The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-04-15
Santiago Carter's Romance,

Sundays there. Some worshiped Bac-
chus. others Eros, and a few the semi
| domesticated Pan in his TEMPLES or glo-
rious gardens and the bosky Alameda
| Music sang melodious masses TO the I'M
known God in the morning and az night
made the moonlight quiver with the pas
| sion of the danza Early on the morning
| Of my thirtieth birthday was in the ca
thedral. Two female figures disguised
| with their rebozos passed before me. and
| impulse made me follow them with my
eyes. AS they knelt, tn. shawl fell back
from the graceful head Of Juanlta and IN
the great veivety eyes l read my fate
Passing out she gave me q bashful smile,
! and after mass 1 followed her at a re-
spectful distance, and found her home.
The next day I discovered that she was
one of three children of widow. The
eldest was married to general and the
second was a man about town. 1 visit
ed the mother and asked permission to
make love to her daughter. The old lady
seemed taken back. The man about town
objected and the soldier son-in-law
laughed and said it was natural. The
married sister liked the idea. The old
lady consulted the priests and they pro-
hibited further steps in the matter. 1
pleaded with the mother, offered refer
ences, told her that although 1 was not
a Catholic and could not lin conscience
profess that faith, there were many good
husbands and fathers who We're not Cath
olics, but all in vain. Then l accosted
the priest and he looked down on me
from a great height and 1 withdrew.
Then I had a few stolen interviews with
Juanita and resolved to have her any
way. She was willing ami I was anxious.
Why wait? I paid a final visit to my
future mother-in-law ard she received
me in the court yard with courteous an
noyance. l asked for Tuanita and the
dear old lady said: She Is fifty leagues
away, thank God and will never marry
a heretic' just then a small voice in
tones of laughter and tears came muf-
fed through the door, saying: 1T is
lie, Jimmie; l am shut up here"
thought it my duty to open that door,
and did so. The old lady sent for a police
man as my little girl came in beautiful
confusion tc my arms ard 1 had barely
time to say: BE firm, my darling; we
will try the Juarez law tomorrow" when
the officer asked me to retire. We went
out and had a cigar together and he
told me that he rather sympathized with
me. The next day 1 went TO the political
chief and asked for justice. One of the
reform laws authorizes the chief of q
district to take a girl away from her
parents when she is willing. and deposit
y
immediate marriage. When she is not of
legal age, but the chief thinks her old
enough to marry, he makes her of age
by dictum. This chief came out beauti-
fully. He visited my future mother-in-
law, investigated, made Juanita two years
older, deposited her in the family of a
friend, and gave me notice to begin, all
in forty-fve minutes. Getting married
in Mexico is a compiled ted operation. !
i
help on the civil part 1 would carry her
about the world as my sister until we
could find some civilized priest to give
us Catholic marriage. When the reform
ers took civil marriage from the priests
and gave 1t to the register, they set up
the same cumbrous machine that the
church used, minus the ceremonies and
the prayers My first move was on this
register. In Mexico. when you need a
public servant. it is we'll to find out
something about, him first. I learned that
my man was a clean grabbed old fellow
whose only weak point was Greek and
Latin classics I was strong on Latin,
but Greek was Greek to me, but I was
a krestosantropos and Amor vincit ON
MIA and the old chap got interested. and
went in strong for me, as all MeXiCans
do when their feelings are aroused. My
mother-in-law had hired a pesky lawyer
and l hired another and they supervised
our matrimonial fight and made docu-
ments and bought stamps and quarreled
officially with each other.
Just then my mother-inlaw brought
suit for the clothes that Juanita wore
and the court ordered the garments pro-
duced in evidence and she went to bed
while my two hired dressmakers fitted
up a temporary trousseau.
That afternoon, the man about town
sent me a challenge. 1 did not want to
fight Marriage was my aim, and mot
him, I explained to mis- friends, and
showed him the absurdity of it, If
killed, I'd lose; it l got killed. ditto But
he could not see it, so I asked the chief
to cool them in jail, and he did 80. The
next day he released them and gave me
a bodyguard of two policemen. We got
through preliminaries all right and were
officially recognized as matrimonial Gull
prits Then came the dispensation from
the governor. He was fine old fellow.
the best thing in Mexico, a governor
without a ring. He asked four questions,
looked right through me and signed the
paper. We were now fairly getting mar
ried. The trousseau was ready. My
bodyguard logged my heels. The priest
crossed the street when he saw me COM
ing. Ny lawyer scowled at his antago-
mist when I was looking. The man about
town kept out of sight and my heart was
glad within me. That evening the clas-
sic registrar married us. gave me some
good Greek advice and presented his bill
Early the next day we took the train for
Mexico City. The man about town turn
ed up at the station full of mezcal and
bad words, but the bodyguard took him
UP. We got to Mexico City that even
ing. The next day l drew on an Irish
Catholic friend and we hunted up a CIV
ilized priest and asked him 10 marry US
He promised to intercede with a good
archbishop. and did so. l asked this gen
tleman if he represented Jesus Christ and
ne said ne did. Then I begged him to act
az he thought Christ would under the
circumstances and he promised 10 do so
The sext day ne married us. and wired
TO my new family that I was officially
recognized as an honest barbarian and
let in on the ground floor as such, He
told me in confidence that he didn't think
much OF fellows that turned Catholic 10
get woman, anyway, but It seemed to
me that the opinion OF a celi5ate would
not De worth much IN such matters; Or
binary men love so hard sometimes that
it makes them act queeTly. After that
Juanita and I went about boxing for
happiness, and found some. We went
back 10 MoTelia and my mother-in-law
slew the fatted turkey and served him up
full OF delicious stufinG. and we had a
love feast, and all became generally in
taXicated. Juanita sang TO the guitar
Our lawyers Rugged one another The
man about town wept on my neck and
the general offered ire his war-pory.
Then we furnished our nest IN Acambaro.
and settled. We had comforts birds.
flowers music and love. Ny work vas
hard, but when IN The nest forgot the
labor. This lasted seven 17nths-:vvo
hundred and ten days-sl different. but
each happy. Tne last day M little sirl