The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-08-30
CORRINA'S WEDDING.
cupid Had His Way in Spite Of Al
Protestations.

rs mad as hops. You see, Corianna she
had kept house for grandther quite a
spell. She wasn't overly young. and he
didn't want to spare her. she made such
nice griddle cakes.
He was very fond of griddle cakes.
He hadn't teeth to eat nothing hard, and
she made EN- for him for breakfast, din,
ner and supper. Sometimes she made
'em plain, sometimes sweet. Sometimes
she rolled jell up into 'em. Sometimes
she put hash into 'em. They was a great
variety, and they was always good. Sc
when Jabez Chow purposed, and Corr
anna accepted him, granther said mo-
and said how he'd cuss her If she dis.
obeyed him.
Now, Corianna could have done what
she was a minter for all Granther Peeksl
for, as | said, she was risen thirty. But
she was a pious gal, and she felt as ii
her granther's cuss would sort of blight
her, SO she told Jabez she couldn't marry
him nohow until granther either died O
Civ in, only she wasn't able to help her
self from meetin' him after granther had
gone to bed-just where the punkin
patch jined onter the BURBERRY medder,
and the old popler grew. Well, some
mean sneak or other went and told
granther about it, and he got up out Of
his bed and follered her one night, and
found 'em kissin' each other.
He was a real bad tempered old gen.
tleman, Granther Peeks was, and when
he seen that he just up and cussed her
any way and drove her home with his
stick like she was a pig, after hitting
Jabez Chow over the head with it. Jar
bez didn't burst hit back on account OF
his age, and granther knew he wouldn't.
Home he drove Corianna, and when hs
got her to hum there was the old boy to
pay, you may be sure. Corianna was
sobbing as eff her heart would break.
"You cussed me, granther," she kept
~a-sayin'; land now it don't make no mat.
ter what / do. SEEM I'm cussed, I'll
jest marry Jabez Chow any way. What's
the use Of not doing it now"
Well, Granther Peeks he felt he'd
made a mistake and he kinder coaxed
her up a while, and said he'd take the
cuss back, and got her to go to bedquiet.
But when she walked up next day, mean
ing to run away and marry Jabez, she
found granther had been before her.
He'd nailed and locked and barred the
whole house up as if it was a prison, and
left just a little hole in the kitchen
shutter for her to see to cook by. The
front door he kept the key of in his
pocket, and he was grinning like a mon
key to see how smart he'd been.
II guess we won't have any more
meetin's by moonlight, my DEAR" says
he, sardonic and unpleasant as ever
could be. when stores is needed I'll
go out, and you've got a pump in the
kitchen"
"You don't mean to lock me up this
way for good, granther?' says Corianna.
81 shall die Of want of air and exercise.
So will you"
81 guess I kin stand it" says granther.
"When you want fresh air you kin stick
your head out of that there appychure III
the shutter and draw it in, and today ]
want pancakes with ~rawsberry jell intu
UNI and lots of coffee. / worked real
hard last night putin up them fasten-
ms and I want stren'thenin', Corianna.H
She jest looked at him when he said that.
She didn't burst trust herself to say
nothin'. She had ideas that she was
skeerful of putin into language, seem
she was speakin' to her mas pa, and he
risin' eighty. But all she got by that
was these here cruel words:
Don't google at me, Corianna. It'a
worse than sassin'."
So while she was a-fryin' the cakes she
kept sayin' over and over to herself,
Snow I lay me" and "Twinkle, twinkle,
little STAR" to keep back her nat'ral
wickedness. She'd shaved for that old
man and she'd been fond of him, and
this is what had come of it. She told us
all this through the hole in the shutter.
We got kinder scared, you know, seein'
the house shut up, and went to call, but
didn't get let in; but arter a while, when
we'd knocked and knocked a spell to the
front door and the side door, we went
round to the back, and there was poor
Corianna's face a-stickin' out of the hole
in the shutter. The tears rolled down
her cheeks as she told us the story, and
we had to cry, too, me and Miss Pinney,
and Miss Peters and Maria Brown.
Maria Brown she was just proposin'
breakin' down the door and carryin' poor
Corianna off when a upstairs shutter
and Granther Peeks poked his
head out.
''See here, folkses," said he, ga man
has a right to keep his house shet OF
open as he pleases, and to order his vim
min folks as he sees fittin'. You tech
bolt, or bar. or lock, or hook on my prem.
Uses, and I'll shoot you down fust and
have you took up for burglars afterward,
and I'd hev the law on my side, tu.n
Then he showed lis a big boss pistol, ant
says he, SITS loaded" and we scattered.
But ! wrote on a piece of paper, 'Ill tell
Jabez," and gave it up to Corianna, pre-
tendin' to kiss her good-by. And never
was / so thankful that l oilers carried a
pencil in my pocket for new recipes.
For she needed comfort, and / guess
them words gave her a little. kept my
promise, and that night Jabez pranced
about the house, but couldn't get a peep
at her. No more he couldn't for a cou-
pie of days. But at last he thought Of
tootin' througha fish horn. If there was
anything Granther Peeks liked it was