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Rh whole affair put a severe strain upon me, under which my nervous system threatened to break down.

These things continued to be of daily recurrence—the unsparing criticism of the people, aunt's admonitions to my father, his assurance that all would be well in the end; but I heard no more of any settled marriage, nor was Chotu mentioned to me again. So notwithstanding the fact that my heart was by no means entirely at ease, I became more composed daily. Trepidation left me and I gradually became so calm that I could take a reasonable view of what was going on around me. If people said unkind things, it was because they could not overcome time-honoured custom, I argued, and instead of being annoyed with them any longer, I began to respect them for the strength of their convictions.

Suddenly my palace of calm was broken to pieces again, for father took me by surprise one day during dinner; he announced:

"Chotu will be here in a day or two. The date of the marriage will be fixed as soon as he comes."