Agnes had recovered from her ill humour by this time. She now insisted on trying on all her dresses,—for Letty to see. Letty tried to enter into the spirit of the occasion,—admired and criticized, was laughed at for her ignorance of the fashions, and laughed in her turn.
She finally left Agnes in high spirits, well pleased with every thing, and, apparently, fully convinced that marriage was going to be a cure for "all the ills that flesh is heir to," and looking forward to nothing but sunshine for the rest of her life. No thought of responsibility, no consideration of the sacredness of the engagement into which she had entered, seemed able to divert her attention for a moment. She especially exulted in the idea that she—the youngest of her set—was to be married first of all. "It will be a long time before Martha Allen will get such a good-looking husband, for all her corded silk," were her last words to her cousin.
Letty walked homeward, feeling rather sadly. She had seen too much of fine dresses to be dazzled by Agnes's preparations. She was sorry to see her spending money so foolishly; and she had a feeling that such an expensive wedding was not a very good beginning for two young people who had nothing in the world beforehand. She was sure all this must straiten her aunt very much, with her small income. She was oppressed, too, with Agnes's giddiness. It seemed to her that if ever a girl ought to think seriously, to review her own faults and deficiencies, to feel the need of divine guidance and support, it should be in the week before her wedding-day. She had tried to say something of this kind to her cousin; but Agnes cut her short with a laugh.
"Come, now, Letty; don't preach! You are as bad as Mrs. Willson herself; and I dare say you will look just like her when you are as old,—spectacles and all. One would think I was going to be buried, instead of married."
"I think one is nearly as serious a matter as the other, for my part," said Letty.
"Well, I really believe you do. I wouldn't be so solemn for any thing. I should have no comfort in life if I were always looking at every thing on the shady side. That is always the way with you religious people. You don't take any comfort yourselves, and you don't mean any one else should take any, if you can help it. For my part, I mean to enjoy life all I can, while I have a chance. Trouble comes soon enough, without making it for oneself."
This seemed rather absurd, coming from one who a few minutes before had wished she was not going to be married at all, because Martha Allen had a more expensive dress than her own. Letty saw, however, that it was of no use to try to make any impression upon her cousin at present, and so abandoned the attempt.
"It isn't worth while to talk to her, Letty," said Mrs. Train. "Girls will be girls. She will get sobered fast enough when she comes to know a little of the real cares of life."
The wedding took place at the time appointed, and was a gay affair. Letty wondered, as she looked round upon the dresses of Agnes's companions, how much money they could have left for necessaries. Agnes looked very pretty, and was wonderfully serious for her,—which Letty was very glad to see.
She hoped her cousin realized at last what she was about to do. But Agnes's seriousness proceeded from a very different feeling. She was annoyed and mortified past all endurance. In fact, she was the victim of a conspiracy as spiteful as it was silly. She had boasted a good deal of her wedding preparations; and half a dozen of her companions had determined to revenge themselves by playing her a trick and outdressing her even on her wedding-day.