Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1883-01-24

| ~, utS sue cNCI Deeu III OOTHWdll!
Adding, with much energy, this posi-
tive but curious assertion:
For if she has I'll wager NV life
| She has drunk OF the well of st. Keyne
The traveller, naturally surprised
and puzzled at the odd questions, re
plies that he has been married many
years, but that his wife has certainly
never been in those parts and then
desires to know what constitutes the
special benefit said to be conferred up.
On him by drinking the water. The
peasant then tells him the legend in
he following pretty verses:
'St. Keyne," the Cornishman said in reply,
| "Oft drank of this crystal WE'LL
And before the angel summoned her,
She laid on its waters spell;
eff the husband at this gifted Well
Shall drink before the wife,
A happy man henceforth is he,
For he shall be master for life.
| "But ifthe wife shall drink it first
Lord help the husband then ,''-
| And the traveller stopped to the Well of St.
Keyne,
| Anu urank ueep OF lIS waters again
The last two lines exhibit an amount
of prudence and forethought highly to
he commended on the part of the as
tute and cautious traveller, who, it
will be observed, although he had al
ready drank copiousIy of he crystal
spring, resolves to place himself en-
tirely upon the safe side, and make
double sure, by drinking "deep OF its
waters again ~
The traveller then playfully rallies
the peasant, by supposing-as mere
matter of course-that he had taken
care to get drink of the water in
good time after marriage; but was
rather surprised to find that
The other replied as the stranger spoke,
And sheepshly shook his head
"I hastened as soon as the wedding was DER
And | left my poor bride in the porch
But alas good sir, she'd been wiser than /,
For SHE took a bottle TO church
Here, then, was a specimen of sagaci-
Gus forethought and ready wit, quite
worthy of that dainty sex,
Whom man was born to please.
But although this exhibits brilliant
idea as brilliantly and cleverly carried
out by the quick witted bride, we are
inclined to think that the circum-
stances about to be related is quite
equal to it, if not superior in some
points.
The story goes that, about thirty
years ago, a worthy couple haying de-
termineti to enter the holy state, and
each having the usual desire to obtain
the "wbip- p-hand" of the other for the
rest of their natural lives, secretly re-
solved-of course unknown to the
other-to follow In the footsteps of
Southey's clever heroine, and like her,
each to "take bottle to church"
The happy day arrived, the we'd
ding service duly said, and the bene-
diction duly pronounced. Now"
thought the cunning bridegroom,
"now's my time" and was about to
pull out his bottle of magic water and
drink it then and there but being a
man of some religious feeling, he
thought it would be hardly decent to
be seen drinking out of bottle IN
church; and, besides this, the friends
present might think that his heart at
last failed him at the thought of the
magnitude of the deed he bad just COM
mitted and that he had to fortify him.
self with little Dutch courage -
and therefore he very properly waited
till the wedding party reached the ves-
try, when he instantly swallowed the
contents of the flask, and triumphantly
exhibiting the upturned bottle to his
loving bride, exclaimed with q broad
grin: "First drink, lass, first drink;
now | be master ~ But what was
the surprise of himself and the assem-
bled company at seeing the fair bride
quietly and demurely produce from the
bosom of her dress little bottle with
a long straw inserted through the cork,
which she Immediately inverted to show
that the bottle was perfectly empty,
and said with a knowing, self-satislied
smile: NAY, nay, Robin; first drink,
first drink. It's l be master, not
thee!
The kings well-known exclamation
to Hamlet E-..
But see, amazement on thy mother sets,
would well have applied to the whole
company assembled in the vestry at
that moment If the bride had really
emptied her bottle, how and when did
she do it :? for nobody saw her, or had
the smallest conception Of her move
ments. Every one seemed to look for
an explanation and after few mo-
ments of awkward silence, the
bride, evidently not a little pleas
ed with her own ready wit, proceeded
to inform the company that, taking ad-
vantage of the huge poke-bonnets and
full wells worn on that day, she, whilst
kneeling at the end of the service,
with her head bowed forward, contriv-
ed by the help Of the straw, to drink
the contents of the bottle without re-
moving it from its hiding place in the
bosom of her dress, or attracting the
smallest notice of anyone. This feat
she had managed to accomplish i'm
mediately after on the close of the
benediction; thereby getting first drink
after the marriage service had been
actually finished; and thus securing