At the close of the address to the newly wedded pair, the priest uttered
these words, which he believed prophetic:
"You will be, you _must_ be happy!"
Who would not have believed as he did? Where could two young people
be found more richly dowered with all the attributes likely to produce
happiness, i.e., youth, rank, health, and riches.
But though an intense joy sparkled in the eyes of the new Marquise
de Sairmeuse, there were those among the guests who observed the
bridegroom's preoccupation. One might have supposed that he was making
an effort to drive away some gloomy thought.
At the moment when his young wife hung upon his arm, proud and radiant,
a vision of Marie-Anne rose before him, more life-like, more potent than
ever.
What had become of her that she had not been seen at the time of her
father's execution? Courageous as he knew her to be, if she had made no
attempt to see her father, it must have been because she was ignorant of
his approaching doom.
"Ah! if she had but loved him," Martial thought, "what happiness would
have been his.
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