The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-01-23
TICKLE LOVERS.
A SHORT DISSERTATION OS BREACH or
PROMISE SUITS.

PKOMTSE SUITS
Having claimed for girls a wide Iati-
Jude IN Withdrawing from engagements
Zoo hastily contracted with men toward
/ HON they discover that they entertain
p affection, ] may be supposed to ex-
Csc breaches Of promise on the male
! sic. l do not. however, for ! think
thu young man should know his own
mil, and he cannot plead, like q girl,
thahe was ignorant of the world and
pligfed his troth without exactly being
avail of what respons 'bilities he incur
red. 4 young man would not set up a
hOrsetnd gig without counting the cost,
so he fs no business TO think OF matri-
mony Without calculating its expenses
and Obcations. In love he Is the at
tacking AaTty; the proposal comes from
him. and'f the girl accepts she does 50
on the tad understanding that he has
consideredNt the question Of ways and
means. f.by and by, she ascertalns
that he Is nO,in position TO marry with
comfort, she Nay I take il. retract her
promise withperfect propriety. Chlv-
alrousneSs is nVhing but the moral rec
titude which piompts an honorable man
never 10 let a woman suffer damage
through his faultif he can possibly help
ii, and he can always help il to some eN-
tent. I knew yeung fellow Of Il Who
was lnveigled into a promise 10 marry
his tutor daughter. aged 80. lie back
ed out of it, the damsel brought an Gc-
tiOn, and, being gOOd-loOking, obtained
EJO0 damages. There is another case
of an Oxford Undergraduate, the young
er son of a peer, who fell in love with
his lOdging-hOuse keepers daughter. the
young lady who brought him up his cof-
fee and toast of morning, and was in
duced to sign a promise OF marriage
with his blood, which he did, being tip
sy, and having pUnctured his arm with
needle for the purpose. This affair
never went into Court. for the lad s faith
er preferred to compromise by a payment
Of q 900. In both these cases q whip
ping all TOund-fOr the maidens as well
2s the Young men-wOuld have been the
most equitable form of settlement. Jur-
res. who are generally foolish, show
themselves chiefly so il awarding dam
ages for breach of promises. They start
from the assumption that "a man who
breaks a promise deserves to be lined
something. and if the plaintiff be pretty,
they gallanty ASSESS damages which
they consider may be worth her accept
ance. / admit the eXpediency Of atfine,
but I think it should be inflicted By q
judge, and not by jury. Naturally,
there are cases in which compensation
ID llNEtSoulA ~ GbhEL SCI At1tlN lloStG y l14Lll
the plaintiff has incurred. The other
DAY a Partisan actress brought an action
for damages against a Young man who,
on the faith of his promise TO marry her.
had induced her 10 throw up lucrative
theatrical engagement. TO sell her town
house at a loss, and TO purchase an es-
tate in the country. Is French law
does not recognize promises TO marry,
the plaintiff was nOn-suited. which was
aSsuredly a hardship. It Is Undenia-
bic that the women who suffer most
in feelings and pocket from blirh',
nlstttlmOnIai- ASfiJTG :. are geuer9lfT -
most backward in seeking legal redress.
And this should make one look with
some suspicion upon breach-of-promise
suits. | cenfeSs that ] do not like 10
see q braZen-faced woman sitting stolid-
ly in Court while 4 talkative barTister
tries to excite the compassion OF the
Jury by eNpatiating on the agnnieS of
her heart. An elderly widow i'm the same
case is even less interesting. Not long
ago Westcount1y jury awarded go to
an old lady or sixty for the loss she was
supposed To have suffered in not marry
ing a swain Of scveHty-fOur. There was
no pretenSe OF sentiment in the matter
The old man was we'll off and the old
lady had set her cap at his money bags.
not at him. 1t is pity that those who
differ rs To the prOpriety of ah0lishiug
bTeach-Of-prOmiSe suits should not at
least agree to draw the line sOner-here-
rs regards the age when a woman mig6f
he disqualified from becoming q plain
tiff. SuppOsing this line Were drawn at
. fftV-fiYe.
There are eases of breach-uf-prOmise
whereof the rights and wrongs would
puzzle any caSuist. Take this instance.
L.. d .-s--F
Who, by dint of great self-cCmmand,
? succeeds in Concealing from him that
She has a very ugly temper and no heart
at all. lie proposes and Is accepted
but. after lie has been engaged some
months an accident GiscloSes to him
the true character OF his intended
What is he 10 do : lie knows that I'll
hemarries he shall be thoroughly wretch
ed, and bis wife. too. the prospect be
fore them Is III fact one of continual
chickering's ending possibly in the dl-
yoTce Court. Iwouid advise 40 man 10
risk this kind OF thing. which runs coun-
ter to the primary aim of marriage an
institution for ormutual helpand comfort.
At the same time if a round payment in
money would compensate The bad-tem-
pered young ladyfor her disappointment.
| think the man Is bound TO make it
lie should. indeed. esteem himself happy
10 hobble out of his scrape with honor
at any price. Cur last case shall be
that Of q man who aScertaiuS that his
betrOthed las some dismal secret in her
own past life His action must then be
Influenced by the circumstances which
have put him in possession of this evil
report. Ii he has heard Il from third
parties. his intended bride has obviously
been guilty of deceit which augurs iH
fer her delicacy of feeling but IL she
has made him the confession with her
own lipS-trembling and CRYING in her
shame and anNiety-why should not q
man in love condone q fault which has
been Iepented of. and which. but for his
pardon. may entail humiliation and de
spair all through a lifetime ? II may he
said that the moral 30 all this Is that
mea should not contract engagements
without sull inquiries. and nothing can
be truer but passion always acts haSti-
lv. and philosophy must find remedies
for inconsiderate action. as well as Sug-
gest maXims for preventing them
p TRANSPARENT CETST.-TakC one pound
Of flour. one pound of butter, the yeis oi one
egg: wash the butter dry and then melt it
= in a vessel. set in another vessel of hoiiiii.
water. stirring gently all the while To prevent
Il boiling. Take of the salty scum from the
ton and when almost cold beat up { De butter