CHAPTER XXXI.
A NOVEL BRIDAL TOUR
The next morning the young couple, accompanied by Susan Rogers, withRache in the capacity of serving-woman, set out on their bridal tour, athree-mile ride over the snow, to their future home. A stout sledgedrawn by a yoke of oxen was the primitive equipage of the bridal party.
The wedding presents, though the gifts of but one family, were many anduseful, if not beautiful and costly. A feather bed and a pair of fatpillows were Mrs. Rogers' most valuable gift. "No, Betsy," she said asshe tied them up in an old quilt, "we hain't robbin' ourse'ves; we'vegot more beds an' pillahs then we hev people to sleep on 'em; besides,hain't we got plenty geese?"
"Nevah you mind, Betsy," chuckled Mason Rogers; "Cynthy Ann knowsbetter'n you do whut she kin spar' tow'ds settin' you an' Ab up tohousekeepin'. The real offus uv a bride is to be ornamental. So, allyou got to do this mawnin' is to set up on thet ther sled, an' lookpurty."
A coarse but well-bleached tablecloth, a gourd of lard, a cheese, halfa loaf of cake, a skillet and a coffee boiler completed Mrs. Rogers'list.
The gifts of her husband were no less generous: a side of meat, asupply of meal, potatoes, hominy, sugar, a jug of cider vinegar, andanother of molasses, concerning which gifts he declared, in answer toAbner's protest: "Of course, you'n' Betty kin live on love; so I jes'put in them eatables fur Susan--pore gal, she ain't got no husban' yitto mek her fergit she's got a stommick. Besides, even you an' yer bridewill find livin' on love a weak'nin' exper'ence artah the fust fewdays; an' this snow looks lak it hed come to stay all wintah. The roads'tween heah an' Bourbonton won't be broke through 'nough fur you tohaul a load o' things frum thar befoh March, mayby. Allus feed yerhusban' good, Betty. With all the men whut evah I seen, the stommick'pears to be the seat o' the affections; an' Abner hain't no exception.He kin mek an ash cake or a hunk o' middlin' disappear 'bout ez fast ezthe nex' one; an' when it comes to tacklin' a stack o' flittersseasoned with maple merlasses, he kin beat all creation, unless 'tisTommy an' Buddy, an' the amount o' vittels them two shavers kin manidgeto stow 'way is 'nough to mek a pusson think ther laigs is holler.These two cheers," he continued as he tied them in place on the sledge,"air fur me an' Cynthy Ann to set on when we come ovah nex' Sunday topay our bridal call an' to fotch Cissy an' Rache home. Abner hain't gotbut two cheers, Betty--one fur Susan, an' one fur you an' him; but mean' Cynthy Ann's done got pas' the time when one cheer kin 'commerdateus both comf'table. Whut you got thar?" he asked the negro Tom, as hecame forward, while Rube lingered bashfully in the background.
"Me an' Rube wants tab gib somethin' ter spress our 'gratulatins terMiss Betsy an' Marse Ab; so we presents dese ax-handles whut we'se madeoursel's, an' dis bowl whut we'se hollered outen a ash-tree fur a nicebread-tray; an' we wishes you bofe much joy in de road you'se dis daysotten out on in double harnish." Grinning and bobbing, he presentedthe offerings, and then stepped back to make room for Uncle Tony."Marse Ab, you'll 'cep' dis bunch o' brooms f'um ole Tony; kaze he wuzyer fus' 'quaintunce when you come ter dis kintry. Dese brooms will'min' you ob yer ole home; kaze dey's tied wid de same twist an' loopjes' ez dey mek brooms wid in ole Virginny. An' I wishes you 'n' yerpurty bride all de hap'ness an' prosp'ity whut kin come ter us poremorsels trablin' frew dis vale ob tears."
"Well, Ab," said Mason, gleefully, as Abner, after gratefully thankingthe darkeys, proceeded to find a place for the things on thewell-loaded sled, "you'd bettah walk straight now; a broom's adangerous weepon in a woman's hands. You know the ole sayin' 'boutbrooms, Betsy? 'In fair weathah use one eend; in foul weathah uset'other!'"
Susan's contributions were a pair of blankets and a supply of tow-linensheeting and toweling, all of her own weaving. The twins, not to beoutdone, begged Betsy to accept all their nine-patch pieces, "whichonly lack a few more squares," they said, "to mek a quilt big 'noughfur any bed."
"Tek 'em, Betty," laughingly urged Mrs. Rogers; "Lucindy an' Lucy aironly too glad ter git 'em off ther hands; they know they'd hev terfinish thet quilt this wintah, ef them pieces stayed heah, an' theyhate sewin' wussen a mad dog hates watah."
"We want you to have these, too," said Lucy, handing to Betsy a pair ofplaster-of-paris angels. "Lucindy an' me bought 'em of the packman withour own money. They'll look mighty sweet settin' up on yourmantel-tree. One of 'em's got its wing broke off, but thet won't showmuch when it's set facin' the room."
"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Rogers. "The twins presents you with angels, an'Tommy an' Buddy contributes live stock." The two little boys advanced,Tommy with a curly black pup under his arm, Buddy with two half-grownkittens in his apron.
"Yes, yes, tek 'em," urged Mrs. Rogers; "you'll do me a favor to tekthet mis-che-vous pup, an' will save them kittens frum a grave in thehoss-pond; I've done said I'd drown the whole litter. Heah's a sack furthe kittens, an' you kin put the pup undah this heah kittle; 'twon'tsmothah undah thar; an' 'twon't mek no diffruns ef it does."
Every negro on the place, elated and excited by the romantic event of arunaway marriage, brought offerings. Rache gave gourds and a cymblingbowl; Eph, a string of red-pepper; the other little darkeys, gifts ofmaple sugar, walnuts and hickorynuts; while Aunt Dink presented a largeblue-flowered platter which until now had been the chief ornament ofthe chest of drawers in her cabin, and was none the less precious toher because of the big crack through the middle and the nick out of onecorner.
"The coach and four is now waiting with the bride's outfit alreadypacked in the boot; so bride, bridesmaid and waiting-woman will pleasetake their places," laughed Abner, happily, helping Betsy, Susan andRache into the sledge. "You've loaded us so heavily with your generousgifts that I fear the bridal equipage will break down before reachingthe end of the first stage, and bury bride, bridesmaid, waiting-womanand dowry in a snowbank."
At this moment, out came little Buddy again, carrying a tiny arm-chairwhich he had long since outgrown, and insisting that it should makepart of the bridal outfit on the sledge.
"That's right, sonny," said Rogers, as he placed the chair. "They don'tneed it yit awhile, but 'tis likely it'll come in handy in a year orso. Hold on thar a minit," Rogers exclaimed, as Logan was hastilypreparing to start off. Rushing into the house, he emerged in a fewminutes, carrying a pine cradle with deep, sloping sides and broad,rough rockers. "Heah's a companion piece fur thet cheer. Hope you'llhev use fur it befoh we do ag'in," and nothing would do but that thecradle should be placed on the sled. "Ha! ha! ha!" Rogers laugheduproariously as he surveyed the outfit. "This turnout looks lak aemigrant wagon mekin' a journey frum Cumberlan' Gap to thesettlements."
Good-by's were exchanged, and the train started. The bride with her twoattendants sat bravely on the sledge surrounded by her household goods,while the groom stepped proudly on to guide his awkward team, his ownfaithful dog, Toby, following at his heels. His house was not on themain thoroughfare, and the shrubs and tangled vines, weighted down withsnow, bent over the narrow, little-used roadway, making it in placesalmost impassable; but the cavalcade proceeded safely, if slowly, untilabout half the journey was accomplished. Then, as they were going downa steep hillside with a considerable slant to the left, the groom cameback from his post at the head of the team, to the side of his bride.Susan was looking out across the landscape; Rache was engrossed withher efforts to keep the various small articles from falling off thesledge. The moment seemed propitious; he leaned over to give Betty areassuring kiss and embrace. Just then the vehicle ran over a stumpwhich was hidden, but not protected, by the snow, and it careenedsharply to the left. Abner, on the right, instantly threw his weight tostay the tottering ark. This only added the proper impetus, with, asthe result, a complete overturn.
_Out tumbled bride, bridesmaid and servant in thesnow._]
Out tumbled bride, bridesmaid and servant in the snow, with featherbed, chairs, table utensils, skillet, kettle, coffee boiler, buckets,brooms, provisions on top. The two kittens, escaping from their sack,and frightened out of at least four of their eighteen lives,
scamperedmadly up the nearest tree, in which house of refuge they sat witharching backs and bristling tails, spitting and hissing. The pup,liberated from his kettle, and confident that Toby was somehow to blamefor this melee, charged rashly at him. Toby, resenting thisinsinuation, met the curly pup with gaping jaws and bristling back. Aterrific dog-fight ensued, in which the self-confident puppy was routedwith great damage. During the excitement, it fortunately never occurredto the mild-eyed oxen to make a bolt with the sledge; on the contrary,they stood still in their tracks the whole time, gazing with placidindifference straight before them. No one was hurt, and the wintrywoods rang with the merry laughter of the party as they righted thesledge, collected the scattered wedding outfit, and replaced itsecurely. The vanquished puppy was again confined in his iron dungeon.The kittens, after much coaxing, at last ventured upon a limb lowenough for them to be reached by Abner's long arm; and the bridal carthen proceeded, without further hurt or damage, to the future home.
Betsy, though the child of rich parents, was used to work and tohousehold management; but here was housekeeping to be begun under anenvironment quite different from that to which she had been accustomedin her father's well-ordered house. It was a heavy draft upon the youngbride's faith and love to gaze undaunted at the prospect before her;but she was of a brave and hopeful spirit, and soon her blithe laughchimed in with that of Abner and Susan, as they talked over theludicrous mishap on the wedding tour. Presently, however, as Abnerlooked around the uninviting interior of his future abode, and thenglanced at his young bride, he was sobered.
"An empty hovel with unwhitewashed walls, stoneless hearth, anddirt-encrusted windows and floors, is certainly no fit welcome for you,my dearest," he said to her as they stood alone a moment, while Susanand Rache were taking a survey of the inner room. "Do you regret thestep you have taken?"
"Regret? Not for one instant," she bravely answered. "'Better a dinnerof herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith'--andhow dare you slander my new abode by calling it a hovel?" she addedplayfully. "Instead of belittling this commodious mansion, set to workat once, sir, and build us a fire."
In a short time Logan had collected fuel. His flint yielded the readyspark, and fagots and logs soon blazed cheerily in the wide fireplacein each room.
"That big kettle which pa insisted upon our bringing, does come inhandy right at the start," exclaimed Susan. "We'll have it filled andhung on that crane, so that Rache can scrub the floors; and while thewater is heating, let's get something to eat. I'm as hungry as any bearthat ever prowled through these woods."
"I'll lay the hearthstones, whitewash the walls, and put up someshelves over in that corner to-morrow," said Abner.
"When that is done, the windows cleaned and curtained, and the thingsall arranged, it will be quite a cozy place," added Susan.
"Yes," assented Logan, "it will do, I suppose, until I can get to townto buy whatever we need."
"Oh, it's good as it is, and we will soon make it a very invitinghome," interrupted Betty. "Don't worry because you haven't a statelymansion for your bride. It's bad enough to have a wife thrust upon youin this unceremonious style, without your impoverishing yourself to fitup a luxurious home for her all at once."
The work went merrily forward during the next two days, although theseason was hardly propitious for housecleaning. Rache, who enjoyed itall as much as any one, declared with a grin, "It's de fust time I evahhearn uv folks doin' ther spring cleanin' when de snow am two footdeep, an' it am so sinful cold thet it mighty nigh freezes de noseoffen yer face."
The floors, by dint of repeated scrubbings, were soon, as Rachedeclared, "clean 'nough ter eat on." The walls and rafters werewhitened, and the windows curtained with snowy dimity. At the foot ofthe bed, in one room, stood a packing-case to serve as a wardrobe, avalance of calico tacked on its top, concealing the true nature of thecontrivance. Another box, set on end and similarly attired, served as adresser; still another as a washstand. This room was sitting-room,parlor, library, and Susan's sleeping apartment. The other room wasdining-room and kitchen, where Rache was accommodated with a palletupon the floor in front of the fire; while, for the present, the rudeloft over the two rooms, reached by means of a ladder in thesitting-room, was the bedchamber for bride and groom.
Consternation reigned at Oaklands when Betsy's flight was discoveredthe morning after the elopement. Her father, after giving orders thateverything on the place which could be considered her personal propertyshould be packed and sent to her immediately, then assembled the entirehousehold, struck Betsy's name from the family Bible, and commandedthat no one in his presence should ever again mention her name, andthat no one on the premises should ever dare to hold any communicationwith her. Later, that same day, he drove to Lexington, sought a lawyer,and made a will disinheriting her.
Upon the third morning after the marriage there came to the new home asled driven by a negro man from Oaklands. On the sled was Marthy, anegro woman of thirty-five; also a huge packing-case containing Betsy'sclothes, books and ornaments, some bed quilts which she had piecedherself, some bright-colored rugs she had woven, besides china and aset of silver spoons which had descended to her from her maternalgrandmother. Behind the sled rode Sambo on Betsy's saddle-horse,driving a young cow which was also considered the girl's property. Thetwo negroes, Marthy and Sambo, had belonged to Mrs. Gilcrest, to dowith as she pleased, and she sent them as a gift to her daughter.
Crestlands: A Centennial Story of Cane Ridge Page 34
