St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-11-08
A MYSTERIOUS WEDDING,

Temple Bar.
No one ever thought that May Fors-
| ter would marry John Charrington, but
he thought differently, and things which
| John Charrington intended had a queer
way of coming to pass. He asked her
to marry him before he went up to Ok
ford. She laughed and refused him.
He asked her again next time he came
home. Again she laughed. tossed
| her dainty blonde head ana again re-
| fused. A third time he asked her; she
said it was becoming a confirmed bad
| habit, and laughed at him more than
ever.
John was not the only man who want
| ed to marry her; she was the belle of
| our village cOterie, and we were all in
love with her more or less; it was sort
of fashion, like masher collars or Inver-
ness capes. Therefore we were as much
annoyed as surprised when John Char
rington walked into our little local club
we had it i'll a lott over the saddler's,
l remember-and invited us all to his
wedding.
Your wedding?''
"YOu don't mean it?''
who's the happy fair? When's it to
be?n
John Charrington filled his pipe and
lighted it before he replied. Then he
said:
Ppm sorry to deprive you fellows of
your only joke-but Miss Forster and 1
are to be married in September"
you don't mean it?''
He's got the mitten again, and it's
turned his head"
NO" | said, rising, II see it's true.
Lend me a pistol some one. or first
class fare to the other end of Nowhere
Charrington has bewitched the only
| pretty girl in our twenty-mile radius.
Was ii mesmeriSm or love-pOtiOn,
| Jack ?''
Neither, sir; but gift you'll never
| have-perseverance-a the best luck
man ever had in the world"
There was something in his voice that
| silenced ME, and all the chaff of the
other fellows failed to draw him further.
The queer thing about it was that
when we congratulated Miss Forster
she blushed and smiled and dimpled for
| all the world as though she were in love
with him, and had been in love with
him all the time. Upon my word l
creatures.
We were all asked to the wedding. In
! BriXham every one who was anybody
| knew everybody else who was any one.
My sisters were, truly believe, more
! interested in the trouSSeau than the
| bride herself, and | was to be the best
man. The coming marriage was much
/ canyassed at afternoon tea tables and
at our little club over the saddler's, and
| the question was always asked: Does
she care for himr'
l used to ask that question myself in
| the early days of their engagement, but
after a certain evening in August L
| never asked it again. | was coming
| home from the club through the church.
| yardl Our church is OH homegrown
| hill, and the turf about it is so thick
and soft that ones footsteps are noise
| less.
| made no sound as / vaulted the low,
lichened wall, and threaded my way be-
| tween the tOmbstones. 1t was at the
same instant that | heard John Char
ringtOn's voice, and saw her face. May
was sitting on low. fiat grave stone,
with the full splendOr Of the western
sun upon her mignOnne face. Its eX-
| precision ended, at once and forever,
any question of her love for him. 1t was
tramsfigured to a beauty should not
have believed possible even to that
beautiful little face.
John lay at her feet, and it was his
voice that broke the stiffness of the
golden August evening.
My dear, my dear. believe that l
should come back from the dead if you
| wanted me-"
Icoughed at once to indicate my pres
ence, and passed on into the shadow,
fully enlightened.
The wedding was TO be early in Sep
TENDER. Two days before had to run
up to town on business. The train was
late, of course, for we are on the South
eastern, and as | stood grumbling with
| my watch in hand, whom should see
but John Charrington and May Forster.
They were walking up and down the
unfreQuented end of the platform, arm
in arm. looking into each others eyes,
careless of the sympathetic interest of
the porterS.
OF course ] knew better than to hest
tate moment before burylng myself in
the booking Office, and it was not till
the train drew up at the platform that l
Obtrnsively passed the pair with my
Gladstone and took the corner in first
class smoking carriage. | did this with
as good an air CT not seeing them as L
could assume. 1 pride myself on my
discretion, but if John was travelling
alone wanted his company. had il.
"HullO, old man." came his CHEEKY
l..