lady into his hands, saying, "Here is something to
give you an appetite for your supper, Rodolfo; this is the portrait of
your bride; but I must tell you that what she wants in beauty is more
than made up for in virtue. She is of good family, and tolerably
wealthy; and since your father and I have made choice of her, you may be
assured she will suit you very well."

"Well," said Rodolfo, staring at the portrait, "if the painter of this
portrait has flattered the original as much as painters usually do, then
beyond all doubt the lady must be the very incarnation of ugliness.
Truly, my lady mother, if it is just and right that sons should obey
their parents in all things, it is no less proper that parents should
have regard to the inclinations of their sons; and since matrimony is a
bond not to be loosed till death, they ought to take care that it shall
press as smoothly and equably as possible. Virtue, good birth, prudence,
and the gifts of fortune, are all very good things, and may well gladden
the heart of whoever may have the lot to obtain this lady for a wife;
but that her ugliness can ever gladden the eyes of her spouse, appears
to me an impossibility. I am a bachelor to be sure, but I perfectly
comprehend the coincidence there should be between the sacrament of
marriage and the just and due delight mutually enjoyed by the married
pair, and that if that be wanting, the object of marriage is frustrated;
for to imagine that an ugly face which one must have before his eyes at
all hours, in the hall, at table, and in bed, I say once more that is
impossible. For God's sake, my lady mother, give me a wife who would be
an agreeable companion, not one who will disgust me, so that we may both
bear evenly, and with mutual good-will, the yoke imposed on us by
Heaven, instead of pulling this way and that way, and fretting each
other to death. If this lady is well-born, discreet, and rich as you
say, she will easily find a husband of a different humour from mine.
Some look for noble blood in a wife, some for understanding, others for
money, and others again for beauty, and of the latter class I am one. As
for high birth, thank Heaven and my ancestors I am well enough off in
that respect; as for understanding, provided a woman is neither a dolt
nor a simpleton, there is no need of her having a very subtle wit; in
point of wealth, I am amply provided by my parents; but beauty is what I
covet, with no other addition than virtue and