Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-02-18

Into the Storm.
The storm had increased during
the service; and the sacristan, who
was opening the door for us, had as
! much as he could do to hold it
! against the wind, which came with
such a rush upon us when we stepped
/ into the porch that my veil and the
! coronal of myrtle and orange bios
SONS were torn off my head and
! blown back into the church
! God bless my sowl," said some
! body-it was Tommy's friend, Johnny
| hristopher-'there's some that
would be calling that bad luck
| though"
| A band of village musicians, who
were ranged up in the road, struck
up THE Black and Gray" as we
stepped out of the churchyard, and
the next thing / knew was that my
| husband and | were in the carriage
going home.
! He had so far recovered from the
frightening effects of the marriage
service that he was making light Of
| it, and saying:
| when will this mummery come to
an end, wonder?"
The windows of the carriage were
rafting with the wind, and my hus-
| band had begun to talk of the storm
when we came upon the trunk Of a
young tree which had been torn up by
the roots and was lying across the
| road, so that our coachman had to get
| down and remove it.
| "Beastly bad crossing, I'm afraid.
| Hope you're a good sailor. Must be
| in London tomorrow morning, you
| know"
| The band was playing behind US.
| The leafiess trees were beating their
bare boughs in front. The wedding
| bells were pealing. The storm was
| laundering through the running sky
| The sea was very loud
| At my fathers gate Tommy the
| Mate with a serious face, was stand
| ing, cap in hand, under his triumpAal
arch, which (as well as it could for
the wind that was tearing its flowers
| and scattering them on the ground)
| spelled out the words God Bless the
Happy Bride"
| When we reached the open door OF
| the house, group of maids were
waiting for us. They were holding on
/ to their white caps and trying to con-
troll their aprons, which were swlrling
about their black frocks. AS l stepped
out of the carriage they addressed me
as my Lady" and Your Ladyship.
The seagulls. driven up from the sea,
were screaming about the house.
Face Deadly White.
I My husband and I went into the
| drawing room, and as we stood to-
| gether on the hearthrug | caught a
| glimpse of my face in the glass over
the mantelpiece. 1t was deadly white,
and had big, staring eyes and look
of faded sunshine. l fixed afresh the
pearls about my neck and the dia-
mond in my hair. which was much
disordered.
Almost Immediately the other car
riages returned, and relatives and
guests began to pour into the room
and offer US their congratulations
First came my cousins, who were to-
| much troubled about their own be-
draggled appearance to pay much at
tention to mine. Then Aunt Bridget
| holding on to her half-moon bonnet
and crying:
you happy. happy child! But what
a windl There's been nothing like it
since the day you were born"
My father came next, like gale of
wind himself, saying:
I'm proud of you, gel. Right proud
| am. You done we'll"
Then came Lady Margaret, VINO
| kissed me without saying many
words, and finally large and varied
| company of gayly dressed friends and
neighbors, chiefly the "aristocraey'' of
our island, who lavished many un.
| necessary 'ladyships" upon me, as II
the great name reflected certain
glory upon themselves.
/ remember that as l stood on the
hearthrug with my husband, receiving
their rather crude compliments, a
vague gayety came over me, and l
| smiled and laughed, although my
heart was growing sick, for the eI-
feet of the wedding service was
! ebbing away into cold darkness ike
that of a night tide When the Lhooil-
light has left it.
II did not comfort me that my hus-
band, without falling in good man,
ners. was taking the whole scene ana
comnanv with a certain scarcely
yelled contempt which 1 could not
help but see.
| And neither did it allay my uneasi-
ness to glance at my father where ne
stood at the end of the room, watch-
ing. with a look of triumph in nus
glistening black eyes. his proud guests
| seeming to saw to himself, They re
here at last. I've bet them! Yes, by
cough, I've bet them!"
MANY a time since I have wondered
if his conscience did not stir within
him as he looked across at mis- daugh-
| ter in the Jewels of the noble mouse
| he had married her into-the pale
bride with the bridegroom he had
| bought for her-and thought of the
mockery of a sacred union which he
had brought about to crafty ms
pride his vanity, perhaps his revenge.
But it was all over now. l was
married to Lord Raa. In the eyes
equally of the law the world and the
church, the knot between us was ire
vocably tied.
Memorandum by Martin Conrad.
l am no mystic and no spiritualist,
and l only mention it as one of the
mysteries of sympathy between far
distant friends that during part of
the time when. my dear one was going
| through the fierce struggle she de-
scribes. and was dreaming of frozen
regions and of broken pen, the ship
/ sailed on had got itself stuck fast
in a field of pack ice in latitude IS
| under the ice barrier by Charcot Bay,
and that while we were lying like
| helpless logs, cut off from comntuni-
| cation with the world, unable to do
anything but groan and swear and
kick our heels in our hunks at every
fresh grinding of our crunching sides,
| my owD mind SIapDiOp and waking