At last the fatal _yes_ was pronounced. Pélagie said it so low that nobody could have heard her; for my part, I showed much firmness. We had a sermon preached to us--a little long, perhaps, but very touching and moving. How can one fail to be moved when one is pledging one's self for life?--I glanced at Pélagie; she did not weep; her eyes were cast down, her manner was as reserved, her demeanor as modest as usual, and she showed no more than her ordinary emotion. That vexed me; it seemed to me that she should have wept. At last all was over; I was married! We left the church between three rows of sightseers, and went to my sister's; we spent three-quarters of an hour in going the distance of a gunshot; to be sure, our procession was increased by about half of the town, and we had to return salutes and courtesies at every step. When we reached the house, it was only half-past one, and we did not dine till three. What were we to do in the interval? That was the most difficult part of the whole day. Some old women proposed a game of boston or whist, but Madame de Pontchartrain thought that it would be a breach of etiquette to play cards on a wedding day morning; it is good form to do nothing; it is amusement enough to talk, sitting very straight for fear of rumpling one's gown. Without asking our dear aunt's opinion, I went down into the garden with my wife. I wanted to entice her into some solitary path; not that I proposed to exert my marital rights already; but I wanted to try to read Pélagie's heart and find out what her present feelings were.--It was impossible to be alone; all the young women followed us; the inquisitive little hussies would not let us out of their sight. Two young married people afford so much food for thought! they are so pretty to look at--when they are pretty; and you know that we were. I could do nothing more than take my wife's hand; I squeezed it tenderly--very tenderly--and she looked at me and smiled.--"The deuce!" thought I; "can it be that she understands that language?" "You hurt my fingers," she remarked mildly, withdrawing her hand. It was enough to drive one to despair! I had no further desire to walk with her alone. Luckily, the hour for the feast arrived. We betook ourselves, with the utmost formality, as before, to the dining room; we took our seats in the order demanded by convention. I was at one end of the table, my wife at the other; that was the best way to encourage harmony between us; and then, everyone knew that we should come together at last.