The meaning of it, when all the "whereas's
and aforesaids" were picked out, was, that Winnie had
about a hundred a year of her own. It could not make me
love her a shade better than I did; but at the same time
I won't be so absurd as to say that I was not glad,
or to deny that it made our marriage much easier than it
would otherwise have been.
Poor Whitehall came in on the morning of the
ceremony. He was staggering under the weight of a fine
Japanese cabinet which he had carried round from his
lodgings. I had asked him to come to the church, and the
old gentleman was resplendent in a white waistcoat and a
silk tie. Between ourselves, I had been just a little
uneasy lest his excitement should upset him, as in the
case of the dinner; but nothing could be more exemplary
than his conduct and appearance. I had introduced him to
Winnie some days before.
"You'll forgive me for saying, Dr. Munro, sir, that
you are a ---- lucky fellow," said he. "You've put your
hand in the bag, sir, and taken out the eel first time,
as any one with half an eye can see. Now, I've had three
dips, and landed a snake every dip. If I'd had a good
woman at my side, Dr. Munro, sir, I might not be the
broken half-pay skipper of an armed transport to-day."
"I thought you had been twice married, captain."
"Three times, sir. I buried two. The other lives at
Brussels. Well, I'll be at the church, Dr.
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