events seemed to sweep over her without affecting or disturbing her
mind's calm equipoise. She lived her life with extreme simplicity,
regularity, and directness, thus driving to despair all would-be
scandal-mongers; and though many gifted and famous men fell madly in
love with their great princess, and often, in the extremity of a
passion which amounted to disloyalty, slew themselves for her sake, she
remained unmoved and pitiless.

Her husband occasionally felt some compassion for the desperate fellows
who thus immolated themselves on the High Altar of her perfections,
though it must be admitted that he received the news of their deaths
with tolerable equanimity, knowing them to have been fools, and as
such, better out of the world than in it. During the first two or three
years of his marriage he had himself been somewhat of their
disposition, and as mere man, had tried by every means in his power to
win the affection of his beautiful spouse, and to melt the icy barrier
which she, despite their relations with each other, had resolutely kept
up between herself and him. He had made the attempt, not because he
actually loved her, but simply because he desired the satisfaction of
conquest. Finding the task hopeless, he resigned himself to his fate,
and accepted her at the costly valuation she set upon herself; though
for pastime he would often pay court to certain ladies of easy virtue,
with the vague idea that perhaps the spirit of jealousy might enter
that cold shrine of womanhood where no other demon could force
admission, and wake up the passions slumbering within. But she appeared
not to be at all aware of his many and open gallantries; and only at
stray moments, when her frosty flashing glance fell upon him engaged in
some casual flirtation, would a sudden smarting sense of injury make
him conscious of her contempt.