Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-04-28
Two Pacific Slopers.

A rather romantic little affair in the
wav of an elopement occurred last Sum
dav, the incidents of which failed to
find their way to the public until yester-
day morning. At 2914 Sixteenth
street is a crockery store and dwelling,
| owned and occupied by Isaac Bernarl,
a well-to-do Israelite. Mr.. Bernard
is an old man and has a family OF
grown-up children, consisting of four
daughters and one son. For several
years n carpenter named Joshua Smith
has been a roomer in the Bernard
dwelling, and he and the crockery mer-
chant have been warm and even init
mate friends. Joshua was a widower
without children. After his wife's
death Smith was for a time inconsola-
BILE. Fair widows, some fat and others
forty, laid seige to his heart and offered
to pour balm of sympathy over his
wounded feelings, but he would not.
Years rolled by and as Joshua neared
the half-century mile-post the sorrow
of so many lonely winters began to
whiten his hair with the frost Of time.
The youngest of his friends daughters,
Annie, a golden-haired. blue-eyed little
Jewess of eighteen summers, SERVED to
warm up his ancient heart-strings in a
way he hadn't known for years. He had
watched her bud into girlhood and
blossom into womanhood. The sun
light seemed to sleep in her tresses and
the purity of heavens own blue was
mirrored in her eyes. Finally he
couldn't stand it any longer and went
to her with a tale of love hat would
have made n "Claude Melnotte" hunt
all through an unabridged dictionary
for new words to rival it.
The maiden had always felt a kindly
interest in her fathers ledger, and when
the opportunity of doing him so much
good presented itself she earnestly ira
vested the words of Ruth and declared:
II will go with thee. Thy people shall
be my people. l will be an helpmeet
unto thee. So let it be, joshua And
then they hied themselves quietly out
of the house at noon on the first day of
| the week and went to the Woodbridge.
Presbyterian Church, where they were
joined in the bonds of wedlocll. After
the ceremony Joshua took his bride on
a wedding tour ovcr the Potrcro & Bay
View Railroad. On the Potrero he had
prepared an habitation for his new
found Ruth, and there they settled
down to the enjoyment of the stern re-
alities of welded bliss. In the evening
Joshua tore himself away from his bride
long enough to go and pay his respects
to his fa~ther-in-law. The aged ~Israelite
was 10th to believe that Joshua had
really gone off and married his young
est daughter. Why hadn't the carpen-
ter taken the Oldest one if he wanted
any? Then Nh. Bernard rushed frantic
ally down to the Howard-strcet police
station and wanted somebody arrested
himself, Joshua, his daughter, ''any-
body" only there must be. an arrest.
The kind-hearted sergeant in charge
prescribed ice-water for his head, and
he went away cooler than he had come.
The brother of the young bride called
upon her Monday morning and found
her happily ensconced in her new home.
All e%ntreaties to induce her to return to
her fathers house were unavailing. She
was satisfied with her choice, and now
glories in the euphonious title of Mrs.
Joshua Smith. San Francisco Ch7On-
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