Although the Hedges’ nuptials had initially spawned many a titillating tale and perhaps increased the sale of such products as “Life Elixir” touted in a local publication as a cure-all which “never fails to restore lost Manhood,” the bridegroom did not set a local precedent for late-life marriage. In the eighteenth century, the Reverend Samuel Buell, pastor of the church atEast Hamptonand founder, in 1786, of the prestigiousClintonAcademy, the first private school chartered byNew YorkState, married a lass of sprightly nineteen. The Reverend was sixty-nine. Let’s hope Buell’s newfound happiness curtailed the length of his sermons. Even if it didn’t and, for that matter, even if the Buells and otherEast Endcouples of yesteryear did not live happily ever after, they stuck it out.  That was what was expected in the “good old days” which may not have been so good after all. While employed as a schoolmaster in Southold, Walt Whitman undoubtedly came to that conclusion when he was literally driven out of town after rumors circulated about a suspected romantic relationship with one of his male pupils. But that’s a story for another day, perhaps something to contemplate while riding the Jitney to Whitman’s old stomping grounds in the other part of theEast End, the place that is still “aHamptonsin training.”

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