Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1870-09-30
The Marriage Outfit.

poor He married his wife Susan befor
the days OF hoops, pads, &c. They ha
been happy in their married life, and unit
them was born a beautiful girl whom the
named Kate, who, of course, when she grey
up fell in love. Her choice was a poor
but noble young man The deacon and hi
wife had taught their child to choose 70
herself, but to do it wisely, and they wer
glad to see that she made choice of an esti
mable young man, their neighbor's son.
Now, Kate took up a notion that sh
must have great many articles for he
marriage, and make fashionable show o
dress during the honeymoon, and as they
live at only town, she wrote her father
note, requesting him to furnish her con
siderable amount to buy her outfit, and
stated in it that she expected she would have
to send 10 the city to get all she needed
whereupon the old man made the following
reply
"DEAREsr DAUGHTER AS you are my
only daughter, may call you dearest truly,
for [ love you very much. l have consid-
cred your note, and this is my reply: I
am sorry to find you possessing a weakness
of most of your sex, viz that you think
you should have a large outfit for your
wedding and honeymoon. When I married
your dear mother she had but two calico
dresses and other things to fit, and she
thought herself we'll off with them, and I
really thought her, as I took her in her
calico dress. the prettiest. sweetest girl in
the land, and have never thou hit otherwise.
She has made me dear, precious wife, and
has been to me helpmate indeed Now,
my dear child, [ will not refuse you what
you ask, but my observation in life has con-
WINGED ME that those girls who spend heap
Of money to provide their outfits for marrl-
az. are generally sure to spend heaps of it
afterN ard, and that often they keep their
husbad's noses to the grindsone of misfor-
tune and toll all their lives.
ga great many fine things for your we'd
ding and its after incident, will make you
no sweeter Or prettier to your husband, and
may make you good deal dearer as to his
pocket. If the man Of your choice really
loves you, as no doubt he does, it is not for
what you have on, but for the qualities Of
your person, head and heart, and as he is a
man of sense, [ have no doubt, he will think
more of you when he finds that you have
not made any great preparations for your
marriage. There are many gentlemen in
this country, now worth their millions,
whose wives, when they married, had no
more than your mother. By this | do not
mean that you should have no more, but
your mother tells me that you now have
five neat every day dresses and four Sunday
ones, and really they are larger, finer and
better than many millions of your sex are
able to obtain.
I make these suggestions for your consid
Grafton, but leave you to follow them Or not.
as your alignment may dictate, and to show
you that this is the fact enclose you draft
for thousand dollars on my cashier which
you can use at your pleasure.
Ahfectionately yours,
JOHN Brown"
Kate did not long hesitate as to her
course of action. Her mother gave her a
few dollars of her pocket money, and she
bought only simple, plain white dress and
appeared in it at the altar, with natural
flowers and her own loneliness for atlorn-
ment.
She drew the amount Of the draft in gold,
and one month tc day after her marriage
handed the amount to her husband and ac-
companied the gift with these words:
''Dearest-I applied to my father for
money to purchase what l supposed need
ed for my marriage, and he wrote me this
letter (handing it to her husband, } and
ncloscd in it the draft upon which I drew
this thousand gold dollars, which I now
present to you as the money saved by a vic
tory over foolish fashion. Have [ done
wisely ?"
lyon have my blessed wife, and are a
thousand times dearer to me by your better
judgment"
It is needless to add that the husband of
Kate is now worth many thousands of dol
lars, and in delightful old age they
often tell their friends and children of the
thousand dollars as the foundation of it all.