The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-06-30
The Wedding Day
a Tale Of New Amsterdam
By HELEN lNcLEHART
Copyright, 1916 BY American Press
Association

luere hYeu N klH kOWn OF New Am
pterdam, which Is now the great city
Of New York. a Dutchman-they were
all Dutchmen there then-named Peter
Van Gaasback Peter had a daughter,
Katrina whose eyes were as blue as
The vault OF heaven. whose cheeks
were like two roses floating In d pan
OF milk and whose hair hung down her
back like lovely woven fax rope.
Now, there were people not far to
the east Of New Amsterdam who were
OF English extraction and Of an entire
~ different makeup from the Dutch.
These were the Yankees. Whenever
the two peoples met for trade-they
never met for anything else except to
1ight-the Dutchman Invariably went
home with nothing. while the Yankee
had twice as much as he had before.
II Is not to be wondered that the for
mer hated the latter.
Pardon Langdon, the Yankee who
Ind won Katrina's young heart, was a
long, lean, hungry looking youth who
walked With a slouchy gait. drawled
his words and did not appear to know
enough to go under cover when 1t
rained. Nevertheless be was not to
be shaken from bis purpose TO marry
Katrina despite the refusal OF her IA
Their and mother and the principal cltl.
gems Of New Amsterdam. These prin-
cipal citizens, including her father,
met 70 take measures to prevent the
robbery OF one or the most beauteous
OF their lassies by a Yankee and her
transfer to the cabbage fields OF Con.
necticut. A great deal OF schnapps
was consumed. and many pounds Of
tobacco were spoked-for d Dutchman
could not deliberate without both when
the council came to the conclusion that
the best way TO prevent Katrina's mar
rying Yankee was to marry Der to a
Dutchman.
No sooner was this decision reached
than every unmarried man present put
forward a claim for the position Of
Katrina's husband. whereupon her
father announced that she should be
welded 10 the man among them who
could show the largest number OF pelt.
ries-for that was the sole business Of
the town-and old Dietrich van Grin.
Gle. some sixty years old. baldheaded
and with the palsy. having shown that
he owned more skins than any other,
was selected to save Katrina to the
community.
This was too much for KatrIna's
mother. who from this time sided with
her daughter But Katrina's mother
was the stupldest woman IN New Am.
sterdam. Katrina told Pardon Lang.
don all that had happened and that
she was TO be forced to marry old Van
Crincle on the fifteenth day Of June
coming Pardon told Katrina to per
suade her father to promise her that
II she was not married to Dietrich Van
Crtncie on tho 18th Of June. 1917. she
should not be forced to marry him at
an, but should Be permitted to marry
whomsoever she liked Katrina. aided
By her mother. spent a week persist
emily entreating the old man to grant
this request. and he, worn cut By their
opportunities. finally gave in. But he
told Van Crincie what be had done
and warned him to surely be on hand
on the appointed dag to claim bis
bride.
when Katrina reported the success
of her and her mothers work done
upon her father he told her TO tell her
mother to meet him that night at the
base Of the tower wherein was the
town clock. The mother did 80. and
Pardon. opening the door for her, told
her to 80 up and set the clock back
twenty-four hours. This was done, and
Pardon instructed her that on the 18th
OF June she should tell her husband
what she had done.
The result OF all this was that on
the morning OF the appointed wedding
Peter Van Gaasback called the council
together, told them Of his promise tO-I
his daughter. Of his wife's turning the
clock back twenty-four hours, and that
Katrina now claimed that the day for
the wedding had passed. What should |
be do7
Anthony Ten Brock, the clearest
headed man IA New Amsterdam, arose
and attempted to prove that, though /
the clock had been turned back q
day, no day had been lost But he |
became involved Ii hts own argument
and sat down In confusion. Others /
endeayored ID set the matter right, but |
met with no better success than Ten |
Brock. Then the bridegroom expect
ant attempted to show thar the day
appointed for the nuptials had arrived
but he only succeeded in proving that
day had been lost by the turning
back Of the clock and 1t was now the
10th of June. As the schnapps and I
tobacco smoke mounted to the brains
Of the Dutchmen the confusion be-
came greater. and the debate lasted 50
long Tint some OF them went TO sleep,
while Others went home 70 dinner. |
After dinner the discussion continued |
till 1t began to grow dark, and al went /
home to supper and 70 bed.
The next morning Katrina went to
her father and claimed that the 18th /
81 the month had passed while the
council were debating and she wns
now entitled to marry whom she
pleased.
The old man was satisfied that It [
was now at least the 10th Of the (
month. aud he was not quite sure but
It was the nth Katrinas mother got 1
SO mixed In her calculations that her
reckoning was lost entirely. The fa-