Chapter XIII: The Child Bride at Home

His house she enters there to be the light,
Shining within when all without is night;
A guardian angel o’er his life presiding,
Doubling his pleasures, and his cares dividing.—ROGERS.

“Welcome, mine own dear love, welcome to your home,” fervently whispered Alexander, as he led his bride across the threshold of the door that was held open by a pretty and neatly-dressed negro girl.

The young wife smiled gratefully upon her husband, and then looked around with child-like interest.

They stood in a cheerful little hall, illuminated by an antique lamp in a stained glass shade, that shed myriads of prismatic hues over the white and gilded wall and richly-carpeted floor. It was a hexagon-shaped hall, with a staircase opposite the front door, and with four other doors, two on each side, opening into the drawing-room and dining-room on the right, and the parlor and library on the left.

“This is your little maid, Pina, my dear, and she will show you to your room, if you please,” said Alexander.

Drusilla turned and smiled kindly on the bright-eyed negro girl, who took up a wax candle, and stood curtseying and waiting orders.

“Go on then, Pina, and lead the way; I will follow,” said Drusilla.

And Alexander placed the carpet bag that contained all the bride’s trousseau in the hands of the girl, who, with another curtsey, turned and led the way up stairs to an upper hexagon-shaped hall, with a bay window in the front end, and four doors, two on each side, leading into bedrooms and dressing-rooms.

Pina opened the front door on the right hand.

“Oh, what a sweet, what a pretty, what a delightful little room!” exclaimed Drusilla, on passing the threshold.

The room deserved her praise. It had been designed by the hands of love to please the eyes of beauty. Its colors were white and rose. The walls were hung with a paper of a white ground, with a running vine of wild roses over it. The floor was covered with a carpet white with the same patterns of wild roses running over it. The windows were curtained with white lace, lined with rose-colored silk. The dressing-table that stood between the windows was draped to match them, in white lace over rose silk. The bed was spread with a white crochet counterpane, lined with rose satin. The chairs and sofas were covered with white damask embroidered in roses. All the little stands and tables were in white and rose enamel.

It was a chamber to delight a child or a young girl. To crown all, a clear, bright wood-fire was burning on the white marble hearth.

“It is—it is a heavenly little room!” exclaimed Drusilla gazing around.

“And here, ma’am, is the dressing place,” continued the maid, opening an inner door, and showing her mistress into a smaller apartment fitted up in a plainer style as a bathroom.

The young traveller, who really needed ablutions after her dusty ride in the train, opened her carpet bag, took out her dressing materials, and commenced her toilet.

Pina waited on her.

But little change could the poor bride make. Her carpet bag could not contain much. She had only brought a few clean linen collars, cuffs, handkerchiefs, and other absolute essentials.

Seeing this, her handmaid said:

“Let me carry your dress down stairs and brush it, ma’am: it won’t take me ten minutes. I will bring it up quite nice by the time you are ready to put it on again.”

Drusilla thanked the little maid, and accepted the offer. And Pina ran away with the dress. And by the time Drusilla had taken her bath and dressed her hair the girl returned with the renovated garment.

“Supper will be served, ma’am, as soon as you are ready for it,” said Pina, laying the dress over the back of a chair.

Drusilla carefully but hastily completed her toilet, for she was eager to see Alexander and thank him for the care and taste he had bestowed upon the fitting up of her rooms.

As she left her chamber she found Alexander in the hexagon-shaped hall outside. He smiled, and took her arm, saying:

“While they are placing supper on the table I wish to show you over our little toy palace—for it is no more.”

“And no less! Oh, how I thank you for the beautiful—”

“Doll’s house!” laughed Alexander, stopping his bride in the outpouring of her gratitude.

“Oh, but the rooms are so very beautiful!” she exclaimed.

“Why, you have seen but two! Come, let me show you the others,” he said, taking her across the little hall, and opening an opposite door.

The apartment they now entered corresponded in all respects to her chamber, except that it was fitted up as a sewing-room, and its wall paper, window curtains, chair-covers, carpet and enamelled stands and tables were all in white and green instead of white and rose.

“See here, my love! I remember what a domestic little creature you were, how you liked to sit up stairs and sew by the hour or the day, and how the very first thing you ever wished for was a work-box, and so I had this room fitted up for you on purpose,” said Alexander, looking in her face to read her satisfaction.

“Oh, how good, how good you are to me! What can I ever do to please you enough,” she said.

“Love me dearly, and be very happy! That is all I ask you to do,” he replied. “And now look here, dear, I knew your wardrobe would want complete refitting, and I knew what a nice little needle-woman you were, so I have filled these bureau drawers and wardrobes with dress goods of every description—enough to furnish forth an Indian voyage or a country shop,” he said, as he went to one of the bureaus and drew out the drawers, one after another, to display their contents—rich silk, merino, and cashmere dress patterns, all in black, purple, or gray, or other mourning or half mourning hues; and whole pieces of fine muslin, linen, flannel, and other “staple” commodities, and rolls of ribbon, tape, gimp, and other dress trimmings.

“You know I had no woman’s help in selecting these articles, and a man in a milliner’s establishment is just about us much out of place as a ‘bull in a china shop,’ but I did the best I could.”

“They are beautiful,” said Drusilla, in grateful delight.

“And see here,” continued Alexander, opening the doors of a wardrobe—and displaying several shawls, cloaks, circulars, mantillas and so forth—“as these things fit almost any grown woman, I thought I could not make a mistake in getting them ready-made. What do _you_ think?”

“Oh, you—you are too good to me; you are extravagant—here are more than I shall wear in ten years,” said Drusilla, between smiles and tears.

“Not at all! There’s Anna will wear twice as many changes of apparel in ten days,” he said.

“Ah, but Miss Anna is an heiress.”

“And you are the wife of a—_wealthy_ man, if not a _good_ one,” laughed Alexander. “But come, I dare say supper is waiting and spoiling. I will show you the rest of your little house to-morrow, and also your little carriage and pair of ponies——”

“Oh, _indeed_ you do too much for me.—I think I have not been used to having such things—of my own,” said Drusilla, meekly and confusedly.

“I _could not_ do too much for you, dear love——”

“But, Mr. Alexander——”

“Leave out the ‘Mr.’ from this time, sweet Drusa. What were you going to say?”

“I was about to ask you, please, not to make me so many presents.”

“Oh, is that it? Why not?”

“Because—I love you. And—I only want you to give me your love——”

“I know all that, my pet. But let your conscience be at rest. Every thing I seem to give you, as well as every thing you have of your own is really not yours, but mine, because you yourself are mine.”

“Is that so?” she smilingly inquired.

“Yes.”

“Then so I would have it!”

While they talked they left the room, he leading the way down the stairs, to the little drawing-room.

This was a very elegant apartment, fitted up in crimson and gold curtains, chairs and sofas, rich mirrors and rare paintings, and recherché articles of _virtu_. At the lower end of the room a heavy curtain of crimson satin damask, with gold bullion fringe and gold cord and tassels, hung from the ceiling to floor.

While Drusilla was still gazing with curiosity and delight upon the various objects of interest in the room, this curtain was drawn aside as by invisible hands, revealing an elegant little dining-room, where a luxurious supper was spread.

Alexander, with a laughing assumption of ceremony, led Drusilla to the head of the table, bowed, and took his place at the foot.

A handsome negro boy, so like Pina as to be recognizable at once for her brother, waited at table.

“My dear, this is your other servant—footman, coachman, and groom—all in one. He is named Leander; but for convenience we shall call him ‘Leo.’ Just as we call his sister, who exults in the imperial name of Agrippina, simply ‘Pina,’” said Alexander, as he placed the breast of a roast pheasant on Drusilla’s plate.

It was a pleasant supper, as you may judge.

And it was followed by a happy evening.