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Life, Journals and Letters of Henry Alford
Life Journals and Letters of Henry Alford Author:Henry Alford Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. 1832—1840. First Publishes Poems—Pupils—Curacy At Ampton—FelLow Of Trinity—Marriage—Becomes Vicar Of Wymes Wold—Tour To Belgium, Switzerland, ... more »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 1 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 loring 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. May the steplass] Prospect of Marriage. 77 which we have taken be in accordance with Thy most holy will, that so we may be united in Thy fear and love unfeigned here below, and may be partakers of the marriage supper of the Lamb in heaven, through Jesus Christ our Lord ! Amen." He remained at Heale from June 5 to July 17. Th...« less