Alice would be courted
and flattered in the highest circles; was not that what their dream
had been from the first?
And Alice herself was seemingly satisfied. Her better nature had been
crushed out entirely by her frivolous pastimes and pursuits. There was
no re-action now, no leaping up of the old flame which cast great ugly
shadows over her other life. She had stifled her struggling
conscience, had laughed its keen remonstrances to scorn, and now she
was free. Nothing now would do her but a ceaseless round of pleasures
and gay distractions. Nothing but feasting, and merry-making and song.
There must be no lull in the din of glad confusion, no pause in the
ring of that restless mirth--that mock pacifier of human scruples that
stirs and stimulates us to-day, but that to-morrow drives our deepest
misery to remorse.
They were married after Easter, and such a wedding as it was! Half the
merchants of the town might have retired upon their profits when it
was over if they had had any hankering after good society, which they
did not happen to have. Her bridal equipage, of course, came from
England and was chosen by the Dowager Lady Trebleston, a great-aunt of
the groom, who was not at all distinguished for any particular ability
to choose a wedding outfit with extraordinary taste or economy, but
whose name lent a flavour to the choice, as "Dresden" does to china,
or "Cambridge" to sausages.
It was quite disappointing to Mrs.
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