The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1871-01-19
STAUNTON, VIRGINIA. THURSDAY. JANUARY 49, 1871

NEW WAY OF RAISING A WIFE.
Beauty VS.. Fortune-A Hundred Thousand
| Dollars Against A Lady's Hand.
THROWING DICE.
| Louisville has always had reputation for
beauty and gallantry, and if the subioined
story, which is published oy California pa
per in letter from correspondent in this
city, is not true, we are not prepared to dis
prove it.:
There lived on-street, in an unpretend.
ing establishment, surrounded by trees and
| flowers, young lady who was celebrated for
her beauty and accomplishments She was
blonde, with blue eyes, white teeth and a
heavenly smile-had the prettiest hand and
foot that ever were seen-and was tall, 1.-the
and elegant. Her wit was delicate, pointed
and sparkling, and her mind as superior as
her person was lovely. The town was at her
feet, and her 5suitors were as importunate, if
not as many, as Penelope's, like whom she
was continually wooed and never yet Won. In
the midst Of her successes came the war, tie
end of hich found heI family impoverished
aid herself reduced to want for the necessa-
ries life. s1
! But she was still the same proud, imperious
mistress of hearts as before, and she refused
in quick succession the many offers of mar
| riage that were now made to her She had
not thought of matrmony as a resource, but
had other and totally different prospects in
view. She proposed, in fact, to teach school.
A fellow townsman, a gentleman Of wealth
and position, and a bachelor, had long been a
| silent worshipper at her shrine He had
houses and lands, estates in the country aud
lots In the city, stocks, interests and invest
ments wherever they would pay, and his pri.
vate establishment on-street was simply
palatial. Seeing how the case stood with her
whom he loved with his whole SOUL he re-
solved, after many self-communions and much
reflection, to ask her to be his wife
| Sir" said she, in answer to his proposal,
! II do not love you, and cannot marry you. "
"Thlnk the matter over, my DEAR said he,
sand IN one week from today give me your
answer"
Upon his return on the day set, she said to
! him:
| "Sir, you have wealth. and am poor, you
live in palace, and 1, as you see in cottage;
you are DESTROYS Of having my hand, and
would like very much to be rich. I will
throw the dice with you-my hand against a
hundred thousand dollars Is it bargain?''
at is" said he. And thereupon they
| pledged to each other their words to bide the
hazard. 1t was arranged that but three per-
sons should be let into the secret; that each
should select a friend; and that the two Sc
lected friends should choose the third Miss
| tbo
member of the bar, as her friend Mr.
chose the Rev. Mr., pastor of the fash
ionable church on-street, as his; and these
two made choice of Dr., an eminent pro,
lessor in the medical college as the friend of
both parties. By these gentlemen the pre-
limisaries were arranged, and the programme
was this:
| The Doctor was to give party at his
house on certain specified Friday evening,
at which were to be present all the best peo-
pie Of Louisville; the Hon. Mr.-was to
have license in blank, ready to be filed at a
moments warning, and was to hold Mrs
check for 100000; and the Rev. Mr.
was to be in, waiting to perform the marriage
ceremony, if called on so to do The dice
were to be thrown in Hon. Mrs study,
| whence the quintette were to proceed to the
party, where, if Miss--lost, they we're to
celebrate the wedding, and, if she won, they
were to mingle with the guests without re-
maak
At precisely nine O'Clock on the eventful
evening, the players and their friends met in
| the Hon. Mrs study. By agreement of
the parties themselves, they were to throw
poker dice, and to cut the cards for the first
throw. The gentleman cut a queen and the
lady jack, and then came the tug of war
He was cool, calm and pale; she was statu-
esque, imperious ond collected. His lips were
compressed; hers were formed into an extend
| ed arc, spanning the whole mouth aud com
pleting the bow. The twain sat on opposite
sides Of small table, and the umpires stood
overlooking them.
| The dlce-box being set before him, Mr.
placed his fingers over the top, and with the
| thumb clasping the side. he gave it shake,
! and threw two tours and two deuces. Putting
aside the tours, he threw again, and threw
another four. Then throwing the two re-
naming dice, he threw two fves- He had
| thrown, therefore, full-three tours and two
| fves w
And row came Miss turn It was
thrilling moment, and the rustic of her silk
dress in the stiffness of that room sounded like
| the tree tops in the wind. She began by
| drawing off her right glove, exposing hand
| Of exquisite beauty and .delcacy, on the fore
finger OF which sparkled diamond Then,
taking up the box quickly, she gave it long
shake in the air, and, turning it down upon
the table, she threw-nothng A cloud
thereupon passed over her face, and the arc
OF her lips assumed still more bowlike cur
vative.-But nothing daunted, she at once
retook the box and threw agan-this time
turning up four deuces! aud the fifth dice
cooked Terrible mischance Miserable luck!
Again she threw, and threw two deuces and
two trays. Putting all the dice back into the
box, she had left but one other and last throw,
upon which now rested her only chance For
the first time since she sat down she spoke,
asking for glass of water. Having drank
tumblerful, she sat for a moment pressing
together her eyebrows between her thumb and
forefnger, and then, all of sudden, she
snatched up the dice box and shook it vehem-
emily, and threw three fours and two skies,
and won And did she take the money, you
ask me? answer most emphaticaly, she
did.
Here endeth my second lesson.-LouisviUe
ri