May 25th, 1——

Well the fuss and flurry are all over—they are married, Aunt Gwendolin and Count de Pensier. I cannot do better than copy a paragraph out of the newspaper to describe the doings:
 
    "The church was beautifully decorated with azaleas, palms, orchids¹; tall white wands supporting sheaves of palms stood at each aisle². The walls of the church were festooned with green wreathing. The bride was given away by her brother, Theodore Morgan, Esq. She looked exceedingly handsome in an exquisite³ gown of heavy, ivory-white satin, with panel of filet⁴ lace, seeded with pearls. The long train was trimmed with lace and pearl seeding. With this was worn a costly⁵ lace veil, caught to her Titian hair with a chaplet of orange blossoms, and she carried a shower bouquet⁶ of Bridal roses.

    "The six bridesmaids were gowned in ivory taffeta silk, wearing picture hats; and each carried an immense bouquet of Bride's-maid's roses."
 
As is usual at American functions, the men did not seem to be of enough importance to mention anything more than their bare names.

It all took place in Christ's Church. Was He there? Grandmother says He is back in this world now in spirit. What did He think of it all?

"Grandmother," I said when it was all over—the church display, the reception, the eating and drinking, the dressing—"if I am ever married let it be in China."

"My dear child," said grandmother in alarm, "why do you make such a wild request as that?"

"Seated at a table the bride is offered a tiny cup of wine," I replied, "of which she takes a sip⁷, while the bridegroom in a seat opposite her also sips⁹ from a similar cup of wine. The cups are then  exchanged, and again tasted, and the marriage service is completed. They have time to think about each other, instead of thinking of what a grand show they are making for the world."

Grandmother looked at me in silence a few moments, then she said:

"Your grandfather and I were married quietly in our own little home parlour. I was dressed in white muslin, and your grandfather in corduroy. We were thinking more about each other than anything else, my dear."

The bride and groom⁸, Count and Countess de Pensier, started at once for the ancestral home in sunny France, I suppose to begin regilding the tarnished¹⁰ title Uncle Theodore spoke¹¹ about.

Oh, be joyful¹²! I shall not have to go to the "Fashionable Boarding School" any more! I shall not have to appear at a "coming out party!" I shall never come out now; I shall always stay in! Grandmother says I may stay in if I want to, and I do want to. I shall never have to steal out the back door in grandmother's clothes any more, sing any more foreign songs, or pretend I am Spanish! It is lovely to be able to act the truth! "It is an ill wind that blows nobody good." (This last is one of grandmother's familiar sayings.)

Cousin Ned has lost one of his eyes! Got it knocked out at the last "Play."

1 orchids   

n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wild flowers such as orchids and primroses are becoming rare. 兰花和报春花这类野花越来越稀少了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She breeds orchids in her greenhouse. 她在温室里培育兰花。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

3 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

4 filet   

n.肉片；鱼片

参考例句：

• They feasted us on filet mignon and strawberry shortcake.他们拿出鱼片和草莓松脆饼盛情款待我们。
• You cannot make filet mignon out of chopped liver.你不能从品质差的肉制造品质高的肉。

5 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

6 bouquet   

n.花束，酒香

参考例句：

• This wine has a rich bouquet.这种葡萄酒有浓郁的香气。
• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。

7 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

8 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

9 sips   

n.小口喝，一小口的量( sip的名词复数 )v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• You must administer them slowly, allowing the child to swallow between sips. 你应慢慢给药，使小儿在吸吮之间有充分的时间吞咽。 来自辞典例句
• Emission standards applicable to preexisting stationary sources appear in state implementation plans (SIPs). 在《州实施计划》中出现了固定污染的排放标准。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

10 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。