, etc.
Lovell bent his body, moved his lips, and replied in a strange, far-away
tone, "Yes'm, _I_ think so. _I_ do, certainly."
But when the question was put to the bride, she, Nancy, promised to take
Lovell to be her wedded husband, to love and cherish, yes, and to cleave
to, with a round, full "I do," that left no possible room for doubt in
the mind of any one present, and seemed to send back the flood of frozen
terror to Lovell's veins.
Lovell and Nancy were pronounced man and wife, and Nancy then divested
herself of her bonnet and gloves, and joined in the festivities which
followed with a hearty good-will, that proved her to be quite at home
among the Wallencampers, and won at once their affection and esteem. The
manner, particularly, in which she carried beans from her plate to her
mouth, gracefully balanced on the extreme verge of her knife, as an
adroit and finished work of art, provoked the wonder and admiration of
all those whose beans sometimes wandered and fell off by the way.
And all the while, Mrs. Barlow's adjectives flowed in a full and copious
stream.
"Oh, Lovell had been so wild," she said to me. "Oh, dreadful! But didn't
I think he looked like a husband now? So quick, too! Oh, yes, wasn't it
beautiful! Abbie Ann said he looked as though he'd been a husband fifteen
years!"
After the ceremony, Lovell had taken his pipe and retired a little from
the active scenes which were being enacted around him.
Pages:
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239