Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1896-07-15
WEDDING GIFTS.

w LDDl1NN ~ IL i Ne
"PoOh! Presents" said the Old Maj
ried Man to the bridegroom. Don
think you'll get what you want. II
tell you my experience.
LAS the time for our marriage drew
near l used to call at the house ever!
available evening and whisper conf
dentially to the curly head which exact
" fitted my shoulder that l was th'
luckiest fellow on earth. On one oc
casiOn Agnes sighed and murmuret
dreamily that that was just what sh,
TaIt.
That was on the 18th.
"On the 18th | stopped in minute n
noon 10 see if she loved me as much as
at 11:f5 the night before. She replied
that she did that love was uIalter
able but that she must hurry upstair:
now or the drcssmaker would get hei
skirts fiute-Shapad instead of organ
?Ip"I.
''On the 18th the present began TO ar.
rive also the relatives. 1t became an
unsettled problem which of the two
were more numerous. Aggie had
cousins once removed. l had several
uncles and aunts. All were we'll of
In fact. it was a curious coincidence
that we were the only poor branches on
our respective family trees. i was in
IN insurance ofIice-fire insurance, not
life Insurance. when / mad com
municat"d 10 her the news of my re
cent promotion she had declared in the
face Of her famiiy's unaccountablc
preference for Henry Walker (who was
not So good n fellow as 1 am by any
manner Of meane) that to be Mrs.
Joseph I.ounsbury and live in n small
house on very small income and bliss
was precisely her ideal of existence.
So We were not marrying as a spccula-
ton: nevertheless. since marriage
comes so seldom In ones life. we had
hopes that our moneyed relatives
would do the handsome thing.
They did. First came n complete
set of knives. forks and spoons in
polished wood ease. They were from
the cousin AGgie had been named for.
Such n sensible present. said her
another: they will last lifetime
u.
while to wear all those out two at
time
Don't You suppose we're ever go
ing Ia entertain any company. Joe!
asked the girl Of my affection, tapping
me on the cheek with one of the FORKS.
The same night I had a note from
her saying. Dearest Joe. you ought TO
see the IL, ely after dinner coffee spoons
Second Cousin Mrtly has sent-no two
alike. Orange plush case. Isn't II ex-
citing? Don't tell, dear, but almost
wish they'd been something else, for
think some the girls are going to give
me spoons The rest of this letter was
not interesting-to you.
This was the beginning of an ava
lanche of spoons-Charter Oak spoons,
nutmeg Spoons soldiers monument
spoons, witch spoons, bust spoons, por-
trait spoons Il called these last our
picture gallery, and suggested that
they should be framed In ribbons and
hung in the parlor). One Of our friends
sent pair of salted-almond spoons
hoping that we would exchange them
If they were duplicated, but 1t turned
out that those were the only ones we
had. The sugar spoons were all
marked. There were five of them.
1T is time honored custom in on.
office when one of us Is married for the
rest to combine and buy a picture;
and you could generally tell what year
a mans wedding came off by a glance
at his parlor wall. Williams, who was
married in 81, had Far Away
Browns. n few years later, was The
Three Fatcs.' Ours was. Of course, the |
latest thing out. 1t had silver frame |
''As the days went by and pieces of |
silver piled up on us 1 was more than |
once reminded Of the couple whose
cOurtship was conducted in Brown
ingeSp. and who were fitted out by |
their admiring friends with a Brown
Ing tea set. with quotations around the |
edge. oh. the little more. and how
much 1t is!' The Fords had run on
china. but good deal of 1t got broken !
rnr nrst year. The Smiths speciality ,
was etchings: they had enough for ev-
cry room in the house-only, they never
had a house; they boarded ever since
they were married. Finally the climax
came. when my old Uncle John sent lis
ii solid tea set. | hadn't expected any
thing from him, unless perhaps Bible
of Il NIcESlcr'S I Unabridged, for he did
NJ enjoy giving anything away. Agsie
was getting too tired TO he very Ell
thusiasti,. hat her mother was delight
cd ani it was no Use thinking that !
would just as soon have had the
1iuHry.
This makes lG3. daarnine mogt
than .;Usi.. Fish had said her sister.
d" "'Onr hundred and twn.' said ASgic
"'Nn. dear, 1U3-l02 came this morn
ing
"'Oh. know l shall never get this
list right. exclaimed Aggie. diving for
her blank book. :
Look out. or you'll be handing ti.al
book 10 the parson for prayer-book.
aid l.
Wouldn't he a bit surprised. ;h-
answered, smiling: Aegie could smil@
n hen she WAS tired
zfWcil we Were married. 4 Nal
HkatlIs5 easier when it's over Mi,t.
ueit. AEgie.' said as the carriage door
Al