St. Charles Republican intelligencer. (St. Charles [Charles City], Iowa) 1856-1857, 1857-08-20
Gon,antit Skettb.
POPPING THE QUESTION.


by various writer's upon the marriage
ceremonies of different nations and
very interesting and amusing, too, are
some of the minor details of events
which took place among semi-civilized
people upon the important occasion of
NE .!solemnization Of that bond of union
between the ssexes which lays the
foundation of a new household. But
we are not aware that any very prac-
ticsh and therefore reliable, writera.hale s
ever favored the world with the means
Of arriving at distinct idea of the
process by which that perfect agree
ment is established between the par
ties most interested, which, In coun-
trv like our own at least, must be es-
tablished by some means or other be-
fore the marriage takes place. we
never hear Of wedding without won
dering, in our secret heart, how the
delicate but tremendous decisive con-
tract between bachelor and spinster
was definitely settled before such de-
monstrations were thought of. We
know. of course, that the writers OF
romances and love-stories OF all de-
scriptions, settled the business easy
enough; but theirs is nothing better
than sort of guess-work, when IT IS
not something worse-a mere sterco-
typed formula established for the gen.
eral convenience of scribblers. Every
BODY knows how Colridge's minstrel
won his Genevieve, and Longfellow's
hero in Hyperion endeavored" to
achieve similar success by similar
means, and yet made a lamentable
failure of it. But the world is not
peopled exclusively by poets and po
etesses and therefore the method OF
popping the question:" covertly rec
ommended by the authors above nam.
ed. however excellent in its proper
place, can have accomplished but little
toward filling the parish register
Honest John Dumple and Polly Gubbs
we may be sure, did not go such
roundabout way in order to bring tn
: affair to a crisis and we question
: whether, among what are called tn
, respectable classes, that species
poetical circumlocution is much NOR
in vogue. The whole business, how
ever, lies involved in mystery, whic
we, being only bachelor-and tina
neither Of arts or of hearts--mus
confess our inability to fathom sti
/. we can do something toward the gel
J, eral enlightenment by the report
e one or two individual cases not to b
). found in the books, but which hav
come within our knowledge, an
which may serve to show how the a
) fair is really managed among certal
:, plain folks with plain understanding
/. who, having difficulty to surmoun
bring to the task such courage as the
may chance to possess.
Gideon Robin was a farm laborer IN
west country town of small note, VIII;
m the labors of the inhabitants were divi
b. ed between the cultivation OF the lar
G. and the weaving Of a particular XII
" y of cloth for the London markets. Vi
- con could either plow field, reap
crop of corn, shear a sheep, or wea'
! cloth at loom, and, besides all tn
- bore an excellent character for lndl
II, AZ try and sobriety. He was the man
IN fcwest words in the whole parish, a
ms indeed, opened his mouth so seldo'
raj that, had all his utterances been
A. ported verbatim by a pcnny-a-lincr, a
paid for at the established rate, 1t
very certain they would not have p
- vided that worthy with shoe-leath
J.. The man was not merely modest, |
' sb bashful beyond all recorded prcccde
wn shrinking from the sound OF his O
cry voice, as though it was something
sss .ns pressively terrible. Dumb eide
the however, as he was called, was
rn, proof against the shafts Of Cupid,
ven as fate would have it, fell in love "
use, use, the only daughter of Tom Spinner
e.. The girl was a plump, well-favo
are lass, who wrought in her fathers tic
an and dairy by day, and wove at
an. an loom in the evenings, and, like Gid
its its himself, had talent, though by
Of means so striking a one, for tacitu
sted ty. Gideon betrayed his first ris
year year regard for the damsel by silently
pro. pro- suddenly seizing her pail Of milk a
Is of stood frothing with Brindle's cre'
suse treasure, and Juggling it off, toge
need WIN 'ii0 80 ~
they cottage. As this iiceoo.' ""s ~
But sented, he redoubled his attcntl
hose and his strong arm was ever at
AM, ana when his strong arm could be OF
b the vice 10 the maloeh, Dan'c oP''
s for having q respect for the young n
character, invited him on one occ'
asss;' : = into the house, and from that