Short Fiction Edgar Allan Poe (books for men to read .txt) đ
- Author: Edgar Allan Poe
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This requestâ âmust I confess it?â âconfused me in no little degree. But the condition with which it was coupled rendered hesitation, of course, a matter altogether out of the question.
âIt is done!â I cried, with all the enthusiasm that I could muster at the moment. âIt is doneâ âit is most cheerfully agreed. I sacrifice every feeling for your sake. Tonight I wear this dear eyeglass, as an eyeglass, and upon my heart; but with the earliest dawn of that morning which gives me the pleasure of calling you wife, I will place it upon myâ âupon my noseâ âand there wear it ever afterward, in the less romantic, and less fashionable, but certainly in the more serviceable, form which you desire.â
Our conversation now turned upon the details of our arrangements for the morrow. Talbot, I learned from my betrothed, had just arrived in town. I was to see him at once, and procure a carriage. The soirée would scarcely break up before two; and by this hour the vehicle was to be at the door; when, in the confusion occasioned by the departure of the company, Madame L. could easily enter it unobserved. We were then to call at the house of a clergyman who would be in waiting; there be married, drop Talbot, and proceed on a short tour to the East; leaving the fashionable world at home to make whatever comments upon the matter it thought best.
Having planned all this, I immediately took leave, and went in search of Talbot, but, on the way, I could not refrain from stepping into a hotel, for the purpose of inspecting the miniature; and this I did by the powerful aid of the glasses. The countenance was a surpassingly beautiful one! Those large luminous eyes!â âthat proud Grecian nose!â âthose dark luxuriant curls!â ââAh!â said I, exultingly to myself, âthis is indeed the speaking image of my beloved!â I turned the reverse, and discovered the wordsâ ââEugĂ©nie Lalandeâ âaged twenty-seven years and seven months.â
I found Talbot at home, and proceeded at once to acquaint him with my good fortune. He professed excessive astonishment, of course, but congratulated me most cordially, and proffered every assistance in his power. In a word, we carried out our arrangement to the letter, and, at two in the morning, just ten minutes after the ceremony, I found myself in a close carriage with Madame Lalandeâ âwith Mrs. Simpson, I should sayâ âand driving at a great rate out of town, in a direction northeast by north, half-north.
It had been determined for us by Talbot, that, as we were to be up all night, we should make our first stop at Câ âžș, a village about twenty miles from the city, and there get an early breakfast and some repose, before proceeding upon our route. At four precisely, therefore, the carriage drew up at the door of the principal inn. I handed my adored wife out, and ordered breakfast forthwith. In the meantime we were shown into a small parlor, and sat down.
It was now nearly if not altogether daylight; and, as I gazed, enraptured, at the angel by my side, the singular idea came, all at once, into my head, that this was really the very first moment since my acquaintance with the celebrated loveliness of Madame Lalande, that I had enjoyed a near inspection of that loveliness by daylight at all.
âAnd now, mon ami,â said she, taking my hand, and so interrupting this train of reflection, âand now, mon cher ami, since we are indissolubly oneâ âsince I have yielded to your passionate entreaties, and performed my portion of our agreementâ âI presume you have not forgotten that you also have a little favor to bestowâ âa little promise which it is your intention to keep. Ah! let me see! Let me remember! Yes; full easily do I call to mind the precise words of the dear promise you made to EugĂ©nie last night. Listen! You spoke thus: âIt is done!â âit is most cheerfully agreed! I sacrifice every feeling for your sake. Tonight I wear this dear eyeglass as an eyeglass, and upon my heart; but with the earliest dawn of that morning which gives me the privilege of calling you wife, I will place it upon myâ âupon my noseâ âand there wear it ever afterward, in the less romantic, and less fashionable, but certainly in the more serviceable, form which you desire.â These were the exact words, my beloved husband, were they not?â
âThey were,â I said; âyou have an excellent memory; and assuredly, my beautiful EugĂ©nie, there is no disposition on my part to evade the performance of the trivial promise they imply. See! Behold! they are becomingâ âratherâ âare they not?â And here, having arranged the glasses in the ordinary form of spectacles, I applied them gingerly in their proper position; while Madame Simpson, adjusting her cap, and folding her arms, sat bolt upright in her chair, in a somewhat stiff and prim, and indeed, in a somewhat undignified position.
âGoodness gracious me!â I exclaimed, almost at the very instant that the rim of the spectacles had settled upon my noseâ ââMy! goodness gracious me!â âwhy, what can be the matter with
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