From the West to the West

by Abigail Scott Duniway

Thy way to overcast,

Oh, ever stan’—thou art a man—

Between her an’ the blast!”

At the close of this stanza, Mrs. Ranger’s voice broke also; and the good circuit rider, parson of many a scattered flock, who had pronounced the double ceremony, caught the tune and, in a mellow barytone that rose upon the air like an inspired benediction, added most impressively another stanza:

“An’ may the God who reigns above

An’ sees ye a’ the while,

Look down upon your plighted troth

An’ bless ye wi’ His smile.”[1]

“It’s high time there was a little change o’ sentiment in all this!” cried a bachelor uncle, whose eyes were suspiciously red notwithstanding his affected gayety. “I move that we march in a solid phalanx on the victuals!”