The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-16
WINNING OF PRISCILLA,
AN EAST SIDE IDYL BY BABE C0UL-
son ON HIS WEDDING DAY.
An introduction TO Priscilla Throush Accident
Nerve OF Puuk Flanagan and the Prompt
squelchinE Of Him Remarks BY . short
Nosed Young Man at the weddinG Feast.

SQueichinE Of Him Remarks pt shoft
Nosed Young Man at the wedding yeast
Say, fellers. let me tell yer-wid your kind
attention, Dis Is rue weddin' day, an now
ives all here. wild me wife by me side dere
| couldn't be a better time ter tell yer how dis
| ting come about
Babe Coulson waved his big. knotty fist
triumphantly over the head Of the pretty young
girl at HIS side. and his red wrist very much
in evidence through the sleeves OF his hired
dress coat. In spite OF the tremendous white
~cuhs-Rrazed the carnations In her hair ana
waited their perfume through the stuny room
like an incense that hallowed his great happi-
ness
They called him Babe because he was so big
and pugnacious. II was some time before
he understood the delicate irony OF the name
and IL was on record that he had pushed 10 de
face" Of the genius who invented II before he
could be made TO comprehend that II was IN
tended as a compliment Now, IA BABE oc-
cupied the seat of honor In the widow Lees
apartment In Delaney street. with the solemn
words OF the marriage service still echoing in
his ears. he was so hustered that he could hardly
respond 20 the toast that had Just been drunk
to the bridal couple.
To think that he, Babe Coulson, whose busl-
ness life was one long battle with other truck
drivers and motormen, should have won Prls-
| ella Leei No wonder the persplration made
his forehead glisten like a beet In a hallstorm'
and that his standing collar and white tie al
most choked hun. Why. Prisciia's folks came
over in the M~ayiower, as 5 he had often told
him. with a pride that made him rather resenuu
toward those excellent dead and gone Puritans.
Indeed. In his jealousy, he had once declared
to her violently that he could lick any mug IN
Boston, whedder he come In de Mayhower or
~ % MI UA.-.uI 4. Ia,,uInA "a . him mr.
pinched his arm in the coaxing way that women
have. and he felt more valiant than ever. Now,
as he glanced at her, in her dainty gray dress
Of some shimmering stun with soft lace and
pink ribbons at her throat and the carnations
nesting in her brown hair. he was grateful
to her ancestors for making that voyage in
the Mayiower Otherwise, as he reflected
cumbrously, he never would have met Pris-
ella.
1t was dis way" he went on. as he dipped
one Of his thick fingers into bis glass, and slowly
stirred up the dregs Of his beer. i wuz comm
! down Grand street about 4 in the afternoon
one day. wild mo truck empty. Dere was de
regular push deere. an | knowed ! hadn't no
license ter git To de Bowery widout havin ter
scrap all de way. Dere had been a hosscar
In front Of me fer a block, wild a green mug
at de handle. ! passed him a Jolly bout bein'
In a hurry ter git ter me sick mudder-in-law
De guy wuz green. a. | told you. an he give
his old plugs a push ter make EN- git a gait on
EN-. Dat wuz all right, when a big stifr wild a
grocery wagon tried ter git in between me an
de car. Course | wouldn't stand fer dat. Not
on yer tintype. Well, ] didn't do a ting ter
dat grocery mug. | showed his old pushcart
right across de track. an a bari o flour fell
out Of de end. Dere wuz a cop on de walk,
but he wuz watchin' de fairies goln' home from
work, an he didn't catch on ter me-not In a
hundred years.
Just den de car stopped. an on de level.
one of me horses nearly walked inter de back
door. Dat wuz all right, but jist den ! heard
some one boiler. 1t wuznt a loud holler-Jist
a little one. like a canary bird wots caught its
wing in de cage. Same time as | heard de
holler 1 see a blue frock."
1t was mine. broke in the bride.
Well. Babes hands We're large and rough,
and lac had often boosted that he could shove
h- fist through the panel of an oak door. But
when they str"kcd the brown hair of the lit'le
girl beside him they hardly disturbed the ring
Is 49, whether he rad really touched her.
yes, ~folkese~, de trock wul hers, She WIZ
4 run down on de- Cobblcst0ne-, Wild de horses
all around her. an dat big stun on de- gro9ery
cart gitfiu' ready ter drive over her. Well,
b'chee. dunno how done Il, but wu2 down
10y de side of dat truck an lifted her To de walk
b, lore de- cop had woke out Of hls trance. SAY
when 7 felt my arm 'roun' de blue frork. and
seen her hair fllliu' down oveT mo sleeve, I felt
as # wua in a pipe dream. | did. on de level"
Oats right, Bahe 4 ring Ike dat would
make any hloko feel dopey, observed a short
npsod young man at the other end ~ the table
taking hrs cigar out oi his mouth to make the
remark VIII A,tlng proinndity
and picked in m ab-eut-minded WAY At the white
chrvsant hcmum IN his coat, As he continued
DE cop he come ny den ter take her away an
ring M n ambulance, but I wouldn't ,taud fer
ma .igh deal A. dat Give him "A SONG md
dance dat she wuH my sister. an when he asked
me whore she lived ! seq, Delaney street
dat WIZ where she did live. hut II might ha' been
in Hohokcn fer al dat | knowed SAY | wn7n't
no farmer, WlI T.
stopued ~ pour ont another glass Of beer to hide
HE confusion over having made \ But he dtd
not drink. lie could not have told why, hut he
frlt that 10 drink beer AZ that stage of his mar
raliye would have been ~acril"ge
We'll, | pulled me truck to de side ot de street
an let everything 60 along. Soon see dat de
girl wuInt hurt. Dat mug on de. grocery
wagon might have drIv over her, but he didn't.
II he had he wouldn't be alive now. De crowd
wo' allcrs stops ter pipe on rings in dc street
seen dat deere Wuzut gpin ter be no scrap nor
uuttin, an dcy went away. DE-, Glrl had fixed
her hair an hat by dis time, an she looks at me
an she .ez. rs she gives me de- glad eye. I owes
me life ter YOU she seq.
The glance that shot al Babe from the dark
ewes AZ his side was surely excuse enough for
! his hand 20 rCst n mOm"nt on the brown hair
A. al events, his hand did touch her hair The
NllofI-I' "u F'NUE HdI lhu'h i'l' h7
CiEpr
Vol snv. We wiz frpns from dat mint I'd
ha' t'run mes"lt In front Of a trolley car II n
would ha' done hcr any good But she had got
over hcr scare an she looks ~ nv" wild n smile
dat broke me all up, a. she se2 Won't Won tell
mo vour nance
Babe Sr7
Den me laughed say. you've all heard her
laugh an YOU know wot a peach OF n laugh II Is.
B'chep-
Don't he foolish. Rnho
"Sav, don't YOU open yer face whom yer hus-
band Il speakin'. or I'll git a divorce. Ha, hal
ha'"
Babes laugh was loud and perhaps coarse
But Priscilla mt her hand IN his great nav on the
table before them all and he only laughed the
more
"Ain't she q p'ach9" muttered the short
nosed Young man to himself. for no one seemed
to know him cNcont the bride and bridegroom
II found ont Hat abe worked in Grand street
maxim an trimmin' hats" continued Babe,
AN dat her mudder an her little bruddcr an
her lived In Delaney stroet got do number
of de- house an den she went down do street on
de tins of her little toes. wild me pipin' her Of
an wonderful whedder I'd have nerve enough
to GO an SOC her
II WIZ standin' deere. tinkin' dis, when de
con no come back an said I WIZ stoppin' all de
girl dat ] forgot ter give dc cor any back talk I
list got IN on nv seat an druv 10 de stable
widout saving muffin TO nobody
YES, / know, dat wuZ not like me, But
vcr 500, f%ellers, all de sense wuz ont OF me.
But when I'd had me s1pper 7 seq to meself.
Pnhe.' seZ !. 'vou'ce got tor win dat girl You
] nil know how dead eaSv IL is ter say dat when