The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1870-01-06

Courtship on the Pacific Railway -..An
| Acquaintance Begun in California Rfpens
| Into Marriage Knot Is Tied in
| Cleveland.
A singularly romantic affair was brought
! to felicitous termination in this city on
Saturday. A brief interview With the happy
husband developed the following circumstan-
ces !: Some eight years ago gentleman nam
I ed Patton, with his wife and daughter, the
latter being about thirteen years Of age, re-
! moved to California from Massachusetts,
He was an Industrious, cntvrprizing man,
of limited means, and sought the golden
shores of the Pacific in the hope of better
| inc his fortunes He went to Sacramento
City, where he found ready employment at
his trade, that Of builder. BY . judieious
investment Of the little means he took With
him, 10 few years he became the possessor
&C 6 nice little property valued at $l0.00O
or $4,000 But adversely came, and hre,
swept away more than half Of his wenltb.
without dollar of insurance. Soon aitee
this he was killed by an accident while at
work, and, by singular fatality. his with
followed him to the grave in few months.
Meanwhile the daughter had grown into
comely damsel of twenty one There was no
lack OF admirers, but she found no sutton to
suit her. Left alone among strangers. she
lougcd for the home and friends of her child
hood, but dreading tie perils of an ocean
voyage she waited until tho Pacific railroad
should be completed. Convcrtiuginto money
what remained of the property of her father,
amounting to some $4,000, she procured a
through ticket to New York, and started on
her long trip, courageously undertaking the
journey alone. Soon after leaving Sacramen.
to, however, she met BY chance, the usual
way on railroad cars, our informant, ayoung
gentleman of prcpossessiug appearance
whose features bore the impress OF virtue
and character His home is in New jersey
He had been to California on business con-
nected with the property of deceased reIa-
tive, and happened to fall in with Miss Pat
ton upon the train. An acquaintance sprang
up, usual at first, but which soon ripened into
friendship and she consented to accept
him as protector and escort Cupid seems to
have been bent on making mischief from the
hour of their meeting, and with fresh-hlled
culver kept up persistent target-practice at
their hearts. Day after day, as the train roll
ed on through the mountain ldstnessce ouu
over the great plains of the West, the little
arrowy god never for moment forsook them,
and they did find it
pleasant
Riding on q rail"
Matters were brought to focus in some
what shorter space of time than Mrs. Grundy
assigns to wooers; but both were fully salts
fed, and they determined to take life ticket
together. Thinking it would be a neat sur
prise to their friends, and having that sub
lime Indifference to the opinions of others
which is such distinctive popularity Of the
American character, they decided to stop at
Cleveland and have the hymenial knot tied at
once. They arrived by the afternoon train
on Saturday, and having but few prelimina-
ries to arrange, within couple of hours the
twain had been declared one in tho most Or
thodox manner by one of our squires. The
night express cast bore the happy couple on
their way.
We have briefly given the facts as related
to us, and our readers will agree with US that
the affair deserves to take rank as one of the
pretticst romances of the Cleveland
Herald, Dec, IS.