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114 MY GREAT AUNT POLLY' S ELOPEMENT.
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Babl Dear Y Be Reader Declared .—The By ...
we said beforeto detail conversations whereof we only know the outline through , the provident care of Mrs . Lavinia Billings .
Suffice it that Mr . Paul Lefevre told his story to the wood nymph , lained that his heart and hand and landed estates were at
P exp olly ' s disposal if only she would spare him the cruel ordeal of the parish churchand finally sank on one knee at the foot of the
old apple-tree , declaring , that with half a word a coach-and-six should be at the bottom of the meadow any day she chose to
appoint , to whirl off two happy lovers to the matrimonial precincts of Gretna Green . Mr . Lefevre declared , in relating the
conversation years after to an intimate friend , that my great-aunt suddenlraised her bashful head with a most fascinating smile ,
y asked if he were quiet sure that Gretna Green weddings were indisputableandon his vowing and protesting that nothing could
be down tighter in radiant than , loveliness a , chain forged from the by fork the of blacksmith the le , -tree Polly and looked said app _, ,
" Very well , Mr . Lefevre—if it must be so—this day week and a coach-and-six . "
The week passed rapidly away ; it was bright and beautiful July weatherand Mr . Lefevre was in ecstasies at the prospect of his
trip . He , ordered his handsomest chariot , a light and elegant vehicle for the last centuryto be refitted ; he selected four good
horses for a sharp steady pace , along the roads , and sent on a le more overniht to Boxleya village fifteen miles distant
on coup the northern road g . After which , he trusted to posters , considering a start so attained sufficient to obviate any chance of being
overtaken . Finally , being unwilling to trust any of his own servants at the Priory with a plan which a word of careless gossip
might frustrate , he sent , by Polly ' s advice , for the son of her old nurse at Yorkan excellent coachman , warranted to drive them
to the confines , of Scotland in as few hours as were possible to the legs of any horses short of those of Pegasus himself .
Under the apple-tree , on the evening of the last day of suspense , did Paul Lefevre press the hand of his fair ladyand say in the
, softest of tones , " At what hour will my Polly consent to risk her fate with me ? " To which Polly , who was not given to many
words , replied , " Half-past seven , if you please , Mr . Lefevre . " And the happy lover departed to give the order to his coachman that
the chariot-and-four should be driven round to the lane at the side of the meadow adjoining Zephaniah Dever ' s house at half-past
seven precisely , when Polly , taking an early stroll , as was her daily customshould walk that wayshould enter the vehicle in the
the twinkling town , of where an eye her , love and r be woul driven , d join rap her idly at to a part the entrance of the road of
little liable , to observation or interruption from passers-by . Light were the dreams of Paul Lefevre that night : visions of
weddingrings and white silk dresses , which were in this instance to be
114 My Great Aunt Polly' S Elopement.
114 MY GREAT AUNT POLLY ' S ELOPEMENT .
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), April 1, 1858, page 114, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01041858/page/42/
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