The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-07-30
POKER AND A WEDDING.
STRANGE WAY ~ WHICH 4 MAR
RAGE BECAME RSOBN TOO SOON.

! Tho Lnndlndy's Unexpected wenkness-
! Mistaken Intentions Of Clergyman
! sudden Device Of Two Young People
Result Not So Bnd as 1t Might Have Been
/ Il have often been told that gambling could
! cause n man trouble" said the palid commu-
| ter. and realized that once to my sorrow
Poker nearly caused my ruin then. although
have never touched n card in my life. l nearly
lost my wife by little game Of poker. in fact
| Could anything more than that happen to n
| man."
1t was the unanimous sentimcr. Of the party
| that the question was oratorical and nobody
| attempted an answer
a party OF strangers played the game that
| worried me-" he went on. 81 did not even
know their names. They were a mixed lot.
men and women. who were stopping at n
summer resort in the Virginia Mountains
| They were Southerners. and used to play
| every night in one OF the houses that made up
| what was called tho hotel. 1t was a ramshacke
place. built before the war. and different
houses had been built or bought as its poru-
| larity increased. The place was cool. there
was moro fried chicken than such places
usually supply. and the cost OF living
there by tho week was not much more
than 1t costs for day in an Eastern resort 30
| the old place was always crowded. and there
| were few weeks In the summer that didn't
UnO every TlCRety WOODEN mousse occupied Dy
southerners OF q very good class. l didn't
meet many OF EN- the summer was there.
| because tho girl was engaged to was down
there. Does man need anybody else In tho
summer time to enjoy himself2"
The listeners were not moved by this OBJ
| vious attempt to keep UP their interest. None
OF them made any pretence at reply. They
| felt they were showing interest enough In the
,, commuters sentimental affairs by merely
| listening.
Things were not going 80 smoothly though
as they might have in that direction" he went
on. The girl was all right. and there was no
| question about our determination to put the
thing through whatever opposition we might
| have. We'd had plenty Of 1t. Her people simply
| would not hear ofme They never got chance
| to see many OF what think are my best quail
| ties. for whenever | came around they froze up
80 that they lost the sense Of sight and hear
| ing and made me feel that was making about
| as much impression on them as an oil stove
on an iceberg. My girl and l had met
| while she was visiting in the North.
and anything we didn't settle then was
| attended to afterward by corresnondence. Her
folks had no use for me. l was rejected with
out trial. was Yankee. and poor Yankee
at that: so there was no excuse for my living
| especially wititstwo or three rich Southerners
| in the offlnR doing all they could. with the sup
| port OF the family about equally divided among
! them. This took me down TO the Southern
springs. where my girl was stopping with
| friends / was sure enough OF her. but I
| thought It would do no harm to be on the
| SPOT. particularly as she wrote me that ono
| or two OF the other fellows were coming
| up for a few days TO see her. | wasn't exactly
afraid. but know now attractive southern
men can make themselves. ard decided to go
| : in ha a,lT m I VS.
the only man left in the 0iiice TO look after
ON sunday I morning dr"pred in to IND The
| most dangerous man OF the lot up from Rich
Shn was 40 f S1sy with her o%t and il that ieiow
| tniIkcI 70 ANYBODY Inn her amt while he was
there it was at meal times when we all sat
| toTntbar
Eyerything seemed all right The aunt
n,sd NJ s,snrions in snite III hsr frinnSlinnss
OF manner. My girl and / were together tho
was to take place the next winter Whatever the
| family did She was going to write them
that that as soon as / Went back TO New
| York and | was TO come down in the
fall and maxi another, attempt 10. thaw en-
we were going to see the thing to insh She
she was as suspicious Of the aunt's genisllty as
tbsTe when u arrived, and never missed
| chance TO cap his game. The girl wanted the
rYs il to her. os Ts, a.f
was HAVING the I'm" OF nv IifS'
| ate on. afternoon A negro boy came IN
from the village drug store and told me was
| wanted Mt the Telephone The plnce was siI
miins away from the raj road and there was no
teegraph, Nv message from New York woEe
| ma M / was to come back right away There
| was no eating ont Of IL / had made myself
| think t6nt the Office would be a6ls To- got
! anne without ,nvkody in charge at Tho
! husi,.st lima. mi the news from Nrw
nGrk sn9cE%d 'hHt iGsa 9 tbo o. b my h%.a
settled / hurried back to the hotel TO
| Tcnort 10 heauuuarters: but headuuarters uas
ut,stoirs dr~ssinr for supprr / went TO NV
| rIn,n an M ok ed m Y trunk as much AZ rouil
in line for The Eastern train tho n"yr ,nn~n.
IN inc The stage left at I; o'riock When came
| down 1 saw Thar somethinr had hatururd
Sbs va he usmai hoautifui iilmy com Iinatinm
thnt Southern girls make themseIyes in The
/ exsninp rh"rn ware signs that she had hcon
crvirG and tbrre wore tears in her ewes vben
she "a ID to mo.
~. What do Won suppose Amt Uelep's dome .
! She's written Won nrs here, mamma and mana
80 urious win me- and I Inv" COT the most
aw}nI ietter from them Auntie and are going
| 70 leave to.n,0rrnw afternoon and we're going
! 70 yis't ChorIin iii ytnn's moth"r' " ~
| '"Uixton was tha chan / found down thers