The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-08-13
A sTATEsMAN's ROMANCE.
He Marries the owner of Cottage
From Which He Was Once
Elected.


From Which He Was Once
Elected.
There is a representative in congress
from Maryland one of the most popular
Of the delegation from that state. who has
had a romance in his life which goes far
to prove the truth of the saying that fact
is stranger than fiction. The representative
Is essentially a self-made man, says the
Washington Star, 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 devolved upon him the task Of
supporting mother and several brothers
and sisters. Work in the machine shop of
his little town grew slack, and he started
to Baltimore with a brave heart and 7
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 employ
ment in one of the largest machine shops
of Baltimore. He sent for his mother and
the children, and prospered for a season.
They lived in a little house on a small
street and were happy. Then work grew
scarce and the present representative lost
his place. The rent was in 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 60
The house belongs to a young lady in
the country" the agent said, and 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 anoth-
er, though they hated to leave
The congressman fell in love with his
wife through Photograph which friend
had, and worried the friend into taking
him to the little country town and intro
ducing him. The engagement followed, but
the family objected to the match. The
only objection they could offer, for the
young man had never touched a drop of
liquor and was noted for the way in which
he trod the paths of rectitude. was that he
had worked as a machinist and ordinary
laborer.
4 knew of this said the congressman
to the Star reporter, land I determined
after we became engaged that / should
show my intended wife exactly what 1
had been, for had advanced to a higher
position then. | took her out driving one
evening, and arranged so that we should
reach the entrance to the works where
had been employed at a certain time. We
got there about o'clock, when the men
came out, dirty, soot-blackened and
weary, 1 told her 1 had been one of them
only a short while before
"Afterward l drove past the place where
we had been forced to leave on account Of
my not being able to pay the rent. l told
the whole story of how the agent had said
1t belonged to a young lady in the country
who needed the rent for pin money. We
stopped at the little house, and pointed 1t
out.
" There it is Mary I told her. I turned
and looked at her, and there were tears in
her eyes. She was sobbing softly, and I
thought she had been touched simply at
the story of my struggle to support myself
and my family
" Do you know whose house that is?'
she asked in a broken voice. I told her l
did not.
1T was her own. She was the young
lady of whom the agent had told me, and
TO whom the rent had 10 be paid. 1t seemed
almost incredible, but it was the truth.