Connecticut western news., 1891-09-24
A RURAL ROMANCE.

A great burden or suspense mas been lifted from the minds of the people of Coalton, Pa., and vicinity by the mar riage of Anna Colbert, daughter of the we'll to do village tailor, Benjamin Co., bert, to Anthony Fraley, prosperous young builder. The bride is twenty years old, pretty and vivacious. The bridegroom is twenty three. They were married by Dominic Blacklock on Fri day morning. At first people refused to believe it, but when it became known that the event was an assured fact busi- ness was almost entirely suspended in the village for half day, so pleased was everybody that at last he didn't have to lie awake nights wondering what pretty Miss Colbert and her lover would do next to furnish unusual subjects for gossip.
 It was more than two years ago that Miss Colbert and Anthony Fraley be- came acquainted at picnic. It was a case of reciprocal love at first sight, and the young man began making frequent calls on Miss Anna at her fathers house. Papa Colbert had different ideas about who his daughters lover should be, however, Fraley then being only just out of his time as carpenter, with no visible future, and he soon notified An thony that he must cease calling on Anna, and ordered Anna to receive no further attention from Anthony. Find ing that nothing could change the old gentleman's determination, his daughter apparently obeyed his will and her lover called no more.
 Rr,f tbof fbax, fo caa or oo,,, ~ municate with each other was made manifest few weeks later, when Miss Colbert was found missing from her room one day, and in her place was a note stating that the dictates of her heart were so much stronger than her desire to obey the commands of her par ent that she had eloped with Anthony Fraley and that they had gone away to get married.
 Now, it had so happened that week or so before the elopement Papa Colbert had heard that Anthony Fraley had a rich uncle in Pittsburg from whom the young man had great expectations, and upon Investigating the rumor he had found it to be based on very solid foun- dation. This caused a great change to come over the scheming tailor's views on the subject of his daughters marital prospects, and he was on the eve of an- nouncing to her that he had repented of separating her and her lover, and that they might resume their tender rela- tions, when the elopement was an- nounced to him in his daughters note. The tailor was at fi1st very wroth over the news, and was about to start in pur- suit of the flying lovers when it sudden ly occurred to him that, while it pre- cipitated matters somewhat, it was a good thing all round, for it would en- able him to save his dignity in the mat ter of the commands he had laid upon his daughter, and at the same time fas- ten the young man and his prospects in the family at once and save all fear of future uncertainty. So he gave up the idea of pursuit, and went to his work with complacency and quiet uncon- cern that surprised his neighbors, who had quickly heard the news and were making the most of it. Fryburg is eight miles from Coalton, and thither the clipping couple drove as fast as the horse Fraley had hired would carry them, for they expected that An mas father would be after them in hot pursuit as soon as he received his daugh- ter's note. As they neared the place for which they had set out to be married the girl grew extremely uneasy, but they reached the village, stopped at hotel, where Miss Colbert remained while her l lover went out to hunt up some one who could marry them, leaving the horse tied at the post in front of the hotel. Fraley was long time in finding any one who could perform the anxiously desired ceremony, for one of the two ministers of the place was officiating at | a funeral, and the other had gone fish | ing. The young man finally found a I justice of the peace, who accompanied ! him to the hotel to marry him and the | girl.
 When Fraley and the justice arrived | at the hotel, the former noticed that the I horse and carriage were gone. The 1 young man hurried into the house and asked what had become of the rig. The | landlord told him that the girl he had ! left there had taken the horse and car | riage and driven away, leaving word tc | say to the young man when he came back that she ''guessed that she must have been only in fun, and had gone back home."
 Fraley did not waste any time in fool
 ishness, but hired horse and carriage
 of the landlord, and with the hostler tC
 drive him started in pursuit of the girl
 The fresh horse overlook the other foul
 miles out of Fryburg and Miss Cobert
 was compelled to stop.
 "What in the world does this mean
 Anna" exclaimed Fraley.
 "Oh, Tony" replied Miss Colbert, e
 only meant it in fun; let's wait"
 But Tony soon persuaded the fckle
 minded girl to turn about and go back | When they got back to Fryburg tn I young man did not take the chances O
 leaving Miss Colbert at the hotel again
 but drove direct to the justices office
 He helped her out of the carriage, ant
 telling her to go in and wait for him, h
 got into the carriage and drove away to
 ward the hotel. He remained away S
 long that the girl started out to see wha
 had become of him. At the hotel sii
 learned that he had driven past ill til
 direction from which they had come
 Miss Colbert, at loss to account for tli:<
 in turn hired the hotel rig and start . ]
 pursuit. She overlook her lover uwo
 three miles out of town, and angrily d>
 manded to know why he was treatln
 her so.
 "1 happened to think" he replied, '.i | was only meant in fun, and we had be