Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1900-09-12
Ned's Proposal to Flora.
A RorlANcE oE CITY LIFE.
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Neither Tom nor Jessie had ever
known the romance that we read Of In
the books. Tom was an orphan, and
had been such since he could remember.
He had grown, to manhood and bore
no particular prospect Of ever being
anything more than a policy clerk in
q sLaSalle street insurance office, but
he was earning fairly comfortable
salary and was reasonably solid with
the head Of the firm, SO that he was in
no danger Of peremptory dismissal for
any trifiing cause, and it was certain
that he would never lose his job for
any misdemeanor of Office, so he felt
tolerably WI settled and had begun
to think o. q possibility of marrying
and settling down when Jessie came
into the office as stenographer and
was assigned desk in close proximity
to that occupied by Tom.
Tom and Jessie eventually prepared
to get married.. Jessie was an orphan,
struggling to make her own living in
the great city, AID was boarding Mt a
semi-fashionable north side boarding
house, where it required only three
quarters of her weekly stipend to settle
with the landlady on each Saturday
evening. When the time had arrived
for her and Tom to begin to talk about
definite arrangements for the wedding
and their after life they found that
they were as ignorant as two babes
about the practical affairs Of life.
Neither OF them knew the practical
difference between gasoline stove
and a steam radiator. or between tap
estry Brussels and Accent ingrains.
1t was at this point that the valuable
assistance Of Ned and Flora came into
.spleE Nod tEe ifelops el.u1n eSees
Tom and Flora occupied similar place I
in the retinue Of Jessie's friends. Ned.
had been aamember Of a bachelors
housekeeping association. Flora was
longhand copyist in the insurance
office and lived at home with her par
ents.
. Tom went to Ned with his troubles
gand Jessie went to Flora. OF course
the expert opinion on some things
would tally exactly, and when they
did Tom and Flora would congratulate
themselves. and forget all the. points
]. upon which there had been y disagree
ment. lE33 s.g4i
Tom. and Jessie had set the day, and
had concluded that, all things con-
sidered, they would better be married
right in the minister's parlor, because
neither one had home, and they both
quailed at the bare suggestion Of a
boarding house wedding, and they
hadn't the outfit for church wedding,
and though Flora had warmly invited
them to accept the hospitality of her
parental roef for the occasion they
had concluded that it would be better
I, to have it all to themselves in strictly
modest and becoming way, and only
Ned and Flora should be there to give
them a send-off. Then they would take
airun up. to the country and CO me back
to life in the little nest they were Pre-.
pairing. Jessie wrote to few Of her.
distant relatives informing them Of
the forthcoming event, and one of the;
responses was from her aunt in Wau-
kesha. Jessie had never
/. seen this aunt sine, the days
when i first = she had come to
try her fortune, and she was not a
little surprised ut the tone of the letter
(. she received. when she had been ex-
Z pecting only formal congratulations at
the most. The aunt insisted that the
wedding should be held in the little
parlor of her home; that is was sin
and shame to have wedding, which
was nm unusual event in any ones life,
in such q barbarous manner as they
had proposed.
Tom read, the letter carefully when
Jessie showed it to him. Jessie" said
he warmly "your auntie is brick.
What would be the matter with accept
ing this invitation and then taking a
little scoot up to, Oconomowoc for a
few days? That would give US q we'd
ding trip both before and after the
ceremony, and it certainly would be a
little more civilized"
IS So it was settled. And, strange to
sav; both Flora and Ned approved of
{ the change in plans. "Why, cert"
said Ned; freeze to that invite with
both hands. That's q snap from Snaps
VILE"
Tom and Jessie had invited Flora to
accompany, them on their wedding
Journey, and Flora had made arrange
] ments for a weeks vacation from the
i Office to. accompany them The. firm
showed q remarkable leniency in thus
allowing three vacations at once, but
the manager said he had been young
himself once. % I So
Tom and Jessie and Flora went up
j gtoaNaukeshaSsson Nv Wednesday. The
4 wedding was to take place on Thurs
/ day, but Jessie wanted to be sure that
her trunk got there safely, and Tom
q wanted to look the ground over, as he
. said, and of course Flora had to be
there = help Jessie get ready for the
! important ceremony. Ned came up on
4 the, morning train the next day to see
that s.the show was pulled off without
break as he expressed it. Thurs.
day was as beautiful n day as ever
happened. ,Ss,@ ass.a SO ;
During the day the relatives arrived
here we're IA in all. sundry cousins
.,i1ncIes and go forth, only three or fou,