New-York tribune., 1869-03-16
rup Uaz4RDS OF CODRrSHfP.

A rather remarkable action at law has lately
reached a verdict in one of the OHIO tribunals.
There was, it appears, certain DR.. John A.
Bradshaw, of Irish birth, and therefore partlcu-
larly in1ammable in respect OF the sex:
"Ob love is the soul of true Irisbman;
He loves oil that's lovely, loves all that he can"
This child Of Esculapius saw Miss Fergu-
son. and was at once fiOOred by her exceeding
beauty and generally enchanting demeanor;
albeit he had reached the Teirigerating age OF
forty seven, the young woman being twenty-sx.
The delighted Doctor rendered his hand with
his heart in it; the fascinating Miss Ferguson
promised to become Mrs. DR.. Bradshaw; when
suddenly it was discovered that she either was
or was reputed to be of African descent; where
upon the faithlcss physician (not to put TOO
fine point upon it) backed out. He pleaded
that by the laws of OHIO, he could not be
legally joined to a descendant of Canaan. The
Young woman brought her action on the con-
tract and when Ferguson agt Bradshaw came
to hearing there never was such an exhibition
of the differences OF Doctors before as upon
this mOmentOus trial.
Three Doctors of the prOfoundest sagacity
the deepest knowledge, and the most acute
diagnostical experience swOre positively to the
symptoms of African blood exhibited by the
lady. Five Doctors of equal sagacity, knowl-
edge, and experience. swOre just as positively
that they could discover in the plaintiff no
evidence whatever of African progenitors. OF
course. when the taint, if there were any, was
thus imperceptble, and so slight that learned
men could not agree upon the simple tact OF
its existence at all, DIR. Bradshaw might have
marched into the temple of Hymen with tins
young woman and marched out again without
any distressing Caucasian Qualms. lie had his
tastes, however; and nc was fully sensible that
other people had theirs. He began to loathe
the woman he had loved so fondly; he eXpe-
rienced decided change of sentmentj disgust
succeeded to devotion, and antipathy to desire.
The bare chance that, shortly after the Hood'
or during the building of the Tower OF Babel.
this lovely millincr might have had colored
grandfather, albeit of inexpressible greatness
and grandeur was too much for the amoFous
Bradshaw But he paid rOundy for his fas-
tidious iniidelity. lie became the defendant in
the ease of Ferguson agt. Bradshaw
From this judicial ordeal the Doctor emerged
in n wilted condition When he pleaded the Ohio
statute, he was promptly met by citation OF
the Fourteenth Amendment. The patient jury
listened to the Doctors for the Plaintiff and to
the Doctors for the Defendant and going out
with their heads stuffed full Of ethnOlOgy, they
came back with n verdict of Ten Thousand
Dollars damages against the poor Doctor.
When one considers the number Of persons he
will be obliged to bleed, of doses he will be
forced TO administer of pulses he will be COM
pelled to feel, Of legs he will be under the
necessity of saving off, of plasters he must
spread and of pills he must manipulate, before
he can make up this handsome but narrowing
sum of Ten Thousand Dollars, ore is disposed |
TO sympathiZe Il not with him, at least with |
his unfortunate patients. When n lady-love Is
so fair that it takes n kind of convention OF
learned men TO decide whether she is intin-
itesimally AfricanizCd, we think that prudent
man knowing the value of money would rather
run the risk, small enough at the worst, Of
awful disclosures, than pay Ten Thou
sand Dollars damages. Moreover, albeit
the Doctor has escaped these disreputable
nuptials, the fact remains that he has
been betrothed to negress, according
TO his own agerment; that lie has imprinted
upon her lips the seal of love; that he has
been 10y day and by night, In public and IN |
private, her companion and intimate associate
So far as this mans social standing ana tie /
of the public we've concerned, tAe |
Doctor was moral AmalgatOnist dc son toEt, |
while now twelve honest men in box say |
that lie was something worse. We refer to this |
case in ordog that ardent wooeIs may be
put upon thsir guard. Here is Doctor OF
Medicine dreadrully humbugged by Il spurious
Cdreat emptCr Qet the buyer be-
ware) is an excellent rule of the common law.
Perhaps cGredt amator Cat the lover look out
for hmsclf) would he an equally good one.