All these combined, not unnaturally, induced me
to resolve upon yielding at once, and without useless opposition, to
what appeared almost to be my fate. The appointed time was come,
and my now accepted suitor arrived; he was in high spirits, and, if
possible, more entertaining than ever. I was not, however, quite in
the mood to enjoy his sprightliness; but whatever I wanted in gaiety
was amply made up in the triumphant and gracious good humour of my
mother, whose smiles of benevolence and exultation were showered
around as bountifully as the summer sunshine. I will not weary you
with unnecessary prolixity. Let it suffice to say, that I was married
to Lord Glenfallen with all the attendant pomp and circumstance of
wealth, rank, and grandeur. According to the usage of the times, now
humanely reformed, the ceremony was made until long past midnight, the
season of wild, uproarious, and promiscuous feasting and revelry. Of
all this I have a painfully vivid recollection, and particularly of
the little annoyances inflicted upon me by the dull and coarse jokes
of the wits and wags who abound in all such places, and upon all such
occasions. I was not sorry, when, after a few days, Lord Glenfallen's
carriage appeared at the door to convey us both from Ashtown; for any
change would have been a relief from the irksomeness of ceremonial
and formality which the visits received in honour of my newly acquired
titles hourly entailed upon me.
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