and butter and talked only of champagne and caviare; but without bread, hunger
is imminent. Victory no longer seemed indubitable. It was possible, it began
even to be probable that the fair ship of his fame might come to wreck on the
shoals of poverty.
It was painfully clear that he must do something without further delay, must
either conquer want or overleap it. Would he bridle his desires, live savingly,
and write assiduously till such repute came as would enable him to launch out
and indulge his tastes? He was wise enough to see the advantages of such a
course. Every day his reputation as a talker was growing. Had he had a little
more self-control, had he waited a little longer till his position in society
was secured, he could easily have married someone with money and position who
would have placed him above sordid care and fear for ever. But he could not
wait; he was colossally vain; he would wear the peacock's feathers at all times
and all costs: he was intensely pleasure-loving, too; his mouth watered for
every fruit. Besides, he couldn't write with creditors at the door. Like
Bossuet he was unable to work when bothered about small economies:--"s'il etait
a l'etroit dans son domestique".
What was to be done? Suddenly he cut the knot and married the daughter of a
Q.C., a Miss Constance Lloyd, a young lady without any particular qualities
or beauty, whom he had met in Dublin on a lecture tour. Miss Lloyd had a few
hundreds a year of her own, just enough to keep the wolf from the door. The
couple went to live in Tite Street, Chelsea, in a modest little house. The
drawing-room, however, was decorated by Godwin and quickly gained a certain
notoriety. It was indeed a charming room with an artistic distinction and
appeal of its own.
As soon as the dreadful load of poverty was removed, Oscar began to go about a
great deal, and his wife would certainly have been invited with him if he had
refused invitations addressed to himself alone; but from the beginning he
accepted them and consequently after the first few months of marriage his wife
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