The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1882-05-31

SOME uIrcHEs AT THE ALTAR.

actually becoming husband ant
wife was answered in a very extra
ordinary case reported not long ago
from Lyons, in France. All th'
p-eliminaries, including the mar
riage contract-the bride being 81
heiress--had been arranged with th'
utmost harmony, and the day bas
arrived for the civil marriage
which. under the law of The Repub
Tic is the bi1ding one-in the morn
ing, and for the b!cSsingcfthe pricS
al, thc cathedral altar in the after
noon. The parties were before th'
lavor, and what a Chicago lawyer
addressing a divorce jury. called th,
fatal question" had been asked 0
each. and duly answered whereup
on the Mayor had rendered hi;
personal as well as official congratula
tons, and placed before them the ~
testing document which, when sign
cd. made them lawfully man ano
wife. At this critical moment The
proceedings were interrupted by th,
entrance Of 2 telegraphic messenger.
The couple paused. pens in hand
the witnesses stared in surprise, and
the Mayor dropped his spectacles in
al nervous fit as he handed the mes
sage to the brides father. The tele-
gram ran as follows:
Il Monsieur - (the bridegroom
has already been married in Germa-
ny, and his wife lives. Vouchers
are on their way 20 you by post"
The Mayor, as he is bound to do
under the civil code when warning
comes, postponed the authenticated
for week. The week passed, but
no vouchers came Everybody
agreed the telegram was malicious
trick, perpetrated by some revenge
ful rival-everybody except the
bride, who had been brooding over
the telegram. and, to the surprise of
everybody, believed it. She sent
back the diamond ring, the silver
candlestick, the gold-mounted prie-
dias, the breviary of the lady who
was almost her mother-in-law, and
annulled the settlement. The Jude
dc Pair of Lyons and the Mayor had
consultation with the lawyers and
the notary, and it was unanimously
agreed that the couple, as the Eng
lsh peasantry put it, were still a
couple and not a pair. All inqui-
ries instituted by the bridegroom
without regard to the sender of the
telegram proved fruitless the only
information ever obtained being
that it was paid for by "veiled
woman in black"
A still more recent hitch atthe al
tar occurred ut a fashionable Eng
lish watering place. A large party
had assembled in one of the church
cs there 20 witness the nuptials of
the niece of a prominent citizen,
when it was discovered, at the last
moment, that the Registrar who
had the license in his pocket, had
not arrived. At the suggestion of
the officiating clergyman, the cere-
mony was delayed for a short time,
while one of the party went in
search OF the errant Registrar. His
Office was the first place visited but
nc had gone out, and nothing was
known of his whereabouts. Thence
the messenger repaired in hot haste
to his residence, which happened
TO be some distance out of town
and meanwhile, the party Mt the
chapel becoming impatient, other
scouts were dispatched in various
directions. At length it was ascer-
tanned that the worthy Registrar
he'd left town by an early train, and
as it was impossible that he could
return in time, the wedding had to
be postponed until the following
day. The hitch, it appeared, had
occurred through the Registrar hav-
ing received no intimation of the
day and hour of the intended mar
riage. W
One morning in the depth of last
winter a lady reached Inverness,
Scotland, from the south, in one of
the morning trains, intending to
proceed to Wick in the $40 A. NJ.
train. During the night, however,
there had been a heavy snow fall, |
and it vas found that the line to
Wick was blocked. On being told |
that she could not proceed, the |
young lady appeared to be greatly |
disconnected, and Immediately in |
CURED for the station master.
Is there no possibility of getting
to Wick tonight" she asked.
''None," was the answer.
Not by coach?"
No; not even by COACH"
"Nor by boat ?"
"No; nor by boat"
"Nor by"
'No; it is impossible you can
not get there this week"
"Well," said the lady, "this is
awkward"
I'm sorry" said the official. |
''Will you be greatly inconvenience
ed ?n
"Inconvenienced Yes, | was to |
have been married in Wick to-
night"
We will conclude with a case in /
which a somewhat serious obstacle I
to the celebration of a marriage was
removed at the eleventh hour by the
invention of beneficient fash of |
clerical jealousy. In a western
Scottish town, one evening, there
were SO many marriages that an un-
fortunate couple who had arranged |
10 be united at the minister's house
were unable to procure a cab to con
vey them thither till long past the
hour appointed, and when at last |
they stood at the door of the manse
and rang the bell it was approach
ing midnight. A loud and some
what indignant voice presently re-
sponded from bedroom window up
stairs demanding to know who was
there. The situation was briefly
explained, but the voice, that of the |
Rev. Mr.. w, minister of the first
charge of the Abbey Church, proved |
inexorable.
Il can't help it. was the ultima
tum received. You must lust 90
home. and come back tomorrow.