Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-11-05
A WEBBING AFTER THE FIRE.
How Unique Ceremony Appeared to
the Writer of "a WOman's story
The Preparations A Marriage
Among ImprOyised Surroundings.

a CnlcaSO correspondent OF the New
York Tribune writes as follows:
| Among all the pictures of "Chicago as it
is 4" which have been photographed with
| the pen for Eastern eyes, wonder whether
| any one has seen the chronicle of s'Fire
| Wedding"-a wedding whose whole aspect
| and circumstances were so altered by the
| fire as TO be ineXtricably connected with it
! forever after in the minds of the loOkers-on.
| There was such a wedding on our poor
| desolated north side the other day, and to
us who saw it, it was at once so touching
! and so amusing that thought it might in
tereSt even the readers Of the Tribune who
must now know nearly as much about the
| ordinary aspects of the calamity as we do
| ourselves. The first house outside of the
| burned district on the north contained a
most motley crowd for several days after
| the fire, for the owner had received every
| body, high and low, till the house would
| have furnished excellent material for new
''Decameron" or 'Canterbury Tales" if the
| fire had only unearthed modern Boccaccio
| or Chaucer. As il was, wonderful stories flew
about, rather monOtonous as to tone, but
evidently diversified as to incident. eHave
you seen the three-days-old baby in the
barn? They picked it up with the mother
in the Park" "That German, covered ND
with greatcoats on the corner, was found al
most dead with cold and exposure" GsThree
men have Just come in who have had but
four soda crackers between them since
Sunday, and this is Wednesday morning"
And so on, until one of our couriers brought
in q story, before which the others paled
their Intellectual fires. A friend had lust
told him of meeting a woman during the
fire on Monday, who was struggling along
| under heavy bundle wrapped in a sheet.
Offering to help her, she said, "Do YOU
know what is in here ? God help me the
bodies of my two children-who were suf-
located in the fire; but l could not leave
| them to burn"
The atmosphere was full of startling and
blOod-curdling rumOrS, and every hour
brought new excitement. Incendiarism
was said to be rampant; frightful and sum-
mary vengeance was reported as meted out
to even supposed evil-dOers. The house
had twelve revolvers loaded and capped ar
ranged on the parlor windows every night,
and no one thought of sleeping in a house
not guarded by patrol.
So, when it was whispered about that
sweet Minnie T, a relative of our host,
and who was to have been married accord
ing to the strictest sect of the fashionables,
if Superior street had not been burned,
would really carry out her intention and
take the holy VOWS on the 18th, the house
was III a state Of the widest excitement.
How could they get a license; how find a
clergyman? The trousSeau had been burn
ed; the intended guests were burned out;
the caterers and florists had neither flowers
nor food. How could fashionable young
Ill I. 4 l.,
out these things? But she did, And what
was more, being girl of exceeding sweet
ness and wOmanlineSS, she did not seem to
care a whit about her lost splendors.
Thursday came, and with it a tremendous
sweeping and busting of the house of
refuge; for, let me tell you that a running
fire of running guests does not leave a
house swept and garnished, but quite the
contrary. A license had been obtained,
and Minnie's own burned ont clergyman had
come to marry her; but what should be
done for decorations? The large house par
lor had never been furnished, and there was
not even a mantelpiece in the room. But it
seemed as if the fire had developed as much
feminine ingenuity as it had DESTROYED
feminine property. Theodore Winthrop said
that if the order had been given in the
'front.'" goodly company would have an
swered to the call, and so now call for
decorators of burned property brought a
perfect rush of talent to the rescue. In the
unsightly chimney-hOle was placed an in
verted soap-box, covered with a crimson
cloth. Onthis sat a tall slop-jar, cribbed from
a bedroom, filled with lovely crimson and
green autumn leaves. To be sure, slop-
jar is not per Sc handsome ornament; but
then, some refugee had left a magnificent
stays head and antlers, which, set up in
front of the Objectionable crOckery, left
nothing to be desired.
\ white cravat, lost by some city exquisite
who probably found it was impossible to
save both that and his neck, tied more au-
tllmn leaves into a true lovers knot of CO.
lOssal size, hung high in the pier.
Branches of richest color filled all sorts of
inches and corners, and the room was de-
clared magnificent. Some one, however,
suggested that there was no sort of table or
altar for the minister's use. But fortune
favors the brave; pair of library steps was
produced from somewhere, and sheet pin
ned around them. Another treasure-trOve
was scarlet cross in Illuminated work, with
the motto, "Cast thy care upon Him, for He
careth for thee" Our little white altar,
with this pinned to the front face, and sur
mounted by big Bible and prayer book,
made very canonical appearance indeed.
Then the room was ready and we had a
rehearsal. But alas. what bride and groom
of the present day could kncel on bare
floor and get up again gracefully? In vain
blocks of wood, boxes and books were tried
one was too high, another too low.
At last bright thought came-carriagc
cushions! For it must be said that in
burned Chicago now there are forty car
riages and pairs of horses to one house,
as these first were mostly saved; so
that beggars ride where beggars never rode
before. -Four cushions were brought
from the barn, and an Afghan converted
them into q lovely hassOck. As tits (or was)
impossible in Il csc days to have wedding
without showing 'the presents" a vine
wrcathed table in one corner held a most
| elaborate display. A beautiful jewel-case
| contained what was set forth as the bride
! grOom's gift-a set of exquisite pearls, which
| you had to look at very nearly to discover
| that they they were nodded from the fine
white Rawlings of cotton cloth. Other
cases contained sets of pickle forks, pre-
| serve spoons, and so forth, cut out in paste
| board, with holdings and menograms in
! lead pencil valuable lewelry was plenty,
only unfortunately the lava earrings had
! been dug out once too often, and the cam
! COS looked very black and queer round the
/ edges. -
\ pewter table spoon, a German Silver
| fork, and some valuable aids to house-keep
| INC in the broom and dust pan line. com
| pleted the array which certainly was UNIQUE.
| and interested the spectators much more
! than the usual show. But when it came
to dressing the bride, serious difficulties
occurred. Her wedding dress and veil had
never come home from Field X Letters.
! Never mind, she had white cambria morn
ing dress, which, looped over nice petit
coat would make her slender figure look
lovely, and her married sister had saved
| her own wedding veil. Some simple white