asked roguishly.
"Do you want a chance to domineer over him?"
The Doctor laughed outright at the absurdity of the idea.
"I feel," said he, "as though I ought to ask his consent. I ought to
apologize to the municipal authorities for taking the finest fellow in
the city away from the young ladies of native birth. Seriously, my dear
child, you will have to try hard in order to be good enough for him."
"Go away," answered Lillie with a little push. "Papas are the most
ungrateful of all human beings. Well, if I am not good enough, there is
Ravvie, and you. I throw you both in to make it an even bargain."
It was soon decided that the marriage should take place early in
September. Lillie had never had a long engagement, and did not now
specially care for one, being therein, I understand, similar to most
widows when they are once persuaded to exchange their mourning for
bridal attire. Men never like that period of expectation, and Colburne
urged an early day for his inauguration as monarch of a heart and
household. His family homestead, just now tenantless, was made fine by
the application of much paint and wall-paper, and the introduction of
half-a-dozen new articles of furniture. Lillie and he visited it nearly
every day during their brief betrothal, usually accompanied by Ravvie in
the wicker baby-wagon, and were very happy in dressing up the neglected
garden, arranging and re-arranging the chairs, and tables, and planning
how the rooms should be distributed among the family. To the Doctor was
assigned the best front bed-room, and to the Smithites and Brownites,
etc., an adjoining closet of abundant dimensions.
"Ravvie and Rosann shall have the back chamber," said Lillie, "so that
Ravvie can look out on the garden and be away from the dust of the
street. I am so delighted that the little fellow is at last to have a
garden and flowers. You and I will take the other front bedroom, next to
papa's."
Here she colored at her own frankness, and hurried on to other
dispositions.
"That will leave us two little rooms for servants up stairs; and down
stairs we shall have a parlor, and dining-room, and kitchen; we shall
fairly lose ourselves. How much pleasanter than a hotel!"
Colburne had noticed her blush with a sense of pleasure and triumph; but
he was generous enough and delicate enough to spare her any allusion to
it.
"You have left no place for friends," he merely observed.
"Oh, but we mustn't entertain much, for a while. We--you--cannot afford
it. I have been catechising Mrs. Whitewood about the cost of meat and
things. Prices are dreadful."
After a little pause she broke out, "Oh, won't it be delightful to have
a house, and garden, and flowers! Ravvie will be so happy here! We shall
all be so happy! I can't think of anything else."
"And you don't want a wedding tour?"
"Oh yes! I _do_ want it. But, my darling, you cannot afford it. You must
not tempt me. We will have the wedding tour five years hence, when we
come to celebrate our wooden wedding. Then you will be rich, perhaps."
The grand ceremony which legalized and ratified all these arrangements
took place at five o'clock in the afternoon in the little church of St.
Joseph. The city being yet small enough to feel a decided interest in
the private affairs of any noted citizen, a crowd of uninvited
spectators collected to witness the marriage of the popular young
captain with the widow of the lamented Union General. Stories of how the
father had given up his all for the sake of the Republic, how Colburne
had single-handed saved Mrs. Carter from a brigade of Texans, and how
the dying General had bequeathed the care of his family to the Captain
on the field of victory, circulated among the lookers on and inflamed
them to an enthusiasm which exhibited itself in a violent waving of
handkerchief as the little bridal party came out of the church and drove
homeward. Since New Boston was founded no other nuptials had been so
celebrated, if we may believe the oldest inhabitant.
At last Colburne had his wife, and his wife had her home. For the last
four years they have sailed separately over stormy seas, but now they
are in a quiet haven, united so long as life shall last.
It grieves me to leave this young woman thus on the threshold of her
history. Here she is, at twenty-three, with but one child, and only at
her second husband. Two-thirds of her years and heart history are
probably before her. Women are most interesting at thirty: then only do
they in general enter upon their full bloom, physical, moral and
intellectual: then only do they attain their highest charm as members of
society. But a sense of artistic fitness, derived from a belief that now
she has a sure start in the voyage of happiness, compels me to close the
biography of my heroine at her marriage with my favorite, Mr. Colburne.
Moreover, it will be perceived that, if I continue her story, I shall
have to do it through the medium of prophecy, which might give it an air
of improbability to the reader, besides leading me to assume certain
grave responsibilities, such, for instance, as deciding the next
presidential election without waiting for the verdict of the people.
We need have no fears about the prospects of Colburne. It is true that
during his military career luck has been against him, and he has not
received promotion although he deserved it; but his disappointment in
not obtaining great military glory will finally give strength to his
character and secure to him perfect manliness and success. It has taken
down his false pride, and taught him to use means for ends; moreover, it
will preserve him from being enfeebled by a dropsy of vanity. Had he
been mustered out of service as a Brigadier-General of volunteers, he
might possibly have disdained the small beginnings of a law business,
demanded a foreign consulate or home collectorship, and became a State
pauper for life. As it is, he will stand on his own base, which is a
broad and solid one; and the men around him will have no advantage over
him, except so far as their individual bases are better than his; for in
civilian life there is no rank, nor seniority, and the close corporation
of political cabal has little influence. The chivalrous sentiment which
would not let him beg for promotion will show forth in a resolute
self-reliance and an incorruptible honor, which in the long run will be
to his outward advantage. His responsibilities will take all dreaminess
out of him, and make him practical, industrious, able to arrive at
results. His courage will prolong his health, and his health will be
used in effective labor. He has the patience of a soldier, and a
soldier's fortitude under discouragement. He is a better and stronger
man for having fought three years, out-facing death and suffering. Like
the nation, he has developed, and learned his powers. Possessing more
physical and intellectual vigor than is merely necessary to exist, he
will succeed in the duties of life, and control other men's lives,
labors, opinions, successes. It is greatly to his honor, it is a sure
promise of his future, that he understands his seeming failure as a
soldier, and is not discouraged by it, but takes hold of the next thing
to do with confident energy.
He is the soldier citizen: he could face the flame of battle for his
country: he can also earn his own living. He could leave his
office-chair to march and fight for three years; and he can return to
peaceful industry, as ennobling as his fighting.
It is in millions of such men that the strength of the Republic
consists.
As for his domestic history, I think that we need have no terrors either
for his happiness or that of Mrs. Colburne.
"I don't see but that you get along very well together," said the
Doctor, addressing the young couple, a week or so after the marriage. "I
really don't see why I can't hereafter devote myself exclusively to my
Brownites and Robinsonites."
"Papa," answered Lillie, "I never felt so near saying that I could spare
you."
Colburne listened, happily smiling, conscious of a loved and loving
wife, of a growing balance in bank, of surroundings which he would not
have exchanged for a field of victory.
THE END.
ADVERTISEMENTS
_Mr. Motley, the American historian of the United Netherlands--we
owe him English homage._--LONDON TIMES.
"_As interesting as a romance, and as reliable as a proposition of
Euclid._"
History of The United Netherlands.
FROM THE DEATH OF WILLIAM THE SILENT TO THE SYNOD OF DORT. WITH A
FULL VIEW OF THE ENGLISH-DUTCH STRUGGLE AGAINST SPAIN, AND
OF THE ORIGIN AND DESTRUCTION OF THE SPANISH
ARMADA.
By JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, LL.D., D.C.L.,
Corresponding Member of the Institute of France, Author of "The Rise of
the Dutch Republic."
With Portraits and Map.
2 vols. 8vo, Muslin, $6 00.
_Critical Notices._
His living and truthful picture of events.--_Quarterly Review_
(London), Jan., 1861.
Fertile as the present age has been in historical works of the
highest merit, none of them can be ranked above these volumes in
the grand qualities of interest, accuracy, and truth.--_Edinburgh
Quarterly Review_, Jan., 1861.
This noble work.--_Westminster Review_ (London).
One of the most fascinating as well as important histories of the
century.--_Cor. N. Y. Evening Post._
The careful study of these volumes will infallibly afford a feast
both rich and rare.--_Baltimore Republican._
Already takes a rank among standard works of history.--_London
Critic._
Mr. Motley's prose epic.--_London Spectator._
Its pages are pregnant with instruction.--_London Literary
Gazette._
We may profit by almost every page of his narrative. All the topics
which agitate us now are more or less vividly presented in the
History of the United Netherlands.--_New York Times._
Bears on every page marks of the same vigorous mind that produced
"The Rise of the Dutch Republic;" but the new work is riper,
mellower, and though equally racy of the soil, softer flavored. The
inspiring idea which breathes through Mr. Motley's histories and
colors the whole texture of his narrative, is the grandeur of that
memorable struggle in the 16th century by which the human mind
broke the thraldom of religious intolerance and achieved its
independence.--_The World, N. Y._
The name of Motley now stands in the very front rank of living
historians. His _Dutch Republic_ took the world by surprise; but
the favorable verdict then given is now only the more deliberately
confirmed on the publication of the continued story under the title
of the _History of the United Netherlands_. All the nerve, and
power, and substance of juicy life are there, lending a charm to
every page.--_Church Journal, N. Y._
Motley, indeed, has produced a prose epic, and his fighting scenes
are as real, spirited, and life-like as the combats in the
Iliad.--_The Press_ (Phila.).
His history is as interesting as a romance, and as reliable as a
proposition of Euclid. Clio never had a more faithful disciple. We
advise every reader whose means will permit to become the owner of
these fascinating volumes, assuring him that he will never regret
the investment.--_Christian Intelligencer, N. Y._
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It was once said of a very charming and high-minded woman that to
know her was in itself a liberal education; and we are inclined to
set an almost equally high value on an acquaintance with the
writings of "George Eliot." For those who read them aright they
possess the faculty of educating in its highest sense, of
invigorating the intellect, giving a healthy tone to the taste,
appealing to the nobler feelings of the heart, training its
impulses aright, and awakening or developing in every mind the
consciousness of a craving for something higher than the pleasures
and rewards of that life which only the senses realize, the belief
in a destiny of a nobler nature than can be grasped by experience
or demonstrated by argument. On those readers who are able to
appreciate a lofty independence of thought, a rare nobility of
feeling, and an exquisite sympathy with the joys and sorrows of
human nature, "George Eliot's" writings can not fail to exert an
invigorating and purifying influence, the good effects of which
leaves behind it a lasting impression.--_London Review._
"George Eliot," or whoever he or she may be, has a wonderful power
in giving an air of intense reality to whatever scene is presented,
whatever character is portrayed.--_Worcester Palladium._
She resembles Shakspeare in her power of delineation. It is from
this characteristic action on the part of each of the members of
the dramatis personæ that we feel not only an interest, even and
consistent throughout, but also an admiration for "George Eliot"
above all other writers.--_Philadelphia Evening Telegraph._ Few
women--no living woman indeed--have so much strength as "George
Eliot," and, more than that, she never allows it to degenerate into
coarseness. With all her so-called "masculine" vigor, she has a
feminine tenderness, which is nowhere shown more plainly than in
her descriptions of children.--_Boston Transcript._
She looks out upon the world with the most entire enjoyment of all
the good that there is in it to enjoy, and with an enlarged
compassion for all the ill that there is in it to pity. But she
never either whimpers over the sorrowful lot of man, or snarls and
chuckles over his follies and littlenesses and
impotence.--_Saturday Review._
Her acquaintance with different phases of outward life, and the
power of analyzing feeling and the working of the mind, are alike
wonderful.--_Reader._
"George Eliot's" novels belong to the enduring literature of our
country--durable, not for the fashionableness of its pattern, but
for the texture of its stuff.--_Examiner._
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"They do honor to American Literature, and would do honor to the
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THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC.
A history.
BY JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY.
New Edition. With a Portrait of WILLIAM OF ORANGE. 3 vols. 8vo,
Muslin, $9 00.
We regard this work as the best contribution to modern history that
has yet been made by an American.--_Methodist Quarterly Review._
The "History of the Dutch Republic" is a great gift to us; but the
heart and earnestness that beat through all its pages are greater,
for they give us most timely inspiration to vindicate the true
ideas of our country, and to compose an able history of our
own.--_Christian Examiner_ (Boston).
This work bears on its face the evidences of scholarship and
research. The arrangement is clear and effective; the style
energetic, lively, and often brilliant. * * * Mr. Motley's
instructive volumes will, we trust, have a circulation commensurate
with their interest and value.--_Protestant Episcopal Quarterly
Review._
To the illustration of this most interesting period Mr. Motley has
brought the matured powers of a vigorous and brilliant mind, and
the abundant fruits of patient and judicious study and deep
reflection. The result is, one of the most important contributions
to historical literature that have been made in this
country.--_North American Review._
We would conclude this notice by earnestly recommending our readers
to procure for themselves this truly great and admirable work, by
the production of which the author has conferred no less honor upon
his country than he has won praise and fame for himself, and than
which, we can assure them, they can find nothing more attractive or
interesting within the compass of modern literature.--_Evangelical
Review._
It is not often that we have the pleasure of commending to the
attention of the lover of books a work of such extraordinary and
unexceptionable excellence as this one.--_Universalist Quarterly
Review._
There are an elevation and a classic polish in these volumes, and a
felicity of grouping and of portraiture, which invest the subject
with the attractions of a living and stirring episode in the grand
historic drama.--_Southern Methodist Quarterly Review._
The author writes with a genial glow and love of his
subject.--_Presbyterian Quarterly Review._
Mr. Motley is a sturdy Republican and a hearty Protestant. His
style is lively and picturesque, and his work is an honor and an
important accession to our national literature.--_Church Review._
Mr. Motley's work is an important one, the result of profound
research, sincere convictions, sound principles, and manly
sentiments; and even those who are most familiar with the history
of the period will find in it a fresh and vivid addition to their
previous knowledge. It does honor to American literature, and would
do honor to the literature of any country in the world.--_Edinburgh
Review._
A serious chasm in English historical literature has been (by this
book) very remarkably filled. * * * A history as complete as
industry and genius can make it now lies before us, of the first
twenty years of the revolt of the United Provinces. * * * All the
essentials of a great writer Mr. Motley eminently possesses. His
mind is broad, his industry unwearied. In power of dramatic
description no modern historian, except, perhaps, Mr. Carlyle,
surpasses him, and in analysis of character he is elaborate and
distinct.--_Westminster Review._
It is a work of real historical value, the result of accurate
criticism, written in a liberal spirit, and from first to last
deeply interesting.--_Athenæum._
The style is excellent, clear, vivid, eloquent; and the industry
with which original sources have been investigated, and through
which new light has been shed over perplexed incidents and
characters, entitles Mr. Motley to a high rank in the literature of
an age peculiarly rich in history.--_North British Review._
It abounds in new information, and, as a first work, commands a
very cordial recognition, not merely of the promise it gives, but
of the extent and importance of the labor actually performed on
it.--_London Examiner._
Mr. Motley's "History" is a work of which any country might be
proud.--_Press_ (London).
Mr. Motley's History will be a standard book of reference in
historical literature.--_London Literary Gazette._
Mr. Motley has searched the whole range of historical documents
necessary to the composition of his work.--_London Leader._
This is really a great work. It belongs to the class of books in
which we range our Grotes, Milmans, Merivales, and Macaulays, as
the glories of English literature in the department of history.
* * * Mr. Motley's gifts as a historical writer are among the
highest and rarest.--_Nonconformist_ (London).
Mr. Motley's volumes will well repay perusal. * * * For his
learning, his liberal tone, and his generous enthusiasm, we
heartily commend him, and bid him good speed for the remainder of
his interesting and heroic narrative.--_Saturday Review._
The story is a noble one, and is worthily treated. * * * Mr. Motley
has had the patience to unravel, with unfailing perseverance, the
thousand intricate plots of the adversaries of the Prince of
Orange; but the details and the literal extracts which he has
derived from original documents, and transferred to his pages, give
a truthful color and a picturesque effect, which are especially
charming.--_London Daily News._
M. Lothrop Motley dans son magnifique tableau de la formation de
notre République.--G. GROEN VAN PRINSTERER.
Our accomplished countryman, Mr. J. Lothrop Motley, who, during the
last five years, for the better prosecution of his labors, has
established his residence in the neighborhood of the scenes of his
narrative. No one acquainted with the fine powers of mind possessed
by this scholar, and the earnestness with which he has devoted
himself to the task, can doubt that he will do full justice to his
important but difficult subject.--W. H. PRESCOTT.
The production of such a work as this astonishes, while it
gratifies the pride of the American reader.--_N. Y. Observer._
The "Rise of the Dutch Republic" at once, and by acclamation, takes
its place by the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," as a work
which, whether for research, substance, or style, will never be
superseded.--_N. Y. Albion._
A work upon which all who read the English language may
congratulate themselves.--_New Yorker Handels Zeitung._
Mr. Motley's place is now (alluding to this book) with Hallam and
Lord Mahon, Alison and Macaulay in the Old Country, and with
Washington Irving, Prescott, and Bancroft in this.--_N. Y. Times._
The authority, in the English tongue, for the history of the period
and people to which it refers.--_N. Y. Courier and Enquirer._
This work at once places the author on the list of American
historians which has been so signally illustrated by the names of
Irving, Prescott, Bancroft, and Hildreth.--_Boston Times._
The work is a noble one, and a most desirable acquisition to our
historical literature.--_Mobile Advertiser._
Such a work is an honor to its author, to his country, and to the
age in which it was written.--_Ohio Farmer._
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Let us be grateful, however, that we have still those writings of
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