"
Had any desired to object, none dared to confront the August
Aunt; but apparently no beauty so desired, for after three
nights' sleepless meditation, no other thought than this had
occurred to any.
Accordingly, the writer moved from lady to lady and, under the
supervision of the August Aunt, transcribed the following: "The
Ideal Man is the earthly likeness of the Divine Emperor. How
should it be otherwise?" And under this sentence wrote the name
of each lovely one in succession. The papers were then placed in
the hanging sleeves of the August Aunt for safety.
By the decree of Fate, the father of the Round-Faced Beauty had,
before he became an ancestral spirit, been a scholar of
distinction, having graduated at the age of seventy-two with a
composition commended by the Grand Examiner. Having no gold and
silver to give his daughter, he had formed her mind, and had
presented her with the sole jewel of his family-a pearl as large
as a bean. Such was her sole dower, but the accomplished Aunt may
excel the indolent Prince.
Yet, before the thought in her mind, she hesitated and trembled,
recalling the lesson of the gold-fish; and it was with anxiety
that paled her roseate lips that, on a certain day, she had
sought the Willow Bridge Pavilion.
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