'I think I can promise you that,' said the Princess's father, smiling, with a glance at the two lovers.
'I am old enough, at any rate, to have done with ambitions,' said the one.
'And I,' said the other, 'have dreamed long enough, at any rate, to despise them. What matters ruling to either of us two, while we see your son and my daughter reigning together?'
So it was agreed, then and there; and after supper, without loss of time, the Archbishop married the Prince Florimond and the Princess Aurora in the chapel of the Castle. The two Kings and the Princess's mother saw them to their chamber, and the first maid-of-honour drew the curtain. They slept little—the Princess had no occasion; but the Prince next morning led his bride back to the city, where they were acclaimed by the populace and lived happy ever after, reigning in prosperity and honour.
MORAL
Ye Maids, to await some while a lover fond,
Rich titled, debonair as Florimond,
Is reason; and who learns on fate to attend
Goes seldom unrewarded in the end—
'What! No one kiss us for a hundred years!'
There, la-la-la! I understood, my dears.
ANOTHER
Further, the story would suggest a doubt
That marriage may be happiest when deferr'd—
'Deferr'd?' you cry—'Deferr'd,' I see you pout,
—We'll skip this morale and attempt a third.
ANOTHER