I honestly think the two women could
have laid me and my son under the table, and would have done it, if
we had not looked out for ourselves; as it was, we all drank a great
deal and were very merry. We were in a room by ourselves, and when
we had been there nearly an hour, it occurred to Margaret that it
would be a good idea to humor the old lady's dry joke about the
danger of our getting married during this visit to Troy.
"Henry," said she to my son; "Go out and ask the woman who keeps the
saloon where you can get a blank marriage certificate, and then get
one and bring it here, and we'll have some fun."
We were all just drunk enough to see that there was a joke in it,
and we urged the boy to go. He went to the woman, who directed him
to a stationer's opposite, and presently he came in with a blank
marriage certificate. We called for pen and ink and he sat down and
filled out the blank form putting in my name and Margaret Bradley's,
signing it with some odd name I have forgotten as that of the
clergyman performing the ceremony. He then signed his own name as a
witness to the marriage, and the young woman who was with us also
witnessed it with her signature. We had a great deal of fun over it,
then more wine, and then it was time for us to hurry to the depot to
take the six o'clock train for Rutland.
Reaching home at about eleven o'clock at night, we found the old
lady up, and waiting for Margaret. We went in and Margaret's first
words were:
"Well, mother! I'm married; I told you, you know, I thought I should
be; and here's my certificate.
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