Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1882-11-24
MARRIEDONLY IN JEST.
Complications Over Knot that
COl0red Preacher Tied.

The Rev. Voss Neal, an aged colored
man, of SO Troy avenue, Brooklyn, II
on SIX days of the week q packer ID
Oyington Bros china store at Fulton
street, Brooklyn. On the seventh day
he breaches In Bethel Methodist Epis-
copal church, 1t Schenectady and Dean
avenues. He is very old, very moder-
ate In his movements, and his scanty
locks are thickly sprinkled with gray.
He is of an accommodating disposition
and when pretty Gussie Cropsy, the
little black-eyed saleswomen presented
herself before him In the basement lasi
Friday, accompanied by Will Eevering.
ham clerk, who is the nephew Of the
Ovingtons and reputed heir to large
estate and with great perriment re.
quested him to "inarry them," the old
man put the usual questions with great
solemnity, and cent them away with
the injunction to go and get a certifi-
cate and he would fill it out. When q
few hours later Miss Cropsy was accost.
ed by her fellow clerks as Mrs. Ever
ingham," she professed to be amused,
but the day after was very indignant,
and said there was no use to carry the
fun any further.
"Fun2" said fellow clerk; "do you
call it fun2 You are married as fast a.
any woman that ever lived. Do you
mean to say you didn't know Voss waa
a min ister?"
Everingham was summoned and wa
apparently thunderstruck at the in
formation. He had considered it q
joke to ask Voss to. marry them. OF
course, it could not be marriage.
"But it isp' his fellow clerks replied,
"and nothing can change it now. You
are man and wife, and mad better make
the best of it."
The Rev. Voss Neal was sitting the
other evening in the rear chamber Of
his dwelling. His coat was of, and his
stocking clad feet rested in q chair.
He had laid aside his newspaper as
the reporter entered, and looked over
his glasses. ,
"Did I marry Will and Gussiei
Come now! This thing has gone far
enough. I've heered nothing but
marry, marry, for the last week, and
I've been kept up high long enough.
It's plenty bad to have hundred
clerks dingin' it in your ears without
they putin up strangers to it."
"But it is claimed that you took ad-
vantage of the ignorance of the two
young people, and when they came to
you in a frolic tied them up in earn
est"
"Well, I wish had. But it was all
in fun. There is no marriage to it.
They haven't got certificate, and I
haven't returned one of those blanks
to the Health Department. Why, 1
do lots of marryin'. Pm too old to
make such q mistake 50 that"
"Well you must own it was aigood
joker"
"a good jokel Well, l should say
80, And they've carried it fur enough
down to the store, and l wish they'd
drop it. I've really been mad about it
once or twice, but there's no use
grumblin' at their sassy tricks. They
will have their fun with the old man,
and when a lot Of young folks think
they're doin' somethin' smart you
can't tell Them anything"
81 suppose they've exaggerated it.
How did it really occur?''
"Why, 1 was sitting at the stove in the
basement eating my dinner, when
those two came tarin' down and says,
Marry u.s. with lots of gigglin' and
carryin' Ga.
"'Wnat's your manner 1 said to.tho
boy, and he said Joe Johnson
"Whst's yours?
"'Miss Crimp.'
"tWell,' l said, Joe Johnson, will
you have this woman as your wife9'
eyes"
"And, Miss Crimp, will you have
this man to be your husband?'
Yes
"Well, that's all, now your married.
Go and get your certificate and fill it
OUT"
Don't you call Ithat a legal mar
riage?'
mo, mol Ofcourse not. They were
on gale, and it was all in fun. They
didn't think of getting married, and [
did't think of marrying them. cts
all in the motive, you know. Sides, |
didn't say You are man and wife. ="
"What if the young lady should say
she was not in fun?'
"W.c,l-l, that might raise question.
But she won't say anything of the
kind"
81 think 1 will see young Evering-
ham,"
"Don't do it now. You take my adj
vice if you know when you're we'll off.
Don't you do it. He's in bad frame
of mind. The clerks have been at him
every day. They have congratulated
him and sent their congratulations by
mail, and they've asked when the re-
ception was coming off, and if he was
goin' to Greenpoint on his weddin' trip.
His language has been awful. Profan-
ity don't in no way describe it. If l
were his nearest friend wouldn't m en-
ton the subject to him."
Glow does Miss Cropsy feel!"
"She cried once or twice about it, but
lately she's been more resigned. Mr..
Hall, the floor walker, fined them both
so cents for leaving the floor without
permission. Fact ID, it's been a pretty
rough joke all round, and when they
all ask me who Pm goin' to marry next
| feel like giving 'em piece of my
mind"
hI. lHON iISuduu diiu hle6 SIOpoy
were not to be found this evening. A
clerk said:
"Of course it was genuine marriage
and has been the talk of the neighbor-
hood. 1t is stated, On what seems to
be good authority, that large sums
have been offered to Miss Cropsy by
Eve-ingham's friends to put the mat
ter at rest by declaring that it is not q
marriage, and that she has refused to
do so. They have been acquainted for
long time, and Will has kept COM
pany with her little. They were on
lark. of course. 1 guess they knew
that Voss Neal was a minister, and car
ried the joke to that extent without re-
alizing that they were contracting a
legal marriage"
Bill Nye's Engagement Broken.
h,ua ro,a,uad Joffor ~,