THE ROMANCE OF WAGON WHEEL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1402, 9 November 1886, Page 3

THE ROMANCE OF WAGON WHEEL

[Evening Standard, Sepiember 14th.]

Idaho Territory lies very far west indeed, and there is an alarming scarcity ■ here of women. This has been ou'lously illustrated cf late in the Town of Wagon Wheel, Recently two young ladies travelled to that remote region to attend to •heir dying brother. The poor fellow did not long require their and immediately after his death the sisters prepared to return home. Before, however, they could get away, nearly tha whole male population of the town—headed by the Mayor and other high officials—were making matiimonial overtures to them. Feeling ran very high during five or six anxious days, ard the Mayor’s chai ces, despite hir mature years, ruled thejhetting at 6 to 1. At ; the end of the week both young ladies had capitulated and were duly engaged. Toe Mayor war, however, cut out by a handsome young miner. The wedding day was fixed, and the mother of the young ladles was summered upi n the some, bhe duly arrived, and was hotly indignant with her daughters for tha scant re?pect which they had manifested towards cheir b-olher’s memory by such Indecent hss'e to wed. The gula explained that • hey had literally been besieged, and had yielded to the overwhe’mlng force of drenmatances. As usual, explanations increased the offence, and the mother vowed that neither of them should be married oat there at all—that, in fact, the engagements were “ off” and that they runs - - ba off too. The cop of felicity was thus rudely dashed from the Hus of the two accepted men, and they made haste to tell their sorrows to the t»wu. An Inclination meeting w?.b held, and the Mayor app inted a Committee to wait upon the irate matron in order to ask her to reconsider her resolution. The Mayor—with rare magnanimity, cons'dering the cruel blow his own hopes had jus’ received — placed himself at the head of the deputation, and in the name of patriotism humoly implored the good lady to grant the petition which he ardently urged. She, however, stood firmly on her parental rights, and declared she would not leave the town without her daughters. Then the genius of the Mayor shone forth like the son. He blandly proposed a compromise Why need she leave at all ? He drew her attention, of course in more delicate terms, to the fact that she was fair, fat, and fifty odd, and th«t similar language might be tiken as descriptive of himself. There and then he offered her bis hand and heart, and the young ladies a kind father and protector. That settled the matter, and three marriages have just come off with a great flourish of trumpets at Wagon Wheel.