Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-12-25
CAPT. MARVIN'S WOOING.
A Story Of the Gentle Maid and
the Strong Man.

1ne curious mnded used some years
ago to search for the quaint inscription
that could be traced upon a mouldy
stone in the ancient burying ground in
old Lyme Regis, known in these later
years as Lyme. The memorial, when
found, could be deciphercd thus:
,'This Deacon, aged 6s, is freed on earth from
May , for = crown Mnolongeer wait; Lyme's Cap.
Yet, according to the tale that mothers
told daughters for many years more
than a hundred, Captain Marvin found
a crown whose gentle, blue-eyed wearer
ruled him and his imperious will with
the peaceful sceptre of love; and this is
the tradition:
There were the sounds of breaking
branches and the tread of feet that
seemed heavily weighted, one afternoon
of early September in the year 100.
These noises seemed to be caused by some
one laboring severely just within the
wilderness that stretched far back into
Connecticut colony from the shore of the
Sound. The man who heard these ON
nous sounds peeped cautiously around
for an instant, and then stared with
wonder upon what was revealed to him.
He saw coming from the woods another
man, half carrying on his shoulders,
half dragging and straining at every
muscle with the weight, a great black
thing that seemed the full size of a we'll
grown OK.
"'Tis Renold," said the man, 'and
he hath a bear" Then he went up to
the hunter.
"a bear. The bear, Renold. The
brute that has given us so much con-
Germ. 'Tis a monster"
The hunter loosed his hold, and,
painting with his exertion, seated HIM
self upon a stone. He was a young
man, and, though the blood of the beast
had stained his face so that the color al
most masked his countenance, yet the
dark and resolute eyes, the tirm-set
law and the defiant manner OF the nan
exhausted as he was, caused the other
to look with admiration upon him,
rather than upon his prize.
"'Tis a monster, Renold. You did
not fight it all alone?"
..Why not? Shall a strong man
with blunderbuss and knife fear a
brute?"
..Manv an armed man has been killed
by such as this one."
..Bah! None but babes and Stockings.
There, / am rested now. Twas more
difficult to fetch him here than to kill
him, You stay here with him. Here
here. nv gun and my knife. l will go
for help to bring him to the settle
ment.n ~
.Ah, but, Renold, perhaps his
fart fearful of a dead brute? Yet l
slew him alone. Truly l did. l lie
not"
II know you do not lie. Your COM
munication is always yea, yea' anu hay'
''.Fear nothing, for I will soon be
The Young man, without another
word. went quickly down the highway,
a mile perhaps, until nc stopp e"t IN 1.-THE the
q clumsy, rough-barfeo ga.J 'o oornss a
stone wall. Then he strobe across 10 a
meadow, heavy with aftermath, uh. .n,l nt
reached a wcll-sweep, whose sea- p'o No
swung high in the air: WIN .1
strength Of one sinewy wrist, ne po .non
the water, cool as a winter spring, n uloSt
his head. and with the other hano mos feso
.energetically bathed his neck k,s ana "a l tGe
til tRe skin was almost as rudy as h;m ,n'
stains his late slaughter left upon n1na,
..There," said he at length' " ',m
for strong men, milk for babes M; ana : rum : hn
for the weak and foolish" Then, as ie IL
was about to start again, he stoppeo III
..lyi,at's that l hear? Thum p, tn sneak
All. It's Betty, at her LOOM III 'p'''
to her ,o vbprcon the
well was and Just beyond came upon Wa, q
farmhouse whose lean-to roo that
nitched against the little h'll, So S,1 1i,s'
rioht up tie root to the ridge piece piece. no nuS
TUNED aside, however, ana h s,oo he saw saw
tho thl'l Kitchen door sill, and then me nc s saW
him hin not. It seemed TO please as un nor
strong man to look upon al nef, ~ at tn,
her Quick and graceful mo tiIden a. from