Page:Life's little ironies (1894).pdf/222

decided on —all having been done under the hot excitement of that evening’s dancing. Thus it happened that on the following Sunday morning, when the people were sitting in church with mouths wide open to hear the names published as they had expected, there was no small amazement to bear them coupled the wrong way, as it seemed. The congregation whispered, and thought the parson had made a mistake, till they discovered that his reading of the names was verily the true way, As they had decided, so they were married, each one to the other’s original property.

“Well, the two couples lived on for a year or two ordinarily enough, till the time came when these young people began to grow a little less warm to their respective spouses, as is the rule of married life; and the two consing wondered more and more in their hearts what had made ’em so mad at the last moment to marry crosswise as they did, when they might have married straight, as was planned by nature, and as they had fallen in love. "Twas Tony’s party that had done it, plain enough, and they half wished they had never gone there. James, being a quiet, freside, perusing man, felt at times a wide gap between himself and Olive, his wife, who loved riding and driving and out-door jaunts to a degree ; while Steve, who was always knocking about hither and thither, had a very domestic wife, who worked samplers, and made hearth-rugs, acarcely ever wished to cross the threshold, and only drove out with him to please him.

“However, they said very Httle about this mismating to any of their acquaintances, though sometimes Steve would look at James’s wife and sigh, and James would look at Steve's wife and do the same. Indeed, at. last the two men were frank enough towards each other not to mind mentioning it quietly