The Savannah morning news., 1903-11-22

THAT may be-" said his pretty wife,
but what is sauce for the gander is
sauce for the goose So there!"
And so it was. Since she made her
threat Mrs. Downing has taken pains
to be present whenever her husband
performs a wedding ceremony, and the
bridegroom invariably gets a kiss from
her While the judge performs a like
office for the bride. This custom be-
gan six months ago and Mrs. Down.
ing says that up to date she has kissed
forty-seven strange men. The judge
takes it philosophically and. smilingly
refers to his steadily growing bank ac-
count.
1t might be thought that the wedding
ceremony la Downing would be more
popular with bridegrooms than with
brides. This is true in a measure, but
at the same time it must be remem-
bered that if the bride has to put up
With seeing her husband kissed by an
other woman she Is thereby assured of
getting all that is coming to herself.
for Mrs. Downing stands ready to see
that the judge never renigs on mis-
bounden duty. Sometimes it happens
that the bride is not very kissable from
the judges point of view, and on such
occasions he would fain forget what
I is supposed to come after the ceremony,
but his wife is Johnny on the spot"
so to speak. and she never fails to call
out.
Remember that duty is duty, Judge,
and that you must perform it to the
best of your knowledge and belief"
Only the other day the judge would
have forgotten" to kiss a bride had
his better half not been there to jack
him up. He was summoned to a lum-
Der schooner that was just about to
sail, and, as usual, Mrs. Downing went
along. The bridegroom was a neat
looking Swede-the ships cook. The
bride was a Mexican and she was not
well, she didn't look very inviting
as the Judge sees things. The couple
wanted to be married in the ships
hold but the captains wife insisted
that the ceremony be performed on
deck, where the passengers might all
be witnesses.
Up from his unfinished supper. his
white cap set jauntily. his face and
arms besmeared with flour, came the
| cook, to be Joined by his bride. who
was resplendent in a gorgeous gown
of blue satin. AS the vessel was about
to sail, few words were spent in the
| ceremony, and as soon as it was over
the Judge turned away, thinking that
because of the large crowd present
Mrs. Downing for once would not only
forego her own custom, but would let
| him off as we'll.
Alas for the vanity of human hopes!
The Judge had not taken half dozen
steps when he heard his wife call out.
| He's cheating you! He's cheating
you!" After that there was nothing
| for the Judge to do but to return and
| kiss the bride, which he did with the
| best grace possible, while his indomita-
| BILE wife stepped up and offered her
pretty lips to the cook.
Only once, so far as known, has MRS.
| Downing consented to have the luxu-
ries of the wedding ceremonies dis
pensed with. and that was because OF
the necessities of the case. Last week
there rushed into the judges court
couple who were in haste to wed that
they might catch a train that was
due to leave town in two minutes. 1t
was an elopment and the bridegroom
breathlessly explained that the cere-
mony must happen quick" The sym
pathies of the vivacious Mrs. Down
ing were aroused.
"Join hands!" she cried as the Judge
advanced.
"Will you have her?" his honor then
asked the bridegroom, land you
him?" he added, turning to the bride.
"Then I pronounce you man and wife.
Now rum"