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"Let it!" said I

"And the bacon--the bacon will burn--let o, and--oh, Peter!"

So, in due ti breakfast;

and there were no eyes to speculate upon the bride's beauty, to

note her changing color, or the glory of her eyes; and no healths

were proposed or toasts drunk, nor any speeches spoken--except,

perhaps by ood friend--the brook outside, who, of course,

understood the situation, and babbled tolerantly of us to the

listening trees, like the grim old philosopher he was

In this solitude ere surely closer together and belonged hts wereand sohs in the wilderness), our hands would

stray to meet each other across the table, and eye would answer

eye, while, in the silence, the brook would lift its voice to

chuckle throaty chuckles and outlandish witticisms, such as could

only be expected frorown so in years,

and had seen so very much of life At such times Charh (indeed) she

were versed in the language of brooks