The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1874-12-18

oOOh 1Ouot hOi Oub Va shRb.
But, if they treated Pretty Fanny
thus lightly, they took another course
with her love. When he ayowed. as he
soon did, that he would make her his
own Gin spite of all the Greggs and
Hamiltons in existence" every precau-
ton that prudence could suggest was
adopted. This, be it remembered, was
the era of abduction, and Little Al
Ian was just the man to conduct an
abduction with success. Here, per-
haps. it may be as well to explain the
coenomen which, as in the case Of most
other Irish gentlemen of the day, at
tached to him. A man standing feet
7, and weighing over Is stone, can
hardly be termed "little." But Allan
Grant was so broad in the shoulder and
so massive of limb that his height was
quite out of proportion with his width,
and made him look somewhat dwarfish.
Little Allen was daring, full of
stratagem, and not to be moved from
purpose, even if Satan and all his host
stood in the way. The Hamiltons,
therefore, not considering their coun-
try-residence safe from his practices,
removed to house in the center of the
town. This they barricaded and gar
risoned, planting iron bars in all the
windows, strengthening the outer doors,
stationing sentinels behind the house,
and keeping watch and ward within; in
fact, taking all the measures of people
expecting siege and storm while the
| beauty was confined to chamber three
stories from the ground.
My grandfather made several at
tempts to enter, but always Intellectual
ly. His spies were discovered, his
tampering with the servants detected,
and one or two efforts at escalade re-
PEELED by force. Eventually it was
whispered that the discounted sutton
was making preparations to quit the
country, if not forever, at least for many
years-that is, should the last desperate
effort which he was known to mediate
happen to fail. That it should fail, the
Hamiltons and Greggs were resolved.
To prevent any interference with the
marriage ceremony, it was arranged
that it should take place in the drawing
room-a common thing in those days !;
and, to Illustrate any attack on the house
in force, or any attempt to carry off the
bride on her way home, the partisans
of the Greggs and Hamiltons mustered
by hundreds the night before, keeping
a watch around from shutdown. There
was a good deal of hard drinkin among
the band, and not little roaring, along
with quantity of friendly rioting and
head breaing, Just to keep their hands
in" Contrary to all expectation, how.
ever, the foe they expected did not put
in an appearance that night. But that
he would come some time or other, no.
body doubted and most of the reck-
less spirits there looked forward to the
encounter with high glee.
The morning, early in March, dawned
at length. Before it had fully expanded
into day, priest, bridegroom, witnesses,
etc., were gathered for the rite, and
waited only the bride. That last night,
the faithful servant who had shared her
apartment was aided in her warden
ship by married sister of the beauty,
who, for reasons of her own, was known
to cherish the fercest hostility toward
"Little Allan, and who, therefore, was
Just the dame to be intrusted with such
duty. A few minutes went by, buG
neither bride, nor sister, nor servant.
appeared. A little further delay rem
dered the company in the drawing
room impatient. But when a quarter
OF an hour elapsed without bringing
any one from the prison chamber,
Greggs and Hamiltons alike began to
feel alarmed. They looked at one an
other rather blankly, and then, seized
by the same impulse and without ut
tering one word, they quilted the draw
| N IN hn1x, oyI hacta,al
stairs. They reached the threshold
and paused not sound came from
within. They knocked; no answer.
They called, shouted, kicked, clattered !;
still no reply. Then they dashed in the
door.
And what think you they found {?
Well, they found the married sister
bound and gagged in one corner, and
the servant bound and gagged in an
other corner, but not a trace of the
beauty.
A large hole in the wall dividing the
house from the next revealed the man.
ner of her escape. Some of the group
paused to finger the rubbish and peer
at the hole with all the solemnity of a
donkey poking his head through gate.
Others dashed through said hole, and
kicked up a terrible row in the next
house but with no satisfactory result.
The news spread to the friends and re-
tainers in the street. In an instant the
whole of them, and with them the ma
iority of the townspeople, were busy
searching i'll all sorts of improbable
places for the runaway and her pre-
sumed companion. 1t is astonishing
what queer things even the wisest peo-
pie perpetrate in such cases. The
butler actually climbed up and poked
through the dovecote while troop of
jolly farmers, tumbling about in the
cellars, knocked in the head of cask,
and not finding the fugitives there,
comforted themselves for the disap-
pointment by imbibing what they did
find-a quantity of choice wine. Then
the footman-a remarkably nice
young man-conducted his scrutiny in
way that reused the jealousy of the
coachman, and won himself as neat
specimen of broken head as ever was
inflicted with the handle of a stable
fork.
The search, however, was unavailing
as to its main object. Toward evening
Mr.. Gerald Gregg and his faction skunk
out of town-most of the followers
| baino fipev and oil oraoffallar o,J