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Life, Journal and Letters of Henry Alford, D.d. (v. 15); Late Dean of Canterbury
Life Journal and Letters of Henry Alford Dd Late Dean of Canterbury - v. 15 Author:Henry Alford Volume: v. 15 General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1873 Original Publisher: Rivingtons Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com whe... more »re you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER III. 1832 -- 1840. First Publishes Poems -- Pupils -- Curacy At Ampton -- Fellow Of Trinity -- Marriage -- Becomes Vicar Of Wymeswold -- Tour To Belgium, Switzerland, And North Italy -- Edits Dearden's Miscellany. THE severe toil of the last months of his undergraduate career was followed by one of the most joyous periods of his life. The object of his visit to Heale was to make a proposal of marriage to his cousin, Fanny Alford. Three weeks before his arrival he considerately wrote a letter to prepare her for this step. How he himself regarded it is shown by two extracts from his journal. He thus looks forward to it on the eve of his leaving Cambridge: -- " Let me look at the step which I have taken. The choice is for life. Can I live with none else to depend on, none else to trust in, none else to love ? I think, with God's grace, that I can. Sixteen years of attachment have done surely their part to rivet my heart stronger upon hers; and though I know my faults of temper and of want of forbearance, and also hers in some points, yet I hope to be able, if to any one to her at least, to be loving and kind always and by all means." His reflections on the day of the engagement, dated June 5, 11 p. m., end with this prayer: -- " O Lord God, who art the God of love, and the guide of all Thy servants, look upon us two, who, in reliance upon Thy promise and Thine answer graciously vouchsafed to our prayers, have this day pledged ourselves to each other. Maythe step which we have taken be in accordance with Thy most holy will, that so we m...« less