The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-08-27
Breach of Promise Of Marriage.

are requested TO call attentlon W tLe
above.
Breach of Promise Of Marriage.
We learn from the Charlotte Observer
that a young lady from the North, from
the Bay State, has sued Mr.. Joseph Coke,
late Of Greenville, now of Asheville, \.
c., Cor breach of promise of marriage.
The damages are laid at the modest sum
of twenty thousand dollars. That sum
alone, not a cent less, will suffice to fill up
the breach made in miss Dollic's' attec-
tons. Ii her heart be broken, her head is
level. We should like to know, however,
by what arithmetical process Miss Dollie
or her prpchem amy arrived at the exact
assessment of damages implied in the
round sum of twenty thousand dollars.
An even, plump sum it is, its symmetry
undisturbed by units, tens, or hundreds,
or even by an odd thousand or two.-its
beauty undisfgured by cents, mills or a
common fraction. How was the arithne-
teal question stated, figured out, and
worked 80 as to evolve as a result the an
swer twenty thousand dollars? 1t could
not have been by any of the four simple
rules, although long multiplication must
have been used at some stage in the oper-
alton. It was not a sum in Rule Of Three
for only two persons were involved, two
persons who by the rule of matrimonial
cancellation Miss Dollie wished to see no
longer twain but II flesh. Nor was it a
sum in Vulgar or Decimal Fractions;
Miss Dollie deals only in humping In
tegers. Neither was it a problem in Part
nership; at n time Miss Dollie thought
it was, but young Coke would not solve
the difficulty in that way. We should
say it certainly was entirely a question Of
Interest, if Miss Dollie did not claim
there was so much affection involved in
it; and there is no affection in business.
Was it worked out by Algebra? Tt looks
like an equation, but with "Dollie' and
Coke as known quantities and c as the
unknown quantity, how could you find
the value of e to be t twenty thousand
dollars? The sum is too hard for US. We
are glad we shall not be or the jury who
will be asked to work it; for solve it in
some waythey must, although very like
ly they will not get the same answer that
"Miss Dollie" got. 1t is a question Of
damages, - damages which should be
ite1nized TO wounded heart, SO much
to hopes blasted, so much,-to injuries in
flicted by gossip, so much, &c. AS aques-
ton of Profit and Loss, the Jury should
also assess the value of all that Miss Dol
lie gave young Coxe-''the smiles. the
tears, the kisses sweet" the ~"favours Sc
cret, sweet and precious" which are gen.
orally supposed to be conferred by loving
maidens on their SWANS. But how can a
jury appraise a smile at higher thar bar
room rates, which are ten cents a smile?
AS for the value of tears, the jury will be
called on to decide whether they were
common, cheap salt tears, or pearly tear
dropswhich should be assessed at a much
higher figure; but how can they decide,
unless Miss Dollie's tears have been kept
sin a bottle ?" The kisses-what standard
of value can the jury apply to them ?
Nothing is so dear, and yet nothing is SO
cheap as a kiss. Nothing in the market
f%luctuates in value so much and so often.
Its worth depends largely upon the value
set on it by the recipient. The kiss, for
instance, which the bridegroom receives
from his blushing bride, how much dear
err it is to him than are all the kisses he
receives hat day from her sisters and her
cousins and her aunts. "Ae fond kiss"
is said to be more precious than rubies /;
while a stolen kiss is worth ten thousand
freely bestowed. Difficult it would be to
place the right money value on Miss Dol
lies kisses. And yet a money standard
has sometimes been applied. as recently
Sara Bernhard charged from n to five
sovereigns for n of her kisses delivered
to the purchaser not ON his lips but on the
edge of his coffee-cup. The price of a
kiss delivered by seductive Sara" on the
lips was not quoted in the market. The
famous Duchess Of Gordon raised a regi-
ment Of Highlanders for the kings SER
vice by giving each recruit the kings
shilling and q kiss from her own ripe
lips. The kisses of the Duchess would
seem to have been more highly valued
than we're Miss Dollie's; the Duchess en-
listed a regiment, but Dollie failed to en-
lista
Laying all joking aside, however, we
do sincerely hope that when the case is
tried the jury will take all these things
into consideration. If they will only do
so they will come to the conclusion at
which we have arrived, that by no arith-
metico-psychological method of compu-
tation can they assess in money the dam
ages suffered by Miss Dollie. To help
them in their deliberation we would re-
mind them that by a recent act of the
British Parliament no action can lie for
breach of promise of marriage except in
cases where actual pecuniary loss was
suffered by the plaintiff. If Miss Dollie
lost money by MI. Joseph Coke, as, for
instance, in purchasing her bridal trous-
seau, then the jury would be right in
levying a tax on Coxe's pocket to defray
such expenses. If it was an affair of the
heart and not of the pocket, it is not pos
sible for anyjury to assess the damages in
money. Several hard and unanswerable
questions have been asked - n "a
wounded spirit who can bear ?" another
"say. canst thou minister to a mind dis
eased?" We add another 1.-THE DANA
ges done to sighted affection, what jury
can compute?" We hope the jury in this
case will give Miss Dollie Price the YER
dict and ten cents damages, and thus
leave her without money and him with
out Price.
Tuo or three weeks ago some one entered
NJ = Sorris's store with a false Key, car
rvinc OF some goods. We would have men
tjonsd II sooner had we known or 1t. we
are indebted to the NeWs and Courier LOT the
knowledge.
" ,T,p,,Dr rafnrned Yesterday ev-