Well, strange to say,
half the time it don't turn out bad, for as they don't expect much,
they can't be much disappointed. They get after a while to love each
other from habit; and finding qualities they didn't look for, end by
getting amazin' fond of each other.
Next is a cash match. Well, that's a cheat. It begins in
dissimulation, and ends in detection and punishment. I don't pity the
parties; it serves them right. They meet without pleasure, and part
without pain. The first time I went to Nova Scotia to vend clocks, I
fell in with a German officer, who married a woman with a large
fortune; she had as much as three hundred pounds. He could never speak
of it without getting up, walking round the room, rubbing his hands,
and smacking his lips. The greatest man he ever saw, his own prince,
had only five hundred a-year, and his daughters had to select and buy
the chickens, wipe the glasses, starch their own muslins, and see the
fine soap made. One half of them were Protestants, and the other half
Catholics, so as to bait the hooks for royal fish of either creed.
They were poor and proud, but he hadn't a morsel of pride in him, for
he had condescended to marry the daughter of a staff surgeon; and she
warn't poor, for she had three hundred pounds. He couldn't think of
nothin' but his fortune. He spent the most of his time in building
castles, not in Germany, but in the air, for they cost nothing.
Pages:
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512