“There’s Bert! And I don’t think I have told you yet—definitely,” she said, leaning forward and speaking with her eyes toward the path, “that I liked him much better than the other from the very beginning. I only waited long enough to be quite sure that that was true.” There was something he wanted to show her in one of the bazars, something he wanted to get for her if she liked it, and presently they went down the path, under the palms, and out under the portcullis, the bride and the groom laughing together.... And the fountain is still flinging diamonds into the sunlight. The shadows are a little longer. I wonder if the band has played its last piece? I wonder if _my_ bride isn’t really through with all those letters over there in the writing room? I just found myself staring across the court, past the palms, and the fountain, and the loggia. I fancied the bride of long ago coming under the portcullis on her palfrey, a shining knight by her side. I saw the bride of peasant Europe, wreathed and radiant, her strong hand on her husband’s arm. I saw the Puritan bride on John Alden’s “snow white bull” riding happily home. I saw the bride of the young Republic laughing from under her bonnet into the smooth face of her Revolutionary soldier. I saw the bride of the South at the door of the family coach, the proud old black driver in his seat, the air full of sweet odors and merry cries. I saw the bride of the West riding her mustang over fresh trails to the miner’s cabin, or over the silent prairie to the ranch of hope. I saw the bride of the farm go away to the noise and smoke of the city. I saw the bride of the city follow her hero unquestioningly into bleak and lonesome solitudes. I saw the bride who had won the honors of the world put aside trophies and prizes for the simple joy of creating a home.... Ah! here are the bride and the groom coming back! I knew their silhouette in a moment under the arch. And how fortunate—it was not the last piece! The band is playing again! I wonder if they are too absorbed to notice that it is playing the most important part of “Lohengrin”? [Illustration]