The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-06-13
Story Of a Wedding Garment

Those OF my fI1endS VINO KNOW me
well enough to forego all feelings of
delicacy and reserve in the matter,
often tell me that am one of the !eanest
young men they ever saw in their lives.
When walk the streets I am greved by
the remarks Of certain class of small
boys who have not had proper home
training. These remarks are of a COM
parativs nature-I being one object of
comparison, and the lamp posts by which
lam passing, the other.
If I 90 ten blocks without hearing
anything said about "bean poles" and
'living Skeletons" am glad. Being
Just six feet three in height does not
add particularly to the beauty of my
appearance.
Let no one suppose because l write so
calmly of my leanness that am not
sensitive regarding it. I am.
The day | overheard young lady say
lt picnic that looked like section
of a railroad bridge was the saddest day
Of my life.
To overcome as far as possible the
grotesque appearance caused by my ex-
cessive lack of flesh I always wear
Heavyweight" goods, and no tailor
ever secures my patronage who does not
thoroughly understand the art of ''pad-
ding"
/ confess to certain degree of vanity
regarding my personal appearance, and
when l made the blissful discovery that
Twas about 10 be married l gave no little
thought to the appearance l should pre-
sent on an occasion when, more than at
my time in my life, so many persons
would be gazing upon me.
I read books on etiquette to know it,
Under any circumstances, a man might
broperly be married with his overcoat
and two suits of clothes on, but, to my
distress, found this was allowable only
in cases of elopement, and as my wife
had set her heart on church wedding
with everybody in full dress, Igradually
forced myself into the conviction that
the overcoat and one suit of clothes
would have to be discarded.
A man OF my "build' looks positively
and irredeemably awfulin the conven-
tional, clinging, black, light weight gar
ments of which most suits are made.
When I see such man thus arrayed l
am really convinced that there is some.
thing in the Darwinian theory.
But, as it had to be so, was married
In the garments best calculated to make
my attenuation glaringly apparent. My
friends were kind, however, and said
nothing to cast cloud on my happiness
all but nv sister Nell. She owed me
= grudge dating back to the days of our
childhood, and, as she put her arms
around my neck and kissed me, She
whispered in my ear:
"0h, Tom, you look awfully shoe
B.ring1 in that suit
A Separation of four years made it pos.
sib e for me to speak to Nell when we
met again, but sometimes fear that we
can never be the dear friends we once
were.
After our marriage my wife and Iwent
Immediately to far distant Western
city, in which we made our home. l was
too poor to throw or give away my de-
tested wedding garments, but / soon re-
duced them to state of great shabbi-
ness by wearing them under my over
coat when about my work as a reporter
on daily paper. We were not society
people, and had no idea that I would
ever again need suit of that kind. One
day when l went home to dinner my wife
said:
'See here, Tom, it's shame for you
to be wearing that handsome SO suit out
in that way. Don't you suppose you
could sell it and get some more suitable
and cheaper garments for everyday
wear"
I here take occasion to say that my
wife is very economical as well as a
practical and sensible woman. Some
times 1 think she knows mvre than I
know.
I told her that I would think about
her suggestion. A wise man wi never
seem to come into immediate acco.l with
The opinions of"his wife. 1t is always
best to bang back and pretend that you
have a little sense of own, even though
you know that you have not.
At II o'clock that night, as l was
closing my desk at the otcs preparatory
to going home, the managing editor of
my paper said:
"See here, Dixon; that report you
wrote of the trouble up at the Christabel
mine was uncommonly well done, and
will be talked about tomorrow. think
can get your salary raised on the
strength of it. In the meantime. here
little of something to show you that
paper appreciates good work"
AS he spoke he handed me Il crisp,
new so bill. He was rich; the paper
was making a great deal of money, and
felt that I was not being pa d as much
rs earned, so l took the money without
any hesitation. Fifty. dollar bills were
very scarce at our house and, as hurried
home through the dark streets, I fancied
to myself my wiie's pride and pleasure
when l should tell her of my good fortune
on the morrow.
For perfect security I folded and re-
folded the bill until it was about an inch
sg@are, and tucked it down into the
kgatch. pocket of my pantaloons, pocket
7 had never used before, and one that
Ken, clothed in their right minds,
kaorning I was awakened by a
distant part of the city, and
an old suit that kept
Mons, l hurried out to
Apf the fire, which
usual magnitude.
; md it was late