Middletown transcript., 1878-04-13
JUDGE LEouAnD's ROMANCE.
His Attachment for = Cuban Lady the
Cause Of his Visit 20 Havana.


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The visit of Judge Leonard to Ha-
vana, says the New York Times, was
purely personal and private, and was
of a peculiarly interesting, delicate,
and romantic character. Some time
ago, at the city of New Orleans, he
met young lady, a native of Cuba,
who was visiting this country with her
parents, and between whom and Judge
Leonard warm attachment sprang
up, which ripened into love. A mar
riage engagement was the result, but
the parents of the young lady, in con-
sequence of her youth, opposed the
match, and Judge Leonard was not
permitted to see the object of his affec-
ton except in the presence of her par
ents. When the time arrived for the
departure Of the Cuban and his family
from New Orleans, the young lady
manifested some reluctance to return
home, but an arrangement was finally
made by which she md Judge Leonard
were to be permitted to hold free and
unrestricted correspondence through
the mails.
After her departure, Judge Leonard
wrote her several letters, to which no
answers were received, which naturally
annoyed him very much, and gave
rise to the suspicion that his letters
had been intercepted and the young
lady prevented from communicating
with him. After long interval, he
received a brief letter from the lady,
which simply stated that she had not
heard from him since her return to
Cuba, and that she could not hear
from him. This brief letter bore evil
dence of having been hurriedly writ
ten, and its broken and soiled condi-
ton led Judge Leonard to suspect that
it had been carried some distance bya
negro, to be secretly mailed After
writing other letters and waiting anx-
iously for replies, he became convinced
that the parents of the lady were not
acting in good faith, and he dermined
to visit Cuba. A week or two before
his departure he called on the Presi-
dent, and, informing him of his trou-
bic, requested the President to write a
personal letter to the Consul General |
requesting him to ascertain, if possible,
the situation and whereabouts of the
lady. The President did so, and in
due time Judge Leonard received
cable dispatch from Havana which in
formed him that "Maria had been sent
to plantation in the country" This
dispatch was not signed by the Consul
General, but bore the name of a party
unknown to Judge Leonard. This ad-
1ed to his perplexity, and he deter
mined to set out at once for Cuba.
He called on Senior Mantilla, the
Spanish Minister at Washington, and
making known to him his trouble, OBJ
aimed a letter from that official to the
Japtain-General of Cuba, recommend
ng him to do whatever was proper to
i'd Judge Leonard in his delicate mis-
ion. The sympathies of Nine. Man
lila were also enlisted in behalf of 5
Judge Leonard, and that lady wrote ,
uch letter as lady would write in
uch case, urging the Captain-Gen-
raj to do everything possible to unite 6
he lovers. With these letters, Judge S
leonard sailed for Havana, where he c
uly arrived. A friend in Washington
eceived letter written by him from
Iavana on March 7, in which he said
e had seen the lady in presence of 7
er parents. No details as to the sue I
ess of his mission were furnished, but 1
'om the general tone of dependency i
revading the letter, his friend be- Il
ewes he failed to obtain the consent a
f the parents to his addresses to their P
aughter. fo
T