The Mena weekly star., 1897-09-29
BACK TO HIS OLD HOME.
Statesman Wins Bride Who Ovvns
 Property That Once Was His.

Property Ihaf Once w uS HIN.
 There is a representative in congress from Maryland, one of the most popu- lar of the delegation from that state, who has had a romance in his life which goes to prove the truth of the saying that fact is stranger than fiction. The representative is essentially self-made man, and is not ashamed of it, for it was not his fault that fortune imposed upon him the task of carrying out his golden future. His father died and he had de volved upon him the task of supporting a mother and several brothers and sis ters. Work in the machine shop of his little town grew slack, ar he started to Baltimore with brave heart and seven cents in his pocket.
 The first night he reached the city he put in walking the streets Owing to his own efforts he finally secured em ployment in one of the largest machine shops of Baltimore. He sent for his mother and the children, and nrospered for season. They lived in little house on small street and were happy. TheL work grew scarce and the present rep resentative lost his place. The rent was ir arrears, and one day when the young man saw the agent of the house he was told that unless the rent was paid by a specified time they would have to go.
 "The house belongs to a young lady in the country" the agent said, land she needs the rent to buy herself dresses and other things. The income from the house is all she has for pin money"
 The rent could not be paid in full. and the family, with the mother in the last stages of consumption, moved into another, though they hated to leave.
 The congressman fell in love with his wife through a photograph which a friend had and he worried the friend into taking him to the little country town and introd ucing him. The engage ment followed, but the family objected to the match. The only objection they could offer, for the young man had never touched drop of liquor, and was noted for the way in which he trod the paths of rectitude, was that he had worked as machinist and ordinary laborer.
 II knew of this," said the congress- man 10 the Star reporter, land I de- termined, after we became engaged that i should show my intended wife exactly what I had been, for had ad- vanced to a higher position then. took her out driving one evening and arranged so that we should reach the entrance of the works where 1 had Leen employed at certain time. We got there about six o'clock when the men came out, dirty, soot blackened and weary | told her had been one of them only a short while before.
 "Afterward I drove past the place where we had been forced to leave or account of my not being able to pay the rent. I told the whole story of how the agent had said it belonged to a young lady in the country, who needed the rent for pin money. We stopped at the little house, and pointed it out.
 There it is, Mary I told her. turned and looked at her. and there were tears in her eyes. She was sobbine softly, and thought she had been touched simply at the story of my strug gle to support myself and my family.
 Do you know whose house that is? she asked, in a broken voice I told hel did not
 Tt was her own. She was the young lady of whom the agent had told me and to whom the rent had to be paid 1t seemed almost incredible, but it was fha tr1ttb D-yyo h;,.rto. ca.