Show i MI A JWEN1IEiH = CENTURY WEDDING I A r I BYANNIE REESE LOCKEr r L iit i Q y rIIltJ Ol by the Shortstory Publishing company All rights reserved LtPJ 0 r 1 Nl wljl never forgive iiou Richard IC you let any tiling pr v6nt your return re-turn In good time for the wedding exclaimed Katharine Archibald us sho J hissed her brother goodbye on the eve of his departure for Europe I know how you are set upon my performing the ceremony 1 dear and jiothlng shall prevent my parly return 1 re-turn promised the Rev Richard Archibald Ar-chibald The wedding preparations went forward for-ward with gratifying smoothness till near the date when the absent clergyman clergy-man expected to sail from Europe when a letter came from him with the 1 distressing Intelligence that In climbing I climb-ing Monte Facclo he had met with a blight accident which wauld however inevitably keep him to his room for several weeks to come I need not say dear Kate how disappointed I 1 dis-appointed J am the letter continued but unless you can persuade Greyson to wait another clergyman will have to officiate Kathcrlno was ready to cryso determined de-termined hud she been that her newly ordained brother alone should read the service though she was a young1 Woman wo-man of much force of character which her family sometimes called stubbornness 1 stubborn-ness The wedding will simply have to be 1 put of she announced I suppose Percy will be Curious but It wasnt my fault that Richard hurt his knee She wrote Immediately to her fiance In New York announcing the news and her decision and by return mail received a most emphatic reply It is i Impossible darling to wait longer than the 21st of September My business renders it absolutely Imperative Impera-tive that I should start for Cuba then and you know how long I am liable to 1 be detained there Surely you will f J f I The bride became crimson The groom turned white not let the desire to have your brother c perform the marriage prevent your going go-Ing with me I cant let him go alone and oh I cant give up my hearts desire murmured mur-mured KatherIne to herself as she retired re-tired tp her room with this letter Two hours of deep and anxious thought over her dilemma brought Its solution f Katherine Archibald youre a genius 1 ge-nius she chuckled as she sped out to send a telegram telling her lover that I 4 tho wddlnS QJJlcI not Ue postponed and to cable a message to her brother I A week before the wedding Katherine Kathe-rine received from Europe A box which I she opened In her own apartment Heres Richards present she said bringing down stairs an exquisite Swiss watch It took an awful blx box to bring J that little thing Kate cried her small brother but the comment was lost In the admiring exclamations of the others oth-ers present The eventful day arrived and long before the hour set for the ceremony the prettily decorated rooms of Kath erlnes home were filled with guests Whos to perform the ceremony Mr Pierce Inquired one of them of the rector of the church the family attended at-tended < tendI I really do not know replied the rector stiffly Mr Archibald was to have officiated In his absence I rather expected to have been called upon but I find l myself merely a guest The clock chimed the hour the bridesmaids clustered at the door and many pairs of eyes were turned upon the Rev Mr Pierce The wedding march struck I up the bridesmaids filed in the groom and his best than appeared ap-peared from a side door the bride entered en-tered on the arm of her father but still no officiating minister stepped forward Tho bridal party formed beneath a great floral bell in front of the stand which was to serve as Yin altar But where on earth was the clergyman clergy-man The Guest leaned forward in breathless breath-less excitement peering hiough the palms that surrounded and fsqreened the space behind the stand dine bride and groom stood facing It One hand of the best man fumbled for moment among the flowers it supported instantly In-stantly a tow buzzing tilled the room followed by the sound of a strong clear voice beginning the service Dearly beloved we are gathered together to-gether here In the sight of God and In the face of this company to join together to-gether this man and this woman in holy matrimony The startled guests could not restrain re-strain their wonder nor suppress the excited whispers that ran around the great parlor v Its surely Richard Archibalds voice I thought he was In Europe Who Is It 7 Where Is he Is It a ghost 7 asked a frightened child It certainly did convey a peculiar pecu-liar sensation to hear the familiar voice coming from nowhere go solemnly sol-emnly on with the service until It reached I Those whom God hath Joined together to-gether let no man put asunder put asunder put asunder Its a phonograph1 A phono graph These words and a titter circled cir-cled the room The bride became crimson crim-son The groom turned white One of the bridesmaids quietly fainted and while she was being borno away an usher snatched from the embowered stand the Instrument that still reiterated reiter-ated thpse ominous words and rushed It Into the hall shaking it as he went The best man faced the tumultuous guests and nervously asked the Rev 1lr Pierce to step forward The rector hesitated but only for a moment Then he took up the ritual where the mechanical me-chanical minister had turned It Into mockery and went ont Forasmuch as Percy and Katherine have gjven and pledged their troth each to the other and have declared the same by giving and receiving a I ring and bY joining hands I pronounce that they are man and wife A sigh of relief at the removal of the tension in such satisfactory manner came from every woman present But it was drowned In the commotion which followed the sudden return of the Ingenious In-genious usher flushed with su cess but wholly oblivious to what had taken place In his absence when he replaced the phonograph on the stand and the machine In louder and clearer tones than before hurtled after the retreating I bridal party an impressive supplementary I supple-mentary blessing In the voice of the brother oCthe bride I Copyright 1901 by tho Shorlstory Publishing Pub-lishing Company All rights reserved It f 2 fa tZe p L 1 c7 I Billy hadan Image In his heart when he died How did he get it there V He ate a living picture poster 0 I SHE WAS WISE < I 1 r1 T7r f r i j iv Hl I y ji 4i 4i4iFIbck J3ilz 41 i ly r 1 j ft o o JLtk l 1j 1 j > v 9tttcL 1 1j I t g ni riz7 d I I PV b f0 t I NI f l Q 1 I 1L I V 1 j i t I t k1t ti BI r j r J I I > I L I d f < J t7 Il I J > < j f4 < tii r t J < fwY J H i I 4 1 c < ik t 7 J t Lord De Brooke 1 cannot llvowlthqul yod Miss Cutting didnt Imagine you were so badly In debt as all that |