The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-08-25
ELoPED WITH A BLACKSMITH.

The principal food for gossip at Garden
Plain since Tuesday night is the elopement
of Miss Myrtle Payne with u Wichita
blacksmith named Loudermilk.
Miss Payne was about IS years old and
the prettiest girl in all that country. She
is besides, the daughter of j. E. B. Payne,
one of the wealthiest stock men in the
county, who has a home surrounded with
all the iuxurieS OF rural life. She was
bright, well educated and accomplished.
On the other hand Loudermilk is very
commonplace man and is neither good
looking, educated nor accomplished. Be-
sides that he is a widower with children
and much older than his fair bride. What
she saw in him that fascinated her is a
mystery that all her friends who know
him are unable to solve.
Loudermilk lived at Garden Plain be-
fore moving into Wichita and earned only
a bare living hammering iron for the
farmers who patroniZed him, He Tell in
love with Miss Myrtle and the feeling was
reciprocated by her, but not by her parents
by good deal, for they issued strict
orders against his entering their house on
a mission of love. Some time ago the fair
the city and Loudermilk called there once
and only once for after that the latch
string was hanging in the inside when he
called and the door bell was out of order
and the scriptural quotation "KUock and
it shall be opened unto you" didn't work
worth a cent.
At Garden Plain there lives young lady
OF rare elocutionsry powers who is stu
dent in the Winfield college. Last Tues
day night this young lady gave an elocu-
tlorary entertainment at the village
church aud among the performers was
Miss Myrtle. She is quite an elocutionist
herself and was invited to and did
consent to take part in the entertain
ment. In order that her beauty might be
further enhanced before the geltiefolks of
the village and country surrounding her
devoted mother bought her fine silk
dress of spotless white, had 1t made by the
most stylish mantuamaker. and when
Miss Myrtle appeared on the stage that
night she was referred to by the more
classic of the inhabitants as "a vision of
loneliness" The blacksmith was in the
church, too, but he was not
there with that easy conscience
which characterized that village
blacksmith of old, which Longfellow has
immortalized. He sat silently and sol
EMMY in Il rear seat aud watched, with
what feelings the writer cannot describe,
the fair lady who is now his wife capture
the admiration and win the applause Of
the crowd. When the piece was ended
she accepted the congratulations OF her
friends. walked out Ostensibly for the
benefit of the fresh, pure air that rolls SO
gently over the billowy prairies of that
section of Sedgwlck county. Once
outdoors she stepped lightly into a
spring wagon brought to the church
for the occasion by Loudermill1 and a
friend named Hamilton, and drove with
the utmost speed to the paternal roof,
leaving the remainder of the family at the
church. Her trunk was placed in the
wagon, she bid farewell to the old home
stead and the happy scenes of her child
hood and from that eventful night to the
present moment not a mortal eye that
knew her has rested upon her except those
of her brawny spouse.