The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-03-25
A WEDDING SANS CEREMONY.


Zone thing I am determined upon -
remarked Mrs. Sue Hathaway, deci.
sively; you, Fan, shall have decently
ceremonious wedding. When | think Of
the harum-scarum way in which Charlie
and | were thrown at one another, the
wonder is not that we haven't quarreled
since, but that we were ever really mar
ried at all
Tell me about it, Sue DEAR coaxed
Mrs. Hathaway's youngest and pet Sis
ter, as she folded and replaced in their
boxes the dainty articles which she was
preparing for her own trousseau. You
have always spoken of your wedding day
as the most unhappy day of your life;
but | cannot conceive how that can be,
when you and Charlie love one another
SO dearly"
''And if we had not loved each other
beyond all possibility of quarreling, we
would certainly have broken our engage
ment an hour before the ceremony was
really performed. Isincerely trust, dear
Fan, that your married life may be as
happy as mine has proved, and that
IICdfCil may uClCl4u NOu 1AOlll - NVStNtihH
day as chaotic as mine"
"My remembrance of the affair is that
it was perfect success. You are such a
manager, Sue, you are always in request
for tableaux and private theatricals.
never knew an occasion which you were
not equal to, from charity bazaar to the
State dinner thel aides gave the foreign
deputation. was only eight years old
when YOU were married; but remember
that l was your bridemaid, and that l
wore pulled null, with pink kid gloves.
They were the first kid gloves ever had,
and | was as proud rs peacock of them.
| wouldn't carry bouquet for fear of
sOiling and hiding them, but marched in,
arm in arm with Isabers oldest boy, with
my hands displayed as conspicuously as
possible"
"And do you happen to remember
what scamp that boy was? He was the
cause of more than half of my tribula-
ton. He was a regular little Ish-
mael-'his hand against every man, and
every mans hand against him. And
when | think what Bohemian Isabel
has been all her life, and the wildly pre-
posterous way in which she was married,
don't wonder She was studying abroad
when she met her husband. They had
both gone to Europe for number of
years, and they concluded to be married
at the American consurs and continue
their foreign residence, instead of COM
ing home for the ceremony. They were
married in the evening and took a
steamer Immediately after for some
Mediterranean port. Isabers trunks had
been sent on board during the afternoon,
but when they drove down to the wharf
at night, they found that the ship had
moved from its anchorage, and they were
obliged to hire a waterman to row them
out. The water was very rough, and in
a sudden lurch of the. little boat Isabel
was thrown overheard. She was prompt
ly rescued by her husband, and got safely
on board, but in completely drenched
condition. Now comes the ridiculous
part. 1t was a cargo steamer, which
only carried limited number of passen-
gers, and it so happened that there were
no other ladies on board. Isabers trunks
were buried in the hold, where it was
impossible to get at them, and the val
Use, which had fallen into the water with
her had gone to the bottom, and Isabel
retired to her state-room to improvse a
toilette out of some flannel under-cloth-
ing of the Captains and two Marseillcs
bed-spreads. ~
How very dreadfulp' exclaimed Fan,
choking with laughter. ..
She succeeded, too; she basted up a
wrapper of the bed-spreads with Wat
teau pleat in the back, trimming the front
with a Turkish towel torn in strips,
and breakfasted next morning in that
costume Her husband told me he never
saw her dressed so becomingly."
II always thought Isabel was gen
ius, Fan remarked, admiringly.
Yes, but what a very singular pro-
ceeding! Isabel is five years older than
/ am, and look up to her for certain
qualities. But she has no idea of cere-
mony or etiquette, and she utterly alb
hors convention. Now say that getting
married at all is concession to conven-
tionality, and if you are going to ac-
knowledge the claims of society so far
as that, you might as well do the thing
respectfully and in good form. / am a
manager, as you say, and it was for that
very reason that the entire arrangement
of my wedding was left to me. We were
living in the old family mansion in the
country, two miles from the church, and
of course the wedding had to be at the
house. This troubled me from the first,
for the ceremony is always so much more
solemn and impressive before the altar,