Love-scenes and courtships, though vastly interesting to the actors, are always the dullest things in the world to bystanders; I shall therefore proceed at once to the end, merely stating that the Count _was_ all, and _did_ all, that the most _exigeante_ of women could have required--that from the first to the last he was full of delicacy, of tenderness, and honour, and that after twelve years of a happy life with him, I have never had cause to repent for a moment that I consented to give him the hand, which he so ardently desired. The joy of Madame Gironac can be imagined better than described, as well as the manner in which she bustled about my _trousseau_ and my outfit for France, as it was determined that the Judge's plan should be adopted to the letter, and that we should start directly from St George's to Dover and Calais. Never, perhaps, was a marriage more rapidly organised and completed. The law-business was expedited with all speed by Charles Selwyn; Madame Bathurst, the Jervises, the Gironacs, and the Selwyns were alone present at the wedding, and, though we were all dear friends, there was no affectation of tears or lamentable partings; for we knew that in heaven's pleasure, we should all meet again within a few months, as, after our wedding tour was ended, Monsieur de Chavannes proposed to take up his abode in England, the land of his choice, as of his education. There was no bishop to perform the ceremony, nor any _duke_ to give away the bride. No long array of liveried servants with favours in their buttons and in their hats--no pompous paragraph in the morning papers to describe the beauties of the high-bred bride and the dresses of her aristocratic bridesmaids--but two hearts were united as well as two hands, and Heaven smiled upon the union. A quick and pleasant passage carried us to Paris, where I was received with raptures by my good old friend, Madame Paon, and with sincere satisfaction by Madame d'Albret, who was proud to recognise her old protegee in the new character of the Comtesse de Chavannes, a character which she imagined reflected no small credit on her tuition and patronage. The threatened _emeute_ having passed over, Auguste easily obtained a renewal of his leave of absence in order to visit his family at Pau, and, as he preceded us by three days, and travelled with the utmost diligence, he outstripped us by nearly a week, and we found both my parents prepared to receive us, and both _really_ happy at the prosperous tidings. My poor mother was indeed dying; had we come two days later we should have been too late, for she died in my arms on the day following our arrival, enraptured to find herself relieved from the heinous crime of which she had so long believed herself guilty, and blessing me with her dying lips.