Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-11-21
HIS LAST WEDDING FEE.

VirginianS rode across the narrow frontier in the valley and were married for nothing in Pennsylvania. Of course they gave some thing to the preacher for his trouble. The consequence was that all the preachers on the Maryland side of the line became as lean as geese, and the preachers across the line in Pennsylvania grew fat as turkey gobblers. But there was one preacher near Waynes- boro who did not grow fat. Garrick Howton, who did the largest business, became leaner and leaner the faster he married people. He was too mean, the people said, to enjoy life like good Methodist itinerant or rubicund priest. No chicken coops were agitated at his approach No little pigs squealed and got under their anxious mammas when Gar rick leaned over the sky and surveyed them
 Nobody knew just what sect or church Garrick belonged to there where everybody was his own theologian.
 He called his church The Zionskites, and was the only one of 1.-the bishop indeed except his son, Weasley Howton, whom he called 'the deacon"
 The church building did not exist, though branches of The Zionskite body were said to be "furder west" by both the bishop and the deacon.
 1nquisitive people hinted that there never would have been as many as two Zionskites except for the fat marriage fees which wero to be had along Mason and Dixon's line; and that Bishop Garrick Howton only ordained his son Weasley into the priesthood reluct- antly that he might occasionally takes some recreation himself and not miss any runaway couples 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- mOny itself.
 A story was started and grew that old Howton married children for tho sake of his fees
 This story came up from sorrowing and broken hearted parents in Virginia and from the rich manors and hamlets of Freder- ick in Maryland. The Pennsylvanians never verified these reports because it was mono 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 plicity criminal.
 As time advanced Bishop Howton became 0 widower, and his mind was set on marry ing again.
 It 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 may have been the childish beauty of Eunice Howton, 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 15, a slender, gray eyed hlOnda wh0SQ feat hn would, turned into lines of grace, and music seemed to be playing as she walked or moved. to such harmonies did she bend; while in tho action of her head upon her delicate neck and even in the motion of her lips there ap- peared to be violin music whistled by her spirit as the upland Zephys played upon it and her hearb desired to dance.
 The country people said that this was be- cause her mother had been an actress and Il dancer.
 Somewhere back in the undiscerned past and vagueness of a large world it was said that Bishop Howton had been a show man. ager and that his orphan cousin had married a French dancer who was in his strolling company.
 This cousin had been left to Garrick, who had kept him down and nearly starved him, represSlng his spirits by an avarice and su- perstition which lay across each other, and finally retired Garrick from the show busi- ness complete failure, while his ward, set free by matrimony, made a nice little for tune keeping dancing academy with his wife.
 When the parents died something of the husbands inherited tenets caused him to re- pent, though he had never done anything bad, and in tho weakness of dying he gave his child to his relative to be her trustee and the &y.xrr A,@fo oo&1I I~ ~1zI .4AI-
 The poor dancing teacher thought the word ''bishop" covered a regenerate heart.
 The bishop was merely capitalist in mar riage fees.
 This is considered reasonable humility
 Some of the schoolboys called him Old Yoke-f-noki, because he yoked so many couples.
 What education he had picked up avarice and illiterate associations had chased out of his head; like an old country Dutchman, he could spell joists for his barn joyce and talk meant breeching.
 As time advanced Garrick grew deeply in love with Eunice, and forgot to give spiritual restraint to his son.
 "At seventeen sharp" old Garrick Howton often repeated to himself, looking at Eunice with the threefold passions of love- avarice and superstition.
 Often when an old man falls in love it seems to him like holiness, when it is only foolishness
 In that way Garrick threw himself back into his natural state before he became an avaricious scoundrel, or self frightened hypocrite. He got to believing in the reu- zion he practiced upon. He feared night solitude and ghosts. He believed that his monstrous passion was a sacrifice on his part for the sake of securing Eunice's soul
 II should be the devils prize without her," unused Garrick Howton. ''The children T have tied in wedlocks of despair, the un- formed souls I have manacled to selfish fends, the headstrong schoolgirls I have made the legal slaves of hideous skinfints, and who have in few months awaked to everlasting repentance and horror, would troop into my lonely home among these mountains and drive me crazy with their curses I should go madi But Eunice, Flu nice, she will guard my door and warm my heart and bring other angels like her from heaven to my relief and comfort
 It was plain that the hypocritical old bishop was becoming slightly hysterical.
 Weasley Howton had been notified by his father that he must go west and establish his