posted · in the small windows of the long lane
— a notice of marriage —
in the orchard, between two short rains
· · ·
on the fourth of june, in the garden behind the long lane house, e. parr of the cape was married to r. holst of the kitchen, before fourteen witnesses and a low sun. the custodian read the lines; the library owl attended from the gable.
there was no bell. the bride wore her mother's grey, and a small blue ribbon at the wrist. a single pear, not yet ripe, was passed between the couple in lieu of a cake; this is an arrangement of the lane.
the rain held off from the first vow to the last. tea was taken on the gravel afterward. those wishing the couple well may leave a coin on the sill of the south window, where such things are noted.
no gifts asked · no register kept · the small kettle warm by sundown
a quiet ceremony, as nearly all of them are here. the lane does not announce its weddings in the usual paper; the observer prints them small and folds them into the door-cracks of the neighbours who could not come.