Affection true and strong, and simpleness His goods and chattels, and her bridal dower! Riches more sure two wedded hearts to bless Than fortune’s proudest gifts in partial hour: Unknowing to define by words the power, That held their spirits in that blissful thrall; Pride cannot chill nor jealous anger sour, Each other’s wish they evermore forestall, And of Love’s darts and flames they never talk at all. _Manuscript Poems._ “Well, nurse, a wedding is not a merry thing, after all. I could not help crying bitterly to-day when my sisters were married, and yet it is what we have all been wishing for so much. I am sure papa and mamma were in the greatest of frights when they thought Captain Langley would sail without proposing to Lizzy; and when Sir Charles spoke out to papa, after we were all gone to bed, I never shall forget what a banging of doors there was, mamma popping into all our rooms to tell us the good news!” “Ah, poor young ladies!” said nurse Roberts, as she was undressing the blooming Lucy, the evening of the day on which two of her sisters had been safely disposed of to two gentlemen, the connection with whom gave great satisfaction to Colonel and Mrs. Heckfield. “Poor young ladies!” repeated Lucy in a tone of surprise: “why do you pity my sisters, nurse?” “La, Miss, I don’t justly know; but somehow ’tisn’t the sort of wedding as I likes.” “Why, what sort of wedding do you like?” “Ah, Miss Lucy, I am an old woman, and I have old-fashioned notions; but I likes to see young people marry as has a respect for one another.” “Why, nurse, I am sure Captain Langley and Sir Charles were quite respectful. What can you mean?” “There wasn’t no time, Miss, no time for them to get to have a respect for one another. I have heard talk of love at first sight, to be sure, but to my mind there wasn’t no love at all; and that’s the truth of it. ’Tis my belief the Captain he wanted to take a wife to India, because, as I’ve heard say, ladies are scarce there, and here there’s more of a choice; and Sir Charles he wanted a lady to sit at t’other end of the table, and be civil and genteel to the gentlefolks when they comes a visiting to him; and as for poor Miss Sophy and Miss Lizzy, I don’t see that they liked these two gentlemen a bit better than twenty other gentlemen as have been here at one time or another.” “Well! I never should have guessed you were so romantic, nurse. Do you know this is really the true spirit of romance?” “No! no! ’Tan’t romance, nor book-nonsense, as I’m talking about. But when a woman’s once married, she may have many trials and troubles. There’s Miss Lizzy going into foreign parts, and there’s no knowing what a wife may have to go through for her husband, first or last, whether at home or abroad; and if she has not a spirit in her that she does not care where she goes, nor what she does, as long as it’s for his sake, why, sometimes ’tis hard to bear.”