tunate lover by the gallants who had vied
with him for the favor of the maid. Brave, indeed, he who won her.
If he marched up to her home in the early evening he was made the
object of innumerable jests, even the young lady's family indulging
in and enjoying the banter. Later, when he come out of the door, it
was more than likely that, if it were winter, he would be met by a
volley of water soaked snowballs, or big buckets of icewater, or a
mountain of snow shoved off the roof by some trickster, who had
waited patiently for such an opportunity. On summer nights his horse
would be stolen, led far into the woods and tied, or the wheels of
his wagon would be taken off and hidden, leaving him to walk home.
Usually the successful lover, and especially if he lived at a
distance, would make his way only once a week and then late at night
to the home of his betrothed. Silently, like a thief in the dark, he
would crawl through the grass and shrubs until beneath her window.
At a low signal, prearranged between them, she would slip to the
door and let him in without disturbing the parents. Fearing to make
a light, and perhaps welcoming that excuse to enjoy the darkness
beloved by sweethearts, they would sit quietly, whispering low,
until the brightening in the east betokened the break of day, and
then he was off, happy and lighthearted, to his labors.

A wedding was looked forward to with much pleasure by old and young.
Practically, it meant the only gathering of the settlers which was
not accompanied by the work of reaping the harvest, building a
cabin, planning an expedition to relieve some distant settlement, or
a defense for themselves. For all, it meant a rollicking good time;
to the old people a feast, and the looking on at the merriment of
their children--to the young folk, a pleasing break in the monotony
of their busy lives, a day given up to fun and gossip, a day of
romance, a wedding, and best of all, a dance. Therefore Alice
Reynold's wedding proved a great event to the inhabitants of Fort
Henry.

The day dawned bright and clear. The sun, rising like a ball of red
gold, cast its yellow beams over the bare, brown hills, shining on
the cabin roofs white with frost, and making the delicate weblike
coat of ice on the river sparkle as if it had been sprinkled with
powdered diamonds. William Martin, the groom, and his attendants,
met at an appointed time to celebrate an old time-honored custom
which always took place befo