The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1886-09-10
A WEDDING PRESENT.

FOR several minutes / had been reading
in our little society paper an account Of
the wedding of two young people whom |
both knew and admired. | could not but
feel a friendly interest in this pretty we'd
ding, for | had seen them grow from child
hood to youth and had often thought what
a truly ideal pair they were.
In compliance with the usual foolish
custom, a long list of handsome wedding
presents made an important feature OF the
wedding report. Many were elegant and
ornamental, while not a few were useful
as well. One item in the list, however,
struck me as being neither lovely nor good;
that was a wine set, and feeling sure that
this young couple were too high principled
20 allow wine glasses to figure conspicuous
ly oil their side-board or dining table, | de
termined to trace the history Of those
things and see just what did happen.
Will you listen to the story ?
Well, on a bright, sweet morning when
those young people had returned from
their wedding trip, there was great stir
and merriment in the pretty new cottage
home as the furniture was put to rights,
dainty bric-a-brac tastefnlly ARA nged and
the bare little rooms gradually made to
assume an air of comfort and loveliness.
Out IN the dining room the little mistress
was polishing VI the pretty silver and
glass ware, and giving little shrieks of de-
light over the shining beauties. Suddenly
she came to the wine set, and the least lit
tie bit of a frown ruflled her happy brow.
'.See here, love- she called, to her liege
lord, who was perched on a tall step lad
der in the adjoining room, 1--WE don't need
wine glasses in our home, for VIC are not
going to begin our life in any such way.
What shall we do with them %
Thus questioned, her adviser bounded
off the step ladder and appeared in the
doorway with several yards of picture
wire about his features, but still with an
eye to business.
Trade 'em off for something else," he
said. ''Folks are always expected to ex-
change wedding presents when they please.
Don't you remember when Bess married
and fourteen pickle casters graccd her
board, how she changed them for spoons
and-and things? Well, my dear, these
came from Hartman's no doubt, and I'll
just slip on my coat and sec if | can't ex-
change them for a set of finger bowls"
and behold! in a t~winkling he was back
with the finger bowls and the little lady of
the house never saw the dainty things on
her table, all filled with sparkling water
and aglow with pink or fairy green where
the sunlight touched them. that she didn't
rejoice at the change.
But what of the wine set ? To follow it.
we must say goodbye to the happy and
wise young couple and only be sure, that
like the good people in the fairy tale,
''they lived happily ever after"
Before the summer was over the rejected
wine glasses were adjoining another side
board in another part of the city, and were
not ~unfrequently in use on the table or in
the pretty parlor. l don't think they felt
very proud of their mission in life. In fact,
I'm pretty sure that anyone of the dozen
would have changed places with the shiny
tin dipper in the kitchen; for, strange as it
may seem, they knew what evils followed
in their trail, and shivercd through all
their little glass anatomies when the spark
ling drops were in them.
One night something unusual happened.
There had been a little company in the
evening, some music and gayety, and then
the young wife, with her own hands, filled
the wine glasses and passed them laugh
little aprons served the fruits and cake, but
the hostess, with merry eyes, declared that
only the blue blood of an autocrat must
flow near to the purple blood of the grape;
and so, with pretty mods and smiles,
presented each glass, glad that the variety
of the wine called forth praise from even
her handsome husband, who, to make good
his words, drained many glasses. When
the guests had left, and the maids were
hurriedly gathering up china and sorting
silver, the lread of the honse still fingered
near the side board, slipping the wine, till
his wife, coming in for a moment, was hor-
rified at the unnatural light in his eyes, and
his trembling hands filling and re-flling
the glasses.
"Frank?' she exclaimed in alarm,
"Come away. Como with me. I'm afraid
you'll give yourself a headache;" but it
was not until every drop in the decanter
had vanished that, with uncertain step, he
left the dining room, his wife, all fearful,
following.
Gu little wine-glasses spent a dismal
night, and were not surprised when, in the
morning, Frank appeared with heavy eyes,
and answered his wife's greetings s~ullenly,
in a manner quite unlike his CHEEKY one.
Days passed. Oftencr Frank tasted the
wine on the side-board, and now there was
less gladness in his young wife's eyes when
he Landed the rare old wine. Often he
came home, showing plainly by his bear
ing that other wine-glasses than those in
| his own home had touched his lips.
And now the sad wife began herself to
refuse to taste the lovely poison so surely
ohanuinu her helnvoH Franz and makinr