“Youhavehadverylittleexperienceoftheworld，“proceededSirPatrick。“Andyouhavejustacknowledgedthatyouhavehadreasontodistrustyourexperienceofyourfriend。Areyouquitesurethatyouareactingwiselyinkeepinghissecretfrom_me？_Areyouquitesurethatyouwillnotrepentthecourseyouaretakingto-night？“Helaidamarkedemphasisonthoselastwords。“Think，Arnold，“headded，kindly。“Thinkbeforeyouanswer。“
　　“Ifeelboundinhonortokeephissecret，“saidArnold。“Nothinkingcanalterthat。“
　　SirPatrickrose，andbroughttheinterviewtoanend。
　　“Thereisnothingmoretobesaid。“WiththosewordshegaveArnoldhishand，and，pressingitcordially，wishedhimgood-night。
　　Goingoutintothehall，ArnoldfoundBlanchealone，lookingatthebarometer。
　　“TheglassisatSetFair，mydarling，“hewhispered。“Good-nightforthelasttime!“
　　Hetookherinhisarms，andkissedher。AtthemomentwhenhereleasedherBlancheslippedalittlenoteintohishand。
　　“Readit，“shewhispered，“whenyouarealoneattheinn。“
　　Sotheypartedontheeveoftheirweddingday。
　　THEpromiseoftheweather-glasswasfulfilled。ThesunshoneonBlanche’smarriage。
　　Atnineinthemorningthefirstoftheproceedingsofthedaybegan。Itwasessentiallyofaclandestinenature。Thebrideandbridegroomevadedtherestraintsoflawfulauthority，andpresumedtomeettogetherprivately，beforetheyweremarried，intheconservatoryatHamFarm。
　　“Youhavereadmyletter，Arnold？“
　　“Ihavecomeheretoanswerit，Blanche。Butwhynothavetoldme？Whywrite？“
　　“BecauseIputofftellingyousolong；andbecauseIdidn’tknowhowyoumighttakeit；andforfiftyotherreasons。Nevermind!
　　I’vemademyconfession。Ihaven’tasinglesecretnowwhichisnotyoursecrettoo。There’stimetosayNo，Arnold，ifyouthinkIoughttohavenoroominmyheartforanybodybutyou。MyuncletellsmeIamobstinateandwronginrefusingtogiveAnneup。Ifyouagreewithhim，saytheword，dear，beforeyoumakemeyourwife。“
　　“ShallItellyouwhatIsaidtoSirPatricklastnight？“
　　“About_this？_“
　　“Yes。Theconfessionasyoucallitwhichyoumakeinyourprettynote，istheverythingthatSirPatrickspoketomeaboutinthedining-roombeforeIwentaway。HetoldmeyourheartwassetonfindingMissSilvester。AndheaskedmewhatImeanttodoaboutitwhenweweremarried。“
　　“Andyousaid——？“
　　ArnoldrepeatedhisanswertoSirPatrick，withfervidembellishmentsoftheoriginallanguage，suitabletotheemergency。Blanche’sdelightexpresseditselfintheformoftwounblushingoutragesonpropriety，committedinclosesuccession。
　　ShethrewherarmsroundArnold’sneck；andsheactuallykissedhimthreehoursbeforetheconsentofStateandChurchsanctionedherintakingthatproceeding。Letusshudder——butletusnotblameher。Thesearetheconsequencesoffreeinstitutions“Now，“saidArnold，“it’smyturntotaketopenandink。Ihavealettertowritebeforewearemarriedaswellasyou。Onlythere’sthisdifferencebetweenus——Iwantyoutohelpme。“
　　“Whoareyougoingtowriteto？“
　　“TomylawyerinEdinburgh。TherewillbenotimeunlessIdoitnow。WestartforSwitzerlandthisafternoon——don’twe？’
　　“Yes。“
　　“Verywell。Iwanttorelieveyourmind，mydarlingbeforewego。
　　Wouldn’tyouliketoknow——whileweareaway——thattherightpeopleareonthelook-outforMissSilvester？SirPatrickhastoldmeofthelastplacethatshehasbeentracedto——andmylawyerwillsettherightpeopleatwork。Comeandhelpmetoputitintheproperlanguage，andthewholethingwillbeintrain。“
　　“Oh，Arnold!canIeverloveyouenoughtorewardyouforthis!“
　　“Weshallsee，Blanche——inSwitzerland。“
　　Theyaudaciouslypenetrated，arminarm，intoSirPatrick’sownstudy——entirelyattheirdisposal，astheywellknew，atthathourofthemorning。WithSirPatrick’spensandSirPatrick’spapertheyproducedaletterofinstructions，deliberatelyreopeningtheinvestigationwhichSirPatrick’ssuperiorwisdomhadclosed。NeitherpainsnormoneyweretobesparedbythelawyerinatoncetakingmeasuresbeginningatGlasgowtofindAnne。ThereportoftheresultwastobeaddressedtoArnold，undercovertoSirPatrickatHamFarm。Bythetimetheletterwascompletedthemorninghadadvancedtoteno’clock。BlancheleftArnoldtoarrayherselfinherbridalsplendor——afteranotheroutrageonpropriety，andmoreconsequencesoffreeinstitutions。
　　Thenextproceedingswereofapublicandavowablenature，andstrictlyfollowedthecustomaryprecedentsonsuchoccasions。
　　Villagenymphsstrewedflowersonthepathtothechurchdoorandsentinthebillthesameday。Villageswainsrangthejoy-bellsandgotdrunkontheirmoneythesameevening。Therewastheproperandawfulpausewhilethebridegroomwaskeptwaitingatthechurch。Therewastheproperandpitilessstaringofallthefemalespectatorswhenthebridewasledtothealtar。
　　Therewastheclergyman’spreliminarylookatthelicense——whichmeantofficialcaution。Andtherewastheclerk’spreliminarylookatthebridegroom——whichmeantofficialfees。Allthewomenappearedtobeintheirnaturalelement；andallthemenappearedtobeoutofit。
　　Thentheservicebegan——rightly-considered，themostterrible，surely，ofallmortalceremonies——theservicewhichbindstwohumanbeings，whoknownexttonothingofeachother’snatures，toriskthetremendousexperimentoflivingtogethertilldeathpartsthem——theservicewhichsays，ineffectifnotinwords，Takeyourleapinthedark：wesanctify，butwedon’tinsure，it!
　　Theceremonywenton，withouttheslightestobstacletomaritseffect。Therewerenounforeseeninterruptions。Therewerenoominousmistakes。
　　Thelastwordswerespoken，andthebookwasclosed。Theysignedtheirnamesontheregister；thehusbandwascongratulated；thewifewasembraced。Theywentbackagaintothehouse，withmoreflowersstrewnattheirfeet。Thewedding-breakfastwashurried；
　　thewedding-speecheswerecurtailed：therewasnotimetobewasted，iftheyoungcoupleweretocatchthetidaltrain。
　　Inanhourmorethecarriagehadwhirledthemawaytothestation，andtheguestshadgiventhemthefarewellcheerfromthestepsofthehouse。Young，happy，fondlyattachedtoeachother，raisedsecurelyaboveallthesordidcaresoflife，whatagoldenfuturewastheirs!MarriedwiththesanctionoftheFamilyandtheblessingoftheChurch——whocouldsupposethatthetimewascoming，nevertheless，whentheblightingquestionwouldfallonthem，inthespring-timeoftheirlove：AreyouManandWife？
　　Twodaysafterthemarriage——onWednesday，theninthofSeptemberapacketofletters，receivedatWindygates，wasforwardedbyLadyLundie’sstewardtoHamFarm。
　　Withoneexception，theletterswerealladdressedeithertoSirPatrickortohissister-in-law。Theoneexceptionwasdirectedto“ArnoldBrinkworth，Esq。，careofLadyLundie，WindygatesHouse，Perthshire“——andtheenvelopewasspeciallyprotectedbyaseal。
　　Noticingthatthepost-markwas“Glasgow，“SirPatricktowhomtheletterhadbeendeliveredlookedwithacertaindistrustatthehandwritingontheaddress。Itwasnotknowntohim——butitwasobviouslythehandwritingofawoman。LadyLundiewassittingoppositetohimatthetable。Hesaid，carelessly，“AletterforArnold“——andpusheditacrosstoher。Herladyshiptookuptheletter，anddroppedit，theinstantshelookedatthehandwriting，asifithadburnedherfingers。
　　“ThePersonagain!“exclaimedLadyLundie。“ThePerson，presumingtoaddressArnoldBrinkworth，atMyhouse!“
　　“MissSilvester？“askedSirPatrick。
　　“No，“saidherladyship，shuttingherteethwithasnap。“ThePersonmayinsultmebyaddressingalettertomycare。ButthePerson’snameshallnotpollutemylips。Noteveninyourhouse，SirPatrick。Noteventoplease_you。_“
　　SirPatrickwassufficientlyanswered。Afterallthathadhappened——afterherfarewelllettertoBlanche——herewasMissSilvesterwritingtoBlanche’shusband，ofherownaccord!Itwasunaccountable，tosaytheleastofit。Hetooktheletterback，andlookedatitagain。LadyLundie’sstewardwasamethodicalman。HehadindorsedeachletterreceivedatWindygateswiththedateofitsdelivery。TheletteraddressedtoArnoldhadbeendeliveredonMonday，theseventhofSeptember——onArnold’sweddingday。
　　Whatdiditmean？
　　Itwaspurewasteoftimetoinquire。SirPatrickrosetolocktheletterupinoneofthedrawersofthewriting-tablebehindhim。LadyLundieinterferedintheinterestofmorality。
　　“SirPatrick!“
　　“Yes？“
　　“Don’tyouconsiderityourdutytoopenthatletter？“
　　“Mydearlady!whatcanyoupossiblybethinkingof？“
　　Themostvirtuousoflivingwomenhadheranswerreadyonthespot。
　　“Iamthinking，“saidLadyLundie，“ofArnold’smoralwelfare。“
　　SirPatricksmiled。Onthelonglistofthoserespectabledisguisesunderwhichweassertourownimportance，orgratifyourownloveofmeddlinginourneighbor’saffairs，amoralregardforthewelfareofothersfiguresintheforemostplace，andstandsdeservedlyasnumberone。
　　“WeshallprobablyhearfromArnoldinadayortwo，“saidSirPatrick，lockingtheletterupinthedrawer。“HeshallhaveitassoonasIknowwheretosendittohim。“
　　Thenextmorningbroughtnewsofthebrideandbridegroom。
　　Theyreportedthemselvestobetoosupremelyhappytocarewheretheylived，solongastheylivedtogether。EveryquestionbutthequestionofLovewasleftinthecompetenthandsoftheircourier。Thissensibleandtrust-worthymanhaddecidedthatPariswasnottobethoughtofasaplaceofresidencebyanysanehumanbeinginthemonthofSeptember。HehadarrangedthattheyweretoleaveforBaden——ontheirwaytoSwitzerland——onthetenth。Letterswereaccordinglytobeaddressedtothatplace，untilfurthernotice。IfthecourierlikedBaden，theywouldprobablystaythereforsometime。Ifthecouriertookafancyforthemountains，theywouldinthatcasegoontoSwitzerland。
　　InthemeanwhilenothingmatteredtoArnoldbutBlanche——andnothingmatteredtoBlanchebutArnold。