Omaha daily bee., 1884-05-10
ROMANCE IN AN IOWA TOWN,
a Girl Marrics Shc Son.of the Man
whom Her Mother torsook
o n the Eve of Marriage.


Dubuque Special to the Chicago News.
A quaint little town west OF TINS city
is the scene of q romance In when al
heiress to a vast estate appears after .
quarter of a century and marrles the sol
of a man from whom her mother He'd on
tho eve of marriage.
Twenty five years ago q young English
man of happy ways and good demeanol
landed in the little town. Two week.
later he entered q store of general mer
chaudise, where his politeness attracted
large patronage and made him a ~favoritt
with his employers and rural society gen,
orally. Among his customers was tht
handsome little black.eyed daughter of {
farmer who had made q half million dol
lars in the silver mines of Colorado. The
clerks attentions were opposed by the la
dy's father, and clandestine meetings fol
lowed. The young lady was soon sent tC
a boarding school near Chicago, a stipu.
lation of her attendance being that The
principal should inspect all her letters
except those bearing a certain mysterious
mark. The young couple who had eX'
pected to carry on secret correspondence
were batiled, and, while neither could
hear from the other, they revered an
oath that they had taken to remain true
to each other. After a year the young
man became n victim of ~melancholia,
which ended in his discharge from the
store and consequent disgrace in the
neighborhood. He walked to this city.
He overcame his malady, and, getting
a situation in n Wholesale house, soon
Won the confidence of his employers and
was promoted to positions of Importance.
Five years had gone since he had seen or
heard from the little girl he loved, when
he was sent to the town in which he met
her He called on his old employers,
and in a conversation learned that within
two weeks a grand marriage was to be
contaminated between a wealthy mer-
chant OF the little place and Miss -,
whose father had become rich in the
mines of Colorado. The lady was his old
sweetheart. Her name rekindled the ar
dent affection he had borne for her when
they were young. A clerk in the store
carried her a note and waited for this
reply:
DEAR GEORGE have received your
long and anxiously awaited note. Come
at once. Yours, as ever, JANE.
George went. He promised to return
again as soon as he could go to Dubuque
and resign his situation. A week later,
and within less than that time from her
marriage, the lady disappeared mysteri-
ously and was never afterwards seen or
heard from by her parents.
Three months ago a young lady arriv-
ed in Jackson county, Iowa, Ito seek her
fortune in the Far West" as she called
it. She procured a situation as teacher
in one of the country schools. Her eff.
forts were attended with SUCCESS. She
was accepted into the society of her pat
rons, and two weeks ago was married tc
a rich young farmer. He is the son Of
the wealthy merchant whose betrotheo
had forsaken him a quarter of o century
before. On her bridal trip the young la
dy visited the home that her mother hat
abandoned, and was given a brilliant re
ception.
She remembers the story of her moth
er's. elopement. The young commercial
man returned his samples to the store a
Dubuque, and, drawing all his money
bought u wagon, in which he travelled tt
the home of his sweetheart. She me
him in the outskirts of the town at tn,
time he had appointed. They drove t.
! Wisconsin and were married. His mon
ey was soon exhausted, and he sold tn
rig to pay his way to Chicago. He ant
his wife obtained work in an old hote
that stood somewhere on Clark street
They saved enough money to take then
to New York. His knowledge of com
nerce helped him into situation as bro
ker's clerk. Private speculation increas
ed his income until he had suficien
money to 60 into business on his own nc
count. His deals were not successful
and within two years bankruptcy an,
drink made him wholly destitute. Hi
father was an English nobleman and tn
young mans early training hadimpresset
a character which rebelled against sucI
life. He drowned himself in the Eas
River. His wife and child were throw
upon their own resources, and for tw,
years lived in misery. The mother die
in grief, and the child sold papers for
living until she was picked up by the po
lice. She was sent along with many 9th
er waits to western New York. A well
/, TODD farmer adopted her and gave her
good education. She went West to ear
her livelihood, and until circumstance
aided her recollection she was not awar
that her new home was the birthplace o
her mother. Her identity has been es
tablished to the satisfaction of her grand
father, and he will mention her in hi
will.