The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1889-02-07
TIE WEDDING FEE.

Some years ago, when marriage
licenses had to be paid for, the Mary
landers and Virginians rode across the
narrow frontier i'll the valley and mar
ried for nothing in Pennsylvania. Oi
course. they gave something 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 Penrsylva-
mia grew fat as turkey gobblers. But
there was one preacher near Waynes-
boro who did not grow fat. Garrick k
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 Il
good Methodist itinerant or rub-
cund priest. No chicken-coops were
agitaled at his approach. No little
pigs squealed and got under their anx-
ious mammas when GarI'ick leaned
over tie sty and surveyed them.
Nobody knew just what sect or
church Garrick belonged to there,
where everybody was his own theolo-
gian.
He called his church the zionskites
indeed--except his son, Weasley How
ton, whom he called The "deacon."
The church building did not exist,
though branches of the zionskites were
said to be 'rurder west" by both the
bishop and the deacon.
Inquisitive people limited that three
never would have been as many as
two zionskites except for the fat mar
riage fees which were to be had along
Mason and Dixon's line, and that
Bishop Garrick Horton only ordained
his son Weasley into the priesthood
reluctantly that he might occasionally
take some recreation himself and not
miss any runaway couples which
should arrive between midnight and
morning.
All people far or near understood
that the Howtons would marry any,
body, the delivery of the certificate
being conditional on the payment of
the fee; and pains were taken to i'm
press strangers that in the zionskites'
discipline the certificate was i part of
the ceremony itself.
A story was started and grew that
old Howton married children for the
sake of his fees.
The story came up from sorrowing
and broken-hearted parents in Vir-
ginia and from the rich manOrs and
hamlets of Frederick 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 simplicity crimi-
nal.
As time advanced Bishop Howton
became a widower, and his mind was
set on marrying again.
It may have been the example of
marrying children under age, torn
from their parents by their own diso-
bedient impulses or the powerful sinis-
ter 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 Is, a slender,
gray-eyed blonde, whose feet. touch
the 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 bend; while in
the action of head upon her delicste
neck and even in the motion of her
lips there appeared to be violin music
whistled by her spirit rs the upland
zephyrs played upon it and her heart
desired to dance.
The country people said that this was
because her mother had been an ac-
tress and dancer.
Somewhere back in the undiscerned
past yagueness of II large world it was
said that Bishop Howton had been II
show manager and that his orphan
cousin had married French dancer
who was in his strolling company.
This cousin had been left to Garrick,
who had kept him down and nearly
starved him. repressing his spirits by
an avarice and superstition which lay
across each other. and finally retired
Garriek from the show business com
| plete failure, while his ward. set free
by matrimony, made nice little for
tune keeping n dancing academy will
his wife.
When the parents died something
| of the husbands inherited tenet:
caused him to repent, tough he hat
never done anything bad, and in the
| weakness of dying he gave his child tt
| his relative to he her trustee and thu
! trustee of a respectable little fortune
| The poor dancing teacher though
the word bishop covered 4 regener
ate heart.
= =. The bishop was merely a capitals
in marriage fees.
This is considered reasonable hu
mility.
| Some of the schoolbays called hin
Old Yokefinoki, because he yoked 81
many couples.
What education he had picked u
ayarice and illiterate association ha'
chased out of his head; like an OIL
country Dutchman, he could spell Jols
for his barn Joyce and talk about TIL
breechman on his horse when he mean
breeching.
As time advanced Garrick grey
deeply in love with Eunice. and for
got to give spiritual restraint to III
son.
..At II sharp old Garriek Howto
often repeated to himself. looking Il
Euniee with the threefold passions
love, avarice and superstition.
Often when an old man falls in lov
il seems to him like holiness when
is only foolishness.
In that way Garricls threw himse
back into his natural state before h
became an avaracious scoundrel or
self-frightened hypocrite. He got