The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-04-03
A DOUBLE WEDDING.


nee with shoulder Ike 4 dromedary s.
Uisfacc is long. like that Of horse, and he
bos black hair. strcakcd with gray, on his
head. with tutt OF the same on us cnlh'
Old man String:ellow wears neither
mustache nor whiskcrs, beng yer! par
ticular TO shave himself at least twice u
week. undergoing some pam ana l"lst-
inc his long face into all manner Ol CON
tortions-Which Il circus CLOWN Wouiu
riyc 81 900 to be able to imitate-duUng
the operat ion, wing 10 the sim nature OF
the cron. lac Is reaping and the dizziness OF
Tho instrument with which he works. lie
seldom wears Il coat, going in has shlrt
sleeves summer and winter, only chang
inc the garment OF hickory for the gar
,neut Of wool as the seasons yary-his
lean pantaloons being hoisted up with
suspondcrs-galuses lie calls them-al-
most to his armpits, making him look at
n little distance like some queer animal
with very Tong legs
He lives in log cabin OF one room,
with shed attachment, and has VIE
and six children. equally divided AS TO sex
In the room. which is roomy enough, he
and Mrs. StrngfellOw occupy one bed,
and the three girls-Nancy, Gin, for Jane,
and Nerier-anolher, and here all the
cooking is done in the wide clay fireplace
Of the sticl; and mud chimney. The shed
attachment accommodates the boys, BIZ,
Ben and Jim.
Occasionally belated traveller will stop
at the Sungfellow mansion and ask for
Il night lodging. Hciwill be invited TO
"NNght an come in, " and when he has
done 40 will be treated with primitive
hospitality.
These people are poor and uneducated,
but there is a spirit OF independence about
them lhat nothing can conquer, and so
lons as their potato banks hold out and
their razor backs come home TO pick up q
pick up a little fat in the field after the
crop is gmnered, and then pay tribute TO
the larder. they care not for king nor
kaiser They never treat anybody, no
matter who tic may be, as anything more
thn an equal, aud would show no diff
ference To the ear of all the Rus
sias should he chance to travel their
way, with all his cortege. Should
he stop he would be invited to
"'light," and the boys would ask about
the price Of potatoes in town, the old
woman inquire as 10 market value Of
eggs, while the girls stood by and giggled,
and The old man put in IA request for n
chew of tobaccO--that is, II they did not
mistake the whole affair for a circus as,
like as not, they would They had walked
fifteen miles once 10 see Il clrcus-all eX-
cept the old woman, who rode shaggy
pony about as big as a yearling calf, and
with more hair Oh his hide than flesh I'M
der it,
happened 10 be Il guest Of the String
fellow family once. Finding myself near
their residence one night, when it was so
dark that that could see nothing but the
gllmmer of the light in their cabin, rode
Tor il through brush and brier, and when
reached il hallocd in the usual country
stvlc. Immediately the light which came
from the open door, was shut off by two
human forms, and was bid 10 light
an come in.
The family was just preparing to eat
supper, and Sayory mess Of pork and
potatoes WAS being dished up ! was in
vited TO join them il their meal, during
which | was pumped pretty dry OF all
knew about the affairs of the town, which
was too far OF to he visited by any Of
them very often. But to this | did not
object knowing that such information as
could impart was all | wonld have to
pay for the entertainment Of myself and
beast-whch had been led off by one Of
the boys to share The stable OF the shaggy
pony-sO | let the ripple of my talk flow
in Il continuous current, turning on my
inventive valve at the same time, TO give
sparkle TO plain facts indispensable 10
make them enjoyable.
During the evening gathered from the
whispering and giggling going on among
the young folk that there was some
mystery afloat-something in which they
all seemed more or less interested-and
when they hal gone " bed the old wo-
man had retired immediately after sup
per, getting into enc IF the beds without
my knowing anything about il until /
heard her snoring old man Strlugfellow
enlightened me after Il rather peculiar
fashion OF his own.
well stranger" he said, Il disre
member yer name. l reckon you'll
stay"
l had already told him my name half a
dozen times, and he had rs often disre.
membered il, so | did not repeat it, but
told him | proposed 10 stay-a fact which
| supposed he was already cognizant of.
YES, " he said, rubbing his long jaw
bone thoughtfully, II lowed yer w'uld,
an I'm glad NV 1t; yes, am; fur the mo-
comp'ny the better on SIGH 'cashin.
Ye'rll be welcome, stranger, an hon
ored pues''
| was a little puzzled, and began to
think the old man was not exactly in his
right mind, but | said nothing, and lie
went on
"You see, =" he said, looking at the fire,
while he talked, gals an' boys Will Kit
married sooner er later, an thar amt no
use THROWN obstckles In thar way AN 30
when Merier, thets the younges', an
Name, she's the oldes', come an tole me
tibet they lowed to take unto tharseves
he'pmeats, which waZ Dick Dander an
Pete Pringle, why, says |, all right; jes'
go ahead an fix it 10 suit yerse'ves; far
though nyther one wv them boys comes NV
Is good stock AS the Stringfellers, reckin'
ihey's bout es good Is yerll pick up here
abouts so they done like said, an ter
morrers the time IT'S 10 be "
"Ah, " said, so there's TO be Il we'd
ding"
YES" he replied, still looking mus
ingly at the fire; "the marrige garments
heve been prepared nm the guess heye
been hidden, an though you wuznt bid