Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-10-18
HIS LAST WEDDING FEE.

1arrlck belonged to there where everybody
was his own theologian.
He called his church The Zionst;tes and
Yves the only one of 1.-THE bishop indeed
except his son, Wesley Howton, whom he
called 1.-THE Deacon
Inc church building did not exist, though
branches of The Zionskite BODY were said to
De furder west" by both the bishop and the
deacon.
inquisitive people limited that there never
would have been as many as two zionskites
aNcept Tor the fat marriage fees which were
70 De had along Mason and Dixou's line; and
,nat Bishop Garrick Howton only ordained
Us son Wesley into the priesthood reluct-
Heiy tnat he might occasionally takes some
eeieaeion himself and not miss any runaway
ooupies which should arrive between mid
night and morning.
All people far or near understood that the
Howtons would marry anybody, the delivery
OF the certificate being conditional on the
payment Of the fee; and pains were taken to
impress strangers that in the Zionskites dis
cipline the certificate was part of the cere-
nony itself
story was started and grew that old
dowton married children for the sake of his
Bees.
This story came up from sorrowing and
broken hearted parents in Virginia and
from the rich manors and hamlets of Freder-
lex in Maryland. The Pennsylvanians never
verified these reports because it was none of
their business.
That was the golden age, when the people
of every state did to the people of every
other state just what they pleased, and the
boundary line made outrage Justice or SIM
pGcity criminal
AS time advanced Bishop Howton became
o widower, and his mind was set on marry
ing again,
1t may have been the example of marrying
children under age, torn from their parents
by their own disobedient impulses or the
powerful sinister Influence of man, or it NAV
have been the childish beauty of Eunice
Eowton, his distant relative, which doomed
her to become the bishops wife when she
should be old enough to receive his orders
and not bring the laws of Pennsylvania down
upon his head. The bishop bided his time
Eunice was hardly Is, a slender, gray eyed
blonde, whose fe,t, touch the ground as they
would, turned into lines Of grace, and music
seemed 10 be playing as she walked or moved
to such harmonies did she bend. while in the
action Of her head upon her delicate neck
and even in the motion Of her lips there ap-
peared 10 be violin music whistled by her
spirit as the upland zephys played upon it
and her heart desired to dazce
The country people said that this was be-
cause her mother had been an actress and a
dancer.
Somewhere back in the undiscerned past
and vagueness of g large world it was said
that Bishop Eowton had been a show man
ager and tina. his orphan cousin had married
French dancer who was in his stroIling
COMPANY
This cousin had been left to Garrick. who
had kept him down and nearly starved him,
REFRESHING his spirits by an avarice and su-
perstltlon which lay across each other, and
finally retired Garrick from the show bust
ness a I'm lete failure, while his ward, set
free By matrimouy, made nice little for
tune keeping a dancing academy with his
wife.
When the parents died something of the
husbands inherited tenets caused him to re-
peut, though be had never done anything
bad, and III the weakness of dying he gave his
child to his relative TO be her trustee and the
trustee CT respectable little fortune.
The poor dancing teacher thought the word
"bishop'' covered regenerate heart.
The bishop was merely capitalist in mar
riage fees.
This is considered reasonable humility.
Some Of the scboolbOys called him Ole
Yoke-f-roki, because he yoked so many
couples
What education he had picked up avaric.
and llliterate associations had chased out o.
his head, like an Old country Dutchman, h.
could spell joists for his barn joyce and tall
about the freedman on his horse when b,
meant breechiny
As time advanced Garrick grew deeply il
love with Eunice, and .orgot to give spiritua
restraint to his son.
"At seventeen sharp old Garrick Howtol
often repeated to himself, looking at Eunic
with the threefOld passions of love, avaric
and superstition
Often when an old man falls in love
seems to him like holiness, when it is onl
foolishness.
In that way Garrick threw himself bac
into his natural state before he became a
avaricious scoundrel, or a self frightene
hypocrite. lie got to believing in the rel
gion he practiced upon He feared nigh
monstrous passion was a sacrifice on his par
for the sake Of securing Eunice's soul
~ should be the DEVILS prize without her,
unused Garrick Howton. THE children
have tied in wedlocks of despair, the III
formed souls l have manacled to selfs
fends, the headstrong schoolgirls l hav
made the legal slaves of hideous skinflint!
and who have in few months awaked t
everlasting repentance and horror, woul
troop into my lonely home among thes
mountains and drive me crazy with thel
curses, should 60 madl But Eunice, Ell
nice, she will guard my door and warm m
heart and bring other angels like her frol
heaven TO my relief and comfort
1t was plain that the hypocritical Of
hiAhop was becoming slightly hysterical.
Weasley Howton had been notified by b
father TINT he mus. 60 west and establish h
own congregation of the peculiar Ziol
sixties.
he was sent to the garnet to study disc
pine and thoroughly contemplate the Scri
lures.
One day Eunice stole up into the garre
while the bishop was marrying a one eye
man OF 60 to a maid Of Is, and she met di
rerent scene there from the penance ar
prayer she had expected.
Weasley was rugged out in suit of thea
r1cal clothes taken from Eunice's parent
trunks, aud was executing q wild and fanta
tic jig
The bishop had told Eunice that in Il
said trunks was the DEVILS wardrobe. tt
young people locked the door and examine
the wardrobe thoroughly.
what places are garrets for rain and low
now 1t drops upon the roof How it 20
pit-a-pat IN the hearth How the heart
raining suddenly through the ewes and IL
wind
old men seldom 60 to garrets. Bad O.
men like Garrick Howton never do
Next week Weasley Howton was to sta.
Tor Indiana and be au apostle on tt
Wabash.
bis trunk was packed and his ticket for ii
stage was TO be paid for over the great N
tonal road from Hagerstown to the I.
west.
Fifty dollars farem exclaimed the bisbo
as he walked the upper porch; what a su
OF money! But the next week it shall
made up out Of Eunics's fortune, which W
then be mine, with her fadeless beauty, t
Death do us part The rascall'
AS he looked, theirs came a cloud of du
up the Leistersourg road from the sout
where somebody was driving hard-som