The wedding day dawned clear and bright and the weather was all that
could be desired, and in the midst of a profusion of flowers the
ceremony took place. The costumes were beautiful and two fairer brides
were never led to the altar. The picture remained in the minds of all
who saw them for many years. The wedding was in the morning so they
could leave on the mid-day train for their honeymoon.
A special car belonging to the society had been placed at their service
and was fitted up with drawing room, state room and dining room
accommodations.
The guests had departed and Mrs. Vivian went alone to the apartments of
the newly married daughters. They were so bright and had every
convenience for comfort and rest.
The pictures on the walls and the statuary were works of art, all
showing the taste of the occupants as well as their own industry. All
displayed the fact that their friends who had presented them with so
many of these things were artists as well as people of wealth.
“Well, I intend to enjoy these rooms while they are away,” Mrs. Vivian
thought. “What a pleasure it is to know these apartments are secured for
them during their lives. No mortgages can ever be placed on them to
torment them in the years to come. What a comfort! It is certainly a
great comparison between their newly married life and my own and yet my
marriage was considered a good one in that day, and it was, both from a
financial standpoint and in our affection for each other. Still all the
wealth my husband left me did not give me an income the last few years.
If these girls had not secured my shares I am afraid the outlook would
not have been so bright and comforting as it is now. I suppose Geron did
the best he could, but, oh, men risk so much! He did so differently from
what the girls have done. Oh, girls,” she soliloquized, “you will never
know how happy you have made me by your self-denial.”
She turned and looked at a picture of her husband which Scoris had
painted. “Yes, my dear,” she says sadly, “I wish things could have been
different and we could have gone through life longer together. As I look
at your dear face it is so lifelike that my heart yearns for you. Dear
me! dear me! I do hope no one will come in until I have washed away the
trace of these tears. Will I never get accustomed to seeing that
picture? She painted it as she remembers him and it is not like any
other that we have. What a wonderful talent she has! Paul Arling, you
are a lucky man to have won her.
“I am going to sit right down here so I can see them all. Why, how
sleepy I am! I will rest just a moment. My!” she exclaimed opening her
eyes, “it only seems a moment since I sat down and here I have slept an
hour! These rooms are so restful and have such a soothing effect.
Everything speaks of harmony. Well, I wish every mother I know could
feel as contented as I do over the choice that their daughters have
made. They have married men who are worthy of them and that is admitting
a great deal. I really feel that I have gained two more children. Time
will tell, but until then I am going to look upon them as such.”
Next day, Paul Arling’s mother called upon Mrs. Vivian to invite her to
go for a drive. Paul had purchased a small pony for her just before he
was married and she knew that her old friend would enjoy it as much as
she would. Their sympathies were very near and now that a relationship
had been established between them it was closer than ever. Both loved to
drive out into the open country, over the hills and along the lake
shore, letting the pony jog along as he liked. It was so pleasant to
breathe the balmy air as they talked over the wedding of their beloved
children. Mrs. Arling remarked:
“Paul is without doubt the best son I have ever known, for although he
has loved Scoris all these years, yet he has stuck to me.”
Mrs. Vivian replied: “Yes, but there were two in that bargain, you must
admit. Possibly if Scoris had not had me to think of after Geron had
lost my income, you would have had another daughter long before now.”
“Well, she would have been just as welcome as she is now, bless her dear
heart. I am as proud of her as you are.”
“Did you not think Helen looked very pretty in her bridal robe?”
“Oh, yes, indeed, but to tell you the truth, I hardly saw any one but
Paul and Scoris,” Mrs. Arling answered. “They both looked so happy. I
think Scoris the handsomest bride I ever saw.”
“Isn’t that funny,” replied Lady Vivian, “Mrs. Carry, Prince Charley’s
sister, made the same remark about Helen.”
“Certainly, ‘every crow thinks his own the blackest.’”
“Well, now, what do you think yourself, Mrs. Vivian?
“Oh, I don’t know. They are so different,” continued their mother, “for
to me they have always been beautiful, each in her own way, and their
characters equally so. Did you know, Mrs. Arling, those girls turned all
their own permanent shares over to my account before Tom knew that Geron
had lost either his own or my income? Besides this, they gave up a
portion of their salary for me each week. The other members of the
family have made it up to them in the last year and I appreciate it, but
after all, it was their self-denial that proved their affection for me.”
[Illustration]
Just then a scream of laughter from childish voices was heard, and the
sound of several automobiles that were coming up on the road behind
them.
“Oh, dear!” exclaimed Lady Vivian, “I hope they will not frighten the
pony.”
Mrs. Arling turned off to one side to let them pass, and as they came
nearer they slowed up so as not to frighten the horse. “It is hard to
realize,” she said, “that there are fully one hundred children in those
three cars. Doesn’t it do your heart good to see Mira with all three
children around her at last?”
* * * * *
The two brides who are on their wedding trip are not happier than
Princess Lovechild, who is the life of the party. To give happiness to
those who would have been deprived of it without her assistance was to
her full recompense and she was truly the happiest among them after all.
“Well it is a wonder to me how the Princess and Mira can stand the
racket those youngsters are making. It may be their way of expressing
their joy, but I must confess that I like to be beyond their voices.”