“She must abide the consequences of her unstable character; she will weep and despair at first, then will dry her tears and end by believing me in the wrong.”
“11th October 1833.—I am married! All opposition has been in vain. Henriette has told me of the hundred and one lies they spread abroad. I was epileptic, I was mad—nothing was too bad. But we have listened to our own hearts and all is well.
“This winter we are going to Berlin, but before leaving I must give a horrid concert.
“How awfully I love my poor Ophelia! When once we can get rid of her troublesome sister, life will be hard but quite happy.
“We are at Vincennes, where my wife can spend her days in the Park, but I go to Paris every day. Our marriage has made the devil’s own row there.
“My little fugitive is provided for. Jules Janin has arranged to send her away.
“Write soon. I love to answer, in order to tell you of the heaven I live in—it needs but you! Surely love and friendship like yours and mine is one of the supreme joys of this world!”
XXII
NEWSPAPER BONDAGE
At the time of our marriage our sole income was my scholarship, which still had a year and a half to run; but the Minister of the Interior absolved me from the regulation German tour. I had a fair number of friends and adherents in Paris and firm faith in the future.
To pay my wife’s debts, I had to start benefit-mongering. My friends rallied round me—amongst them Alexandre Dumas, who was all his life my most devoted helper—and after untold annoyances we arranged a theatrical performance, followed by a concert at the Théâtre Italien.