bride and groom, now husband and wife. They are
sitting side by side, hand in hand, looking forth from the large
southern window of that magnificent tower room, hitherto known as the
private retreat of Fern Fenwick. The outlook from that window was a
revelation of beauty, as perfect as a dream of fairy land.

As the twilight deepened, high in the southern sky, the full-orbed
splendor of a September moon, glorified with its soft radiance, the
marked beauty of the Capital City--the Pearl City of the republic. From
the mysterious depths of stilly night, intensifying the soothing charm
of moonlight; there came softly stealing through the open window, the
balmy airs of evening, laden with the fragrant breath of a thousand
flowers. From the Aqueduct Bridge to Fort Foote, a long line of
brilliant light, with many a graceful curve, marked the pathway of the
broad Potomac, whose unruffled bosom shone like a mirror of burnished
silver. Stretching across the valley from distant heights, a fleecy veil
of enchantment woven in the loom of mist, etherealized city and river,
dome and monument, tower and steeple, cottage and castle; adding a weird
beauty to the magnificent array of public buildings, which owned the
Capitol and the Library as chief. Above and beyond all else in its
unapproachable glory, the Dome of the Capitol in the mellow, hazy
moonlight, shone resplendent as a matchless crown to the architecture
of the Occident!

Responsive to the spell woven by the fairy fingers of moonlight, in
which soul and sense sink to the spiritual repose of that serene calm,
where in silence, happiness of the purest type best expresses itself;
these newly wedded lovers, living in the inner world, lost to the outer,
remained motionless and absorbed in the ecstasy of contemplation.

Fern was the first to break the silence. She said: "My dear Fillmore!
Tell me, is this the beginning of some reign of enchantment? The
culmination of love's dream? Are we waking or dreaming? Can it be
possible, that this glorious moonlight, so auspiciously ushering in our
honeymoon, is typical and indicative of its endurance, of its unalloyed
brightness?"

"My wife! Chosen one of all women! Your devoted lover for six years;
having passed the stage of love at first sight, hopeless love,
worshiping love from afar, patient love, love requited and love
rewarded; I am now so happy, so unspeakably optimistic, that I accept
without question the happy augury of enchante