Ah, why I call you "Rainbow," sweet?The shadows 'fore your eyes retreat,The ground grows light beneath your feet.You smile in your superior way,A Rainbow has no feet, you say?Nay, be not so precise to-day.Created but to soothe and bless,You followed logic to excess,Repressing thoughts of tenderness.My life was chilled and wan and hoary,You came, the Bow of ancient story,To kiss the grayness into glory.And now, as Rainbow fair to see,A promise sweet you are to meOf sorrow never more to be.
Ah, why I call you "Rainbow," sweet?The shadows 'fore your eyes retreat,The ground grows light beneath your feet.
You smile in your superior way,A Rainbow has no feet, you say?Nay, be not so precise to-day.
Created but to soothe and bless,You followed logic to excess,Repressing thoughts of tenderness.
My life was chilled and wan and hoary,You came, the Bow of ancient story,To kiss the grayness into glory.
And now, as Rainbow fair to see,A promise sweet you are to meOf sorrow never more to be.
Besides the friends of the happy pair, nearly all the candidates were present at the inauguralsoiréeof the Old Maids' Club. Not quite all—because Lillie who was rapidly growing conventional did not care to have Clorinda Bell even accompanied by her mother, or by her brother,the Man in the Ironed Mask. Nor did she invite the twins, nor the osculatory Alice. But she conquered her prejudices in other instances, and Frank Maddox, the art critic, came under the convoy of the composer, Paul Horace, and Miss Mary Friscoe was brought by Bertie Smythe. The Writers' Club also sent Ellaline Rand, and an account of the proceedings appeared in the first number of theCherub. The "Princess" was brought by Miss Primpole, and Captain Athelstan and Lord Arthur came together in unimpaired friendship. Eustasia Pallas and her husband, Percy Swinshell Spatt, both their faces full of the peace that passeth understanding, got a night off for the occasion and came in a hansom paid for out of the week's beer-money. Turple the magnificent, who had seen them at home in the servants' hall, was outraged in his deepest instincts and multiplied occasions for offering them refreshments merely for the pleasure of snorting in their proximity. The great Fladpick (Frank Gray), accompanied by his newly-won bride, Cecilia, made the evening memorable by the presence of the English Shakespeare, Guy Fledgely brought Miss Sybil Hotspur, and his father, the baronet, was under the care of Miss Jack. The lady from Boston wired congratulations on the success of the Club from Yokohama whither she had gone to pick up lacquer-work. Poor Miss Summerson, the lovely May, and the victim of the Valentine were a triad that was much admired. Miss Fanny Radowski, whose Oriental loveliness excited much attention, came, with Martin. Winifred Woodpecker was accompanied by her mother, the resemblance between the two being generally remarked, and Miss Margaret Linbridge seemed to afford Richard Westbourne copious opportunities for jealousy. Even Wilkins was there with his Diana, in an unprofessional capacity, Lillie having relented towards her interviewer on learning that she had been really engaged to Silverplume once and that she had notentirely drawn on the stores of journalistic fancy. Silverplume himself was there, unconscious to what he owed the invitation, and paying marked attention to the unattached beauties. Miss Nimrod promenaded the rooms on the arm of the millionaire. She had improved vastly since she had become effeminate, and Lillie felt she could put up with her, now she would not have to live with her. Even Silverdale's aunt, Lady Goody-Goody Twoshoes could find no fault with Nelly now.
It was a brilliant scene. The apartments of the Old Maids' Club had been artistically decked with the most gorgeous flowers that the millionaire could afford, and the epigrams had been carefully removed so as to leave the rooms free for dancing. As Lillie's father gazed around, he felt that not many millionaires could secure such a galaxy of beauty as circled in the giddy dance in his gilded saloon. It was, indeed, an unexampled gathering of pretty girls—this inauguralsoiréeof the Old Maids' Club, and the millionaire's shirt-front heaved with pride and pleasure and the Letter-Day Cupid that still hung on the wall seemed to take heart of grace again.
"You got my verses this morning, Rainbow mine?" said Silverdale, when the carriage drove off, and the honeymoon began.
It was almost the first moment they had had together the whole day.
"Yes," said Lillie softly. "And I wanted to tell you there are two lines which are truer than you meant."
"I am indeed, a poet, then! Which are they?"
Lillie blushed sweetly. Presently she murmured,
"'You followed logic to excess,Repressing thoughts of tenderness.'
"'You followed logic to excess,Repressing thoughts of tenderness.'
"How did you know that?" she asked, her brown eyes looking ingenuously into his.
"Love's divination, I suppose."
"My father didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"About my discovery in the algebra of love?"
"Algebra of love?"
"No, of course he didn't. I don't suppose he ever really understood it," said Lillie with a pathetic smile. "I think I ought to tell you now what it was that made me so—so—you understand."
She put her little warm hand lightly into his and nestled against his shoulder, as if to make amends.
After a delicious silence, for Lord Silverdale betrayed no signs of impatience, Lillie confessed all.
"So you see I have loved you all along!" she concluded. "Only I did not dare hope that the chance would come to pass, against which the odds were 5999."
"But great heavens!" cried Lord Silverdale, "do you mean to say this is why you were so cold to me all those long weary months?"
"It is the only reason," faltered Lillie. "But would you have had me defy the probabilities?"
"No, no, of course not. I wouldn't dream of such a thing. But you have miscalculated them!"
"Miscalculated them?"
Lillie began to tremble violently.
"Yes, there is a fallacy in your ratiocination."
"A fallacy!" she whispered hoarsely.
"Yes, you have calculated on the theory that the probabilities are independent, whereas they are interdependent. In the algebra of love this is the typical class of probabilities. The two events—your falling in love with me, my falling in love with you—are related; they are not absolutely isolated phenomena as you have superficially assumed. It is our common qualities which make us gravitate together, and what makes me love you is the same thing that makes you love me. Thus the oddsagainst our loving each other are immensely less than you have ciphered out."
Lillie had fallen back, huddled up, in her corner of the carriage, her face covered with her hands.
"Forgive me," said Lord Silverdale penitently. "I had no right to correct your mathematics on your wedding-day. Say two and two are six and I will make it so."
"Two and two are not six and you know it," said Lillie firmly, raising her wet face. "It is I who have to ask forgiveness for being so cruel to you. But if I have sinned, I have sinned in ignorance. You will believe that, dearest?"
"I believe anything that comes from my Rainbow's lips," said Lord Silverdale. "Why, they are quite white! Let me kiss them rosy again."
Like a naughty child that has been chastened by affliction she held up her face obediently to meet his. The lips were already blushing.
"But confess," she said, while an arch indefinable light came into the brown eyes, "confess we have had a most original courtship."
Transcriber's Note:Throughout the dialogues, there were words used to mimic accents of the speakers. Those words were retained as-is.The illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up paragraphs and so that they are next to the text they illustrate. Thus the page number of the illustration might not match the page number in the List of Illustrations, and the order of illustrations may not be the same in the List of Illustrations and in the book.Errors in punctuation and inconsistent hyphenation were not corrected unless otherwise noted.Some corrections were made to quotation marks. Some of the use of quotation marks was not consistent with current standards, but was internally consistent and left unchanged. Some unpaired quotation marks and an unpaired parenthesis mark were left as-is.On the title page, a quotation mark was added before "THE BACHELOR'S CLUB".On page 17, "thy" was replaced with "they".On page 20, a single quotation mark is replaced with a double quotation mark.On page 23, a double quotation mark was added after "What do men think?"On page 25, a period was added after "Here is her photograph".On page 27, "repectable" was replaced with "respectable".On page 54, "promonitory" was replaced with "promontory".On page 56, the comma after "I laughed" was replaced with a period.On page 60, the comma after "blank expression" was deleted.On page 72, a double quotation mark was added before "The plurality is merely apparent."On page 88, "æronaut" was replaced with "aeronaut".On page 99,a comma was added after "(which is easy)".On page 103, "did no" was replaced with "did not".On page 111, the comma after "I love you was replaced with a period.On page 112, a quotation mark was removed after "then silence any more?".On page 119, a closing single quotation mark was added after "the epileptoid order".On page 120, a period was removed after "Mr. and".On page 124, a quotation mark was added after "only real life.".On page 124, "The past was put" was replaced with "The past was but".On page 127, "abut" was replaced with "about".On page 136, the double quotation marks around "tag" were replaced with single quotation marks.On page 138, double quotation marks were replaced with single quotation marks around "Now you see what I have had to put up with."In the caption of the illustration that originally was on page 145, "Advertsement" was replaced with "Advertisement".On page 157, a quotation mark was added before "You know I don't".On page 176, "might" was replaced with "night".On page 186, a quotation mark was added after "those of the photograph.".On page 200, a comma was added after "Eleven Weekly Papers".On page 242, a period was added after "rehearsal".On page 244, "onomatopœiac" was replaced with "onomatopœic".On page 244, a comma was removed after "conventional".On page 253, "Miss Jacks" was replaced with "Miss Jack".On page 261, a quotation mark was added before "Sybil's reply".On page 264, "decend" was replaced with "descend".On page 272, "then" was replaced with "them".On page 276, a quotation mark was added after "in Fleet Street.".On page 280, "well" was replaced with "will".On page 280, a quotation mark was removed before "Years afterwards".On page 288, "I no not" was replaced with "I do not".On page 289, a period was after "become an Old Maid".On page 299, the double quotation mark after "I had left my little all." was changed to a single quotation mark.On page 301, the double quotation mark was deleted after "Bucklesbury Buildings——'".On page 309, the quotation mark was removed in the subtitle of Chapter XIX.On page 318, "incompromise" was replaced with "incomprise".On page 323, a quotation mark was added after "My poor Philip!".On page 324, "body's li" was replaced with "body's life.".
Throughout the dialogues, there were words used to mimic accents of the speakers. Those words were retained as-is.
The illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up paragraphs and so that they are next to the text they illustrate. Thus the page number of the illustration might not match the page number in the List of Illustrations, and the order of illustrations may not be the same in the List of Illustrations and in the book.
Errors in punctuation and inconsistent hyphenation were not corrected unless otherwise noted.
Some corrections were made to quotation marks. Some of the use of quotation marks was not consistent with current standards, but was internally consistent and left unchanged. Some unpaired quotation marks and an unpaired parenthesis mark were left as-is.
On the title page, a quotation mark was added before "THE BACHELOR'S CLUB".
On page 17, "thy" was replaced with "they".
On page 20, a single quotation mark is replaced with a double quotation mark.
On page 23, a double quotation mark was added after "What do men think?"
On page 25, a period was added after "Here is her photograph".
On page 27, "repectable" was replaced with "respectable".
On page 54, "promonitory" was replaced with "promontory".
On page 56, the comma after "I laughed" was replaced with a period.
On page 60, the comma after "blank expression" was deleted.
On page 72, a double quotation mark was added before "The plurality is merely apparent."
On page 88, "æronaut" was replaced with "aeronaut".
On page 99,a comma was added after "(which is easy)".
On page 103, "did no" was replaced with "did not".
On page 111, the comma after "I love you was replaced with a period.
On page 112, a quotation mark was removed after "then silence any more?".
On page 119, a closing single quotation mark was added after "the epileptoid order".
On page 120, a period was removed after "Mr. and".
On page 124, a quotation mark was added after "only real life.".
On page 124, "The past was put" was replaced with "The past was but".
On page 127, "abut" was replaced with "about".
On page 136, the double quotation marks around "tag" were replaced with single quotation marks.
On page 138, double quotation marks were replaced with single quotation marks around "Now you see what I have had to put up with."
In the caption of the illustration that originally was on page 145, "Advertsement" was replaced with "Advertisement".
On page 157, a quotation mark was added before "You know I don't".
On page 176, "might" was replaced with "night".
On page 186, a quotation mark was added after "those of the photograph.".
On page 200, a comma was added after "Eleven Weekly Papers".
On page 242, a period was added after "rehearsal".
On page 244, "onomatopœiac" was replaced with "onomatopœic".
On page 244, a comma was removed after "conventional".
On page 253, "Miss Jacks" was replaced with "Miss Jack".
On page 261, a quotation mark was added before "Sybil's reply".
On page 264, "decend" was replaced with "descend".
On page 272, "then" was replaced with "them".
On page 276, a quotation mark was added after "in Fleet Street.".
On page 280, "well" was replaced with "will".
On page 280, a quotation mark was removed before "Years afterwards".
On page 288, "I no not" was replaced with "I do not".
On page 289, a period was after "become an Old Maid".
On page 299, the double quotation mark after "I had left my little all." was changed to a single quotation mark.
On page 301, the double quotation mark was deleted after "Bucklesbury Buildings——'".
On page 309, the quotation mark was removed in the subtitle of Chapter XIX.
On page 318, "incompromise" was replaced with "incomprise".
On page 323, a quotation mark was added after "My poor Philip!".
On page 324, "body's li" was replaced with "body's life.".