WEDDING, AND WEDDING-TRIP.
Well, and so they were married, with all the newest
modern forms, ceremonies, and accessories.
Every possible thing was done to reflect lustre on
the occasion. There were eight bridesmaids, and
every one of them fair as the moon; and eight groomsmen,
with white-satin ribbons and white rosebuds in their
button-holes; and there was a bishop, assisted by a
priest, to give the solemn benedictions of the church;
and there was a marriage-bell of tuberoses and lilies,
of enormous size, swinging over the heads of the pair
at the altar; and there were voluntaries on the organ,
and chantings, and what not, all solemn and impressive
as possible. In the midst of all this, the fair
Lillie promised, “forsaking all others, to keep
only unto him, so long as they both should live,”—“to
love, honor, and obey, until death did them part.”
During the whole agitating scene, Lillie kept up her
presence of mind, and was perfectly aware of what
she was about; so that a very fresh, original, and
crisp style of trimming, that had been invented in
Paris specially for her wedding toilet, received no
detriment from the least unguarded movement.
We much regret that it is contrary to our literary
principles to write half, or one third, in French;
because the wedding-dress, by far the most important
object on this occasion, and certainly one that most
engrossed the thoughts of the bride, was one entirely
indescribable in English. Just as there is no
word in the Hottentot vocabulary for “holiness,”
or “purity,” so there are no words in
our savage English to describe a lady’s dress;
and, therefore, our fair friends must be recommended,
on this point, to exercise their imagination in connection
with the study of the finest French plates, and they
may get some idea of Lillie in her wedding robe and
train.
Then there was the wedding banquet, where everybody
ate quantities of the most fashionable, indigestible
horrors, with praiseworthy courage and enthusiasm;
for what is to become of “pate de fois gras”
if we don’t eat it? What is to become of
us if we do is entirely a secondary question.
On the whole, there was not one jot nor tittle of
the most exorbitant requirements of fashion that was
not fulfilled on this occasion. The house was
a crush of wilting flowers, and smelt of tuberoses
enough to give one a vertigo for a month. A band
of music brayed and clashed every minute of the time;
and a jam of people, in elegant dresses, shrieked
to each other above the din, and several of Lillie’s
former admirers got tipsy in the supper-room.
In short, nothing could be finer; and it was agreed,
on all hands, that it was “stunning.”
Accounts of it, and of all the bride’s dresses,
presents, and even wardrobe, went into the daily papers;
and thus was the charming Lillie Ellis made into Mrs.
John Seymour.
