Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1904-04-14

any one should be inspired to play
ridiculous tricks on them when they
finally decided-after twenty years of
waiting-to get married aud 90 East
on a long wedding trip.
Thomas Carr was ffty-three, dea-
con in the First Church at home, and
a business man Of standing and repu'
tation, whose frosty side whiskers
were more likely to inspire respect and
awe than levity. Sarah Anderson,
his bride, owned to more than forty
summers, and possessed quiet and
serene disposition-which latter fact
proved, after all, great blessing.
Then they took care to see that no
one was invited to the wedding who
might have been moved to do anything
foolish in the way Of throwing old
shoes or rice after the bridal party.
And Thomas Carr, with a craft and
guile which hurt his conscience, con-
cealed the route they were to take,
and the hotel they were to stop at IN
Chicago-at least he thought he did.
No, indeed There should be no
foolishness about their wedding trip.
They were too old to be stared and
laughed at. On the train to Chicago
they sat in the same seat, but Sarah
looked out of the window, while her
newly made husband read the morn
ing paper, with hardly glance in her
direction. As a matter of fact he
played the part of disinterested es-
cort too well to suit the bride, who ,
after all, was a woman.
On arriving in the city they took
the common bus and were driven over
to the Sherman House, where Thomas
wrote, "Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Carr
Earlville, III. on the register, with
out betraying in any way that he was
doing anything unusual.
about 81, please" he said, when
the clerk asked him what sort Of a
room he wanted.
"By the way, Mr.. Carr" the clerk
called after him as he turned to re-
join his wife, "there's a package came
by express for you this morning"
"Send it up to the room" said
Thomas.
Mr.. and Mrs. Carr had agreed that
they would spend a whole week in
Chicago. Thomas had arranged to
leave his business for a month or two,
and there was no reason why they
should hurry.
The boy brought in the package
Sarah looked at it and saw it came
from Earlville.
81 wonder what it can be?" she
said. Thomas allowed that he had no
idea. He tore off the outside wrapper,
and unpeeled, one after the other, half
a dozen layers of tissue paper. Finally
there stood revealed on large china
plate a curious white something,
rounding at the top and about the
shape Of a half watermelon.
"What in all fshhooks is that thing?"
asked Thomas. Sarah poked it ques-
tioningly with one finger. Part Of it
broke off and crumbled away into
little particles. a look OF compre-
hension, half amused and half angry,
came over Sarah's face.
@Why, Thomas, it's a rice pudding,
she said.
"a what ?"
"a rice pudding. I suppose" she
went on with a laugh, "theY thought
rice in this form would be more suit.
able to our age. But thought you
had concealed our stopping place ?"
"What are we going to do with it ?
asked Thomas, anxiously. 81 cant
ask anybody around the hotel to take
it away without letting them into the
fact that we've juat been married"
"Well, Thomas" said his wife, "it
We stay here the Earlville people'll bt
sending us all sorts of foolish things
likes not, now they know the address
think we'd better keep right on East
We can take the pudding with us and
leave it on the train when We get of
That'll be easy enough"
She did the pudding up carefully
plate and all, in the various paper
! which had originally swathed it