The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1892-04-30
A QUEER PROPOSAL.
How Cow Figured in One Love
Affair.
Observations on the Subject of Popping
the Question''-No Man Seems Exactly
to Remember I5ow 1t Was
Accomplished.

Observations on the Subject of "Popplnp
the Question''-No Man Seems Exactly
to Remember I5ow 1t Was
Accomplished.
How did you get engaged to your
wife?"
The question was put by a writer for
the Star to one of the substantial fam.
lily men of Washington-one of those
| excellent men who has blooming wife.
five blooming children, and business
that keeps on blooming more brilliant
| ly year after year He says he is poor,
and so he is when he is compared with
the plutocrats of the city, but he is
solidly, substantially rich all the same.
| When he dies, if his wife survives him,
she will have an income amply sufficient
| for the proper education of the five
| blooming children, and when she dies
they will all have incomes-not vast es-
tates which will make it impossible for
thSIn to do anything on earth but live
a LIE of pleasure, but incomes that will
| help IN establishing them in the useful
| walks of life 1t is the people of this
type that make up the body and
strength of the community, rather than
the enormously wealthy class that lives
only for pleasure, the drawing-room and
''style." But it is not of money that
this article would treat, but of the va
rious methods of getting engaged; and
SO the question was asked of this sub
stantial man of family: "How did you
get engaged to your wife?"
by means of cow he answered,
promptly.
What? | must have misunderstood
you,' said the writer Il did not ask
you how you got milk for your family
but how you got engaged to the lady
who is now your wife"
"By means of a cow" he answered
again.
He was prevailed upon to explain and
told a very singular, unique and touch
ing story of love, solemn promises, hap
piness and COW. Here is the tale re-
duced to moderate length. The gentle
man may, for convenience, be termed
Mr.. \. and the lady Miss Y.
Mr.. ", when he was twenty-four
years of age, went to stay with his
uncle at lis country place on the east
ern shore of Maryland. Having said
that he had relations who lived on the
eastern shore, it has been said that he
was Of most aristocratic lineage, for
everybody knows that the families of
that portion of the earth's surface are
all of the very best. Virginia itself is
rot more noted for families than the
| famous eastern shore. In fact, if a
! geography were called upon to truth
| fully say what is the principal product
of the eastern shore it would be obliged
| to say ''old families" Young X. found
at his uncle's house a young Virginia
! girl, Miss y. y. had nothing in the
world to do, nor had Miss Y, so they
killed time by falling in love with each
other. 1t is not bad amusement in
the country. You can read poetry to-
gether, sit on porches together, take
walks in the dusk together. The man
is pretty sure of no rivals, the girl is in
no danger of having the man enticed
away from her. X. and Miss Y. had a
glorious time for two weeks and one of
! their favorite amusements every even
ing was to stroll down to the pasture
and watch the milking of the COWS.
which the youth and the maid grew
very fond. She was a young Jersey
Alderney was the term used then-the
| color Of fawn, with a glossy, beauti-
full coat and eyes as gentle and soft in
their expression as Miss Y. own. As
she would stand in the cool of the even
ing laZily whislling the flies with her
tail she would permit the young couple
to approach her and stroke her or
scratch her forehead. There is moth
ing particularly romantic in the act of
scratching a gentle COW between the
horns, but it happened that one day as
y. stretched out his hand to perform this
pleasing act of friendship to the heifer
his hand met Miss Y.'s, and the COW,
moving back as if impressed with the
conviction that she was spelling fun.
left them hand in hand in the corner of
the pasture. After that they never
missed day in the pasture and they
always caressed the Jersey cow, until
one day Ms uncle, joining them, said
jocosely:
You young people seem so fond of
that COW that shall have to give her
to one of you"
"To which of us?" said X.
"Ah!" said the uncle, you must settle
that between you"
When the old gentleman went off, X.
looked at Miss Y. and said, simply:
'Can my uncle give the COW TO both
of us?"
And she quietly answered: yes"
And so this substantial citizen be-
came engaged, as he truly said, through
the agency Of cow.
There are thousand ways of popping
the question, and upon careful inquiry
it has been ascertained that the method
which is usually employed upon the
stage and in novels is the most uncom-
mon. Let the reader who is overtwen
ty-one stop and consider moment how
he made the various proposals of his
life. Did he sink down on one knee and
clasping the young girl by the hand