The Wedding was the biggest thing that had struck the town since
Forepaugh stopped over on his way from Peoria to Decatur.
Frances was not a popular Girl, on account of being so Uppish, so
those who could not fight their way into the Church climbed up and
looked through the Windows.
The Groom wore a Swallow-Tail.
Most of those present had seen Pictures of the Dress Suit. In the
_Fireside Companion_, the Gentleman wearing one always had Curls, and
the Wood-Engraving caught him in the act of striking a Lady in the
Face and saying "Curse you!"
The Feeling at the County-Seat was that Frances had taken a Desperate
Chance.
The caterer with Colored Help in White Gloves, the ruby Punch
suspected of containing Liquor, the Japanese Lanterns attached to the
Maples, the real Lace in the Veil, the glittering Array of
Pickle-Jars, and a well-defined Rumor that most of the imported Ushers
had been Stewed, gave the agitated Hamlet something to blat about for
many and many a day.
The Bachelor of Arts grabbed off by the daughter of Jennie and the
Grand-daughter of Susan was the owner of Real Estate in the congested
Business District of a Town which came into Public Attention later on
through the efforts of Frank Chance.
His front name was Willoughby, but Frances always called him "Dear,"
no matter what she happened to be thinking at the time.
Part of State Street had been wished on to Willoughby. He was afraid
to sell, not knowing how to reinvest.
So he sat back and played safe. With growing Delight he watched the
Unearned Increment piling up on every Corner. He began to see that he
would be fairly busy all his life, jacking up Rents.
The Red-Brick Fortress to which he conducted Frances had Stone Steps
in front and a secret Entrance for lowly Trades-people at the rear.
Willoughby and his wife had the high courage of Youth and the
Financial Support of all the Money Spenders along State Street, so
they started in on Period Decoration. Each Room in the House was
supposed to stand for a Period. Some of them stood for a good deal.
A few of the Periods looked like Exclamation Points.
The young couple disregarded the Toll-Gate Period and the Log-Cabin
Period, but they worked in every one of the Louies until the Gilt
Furniture gave out.
The delighted Caller at the House beside the Lake would pass from an
East Indian Corridor through an Early Colonial Ante-Room into a
Japanese Boudoir and, after resting his Hat, would be escorted into
the Italian Renaissance Drawing-Room to meet the Hostess. From this
exquisite Apartment, which ate up one year's Rent of a popular Buffet
near Van Buren Street, there could be obtained a ravishing glimpse of
the Turkish Cozy Corner beyond, including the Battle-Axes and the Red
Lamp.
Frances soon began to hob-nob with the most delicatessen Circles,
including Families that dated back to the Fire of 1871.
She was not at all Dizzy, even when she looked down from the Mountain
Peak at her happy Birthplace, 15,000 feet below.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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