Morning journal and courier., 1881-02-23
An EngIishman's Wooing.

How He Won the Hand Of an Attendant
 in the Boston Public Library.
 Boston Correspondence of the Hartford Couranti '
 Il observe that one of my brother corre- spondents of this city has written to & Hart ford paper an account of the marriage of an English gentleman with one of the attend ants in the Boston Public Library. This event seems to be revived in public attention periodically. can give it to you more min utely than it has yet been written out, and as, in SO doing, the independence of the Ameri- can character will be illustrated in very fav- orabIe' contrast to the manner in which it has been exhibited in some other cases of foreign alliance by marriage, perhaps it is worth the space I shall give it. In this case the young lady came to Boston from country town in New Hampshire. She was good specimen of the country girl, in robust health and formed after the English model in frame-or after what has been supposed to be the English model, for observe that Mir. Richard Grant White denies that the English girl is of buxom build. This girl made no pretensions to ''style." She was well edu- cated, and first got some copying work to do, later receiving employment in the public i- brary. There her English lover saw her. He was the younger son of distinguished and noble family, and he had very large wealth in his own right. He was here partially in the hope that change of air would cure defect of hearing with which he was afflicted. He used to.visit the public library and talk most ly in a business way about books with this young lady. By and by, he asked permission to call on her at her boarding house-one of the respectable but far from pretentious places in the city at which boarders are taken. She declined to accord the permission. He then one night left the library with her, and waited upon her to her boarding house door. There her brother, who boarded with her, saw him, and objected to this being con- tinued until she knew more about him. The t, fr1a lc 4ha city and procured letters setting forth who he was. On this the lady consented that he should call. He came regularly afterward, and soon formally offered himself to her in marriage. She refused him outright. She reminded him of the difference in their con- ditions, and declared she would never agree to 8 arriage which must be so distasteful to his family. Without telling her what he was to do, he took the next steamer for England, and in few weeks reappeared with collec- tion of most cordial letters from all his near relatives, promising the lady warm welcome into the family, and accompanied by really dazzling array of presents. She refused to touch one of them, and again declared that she would not marry him-this time because her parents would object. The lover in the same quiet way started for the New Hamp- shire farm. He came upon the parents un- heralded and introduced himself. They, too, refused him. But they were struck with his manliness and simplicity, and agreed finally to leave the decision with the daughter His devotion had it's effect on her at last. She yielded, but, with genuine American independence, she would be under no obligation to him till they were married. She would not even accept an en- gagement ring She made her own trousseau, and it was very simple. They were married and went abroad She says the severest ordeal of her life was when she first met her hus- bands relatives. To show how simple her life had been, it is fact that at the reception there made for her she put on an evening party dress for the first time in her life. Her hus- band had the tact to take her very early to the Continent. They spent year of travel there, and when she came home she under stood all about what was required in her new life. One of her sisters was with her during this year, but after it was over came back to America and went to work to earn her living again. The couple visit America occasional ly- They have spent one year in California. The marriage has proved very happy one. In these days of Daisy Millers wasn't the story worth telling so as fully to bring out it's better points?