Sharp County record., 1878-03-22
Mr.. Packard'S Romance.

During the past several days, says the
Cleveland (Ohio) Leader, there have
fitted into this section q number of
daintily engraved missives, reading some
thing after this fashion: "Mr. and Mrs.
John w. Eden request your presence at
the marriage of their daughter Eldena,
to Andrew j. Packard, Wednesday
morning, Feb. q, 1878, at 10 o'clock, lat
the residence of her grandfather, Hon.
John Milliken, Saco, Me-" And thereto
hangs a romance, which the enterpris-
ing City of Youngstown, where resides
the hero in the case, has materially aid
ed in furnishing. For some time past
the newspapers have contained vari-
ouSly worded paragraphs telling how a
young Maine maiden won a husband in
consequence OF publicly and expressly
declaring that she was not looking af
ter one. Some of these paragraphs
were wide of the mark, and it remained
for the Evening Post, of Biddeford, Me-,
to tell what is perhaps the true story, in
the following:
In 1873, among the graduates Of the Bid
defOrd High School was a young lady of
perhaps 10 summers-bright, intelligent,
and pretty. She took part in the graduating
exercises of her class, and read an essay en-
titled, "After Graduation, WhatW The ar
ticle complete was printed in local journals,
and extracts from it found their way into
newspapers in all parts of the country.
Some time in 1873 certain Mr.. Packard, a
wholesale dealer in iron and steel in an Ohio
city, was going from New York to his home,
when he picked up in the car newspaper
containing a brief extract from the essay of
the Biddeford school girl. This little Slip,
which he cut out and put into his pocket
nook, was as follows:
AGrLs THEORY.-The following is an alb
stract OF an essay from the pen OF a young
lady graduate of the Biddeford, Me-, High
School, on the absorbing question of "What
Shall do to Live?" "The lords of creation
have been compared to sturdy oaks, and we
the vines that clingto and twine around them ];
but this metaphor, If ever pertinent, to use q
slang phrase, has long since played OUT We
have all heard of the 5000 Oakless vines in
Massachusetts, to say nothing of the uncOunt
ed thousands in Maine, and there are too
many oaks that can scarcely support them
selves, to say nothing OF their supporting
any thing else much prefer life of actiyi-
ty and honest eXertion, and believe that the
world owes me living if can earn it, and
expect it on no other conditions"
In November, 1876, three years after
pocketing the slip, Mr. Packard, who is a
widOwer with three children, wrote to par
ties in this city, inclosing the above slip,
and inquired if such an essay was written
here; if 50, by whom? Was she married?
Her age, etc. This letter was answered by
the Ohio gentleman who wrote the young
lady. A correspondence ensued which has
been kept up until recently, and now it is
only matter of time, and probably short at
that, when two more hearts shall beat as
one. The other day a nice.looking gentle
man of about 40 years-wearing the very
latest design of plug-hat, dressed in fault
less fashion, and carrying a genuine hissis-
sippi carpet bag-arrived here from the
West. 1t was Mr.. Packard. He sought out
the object OF his alteration and is now pre-
sumsbly as happy as a big suntiower Such
is life. Truly
Love rules the court, the camp, the grove,
And men below, and saints above.