The herald., 1898-02-06
FRONTIER WEDDING
5oooooooooooooo oooooooooo<

There amt no accountin' fer tastes"
said Silas, thoughtfully, specially
when it comes to marryin.
Sllas had been ruminating for an hour
or more in perfect silence, chewing
straw, and sitting with his back against
u stump, his legs stretched out on the
grass, his hat tilted over his eyes, and
a look of contentment upon his visage.
He selected another straw with great
care, and as he cleaned the stem Of his
short black pipe with it, looked sagely
over at his crony, Bill, who reclined in
the shadow of the great oak tree, his
arms crossed under his frowsy head,
and his gaze directed upward through
the Pickering leaves to the lazy clouds
floating in the blue sky. Bill turned
upon his side and looked at Silas. who
settled himself back for his smoke and
continued:
Now there's Mary an me. There
amt one person in thousand who'd
a thought 1t good match, and when
popped the question Mary toP me her
self, pint blank, that it want. You're
as shifless as shifless can be- Mary
said, an I'm a fool, Silas Martin to
lis'en to you a minute Mary didn't un-
| ueTSIdH lie very We'll lHSli, ou hHoW,
an fer a fact don't yit fer she some
times thinks I'm idlin when I'm workin'
my min at perfectly exhaustin' rate
Bill disguised a grin by prodigious
yawn, and Silas meandered on. well,
as was ,sayin', Mary said you're shift
less, but I'm forehanded myself. an If
you go an marry some woman that's
JUS as shif'less as you are, mischief's
boun' to come of it. You'll be sure to
do JUS that, If don't have you it's my
plain duty to take you an she did, fer
Mary amt one to shirk duty.
"You see in the five years I'd been
courtin' of her she had come to believe
that it was a chance whether knowed
how to look after myself or not, an had
got used to bossin' me. Now my gran
dad, the one that rode from Virginny to
Illinoy a horseback through the Injun
country, way back in the thirties, he
didn't believe in courtin'."
"Didn't?" drawled Bill. with just the
proper show of interest.
NO" Silas replied, drawing his legs
up and clasping his knees for greater
comfort in leaning against the stump,
"and gran'dad lowed that courtin' was
| gainst nature and bad fer character"
Bill stared at the speaker in some sur
prise and encouraged by this sign Silas
explained. He looked on it just as
honest folks look on lawn and lowed
that lovers Is just like lawyers. They
CANT be homes and win their case. They
JUS bring forward all the facts and ar
guments that are in their favor, and
keep back all that amt. even if they
don't lie outright, and most of them
does"
That's human natur, anyhow" pro-
tested Bill, land go your gran'dad was
wrong"
"Yes, maybe, but he lowed that court
in was investin' lot of time and some
times money, and gamblin' on the out
come. He used to say there wuzn't any
more reason why man and woman
shouldn't make a match of it without
any nonsense than that birds should fool
around half the season and lose their
rest at night singin' and twitterin' afore
they mated and built their nests. The
best way. he thought, was TO mate first
and get in the habit of courtin' after
ward. 1t makes marryin' more salts
fyin' if it was understood that the court
in was to last life time and no gamb-
lin on the result of the sparkin'. l do
just believe there would be fewer un-
hitchn's and breakin' away from the
married traces if there wuz more court
in afterward and less before. Now,
gran dad had experience, and experience
counts for something, don't it?'
Never been married myself" grunt-
ed Bill, 80 1 can't say"
"Gran'dad was great believer in first
impressions. He said that folks has a
kind of instinct, like cattle and horses,
and it guides us in first impressions, and
if we'd only remember that, there would
be fewer mistakes in mamyin'. Now
when he was maxim that ride from Vir-
ginny to Illinoy he fell in with a circuit
rider, camped with him that night and
travelled on with him. The next day
they came to a settlement where the
preacher was goin' to hold quarterly
meetin. 1t was down in Posey county
Indiany, in a clearin' in the woods, and
all the houses was log cabins with
puncheon floors and stick-andmud
chimleys. They was the first houses
gran dad had seen in four days travel,
and they looked mighty invitin'.
1.-THE preacher went to one house and
tol gran'dad he'd better go to another
that he pinted out, for it might not be
convenient for one family to entertain
them both. Backwoods folks was
mighty clever, but sometimes they was
scarce in the matter of plates and
spoons, though they always had plenty
to eat, such as it was, and were glad to
have company. The men folks ct with
their huntin' knives and silver and pew
ter was not so common that they was
used every day and in every house.
well, as gran dad was goin' in at the
door of the cabin where he was to ask
for his dinner. he saw girl standin' at
the fire place fryin' fish, the clearin' be-
in near the river where fish was plenty.
She was about II, was barefoot and had
on a blue linsey wool dress. Her hair
was yaller and her cheeks wuz like red
apples. Grandad he walked up to her
and give her look. She looked at him.
blushin' a little and her blue eyes dane
in with mischief.
"'How -de-d said gran'dad. You
amt the woman of the house, 1 know, for
you amt married. The girl laughed
and blushed more than ever as she said
she wasn't the woman of the house. My,
you're purity gran'dad said. I'm Nigh
ty glad you amt married. but you're too
purity to stay single
"'Maybe you're lookin' for a wife,
said the girl, laughin as though it were
a mighty good joke.
"Now, gran'dad hadn't notion of