Mexico weekly ledger., 1885-01-22

not only his pa but his old friend the
groceryman should take him to be Z
boy who would scorch cat.
An Arctic Romance.
Owing to the atmospheric infiueh-
ces, courting in Greenland is conduc-
ted on somewhat different plan
from what it is in this country. How
ever, Cupid gets his work in pretty
much the same as he does IN coun-
tries where the climate is sultry.
A young Esqulmaux loved q young
Esqu;llauxes, SO to speak,and his af-
fection was lssishly reciprocated.
It was her father who failed
to reciprocate. The young lover
was poor, and consequently this Arc
tic Morosini had very poor opinion
of him. In Greenland the would-be
husband has to pay for his wife. The
brides father receives q certain
quantity Of GsA eii and bear skins.
In Greenland daughters are source
of revenue to their parents! 1t is not as
it is in civilized countries where the
young ladies in order to capture hus-
bands are required to have money, or
in other words men have to be paid
to marry them. In civilized coun-
tries wives are usually sold, badly
sold, by their husbands after they
get married. In Greenland they are
sold before marriage.
But to resume. The young lover
had no assets of fish oil, and he was
short on bear skins. He was poor
fisherman. The only fish he caught
were those that got away, hence the
girls father refused to- cooperate.
The would-be bride began to pine.
and although she lost her appetite.
she took her blubber regularly ev-
cry day. At last the old man parti-
ally relented. He consented that
the marriage should take place upon
the groom giving his note for the
fish oil and bear skins, at ninety days,
the father retaining a vendors lien.
SO to speak, on the daughter.
The young couple were married.
and moved into an ice house on the
opposite side of a deep ravine that
them from the residence
of the BRIDES father, natural bridge
of ice forming the only means OF
communication.
Bad iiah iiaah seemed to pursue the
young man. Owning tn the fact
that he spent most of his time at
home, cultivating the domestic vir-
tues, he was not very successful in
the chase. His wife, moreover, en-
couraged him in his habits of idle
ness.
One day, after a brief absence, the
young husband, ON returning to his
hut discovered that it was vacant.
During his absence the grasping
father-in-law (the note having run
out) had foreelosed the vendors Len
on his unpaid daughter.
The despair of the young husband
might have drawn tears from the
eyes of tax collector. The long
polar night was just beginning to
set in, and he could not hope to re-
deem his wife before daylight, which
was six months OF How could he
be able to spend the long winter even
ings alone without his wife to cheer
him ups
Finally, he makes up his mind to
attempt something desperate. As
soon as it had been dark for about
week or so, he sneaks up to the hut of
bis father-in-law. In that country
everybody sleeps sound. The yonag
wife is reposing not far frcm her
grasping father. The husband slips
into the hut which is aimly lighted
with a small oil lamp. He seizes his
sleeping wife, and carrying her noise
lessly out, places her in his sleigh
drawn by reindeers, and in less time
than it takes TO narrate it, he is over
the bridge of ice that spans the ra-
vine. Being once on the other side,
and borrowing an axe from q neigh
bnr. he destroys the bridge made of
huge blocks of ice. thus cutting OFF
all communication with the house of
his unnatural father-in-law. Weeks
and months must pass over before
the bridge can be restored Then
he carries his beloved wife, who is
still sleeping, into his hut. By the
light of his Pickering oil light he
bends over his captured beauty to
imprint a kiss upon her lips. He re-
coils in horror Then he emits a
vail that starties the polar bears
| within a mile of the North Pole.
Deceived by the similarity OF dress
old and young dress alike in the Arctic
|region-he had inadvertently abdnc.
ted his mother-in-law.
Hubby, did you mail my letter."
"Yes, my dear. Had TO run like
fury TO catch the first mail. =
"Why, here it is in your pocket,
now"
i Hey Um-a-yes, SO il is-no,
this isn't your letter; this is--that