It was indeed a rare instance of devotion and constancy in a man, and
the young widow gratefully appreciated it.

It was late in the evening when Jerome led his intended bride to the
window, and the magnificent moonlight illuminated the countenance of the
lovely Clotelle, while inward sunshine, emanating from a mind at ease,
and her own virtuous thoughts, gave brightness to her eyes and made her
appear a very angel. This was the first evening that Jerome had been in
her company since the night when, to effect his escape from prison,
she disguised herself in male attire. How different the scene now. Free
instead of slaves, wealthy instead of poor, and on the eve of an event
that seemed likely to result in a life of happiness to both.

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,--

"'No power in death shall tear our names apart,
As none in life could rend thee from my heart.'"

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
se