blishing himself properly. Otherwise he
would have done it before. They drove to the Iroquois hotel and
registered as man and wife, securing a separate room for Marietta. The
latter pretending an urgent desire to bathe after her railroad journey,
left them, promising to be ready in time for dinner. Eugene and Angela
were finally alone.

He now saw how, in spite of his fine theories, his previous experiences
with Angela had deadened to an extent his joy in this occasion. He had
her again it was true. His desire that he had thought of so keenly was
to be gratified, but there was no mystery connected with it. His real
nuptials had been celebrated at Blackwood months before. This was the
commonplace of any marriage relation. It was intense and gratifying, but
the original, wonderful mystery of unexplored character was absent. He
eagerly took her in his arms, but there was more of crude desire than of
awed delight in the whole proceeding.

Nevertheless Angela was sweet to him. Hers was a loving disposition and
Eugene was the be all and end all of her love. His figure was of heroic
proportions to her. His talent was divine fire. No one could know as
much as Eugene, of course! No one could be as artistic. True, he was not
as practical as some men--her brothers and brothers-in-law, for
instance--but he was a man of genius. Why should he be practical? She
was beginning to think already of how thoroughly she would help him
shape his life toward success--what a good wife she would be to him. Her
training as a teacher, her experience as a buyer, her practical
judgment, would help him so much. They spent the two hours before dinner
in renewed transports and then dressed and made their public appearance.
Angela had had designed a number of dresses for this occasion,
representing the saving of years, and tonight at dinner she looked
exceptionally pretty in a dress of black silk with neck piece and half
sleeves of mother-of-pearl silk, set off with a decoration of seed
pearls and black beads in set designs. Marietta, in a pale pink silk of
peachblow softness of hue with short sleeves and a low cut bodice was,
with all her youth and natural plumpness and gaiety of soul, ravishing.
Now that she had Angela safely married, she was under no obligations to
keep out of Eugene's way nor to modify her charms in order that her
sister's might shine. She was particularly ebullient in her mood and
Eugene could not help contrasting, even in this ho