The Washington times., 1904-07-10

- Ut on the Worlds Fair grounds
at St. Louis a romance destined
~ 10 take its place in serious his
tory eliminated last week in the mar
riage of Gen. Piet A. Cronje. the Boer
war hero. and Mrs. Johanna stertzel'
OF Pretoria General Cronje Is seventy
eight and Widow Stertzel forty-nine-
The ceremony took place on the grand
stand of the Boer War Concession Grim
ana solemn visaged the old Boer gen
eral faced the crowd of spectators as
the troths were plighted. Never a smile
crossed his face as he planted Kiss
on the brow of his newly wed wife by
way OF sealing the ceremony with
equally solemn mien he shook nands
with the vast numbers who came up to
extend congratulations when the mar
rage was concluded. The ceremony was
conducted n German In the aastere
manner Of the Dutch ehurca.
The bride was dressed In plain gray
dress and carried in her hand a little
bunch OF sweet peas. There was no
music or singing
How strange Il all seemed that a scene
like this should take place ssot In the
way, OF place where people came for
mere amusement One felt somehow
thar its proper setting would have been
The little Dutch church IN Pretoria,
where old Dom Paul Kruger used 10
preach. its fit audience the assembled
remnants of the Boer patriot army. its
congenial nuptiaI music the thunderous
hymn OF Martin Luther-''A Mighty
Fortress Is our Godl''
Hoary-Headed Lover.
Not an ideal figure for a romance in
which the gentler emotions play part
IS General Cronie. The old Boer. who
turned the jameson raid into a comic
opera fiasco. whipped a British army
three times the size Of his own at Ma
gersfontein. put up the most heroic de-
ferse OF modern times at Paardeburg
and paid the penalty Of South African
patriotism at the close Of the war with
Great Britain by serving a three years
term Of exile on the lonely rock Of St.
Helena has suffered and seen too much
TO be an ideal OF loves young dream. g."
Wooing Was Pious.
Bible in hand. sermon or prayer or
psalm on lips. .nheXible Calvinistic
thoughts Of the souls welfare in mind.
he wooed and won woman in st. Louis
along lines that recall the stern coven-
anters or puritans OF an earlier century
IL was an astonishing courtShip. that Of
the Window Johanna Stertzel by the
Widower Pet Cronje; it hes no legiti-
mate place in the frivol of ordinary
worlds fair happenings.
But CronJe In the self-eontained sim
gruousness Of his St Louis romance
Solitary. hOmesiek. utterly Indifferent 70
his surroundings. ne couuted the Widow
Stertzel as one Of the Easeeuc pilgrims
OF the Mayhower might have courted
woman OF that ANA ling company, SOM
berly. in the atmosphere Of eternal spir-
itual truths. deprecatlng the lighter as
poets Of the wooing Of woman by
man. Gravity Of derneanor has marked
every step IN the progress of the ro-
nance. The Worlds Fair has been but a
trivial accident as figuring IN their story
When the fair ends they viii return,
husband and wife. 10 their farm on
Transvaal veldt, as sheeriy boer as
though they had never missed a pray
er meeting service on South Africa's
soil. All the steadfness Of Dutch-HUgue-
not blood is In tine love tale of Widower
Pct cronse and Widow Johanna stert-
zel. They made, a reverent occasional
Of what 70 the Ipresent-day world is a
merry madrigaL
Love- on ShipboarG.
on board the good ship Doone Castle,
that sailed last March from Delagoa
Bay. South Africa. for Newport News.
Va. was az strangely assorted ships
company of7Boers, British, and native
kafirs, bound ultimately for the Worlds