The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1894-08-23
Justice of the Peace.

Edgar Wilson Nye. otherwise Bill Nye, has
been writing series Of autObographies for the
Century. From the first paper we quote as
follows:
Il forgot to say that the office was not a sala-
ried one, but solely dependent upon fees, the
county furnishing only copy of the revised stat
utes and wOolsack, slightly and prematurely
bald So while was called Judge Nye. and fire.
quently mentioned in the papers with great con-
sideratiOn, was out of coal about half the time,
and once could not mail my letters for three
weeks because did not have the necessary post
age. Friends in the Eastern states may posi-
bly, recall the time when my correspondence,
from some unknown cause. seemed to flag. That
was the time. OF course l could have borrowed
the money, but | had, and still have, foolish
horror of borrowing money. did not mind
running an account, but hated to borrow.
1.-The first business that l had was marriage
ceremony l met the groom on the street. He
asked if could marry people. said that l
could to a limited extent. He said that he want
ed to get married. l asked him to secure the
victim and | would get the other ingredients.
He then wished to know where my office was.
| 1t occurred to me at that moment that there was
no fire in the stove; also no coal; also that the
west half of the stove had fallen in during the
night. So 1 said l would marry them at their
home. He maintained that his home was over
eighty miles away and that it would consume too
much time to go there
"Where are you stopping at?' enquired-
using the Pike County style of syntax in order to
show that 1 was one of the people,"
"Well, we met here, Squire. She came in on
the Last Chance stage, and I'm camped up here
in Comment Canon, not fur from Soldier Creek.
| We can 90 out there reckon"
| l did not mind the ride, so locked my office,
secured book of forms, and meeting the young
people at the livery stable went out with them
and married them in a rambling, deSultOry sort
of way.
The bride was peri from Owl Creek, wear
ing moccasins of the plocene age. Tie rich
Castilian blood of the cave-dwellers mantled IN
her cheek along with the navy-blue blood of
Connecticut on her fathers side. Her hair was
like the wing of raven, and she wore tiara
of clam shells about her beetling brow. Her
bracelet was costly string of front teeth, Sc
lected from the early settlers at the foot of indie
pendence Mountain With the shrewdneSs of a
Yankee and the hauter of the savage she COM
bined the grOtesque grammar of Pike county
and the charming naivete of the cOw-puncher.
She was called Beautiful Snow. But | think it
was mostly in a spirit of banter She was also
no longer young. 1 asked her, with an air OF
badinage if she remembered Pzarro, but she
replied that she was away from home when he
came through. The cave-dwellers were Serl-
Gus people. Their plumbing was very poor
indeed: so also were their jokes. Her features
were rather classic, however, and-I was about
to say clean cut, but on more mature thought L
will not say that. Her nose was bright and
piercing It resembled the breast of a sand-hill
crane.
The groom was a man of great courage and
held human life at a low figure. That is why he
married Beautiful Snow without any flinching;
also why have refrained from mentioning his
name; also why 1 kissed the bride. l did not
yearn to kiss her. There were others who had
claims on me, but did not care to give needless
pain to the groom, and so did it. He had no
money. but said that he had saddle which If l
could use was welcome to. did not have any,
, thing to put the saddle on at home, but rather
than return empty handed took lex.