COMING HOME OF THE BRIDE.
At last, when every thing was complete, and the place stood out a
paradise in comparison with the most beautiful residences of the city,
circumstances arose that inflamed anew the curiosity of the household.
The entrance was haunted by tradespeople, bringing packages that could
only prove useful to a lady. All this was a fitting preparation for the
very quiet orders which Mr. Nelson gave to his housekeeper, just as he
stepped into his carriage one morning.
"Have every thing in readiness, Mrs. Ford," he said, "for on the third
day from this I shall bring my wife home."
Mrs. Ford was a nice old English housekeeper, brought up with profound
reverence for her employers, and early taught the useful lesson of
minding her own business, one of the most valuable secrets known to
society. Had this been otherwise she could have commanded no time for
asking questions, for while making this announcement, Mr. Nelson stepped
into the carriage, and drove off without vouchsafing another word.
Mrs. Ford went back to the quiet performance of her duties, wondering a
little what kind of a person this new mistress would prove, and doubtful
whether it was a bride or a wife of long standing, whom she would be
called upon to obey.
The appointed days passed by, and the whole household, as I have said,
was in a state of expectation. A low hum came up from the city, as if a
vast hive of bees were swarming, but the sound was so distant and faint,
that it rather deepened the quiet of the place. All at once the noise of
wheels inside the lodge gate sounded distinct, and grew stronger, till a
carriage, from which a lady looked forth with every appearance of keen
interest, swept up to the front entrance.
Mr. Nelson stepped out of the carriage, looking almost nervously
anxious.
"This is our home, Ellen. Tell me that you like it, and will be happy
here," said the master of the mansion, holding her hand tightly as they
stood on the lower step together.
The lady lifted her eyes to the beautiful _facade_, and for the moment
seemed overpowered by its great beauty.
"Why, Nelson, this is a palace," she said, while a glow of triumphant
vanity spread over her face.
"To what else should I bring my queen?" he answered, bending his flushed
face toward her and speaking in a voice that thrilled with passionate
tenderness. "Oh, Ellen, my wife, if you desired the stars of heaven I
would strive to reach them for you."
"How very, very beautiful it is!" she exclaimed, gazing around with
triumph beaming in her face, utterly ignoring his passionate outburst.
"I have dreamed of such places, but never saw them. Nelson, we shall
live like princes here!"
"Princes are not always happy," he said, smiling upon her in a way that
only a naturally grave man ever smiles. "But we, Ellen, we will let
neither discord or care come near us. If gold can hedge us in we will
heap walls so high that nothing but love can reach us."
"Ah, these are not dreams," she said, drawing a deep breath. "The man
who has power enough to create a palace like this, makes no false boast
when he talks of golden walls."
She stood a moment, drinking in the scene with greedy admiration. Then,
for the first time that day, she turned her eyes full upon Nelson's
face, and smiled upon him.
"You are pleased, my wife."
"I am delighted, Nelson."
"Nelson! when I call you wife?" he said, with reproachful tenderness.
"Well, husband."
As the word left her lips an unaccountable pallor spread over both their
faces. Instead of the happiness he expected, the husband of two days
felt a pang so heavy that it made him shrink; and the woman--she had
uttered the word before, and under different surroundings!
With a sudden and heavy cloud upon them these persons turned from each
other without speaking, and mounted the steps.
To have seen Mrs. Nelson passing along the tressellated floor of the
vestibule, where the servants were gathered to receive her, you would
have believed that she had trod on Gobelin carpets all her life. The
good housekeeper, who had dwelt in the atmosphere of nobility from her
cradle up, was absolutely struck dumb by the queenliness of her
presence, and thought in her heart that the new mistress must have come
from abroad, or at least have been educated there.
Mrs. Nelson saw the impression she had made, and this gave graciousness
to her presence which completely subdued the group of dependants into
admiration. She said a few patronizing words to each, and passing
through the vestibule, entered upon her new life with a degree of
graceful self-possession which astonished even her husband.
And now commenced a career such as few persons ever carried out so
triumphantly. Mrs. Nelson had wealth, unbounded beauty, education quite
sufficient for the demands of fashion, and a craving ambition for
notoriety, which was sure to make its way. Gold, in America, proves a
sure road to this kind of distinction, and the great lever of republican
society was used without stint or measure in this singular household.
Mrs. Nelson had seized on the insinuation, half put as a question by the
housekeeper, regarding her foreign appearance, and accepted it as a
truth--nay, more--so absorbing was her vanity that she allowed it to be
understood that the great wealth which astonished everybody came into
Mr. Nelson's hands through her own munificent affection; an idea that
Mr. Nelson rather encouraged by his silence and entire submission to her
will in all things.
It was not many months before the beautiful Mrs. Nelson became a star of
magnitude in the fashionable circles of New York. Of course she was an
object of great interest; when curious persons inquired about her
origin, they were answered that she was an American by birth, but had
spent most of her life abroad with her first husband, who had left her a
young and beautiful widow with enormous wealth. This wealth she had
bestowed on Mr. Nelson, who, after travelling all over the world, had
fallen in love with her at first sight, and still regarded her with a
sort of adoration, as everybody could see.
If there was any thing hollow or false in all this, the most intimate
person in that magnificent household never could find the proof. True,
Mr. Nelson was not a gay or particularly cheerful husband, but that
might be said of a thousand other men with dashing wives; it was, after
all, a matter of constitution only. Certainly the lady was altogether
the most popular of the two. The material style of her beauty was of
that sumptuous order which wealth embellishes to its greatest
perfection. She was witty, gay, and for all the superficial uses of
society, a fascinating woman, whom the most ultra among the fashionable,
were glad to recognize as a leader. Thus, unlimited control of wealth,
and unflinching assurance, placed the widow Mason, in a few short
months, in the very heart of our Metropolitan society.