how funny it sounds--and Jimmy will be all her own, and they will go
away together;--and she sinks into a dream of delight, seeing the future
only as a golden mist through which she and her husband will pass side
by side. And she suddenly falls upon her knees, and buries her golden
head in her hands, and breathes forth an earnest prayer of heartfelt
gratitude to the great God who orders all things.

'The Divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough hew them as we will.'

The next morning, her wedding day, dawns at length; the first thing she
hears are some sparrows chirping outside, and anxious to see if it is
fine, she goes to the window and draws up the blind, letting in a whole
flood of crimson light.

It is one of those lovely days in London when there is just a little
breath of wind stirring among the trees that prevents it from being
sultry, and everyone seems to expand to the warmth and look happy. It is
still quite early, two or three costermongers' carts are being wheeled
along by their owners, fresh from Covent Garden; a lark belonging to the
house opposite is singing merrily despite its small cage, and Lippa
smiles as she recalls the old saying, 'Blessed is the bride whom the
sun shines on.'

As sleep seems impossible and rather loud voices are heard from
overhead, she throws a loose wrapper round her and goes up to the
nurseries. Teddy is in his bath and no power on earth can persuade him
to get out, in vain Marie gesticulates and calls him '_Un bien méchant
gamin_,' Teddy knows he has the best of it, as whenever she comes near
he throws water at her.