bserve
the same couple a few years later--'I, I!' and 'my pleasure,' is the
phrase now. The adoring all-resigning lover is then become the exacting
married man, who will be waited on and obeyed. And the loving
all-sacrificing bride, she is become the unwieldy and care-burdened
housewife, who talks of nothing but trouble, bad saltings, and negligent
maid-servants. And what are _tete-a-tete_ communications between these
two? 'How, my dear! is the butter really used up already? Why, I gave
you money only the other day for butter! You really must look better
after things, and see what the cook does with the butter; I will not
allow such extravagance in the house! Do you want something more?' 'Yes,
indeed, my love, I and the children must have new over-dresses. Little
Peter's coat is worn out, and little Paul has grown out of his; and my
old cloak cannot last to eternity!' People," continued the sarcastic
Emilie, "may thank their stars, too, if out of such interesting
communications as these no hateful quarrels arise; and if, in the happy
repose of their homes, harmless yawnings have only taken place of the
kisses which have left it. Contracted circumstances, meannesses, and
domestic trials, destroy the happiness of marriage, even as the worm
destroys the flower, bringing bitterness and sourness into the temper;
and though the married pair may continue to the very day of their death
to address each other as 'My sweet friend,' yet, very often, _in petto_,
it is 'My sour friend.' Yet, after all, this is nothing, in fact, but
what is perfectly natural; and, in this respect, marriage only follows
the eternal law of nature in all earthly existence. Every form of life
carries in itself decay and dissolution--a poisonous snake-king[3] gnaws
even at the root of the world's tree."

Several of the listeners, and among them the Candidate, had laughed
loudly at Emelie's descriptions; but the Judge had not once moved his
lips, and replied, when she had done, with an earnestness that
confounded even her satire.

"If all this were true, Emelie," said he, "then were life, even in the
best point of view, good for nothing; and with justice might it indeed
be called an illusion. But it is not so; and you have only described
marriage in its lowest, and not either in its best or its truest sense.
I do not deny the difficulties which exist in this as in every other
circumstance of life; but I am confident that they may and must be
overcome; and