The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1882-06-07
n BAsHFUL MAN,
AND the Sensation He Produced I'm a
Bridal Chamber.

Senator Sebastian, of Arkansas, was a ma
tive of Hickman county, Tenn. On one oc-
casion a member OF Congress was lamenting
his bashfulness and awkwardness.
"Wby, said the Senator from Rackensacks
"you don't know what bashfulness is. Let
me tell you a story, and when | get through
| will stand the bob If you don't agree that
you never knew anything about bashfulnes,
and its baneful effects, ] was the most bash
FIJI boy west Of The Alleghenies. | wouldn't
look at y girl, much less speak to q maiden;
but for all that / fell desperately In love with
a sweet beautiful heighbor girl. 1t was a
desirable Hatch on both sides, and the old
folks saw the drift, and fixed it up. |
thought should die just thinking of 1t. |
was q gawky, awkward country lout about
10 years old. She was an intelligent, refined
and fairly educated girl in a country and at
a time when the girls had superior advant-
ages, an were therefore superior in culture
to the boys. | fixed the day as far as | could
III pNt Olls u Ady dWhN ia q COlA PCtS-
piration as the time drew near, and shivered
with agony as [ thought Of the terrible or
Ceal. The dreadful day came. / went
through the programme somehow in q
dszei, confused, mechanical sort of way,
like an automaton BOBBY through a supper
where | could eat nothing, and through such
games as possum pie, sister Phoebe, and all
that sort of thing. The guests one by one
departed, and my hair began to stand on end.
Beyond the awful curtain of [ is lay the ter
rible unknown. My blood grew cold and
boiled by turns. | was in a fever and then
an ague, pale and flushed by turns. I felt
like fleeing to the woods, spending the night
in the barn, leaving for the West never to
return. | was deeply devoted to Sallie. I
loved her harder than a mule can kick; but
that dreadful ordeal could not, dared not,
stand it. Finally the last guest was gone,
the bride retired, the family gone to bed,
and ] was alOne-borror of horrors! alone
with the old man. john said he, you can
take that candle; you will find your room
just over this. Good night, John, and may
the Lord have mercy on your soul, and with
q michievous twinkle Of his fine grey eye the
old mau left the room. | mentally said
amen, to his Heaven help you,' and when
/ heard him close a distant door, I staggered
to my feet and seized the farthing dip with
a nervous grasp. I stood for some minutes
contemplating my terrible fate, and the in
evitable and speedy doom about to over
whelm me. / stood so long that three love
letters had grown on the wick of the tallow
dip, and a winding sheet was decorating the
side of the brass candlestick. A happy
thought struck me. | hastily climbed the
stair, marked the position of the landing and
the door of the bridal chamber. I would
have died before | would have disrobed in
that holy chamber, where awaited me a
trembling and beautiful girl,a blushing maid
en-, clothed upon, with her own beauty and
modesty, and her snowy robe de mutt. |
would make the usual preparations without,
blow out the candle, open the door, and
friendly night would shield my shrinking
modesty and b~ashfulness and grateful dark
ness at least mitigate the horror of the situa-
ton. 1t was soon done. Preparations for
retiring were few and simple III their char
acter in Hickman, altogether consisting of
disrobing, and owing to the scarcity of cloth
in those days man was somewhere near the
Adamic state when he was prepared to woe
sweet sleep. The dreadful hour had come;
/ was ready. | blew out the light, grasped
the door knob with a deathly grip and q
nervous clutch; one moment and it would be
oyer. One moment and it wasn't over by a
d sight. | leaped within, and there
around a glowing hickory fire. with candles
brightly burning on the mantle and bureau,
was the blushing bride surrounded by the six
lovely bridesmaids.
Jimmy Smith, who is engaged in taking
the census of the school childre,, received
the following information from q little girl:
There are five of us-me, sic, George, Salr,
and Bill /; bnt ma says she don't know how
many Of us there would have been if pa had
not died.