“He was apt to be in despair, and exclaim that he was sure at this rate it would be May before Hymen’s saffron robe would be put on for us.”
– Jane Austen
Emma, Chapter 36. Mrs. Elton alludes to a line from John Milton’s pastoral poem L’Allegro. The line is: “There let Hymen oft appear In Saffron robe.” Hymen was the Greek God of marriage. Mrs. Elton is speaking about the time Mr. Elton was courting her and he despaired that things were moving too slowly for him towards marriage.