Omaha daily bee., 1906-10-14

Romance on n Church Roof.
lDEORGE L. KINGERY Of SYRIA
cuse. N. Y. and Miss Edith May
Paxton OF Chicago, accompanied
IKY by Mrs. Paxton, the girls mother:
60 Miss Minnie Brush. her school
chum and Walter T. McCabe are on their
way to Milan TO be married in the ca
thedral They are not rich. but they are
determined to be married in this costliest
house Of worship in the world which also
is one OF the largest
Neither a religious feeling nor a desire to
be married In famous place caused them
TO decide upon 1t as the spot for exchang-
Ing vows. says the Chicago Tribune. II
was because on the roof of the cathedral
kingery saved Miss Paxton, perhaps, from
death which would have been one of the
oldest deaths on record. For Miss Paxton
was lost in the forest of spires and statues
that cover the three acres OF roof lost in
petrified forest of rare marble. Separated
from her friends with whom she was travel
Ing. with darkness coming on, the girl who
had waited entranced by the beautiful sun
set view. grew alarmed. and in panic ran
UP and down stairs and ladders of rock I'M
til, when near the foot of the great spire
on which the image of the Virgin stands.
she slipped and fell.
Half an hour later when the last rays Of
light were causing the rare marble TO glow
red, the girl recovered her senses to find
herself in the arms Of a handsome. sun
Drowned young man.
The man was Kingery' He, being among
the last to descend from the tower Of the
Virgin, had heard her cries for help, and.
running through the forest of sculpture and
the mage Of towers on the roof. had found
hcr uCf1 at he f1A 80 fuht 90
stairs down which she had plunged.
Kingery half carrying. half supporting
the injured girl. had managed to reach the
stairs that lead down into the interior of
the vast cathedral, only to discover that
they were left alone and that to escape
that night was out of the question.
The night fell, a perfect Italian night,
with the stars hanging like ripe russell APP
pies in a field of deepest purple. Below
them they could see the lights of the
Plaza del Duomo. To the north, outlined
in black against the night sky rose the
Alps, and to the south, stretched miles and
miles of plain. dotted with lights of villages
and hamlets and farmhouses.
The noise of the city. the hum Of night
life. came up to them like the hum of bees
They were alone, together, surrounded by
ghostly images, spires of most delicate
marble.
As fellow-countrymen in distress they
became friends, and during the night, while
she slept wrapped in his coat to shield her
| from the dew. Kingery watched and, when
she awakened, they talked in whispers.
overawed by the beauty of their surround
tings
When early In the morning they climbed
to the upper gallery of the center spire,
he helping her because of her sprained
ankle, they had an experience which few,
II any, ever have enjoyed.
The two hand In hand, as II they had
known each other for years. descended and
astounded the guide who came to open the
roof doors. by their appearance. Instead
of upbraiding the guide for locking them
upon the roof for the night Kingery
pressed money into his hand silently and
| descended.
Kingery saw her afterwards at Venice,
and then in Paris. In fact he changed his
| route and before they parted in Paris he
had received permission to call on her at
her home on the North Side in Chicago.
That was three years ago. Kingery. who
| 70 the manager of a big mercantile house
in Syracuse, lost no time in travelling to
Chicago. and after his first visit they were
| engaged.