THE GOLDEN WEDDING 2^1 



ating her with his customary tact and under- 

 standing, and doing the honours of the day with 

 more than his usual deUght, Thence they were 

 brought to the dining-room, where the Captain's 

 idea of a feast awaited them : tea and champagne, 

 fruit and toast and childish little luxuries, set 

 forth pell-mell and pressed at random on the 

 guests. And here he must make a speech for 

 himself and his wife, praising their destiny, their 

 marriage, their son, their daughter-in-law, their 

 grandchildren, their manifold causes of gratitude : 

 surely the most innocent speech, the old, sharp 

 contemner of his innocence now watching him with 

 eyes of admiration. Then it was time for the 

 guests to depart ; and they went away, bathed, 

 even to the youngest child, in tears of inseparable 

 sorrow and gladness, and leaving the golden bride 

 and bridegroom to their own society and that of 

 the hired nurse. 



It was a great thing for Fleeming to make, even 

 thus late, the acquaintance of his father ; but 

 the harrowing pathos of such scenes consumed 

 him. In a life of tense intellectual effort, a certain 

 smoothness of emotional tenor were to be desired ; 

 or we burn the candle at both ends. Dr. Bell 

 perceived the evil that was being done ; he pressed 

 Mrs. Jenkin to restrain her husband from too 

 frequent visits ; but here was one of those clear- 

 cut, indubitable duties for which Fleeming lived, 



