The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1907-02-07
POVERTY SHORE
COURTSnIPS


call race suicide. Instead OF having to
wait and let girl chase him down
and get him In a corner and compel
him to marry. every young man used
10 go hunting for the girls as much
as the girls hunted the men, and the
result was that almost everybody got
married right away and went coast
ing or raised farm crops TO help In
making a living.
The reason why so many young
men got married when | was young
was that it did not cost more than a
chap was worth to go counting, If he
had good pair OF boots. white shirt
and a clean worsted comforter a young
man could court Il nice girl all winter
al a cost of not more than % cents a
week
IN tell you how twas done-that
is how | used to do, and I've been
married three times, and ought to
know.
The old man, for that Is what We
called the girls father used to pro
=
counting line in those old days. He
furnished the front parlor and the
/ kerosene lamp and the open fireplace,
| and he sawed and split the wood that
was burned in the fireplace all through
I the courtship.
The fellow used to drop around
after milking Sunday evenings, and
after he had taken supper with the
family and talked for a time with the
old man about the price of cordwood
and the prospects of heavy run of
salmon the next spring the girl would
light the parlor fire and look over the
family photograph album, inside of
which We're the pictures of ali the.
fellows she had entertained since she
was Id.
Naturally Sunday evening was the
regular time set for counting pur.
poses, but after the young man had
become acquainted and got the run of
the house there used to be meetings
called for special purposes two or
three times week. As a rule the
young couples did not sit up so long
at the informal meetings as they did
aJ the Sunday sessions though some
of them held until after midnight.
"All The young man had to do was
TO sit back on the sofa and eat the old
mans apples and warm himself by
the old mans wood and let his money
accumulate until he had enough to
start housekeeping. There were no
theater parties or Welsh rabbits cook.
ed in chatting dishes, or baXes of
chocolates in those days to keep his
mind away from the business i'm hand
and steal away all the change he
could earn The old man gave a con.
tinuCus free blowout from the time
the girl asked her first beau into the
house until they went to cali on the
minister, after which no fayors were
shown on account Of kinship.
As | recall the events now, think
the chief expense | went to in a win.
ters counting at any time was buy.
ing popcorn to carry to the girl.
And she was Just as glad to see
me and smiled as sweetly when ri
came in at the front door stamping !
The snow from my boots and carrying !
those three ears OF corn in my peck. /
ct as she would have been if had |
arrived with two colored walters
hot birds and cold bottles.
II was my opinion that the work of
popping the corn did more in bring
ing two fond hearts together than
anything else which took place dur.
ing the counting
The fireplace had to be filled M
with the best hardwood and this
mad 10 burn down to great glowing
heaps Of coal before the shelled orn
'ould be put in the pepper And
hen while the girl was agitating the
wire pepper over the Goals and the
freight was shining on one side of
Ter face and into her eyes. and the
Dung man was Smelling more corn for
he next filling, the corn would be. I
IN 10 pop-iirst a little snap here
nd another there. and then the dis
harge of whole artillery Of white
ornnakes all al once. followed by
he muilled sound OF a general enlp j
ion inside the pepper by which time :
ne job was finished and the corn !
'as ready for the fine salt and the s
utter
No matter how dignlfied a voung g
nam may Try 70 be. he cant keep il a
. II he is popping corn with a nice d
irl above a hot stove in room
her" they two are The only spccra y
rs. ] am not given to digging into
}" reason of things bat no natural 5
Dung man can pop corn with a nice 81
ri all winicr without popping the Il
lestion "a
" is the cheapuess as well as the b
implicitly of the custom which an
ais strongly 10 men who are natu. -
lb economical. IN looking over -
accounts find that It cost me Just
cents to court ms first wife. @.
My second wife cost more. but W
IL was due 20 the fact that she
d younger sister who was unmar.
d. aud who used to butt in when m
@ smelled the scorching corn. did m
court my third wife with popcorn. 20
cause she had lost her teeth ana
nd not bite the hard kernels while
vas waiting for the dentist 20 fin is