University of Virginia Library

33. CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE HAPPY DAY.

It was a bright day in the latter part of October that Jerome and
Clotelle set out for the church, where the marriage ceremony was to be
performed. The clear, bracing air added buoyancy to every movement,
and the sun poured its brilliant rays through the deeply-stained windows,
as the happy couple entered the sanctuary, followed by old Mr. Devenant,
whose form, bowed down with age, attracted almost as much attention
from the assembly as did the couple more particularly interested.

As the ceremonies were finished and the priest pronounced the benediction
on the newly-married pair, Clotelle whispered in the ear of
Jerome,—

A smile beamed on every face as the wedding-party left the church
and entered their carriage. What a happy day, after ten years' separation,
when, both hearts having been blighted for a time, they are brought
together by the hand of a beneficent and kind Providence, and united
in holy wedlock.

Everything being arranged for a wedding tour extending up the
Rhine, the party set out the same day for Antwerp. There are many
rivers of greater length and width than the Rhine. Our Mississippi
would swallow up half a dozen Rhines. The Hudson is grander, the
Tiber, the Po, and the Mincio more classic; the Thames and Seine bear
upon their waters greater amounts of wealth and commerce; the Nile
and the Euphrates have a greater antiquity; but for a combination of
interesting historical incidents and natural scenery, the Rhine surpasses
them all. Nature has so ordained it that those who travel in the valley
of the Rhine shall see the river, for there never will be a railroad upon
its banks. So mountainous is the land that it would have to be one
series of tunnels. Every three or four miles from the time you enter
this glorious river, hills, dales, castles, and crags present themselves as
the steamer glides onward.

Their first resting-place for any length of time was at Coblentz, at
the mouth of the “Blue Moselle,” the most interesting place on the
river. From Coblentz they went to Brussels, where they had the
greatest attention paid them. Besides being provided with letters of
introduction, Jerome's complexion secured for him more deference than
is usually awarded to travellers.

Having letters of introduction to M. Deceptiax, the great lace manufacturer,

that gentleman received them with distinguished honors, and
gave them a splendid soiree, at which the elite of the city were assembled.
The sumptuously-furnished mansion was lavishly decorated for
the occasion, and every preparation made that could add to the novelty
or interest of the event.

Jerome, with his beautiful bride, next visited Cologne, the largest and
wealthiest city on the banks of the Rhine. The Cathedral of Cologne
is the most splendid structure of the kind in Europe, and Jerome and
Clotelle viewed with interest the beautiful arches and columns of this
stupendous building, which strikes with awe the beholder, as he gazes
at its unequalled splendor, surrounded, as it is, by villas, cottages, and
palace-like mansions, with the enchanting Rhine winding through the
vine-covered hills.

After strolling over miles and miles of classic ground, and visiting
castles, whose legends and tradions have given them an enduring fame,
our delighted travellers started for Geneva, bidding the picturesque
banks of the Rhine a regretful farewell. Being much interested in literature,
and aware that Geneva was noted for having been the city of
refuge to the victims of religious and political persecution, Jerome arranged
to stay here for some days. He was provided with a letter of
introduction to M. de Stee, who had been a fellow-soldier of Mr. Devenant
in the East India wars, and they were invited to make his house
their home during their sojourn. On the side of a noble mountain,
whose base is kissed by the waves of Lake Geneva, and whose slopes
are decked with verdure to the utmost peak of its rocky crown, is situated
the delightful country-residence of this wealthy, retired French officer.
A winding road, with frequent climbs and brakes, leads from the
valley to this enchanting spot, the air and scenery of which cannot be
surpassed in the world.