| OCR Text |
Show MARRIED UNDER DIFFICULTIES. DIFFICUL-TIES. "Yes, Tom, you heard the right of the story; some one did cry out, 'I lorbid the banns I' " "That was a nice fix to be in I can tell you, at that late hour. Bessy and I in church, with Miss Spicer, the old general's daughter, fer bridesmaid, and John Charles, a particularly nobby fellow, who stood up as best man. There was Bessy, as pretty as a picture, dressed in an handsome a bridal outfit as ever you saw white satin and lace and flowers and vail. I'm not much at description about a woman's rig, but I vow aud declare, though I've seen many of 'em since, I've never come across a bride as all-fired all-fired pretty as she was. and I never shall. "I didn't want to be mariied in church it looked sort of conspicuous but Bessy wouldn't be married any other way, and I wanted Bessy. "Well, the minister, a very tall, grave-looking man, standing on the other side ot the rail, had just begun the service, and says he, 'If any man nas any reasons why,' and bo forth you know what it is 'let him now speak, or lorever aftor hold his tongue,1 when up jumps somebody in the back of the bouse and cries out: " 'I lorbid the banns I' "Well, lhat was a pretty kettle ol fish to begin with. I felt Bessio trem-ole, trem-ole, and I grew hot all over. If tho old man, her father, a queer old cod-;er, cod-;er, bad taken it into his head that Bessy was too uood for- me and, indeed, I don't deny Bhe was I was done for. But then that couldn't be. Tbe minister he turned red, aud the people who had come to Bee were in a state of restlessness, you may be sure. " 'For what reason do you forbid tbe banns?' asked he of tho white gown.' All this passed much quicker than I can write it. " "Because she is already my wife.' "Says I, 'that's a he 1' aud her father repeated it with an amendment which was not exactly appropriate to the place and in a moment there was a pretty how d'ye do. I had made my way to the back of the church, and if I had laid hands on that lellow he'd never seen tho outside out-side of his skin aain. I'd have torn him in pieces. But there was a crowd; some pointed out one, and boiiio auother, and one man gravely told me the villain had gone homo to gel the prools. Then Bessy, lrihtened out ol her wits on missing mo, screamed and fainted away, and of course ihu minister couldn't have qone on anyhow. any-how. Bessy's mother bega.i scolding mo, and Bussy'H lather ripped round there all but b wearing in the very face of thepurson, till I surely thought t,be last day had come and wo had all gouo crazy together. So wo had to no back, everylnxly mad, Beany iu hysterics, and the old folks storming at her, at me, and each other. Upou my word, Tom, you'd nave pitied mo or any ol her man, for what was I to do? A slur bad been cast upon Besy, poor, innocent child, and even I who had been her lover less than six month, didn't know what to think of the statement so boldly made before all Israel and the sun. "Well, of course it got into the papers, and all manner of comments ' were made, which nearly drove me distracted. What to do we didn't know. Bessy "b aunt, a regular old Tabby, declared it was the worst of bad luck to have a marriage put oil', and abused me like a pickpocket. Tiie wedding breakfast Btayed for two days uniasled, while Bessy's father and myself went tearing round the city to find the man who had set all this trouble going; it was like hunting for a needle in a hayrick. "Meantime poor little Bessy was nick with low nervous fever. 1 went there to every day to enquire about her and muse on the uncertainty of n...n,nna off,; nannpn11,r Won nna morning the door was opened before I reached the top step, a big, red band pulled me inside, and the whole household house-hold began an Indian dance, including includ-ing everything but scalps and the war-whoop. " 'Bulger, my glorious follow, we're all right, shouted tbe old gentleman, giving me such a slap between the shoulders that I lost my breath. " 'My dear boy, our sorrows are at an nnd ' iuilflecf the almost mother- in-law. " 'I hope it won't be put off again, for then we should have a funeral,' remarked the Tabby aunt, looking at me trom under her Bpectacles, with her usual Beverity of expression. "'What! you haven't found ,' cried I, utterly unable to finish, from sheer bewilderment. " 'Yes, we've found him !' said the paternal. " 'The poor, miserable wretch !' ejaculated the maternal. " 'Ought to be roasted alive,' muttered mut-tered Tabby, glaring at me. " 'Jo,' cried a weak voice at the the head of the stairs; come up here. "Youmayguesj how those stairs disappeared from under my feet. Poor Bessy, pale little thing, fell into my arms without any fuss, and cried and cried and cried. Then, after all this commotion was over and it didn't kill me my beamiog father-in-law that should have been at that time, handed me a paper, with the brief remark, 'Read !' And this is what I read: "A lunatic from G., in the county of M , has been at large for a month, but was last night tracked to his hiding place in this city, and taken back to the asylum. It seems, from the accounts we can gather, that he has been leading an eventful life I since his escape, having peraouated, successfully, a member of congress, the governor of a state, and a bank president. He is evidently a genius, and is highly delighted with his tour. One exploit of which he boasts for singularly enough he remembers bis pranks was that of spoiling a wedding. wed-ding. The circumstances will be remembered, re-membered, and we are most happy to make matters smooth again for our esteemed fellow-citizens, J. B and C. I , also the charming bride, whose maiden meditations were bo ruthlessly and painfully broken in upon. We congratulate them as heartily heart-ily as if the wedding were consummated, consum-mated, and when It is may we be there to Bee. "Well, you'd better believe it wasn't long before that wedding came off, but we didn't risk it in a church again. And we might have admitted the traditional five hundred friends, I lor we had become celebrities; but Bessie wanted a quiet wedding, averring aver-ring as a reason that among five hundred hun-dred people there must of necessity I be one or more lunatics. Miss Spicer was gracious, and stood up with us again, but John Charles had taken his: bad to put up with an ordinary man. The wedding came off this time without with-out an interruption; and don't fail to look in upon us, Tom, and wish ua joy-" |
