The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-09
A TRAIN RUINED A ROMANCE.
FRUSTRATED THE PLAN of A
YOUNG RIDGELAND COUPLE.

Usual order of Events Was Reversed
and n Pair of WouId-Be EIopers
Sought to Leave RidgeIand for Sa-
vannah-Train Was Late and Only
slowed Up at the station-PrOspec-
tive Groom Got Aboard, But the
Prospective Bride Did Not-GrOom
Came on to Savannah and Expect
ed His Loved One on the Next
Train-But She Did Not Come-A
Sad story of True Love Running
! Roughly.
Birnan Wood came to Dunsinane yester-
day, or, reducing the Shakespearean ref
erence to end of-the-nineteenth-cent
! language RidgeIand sent, or rather. at
! tempted to send. a pair of runaway lovers
to savannah as the Gretna Green where
! their single unhappuess was to have been
made one long life of conjugal bliss.
! The shoe is usually on the other foot,
! and it is Savannah that sends runaway
couples in search of a Ridgeland or Har-
! deeville preacher or justice of the peace.
! Turn about seemed to be regarded as
fair play by the happy pair that attempted
to embark upon the sea of matrimony, but
that attempt proved futile and their hap
4 piness was turned to bitterness
And 1t was all caused by an event that
no lovers could have foreseen. True love
was not to run smooth. Just when every
thing seemed to be working beautifully.
train happened to be late. 1t was the
train too, upon which they were to take
the trip to Savannah. OF course, being
J a no in in
was to be made up, and just there the
youthful lovers were unfortunate
Young Johnson was very greatly cast
! Gown young man when he got off the train
at the Plant System depot yesterday
morning. He had expected to have his
| prospective bride hanging on his arm at
! that happy moment, and soon he was to
| bestow his name upon her Nothing was
J 10 remain but to secure a license and have
| the knot tied hard and fast
| The day before he had shipped five car
! loads of cord-wood to Savannah, and it
was all awaiting him. 1t was a part of
the programme for him to sell it and for
| the neWly-wedded pair to enjoy them
| selves upon the proceeds, returning at the
! end Of the honeymoon to Ridgeland But
the orl1e-elect did not put in an appear
| ance, and of course the whole thing was
| called off. Probably the young man will
| feet bit bashful about his reception
! When he gets back to Ridgeland, and his
return trip may be delayed a while
Johnson and his sweetheart had made
| 1t up and they saw no reason why their
plan should fall through Parents OBJ
! Jccted, for in years the young people are
| not supposed to have reached the point
| where they really know their own minds.
| The prospective bridegroom is but IS or
| 49, apr arently, and the prospective and
| probably very sorry bride Is no older,
| Observation al Ridgeland was what, the
pair greatly desired TO escape Accord
| lngly The plan was cunninsly laid 10 board
| NO. 80 on the Plant System from opposite
sides of the track That would have
worked very nicely, had the train been
! on time. ordinarily, COO, Ridgeland is
one of the sure stops. But for some rea-
son or other, the train stopped a Yemas-
! see yesterday for water which il usually
! takes on al Ridge!and.
The conductor had no time to waste on
! the run, so he gave the engineer instruc-
| tons. The latter, too, was anxious to
4 make up lost time, and the rain had no
! spare minutes for a stop at Ridgeland.
! A showdown was the best ii had in stock
| for the little town.
The engineer had the prospective groom
on his side, and the fireman was not look
! ing back 90 see whether there was any
one 10 get aboard. Therefore the engi-
! neer had nothing but has own eyes to go
! by and, when he saw johnson swing
aboard, he thought all the passengers
We're on who expected to leave Ridgeland
! by that train.
But it was not so. On the other side
was despairing bride. She could not
get aboard. johnson had his arm almost
| jerked off in his desperate effort 10 get
on the train, and ID was impossible for the
poor girl to manage the gymnastic feat.
| Ready to burst into tears, fearful Won
dering what her lover, who was speeding
away toward Savannah, would think and
quite certain of what the folks at home
would say when she reached there, she
was in a sad state But there was no
help for it, and back to her home she had
to go)
Johnson rushed franticaHy through the
cars as soon as he found himself aboard
| the brain. From the first he was sus-
picous that his loved one had not got on,
| for he knew that she was hardly equal to
the jump that had got him where he was.
| He continued his search, however until
| he had demonstrated beyond the shadow
of a doubt that there was no use of keep
| ing it up, and then he sat down to think.
He began to wonder what he should do.
| The next train to Savannah would pass
| Ri6geland late that afternoon. Happy
thought; the girl might catch it and come
on to join him. That was the hope that
kept him up. He was sure, the more he
thought Of it, that she would come. When
] he reached the station in Savannah he
| was aDSOlutelN certain, ana one or two
| friends whom he encountered said all they
could in announcement.
Johnson was too fond in his hopes,
| though. He could scarcely have expected,
| with any chance of its coming to pass,
that a young girl would muster up suf-
! ticient courage for the trip The failure
Of the morning would be sure 10 have it's
depressing effect. even If the folks at
| home had not made a discovery and been
careful to see 10 ii that no meeting in Sa-
Vannah were effected.
Whatever may have been the reason
come she did not. Narrowly the prospec-
tive groom observed the forms Of the pas
sengers as they alighted from the late af-
ternoon train, but that Of his loved one
was not among them. Sadly disappointed
he finally gave up his quest and il now
remains to be seen how he will manage to
circumvent misfortune, which seems to
have seized him for its own.
"The Strength of Twenty Men"