Turtle examined the statutes amid profound silence for some time, turning down one leaf here and another there, until he found himself thoroughly prepared for the solemn occasion. Finally, he arose, and with a gravity that no man ever put on before or since, exclaimed,--
"Miss Graves, hold up your right hand and swear."
Miss Graves said "she was a member of the church, and dar'sent swear."
Ike said it was "legal swearing he wanted, 'cording to the staterts--not the wicked sort--he wanted her to swear that she was over fourteen years of age--hadn't got no husband living, nowhere--warn't goin' to practise no fraud nor nothin' on Squire Longbow--and that she'd jest as good a right to get married now as she ever had."
Squire Longbow said "he'd run the risk of the fourteen years of age and the fraud, and finally he would of the whole on't. The staterts was well enough, but it warn't to be presumed that a _justice of the peace would_ run agin 'em. Some folks didn't know 'em--he did."
Ike said "there was something another in the statert about wimin's doing things 'without any fear or compulsion of anybody,' and he guessed he'd take Miss Graves into another room, and examine her separately and apart from her intended husband." This was a joke of Turtle's.
The Squire said "that meant _married_ wimin--arter the ceremony was over, that ere would be very legal and proper."
Mrs. Swipes said, "for her part, she thought the oath or-ter be put--it would be an awful thing to see a poor cretur forced into marriage."
Aunt Sonora hoped there wouldn't be nothin' did wrong, "so people could take the law on 'em."
Turtle said, "that they needn't any on 'em fret their gizzards--_he_ was responsible for the la' of the case."
Bigelow then rose, and told the parties to jine hands, and while they were jined, he wanted the whole company to sing a psalm.
Bigelow then commenced the wedding process. "Squire Longbow," exclaimed Bigelow--"this is your second wife, and some folks say the third, and I hope you feel the awful position in which you find yourself."
The Squire said "he felt easy and resigned--he'd gone inter it from respect to his woman who was now no more."
"You do promise to take this ere woman, to eat her, and drink her, and keep her in things to wear, so long as you and she lives."