The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1888-10-05
HIS LAST WEDDING FEE.

Some years ago, when marriage license
had to be paid for. the Marylanders ant
Virginiars rode across the narrow frontier
in the valley and were married for nothing
in Pennsylvania. OF course they gave some
thing to tho preacher for bis trouble. The
consequence Was that all the preachers OF
tho Maryland sido of tho line became as lear
as geese, and tho preachers across the line il
Pennsylvania grew as fat cs turkey gobblers
But there was ono preacher near WGyncs
boro who did not grow fat Garrick Howton
who did the largest business, became leareI
and leaner tho faster he married people. He
was too mean, the people said, to enjoy life
like a good Methodist itinerant or a rubicund
priest. No chicken coops were agitated a,
his approach No little pigs squealed and
got under their anxious ria.nmas when Gar.
rick leaned over tho sky and surveyed them
Nobody knew just what sect OF church
Garrick belonged to there where everybody
was his own theologiau.
He called his church Tho Zionskites, and
was tho only ono of 1.-THE bishop indeed
except his son, Wesley Howton, whom he
called ''thc deacon
Tho church building did not exist, though
branches OF The ZioXs,:itc body were said to
DO "furdcr vest by both tho bishop and the
deacon.
Inquisitivc people hintcd that there never
would havo been Gs many Gs two Zionskitcs
except for tho fat marriage fees which werc
to DO had along Mason and Dixon's line; and
that Bishop Garrick Howton only ordained
his son Weaslcv into tho priesthood reluct-
antly that lie might occasionally takes some
recreation hir2sef and not miss any runaway
couples which should arrive between mid
might and morning. 5
AL people far or near understood that the
Howtons would marry anybody, tho delivery
of the certificate being conditional on the
payment of tho fee; and pains wero taken to
impress strangers that in the Gicnskites dis
cipline the cert was c rSr. Of tho cerc-
mony itself.
A story was started and grew that old
Howton married children for tho sake Of his
fees.
This story came W from, sorrowing and
broken hearted parents in Virginia and
from the rich manors and hamlets of Freder-
ick IN Maryland. Tho Pennsylvanians mover
verified these reports because it was none Of
their business.
That was the golden age when tho people
of every state did to tho people of overy
other state just what they pleased, and the
boundary limo made outrage justice or SIM
plicity criminal.
As timo advanced Bishop Howton became
widcT7-c-, and his mind was set on marry
ing again.
1t may have been tho example of marrying
children under age, torn frc::l tl;cir parents
by their own disobedient impulses or tho
powerful sinister influence Of man, o. it may
have been tho childish beauty of Eunicc
Howton, his distant relative, which doomed
her to become tho bishops vito when shc
should DO old enough to receive his orders
and not bring tho laws Of Pennsylvania down
upon his head. Tho bishop bided his time
Eunice was hardly Is, O slender, gray eyed
blonde, whose feet, touch tho ground as they
would, turned into lines of grace, and music
seemed to be playing as she walked or moved,
to such harmonies did she hcnd while in tho
action Of her head upon her delicate neck
and even in the motion of her lips there ap-
peared to DO violin music whistled by her
spirit as the upland Zephys played upon it
and her heart desired to dance
Tho country people said that this was be-
c2usc her mother had been all uctr- S. and a
dancer.
Somewhere back in the undiscerred past
and vaguenesS of q large world it was said
that Bishop Howton had been q show mar
agcr and that his orphan cousin had married
q French dancer who was il his stroilinr
company.
This cousin had been lefs to Ca~:ick, who
had Kept him down end nearly Starved him,
REFRESHING his spirits by al avariro cad SUI
perstition which lay across each other, and
finally retired GarricL from the show bust
ness a COMP cto failure, whi.o LIS ward, set
free by matriroly, made "a nice little for
tune keeping dancing academy with his
wife.
When tho parents died something of the
husbands inherited tenets caused him to re-
pent. though he had never dono caything
bad, and in tho weakness Of dying he gave his
child to his relative to be her trustee and the
trustee of respectable little for.unc.
The poor dancing teacher thought tho word
"bishop" covered q rcccneratc heart.
The bishop was merely capitalist In mar
riage fees.
This Il considered reasonable humility.
Sor,o of tic r@looboys called hix, Old
Toke-i-noki. because lao yoi:ed 80 many
couples
What education lc had clicked ~ svarico
and illiterate associations had chased out OF
his head; like an old country Dutchrlan, lie
could spell jois.s for his barn joyce and talk
about tho breecHnan on his horse when no
meant breeding.
AS time advanced Carrie: grow deeply in
love with Eunicc, and orgot to give spiritual
restraint TO his SOIL.
AT seventeen sharp" old Garrick Iiowton
often repeated to himself, looking n: Errice
with the threcfold passions of love, avarice
and superstition
Often when IN old man falls ia lovo Il
seems TO him like holiness, when il is oaly
foonshness.
In that way Garrics threw himself back
into his natural state before he became an
avaricious scoundrel, or self frightened
hypocrite Hc got to believing in the rci-
gion no practiccd upon. Ho feared night
solitude aud ghosts. He. believed that his
monstrous passion was a sacrifice on his part
for tho sake of securing Emices soul.
~ should DO tho devils prizc without her.
unused Garrics Howton. "The children
have tied in wcdlocks of despair, tho un-
formed souls lave maaaclcd to selfish
flcnds, tho headstrong schoolgirls 1 have
made tho legal slaves of hideous sliinflints,
and who havo in a few months awakcd to