MARGARET GODOLPHIN, advice, did not even hint now to him that the irre- vocable union upon which she was so long de- liberating, and about which she had so often requested his counsel, promising, in gayer moments, that he should be the one to give her to her husband,-had taken place ; and when he did dis- cover the secret, he felt deeply hurt at heart. It was not by her own wish, however, that he was kept in ignorance ; the advice of her husband, who was secretive and reserved to an excess, induced her to conceal the marriage for a long time. Mr. Godol- phin could not endure to present his wife until she could appear in a manner suitable to their position ; and Margaret, without avowing her marriage, con- sulted Evelyn about going with Lord and Lady Berkeley on their Embassy to France, a project in which he heartily concurred, as he hoped it would assist in finally dissuading her from her notion of retiring to Herefordshire, a notion which he had no reason to think she had abandoned. This being arranged, and having given him a letter of attorney to transact all her affairs during her absence, her mind seemed much at ease, and she went, in June, to pay a short visit to Evelyn's villa, waiting for the departure of Lord Berkeley. That nobleman being suddenly attacked by illness, the journey was de- layed until November, when the party started. Margaret Godolphin quitted Evelyn with many tears, but not alone did she still withhold her con- fidence, but absolutely declared to him that should 36
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