"And you take any notice of this blockhead's notions? How does she know
what she wants, or what she does not want? Did you ever see the like?...
Such a splendid dress as you have brought her too!... It must have cost
a fortune!... And what does she want done with this dress?..."
The brigadier's son, understanding what was passing through his
sweetheart's mind, slyly took her hand, and gave it a hearty pressure.
Maximina, who was confused and pained, recovered her courage.
"There is no reason to be disturbed, Dona Rosalia, for the matter is not
worth it. If Maximina does not wish to be married in white, it is simply
because it is not the fashion here. The fault was on my side in having
brought the dress without consulting her first. As to what is to be done
with it, Maximina has given me an idea; she desires that it be presented
to the Virgin of the Church of St. Peter."
The girl, who had said nothing of the sort, pressed his hand to show her
gratitude. Dona Rosalia was ambitious of having her niece's dress make a
sensation in the village; consequently she still insisted that such a
thing should not be done. Nevertheless, Miguel stood firm, taking his
maiden's part, and arguing that she was right. Finally Dona Rosalia,
unable to hide her indignation, swept out of the room, leaving them
alone.
Miguel shrugged his shoulders, and said to the girl, who was greatly
disturbed:--
"Don't be worried, dearie. You are in all good rights my wife, and you
are under no obligation to obey any one else."
Maximina gave him a tender look of gratitude. And feeling that it was
not proper for them to be absolutely alone, she arose, intimating that
she wished to go to bed.
It was necessary for them to be up bright and early the next morning.
The hour for the ceremony was fixed at half-past five. Miguel also
arose, although unwillingly, and his betrothed went to get him a candle
from the kitchen. As she was on the point of handing it to him, he said
in a jesting tone:--
"Art thou quite sure that we are to be married to-morrow?"
Maximina looked at him with wide-open eyes.
"You had better beware! for there is even now time for me to change my
mind. Who knows but what I may make my escape this night, and when
morning comes half the people may be absent from the wedding?"
Maximina forced herself to smile. Miguel, who noticed how seriously she
took his words, came to her relief, saying:--
"What an innocent little puss you are! Could it be possible that I would
throw away my happiness! When a man is lucky enough to find it in this
world, he must cling fast hold of it. Within a few hours nothing can
separate us. _Adios_--my _wife_!"
The young man uttered these words as he started up stairs. From the top
of the stairway he smiled down on the girl, who had stopped motionless
at the parlor door, still evidently a little disturbed by the jest that
he had made.
"Till to-morrow! isn't it so?"
Maximina nodded her head.
That night was not one of sleeplessness for Miguel, as the night before
a man's marriage, they say, is apt to be. Not a single sad foreboding
passed through his mind; no fear, no impetuous eagerness; his
determination was so firm and rational, it was so vigorously supported
by his intellect and his heart, that there was no room for that
unhealthy agitation and dread which attack us at the moment of adopting
some weighty resolution. So far as Maximina was concerned, he was sure
of being happy. So far as he himself was concerned, he would do his best
to be happy. Once and forever dispossessed of the vainglorious desire of
"making a brilliant marriage," he was convinced that no woman was better
suited to him than this one. Never once did the fever of a hot and
violent passion cause him any discomfort. The love that he felt was
intense but calm; neither wholly spiritual, nor wholly material, but a
union of both. As soon as he reached his room, he spent a few moments
thinking about his betrothed, and then finding himself overpowered by
drowsiness, he blew out his light and fell into deep sleep.
Before it was five o'clock, the chamber-maid's voice woke him. It was
still pitch dark, and would be so for some time. He lighted the candle,
and dressed himself carefully. He was quick about it, though his hands
trembled a little. As the solemn moment approached, he could not
entirely conquer his nervous and impressionable nature.
When he went down into the parlor, quite an assembly was already
gathered; not only those who had been there the evening before, but
others besides. All were dressed in their most brilliant attire. Dona
Rosalia, who was to be the _madrina_, wore a dress of black merino, and
was adorned with a few jewels of small value. Don Valentin, the
_padrino_, had pulled out from the bottom of the trunk the dress-coat in
which he had been painted when he became a ship's mate; it was a coat of
ample circumference, with a narrow collar and very short sleeves: the
ex-captain of the _Rapido_ wore it with the same grace and dexterity as
he did his best shirt. In the starched and crimped bosom shone two large
amethysts which he had bought in 1842 in Manilla; over his vest and
around his neck hung his watch-chain; the watch was gold and had a seal
adorned with opals. But it was in his feet that Don Valentin took the
greatest pride: his wife had always boasted (because _he_ was wholly
incapable of boasting about anything) that there were no others in the
village so short and well-turned; wherefore, the old sailor, in honor of
this solemn occasion, felt called upon to give such a shine to his boots
that they equalled "the moons of Venice"; but solely for the purpose of
affording the companion of his life a new and pure delight.
The company missed several damsels, but the report went round that they
were engaged in helping dress the bride. It was not long before she made
her appearance, in a modest but elegant dark blue woollen dress trimmed
with black velvet; she also wore the bridegroom's costly jewels, and a
bunch of orange flowers in her bosom.
When she entered the parlor, all the women kissed her, with the
exception of her aunt, who, at the sight of the dress she wore, felt the
terrible wound that she had received the evening before, open again.
Maximina glanced at her timidly three or four times, and went of her own
accord to kiss her. But she did not once look in the direction of
Miguel, who, on the other hand, devoured her with his eyes, thoroughly
understanding the feeling of bashfulness that possessed her in spite of
her feigned calmness.
The artistic young girls who had adorned her were far from satisfied
with their work. They evidently felt tortured by those keen though
insidious doubts that always attack the poet or painter during the last
moments of creation. After they were all seated in their places, one
would jump up and trip over deftly to set the diamond pin farther back,
and another would approach her and give the sprig of orange blossoms
"the least bit of a twist"; another would find it necessary slightly to
rearrange the hair; and still another would smooth out a wrinkle in the
dress, and another adjust it about the neck. In fact, there was a
constant coming and going. Maximina allowed them to do as they pleased,
and for all their efforts she thanked them with a smile.
"See here, Don Miguel, you have not been to confession yet, have you?"
inquired Dona Rosalia.
"No; that is a fact: no one reminded me of it," replied the young man,
suddenly rising. "And Maximina?"
"I have already been."
"Then let us be about it, gentlemen!"
As he went out, he again gave Maximina a keen glance, which the girl
pretended not to notice.
As yet not even the first gleams of daylight tinged the eastern sky; it
is true it had grown cloudy during the night, and the rain was still
falling. With umbrella spread, and muffled in their great-coats, Miguel
and Don Valentin made their way along the deserted street.
Never had starry and diaphanous night in August seemed more beautiful to
our hero: this early morning chill, damp and melancholy, remained graven
on his heart as the loveliest of his life. The church offered a still
more gloomy and lugubrious spectacle.
They sent word to the cure, and it was not long before he came. He was
an elderly gentleman, and, considering the importance of the wedding,
answered with resignation the call at such an unusual hour. He led the
young man gently by the hand to a dark corner of the temple, and there
listened to his confession.
Miguel was still on his knees before the priest when he heard the noise
of the wedding procession as it entered the church with considerable
tumult, and his heart melted within him, not with sorrow at having
offended God, we must confess to his shame, but with sweet and delicious
longing.
After granting him absolution, the cure returned to the sacristy to robe
himself, and Miguel joined his friends, without being able to catch
sight of his bride. Only when the sacristan came to tell them to come to
the grand altar, did he see her, accompanied by her aunt. The friends
went forward, pushing their way, and met, without knowing how it was
accomplished, at each other's side, near the altar and in front of the
cure.
Contrary to all expectations, Maximina appeared quite calm during the
ceremony, and replied to the priest's questions in a ringing voice,
which pleased the good man so much that he exclaimed:--
"That is the way to answer! That is something like!... Not like those
prudish girls who are crazy to get married, and yet no one can get a
word out of them!"
It was not a pleasant morning to be out, but the parishioners of Saint
Peter's were used to such things, and they smiled with satisfaction. The
worthy father gave them his blessing, with his hands raised above them
solemnly and majestically, imitating, so far as was possible, the
attitude of Moses when he separated the waters of the Red Sea.
Then began the mass; the newly wedded couple and the relatives fell upon
their knees. When a certain point was reached, Dona Rosalia, who
understood exactly how to act, arose and threw a chain around Maximina's
head, asking Don Valentin to put the other end over Miguel's shoulder.
When they were thus joined together, the son of the brigadier began to
move away, gently pulling at the chain. Maximina had not yet given him a
glance: she paid no attention to the first pull, supposing it to be
accidental; but at the second she whispered, with a smile:--
"Be quiet!"
Miguel pulled still harder.
"For Heaven's sake do take that off!"
When the service was over, those who were present, making quite a
congregation, gathered around to offer them their congratulations: there
were sly hand-shakings, circumspect pushing, convulsed sounds of
laughter: every one was afraid of behaving unseemly in the church.
When they came out, the dawn was just breaking; a few early risers gazed
curiously out of their windows to see the procession pass. Miguel had
remained behind with a group of men, and once more he lost sight of
Maximina, who had gone on ahead with her friends.
In Don Valentin's parlor a table was awaiting them most generously
supplied with refreshments and wines, and artistically decorated. Miguel
took chocolate with the witnesses; the bride had gone to her room, they
said, to change her dress. In a short time he started to do the same. On
one of the landing-places of the stairway he came upon his bride, with
the maid buttoning her boots: both of them were startled; Maximina kept
her eyes fastened on the girl's fingers; Miguel hesitated a moment, and
then exclaimed, with the idea of saying something:--
"Ah! you are already dressed, then? I am going to do the same."
And as though some enemy were at his heels, he went up stairs three
steps at a time.
They rejoined each other shortly after in the parlor. Maximina's gray
travelling-dress and her hat, in the latest style, were very becoming to
her. As the hour for their departure was now drawing near, the
leave-taking began, accompanied by torrents of tears even more
tempestuous than usual. On the part of the feminine sex it was a genuine
flood; one young lady went so far as to faint away. Only the bride
appeared serene and smiling; a fact which made her aunt unspeakably
indignant, and caused her to form a very poor idea of her niece, as was
shown by what she confessed afterwards to her friends:--
"What a lack of feeling! If only for the sake of appearances!"
One of Maximina's young mates went to her, bathed in tears, and kissed
her.
"Aren't you weeping, Maximina?"
"I can't," replied the poor child.
Nevertheless, when her cousins, the daughters of Dona Rosalia, kissed
her on the cheeks, crying, "We don't want you to go away, Maximina!" the
deep flush that spread over her face and the peculiar smile that curled
her lips were indications, for any one who knew her, that she was not
far from turning on the flood-gates of her tears.
All, or almost all, escorted the bridal couple down to the boat in which
they were to embark; but only Don Valentin and two other friends, who
found room in the row-boat, accompanied them to the station.
It must be remarked that a girl belonging to the village went with the
pair to Madrid, in the capacity of lady's maid: her name was Juana, and
she was a fresh, strong, and rather attractive-looking damsel. Miguel,
knowing his bride's character, had not wished that her maid should be an
out and out _Madrilena_.
After they were safely in the station, and the guard's stentorian voice
was heard calling the passengers to the train, Don Valentin permitted
himself the unwonted luxury of being moved. He embraced his niece
tenderly, and kissed her effusively on her hair. Maximina likewise
showed more agitation than at any time before; but even then she made an
effort to smile.
The engine whistled. The train moved out of the station. They were the
only travellers in that compartment, and the young people took seats
facing each other at one side: Juana, out of delicacy, sat down at the
farthest end.
The husband and wife looked into each other's eyes, and Miguel felt a
sweet, gentle thrill of joy, a something unspeakable and heavenly, that
caused his heart to beat violently. And after making sure that Juana's
attention was called away by the sights from the window, he took his
bride's hand and gave it a stealthy kiss, leaning over toward her with
his whole body. But the hand--how vexatious!--was gloved. In a moment he
hinted to her to take off the glove. Maximina, after letting him implore
her by means of expressive pantomime, at last decided, with a laugh, to
remove the glove; and the young man imprinted a host of warm kisses on
the soft palm, all the while watching the maid out of the corner of his
eye.
Then the conversation became general between the three. Juana, who had
never been beyond San Sebastian, was astonished at everything she saw,
and particularly at the sheep: the hens also seemed to occupy her
thoughts deeply. Miguel was assiduous in attentions to his bride.
"Maximina, if your hat is in your way, you had better take it off....
Let me have it; we will hang it up there--so now it won't fall.... See
here! you had better take off your heavy boots too. I have your thin
shoes here in the hand-bag.... I asked your uncle for them.... Don't you
want to put them on? I am afraid your feet will get cold.... Just wait a
moment; I will wrap them up in my blanket...."
And, kneeling down, he wrapped up her feet with the greatest care. Joy
made them so social that in a little while the husband and wife and the
maid were chatting and laughing like jolly companions. Maximina made
long circumlocutions, so as not to address her husband directly, because
she did not want to call him "you," and at the same time she was too
timid to say "thou" to him. Miguel was aware of her efforts in this
direction, but he did not help her any. At last, however, after a long
time and much hesitation, in reply to his question, "Shan't we have some
breakfast?" she took the fatal leap, and answered timidly, "Just as
_thou_ pleasest."
Miguel hastily raised his head and affected to be amazed. "Hola
senorita! what familiarity is this? You said 'thou' to me!"
Maximina blushed to her ears, and, hiding her face in her hands,
exclaimed:--
"Oh! please don't speak to me so, for I won't do so again."
"What a silly puss!" said the young man, pulling away her hands gently.
"That would be amusing."
Juana burst into a hearty fit of laughter.