CHAPTER XXIV.
THE WEDDING-DAY--ENORMOUS EXCITEMENT IN THE VILLAGE--PREPARATIONS FOR THE EVENT--THE CONDUCT OF BOB PARKER--THE CEREMONY AT THE CHURCH AND THE COMPANY AT MAGRUDER'S--A LAST LOOK AT SOME OLD FRIENDS--DEPARTURE OF THE BRIDE AND GROOM--SOME UNCOMMONLY SOLEMN REFLECTIONS, AND THEN THE END.
Yesterday was the day of the wedding.
I suppose no one can hope to describe accurately the sensation that iscreated by such an event in a little community like ours. It hassupplied the ladies of the village with material for discussion forseveral weeks past, and the extraordinary interest manifested in it hasconstantly grown stronger until it culminated in a blaze of excitementwhich made calmness upon the part of any New Castilian upon the greatday a wholly impossible condition. My own wife has introduced thesubject in her conversation with me at every available opportunity; andwhen I have grown weary of hearing about the preparations for thewedding, about the purchases made by the Magruders for Bessie, about thepresents given to the bride by her friends, about the future prospectsof the pair, and about other matrimonial things innumerable, theexcellent partner of my joys, still with unabated enthusiasm, has turnedfrom so dull a listener, and seizing her bonnet and shawl, has dartedoff to visit Mrs. Jones or Mrs. Hopkins, and has found them eager toparticipate in conversation upon these subjects. During the past monththis sympathetic woman has called at Magruder's at least three times aday to ascertain the latest facts respecting the situation, and to giveadvice and assistance to the busy workers who have been preparing themultitude of articles which a girl must have before she is married.Every woman in the village was familiar, long ago, with the minutestdetails of the arrangements, and all of them were so deeply absorbed inthe preparations and in contemplation of the approaching catastrophethat they cared for nothing else. If there had been revolutions, ifthrones had tottered to their fall, if hurricanes had swept over theland and the nations had been stricken by the scourge, I verily believethat these devoted women of New Castle would have regarded thesecalamities with steadfast composure, and would have excluded them from aplace in the social debates wherein the wedding of Bessie Magruder wasthe one great subject of discussion.
There is nothing more intense in nature than the interest felt by awoman in the marriage of another woman. The fanatic fury of a Hindoodevotee is mere icy indifference in comparison to it.
It was entertaining to watch Bob Parker upon the evening before thewedding and upon the morning of the great day itself. He had everythingready a week before the time, and upon the last night of his bachelorlife he had nothing to do but to sit at home with us and think. And so,while I read my book and while Mrs. Adeler finished the bonnet that shehad made for the occasion from old material (the dexterous economy ofthat woman, by the way, is simply phenomenal), Bob fidgeted about. Hepretended to read the paper; he threw himself upon the lounge andcounterfeited sleep; he darted suddenly up stairs to see if he had put asufficient number of collars in his trunk; he darted down again andtried on his new hat for the fiftieth time; he stood by the fire andexpressed his fear, often repeated during the day, that there would berain on the morrow; he tried to wind up his watch four times, and heexamined his pocket-book over and over again to ascertain if the ringwas safe. At a ridiculously early hour he said he was tired and must goto bed; but when I ascended the stairs about midnight, I could hear himstill moving about. He was nervous, excited and anxious.
Before daylight dawned Bob was out of bed and down stairs smoking andguessing at the weather. When we descended, he was in extreme agitationlest the man should not come with the bouquets. When the flowers didarrive, they looked so much like business that he immediately flew up tohis room and put on his wedding suit.
Then we had to wait nearly two hours for the carriages, and Bob washarassed by doubts as to the correctness of the appearance of hisneck-tie. Three times Mrs. Adeler applied thread and needle to thatarticle of adornment, and at last Bob threw it away and assumedanother. He seemed to have a strong conviction that the eyes of theentire assembly would be concentrated upon that white tie. Then he puton his gloves and sat, flushed and uncomfortable in his new clothing,waiting for the moment of his departure. Presently he discovered that hehad lost one of his gold shirt buttons; and after a very long and verywarm search for it, he thought he felt it in his boot. I procured aboot-jack for him; and when the button was found, he had to remove hisgloves again in order to pull his boot on. He was beginning to beacutely miserable when, at last, the carriages arrived. Then Mrs. Adelercame down; and when I had buttoned her gloves with a hair-pin andcriticised the appearance of her dress, we went out to the street anddrove away.
When we reached Magruder's, the doorway was surrounded by quite a throngof persons. The excitement had reached even the lower classes, and acrowd composed of slatternly women with babies in their arms, of truantservant-girls, of unclean children, of idle men and noisy boys, stoodupon the pavement waiting for the bride to come out. As we descendedfrom the carriages, Bob was the chief object of interest, and while thewomen eyed him with admiration the boys made very unpleasant remarksconcerning his clothing, particularly his "claw-hammer coat," When weentered the house, Bob ascended to some mysterious region above to waitfor Bessie, while we examined the bridal gifts and conversed withthe paternal Magruder, who was plainly uncomfortable in his weddinggarments.
Then the bride descended amid exclamations of admiration from theservants and their friends, who were collected in a knot at the rear ofthe hall. She did look very sweet and pretty, that little maiden, in herlovely white dress, with orange blossoms in her dark hair, with aradiant light in her brown eyes and with a faint glow warming her cheek.Bob Parker had good reason to feel proud as he led the fair girl to thealtar; and he was proud, despite his trepidation.
And when our salutations were over, when the satins and silks were allarranged and the bridesmaids and groomsmen were ready, we marchedthrough the critical assembly outside the door and drove swiftly to thechurch. At the gate we found, awaiting the wedding party, another throngof spectators, among them that gloomy undertaker, with his chin hookedupon the wall, and his mind still brooding over his wrongs.
Then we heard the organ playing the Coronation March, and as the bridalparty entered the church and swept up the aisle the Wedding March burstforth. There was a fluttering and a turning of heads in the pews; thensilence, and then the ceremony began. Bob was pale as a ghost, and hisreplies could hardly be heard, but Bessie spoke with perfectdistinctness. It is strange that women on these occasions should alwaysbe more composed than men.
And when the solemn words were said, Bob kissed his wife gallantly, andthen, as the organ uttered Mendelssohn's lovely melody "I waited for theLord," the two turned about and in the aisle met hosts of friends eagerto congratulate them. At any other time Bob might have been mortifiedthat he was a person of secondary importance. It was the bride that thepeople looked at, and not the groom. But now he was too happy and tooready to forget himself He was too glad to have his wife greeted warmlyto think of any other thing. By the time the church porch was reachedevery woman present had the details of Bessie's costume fixed indeliblyin her mind, ready for description and explanation to her friends; andwhile the bell in the steeple rang out a merry peal, we returned to theMagruder mansion, where, in the company of friends, we passed the fewhours before the departure of Mr. and Mrs. Parker.
Rev. Dr. Hopkins was there, beaming at the guests through his goldspectacles, and making himself very comfortable with the oysters andterrapin and chicken salad. He even had a smile for Colonel Bangs, whowas discussing with Mr. Magruder the probable effect upon the railwayinterests of the country of an article in the _Argus_ of that morningupon "Our Grinding Monopolies." It was interesting to listen to thecolonel.
"I tell you," said he, with vehemence, "the time has come for theoverthrow of these gigantic railroad corporations; the time has come fora free press to open its batteries upon the monopolies which aretrampling the rights of the pe
ople beneath their feet. There will be abitter fight, sir, mark me; it will be a battle to the death. But the_Argus_ enters the lists boldly and without fear. The article of to-dayunsheaths the sword; it warns the railway tyrants that the battle hasbegun."
"I am sure it will alarm them," said Mr. Magruder. "And you, I suppose,are willing to give up everything for the cause? How about your annualfree pass to Philadelphia?"
"Oh, ah! as for that," exclaimed the colonel, "you perhaps observed thatI expressly excepted our own road and complimented its officers. A manmust not go to extremes in these matters, Magruder. And then there's theadvertising, you know! No, sir; we must proceed, as it were, cautiouslyat first. Precipitate action might ruin everything."
Dr. Tobias Jones also had overcome his professional animosity to Mrs.Magruder, and he was not only present, but he was conversing pleasantlywith that lady, probably upon the subjects of bilious fever andaneurisms. Benjamin P. Gunn was there, bustling around among the guestsand paying especial attention to Bob. When I saw Gunn in earnestconversation with the groom and caught the words, "in favor of yourwife, you know," I became aware of the fact that Benjamin was improvingthe festive hour with an attempt to do a bit of business. Even JudgePitman was present, for Mr. Magruder liked the old man and was in agracious mood upon that day. I welcomed the judge heartily when, dressedin a swallow-tail coat of a surprising pattern, he came up to me andsaid,
"Splendid send-off for them young folks, ain't it? I tell you, theydidn't do things this way when me an' Harriet consolidated! We liveddown yer in Kent; an' when we were married by the squire, I give himfifty cents an' then went out an' borrowed a waggin so's me an' Harrietcould take a little drive. We come up yer to New Cassel an' stayed twodays at the tavern, an' then drove back an' begun work agin, jes' 's ifnothin' oncommon had happened."
"It was not the custom then, I suppose, to make a display on suchoccasions?"
"No, _sir_! People hadn't no money to git up sich fodderin' as this yer.They had to go slower. Still," mused the judge, "it's all right--it'sall right. Gittin' married's a big event; an' if you kin make a fussover it, you ought to. If my daughter ever tries it, I'll give her thebest I kin buy. A weddin' like this is nice all 'round, but the wimmenin partickler is amazin' fond of sich things. If you'll excuse me, Ibelieve I'll try another fried oyster."
There was another exciting time when Bessie, at last, came down in hertraveling dress and stood with Bob ready to depart. While the cabmancarried the trunks to the carriage, Bessie said her farewells. There wasa good-bye for mother, uttered with tears in the eyes of both of them, atender adieu to father, kisses for the women and a shake of the hand forthe men, and then they entered the carriage. We flung an old shoe or twoafter them and waved our hands; and Cooley's boy gave them a partingsalute with a stone that shivered the carriage window. We watched themas they went down the street, and saw, now and then, a handkerchieffluttered toward us; then they turned a corner and disappeared.
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It was a little lonely in the cottage upon that evening with Bob nolonger a member of the family. We shall miss him, with his sprightlinessand fun; and we shall half incline to regret that the little drama wehave watched so long with eager interest is ended, even though theprince, after all his suffering, has found the princess and wedded her,and though at last they have gone "across the hills and far away" beyond"the utmost purple rim of that new world, which is the old."
We sat in the old room in silence for a while, both looking at the fireand both thinking, not so much of the events of the day as of thepromise of the future for those two voyagers into the golden regions ofdelight. Then Mrs. Adeler said, with half a sigh:
"I do hope they will be happy!"
"And so do I; and I really believe they will be, for both of them havesweet tempers and good common sense; those are the qualities that arelikely to ensure the felicity of married folks."
"But it is a great risk for Bob to run; and for Bessie too, for thatmatter."
"So it is; but it is a risk that may fairly be taken when the judgmentgives approval to the choice of the heart. Lovers do not botherthemselves, however, a great deal with the possibilities of the future.They have only sunshine now, and it seems as if so clear a sky couldnever breed cloud and storm. It is a happy thing for them, as well asfor the rest of us, that no human ingenuity can lift the veil thatshuts from our eyes the mysteries of the years to come. Think what ajourney it is that began to-day! Separate and apart they have come thusfar; but now they are to travel during all their lives together, overrough places as well as where the way is smooth. The power of each overthe happiness of the other is infinite. He can make her whollymiserable, and she can utterly destroy his peace. A violentdemonstration is not required. A little indifference at first, a harshword, then a growing coldness, then neglect, and for ever afterwardcomplete separation of heart and soul and feeling, though outwardly theyseem united.
"And even if they should be as happy as the most blessed of us, it iswell that their imaginations should throw about the future a glamourwhich will hide the reality. A tried and well-proved love will hardlybear the shock when misfortune and poverty come; it sometimes permits analmost fatal display of ill-temper when there are sleepless nights withsick and peevish children, when the soul is vexed with the cares ofbusiness, with the smaller trials of life, and with the myriad pettyannoyances that are encountered in the path of every man. There are fewof us who are heroes among the troubles of common life. Perhaps we bearthe heavy blows courageously enough; but we cry out when we are stung bythe pigmy arrows that are shot at us every day, at home and in theworld. The truly great man is he who is patient and forbearing beneathsmall vexations. The real hero is he who bears the burden of his life,with its swarm of minor troubles, with calm, sweet evenness of temperand with steadfast courage. The peevish and the irritable are theenemies of peace in this world. Our lad and lass, we may hope, will finda place for themselves among those who wisely choose the better part.
"And now, Mrs. Adeler, would it not be well to close our record, as thehero and the heroine depart? It is the custom, in the novel and uponthe stage, to end the story when the knight and the lady who have lovedand suffered through all the pages and all the acts are made man andwife. We have not done much with our pair; but it is enough that we havetold a simple story of an old passion in still another form, and that wehave given the chronicles of the village with what quality of humor wecould infuse into them, but without malice or vulgarity and withoutirreverence. I have no patience with those who seek to find amusement bycommitting these faults. There is matter enough in harmless things forsportiveness; and rather than try to excite mirth by hurting thefeelings of my neighbors, by stooping to coarseness, or by speaking withlevity of things that are sacred, I would consent to write only booksthat should be as solemn as tragedy itself. We have had some strangeexperiences since the record began, and we should be very dull indeed ifwe had not learned something from them. Of one thing we are completelyconvinced: it is that a man who is made miserable because his neighborswill not do as he wishes them to do had better not come to this or anyother village with the intent to be made happy. The man who voluntarilybecomes a hermit is a fool. A man of sense must necessarily desire tolive with his fellows and to enjoy their society, their sympathy and thecomforts that can be obtained with their assistance. He can have theseonly by making sacrifices for them. He must not only give up some of hisnatural rights as an individual, but he must make up his mind to endurepatiently disagreeable things that are done by his neighbors. He mayflee from the city to escape the professor of music who hammers a pianoceaselessly, but in his new home he will certainly find a compensatingnuisance of some kind. Until all men learn to think and act alike, hewill find everywhere in the world those who are fond of the things thathe hates, and who will do things that he thinks should be left undone.The man, therefore, who comes to the village in pursuit of perfect peaceand quiet of course will not find them. He w
ill encounter thedisagreeable practices and peculiarities of other people precisely as hedid in the city; he will be called upon to endure annoyances asaggravating as any of those from which he has flown. He can havecomparative contentment and repose in either place only by determiningto have them despite his neighbors. It is probable that men will alwayshave in this world sharp corners and rough surfaces with which they willjag and tear each other as they roll onward in the swift current oflife. Perhaps we shall have smoothness and evenness when we enterParadise. I hope so, at any rate. And meantime let us all stop growlingabout evils which cannot be cured.
"And now I will conclude our meek little story. Perhaps regretfully Iwill close the door through which the public has been suffered to peepin upon the movements of our quiet life at home and in the village, andthus will end the spectacle. That life will continue, but it shall besacred to ourselves, and the events that give it interest shall gounrecorded."
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Transcriber's note:
Variant spelling and hyphenation were retained.
Punctuation was normalized without comment.
Spelling changes:
Page 183, "aleak" changed to read "a leak".
Page 198, "cetan" changed to read "certain".
Page 262, "advertisment" changed to read "advertisement".]
Out of the Hurly-Burly; Or, Life in an Odd Corner Page 27