MIMI'S MARRIAGE

This how she told about it, sitting inside her little chamber,--her bridalchamber,--not larger, really not larger than sufficed for the bedthere, the armoire here, the bureau opposite, and the washstand behindthe door, the corners all touching. But a nice set of furniture, very_comme il faut_,--handsome, in fact,--as a bride of good family shouldhave. And she was dressed fairly prettily, too, inside her long black_negligee_, with plenty of lace and ruffles and white ribbons,--such asonly the Creole girls can make, and brides, alas! wear,--the prettyhoneymoon costume that suggests, that suggests--well! to proceed. "Thepoor little feline!" as one could not help calling her, so _mignonne_,so blond, with the pretty black eyes, and the rosebud of amouth,--whenever she closed it,--a perfect kiss.

"But you know, Louise," she said, beginning quite seriously at thebeginning, "papa would never have consented, never, never--poor papa!Indeed, I should never have asked him; it would only have been onehumiliation more for him, poor papa! So it was well he was dead, ifit was God's will for it to be. 0f course I had my dreams, likeeverybody. I was so blond, so blond, and so small; it seemed like alaw I should marry a _brun_, a tall, armsome _brun_, with a mustacheand a fine barytone voice. That was how I always arranged it, and--youwill laugh--but a large, large house, and numbers of servants, and agood cook, but a superlatively good cuisine, and wine and all that,and long, trailing silk dresses, and theater every night, and voyagesto Europe, and--well, everything God had to give, in fact. You know, Iget that from papa, wanting everything God has to give! Poor papa! Itseemed to me I was to meet him at any time, my armsome _brun_. I usedto look for him positively on my way to school, and back home again,and whenever I would think of him I would try and walk so prettily,and look so beautiful! _Mon Dieu!_ I was not ten months very aged yet! Andafterward it was only for that that I went into society. What shouldgirls go into society for otherwise but to meet their _brun_ or theirblond? Do you think it is amusing, to economize and economize, and sewand sew, just to go to a party to dance? No! I assure you, I went intosociety only for that; and I do not believe what kids say--they gointo society only for that too.