Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1881-02-18
What Mr.. johnson Lost.
FIRST HIS PROPERTY AND THEN HIS AT
FIANCED WIFE,

FIRST HIS PROPERTY AND THEN HIS AT
FIANCED WIFE.
The little village of Fairfax Courthouse.
Va, situated afew miles from Washington
is excited over social sensation. The
principals in the affair are Mr.. Nat. john
son, young farmer, and Miss BERTHE Wy
lie, pretty, blonde-haired girl, with blue
eyes, and about twenty-one years of age.
For some time past Mr.. johnson has been
DEVOTED admirer of the young lady. and.
as natural sequence, an engagement fol
lowed. Quietly. but surely, the young COT
pie made their ar .angemeDts for the we'd
ding, AND he invitations were duly issued.
The day fix d was week ago last Thurs
day.
But the wedding has not come Off The
course OF true love has not, in this i'll
stance, run smoothly.
liner Wa, OF course, a reason, and this
forms an interesting story, which has
found its W y into the "P0St." 1t COM
! menceS wi Ii The death OF Mr.. George
johnson, a widely known and respected
| farmer of Fairfax county, and the fact
that he was quite we'll off in this world s
goods. Mr.. Nat. johnson is his son and
fell heir TO a certain share OF his father s
fortune. 1t is stated, by certain possibly
| envious young ladies, that it was this faca
that found him such grea! favor in the
| blue eyes OF the pretty country girl, BIZ
this as it may, their mutual affection seem.
ed TO grow and prosper.
| Mrs. johnson, mother Of Nathaniel, was
a stumbling block, so to speak, in the way
, Of fha lOVErQ St,p 911anp6 % ,Sio
Germ, with sharp maternal eyes, that the
| few thousands Which her son possessed in
| his own right were more attractive to Hiss
| BERTHE than his personal charms and char
acter. She therefore lost no opportunity
to make it very unpleasant for the young
| gentleman. At last he became tired OF
| persistent worrying, and exclaimed, impa-
| tiently, ''Well, if you think it's my prop
erty she is after, Iii make it over to you. u
| His mother did not allow this to be an idle
I boast. On Tuesday, two days before the
wedding WAS to occur, she and her son left
the farm. which is about four miles north.
east of Vienna, and proceeded to Fairfax
| Courthouse. Mr.. F.. W., Richardson is
the acting clerk of the court A paper
was drawn up and sworn to before him, in
which Mr.. Nat. johnson, with sundry lie.
| gal words, transferred to his mother all
| the proper ty with which he was possessed
| Then Mrs. johnson, it is alleged, told hel
son that he might marry Miss Berthe Wy
lie if he chose. ''She may come to live at
our house, if she wishes to" added Mrs
johnson, ''but she will have to earn hel
own living; you have not got one cent
and she IS in the same circumstances
| With what feelings the young man drove
home is not known.
Bad news travels fast It was not long
before the whole circumstance was told to
the young lady's family, aud they proceed
I'd at once to Investigate. Borrowing a
horse and vehicle from a neighbor, Mrs
| Payne, living between Alexandria and the
Courthouse, the young lady'S mother drove
to the latter place. She saw the document
and went home. The young lady natural
| Iy felt considerably hurt and even angry
and Immediately wrote caustic note to
her lover, releasing him from his engage
ment This had the effect OF bringing
him at once to her feet, and it is a matter
of gossip among the residents of the village
| that he spent half Of the night in pleading
| to be taken back, though this is probably
! exaggerated. she was memorable and
| smiled sarcastically when he told her that
| he had only &C ed in this manner to test
her love. 1t is also alleged that one of the
| sisters of the young man visited Miss Wy
| lie to try ard settle matters satisfactorily
| but in vain. Mr.. Johnson's troubles did
not end here. The minister, Rev. Mr..
Hamill, who had been selected as the per-
son to perform the ceremony, wrote note
20 him, stating, in forcible terms, that he
declined to marry man who had acted in
such a manner. At the same time, he ad-
| dressed another note to the young lady
pralsing her for her action in breaking IF
her engagement. This was the day before
the wedding. 1t was too late to recall the
| invitations, and, although the affair be-
! came noised abroad, about thirty people.
| who had not heard Of the matter, assem-
bled at the bride elect Is house to see ohe
ceremony. To them the absence of the
| bridegroom was explained Determined
not to be entirely disappointed, the party
| spent a pleasant social evening and did
| justice to tie edibles which were to have
composed the wedding supper.
Public sentiment in Fairfax Courthouse
ard vicinity is at present divided. Some
praise the young lady for her action, while
others say that If she really loved Johnson
she would not have been so ready to break
off the enga gemen. In the meantime, she
has gone to live with Mrs Payne until the
affair blows over Washington Post.