The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1825-04-25
DOW STRrt2T.

Ssdps %, Stigiis. -An elderly gentleman
was charged with having inflicted divers
hio"s On the person of y spruce little wid
ow, with pursuing mud prosecuting said
spruce little widow, FROM house To house,
10 her great dread aud injury. and against
The peace of anf Sn,.reiga Lord The kng
&c. We abstain fr"In giving the namrs of
these parties, because IL has been recently
Ind down by high authority, that thu
more ridiculous peopi. make themselves
IN public, the muc entitled they are To
ila'e ihelr names Kept private. LII il sur.
ice That the gentleman is independent, &
the midnw dependent that the gentle
man II about fifty, grey haired, tall, and
taoiturn, aud the widow about FIVE aud
twenty, auburn haired, short fat, loaua
clons: that the gentleman has long loved
the widow and the widow has long loved
the gentleman but NOW she loves him
no longer, aud thereupon issue was Joined.
According TO the widoa's account, she
mad heen huuse keeper 10 the gentleman,
aud for some Years there was perfect I'M
Outstanding, and So much good will he
tween them, that she had borne him Il
pledge of lo,e-tar he Wa man of pro.
perts aud bachelor, aul therefore such
. pledge WIS nut quite 81 questionable n,
II might have been-lha0sh, in every case,
except one, she admitted that il WIS eK
tremciy imprudeut 10 make such pledge.
Nevertheless, their lovcand gnod will con
tinucd, until about twelve months ago
siLce which time the gentleman presumed
so much on her love as In beat hef--nnt
once or twice, but every day, aud almost
[ all JuN l,ttr and IXI,tb chm II al hnrHttt bic
beatings ill she could bear them ~ longer,
| she letl him and went 10 reside elen here,
determined IN have nothing more to do
with him. But her leaving him awaited
her nothing for 90 where she would he
| followed her, claiming her "a his own, in
luring her character, insultInG her friends
and threatening her with pr rsUnal Violence,
| if she did not 90 back To his house and ln,c
him AS She had been used L. do. This she
! found to be utterly Impossible, and theye
fore she besouSht the magistrate 10 protect
her IN her scpcration.-Thr gentleman
heard all this with quiet smile upon his
conniennnce aud when the widow had
made an end of speaking, be addressed the
magistrate calmly and quietly, in an I'll
DERBY gentleman like mauner IN his de
fence, thus May it phase you worship,
my wife has told many hes Nom :" rife ~
said his worship, 81 did not understand
she MAS your wife !" " Neither Is she,
| your Worship" responded the tall elderly
gentleman ; " hui we have been together
! eleven years or lhrrcaboot, and sometimes
call her my .HnIH' and sometimes
my mye, bat generally "my WIFE," in
the HOPE. of making all things smooth &
| therefore trust your worship will indulge
me in that tender title Ills wol ship as
scented, and The tall gentleman resumed
My wilr has told you many lies, for
never injured her ch9raeter never in
suited her friends never threatened her
with violence and never beat her. II is
true, " hen she has Siirittd my rcmon
stranccs have slapped her but Away
took care 10 slap her on the shoulders--nl
some other soft place, so that she could
not sustain any injury thereby and once,
| believe ktehed her, but as tenfe,fy as
possible merely TO convince her that my
remonstrances we're not - be sighted with
immunity and assure your Worship that
| never slapped her that she did not slap
me III return, and with good interest too.
! on know, Mary, love, we have often slap
ped each other when I'VE have been alone {;
nay, YOU have often turned TO n me, right
and left, ike a boxer aud did ever
complain of you to any one - The wild
ow Wcpt and turned TO" at him With her
tongue so yolubiy, that the magistrate had
much ado to prevail upon her Ia de-
si.t. When SHE had done, the tail "lderIy
gentleman begged his worship to htlie'e
that the very head and front of his ollend
ing was giving a slap TO, a sEght; that all
his olaps had been returned fourfold and
that he still loved her too tenderIy 10 do
any hI any harm. The widow, however,
persisted in declaring that she would never
listen Ia his love again, and that she feared
he would do her some serious harm and
therefore his worship directed that the tall
elderly gentleman should find bad.
London paper.